... letters of loyalty to the king, It is therefore unlikely that this was Henry's motivation for closing down the monasteries. Conversely, the dissolution of the monasteries could be seen in a much more positive light-it could have been a genuine attempt at removing the abuses that arose in monasticism, such as pluralism and nepotism etc and like that highlight the good works and value of those houses that remained. In fact, the official reason given towards the closing down of the smaller monasteries was the ' manifest sin, vicious, carnal and abominable living' to be found there. To some people, the monasteries were a waste of human and financial resources-Cromwell himself should be included among these more radical reformers who simply wished to do away with monasticism altogether-however, we cannot associate Henry with this group of people as Henry, after all, was a committed catholic. We may therefore think that perhaps Henry ...

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