... Church and its Cannon Law, constant taxation, debilitating and obvious corruption. A. G Dickens puts forward this attitude in a simple statement; "Anticlericalism had reached a new virulence by the early years of the 16th century." He also potently refers to the church as a " grandiose but unseaworthy hulk". Dickens statements reflect perfectly upon the orthodox views. One of the main examples that the old orthodoxy bases its arguments on is the case of Richard Hunne. Richard Hunne was placed in custody due to his refusal to pay the high mortuary fees at the death of his infant son. He was found hanging in his cell with extremely suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. The inquest later found the Church guilty of murder and this caused a mass scandal. This has, for a long time, been seen as one of the final nails in the coffin of Catholicism in England. This example shows ...

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