• Oath taking takes place in Dent and the West Riding of Yorkshire.
• Late 1536 three government commissioners dissolving smaller monasteries were working in the Lincolnshire area.
• Rumours fly that the people are going to be taxed heavily on things like horned cattle, baptisms and marriages.
• 3^rd Oct. the commons of Louth march on the town to meet the commissioners. They believe that their weapons are about to be confiscated.
• Captain Cobbler leads them.
• The rebels went on to a nearby nunnery.
• 4^th Oct. gentry join in.
• A manifesto is written.
• The Bishop of Lincoln's registrar is murdered.
• The rebels march to Lincoln. A new set of articles is drawn up.
• Henry sends Suffolk to Stamford to be on standby.
• Rebels march with a banner which shows the five wounds of Christ.
• 8^th Oct. Robert Aske calls upon the people of Beverley to be true to 'God, the king, the commonwealth and to maintain the Holy Church'.
• 10^th Oct. the West Riding of Yorkshire is called to rebellion by the ringing of church bells.
• 13^th Oct. while marching to York, Robert Aske begins to speak of their campaign in terms of a 'pilgrimage'.
• 16^th Oct. the rebels led by Aske reached York.
• He gives the mayor a list of grievances, among which were:
• Suppression of the religious houses.
• Act of Uses - people had liberties taken from them because of this act which enquired into land value.
• Tax on sheep and cattle was unfair - the commons were already in a state of poverty.
• The low birth of most of the councillors who rule only for their own profits, like Richard Rich and Cromwell.
• Reforming bishops were not popular.
• He also made this declaration:

• From the 16^th - 23^rd Oct. a number of important Yorkshire cities and towns gave in to the rebels, including, Richmond, Sedburgh and Nidderdale.
• 21^st Oct. Skipton castle was under siege.
• In this time the king disbanded his army thinking that it was no longer needed.
• The rebels went to Pontefract castle to try to secure support of the nobility.
• The Duke of Norfolk meets with the rebels at the River Don.
• Some Yorkshire nobles go to London to petition the king.
• 2^nd Nov. the king promises to pardon all but the ten ringleaders. He says that he will receive the rebels in London and consider their case further.
• 2^nd Dec. the promise of a pardon is repeated and Henry promises a free parliament.
• Aske relays these messages back to the rebels at Pontefract. They are disbelieving and threaten to rise again.
• After Christmas there is a second rising in Yorkshire, as many see the king's promises going unheeded. This is led by Sir Francis Bigod. Aske tried to warn off Bigod.
• The Duke of Norfolk declared martial law in the West Marches.
• The rebels were all hanged in Carlisle, except for Aske who was executed at Clifford's Tower in York.

• Focus your further reading/revision around these possible causes of the Pilgrimage of Grace
• A protest against the dissolution of the monasteries on religious grounds.
• A protest against the dissolution of the monasteries on economic grounds.
• A protest against Cromwell more than Henry.
• A commons led revolt focussing on dissolution.
• A gentry led revolt.
• A revolt driven by economic and social grievances with very little to do with the dissolution.
• A spontaneous or a well-planned outbreak?
• A revolt spurred by the nobles' dislike of the Reformers in government (led by the remnants of the Aragonese faction).

Here's a list of historians who have conflicting views on the rebellion:

Elton GR, Reform and Reformation in England

Scarisbrick JJ, Henry VIII

Loades DM, Politics and the Nation 1450-1660

Fletcher A, Tudor Rebellions