This book has been written from a conviction that the economic and social problems of the Tudor episcopate have not yet been given adequate attention by historians. Since Christopher Hill's seminal work The Economic Problems of the Church indicated the importance of this field of Reformation studies, there have been a number of detailed investigations by other scholars, covering particular dioceses or groups of the clergy. But there has been no other attempt to analyse the fortunes of a whole section of the church, and the local studies often remain scattered in unpublished dissertations or individual articles. My own struggles with the diocese of Ely and its bishops persuaded me that there was a need for a more general consideration of the state of the bishops, since understanding the social and economic role of the higher clergy is an important prerequisite to a perception of why they succeeded or failed as spiritual leaders. This volume is therefore intended as a first essay in understanding the circumstances of the episcopate during the disturbed century of the English Reformation. It depends upon the research undertaken by a variety of people during the last fifteen years, as well as on my own extensive quarrying in diocesan and other local record offices.

It was apparent from the inception of my research that questions about the economic behaviour and fortunes of the leaders of the church could not be dissociated from questions about the policies of the crown. Even before 1534 the crown did much to mould and influence the financial arrangements and life-pattern of its higher clergy.