ith Somerset’s focus placed narrowly on foreign affairs, England evolved into an era of a ‘crisis’ where rebellions occurring in conjunction with each other were severe enough to threaten the collapse of the state. Despite the extraordinary sermon delivered by Cranmer at Edward VI’s coronation, warnings to “fear the most detestable vice of rebellion” were not heeded under Somerset due to economical and religious grievances caused by his policies. Rather, as Bush (1975) asserts, Somerset’s focus on “the Scottish matter” meant that he made “no concessions to the rest of [his] policies, foreign and domestic, until peasant insurrections intervened in 1549.” Indeed, Bush’s view is supported by the Lord Protector’s dissolution of the chantries in 1547 to raise funds for his garrisons in Scotland; he risked angering the Catholic population as the chantries are a part of Catholic doctrine for reducing time spent in Purgatory. Moreover, with the Duke’s attention on foreign matters, the Common Book of Prayer was introduced in 1549, building on discontent already created from Somerset’s dissolution. The Prayer Book served as the final straw for the Cornish as it translated the Catholic tradition of reading Latin to Protestant approved English. One might argue that the proclamations of the Cornish rebels are not representative of the general reaction to the Prayer Book, as the rebels themselves relayed they were aggrieved because they were “Cornishmen, whereof certain of us understand no English [and so] utterly refuse this new English”. Therefore, they could not be a serious threat as their numbers would be limited. However, the proclamation also reflected wider Catholic discontent in the West, by calling to have the “mass in Latin” as before, and to reverse Somerset’s dissolution by calling for “every Priest at his Mass pray specially by name for the souls in purgatory.” Therefore, the source is more representative of English discontent than may be seen at first glance, especially considering that the rebels called for the Catholic “Cardinal Pole” to not only be given a “free pardon, but also… be promoted to first or second in the king’s council.” This meant that the Cornish rebels were threatening Somerset’s regency and the Protestant Reformation by demanding the ascension of a strong Catholic representative to the Privy Council. Furthermore, Cardinal Pole had Yorkist connections, and the rebels also called for the return of “Richard Moreman” who notably opposed Henry VIII’s divorce to Catherine. These demands suggest then that the Cornish rebels were more threatening than initially gleaned, perhaps using religious grievances to implement radical political reform. Such a cause proved somewhat popular considering 6,000 men from Devon joined after hearing the proclamation. Despite this, Somerset demonstrated his incompetence by not quashing the rebellion early. Instead his government, without much direction from the distracted Duke, reacted in fear by offering to pardon all the rebels if they dispersed