Break with Rome Flashcards
1
Q
Why did the break with Rome happen? (desire for male heir)
A
- After 15 years of marriage to Catherine, only surviving child was Mary. She was now beyond childbearing age
- Henry had a series of mistresses, at least one of whom (Elizabeth Blount) had an illegitimate son by the king
- Henry promised to marry Anne because by Jan 1533, she was found to be preg.
2
Q
How did Henry come up with an excuse for annulment?
A
- Searched for a way to annul the marriage using a passage from the Old Testament book Leviticus.
- He convinced himself that his marriage had never been valid, as Catherine had previously been married to his bro, Arthur.
- He also argued that the pope was wrong for granting him a dispensation to do so.
3
Q
Who was put in charge of achieving the annulment?
A
- In 1527, Wolsey was given responsibility for overseeing the king’s ‘Great Matter’
- He sent English Bishops Gardiner and Foxe as royal ambassadors to pope Clement VII in Rome in 1528
- Aimed to get his permission for the hearing to be held in England, presided over by Wolsey
4
Q
Why was the Pope reluctant to agree to Wolsey’s suggestions?
A
- The Pope had been imprisoned by Charles V, after he invaded Rome in May 1527
- Charles V was Catherine’s nephew, and therefore strongly opposed to the divorce as it was dishonourable to the family and possibly beneficial to his French enemies,
- He was also opposed to the annulment because of Henry’s view that the Pope did not have the power to grant a dispensation.
5
Q
What was the Pope’s eventual decision?
A
- Did not grant Henry exactly what he wished, instead he allowed papal Legate, Cardinal Campeggio, to go to England and try the case alongside Wolsey
- He attempted to convince Catherine to become a Nun to avoid court and thus end the marriage, however she refused
- She also sent an appeal to the Pope in Rome saying there would be no fair trial in England and her success meant the hearings and the career of Wolsey came to an end.
6
Q
What did Henry do as a result of his attempts being refused?
A
- Henry became desperate.
- From the late 1530s, the King’s supporters began to question the authority of the pope over the king and his territory.
- The argument grew and in September 1530, he refused to be summoned by the Pope to Rome for a hearing about his marriage
- From October 1530, he created a committee of lawyers and clergymen to see if he could get the dispensation from English parliament to divorce Catherine, going around the pope entirely.
7
Q
How did the idea of the royal supremacy emerge?
A
- He commissioned leading scholars, including Thomas Cranmer, to research an intellectual justification for his annulment
- Cranmer published ‘Collectanea satis copiosa’ (1530), which dated back to the Anglo-Saxon period and argued the kings of England were not subject to papal power
- Meanwhile other scholars toured European universities and found theories of ‘imperial kingship’ which they presented to parliament in 1531.
8
Q
What was the theory of the royal supremacy?
A
- the view that the king was both head of the state and church
- The development of their new theory meant they could attack the legal and financial powers of the Pope
- Anti-clerical criticism was exploited to put pressure on the clergy and pope — i.e. the entire Eng Clergy were charged with praemunire in 1530 and fined £100,000
9
Q
1531
A
it was agreed that Henry could have the title of ‘Supreme Head’ of the English church — however they did add the phrase ‘as far as the law of christ allows’
10
Q
May 1532
A
a conference of clergy agreed the church was subservient to the Crown in matters of law
11
Q
Supplication against the Ordinances
A
- A petition to Henry commenting on the clerk’s abuses, asking him to act
- drawn up in 1532 by Cromwell
12
Q
Aug 1532
A
- William Warham dies and Thomas Cranmer, a reformer, is made Archbishop of Canterbury.
- Anne had finally given in to Henry and she was now pregnant. He increased the speed of change.
13
Q
When did Henry and Anne secretly marry?
A
Jan 1553
14
Q
Act in Restraint of Annates
A
- May 1533
- an attempt to strong arm the Pope into approving Henry’s actions.
- If he refused, the payments of the English church to Rome would come to an end and the papacy would lose valuable income as well as spiritual control over an important territory.
15
Q
Act in Restraint of Appelas
A
1533
- Drafted by Cromwell. Forbid appeals to the Pope (i.e. Catherine) meaning any hearing on the kings marriage would occur in England
