Chapter 7 Flashcards
When did Henry come to the throne and what was his background?
Henry VIII came to the throne two months before his eighteenth birthday.
Seven years had passed since the death of his elder brother, Arthur, and in this time he had prepared for his new role as the future king of England. He had been well educated for the task, including some acquaintance with the new learning of humanism. He was well read, although, according to John Guy, his mind was able but second rate. The early impression he created was very positive. The modern historian, Bric Ives, describes Henry at this time as
‘extrovert, affable and charming
How was Henry’s accession received?
Henry VIII’s accession was welcomed as a breath of fresh air after the stultifying and rather sinister atmosphere associated with the influence of Empson and Dudley in the last years of his father’s reign. For Sir Thomas More, it represented the end of our slavery, the fount of our liberty, the end of sadness, the beginning of joy. However, Henry had had no experience of government or public affairs.
Henry’s approach to kingship
Henry VIlI’s version of kingship differed markedly from that of his father.
He had a profound dislike for the business of government and found the writing and reading of State papers both tedious and painful. Yet he could intervene suddenly in the business of government, in the process contradicting decisions or actions which had already been taken. Such an impetuous approach had considerable implications for the quality of decision-making within Henry’s administration, which was especially important given the nature of personal monarchy. Moreover, he certainly lacked the work ethic which many historians attributed to his father, instead preferring to pass the time with good company. This was evident in the courtly activities which followed his accession. There was much emphasis on pageants, revelry, sports, hunting and tournaments.
How did the structure of government evolve differently compared with the reign of Henry VII?
Because Henry VIII was rarely engaged directly with the business of government, the structure of government evolved differently compared with the reign of Henry VII.
• In the short term there was a renewed emphasis on governing through council, which then made two comebacks at later stages of the reign (1529-32, 1540-47).
• Furthermore, for two periods during his reign Henry relied upon the work of a chief minister who shaped the structures of government to meet his own needs. The first of these was Thomas Wolsey who was particularly adept at using Star Chamber. The second was Thomas Cromwell, who developed his role as principal secretary.
Who was Thomas Wolsey?
Thomas Wolsey (c1471-1530)
became the royal almoner (distributing money as charity to the needy on behalf of the king) upon Henry VIII’s accession. He came to Henry’s attention as a result of his organisational abilities and became, according to his servant and biographer George Cavendish, the most earnest and readiest among all the Council to advance the king’s only will and pleasure. This apparently minor member of the Council became more like a chief minister, interposing himself between the king and the experienced councillors who were increasingly frozen out from serious influence. Wolsey was not, however, simply the king’s mouthpiece, because his intelligence and articulacy meant that he was exceptionally skilful at presenting the king’s case.
Wolsey’s rise to powerful positions
Wolsey was certainly richly rewarded for his efforts. He quickly acquired an impressive range of Church offices which ensured a lucrative living. Moreover, he also achieved recognition from the papacy, being appointed cardinal by Pope Leo X in 1515. This was more important for its symbolism than for any political influence which it might have conferred. More important, however, was his appointment as papal legate in 1518, a post in which he was confirmed for life in
1524. This was significant in that it meant that Wolsey now outranked the ageing William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, and also gave him control over the religious orders in England. This acquisition of Church offices was complemented by an accumulation of secular posts within the king’s government, culminating in his appointment as Lord Chancellor in 1515.
However, no politician who has attained the stature that Wolsey obtained can ever be free of enemies. It was Wolsey’s enemies who brought him down in 1529 by exploiting the weakness in his relationship with the king, brought about by his failure to secure the annulment of Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
Fourfold legacy from Henry VII
Henry VIII had essentially a fourfold legacy from his father:
• money - it is believed that Henry VII left around £300,000 upon his death
• unpopular mechanisms for extracting money
• a peaceful foreign policy
° a conciliar form of government - decisions were made through a council.
What happened to his fourfold legacy from his father?
Each of these would disappear during the first few years of Henry VIlI’s reign. The money Henry inherited from his father’s reign would vanish as a result of paying for the revival of a traditionally aggressive foreign policy towards France. The conciliar form of government would disappear in the short term as a result of the emergence of Fox’s former protégé, Thomas Wolsey, as the focus of government.
Events in gov after Henry’s accession
-The start of Henry VIIIs reign was marked by changes during which some members of the Council were able to dispose of others and establish themselves in power. The key person in this process was Richard Fox, who, assisted by Sir Thomas Lovell and Richard Weston, secured the arrest of Richard Empson and Edmond Dudley. Henry VIII was not himself responsible for this action, though he was undoubtedly responsible for their subsequent executions, which did not take place until the king had been on the throne for over a year.
-The Council Learned in the Law was abolished by Act of Parliament in January
1510. With the abolition of the Council Learned, the cancellation of many of the bonds and recognizances which the Council Learned had imposed, and the executions of Empson and Dudley,
Success of early gov measures
Henry not only distanced himself from his father’s regime; he also ensured his own popularity amongst the nobility and propertied classes who considered themselves the victims of his father’s approach to taxation.
Key early aims (3)
In addition to dismantling the less popular aspects of his father’s legacy Henry VIlI had a number of other key aims in the first years of his reign:
•to establish his status amongst European monarchs through marriage
•to re-establish the role of the nobility
• to establish himself as a warrior king through success in battle.
Info about Henry’s marriage
A marriage between Henry and his brother Arthur’s widow, Catherine of Aragon, had been discussed since Arthur’s death, but had not been finally agreed while Henry VII was king.
Henry VIlI, perhaps believing that Catherine had been unfairly treated, was anxious to conclude the marriage as quickly as possible. This suited Henry’s councillors, who took the view that marriage for Henry would deflect him from political matters and enable them to conduct conciliar business as usual, and Henry and Catherine married on 11 June 1509.
Success of Henry’s marriage
Not only was the marriage initially successful on a personal level, Catherine also exercised some influence over policy making in the first few years. However, by the mid-1520s Henry would repent of the rapidity of his marriage to a woman who was over five years older than he was, especially once it was clear that she could never present him with a healthy male heir.
Why was the position of the nobility looking better under Henry VIII?
The nobility had been largely frozen out of direct political influence by Henry VII.
Few of them had spent much time at court. Moreover, Henry’s largely peaceable foreign policy had denied them their traditional outlet of the pursuit of military glory. This changed with the accession of Henry VIII, who shared the tastes and dominant military culture of the aristocracy. It was largely the sons of the nobility, generally young men who were slightly older than the king himself, who partnered Henry in the sports and revels which took up so much of his time and energy at the start of the reign. It was they who accompanied Henry to war in northern France, or the Marquis of Dorset to south-west France or the Earl of Surrey to Scotland.
Were the nobles actually achieve the political domination they had hope for and why/why not?
The nobles did not in the end achieve the political domination they had hoped for because Henry chose to promote the interests of Thomas Wolsey, the churchman who had organised the war in France on his behalf.
