Chapter 8- Henry VIII gov and parliament

Question 1

what was Henry’s attitude to parliament like during the early years of his reign?

Answer 1

similar to his fathers, to grant extraordinary revenue and to pass laws. Neither particularly saw the need to ask advice (pre 1530)

Question 2

when did Henry call Parliament before 1529?

Answer 2

1510, 1512, 1515 and 1523

Question 3

how did wolsey view parliament?

Answer 3

with some distaste

Question 4

how many times was parliament called during Wolsey’s period of dominance?

Answer 4

just once, in 1523

Question 5

what did the parliament in 1510 do?

Answer 5

abolished the council learned in the law

Question 6

what did the parliament in 1514 do?

Answer 6

provided extraordinary revenue for invasions of France and Scotland; Anticlerical act restricting benefit of clergy

Question 7

what did the parliament in 1515 do?

Answer 7

act restricting benefit of clergy not renewed despite an apparently anticlerical atmosphere in the House of Commons

Question 8

what did the parliament in 1523 do?

Answer 8

provided extraordinary revenue for invasion of France; speaker of the House of Commons, sir Thomas more, made the first known plea for freedom of speech for MPs. the level of anticlericalism seemed reduced, despite parliaments ill-temper.

Question 9

what was the parliament called between 1529 and 1536 known as?

Answer 9

reformation parliament

Question 10

what did the parliament in June and July 1536 do?

Answer 10

called to enact a new succession act following the fall of Anne boleyn.

Question 11

what did the parliament called between 1539 and 1540 do?

Answer 11

called to provide extraordinary revenue with invasion threatened; produced divergent religious legislation, for example the dissolution of the greater monasteries and the six articles act.

Question 12

what did the parliament called between 1542 and 1544 do?

Answer 12

provided extraordinary revenue for invasions of Scotland and France; dealt once more with the issue of succession.

Question 13

what did the parliament called between 1545 and 1547 do?

Answer 13

provided extraordinary revenue

Question 14

how many parliaments did Henry call during his reign?

Answer 14

9

Question 15

why was parliament used more frequently in the second half of henry’s reign?

Answer 15

Cromwell exploited the legislative possibilities of parliament more thoroughly. Wolsey was reluctant to use parliament and Henry followed his father’s method of only using it for extraordinary revenue

Question 16

how long did conciliar government last at the start of Henry’s reign?

Answer 16

1509-1514

Question 17

what factors combined to bring conciliar government to an end?

Answer 17

lasted from 1509 to 1514 because of a conflict between King’s impulsive personality and conservative councillors
-Henry became disenchanted with the reluctance of some his father’s senior councillors to support a war with France.
- he became increasingly his own man by asserting his undoubted right to control decision making.
- Henry surrounded himself with like-minded young courtiers who reinforced his suspicions of the ‘old guard’
- he became impressed by the organisational skills of wolsey.

Question 18

why was wolsey useful to Henry?

Answer 18

gave the King what he wanted
- close personal relationship with the King
- complemented hands off approach Henry had of policy making

Question 19

who were the King’s minions?

Answer 19

a group of young courtiers who enjoyed Henry’s personal favour. the king’s minions became gentleman of the privy chamber during the early years of Henry’s reign

Question 20

how did Wolsey try to control them?

Answer 20

• minions distrusted Wolsey
• 1519, he replaced them with his own supporters but most of the minions managed to recover their positions.
• privy chamber remained prestigious and was the one area Wolsey had no control over

Question 21

what was the court of chancery?

Answer 21

the main court of equity in the kingdom; in such courts justice was based on applying the principle of equity, i.e. fairness, rather than a strict reading of the common law.

Question 22

why was Wolsey responsible for overseeing the legal system?

Answer 22

he was lord chancellor

Question 23

how did wolsey use the courts?

Answer 23

he used the courts to deal with problems relating to enclosure, contracts and land left to others in wills. to uphold, ‘fair justice,’

Question 24

what was the main problem with the chancery court?

Answer 24

it became too popular and justice was slow since it became clogged up with too many cases.

Question 25

what was the court of star chamber

Answer 25

Established by an act of parliament in 1487 as an offshoot of the King's council but became centre of government and justice under Wolsey

Question 26

what was Wolsey’s motive in extending the use of the court of star chamber from 1516?

Answer 26

to increase cheap and fair justice also used for private lawsuits

Question 27

what happened to the court of star chamber

Answer 27

it was too popular so overflow tribunals were set up to deal with pressures permanent committee set up in 1519 became the ancestor of the later court of requests, whose job it was to deal with cases involving the poor.

Question 28

what does subsidy mean?

Answer 28

a grant issued by parliament to the sovereign for state needs

Question 29

what did the 1523 subsidy do?

Answer 29

imposed a tax of one shilling in the pound for land worth £50, and one shilling in the pound on personal savings and goods.

Question 30

what change did wolsey make to the way subsidies were collected?

Answer 30

instead of using local commissioners to assess taxpayer’s wealth (with the risk they could be over generous to the nobility), Wolsey set up a national committee which he himself headed.

Question 31

what was the amicable grant?

Answer 31

in 1525 Wolsey ordered the implementation of the ‘amicable grant’ to raise more money for war; in theory it was to be a freely given gift from his subjects to the king, but in reality it was a heavy tax, levied without parliament’s approval.

Question 32

why was the amicable grant set up

Answer 32

the 1523 subsidy did not secure all the funds Henry needed for war to the extent parliament was so angry Sir Thomas More had to ask Henry for forgiveness

Question 33

what were the eltham ordinances?

Answer 33

1526- To try gain more influence over the Privy chamber, Wolsey removed many gentlemen, in the guise of reducing royal expenditure he also removed groom of the stool Sir William Compton with the compliant Henry Norris

Question 34

other effect of eltham ordinances

Answer 34

many humble household servants lost their jobs many think Wolsey was worried about losing influence over Henry due to the amicable grant

Question 35

short and long term consequences of KGM

Answer 35

- fall of power for Wolsey - Royal supremacy

Question 36

why was Henry worried

Answer 36

He had no heir and Catherine was past childbearing age He was in love with Anne Boleyn but she refused to be his mistress He had to consider legitimising his son Henry Fitzroy only the Pope could secure an annulment so a papal dispensation would be needed

Question 37

contradictory arguments

Answer 37

Leviticus- prohibition on brother marrying brother's widow that Pope Julius II had allowed However, Catherine claimed her marriage to Arthur was unconsummated bible passage contradicted by Deuteronomy

Question 38

why was the annulment impossible

Answer 38

Rome had been sacked in 1527 and Pope Clement VII was in no position to grant it as Charles V did not want his family to be insulted

Question 39

what did Wolsey do to try and get the annulment

Answer 39

Held a fake court in May 1527 as personal representative of the Pope to accuse Henry of living in sin with his wife Catherine refused the verdict and appealed to the Pope in accordance with canon law.

Question 40

How did the Pope ensure that no annulment would occur

Answer 40

- ensured two years of fruitless diplomacy occurred - June 1529 sent Cardinal Campeggio to hear the case but he adjourned it in July.

Question 41

How was Wolsey dealt with?

Answer 41

October 1529- charged with praemunire and surrendered all his possessions and Hampton Court to Henry November 1530 he was arrested but died on 29th November before he could be executed

Question 42

what did Cromwell do?

Answer 42

Bring conciliar government to an end

Question 43

How did Cromwell rise to power?

Answer 43

He suggested to Henry he could secure his annulment by breaking with Rome and placing himself at the head of the church. He became chief minister in 1532

Question 44

who was hostile to Cromwell's reforms?

Answer 44

the Duke of Norfolk

Question 45

Elton's arguments for Tudor revolution in government

Answer 45

- royal household's role diminished - His position as secretary given importance and he placed himself as head of new state bureaucracy - Privy council had important role in managing government - Parliament grew in importance

Question 46

what occurred during reformation parliament?

Answer 46

1529-1536 initially to deal with Wolsey, then with Henry's divorce

Question 47

what needed to occur for the divorce to be accomplished

Answer 47

statute (acts) law needed to have supremacy over canon (church) law

Question 48

how did weaknesses in the church make it easier for Henry to break with rome?

Answer 48

- Catholic church was undergoing criticism by humanists such as Colet and Erasmus and the anticlerical position of Fish - Church's claim to legal supremacy challenged in 1528 by lawyer Christopher St German which helped Cromwell's parliamentary attack on the church's power

Question 49

How did Henry gain favours to help with the Break from Rome?

Answer 49

- Cranmer and Foxe (theologians) gave Henry the Collectanea Satis Copiosa which justified his divorce legally and historically - European universities gave Henry favourable positions on the divorce, which More had to present to both parliaments

Question 50

how did Henry and Cromwell pressure the Pope?

Answer 50

1531- Clergy collectively accused of praemunire and fined forcing them to acknowledge Henry as 'Protector and Supreme head of the English Church,' 1532- Act in conditional restraint of Annates- bishops no longer paid their first year income to the Papacy - 1532- House of Commons supplication against the Ordinaries- petition against abuses of clerical jurisdiction 1532- Formal submission of the Clergy- Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor

Question 51

why was the annulment forced through?

Answer 51

Henry and Anne had consummated their relationship and by December 1532 Anne was pregnant- the child needed to be legitimate

Question 52

how did they finally force through the annulment

Answer 52

William Warham (A of C) died and was replaced with Thomas Cranmer who was a reformist Anne and Henry married in secret in Jan 1533 and his marriage to C of A was annulled in May 1533 by Cranmer, and Anne was crowned after. Elizabeth was born on 7th Sept

Question 53

five main acts passed for the break with Rome

Answer 53

Act in restraint of appeals, Act of succession, act of supremacy, treason act, act annexing first fruit and tenths to the crown

Question 54

what did the act in restraint of appeals include?

Answer 54

april 1533- founded on evidence in the Collectanea - monarch possessed imperial jurisdiction - appeals could not be made to Rome regarding church court decisions. - Catherine could not appeal

Question 55

what was the act of succession

Answer 55

April 1534 - Henry's marriage to Catherine was void - Anne's heirs were legitimate - denying the marriage was treason

Question 56

What was the act of supremacy

Answer 56

Nov 1534 - secured the break ' Henry was, 'justly and rightfully is and oweth to be the supreme Head of the CoE,'

Question 57

what was the treason act

Answer 57

- it was tightened in Nov 1534 so that treason could be spoken as well as writing and it was treason to describe the King as e.g., 'heretic or tyrant,'

Question 58

who was the holy maid of Kent

Answer 58

Elizabeth Barton, claimed to Wolsey and Henry she had prophecies about Henry's marriage to Catherine. She was arrested for treason after admitting they were made up and hung in 1534

Question 59

what was the act annexing first fruit and tenths to the crown

Answer 59

Equivalent of annates paid to the Pope. -put more financial pressure on the clergy

Question 60

One big impact of the break from Rome

Answer 60

increase in Parliament's role as a law making body

Question 61

why did Anne Boleyn fall out with Thomas Cromwell

Answer 61

He was insecure in his power and felt his relationship with the King was threatened. He allied with the conservatives and they managed to convince Henry Anne was committing adultery

Question 62

Anne's fall

Answer 62

Catherine of Aragon dies in jan 1536 Anne is of adultery and incest and executed in May 1536

Question 63

why did Thomas Cromwell fall?

Answer 63

1537 Jane Seynour dies giving birth to Edward Cromwell tries to ally Henry with League of Schmalkalden (German protestant princes) - Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves was unsuccessful personally and politically so marriage was annuled.

Question 64

Cromwell's fall

Answer 64

- Duke of Norfolk led Cromwell's enemies to make Henry accuse him of treason and heresy and he was executes in July 1540 - Henry marries Catherine Howard, DofN's niece on the same day

Question 65

religious problems after Cromwell's death

Answer 65

- three Protestant theologians were burned two days after his death - Henry retaliates by executing three Catholic priests on the same day who denied royal supremacy

Question 66

how did government change after Cromwell's death

Answer 66

-Conciliar government was restored but differently as a Privy Council with fixed membership was established with a secretary - debate on whether Henry was in control or subject to various factions around his court

Question 67

how did government become more conservative

Answer 67

- Norfolk, Stephen Gardiner and Thomas Wriothesley had the power in the council

Question 68

what was the problem with Henry's marriage to Catherine Howard

Answer 68

- The Duke of Norfolk wanted a politically advantageous marriage for himself through his niece but she wasn't a virgin - she had affairs with her music tutor Mannock, nobleman Dereham and allegedly Thomas Culpepper

Question 69

what did Henry do about Catherine?

Answer 69

December 1541 Culpepper executed Feb 1542 Catherine executed through an act of attainder

Question 70

impact of Catherine's death

Answer 70

Several of her relatives were disgraced - Norfolk was wounded politically especially because Henry's next wife, Katherine Parr, was Protestant, so he tried to accuse her of heresy

Question 71

how did political rivalries intensify in the last years of Henry's reign

Answer 71

-Edward Seymour was Norfolk's main rival -Henry Howard, Norfolk's son, was executed for treason after threatening the King's throne - Norfolk's execution was agreed by Henry but he was saved by the council when Henry died as to not start Edward's reign with bloodshed