divorce exam questions

Question 1

Assess reasons why henry wanted a divorce from Catherine Aragon thesis

Answer 1

Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon culmination factors

• most importantly needed a male heir to secure the dynasty
• had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn who refused to be mistress and believed marriage was against gids will - served as reason to remove the above

Question 2

p1 needed a legitimate heir to secure the dynasty

Answer 2

-mary tudor = could repeat matilda empress in 12th century = civil war
-henry fiztroy illegitimate son made duke of Richmond
-would end tudor bloodline + make henry out to be a poor + weak king
CA- henry thinking of making henry Fitzroy heir = would suggest not mot important as he had a solution BUT that would have been last resort + usurpers would come - henry needed a legitimate male heir

Question 3

p2 fallen in love w/ Anne Boleyn

Answer 3

• Anne young + intellectual - common interests in renaissance as she was in France
• fertile age = would give son
• refused to be mistress so henry NEEDED anulment
• BUT -ultimately henry’s need for a son drove his infatuation w/ anne boleyn

Question 4

p3 marriage against gods will (served as more of a reason for the above factors)

Answer 4

• against Leviticus and clerical error
• henry believed cursed due to the dead brother’s wife so never have a son
• marked defender of faith = displays his religious nature
• HOWEVER- henry selfish above all and determined to get a male heir - religion lay subordinate and only served as concrete evidence to giev to pope

Question 5

To what extent can Wolsey be blamed for failing to resolve the Kings ‘Great Matter’?

Answer 5

-complex matter - despite Wolsey inevitably being in a position that would frame him as responsible a wider acknowledgment suggests that it was out of Wolsey’s control. The pope was determined to not allow a divorce despite 3 attempts by Wolsey and the Aragonese faction held influence at court - disrupting legal matters. Indeed, Wolsey played a role in the long term causes - he perhaps could have manipulated the situation in his favor by winning the support of nobles - but his actions prior and background isolated him from the blue blood

Question 6

1-campeggio + pope

Answer 6

(on other fc)

-CA- wolsey could have manipulated + drawn up allies -BUT papacy determined to not promote annulments

Question 7

2-Aragonese faction

Answer 7

• rejected court and found different dispensation document to show it was not invalid
• CA - wolsey could have planned against dispensation w/ valid documents BUT argonese faction would go out of way to manipulate it agaisnt wolsey + henry