Domestic policy - King's Great matter Flashcards
What was the King’s Great matter ?
Henry’s concerns over his desire to gain an annulment to his marriage to Catherine of Aragon to leave him free to marry Anne Boleyn.
Give one reason as to why Henry wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
As he had only one child, Mary, with Catherine, and by the 1520s, she was considered to be unable to bear any further children. This left Henry without a legitimate male heir
What was the name of Henry’s illegitimate son ?
Henry Fitzroy
Why was Henry Fitzroy deemed illegitimate ?
This is because Henry had Henry Fitzroy with his mistress, Elizabeth Blount (out of wedlock).
When was was Henry Fitzroy born ?
1519
What had Henry’s fixation on requiring a male heir driven him as far as considering in relation to his illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy ?
as far as considering the legitimising of Henry Fitzroy
What was Anne Boleyn’s relation to the Duke of Norfolk (Thomas Howard) ?
She was his niece
What did Henry need in order to achieve his goal of the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon ?
a Papal dispensation
Give a reason as to why the annulment proceedings stalled after the fall of Wolsey.
Thomas More, who was Wolsey’s replacement as Lord Chancellor, was unwilling to attack the church and no further progress could be made until he resigned from office in 1532.
What suggestion did Thomas Cromwell give to Henry in trying to address the King’s Great matter ?
He said that Henry should remove the Pope’s powers and instead give them to someone who would do as the King wished.
Why did Cromwell make the suggestion that Henry should remove the Pope’s powers and instead give them to someone who would do as the King wished ?
He argued that the Pope would never be persuaded to rule in Henry’s favour.
What was the most obvious position that would have the religious status within the English church to help Henry gain an annulment to his marriage to Catherine of Aragon following Cromwell’s suggestion ?
Archbishop of Canterbury
What was the problem with using the Archbishop of Canterbury to help Henry gain an annulment with his marriage to Catherine of Aragon instead of using the Pope as Cromwell had suggested ?
William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, was not willing to support the annulment.
What was Cromwell’s reaction/ response to the fact that Archbishop Warham, seemingly the person who had the religious status to help Henry in dealing with the ‘Great matter’, was unwilling to support the annulment ?
Cromwell felt that they would not need to wait for very long before he would be replaced as he was 80 years of age.
How did Henry respond to the fact that Archbishop Warham, seemingly the person who had the religious status to help Henry in dealing with the ‘Great matter’, was unwilling to support the annulment ?
As he was impatient and so set out on using Parliament to pass laws limiting the powers of the Pope through arguing that the powers were held in the Crown of England.
Give 5 measures that Henry and Cromwell took in order to secure the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and ultimately lead to the Break with Rome ?
1) Clergy collectively accused of praemunire and fined
2) Act in restraint of Annates
3) House of commons supplication against the Ordinaries
4) Formal submission of the Clergy to Henry VIII
5) Act in Restraint of Appeals
What was Praemunire ?
Assertion or maintenance of papal jurisdiction against the supremacy of the monarch
When were the clergy collectively accused of Praemunire and fined ?
1531
What did the Clergy being collectively accused of praemunire and fined force them into recognising the King as ?
‘Protector and Supreme head of the English church’
How much were the clergy forced to grant the King in 1531 due to them being collectively accused of Praemunire and fined ?
£118,000
When was the Act in restraint of Annates ?
1532
What were annates ?
income paid to the Pope by all new holders of senior positions within the Church in England.
What did the Act in Restraint of Annates in 1532 do ?
Forbid the paying of Annates/ taxes to the Pope by up to 95%.
How did Henry and Cromwell think the Act in Restraint of Annates in 1532 would help address the King’s Great matter ?
It was hoped that by hitting the Pope financially, he would reconsider his stance on granting a papal dispensation to Henry for his annulment.
When was the House of commons supplication (appeal) against the Ordinaries (A cleric) ?
1532
What was the House of commons supplication (appeal) against the ordinaries (cleric) ?
A petition passed by the House of commons against the alleged abuses in church law by Bishops and Archbishops.
What was the purpose of the House of commons supplication against the ordinaries in 1532 ?
A move to further stir up anticlerical pressure within the House of commons
When was the formal submission of the clergy to Henry VIII ?
1532
What did the Formal submission of the clergy to Henry VIII in 1532 lead to ?
Led to the resignation of Sir Thomas Moore as Lord Chancellor
When was the Act in restraint of Appeals ?
1533
What did the Act in restraint of Appeals in 1533 do ?
This declared that final authority in all legal matters resided with the monarch and it was illegal to appeal any authority outside of England on any such matters
ensured that the final decision on Henry’s divorce was taken out of Rome’s hands
Why was the Act in Restraint of Appeals passed rapidly through both houses of Parliament ?
1) This is because the Pope failed to respond to the financial pressure applied
2) Also because Anne Boleyn had become pregnant
Whose decision was it to use the so far underused Parliament To pass laws limiting the powers of the Pope so that The King’s Great matter could be solved ?
Thomas Cromwell - After Henry had made the decision that it would take too long for Archbishop Warham to be replaced and do as the king wished.
How can it be said that Anne Boleyn played a large part in achieving the ‘break from Rome’ ?
With her decision to finally give in to Henry’s advances, she had taken the risk that by falling pregnant, Henry would be forced to take decisive action.
When did Henry and Anne Boleyn marry in a secret ceremony ?
25th January 1533
How did the Catholic church respond to Henry and Anne Boleyn marrying in a secret ceremony on the 15th January 1533 ?
They ruled it invalid
When was the marriage of Henry to Catherine of Aragon annulled ?
May 1533
Who was the marriage of Henry and Catherine of Aragon annulled by ?
Archbishop Cranmer ( replaced the deceased William Warham - was the first protestant Archbishop of Canterbury)
When did Anne give Birth to Elizabeth ?
7th September 1533
How long did the ‘King’s Great matter’ last for ?
1527 - 1535
When had Henry officially separated from Catherine of Aragon and begin to live openly with Anne Boleyn ?
July 1531
Why did Henry secretly marry Anne Boleyn on the 25th January 1533 ?
After discovering she was pregnant with Elizabeth
How did Archbishop Cranmer annul the marriage of Henry to Catherine of Aragon ?
In May 1533, Cranmer assembled a court at Dunstable that delivered sentence that the marriage with Catherine was void, and the marriage with Anne was true.
What happened to Princess Mary’s position as the heir to the throne after Anne Boleyn gave Birth to Elizabeth on the 7th September 1533 ?
Elizabeth replaced Mary as the legitimate heir to the throne
When did Henry declare himself the Supreme head on Earth of the Church of England ?
1534
When did the declaration that Henry declared himself the Supreme head on Earth of the Church of England receive legal force ? through which act ?
1534 - Act of Supremacy (During Reformation Parliament)
Why were the annulment proceedings not resumed during the period of Sir Thomas More as Lord Chancellor following Wolsey’s fall and death in November 1530 ?
More was in favour of maintaining the status quo and was opposed to any pressure, let alone attack, on the church.
How long did Sir Thomas More last as Lord Chancellor ?
From 1530 - 32
