Henry 8th Flashcards
How was Henry’s childhood different to his father’s?
Bought up in a royal household, became Duke of York aged 2 and Prince of Wales in 1503. Grew up with sons of nobility and thus surrounded by yes men
What did Henry enjoy doing in his spare time?
Sport: jousting, tennis, hunting Languages: French and Latin Music - no interest in government
How was Henry’s early reign SIMILAR to his father’s?
Married quickly - marriage to brother’s widow, Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon in 1509
How was Henry’s early reign DIFFERENT to his father’s?
Did not need to consolidate throne.
What 3 important decisions did Henry make in the first 5 years of his reign?
1510 - Executed Empson and Dudley
1511 - Joined anti-French Holy League
1513 - War with France
Why was Wolsey appointed?
Skill - gained a degree from Oxford age 15
Luck - many of Henry VII’s advisors had retired
Experience - Henry VII’s Chaplain
Personality - hard-worker, good at flattery
What happened to Wolsey in 1515?
Became Lord Chancellor and Cardinal
What did S. Gunn say about Wolsey?
“His authority as Henry’s chief minister was so great, and his apparent responsibility for all areas of government policy so sweeping that politicians and political commentators had either to be entirely for Wolsey or against him”
What were Henry’s foreign policy aims?
Wealth and territory - funding wars
Diplomatic success - ensure England wasn’t isolated
Military Glory - conquer France
Individual alliances - further his power
What happened at the war against France in 1513?
Henry led an army of 30,000 to Calais in 1513
Was the 1513 French war a success?
Captured Therouanne and Tournai
Secured marriage of sister Mary to Philip of Spain
Was the 1513 French war a failure?
Towns captured were expensive to garison. Gave Therouanne to HRE Maximillian. Scotland renewed Auld Alliance
What happened with Scotland in 1513?
Battle of Flodden - Scotland defeated by English army of 15-20,000. James died and 1/3 of Scottish army killed
How much did Henry spend on war 1511-13?
£960,000
Which Treaty was made in 1518 and who did it involve?
Treaty of London - more than 2 dozen countries involved, ended isolation in Europe, returned Tournai to France
What diplomatic event happened in 1520? Was it a success or a failure?
Field of the Cloth of Gold with France. Expensive but cheaper than war. 3,000 nobles present. Excluded HRE Charles. No diplomatic agreements reached.
What was Henry awarded in 1521, why and by whom?
Defender of the Faith by the Pope for his devotion to Catholicism and defence of Sacraments (raised to be Archbishop of Canterbury)
Why was 1521 a turning point for foreign policy?
Treaty of Bruges, beginning of Hapsburg-Valois conflict, Treaty of London ended, France invaded Luxembourg
What was the Treaty of Bruges?
1521 - made by Wolsey with Charles (anti-French). Countries would defend one another in war against France, kept a secret so that England would still receive French Pension. Charles betrothed to Mary Tudor
What happened as a result of the Treaty of Bruges?
Second French War - Charles and Francis fighting over Milan, England forced into expensive war costing £400,000 and taxes raised led to unrest
How significant was the failure of the Amicable Grant?
Henry unable to join war against France, unpopular - public protests, blamed on Wolsey
Why was 1525 a turning point for English foreign policy?
HRE Charles married Isabella of Portugal rather than Mary, Henry abandoned alliance with Spain to pursue a policy with France
What was the Treaty of the More?
1525 - France agreed to pay annual pension of £20,000 in return for Henry giving up claim to France
What was the League of Cognac?
1526 - France, Papacy, Venice and Florence - to put pressure on Charles to cease violence in Milan. Henry refused to join.
What was the Treaty of Westminster
1527 - Henry joined League of Cognac, Francis or heir betrothed to Mary
What was the Sack of Rome and its consequences?
Charles achieved victory in Rome and took control of Pope - choice to ally with France backfired
What was the Treaty of Amiens?
1527 - Treaty with France, declaration of war and trade embargo on Charles (English cloth-workers protested against this)
What was the Treaty of Cambrai?
1529 - ended wars between France and Spain. Confirmed Charles’ control of Italy. Henry not invited to join - isolated
When was the Battle of Landriano?
June 1529
What was the Court of Star Chamber?
Created by Henry VII with Sanction of parliament in 1487 intended to end perversion of English justice by powerful nobles who used intimidation and bribery to win favorable verdicts in court cases. King Councilors sat as judges, more equitable & amenable to royal will.
What 5 areas did Wolsey’s domestic policy focus on?
Legal reforms
Social reforms
Financial reforms
Relations with nobility
Administration
Why was Wolsey’s domestic policy not very successful?
Prioritised foreign policy. Used legal system to own benefit. Resented by nobles. Amicable Grant rebellion. Only summoned Parliament twice
How did Wolsey personify all that was wrong with the Catholic church?
Pressured Pope to make him Cardinal
Pluralist
Took vow of celibacy but fathered 2 children
Built Hampton Court with church money
What did Peter Gwyn say about Wolsey and the church?
“personified all that was wrong with the late Medieval church”
Why was the church important to ordinary people?
Organised social calendar - celebration days
Provided education and healthcare
Bible only accessible via church
Had to pay tithe - 10% of income
Summarise the Hunne Case
1515 - Hunne challenged the church after he was ordered to pay high fees on the death of his infant son. Charged with treason and died imprisoned awaiting trial. Trialed regardless, guilty of heresy, body burned. Fuelled anti-clericalism
Summarise the Standish Affair
1518 - Standish, spiritual advisor to the King, disagreed with the Benefit of the Clergy and suggested that this put the power of the church above that of the king - Henry agreed but Wolsey begged him to preserve the Benefit of the Clergy
List 5 clerical abuses?
Simony - selling church roles
Pluralism - holding more than one ecclesiastical role at once
Nepotism - using power to give jobs to friends
Sexual Misconduct
Non-residence
What fact suggests the church was popular with the ordinary people in the 1520s?
Between 1520 and 1529, 57% of people in Devon and Cornwall left money to the church in their wills
What did the ordination rates of the 1520s suggest about the church?
Remained high - few people would be willing to dedicate their lives to an organisation that was dying
What was the problem with uneducated priests?
Some unable to perform basic services and recite Lord’s Prayer or 10 Commandments BUT out of 260 parishes only 4 priests were uneducated
What were the three reasons for Henry seeking an annulment?
Want for legitimate male heir
Conscience
Love for Anne Boleyn
What biblical evidence supports Henry’s belief that marrying his brother’s widow was immoral?
“If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.” - Leviticus 20:21
Why did Henry need to remarry in order to have an heir?
Mary was female (female rule frowned upon)
Catherine was passed child-bearing age and only 1 of 6 pregnancies in 9 years had resulted in a child
What did Peter Gwyn say about Henry’s want for an annulment?
“The one argument for the divorce that Henry never made in public was that he had fallen in love with Anne, for to have done so would have been tactically foolish’
What 3 methods did Wolsey attempt to use to obtain a divorce?
Scriptural - questioned validity of Papal Dispensation by suggesting Catherine’s marriage to Arthur had been consummated
Diplomatic
Legal Affairs - announce divorce would take place in England without the Pope present
How were divorce proceedings delayed?
Catherine’s speech at the Legatine Court at Blackfriars in 1529 - refused the divorce
Pope sent Cardinal Campeggio to observe and delay proceedings
What were the four main reasons for Wolsey’s fall in 1529?
Failure to obtain an annulment for Henry
Foreign policy failures
Court Factionalism (the Boleyn faction)
Failure of the Amicable Grant 1525
What happened to Wolsey in 1529?
Dismissed from Lord Chancellorship and charged with Praemunire. Surrendered possessions to Henry
When was Wolsey arrested?
4th November 1530, charged with treason and died at Leicester Abbey on the way to his execution
What were Henry’s motives for the break from Rome
Henry wanted a male heir
Popular anti-clericalism
The influence of Cromwell
Furthering wealth and power
Conscience
Influence of the Boleyn Faction
What Act was passed in February 1533?
Act in Restraint of Appeals - prevents appeals to Pope on religious matters
What Act was passed in January 1534?
Act in Restraint of Annates - stopped payments to Rome
When was the Pilgrimage of Grace?
1536-37
Who perpetrated the Pilgrimage of Grace?
Richard Aske, Sir Francis Bigod, Lord Darcy
What were the aims of the Pilgrimage of Grace?
Prevent dissolution of monasteries
End heavy taxation from 1534 Subsidy Act
Wanted Mary to be made legitimate
Why did the Pilgrimage of Grace fail?
Bigod Revolt of January 1537 failed - Bigod arrested in Cumberland
Aske, Darcy and 178 others executed
Was the Pilgrimage of Grace a threat to Henry’s government?
Yes - supported by nobles, showed Henry’s laws weren’t popular, well-organised
No - didn’t want to overthrow Henry, just questioned the decisions, no foreign involvement
How many rebels took part in the Pilgrimage of Grace?
40,000 - outnumbered King’s forces 5:1
What happened in 1535?
The Valor Ecclesiasticus - survey of churches to quantify land owned by the church
What were the 4 causes of the fall of Cromwell?
Religion, foreign policy, faction and marriages
Which key individuals were part of the CONSERVATIVE faction?
Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk
Bishop Stephen Gardiner
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey
Thomas Wriothesley
Which key individuals were part of the REFORMIST faction?
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
Sir Anthony Denny and William Paget
Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford/Duke of Somerset
John Dudley
Catherine Parr
What two key events happened in 1540?
Cromwell executed, Henry married Catherine Howard
What act passed in 1539?
Act of Precedence - outlined the order of importance of key people in England
What were Cromwell’s crimes?
Cromwell’s crimes?
Releasing men accused or convicted of treason, misusing & expropriating funds, taking bribes, making appointments without royal approval being a ‘detestable heretic’ & ‘a maintainer and supporter of heretics’, speaking treasonable words
What did Cromwell do to revolutionise government?
Reorganised financial departments, created Privy Council in 1536, created a sovereign law-making Parliament
What were Henry’s foreign policy aims in his final years?
Military glory, trade, diplomacy, securing dynasty
Why did Henry go to war with Scotland in the 1540s?
James didn’t attend an arranged meeting in 1541
Auld alliance with France
Marched troops over border in 1542
Sheltered rebels from Pilgrimage of Grace
What happened during the Scottish War in the 1540s?
Scottish army defeated at Battle of Solway Moss
King James died - Mary became infant queen
Proposed marriage between Mary and Edward
What were the causes of the 3rd French War in 1543?
Wanted military glory so he could seize French throne, joined with Charles V to invade, 40,000 strong army invaded France in 1543
What happened during the 3rd French War?
Captured Boulogne in 1544, Charles withdrew from the conflict
What Treaty was made in 1546?
Treaty of Camp - made peace with France
How much did the 3rd French War cost?
£2 million from the dissolution. Forced to implement debasement
