HENRY AND CATHERINE OF ARAGON ANNULMENT (methods) + Fall of Wolsey Flashcards
WHY DID HENRY WANT AN ANNULMENT?
- By 1527, Henry fell in love with Anne Boleyn, as she was much younger and much more beautiful, and showed this through his 17 love letters to her - She also said that she would only sleep with him if they were married, making him want the annulment more
- By 1524, Henry had stopped sleeping in the same chambers as Catherine, as he lost his feelings for her, and even in 1519, Francis I referred to her as “Henry’s old, deformed wife.”
- Henry only married Catherine as a symbolic marriage in order to secure good relations with Spain and the HRE (as she was the princess of Spain), and when they got married on 11 June 1509, it was purely because Arthur had passed away.
- Catherine wasn’t able to produce a boy for Henry, and out of 6 childbirths, only Mary survived. Henry saw this as a sign of God’s displeasure in him for marrying his brother’s widow.
- He even went to the extent of finding an “illegitimate son” in Henry Fitzroy (from 1515-1536), and made him Duke of Richmond in 1525
HENRY’S DILEMMA
- Due to Wolsey’s strong position in church as Papal Legate, and a Cardinal (+ Archbishop ad Bishop), Wolsey was sure that he could secure the annulment in 1527
- He was also sure of this as he had connections to Rome, and that the Pope would have him covered
HOWEVER
- Charles V dominated the French in Pavia in 1525, so he dominated Rome. He even threw the Pope in prison in 1527.
- Because of this, the Pope figured that it was better to keep Charles V happy, BUT he didn’t want to let down the English, so he wanted to DELAY the annulment. HE relayed this to Campeggio, who complied with his requests
WOLSEY’S METHOD 1 - Finding evidence in the Bible
- In Leviticus, Wolsey found evidence to prove that the marriage was not legal
HOWEVER
- Catherine supporters found evidence in Deuteronomy to counter his information
- This argument on worked if it was a “proper marriage”, yet Catherine insisted it wasn’t consummated
- It would embarrass the Pope if his original dispensation was wrong
WOLSEY’S METHOD 2 - Challenging the Pope’s original decision due to it’s technical nature
- Wolsey put forward an argument that the document was incorrectly worded, and this could work as it was a non-controversial version
HOWEVER
- Catherine supporters found a correctly worded version of the document in Spanish, which eradicated the argument, and put Wolsey down as it made him seem desparate.
WOLSEY’S METHOD 3 - Pressuring Catherine
- There was pressure put on Catherine to become a nun as it meant that the Pope’s approval wasn’t needed.
- A cruel letter was sent to Catherine, which stated that she would be blamed if Henry was threatened, and that she hated the King
HOWEVER
- She had no intention of becoming a nun.
WOLSEY’S METHOD 4 - trying to get the case moved to England
- If the case was moved to England, then the case would fall to Wolsey as he was the Papal Legate in England, and the annulment could go through.
SO
- There was a decision agreed upon that Campeggio and Wolsey would (supposedly) decide in England in April 1528
WHY DID THE ANNULMENT FAIL?
- Campeggio had special instructions to delay from the Pope, so he only arrived in England in October 1528, but partly due to sickness
- When the trial was held at Blackfriars court in June 1529, Campeggio insisted on “using the book”, which delayed it as arguments arose and the outcome wouldn’t be desired.
- Catherine also stood up to Henry in Blackfriars Court, and asked him to stay. She could do this as she had support from:
- JOHN FISHER - Bishop of Rochester
- THOMAS MORE - The King’s advisor
- CHARLES V - Her nephew, and Europe’s most powerful man - Campeggio was near the end of his life (55 years old in 1529, which was well into old age then), and a decision couldn’t be forced out of him, and the Pope decided that the decision would take place in ROME, in June 1529, and court was broken in July 1529
CATHERINE’S PERSONAL VIEWS TO THE ANNULMENT
- She believed that she was married To Henry for almost 20 years, and that she should stay
- The annulment going through meant that Mary was an illegitimate child, and she wants to protect her children as this would mean she had no claim to the throne
- She was a Spanish Princess and had acclaim and prestige, so she should keep that
- She can’t accept the fact that she would’ve been a royal mistress, as she is a devout Roman Catholic
WOLSEY’S FALL
- After Campeggio broke court for the summer in July 1529, the strategy failed, and it indicated that Henry was angry at him
- He was stripped of most of his power and his material possessions in October 1529, and was exiled to York
- In November 1530, Wolsey was summoned to trial as he was a Praemunire, and died in that same month (29 November 1530) on the way to his execution
WHY DID WOLSEY FALL?
FAILED FOREIGN POLICY
* He didn’t secure an effective relationship with Charles V, as they were deserted due to their inferiority, which made Henry angry at him, as he was recruited for his wit and intelligence
FAILURE TO GAIN AN ANNULMENT
* Due to the delay tactics of Campeggio and the Pope, the annulment wasn’t reached, even though Wolsey promised he could get the annulment
AMICABLE GRANT FAILURE
* He didn’t raise nearly enough money for the Amicable Grant (only £151,215), and to add to this, he made the public disloyal to Henry and resent him, straining both their reputations
BOLEYN FACTION
* The Boleyn Faction, led by George Boleyn, accumulated lots of power in court as it made the clergy who suffered from the domestic policies loyal to Anne, so they had a powerful alliance, and argued that Wolsey was biased towards Catherine due to each failure, stating it was an inside job, and that he was against Anne.
