Henry VIII 1529-47 Flashcards
Why was the church in need of reform?
Pluralism
Absenteeism
Nepotism
Simony
Sexual misconduct
Poor education
Evidence the church was still loved:
On Sunday’s experienced miracle in mass
Promised a better life in heaven
Common people showed devotion and loyalty to the church
Assess the reasons for the break with Rome:
Henry’s biblical arguments
Henry claimed that his studies of Levictus convinced him that Catherine was not his wife
Levictus proclaimed that it was unlawful for a man to marry his brothers wife, and that the punishment was childlessness. This, Henry said, explained why all their sons died
Assess the reasons for the break with Rome:
Significance of Anne Boleyn:
Ann was not a Lutheran but was definitely interested in reform
Shared her views and sources she read with Henry
Anne’s pregnancy in 1532 was arguably decisive in provoking the annulment and remarriage of Henry early in 1533 which in turn led to the Act of Supremacy in 1534
Assess the reasons for the break with Rome:
Succession:
Recognised one of his main aim as King was to secure the succession by having a legitimate son; he would never have contemplated marrying Anne if Catherine had given him a son
Assess the reasons for the break with Rome:
Henry ego:
Had a powerful ego and therefore break with Rome was caused by his desire for supremacy in all matters
Had a knack of convincing himself that whatever he wanted was also morally right and a matter of conscious - the refusal of Pope to grant Henry his annulment simply provided Henry with opportunity
Assess the reasons for the break with Rome:
Money:
Could have been a motivation as Henry demanded that clearly pay a £118,000 fine in return for being pardoned for their praemunire in 1531
Act of First Fruits and Tenth hugely increased revenue Henry received from clerical taxes
Biggest financial windfall came from dissolution of monasteries in 1539
Why couldn’t Wolsey get the annulment:
Catherine never deviated from her claim that she had been a virgin when she married Henry
Aunt of HRE who was not happy that his aunt should be humiliated and who controlled Rome
Foreign situation prevented Pope granting a divorce as Pope was under control of Charles V
Diplomatic revolution put England in the wrong camp
Henry’s biblical arguments were weak and opposed by Deuteronomy
The years of “drift”:
Calling Parliament should have precipitated some action, but instead policy seemed frozen
Basically King had chosen his old friend Sir Thomas More to be Wolsey’s replacement and he was opposed to the annulment
Cranmer’s contribution to the annulment:
Canvassed universities in Europe to get theologians to support Henry
Helped compile the collectanea satis copiosa which supported Henry’s ideas that the monarch should have supreme authority over the church
Pressurised the church into annulment:
1531- church was fined for Praemunire and told could avoid charge is paid a fine of £100,000 and agreed that Henry was supreme head of the church
1532- House of Commons petitioned the King to take action against clerics who a bused their legal powers in the supplication against the ordinaries
Act in restraint of appeals:
March 1533 act was passed setting out Henry’s legal positions as Head of the English church
All legal cases, even of a spiritual nature could be settled in England
No right of appeal to Rome
Catherine could therefore not appeal when Cranmer announced her marriage null and void
Reasons for the lack of opposition to the religious changes:
Until 1536 there was not a lot of opposition because there had been little change
King replaced the Pope as head of the church, but there had been no change to the doctrine or ritual and mass continued as before
How did Henry control people and opposition:
Religious oath
Made everyone important take a holy oath which meant that Henry had public affirmation and support
Any that could not bring themselves to take the oath were charged with Treason
What contribution did Thomas Cromwell make in enabling the break with Rome?
Cromwell was a lawyer and an evangelical reformer who helped draft the legislation and drive bills through parliament to become statute law
Impact of Cromwell:
In seven sessions of the Reformation Parliament Cromwell steered through a mass of legislation that broke the English ties to Rome
Established the Roman supremacy and moved England on the path to Protestant reform
How many monasteries were there in 1536 and what was there purpose:
In 1536 there were 800 monasteries that prayed for the souls of the dead, helped heal the sick, provided charity for the poor, educated the young, employed labourers on the land and prayed
Dissolution of the monasteries:
Valor Ecclesiasticus
1535 Cromwell sent out group of men to investigate wealth of the church
Report revealed fantastic wealth held by the monastic houses - monastic income was three times greater than the revenues generated by Crown lands
Dissolution of the monasteries:
Visitations 1535
Cromwell sent out men to investigate standards in monasteries
Report, the comperta would justify intervention from the King because they found so much corruption, but tales of immortality were exaggerated
What was the effect of the closure of the monasteries:
Abbeys were plundered and great medical artwork was destroyed
Buildings were wreaked
Monks and nuns were turned out
Land that belonged to religious houses was sold cheaply to the gentry and nobility
Poor and sick now had nowhere to go
King made so much money the court of augmentations had to be set up
Act of Ten Articles:
1536 - probably complied by Cranmer
Said images were useful for reminders not objects of worship
Only included 3 sacrament - baptism, Eucharist, penance
Luthers principle of salvation by Faith was outlined in moderate conservative way
England’s religion was not definitely Protestant
Act of six articles:
1539
Said priests ought not to marry
Ordinary lay people shall not take wine
Confirmed transubstantiation - very Catholic
Act reaffirmed Catholic ideas and ensured heretics would be severely punished
Henry demonstrating he was still a true Catholic
Serious opposition:
Lincolnshire rebellion
Rumour began to circulate that in addition to dissolving smaller monasteries, the commissioners were intending to strip churches of gold
On 1 October local men at Louth arrived to guard church
On 4 October Bishop of Lincoln’s chancellor was killed in frenzy of violence
Gentry joined revolt and drew up list of grievances known as Lincoln articles
Opposition to religious changes: Pilgrimage of Grace
10 October Robert Aske became leader of rebels on Yorkshire who called themselves pilgrims
Numbers swelled to 30,000
All men took an oath to defend the church and be loyal to the King
Marched under the banner of the 5 wounds of Christ to Pontefract Castle which was handed over to them by Lord Darcy
Dangers of the pilgrimage of Grace:
Between 30 and 40,000 men joined the rebellion 3x larger than the Kings army
Joined y the Percy family of Northumberland and some gentry
Henry was afraid might get help from Catholic powers abroad
Was sympathy in the South
Kings response to the pilgrimage of Grace:
Wanted to fight them and would not compromise, but Duke of Norfolk persuaded him to negotiate
Norfolk met with Aske and said rebels would be pardoned
Parliament would be held to discuss their grievances
No more monasteries would be suppressed till parliament met
Aske invited to court for Christmas
Failure of the pilgrimage of Grace:
Easily put down because rebels trusted in Henry’s promises
Henry used it as an excuse to turn on the larger monasteries
Second dissolution act:
By 1540 none of 800 abbeys were left
Henry benefitted because wealth of the monasteries had been enormous
Possessed most of the churches riches
Pontefract articles:
Religion not only cause. Factors such as
Enclosure
Taxes
Low born advisers
Inflation caused by poor harvests
How Protestant did England become by Henry’s death?
Typical Catholic Church remained largely the same
In fact in 1547 when Henry died churched still looked as they originally had
