Henry VIII: character and aims; addressing Henry VII’s legacy

Question 1

what was the legacy of henry vii

Answer 1

Henry VII left around £300,000 at his death.
* The way of extracting money using the Council Learned was very unpopular.
* A peaceful foreign policy
* A conciliar form of government; decisions were made through a council

Question 2

what were the early aims of henry viii

Answer 2

• To establish his status amongst the European monarchs through marriage.
• To re-establish the role of the nobility.
• To establish himself as a warrior king through success in battle.

Question 3

what was henry viii mariage to catherine of aragon

Answer 3

• A marriage had been arranged between Henry and Catherine after
  his brother, Arthur’s, death. However, Henry VII had delayed it.
• Henry VIII wanted to arrange the marriage as quickly as possible.
  They married on 11 June 1509.
• The marriage was initially successful on a personal level.

Question 4

how did henry viii re-establish the nobility

Answer 4

• The nobility had been frozen out by Henry VII and had not been able to pursue military
  glory because of his peaceful foreign policy.
• Henry had grown up with the sons of these nobles. They accompanied him to France.
• The nobles did not achieve political dominance, however, because of the rise of Thomas
  Wolsey.

Question 5

what was henry viii later aims

Answer 5

Henry did not have consistent aims. He was preoccupied with the pursuit of glory and the
succession but other than that he was not particularly interested in the business of
government. He usually gave precedence to the pursuit of pleasure.
* Henry could be ruthless, as was seen in his treatment of Empson and Dudley. He could
resort to execution for treason on the flimsiest of charges.
* He could also be impulsive, as seen through his speedy marriage to Catherine. He came
to regret his decision to execute Cromwell.

Question 6

what was henry viii early parliament

Answer 6

Before the 1530s Henry saw Parliament’s function as granting extraordinary revenue to
the Crown and passing laws.
* Before 1529, Henry only summoned parliaments in 1510, 1512, 1515 and 1523.
* Only one parliament was called during Wolsey’s time in office and he seems to have
regarded it with some distaste.
* Parliament met more regularly in the second half of the reign when it was used to help
drive through the Reformation.

Question 7

how did wolsey end the governance by council

Answer 7

Some of the senior councillors, Warham and Fox, did not
wish to go to war with France.
❖ Henry wanted to assert his control over decision making.
❖ Henry surrounded himself with nobles who were
suspicious of these older councillors.
❖ He became aware of Wolsey’s organisational skills and
he had made war with France possible.