Henry VIII plans Flashcards
“The most important reason for Wolsey’s fall from power was his failure to obtain a divorce for Henry VIII” How far do you agree?
HC —> Wolsey, a butchers son from Ipswich, originally started out as a royal almoner but after H7 death progressed to Henrys right hand man who obtained full control of England’s foreign policy following the 1513 Battle of Spurs. He was very religious, hated by nobles and due to his heritage was rather easy for Henry to dispose of.
Criteria: Annulment, Failures in foreign policy and noble plot/hatred from the Boleyn faction
Claim: Mostly agree
Para 1: H8 main goal when becoming king was to get an “heir and a spare” in order to continue the Tudor Heritage, therefore after failing to do such with COA, his ultimate goal was to secure an annulment, therefore due to his nature, anyone who stood in his way would fall, and due to Wolseys position and the impossibility of a divorce due to the 1527 sacking of Rome it was inevitable that Wolsey would get the blame, if it was not for Wolsey would of continued doing what he does. The importance of Wolseys failure to obtain this annulment can be seen by his rapid fall from power past this point. Wolsey had enjoyed a solid 15 years in power under Henry VIII by this point, yet this one event caused all his previous success to mean nothing in the eyes of Henry
Para 2: Failures of FP also could of greatly contributed to his fall. H8 aims of FP was to have great prestige, security and for England to be in the dead centre of European affairs, whilst having an adequate amount of money. However, in the end this failed. Evidence being the financial loss of the 1520 field of the cloth of gold, the 1525 amicable grant, and the fact that England was not included, or even informed in the 1529 paix des dames, showing how Henrys FP needs were not met. However we can say that the reason Wolsey was even in power by time of the annulment and the Kings Great Matter was due to his successes in foreign policy. This includes the 1513 Battle of Spurs and the Treaty of London, which were huge political and militaristic successes. The Treaty of London specifically, described as a “glittering success” c.f. Doran was huge for the prestige of England and their importance in European affairs, as the major leaders in Europe descended on the capital to unite against the ottoman empire.
Para 3: Wolseys rise angered many nobles as they believed in the first among equals way of ruling and thought that they should have as much access to Henry as Wolsey. Also things like the slowing down of enclosures also fuelled this hatred as Wolsey took 260 of the ruling class to court over illegal enclosing in 1517. tried to slow the wealth of the nobles. This hatred also led to Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk and the Duke of Suffolk to try and take Wolsey down through Henrys new obsession Anne Boleyn. After failing to get the annulment, Anne insisted that Wolsey was working for the pope and purposely trying to not get the annulment, causing him to be charged with praemunire. Therefore was the hatred from the nobles and Boleyn faction. Wolsey was also very unpopular due to the introduction of subsidies (taxation system) and increasing the use of the star chamber.
Conclusion: Therefore mostly agree that the annulment was the main cause however there were more factors involved, like his failure in FP, and the influence from the Duke of Norfolk and Anne Boleyn which caused Wolsey’s downfall.
“Henry treated him more as a partner than a servant” c.f. John Guy
“It was Wolsey alone who guided english affairs” c.f. Scarisbrick
“Treaty of London was a glittering success” c.f. Doran
Assess the reasons for the Dissolution of the Monasteries
INCOMPLETE
HC -> The pilgrimage of faith was a revolt in Yorkshire that was a direct reaction to the proposed dissolution of the smaller monasteries, which would of impacted many lives, pragmatically and religiously.
Criteria: Reasons for the POF: Financial, Stopping opposition to the break from Rome, Pragmatic reasons, Shift towards church reform
Claim: Most important reason is the Financial aspect
Para 1: Financial (The dissolution): The Monasteries accounted for a large portion of crown expenses. Therefore Henry saw the dissolution of the monasteries as a way to gain fast cash in order to defend himself against a possible Catholic Crusade. Furthermore, the funds recouped from the over 800 monasteries, abbeys, nunneries and friaries also went to finance new institutions like Christ Church in Oxford. The financial aspect can be seen through the delay between the dissolution of the smaller and larger houses. In 1536, the Act of Dissolution passed, dissolving all religious houses with a net income of under 200 per annum. This act even praised the larger houses, and many people were expected to transfer to the larger ones, suggesting that the dissolution of the larger monasteries were not planned. However the great financial gain from the dissolution of the smaller monasteries prompted the dissolution of the larger monasteries. Henry also needed money at the time to stop the 1534 Geraldine rebellion, in which his title as the head of the church was being threatened by Thomas Fitzgerald.
Para 2: Stopping opposition to the break of Rome. By dissolving the monasteries, Henry was able to get rid of some of his strongest opponents to the break of Rome, like the Franciscans and Carthusians. Furthermore, Henry could easily pacify his higher ranking critics by using the newly gained land to sell off to wealthy nobles. Therefore, using the wealth to pacify the richer elite to stop opposing him. Furthermore, the monasteries were still accustom to unnecessary papist practices like chantry and praying for the dead, which due to the move away from the belief of purgatory via the reformation, this was rendered unnecessary. Many of them were also seen as the last bastions of popery, with Henry believing that many of them owed allegiance to Rome first; many were exempt from visitations via English bishops and looked for spiritual and temporal guidance from Rome
Para 3: Corruption in the Church and foreign influence: The monasteries at the time were accused of being morally and spiritually lax by Henry, and even monetary corrupt after the findings of Cromwell’s 1535 Valor Ecclesiasticus. There were also more isolated examples of a wider corruption. This, alongside the continental influence of other religious houses in the Germanic lands and Scandinavia which gave a model of what is possible in England, and the rise of ideas from Erasmus, Tyndale and Fish also gained some sort of popularity in England.
How successful was Henry 8 in achieving his aims as king in the period from 1509
to 1529?
HC –> Henry VIII came to the throne in 1509. He was a renaissance prince, who unlike his predecessor, shifted his focus from the administrative aspect, to the more immediate and prestigious aspect, with his eyes set on becoming the most prestigious king in Europe at the time.
Criteria: Henrys aims: Prestige/Political significance in Europe, Dynasty/Dynastic Security (includes heir and a spare), security, finance.
Para 1: Battle of Flodden Field 1513. England defeated Scotland in battle despite being heavily outnumbered. James 4 also died here, as a result Henrys sister Margaret was placed as interim as James 5 was too young. This increased the security of England as the Tudor Dynasty now had influence over Scotland, therefore stopping things like border incursions, whilst increasing Henrys prestige as they had defeated Frances allies from the Auld Alliance whilst being outnumbered, still managing to kill their king, and also increased their dynastic influence. Meeting Henrys aims of Security and Prestige, whilst also increasing dynastic influence.
Para 2: 1511 Holy league was an alliance between the pope, Spain, England and the HRE and guaranteed security through alliance. This led to the Battle of Spurs, which was a huge victory for England. Therefore showing England’s prestige and importance in European affairs. Furthermore, in 1518 the Treaty of London was signed between HRE, France, England and Spain against the Ottoman Empire. This showed England’s Prestige as it showed how England was in the centre of European affairs. However, this declined rapidly as evident in 1529, as one of the biggest peace deals to end the Italian wars (Paix des dames) was signed whilst England was completely left out, not even informed. Therefore, despite having some prestige and importance early on, it is clear that by the end of this time period, that Prestige was completely gone and worthless. Therefore Henry did not meet him aim.
Para 3: Finance took a big hit during this time. Firstly, the 1513 Battle of Flodden field and Battle of Spurs, and the 1512 incursion to France cost a lot of money. This damaged England’s ability to push for their other aims to be met. Money was particularly thin after the 1520 Field of the Cloth of gold, which, (despite gaining some prestige), was a great financial burden. This huge loss in finance can be seen when Henry wanted to invade France during their time in the Italian Wars, however, due to the lack of funds, Wolsey had to issue the 1525 amicable grant, however as this was not passed through parliament, this caused the 1525 Amicable grant rebellion. Showing how the aims of finance was not met at this time and even had knock on effects to domestic security.
Para 4:
Henry initially married COA in 1509, increasing dynastic relations with Spain. In 1518, Henry betrothed daughter Mary to Dauphin, increasing dynastic ties to France In 1519 (this broke down in 1521). At 1527, daughter Mary betrothed to Francis I at the treaty of perpetual peace. Yet despite all of this increasing dynastic relations, Henry did not yet have an heir. In 1519, his illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy was born, yet could not be relied on as he was illegitimate. Yet after having a bunch of stillborn with COA and only 1 surviving baby, Mary born in 1516, Henry still had no heir, therefore by the end of 1529, started to look for an annulment from COA after being heirless. Therefore did not meet his aim of having a legitimate heir to continue the Tudor bloodline despite increasing dynastic relations.
Conclusion:
Despite the successes of wars such as Battle of Spurs 1513 and Battle of Flodden Field 1513 Henry did not meet his aims at the end by 1529 as he had limited finance as seen by the 1525 amicable grant rebellion, and also had no heir, whilst not being at the centre of European affairs by 1529 as seen with the Peace of Cambrai. “if Henry VIII’s wars satisfied his ‘honour’ and exercised his manhood, they were still wasteful and ineffective” c.f John Guy
“Treaty of London was a glittering success” c.f. Doran
“if Henry VIII’s wars satisfied his ‘honour’ and exercised his manhood, they were still wasteful and ineffective” c.f John Guy
“Henry VIII was, unlike his father, a warmongering monarch” c.f. Ross.
How successful were Wolsey’s domestic policies?
HC -> Wolsey, a butchers son from Ipswich, started out as Royal Almoner for Henry had a frivalous rise to power under Henry 8. “It was Wolsey alone who guided English affairs” c.f. Scarisbrick and was even known as the alter rex to Henry VIII, in charge of most policies in England acting as Henrys chief advisor.
Criteria: Financial policies, Judicial Policies, Encolsures and his relationship with the ruling class and Parliamentary Policies
Claim: Partially
Para 1: Financial. Wolsey replaced the fifteenths and tenths tax system with subsidies, which was more hurtful to the more wealthy. In 1522, he sent commissioners were dispatched to localities to evaluate wealth, he used this to raise 200 000 in forced loans. Between 1513-1529, Wolsey raised 325 000 in parliamentary taxes, 118 000 from 15th and 10ths and 250 000 in loans. In 1525, when Henry wanted to go to war with France as they were engaged in the Battle of Pavia. He could not pass a tax through parliament, therefore Wolsey issued the amicable grant which caused backlash and the amicable grant rebellion. Very unsuccessful, Wolsey had to personally apologise and Henry claimed no knowledge, this is known as the start of his downfall. in 1526, Wolsey tried to reduce crown expenditure with the Eltham Ordinances, but this failed as it was too difficult ot enforce. Overall, finance raised a lot of money however was not enough due to the aggressive and expensive foreign policy, these policies also caused resentment among the ruling classes.
Para 2: Justice: Wolsey promoted civil law over common law which was seen as much more progressive, he frequently used his court to overturn common law verdicts. He also increased the use of the Star Chamber from 12 to 120, which made him more popular among the lower classes and less popular among the ruling classes. However, Wolsey abused his power, with an example being with the Duke of Buckingham or the treatment of Sir Amyas Paulet. Positives from justice is that he endorsed a progressive legal system and justice against corrupt ruling classes. However, due to the increase in the Court of the Star Chamber, he observed a significant backlog in cases by 1529 and could not keep up with them.
Para 3: Parliamentary. Parliament only met 2 during his ascendancy and they only met when the king needed them, this significantly angered the MPs, hurting their relationship with Wolsey, making it harder for policies to pass through as evidence with the tax to invade France in 1525 being denied, leading to the Amicable Grant and its respective rebellion. Also in 1519, Wolsey underwent a purge of the Privy Chamber expelling many and giving them other more less significant jobs, making the king less accessible and causing more people to hate wolsey.
Para 4: Enclosures. Wolsey slowed down enclosures, which was aimed at reducing the wealth of the nobles and helping the poor. Nobles like Richard Rich hated this and made him even more hated by nobles. This led to a national enquiry into enclosure in 1517, in which 260 of those responsible for illegal enclosure stood trial and were ordered to rebuild land they took and return to arable farming. This is good as it showed that Wolsey was trying to help out the poor and his ability to challenge the aristocracy, however enclosure still occurred and in 1523 he had to accept all existing enclosures, showing he never had complete power. Therefore partially good.
Conclusion: Not really successful as all reforms were never sustained (Eltham Ordanances 1526) for long and made him more of a target for the nobles. And the Amicable Grant 1525 was calamitous and is known by many as the start of his downfall.
“Wolsey gloried in the majesty of a judge” c.f. Elton
“It was Wolsey alone who guided English affairs” c.f. Scarisbrick
How far do you agree with the claim that Henry VIII successfully quashed his religious opposition?
HC –> When coming to the throne in 1509, H8 was a devout catholic. Yet by 1534 Henry had broke from Rome, pursuing “via media” (the middle road between Catholicism and Protestantism) sparking the creation of many religious policies, like the act of supremacy and succession in 1534, which led to many forms of opposition.
Criteria –> Whether his religious policies survived, Whether his opposition was able to come back a second time, Were they easily destroyed, whether the opposition managed to weaken Henry
Claim –> Mostly. His policies survived at the cost of stirring up resentment for himself.
Para 1: Oath of Succession which was imposed by the Act of Supremacy in 1534, was an oath people had to take in which they recognised that the kings marriage to Anne Boleyn was legal. Thomas More a well known catholic and someone respected in the community refused to take the Oath. As a result he was beheaded in 1535, used as a deterrent by Henry. Showing how Henry successfully quashed his religious opposition
Para 2: The POG in 1536 which followed the Lincoln Uprising was the biggest threat to Henry VIII’s reign. It was ultimately caused by the dissolution of the smaller monasteries which led to the Lincoln Uprising, which then caused the POG. Henry squashed this inviting Robert Aske for negotiations over Christmas, before murdering him as he reached back in his home in York. Despite being a success, you can say that not all of Henrys policies survived, as in 1537 4 of the 7 sacraments were eventually reinstated in the bishops book.
Para 3: Reginald Pole from 1532-1547 was never caught. Reginald had a claim to the throne and went around Europe trying to gain support for the POG, he was even supported by Henry Courtenay, a member of Henry VIII’s privy chamber, showing how Henrys religious opposition was not just confined to the lower classes. Henry Courtenay was executed in 1538, however Reginald Pole was never caught.
Para 4: Opposition can be seen also through Bishop John Fisher, he was the Bishop of Rochester since 1504 and believed that Henrys actions were wrong. Bishop Fisher refused to accept the Oath of Succession, as a result, despite being promoted to a cardinal by the pope, he was charged with high treason and executed. Elizabeth Barton had acquired local fame for her spiritual visions that she had acquired after recovering from a fatal illness. After 1528, these visions turned towards the kings divorce, turning against the King and starting many rumours about his marriage to Anne Boleyn. In response, Henry arrested Barton, who later confessed that her visions were fake, subsequently being executed in 1534.
c. f. Lipsole “Annus Horribilis”
c. f. De Lisle “ [pilgrimage of grace] called for the reversal of religious change and overthrow of king heretical councillors bur also for the repeal of statute of illegitimacy”
c. f. De Lisle “Henry VIII now determined to forge a new religious unity within a reformed English Catholic Church that was humanist Christo centric anti papal and biblical”
Henry VIII’s victory at Solway Moss was the most successful aspect of his foreign policy from 1509-1547
HC —> Henry wanted James V and Scotland to join England in the reformation. James V was married to Marie De Guise (she was French) therefore was pro catholic so was reluctant to accept. After a failed meetup, the two sides met on the fields of Solway Moss in 1542, the English won despite being heavily outnumbered.
Criteria —-> Henrys FP Aims: Financial, Prestige, Dynasty, Security.
Claim: Completely Disagree
Para 1: Battle of Solway Moss in 1542 was a success in some areas. James V died during the battle and only 7 Englishmen were killed. This gave Henry ample prestige whilst weakening the scots, granting short term security. However, it was a failure dynastically, as the proposed Treaty of Greenwich which followed this which would of seen Edward betrothed to Mary Queen of Scots did not occur, as she was betrothed to Francis II.
Para 2: A greater success was the Treaty of London in 1518. Henrys main goal was to be in the centre of European affairs, and this is evidence of this. This was a treaty signed by many major European powers against Suliman the Great of the Ottoman Empire. As it was directed by the English and signed in England, it shows how after this point, the English held great influence in European affairs and consequently the amount of prestige held by the country, whereas the Battle of Solway-Moss was simply the English defeating Scotland, which proved influence of no such extent.
Para 3: Battle of Flodden field 1513 is another battle between Scotland and England during Henry VIII’s reign, however this one was much more successful. Whilst very similar to Solway Moss, in the fact that the English had been victorious whilst at a huge disadvantage, what makes the Battle of Flodden Field more successful is that following the death of James IV in the battle. Henry VIII’s sister Margaret Tudor was placed as the interim leader of Scotland. As a result, this extended the security of England and its dynastic links, something which the battle of Solway-Moss did not do.
Para 4: The Battle of Spurs in 1513 was more successful. Despite being costly, England prevailed over the French in order to capture Tournai and Therouanne, resulting in a major victory over the French, gaining England huge prestige and making Henry look like the militaristic noble king he wanted, whereas the Battle of Solway Moss, despite gaining England prestige, was towards the very end of Henry’s reign were his reputation and overall well being was already damaged, therefore its effects were extremely restricted due to it being in his dying days.
Conclusion: Not the most successful, Treaty of London most successful.
“Treaty of London was a glittering success” c.f. Doran
How far do you support the view that Henry VIII was controlled by factions in the 1540’s
HC —> Towards the end of Henry VIII reign he was of ill health, trying to secure a peaceful succession to Henry VIII, this caused those around him to try to take advantage of this ravaged version of Henry VIII in order to attain greater influence of English policies, these two factions: Conservatives and Reformists, successful or not, undoubtedly fought for Henry’s influence.
Criteria: Extent of i
c.f. Foxe “According as his council was about him, so was he led”
Assess the reasons for the fall of Thomas Cromwell:
Para 1: Marriage to Anne of
