Henry VIII - The Great Matter Flashcards
Causes of the Great Matter
- Henry began to question his marriage to Catherine as against God’s Law due to his lack of a male heir
- Clement refused to revoke his marriage to Catherine, as it would require him to revoke the dispensation granted to Henry by Julius II (the arrangement for Catherine to marry twice)
- Anne Boleyn became pregnant in 1533, meaning Henry had to re-marry in order to prevent the child from becoming illegitimate
- As evidenced by his French Campaigns, Henry was obsessed with getting his own way
Reasons for the Failure of the Annulment
- Wolsey himself lacked the power to declare the marriage invalid, even as Papal Legate
- 16 July 1520 - Clement grants Catherine’s request to hold an inquest in Rome rather than England
- Catherine was related to Charles V of Spain, who had coincidentally sacked Rome and taken the Pope hostage - this served as a detriment to Henry’s efforts
- Issues with Campeggio (see separate card)
Events of 1529
- Failure of the Blackfriar’s Court (court set up in England to decide the legitimacy of Henry and Catherine’s marriage)
- Fall of Wolsey
- Emergence of Cromwell and Cranmer
- Change in direction of policy - by 1530, the Reformation Parliament begins and the government begins passing Acts to cut ties with Rome
Act In Restraint of Annates
- 1532 - Annates were payments made to the Pope from Bishops. Their prohibition would no doubt cause the Pope to refuse Papal bulls of consecration for new Bishops
- This was at first temporary - the clergy were bitter, whilst Commons feared reprisals
Submission of the Clergy
- 1532 - Establishes the King as the head of the Church
- All clergy are made to look to Henry as their leader and the convocation (Assembly of clergymen) can only meet when he says
- Sir Thomas More resigns over this and is later executed for doing so
New Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1532 - Cranmer replaces Warham as the new Archbishop of Canterbury
- Henry received Papal bulls for Cranmer’s consecration but no word on the validity of his marriage to Catherine
- Cranmer divorces Henry and Catherine regardless and marries him to Anne twice just to be sure
Act in Restraint of Appeals
1532 - Ends appeals to Rome and has them heard by English Courts instead. This prevents Catherine from making any more appeals to the Pope
Act of Succession
1534 - Reorders the line of succession so as to bastardise Catherine’s children in favour of Anne’s
Act of Dispensations
1534 - Stops all payments to Rome. All future dispensations (allowing exemptions from canon law) would be issued to the Archbishop of Canterbury instead of the Pope
Act of Supremacy and Treason Act
- 1534 - Henry becomes “Supreme Head of the Church” - no King of England has had this power before
- The Treason Act makes any denial of the Act of Supremacy a treasonable offence, both in speech and writing
Significance of the death of Julius II’s death
1513 - Clement cannot revert his predecessor’s decisions
Significance of Cardinal Campeggio
- September 1528- Campeggio arrived in England, but had specifically been instructed by Clement to stall for time
- January 1529 - Catherine appeals to Rome despite Wolsey and Campeggio’s wishes
- 1532 - Establishes the King as the head of the Church
- All clergy are made to look to Henry as their leader and the convocation (Assembly of clergymen) can only meet when he says
- Sir Thomas More resigns over this and is later executed for doing so
Submission of the Clergy
1532 - Ends appeals to Rome and has them heard by English Courts instead. This prevents Catherine from making any more appeals to the Pope
Act in Restraint of Appeals
- 1532 - Ends payments made to the Pope from Bishops. Their prohibition would no doubt cause the Pope to refuse Papal bulls of consecration for new Bishops
- This was at first temporary - the clergy were bitter, whilst Commons feared reprisals
Act in Restraint of Annates
