key profiles

Question 1

Thomas Wolsey
c1471-1530

Answer 1

• Became the royal almoner upon Henry VIII’s accession (distributing money as charity to the needy on behalf of the King)
• He came to Henry’s attention due to his organisational abilities
• He became more like a chief minister, interposing himself between the king and the experience councillors who were increasingly frozen out by Wolsey’s influence
• Became Archbishop of York and a cardinal in 1514, and Lord Chancellor in 1515

Question 2

Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey and second Duke of Norfolk
1443-1524

Answer 2

• Came from a distinguished Yorkist family
• Fought for Richard III in the Battle of Bosworth, after which he was imprisoned and attained for treason
• Was restored to his title in 1489 when he suppressed the Yorkshire Rebellion and led the victorious English army at the Battle of Flodden with Scotland
• Was promoted to the Duchy of Norfolk
• Served both Henry VII and VIII as a soldier and administrator

Question 3

Thomas Cromwell
c1485-1540

Answer 3

• Rose from a humble background to become a lawyer and secretary to Wolsey
• Became principal secretary to Henry VIII
• He was the one who suggested Henry placed himself as the head of the English Church
• Masterminded the dissolution of the monasteries
• Fell from favour and was executed at the Tower of London on 28th July 1540

Question 4

William Warham
c1450-1532

Answer 4

• Archbishop of Canterbury from 1503
• Councillor under Henry VII
• Lost political influence under Henry VIII

Question 5

Thomas Cranmer
1489-1556

Answer 5

• Was a Cambridge academic
• Came to Henry VIII’s attention through the Collectanea Satis Copiosa
• Was burnt for heresy under the Catholic Queen Mary I

Question 6

Stephen Gardiner
c1495-1555

Answer 6

• Progressed initially in the service of Wolsey
• Became principal secretary to Henry VIII and the Bishop of Winchester
• Supported the break with Rome, but kept conservative Catholic views, which led to imprisonment under Edward VI
• Returned to favour under Mary I and was appointed Lord Chancellor

Question 7

Thomas Wriothesley
1505-50

Answer 7

• Owed his advancement to Cromwell’s patronage
• Appointed joint principal secretary in 1540
• Survived Cromwell’s downfall and attached himself to Gardiner
• Appointed Lord Chancellor in 1544
• Switched sides when involved in the downfall of Norfolk in 1546

Question 8

Edward Seymour
c1500-52

Answer 8

• Marquis of Hertford and later Duke of Somerset
• Brother of Henry VIII’s third wife, Jane Seymour and uncle of Edward VI
• Became a soldier and very politically influential towards the end of Henry’s reign
• Lord Protector to Edward before his downfall in 1549

Question 9

Francis I of France
1494-1547

Answer 9

• Reigned from 1515-47
• He and Henry were intense rivals, but at times they were willing to ally due to their suspicions of Emperor Charles V

Question 10

Charles V
1500-58

Answer 10

• Successively Duke of Burgundy
• King of Spain from 1516-56
• Made HRE in 1519-56
• Dominant ruler in western Europe
• Nephew of Catherine of Aragon

Question 11

John, Baron Russell and Earl of Bedford
c1485-1555

Answer 11

• Had a long career as a courtier
• Served Henry VIII as a diplomat and soldier
• Became a councillor in 1536
• Following Exeter’s fall, he was granted huge amounts of monastic land in Devon to gain royal support in the southwest

Question 12

Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exeter
c1498-1538

Answer 12

• Grandson of Edward IV
• Dominant in the southwest
• Had a close relationship with Henry but his identification with the Aragonese faction and his hostility to Cromwell strained this