The Reformation Parliament and the establishment of Royal Supremacy Flashcards
Who replaced Wolsey as Lord Chancellor?
Thomas More
What was the main difference between Wolsey and Thomas More?
- Wolsey was more prepared to seize opportunities and to act flexibly in interests of the king whilst More withheld high and rigid principles (especially with religion)
- More was less keen to be pragmatic and do whatever Henry wanted
Why did Henry VIII like Thomas More’s writings?
Because they portrayed Richard III as an enemy
What did Thomas More think about Henry’s divorce plans?
- He sympathised with Catherine of Aragon
- .Even though he was a humanist, he thought that a reform could come about with steady persuasion, rather than large change
Who did Thomas More persecute against in 1528, and 1530-1531?
Reformers and Lutheranism followers
What did Thomas More include in his book ‘Utopia’?
- The Selfish intentions of land-owners and their exploitation of tenants
- Criticised enclosure
What was Thomas More’s work disrupted by?
Anne Boleyns presence at court and the question of divorce
What were the 2 different interpretations of Anne Boleyns character?
- Held domineering ways/ was assertive, and commited adultery and incest
- Was genuinely interested in reform but was betrayed by husband and family due to importance of succession
Why did religious reformers support Henry’s want for a divorce?
They wanted religious changes within the church as they shared the view that the church was the main obstacle to their ambitions
How did religious reformers try to support Henry’s appeal for a divorce?
They suggested the consolidation of royal power to protext and to develop the church in England
How did Henry initially react to the religious reformers plans to reform the church?
Initially, in 1520’s, he accepted Pope as supreme head
- He wrote a book called ‘the defence of the 7 sacraments’ and was awarded the title ‘defender of the faith’ for it
How did Henry’s ideas about who has supreme authority, start to change?
He was becoming familiar with the idea that royal authority was supreme above any power because of books like ‘The Obedience of the Christian Man’ by William Tyndale
- He was also being influenced by Cromwell and Boleyn
What were Henry’s main objectives between the years 1529-1534?
- Initially, it was to put pressure on clergy/pope to not oppose him in his attempts to divorce
- Then he moved to directly challenging the Popes authority
Why couldnt Henry implement his main divorce objectives as early as 1527?
He had to wait for the right conditions
- He needed to delay until he could appoint supporters into positions within the church e.g. He had to wait until the Bishop of Canterbury’s death
What evidence is there to suggest that Henry did not want an open split with Rome?
- Prohibition of annateswas suspended for a year and then only applied with Kings approval, suggesting that Henry was hoping to use it as a bargaining chip in his negotiations for a divorce
- Pope had power to excommunicate Henry, so that oaths of loyalty no longer applied, and rebellions could be sanctioned
Was parliament entirely anti-clerical and give evidence?
No as opposition to the act of annates showed that anti-clericalism was not a commonly held view
How exactly did Henry place pressure on the clergy/pope in the years 1529-1531
- 1529: Parliament encouraged to voice anti-clerical feelings & Cromwell collects evidence of abuses
- 1530: 15 of upper clergy accused of supporting Wolsey’s abuse of power and Scholars sent to
european unis to find support for Henry’s divorce - 1531: Henry pardons sinful clergy as long as they recognise him as supreme head
How exactly did Henry place pressure on the clergy/pope in the years 1532-1533?
- 1532: Cromwell introduces supplication of ordinaries (petition calling on king to deal with corruption of clergy)
- Henry demands ‘submission of the clergy’, giving him power to veto church laws and choose bishops himself
- Prohibition of annates - 1533: Act in restraint of appeals denies subjects the right to appeal to pope against decisions in English church (prevented Catherine of Aragon from seeking popes arbitration)
What kind of background did Cromwell come from?
A humble background
Who helped Cromwell gain power by 1530?
Wolsey
Give evidence of Cromwell slowly gaining power by 1530.
1524: Develops successful legal practise
1529: Became MP
Give a few of Cromwell’s roles from 1530-1540
1531: Member of royal council
1533: Chancellor of the exchequer
1536: Lord Privy Seal
1540: Lord Great Chamberlain and Earl of Essex
Who was Thomas Cramner and what did he do to help Henry break with Rome?
A protestant reformer who was made archbishop of Canterbury in 1532, in order to put pressure on the Catholic Church
- In 1533, a court was convened under him, which brought together the arguments for a divorce
What was the Act of Supremacy?
An act in 1534 that ACKNOWLEDGED the king as the head of the church, recognising Henry’s actions as legal so that parliament could set up the framework to make it legally forceable
How did Henry try to enforce the Act of Supremacy?
He passed a ‘treason act’, which made the denial of royal supremacy a crime punishable by death
What was the importance of Cromwells role as Vicar General in 1535?
It gave him the power to oversee the running and organisation of the church
What was the importance of the act of Supremacy in the SHORT TERM
The dissolution of the monasteries
What was the imprptance of the act of Supremacy in the LONG TERM?
Affected religion in country
Give 3 aspects that shows Henry’s attempts in moving authority away from the pope, in order to gain a divorce
- Act of Supremacy
- The treason Act
- Dissolution of the monasteries
Give 2 financial aspects that helped Henry gain a divorce
- First Fruit and Tenths
2. Conditional restraint of annates
Give 2 church laws that helped Henry control the church, in order to gain a divorce
- Submission of the clergy
2. Act in restraint of appeals
