Wolsey's Fall Flashcards
What were the main reasons for Wolsey’s fall?
There was the collapse his anti-Habsburg strategy in Europe (foreign policy from 1525) and his inability to obtain a divorce for the king
What were the foreign policy failures associated with Wolsey?
The amicable Grant, and their inability to capitalise after Francis was captured at Pavia - Wolsey was removed from his position two weeks after Cambria despite managing to get into the treaty at the last minute
What religious justification did Henry VIII use to claim he wanted a divorce?
He believed his marriage was against God’s will and that he shouldn’t have been allowed to marry Catherine of Aragon in the first place, so argued that the marriage was invalid. In order to marry Catherine he had obtained papal dispensation, and it was possible that doubts began to rise about whether the pope had the authority to give dispensation, especially if the marriage was consummated. These concerns were given further evidence through a lack of a son through the marriage, which Henry saw as God’s punishment, supported by the latin translation of Leviticus, and although Henry had Mary, the Hebrew version specifies the lack of sons
What was Henry’s practical reason behind wanting the divorce?
The marriage with Catherine had failed to produce a male heir to secure the succession of the Tudor dynasty. On the 17th May 1527 Henry had his illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy with mistress Elizabeth of Blount the Duke of Richmond in 1525 and sent him to run the council in the North to gain some experience in government, suggesting that he was considered a possible successor. Further, Catherine was 40, her last pregnancy was in 1518 and Henry had stopped sleeping with her in 1524. More concerns were raised at a visit to France in 1528 when questions of Mary’s legitimacy were raised during the marriage negotiations
What was the personal reason that Henry wanted the divorce?
Love for Anne Boleyn - Anne refused to sleep with Henry until he declared his wife, and Henry was influenced by Anne and the Boleyn faction
What was the scripture argument that Wolsey used to ask for the divorce?
A complete line of argument based on scripture to justify the divorce in the eyes of the Catholic Church - he argued that the validity of the marriage relied on Catherine’s word that her marriage to Prince Arthur had never been consummated. If this was not true, Henry had been misled and the marriage became invalid, and Wolsey was confident he could get the Pope to grant an annulment
What diplomatic measures against Charles V did Wolsey use to try and attain the divorce?
As Charles was Catherine’s nephew he was unlikely to support a divorce, and this posed more of an inconvenience as Charles was in control of Italy. Wolsey tried to free the pope from Charles’ influence by using an alliance with France and a renewal of warfare in Italy to distract the Emperor, but this failed because Charles was too strongly entrenched in the peninsula to be evicted by France
What legal efforts did Wolsey use to attempt to obtain the divorce?
He used the Blackfriars court. Wolsey tried to sidestep Charles’ control of the pope by holding the divorce hearings in England where he was Papal Legate and therefore could make the judgement. However, the Pope was still careful not to offend Charles V, so although he set up a commission to hear the divorce issue, he sent Cardinal Campeggio to England with strict instructions to delay the hearing and make sure a decision was never reached. When court finally met in 1529 to discuss the issue, Catherine refused to recognise it and immediately appealed to the pope to move hearings to Rome. This gave the pope opportunity to frustrate the divorce without openly offending Charles so he agreed and the English count was wound up. As it did so it became clear to Henry that Wolsey had run out of options for solving the divorce
Who were the Boleyn faction?
They were associates of the Boleyn family, and until Anne caught Henry’s eye, Wolsey’s enemies did not have a central figure that could be used to dislodge his power, and with the introduction of Anne there became a strong influence
How did the Boleyn faction contribute to Wolsey’s fall?
From 1527 supporters of Anne Boleyn do try to influence Henry into making a decision to remove Wolsey. However, Wolsey had to face lots of factions during his time as chief advisor and Lord Chancellor so this suggests that other factors were more important
How did Wolsey’s reputation and personal ambitions contribute to his fall?
He had gathered a great deal of enemies, and the examples made out of Paulet and Buckingham only contributed to this. Further, his legal and financial policy angered people, particularly the use of the Star Chamber and the Chancery, so removing nobles and access to the king was a real worry for Wolsey. Ambition and reputation led to personal enemies who would’ve influenced the King into his final decision
What happened to Wolsey in 1529?
In 1529 Wolsey was accused of Praemunire and removed from his post. Ill health led to his death on the 29th November 1530, saving him the disgrace of being tried for treason
