(X) topic 3 henry 8th and wolsey: the power couple Flashcards
define a renaissane man
someone who is open to new ideas in politics, culture & education
divine right -
the belief that many kings had that they had been appointed by god to rule
conformist -
someone who follows the rules of state
chivarly -
combination of qualities expected on an ideal knight: courage, honour, courtesy, justice and a readiness to help the weak
henry 8th and his tragic youth
in the spring of 1502, his brother died (making him the heir), his mother died the same year & his sister left him to become the queen of scotland
henrys views on kingship
he made no distinction of himself as a person and as a monarch - theyre one and the same
father didn’t teach him about leadership as the spare
obsessed with carrying on the dynasty and therefore getting a son
henrys initial issues on the throne
needs a wife & heir
people are rioting against henry 7th loosey
hates the council learned in law
reliance of councillers, no political experience
royal household -
people who look after the kings everyday needs
court -
vast body of people who live with / visit the king regularly
privy chamber -
overlooked his finances, advise the king, closer group of mates
royal council -
more official advisers who are more specialised: gentry, lawyers, etc.
what did henry 8th appoint wolsey that might suggest henry was a part time monarch
allowed wolsey, his minster, greater freedoms than his successor cromwell, leading to him being depicted as the alter rex (ie. the second king)
what was wolsey’s background like?
he was the son of a butcher and innkeeper from ipswich. bright from a young age, got a BA degree at the age of 15. became a priest for the job prospects. had to leave his first job as a bursur as he over spent without permission // shows he has a penchant for acting first thinking later
why did wolsey rise to power?
he grasped the fact that henry’s enthusiasm for war against france was serious, and he encouraged these warlike ambitions. he was wise and efficient, and stood out against all other powerful men. a very good speaker. wolsey was older than henry by quite a bit and exploited that. he got the job upon the resignation of archbishop warham of canterbury as well as bishop fox of winchester
3 key turning points that meant that wolsey was able to rise to power as henry’s chief minister
1514 in negotiations with france he prove himself to be an excellent diplomat
1515? henry insisted on wolsey becoming cardinal
1524 henry requested the resignation of archbishop wareham and appointed wolsey in his place
possible foreign policy threats when henry 8th ascends the throne
france and scotland, could be the war on 2 fronts
not part of the league of cambrai 1509 - diplomatically isolated
spain OK cos they have the marriage
france OK
burgundy, secured a trade deal
henrys aims
wants war / glory against france to gain the throne
but he cant afford it !
secure marriages and alliances like his father
european recognition of england as a major power
not very concerned about trade
wanted to unit england and scotland? disputed
SUCCESSES FAILUES treaty of london truce with france battle of flodden battle of the spurs tournai france FCG treaty of more
Field of the Cloth of Gold (1520)
Meeting between Francis I and Henry VIII in an attempt to prevent future wars.
League of Cognac (1526)
An alliance between France, the pope, Venice and Florence against Spain. England did not join.
Treaty of Cambrai (1529)
When Francis made peace with Charles, isolating England.
Treaty of London (1518)
Treaty involving 20 European rulers. They promised not to attack one another.
wolseys legal reforms
tried to make sure there were cheap and impartial courts available to the poor
✓ cute idea
✘ didnt do much to ensure it would continue after he left office, and so it didnt
wolseys financial reforms
introduced standard parlimentary tax
✓ tax would relate to how much u made and ur land which makes a lot of sense
✘ still not enough to finance henrys plans; unpopular
wolseys admin reforms
reformed privy chamber, to maximise efficiency but really it was about wolsey having the most influence as possible
wolseys relations with nobility (theyre not really friends)
✓ offered rewards to those who were willing to work with him eg. earl of worchester
✘ closely monitered them; they all hated him due to his rise to power that sort of came out of nowhere
wolseys social reform
tried to help the poor ish
✓ est. an inquiry into enclosed lands & action was taken against people who ignored those laws
✘ impact was small, only on 264 landowners
pluralist
someone who holds who holds more than one church at a time (illegal but oh well)
stipend
fixed regular sum paid as a salary or as expenses to someone
lollard
someone who believed that the church needed to focus more the bible/jeses. their ideas influenced martin luther + the introduction of the protestants
praemunire
praemunire - the offence of asserting the authority of the pope in england (against the supremacy of the monarch)
why might someone say he was everything that was wrong with the english church
pluralist, absent from his church often, didnt follow his vow of celibacy, used the church to fund his lifestyle
how important was wolsey to the church
as papal legate in 1518, he was essentially in charge of the church of england
what does the hunne case display
was a lawsuit that many people come back to as an example of injustices that made the english reformation inevitable
what happened to richard hunne and why
richard hunne was a rich merchant with reformist sympathies, who was imprisoned + murdered for waging an unprecedented lawsuit that challenged catholic intervention in civil affaris
how did hunne’s thing go
was found to possess the wycliffe bible & was imprisoned as a heretic
hunne’s body was found hanging in his cell. it was thought to be a suicide, but the coroner found he’d died from struggle. the jury ruled the death a homicide and 3 men went to prison for it, but onlu for a year
how did public perceptions change how the church ran
people were done with papal juristiction having the power to override secular law. it no longer made sense the public, as seen in the the hunne case
acknowling the clergy were ambitious + greedy, + often using resources for their own gain eg. thomas wolsey
there was a variety of other views that were spreading eg. the lollards, the humanists, and the lutherans and the protestants to turn to instead
stat that shows churches still had a firm hold on many smaller communities
many places the church was a part of the community, hosting festivals and church ales
many people were still leaving large sums of money in their will to the church (57% of people in devon + cornwall did so between 1520-29)
why did henry want to divorce catherine
shes told shes too old to have kids
henrys got his eyes on a younger thing
how did henry rationalise his want to divorce cath
it was convinces his marriage to catherine was against divine law (her being his sister in law beforehand) and that was why none of their children made it
why did the pope not grant the annulment
cath was charles (head of the roman empire)’s 5th aunt so charles doesnt want to not help her
wolsey didnt have any good relationships in rome that would be of any help to him
praemunire
treason by a member o the clergy
faction
small organised dissenting group, go against the grain in some way
why did the failure to secure henrys divorce lead to wolseys fall from power
wolsey tried to really hard to get the divorce to happen - he was under a lot of pressure, + henry expected it to work out for himself
but he failed to keep a good repetoire with some of the higher ups in rome + so had to work slowly through diplomats with smaller influence
why did the anne boleyn faction lead to wolseys fall from power
anne boleyn had a personal distane from the chief minsiter + hoped he would obtain the divorce. when he failed to do this, anne blamed wolsey at every stage.
she had henry under her influence + exploited this. she basically tried to appoint the new abbess of wilton, but wolsey beat her to it.
why did the foreign policy failures lead to wolseys fall from power
Wolsey’s decision to push for an Anglo-French alliance (rather than an Anglo-Spanish alliance) has disastrous consequences when Charles V sacked Rome and took the Pope hostage.
why did wolseys background lead to wolseys fall from power
• Wolsey was from ‘humble origins’ and his rise to power therefore was strongly disliked by many nobles who believed that he should never wield such power as a ‘commoner’.
why did the domestic policy lead to wolseys fall from power
amicable grant of 1525
basically a huge tax subsidy on the country to raise money for the upcoming french war. the people don’t like having to pay more !! so wolsey was popular with like no one
why did henry himself lead to wolseys fall from power
henry wasn’t a very political man, so I imagine he took what everyone around him said as gospel + went along with it. it doesn’t appear he had much personal vendetta against wolsey save the divorce, but was ultimately the one to pull the trigger + fire him
