Tudors unit 2 - The Break from Rome c1529-1536

Bishop John Fisher: Fisher was the most faithful and outspoken supporter of Catherine, and was arrested shortly after Anne's wedding and in 1534 an Act of Attainder was lodged against him for his support of Elizabeth Barton, but it was his eventual refusal to sign the oath of Succession that led to his charge of treason and execution in 1535 #

The King's "Great Matter"

Henry VIII

The succession

Catherine of Aragon

National supporters

International supporters

Anne Boleyn and Cardinal Wolsey

Religious beliefs

Thomas More was a close friend of Henry VIII and they had discussed removing superstition from the Church and returning to the original teachings of the Church

Henry was a devoted Catholic and recognised the authority of the Pope until 129, when his religious ideas began to develop

Henry was very aware of the effect that a shaky succession could have on a country as the remnants of the War of the Roses still existed

By 1524 Henry had ceased marital relations with Catherine and by 1527 it was unlikely she would bear more children, possibly making Henry organise a secret meeting of bishops and lawyers to discuss an annulment

The case for divorce

In 1527 Henry had one daughter (Elizabeth), but it was unheard of for a woman to be crowned. To make Catherine's situation worse, Henry had fathered a child with his mistress; a boy

Henry claimed that because Catherine had been married to his brother before him, the marriage was sinful under the eyes of God according to scripture: but this all depended on whether or not Catherine had consummated her first marriage

Leviticus 20:21 states that "If a man takes his brother's wife it is an impurity; he has uncovered his brother's nakedness, they shall be childless

There are some problems with Henry's defence; the most glaring of which is that he interpreted "childless" as meaning "without a son", something many saw issue with

The Book of Deutronomy also offers guidance on this matter, but says the opposite, suggesting that it is a man's duty to marry his brother's wife if they were childless

It is possible that Henry really did believe his marriage was unlawful under God: after all, anything unexplainable would often be explained through scripture in the 16th century, but his desire to promote one Book over the other casts doubt on this theory

The Pope was clearly reluctant to grant an annulment, most likely because he was held captive by Catherine's nephew Charles I; this reluctance is seen through the slow procedure at Blackfriar's Court

Catherine was loved by the people, but there were few in court willing to support her case against Henry VIII

Thomas More: A lawyer, author, humanist and adamant Catholic as well as Lord Chancellor from 1529-32. More threatened to resign as Henry's chancellor as a show of disapproval of the way Henry was treating his wife

John Fisher: A humanist and advisor of Henry's grandmother. He was a friend of Erasmus and opponent to Lutheranism. He was executed in 1535 for refusing to take the Oath of Supremecy

Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine could both be considered humanists; they were supporters of the Catholic Church but were also supporters of the Renaissance movement

The Reformation Parliament

The influence of faction

The Reformation by 1536

Charles V: The Holy Roman Emperor held the Pope captive after the Sack of Rome, which is probably why the Pope was reluctant to annul the marriage (something quite common). This was a powerful ally for Catherine to have as the Emperor was a key player in Europe during the 1520s (the other being Francis I)

Catherine had a strong, scripture-based argument to continue the marriage that was verified by scholars and mostly attacked Henry's misinterpretation of Leviticus 20:21 #

Wolsey cultivated the relationship between Henry and Anne because he was invested in increasing England's influence in foreign politics; in particular through the balance of power; shifting their traditional alliance with Spain to France, with whom Anne had strong links

Anne learned from her sister Mary's experience with Henry and refused to become his mistress, having witnessed how quickly Henry had bored of Mary. There was no doubt that Anne was a politically able and smart woman who was interested in theology

Henry's interest in his niece was no doubt exploited by the Duke of Norfolk and her father to improve their statuses in court; the fact that Wolsey was willing to help Henry even if it aided his enemies (Anne's uncle and father) shows how dependent Wolsey was on Henry for his power

MPs and their grievances

Pressures on the papacy

Legislation leading to the establishment of the Royal Supremacy

Cardinal Wolsey faced the full brunt of the MPs anger as he embodied the problems with the Church; he was considered arrogant, held many fine palaces such as Hampton Court and committed simony, nepotism and pluralism as well as being the father of at least one child. For these reasons the MPs pushed for an Act of Attainder to be passed against Wolsey

Many MPs were also lawyers, so the practice of Church Courts was also heavily criticised; it was thought that instead of being heard in a Church court many cases should be heard by the King's court (this would increase the amount of work that lawyers had)

It must be noted that initial criticisms were not made against doctrine or liturgy, because Henry was still hoping to convince the Pope to give him an annulment in 1529

It was during this time that Thomas Cromwell rose to power as he masterminded the MPs grievances that led to the Break with Rome

Henry VIII had two ways of pressuring the papcy in order to gain an annulment: weakening the Church so that they would not have the will to refuse (Submission of the Clergy) or taking legal control of the Church and removing the authority of the Pope. He could do this by using the anti-clericalism created by Wolsey and the Reformation Parliament

Submission of the clergy (1531-34): Henry charged 15 members of the clergy with praemunire and made it clear that the charge would be dropped if they donated £100,000 and added "Supreme Head of the Church in England and Wales (as far as the word of God allows)". The clergy did this but the Pope made no comment

Act for the Submission of the Clergy (1532): Formalised the previous understanding between the king and clergy #

Supplication against the Ordinaries (1532): This was a petition made by the MPs that complained that the clergy had excessive powers and control; some of those listed included mortuary fees, the number of Holy Days, and the way the Church gained money

Act to remove the Annates (1532): This removed the chief source of revenue that Rome got from England, and although not a large sum, the payment had been criticised in Parliament. However, the Act was the first that did not receive full support in Parliament

Despite the Submission of the Clergy and the Supplication against the Ordinaries the Pope had not changed his mind. Henry only seemed to have his second option left. Matters were not helped by the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Warham, who maintained the Pope's line and refused to annul the marriage. when Warham died in 1532 Henry was able to replace him with his own man, Thomas Cranmer in 1533, who secretly married Henry and Anne in 1533 #

Act for the Restraint of Appeals (1533): Forbade all appeals to the Pope in Rome for religious or other matters, making the King the final authority in all matters in England and Wales

Act forbidding papal dispensation and Payment of Peter's Pence (1534): Put all ecclesiastical powers in the hands of the King and restricted the right for Priests to hold more than one Parish

First Act of Succession (1534): Made Henry and Catherine's marriage void and made Mary illegitimate. Also made it treason to deny the Act and required everyone to swear an oath for it (which More and Fisher refused to do and were executed for in 1535)

Act of Supremacy (1534): Stated that Henry ought to be the Supreme Head of the Church and gave him rights to reflect this, such as being able to collect first fruits and tenths, and it became treasonous to call the King a heretic. This was furthered in 1535 when he added the title "Supreme Head of the Church" to his name

Cromwell: The changes brought about in Parliament were largely constructed by Cromwell to suit Henry's needs, but it is agreed that the decline in the Church's power led to an increase in the monarch's - and therefore Cromwell's - power. When Cromwell came into power he redirected legislation from pressuring the Pope to creating an independent state

The Aragonese faction: Those who supported Catherine such as More and Fisher, and also sought to protect the Catholic faith and those loyal to Rome

The Reformist/Boleyn/Court faction: Managed by Cromwell, supported by Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cranmer

The actions taken by Henry VIII were understandably divisive, and the court split into two vague groups of supporters and opponents of change. These changed over Henry's reign to suit the belief in something or someone

Thomas Cranmer: Key to promoting the arguments in support of Henry's annulment. Wrote The Collectanea Statis Capiosa, which suggested that English Bishops could give Henry an annulment without Rome

Eustace Chapuys: Ambassador to Catherine's nephew Charles V, was essential in advising Catherine and in court politics

Two members of the King's household spoke out in support of Catherine; Sir Nicholas Carew (gentleman of the Privy Chamber), and Sir Henry Guildford (Controller of the Household)

Two other key players were Lords Darcy and Hussey

Thomas More resigned as Chancellor in 1529 as his position became uncomfortable for him morally. He declined an invitation to Anne Boleyn's coronation and in 1533 narrowly escaped a charge of treason after being implicated in the case of Elizabeth Barton. More was then imprisoned in the Tower for refusing to swear the oath of Succession, and executed in 1535 #

Elizabeth Barton: Prophesised that Henry would die if he divorced Catherine of Aragon in 1532, and eventually she was executed in 1534 after Henry destroyed her reputation enough for it to be socially acceptable for him to execute a prophet

The Carthusian Monks: This order was considered the most Holy and strict order of monks and had advised Henry VII and VIII. Five monks refused to swear the oath of Succession, refusing to speak even under torture, leading to a barbaric execution

By making denying his marriage or religious authority Henry was making his position clear: he was unwilling to compromise (seen clearly through the executions of Elizabeth Barton, the monks, More and Fisher). He refused to listen to opposition to the lengths he had gone to secure a male heir. However, he also wanted support, and he did this through the coronation of Anne Boleyn, which was full of symbolism and pageantry in order to impress the public

Political and doctrinal position of the Church: Henry VIII was now the confirmed leader of the English Church and he was determined to reform certain areas of the Church's doctrine, liturgy, and ceremonies, although this was not always done consistently. Overall, by 1536 few changes had really been made in this area apart from the reduced authority of the Pope

Degree of change and continuity in faith and belief: Despite Cromwell being an evangelical, he used his position as Vice-gerent to prevent calls of major change from Protestants and fellow evangelicals, instead reinforcing the power of Henry. The Order of the Preachers published in 1535 is an example of the restriction on changes. However, in 1536 Cromwell did enact change through a series of injunctions; one of these required every parish to have a Bible in English, allowing even the laity to read the Word of God

Change and continuity in Church organisation: There was little to no change in this area, with the Episcopal System of Authority being kept. The biggest organisational change was the redirection of funds previously going to Rome given to the King to fund his invasion of France. Cromwell enacted the Valor Ecclesiasticus to assess the wealth of the Church (suggested in this was the Dissolution of the Monasteries)

Government and Parliament: A new system of government had been established which meant that Parliament gave legitimacy to the King, not the Church, and as a result of this the King became most powerful when "in Parliament"