The English Reformation and “The King’s Great Matter”

 

Henry VIII:

 

• His brother, Arthur, dies at age 16, shortly after his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella
• Henry VII has now lost the connection/alliance with Spain and will lose Catherine’s dowery
• So, Catherine is betrothed to the 9-year old Henry

 

“Defender of the Faith”:

• 1521—Assertion of the Seven Sacraments Against Martin Luther written by Henry
• The pope is so impressed he bestows the title “Defender of the Faith” on him (The British monarchy today still retains this title) Henry is VERY Catholic.

 

Wife #1: Catherine of Aragon

• They had a genuinely respectful, affectionate marriage
• Her ONLY job was to produce a male heir in order to keep the Tudor line going
• Why can they not have a woman take over?
• There is no real tradition of England having been ruled by a woman
• People think that it will only cause difficulty, as she will be married off, used as a pawn, etc.
• However, Catherine only gives him one living heir—a daughter, Mary. Henry is still optimistic that a male will be born
• 20 years go by. Several boys were born, but they died within a few weeks, and Mary is the only survivor.
• What is Henry to do?:
• He has an illegitimate son, but still needs a legitimate male heir
• He is convinced that he has been cursed. Maybe God did not want him to marry Catherine. He had had to get a papal dispensation in order to marry her, but maybe it should not have been granted to him. It was considered incest to marry the wife or husband of a sibling, even if the relative is dead. Henry now says the Pope should not have allowed it, and that the current pope should take back the dispensation, which will annul the marriage
• By this time, Henry has also met Anne Boleyn. She is unusual, but not really lovely. What was the attraction? No one is really sure. How did she hook him? She “played hard to get,” as she would not fall into the same trap as her sister, who had been one of the former mistresses of the king.
• Anne will eventually become pregnant and a secret wedding ceremony is held before Henry has had his marriage annulled from Catherine. So there is now increased pressure for Henry’s first marriage to be dissolved.
• Cardinal Wolsey
• He is sent to get rid of Catherine (he is the real power man in England)
• He communicates with Pope Clement VII, who says that he will only consider the matter
• Why?
• The papal states had been captured by Charles V, HRE, who is the nephew of Catherine
• The Case
• Catherine says she does not recognize the validity of the proceedings, and that she will not back down from her stance. She does not want to have her daughter, Mary, bastardized and lose her chance to rule England.
• Thomas Cromwell
• He will step into Wolsey’s shoes and become High Chancellor. He says break with the Church and you will gain your annulment.
• Henry soon takes his advice.
• Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, dissolves Henry’s 1^st marriage and thereby legalizes Henry’s marriage to Anne.

 

The Act of Supremacy

 

·         The king is the ONLY head of the church

·         1535: Thomas More refuses to take the oath supporting the Act.

·         Henry’s reaction to More’s refusal?

o        DEATH!! More will be beheaded by the axe

·         Why did he have to kill him?

o        Because More was a prominent person who made people listen to him, and therefore could not be seen going against the king

 

How Protestant is Henry’s Life?

 

·         The Six Articles (1539)

o        Says even though England has broken from Rome, it is still pretty Catholic

o        It reaffirmed much of the Catholic Doctrine, including:

·         Transubstantiation

·         Clerical Celibacy

·         Seven Sacraments

·         No communion wine for the laity

o        He does allow English translations of the Bible, and people are allowed to recite the lord’s prayer in English, not Latin

 

·         Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536-1540)

o        The monasteries controlled up to ¼ of all the land in England

o        The crown confiscates all of the land and closed the monarchies

o        Much of the land was sold or granted to English nobility

o        The wealth of the crown is doubled

 

Wife #2: Anne Boleyn

 

·         Give birth to Elizabeth

·         Henry soon gets annoyed with her as she is not bearing sons for him

·         Soon, she miscarries a boy.

·         Henry says that he will divorce Anne in “some” way. She is accused of adultery (high treason when on the king) and incest (w/her brother). She is sentenced to die, by either being burned at the stake or beheaded. Elizabeth now declared illegitimate.

·         Anne behead by a French swordsman

 

Wife #3: Jane Seymour

 

• She bears Henry’s only legal boy—Edward.
• However, Jane dies three weeks after birth

 

Wife #4: Anne of Cleves (German) – “Horse Face”

 

• The marriage is annulled in 6 months
• Thomas Cromwell, who had arranged the marriage, was sent to the block as return payment, Henry was so angry

 

Wife #5: Catherine Howard

           

• Not very bright/smart
• Will be beheaded

 

Wife #6: Katherine Parr

 

• She actually survived Henry!

 

How do you remember all of Henry’s wives?

 

Divorced, Beheaded, Dead, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived!