Research Paper On King Henry Viii

686 Words2 Pages

King Henry VIII It only took the will of one man to drastically change religion and English government forever. That man was King Henry VIII of England who, throughout his reign, abused the power of the English monarchy with egotistical goals. He took power in 1509, and ruled until his death in 1547. His full name was Henry Tudor, and he strived to carry on his family name by making it his life goal to produce a son to inherit the throne. In this quest he married 6 times, broke England away from Catholicism, and contributed to the establishment of the English Protestant Reformation. King Henry VIII challenged order and initiated a period of turmoil in England with his tyrannical leadership style. One reason many consider him …show more content…

When the Pope wouldn’t grant him a divorce for his first marriage, he broke away from Catholicism and formed the Church of England. Henry’s decision to do this changed the religion of several million people, and made him unpopular. In response to his decision, “the Pilgrimage of Grace took hold, during which 30,000 people rebelled against the king’s changes” (Bio 2). Sadly, the Pilgrimage of Grace was the only real opposition in Henry VIII’s quest for male offspring, and he silenced this opposition with large scale execution of the leaders of the pilgrimage (Trueman 5). This totalitarian style of leadership shows how terrible he was in his disregard for parliament, the papacy, and the people of England. His actions are pure disrespect for the many people who trusted him as a leader and decision maker. Between completely readjusting England’s religion while challenging the Pope, one of the most powerful men in the world, Henry overexerted the authority that comes with being the King of …show more content…

This reformation movement “produced dangerous Protestant-Catholic differences in the kingdom” (Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547) 3). The Catholic vs. Protestant debate weakened Christianity by splitting it into two disputing pieces. Even today in the 21st century, Catholics and Protestants cannot agree on certain aspects of Christianity. The shift of Christianity in England from Catholic to Protestant upset the equilibrium of a majority of people’s lives. Religion was very important in Europe in the 16th century and was a part of everyday life. For many people, it was as important as their job or their family, so Henry’s decisions to alter the religious course of England also affected the economy and overall well-being of England in a negative way. After he died in 1547, England was left in a state of

Show More
Related

  • The Small Amount of Opposition to the Henrician Reformation

    1453 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cromwell initiated these changes to the faith, but Henry's Catholic faith ensured these changes were not too radical and chantries were still allowed to pray for souls in purgatory. Although Henry remained a Catholic, the end of papal power was signified in his becoming the head of the Church of England. However, with such movements that shook the foundations of England's faith, why was there so little opposition to the Henrician reformation? Perhaps on of the greatest tactics employed by the crown to prevent opposition was provoking fear amongst those who were likely to oppose the reformation. Henry had to start from the top, and therefore started by controlling parliament.

    Read More

  • The Opposition to the Henrican Reformation

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    That is not to say there was no opposition to the reformation, for it was rife and potentially serious. The opposition came from both the upper and lower classes, from the monks and nuns and from foreign European powers. This opposition however, was cleverly minimised from the outset, Cromwell’s master plan ensured court opposition was minimal and new acts, oaths and decrees prevented groups and individuals from publicly voicing their dissatisfaction. Those who continued to counter such policies were ruthlessly and swiftly dealt with, often by execution, and used as examples to discourage others. Henry’s desire for a nation free of foreign religious intervention, total sovereign independence, a yearning of church wealth and the desire for a divorce sewed the seeds for reform.

    Read More

  • Politique Rulers

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    With any new monarch’s ascension to the throne, there comes with it changes in the policies of the country. From Elizabeth’s new council, to Henry’s documented polices and even to William the Silent’s inaction in response to threats were all policies that needed to be worked out by the new rulers. This group of rulers all had something in common; they chose to let their people make their religious preference solely on their beliefs but they all differed in their ways of letting this come about. This was monumental for the time period in which they lived, but it was something that needed to be done to progress national unity.

    Read More

  • Qualities and Weaknesses of Shakespeare's Henry V as a King

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    Henry V is not a simple one as it has many aspects. By looking into

    Read More

  • The Rise in Political Power of 17th Century England and France

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    the aftermath of the Protestant reformation. In England, after the establishment of the separate Anglican church of England there were many protestant groups left in England still in conflict. These groups all tried to push and pull parliament in their favor -- which ultimately made it so that nothing could be done. These conflicts even came to the point of bloody civil wars and suffering on both sides of the fighting. Parliament ultimately decided to stop these wars by creating religious Act of Toleration (1689) for the non-conformist protestants.

    Read More

  • King James and Catholocism

    2916 Words  | 6 Pages

    English Catholicism had significantly changed by the time of James’s accession to the throne. Under Henry VIII, England broke away from the Catholic Church in Rome. The King was now the head of the Church of England. By the time Elizabeth came into power a substantial number of the population were still Catholic. Principled dissent to the Elizabethan Settlement came from two directions: Catholic and radical Protestant. Of the two the Roman Catholic menace seemed the more important and the government and the Church spent more time combating it. In this essay I will examine whether efforts to destroy English Catholicism during the Elizabethan era were successful. Traditionally, historians argued that Catholicism was hopelessly fractured but heroic efforts by Catholic missionaries had saved the Catholic English community. The Act of Uniformity in 1558 meant that everybody had to go to Church once a week or be fined. This included the Catholic community. Many conformed to avoid punishment but still believed in the Catholic doctrines. Ordinary clergy helped maintain the Catholic doctrines in English society. By the time of James’s accession to the throne it was clear that the Catholic community were an important issue because a part of English society was still Catholic. Furthermore, it was soon clear that King James would be more tolerant to the Catholic community in comparison to Elizabeth.

    Read More

  • The English Civil War

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    The English Civil war was partially a religious conflict, which brought Church and State against Parliament. Under the reign of James I, England saw the rise in Protestants dissenters. Groups like Barrowists, Puritans, Fifth Monarchists, Quakers, and many more demanded for more religious reform. They felt that the Church of England’s liturgy was too Catholic for a Protestant church. James VI and I accepted the more moderated Puritans and other dissenters, and he was able to keep his kingdom in peace. However, his son Charles I did not believe that kings were answerable to Parliament, but to God. In fact, he ruled without Parliament for many years. He trusted the running of the Church of England to William Laud, who believed that the Church had already gone through too many reforms. Laud went wrong when he tried to make church services more about doctrine and sacraments, and sought to make freewill the official doctrine of the Church. He did not stop there. He ordered that alters should be re-sited from the central places in churches to the east end of churches across the country. This essay will discuss Laud’s Arminian doctrines and his misjudgement of England’s religious mood, which led to his downfall and to the civil war.

    Read More

  • King Henry VIII and his Great Impact on the History of England

    2162 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ample. Henry VIII was also responsible for the religious reformation in England and changed the religion of England from the Roman Catholic faith to the Protestant Religion, and established the Church of England. If it weren’t for King Henry VIII, England would not have been as wealthy as it was because of the dissolution of the monasteries. The Act of Appeals aided the constitutional development of England, once again, all thanks to Henry VIII.

    Read More

  • Segregation Of Eire Essay

    1161 Words  | 3 Pages

    The traces of the split can be seen nearly five hundred years ago during the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. During King Henry VIII’s rule, Henry had wanted a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne Boleyn. When the Pope would refuse to allow a divorce between Catherine and Henry, Henry would decide to start his own church so that he could be in a position of power to proceed with the divorce. This church would become the Church of England. Through this radical break away from the social norm, Henry VIII would be remembered as a man who would go to great lengths to get what he wanted. This break would also signify the beginning of the Protestant Reformation across Europe. This event marks the first time that two groups are seen as a national friend and foe recognition. As Bartlett notes, “By the 1570’s loyal and disloyal ...

    Read More

  • Does Henry VIII Justify The Title Henry The Great?

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through King Henry’s government, he was not overly involved, and believed it could be left to trusted and loyal men once they knew the king’s intentions and would implement them. An excerpt from The Tudor Chronicles, by Susan Doran demonstrates the way that Cardinal Thomas Wolsey made an impact towards politics and his role within the government. His undisputed rule and Wolsey’s ‘governmental and political skills led to the advancement in the Church and the state’. As he was his ‘most trusted minister’, he gave much power and influence to him and Henry delegated his state business and mundane tasks to Wolsey. This not only shows that Henry’s government was very much dependent on the ministers and sub-leaders but also that he was a very lethargic king in the way that he gave near-complete control to Thomas Wolsey, thus proving him to not be worthy of a ‘great’ king in the governmental realm. Henry always began his rule by seeking advisors or ministers, ‘Office of Lord Chancellor (the king’s head of government)’ on most matters and would end it with absolute control, execution or redundant acts or proceedings. Through the pre-determined interpretation and the heavy reliance on Henry’s trusted ministers, thus proving him of an unworthy king to be considered

    Read More

  • The Evolution of Anglicanism

    1863 Words  | 4 Pages

    King Henry VIII was a prideful man, full of fire and vigor, and despite being a devoted catholic in his early life, soon began to chafe at the notion of anyone other than God having power over him, which began his troubles with the Pope. Many people took Henry VIII’s break with Rome as complete proof of his status as a heretic, and in their defense, Henry VIII most certainly was a heretic from the point of view of a Roman Catholic or a Romanist. Many laymen were of course unaware of Henry VIII’s pathological need for control and the fact that the King hated having any authority above his own in any and all matters, both spiritual and secular, and so of course they just assumed his break with Rome and the Pope to be a purely spiritual matter. There are numerous examples of people accusing Henry VIII of heresy such as a layman named Henry Kylbrae in a discussion with the proprietor of the White Horse Inn in Cambridge, which was a hotbed of religious discussion. Kylbrae is known to have remarked that the King and all who held the King as the head of the Church were strong heretics indeed. The common people were not alone in this assertion. Several noblemen and noblewomen s...

    Read More

  • 1536: The Year That Changed Henry VIII?

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    He was a human that had emotions, he experienced grief with the multiple miscarriages and deaths of his sons and the betrayals of his wife’s, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard. Also the death of Jane Seymour, the only wife to give him a male heir, brought him into a depression. These events changed Henry’s perspective of his own self, that he was without a legal heir, his health was horrendous and he was being betrayed by those closest to him. Lipscomb describes the transformation of Henry from the popular prince to the tyrant king know today. As shown, “the last decade of his reign, Henry VIII had begun to act as a tyrant. The glittering, brilliant monarch of the accession, toppled into old age by betrayal, aggravated into irascibility and suspicion as a result of ill health and corrupted by absolute power, had become a despot”. Henry is not thought of as the good Christian, but Lipscomb writes throughout this book that Henry was very serious about his religious affiliations. Lipscomb portrays Henry VIII as, “a man of strong feeling but little emotional intelligence, willful and obstinate but also fiery and charismatic, intelligent but blinkered, attempting to rule and preserve his honor against his profound sense of duty and heavy responsibility to fulfil his divinely ordained role”. In other words he was an emotional mess that did not know what to do with his feelings, so he bottled them up and south to seek

    Read More

  • Henry VIII: The Life and Death of a Lady Killer

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    Henry came to the throne at the age of 17. Henry was said to be the King to “clense every eye of tears and substitute praise for loan moaning”. (Starkey 1985) As his first act, Henry imprisoned the two most unpopular ministers and charged them with high treason, and had them executed. Such executions would be Henry’s main tactic for dealing with the ones who stood in his way.

    Read More

  • The Legacy of Edward VI as Explained in Tudor Church Militant: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    The aim of this book is to recapture King Edward’s reformation of the Church of England from revisionists such as Haigh, Duffy and Pollard. They and others viewed that the reorganisation of the church was indecisive, weak and insignificant. MacCulloch intends to argue that the reformation was essentially consistent, effective and ultimately a Protestant one.

    Read More

  • The English Reformation

    1412 Words  | 3 Pages

    Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I may have been the English Reformation’s greatest benefactors, all because of self interest. Henry VIII was not originally Protestant, but after the pope denied him of his divorce, Henry VIII took things into his own hands. Due to the power kings had in the Middle Ages, Henry VIII was able to control Parliament and force it to do whatever he wanted. So in 1534, Henry VIII forced Parliament to pass a law he made known as the Act of Supremacy. The Act of Supremacy stated that the king ought to be the head of the Church of England. This law gave the king complete power over the Church of England, instead of the pope. However, the type of church and state relationship did not change. Rather all the Act of Supremacy did was take power from the pope and give it to the king. Surprisingly, the Catholics did not retaliate against this strong change. The pope had always been the head of the church, but now the king had taken his position. This serves as an example of nationalism. The Catholics did not think about how removing the pope could harm their religion in any way. However, instead the people blindly followed Henry VIII because he was the leader of the nation and they assumed he was right. Also, by imposing other laws that punished Protestants, Henry VIII did not give the people much of a choice. Fortunately, for Henry VII, nationalis...

    Read More

More about Research Paper On King Henry Viii

Open Document