King Henry VIII is regarded as one of England’s most iconic and controversial kings. Henry assumed the throne in 1509, succeeding his father Henry VII, and reigning until his death in 1547. He ruled with considerable power and was viewed as an accomplished king and an intellectual, but although he claimed to be a believer in the Catholic theological teachings, Henry is most renowned for his six marriages and his role in the English Reformation and the separation of The Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. Shortly after Henry inherited the throne, he became betrothed to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Henry so desperately desired to give England a male heir, but Catherine was not able to provide him with one. Henry soon began to have affairs with many different women and wished to annul his marriage to Catherine in order to marry Anne Boleyn, a decision that would reject papal authority and ultimately initiate the English Reformation. Around the time of Henry’s early reign, Henry was a devout Catholic. It was during this time that Martin Luther posted his Ninety Five Theses, rejecting the practices of the Catholic Church. Henry responded to these Theses by writing a dissertation titled, Assertio Septem Sacramentorum, or the “Defense of the Seven Sacraments,” in 1521. It was this work, defending the papal supremacy and dedicated to Pope Leo X of Rome, that earned Henry the title of Fidei Defensor, or “Defender of the Faith,” (Betteridge). This title was soon questioned as Henry adamantly sought to annul his marriage from Catherine. He believed that by marrying his brother’s widow, he was going against the Bible, where in Leviticus Chapter 20 Verse 16 it states, “If a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an ... ... middle of paper ... ...so responsible for the dissolution of the monasteries. By removing the legal authority of the Pope in England and Through the Act of Supremacy, Henry declared that he alone had the power of authority and reform in his church (Bowker). After separating from the Catholic Church during the Reformation, Henry instituted many decrees that dealt with the positions of the king and pope and ultimately laid the foundation for the Church of England (The Church of England). Acts such as the “Supplication Against the Ordinaries” and the “Submission of the Clergy” recognized Royal Supremacy over the church. The “Act of Supremacy” recognized Henry as "the only Supreme Head in Earth of the Church of England" and the “Treason Act” declared it treason and therefore punishable by death to refuse the “Oath of Supremacy” in which Henry’s subjects had to declare their loyalty to him.
...olitical needs of the time, which was the divorce of Henry from Catherine of Aragon in 1533, in order for Cromwell to fulfil his king’s wish; he pragmatically detached the problematic Pope and his Holy Roman Empire from England to resolve the Great Matter by having to (not wanting to) reform the Parliament, consequentially morphing England into a sovereign state. The bureaucratic reformation which is argued by Elton to be a part of the revolution in Tudor government once again boils down to Cromwell’s loyal servitude to the king, addressing the financial problem of Henry’s with a series of solutions which would certainly benefit the King in the long term. The work of Cromwell was not revolutionary as it failed to survive the several changes of monarchy (excluding the work achieving sovereignty) and did occur in a swift manner how revolution realistically would occur.
After many failed attempts to obtain a divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII took momentous steps that led to "The Reformation," a significant occurrence in the history of religion. Prior to the reformation, all of England's inhabitants including King Henry VIII prescribed to Catholicism. In fact, King Henry VIII was such a strong supporter that he was given the title "Defender of the Faith" by the pope for his efforts in protecting Catholicism against the Protestants. However, all these changed upon the pope's denial of Henry's request for a divorce.
When we look at Henry as a king we have to look in the context of
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.
J. J Scarisbrick’s Henry VII is a scholarly work dedicated to the life of England’s king Henry Tudor. It was published in 1968 Berkeley and Los Angeles. Scarisbrick used his works in a history lecture at the Queen Mary College and the University of London. The book progresses in a time sequence of birth to death. In this development it discussed impacting moments of Henry’s life that altered England’s kingdom. Henry altered the kingdom in various ways during his life that impacted England and which led to the development of English society today. These alterations include changes in military, politics, government, and religion. Scarisbrick discusses and bring understanding to how these alterations resulted. He also brings to light who, besides the king, impacted these alterations also. Understanding Henry’s character and personality is also an investigation of the kingdom itself.
However, he would also stress the importance for a centralized religious authority. Henry VIII used the church and the idea of the church being all powerful in combination with the monarchy to solidify his position as a strong ruler. When Henry VIII had to repeatedly ask the church for permission to take action with his marriages and life, he realized that he was limited by the church. Henry VIII wanted to be all powerful, and having to answer to the church meant that he was not. In 1533 he passed the Act in Restraint of Appeals. This act, which stripped the papacy the right of taking judicial action, made Henry VIII the highest judicial authority in England. This was his first move to take some of the power away from the church, while still leaving it as a respected institution involved with the state. Shortly after though, in 1534, Henry VIII passed the Act of Supremacy. This created the Anglican Church of England, and named Henry VIII the head of it. This break with the Catholic church and merge of head of church with the head of state was not an action made to create a more holy and divine nation, it was political. He knew that the path to true power and control was through the church and he used it to his advantage. The relationship that Henry VIII forced between the church and his position as head of state made it essentially impossible for him and his rule to be
The divorce case angered many people. Catherine of Aragon was a pious and popular Queen who was depicted as a devout Catholic and loyal wife. During the divorce Henry was not only faced with Papal opposition but also staunch resistance... ... middle of paper ... ... Such opposition was also given further momentum by individuals such as More, Fisher and Barton who created effective propaganda for the Queen’s cause.
King Henry VIII is considerable the most controversial monarch Great Britain has ever had. He is commonly known for his ill-advised decisions, six wives, and splitting Great Britain from the Catholic Church to create the Church of England. King Henry VIII of England’s determination to guarantee his family line’s continuation in the throne caused many problems, such as religious tensions, economic hardships, and political adversaries that continued one long after his death.
Henry IV is a play that concerns itself with political power and kingship in English history. References to kingship are prevalent throughout the play, especially in the depiction of the characters. Although most of the characters in this play could teach us about kingship, I would like to focus my attention to Prince Henry. I think that this character helps us to best understand what kingship meant at this particular time in history.
King Henry VIII was one of the most powerful rulers in the fifteenth century, who had a very captivating life many people are not aware of. Most people know Henry VIII as a berserk king with too many wives, but there is more to Henry VIII than that. Many few people know about his life and what he truly contributed to our world. Henry VIII was an almighty leader in England who won’t soon be forgotten.
In conclusion, Yes Henry is the Ideal of a Christian king. He had mercy, faith, and wisdom. He let God guide him to victory without any doubt or hesitation. That’s what being a Christian is all about putting your trust and faith in God when all seems as though things are failing but in your heart you believe that God will help and be there with you every step of the
When one thinks of Henry the eighth the first thing that comes up is fat, wife-killer, meat eater, old, mean and overall horrendous. But almost no one refers to him as misunderstood, manipulated or young man who was not meant to be King of England. This is how Suzannah Lipscomb portrays Henry VIII in her book, 1536: The Year that Changed Henry VIII, King Henry faces many tribulations in 1536 that shaped the rest of his reign; from his marriages, injuries, heirs, to his influence in the European spectrum.
Although Anne used her feminine charms to climb the social hierarchy ladder for an advantageous marriage to the King of England that thrust her into the position of Queen, she was not the reason for Henry’s break from the Church. To her demise, Anne was found guilty of treason and adultery and although she denied all charges, saying, “May God be my witness if I have done him [Henry] any other wrong” (Ridgway). She met with death by beheading on May 19, 1536. (Encyclopaedia of World
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...
King Henry IV held power in 1399 (Griffiths 1). He was very ambitious causing rebellion in his reign, which all began once he celebrated his first yuletide (Lunt 259-260). During his reign, the commons established precedents that secured privileges of freedom of speech and arrest. This declaration helped them have a say in political and local issues (Lunt 270). After Henry IV’s reign was terminated, Henry V accepted power (Phillips 1). Once he was crowned in 1413, he controlled the majority of England’s army, which at the time England needed a reliable army (Lunt 261).