Shakespeare's England: Reformation and Henry VIII

• Shakespeare lived in a time of religious uncertainty and dispute in England

The Reformation

• Prior to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church was the only Christian church in Europe.
• Religious thinkers like Martin Luther and John Calvin believed the Roman Catholic Church was corrupt and not following God's word, leading to the Protestant Reformation in the early 16th century (1500s)
• Protestants believed in salvation by faith, the primacy of the Bible, and advocated access to the bible for all people.

Henry VIII and the English Reformation

• Many English people initially resisted Protestant ideas.
• The Reformation in England started in 1527 during Henry VIII's reign
• Henry VIII, the second Tudor monarch, wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon because she didn't produce a male heir.
• Only one of their children, Mary, survived past infancy.
• Rome denied Henry's divorce petitions, so he divorced Catherine without the Church's approval in 1533.

Henry VIII's Wives

• Catherine of Aragon (married 1509-1533): Henry's first wife, a Spanish princess, gave him his first daughter, Mary, and was divorced
• Anne Boleyn (married 1533-1536): Henry's second wife, mother of Queen Elizabeth I, was executed for adultery.
• Jane Seymour (married 1536-1537): Henry's third wife, gave him his male heir, Edward, and died shortly after his birth.
• Anne of Cleves (married January-July 1540): Henry's fourth wife, a German princess, divorced by mutual consent.
• Katherine Howard (married 1540-1542): Henry's fifth wife, executed for premarital promiscuity and affairs during her marriage
• Katherine Parr (married 1543-1547): Henry's sixth queen survived him and married the man of her choice.

Henry Establishes His Own Religion

• In 1534, the Pope removed Henry from the Catholic Church
• Parliament confirmed Henry's divorce and marriage to Anne Boleyn
• Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy in 1534, making Henry the "Supreme Head of the Church in England."
• Henry persecuted both radical Protestant reformers and Catholics loyal to Rome.

Succession after Henry VIII

• Henry VIII's death in 1547 led to his 9-year-old son, Edward VI, becoming king.
• Edward was the first Protestant ruler in England as monarch of the Tudor dynasty
• His reign saw harsher Protestant reforms, the loss of control of Scotland and a failing economy
• Edward VI died in 1553 at age 15 and was succeeded by Mary, his half-sister and Catholic daughter of Catherine of Aragon.
• Mary tried to return England to Catholicism and had almost three hundred religious dissenters (mostly Protestants) executed in her 5-year reign, earning her the name "Bloody Mary".
• Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, restored Protestantism when she became queen in 1558 after Mary's death.
• In a decade, England's throne switched between Protestant, Catholic, and back to Protestant.

Religious Dissent during Elizabeth I's Reign

• Elizabeth reigned from 1558 to 1603
• There was much religious dissent in England during Shakespeare's life.
• Catholics loyal to Rome were persecuted for their beliefs.
• Puritans seeking to further purify the English church were also persecuted.

The Bible in English

• William Tyndale translated the first authorized Bible in English in 1525
• The first authorized Bible in English was published in 1539, known as the Great Bible
• Revised during Elizabeth's reign, became known as the Bishop's Bible.
• The King James Bible, commissioned by James I, appeared in 1611 during Shakespeare's final years.