Henry VIII and His Ministers (1509-1540) - GCSE History PDF

**Edexcel GCSE History Paper 2 Period Study** **HENRY VIII AND HIS MINISTERS 1509-1540** **\ ** **[HENRY VIII AND HIS MINISTERS KEY TOPIC 1: HENRY VIII AND WOLSEY 1509-29]** **[Section A: Henry VIII Renaissance Prince ]** **England in 1509: society and government** 1. Henry VIII's father, **H...

**Edexcel GCSE History Paper 2 Period Study** **HENRY VIII AND HIS MINISTERS 1509-1540** **\ ** **[HENRY VIII AND HIS MINISTERS KEY TOPIC 1: HENRY VIII AND WOLSEY 1509-29]** **[Section A: Henry VIII Renaissance Prince ]** **England in 1509: society and government** 1. Henry VIII's father, **Henry VII**, fought and defeated **Richard III** to become King in **1485**. He had become King after a period of **civil war** known as the **War of the Roses**, and the **legitimacy** of his claim to the throne was questionable. 2. Henry VII was **suspicious** and **careful with money**, and so had become identified with **greed** and **repression**. 3. However, Henry VIII was also hard working, efficient, and an excellent administrator, and had created a **stable** and **well-governed** kingdom, a group of **experienced advisors**, and a **wealthy country**. 4. English consisted of about **2.5 million people**, with most of them living and working on the land, and only **6%** living in towns. 5. The city of **London** was the largest and most important in the country, with **60,000** inhabitants. The next largest towns were **Norwich, Bristol, Exeter, York** and **Coventry**, but they had much smaller populations. 6. The religion of the whole of England was **Roman Catholicism**. 7. Tudor society was **hierarchical**, and there were only very limited opportunities to move up the social ladder. This was known as the '**Great Chain of Being**', with God at the top. 8. In the countryside, the **nobility** was at the top of the hierarchy, followed by the **gentry**, then **yeomen**, then **tenant farmers**, then the **landless (labouring) poor**, and finally **vagrants** (homeless) at the bottom. Status was defined by **land ownership**, with the nobility holding the most land, and the landless poor and vagrants the least. **The young Henry** 1. Henry was the **second son** of Henry VII. It was expected this his older brother, **Arthur Prince of Wales** would become King. However, in **1502** Arthur died, and **ten year old** Henry became heir to the throne. 2. Henry was **strong** and **athletic**, and enjoyed **hunting** and **archery**, but was banned from **jousting**. 3. He was also **intelligent** and **well educated**, but his father did not want to risk losing another son, and so Henry stayed at court, instead of being sent off to other parts of the kingdom to learn how to govern. As a result, he was largely **untrained** when his father died in **1509**. **Henry's accession in 1509** 1. Henry VIII inherited the throne peacefully in **1509**. His coronation was greeted with **celebrations** and **bonfires**. 2. Henry's accession was greeted with enthusiasm across the country. Henry VIII's portraits portray him as **open** and **handsome**, as opposed to his father, who looks tired and suspicious. 3. Henry VIII took steps to immediately distance himself from his father, for example by ordering the arrest of **two ministers** most closely associated with Henry VII's unpopular **financial policies**. 4. Henry VIII married **Catherine of Aragon**, a **Spanish** princess who had been previously married to his brother Arthur, in **1509**. Catherine was part of the powerful **Habsburg family**, and her nephew was **Charles V**, the heir to the Spanish throne. 5. The marriage strengthened England's **alliance with Spain**, and Henry VIII was fond of Catherine. **Henry's character** 1. Henry was only **18** when he became King, and he was **handsome** and **charming**. 2. Henry was a **powerful athlete** and excelled in things like **archery** and **wrestling**. His greatest passion was **jousting**. 3. Henry was a true **Renaissance man**: this meant someone who was knowledgeable, educated, and proficient in lots of areas. He spoke **French, Spanish** and **Latin**, and was a talented **musician**. 4. He was good at **singing** and **dancing**. He also loved to dress in **fine clothes** and cover himself in **jewels**. 5. He was also **religious**: as a **Roman Catholic**, he attended **church** regularly and gave **charity** to the poor. 6. He also had a **big ego** and was **stubborn.** **Henry's views on sovereignty and monarchy** 1. Henry believed in the **divine right**: the idea that kings were appointed directly by God. 2. He wanted to model his rule on the great monarchies of **France** and **Spain**. In these monarchies, the king was a towering figure, with a **dazzling court**. 3. Henry also looked to **England's past** for inspiration, and he dreamed about repeating the heroic victories of English Kings over the French. 4. He had also grown up listening to the stories of **King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table**, and so for him, kingship involved performing **brave deeds**, as well as being skilled in the art of **courtly love:** a form of elite entertainment in which noblemen attempt to win the hearts of women through poetry and quests. **Henry's personal style of government** 1. Henry VIII ruled the country, and had personal control over all the important decisions, including when to **go to war** and when **parliament** should be called. He settled **disputes between nobles** and made appointments to important **religious and political posts**. 2. He had the following institutions to help, but he nonetheless remained in ultimate control: a. **THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD**: a group of **nobles** and **servants** who ensured that he was provided with **food, clothing**, and **spiritual guidance**. It also played an important part in government: it was in the rooms of the Royal Household that the king met advisors and made decisions. b. **THE PRIVY CHAMBER**: part of the Royal Household, this was made up of a small group of the king's **closest noble friends**. They looked after his personal needs and provided **entertainment**. They had opportunities to **informally influence** the King on matters of policy. The Privy Chamber was headed by the **Groom of the Stool**. c. **THE ROYAL COUNCIL**: a group of **advisors** chosen by the King and selected mainly from the **nobility** and **church**. They provided guidance on **policy** and **matters of state**. d. **COURT**: a body of people made up of the monarch's key **servants, advisors** and **friends**. Drawn mainly from members of the nobility, they were called **courtiers**. They lived in, or near, the same palace as the king, entertaining him and his visiting guests. Being able to attend the court required the **monarch's permission**. e. **PARLIAMENT**: made up of the **House of Lords** (which included **bishops**), and the **House of Commons**. Its main job was to **pass laws** required by the king and **approve new taxes** for him. f. **JUSTICES OF THE PEACE**: known as **JPs**, these were **large landowners** who kept **law and order** in their local areas. **Henry's aims as a monarch** 1. He wanted to be in **sole charge** of deciding England's policies. 2. He wanted to achieve **glorious victories** in battles abroad. 3. He wanted to create a **magnificent royal court**, through **art, architecture, dress** and **entertainment**. 4. He wanted to attract great men to his court, such as important **scholars** and **artists**. 5. He wanted to perform the **traditional duties** of a monarchy, including: maintaining **law and order**; being a good **servant to the Church**; and having a **son** to continue the royal line. **Henry's strengths and weaknesses** [Strengths] 1. He was **popular** with the people of England, as he looked the part of a great king. 2. He inherited a **rich country** from his father. 3. England was **stable**, with an established system of government. 4. He loved his wife, **Catherine of Aragon**, and she had important foreign connections in **Spain**. 5. He had a team of **experienced advisors** around him. 6. He had ambition to become a great **Renaissance king**. [Weaknesses] 1. He had **little experience** of government. 2. He had little desire to get involved in the day-to-day business of governing England, and preferred **sport** and **entertainment**. 3. His **attitude of kingship** was **simplistic** and partly based on **heroic legends**. 4. He wanted England to **go to war** as soon as possible, so he could prove himself as a true, heroic knight. 5. He had a **large ego** that was difficult to manage. 6. He liked **high-risk** sports, such as **jousting**, which could threaten his health. 7. His tastes for entertainment and clothing were **expensive**. **\ ** **[Section B: The rise of Wolsey and his policies]** **Wolsey's roles** 1. Thomas Wolsey became England's most senior official during the first half of Henry VIII's reign. 2. He was appointed **Lord Chancellor** in **1515**. This meant he was Henry's **chief minister** and main advisor. This was the most important post in Henry VIII's government. 3. Wolsey was also one of England's most important **churchmen**, as **Archbishop of York** (which was the second most important religious appointment in England after the Archbishop of Canterbury), and then as **Cardinal** (a senior leader in the Roman Catholic Church) and **Papal Legate** (representative of the pope in a foreign country). **Reasons for Wolsey's rise for power** 1. Very unusually, Wolsey was the son of a **butcher** from **Ipswich**. 2. His father was relatively wealthy for a butcher, and he ensured young Wolsey had an **excellent education**, which allowed him to enter **Oxford University** and become a **priest**. 3. Wolsey gained a degree when he was only **15** years old. He became his college's **treasurer** at Oxford, and used his position to undertake a huge college rebuilding scheme. 4. He was appointed as **Royal Almoner** (in charge of giving **charity** to the poor) in **1509**, and this made him a member of the **Royal Council**. This gave him access to Henry, and he used his charismatic personality to build a personal relationship with the king. 5. Henry preferred pleasure over administrative work, and so Wolsey did the boring tasks Henry wanted to avoid. 6. Henry also disliked many of the **advisors he had inherited from his father**, seeing them as boring and cautious, and so Wolsey was in the right place at the right time to be promoted quickly. 7. Wolsey's 'big break' came in **1512** when Henry needed someone to **organise an army** for war with France. This was a complex job with potential for disaster, so not many people wanted to do it, but Wolsey took it on. 8. Wolsey worked hard and developed a **well-equipped** and **well-supplied** army to France in **1513**. This persuaded Henry to give him a lot more power. 9. He was appointed as **Lord Chancellor** in **1515** which was the **top position** in Henry's government. 10. By 1515, Wolsey was also **Bishop of Lincoln, Archbishop of York** and **Cardinal**. He also became **Papal Legate** in **1518.** This meant he outranked all over clergy in England. 11. Wolsey began to be referred to as ***Alter Rex**,* or '**second king**'. However, ultimately Henry could always overrule him. **Wolsey's personality and wealth** 1. Wolsey was charming, witty, and had a gift for **flattery**. 2. He was also **ambitious** and had a **large ego**. He was ruthless with anyone who threatened his position, and his opponents could be jailed in the **Tower of London**, or financially ruined through **expensive lawsuits**. As a result, he became feared and hated. 3. As a result of his multiple jobs, he gained a **huge fortune**. Being Archbishop of York along gave him an income of **£3000 a year**. 4. He was **ten times richer** than his nearest rival, and second only to the King in terms of wealth. 5. With this wealth, he built himself the palaces of **York House** and **Hampton Court**, and used these to entertain the English and European elite. He had **500 servants** -- as many as the King himself. 6. He funded **artists and musicians**, and created **Cardinal College** in Oxford. **Wolsey's reforms: justice** 1. As **Lord Chancellor**, Wolsey was responsible for the **legal system** in England. However, it was flawed: **slow**, **expensive**, and often **unfair**, favouring those with **money and influence**. 2. Wolsey made clear that no one was above the law: for example, in **1516**, **Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland**, a hero from the **1513 Battle of the Spurs**, was sent to prison for breaking the law. 3. To get a fairer justice system Wolsey strengthened the **court of the Star Chamber**, which was the royal court set up by Henry VII to give out justice on the king's behalf, by doing the following: a. Increased the court's **work rate** (from **12 cases** a year to **120 cases** a year). b. Oversaw many cases **in person**. c. Made the reasons for his decisions **public**. d. Encouraged **poor people** to bring cases to this court. e. Supported the cases of the poor against the rich. 4. However, Wolsey was still criticised. Some felt that his main motivation was to get **revenge on the upper classes**, who had often treated him badly because of his humble origins. 5. Wolsey was also prepared to use his position to punish those he held a grudge against. For example, as a young priest, Wolsey had been humiliated by **Sir Amyas Paulet**, who had placed him in the **stocks**. Wolsey summoned Paulet to the Star Chamber on a made up charge. 6. Later, as Wolsey's time increasingly became tied up with foreign problems, a large **backlog** of cases built up in the Star Chamber, meaning few were ever resolved. **Wolsey's reforms: finance** 1. Henry wanted to follow an **aggressive foreign policy** but this was expensive. 2. Henry's normal average yearly income was **£110,000**, which was not enough to win wars abroad. 3. Traditionally, when taxes were demanded, each community had to pay the Crown a percentage of their **moveable goods** (ie possession that could be moved from one location to another -- so not land and buildings). This percentage was **one fifteenth** of the value in rural areas, and **one tenth** of the value in urban areas, and so was known as the **fifteenths and tenths**. This system was called **direct taxation**. 4. However, the valuations of what each community owned were based on estimates from the **14^th^ century**, and so didn't produce enough money. 5. Wolsey's solution was to improve the system of direct taxation with the **subsidy**. This was an **additional tax** based on an up-to-date assessment of a person's income. The greater a person's income, the more tax that person paid. 6. Wolsey saw this as a success because it **more accurately** taxed people on what they could afford to pay, so the rich paid most of the tax. 7. Between **1513 and 1516**, the subsidy raised **£170,000**, while the fifteenths and tenths only raised **£90,000**. 8. During his time as Lord Chancellor, Wolsey collected **four subsidies**, each one helping to pay the war in France. 9. Wolsey also made use of other pre-existing methods of raising money, like **forced loans** and **clerical taxation** (taxes on the church). He could also made money through rents on **crown lands**. 10. However, although even these amounts could not keep pace with Henry's spending. Around **£1.4 million** was spent on fighting wars between **1511 and 1525**. 11. The heavy rates of taxation were also very unpopular. **Wolsey's reforms: enclosures** 1. Enclosure was the practice of individual landowners **fencing off land** for profitable **sheep rearing**, and was blamed for poverty in rural areas. 2. It could lead to farmers being **forced off their land** and the removal of **common land** where villagers could graze animals. 3. Wolsey tried to find a solution, partly out of genuine **concern for the poor**, but also as another way he could **attack the wealthy**. 4. In **1517**, he set up an **enquiry** to investigate where land had been enclosed without proper permission. This led to over **260 court cases** being brought against landowners. 5. His actions increased his unpopularity among wealthy landowners. In **1523**, angry landowners in parliament forced Wolsey to call a halt to any investigations into enclosed land. In the long term, his attempted reforms **achieved little**. **The Eltham Ordinances (reforms of the court)** 1. As a result of the hundreds of people attending court every day, Henry's palaces were **dirty**, **bad behaviour** was common, and money was spent thoughtlessly. 2. To tackle this, Wolsey drew up a **detailed list of rules** known as the **Eltham Ordinances**. 3. These were **79 chapters** long, and included rules like: a. **Servants** who were **sick** or **not needed** were **laid off**. b. The number of people who were allowed **expenses** for things like food, drink, fuel and lodgings was cut. c. **Meals** were at set times, instead of constant. d. **Dogs** were banned to promote cleanliness, although the ladies were still allowed to keep small spaniels. 4. He also passed laws to reduce the **Gentlemen of the Chamber** from **twelve** to **six men**. The reason he gave was to save money, but his other main concern was to sideline his **political rivals**. **The Amicable Grant** [Reasons for the Amicable Grant] 1. The **king of France** was defeated by **Charles V** and captured in **1525**. Henry VIII therefore wanted to seize the opportunity to **invade France** while it was vulnerable. 2. England had used up most of its money in a **failed invasion** of France in **1523**, so if it was to go to war, it needed to raise money. 3. Wolsey had already demanded various **forced loans** and **subsidies** in the period **1522-24**, so he needed new ways to make money. 4. His solution was to impose a new **direct tax** without **gaining the approval of parliament**. This was risky, though, because one of parliament's main roles was to make sure the king did not tax the country too hard, and so if the government did not consult on matters of taxation, it risked rebellion. 5. The Amicable Grant demanded that **priests** pay **one third** of their income and everyone else **one sixth** of their income in tax. People were given just **ten weeks** to find the money. [Reactions to the Amicable Grant] 1. As the commissioners went out to collect the tax, they were greeted with **anger**, and many people simply **refused to pay**, saying they had no money. 2. A full scale **revolt** broke out in **Suffolk** in **May 1525**, when **10,000 men** met in **Lavenham**. They expressed **loyalty to the King** but wanted to make the Crown aware of their anger. They were met by a small force under the **Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk**, who negotiated the rebels' surrender. 3. This was the **first significant rebellion** of Henry's reign. 4. Henry claimed that he was **unaware of the tax** and ordered its collection to be stopped. 5. Wolsey was **humiliated** and accepted complete responsibility for the failure of the taxation. Wolsey's **unpopularity** increased. 6. Henry started to doubt the talents of his chief minister. It marked the **beginning of the end** for Wolsey. 7. No further taxation was attempted by Wolsey. 8. Henry's wish to attack France had to be abandoned, and instead, he **sought peace**. 9. The leaders of the protest movement in Suffolk were **pardoned**. **\ ** **[Section C: Wolsey's foreign policy]** **Henry's foreign policy before Wolsey** 1. The key powers in Europe at the time were the **Holy Roman Empire** and **France.** 2. The Holy Roman Empire included a wide range of territories, including the **Austrian Empire**. In **1519** the Holy Roman Empire was taken over by the Spanish King **Charles V**, who was Catherine of Aragon's nephew, and part of the powerful **Habsburg Family**. This made **Spain** and the **Holy Roman Empire** part of a now very-powerful **Habsburg Empire**. 3. France was ruled by **Francis I**, who was from the powerful **Valois** family. In the 1400s England had conquered much of northern France, but by the **1450s** France had re-conquered these lands and was much more powerful than England. 4. **Francis I** and **Charles V** were now fighting each other, in the **Valois-Habsburg wars**. 5. Although he was very powerful at home, Henry VIII was a relatively **minor player** in Europe. 6. England had a population of **2.75 million** and a royal income of **£110,000 a year**, as compared to France's population of **15 million** and royal income of **£350,000 a year**, and the Holy Roman Empire's population of **23 million** and income of **£560,000** a year. 7. The only part of France that was still controlled by England was **Calais**. 8. Henry had attempted to invade France in **1512**; this had been a **humiliation**, and failed because of his army's **drunkenness** and **disease**. 9. He had attempted again in **1513**, when he been victorious at the **Battle of the Spurs**; however, the towns he had captured were only minor, and the campaign had left him desperately short of money. **Aims of Wolsey's foreign policy** 1. Wolsey's aims were not always the exact same as Henry's -- Henry preferred war and Wolsey was worried about the expense -- but they both agreed that England's ultimate aim was to be seen as the **equal** to **France** and the **Habsburg Empire**. 2. He wanted to provide opportunities to play France and the Habsburg Empire off against each other. 3. He wanted to create a better relationship with **France** and the **Habsburg Empire**. This would ensure that these two powers would not join together to make an alliance against England. 4. He wanted to provide opportunities for Henry to gain **military glory** in battle. Although Wolsey was concerned about the **expense** of war, he knew fulfilling Henry's ambitions in this area was key to his own career. 5. However, if he could also develop a reputation for Henry as a **European peacemaker**, this would gain Henry the **international prestige** he wanted without having to pay for long wars. **The Treaty of London (1518)** 1. Wolsey called a large meeting in London, inviting all the rulers of Europe the send ambassadors. 2. The result was treaty of **'universal peace**', which aimed to end European warfare by making powers agree to a **non-aggressive foreign policy**. 3. **20** leaders of Europe signed up to the Treaty, including the **Pope**. 4. As part of the bigger peace treaty, there was also an agreement between France and England, which arranged the marriage of Henry's baby daughter, **Mary**, to the son of Francis I. This was a success for Henry and Wolsey as it gave Henry the **prestige** of being seen as a **European peacemaker** and allowed England to be seen as a **significant power**. 5. However, in the long term in failed: because the Spanish King **Charles V** had inherited the **Habsburg Empire** in **1519**, France now felt threatened as it was surrounded on all sides by Habsburg territory. The war between France and the Habsburgs re-started in **1521**. **The Field of the Cloth of Gold (1520)** 1. Wolsey and Henry organised a series of conferences with **Francis** and **Charles** to prevent war. 2. They also wanted to see what each side would offer in return for **English support** if a war did break out. 3. The most spectacular of these meeting stook place between Henry and Francis in the '**Field of the Cloth of Gold'**, just outside **Calais**, in **June 1520**. 4. Both men wanted to show off, so there was a week of **feasting and jousting**, organised by Wolsey. The highpoint was an unplanned **wrestling match** between the two Kings (Henry lost!) 5. Symbolically, it seemed a success -- it put Henry at the centre of events alongside other major European monarchs. 6. However, **no decisions** were made that would bring peace to Europe, and Francis I declared war on Charles V in **April 1521**. 7. The expedition was also monumentally **expensive**. **Increasing difficulties in the 1521-5** 1. After Charles and Francis went to war in **1521**, Wolsey attempted to put together a **peace deal**, but failed. His grand hopes for a 'universal peace' were now over. 2. Henry decided to declare war on **France** in **1522**. 3. In **1523** a **joint attack** on Paris was agreed between England and the Habsburg Empire. The English forces set out in **August** under the **Duke of Suffolk**. However, the promised troops from Charles never turned up, and Suffolk was forced to retreat. 4. This looked like a failure; however, it became clear that Charles V had used Henry's troops to distract the French while he attacked Francis at the **Battle of Pavia**. Charles won this battle and took Francis I **prisoner**. 5. Henry and Wolsey asked Charles for a **joint invasion** of France, and to then divide France up between England and the Habsburgs, and make Henry king of France. 6. However, **Charles** did not want to expand Henry's power, and so he refused Henry's request, refused Henry any share of the spoils from the victory at Pavia, and released Francis. 7. It was obvious Charles did not view England as an equal of valued ally. 8. Having been let down so obviously by their Habsburg ally, Wolsey opened negotiations with France, signing a peace treaty in **1525**. This was the **Treaty of More**. Under this Treaty, Henry agreed to **give up his claims to France** in return for an **annual payment**. 9. The financial cost was huge: it cost Henry **£430,000**. This led to **tax increases** and **forced loans** which hurt Henry's popularity. **Developments 1525-29** 1. England and France were now at peace. 2. In **1526** Wolsey helped to organise (but did not join) the **League of Cognac**. This created an alliance of **France, the pope, Venice and Florence**, with aim of stopped Charles V conquering any more of the **Italian peninsular**. 3. In **1527** Wolsey strengthened relations with France further by signing the **Treaty of Westminster**, which threatened Charles with military intervention if he did not improve his relations with his neighbours. 4. England was now firmly committed to fighting Charles and his Habsburg Empire. From **1527** this would significantly complicate Henry's attempts to **gain a divorce**, especially when the pope became a prisoner of Charles V. 5. Later in **1527**, Habsburg troops ransacked Rome, and the Pope, **Clement VII**, became a prisoner of Charles V. This would cause complications for Wolsey's attempts to gain an annulment for Henry. 6. In **1528** France and England declared war on Charles, and Francis I invaded the **Italian peninsular**. However, **no English troops** were sent to fight. This discredited the idea that England was a serious international player. 7. Wolsey introduced a **trade embargo** of the **Netherlands** (this meant England refused to trade with them), as they were part of the Habsburg territory. However, this was called off because of protests from **English cloth workers**. 8. Most importantly, in June **1529**, Charles defeated the French at the **Battle of Landriano** in northern Italy, and in **August** Francis made peace with Charles in the **Treaty of Cambrai**. Wolsey was only informed of the negotiations at the last minute. 9. Charles V's control over Europe, and - most importantly for Wolsey - the Pope, was now complete. **\ ** **[Section D: Wolsey, Catherine, the succession and annulment]** **Catherine of Aragon and the succession** 1. Catherine was the **princess of Spain**, and she had married Henry's older brother, **Arthur**, in **November 1501**. 2. This had been a **political marriage** to form an alliance between England and Spain. Catherine's nephew was **Charles V** of Spain, the **Holy Roman Emperor.** 3. Arthur had died in **1502**. Catherine swore that the marriage had been **unconsummated** (which meant it had not been confirmed by having sex; a marriage was not valid until that point). This meant the Pope could grant a special **dispensation**, and Catherine could be married to Henry instead. Therefore the Anglo-Spanish alliance was maintained. 4. Henry was genuinely fond of Catherine. She was deeply religious and well educated, and widely respected for her charitable work. In **1513** when Henry was fighting in France, he showed his regard for her by appointing her **regent** (someone who governs in a king's absence). 5. Catherine was pregnant at least **six times**, but only one baby, **Mary**, surviving. By 1524, she was **39**, and her chances of becoming pregnant again were slim. **Henry's reasons for wanting an annulment** 1. Henry believed that he needed a healthy male heir to guarantee the future of the Tudor dynasty. He believed that having only a female heir would lead others (both at home and abroad) to challenge for the throne. 2. Henry started to see Catherine's failure to produce a son as a sign of **God's displeasure**. He found evidence to support this in the Bible; **Leviticus**, a book in the Old Testament, said: '**If a man shall take his brother's wife it is an impurity... they shall be childless**'. 3. In **1525** Henry met **Anne Boleyn**. By this point Catherine was **40** and no longer beautiful, while Anne was young and, if not conventionally beautiful, **charming, witty** and **charismatic**. 4. Anne was the daughter of **Sir Thomas Boleyn**, a courtier and minister, and was the niece of the **Duke of Norfolk**, who was becoming a key advisor to the king. 5. Anne refused the king's initial advances, and let it be known she would only sleep with him when they were married. This made the king even more determined to secure an **annulment**: this was a declaration that a marriage had **never been valid** and therefore never existed. It could only be granted by the **pope.** **Henry's attempts to gain an annulment** 1. In **1527** Henry VIII gave the task of getting him an annulment to **Wolsey**. 2. This would require the approval of the pope, but Wolsey was a **cardinal** and the **Papal Legate** so he had influence in Rome. The Pope was also an **ally** of Henry. Wolsey assumed it would be straightforward. 3. However, Catherine was the aunt of **Charles V**. In 1527 Habsburg troops had taken the Pope, **Clement VII**, a virtual prisoner. 4. Clement VII therefore did not want to risk upsetting Charles by granting the annulment, but he also did not want to lose the support of his English ally. He therefore **delayed making a decision** for as long as possible. 5. Wolsey was under increasing pressure from Henry, and from Anne and her supporters. 6. Wolsey tried to find **evidence in the Bible** to support an annulment, and argued his case with support from **Leviticus**. However: a. there was other contradictory evidence elsewhere in the Bible, in the **Book of Deuteronomy**, which suggested a man could marry his brother's widow. b. Wolsey's argument only worked if Arthur and Catherine's marriage had been consummated, because otherwise they had never been 'properly' married in the first place. Catherine insisted it had not. 7. Huge pressure was also placed on Catherine to **renounce her marriage** and **become a nun**. This would automatically terminate the marriage. She refused. 8. Wolsey then asked the Pope to allow the case to be decided in England -- this would leave the decision to Wolsey himself, as Papal Legate. 9. Clement VII initially agreed and sent **Cardinal Campeggio** to England to help oversee arrangements. However, Campeggio had in fact been given instructions by the pope to avoid making a decision. He did not arrive in England until **October 1528**, he did not open the **annulment hearing** until **June 1529**, and he then broke the court up for the summer in **July 1529** without a decision having been reached. 10. Clement VII then decided in the summer of 1529 that the case had to be heard in Rome after all. **Opposition to the annulment** 1. As we have seen, a considerable amount of opposition to the annulment came from **Clement VII** himself, who would have found it politically impossible to support. 2. **Catherine of Aragon** was also deeply opposed. She was called to speak at the annulment hearing, where she knelt before Henry and delivered her plea to him in person. As a devout **Catholic**, she argued that if she accepted that the marriage was invalid from the start, that would effectively mean she had been Henry's **mistress** throughout. Accepting the annulment would have also meant accepting that her daughter, Mary, was **illegitimate**, which she was not prepared to do. 3. Catherine also had **powerful supporters**, such as **John Fisher,** who was **Bishop of Rochester**, and **Thomas More**, who was an advisor to the King. **Public support** for the queen was also strong. **Reasons for Wolsey's fall from power** 1. When Campeggio suspended work on the divorce case in **July 1529**, it was clear that Wolsey's divorce strategy had failed. 2. In **October**, Henry punished Wolsey by stripping him of most of his powers and possessions, and exiling him to **York**. 3. In **November 1530**, Wolsey was summoned to London for trial on charges of ***praemunire***: treason by a member of the clergy as a result of working in the interests of the Pope, not the King. 4. His health suffering, Wolsey **died** on the journey south, and so was spared execution. 5. Henry's faith in Wolsey was undermined by a combination of three key failures: the failure of the **Amicable Grant**, his failure to build an **alliance against Charles V**, and perhaps above all, his failure to **secure an annulment**. 6. Wolsey's failure was also caused by the **influence of the Boleyn family** (see below). **The influence of the Boleyns** 1. The **Eltham Ordinances** highlighted how Wolsey sought to prevent rivals from gaining close access to the king, and, up until **1527**, he was largely successful. 2. However, as the relationship between Henry and Anne developed, Wolsey was unable to prevent a powerful new group in court developing around Anne, led by her father **Thomas Boleyn** and her brother, **George Boleyn**. 3. The Boleyns argued that Wolsey was deliberately trying to disrupt divorce proceedings because he favoured Catherine. 4. Anne in particular grew to hate Wolsey, and many other nobles with grudges against Wolsey sided eagerly with her and the Boleyns. **\ ** **[HENRY VIII AND HIS MINISTERS KEY TOPIC 2: HENRY VIII AND CROMWELL 1529-40]** **[Section A: Cromwell's rise to power 1529-34]** **Cromwell's early career** 1. Thomas Cromwell was born in **1485**, the son of **blacksmith** and **ale-house keeper**. 2. In **1503**, Cromwell left England to join the **French army**. 3. He then **deserted** the French army and moved to **Florence**, where he used rose up in the household of **Francesco Frescobaldi**, a leading **banker**. 4. Cromwell then became a **cloth merchant** in **Antwerp**, where he developed **trading knowledge** and **business contacts**. 5. In around **1514**, Cromwell returned to England, married **Elizabeth Wyckes** (who came from a very wealthy family) and became a successful **London merchant**. Although he lacked any legal training, he also developed a thriving **legal practice**. 6. He also started working for **Thomas Wolsey** on his return to England, and eventually became his **most senior advisor**. **Cromwell's personality** 1. Cromwell was **focused, intelligent, ambitious** and **determined**. He was also **warm** and **charming**. 2. He was prepared to make **hard decisions** -- which meant even sending people to die. 3. In his personal life, Cromwell was a **loving husband and father**, but his wife and two daughters died in the summer of **1528** from **sweating sickness**, leaving only his son **Gregory**. 4. He disliked **showiness** and was a man of **modest taste**. Because of his **low birth** he was not allowed to wear **rich colours**. **Service to Wolsey, election as MP and membership of the Royal Council** 1. Wolsey's death was bad news for Cromwell: without Wolsey, Cromwell had no formal position in Henry's government, and, as Wolsey's senior advisor, he himself was at risk. 2. Many members of Wolsey's household distanced themselves from the cardinal, but Cromwell continued to speak in Wolsey's defence. 3. In **1529** Wolsey became **MP** for **Taunton**, and used his position to defend Wolsey's reputation. He even tried to **defend Wolsey in court**, gaining an audience with Henry himself. 4. While ultimately unsuccessful in saving Wolsey, Cromwell impressed Henry with his **loyalty** and his **legal skills**. 5. In **1531** Cromwell was appointed to the **Royal Council**, which placed him in Henry's circle of trusted advisors. **Handling of the King's annulment and influence over Henry** 1. Cromwell realised that helping Henry to divorce Catherine of Aragon would be a sure way of gaining further **promotion**. None of Henry's noblemen had had the talent to find a strategy to secure divorce, and Henry's new **Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More**, was actively opposed to divorce. 2. In **1531** Cromwell proposed a solution: the **power of annulment** should be removed from the pope and given to Henry instead, and to provide a **legal basis** for this, **parliament** could be used to pass a law transferring the power. 3. This was a ground-breaking solution, because it **directly challenged the power of the pope**, and also dramatically **expanded the power of parliament**, which up to this point had mainly only been used to grant new taxes. 4. By **January 1533** Anne Boleyn was pregnant, so Henry needed a divorce quickly: he had to marry Anne before she gave birth, to ensure the child was **legitimate**. 5. On **25 January**, the new **Archbishop of Canterbury**, **Thomas Cranmer**, performed a **secret marriage ceremony** for the couple. However, in the eyes of the Catholic church this ceremony was not legal, so the baby would still be illegitimate. 6. In **March 1533** the **Act in Restraint of Appeals** was passed, which stated that the king was the **'Supreme Head'** of England. This meant that he, rather than the pope, had the right to grant annulments. 7. A **divorce hearing** began in **May 1533**, headed by **Archbishop Cranmer**. 8. On **23 May** the court announced that the **original papal dispensation** had been **invalid**, that Henry and Catherine had never been **legally married**, and that Henry's **secret marriage** to Anne was therefore **legal**. 9. A week later, great celebrations were held to mark Anne's **coronation** as queen. Anne travelled from **Greenwich Palace** to the **Tower of London**, accompanied by **300 boats**. 10. Anne Boleyn gave birth to a **girl**, **Elizabeth**, in **September 1533**. **Role as the King's Chief Minister** 1. Securing Henry's divorce was Cromwell's big break. From **1533** until his death in **1540** he acted as Henry's **chief minister**. 2. He was rewarded with many titles and offices -- in **1535** he became **Chancellor of the Exchequer**; in **1536** he became **Lord of the Privy Seal**; in **1540** he became **Lord Great Chamberlain** and **Earl of Essex**. These made him both **rich** and **powerful**. However, he was not given as many promotions as Wolsey had been. 3. He was not given as much freedom as Wolsey: Henry was now older and more serious, so took more of a **direct role** in government. 4. Unlike Wolsey, Cromwell was **not extravagant** and did not develop a vast household. When he was not entertaining important guests, he **lived simply**. **\ ** **[Section B: Cromwell, and the king's marriages]** **The fall of Anne Boleyn** [Henry and Anne's relationship] 1. Although Henry was disappointed that Anne's first child was a **girl**, he was confident that she would have more children. However, this was followed by a **miscarriage** in **1534**. 2. In January **1536** Henry **fell from his horse** and was unconscious for **two hours**. Although he recovered, he spent the rest of his life in **chronic pain**, which made him increasingly unpredictable and bad-tempered. 3. Then, at the end of that month, Anne **miscarried**. Henry had just turned **45**; the fall from his horse made him scared he could die without having a son; and the security of his kingdom was under threat on account of the pope's displeasure with his break from Rome. 4. Once again, Henry reasoned that **God disapproved of his marriage** and so was refusing to provide him with a son. 5. By 1536, Anne's **assertive personality** was becoming irritating to Henry. Henry had instead fallen in love with **Jane Seymour**. [Anne's suspected adultery] 1. By spring **1536** a rumour reached Henry that Anne was being **unfaithful**. In **April** he asked Cromwell to investigate. 2. On **30 April** a court musician, **Mark Smeaton**, was arrested, and probably **tortured** into confessing an affair with Anne. Further arrests were made, including of **Sir Henry Norris**, a long-term friend of Henry, and **Anne's own brother, George**, although all of them apart from Smeaton denied the charges. 3. Anne herself was charged with **five cases** of adultery and treason, although she too protested her innocence. However, Henry had already made his mind up that he wanted Anne to die. [The role of Cromwell] 1. On Henry's behalf, Cromwell had already looked into rumours of whether Anne had had a former relationship with **Henry Percy**, which could be used as evidence that her marriage to Henry was not valid; however, Cromwell could find no concrete evidence of this. 2. He then took a leading role in building the adultery case against Anne, and personally interrogated Smeaton. 3. He **collected the evidence** against the other main suspects, most of which was based on **court gossip**. 4. He made sure the **ladies-in-waiting** who served the imprisoned Anne were **spies**, reporting back everything she said to Cromwell. 5. Some historians say that Anne's downfall was more the role of Cromwell than Henry, and that he wanted her gone because they disagreed on **foreign policy** and what to do with the money from the **dissolution of the monasteries**. 6. However, this view is unlikely: by now, Henry was a mature and experienced leader, and Wolsey knew it would be dangerous to manipulate him in this way. [Anne's arrest and execution] 1. Anne had been arrested on **2 May 1536**. On **15 May**, she was tried jointly with her brother. Her uncle, the **Duke of Norfolk**, was the presiding judge. She pleaded her innocence but was found **guilty** and **sentenced to death**. 2. On **17 May** the **Archbishop of Canterbury** annulled Henry's marriage to Anne. **Princess Elizabeth** was also made **illegitimate**. 3. On **19 May** Anne was executed in front of a crown of **1000** people. She used her final words to profess her love for Henry. **Jane Seymour: marriage, heir and death** 1. The day after Anne's death, Henry asked Jane Seymour to marry him. Jane was **gentle** and **kind**. 2. The wedding was on **30 May 1536** and was **small** and **private**. 3. Henry urgently needed a son: with both his previous marriages declared illegitimate, so too were Elizabeth and Mary, and Henry had no legitimate heir. 4. Therefore, Henry really needed Jane to provide him with a son -- and she duly gave birth to the future **Edward VI** on **12 October 1537**. 5. There was considerable rejoicing, although this was cut short when Henry died less than **two weeks** later from complications of childbirth. 6. Henry was deeply saddened and **wore black** for **three months**. **The influence of the Seymours** 1. As queen, Jane did not **challenge the King**. On one occasion she tried -- by begging for mercy for those who had taken part in a rebellion known as the **Pilgrimage of Grace** -- Henry threatened her with Anne's fate. 2. She was more successfully in overseeing a reconciliation between Henry and **Mary**, although it was on Henry's terms: Mary had to **beg for forgiveness** and accept that Catherine and Henry had not been married. 3. However, Jane was from a politically established family --and when she became queen, the status of her father (**Sir John Seymour)** and brothers was enhanced. 4. Although Jane died just one year into marriage, the fact that she had provided Henry with a son ensured the Seymour family remained important members of the court for the rest of Henry's reign. 5. Jane's **eldest brother, Edward Seymour**, was the most successful of the Seymours. He was made **Earl of Hertford** just three days after Edward was born, and became a leading advisor to Henry. **[\ ]** **[Section C: Cromwell and government, 1534-40]** **Reform of government** [The problems] 1. It had always been difficult for kings to control **distant parts of the kingdom**, especially **Wales, Ireland** and the **north**. a. **Ireland** was particularly a concern because it could be a **back door** for foreign invasion of England. b. **Wales** was difficult to control because it retained its own **laws** and **language**. c. Traditionally **the north** was governed by the **Council of the North** under the control of the King, but in reality the **northern nobility** retained great power in their own right. 2. The day-to-day running of government was done by the **Royal Council**, but this was not well-run. Decisions were not **officially recorded** and it was often dominated by **one man** (as it had been under Wolsey). [Cromwell's solutions] 1. In **Ireland** Cromwell established a **permanent military force** in the area round Dublin called **the Pale**. However, he did not try to extent English control beyond this area because of the risks. 2. In **Wales** the **1536 Act of Union** said that Welsh laws would be replaced by English laws. Wales was divided into **counties** which sent MPs to the **English Parliament**, and English became the **official language** of Wales. 3. In the **north** Cromwell reorganised the **Council of the North** and gave it greater responsibility for law and order. This **improved royal security** in the north, but **northern lords** remained extremely powerful and the Crown was still dependent on their loyalty to maintain law and order. 1. Cromwell created a new, simpler version of the Royal Council known as the **Privy Council**. It was made up of **20 permanent advisors**, and a **clerk of the Privy Council** was appointed to record decisions. **Reform of finance** [The problems] 1. Henry's financial needs were considerable: he needed to maintain his **magnificent court** and **defend England** from the risk of invasion. 2. In the **1530s** Henry received a big **windfall** from the **Dissolution of the Monasteries** (see below), and this needed to be organised properly. 3. The **King's Chamber** kept track of Henry's income and expenditure, but **accounts** were not properly kept, and Henry's lack of interest in its day-to-day running meant that it was badly organised. [The solutions] a. He set up the **Court of Augmentations** in **1536**, to handle the money from the **Dissolution of the Monasteries**. It had a **central staff** and **regional offices** to make sure the maximum income was obtained. b. The **Court of First Fruit and Tenths**, created in **1540**, which collected a **tax** from the clergy that had previously been sent to Rome. c. This was the start of a modern **bureaucracy**: each department was staffed by **well-trained officers** and was **routinely checked** to ensure it was acting appropriately. **Reform of Parliament** [The problems] 1. At the start of Henry's reign, Parliament was only called occasionally to **raise money** for wars or approve new laws. However, in the **1530s** this changed because Henry and Cromwell needed parliament to pass laws which changed the country's religion and established the King as the **Supreme Head of the Church**. 2. However, there was a danger that when they called parliament it would express **opposition** to Henry's policies instead of supporting them. [The solutions] 1. In **1532** Cromwell and Henry forced the House of Commons to '**divide**' (vote) for the first time. This put MPs under pressure to vote for what the King wanted because Henry would know who had supported him. 2. In **1533** Cromwell made sure many new MPs supported the King's reforms by **'managing**' (interfering with) elections with **bribery** and **threats**. This was not new but it was effective. 3. If members of the House of Lords disagreed with royal policy, they were told by Cromwell that they **'need not attend'**. 4. Cromwell wrote **pamphlets** outlining new laws for the MPs to read in advance. This was **propaganda** to ensure that MPs voted for royal policies. **[\ ]** **[Section D: The Fall of Cromwell]** **Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves** [Reasons for the marriage] 1. Henry's privy councillors had started the search for a new wife for Henry only days after Jane Seymour died. Henry needed **more sons**, and England **needed allies**. 2. By **1539**, Anne of Cleves had emerged as a favourite -- she was **gentle, virtuous and obedient**. She was not Henry's first choice, but many families would not allow someone to marry someone who had a reputation for mistreating his wives. 3. **Cleves** was a small kingdom in the north of the **Holy Roman Empire**, and Anne was the second daughter of its leader, the **Duke of Cleves**. The marriage offered him a chance to make an alliance with a great European power. 4. England, meanwhile, felt like the threat of invasion was real: at the start of **1539** it was feared that **Francis I** of France and **Charles V** of Spain were about to launch a Catholic crusade to invade England, and so Cromwell thought a good way of saving England would be to marry Henry to a potential ally against them. 5. Cleves was a good choice because, like England, it had **expelled the authority of the Pope** but not replaced it with Protestantism. 6. Cromwell also had a **private motive**: he did not want Henry to marry a **Catholic**, as Cromwell himself wanted to make more Protestant-style religious reforms. A **foreign princess** would also lack connections to the great **English noble families**, and so was less likely to be used against him. 7. The choice was still very much Henry's. He had seen a portrait of Anne by **Hans Holbein** and considered her very desirable. A treaty confirming the match was signed in **October 1539**. 8. However, Cromwell had played a key role in bringing about this marriage: his future would now partly depend on how successful it was. [The failure of the marriage] 1. Henry had never seen Anne in person when he signed the marriage treaty. He first saw her in **December** **1539** and took an **instant dislike to her**, famously shouting at Cromwell, **'I like her not! I like her not!**'. 2. The wedding was postponed for **two days** as Henry desperately tried to get out of the marriage. However, he had little choice, as he needed an alliance and **invasion seemed imminent**; Cromwell persuaded him to go through with it. 3. The couple were married on **6 January 1540**; the next day Henry reported that he had been **unable to consummate** the marriage. 4. It also soon became clear that Anne would not fit into **sophisticated court life**; she was **shy**, and her education had centred on **needlework** and **household management**. She did not have the skills of **singing, dancing, and languages**, which were expected of an English noblewoman. 5. Henry had also now fallen in love with **Catherine Howard**, a young **lady-in-waiting** to Anne of Cleves, and was pursuing her seriously by the spring of **1540**. 6. It had also become evident that an alliance with Cleves was no longer needed, as relations between Francis I and Charles V had broken down. 7. By the start of **July 1540**, Henry's marriage had been **annulled** on the grounds of **non-consummation**, and by the end of the month, **Catherine Howard** was Henry's fifth wife. 8. In return for Anne of Cleve's quiet acceptance of the annulment, she was richly rewarded with several **manor houses** and a sizeable income, and granted the official status of the **'king's sister'**. This made her a relatively rare thing in Tudor England -- an unmarried woman with significant personal wealth. **Cromwell's fall from power in 1540** 1. Henry blamed Cromwell for the failure of his marriage to Anne of Cleves. 2. Henry was losing faith in Cromwell as a result of his **religious policies**, which were too Protestant for Henry's taste, who was now demanding a return to **traditional Catholic values**. 3. While Cromwell was weakened by these events, his fall from power was not certain: in **April 1540** he was awarded the title of **Earl of Essex**. For someone with no aristocratic blood this was a rare honour, and suggests a significant degree on ongoing support from Henry. 4. Cromwell might have survived if it had not been for the actions of the **Duke of Norfolk** [The role of the Duke of Norfolk] 1. **Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk** was from a long-established **noble family**. He was **Anne Boleyn's uncle**, but fell out with her because of her Protestants views (he was a committed Catholic), and presided over her trial. 2. He was also **Catherine Howard's uncle**, and this meant his power was on the rise again once Henry had fallen in love with her. 3. He was extremely **ambitious** and was bitter that he had failed in his aim to become Henry's **chief minister**. 4. He hated Cromwell for three main reasons: a. Norfolk was a **Catholic**, while Cromwell supported **Protestant** ideas; b. Norfolk believed that Cromwell should not be allowed to advise the King because of his **low birth**; c. Norfolk was angry when Cromwell was made **Earl of Essex**, which Norfolk believed was too high a title for a commoner. 5. Early in 1540, Norfolk instructed Catherine Howard to **spread rumours** that Cromwell was not putting enough effort into securing the divorce from Anne of Cleves. 6. They then claimed that Cromwell was **plotting to introduce Protestantism** to England. 7. Both accusations were **untrue**, but Henry was angry and chose to believe them. 8. Cromwell retaliated by ordering the closure of **Thetford Priory** in Norfolk. This was the family burial place for the Howards, and Norfolk had to arrange for his **ancestors' bones** to be dug up and reburied elsewhere. 9. Cromwell also tried to have Norfolk **exiled from court**, claiming that he had been in contact with someone with **sweating sickness**, but this plan failed. 10. On **10 June 1540** Cromwell was arrested on charges of **treason** and **heresy**, and taken to the **Tower of London**. 11. On **29 June** parliament passed on **Act of Attainder** (which meant he could be declared guilty without a trial) and condemned him to death. 12. Cromwell **wrote to the king** and begged for mercy. Henry ignored the letter, and Cromwell was executed on **29 July 1540**, on the same day as Henry married **Catherine Howard**. [The significance of Cromwell's death] 1. His death was greeted happily by many in England who saw him as responsible for the **destruction of the monasteries**. 2. **Religious reformers** had lost a significant ally and the **Catholic faction** in court, led by the Duke of Norfolk, became more influential. 3. Within months Henry **regretted the decision**, and accused his councillors of bringing about Cromwell's downfall through **false charges**. **[\ ]** **[HENRY VIII AND HIS MINISTERS KEY TOPIC 3: THE REFORMATION AND ITS IMPACT 1529-40]** **[Section A: The Break with Rome]** **Henry as 'Defender of the Faith'** 1. Henry started his reign as a committed **Roman Catholic**. 2. However, a new religious movement was taking hold across Europe, known as **Protestantism**, led by the German priest, **Martin Luther**. This movement wanted to reform the church in a process known as the **Reformation.** Henry was opposed to this movement. 3. In **1521** he wrote a book called ***In Defence of the Seven Sacraments**,* expressing his support for Catholicism. This earned him the title **'Defender of the Faith'** from the Pope. **Some key differences between Catholicism and Protestantism** +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | | **Catholicism** | **Protestantism** | +=======================+=======================+=======================+ | 1. | The **pope** was the | Rulers, like | | | head of the Church | monarchs, should lead | | | | their own churches | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 2. | There were **seven | Only the **three** | | | sacraments** | sacraments mentioned | | | (religious rituals | in the Bible were | | | with special meaning, | valid: **baptism, the | | | like baptism and | Eucharist** and | | | marriage). | **penance**. | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 3. | During the Mass, the | The bread and wine | | | bread and wine | used in church | | | physically | services only | | | transformed into the | **symbolised** the | | | body and blood of | body and blood of | | | Christ, a process | Christ, and did not | | | known as | physically change. | | | **transubstantiation* | | | | * | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 4. | **Priests** held a | Priests did not hold | | | special status, | particular status and | | | reflected in their | could therefore | | | ornate clothing, | marry; instead, | | | known as | religious authority | | | **vestments**. For | came entirely from | | | this reason, they | the **Word of God** | | | also had to remain | as shown to people | | | **celibate** (which | through the **Bible** | | | meant not marrying or | | | | having sexual | | | | relations). | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 5. | Church services and | Services and the | | | the Bible were in | Bible should be in | | | **Latin** | **English**, so | | | | ordinary people could | | | | understand them | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 6. | Completing | Pilgrimages were | | | **pilgrimages** -- | **superstitious** and | | | journeys for | a waste of time. | | | religious reasons -- | | | | was seen as a way of | | | | getting **salvation** | | | | (going to heaven) | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 7. | Pieces of paper | Indulgences were | | | signed by the Pope -- | **corrupt**. | | | known as | | | | **indulgences** -- | | | | could help you get | | | | into heaven. | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 8. | Churches should be | Churches should be | | | **beautifully | much simpler and not | | | decorated** with | contain expensive | | | statues and images to | ornaments or | | | show God's glory | treasures | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 9. | People should pay | The Church and its | | | **taxes** and | leaders should not | | | **indulgences** to | become rich. Its | | | the Church to make it | wealth should belong | | | rich | to the local leader. | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ 1. Henry's main concern by 1529 was to **divorce Catherine of Aragon**. Henry used the threat of **breaking with Rome** (no longer recognising the Pope's authority) as a way of trying to pressurise the Pope into granting his divorce. Henry was however a committed Catholic and at this stage did not plan on actually doing this. 2. As it became increasingly clear the Pope would not grant an annulment, breaking from Rome increasingly seemed like a realistic solution to Henry's problem. 3. Some of the most important people in Henry's life, including **Anne Boleyn, Thomas Cromwell**, and **Thomas Cranmer** (who was appointed **Archbishop of Canterbury** in **1532**) also genuinely supported Protestant ideas. 4. Anne Boleyn gave Henry a copy of **William Tyndale**'**s** book, ***Obedience of the Christian Man***, which argued that God had always intended the Church to be ruled by kings. It was a very Protestant idea, and appealed to Henry. 5. However, Henry did not like a lot of Protestant ideas, and was only convinced by the parts that suited him. 6. Henry may also have been partly influenced by growing **anti-clericalism** in England: this focused on complaints about the **poor quality** and **corruption** of the clergy. However, this remained a **minority view** in England. 7. Henry VIII's wars had left him short of money. Breaking away from Rome would mean that some money that traditionally went to the Pope (such as the **Annates of Rome**) could now come to him. However, the amounts at this point were relatively small. **The significance of the Act of Succession 1534** 1. Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon was declared invalid, and Anne Boleyn was declared queen. 2. Only children of this second marriage would be able to **inherit the throne**. Therefore, **Princess Mary** was declared **illegitimate**. 3. Henry had now completely **rejected the authority of Rome** to decide whether he could divorce and remarry. 4. In response, the Pope stated that Henry was still married to Catherine. Henry responded by ordering that the **pope's name be struck out** of all prayer books in England. **The significance of the Act of Supremacy 1534** 1. This was a formal acknowledgement of Henry as **head of the English Church**, and had the powers previously held by the pope, such as how the Church would be organised, what the central **doctrines** (beliefs) would be, and who would be appointed to **key positions**. 2. This made clear that England was **no longer under the Pope's control**. 3. Cromwell was appointed as the **King's Vicegerent**, which meant his deputy, with responsibility for day-to-day running of the Church. 4. This was a very significant **symbolic** decision, although, in reality, the pope had only ever played a small part in the affairs of the English Church. **Cromwell's role in enforcing the Acts** [The use of oaths] 1. Henry and Cromwell knew that the radical nature of these Acts could provoke resistance. 2. Therefore, a clause in the **Act of Succession** required individuals, when asked, to take an **oath** supporting Anne Boleyn as Henry's queen. This was called the **Oath of Succession**. 3. Refusal to take the oath if asked would lead to punishment as a **traitor**. 4. All of England's **political and religious leaders** were asked to take this oath. [The Treason Act] 1. The existing Treason Act dated from **1532**, and defined treason in the traditional way (eg plotting the king's death). This was not useful for punishing those who spoke out against the **king's divorce** or the **break with Rome**. 2. Therefore Cromwell introduced the **1534 Treason Act**, which made denying the **royal supremacy** punishable with death. 3. This was a dramatic increase in the **power of the state** to deal with its opponents. **[\ ]** **[Section B: Opposition to, and impact of, Reformation, 1534-40]** **Opposition from Elizabeth Barton (the Nun of Kent)** 1. In **1525**, Elizabeth Barton, an unknown **16 year old**, claimed that the **Virgin Mary** had appeared to her in a vision and miraculously cured her. 2. She entered a **convent** in Canterbury, where she continued to have visions, and thousands flocked to see her. 3. From **1527**, she starting attacking Henry's plans to divorce Catherine of Aragon, and **Protestant ideas** in general. In a face-to-face meeting with the King in **1532**, she warned him that, if he married Anne Boleyn, he would die a **villain's death** within a month. 4. Whether Barton was a fraud or genuinely believed her prophesies, it does seem that she was **exploited** by a group of clergymen who opposed the King's policies. Her spiritual advisor was a monk called **Dr Edward Bocking**, and he made links with leading opponents of Henry's reforms, like **Fisher** and **More** and published a collection of her prophesies called the ***Nun's Book***. 5. The visions were embarrassing and dangerous for Henry, and in **1533** he ordered Cromwell to act. 6. In **July 1533** Barton was arrested and taken to the **Tower of London** for interrogation. All **700** copies of the ***Nun's Book*** were destroyed. 7. In **November** she was forced to confess to lying about her visions, and in **April 1534** she was executed. Her execution was on the same day that all Londoners were required to take the **Oath of Succession**. **Opposition from John Fisher** 1. John Fisher was appointed **Bishop of Rochester** in **1504**, and he had a Europe-wide reputation as a scholar. 2. He had **tutored** Henry as a young prince. 3. However, he became an outspoken critic of the divorce from Catherine. He also opposed that by claiming the Pope's power as his own, Henry was committing a **mortal sin**. 4. Henry grew to hate Fisher, but could not do anything to stop him, as he had not broken any laws. However, when Elizabeth Barton was arrested in 1533, Fisher's links with her meant he could be charged with **treason**. 5. Perhaps because of his high status, he escaped just with a fine of **£300**, and continued to oppose Henry's religious reforms. 6. In **April 1534**, Henry demanded that Fisher take the **Oath of Succession**. When Fisher refused, he was sent to the **Tower of London**. 7. In **May 1535**, the Pope announced that Fisher would be made a **Cardinal**. The Pope hoped this would encourage Henry to be lenient, but in fact it made him even more determined to show his power, and Fisher was executed for treason in **June 1535**. **Opposition from Thomas More** 1. Sir Thomas More was one of Europe's leading scholars, and was famous for his novel ***Utopia***. 2. More was appointed **Lord Chancellor** in **1529**, following the fall of Wolsey. He was a devout Catholic, and he **banned all Protestant books** and personally hunted out and interrogated **suspected heretics**. 3. During his Chancellorship, **six** people were burnt for their Protestant beliefs. 4. In **1532** More could no longer work for Henry, as his Catholic principles went against Henry's wish to divorce Catherine and break with Rome. However, he was a loyal subject, so he **resigned the Chancellorship**, claiming he was ill. 5. He wished to **retire from public life** and remain silent about the break from Rome, but Henry would not allow this, and in **April 1534** Henry asked More to take the **Oath of Succession**. 6. When More refused, he was sent to the **Tower of London**. He remained there for a **year**, and repeatedly refused to explain why he would not take the oath; if he had explained the reason, he would have been committing treason. 7. He was put on trial in **July 1535**, and evidence (possibly fabricated) was produced to show he had criticised the break from Rome. He was executed under the new **Treason Act**. 8. More became a **martyr** for the Catholic cause. His excommunication outraged many and discredited Henry; the Pope threatened to excommunicate Henry. **Impact of the Reformation on the English Church** 1. Although the Act of Supremacy cut links with the Pope, in reality the Pope had often been a distant figure, and so for most people this had no impact on the **way they worshipped**. 2. However, from **1534-40**, **reformers** increasingly tried to persuade Henry VIII to move the Church in a more **Protestant** direction in other ways, too. 3. To be openly Protestant could be dangerous; despite splitting with Rome, Henry was still a **Catholic** and opposed many aspects of Protestantism. For example, in **1533**, the priest **John Frith** was **burned at the stake** for **denying transubstantiation**. 4. However, despite this, Cromwell, who had Protestant beliefs, was able to make some important changes to the English Church, that moved it in a more Protestant direction: a. In **July 1536** the **Act of Ten Articles** said there were only **three sacraments**. b. In **August 1536** a set of **Royal Injunctions** was issued (in Henry's name, but on Cromwell's orders), which ordered the clergy to speak in favour of the **Royal Supremacy** and **Ten Articles**. They were ordered to **discourage pilgrimages**. Many Catholic practices seen as **superstitious** were attacked. c. In **1537** the **Bishops Book** was published. This stated that the priests' main duty was **preaching** (teaching God's word), which reduced their importance. However, it did re-instate the **four sacraments** that had been removed by the Ten Articles, so was a set back for reformers. d. In **1538** a second set of **Royal Injunctions** was issued, which said an **English translation of the Bible** had to be placed in all churches. **Religious images and statues** were to be removed from churches. It was much more detailed than the 1536 Injunctions, and it had a big impact on the day-to-day experience of worship for many people. 5. Another key figure in the move towards reform was **Thomas Cranmer**, **Archbishop of Canterbury**, who helped Cromwell draft the **Ten Articles** and **Bishops Book**. 6. However, Cranmer was **loyal to the king**, and prepared to be flexible in his beliefs -- including allowing Protestants to be burnt to death. 7. In **1538**, Henry decided to return to **traditional Catholic values**. To prove this, he had the priest **John Lambert** repeatedly plunged into flames for **denying transubstantiation**, while Henry looked on. 8. In **1539** he published the **Six Articles**, which re-confirmed Catholic beliefs, including **transubstantiation** and the **special role of priests** (which was proved by them having to remain **celibate**). Cranmer, who was married, sent his wife and children **abroad** as a result. 9. Failure to agree to the Six Articles could lead to **imprisonment** and **death**. 10. However, despite Henry's opposition, some reformist ideas had made progress by 1540. **Pilgrimages** and **worshipping images** were gradually stopping, and it was not possible to re-call the many copies of the **English Bible** that were now in circulation. **[\ ]** **[Section C: the Dissolution of the Monasteries]** **[The role of religious houses (monasteries and nunneries) in local communities]** 1. At the start of Henry's reign, England had around **8000 monks** and **2000 nuns**, and the focus of their day was **religious contemplation** (thinking about how better to serve god). 2. They were expected to be **poor, chaste** and **obedient**. As a result, monks and nuns generally enjoyed a **powerful reputation** and were treated with respect. 3. Monasteries owned around **one third** of all the lands in England. 4. The top 20 houses had incomes of over **£1000 a year**, which made them as wealthy as nobles. 5. Heads of houses played a role in administering **local justice**, and **30** of them sat in the **House of Lords**, helping to **advise the King.** 6. The children of the wealthy were often **educated** by monks and nuns. 7. Monks and nuns would **pray for the souls of the dead**; wealthy people could leave money in their wills to ensure they would be prayed for after they died. 8. **Travellers** on long journeys could use religious houses as safe places to stay. 9. Monks and nuns produced **beautiful works or art** such as **illuminated manuscripts**. 10. **Poor people** could go to their local monasteries to receive food and help. 11. The **sick** were often treated in **hospitals** set up by the monasteries. **[Reasons for the dissolutions]** [Cromwell's commission of 1535] 1. The reason given in public for the monasteries' dissolution was their **spiritual and moral decay**. 2. In **1535** Cromwell ordered a series of **visitations.** The findings, listed in a document called ***Compendium Compertorum***, claimed that hundreds of monks were taking part in **homosexual practices** or had confessed to keeping **mistresses**. They found many cases of **nuns having children**. There were even reports that **Abbot Hexham of Whitby** was in league with **French pirates**. This was used as evidence to justify the dissolution of the smaller monasteries. 3. The evidence was not reliable. The inspectors spent only a **few hours** at each house, and used **bullying tactics** when questioning monks and nuns. 4. It is now generally accepted that, while there were some corrupt monasteries, there were also some good ones -- for example, **Whalley Abbey** in **Lancashire** distributed **22%** of its income to charity. 5. In reality, the inspectors, like **Richard Layton** and **Thomas Legh**, were ambitious men, and knew that to get ahead, they needed to give their master, Cromwell, the evidence he wanted. [New religious ideas] 1. One of the main roles of monks and nuns was to **pray for the souls of the dead**, and ordinary people were encouraged to **give donations** so that this could be carried out; this went against Protestant ideas (Protestants did not believe in **purgatory**). 2. These new Protestant ideas had certainly influenced **Cromwell**. 3. However, Henry himself showed his support for the traditional role of monasteries by re-founding two of them in **1537** -- **Bisham Abbey**, and the nunnery at **Stixwold** -- to pray for him and his wife Jane Seymour. This suggests Henry did not truly believe the ideas of the religious reformers. [Loyalty] 1. Henry had doubts about the loyalty of the monasteries. The **1534 Act of Supremacy** had placed him in charge of the English Church, but many religious houses still had links to the pope, and resisted the break from Rome fiercely. 2. However, in the end, nearly every monk and nun ended up swearing the oath accepting the Act of Succession; only **eighteen** monks resisted, and they were executed. [Money] 1. Monasteries were hugely wealthy, and Henry needed money. He commissioned a survey into their wealth, known as ***Valor Ecclesiasticus**,* which revealed that the monasteries owned **one-third** of English land and had a total income of **£160,000** a year -- **three times** the income of the royal estates. 2. Henry needed money to **finance his wars** and protect England against possible **Catholic invasion**. 3. If he could get the wealth of the monasteries, he would no longer need to rely on parliament to grant him taxation, and he could avoid another taxpayers' revolt like the one that occurred after the **Amicable Grant**. 4. Any land taken from the monasteries could be given as gifts as a way of **buying support** from the gentry and nobility. **The process of dissolution** 1. Parliament passed the **first Act of Dissolution** in **March 1536**, which closed **300 smaller monasteries** with an income of less than **£200** a year. 2. Towards the end of **1537** the decision was taken to close the larger monasteries too. This was partly because some had supported the **Pilgrimage of Grace** (see below), but mainly because of their wealth. 3. To avoid rebellion, no piece of legislation was passed. Instead, each monastery was targeted individually in another series of **visitations**, and 'invited' to surrender their houses to the king as a free gift. In **1539** parliament passed a **second Act of Dissolution** confirming the 'voluntary' surrenders. 4. The process had been completed by **1540**. **[The impact of the dissolutions]** 1. After the dissolution, hundreds of buildings the size of **cathedrals** lay empty. The remains were often **looted** and the stone was used to build houses and field walls. 2. The destruction of the monasteries can be seen as an act of **cultural vandalism** -- much beautiful **architecture** was lost, along with **libraries, art,** and **stained glass windows** were destroyed. **95 %** of English medieval arts was destroyed. [The winners] 1. For **Protestants**, the dissolution removed a powerful symbol of Roman Catholicism. 2. For Henry, it brought huge **financial gain**. All land and property from the monasteries became his, and his income more than doubled from around **£100,000** to **£240,000** a year as a result. 3. This helped to pay for the war against **France and Scotland**, and it also allowed for **castle-building** on the coast to ward off invasion. 4. Over time, Henry sold most of the monastic land. This gave members of the **nobility and gentry** the opportunity to buy the land. A lot of estates were also bought by those who would ordinarily have remained landless, like **wealthy merchants and lawyers**. [The losers] 5. Heads of houses were granted a relatively generous **pension**, while ordinary monks and nuns were given a one-off payment of **20 to 30 shillings**. 6. Monks did better than nuns from the dissolution. It is estimated about **6500** out of **8000** monks managed to secure alternative employment with a church, but a significant number were left in hardship. 7. England's **2000 nuns** suffered the most, as they were not allowed to either marry or work in churches. Their pension was just **£2 a year** and they usually had to return to their families and hope they would be looked after. 8. Communities also lost out on the monasteries' **charitable work**, and some of the **landlords** who replaced the monks were ruthless, **raising rents** and **throwing tenants off the land**. 9. **Monastic schools** were also closed, reducing the opportunities for education for the **children of the poor**. 10. Many people were also angry because the **tombs of their ancestors** in monasteries were demolished, and because there was now no-one to pray for their souls. **[Section D: the Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536]** **Reasons for the uprising** 1. The **1534 Subsidy Act** was being collected in **1536**. This was usually only raised in wartime, and, as England was now at peace, it was deeply resented. 2. **Poor harvests** in **1535 and 1536** made times even harder. 3. **Commoners** had complaints about **rising rents** and **enclosure** of common land. 4. Gentry and nobility were opposed to the **1536 Statute of Uses**, a type of inheritance tax. 5. The North was mainly **Catholic**, and many believed their faith was under threat. 6. The **dissolution of the monasteries** was seen as an unforgiveable attack on religion. In addition, the loss of their role in providing help for the **poor and sick** was resented. 7. The **northern nobility** felt that Henry's court was too much under the influence of **Cromwell**. 8. They disliked Cromwell for this **low birth** and **reformist religious views**. 9. The participants saw themselves not as rebels, but as **Christ's soldiers**. They wore badges depicting the **five wounds of Christ**, and swore a **religious oath**. They marched **singing hymns** and carrying **religious banners**. 10. In the areas they occupied, they restored **16** religious houses, such as they nunnery of **St Clement's** in York. **Key events of the uprising** [Rebellion in Lincolnshire] 1. **Government commissioners** in Lincolnshire were shutting down the monasteries and **collecting taxation**. Rumours circulated that many churches were also going to be closed. 2. On **2 October**, led by shoe maker **Nicholas Melton** (who called himself **Captain Cobbler**), **3000** commoners rose up. 3. By **4 October**, the **gentry** had taken leadership of the rising; it had stopped being just a mob and become a more focused **political demonstration**. 4. Also on **4 October**, **Dr Raynes**, a hated employee of the **Bishop of Lincoln**, was murdered by a mob in **Horncastle**. 5. On **7 October**, at least **10,000 rebels** marched on the county town of **Lincoln**. 6. A set of **articles** (demands) was drawn up and sent to London. These complained about, among other things, the **dissolution of the monasteries** and **high taxes**. 7. Henry responded by sending the rebels a message threatening **extreme punishment** if they did not stop their rebellion, including the **destruction of all their property**. It reached them on **10 October**. 8. Henry also sent a force of around **3000 men**, under **Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk**. 9. The **gentry** at this point withdrew their support and asked for a royal pardon. The remainder of the rebels began to leave. 10. By **11 October** the Lincolnshire rebellion was over. [Rebellion in Yorkshire] 1. From **early October 1536**, a larger, more serious uprising started in Yorkshire. Under the leadership of **Robert Aske**, a lawyer, they had soon taken control of much of the country north of the **River Don**. 2. On **16 October**, Aske and **10,000 Pilgrims** were welcomed into **York**, the most important city in the North. 3. Aske ensured that there was **no looting** and that all goods used were paid for. 4. On **19 October**, the important town of **Hull** surrendered after a **five day** siege. 5. On **21 October**, **Pontefract Castle**, known as the '**gateway to the North**', also fell, and the castle's leader, **Lord Darcy**, joined the rebels. 6. Henry raised a new army and put its leadership under the control of **Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk**. 7. Norfolk had been given order to crush the rebellion, but he realised that the rebellion was too big to be defeated in battle, and that his own soldier's **morale** was low due to poor pay and **bad weather**, and so chose to **negotiate** instead. 8. The two sides met on **Doncaster Bridge** on **27 October**. **Thirty thousand** rebels lined the river bank. 9. Little came of this meeting, but Henry did agree to further negotiations. 10. In preparation for this meeting, Robert Aske prepared the **Pontefract Articles**, setting out **24 demands**, including: a. to have extreme Protestant ideas ended; b. to have the **Supreme Head of the Church** restored to the Pope; c. to have the **monasteries** restored; d. to have **Cromwell** punished. 11. On **6 December**, the pilgrim representatives, led by Aske, met the Duke of Norfolk, and accepted the offer of a **full pardon** and a **parliament** to discuss the Pontefract Articles. 12. Believing he had won, Aske **disbanded** the huge Pilgrim Army. 13. However, Henry had avoided committing to when the parliament would be held, and had no intention of keeping his promises anyway. 14. By **January 1537** lack of progress led to two small risings taking place, which provided Henry with the excuse he needed to punish the Pilgrims. 15. Henry ordered Norfolk to **round up** the Pilgrim ringleaders and **execute** them. **178** rebels were killed, including **Aske** himself, who was left **hanging in chains** from the walls of **York Castle**. **The role of Robert Aske** 1. Aske considered himself a **loyal subject**, not a **traitor**. He saw his forces not as '**rebels**' but as **'pilgrims**'. 2. He wanted to persuade Henry to **listen**, rather than to overthrow him. 3. He believed that Henry could be persuaded to **reverse his religious policies** once he realised how unpopular they were. 4. He was an **inspirational leader** who ensured the rebel army remained **well behaved**. He also decided to **negotiate** rather than **fight**. 5. He was the person who made the decision to trust Henry and accept his promises. **The role of Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk** 1. Norfolk led the **Royal Army** to the **North of England**. 2. He decided not to **use force** against the rebel army and to **negotiate** himself. 3. He was a **Catholic** and may well have felt some sympathy with the rebel cause. **Reasons for the failure of the Pilgrimage of Grace** 1. The Pilgrim Army had considerable strength -- it was **30,000** strong -- and might well have defeated the royal army Aske not chosen to send the Pilgrims home. 2. Aske may have been aware of the fact that **winter** was approaching, and moving the army southward as the weather deteriorated would have been difficult. 3. Aske's faith in the king was misplaced. He failed to appreciate the nature of Henry's kingship -- to give in to the rebels would have fatally weakened his status as ruler. 4. However, Henry had worked hard to ensure Aske would trust him -- he even invited Aske to **spend Christmas** at Henry's court, where he was treated with **respect**. **The significance of the uprising** 1. It helped to slow down and **reverse religious change**. In **1538** the **Act of Six Articles** reversed some of the religious changes that had taken place. 2. The **Dissolution of the Monasteries** went ahead regardless of the Pilgrimage, and may even have happened more quickly, as Henry saw them as a **potential focus for resistance.** 3. The defeat and aftermath of the Pilgrimage showed how **ruthless** Henry continued to be in dealing with opposition. 4. The numbers involved and the spread of the Pilgrimage showed that there was **widespread hostility** in the north to religious reforms. People were particularly angry about possible changes to their **local churches** and about the **closing of the monasteries**. 5. **Nobles and gentry** were prepared to support the protests. 6. It showed that royal power was weakened by not having a **royal army** permanently available. This therefore showed how much Henry depended on his nobles to provide soldiers to deal with problems.