Henry VIIIHenry VIII
The Creation of the Anglican ChurchThe Creation of the Anglican Church
Henry VIII...Henry VIII...• Becomes King at age 18
– BUT only after his brother Arthur died unexpectedly
• Was a devout Catholic– Detested Luther
• “A great limb of the Devil”
– Strongly supported the pope and went on record stating the importance of marriage
• Pope gave Henry a special title– “Defender of the Faith”
• Goal: Produce as many male heirs as possible to avoid another Civil War
• Split from the Catholic Church to establish the Anglican Church – “Church of England”
Catherine of AragonCatherine of Aragon• Henry’s 1st Wife
– Brother’s Widow
• Married for political reasons NOT love, but both would fall in love– Daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella • 4 of 5 babies died in infancy
– Only surviving child was Mary• Henry produces a bastard son
– Henry FitzRoy • Henry falls in love with another women
– Anne Boleyn• “Your wife I can not be, and your mistress
I will not be”
• Henry becomes convinced Catherine could not have more children– He wants a divorce / Catherine refused
Catherine of Aragon
Mary
AKA: Bloody Mary
Political Needs v Religious LoyaltiesPolitical Needs v Religious Loyalties
• Henry’s political needs (To produce as many male heirs as possible) were ultimately more important then his religious loyalties
• Eventually Henry will ask the Church to end his marriage with Catherine of Aragon
• Problem: Church doesn’t recognize divorce
The Divorce ProcessThe Divorce ProcessThomas WolseyThomas Wolsey
• Argued that it was wrong for Henry to have married his brother’s widow– The pope refused because of
political issues
– Wolsey also secretly disproved and was slow in arranging the divorce because he wanted to be pope someday
• Wolsey was arrested but died before he could be executed
Thomas Wolsey
Chief Minister to King Henry
The Divorce ProcessThe Divorce ProcessThomas CranmerThomas Cranmer
• Suggested divorce question be submitted for debate by the English university professors– Professors gave a favorable verdict
• Supported Henry's efforts to check power of the pope and to become head of Church of England
Thomas Cranmer
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Divorce ProcessThe Divorce ProcessThomas Cromwell
• Trusted adviser – Responsible for civil and
religious affairs
• Architect of Acts of Supremacy and Dissolution of the Monasteries
• Pushed Henry VIII to marry Anne Cleves
• Ultimately, he would fall out of favor with Henry and was beheaded
King sought Parliament’s HelpKing sought Parliament’s Help
• Parliament limits power of the church by ending canon law– Canon Law: church laws
without royal approval
• Parliament OK’d divorce and marriage to Anne Boleyn
Acts of SupremacyActs of Supremacy• Popes authority ended
• Created Church of England– Kings is head of the Church
• Led to the beheading of Sir Thomas More
• Results:– Strengthened King because he won control of
Church of England– Parliament gained power because never before
had a ruler asked Parliament to act on such issues
The Fate of The Fate of Sir Thomas MoreSir Thomas More
• More refused to take an oath supporting the Act of Supremacy
• Henry ordered More to beheaded
• More: “I die the king’s good servant, but God’s first”
Closing of the MonasteriesClosing of the Monasteries• Henry closed all
monasteries and seized their wealth and lands– Land = 1/3 of land in Europe
• Dramatically increased royal power and enriched Henry
• Henry sold much of this land to nobles and the middle class– Result: Provided a solid
base of support for Church of England
Anne BoleynAnne Boleyn• 2nd wife• Insisted on marriage
– Wanted to protect herself
• Soon after they marry Henry loses interest
• Anne fails to produce an heir– Does give birth to Elizabeth
• Henry starts falling in love with another women– Wants out of marriage– Anne says – No – Wants to protect Elizabeth’s
future
• Accused of witchcraft and beheaded Anne Boleyn Elizabeth
Jane SeymorJane Seymor• 3rd Wife• Henry’s true love
– A perfect relationship
• Jane provides Henry with his long waited heir - Edward
• However, Jane dies from complications of the birth
• Henry mourns her until the end of his life Jane Seymor Edward
Anne ClevesAnne Cleves• 4th Wife• A marriage based on nothing but
politics– Henry’s advisors tell him that Anne
was extremely beautiful
• Henry found her extremely ugly and believed her to smell
• Anne was only Queen of England for only a few months – Henry did not believed he could
produce children with her – By all accounts the marriage was
never consummated
• Henry divorced Anne – Anne believed it to be a great idea
Catherine HowardCatherine Howard• 5th Wife• Henry believes her to be a
virgin– She is NOT
• Henry is extremely attracted to Catherine– She is young and known for her
good looks
• Catherine gets caught cheating and her lie is exposed
• Beheaded because of adultery
Catherine ParrCatherine Parr• 6th Wife• Henry asks Catherine to be marry
him– She declines but says that she will
be his mistress
• Henry will not take “no” for an answer and they marry
• Catherine was more a nurse and friend to Henry than a wife
• They both grew to care for one another
• The only wife to out live Henry the 8th
Church of England Church of England v v
Catholic ChurchCatholic Church• Does close the monasteries
– More political than religious
• Very few differences– Insisted that English priests
make no changes in Catholic rituals, beliefs, and practices
• England will go back and forth– Edward: Protestant– Mary: Catholic– Elizabeth: Protestant