3.3 Henry VIII breaks with Rome

• Key point


  To secure his divorce, Henry VIII took control of the Church of England, and with the influence of Cromwell and Anne Boleyn, carried out reforms
• Henry VIII unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the Pope to grant him a divorce
• Most important role for a medieval monarch


  To secure their succession by producing a legitimate male heir
• Henry VIII's 'King's Great Problem'

  By 1529, he had been married to Catherine of Aragon for twenty years and still did not have a son
• Henry's solution to the problem

  1. Seek a new wife

  2. Seek an annulment (legally stating that a marriage is 'null and void')

  3. Appeal directly to Pope Clement VIII
• Divorce was not (and still is not) permitted in the Catholic Church
• Clement needed the support of the Spanish


  The Spanish king was Catherine's cousin, so he was very unlikely to grant Henry's wish
• Henry's anger led to the imprisonment of Wolsey, who died in prison
• Thomas Cromwell encouraged Henry to break with Rome in 1532


  Wolsey fell as he became an enemy of Anne Boleyn and her faction at court
• Henry had fallen in love with Boleyn


  She influenced him to become more anti-clerical in his views
• Cromwell and his assistant, Audley, drafted laws


  1. Divorced Henry from Catherine

  2. Made their recent secret marriage legal
• Despite the threat of excommunication, Henry and his advisers pushed ahead to sever links with Rome, just in case his new child was declared illegitimate (born outside marriage)
• Henry became Supreme Head of the Church


  This allowed him to change the Church to reflect the anti-clerical and reformist views of Anne Boleyn and Cromwell
• It is uncertain if Henry himself truly agreed with the reforms, or if he just enjoyed having the power and wealth of the Church at his disposal
• Henry had one desire – a legitimate son – and this seemed like the only way to achieve it
• At no point while he was king did he ever accept that things would not go his way, and people such as Wolsey, Cromwell and even Anne Boleyn paid with their lives when they failed him
• There was very little opposition to the break with Rome among the peasantry, largely because (at least at first) it had very little effect on their lives or worship
• Opposition to the changes to the Church by 1535

  • Nobles who sympathised with the former queen
  • Bishop John Fisher secretly in contact with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
  • Thomas More publicly refused to take the Oath of Succession
  • Elizabeth Barton, a nun who gained a following as an outspoken critic of the annulment and of Henry's supremacy
• Bishop John Fisher and Thomas More were beheaded
• Elizabeth Barton and five supporters were executed
• There were many monks and nuns who did the same and suffered the same fate