HENRY VIII

• What was the timeline after Henry VII's death?

  1509

  -21st April, death of Henry VII

  -23rd April, Henry VIII proclaimed king

  -11th June, Henry marries Catherine of Aragon

  -24th June, coronation of Henry and Cath of A

  Henry VIII's coronation was 2 months before 18th birthday, he had been well-educated for his roles since the death of Arthur (7 years prior)
• What 4 things did Henry VII leave for his son?

  -Money, left around £300,000 upon his death

  -peaceful foreign policy

  -Councillar form of government (decisions made through council)

  -unpopular mechanisms for extracting money

  -Hen VIII arrested Empson and Dudley (Henry VII's financial enforcers) shut down the Council Learned in Law
• What were Henry VIII's consistent aims?

  -maintaining England's security and stability

  -Pursuit of glory and war against France (wanted to copy Henry V)

  -Establish England's status as an important European power

  -to preserve the Tudor dynasty, especially the succession
• What were Henry VIII's later aims?

  (By end of 1520s)

  -become rex imperator (an imperial king)

  -divorce from C of A, marriage to Anne Boleyn

  -by 1530s, Henry VIII aimed to rid England of papal authority
• What was Henry VIII's mark of kinship?

  -Very different from father's, disliked governmental business, but could intervene and contradict discussions/actions which had already been taken

  -no work ethic, enjoyed courtly activities (ie pageants, revelry)

  -depended heavily on others; members of council or chief ministers

  -rarely engaged directly with government, structure evolved from his father's
• Who were Henry's Chief Ministers?

  -Thomas Wolsey, adept at using the star chamber

  -Thomas Cromwell, developed role as principle secretary
• What were Henry's predominant character traits?

  -Ruthlessness and cynicism (ie execution of Empson and Dudley)

  -insecurity, shown in willingness to resort to execution for treason

  -Impulsiveness, speed he married cath of A, Anne of Cleeves, Cath Howard and execution of Thomas Cromwell

  -believed in his own 'divine right' to rule and conformed to practices of the catholic church
• What were Henry VIII's early aims?

  -established himself as a warrior king through success in battle

  -re-establishes role of nobility

  -Establish his status amongs European monarchs through marriage
• What was Henry's relationship with parliament like?

  -Henry liked to have an overview of his government but was happy to let others do the mundane work

  -Before the 1530s, little to suggest that Henry's views were very different from his father's, 2 main features;

  -grant extraordinary revenue

  -pass laws

  -2nd half of reign, Cromwell exploited parliament's legislative possibilities, met much more often
• How did a counciliar approach to government end?

  Adopted at beginning of the reign, 1509-14

  -Hen's councillors reluctant to support a war with france

  -As Hen became more attuned to governing, asserting himself

  -Hen surrounded by like-minded young courtiers, suspicious of 'old guard'

  -impressed by Thomas Wolsey and his organisational skills

  Wolsey emerged as dominant political figure, gave king what he wanted
• What was the Privy chamber?

  Privy Chamber = one area of government (pre 1519) outside of Wolsey's control, established during the reign of Henry VII

  -King's 'minions' (young courtiers) became Gentlemen of the PC, changing status

  -1519, Wolsey secured removal of minions, replaced with his own supporters, most managed to recover positions
• What was the Court of Chancery?

  -main court of equity in the kingdom, based on applying principle of equity.

  -Wolsey (not trained lawyer) as Lord Chancellor responsible overseeing the legal system, used to deal with probs, enclosure & contracts

  -too popular, justice was slow, clogged with too many cases
• What was the court of star chamber?

  Wolseys most distinctive legal contribution through operations of the Court of Star Chamber

  -established by act of parliament in 1487, off shoot of king's council

  -became centre of both government and justice under Wolsey

  -Used from 1516 to increase cheap and fair justice, also for private lawsuits
• How was the nobility impacted by Henry VIII's reign?

  -size of peerage increased during Henry VIII's reign

  -most new peers achieved rank due to successful service as courtier

  -a lot was based on personal relationship with king

  -under control of the monarch, but bastard feudalism still existed

  -gave property/titles to nobles so they could exert royal authority

  -ensured full support by executing nobles (duke of buckingham, 1521)

  -rewarded loyalty to gain trust and encourage loyalty

  -ensure equipped for war, prevented rebellions
• What was the gentry?

  -approximately 5,000 families 1540 and was hard to define

  -provided Henry's JPs

  -grew because more land became available after dissolution
• Who were the commoners?

  -little change, rise in inflation, drop in real incomes

  -disorder was common

  -some bought land and entered ranks of yeomen
• What was the King's Great Matter?

  The annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon and his desire to marry Anne Boleyn

  -ultimately led to England's break from the Catholic Church, Wolsey's downfall and establishment of royal supremacy

  -brought about by Wolsey's successor as Chief Minister, Thomas Cromwell

  -By mid 20s, Hen dissatisfied with Catherine of Aragon, 5 yrs older, past child bearing age and only had one surviving child - Princess Mary

  -fell in love with Anne Boleyn (refused to become his mistress)
• What was the biblical justification/problems with the annulment?

  -(problems Henry found) Book of Leviticus, prohibition on a man marrying his brothers' widow

  -problem w/ Cath of A claimed her marriage to Arthur never consummated so biblical ban couldn't apply
• What was the campaign to obtain an annulment?

  -the attempt to persuade Rome to grant annulment met by stalling tactics, months passed and nothing happened

  -Henry's frustration (fanned by Anne Boleyn and political allies) taken out on Wolsey with demands for more action

  -Pope was reluctant to cooperate because Catherine's nephew, Charles V (HRE) and king of Spain fiercly opposed annulment - had the Pope prisoner
• What was the first approach to attain the annulment?

  -Persuading the Pope by reason and exerting diplomatic pressure that the original dispensation carried no force bc Pope had no right to set aside divine law (as the prohibition in Leviticus claimed), but was very unlikely that a Pope would publicly declare their predecessor wrong

  -Other argument (book of Deuteronomy), man should marry his brothers widow if she was childless to have them on his behalf
• What was the first approach to attain the annulment? (pt 2)

  -Henry payed theologians large sums to write treatises supporting England

  -Bishop Fisher of Rochester, Cath's leading defender, published 7 books

  Overall gained inconclusive results, ensured high international profile (almost impossible to give in w/o huge loss now)
• What was the second approach?

  -involved no challenge to powers of the Papacy, objects to dispensation on technical grounds, invalid making marriage

  -Catherine of Aragon's supporters located a slightly differently worded version of dispensation in royal papers in Spain - Charles V refused it leave Spain
• What was the third approach?

  -to attempt to persuade the Pope to allow the case to be decided in England, delegated to Pope's representatives (Wolsey)

  -thought the Pope would favour this bc he had no personal involvement

  -Pope agreed but Pope kept power to accept/reject judgement reached
• Was there a breakthrough in 1528?

  -the pope appeared to agree to a final decision made in England

  -compromise, English had to accept judgement reached by 2 papal legates: Cardinal Compeggio and Wolsey (Wol had worked with Campeggio on Treaty of London)

  -insisted everything done by the book, no threat/offer influenced him

  -Work on case delayed till July 1529 (courts in Rome in recess), Pope then decided to hold it in Rome
• Why is it that Wolsey was thought to sabotage the KGM?

  (Historians opinions)

  -his personal feelings against divorce got in the way

  -Wolsey had nothing to gain and much to lose from replacement of C of A as Anne b intended to be the king's confidante

  -Wolsey feared a significant diminution in his power and influence, thought the problem would go away as Henry would tire of Anne

  (opposing) Wolsey had to have realised his future depended on the divorce and the acts of desperation in his diplomatic activity in 1528-29
• What was praemunire?

  Praemunire = action to exercise the papal powers in England to the disadvantage of the king/any subjects

  -created by parliament in the 14th century

  -punishment, confiscation of all property and imprisonment (Wolsey released and allowed to live away from court, then exiled to York)
• When did Wolsey die?

  -he died in Leicester on November 29th, 1530 (not executed)

  -before his death he had sent pleading letters and gifts to Henry, attempted to gain support from friends in Europe (to no avail)
• Why did Henry and Wolsey's partnership end?

  main reason = Wolsey's failure to get annulment, had promised the matter would be easily resolved, Henry V was frustrated (wanted a male heir)

  -most likely convinced by Anne Boleyn's factions

  -Wolsey was very unpopular anyway

  -seemed Henry was under the influence of Wolsey, he enjoyed a lot of independent decision making, Wol completely dependent on good will of Hen, careful not to go against

  -no real danger of Wolsey challenging king's position

  -Wol could put Henry's ideas into practice without instructions and supervisions
• What were Wolsey's legal reforms?

  -Wolsey was Lord Chancellor, his responsibility was to oversee and improve the legal system, sought to promote civil law over common law

  -strengthened the Star Chamber

  -acted on his vendetta against nobility and gentry, used the system to further his own interests, overturned common law that affected him

  -But seemed to have a genuine desire to ensure court is accessible to poor and weak
• What were Wolsey's financial reforms?

  -Wolsey sought extraparliamentary means to increase financial resources

  -1522, introduced the 'general conscription' to conduct survey, assessed how much different people in society could pay - increase of £200,000

  -established Amicable Grant, subsidy (failed) for Henry's FP
• What was Wolsey's view of parliament?

  -complicated, only 2 parliaments summoned during his period of power

  (called twice in 15 years)
• Who was Thomas Cromwell?

  -a lawyer who came to the King's notice when working under Wolsey, had engineered the break with Rome - invaluable to Henry

  -achieved royal supremacy through Acts of Parliament enhancing its status, helped give parliament law (statute law) precedence over canon law
• What were the significant domestic policies?

  -made a more modern form of government with a more bureaucratic approach, Court of Augmentations and the Court of First Fruits and Tenths, established to look after Henry's income from the church

  -Reduced the Privy Chamber to 20 men who took responsibility for the business of government

  -negotiated marriages for Henry, made the case for Anne Boleyn's infidelity
• What was the cause for Cromwell's fall?

  -Cromwell had arranged Henry's fourth marriage to Anne of Cleeves bc it suited his Foreign Policy and had failed

  -Cromwell tried for treason and heresy, then executed July 1540
• How did Wolsey deal with the nobility?

  -knew controlling nobility was essential and made sure the noble power, particularly in localities, were used in favour of the king

  -1516, star chamber announced new law that stated that no noble or gentleman is above the law

  -Wolsey was seen as a threat bc he was son of a butcher and they feared that he'd ruin hierarchy of society
• What was 'alter-rex'?

  alter-rex = 'other king', used for Wolsey, not a compliment bc it was practically committing treason
• What was the tudor subsidy?

  -under Henry VII it was expected that the tax payers (including nobility) would provide ER (parliamentary taxation) when required, mostly by raising subsidies

  -instead of using local commissioners to assess taxpayers wealth Wolsey set up a national committee (he headed)
• What is a subsidy?

  Subsidy = a grant issued by Parliament to the sovereign for state needs

  -1523 tax subsidy imposed tax of 1 shilling in the pound for land worth £50
• What was the Amicable Grant?

  -1525, Wolsey ordered the implementation of of tudor subsidy to raise more money for war, in theory to be a freely given gift

  -heavy tax, levied w/o parliament's approval, almost lead to rebellion
• What were the Eltham Ordinances?

  -By wolsey in 1526

  -was introduced to reform the finances of Privy Council secured a reduction in the number of Gentlemen in the Privy Council

  -Removal of Henry's Groom of the Stool, replaced with someone more compliant