Character of Henry VIII

• Henry VIII


  • Young
  • Succeeded peacefully to the throne
  • His position was secure
  • No powerful rival claimants to the throne during the reign
• Henry VIII wished to

  • Concern himself with the pursuit of military adventures, especially expeditions to conquer France
• Henry VIII saw Francis I of France (king 1515-47) as a rival
• Henry VIII wished to:

  • Enhance his own and England's position in Europe
  • Saw himself as the equal of Francis I and Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor
• Interests of Henry VIII

  • Hunting
  • Sports
  • Feasting
  • Music
  • Intellectual pursuits
  • Affairs of the court
• In 1509

  • Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his older brother Prince Arthur
  • They were crowned in Westminster Abbey
• Henry VIII represented hopes of reform and change in government and society
• Amongst Renaissance scholars, many of whom were humanists, there was the idea that government and society could be improved and reformed
• Henry VIII's accession appeared to promise change.
• Henry VII had ruled harshly in his final years allowing his servants to extract money and land by dubious means from landowners
• His death in 1509 unleashed a backlash from the great men of the realm, seeking to re-establish good government
• Bonds and Recognizances, by which the king enmeshed landowners in financial constraints, (fines and suspended fines) were cancelled
• Empson and Dudley, the most hated of the Henry VII's new men, lawyers who ran the Council Learned in the Law, were executed in 1510 by the new king Henry
• The nobility, excluded from influence under Henry VII, returned to Court
• The nobility encouraged Henry VIII to go to war with France and renew the Hundred Years War
• After years of peace under Henry VII, they would take their place once more as the king's military commanders
• A highly educated, handsome young man of 17 replaced an old, ill, harsh and suspicious king
• In 1509 Henry married Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his older brother Prince Arthur. A few weeks later (June 1509) they were crowned in Westminster Abbey
• Amongst Renaissance scholars, many of whom were called humanists, there was the idea that government and society could be improved and reformed