henry viii

• henry viii wasn't expected to become king and therefore wasn't trained as much in day-to-day duties as arthur had been and grew up with his sisters, margaret and mary
• henry was well educated and was known to be intellectually gifted, could analyse info well, and had a good memory for facts. he was also very interested in theology
• one of henry's first major decisions was to execute dudley and empson. they were hated by the people of england as they were responsible for many of henry vii's strict policies. they faced public execution in 1510
• henry viii did keep some of his father's trusted advisors such as Sir Thomas Lovell- chancellor of the exchequer in order to keep some consistency
• henry chose to marry catherine of aragon after arthur's death and after the pope approved it because he felt honour bound to do so out of chivalry
• henry viii abolished the council learned in law very quickly as it was extremely unpopular, especially with the nobles
• henry viii's privy council was made up of 20 men who advised henry on matters of the state and was becoming more important. it included the lord chancellor, the most trusted man at court, and the comptroller of the king's household who manages the king's affairs
• henry viii's court is the centre of political power and influence, made up of ambitious courtiers and powerful nobles and ministers
• henry's privy chamber was part of his household and they travel with him. they also advise him very closely and enact laws for him
• henry viii dealt with parliament completely differently to henry vii as he viewed them as extremely important and was present at many meetings. most meetings were about granting subsidies and grants for foreign policy
• henry vii's style of government was personal and conscientious. he made a lot of decisions himself, without a chief minister. henry viii relied on his ministers more.
• henry viii had a conciliar government between 1509 and 1514. however henry was very suspicious of the old guard who hadn't proved their loyalty to him. he was also annoyed that they didn't support a war with france
• thomas wolsey

  appointed lord chancellor in 1515

  henry liked his smart and confident nature which was similar to his own

  was suspicious of young, influential members of the privy chamber and ended up reducing members from 12- 6

  unpopular with nobility as he was distrustful of them
• wolsey made lots of religious reforms as papal legate

  • made bishops carry out their duties more scrupulously
  • promoted religious learning to improve quality of the clergy- removed 8 unsuitable heads of monasteries
  • made monastic life more efficient
  • punished protestants
• humanism- basing humanity over a divine being such as god
• wolsey's amicable grant was based on his valuations of their property. the laity were taxed between 1/6 and 1/10 of the value of their goods. the clergy were taxed 1/3 of the value of their goods and were given only 10 weeks to come up with the money. people were so angry about this that it led to the only significant rebellion in henry viii's reign, in east anglia
• from the 1530s the government actively promoted the reformation of the church for example by focusing on temporal leaders in the early history of the church
• 10 articles of Faith

  included distinctly Lutheran ideas but still had catholic elements and were fairly vague in order to keep Catholics happy.

  It ignored the Catholic belief in purgatory and attacked the traditional Catholic belief in relics as superstition.
• henry viii lost interest in Anne Boleyn because she didn't provide him with a male heir. she was also very unpopular with the court and they persuaded him that she was a bad wife
• anne boleyn was accused of having affairs with many men including Mark Smeaton, Sir Francis Weston and even her own brother, for which he was arrested for treason and incest
• Anne was arrested on the 2nd May 1536 and taken to the Tower of London. Cranmer declared their marriage null and void on the 17th May and she was executed on the 19th May.
• swing back to Catholicism 1538-40

  Henry needed to prove that his changes were actually moderate in order to have allies in Europe, who were catholic

  swing-back reflected Cromwell's shrinking influence

  6 articles of Faith
• Henry viii and Catherine of Aragon married on the 11th June 1509, they seemed to have real affection for each other. henry boasted that she was still 'a maiden' but later claimed otherwise when trying to divorce her
• henry viii was coronated on the 23rd June 1509 at Westminster Abbey
• thomas penn 'even if he had been free to choose, it was her he would choose to be his bride" (henry viii and catherine of aragon)
• 'her heart and soul were his to enjoy but her body would never be. by refusing to become henry's mistress, Anne caught and retained his attention' - phillippa jones, elizabeth: virgin queen?
• 'she had made the man a fool'- Hilary Mantel, Anne Boleyn

  by not becoming henry's mistress she tempted henry more and almost manipulates him
• 'her wit flashed and tantalized, leaving him, thirty and a king, floundering in pursuit'- Mary Louise Bruce, Anne Boleyn
• treaty of London 1518 - Wolsey had all major powers each sign their own treaty with England, rather than all signing the same one, for universal peace. they agreed to attack one another and to come to the aid of any that were under attack. gave England a central role in European politics
• 3 ways that Henry had tried to get a divorce

  1. scripture- "If a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing... they shall be childless" Leviticus 20:21
  2. diplomacy - England would try to help reduce Charles V (HRE)'s influence in Italy
  3. persuading the Pope to allow the case to be decided in England and have Wolsey hear the case
• Anne Boleyn expressed Lutheran sensibilities and influenced Henry to appoint reformers as Bishops
• 4 reasons for Wolsey's downfall

  1. failure to secure divorce
  2. failure to achieve foreign policy aims
  3. worsening reputation and focusing on personal ambitions
  4. Boleyn family said he was actively against the divorce
• Thomas More was appointed Lord Chancellor

  He was a moderate Catholic so willing to place Henry over the Pope

  He was close to Catherine of Aragon so disliked Anne Boleyn
• act in restraint of appeals was passed in Feb 1533 (one month after the marriage to Anne Boleyn) and states he doesn't have to listen to the pope or any foreign rulers, increasing his own power. also meant that people couldn't appeal to the pope to overturn henry's rulings about the church
• In January 1533, Henry and Anne Boleyn married in secret. Anne was approx. two months pregnant so in the eyes of the church henry had committed polygamy- a terrible sin
• act of supremacy 1534 - Henry VIII declared himself head of the church
• Jane Seymour married Henry on the 30th May 1536. Jane was a pious Catholic but her family leaned towards Protestantism

  Jane died a year later in October 1537 from complications in labour
• Jane Seymour tried to persuade Henry to restore parts of the Catholic church such as the monasteries. henry refused and reminded her of the fate of the others who "meddle[d] in his affairs"
• Cromwell's three step approach to the dissolution

  1. gathered evidence to show corruption in religious houses
  2. 1st shut down the smaller ones
  3. then abolished the rest
• reasons for the dissolution

  • undermine the Pope's authority in England
  • reduce political opposition
  • punish corruption
  • fill the royal treasury
  • more money for Henry as money from taxes goes to him, monasteries had the potential to double the crown's annual income, important for henry's foreign policy