12. War and Reformation
I. Henry VIII (1509-1547)
A. Early Rule
1) ascended the throne at the age of 17
- an athletic and charming prince with a magnificent physique, but high strung,
egotistical with a streak of cruelty
2) the king left the daily concerns of governing to his chief minister, Cardinal
Thomas Wolsey
- a talented and ambitious minister who had the power to shape and direct
the policy of the state
- concerned primarily with foreign affairs
B. War
1) The Holy League
a) Henry VIII joined the Pope, Spain, Venice, and Switzerland to drive the
French out of Italy
b) the 1512 invasion of France was a fiasco
- the king of Spain failed to give the promised support and made a separate
peace with France
c) the 1513 invasion of France with the support of the Holy Roman Emperor
and the Pope, who secretly crowned Henry VIII as King of France;
resulted in a capturing of two French towns
d) Treaty of 1514
- signed at the urging of the Pope
- England kept the captured French towns
- France to continue annual payments to England
- Henry VIII's sister, Mary, married the French King, Louis XII
2) Treaty of 1518
a) hostilities were renewed with France when Francis I ascended the throne
- unable to find allies, Henry VIII agreed to a treaty
- Tournai was returned to France for 600,000 crowns
- a mutual aid pact was signed
b) Field of the Cloth of Gold (1520)
- an attempt by Wolsey to establish a friendship between the two kings
3) Treaty of 1521
a) signed with the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, against France since
- Wolsey was promised help in achieving the papacy
- Charles V controlled the Netherlands which was important to English trade
- Charles V was to marry Mary, Henry VIII's daughter
b) failure of the treaty
- Parliament refused to approve needed taxes and Charles V failed to provide
support
- Charles V made a separate peace with France
- when Henry VIII couldn't come up with the agreed upon dowry for Mary,
Charles V married Isabella of Portugal
c) League of Cognac (1526)
- England made its separate peace with France
- Henry VIII joined the League of Cognac that included France, the Pope, Venice and
Florence and some elements of Milan against Charles V
- but lacking money to go to war, he signed a truce in the Netherlands to protect
English trade interests
C. The King's Great Matter
1) In 1527 Henry VIII made public his desire for a divorce
- Catherine had not produced for him a son, only a daughter, Mary
2) Wolsey secretly held a court
- the marriage was declared invalid
- but the Pope, a prisoner of Charles V, refused to confirm the annulment
3) the King and Wolsey then sought to have a papal commission come to England to
hear and decide the case
4) the Papal commission was recalled to Italy in 1529
- Henry VIII was humiliated and accused Wolsey of treason
- Wolsey died on his way to the trial
5) the Pope indefinitely delayed hearing the case in deference to Charles V
6) Anne Boleyn became pregnant in December 1532
- January > Thomas Cranmer, the new Archbishop of Canterbury secretly
married them
- March > Parliament passed an Act of Appeals forbidding appeals to Rome
- May > Cranmer heard the case and pronounced the annulment of Henry's
first marriage
- June > Anne was crowned Queen
- September > Elizabeth was born
D. Parliament and the Break with Rome
1) Henry VIII needed the support of the people and Parliament to establish
himself as head of the Church in England
- he took advantage of the anticlericalism of the House of Commons and the
weakness of the Church
2) Sir Thomas More
- a layman who replaced Cardinal Wolsey as Chancellor in 1529
- summoned Parliament to oppose clerical abuses
- laws were passed against pluralism and to limit Church fees
- 1530 Henry VIII accused the entire English clergy of praemunire > they were
fined and pardoned
3) Thomas Cromwell
- a member of Parliament who came to the King's attention for his attack on
clerical abuses and was brought into the King's inner circle of councilors
- Henry VIII used Cromwell for his influence in Parliament
4) The Religious Settlement
- The Submission of the Clergy (1532)
> all new legislation of the clergy requires the king's approval and all
obnoxious laws should be annulled by a Royal Commission
- Act in Restraint of Appeals (1533)
> England was a sovereign state, free from all foreign jurisdiction, within
which the King was supreme
- Act of Supremacy (1534)
> declared the King the Supreme head of the Church in England
- Act of Restraint of Annates (1534)
> annates are to be paid to the Crown
E. Enforcing the Religious Settlement
1) an oath was required of all Englishmen
- most people complied
2) resistance
a) prominent individuals
- Elizabeth Barton, Nun of Kent
- Bishop John Fisher
- Sir Thomas More
> all were executed
b) Pilgrimage of Grace (1536)
- a popular movement that emerged in the North
- leadership was assumed by Robert Aske
- opposed Thomas Cromwell and had economic concerns, but primarily
concerned about the changes in the Church
- failed and dispersed
- a second rebellion a year later led to the death of Aske and 178 Pilgrims
F. Dissolution of the Monasteries
- Henry VIII took over the monasteries of England, retired the monks and nuns, and
sold 2/3 of the land
- the remaining land was given to courtiers who then sold the land
- this led to an increase in the number of gentry
G. The Tudor Revolution in Government
1) England became a sovereign state owing obedience to no outside authority,
supreme authority was placed in the King and in Parliament
- achieved through
> the Act in Restraint of Appeals
> assertion of the supremacy of statute law over natural or divine law
2) England replaced its medieval, personal administration with a modern, national,
bureaucratic administration
- finances taken out of the Chamber and placed in a series of courts
- the position of Secretary became the highest position and was responsible
for control over finances, foreign affairs, defense and religion (this was
Cromwell's position)
- the King's Council was transformed into a Privy Council
- 1536 Act of Parliament abolished franchises and "liberties" bringing all the
English under the King's immediate government
- establishment of a royal navy
II. Foreign Affairs
A. Wales
- Acts of Union (1536)
> Wales organized into 12 counties
> Welsh law abolished in favor of English law
> English became the language of the courts and the use of the Welsh language
was discouraged
B. Ireland
1) Poynings Law (1495)
- ended the legislative independence of the Irish Parliament
2) Act of Supremacy (1536)
- revoked the Pope's authority; dissolution of the monasteries
3) Henry VIII was declared King of Ireland in 1541
- English rule was weak, but it established a policy of direct rule
C. Scotland - missed opportunities
1) James IV formed an alliance with France against England
- invaded England but was defeated at Flodden
- James IV died and left a 17 month old heir
- Henry VIII was in France and did not follow up on the victory
2) James V
- married to Mary of Lorraine, a French princess
- refused to meet with Henry VIII who was preparing an invasion of France
- in retaliation for an English raid, he invaded England and the Scottish army
was brutally defeated
- upon hearing the news James V died leaving as heir the seven day old
Mary Stuart
3) Henry VIII demands in negotiations drove the Scots back into an alliance with
France
- not only wanted Mary to marry his son, Prince Edward, but he wanted
custody of Mary
- Henry VIII built garrisons in Scotland
- claimed sovereignty over Scotland
D. France
- allied with Charles V against France in 1545
- invaded France and seized Boulogne
- Charles V made a separate peace with France while England fought another year
- little gained except a high debt
III. Growth of Protestantism
A. Legislation
1) Ten Articles of 1536
- composed while the King was negotiating with German Protestant princes
against France
- a compromise between old and new beliefs
2) Injunctions of 1536 and 1538
- more radical changes introduced by Cromwell
3) The Institutions of a Christian Man (1537)
- after the alliance with the German princes was abandoned, Henry VIII took
a more conservative stance
4) Acts of Six Articles (1539) and the King's Book (1543)
- issued to please conservatives after the Pope excommunicated Henry VIII
because he feared invasion and rebellion at home
B. New Testament translated into English
1) William Tynedale
- produced the first printed New Testament in English
- executed by the people of Brussels
- inspired Miles Cloverdale to translate the Old and New Testament
2) the availability of the translated Bible contributed to the growth of Protestantism
C. Henry VIII died in 1547
- left his kingdom in the hands of a predominantly Protestant Regency Council
to govern for the 9 year old Edward VI