How Did King Henry Viii The Tudor Reformation

RUNNING HEAD: THE TUDOR REFORMATION UNDER KING HENRY VIII

The Tudor Reformation under King Henry VIII
Religion 100
University of Indianapolis
12/12/11

To better understand the life of England’s King Henry VIII, one of the most famous and infamous of monarchs in history, the times into which he was born must be understood. Like his father, Henry VII, Henry VIII reigned during the transition from Medieval England to Renaissance England. The advent of the printing press, the rise of skepticism, and the move toward secularism were responsible for rapidly changing ideas. They were also the cause of some of the greatest conflicts of the sixteenth century. The 16th century was a confusing mass of changing
Though they remained married for over two decades, after she had several miscarriages and several children died, Catherine had produced only one surviving child - a girl, Princess Mary, born in 1516 (Hanson, 1997).Henry VIII sought another wife to provide him with a male heir. The Catholic Church refused to grant Henry a divorce or annulment. With the help of Thomas Cromwell, and Longland, Wolsey gave Henry the idea that he could establish himself under the Act of 1533 Act of Appeals, which would use Biblical precedent to establish his self as the “Supreme Authority” (Slavin, 1968). Wolsey gave Henry VIII the precedent he needed to divorce Catherine. Unfortunately, Wolsey fell victim to his own plan, and typical of Henry VIII’s lack of allegiance to his own inner circle, Henry blamed Wolsey for the schism. Henry took power away from Wolsey, banished him in poverty. Wolsey’s assistant, Thomas Cromwell, completed the work that been started by Wolsey, and Henry VIII was able to divorce his wife to marry Anne Boleyn (Slavin,
The wealthiest Catholics in England were the monasteries where monks lived. They were also the most loyal supporters of the pope. This made them a threat to Henry. They did not help the community as they were meant to do. All they seemed to do was take money from the poor. Henry wanted to make the Dissolution appear to be backed by law. He sent round government officials to check up on what the monks were doing. Anything to discredit the monks was considered useful. In 1535-6, 200 smaller monasteries were dissolved by statute, followed by the remaining greater houses in 1538-40; as a result, Crown revenues doubled for a few years. The Dissolution of the Monasteries lasted four years. Two thirds of all the land was sold to the congregation, the money squandered in vanity wars against France. The destruction of priceless ecclesiastical treasures was possibly the greatest act of vandalism in English history. However it was also an act of political genius, creating a vested interest in the Reformation: those now owning monastic lands were unlikely to embrace a return to Catholicism (Household, 2008). Henry made changes in traditional religious practices. He ordered the clergy to rebuke superstitious images and relics, and to preach against miracles and pilgrimages. “The catechism of 1545, called the King 's Primer, left out the saints.