How Did King Henry Viii Hypocrisy
Daniel Buehner
Mr Egan
English M01A
20 November 2014
Henry VIII: King of Hypocrisy “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived” is a common mnemonic device used to remember the horrible fates the six wives of King Henry VIII of England suffered; fates directly sealed by the wicked Henry himself. Throughout his rule, from 1509 to 1547, Henry's demands were consistently appeased by those around him, the papacy included. So when Henry attempted to gain an annulment of his marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and the request was met with great resistance by the Pope, Henry was distraught. Never before had he been denied something he wanted; how would he react? Naturally, he went about removing the obstacles which prevented him from obtaining what he so greatly desired. Through many acts passed by his parliament, Henry split England from the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself Supreme Head of the Church of England, rendering the Pope's authority over English affairs void. However, Henry VIII was not justified in his …show more content…
As was typical of Henry, all of the spoils from the dissolution of the monasteries benefited not a soul but himself. To avoid the terrible acquisition of their properties by the crown, “the monasteries were eager to sell or to lease whatever property they possessed” (Ackroyd 120). The monasteries lived in constant fear of the King, and rightfully so because “at the time, it was believed that the clergy owned on third of the land” (Ackroyd 121). Instead of using this opportunity to improve his kingdom, Henry instead looted the monasteries, sold off the lands to the highest bidder, and kept the gold and jewels for the crown. Not so surprisingly, Henry yet again acted out of pure, unadulterated self-interest. When provided the with the choice between positively affecting his people and positively affecting his bank account, Henry leapt for the
Mr Egan
English M01A
20 November 2014
Henry VIII: King of Hypocrisy “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived” is a common mnemonic device used to remember the horrible fates the six wives of King Henry VIII of England suffered; fates directly sealed by the wicked Henry himself. Throughout his rule, from 1509 to 1547, Henry's demands were consistently appeased by those around him, the papacy included. So when Henry attempted to gain an annulment of his marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and the request was met with great resistance by the Pope, Henry was distraught. Never before had he been denied something he wanted; how would he react? Naturally, he went about removing the obstacles which prevented him from obtaining what he so greatly desired. Through many acts passed by his parliament, Henry split England from the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself Supreme Head of the Church of England, rendering the Pope's authority over English affairs void. However, Henry VIII was not justified in his …show more content…
As was typical of Henry, all of the spoils from the dissolution of the monasteries benefited not a soul but himself. To avoid the terrible acquisition of their properties by the crown, “the monasteries were eager to sell or to lease whatever property they possessed” (Ackroyd 120). The monasteries lived in constant fear of the King, and rightfully so because “at the time, it was believed that the clergy owned on third of the land” (Ackroyd 121). Instead of using this opportunity to improve his kingdom, Henry instead looted the monasteries, sold off the lands to the highest bidder, and kept the gold and jewels for the crown. Not so surprisingly, Henry yet again acted out of pure, unadulterated self-interest. When provided the with the choice between positively affecting his people and positively affecting his bank account, Henry leapt for the