The study of Henry VIII and the reformation in England continues to fascinate scholars and historians alike. Recent attention has even been given by Hollywood in the production of “The Other Boleyn Girl,” a major motion picture depicting the lives of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Obviously Hollywood isn’t a suitable source for a scholarly inspection of such a historical event, but the existence of this film does highlight the interest modern society has on the topic. This paper will examine the personal, political, and theological aspects of Henry VIII and the beginning of the English Reformation, and it will also explore the importance of
Henry VIII as one of the reformation’s principal figures.
Prince Henry VIII and His Character Development
Born June 28, 1491 at Greenwich Palace, Henry VIII was the second son and third child of King Henry VII by Elizabeth of York. His brothers were, Arthur (the Crown Prince) and Edmund, Duke of Somerset. His father also had several daughters. Only Henry VIII and his sisters Margaret and Mary survived. Margaret later became Queen of Scotland, while Mary became Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk. Henry VII was a “calculating, austere man who preferred to resolve conflicts by financial settlement.” According to Miles F. Shore,
The upbringing of royal children had a number of special features. Surrounded by adults whose livelihood and chances for lucrative gifts lay in ingratiating themselves with the King, royal children were subjected to a combination of extravagant adulation and brutal discipline that provided excellent preparation for the crown, for it fostered the grandiose sense of uniqueness which would become the psychological concomitant of royal status.
Henry V...
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... separate from Roman Catholicism in favor of their own church. Among these were the wider reformation movements in Europe, and the consolidation of power and the Divine right of the King under English Crown. However, a primary concern for Henry VIII was his need and desire for a male heir. Henry VIII had many character flaws and deficiencies. Through these movements and Henry VIII’s flaws, the English Reformation was born. Through his marriages and his queens, he sought to solidify the Tudor line on the throne. In the end, Henry VIII achieved his goals. His separation from the Roman Catholic Church allowed his multiple marriages, finally leading to the son he wanted. In the process, his reformation movement allowed the creation of a new church. To England, Henry VIII was Christ’s representative, the head of the Church of England, the supreme monarch, the King.
...olitical needs of the time, which was the divorce of Henry from Catherine of Aragon in 1533, in order for Cromwell to fulfil his king’s wish; he pragmatically detached the problematic Pope and his Holy Roman Empire from England to resolve the Great Matter by having to (not wanting to) reform the Parliament, consequentially morphing England into a sovereign state. The bureaucratic reformation which is argued by Elton to be a part of the revolution in Tudor government once again boils down to Cromwell’s loyal servitude to the king, addressing the financial problem of Henry’s with a series of solutions which would certainly benefit the King in the long term. The work of Cromwell was not revolutionary as it failed to survive the several changes of monarchy (excluding the work achieving sovereignty) and did occur in a swift manner how revolution realistically would occur.
All of Europe used to be united under one religion, Catholicism. Europe started inching away from Catholicism during the 13th - 15th centuries. The church leaders started to only think about money and the power they held, instead of the real reason they were supposed to be there, God. This caused an uprising of people who no longer wanted to be a part of the Catholic church, nicknamed Protestants because they protested the ways of the catholic church. The Protestant Reformation was caused by corruption in the church, Martin Luther and John Calvin’s ideas, and the clergy and their preachings.
First power, amongst the royal family the mother, Eleanor is the Queen; the father is King Henry, the youngest son John, middle son Geoffrey, and oldest son Richard. In the play not one, but all of these characters have power in some kind of way. King Henry spent his life conquering many regions and wants to continue to conquer by passing king down to one of his three sons. A quote from the play that shows the greed that having power can create Henry asked, “Isn’t being chancellor power enough?” Geoffrey replies, “It’s not the power I feel deprived of. It’s the mention I miss.” Geoffrey does not think he will receive enough respect if he is just the chancellor and his younger brother John is king. When he comes to Richard, the oldest brother he thinks he should be king because of his army he has behind him, but this is where futility comes into play. It is not always about war and killing people to prove your powerful, but in Richards’s ways that is the only way. Richard says, “I am a constant soldier, a sometime poet, and I will be king.” This quote describes the type of person Richard wants to be, he wants to have all the power to rein over the castle and do it through war. Each of the family members is jealous of one another especially the children of the king and queen, it is pretty much a sibling rivalry between them. Having power can be a good thing or bad thing, in this situation the king and queens children have a different view on having power and what they would do if crowned
After many failed attempts to obtain a divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII took momentous steps that led to "The Reformation," a significant occurrence in the history of religion. Prior to the reformation, all of England's inhabitants including King Henry VIII prescribed to Catholicism. In fact, King Henry VIII was such a strong supporter that he was given the title "Defender of the Faith" by the pope for his efforts in protecting Catholicism against the Protestants. However, all these changed upon the pope's denial of Henry's request for a divorce.
Thomas Cromwell was born in 1485 as most historians have come to believe; but are not completely certain; in Putney, Surrey to Walter and Catherine. Cromwell had two sisters who both married well, the eldest Catherine married a lawyer, and Elizabeth married a well do sheep farmer. His father Walter tried his hand at various odd jobs, a brewer, blacksmith, and fuller. Walter was also known for his temper and drunkenness. Thomas however did not have the benefits of his sisters. He left his unhappy home at age
That is not to say there was no opposition to the reformation, for it was rife and potentially serious. The opposition came from both the upper and lower classes, from the monks and nuns and from foreign European powers. This opposition however, was cleverly minimised from the outset, Cromwell’s master plan ensured court opposition was minimal and new acts, oaths and decrees prevented groups and individuals from publicly voicing their dissatisfaction. Those who continued to counter such policies were ruthlessly and swiftly dealt with, often by execution, and used as examples to discourage others. Henry’s desire for a nation free of foreign religious intervention, total sovereign independence, a yearning of church wealth and the desire for a divorce sewed the seeds for reform.
At the age of just two years old Henry was named Constable of Dover Castle, and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. When he was three years old, he was created the Duke of York. As a child Henry VIII was an all around, well mannered, respectful child. His parents were Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, and he was their second son. His siblings consisted of Arthur (1486-1502), Margaret (1489-1541), and Mary (1496-1533).
with his 95 Theses. A strict father who most likely did not accept “no” as an
Martin Luther is considered one of the most instrumental individuals in Christian history for his role in the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation that severed the powerful religious, political, and social grip the Catholic Church had upon European society (1). Luther did not set out to be a revolutionary, but simply questioned the church 's marketing of indulgences that offered the buyer or their deceased loved one absolution from the penalty of sin (2). Luther’s famous “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” or “95 Theses” argued against the sale of indulgences, but Luther also ultimately disagreed with many of the fundamental religious philosophies of the medieval Catholic Church. The religious ideas of Martin Luther differed from late medieval Catholicism on key elements of theology: spiritual authority, justification of sin, free will, and the sacraments.
When the king opened the gates of the city to your soldiers, treating them as if they had indeed been Gods, we tried to follow his example, but soon those men began to act as if our Palaces where their own to do with as they please. It became clear that they thought that all they had to do was to stretch out their hands and there would be food or drink. They also took an intense liking for women.”
Elizabeth I (also known as Elizabeth the Great, or the "Virgin Queen") was born in 1533 into a dangerous world of political intrigue. When she was only two years old, her father, King Henry VIII killed her mother, Ann Boleyn, because she had not yet produced a male heir. Henry's routine killing of her successive stepmothers every few years traumatized Elizabeth, who loved her father. Although Henry finally did father a son, Edward VI, the boy did not live long, dying at the age of sixteen after a six-year reign, and thus Elizabeth's older sister Mary I came to the throne in 1553. Meanwhile, the young Elizabeth showed exceptional intelligence, excelling at her studies well beyond any of the other royal children.
King Henry VIII’s reign before he met Anne Boleyn must be assessed in order to understand why he severed his ties with the Roman Catholic Church, and subsequently instated the Act of
Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I may have been the English Reformation’s greatest benefactors, all because of self interest. Henry VIII was not originally Protestant, but after the pope denied him of his divorce, Henry VIII took things into his own hands. Due to the power kings had in the Middle Ages, Henry VIII was able to control Parliament and force it to do whatever he wanted. So in 1534, Henry VIII forced Parliament to pass a law he made known as the Act of Supremacy. The Act of Supremacy stated that the king ought to be the head of the Church of England. This law gave the king complete power over the Church of England, instead of the pope. However, the type of church and state relationship did not change. Rather all the Act of Supremacy did was take power from the pope and give it to the king. Surprisingly, the Catholics did not retaliate against this strong change. The pope had always been the head of the church, but now the king had taken his position. This serves as an example of nationalism. The Catholics did not think about how removing the pope could harm their religion in any way. However, instead the people blindly followed Henry VIII because he was the leader of the nation and they assumed he was right. Also, by imposing other laws that punished Protestants, Henry VIII did not give the people much of a choice. Fortunately, for Henry VII, nationalis...
During the Reformation in Europe, many changes were brought about. Among these changes included people such as Erasmus, Martin Luther, the peasants of Swabia, and King Henry VIII. These people brought about some of the most important changes in European history. Without these individuals Europe would be a completely different country than what it is today.
The Reformation was the religious, political, intellectual, and cultural rise that separated Catholic Europe of the 16th century, this set beliefs that would define the era today. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin challenged the authority, and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to back up there practices. The change that the reformation started was characterized by the notion of souls being saved without the cycle of penitence or confession, but rather by the grace of God and faith. A new church structure arose from this. Instead of needing a central hierarchy, a group of believers just gathered around a preacher. The separation started wars, killings, and what they called The Counter-Reformation.