The Great matter and the Break with Rome

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  • Created by: Isabelle
  • Created on: 06-04-14 13:23
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  • The King's Great Matter and the Break from Rome, 1529-35
    • Why annul the marriage?
      • No male heir, Mary born 1516, feared Mary couldn't take throne as there had never been a female ruler
      • Believed lack of son = punishment from God as married brother's wife
      • Text in Leviticus says "If a man shall marry his brother's wife...it is an unclean thing...they shall be childless".
      • Henry, matter of conscience, sinned + must atone
      • Believed Pope didn't have power to allow such a marriage, therefore it never existed
      • V.attracted to Anne B, wanted marriage + heir
    • Why annulment case =weak?
      • Another Biblical Text from Deuteronomy said man could marry brother's widow
      • Leviticus said childless but Henry had a daughter
      • Brother died 7yrs before marriage of H+CoA
      • CoA claimed marriage to Arthur=not consummated
      • Pope Julius II granted special 'dispensation' to allow H to marry CoA, hadn't exceeded powers
    • Why the opposition?
      • Affection towards A made it seem as though H just wanted younger, more attractive wife
      • A=not popular @ court, part of faction vying for power + influence w/King
      • H already had affair w/Mary, father Thomas used daughters to gain influence
      • C=v.highly regarded @ court, devoted wife, despite H's affairs + 1 ******* son (H Fitzroy)
      • Serious opposition from CoA, if she agreed, Mary=*******
      • CoA refused papally inspired compromise where she would go to nunnery, dissolving her marriage
      • Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor=C's nephew + most powerful man in Europe. 1527 troops captured Rome, Pope (ClementVII) essentially prisoner
    • How did Wolsey handle divorce?
      • Wolsey=Papal Legate, should secure Pope's agreement to annulment
      • Given impossible task, used all skills as diplomat + statesman to achieve annulment
      • Hoped made 'acting Pope' for a 'captured' Pope so could decide in King's favour but Pope refused
      • Persuaded another Papal Legate, Cardinal Campeggio, to put nunnery plans to CoA
      • Got Pope to agree to special court in Blackfriars 1529
        • Just ploy by Pope to play fro time, before verdict reached, case revoked to Rome
          • After failure of Blackriars + success of Charles V in Italy, H sacked W
    • Role of Cranmer + Cromwell
      • Thomas Cranmer
        • Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1532 after Warham, who had opposed divorce
        • Cambridge scholar, chaplain to Boleyn's, used by H on diplomatic missions + propagandist for divorce
        • Cautious but married (illegal for clergymen) + theology increasingly influenced by Luther
        • Pope agreed to elevation to Canterbury, even though suspected of favouring reform + hadn't held bishopric, appointment emphasised H's power over church
        • Cranmer then married H + A declaring H never married CoA
        • Later, behind theological structure of new CoE prayer books + articles of religion
      • Thomas Cromwell
        • Political architect of Henrican Reformation, helped to draft great statutes (Acts of Parliament) which created new church
        • Although no great offices of state, he was secretary, H's most powerful + trusted adviser
        • Didn't establish just legal framework but also skilled politician +propagandist for power of monarchy. Delivered H wanted from elevating royal power
        • Principle architect of Dissolution of Monasteries (1536-40)
        • Executed of heresy in 1540
    • Establishment of Royal Supremacy
      • Supremacy established through Statute Laws- Acts of Parliament + on the basis the King was reaquring powers which his predeccessors had held
      • Act in Restraint of Appeals: 1533 declared England = Empire + couldn't be under external power e.g Pope. No legal case could be decided in Rome
      • Succession Act: 1534 marriage w/A = legal + pretended marriage w/CoA wasn't as Pope exceeded powers
        • Anne's children=heirs + Mary=*******
        • Act enforced by oath, important people had to swear to agree, More + Fisher refused this oath
      • Act of Supremacy:1534 H = Supreme head of Church w/complete power, not revolution as 'English Kings always had this power'
    • Reasons for support/opposition of Reformation
      • Carried through by: King, powerful monarch; parliamentary statute, support of nation;thought was temporary
      • Pope etc no widely popular in England, patriotic reformation?
      • No changes in religious practice = good
      • Many believed King would use church money appropriately e.g poverty, illness, education
      • Reformers like Cranmer + Cromwell hoped to see properly reformed Church
      • Some opposed, such as leading Bishops like Warham + Tunstall, who hoped to stall Henry
      • CoA etc = appalled by it but C not prepared for rebellion
      • More + Fisher + monks, like Carthusians, opposed it on principle
      • Quite a lot of opposition from abroad, mainly from Charles V

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