Androne Raluca -Adela

Clasa XI-C

Henry VIII

Henry VIII , Tudor king of England ( 1509-1547 ), and founder of the Church of England.
The son of Henry VII , he profoundly influenced the character of the English monarchy . Henry
was born in London on June 28 , 1491 , and on the death of his father in 1509 succeeded to the
throne ( his elder brother Arthur having died in 1502 ) . He then married his brothers widow ,
Catherine of Aragon , having been betrother to her through a papal dispensation secured in
1503 . This was the first of Henrys six marriages , all of which were affected by the political and
religious conditions of the time and by the monarchs increasingly despotic behaviour . At the
beginning of his reign Henrys good looks and hearty personality his fondness for sport and the
hunt , and his military prowess endeared him to his subjects . A monarch of the Renaissance ,
he entertained numerous scholars and artists , including the German painter Hans Holbein the
Younger who painted several portraits of the king and members of his court. A Question of
DivorceIn 1511 Henry joined in the Holy League against France and in 1513 he led the English
forces through a victorious campaign in northern France . Meanwhile Frances ally James IV of
Scotland , Henrys brother-in-law , led an invasion of northern England that was crushed in
September 1513 at Flodden Field by Henrys commander Thomas Howard , 2nd Duke of Norfolk
with the death of the king and many Scottish nobles . Deserted by his allies , Henry arranged a
marriage in 1514 between his sister Mary and Louis XII of France , with whom he formed an
alliance . Louiss successor , Francis I , met Henry at a magnificently stages meeting on the Field
of Cloth of Gold in 1520 but no significant political decisions resulted . In 1521 Henry arranged
the death of his counsellor Edward Stafford , 3th Duke of Buckingham , one of the few nobles
with a potential claim to the throne . In 1525 riots broke out in England in protest against an
attempt by Henry to levy taxes for military purposes and he withdrew from major military
activity in Europe .In 1527 Henry announced his desire to divorce his wife , on the grounds that
the papal dispensation making the marriage possible was invalid . The chief reason for the
divorce was that Catherine had failed to produce a male heir . Her only surviving child was Mary
Androne Raluca -Adela
Clasa XI-C

later Mary I of England . In addition , Henry was in love Anne Boleyn , a young and beautiful
lady-in-waiting of the queen . Several obstacles however stood in the way of the divorce . Holy
Roman Emperor Charles V , Catherines nephew , strongly opposed the divorce , and Pope
Clement VII , whom Charles had made a prisoner could not invalidate the marriage without
displeasing his captor . In 1528 the pope was persuaded to appoint Henrys chief minister , the
English cardinal and statesman Thomas Wolsey , and Lorenzo Camppegio , a papal legate , to
try the case in an English legatine court . In 1529 the pope summoned the case to Rome . When
the prospect of securing a papal annulment seemed hopeless , Henry dismissed Wolsey , who
died soon after in disgrace , and appointed the humanist scholar and statesman Sir Thomas
More as Lord Chancellor . The latter , however , was reluctant to support the divorce . The
Break with the PapacyHenry now preceeded to dissolve one by one the ties to the papacy .
With the aid of parliamentary legislation , he first secured control of the clergy , compelling that
group in 1532 to acknowledge him as head of the English Church . In the following year Henry
secretly married Anne Boleyn , who was crowned Queen after Henrys obedient Archbishop of
Canterbury , Thomas Cranmer , declared the marriage with Catherine void and that with Anne
valid . An act of succession affirmed the declaration of the archbishop and established Annes
progeny as heirs to the throne . Henrys new chief minister Thomas Cromwell , a former follower
of Wolsey , began a reform of the English Church but also of governmental machinery :
introducing important centralizing and organizational changes dubbed by some the Tudor
revolution in government .Although Hehry was immediately excommunicated , he repudiated
papal jurisdiction in 1534 and made himself the supreme ecclesiastical authority inEngland with
the aid of compliant bishops such as Stephen Gardiner . The English people were required to
affirm under oath Henrys supremacy and the act of succession . However , early hopes by
Protestant radicals such as William Tyndale to introduce the Reformation into England were
broadly thwarted : apart from the issue of papal supremacy Henry remained conservative in
matters of doctrine . Nonetheless , an English translation of the Bible by Miles Coverdale was
officially published in 1535 . Sir Thomas More and the English cardinal John Fisher were
executed for refusing to accept the religious supremacy of the English monarch . Henry ordered
the dissolution of the monasteries and gave much of their property to the nobles in exchange
Androne Raluca -Adela
Clasa XI-C

for their support. A short-lived rebellion in northern England against this policy , the Pilgrimage
of Grace was soon suppressed by Thomas Howard , 3th Duke of Norfolk .Henry soon tired of
Anne boleyn , and in 1536 after charging her with incest and adultery he had her executed . A
few days after Annes death he married Jane Seymour , Thomas Howards niece , who died in
1537 after bearing Henrys only legitimate son , Edward , later Edward VI . A marriage was
arranged in 1540 with Anne of Cleves in order to form a tie between England and the
Protestand princes of Germany . Because he thought Anne unattractive and because Henry
found the political alliance no longer to his advantage , he divorced her after several months
and married Catherine Howard another niece of Thomas Howard in the same year . Cromwell
who had arranged the marriage with Anne , fell from favour and was executed in 1540 .
Catherine was executed summarily in 1542 for having been unchaste prior to marriage and
having commited adultery . In the following year Henry married his sixth wife , Catherine Parr ,
who survived him . Between 1542 and 1546 Henry was involved in war with Scotland and
France . His troops defeated the Scots at Solway Moss in 1542 . they captured Boulogne from
the French in 1544 , and when peace was made in 1546 Henry received an indemnity from
France . Meanwhile , his growing paranoia led to disgrace for the Howards : the poet Henry
Howard , Earl of Surrey was arrested and executed in 1547 , and Thomas Howard was only
saved by the kings death . Henry died in London on January 28 , 1547. And so , this is the end.