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Henry VIII and the Reformation in England
Henry VIII
(1491-1547)
 King of England from 1509-1547
 Highly educated
 spoke French, English and Latin
 Devout Catholic
 Detested Protestantism
 Hated Martin Luther
First Marriage
 Henry betrothed to Catherine of Aragon
 Spanish-English alliance
 Problem: She was the widow of Henry’s brother
 Was Henry’s sister by marriage
 Pope Leo X wrote a dispensation allowing the marriage
A Catholic King
 1521
 Wrote a pamphlet which condemned Martin Luther and his ideas
 “Defence of the Seven Sacraments” by Henry VIII
 Given the title “Defender of the Faith” by Pope Leo X
Excerpts from “Defence of the Seven Sacraments”
“ We have in this little book, gentle reader, clearly demonstrated, I hope, how
absurdly and impiously Luther has handled the holy sacraments. …that others may
understand how false and wicked his doctrine is, lest they might be so far deceived as
to have a good opinion of him…”
“…it is evident to all men what sacrilegious opinions he has of the sacrament of our
Lord's Body, from which the sanctity of all the other sacraments flow: who would
have doubted, if I had said nothing else, how unworthily, without scruple, he treats
all the rest of the sacraments?”
“he so undervalues customs, doctrine, manners, laws, decrees and faith of the church
(yea, the whole church itself) that he almost denies there is any such thing as a
church, except perhaps such a one as himself makes up of two or three heretics, of
whom himself is chief…”
Problems for Henry
 Catherine only bore him one surviving child
 Mary (1516–1558)
 Other children had died in infancy
 Needed a male heir to succeed to the throne
 Without an heir civil war was likely
 Felt God was punishing him for marrying his brothers widow
Something needs to be done
 Desired Pope to grant an annulment of his marriage to Catherine
 Annulment declares marriage invalid – it never took place
 Pope Clement VII (cousin of Leo X) refused to grant the annulment
 Reasons:
Church was convinced marriage was legal
papal dispensation had been issued to allow marriage to begin with
Pope needed to be cautious politically
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Pope needed to be cautious politically
Catherine's nephew was Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V
 Pope refused to annul the marriage
Anne Boleyn
 Henry married Anne, 1533
 Archbishop of Canterbury annulled Henry’s marriage to Catherine in 1533
 Anne also had trouble producing a male heir
 Only surviving child was Elizabeth (1533-1603)
Act of Supremacy, 1543
 King of England was made supreme head of the Church in England
 Pope no longer had any religious authority in England
 Anne Boleyn was recognized as Queen
 All English subjects required to take oath of allegiance to the king
 Those who didn’t were imprisoned
 Speaking out against Act of Supremacy = execution

Sir Thomas More
 Generally cheerful with great sense of humor
 Humanist – emphasis on the value of humans and human actions
 Lawyer
 Became increasingly close to Henry
 Was often asked for counsel/advice
 Henry respected him greatly
 Chancellor of England (highest gov’t official)
 Followed policies of the King
Thomas More Cont.
 Refused to recognize Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn
 Refused to take the oath
 Never spoke for or against Act of Supremacy
 Remained loyal to the king, but did not renounce the pope
 2 reasons for refusal:
 violated scripture
 Violated Magna Carta
 Imprisoned in Tower of London for a year
 Henry tried to get him to change his mind

Thomas meets his end
 Trial was held in Parliament
 False testimony used
 Thomas declared his support of the pope
 Convicted of treason
 Beheaded
To executioner: "Pluck up thy spirits, man, and be not afraid to do thine office. My
neck is very short. Take heed, therefore, thou not strike awry for saving thine
honesty. I die the King's good servant and God's first."
Henry’s Religious Views
 Established Anglican Church (Church of England)
 Despite breaking with Rome, Henry remained extremely conservative
 The statements of faith and practice he approved were very Catholic
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 The statements of faith and practice he approved were very Catholic
 Big difference was rejecting pope’s authority
 Maintained:
 Transubstantiation
 Sacrament of penance
 Celibacy of clergy (priests not marrying)
 Rejected Luther’s teachings
 Always saw himself as a good Catholic
After Henry VIII
 Edward VI – Henry’s only son (died age 15)
 His ministers tried to turn England into a Lutheran state
 Mary I (“Bloody Mary”)
 Re-established Catholicism
 Executed hundreds of Anglicans
 Elizabeth I
 Solidified the dominance of Anglicanism
 Incorporated bits and pieces of Protestant belief
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