Domestic policies under Cromwell (1532-40)

What sector of society was Cromwell from?

Cromwell just like Wolsey was form humble stock and wasn’t part of the nobility

Where was Cromwell’s expertise?

Unlike Wolsey who was more catered to religion Cromwell had more of a legal background

How did Cromwell’s legal background benefit him?

• This background of legal expertise was what got him scouted to Wolsey's personal household where they grew close which gave him access to the king

• Henry VIII was impressed by his knowledge of the law and solutions to legal problems

How did Cromwell outshine Wolsey?

He was able to find the solution to the great matter and engineer the marriage between Henry and Anne Boleyn

What years did Cromwell serve the king?

He served the king between 1536 -1540

What did Cromwell bring to an end?

Thomas Cromwell which brought this phase of the conciliar government to an end

What did Cromwell suggest to Henry VIII to solve the great matter?

To solve the problem of the great matter he suggested that Henry make a break with Rome and place himself as head of an English Church

How was Cromwell rewarded for his efforts?

By 1532, he was the king’s chief minister

How great was Cromwell’s power as compared to Wolsey?

Cromwell never the same influence and power as Wolsey but he to dominated royal government for the rest of the 1530s

Who were Cromwell’s enemies and why?

He made enemies such as the Duke of Norfolk, who was hostile to Cromwell's religious reforms

What changed also under Cromwell?

Parliament's role in government developed during the years 1529 to 1536 when the so-called ‘Reformation Parliament’ was in session

Why was parliament called?

• The initial reason for calling another parliament - dealing with Wolsey — died along with the minister in 1530

• After this, its attention was turned towards Henry's divorce and the Church

The divorce from Catherine of Aragon and its impact on the Church

What laws were put in place to break from Rome?

Under Cromwell the divorce and the break with Rome were accomplished through the use of statute law (Acts of Parliament), whose supremacy over canon law (the law of the Church) was firmly established

Exploiting the weaknesses of the church

How was Cromwell’s job made easier?

The fact that the Church had become weaker in a number of aspects made Cromwell’ task easier

How did Humanism weaken the church?

Humanist criticisms, specifically from Colet and Erasmus against the  Catholic Church as an institution had weakened it

What lawyer criticised the church

1528 Lawyer Christopher St. Germain had challenged the Churches

Why did Lawyer r Christopher St. Germain’s claims challenge the church?

1528 Lawyer Christopher St. Germain had challenged the Churches claims to legal supremacy and asserted the superiority of English law over Canon law of the church which helped set in motion parliamentary attack on the church's power which was conducted under Cromwell

What intellectual claims help weaken the church for Henrys divorce sake?

The" Collectanea Satis Copiosa" a collection of historical documents compiled by two Cambridge theologians Thomas Cranmer and Edward Foxe was given to Henry as the means of a more intellectual justification of his divorce on the basis of legal and historical principles

How did Henry use expert opinions to support his Great Matter?

Henry had sought and received expert opinions on his marital situation from a number of continental universities, some of which were favourable to his position adding pressure on the papacy

The king himself humiliated the Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More by requiring him to present these favourable opinions to both houses of Parliament

Pressurising the Pope

Who did Henry humiliate?

The Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More

Who did Henry humiliate Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More?

The king humiliated the Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More by requiring him to present these favourable opinions to both houses of Parliament

What groups pressured the pope?

Parliament put pressure on the clergy and pope to allow henry to become the head of the church

When was Cromwell elected as a member of parliament and what did he dot?

1529 Cromwell was elected as a member of parliament and spend time tackling abuses within the church and the clergy

What part of government did Cromwell use to tackle abuse within the church and clergy?

He used parliament to do so and began to mobilise measures to put pressure on the clergy and church

When was the medieval law of praemunire used?

1531 - 1530 the medieval law of praemunire

What was the Clergy accused of?

Clergy collectively accused of praemunire 

What was praemunire?

A medieval law revived by parliament which was an old medieval law that could charge people for acting in the best interest of the pope rather than the king

What did the accusation of the clergy signify?

This is the beginning of the usage of parliament for the process of the breakage from Rome and forced the clergy to acknowledge the king as the protector and supreme head of the English church

Who else was used to find support for the divorce?

Uni scholars from England were sent to Europe to help find support for the divorce

When was the clergy crimes pardoned?

1531 the clergy crimes against him was pardoned

What was done in return of the clergy pardoning?

In return Henry demanded that they recognise him as the sole protector and supreme head of the church presenting a challenge to both the clergy and Pope

When was the income withheld from the office if bishop?

1532

Why was the income withheld?

Was made to increase pressure on the papacy by withholding the first years income from the office of bishop and the papacy traditionally enjoyed this

When did Cromwell overtake the Great Matter?

1532 the MP Cromwell took over the management of the divorce

When did the Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates brought in?

By January 1532

What did the Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates aim to do?

• The Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates aimed to prevent the payment of annates, a tax paid by clergy to Rome threatening bishops of being consecrated by English authorities instead of the Pope

• This reduced the chief source of papal revenue in England

• It challenged one of the Pope’s main functions as the leader of the Church in England

When was the Supplication of the Ordinaries put in place?

1532 - Supplication of the Ordinaries

What was the aim of the Supplication of the Ordinaries?

Supplication of the Ordinaries was made to increase anticlerical pressure within the House of Commons

When was the Formal Submission of the Clergy put in place?

1532 - Formal Submission

What was the aim of the Formal Submissions?

• Formal Submission of the Clergy to Henry VIII provoked the resignation of Sir Thomas More as Lord pressuring the pope and clergy to support the divorce

• The clergy accepted the King and not the Pope as their lawmaker. Thomas More resigned the following day

When did Wolsey fall form power?

1529 Wolsey fell from power with little progress in securing the divorce

From what years was the progress of the divorce still slow?

1529 to 1531 under the remit of Sir Thomas More there was also little progress in the divorce and break from Rome

What did More do to Wolsey?

More Replaced Thomas Wolsey as chancellor and had very rigid principles

What event did Thomas more play a role concerning the church?

More played the role in the persecution of church reformers in 1528 Which extended to 1530 to 31 after he took a position of power in government

How did More feel about church reform?

Thee idea of a church reform was not ideal for More and Henry Which Henry was very much against during the 1520s until later

What influences did Chancellors attack?

Chancellors such as More were able to attack Lutheran influences in the church

Why were the attacks on Lutheran influenece halted?

These attacks on the reformers were stunted by Anne Boleyn in court as well as the great matter which took priority

Here we see Anne unbalance power and influence growing within the court

How was Henry VIIIs love shown for Boleyn?

• At the age of 36 and despite hating writing letters, Henry wrote Anne a series of passionate love letters

• The letters are evidence that there's a sense of Henry’s growing infatuation with Anne Boleyn at exactly the time that he had decided on annulling his marriage to Catherine of Aragon

What role did Anne Boleyn play in the annulment?

• Anne Boleyn was the driving force of the annulment issue by taking matters into her own hands by finally consenting to have sexual relations with Henry

• This was a gamble as by becoming pregnant would force him to take decisive action

What did Anne Boleyn engaging with Henry Sexually force kick start henry to do?

• This would require open defiance of the Pope by both Henry and the authorities of the English Church

What Archbishop die?

The Archbishop of Canterbury, William Warham in may 1532 passed

Who was the Archbishop replaced with?

He was replaced by Thomas Cranmer

Why did Cranmer make the break easier for Henry?

Thomas Cranmer made Henrys path a little easier as he was a protestant reformer which was a challenge to the pope

When were improvements to the trajectory of break taking off?

During the 1530s Henry did make a larger improvement by pressuring the clergy into supporting the case of the divorce

Who was Henry able to find common ground with and why?

He was able to find some common ground with the reformers who he was formerly against as they also agreed on the basis of the divorce and they both sought radical religious changes And they also saw the church as the obstacle in front of the change

Why was the relation between the pope and Henry worserning?

The relations between the Pope and Henry beginning to worsen Henrys was adapting his attitude towards reformation

How did Anne warm Henry up tot the idea of Protestantism?

Henry was also nudged to this direction by Anne when the idea that Protestantism could be a potential way of lifting the block of their marriage so Anne spread her reformist beliefs

How did Henry view the pope now?

• Henry believed that the man blocking his marriage (the pope) was the enemy of God as he believed that God shared his plans

• So what he wanted God wanted so it was God will that that should happen

What did Evangelicals believe?

Evangelicals also believed that in the absence of the pope spiritual leadership should lie in the hands of the king

How did Henry want to deal with the pope?

To Henry this now meant that he should supplant the pope in England and take over the church and granting his own divorce but this risked civil war