The English Reformation: Henry VIII and Edward VI

Vocabulary terms, key figures, and major legislative acts concerning the English Reformation under Henry VIII and Edward VI.

Catherine of Aragon

The first wife of Henry VIII (and formerly wife to his older brother, Prince Arthur) whose marriage to Henry was declared void and annulled, leaving her with the title 'dowager to Prince Arthur.'

Anne Boleyn

The second wife of Henry VIII whose marriage was declared lawful by Parliament, making her children (including Elizabeth) rightful heirs to the throne.

Thomas Cranmer

The Archbishop of Canterbury (appointed in 1533) and 'metropolitan primate of all this realm' who declared Henry VIII's first marriage annulled, sat on Edward VI's Regency Council, and wrote the Book of Common Prayer.

Act for the establishment of the King's succession (1533)

A statute passed by Parliament declaring Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon void, confirming his marriage to Queen Anne as lawful, and settling the royal succession upon Anne's children.

Annulment

A formal legal and ecclesiastical ruling that a marriage was invalid from the beginning, distinguishing it from a divorce.

Act of Supremacy (1534)

A parliamentary law establishing the English monarch as 'the only supreme head in earth of the Church of England,' completely separating the English Church from papal authority.

Anglicana Ecclesia

The Latin title used in the Act of Supremacy (1534) to designate the Church of England under the supreme headship of the monarch.

Richard Layton

A royal visitor sent by Thomas Cromwell in 1535 to inspect English monasteries (such as Bath and Lewes) and compile evidence of moral corruption, debt, and doubtful relics.

Thomas Cromwell

Henry VIII's principal advisor after Cardinal Wolsey who oversaw the investigations into the monasteries and received reports on relics until his execution in 1540.

Vincula sancti Petri

The 'chains of St Peter,' a monastic relic at Lewes venerated during Lammas Day processions and invoked by pregnant local women for safe childbirth, reported by Layton as an abusive superstition.

Suppression Acts (1536 and 1539)

Parliamentary statutes prompted by visitor reports of corruption that legally dissolved English monasteries and authorized the crown to confiscate their property, wealth, and relics.

Pilgrimage of Grace

A popular northern rebellion provoked by the dissolution of monasteries and the royal seizure of traditional church treasures.

Rievaulx Abbey

A wealthy medieval monastery in Yorkshire whose extensive surviving ruins serve as visual evidence of the monastic closures under the Acts of Dissolution.

Henry VIII's Great Lock

An elaborate lock at Hever Castle featuring royal heraldry that illustrates Henry VIII's refinement (fine craftsmanship and luxury) alongside his ruthlessness (suspicion and control).

Edward VI

Henry VIII's son who ascended the throne in 1547 at age 9, ruled under a reform-minded Regency Council that instituted true Protestant policies, and died at age 15 in 1553.

Book of Common Prayer (1549)

A uniform English liturgical text composed by Thomas Cranmer to replace traditional Latin rites across all English churches.

Act of Uniformity (1549)

A statute passed under Edward VI that made the use of Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer compulsory throughout England.

Second Book of Common Prayer (1552)

A more thoroughly Protestant revision of the English prayer book that eliminated the remaining Roman Catholic ceremonial elements.