AQA A-Level Henry VIII

Henry became king

1509

First French Wars

1511-14

Holy League

1511- England joined, united against French, a huge opportunity to gain territory in France

Ferdinand and Navarre

1512- Ferdinand uses Henry's troops as a smokescreen to take Navarre, proves he is an unreliable ally

Battle of the Spurs

1513- Henry personally led an army of 30k men to Calais, captured Tournai and Therouanne, labelled 'ungracious dog holes', took prominent prisoners and negotiated a pension, Therouanne was given to Emperor Maximillian (HRE therefore benefited most), Tournai became an English garrison until 1518

Battle of Flodden

1513- defeat of the Scots by Catherine of Aragon, James IV killed

'Tudor Subsidy'

A flexible and realistic form of taxation to replace the standard system of 'fifteenths and tenths', considered Wolsey's greatest financial achievement- 1513-16 raised £170k cf £90k with the old system

Treaty of Saint Germaine-en-Laye

1514- French made peace with the Holy League, Henry was forced to make peace with France, the treaty gave England possession of Tournai and secured the marriage of Henry's sister Mary to Louis XII

Martin Luther

1517- criticised indulgences in his 95 Theses in Wittenberg, preached importance of scriptures

Wolsey

Became prominent after becoming royal almoner in 1509- later given the titles of Bishop of Tournai (after battle of the Spurs) and Archbishop of York, made the King's chief minister and took on bureaucratic tasks that Henry didn't want to do, then became a Cardinal and Lord Chancellor in 1515, appointed Legate a latere in 1518

Treaty of London

1518- 'Universal Peace', successfully organised by Wolsey, united against Ottoman threat, Wolsey was given the Legate a Latere title

Field of the Cloth of Gold

1520- £1.7m spent, an extension of Anglo-French peace, ended up being an opportunity to show off

Treaty of Bruges

1521- Anglo-Imperial treaty with Charles V, negotiated an anti-French alliance and the marriage of Mary to Charles

Invasion of Picardy

1522- Henry's attempt to take Paris, Henry got close to Paris but was poorly equipped, Wolsey organised a force costing £400k but the Duke of Bourbon didn't provide any assistance and there was no support from Charles causing the troops to fall apart

Second French Wars

1522-25- Charles an unreliable ally, never provided Henry with any back-up, demanded £800k in 1525 but shortly after the alliance collapsed

Battle of Pavia

1525- collapse of imperial alliance, Charles captures Francis, Henry thought this was a great opportunity to invade France

Amicable Grant

1525- essentially a forced loan, but the nobility couldn't give any more, one of Wolsey's biggest failings, Henry wanted to take the opportunity to invade France after the French defeat at the Battle of Pavia but the coffers were empty, the grant was met with violent displeasure (due to forced loans and Pt. tax for last 3 years), a refusal to pay and rebellion across Suffolk and East Anglia, sparked the start of Wolsey's downfall

'Eltham Ordinances'

1526- Wolsey reduced the number of Gentleman of the Bedchamber from 12 to 6, historians debate whether this was an efficient, cost-cutting exercise, or an attempt by Wolsey to monopolise power

League of Cognac

1526- England joined with France to unite England, France and the Italian states against Imperial forces in Italy

Treaty of Madrid

1526- signed by Francis (who later repudiated it) after Pavia, surrendering his claims to Italy, Flanders and Burgundy

Treaty of the More

1526- Henry agreed to give up his claims to France in return for an annual pension

Treaty of Westminster

1527- England and France in an alliance, Mary presented once again as a marriage offer to Francis or his son

Sacking of Rome

1527- Pope is imprisoned by Charles V, means he's unable to give Henry the annulment, also signs Treaty of Barcelona, Henry could've done it himself but could still be considered illegitimate

Ecclesiastical Court

May 1527- English court with all members of the clergy to discuss the matter (persuade Pope and argue dispensation was wrong)

Campeggio's Indecision

1528- sent by the Pope to judge, doesn't reach England quick enough, costly

Treaty of Cambrai

1529- a treaty between France, Spain and the Papacy, Wolsey was ignored completely, England was left isolated, Charles in control of Italy

Legatine Court- Blackfriars

May 1529- Ask for Cardinal Campeggio

Catherine's Speech

18th June 1529- her famous speech to Henry and Court that she didn't sleep with Arthur

'A Supplication for the Beggars'

Written by Simon Fish- alleges that the clergy are greedy and corrupt, appeals to Henry and what he wants (a way for Henry to justify a Break with Rome)

Treaty of Barcelona

1529- ruins Henry's chances of an annulment, signed by the Pope after being imprisoned by Charles V

Wolsey's Fall From Power

1529- failure to get the annulment, accused of praemunire (putting church before king)

'Collectanea'

1530- Cranmer (and other leading academics eg Cromwell) sent to tour round Europe to get evidence (or opinions), enables them to creep in reformist ideas, caesaropapism (king being seen as the Pope)

Praemunire Charge

1530-31- clergy charged with placing a foreign authority before the state (choosing the Pope before Henry)

Act In Restraint of Annates

1532- (made by Henry and Cromwell) stopped annates payments to Rome (a clerical fee that was paid to Rome on the appointment of new bishops)

Submission of the Clergy

1532- Henry trying to take authority- gatherings of leading bishops (convocations) were unable to assemble without royal permission, no new canons (church laws) without royal assent (enabled king to control canon law), Church lost jurisdictional autonomy (can't act as own entity)

Anglo-French Alliance

Summer 1532- hoped Francis may help negotiate on his behalf

Anne's Pregnancy

December 1532- massive turning point, potentially carrying a son, means break inevitable

Act in Restraint of Appeals

April 1533- Cromwell's draft ended appeals to Rome, heard by English church courts, made possible the settlement of divorce in England, Henry has royal supremacy (now more important than the church, Henry only one to make decisions)

Act of Succession

1534- invalidated the Aragonese line, since it was an annulment rather than divorce, Mary is no longer a valid claimant, was now treason to slander Henry's marriage to Anne

Act of Supremacy

1534- officially declared Henry the supreme head of the church, began process of inspection of the monasteries

Treason Act

1534- treasonable to question the marriage of Henry and Anne and the validity of their children

Valor Ecclesiasticus

1535- revealed the full extent of monastic wealth, led to Henry and Cromwell deciding upon dissolution

Act for the Dissolution of Small Monasteries

Spring 1536- the dissolution of all religious houses with a net income of less than £200 per year

Act of Ten Articles

1536- essentially defined the doctrinal position of the new national church, was ambiguous and unclear, outlined idea of Justification by Faith Alone, left out central Catholic beliefs e.g conformation, ordination, marriage

Royal Injunctions

1536- against images, superstition gone etc. - attack on religious practice, a Protestant shift (orchestrated by Cromwell- a Protestant- show he has the power to shift in his favour)

The Lincolnshire Rising

1536- the rebels were led by local shoemaker Nicholas Melton, he drew up a list of grievances, timing was sparked by the dissolution, Bishop of Lincoln murdered and leadership then taken over by gentry, priests and armed monks, but soon evaporated as Suffolk's army drew near, ended on 11th October

Pilgrimage of Grace

Oct-Dec 1536- led by Yorkshire lawyer Thomas Aske, marched under the 5 wounds banner, swore a religious oath that contradicted the Royal Supremacy

21st Oct- moved to Pontefract where Lord Darcy surrendered Pontefract Castle (most important fortress in the North), 30k men

Failed because the leaders put their faith in Henry's word, Henry sent Norfolk to negotiate and rebels dispersed on 8th Dec

Westmorland and Cumberland Revolts

1537- led by Francis Bigod, gave Henry excuse to carry out reprisals and renegade on earlier promises, martial law declared at Carlisle, gentry and nobility rounded up and executed, 74 rebels hanged on the spot, ringleaders taken to London and executed including Aske, Percy and Lords Darcy and Hussey

The Bishop's Book

1537- put forward by Cromwell on the back of Supremacy, included the 4 sacraments but said they were of lesser importance, function of the Priest was to preach the word rather than the offering of Christ, renumbered the 10 commandments to highlight the mistaken practice of worshipping graves, was clear Henry wasn't happy with it as 1543 King's Book showed amendments more catholic in doctrine

Act of Six Articles

1539- some historians say it reflected Henry's own personal religious faith in Catholicism, seen as an attempt to reassure the rest of Catholic Europe that England wouldn't move towards Lutheranism

Anne of Cleves

1539- Cromwell engineered a marriage alliance, Henry detested the sight of her and wouldn't consummate the marriage, the war in Italy resumed therefore the need to Court German princes evaporated

The Battle of Solway Moss

November 1542- the Scots were annihilated by the English, James V died 2 weeks after, MQS was left in the hands of a pro-French faction, Henry determined to take advantage and impose England's on Scotland

Treaty of Greenwich

July 1543- peace between England and Scotland, marriage of MQS to Edward

The King's Book

1543- an amendment of the Bishop's Book, outlined Catholic doctrine

Rough Wooing

1544- Henry frustrated with failed Treaty of Greenwich, sent Earl of Hertford (Somerset) to lay waste to Scotland, Edinburgh attacked and burned severely, a failure as united Scots against the English and strengthened their alliance with France

Attack on France

1543- Henry agreed on a joint invasion with Charles V, 40k invaded Calais and Spanish attacked Paris, neither Charles or Henry fulfilled their obligation to one another, Henry ignored Paris and had success in Boulogne, Charles then made peace with France, cost of garrisoning Boulogne had been 130k and total for campaign £2m

Peace Settlement at Adres

June 1546-Henry was promised a sizeable pension from Francis and English were to hold on to Boulogne until 1554 when France would buy the town back

Henry's Death

1547