SECURING THE BWR & ROYAL SUPREMACY: protestant influences, acts of parliament

Protestant influences - JANE SEYMOUR - 1536-37

• married almost immediately after AB death

• Mother of Edward VI - 1537

• Died shortly after childbirth

• Born into catholic family BUT obediently encouraged reformist ideas in accordance with H’s wishes at the time

Protestant Influences - Anne of Cleves (1540)

• only lasted 6 months before divorce

• Family were Protestant so marriage to her seen as strategically advantageous by advisors such as Cromwell

• Didn’t like her, wasn’t attracted - wanted Catherine Howard so annulled it on grounds on non-consummation.

• Stayed in England - outlived H, wives following her and even Edward VI

1532 Act of Annates

• papacy’s main form of income - payments made to pope from Bishops.

• Fact it was made conditional - shows H still had some hope of persuading pope to grant divorce.

• H felt need to be present as bill was passed - message it sent to Rome was that parliament was desperately pressuring King to end payments to pope

1533 Act of Restraint of Appeals

• ended appeals to Rome - had to be heard by English courts instead. Appeals relating to H went to convocation to be heard by AB of Canterbury

• Prevented CoA from challenging any legal decision made on the great matter in England & allowed Cranmer to open his court to preside over legitimacy of king’s fist marriage

• 1533 - papacy declares Anne was not H’s wife,excommunicates him. Sentence suspended until September to give H time to see error of his ways but he did not

1534 Act of Dispensations

• stopped all payments to Rome including Peter’s Pence

• All future dispensations allowing for exemptions/departure from canon law would be isssued by AB Canterbury, NOT Rome

  • failure to abide by this decree = praemunire charge

1534 Act of Succession

• registered invalidity of H’s marriage to Catherine and validity of his marriage to Anne

• Mary bastardised

1534 Treason Act

• now a treasonable offence to speak maliciously against H’s marriage w AB.

• Papal response = reaffirm validity of H’s marriage to CoA

  • this act drove H to order the pope’s name be struck out of all prayer books