History - Henry VIII

Heirarchy of the Church

Heirarchy of the Church

• Remained largely intact in comparison to the start of Henry’s reign

• There had been little attempt to alter the interior of churches

• Services remained largely traditional in form

Six Articles Act in 1539 and the fall of Cromwell

• 1539 and 1540

• Had seriously weakened the cause of religous reform

• Services continued to be held in Latin and music continued to play an important role in services in cathedrals and collegiate churches

Jurisdiction of the Pope

• Pope’s jurisdiction had been destroyed

• The king was a much more visible authority figure than the Pope, whose grip on the English Church had been remarkably loose much of the time

Monasteries

• Monasteries had been dissolved

• Many monastic buildings were falling into ruin

• There had been a massive transfer of resources from the Church to the Crown through the dissolution

• Parish churches were required to possess Bibles in English

Religious culture

• Had been influenced by humanism

• Had contributed to the undermining of the traditional Church and by the end of Henry VIII’s reign humanism looked posed to achieve even greater influence

Diverse humanist influence

• Unboubted humanism of Catholic martyrs like More and Fisher shows how diverse humanist influence had become

Renaissance culture

• Wider Renaissance culture had become firmly entrenched at court and in the circles of the wealthy and well educated and would retain its cultural prominence for the rest of the century

Weaknesses of the Church

Corruption:

• Pluralism - receiving the profits of more than one post

• Simony - the purchase of Church office

• Non-residence - receiving profits of a post but not performing its duties

• Cardinal Wolsey was arguably the most corrupt clergyman

Anticlericalism:

• Opposition to the political and social importance of the Church

• Some common lawyers objected to the influence of the law of the Church

• There were objections to the legal privileges of the clergy

• 1529 attack on the clergy

Evidence of early English Protestantism

• Little evidence of a substantial movement towards Protestantism in the years following Luther’s attack on the Catholic Church in 1517

• At an intellectual level there was a group of future reformers based in Cambridge in the 1520s

• Most influential member was Archbishop Cramner

Erasmianism and the Reformation

• Years from 1529 showed a group of humanists with shared ideals based on the ideas of Erasmus helping to shape royal policy

• Evidence that a humanist approach to reform persisted during the final years of Henry VIII’s reign

• The king turned to humanists John Cheke to tutor his son and heir, and Roger Ascham to tutor Princess Elizabeth

• There was a humanist circle around the king’s last wife Katherine Parr - who had a humanist education and was a patron of the arts and literature

Changes to the Church’s structure

• King becomes supreme head of the Church - confirmed by the Act of Supremacy in 1534

• King appoints Cromwell Vicegerent in Spirituals in 1534 - Gave Cromwell considerable power and now outranked the archbishops and bishops

• Six new dioceses (areas under the jurisdiction of a bishop) were created - an attempt to improve the Church’s administration

• No other changes were made to the Church - and the Church of England differed from the reformed churches in continental Europe

• Spiritual jurisdiction was still in the hands of archbishops and bishops

Dissolution of the monasteries

• Can be traced back to the Valor Ecclesiaticus - a survey set up by Cromwell in 1535 to see how wealthy the Church was

• Visitors were sent round the country to inspect monastic institutions - found evidence of weakness and corruption

• Provided Cromwell with enough evidence to justify bringing in an Act of Parliament in 1536 to dissolve the smaller monasteries with an income of under £200 per annum

• Presented as an argument for improving the quality of monasicism

• Scope of dissolution widened after the Pilgrimage of Grace

• 1539 - Act dissolving all the remaining monasteries was passed - all of the remaining religious houses had been dissolved by March 1540

The attack on traditional religious practices

• 1536 and 1548 injunctions

• First one placed a restriction on the number of holy days to be observed and discouraged pilgrimages

• Second one - pilgrimages were condemmed as works devised as men’s fantasies

• Clergy who upheld the virtues of pilgrimages were required publicaly to recant

• The implications of the 1538 injunctions for traditional worship were undoubtedly radical

The English Bible

• Injuctions of 1538 required each parish church to have an English Bible and encouraged aver person to read it

• First edition of the Great Bible appeared in 1539

• Within 4 years Henry had become fearful of allowing the wrong sorts of people to read the wrong parts of the Bible

• Led to the 1543 Act for the Advancement of True Religion

• Restricted the public reading of the Bible to upper-class men and upperclass women only permitted to read it in private

• Women and men of other classes were restricted on reading

Changes to doctrine

• Protestant beliefs were introducted

• However there was no consistent pattern of doctrinal change

• Reflected the king’s inability to make up his mind definitively about such matters

• 1536 Ten Articles

• 1537 Bishops’ Book

• 1539 Six Articles Act

• 1543 King’s Book

1536 Ten Articles

• Praying to sains for remission of sins (Lutheran) was rejected, but confession (Catholic) was praised

• This was an ambiguous document which showed both Lutheran and Catholic influences on the development of doctrine

1537 Bishops’ Book

• Restored the four sacraments omitted from the 10 Articles, but were given a lower status

• Therefore a more conservative document than the Ten Articles

1539 Six Articles Act

• Reasserted the Catholic doctrine

• Denial of transubstantiation was deemed heretical

• This was a triumph for the conservatives

• Founded on the assumption that there had been too much religous controversy and that this undermined the good ordering of society

• Two reforming bishops resigned their posts

1543 King’s Book

• This revised the Bishops’ Book

• The emphasis was largely conservative, but with some Lutheran hints

Humanist John Colet

• Significant humanist voice in English education

• Refounded St Paul’s School, London

• Appointed governers drawn from a city guild rather than choosing clergy men

• Also appointed a humanist as the head of the school

Education in humanism

• School’s like St Paul’s’ influence grew

• Similar concepts were introduced in Oxford and Cambridge

• By the end of Henry VIII’s reign, humanist influences had gained a lasting hold on university curricula

How Renaissance ideas increased in Henry’s reign

• Knowledge of classical learning increased among the elite groups in society

• A growing number of schools became influenced by humanist approaches to education

• Henry VIII saw himself as a promoter of new ideas and of humanism

• The Crown needed well-educated diplomats who could communicate with their counterparts in other countries

Important humanist writer

• Thomas More

• Combined his intellectual interests with his work as a lawyer and statesman

Renaissance ideas on visual culture

• Henry VIII commissioned Italian sculptors to produce the tombs of his parents and grandmother in the Renaissance style

• Dominant painters at Henry VIII’s court were from the northern Renaissance - more Gothic influenced than Italian Renaissance

• Henry was also a patron nof Renaissance music

• Evident that on a cultural platform that Italian Renaissance influences were becoming more fashionable

Volume of English trade

• Increased during the first half of the 16th century

• Continued rise in cloth exports - however market for raw wool declnied

• Woollen cloth exports almost doubled during Henry VIII’s reign

• Accompanied by significant increass in hides and tin export

• Increase in import of wine - suggests spending power of upper classes increased

Export routes

• From London to Antwerp - then sent to Central Europe and Baltic customers

• Increasing proportion of exported cloth was routed through London - had a negative impact on other ports, especially Bristol

• Broadcloths continued to be exported, but the biggest change in cloth industry was the increase in cheaper fabrics such as kersey

Profits of the cloth trade

• Didn’t always find their way into English profits

• 70% of cloth exports were transported by English merchants from the 1550s

• The woollen industry grew in the first half of the sixteenth centurt to keep pace with increasing demands of exports and profit rates

Effectiveness of the woollen industry

• Ability of cloth trade to supply its markets depended on effectiveness of the woollen industry

• Woollen industry grew in first half of 16th century

• Work and employment in the cloth industry was not always secure and could lead to poverty

• However entrepreneurial clothiers could aquire wealth from the industry

Mining industry

• Some growth in the mining industry

• Cornish tin remained a prize export

• Lead in the Pennines and coal mining in the northeast was growing in importance

• Newcastle supplied an increasingly important London market by the sea

• Blast furnaces produced increasing amount of iron ore in Kent

• However upsurge in iron ore smelting is later - only just started in Henry’s reign

Henry VIII’s view on exploration

• Uninterested

• Made no attempt to build on the early achievementsof Cabot and the Bristol merchants in his father’s reign

Robert Thorne

• Bristol trader

• Continued his involvement in an Iceland and Newfoundland fishery

Other merchants

• Other merchants still interested in exploration found themselves unable to win royal support for any venture

Sebastian Cabot

• Remained in Spain for most of Henry VIII’s reign apart from two short visits to England

• Only after Edward VI took the throne is when he returned

Arguments supporting prosperity

• Population began to significantly grow from 1525 with a decline in mortality rate

• From 1520s, agricultural prices rose significantly - therefore there was an increase in farming incomes

• Debasement of coinage created a short-term artificial boom in 1544 to 1546, but at a long term cost of living standards

Arguments supporting depression

• Bad harvests (1520-21 and 1527-29) led to temporary but significant increases in food prices

• Food prices almost doubled across Henry VIII’s reign

• Real wages began to decline - worse at the end of Henry’s reign when effects of debasement were particularly evident

• Assessment for subsidies indicated considerable urban poverty - over half of Coventry were recorded as having no personal wealth

• Growing unemployment among rural labourers

• Over 5000 migrants a year adding to London population

• Some people had been made homeless due to engrossing

Impact of enclosure

• Enclosure of common fields existed in the 15th century - had little impact though

• Wolsey laucnhed an enclosure commission in 1517 to ascertain the scale of the problem

• Proceedings were launched successfully afainst no fewer than 188 defentands who were found to have enclosed illegially

• Enclosure was most commonly found in east Midlands villages

• However bulk of damage caused by enclosure took place before 1485 - but didn’t prevent further legislation in 1534 which attempted to limit sheep ownership and engrossing - with limited results

Population increase

• Underlying cause of economic distress - increase in population

• Put considerable strain on the supply of food - made it difficult at times to meet the rising demand

• Agricultural prices and income from farming rose

• Growing class of substantial farmers who were able or fortunate enough to respont effectively to the growing market conditions

What was the Lincolnshire Rising and the Pilgrimage of Grace

• Together comprimised the largest single rebellion in the history of Tudor England

• Began as a rising that started in October 1536 in Lincolnshire

• Spread to Yorkshire, Wakefield and Pontefract

Second rising

• Second more militant rising

• Between Richmond, spread west to Cumberland, Westmorland and into the west Riding of Yorkshire

• Rebels were more radicalised and more hostile towards the gentry

Causes of the rebellion

• Complex

• Various secular motives played a part

• But undoubtedly was due the the impact of Henry's religious changes figured among the rebels’ grievances

• Huge resentment felt about a government which was pushing too quickly for religious change that most ordinary people couldn’t keep up with

Religious motives

• Dissolution of the monasteries

• Loss of charitable and fundable education provided by them

• Fear that the north would be impoverished from land falling into southerners hands

• 1536 Injunctions drawn up by Cromwell were seen as attacking traditional religious practices

• Celebrations of local important saints in Yorkshire had been discouraged

• Rumours that church plate and jewels would be confiscated and parishes might be amalgamated

Secular motives

• Ordinary rebels were more motivated by economic grievances including resentment of taxation, rather than the leaders

• Crown’s attempts to impose the Duke of Suffolk upon Lincolnshire may have sparked initial rebellions

• Possibly initial rebellions prompted by supporters of Catherine of Aragon who wanted to restore Princess Mary as heir to the throne

• Extension of the rebellion into Cumberland has been linked to tenants’ grievances

• Difficult to completely outline the motives due to the size of the rebellion and the different identities involved

The suppression of the rebellions

• Lincolnshire rebellion quickly collapsed when faced with the forces of the Duke of Suffolk

• Northern rebels occupied York, Hull and captured Pontefract Castle

• Therefore caused alarm to the king and his ministers

• Some of the rebel forces at Doncaster dispersed when Norfolk issued a pardon to them and promised the dissolved monasteries would be restored

• Rebellion renewed in Feb 1537 - Norfolk quickly suppressed the renewed rebellion and hanged 74 rebels

• A number of rebel leaders including Darcy and Hussey, several members of the gentry and heads of monastic houses were bought to London, tried and executed

The Pilgrimage of Grace’s effect on Henry VIII

• Shook him

• His own dealing of the rebellion was poor

• He ignored warnings about the increase in resentment to dissolutions

• He was fortunate for the Duke of Norfolk’s involvement in suppressing the rebellion

• Pilgrimage didn’t show the pace of religious change, only the amount of opposition it gained

What was the Amicable Grant

• Imposition of taxes to pay for foreign wars in 1525

Where was opposition the strongest

• Opposition was widespread but the strongest resistance occurred in north Essex and South Suffolk

How people resisted

• Around 1000 people had gathered at the Essex-Suffolk border and were determined to resist payment

• Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk faced about 4000 taxation resisters

• Especially unemployed cloth workers who found it impossible to pay the levy

How was the resistance handled

• Sensitively

• The king backed down

• Wolsey publically begged the king to offer pardon to those whom he saw as his Suffolk countrymen

• Leaders of the resistance were treated leniently

What the resistance to the Amicable Grant showed

• Demonstrated that Henry could not operate in defiance of the taxpaying classes

• When he next invaded France he raised money by the sale of monastic lands instead of extraordinary revenue

Locals reaction to the break with Rome

• A small minority of people welcomed the religous change this brought

• There was no increase of popular support for the changes

• There were executions of some who denied the royal supremacy - most notably Sir Thomas More

Monasteries

• Important feature of the appeal of the pre-Reformation Church

• Cromwell’s dissolution of the monasteries attacked traditional practices of Catholicism - provoked fears that these reforms may be accompanied by an attack on parish churches

• Most important consequence of this was the Pilgrimage of Grace 1536 in Lincolnshire

Long-lasting social consquences

• Huge amount of land was removed from the Church and taken by the Crown - theoretically made the king more powerful - however expense of foreign policy led to more selling of Church and monastic property

• By 1547 2/3 of monastic land aquired by the Crown had been sold

• Monastic / monastery schools had been lost

• Monks were rendered unemployed - some regained employment as priests but the unemployment of nuns remained the same

• Business opportunities monasteries gave were lost

• Dissolution was seen as a potential disaster and communities went to considerable lenghts to protect their monasteries

Northumberland resistance to dissolution

• Hexham in Northumberland

• Royal commissioners were prevented from beginning the process of dissolution

• Due to a mass gathering of armed men / locals outside the monastery

Succession issues

• 1516 - Birth of Mary - current heir but female

• 1533 - Birth of Elizabeth - still female heir - 1534 Succession Act declares Mary illegitimate

• 1536 appeal Succession Act - Elizabeth also declared illegitimate

• 1537 - Birth of Edward - now have a male heir

• 1544 - Succession Act reappealed - puts Mary and Elizabeth back into succession - Henry can determine succession now by will

How problems with succession brought about the Break of Rome

• Marriage to Catherine of Aragon - couldn’t produce a healthy male heir

• Only Princess Mary was her surviving child

• Henry believed the lack of son was God’s punishment for marrying Catherine - his brother’s widow

• Now essential to him to gain the annulment

Succession Act of 1534 and it’s appeals

• 1534 - declared Mary illegitimate

• Henry believed he was again being afflicted with divine punishment when Anne had 2 miscarriages

• Anne’s execution for treason led to 1536 Succession Act - declared her daughter Elizabeth illegitimate

• Meant Henry now had 3 illegitimate children

1536 Succession Act

• Declared in the absense of a legitimate heir the king could determine the succession by will

Birth of Prince Edward and his legitimacy

• Born in 1537

• Legitimate as Henry married his mother, Jane Seymour after the deaths of both Catherine and Anne

• Meant Edward’s legitimacy couldn’t be denied by any interpretation of canon law

• However due to Henry’s health by 1543 meant Edward would be succeeding the throne very young

1543/44 Succession Act

• Passed through the Commons and the Lords in 1543 and received royal assent in 1544

• Re-legitimised Mary and Elizabeth

• Henry confirmed succession arrangements in his will dated 30 December 1546

• Declared right of succession to the heirs of Henry’s sister Mary if all his children died without issue

• Also set up a regency council to act on Edward’s behalf whilst he was still young - very little was to be seen of this council in his reign

Elites

• Traditional nobles and the greater gentry still represented a social elite which wielded considerable political and economic influence

• The nobility

• The gentry

• However Henry’s reign also saw the growth of a professional and commercial group

The nobility

• Size of peerage increased during Henry’s reign

• Henry bestowed property on nobles to enable them to exert royal authority in particular areas

• Such as the duke of Suffolk given property in Lincolnshire after the 1536 rebellion in order to exert authority in person

• Noble households were critical to maintain local influence

• Despite nobility increasing, it was brought under more control of the monarch

• More executions of noblity too for vague charges (Duke of Buckingham, 1521, Henry Courtenay, 1538)

• Most notable execution was Lords Darcy and Hussey for their role in the 1536 rebellion

The gentry

• Estimated that there were about 5000 gentry families in England in 1540

• Some aspects of gentry status were specific

• Knighthoods - sign of royal favour

• Gentleman - entitled to bear a coat of arms + deemed an esquire

• However the term gentleman lacked legal precision

• Number of gentry increased during Henry’s reign

• Increase in JPs, and members of gentry were keen on their sons aquiring legal training so they could take on better roles for local advancement

Commoners

• Little change in the standard of living of commoners in the first half of Henry’s reign

• However rise in inflation rate led to drop in real incomes which contributed to the ill feeling commoners felt towards imposition of the Amicable Grant

• Meaning people had less chance of regular and secure employment

• Government was fearful of commoners due to their common outbreaks of disorder - upseting the order of society

Aims within regional issues

• To bind the country as one nation

• Measures were taken to create a single unified state

Wales - creating a unitary state

• Before 1536 was a separate territory from England

• Though in practice was under English control

• Although didn’t have a formal political link with England - changed by the Laws in Wales Act of 1536 which:

• Divided Wales into shire counties - operated on the same basis as English counterparts

• Gave Welsh shires direct representation in the House of Commons

• Bought Wales into English legal framework

The English palatinates - creating a unified state

• Lancashire, Cheshire and Durham

• Originally separate jurisdictions from the rest of the kingdom

• The Act Resuming Liberties to the Crown of 1536

• Reduced the level of independence enjoyed by the bishops there

• However didn’t destroy separate jurisdiction completely

• The palatinate court of chancery continued to operate

Border administration

• Anglo-Welsh border

• Anglo-Scottish border

The Anglo-Welsh border

• The four bordering English counties and lands that were governed as a part of the Principality of Wales came under the jurisdiction of the Council of Wales and the Marches

• Offered relatively cheap and local access to the law and could therefore be seen as a benefit to the area under its jurisdiction

The Anglo-Scottish border

• Remained a problematic area for Henry

• Border was difficult to police due to being remote

• Border was split into 3 marches each under different jurisdictions - appointing of these posts was difficult for the King

• Appointing a local noble family would risk exploiting their office at the king’s expense

• Meaning he would have to appoint complete outsides, but they would have little ability to influence the locals

The Council in the North

• North of England posed problems for governance to a regime based far from London

• Demonstrated from the huge number of supporters of the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536

• Led Henry and Cromwell to re-establish the Council as a permanent body based in York with professional staff

• Had both administrative and legal functions

• Showed its worth by helping to keep the north quiet during the summer of rebellions in 1549

Summary of foreign policy in these years

• Distinct contrast from foreign policy of the previous decade

• 1530s - focus of foreign policy was the break from Rome and minimising the response of foreign powers

• 1540s - Henry returned to aggressive foreign policy which characterised the early years of his reign

• Launched attacks on both Scotland and France

1542 invasion of Scotland

• Immediate military success

• Scots were heavily defeated at the Battle of Solway Moss

• James V died shortly after - leaving the throne to his 1-week old daughter mary - Scottish position seemed hopeless

• Henry could’ve led another invasion which would’ve been impossible for the Scots to defeat - but his main focus was an invasion of France

1543 Treaty of Greenwich between England Scotland

• Betrothed young Prince Edward to even younger Mary Queen of Scots

• However Scottish parliament refused to ratify / give consent to the treaty

How Henry’s Scottish foreign policy failed

• Neglected the opportunity to secure his policy by military force when he had the opportunity to in 1542 after the invasion of Scotland

• Failed to recognise ambassador’s warnings about Scottish hostility towards his policy intentions

• Ordering the Earl of Hertford to raid Edinburgh gave no strategic objectives, just antagonised the Scots further

1543 Anglo-Imperial alliance

• idk

1544 invasions of Scotland and France

• Had little strategic objectives

• Henry attemped to march on Paris - army got confined at Calais

1545 French counter-invasion of the Isle of Wight

• French retaliaton of England invading France

• Henry’s flagship sank in the Solent near the Isle of Wight

1545 Battle of Ancrum Moor

• Francis I sent troops to Scotland to reinforce a possible invasion of England from acrossthe Scottish border

• English were defeated at the battle - failed English invasion of Scotland

1546 peace with France

• Henry was unable to fund the war from extraordinary revenue

• Sold much of the Crown estate

• Debased coinage - increasing the rate of inflation

Position of England in 1527

• Failure of resolving Henry’s Great Matter through diplomacy emphasises the extent to which England remained a minor power in Europe

Treaty of Amiens 1527

• Henry and Wolsey were forced by their weak position to make an anti-imperial alliance with the French

• Wolsey pressurised the emperor by imposing a trade embargo with Burgunian lands - but Charles’s retaliation created widespread unemployment and social problems - causing Wolsey to back down

• Failure of the Treaty - shown in the Peace of Cambrai 1529 between France and the Holy Roman Empire

• Henry blamed this on Wolsey and resulted in his fall from power in 1529

1532 defensive alliance between England and France

• To put pressure on the emperor - although France was also in a weak position - put little pressure altogther

• Alliance unravelled when Francis sought out a marriage alliance between his son and the Pope’s niece

• Henry now resolved his weak position by breaking with Rome - which horrified Catholic powers despite there being no repercussions for Henry after beaking from Rome

1536 vs 1538 pressure on Henry’s position

1536 - Pressure reduced

• Due to the death of Catherine of Aragon and the execution of Anne Boleyn

• Renewal of fighting between the emperor and Francis I reduced the potential danger of England’s isolated position

1538 - pressure increased / position weakened

• Charles and Francis once again allied in the Treaty of Nice and agreed to sever connections with England

• Pope Paul III published a bull deposing Henry and therefore absolving English Catholics from the need to obey Henry

• The Pope sent envoys to France and Scotland to rouse support for a Catholic crusade against Henry

Six Articles Act of 1539

• Act intended to reassure Catholic opinion in England

• Explains his decision to marry Anne of Cleves

• Would result in having an alliance with the League of Schmalkalden - useful insurance policy if France and Scotland invade

Foreign policy with Ireland

• English remained in control of Pale - area surrounding Dublin - Gerald Fitzgerand, Earl of Kildare, was the dominant Irish nobleman

• King dismissed Kildare which led to a major rebellion led by Kildare’s son

• Suppressed with difficulty and considerable expense

• Bringing Ireland under full English control required a strong military presence - therefore becoming an increasing drain on the Crown’s resources

Ireland - 1539 invasion of Pale

• Two nobles led invasion - O’Neill and O’Donnell

• Government regained control and tried to pacify Ireland by establishing it as a separate kingdom in 1541 - imposing English law and reforms

• However government lacked the resources to follow through these reforms - and resulted in the relationship between England and Irelalnd becoming more complex due to religious differences

Policy at this time

• England remained a relatively minor power and couldn’t really compete on level terms with the major powers of France and Spain

• Henry significantly overestimated English power - Wolsey then had to framce the details of foreign policy based on this assumption

• The ‘auld alliance’ between France and Scotland remained strong

• Meaning clashes between England and France almost always led to increased tension between England and Scotland

Consequences of Henry’s policies up until 1514

• Unable to exploit the weaknesses of Scotland after the death of James IV at Flodden

• He sought peace with France through the marriage of his sister Mary to the French king, Louid XII

• Marriage was short lived

England’s isolation and the Treaty of London

• England was left isolated due to the Treaty of Cambrai establishing peace between the Holy Roman Empire and France

• Wolsey was successful in ending England’s isolation with the Treaty of London in 1518 where he emerged as England’s leading diplomat

• Scope widened and eventually became a treaty of perpetual peace

• Non-aggression pact agreed to by England, Spain, France and the Holy Roman Empire

• However future conflicts would suggest this treaty was meaningless

• Initial successes of the Treaty led to Wolsey being appointed as papal legate over England - peak of Wolsey’s power

New relationship between England and France

• England agreed to return Tournai to France

• French agreed to pay the English a pension to compensate for its loss

• French agreed to keep Albany out of Scotland - ensured more peaceable relations on the Anglo-Scottish border

• Good relations between England and France were reinforced by the most expensive diplomatic encounter of the period - the Field of the Cloth of Gold in June 1520

Field of the Cloth of Gold - June 1520

• Meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I - estimated to cost Henry’s royal treasury £15,000

• Nothing was really achieved in diplomatic terms

• Conflict rose between Francis I and Charles V in 1521

• Wolsey negotiated the Treaty of Bruges with Charles

• Henry had motives to moving to side with Charles

Reasons Henry wanted to move to siding with Charles V rather than Francis I

• He could improve his relations with the Pope - who was anxious to reduce French control over northern Italy

• He believed he might gain more territory within France

• Part of the deal entailed a marriage alliance between the emperor and Henry’s young daughter, princess Mary

• Resulted in English invasions of France in 1522 and 1523 - gained little butwere costly - Parliament were reluctant to grant the extraordinary revenue necessary to cover costs

Battle of Pavia - 1525 and proposed invasion of France

• Showed Henry’s lack of strategic awareness

• He attempted to benefit from the emperor’s defeat of the French at the Battle, suggesting to Charles they should launch an invasion of northern France for territorial gains

• Charles didn’t agree to this - and controvery over the Amicable Grant showed a lack of public support for the campaign

• Henry’s now resentment towards the emperor was reinforced when Charles repudiated his marriage with Mary

• Wolsey’s domestic prestiage never really recovered from this

League of Cognac - 1526

• Henry lent support to the league

• Which had been organised by the Pope to counterbalance the excessive power of the emperor in northern Italy following his victory in Pavia

• Caused a complication in foreign policy due to Henry now having weakened relations with the emperor

• Wolsey couldn’t solve relations between Henry and the emperor, contributed to Wolsey’s downfall

Fall of Anne Boleyn

• Anne was responsible for helping push the king in a more protestant direction

• Relations between Anne and Cromwell - publicly broke down - Cromwell felt his relationship with the king + his life was threatened

• Anne’s downfall was sudden

How Anne Boleyn fell

• Cromwell allied with the conservatives and they persuaded Henry that Anne’s flirtatious manner had led to adultery

• Anne was always a target for the conservaties, and was accused of adultery and incest

• For the wife of a monarch this was treason

• Anne was executed on 19 May 1536, meant that in Catholic eyes he was free to remarry

Fall of Thomas Cromwell

• By 1540 Cromwell’s influence was declining

• Cause of his downfall was failing to manage the king’s marriages satisfactorily

• After Jane Seymour, Henry’s third wife, died after giving birth to the male heir, Cromwell was tasked with arranging Henry’s next marriage

Anne of Cleves in relation to Cromwell’s fall

• Cromwell arranged a marriage between Henry and German Protestant princess, Anne of Cleves

• Match was unwelcome politically and personally to the King

• Marriage was annulled, destroying what remained of Cromwell’s credibility to the king

• Gave Cromwell’s enemies, led by the Duke of Norfolk to secure his downfall

Norfolk and Cromwell’s downfall

• Norfolk brought about the Catholic Catherine Howard to marry the king

• Cromwellwas accused of treason and heresy and executed on July 28 1540

• Marriage between Heny and Catherine took place on the same day

Fall of Cromwell’s effect on government

• Saw the emergence of a Privy Council with fixed membership, supported by a secretary who kept a formal record of proceedings