Reign of Henry VIII - Dates

Life, foreign policy, key figures, events, and information cards (presented as flashcards - just type 'ok' and the first word after the dash). BWR = Break with Rome. All Henrys mentioned are Henry VIII

Birth of Henry VIII

1491, June 28 - Greenwich Palace

Death of Prince Arthur

1502, April 2 - Ludlow Castle (probably from the sweating sickness)

Henry's ascension

1509, April 21 - aged 17

Henry's coronation

1509, June 24 - Westminster Abbey

Henry marries Catherine of Aragon

1509, June 11 - Greenwich Palace

Wolsey appointed Royal Almoner

1509, Nov

Henry's first parliament

1510, Jan

Henry's sister, Mary marries Louis XII of France

1514, Oct (18 and 52 y'all……)

Wolsey made Archbishop of York, Chancellor of England and Cardinal

1514, Sept - Archbishop of York

Dec - Chancellor of England

1515, Sept - Cardinal

Birth of Princess Mary, later Mary I

1516, Feb 18

Martin Luther publishes his 95 theses against the RCC

1517, Oct

Wolsey made Papal Legate

1518, May

Treaty of London for peace in Christendom

1518, Oct

Death of HRE Maximilian I and succession of Charles V

1519 - Death in Jan, succession in June

Field of the Cloth of Gold

1520, June - Display of wealth between Henry and Francis to improve relations. Orchestrated by Wolsey.

Henry given title 'Defender of the Faith' (Fidei Defensor) by Pope Leo X

1521, Oct

Secret treaty signed at Bruges between Wolsey and Charles V against France

1521, Aug

Charles V returns to Spain protected by English Navy

1522, July

England invades France

1523 Autumn - main army led by Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk

Battle of Pavia, Francis I taken prisoner

1525, Feb

Amicable Grant

1525, March - May, Non-parliamentary tax imposed by Wolsey to fund war with France. Benevolences of up to 1/6 for the laity, 1/3 for clergy.

Eltham Ordinances

1526, Jan - Set of rules drawn up by Wolsey to regulate the king's household through reducing costs, eliminating waste, and curbing the influence of factions within the privy chamber.

Cardinal Campeggio arrived in London

1528, Sept

Fall of Wolsey

1529, July - Oct

Wolsey accused of treason and dies at Leicester on the way to London

1529, Nov

Thomas More becomes Chancellor of England

1529, Oct

Submission of the Clergy

1532, May 15 - Church in England to submit to Henry's royal authority. Clergy no power to create canons, required royal assent for new legislation, broke ties with Pope.

Entire English clergy charged with praemunire

1530 - 1531 - Charged shortly after Wolsey's death. Pardon of £100,000 paid in 1531

Henry meets Francis I at Calais and Boulogne accompanied by Anne Boleyn

1532, Oct

Thomas Cranmer announces that marriage between Henry and Anne is valid

1533, May 28

Henry marries Anne Boleyn

1533, Jan (secret - still technically married to Catherine. Anne pregnant)

Birth of Princess Elizabeth, later Elizabeth I

1533, Sept

Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates

1532, March - Pressured Pope to grant Henry's annulment by cutting off a source of papal income. Payments limited to 5%, threatened to be eliminated entirely.

Thomas More resigns, Cromwell replaces him

1532, May 16

Thomas Cranmer appointed Archbishop of Canterbury

1533, March

Cranmer calls a convocation of clergy to discuss whether Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon was ever valid

1533, March - April

Anne crowned at Westminster Abbey

1533, June 1

Birth of Thomas Cromwell

1485 (probably)

Cromwell became a member of Wolsey's council and a trusted advisor

1519

Cromwell became a member of the Privy Council

1531

Act in Restraint of Appeals

1533, April - Prevented people from appealing to Rome, Henry now ultimate legal and spiritual head

Act in Restraint of Annates (absolute)

1534, Spring - Prohibited sending "annates" - the first year's income from a newly appointed bishopric - to Pope. Revenue redirected to the English Crown.

Order issued stating that the Pope had no more authority than any other bishop

1533, Dec

Act Forbidding Papal Dispensation and the Payment of Peter's Pence (Officially Ecclesiastical Licenses Act)

Early 1534 - Transferred powers from the Pope to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Provides legal basis for Henry's annulment.

Act of Succession

1534, March - Princess Mary illegitimate. Nobles to swear Oath of Succession (Anne Boleyn is Queen, heirs legitimate, reject the Pope), refusal is treason.

Act of Supremacy

1534, Nov - Henry "Supreme Head on earth of the Church of England", power over all religious practices, can elect anyone to high posts, gets paid church tax.

Treason Act

1534, Dec - Failure to recognise the king's supremacy is treason. Complements Act of Supremacy.

Supplication of the Ordinaries

1532, March - Anti-clerical petition. Attacked authority of church courts and led to the Submission of the Clergy

Valor Ecclesiasticus

1535, Sept - Survey of Church property and income in England, Wales and parts of Ireland. Cromwell sent out team of 6.

Information - list of the popes during Henry's reign (1509-1547)

Julius II (1503-1513) - Pope when Henry ascended the throne

Leo X (1513-1521) - Granted Henry 'Defender of the Faith' title in 1521

Adrian VI (1522-1523) - Brief papacy, Henry generally chill

Clement VII (1523-1534) - Refused the annulment, leading to the Break with Rome. Under influence of Charles V

Paul III (1534-1549) - Excommunicated Henry in December 1538

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Henry summoned by Pope Clement VII to appear before the Roman Curia (administrative institutions of the Holy See - central body conducting affairs of the CC)

1529, Aug - Henry infuriated and refused to go. Catalysed decision to BWR.

Sack of Rome

1527, May - Charles V's mutinous, unpaid Spanish and German mercenaries led by Charles III (Duke of Bourbon) pillaged the city for 8 days.

League of Cognac

1526, May - Organised by Pope Clement, aligning papacy with France, Venice, Milan, and Florence to counter influence of Charles V

Act for the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries

1536, March - Monasteries worth less than £200 p.a to be closed down.

Dissolution of the Monasteries

1536 - 1541

Pilgrimage of Grace

1536, Oct - 1537, Feb

Information - initial individual(ish) opposition to the Royal Supremacy and BWR

Elizabeth Barton, The Holy Maid of Kent

Reputation - God's mouthpiece (visions of Virgin Mary in 1520s). Against annulment. When it was announced in May 1533 she publicly prophesised that H would cease to be king within a month. Immediately arrested, forced to announce visions were a hoax, imprisoned in Tower, executed with close associates in April 1534.

Observant Franciscan friars and Carthusian monks

Reputation - most spiritually admirable in the country, opposed H's policies. Convenient location, often visited by leading members of society -> gov closed all 7 of their houses in 1534 and imprisoned stubborn members (likely 30 of 200 died). Cromwell attempted propaganda victory with less radical Cart. individuals in the London Charterhouse but failed - over 3 years 18 were martyred and written into stories of resistance and courage. One of H's "least defensible actions".

John Fisher

Views - Papal powers are God-given -> denial of that is a mortal sin -> Church duty to denounce such action. Bishop of Rochester since 1504 and was never promoted (uninterested in politics, devoted to scholarship and prayer). Defended Catherine of Aragon, was outspoken and loathed by Henry. Publicly supported Elizabeth Barton and refused to swear Oath of Succession and imprisoned in Tower. Pope made Fisher a Cardinal a year later, Henry accused Fisher of high treason and executed him in June 1535.

Sir Thomas More

Reputation - one of Europe's leading scholars, popular and befriended H. Succeeded Wolsey as Lord Chancellor in 1529 and tried to eradicate heresy in England (Lutherans and less radical reformers burnt at the stake). Believed that Church would cease to receive God's word if under lay control. Tried to retire but Henry insisted that he needed to swear Oath. Refused, joined Fisher in Tower, executed in July 1535.

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Battle of Flodden

1513, September

Schmalkaldic League formed

1531, Feb

Truce of Nice

1538, June

Information - marriage to Anne of Cleves timeline

1539 Oct - Treaty signed

1540 Jan 1 - Meeting in person :0

1540 Jan 6 - Marriage

1540 July - Annulment

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Battle of the Spurs

1513, August

Cromwell executed

1540, July

Anne Boleyn executed

1536, May

Act of Six Articles

1539, June - Officially affirmed six doctrines

• Transubstantiation

• Communion in one kind (cup not necessary for laity)

• Clerical celibacy

• Vows of chastity

• Private masses

• Auricular confession (mandatory)

Reformation Parliament

1529 - 1536, responsible for the legislation which created the BWR and dissolution of smaller monasteries

Tudor "revolution" in government time span

1533 - 1540

Cromwell's Injunctions 1538 (q- What happened?)

Ordered English Bible in every church and parish

Court of Augmentations

1536 - dealt with income from the Dissolution of the Monasteries

Who were the Justices of the Peace

Members of the gentry responsible for administering justice in their local areas (unpaid)

What did the privy chamber do?

A private area of the court staffed by those closest to the king and they took care of his personal needs

What (and when) was the Statute of Uses?

1535 - a law forcing nobles to pay large inheritance taxes when passing their land on.

What were some of the grievances in the Pilgrimage of Grace?

The Dissolution of the Monasteries

“Heretical Reforms” such as the act of 10 Articles

Excessive taxation

Rise of low-born councillors like Cromwell

What (and when) was the Statute of Wills?

A law passed in 1540 undoing the Statue of Uses. The amount of taxation the king could claim when land was inherited was now limited.

What were the three revolutions in government forming the basis of the Elton thesis?

Constitutional

Political

Bureaucratic

Cromwell made member of The Order of the Garter

April 1537

What (and when) was the Bishop’s Book

1537 - confirmed that there were only three sacraments - a clear move away from Catholicism

When was John Lambert executed for denying transubstantiation?

1538

What (and when) was the King’s book?

1543 - a revision of the Bishop’s Book written by H8 defending the Six Articles.

When was Anne Askew burnt at the state for denying transubstantiation as part of the Six Articles?

1546

Who was Sir John Cheke

A protestant humanist, appointed tutor to E6

Chantries Act

1546 - Abolishes Chantries but not enforced

Act for the advancement of true religion

1541 - restricted the reading of the bible to higher-status individuals such as clerics, noblemen, and wealthy gentry. Aimed to curb spread of reformist interpretations and prevent access to Tyndale’s English Bible.

Act of the Dissolution of the Greater Monasteries

1539

Publication of the “Great Bible”

1539 April - accessible and read aloud in church services. Freely interpreted and led to sectarianism.

Pope Clement issued a statement denying that Anne was Henry’s wife

1533 July - Introduced the possibility of a schism rather than just going against the papacy

Information - challenges to the Elton Thesis

C.S.L. Davies argues that Parliament helped Henry to create a despotism, not a constitutional monarchy. H was not greatly strengthened by Parliament.

J. Loach argues that the institution itself was largely the same as a medieval one (as in being unable to act independently of the crown). She believes that the real revolution was not the role of parliament in government, but rather the implication that parliaments were competent to deal with any matter.

Other arguments (idk the specific historians but Starkey is one of them)

• Not a revolution - more of a development; new institutions arose and government expanded to cope with the changes brought by royal supremacy.

• Uncertainty regarding the extent to which Cromwell was involved, as well as the idea that the changes were “innovative”, since many believe the changes to have started with Wolsey or even H7’s creation of a Privy Chamber.

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Information - “departments” created under Cromwell alongside the Privy Chamber to manage the revenues generated by the BWR

The Court of Augmentations - controlled the land and finances formerly under the control of the Catholic Church

The Court of General Surveyors - initially handled some of the ex-monastic land, but was soon amalgamated with the Court of Augmentations

The Court of First Fruits and Tenths - collected money previously sent to Rome

The Court of Wards - the King had the ancient feudal right to collect money from the estate of a minor (under 21) who had inherited it

Hence, by 1540, the management of royal finances has become increasingly specialised, though Cromwell recognised that the Privy Chamber remained an important part of the system and continued to work through it.

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Information - Impact of the BWR on Henry’s power and relationship with parliament

Many laws passed through parliament strengthened H’s royal power e.g. 1539 right to rule by proclamation confirmed by an Act of Parliament → H’s royal proclamations now carried the same weight as an Act of Parliament

Reformation Parliament confirmed King’s authority over the Church → H’s power seen as greatest when he acted through Parliament

Parliament still a “rubber stamp” for legislation demanded by the Crown (Cromwell made sure that obedient MPs were elected for minimal opposition to new Crown policies)

Dissolution of the Monasteries substantially increased H’s ordinary revenue, allowing him to pursue an aggressive foreign policy without “begging for taxes” from Parliament (also see H7 Yorkshire and Cornwall oh no)

The House of Lords became smaller and easier to control because the members of the clergy (around 40 churchmen before) was reduced after the dissolution of the monasteries.

Parliament pretty much there to do H’s bidding - before 1529 most bills came from MPs concerning local issues (e.g. granting of taxation or potholes and stuff) After, most of the bills reflected royal policy and important constitutional changes (Royal Supremacy, succession, religious reform - 6 articles etc) and were introduced to Parliament on the King’s behalf (usually by Cromwell)

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Establishment of Star Chamber

1487 - an offshoot of the king’s Council, becoming the centre of government and justice under Wolsey

What are the three parts of government?

Legislative (make the laws)

Executive (make sure the laws are carried out)
Judiciary (judging the laws)

What do historians like David Starkey argue that Wolsey’s “real intentions” regarding the 1526 Eltham Ordinances (reforming Privy Chamber finances) were?

The Privy chamber was the one area of government Wolsey did not have control over - the Eltham Ordinances (reducing the number of Gentlemen in the Privy Chamber) perhaps reflected his fear that the Amicable Grant had made him so unpopular that he would be in danger of losing his political influence over H8.

What was Wolsey charged with in October 1529?

Praemunire

Information - Wolsey in the eyes of historians

Polydore Vergil (writing after his fall) - ‘aroused against himself the hatred of the whole country’

Poet John Skelton - ‘Hampton Court hath the pre-eminence’, in effect saying that Hampton Court was more important than the king’s court, hence a testament to Wolsey’s extravagance and arrogance.

John Guy - (not exact quote) England’s most gifted administrator for over 300 years (judgement tempered with criticisms as well)

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How were the annulment and BWR accomplished legally?

Through statute law, whose supremacy over canon law was firmly established.

Information - exploiting weaknesses in the church

• Humanist teachings of Colet and Erasmus and anticlerical satire of Simon Fish

• Church claims to legal supremacy were challenged in 1528 by Christopher St German (superiority of English law over canon) → Cromwell using parliament to attack Church power

• Henry supplied with more intellectual justifications than Leviticus by means of the Collectanea Satis Copiosa - a collection of historical documents compiled by theologians Thomas Cranmer and Edward Foxe to justify the annulment on the basis of legal and historical principles. Wolsey crashing out in his grave rn.

• Henry sought and received expert opinions on his marital situation through a number of continental universities. He humiliated Lord Chancellor Thomas More by requiring him to present these favourable opinions to both houses of Parliament.

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Information - religious views of H’s wives (bold → views relevant to H)

• Catherine of Aragon - Staunch Roman Catholic

• Anne Boleyn - Openly reformist, viewed as “Lutheran” by her political enemies. Reformist Catholic

• Jane Seymour - Roman Catholic. Recorded to have begged Henry (unsuccessfully) to stop the dissolution of the monasteries.

• Anne of Cleves - Raised a Protestant, but converted to Catholicism following the ascension of Queen Mar in 1553.

• Catherine Howard - Roman Catholic. Considered part of the conservative Catholic factions.

• Katherine Parr - Raised Catholic, but converted to Protestantism, and openly supported the reformation.

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Information - Leagues and alliances summary

1508 League of Cambrai - Everyone against Venice. Unfortunately, Henry wasn’t included in ‘everyone’ :(

1511 Holy League - Henry x Pope Julius II x Spain (Ferdi II) x HRE vs France

1511 Treaty of Westminster - England x Spain vs France

1518 Treaty of London - “universal peace” binging 20 European nations into a non-aggression pact. Worked soooo well.

1520 Field of the Cloth of Gold - Henry x Francis

1521 Treaty of Bruges - Henry x Charles V vs France (secretly)

1525 Treaty of the More - England x France vs HRE (after Pavia)

1526 League of Cognac - Everyone vs Charles V (England acting as protector)

1527 Treaty of Amiens - Henry x Francis I vs Charles V

1529 Treaty of Cambrai - Ended Franco-Habsburg war, but deeply isolated Henry. Could be interpreted as France x HRE vs England (diplomatically)

1540 Marriage to Anne of Cleves - brief diplomatic attempt to align with German Protestant league of Schmalkalden