why did wolsey fall from power?

what were the key 5 reasons to wolsey’s fall from power?

1. failure to attain the annulment for marriage to catherine of aragon

2. the influence of the boleyn faction at court

3. mistake in foreign policy decisions

4. failures of wolsey’s domestic policy

5. wolsey’s personality and relationships with the nobility

what positions did wolsey hold in church and state?

• 1513 - lord chancellor/ first minister

• 1514 - archbishop of york

• 1515 - cardinal (by pope leo X)

• bishop of bath, wells, durham and winchester

• 1513 - bishop of tournai (for 5 years)

• 1518 - papal legate

what was the role of papal legate?

the pope’s representative in england, essentially the head of the church within england

what name could be given to wolsey as a consequence of the amount of power and authority he maintained?

alter rex (alternative king)

what was wolsey accused of during his downfall?

praemunire → in his failure to secure the annulment, henry accused wolsey of placing the authority of the pope above his own power as king