England Reformation - Chat GPT

War of the Roses

A series of dynastic civil wars between the House of Lancaster and the House of York (1455–1487); ended with Henry Tudor (Henry VII) defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth

Henry VII

First Tudor king of England (r. 1485–1509)

Catherine of Aragon

Daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and first wife of Henry VIII; her failure to produce a male heir led Henry to seek an annulment

Henry VIII

Tudor king of England (r. 1509–1547) who initiated the English Reformation by breaking from the Catholic Church to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon; established the Church of England through the Act of Supremacy (1534)

Roman Catholic Church

The dominant Christian institution in Western Europe prior to the Reformation; maintained authority over spiritual matters

Papal Authority

The Pope’s control over religious and political matters in Catholic Europe; rejected by Henry VIII when the Pope refused his annulment

Thomas Cranmer

Archbishop of Canterbury who supported Henry VIII’s annulment and helped establish Protestant reforms under Edward VI; author of the Book of Common Prayer

Thomas Cromwell

Henry VIII’s chief minister who engineered the legal and administrative break from Rome

Act of Supremacy (1534)

Law passed under Henry VIII declaring the king the "Supreme Head of the Church of England

Act of Succession (1534)

Declared Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon invalid and established the legitimacy of Anne Boleyn’s children

Anne Boleyn

Second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I; her marriage to Henry triggered the English Reformation; executed for alleged adultery

Anglican Church

The Church of England established by Henry VIII

Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536–1541)

Process led by Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell to disband Catholic monasteries

Pilgrimage of Grace (1536)

A Catholic-led rebellion in northern England opposing the dissolution of monasteries and the break from Rome; suppressed by Henry VIII

Edward VI

Son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour; reigned from 1547 to 1553 and was a devout Protestant; under his rule

Book of Common Prayer (1549)

Written by Thomas Cranmer and introduced under Edward VI

Mary I

Daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon; reigned from 1553 to 1558; a devout Catholic who reversed Protestant reforms

Marian Persecutions

A campaign under Mary I targeting Protestants; over 280 Protestants were burned at the stake for heresy

Philip II of Spain

Husband of Mary I and powerful Catholic monarch; his marriage to Mary linked England with Habsburg Spain and intensified religious conflict; his later invasion attempt (Spanish Armada) failed under Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth I

Protestant daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn; reigned from 1558 to 1603; established the Elizabethan Religious Settlement and defended England from Catholic threats

Elizabethan Religious Settlement (1559)

A compromise between Catholics and Protestants enacted by Elizabeth I; included the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity

Act of Supremacy (1559)

Restored the monarch as "Supreme Governor" of the Church of England

Act of Uniformity (1559)

Mandated use of the revised Book of Common Prayer in all churches and required church attendance

Thirty-Nine Articles (1563)

Established the doctrinal foundation of the Church of England; a moderately Protestant document that distinguished Anglicanism from both Roman Catholicism and radical Protestantism.

**Mary

Queen of Scots**

**Catholic Plots (e.g. Babington Plot

Ridolfi Plot)**

Jesuits in England

Members of the Catholic Society of Jesus who secretly entered England to reconvert it to Catholicism during Elizabeth’s reign; seen as foreign agents and often persecuted.

Puritans

Radical Protestants within the Church of England who sought to further reform and purify it of all Catholic remnants; clashed with Elizabeth I’s moderate religious policies.

Separatists

A branch of Puritans who believed the Church of England was beyond reform and sought to form independent congregations; many later migrated to the Netherlands or the New World.

Spanish Armada (1588)

Failed invasion fleet sent by Catholic Philip II of Spain against Protestant England; its defeat secured Elizabeth I’s rule and the future of Protestantism in England.

James I

Successor of Elizabeth I and son of Mary

Religious Uniformity in England

A central goal of Tudor monarchs who used state power to impose a single religion (first Catholic

Legacy of the English Reformation

Established England as a Protestant nation; weakened papal influence; empowered the monarchy; led to increased religious pluralism and conflict in future centuries.