Henry Viii-Catholicism Under Henry VIII
Catholicism under Henry VIII
During and throughout the reign of Henry Tudor there were numerous changes that took place in regards of religion itself and as a result of this, religious divisions (which still resonate today) inevitably took hold in England. Initially and arguably so Henry was staunchly Catholic from the get go and on the outside certainly portrayed this in the beginning of his reign, however he also repeatedly made decisions which more than hinted at a lean towards Protestantism. At a time when radical religious ideas were spreading, England was displaying an eager aura for change but the changes that followed were not in fact the result of Henrys shifting beliefs. More so, they were a result of his seemingly growing obsession …show more content…
with power and the quickly dwindling resources left to him by his more careful and humble father Henry VII, his desperate attempts to produce a male heir also must have attributed to this. Whether Henry VIII indeed was a true catholic hiding behind a disguise aimed at being seen favorably among an England rearing for change, or a protestant manipulating the Catholic Church to his own ends is a question that may never be fully answered. Whether the Henrican reformation was indeed, Catholicism without a pope is also a tenuous and difficult question to resolve.
At face value, Henry showed protestant sympathies in various legislations and in his behavior through, for example, the act of supremacy in 1534 and additionally the dissolution of the monasteries respectively. However, Henry did not only act similarly towards Catholicism, through for example the six articles in 1539 but also appears to have had alternative motives for these seeming moves towards Protestantism. During the English reformation, the official religion of England was actually decided as Protestantism; however it is important to reiterate that, although a subjective topic, this was not actually recognized until 1603 during the reign of Elizabeth I. Certainly England under Henry VIII witnessed religious change, hence the term Henrican Reformation, yet all that was achieved was the initiation of a long period of reforms. Henry VIII did not set out to alter the religion of England, yet his self-benefiting actions made this almost inevitable. At this time the monarchy led the people and therefore it must be argued that England throughout the Henrican Reformation was neither catholic nor protestant.
First and foremost one must understand the reasons why Henry actually decided to separate with Rome. It was not his personal discontent with the nature of Catholicism and the role of the Pope, nor was it and acute desire to reform the religion of England. It was much more to do with the failure of Henry and Wolsey’s attempts to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. An annulment was needed as Catherine and Henry had only one child, a daughter, Mary, and it was becoming increasingly apparent that the ageing queen was not likely to conceive again. Henry desperately needed a legitimate male heir to save the Tudor dynasty. To justify his position, Henry gave various reasons why an annulment was required, yes was not very wise in doing so. His man explanation (aside from the threat to the dynasty) was that his marriage was invalid: Catherine of aragon was initially married to prince Aurthur (Henry’s brother) and, after his premature death, she was remarried to Henry through Pope Julius II. However, Leviticus 18:16 states directly against this – “do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife.” Henry concluded then that his marriage to Catherine opposed divine law and that the reason they had been so unsuccessful in conception and pregnancy was because, Henry believed, “sexual intercourse with a brothers widow was an unnatural act”. This move was unwise as, not only did it directly dispute and humiliate papal authority, but Catherine of Aragon was the Catholic Emperor Charles V’s aunt. The popes decision therefore had to appease both parties and this was a task that would inevitably fail. After six years of hostility and the pope’s refusal to annul the Kings marriage, parliament finalized the break with Rome. The Act of Supremacy, 1534, clearly states, “by authority of this present parliament that the king our sovereign shall be taken, accepted and reputed the only supreme head in the Church of England”. It is easy then to reach the conclusion that even in the earliest stages of the Henrican Reformation, Henry VIII was certainly not pursuing Protestantism, but his own personal ends. Despite separating from Rome it is clear that religion was in no way a factor that influenced this decision. As Edwards perfectly summarizes, “as far as Henry VIII was concerned the only that that drove him to break with the pope was his dire need to remarry and beget a male heir”. Although not obviously a move wholy supporting Protestantism either.
However, in spite of this, various events occurred under Henry VIII which seemed indeed to suggest a push towards Protestantism. Perhaps the most significant of these was the dissolution of the monasteries. In August 1535, the King and Thomas Cromwell ordered the visitation of the Catholic monasteries. Primarily these were to monitor their income and provide a valuation of church properties and offices, yet eventually the behavior and moral conduct of the monks and nuns was also recorded. This was also known as the Valor Ecclesiasticus. As a result of this, an Act was passed in March 1536 in which it was decided that all monasteries that had an income of less than £200 would be dissolved and handed to the crown. However, Cromwell clearly wanted to eliminate monastic institutions all together and by 1537 he was succeeding in the achievement of this. In a process that lasted until 1540, monasteries voluntarily closed themselves down as a result of Cromwell's forceful and threatening measures. This carried on until there were literally no more left in England.
These institutions had been major centres of Catholicism and therefore it can be argued that this was yet another move in favour of Protestantism. However, one should not be hasty in drawing such a conclusion. There were other motives involved. As Trevelyan explains, "if Henry had not been bankrupt, he might never have destroyed the monasteries at all" . Indeed, Cromwell had convinced Henry to consent to this through financial rewards that would accrue from the confiscation of monastic buildings; the dissolution of the monasteries provided Henry with a new source of much needed income; land sales came to approximately £799, 310, gold and silver (amongst other valuables) that had been stripped from the monasteries raised approximately £79,471 and rent for other lands was ongoing. This new revenue was greatly needed for various purposes, including the impending foreign threat particularly at the hands of France. Certainly, before the dissolutions the navy had been incredibly meager, with as little as five ships. Yet by the end of the period the English navy was well developed and maintained. In addition to this, the Tudor period was a period in which power was determined by wealth and hence, the monarch needed to be affluent. Henry VIII, it is thought, was the poorest monarch of the time and a quick and increasing income was vital to afford him political power and status. It is also arguable that Henry was not immediately enthusiastic about the idea of dissolving the monasteries and, as aforementioned, it took Cromwell's arguments about finance to persuade him. Knowing that Henry was not supportive of monastery dissolution, Cromwell and his Protestant followers knew that they would have to act, "little by little, not suddenly ". If Henry was not then pursuing Protestantism, surely he was in support of Catholicism? The King clearly still believed in Catholic traditions, such as prayers for the dead and, even having agreed to the dissolution, held no intention of closing all of the monasteries. It is a fact that, far from this, Henry actually re - founded a dissolved house in December 1537. Therefore the dissolution of the monasteries was clearly an act which was motivated by economic interests rather than religious ones. Henry had to be persuaded to support the idea and it is arguable that he had no primary intention of full closure. Having sought a small level of income from the lesser monasteries, Henry's greed and quest for wealth got the better of him and this became his sole motive. At the same time, however, one must accept that this movement provoked mass opposition, supporting the idea that the Henrican Reformation was actually the initiating period of the religious reforms that were to follow. The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular uprising that proved religious change would not be tolerated without difficulty and for that reason the dissolution of the monasteries showed not only a popular aversion to Protestantism but that Henry VIII had no intention of conflicting with Catholic doctrine.
Leading on from this, another event that seemed to push for Protestantism was the publication of the Bible in English. The concept of reading the Bible in one's native tongue was very much a Lutheran concept and due to the spreading reformation ideas across Europe and Luther's increasing influence, this move also seemed inevitable for a country that seemed to be edging towards complete religious reform. Taking the lead from Tyndale, a radical Protestant who translated the New Testament in 1525 (which became the most highly smuggled book of the 1520's), a choice of Bibles were translated in to English. However, the most important of these was the Great Bible of Henry VIII, produced and published in 1539. Each parish church was to have a copy and this was the greatest radical achievement throughout Henry's reign.
However, this achievement was seemingly short lived.
In the same year a return to conservatism was outlined by the Act of Six Articles. This was, to put it most simply, a direct reinforcement of Catholic doctrine as the basis of faith for the English church. For example, the first article encourages transubstantiation and the third states, "that priests after the order or Priesthood received, as afore, may not marry, by the law of God ". Both of these were extremely catholically orientated and indeed it was highlighted in the Six Articles that refusal to adopt the articles would result in a charge of heresy, resulting in one's execution by hanging. Some would argue that this action was supported more by Henry's wife, Catherine Howard, who was a member of the conservative and Catholic Norfolk faction at court. Yet, Henry must have accepted this to some extent in order for this legislation to pass. This was all too similar to the contradiction of the past through the Ten Articles of 1536. Despite the continuing dissolution of the monasteries, Henry appeared to make an ambiguous move that both supported and opposed Catholicism. Within the Ten Articles there were three sacraments and judging by the fact that traditionally there are seven, one would assume a reform from conventional Catholic doctrine. However, the three sacraments that were quoted were intrinsically Catholic, such as transubstantiation and prayers for the
dead. The correlation between the Catholicism of the Six Articles and the Ten Articles allows us to be forgiven if one were to assume that they must highlight Henry’s true beliefs. Both were arguably passed through him and for this reason one may conclude that Henry was indeed Catholic. However Knowing the contradictory factors within these one knows this conclusion is subjective.
Without a doubt, the reign of Henry VIII saw a wide yet ambiguous range of religious reforms that resulted in the period being known as the Henrican Reformation. The traditional religion of England had been Catholicism and yet Henry directly separated the Roman Catholic Church from England. The reforms had not stopped there. The dissolution of the Catholic monasteries was an explicit action against the Catholic Church and the publication of the Bible in English along with the apparent elimination of four of the traditional seven sacraments had only served to extend this opposition. At a time when Protestantism was growing, one can argue that these changes were inevitable.
During and throughout the reign of Henry Tudor there were numerous changes that took place in regards of religion itself and as a result of this, religious divisions (which still resonate today) inevitably took hold in England. Initially and arguably so Henry was staunchly Catholic from the get go and on the outside certainly portrayed this in the beginning of his reign, however he also repeatedly made decisions which more than hinted at a lean towards Protestantism. At a time when radical religious ideas were spreading, England was displaying an eager aura for change but the changes that followed were not in fact the result of Henrys shifting beliefs. More so, they were a result of his seemingly growing obsession …show more content…
with power and the quickly dwindling resources left to him by his more careful and humble father Henry VII, his desperate attempts to produce a male heir also must have attributed to this. Whether Henry VIII indeed was a true catholic hiding behind a disguise aimed at being seen favorably among an England rearing for change, or a protestant manipulating the Catholic Church to his own ends is a question that may never be fully answered. Whether the Henrican reformation was indeed, Catholicism without a pope is also a tenuous and difficult question to resolve.
At face value, Henry showed protestant sympathies in various legislations and in his behavior through, for example, the act of supremacy in 1534 and additionally the dissolution of the monasteries respectively. However, Henry did not only act similarly towards Catholicism, through for example the six articles in 1539 but also appears to have had alternative motives for these seeming moves towards Protestantism. During the English reformation, the official religion of England was actually decided as Protestantism; however it is important to reiterate that, although a subjective topic, this was not actually recognized until 1603 during the reign of Elizabeth I. Certainly England under Henry VIII witnessed religious change, hence the term Henrican Reformation, yet all that was achieved was the initiation of a long period of reforms. Henry VIII did not set out to alter the religion of England, yet his self-benefiting actions made this almost inevitable. At this time the monarchy led the people and therefore it must be argued that England throughout the Henrican Reformation was neither catholic nor protestant.
First and foremost one must understand the reasons why Henry actually decided to separate with Rome. It was not his personal discontent with the nature of Catholicism and the role of the Pope, nor was it and acute desire to reform the religion of England. It was much more to do with the failure of Henry and Wolsey’s attempts to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. An annulment was needed as Catherine and Henry had only one child, a daughter, Mary, and it was becoming increasingly apparent that the ageing queen was not likely to conceive again. Henry desperately needed a legitimate male heir to save the Tudor dynasty. To justify his position, Henry gave various reasons why an annulment was required, yes was not very wise in doing so. His man explanation (aside from the threat to the dynasty) was that his marriage was invalid: Catherine of aragon was initially married to prince Aurthur (Henry’s brother) and, after his premature death, she was remarried to Henry through Pope Julius II. However, Leviticus 18:16 states directly against this – “do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife.” Henry concluded then that his marriage to Catherine opposed divine law and that the reason they had been so unsuccessful in conception and pregnancy was because, Henry believed, “sexual intercourse with a brothers widow was an unnatural act”. This move was unwise as, not only did it directly dispute and humiliate papal authority, but Catherine of Aragon was the Catholic Emperor Charles V’s aunt. The popes decision therefore had to appease both parties and this was a task that would inevitably fail. After six years of hostility and the pope’s refusal to annul the Kings marriage, parliament finalized the break with Rome. The Act of Supremacy, 1534, clearly states, “by authority of this present parliament that the king our sovereign shall be taken, accepted and reputed the only supreme head in the Church of England”. It is easy then to reach the conclusion that even in the earliest stages of the Henrican Reformation, Henry VIII was certainly not pursuing Protestantism, but his own personal ends. Despite separating from Rome it is clear that religion was in no way a factor that influenced this decision. As Edwards perfectly summarizes, “as far as Henry VIII was concerned the only that that drove him to break with the pope was his dire need to remarry and beget a male heir”. Although not obviously a move wholy supporting Protestantism either.
However, in spite of this, various events occurred under Henry VIII which seemed indeed to suggest a push towards Protestantism. Perhaps the most significant of these was the dissolution of the monasteries. In August 1535, the King and Thomas Cromwell ordered the visitation of the Catholic monasteries. Primarily these were to monitor their income and provide a valuation of church properties and offices, yet eventually the behavior and moral conduct of the monks and nuns was also recorded. This was also known as the Valor Ecclesiasticus. As a result of this, an Act was passed in March 1536 in which it was decided that all monasteries that had an income of less than £200 would be dissolved and handed to the crown. However, Cromwell clearly wanted to eliminate monastic institutions all together and by 1537 he was succeeding in the achievement of this. In a process that lasted until 1540, monasteries voluntarily closed themselves down as a result of Cromwell's forceful and threatening measures. This carried on until there were literally no more left in England.
These institutions had been major centres of Catholicism and therefore it can be argued that this was yet another move in favour of Protestantism. However, one should not be hasty in drawing such a conclusion. There were other motives involved. As Trevelyan explains, "if Henry had not been bankrupt, he might never have destroyed the monasteries at all" . Indeed, Cromwell had convinced Henry to consent to this through financial rewards that would accrue from the confiscation of monastic buildings; the dissolution of the monasteries provided Henry with a new source of much needed income; land sales came to approximately £799, 310, gold and silver (amongst other valuables) that had been stripped from the monasteries raised approximately £79,471 and rent for other lands was ongoing. This new revenue was greatly needed for various purposes, including the impending foreign threat particularly at the hands of France. Certainly, before the dissolutions the navy had been incredibly meager, with as little as five ships. Yet by the end of the period the English navy was well developed and maintained. In addition to this, the Tudor period was a period in which power was determined by wealth and hence, the monarch needed to be affluent. Henry VIII, it is thought, was the poorest monarch of the time and a quick and increasing income was vital to afford him political power and status. It is also arguable that Henry was not immediately enthusiastic about the idea of dissolving the monasteries and, as aforementioned, it took Cromwell's arguments about finance to persuade him. Knowing that Henry was not supportive of monastery dissolution, Cromwell and his Protestant followers knew that they would have to act, "little by little, not suddenly ". If Henry was not then pursuing Protestantism, surely he was in support of Catholicism? The King clearly still believed in Catholic traditions, such as prayers for the dead and, even having agreed to the dissolution, held no intention of closing all of the monasteries. It is a fact that, far from this, Henry actually re - founded a dissolved house in December 1537. Therefore the dissolution of the monasteries was clearly an act which was motivated by economic interests rather than religious ones. Henry had to be persuaded to support the idea and it is arguable that he had no primary intention of full closure. Having sought a small level of income from the lesser monasteries, Henry's greed and quest for wealth got the better of him and this became his sole motive. At the same time, however, one must accept that this movement provoked mass opposition, supporting the idea that the Henrican Reformation was actually the initiating period of the religious reforms that were to follow. The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular uprising that proved religious change would not be tolerated without difficulty and for that reason the dissolution of the monasteries showed not only a popular aversion to Protestantism but that Henry VIII had no intention of conflicting with Catholic doctrine.
Leading on from this, another event that seemed to push for Protestantism was the publication of the Bible in English. The concept of reading the Bible in one's native tongue was very much a Lutheran concept and due to the spreading reformation ideas across Europe and Luther's increasing influence, this move also seemed inevitable for a country that seemed to be edging towards complete religious reform. Taking the lead from Tyndale, a radical Protestant who translated the New Testament in 1525 (which became the most highly smuggled book of the 1520's), a choice of Bibles were translated in to English. However, the most important of these was the Great Bible of Henry VIII, produced and published in 1539. Each parish church was to have a copy and this was the greatest radical achievement throughout Henry's reign.
However, this achievement was seemingly short lived.
In the same year a return to conservatism was outlined by the Act of Six Articles. This was, to put it most simply, a direct reinforcement of Catholic doctrine as the basis of faith for the English church. For example, the first article encourages transubstantiation and the third states, "that priests after the order or Priesthood received, as afore, may not marry, by the law of God ". Both of these were extremely catholically orientated and indeed it was highlighted in the Six Articles that refusal to adopt the articles would result in a charge of heresy, resulting in one's execution by hanging. Some would argue that this action was supported more by Henry's wife, Catherine Howard, who was a member of the conservative and Catholic Norfolk faction at court. Yet, Henry must have accepted this to some extent in order for this legislation to pass. This was all too similar to the contradiction of the past through the Ten Articles of 1536. Despite the continuing dissolution of the monasteries, Henry appeared to make an ambiguous move that both supported and opposed Catholicism. Within the Ten Articles there were three sacraments and judging by the fact that traditionally there are seven, one would assume a reform from conventional Catholic doctrine. However, the three sacraments that were quoted were intrinsically Catholic, such as transubstantiation and prayers for the
dead. The correlation between the Catholicism of the Six Articles and the Ten Articles allows us to be forgiven if one were to assume that they must highlight Henry’s true beliefs. Both were arguably passed through him and for this reason one may conclude that Henry was indeed Catholic. However Knowing the contradictory factors within these one knows this conclusion is subjective.
Without a doubt, the reign of Henry VIII saw a wide yet ambiguous range of religious reforms that resulted in the period being known as the Henrican Reformation. The traditional religion of England had been Catholicism and yet Henry directly separated the Roman Catholic Church from England. The reforms had not stopped there. The dissolution of the Catholic monasteries was an explicit action against the Catholic Church and the publication of the Bible in English along with the apparent elimination of four of the traditional seven sacraments had only served to extend this opposition. At a time when Protestantism was growing, one can argue that these changes were inevitable.