The Great Matter

'The Great Matter'

Why did Henry VIII want a divorce?

• Convinced that his marriage to Catherine was invalid before God - concerned because the marriage failed to produce a male heir, number of sons that had all died shortly before or after birth
• Feared there would be a succession crisis when he died - no precedent for female succession, Catherin would be pushed aside
• Henry interpreted death of his sons as divine intervention - God decided to remove them, worried about the reasons for this, fears added to when he had a son with his mistress - if he could have a son with her but not his wife then God was punishing him
• Henry found biblical text to explain God's punishment - Book of Leviticus, unlawful to marry a brother's wife (she'd been married to Arthur)
• In his mind he had broken the law and was being punished with the death of his sons

Difficulties facing Wolsey

• In 'normal' circumstances obtaining a divorce would be fairly straightforward however Wolsey faced many obstacles
• Diplomatic position of the Pope - under control of Charles V
• Weakness of Henry's biblical argument
• England did not have permanent representation amongst cardinals in Rome to argue Henry's case

How did Wolsey try to obtain the divorce?

• He claimed the original dispensation of the biblical argument was invalid as it assumed Catherin and Arthur had sexual relations - meant marriage could be annulled on technicality
• Tried to change the diplomatic situation - tried to free the Pope from the influence of Charles by using alliance with France - doomed to fail as Emperor's position in Italy was too strong
• Circumventing the authority of the Pope - holding court in England to rule on the case, in position as papal legate he had authority to make final decision, Pope Clement concerned this would upset Charles so sent Cardinal Campeggio to delay the case
• Catherine appealed to have the case moved to Rome - Pope agreed to delay the case without directly offending Henry or Charles, clear Wolsey would not get the divorce

Why did Wolsey fall from power in 1529?

• Failure to obtain divorce for Henry - Chief Minister had promised it was a matter that could be easily resolved and he had influence with the Pope
• Anne Boleyn refusing to have sex with Henry until they were married - endangering his chance of leaving behind an adult male heir
• Faction around Anne Boleyn convinced King that Wolsey was conspiring to delay the divorce
• Boleyn Faction constantly fed King anti-Wolsey propaganda
• His unpopularity and self-centred approach and manner during a career that amassed enormous wealth and power

Relationship between Henry and Wolsey

• Wolsey very skilful in manipulating others and met his match in Henry
• Wolsey enjoyed independent decision-making when Henry allowed him to do so or short periods where King not fully aware what was happening
• Master and servant where servant is allowed more freedom than normal
• Only a couple of disagreements between them - Amicable Grant, Wolsey's suggestion surprise attack on France 1522
• Wolsey dependent on good will of the King - if withdrawn his position would be removed, Legate a Latere only possible if King agreed
• Limits of Wolsey shown by minor appointment of an abbess to nunnery at Wilton in Wiltshire 1528 - Henry wanted position to go to a relative of one of his courtiers but Wolsey ignored this - Wolsey realised his mistake and retracted his decision

Why was there a lack of progress 1529-33?

• Lack of a Chief Minister: replaced Wolsey with Thomas More - legal training and international reputation as a scholar, but More was an opponent of the divorce, only took on the role on the understanding he wouldn't be directly involved, Henry deprived of Wolsey's services of controlling Church - now faced Bishops that were hostile to divorce and suspicious of attempts to control their independence
• Contending Factions: Henry operated with 3 different groups of advisers who all had different ideas - conservatives who strove to defend the Queen and Catholic Church, reformers who grew around Anne Boleyn and her brother not dominant until 1532, and the most influential consisting of aristocrats Henry felt at ease around who wanted rid of Wolsey but didn't know how to proceed
• Reformation Parliament: opened Nov 1529 - used by number of MPs to attack Church over widespread abuses in the Church, bring pressure on the Pope through legislation to bring about divorce, three acts passed reforming small areas of clerical abuse and cancelling King's debt
• Increased pressure on the Church 1531-2: 15 clergymen accused of praemunire (loyalty to Pope before King), King widened attack on whole Church to make them pay massive fine, Henry demanded to be 'sole protector and Supreme Head of the English Church and clergy'

How was the Royal Supremacy established?

• Act in Restraint of Appeals, March 1533: declared that legal cases which arose in England could be settled there - designed to stop Catherine appealing her case to Rome, also declared that Henry was the supreme authority in all legal cases, clarified the Royal Supremacy, ignoring loophole that it only referred to future appeals Cranmer annulled Henry's marriage - in July Clement declared Anne was not Henry's wife, Henry excommunicated
• Act of Dispensation 1534: stopped all payments to Rome, future dispensations would be issued by Archbishop of Canterbury not Rome, failure to abide = charged with praemunire
• Act of Supremacy 1534: legal supremacy to the submission of the clergy made 1532, King was Supreme Head of the Church, finalised 1536, extinguished authority of Bishop of Rome, removed all papal rights to teach and preach in England
• Treason Act 1534: King and Cromwell needed to insure everyone agreed that King was Supreme Head, treason could now be spoken - anyone who claimed Henry wasn't Supreme Head guilty of treason and could be executed, helped keep people loyal, extension of royal power