The Great Matter

Why did Henry want to End the Marriage?

• 1527 Henry was convinced that his marriage to Catherine was invalid and unlawful
• He was concerned because the marriage failed to produce a male heir
• Henry feared that there would be a succession crisis when he died
• There was also no precedent for a female heir
• Henry stated the death of his sons was Divine Intervention - God decided to remove them
• Fears were added to in 1519 when he had a son with his mistress
• He found a biblical text which stated why God was punishing him
• Book of Leviticus proclaimed that it was unlawful for a man to marry his brothers wife

Why did Wolsey try and obtain the divorce?

• Wolsey tried to get Henry to take a less confrotaional line
• He claimed that the original dispensation was invalid because it assumed that Arthur and Catherine had sexual relations which they hadn't
• This would mean that the marriage could be annulled on a technicality - Wolsey felt the Pope would not be upset to grant this
• Wolsey also tried to change the diplomatic situation
• Wolsey tried to free the pope from Charles' influence by using an alliance with France - this was a failure as Charles position in Italy was too strong
• Wolsey's final method involved getting the authority of the pope
• He tried to do this by holding a court in England to rule on the case
• Pope Clement was concerned that it would upset Charles so while he agreed to it, he send Cardinal Campeggio to attend the hearings with struct instructions to delay the case and make sure a judgement was never reached
• Took months for Campeggio to arrive in England and when he did and the court finally met in June 1529, Catherine refused to recognise it
• She appealed to the pope to have the hearing in Rome
• Was clear that Wolsey would not be able to secure the divorce for Henry

Wolsey's Fall from Power in 1529

• Henry had dealt such a bad hand in his divorce to obtain a divorce that Wolsey was bound to fail
• Henry was now furious with him
• Sensing this, opponents gathered to push him over the brink
• Parliament was called in 1529 - number of anticlerical acts passed which were a warning to the Church and Wolsey in particular
• Sir Henry Guildford introduced criticism of Wolsey - When such man does this, it would be clear that the critics came from the King also
• Wolsey was expelled from court and was sent to York
• Enemies continued to lay blame for the failure of the divorce at his door
• He was summoned to London in 1530 to face charges of treason
• He died in Leicester Abbey on his way a broken man
• Chief Minister had promised the King that it was a matter that could easily be resolved and that he had the influence with the Pope to ensure that this would be the case
• Anne Boleyn refusing to have sex with Henry until he was divorced - much frustration to Henry
• Time was also running out for Henry to leave behind a male heir of adult years
• Henry acted against Wolsey when the faction around Anne Boleyn convinced Henry that Wolsey was actively conspiring to delay the divorce
• Claimed that Wolsey hoped that Henry would tire of his romantic pursuit and return to Catherine
• Henry couldn't bring himself to completely cut Wolsey off - he was convinced that Wolsey was no unfaithful servant

Lack of Progress from 1529-33

• Fall of Wolsey in 1529 and calling of the Reformation Parliament solved nothing in terms of divorce crisis
• Elton see these years as ones without a clear policy
• The matter drifted on without a solution

Lack of a Chief Minister

• Wolsey replaced by Thomas More
• A brilliant choice in terms of his legal training and international reputation
• He helped Henry write his pamphlet denouncing Luther
• More was an opponent of the Divorce - only took the role of understanding that he would not be involved in the matter
• This came to show the poor choice that Henry made
• He was also deprived of the services of Wolsey in terms of controlling the Church

Contending Factors

• Henry operated with 3 different groups of advisors - all had different ideas about what to do -
• -Conservatives; Strove to defeat the Queen and Catholic Church. Leaders included Bishop Fisher, Tunstall, Clerk and Standish. More can also be put in to this group
• -Reformers; Grew around Anne Boleyn and her Brother. Included three Thomas's - Cromwell, Cranmer and Audley. They grow in power and became dominant after 1532 - not that significant in 1529
• -Most Influential; Aristocrats that Henry felt at ease around. Conceited of Duke of Norfolk and Suffolk, and the earls of Wiltshire and Sussex

Reformation Parliament

• Opened in November 1529 and was used by a number of MPs to attack the Church over what they claimed where widespread abuses
• Idea was to bring pressure on the Pope through the passage of Legislation and hope that this would bring about the divorce
• Three acts were passed
• Parliament only sat for 6 weeks which is hardly the sign of concerted campaign against the Pope
• Much of the Anti-Clerical feeling was due to the fall of Wolsey

Increased Pressure on the Church 1531-32

• January 1531 - 15 clergymen accused of Praemunire - being loyal to the Pope before the King
• All of them were supporters of Catherine
• King widened the attack to the whole church
• Idea was to make them a huge fine of £118,000 which would come in useful in Royal Funds
• Henry continued this attack by demand to be known as the 'sole protector and Supreme head of the English Church and Clergy'
• This got huge opposition from the clergy
• End of 1531 Parliamentary session - King forced more into delivering a speech to Parliament arguing the case for the divorce
• More refused to resign probably due to Henry failing to adopt to radical measures a
• A decisive and long-term break with Rome was imminent
• Start fo 1532 parliamentary pace quickened
• King pushed through an Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates - opposition meant that the Act only threatened to cut off payments in the future so it has no immediate impact
• Key person behind all of this was Thomas Cromwell
• He introduced a petition against the Church courts and jurisdiction - Common Supplication against the Ordinances
• Cromwell led the commoners to believe that the bill was nothing to do with the King or the Government
• 15th May 1532 the Submission to the clergy drawn up
• As a consequence of his Thomas More resigned
• Church of England was now under henry's control
• His control did not however bring him what he waned - he would need a new Archbishop of Canterbury for this
• August 1532 - Warham died and replaced with Thomas Cranmer - the pope approved his appointment

How was the Royal Supremacy Established

• Start of 1533 Anne Boleyn Was Pregnant - this added greater urgency for Henry to get the divorce
• Even at this stage, Henry had not given up the hope of Papal approval
• March 1533 he told Chapuys the he hoped the Pope would 'do his pleasure in this affair'
• When Henry found out Anne was pregnant, he told Cranmer to marry them in secret
• Parliament would be used to introduce the legislation needed that would break with Rome and declare that the King exercised the supreme power over the Church in England
• Henry had concerns over the loyalty of the clergy
• Skill of Thomas Cromwell was crucial in passing the needed legislation through Parliament

Act in Restraint of Appeals 1533

• Passed in March 1533
• It declared that all legal cases which arose in England could be settled in England
• Was designed to stop Catherine appealing her case in Rome
• Also declared Henry as tje supreme authority on all legal cases in England
• Act clarified the Royal Supremacy for the first time
• Cranmer then annulled Henry's marriage to Catherine
• Pope di not agree and in July 1533 Clement declared that Anne was not Henry's wife and Henry was excommunicated

The Succession Act 1534

• Registered invalidity to his marriage of Catherine and validity to marriage with Anne
• Heirs of his second marriage were legitimised and Mary was Bastardised
• Proposed to bind the nation by an oath, swearing allegiance to the new Queen and her offspring
• Also made it a treasonable offence to speak maliciously against the second marriage
• Pope responded to this by reaffirming the validity of his first marriage
• Henry then removed the Popes name from all the Prayer books
• Catherine was now a widow of Prince Arthur and known as 'Princess Dowager'

Act of Dispensations 1534

• Stopped all payments to Rome
• Future dispensations allowing exemptions or departures from canon law would be issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury and not Rome
• Failure to abide by this decree would result in a charge of praemunire

Act of Supremacy 1534

• Gave legal supremacy to the submission of the clergy made in 1532 - Made them fully subjects of the King
• King was supreme Head of the Church
• Finalised in 1536 with an Act that extinguished the authority of Bishop of Rome and removed all papal rights to preach and to teach in England

Treason Act 1534

• Declared that treason could be spoken
• Anyone who claimed that Henry was not Head of the Church was now guilty of treason and could be executed
• Few were executed - it certainly helped keep people loyal and marked a further extension of royal power