The Break with Rome

Reasons for the Break With Rome

Henry VIII's break with Rome was mainly caused by the "Great Matter" and his desire to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

The "Defender of the Faith"

Henry started his reign as a good Catholic, even defending the Catholic Church from Protestant criticism and gaining the title ‘Defender of the Faith’ from the Pope in 1521.

Protestantism

Protestantism came from Germany, where a priest called Martin Luther protested against the corruption of the Catholic Church.
He wanted to reform the church.
- This became the Reformation.

Protestant beliefs

The head of the Church should be individual rulers, not the Pope.
Churches were there to teach people the ‘word of God’ rather than focus on administering the sacraments.
The bible should be translated out of Latin so ordinary people could read it.
Superstition and corruption e.g. pilgrimages, images and paying for indulgences should be removed.
The bread and wine given out during mass was symbolic and didn’t really turn into the body and blood of Jesus.
The Catholic belief that it did was called transubstantiation.

Reasons for Henry VIII supporting the Break from Rome

Henry began to support Protestant ideas to pressure the Pope for his annulment to Catherine of Aragon.
He was also concerned about the state of the Church.
In one case, a man who refused to pay high funeral costs to the Church was arrested and possibly murdered by the clergy.

Pressure on Henry VIII

Henry VIII was influenced by Protestants like Anne Boleyn, Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer (the Archbishop of Canterbury). Anne had given him a banned Protestant book that suggested that God wanted the Church to be ruled by Kings, who had control over everything in their kingdom.
Henry liked this idea!
However, Henry was never really a Protestant. He only believed in the bits of Protestantism that worked for him

Financial incentives

Henry also knew he could gain a lot of money from the Break with Rome.
- E.g. banning the payment of Annates to the Pope meant that this payment now came to Henry and could be used to pay for his expensive foreign wars.
However, it only raised a small amount, so was probably not Henry’s main reason.

The Acts of Succession and Supremacy, 1534

To secure the Break with Rome, Henry VIII passed the Act of Succession and the Act of Supremacy in 1534.

The Act of Succession, 1534

The Act of Succession 1534 said that Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon was invalid, and the marriage to Anne Boleyn was the lawful one, making her the lawful Queen.
Princess Mary was declared illegitimate and only the children he had with Anne would be able to inherit the throne.

Rejecting the Pope's authority

It showed how Henry had completely rejected the Pope’s authority to decide on his divorce.
The Pope claimed that Henry was still married to Catherine, but Henry ignored this and ordered the Pope’s name to be removed from all prayer books.

Oath of Succession

Cromwell introduced an ‘Oath of Succession’ where people had to promise to support Anne Boleyn as Queen.
He feared that some people would oppose the Act because of its radical nature, and just keeping quiet wasn’t good enough.
If you refused, you would be punished as a traitor- this often meant execution!

The Act of Supremacy, 1534

Under the Act of Supremacy 1534, Henry became the Head of the Church in England, not the Pope.
He could set church beliefs, decide how the church should be organised and appoint whoever he wanted to important positions in the Church.
Cromwell was appointed Vicegerent in religious matters.

Actual impact of the Act of Supremacy

It didn’t actually make that much of a difference to the way the Church was run in England.
The Pope had always appointed important clergymen but generally agreed with whoever the King suggested.
Appeals in Church courts were very rarely referred to Rome, and the Pope didn’t really tell English people what to believe as the basics were well-established anyway.

The Treason Act

If clergymen did not take the oath to accept Henry VIII's supremacy, they risked execution.

1Henry VIII & Wolsey, 1509-1529

1.1Henry VIII & Wolsey, 1509-1529

1.1.1Henry VIII, Renaissance Prince

1.1.2The Rise of Wolsey

1.1.3Wolsey's Domestic Reforms

1.1.4Wolsey's Foreign Policy

1.1.5Evaluating Wolsey's Foreign Policy

1.1.6The Succession & Annulment

1.1.7Fall of Wolsey

1.1.8End of Topic Test - Henry VIII & Wolsey

1.1.9End of Topic Test - Henry VIII & Wolsey 2

2Henry VIII & Cromwell, 1529-1540

2.1Henry VIII & Cromwell, 1529-1540

2.1.1The Rise of Cromwell

2.1.2The King's Annulment

2.1.3Cromwell & the King's Marriages

2.1.4Cromwell & Government

2.1.5Cromwell & Parliament

2.1.6Fall of Cromwell

2.1.7End of Topic Test - Henry VIII & Cromewell

2.1.8End of Topic Test - Henry VIII & Cromwell 2

3The Reformation & its Impact, 1529-1540

3.1The Reformation & its Impact, 1529-1540

3.1.1The Break with Rome

3.1.2Opposition to the Reformation

3.1.3Impact of the Reformation

3.1.4Role of Religious Houses

3.1.5Dissolution of the Monasteries

3.1.6Impact of Dissolution

3.1.7The Pilgrimage of Grace

3.1.8Evaluating the Pilgrimage of Grace

3.1.9End of Topic Test - The Reformation

3.1.10End of Topic Test - The Reformation 2

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