The English Reformation

William Tyndale

(executed in 1536) an English reformer that translated the New Testament into English. Printed on German printing presses, Tyndale's New Testament began to circulate in England in 1526

Religious motives of those who followed the king out of the Church

-Acts of Parliament in the 1300s (limited payments from English people to Rome) -John Wyclif -William Tyndale (translate New Testament into English) -Henry VIII making a few doctrinal changes

Political motivations

-Royal vs. Papal Power:The King of England wants to separate the idea of national power from the control of the International Roman Catholic Church -International Politics:Henry VIII marries Catherine of Aragon, the princess of Spain (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella) and the aunt of Charles V & Anne of Cleave (German princess) -Parliamentary Powers: Henry asks Parliament to pass the Legislation to make the change possible to place royal reigns on the Church -Gender Politics: Elizabeth I; People do not embrace the ability of women to be leaders (civil war in England after Henry I dies and leaves a daughter as an heir) -Dynasty Politics:a throne gained through violence and civil war could be lost in the same way

The Tudor Dynasty

1485-1603 King Henry VII King Henry VIII Edward VI Mary I Elizabeth I

The Anglican Church

A Protestant church named after the Angles -The Church of England -The Episcopal Church -The Church of Ireland

Anne's pregnancy

An illegitimate child could not inherit the throne of England. Henry needed the issues resolved quickly. When diplomacy failed, the king's advisors decided on a more revolutionary course. Why not simply declare the king supreme in English spiritual affairs as he was in English worldly affairs? Then the king could settle the king's affair himself.

The King's "Great Matter"

Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon

Elizabeth I

Anne Boleyn's daughter who never marries because it would diminish her powers and make it difficult for her to not only reign, but rule. Does not produce any children, so she ends the line of the Tudors

The marriage to Anne proved disappointing

Anne gave birth not to the coveted son but to another daughter for Henry, the future, remarkable Elizabeth I

Reason why Henry had to require special permission from the Pope to marry Catherine

Catholic teaching of the time forbade a man to marry his brother's widow

In January 1533 Henry wed the pregnant Anne Boleyn and in March 1533

English Bishops in declared the king's marriage to Catherine annulled.

John Wyclif

English priest and scholar;had written and preached about criticisms of the Church that were remarkably similar to the issues Luther raised and he had quite a number of local followers

Henry's doubts about legitimacy of marriage with Catherine of Aragon

He interpreted Catherine's failure to produce a son as a sign of God's displeasure with his marriage.

Two monarchs equally important in the development of a third major wing of Protestants

Henry VIII and Elizabeth I

The political consequences of leaving only a female heir

Henry VIII was only the 2nd monarch of the Tudor dynasty to take the throne. Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch, came to the throne in 1485 at the conclusion of a dynastic civil war called the War of the Roses. 2 branches of the English royal family, the Yorks (symbol: the white rose) and the Lancasters (symbol: the red rose) fought for power for 31 years. In 1485, the Lancastrian side won and Henry Tudor gained the throne. The fear that haunted the Tudors: a throne gained through violence and civil war could be lost in the same way. Gender assumptions, too, made Mary a weak candidate to replace her father. People believed it unnatural for women to rule over men: a woman ruler meant a contested reign, turmoil and revolution

Anne Boleyn

Henry was thoroughly enamored of her, one of Catherine's ladies in waiting

Catherine Howard

Henry's fifth wife, was beheaded for adultery in 1542

Catherine of Aragon

King Henry VIII's first wife. She was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, and the aunt of Emperor Charles V. She had first been married to Henry's older brother who died soon after the marriage

Mary I

Mary married the Philip II of Spain and tried desperately to restore Catholicism in England. Mary is sometimes called "Bloody Mary" for her vigorous persecution of Protestants

Mores discreet actions

More didn't protest; he simply remained silent;opposed Henry's marriage to Anne and refused to attend her coronation, a mortal insult;charged with treason and imprisoned in the Tower of London

Reformation Parliament

Parliament convened for a seven-year-long session (very usually for the time) that earned it this title

Parliament as an Institution

Partnership: "King in Parliament" Legislative body: dealing with issues of taxation Standing Committees: The House of Commons and the House of Lords divide into this Resolved disputed elections Right to debate through standing committees independent of the king

international politics complicating Henry's annulment

Soldiers of the Charles V, the Holy Roman Empire, invaded and sacked Rome. The reigning pope, Clement VII, was at the time under the control of Charles V who was Catherine's nephew. Charles, king of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, was determined not to see his aunt humiliated by the king of England. He made it clear to the pope that an annulment was out of the question. Unwilling to offend either powerful figure, the pope delayed and discussions dragged on.

When More finally spoke out

Splitting the Church was a tragic crime, he could not, in all conscience, be an accomplice to it.The verdict had already been decided. They condemned him to be "hanged, drawn, and quartered" -- the extreme penalty for betrayal of the sovereign. It meant that the chancellor's body, cut into four parts, would be left to rot on the London docks. That was too much for the king. Henry changed the sentence to simple beheading. The scholar went to the ax with great dignity, asking the hushed crowd to witness his death "for the faith of the Catholic Church, being the King's good servant, but God's first." The Vatican proclaimed him a Christian martyr. In time, Sir Thomas More was canonized by the Church as St. Thomas More.

dissolution of monasteries

When Parliament seized Church property in England Monastery churches were left in ruins, indeed the "bare ruined choirs" that Shakespeare draws on as an image in "Sonnet 73" would be a familiar sight to many English people of Shakespeare's time.

Economical motivations

When Parliament seized the all the property owned by the Catholic Church in England (dissolution of the monasteries);Henry raises money and supporters for himself and the Reformation by selling/gave away/awarded some of the property to others

Elizabethan settlement

a "via media" between religious extremes. Under Elizabeth, the church retained its hierarchy of bishops and archbishops with the monarch at the top as "Supreme Governor." It also retained a Catholic-like liturgy. At the same time, Elizabeth kept the Protestant Book of Common Prayer, the official prayer book that outlined Anglican teachings and rituals, and issued a set of moderate Protestant doctrines called the Thirty-Nine Articles. It was a compromise that mostly worked while the popular Elizabeth sat on the throne

What expanded when Parliament passed a flood of legislation that placed royal reins on the Church

a significant constitutional principle: when fundamental changes are made in England, Parliament expected the monarch to consult with and work through Parliament.

In 1534 Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy

declaring the king "the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England

Jane Seymour

died in 1537 shortly after giving birth to the future Edward VI. Henry wed the German princess Anne of Cleves

Anne Boleyn's fate

executed for alleged treason and adultery, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate. Henry had four further marriages

Puritans

grew increasingly unhappy with the Catholic elements in the Elizabethan compromise

Sir Thomas More 2

lawyer and politician, Renaissance scholar and Humanist, author of Utopia, and one of the most famous men in Europe, fell victim to the crisis of "the King's Great Matter."; the king's loyal servant, however, he was also a devout Catholic

Act of Succession

made Anne Boleyn's children the legitimate heirs to the throne. Leading subjects were expected to swear to the Act, something that his former chancellor, Thomas More, could not bring himself to do

Ending Henry's marriage with Catherine for Anne

required a papal annulment of the marriage to Catherine. International politics complicated this very personal issue

English reformers

smuggled Lutheran writings into England

Catherine Parr

survived him

What the king demanded of his subjects

take an oath to obey the Act of Succession;swearing loyalty to Henry but disloyalty to the Church

Parliament as an independent institution

test cases between the 1540s and 1570s defended the rights and privileges of Members of Parliament against royal intervention in Parliament's operation. For example, disputed elections were to be decided by standing committees of Parliament rather than resolved by the monarch

Parliament remained a stable institution

the basic principle of representation through election remains unaltered, and the idea of consent for taxation is still a vital aspect of any democratic political system. Especially since the 17th century, Parliament has played a central role in shaping the development of Britain and in defining the rights and responsibilities of British citizens

Sir Thomas More

the chief minister of King Henry VIII, organized royal opposition to English Protestantism

Elizabeth I

the daughter of Anne Boleyn, inherited the throne. She would turn out to be the greatest of the Tudors.

marriage with Anne of Cleaves

the purpose being to create by the marriage an alliance with the Protestant princes of the Holy Roman Empire. Neither the alliance nor Anne proved successful. The marriage was annulled by Parliament.

"Defender of the Faith"

the title rewarded to King Henry VIII by Pope Leo X when King Henry VIII wrote an essay attacking Luther

King Henry VIII's and Catherine of Aragon's daughter

the union had produced no male heir to the throne and only one surviving child, a daughter, Mary

Edward VI

zealous Reformation preachers, inspired by the more radically Protestant ideas of John Calvin, took England in a more Protestant direction