1540-1547

Question 1

What were Henry’s aims between 1540 and 1547?

Answer 1

He wanted to secure his succession, focus on foreign policy through uniting Scotland and England and conquering English territories on the continent and asserting his authority over the factions as he had no chief advisor

Question 2

What factions emerged in the 1540s?

Answer 2

The conservatives led by the Duke of Norfolk and including Bishop Gardner and Thomas Wriothesley, who wanted a counter reformation. The reformists were led by Edward Seymour (the Earl of Hartford) and John Dudley (viscount, Lisle, Duke of Warwick), Anthony Denney, William Paget and Archbishop Cranmer, who wanted further protestant reform

Question 3

What were the successes of the conservative faction after Cromwell fell?

Answer 3

Catherine Howard was married to Henry, increasing access to the king, and the Six Articles act limited any further religious change, pointing to early conservative victories

Question 4

What happened in November 1541?

Answer 4

Catherine Howard was accused and executed for adultery, which was a major blow to Howard interest, especially in Privy chamber, from which Catherine’s relatives were expelled. The Duke of Norfolk quickly joined in with condemnations of his niece but effects were limited

Question 5

What did the Conservatives do in 1543?

Answer 5

They attacked reformists, accusing Thomas Cranmer of heresy, but Cranmer had a good relationship with the king and as such was put in charge of the investigation onto his own activities, leading to him being found innocent

Question 6

What happened in 1543 that was advantageous to the reformists?

Answer 6

Henry married Catherine Parr in July 1543, who was a committed protestant, and the conservatives accused her of heresy, but she survived

Question 7

Why was Gardner removed?

Answer 7

Gardner was removed after being accused of saying that the pope should be reinstated as the head of the church

Question 8

How were the Howards removed?

Answer 8

On the 2nd December 1546 Norfolk’s son, the Earl of Surrey was accused of disloyalty to the king, speaking rashly of what should happen on the king’s death and his family’s future role as regent for Edward. On the 12th December Surrey and his father were both sent to the tower, where Surrey was executed and Norfolk confessed to already knowing of his son’s treason, and he was to be executed but the king’s death in January 1547 invalidated the warrant for his execution

Question 9

What final amendments did Henry make to his will?

Answer 9

In December 1546 he named the order of succession as Edward, Mary and then Elizabeth, providing that there were no male heirs, and a regency council would govern until Edward was 18, and a clause was added that allowed them to award themselves titles which Henry apparently wanted but hadn’t lived to implement

Question 10

How was the added clause beneficial to the reformists?

Answer 10

The members of the reformist faction were event the opportunity to reward themselves and buy support of one significant figures in the reign of Edward

Question 11

What was the dry stamp?

Answer 11

It was used from Autumn 1545 as the usual process for getting royal signature. There was an imprint of the king’s signature and then it was inked in by an official in the Privy Chamber, which enabled them to alter the king’s will without his knowledge, as the will is dated as the 30th December but evidence shows that t was not signed until January, when Henry was doing and unable to make choices

Question 12

What happened in the 1540s that made Henry a desirable ally?

Answer 12

Tensions were mounting between Francis and Charles and Henry was a desirable ally as he had wealth after the dissolution and as such could afford war

Question 13

What was agreed in 1542 between Henry and Charles V?

Answer 13

They agreed on a joint invasion of France to take place in the following year, but first Henry needed to secure the northern border

Question 14

Why were Scottish-English relations tense in the 1540s?

Answer 14

Henry’s sister, Margaret died in 1541, and although Henry tried to improve relations with James V, but after he failed to attend a meeting with Henry, the Duke of Norfolk led an army on a raid across the Scottish border

Question 15

What happened at the Battle of Solway Moss?

Answer 15

It took place in November 1542 and 10,000 Scots were beaten by 3,000 English, and it saw the capture of leading Scottish nobles - shortly after James V died and Mary Queen of Scots took the throne at 6 days old

Question 16

What were the Treaties of Greenwich?

Answer 16

They were signed in July 1543 and called for peace along with arranging the marriage of Mary to Edward, but by the end of the year the Scottish parliament rejected them

Question 17

What happened to Scotland in 1544?

Answer 17

In May 1544 Edward Seymour, the Earl of Hartford led an expedition that saw the burning of Edinburgh, devastation of much of the lowlands and strengthening of anti-English feeling

Question 18

What happened in France in 1544?

Answer 18

In June 1544 an army of 40,000 men travelled to Calais. Boulogne surrendered on the 14th September 1544 and four days later Henry made an entrance into the city and immediately demanded strengthening of his fortifications

Question 19

Why was the invasion less of a success?

Answer 19

Charles V felt that Henry had not provided enough support for his campaign and made peace with Francis on the same day that Boulogne fell to the English, leaving Henry alone in war against France and negotiations started almost immediately for a peace settlement

Question 20

Why was the peace settlement with France stalled?

Answer 20

Henry insisted that he keep Boulogne and and that France would end ties with Scotland, leading to the Battle of Solent

Question 21

What happened as a result of the Battle of Solent?

Answer 21

France attempted to invade England and the Mary Rose was sank. This led to the Treaty of Ardes/Camp

Question 22

What was arranged in the Treaty of Ardes?

Answer 22

It was signed in June 1546 and Henry would keep Boulogne for the next 8 years but it was then to be given back to France in return for £600,000, and the French promised to resume the French pension at £35,000 per year

Question 23

How much did Henry spend on foreign policy in the 1540s?

Answer 23

£2 million

Question 24

Where did Henry get his money from?

Answer 24

Taxation and money generated from the church but expense led to the debasement of the coinage which transformed a sound currency into one widely regarded with suspicion

Question 25

What was the state of foreign affairs when Henry died?

Answer 25

He left an uneasy diplomatic solution. The uneasy peace with France and Scotland as further undermined by the renewal of the Franco-Scottish alliance which left England exposed to danger of invasion in the North and the South