Religious change under Henry

Question 1

Why did Henry want divorce?

Answer 1

• Henry’s desire for male heir:
  After 15 years of his marriage to Catherine, only surviving child was Mary, who was now beyond childbearing age
• Henry had a series of mistresses, at least one of whom (Elizabeth Blount) had an illegitimate son by the king
• Henry promised to marry Anne because by Jan 1533, she was found to be preg.

Question 2

What was Henry’s argument for divorce?

Answer 2

• Found a passage in the Old Testament book Leviticus which made him believe his marriage had never been valid, as Catherine had previously been married to his bro, Arthur.
• He argued that the pope was wrong for granting him the marriage in the first place

Question 3

How did Henry go about getting the divorce?

Answer 3

• Appointed Wolsey with the task in 1527,

Question 4

What did Wolsey initially do?

Answer 4

• He sent English Bishops Gardiner and Foxe as royal ambassadors to pope Clement VII in Rome in 1528
• Through this, Wolsey aimed to get his permission for the hearing to be held in England and be presided over by Wolsey

Question 5

Why did Wolsey’s proposition not go through?

Answer 5

• The Pope had been imprisoned by Charles V, after he invaded Rome in May 1527
• Charles V (Catherine’s nephew) was against the divorce as it was dishonourable to the family
  possibly beneficial to his enemies, as Henry was considering a marriage alliance with the French royal fam
• The pope too was opposed to the annulment because of Henry’s view that the Pope did not have the power to grant a dispensation.

Question 6

What did the pope decide instead?

Answer 6

• Allowed papal Legate, Cardinal Campeggio, to go to England and try the case alongside Wolsey
• Catherine howeversent an appeal to the Pope in Rome saying there would be no fair trial in England.
• Her success in doing this meant the hearings and the career of Wolsey came to an end.

Question 7

What did Henry do after Wolsey’s failure?

Answer 7

• Henry became desperate. From the late 1530s, the King’s supporters began to question the authority of the pope over the king and his territory.
• The argument grew and in September 1530, he refused to be summoned by the Pope to Rome for a hearing about his marriage
• From October 1530, he created a committee of lawyers and clergymen to see if he could get the dispensation from English parliament to divorce Catherine, going around the pope entirely.