Henry VIII and the Church of England World Studies September 29

Henry VII and Elizabeth of York

I. The War of the Roses The Lancasters (red) and the Yorks (white) had been competing for control of England Henry VII was a Lancaster who married one York and defeated another Became king in 1485, but he knew his hold on the throne was weak

The Tudor Rose

II. An Heir In order to keep a strong hold on the throne, there needed to be lots of male Tudor heirs Henry VII betrothed his oldest son Arthur to Catherine of Aragon (from Spain) when he was just 2 Arthur and Catherine married in 1501 He died less than a year later

She was married to Arthur’s little brother Henry in 1509 Henry VII did not want lose his alliance with Spain or give back Catherine’s dowry, so he kept her in England She was married to Arthur’s little brother Henry in 1509 Required special dispensation from the Pope Catherine swore her first marriage had not been consummated

Henry VIII also knew it was very important to have male heirs Catherine became pregnant many times, but only had one child who lived – Mary Catherine was getting older and Henry feared they’d never have a boy At the same time he was falling in love with Anne Boleyn She was young, pretty and manipulative

III. Defender of the Faith Henry VIII was very religious When the Reformation began he wrote arguments against Luther’s beliefs Did not support Protestantism But also believed that as king he should always get his way

IV. The Annulment Henry wanted to annul (cancel) his marriage to Catherine so that he could marry Anne Argued that they could not have sons because God was punishing him Not supposed to marry his brother’s wife Her nephew Charles V pressured the Pope into refusing Did not want his aunt cast aside

V. The Divorce Henry was furious Many of his advisors were secretly Protestant Planted the idea that England break from the Catholic Church Henry could have his divorce and more power In 1534 the Act of Supremacy made Henry the head of the Church of England

Everyone was forced to sign and acknowledge it The loyal Catholics who didn’t were executed, including Henry’s close friend Sir Thomas More Henry appointed an Archbishop who immediately granted him a divorce

VI. The Church of England Henry’s break was very different from Luther’s Didn’t have disagreements with the Church or its beliefs Church practices remained mostly the same Did have the Bible in English Closed the monasteries Said it was because they were immoral, but was probably so Henry could take their land and money