by John, Judith
The Pious Man
A friend of Erasmus, Thomas More was a pious Catholic who was tormented by his King’s treatment of the Church. A supporter of anti-Lutheran movements, he was wholly supportive of the sacraments and traditions of the Church. Beginning his political career as a lawyer, More became a member of Henry’s Privy Council in 1514. He worked closely with Cardinal Wolsey, becoming under-Chancellor of the Exchequer and Speaker of the House of Commons. On Wolsey’s fall from grace, More became Chancellor himself. A loyal supporter of both the King and the Church, More first stood behind Henry’s actions, trusting in his King. He tried to stamp out the Lutheran uprisings, aiding Wolsey in preventing Luther’s books being published or read in England. More was also responsible for six men being burned at the stake for heresy during his time as chancellor.
Added between 1532–35, Hampton Court’s Great Hall is a magnificent reminder of Henry VIII’s extravagance. Used for ceremonies and celebrations, it could hold the entire royal court.
Increasingly uncomfortable with the King’s actions, More did not support Henry’s plan to annul his marriage to Catherine. While he did support the Act of Succession, More tried to resign from the court and withdrew his ardent support for Henry. His longstanding service and influence could only save him so far. More signed his own death warrant when he refused to attend Anne Boleyn’s coronation. Matters came to a head when he steadfastly refused to swear an oath declaring Henry to be supreme head of the church. He also refused to support Henry’s annulment of his marriage to Catherine. A steadfast believer in order and tradition, More was not able to accept that one man, even if that man was King, could replace the entire hierarchy of the church.
This picture shows Thomas More, who rose to powerful heights under Henry VIII before refusing to renounce the Church in favour of Henry’s supremacy.
Increasingly uncomfortable with the King’s actions, More did not support Henry’s plan to annul his marriage to Catherine.
Taken to the Tower, More stood trial in July 1535 where he was found guilty of high treason. His sentence was to be hanged, drawn and quartered, but this was reduced to the slightly more palatable sentence of beheading. Despite contrasting accounts of his character, it is clear that he was a devout Catholic who was prepared to die for his faith. More was canonized as a martyr in 1935.
The Bishop
John Fisher was the chaplain and confessor of Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII’s mother. It was with his help that she founded some of the Cambridge University’s colleges. He became Bishop of Rochester in 1504 on Henry VII’s insistence and was one of Henry VIII’s tutors. A learned, articulate man, Fisher was anti-Lutheran and supported Henry’s fight against heresy, wanting to return to a more traditional Catholic faith. Despite their long relationship and common beliefs on religion, it was when Henry took steps to divorce Catherine of Aragon that Fisher could no longer support his King.
More is shown in a final embrace with his daughter, Margaret Roper, just before his execution at Tower Hill. Margaret married the biographer William Roper, whose account of his father-inlaw described More as a man of ‘clear unspotted conscience’.
PROFILE: A MAN OF ENIGMA
MORE IS FAMOUS for writing the influential Utopia (1516), meaning ‘good place’, a book that compares life in England to an ideal society based on communist principles, widespread peace and rational thought. Religious tolerance also features highly. This ideal society of tolerance is at odds with persisting rumours about the austere and strict More using violence and torture against those accused of heresy, which contradicts his veneer of a virtuous and moral man.
Whatever the truth, More never admitted to using torture and appeared to be against the deaths caused by heretical propaganda, leading to the barbarous German Peasants’ Revolt in 1524–25.
It seems that Cranmer lived through Henry’s reign and into Edward and Mary’s reigns due to his moral flexibility.
Even after attempts were made on his life, Fisher was not put off his beliefs. Refusing to swear that Anne’s marriage to Henry was valid and that their heirs would be legitimate, Fisher was sent to the Tower on 26 April 1534. Pope Paul III tried to intervene by making Fisher a cardinal. But Henry was not to be moved and sent back the message that Fisher’s head would be off his body before the red cardinal’s hat was on his head.
Various attempts were made to trick Fisher into condemning himself by speaking out against the King, but he kept up a dignified silence until Richard Rich, a solicitor general who worked under Cromwell, tricked Fisher into admitting his disbelief that Henry was the supreme head of the Church. Rich spoke out during the trial, leading to Fisher being found guilty of treason. As he had been stripped of his bishopric, Fisher would have been hanged, drawn and quartered if it weren’t for the massive public support he was gathering. He was subsequently beheaded at Tower Hill on 22 June 1535. His body was ignominiously stripped and thrown into a grave with no proper burial and his head was hung from Tower Bridge. Also canonized, Fisher shares the feast day of 22 June with Thomas More – two men who died for their religion and refused to let any man destroy their faith.
The Survivor
Instrumental in the annulment of Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Thomas Cranmer opened the court for the King and Queen to present their cases. He judged that Henry’s marriage was against God’s law on 24 May 1532. On 28 May, Cranmer validated Henry’s secret marriage to Anne and he also presided over her coronation on 1 June. In addition, on 10 September, Cranmer became godfather to Elizabeth (as he had been to Edward), his future Queen. Cranmer was Archbishop of Canterbury by this time. It was also Cranmer who declared Henry’s marriage to Anne null and void shortly before her execution for treason. It seems that Cranmer lived through Henry’s reign and into those of Edward and Mary due to his moral flexibility.
Cranmer had been a lecturer of divinity at Cambridge until he said that Henry could get out of his marriage to Catherine if it could be proven that she had consummated her marriage to Arthur. The Prince’s words of being ‘in Spain’ would come back to haunt Catherine.
Cranmer also spent time in Germany consulting the Nuremberg princes on a religious alliance between Germany and England. His Bishop’s Book of 1537 aimed to implement the Ten Articles and the reforms made to the church so far, while bridging tradition and reform. While these reforms modernized the Church of England, they did not go as far as Lutheran principles, some of which were still regarded as heresy.
While Cranmer gained himself the typical enemies of anyone with influence in the Tudor court, Henry remained attached to him, even when Cranmer’s ideas on reform went further than the King’s. Cranmer was never ambitious for more power and always went along with his King, which was probably a big part of Henry’s affection for him. It was Cranmer who Henry asked for in his final hours, perhaps the closest thing to a friend he ever had.
The Politician
First entering Wolsey’s service in 1524, Thomas Cromwell quickly proved himself useful by aiding in the dissolution of 30 monasteries in order for Wolsey to fund schools with the profits. Cromwell then joined Wolsey’s council and was one of his most trusted advisors by 1529. However, things began to look shaky for Wolsey around this time, so Cromwell quickly distanced himself from Wolsey’s unpopular decisions. He managed to stay in favour with Henry, becoming a member of the King’s Privy Council in 1530. But, by this time, Cromwell had made enemies of his own.
John Fisher was executed only weeks before Thomas More. This illustration shows that Fisher was beheaded, having been spared a more agonizing and drawn-out death (note the gallows and burning stake behind him, both of which are occupied!).
… the King’s marriage to Anne now formalized, Cromwell aided him in weakening the Church in order to discredit the institution …
His actions in aiding the King’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon and the position of royal supremacy added to his enemies. These were men who disagreed with him over Henry’s d
isquieting actions and those who were uncomfortable with the amount of power Cromwell could now wield. But Cromwell seemed to be untouchable. In 1531–32, he led the Reformation Parliament to support the King’s royal supremacy on the grounds that the church and clergy were responsible for abuses of power and crimes against their holy orders. With Parliament supporting the King by choice, Henry was able to present himself as doing the right thing for his country, not merely suiting his own needs. Henry rewarded Cromwell handsomely for his troubles, giving him various titles and offices, including Chancellor of the Exchequer after Thomas More resigned from the post.
With the King’s marriage to Anne now formalized, Cromwell aided him in weakening the Church in order to discredit the institution more easily. The Submission of the Clergy was followed by the Act of Succession, both of which gave more power to the King. This led to More and Fisher, who both refused to swear to the oath, being executed for treason. Slowly but surely, Cromwell was removing other powerful men from the King’s council. It was Cromwell’s revisions that made it an act of treason to speak out against the King or royal family.
Next appointed vicegerent in 1535, Cromwell now had power over the Church. He undertook the Valor Ecclesiasticus in order to determine the wealth of the clergy in England. This led to the Suppression of the Lesser Monasteries in 1536. Anne Boleyn, once a supporter of Cromwell’s as he aided her marriage to Henry, turned against Cromwell as she felt that this money should be used for charity. Her chaplains spoke openly against him and were supported by his other enemies.
Forced to endure the insult of defending the legality of her marriage, Catherine of Aragon is shown here during the inquiry called by Henry. Catherine always called herself the King’s ‘true and legitimate wife’, but the inquiry ended in divorce.
Thomas Cromwell is shown here painted by Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1532–33). After demanding Cromwell’s execution, Henry blamed Cromwell’s enemies for misleading him.
But Cromwell was about to prove his immense power. Anne had not yet produced a male heir and her hold over the King was weakening. Cromwell used this, plus her flirtatious nature, to his advantage and started gathering evidence of Anne’s infidelity. He was part of the court that tried Anne and her supposed lovers – including her brother, George – leading to their executions. This also allowed him to remove Thomas Boleyn, Anne’s father, from his position as Lord Privy Seal, which Cromwell took on 2 July 1536. Just a week later, Cromwell was made Baron of Wimbledon. It seemed that his influence over Henry had been cemented and that he could do no wrong in Henry’s eyes. But his power had made him careless. The cold eyes of the King were upon him and past experience had taught Cromwell that falling from favour never ended well.
Henry’s actions towards the men and women loyal to him show us a King who would stop at nothing to get his own way. He could be ruthless, cruel and detached, discarding anyone who did not agree with him without a second thought. Yet Henry truly seemed to believe he was right in his actions and that what was good for the King was good for the entire country. In terms of ditching anyone he tired of, Henry VIII was only just getting started.
This woodcut print was made for the coronation of Anne Boleyn on 1 June 1533. The illustration shows Anne and Henry in a happy, affectionate pose. Just under three years later, she was executed for incest, adultery and high treason.
This illustration of the Pilgrimage of Grace shows church figures proudly bearing religious icons as they protest against the tide of reform. Henry VIII may have been a force to be reckoned with, but these pilgrims and many others were prepared to die for their faith.
III
TUDORS
HENRY VIII: MATCHING,
HATCHING AND DISPATCHING
As the rumblings of religious discontent grew, Henry VIII discarded his closest advisors one by one, treating his Queens with the same contempt. Showing no concern for his subjects’ wealth, occupation or religion, the King’s arrogance knew no bounds. Henry had always liked things done his way. Now Supreme Head of the Church of England as well as King, Henry saw himself as invulnerable. With the blood of several loyal men already on his hands, it was time to show everyone that Henry’s word was God’s will and the law of the land.
Divorced, beheaded, died; Divorced, beheaded, survived.
It was in 1536 that the powder keg of discontent Henry had stirred up exploded. From reducing the power of the Church and bestowing it upon himself to destroying and pillaging much-loved monasteries, Henry seemed to be unstoppable. The public still suffered from enforced loans for foreign battles to appease Henry’s appetite for war and now they were losing their religious heritage, having to bear the agony of watching churches destroyed and their beloved monks and nuns being turned out with nowhere to go. Enough was enough.
Beginning of the Backlash
The first mass revolt occurred in Lincolnshire, just days before the more problematic Pilgrimage of Grace. Desperate at the treatment of the monks of Louth Abbey and in fear of the confiscation of their holy relics, a large force of protestors, numbering in the tens of thousands, marched to Lincoln Cathedral, led by a priest and a shoemaker nicknamed ‘Captain Cobbler’. Their demands were simple. The people wanted freedom to worship as they always had done.
THE DUKE OF NORFOLK
THOMAS HOWARD (pictured right), a politician, was a member of Henry’s council who enjoyed the King’s favour on Wolsey’s downfall (the two were opposed in their ideas on war). Howard was Anne Boleyn’s uncle and eager to aid Henry’s divorce to Catherine so that Henry would be free to marry Anne. Howard benefitted from this alliance and made sure he stayed loyal to the King, to the point of turning against Anne when she stood trial for treason. Devious and duplicitous, Howard took advantage of the downfall of others to climb the greasy pole of power, helping to bring down Cromwell, among others.
He was also Catherine Howard’s uncle and instrumental in their marriage. It was only when Catherine’s adultery became public knowledge that Howard began his fall from grace. Despite him desperately trying to win back favour, Howard and his son, Henry, were arrested in 1547 for treason, with his entire family standing against him. Henry was executed and Howard only escaped execution due to Henry VIII’s convenient death. A conservative Catholic, he was restored to his Dukedom under Queen Mary in 1553.
Henry met the revolt with a wave of violence. Charles Brandon, Mary Tudor’s husband and the Duke of Suffolk, was sent to disperse the crowds and the main ringleaders were swiftly executed. After seeing this, the rest of the protestors speedily fled for home. How far this early uprising led to the Pilgrimage of Grace is disputed, but the harsh treatment of the crowds in Lincolnshire certainly angered the rest of the country. Nobles and commoners alike banded together to fight back against the tyrannical monarch.
… the only source of extra food and financial alms during these straitened times, the monasteries were often a real necessity.
The chief complaint was the treatment of the churches and religious houses. For many communities, the church was the focal point of their lives and Henry’s changes were too much, too soon, for a way of life that had been shared over many generations. Henry’s treatment of Catherine had also angered the public, but so too had his cruel dispatch of Anne, the woman for whom he had brought about these changes. Had Henry no idea that he was asking his people to renounce some of the practices that were traditionally thought to get people into heaven? Or did the tyrannical King just not care for his subjects’ souls in his never-ending quest for satisfaction? (A secondary objective of the revolt was to reinstate Princess Mary as successor to the throne, her Catholic sympathies being well known.)
Pilgrimage of Grace: For God and the King
The insurgent pilgrims, led by the barrister Robert Aske, travelled through Beverley and Hull before occupying the walled town of York where they reinstated the monks and nuns and restored the Catholic observances that Henry had deemed unlawful. With the smaller monasteries being the only s
ource of extra food and financial alms during these straitened times, the monasteries were often a real necessity. This was a rebellion on a much larger scale than in Lincoln. Henry and his men knew they would have to tread a little more carefully. The Duke of Norfolk, with the Earl of Shrewsbury leading the King’s army, was sent to converse with Aske and the ringleaders, with the assurance that Henry would listen to their demands. A resulting promise of a general pardon and Parliament being convened to discuss the concerns meant that the naive rebels disbanded, believing that they had made progress and their case to uphold the values of the Church would be heard. It is thought that Aske and his followers were of the opinion that the King had been misadvised and did not fully understand the reality of the reforms. Although Henry was initially angry with Norfolk for acquiescing to the rebels, the rebels had been dispersed and he now had time on his side to deal with the disturbance.
Yet Henry had no intention of backing down or stopping the dissolution. Meeting with Aske himself, Henry fed him platitudes and blamed Cromwell for much of the reformation. When another rebellion broke out in 1537, Henry took this as the rebels not keeping their word, even though it was widely known that this new uprising was nothing to do with Aske or his followers. Henry had Aske seized along with other prominent ringleaders and the men were quickly executed. The aggrieved King had a point to prove and over 220 people were put to death for their defiance, with many of their corpses prominently displayed to warn others. Henry showed no compassion, executing nobles, priests, monks and commoners alike and even making family members sit in on the trials, such as they were. Such a large-scale removal of the leaders was successful and the uprising was quelled. Everyone knew that Henry was literally taking no prisoners.
