However, it seems to be that religion was not a major factor in breaking with Rome, as many people were happy with the Catholic Church. Schama says that Catholicism was colourful, vibrant and very alive. Many bishops or priests were very hardworking and determined to do their best. Many accounts show that between 1515 and 1527, only 10% of the clergy were accused of immorality whilst in Winchester, only eleven cases of misconduct were found in 230 parishes. This clearly shows that the Church was accepted as an institution by many people and that the dissatisfied were a minority. Henry’s actions would be regarded as being over the top, because if the clergy really were that corrupt, it would have been more appropriate for him to replace and appoint new ones rather than a break with Rome. Schama also says that Henry created the Reformation without meaning to, as we know, he was a devoted Catholic, as he was still burning Protestants as late as 1530, and when he got rid of the Popes rule, he still remained with the Catholic beliefs. This also rules out religion as a major factor.
There were also personal reasons for the break. A major reason could be the fact that Henry wanted a divorce, or an annulment of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, which Wolsey himself could not fix. Catherine was getting too old and had several miscarriages which caused problems for the King as he needed a male heir to secure his dynasty, which slightly moves to political factors. So breaking with Rome and ending the power of the Pope would help Henry make his own decisions. Wolsey was to make the decision, but this failed due to the fact that another Cardinal (Campeggio) was sent to England to assist him and ensure that no decision was actually made. It is also seen that Henry wanted a divorce as he was obsessed with Anne Boleyn - a young, vivacious, fun-loving girl who knew how to play the game of courtly love. Scarisbrick says that Henry had tired of his wife and had fallen in love with one who would give herself entirely to him if only he would give himself entirely to her. Henry loved Anne, she could give him sons, and he would only get to sleep with her if only she became a part of his life, as Queen. Schama claims that she was ‘historical prime cause number one’ of the reformation, but I think that the need of Henry wanting a divorce was the ultimate prime cause. Eric Ives says that Henry was thinking of divorce before he had decided to pursue a relationship with Anne, and this could prove to be true as Catherine, as said by Henry’s doctors, would produce no heir as early as 1524. Anne could be regarded as the catalyst of the divorce, but not a ‘number one cause’ of the break with Rome, as many Historians argue.
Another reason to why Henry would break with Rome could be the fact that he would gain more power, and if that, would be secure on the throne more than ever. His aims were to re-establish his territories as a ‘sovereign empire’, and this would certainly make sure that no other ruler would have control of anything. Henry was a very stubborn man, always got what he wanted and he was unwilling to let anybody – the Pope, Wolsey, More or Cromwell – get in his way or tell him what to do. He wanted to have an Imperial status and be known as a Renaissance Monarch. The 1534 Act of Supremacy helped Henry with this, as Henry had taken over the Church in England and passed his own laws. The Pope could not go against Henry’s decisions or order him about after the break. This showed who was in control and Henry was the ‘bigger’ man.
There was also money issues concerning Henry’s decision, a great example would be the dissolution of the monasteries. The monasteries had enormous amounts of wealth which came from land and property (about 100,000 acres). They included valuable items such as golden plates, beautiful buildings with stained glass windows, roof materials and chattels. By dissolving the monasteries, Henry became Supreme Head of the Church in 1535, as he knew he could gain more. He also gained more money by issuing the Act of Annates. But this showed that divorce was Henry’s number one problem as the act would not come into force for a year, but if the Pope granted the divorce, the act would not have been forced at all. Henry did a good job of pressurising the Pope, securing his dynasty with power and wealth, in political matters.
Many others also argue that Henry broke with Rome due to a number of political motivations. Henry’s love, Anne Boleyn and the powerful Boleyn faction, led by Thomas Boleyn, supported the break. Anne, especially, would pressurise the King and would hand him William Tyndale’s book, ‘Obedience of the Christian Man’, with marked pages to where Henry would realise that he could become even more powerful. He discovered that Tyndale’s ideas suited his needs; in the book, Tyndale argues that the Kings subjects should show allegiance only to their King – there was no mention of the Pope and so Henry must have been really impressed. His Protestant fixers, Cromwell and Cranmer were also supporting the King to break with Rome. G R Elton says that it was not until Cromwell was appointed to the Inner Ring of the King’s Council in 1531, that Henry himself hadn’t considered getting rid of the authority of the Pope. It was Cromwell pushing Henry to go with this idea, making him realise that if he took this path then it will lead him to almost 10-15% of the whole of the country’s wealth. This was too good for Henry to ignore, and it seems that as Cromwell was his most trusted advisor (since Wolsey), that Henry was influenced by him on making a decision. Cromwell would pass acts through Parliament and it was the Acts of Appeal in 1533, that was largely all his doing which stated that ‘the King was absolutely independent and owed no allegiance to any other figure or body, religious or political, on earth’. Cranmer was among these groups who also produced a strong argument saying that Henry was entitled to act on his divorce without appeal to Rome. He was a replacement for Archbishop Warham, who was a defender of the old faith and was against Henry’s divorce, who died in 1532. It was no surprise that Cranmer was chosen as he was a supporter of the King, meaning that opposition was one down for Henry. Even though Henry wasn’t the kind of man who liked to be told what to do, he was certainly convinced or influenced by these people and put their ideas forward. The result was, as always mentioned, a divorce and the gain of power and wealth.
Many Historians argue that the break with Rome was for religious purposes; like Elton and Dickens who support the ‘bottom up’ theory, that the people were demanding a change on the Church. Elton literally says that the state of the Church was rotten and Dickens says that the Church was being attacked by the fire of its enemies. However, whatever these people were demanding at the time would certainly not have influenced Henry one bit. Although he did break with Rome, it was not for religious matters, but in my opinion, mostly personal and political reasons, on Henry’s part. This is the ‘top down’ theory, where the King imposed the Reformation on the people. Throughout all these steps, the only thing that was in Henry’s mind was getting a divorce with Catherine, and settling with his new Queen. This is what is believed to be the key reason to break with Rome. This moves from personal to a more political reason as Henry could be confident to have a male heir, for dynastic purposes. I don’t think Henry’s love for Anne was much of an important personal reason as he could fall in love with anyone at anytime – but as long he got what he wanted and that was sons. Haigh argues that the break away from Rome was mainly political motivation. This appears to be true as well. With help from his fixer, Cromwell, the supremacy of the Papacy over the Church in England was ended. Henry became in charge of all matters of belief and organisation, and he became the Supreme Head of the Church. The Dissolution of the Monasteries helped Henry gain more land and wealth for financial purposes. Religion plays a very small part; Henry may have used it as a back up for his greed, concerning the dissolved monasteries, saying that he was to clean it up instead of abolishing it, but eventually ended up being wealthier. Henry got more than he wanted in the finale, and this was just the beginning of Protestantism.
WORD COUNT: 1979