The Two Most Important Events in English History

        This invasion was very important in the history of England because, he brought Norman culture to England and started to rebuild the whole country in such ways as making new legislations, and even a new language was introduced – Norman French. This changes we could see today, lot of words, which were added, we could hear in traditional English, but its roots grow from Norman French. So Old English had been obliterated long age; in so far any vestiges of it remained, the did so mainly in the histories of Eadmer, William of Malmesbury, and Henry of Huntington, and lesser writers of the same period, such as John of Worcester. Their attempts to reconstruct Old English have determined the way it is studied ever since.

Modern historians are focused more on the effect of this invasion, not just pluses and minuses. Richard Southern has seen Norman Invasion was the decisive moment in English history. R.Southern stated that, “no country in Europe, between rise of the barbarian kingdoms and the 20th century, has undergone so radical a change in so short period of time as England experienced after 1066” this state, is quite arguable and stuffy we could remember Osman conquest, which had more consequential outcomes. Well it depends on the measure of comparison. The fact is that England has changed, once and forever.

English Reformation

The English Reformation was not just separation from the Roman church, but also a part of protestant reformation in Europe. When Church of England seceded from of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. The main question is what was it, just religious tension or the processes, by which law dominated over the church, which grew into revolution. Thus English Reformation started in the rule of Henry VIII. By 1527 Henry VIII decided to get rid of his wife Catherine of Aragon, after her failure to produce a male heir to the throne. Therefore Henry VIII decided whom he would marry next – it was Anne Boleyn. But, it was hard for the catholic to divorce; it was not such a simple task to do. The Roman Catholic belief accepts as fact that marriage is life long and did not recognize a divorce. Catholic must be a widow to re-marriage. As a result Henry VIII got into a difficult situation. Unless if as king of England could allow himself a divorce, the pope could exclude him. Exclusion considered as the worst fear for catholic, and especially at time of Henry. However Henry could appeal to the Pope to grant him a special “Papal Dispensation” which could allow him to divorce, although the pope decided to decline his request in 1533, it made Henry angry as the result he ordered the Archbishop of Canterbury to grant him a divorce.  This decision led England to break away from the Roman Catholic Church based in Rome. Henry appointed himself as a head of the church. Anyone who opposed this reposition was declared as a traitor. Sir Thomas More was one of them, he declined to swear the oath of allegiance to henry VIII, and he has been executed in 1535, lately the Catholic Church declared him as a saint.

The English Reformation was at the more of a political affair than a theological dispute. The reality of political differences between Rome and England allowed growing theological disputes to come in front. By the act of 1534 English church split from Rome and made the king a supreme monarch and established a new church.

So as the result some people supported Henry for political impact of this decision and mostly for religious diversion. As the result religious reformation was slow, and Henry did not get the son he wanted, a son that finally becomes an heir was Edward VI.

Finally English Reformation lead English monarch and England into a new era of religious separation this probably was the most risky decision ever, there was no need to pay church taxes in Rome anymore, but disputes ended by Glorious revolution in 1688, which caused total replacement of monarchy in England and made it independent from Roman Church.

Bibliography

1)

Charles W. A. Prior

2) McConica, James    English humanists and Reformation politics under Henry VIII and Edward VI / James McConica   Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968

---