Henry believed that obtaining a divorce would be simple yet he was met with many difficulties. The Pope employed stalling tactics that resulted in augmented tension between the two parties and eventually resulted in an open public confrontation. The Pope failed to believe Henry’s biblical interpretation and the situation became more heated. It was during the years of 1529 to 1532 that Henry had no chief minister. Woolsey had failed and the King still yearned for a divorce. During this time Henry applied pressure on the Pope to grant a divorce. He appealed to major universities for backing in order to prove that his biblical interpretation of Leviticus was correct, this process however, was costly and time consuming. Little was achieved and Henry was no closer to marrying Anne Boleyn.
It wasn’t until 1529 that real progress was made. Henry’s new chief minister, Thomas Cromwell had devised a strategy that would eventually get Henry the long awaited divorce that he yearned. Cromwell and Henry began to attack the church with real weapons. By using statutory laws against the Church Henry was able to obtain a divorce. Parliament was called and, according to Elton, the parliament was specifically chosen and given more free will than normally permitted. Therefore they focussed on two main issues. Firstly Henry’s divorce and secondly Church corruption. During the first session two bills were processed against the standing grievance of probates of wills and mortuary payments, here they brought up cases of clear clerical misconduct, the Richard Hunne case was a particular strong piece of propaganda. By the eighth session of parliament in 1339 Henry had not only stopped annates from being sent to Rome but he had succeeded in becoming ‘Supreme Head of the English Church.’ Papal influence was completely removed and clerical money began to filter through Henry. These benefits aside, Henry, as supreme head was able to go to Canterbury and obtain a divorce; Ann was crowned Queen on the 1st June 1533.
It is undoubtedly clear that the divorce played a significant role in bringing about the reformation of the Church. To obtain a divorce it was necessary for Cromwell to create laws to limit Papal power in England and this inevitably lead to a break with Rome and the creation of a new English Church. The divorce was probably the main cause for the Reformation yet without other factors the reformation would have never occurred.
For example it was Catherine who refused to divorce Henry. She was particularly pious and would not freely walk away from her marriage. This in turn led to a long battle that could have been avoided if either Catherine had given birth to a male heir or if she agreed to leave without a struggle. Catherine also had widespread support especially from her home country, Spain, and several leading powers in England including Thomas More, Henry’s chancellor. This so called ‘anti divorce’ faction proved an obstacle for Henry and in due course lead to more aggressive action that was directed at the Pope in Rome.
Papal legates such as Carpeggio failed to conclude that a divorce was necessary. This Papal decision was possibly based on the belief that Henry’s lust for Anne Boleyn would soon wear out.
The rise in anticlericalism also contributed to the Reformation as it was used as a factor to bully the Church. The parliamentary sessions was also made up of people who were critical of the clerical abuses. They were given free will to discuss clerical shortcomings and highlighted previous examples of clear misconduct and foul practise. Church courts were also slandered and this in turn appealed to the lawyers in the secular courts who were losing money.
It was these anticlerical feelings within parliament that allowed bills pass through. Without the prevalent anticlerical feelings few laws would have passed and Henry’s role within the Church would be no greater nor would there have been a break with Rome.
Many historians, including Elton, believe that there would have been a reformation even if Henry hadn’t wished for a divorce. There are many benefits of ruling a country free of papal influence. Firstly the King would be more powerful as he would be able to run the country independently free of foreign intervention. Furthermore the payments of annates to Rome were no longer necessary and this money could be filtered through the crown. It was evident that Henry longed for church wealth as he decided to dissolve both the lesser and greater monasteries and dissolve much of their wealth. The destruction of foreign influence upon Henry’s lands was clearly beneficial. Henry himself believed that the same person should be both the temporal and religious leader. For example he ordered Cramner, Archbishop of Canterbury to collect historical evidence to support such views. The evidence had been collected by 1530 and was named ‘Collectenea satis copiosa’. This shows that even before Henry wished to break with Rome he believed that he should be the sole, independent ruler of England.
It is clear that although Henry’s desire for a divorce was probably the main cause of the reformation in England there were other factors that significantly contributed to a state free of foreign intervention. For example the rise in anticlericalism and Henry’s desire for further power and wealth both allowed the divorce proceedings to progress into a full blown attack on the Papacy.
