Henry VIII

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Henry VIII

Born: June 28, 1491
Greenwich, England
Died: January 28, 1547
London, England

King

" … if he were still free he would choose her in preference to all others."
Henry VIII, upon marrying Catherine of Aragon.

Henry VIII is best known today as the king who discarded—or beheaded—his wives because they did not give him a male heir. He is also famous for defying the pope (the supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church). As a consequence of the pope's refusal to grant Henry a divorce from his first wife, Henry withdrew from the Roman Catholic Church and created the Church of England. Henry was also a great supporter of the English Renaissance. Although his daughter, Elizabeth I (1533–1603; see entry), is usually associated with the height of English culture, Henry set the stage by encouraging new humanist ideas that were being brought from Italy in the sixteenth century. (Humanism was a literary and scholarly movement based on the revival of ancient Greek and Roman culture that was the basis of the Renaissance.)

Needs a male heir

Henry VIII was the second son of the first Tudor family ruler, King Henry VII (1457–1509; ruled 1485–1509), and his wife, Elizabeth of York. An excellent student as a child, he learned Latin, Spanish, French, and Italian and studied mathematics, music, and theology. He became an accomplished musician and played several instruments. He composed hymns, ballads, and two masses (musical compositions used in Roman Catholic worship services). He also liked hunting, wrestling, and jousting. Henry VIII's older brother, Arthur (1486–1502), was originally the heir to the English throne. However, Arthur died in 1502, only a year after he married Catherine of Aragon (1485–1536), the daughter of the Spanish monarchs (kings and queen who has sole ruling power) Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452–1516; ruled 1479–1516) and Isabella I of Castile (1451–1504; ruled 1474–1504). The marriage was intended to forge an alliance between England and Spain, the most powerful kingdom in Europe at the time. Upon the death of Henry VII on April 21, 1509, Henry VIII took the throne of a peaceful kingdom. He married Catherine of Aragon on June 11, and thirteen days later they were crowned at Westminster Abbey. He enthusiastically remarked to his father-in-law that he loved Catherine so much that if he were single he would still choose her over other women.

Henry and Catherine remained happily married until 1527, but they had not had a male heir, despite the queen's numerous pregnancies. Only a daughter, Mary (1516–1568; ruled as Mary I, 1553–58), lived more than a few days. At that time the Salic Law prohibited a woman from serving as a monarch, so the king needed a son if he wanted to retain the Tudor family's hold on the throne. During this period Henry was devoted to the Roman Catholic Church (then the only Christian religion in Europe) and the pope. He joined the Holy League, an alliance headed by Pope Julius II (1443–1513; reigned 1503–13), which sought to prevent the French from acquiring territory in Italy. In 1513 Henry invaded northern France and personally commanded English troops at the famous Battle of the Spurs near the town of Thérouanne. The battle was given this name because of the speed with which the French drove their horses into retreat. England then acquired control of Thérouanne and another town, Tournai. Henry was not consulted when the treaty was signed, however, and he benefited less than he had expected. As a result he dismissed his chief ministers, who had been carried over from his father's reign. He gave control of the government to Thomas Wolsey (c. 1475–1530), a churchman who was alsolord chancellor (head government official), archbishop (head of a church district) of York, and a cardinal (a church official ranking directly below the pope). Henry also supported the Catholic Church against the reform efforts of the German priest Martin Luther (1483–1546; see entry) who, in 1517, initiated the movement that became the Protestant Reformation. When Henry wrote The Defense of the Seven Sacraments, the pope expressed his appreciation by giving him the title "Defender of the Faith."

Seeks divorce, brings Reformation

By 1527 it had become apparent that Catherine would bear no more children, and Henry became concerned about who would succeed him as king. Determined to continue the Tudor dynasty, he did not believe the English people would accept his daughter Mary, his only heir, as their monarch. Henry thus began to seek a divorce from Catherine so he could marry a younger woman who might give him a son. At about that time he fell in love with Anne Boleyn (c. 1507–1536), a lady-in-waiting (personal attendant) at Catherine's court, and he wanted to make her his wife. Henry mistakenly believed that it was a woman's fault if she did not bear a male child.

Henry and Wolsey appealed to Pope Clement VII (1478–1534; reigned 1523–34) for an annulment (declaration that a marriage is invalid) and permission for the king remarry. Under ordinary circumstances the pope would have granted such a request: Renaissance popes engaged extensively in politics, and Henry had gained the favor of the papacy (office of the pope). But Catherine opposed the divorce, as did her nephew, Charles V (1500–1558; see entry), king of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor. The pope did not feel that he could oppose Charles on the divorce since emperor's troops had sacked (robbed and burned) Rome, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, in 1527, and Clement wanted Charles's support in other political matters. In mid-1529 the pope did arrange to have the divorce tried by Wolsey and Lorenzo Campeggio (1474–1539), an Italian cardinal, in London. In the end, the case was moved back to Rome and no verdict was reached. As a result, the irate king dismissed Wolsey and summoned what came to be known as the Reformation Parliament (ruling body of Great Britain). Wolsey was allowed to retain his position as archbishop of York, but he was forbidden to meddle in politics. When he was found to be corresponding with the French, he was summoned to London. Wolsey probably would have been executed had he not died a natural death in 1530.

For several years the king and Parliament were content with measures that destroyed the independence of the Catholic Church in England. For instance, the Conditional Restraint of Annates, which was enacted in 1532, put financial pressure on the papacy. By the beginning of 1533 Henry had a new chief minister, Thomas Cromwell (c. 1485–1540), and a new archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556). Cromwell suggested that England should break ties with the Roman Catholic Church so that the archbishop rather than the pope could grant the divorce. Cranmer was eager to assist. So in January 1533 Henry married Anne Boleyn, even though he was still married to Catherine. By that time Anne was pregnant, and her pregnancy was causing considerable controversy at court. A few months later Parliament passed the famous Act in Restraint of Appeals, which said that no judicial decisions made in England could be appealed in Rome. In fact, the measure went even further by stating that the papacy had no jurisdiction in England. The following May, Cranmer granted Henry's divorce from Catherine and approved the marriage to Anne. In September, Anne bore Henry's second daughter, Elizabeth (1533–1603; ruled as Elizabeth I, 1558–1603).

The Protestant Reformation in England thus sprang from political manipulation and was imposed by the government. Elsewhere in Europe, reform was achieved through protest movements staged by the people, who demanded religious freedom through changes in their governments. The English Parliament continued to determine the course of religion, passing acts that named Henry VIII the Supreme Head of the Church, cut off payments to the papacy, regulated doctrine (church teachings), and ordered dismantling of monasteries (houses for male members of Catholic religious orders) and convents (houses for female members of Catholic religious orders) in the kingdom. Many people regretted these actions, some of which forbade the worship of popular saints and ordered the destruction of religious images. Reform was welcomed by others who believed the Catholic Church had become corrupt.

Henry Closes Monasteries

One of the most important events of Henry VIII's reign was the closing of monasteries. At the beginning of the Tudor era the religious houses owned as much as one-fourth of all land in England. These estates had been given or bequeathed (granted in wills) to monks by religiously devout men and women in exchange for prayers for their souls after they died. Although the monasteries were reported to be corrupt, many historians believe Parliament used this as an excuse to order the smaller houses closed in 1536. Residents were allowed to transfer to larger houses that remained open or to renounce (refuse to obey) their vows. Most chose to renounce their vows. The great abbeys (churches connected with monasteries) were suppressed one by one in the next few years. A second statute, passed in 1540, legalized these closures and mandated the seizing of all remaining property. Former monastic possessions were managed by a new financial bureau, the Court of Augmentations. The court paid small pensions (financial allowances for retired people) to the former monks and nuns, and larger ones to the former abbots and priors (heads of monasteries) who had cooperated in the closing of their houses. By the time of Henry VIII's death in 1547, most of the monastic land had been sold to noblemen and members of the gentry. These people would thus profit from the continuation of the Reformation.

The loss of the monasteries was felt in various ways. Earlier they had been great centers of learning and the arts, but now the great monastic libraries were divided and sent to other locations. Some collections remained in cathedrals that had earlier been associated with monasteries, like Canterbury and Dudiam, and others were acquired by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge or by private collectors. Much of the wealth seized from the religious houses was spent on warfare.

Beheads two wives

In 1536 Henry came to believe that Anne Boleyn had not been faithful to him. She was charged with adultery (having a sexual relationship outside of marriage) and beheaded at the Tower of London (a prison for royalty and the nobility). Henry then married his third wife, Jane Seymour (c. 1509–1537), who succeeded in giving him a male heir, Edward (1537–1553; ruled as Edward VI, 1547–53), in 1537. She died a few months later from complications of childbirth. The grief-stricken king remained single until 1540, when Cromwell persuaded him to marry Anne of Cleves(1515–1557), the sister of a minor ruler of Germany. The goal was to forge a Protestant alliance that could be useful if the papacy and the Catholic states of Europe decided to make war on England. One sight of Anne, however, convinced Henry he had been deceived by reports about her attractive appearance and by a flattering portrait of her that he had commissioned. Shortly after Cranmer performed the marriage ceremony he began to arrange a divorce.

In 1540 Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard (c. 1520–1542), who was Anne Boleyn's cousin and who shared Anne's fate. Catherine was charged with adultery and beheaded in 1542. Neither she nor the king's last wife, Catherine Parr (1512–1548), bore him children. At one time or another both of his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, had been declared illegitimate (born out of wedlock). Shortly before his death, however, Henry drafted a will stating that the throne might pass in the normal order to all of his children, Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth. When Henry died in 1547 Edward was proclaimed King Edward VI, although he was only nine years old. Henry's wives Anne of Cleves and Catherine of Parr both outlived him.

Following the break with the Catholic Church, Henry and his advisers grew more and more concerned about the Catholic countries—primarily Spain and France—on the continent of Europe. They feared that Catholic nations would form an alliance and declare war on England in an effort to eliminate both the king and his Protestant church. Henry's government seized vast sums of money from the Catholic Church, especially the dissolved religious houses, but there were still not enough funds to meet military expenses. Taxation by the Parliament reached new heights in the 1540s, and expenditures on the navy and new fortifications were unprecedented. A second invasion of France in 1543, coupled with a campaign against Scotland, was costly but brought no real benefits.

Supports Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance reached England during the early years of Henry's reign, and he became the true Renaissance prince. Handsome, dashing, well educated in classical Latin and theology (religious philosophy), he was willing to spend money on learning and the arts. Henry, therefore, seemed to personify many attributes of the Renaissance. In 1520 great pageantry, which was characteristic of the most prominent Renaissance courts, adorned the meeting between Henry and Francis I (1494–1547; see entry), the Renaissance king of France, at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in France. The great humanist Thomas More (1478–1535; see entry) served as his lord chancellor (chief secretary) in the 1530s. (Henry had More beheaded when he would not acknowledge the king's supremacy over the pope.) The German artist Hans Holbein (c.1497–1543; see accompanying box) was Henry's court painter, and the English scholar Thomas Elyot (c. 1490–1546) was one of his secretaries. The Renaissance palace at Hampton Court, originally built by Thomas Wolsey, was taken over by Henry after Wolsey's fall and was the scene of many splendid entertainments. Saint Paul's School was founded early in Henry's reign by John Colet (c. 1466–1519), the learned dean (head) of Saint Paul's Cathedral. It was the first grammar school to provide rigorous instruction in the classical languages. The Latin grammar written for Saint Paul's by William Lily was the first text of classical Latin (the language used by ancient Romans). Elyot's dictionary (1538) was the first to provide English equivalents for all the words in the classical Latin vocabulary.

Hans Holbein, Court Painter

The German painter Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497–1543) was one of the best-known portraitists of the northern Renaissance. He still ranks among the great portrait painters in European art history. He is particularly famous as court painter for King Henry VIII. He painted portraits of Henry; two of the king's wives, Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves; and Princess Christina of Denmark, to whom Henry unsuccessfully proposed. Holbein also did portrait paintings, drawings, and miniatures of various members of the court, including the French ambassador and his house guest, the Bishop of Lavour. Painted in 1533 and titled The Ambassadors, the double portrait includes the haunting image of a skull that serves as a contrast to youth, intellect, and good health. Other portrait subjects were the humanist Thomas More and young German merchants of the Hansa (trading organization) headquarters, or "Steelyard," in London.

Holbein's portraits were cherished by their owners. Yet before the advent of color photography in the twentieth century, when copies of his works were reproduced, he was relatively unknown. Holbein was not honored in Germany primarily because he moved first to Switzerland and later to England. Beginning in the twentieth century, however, exhibitions of the painter's works were held in Europe and the United States.

Less attractive features began to surface during the second half of Henry's reign. He proved to have limited intellectual abilities, and he was unwilling to give sufficient attention to the details of government. He was often unfaithful to his closest friends, even ordering the executions of two wives and two of his ministers. In his last years he did remain loyal to Catherine Parr and Thomas Cranmer, both of whom were accused of holding extreme religious views. In spite of his shortcomings, Henry was a popular king. Even at the end of his life, when he had become ill, obese, and tyrannical, he commanded the affection and respect of the English people.