AIM:
Jacob Schulman
AP Euro
October 19, 2006
Ms. Kim
Day 6: Henry VIII and the English Reformation
I. The English Reformation:
A. Reformation in England had both religious and economic causes
Divorce of King Henry VIII caused a complete break with Rome
B. Demands for church reform dated back to the 14th century
- Lollards had been driven underground, but ideas had survived
Stressed individual reading and interpretation of the Bible (only standard of Christian
faith); No value for sacraments and were anticlerical ; Insisted on the soul’s
responsibility to god
C. William Tyndale (English Humanist): Stimulated cries for reform
1. Visited Luther in 1524, began printing an English translation of the New Testament
2. Lollards represented the ideal of “a personal, scriptural, non-sacramental, lay
dominated religion”
D. 16th Century: English church was doing fineheld people’s loyalty, Christianity was
universal
- No substantial gulf existed b/w religion of the clergy and educated elite and broad mass
* The Reformation was stimulated by the king’s emotional life
E. 1527, Henry wanted his marriage to Catherine of Aragon to be annulledAnne Boleyn
- Pope Julius II eliminated all legal technicalities about Catherine’s union with Henry’s bro
- Henry petitioned Pope Clement VII for an annulment (Said no marriage to Catherine
existed)
- Clement couldn’t grant the annulmentJulius’ dispensation violated the law of God—
man may not marry his brother’s widow
- This would have proved Luther’s idea that popes substituted their own judgments for the
law of God
F. Henry decided to remove the English church from papal jurisdictionUsed Parliament to
secure the Reformation in England
- The Act for the Submission of the Clergy (1534): Required churchmen to submit to the
law of the king
- Supremacy Act (1534): Declared the king the supreme head of the Church in England
- Led to debate in the house of commonsSome opposed the king (John Fisher, bishop
of Rochester); Thomas More resigned (couldn’t accept the oath required)
G. Anne Boleyn failed to have a boyBeheaded in 1536
- His 3rd wife, Jane Seymour, gave him a boy, Edward
H. Between 1535-1539, under Thomas Cromwell (Chief minister), English monasteries were
dissolved (Ended 900 years of it)Was a loss of a valuable cultural force in England
I. Did people agree with the King’s decision?
- Many laypeople urged the king to spare the monasteries
- 1536- Popular opposition in the north led to religious changesPilgrimage of Gracehuge rebellionPilgrims accepted the “truce” but leaders were executed
- Major rebellions in East Anglia showed public opposition to the state-ordered changes
J. Motives combined personal, political, social and economic elementsHe retained some
traditional Catholic practices (celibacy, transubstantiation), but allowed Protestant
literature to circulate and for Protestant men to tutor his son
K. Nationalization of church + abolishment of monasteries = Chgs in gvt administration
- Monastic land became controlled by the CrownNeeded bureaucracy to manage it
- Cromwell reformed and centralized king’s household, council, Exchequer, secretary
1
- New dept’s of state were set upGreater economic efficiency
L. Edward VI (Henry’s Son): Strongly Protestant ideas had a significant impact on the religious
life of the country
- Book of Common Prayer (1549): Thomas Cranmer- In English, it included the Psalter, as
well as order for all services of the Church of England
M. Mary Tudor: Sharp move back to Catholicism (She was devoutly Catholic)
- Restored Roman CatholicismMarriage to Philip of Spain was unpopular and her
execution of Protestant peasants made her even more unpopular
N. Elizabeth: Raised ProtestantCountry was sharply divided
- Some wanted to keep Catholic ideas; Others wanted to get rid of them or “purify” the
Church (Called- “Puritans”)
- Elizabeth took a middle routeAccepted both (“Supreme Governor of the Church of
England, Etc.”)
- Elizabethan Settlement: Required outward conformity to the Church of England and
uniformity in all ceremoniesEveryone had to attend
- 1563- Thirty-Nine Articles: summary of the basic tenets of the Church of England
During Elizabeth, the Anglican church was moving towards Protestantism
- Services in English, no monasteries, clergy could marry; But bishops remained
church officials and services were fairly traditional
II. The Reformations Elsewhere:
A. The Establishment of the Church of Scotland:
1. Political authority was the decisive influence of reform (Weak monarchy, strong nobles)
2. Disagreement among Mary Queen of Scots whose allies opposed reform; but the
Scottish nobles supported it
3. John Know: Dominated the movement for reform in Scotland
- Set to work reforming the church (Had worked with Calvin in Geneva)
- 1560: Persuaded Scottish Parliament to create legislation ending papal authority
- Mass was abolishedCreated the Presbyterian Church of Scotland (presbyters or
“ministers” not bishops were governing it)
- Strictly Calvinist in doctrine, simple service, emphasis on preaching
- Book of Common Order: liturgical directory for the church
- Many members maintained close relations with English Puritans
B. Protestantism in Ireland:
1. Reformation added to the bitter antagonism of religion
2. People thought that the Irish were barbaric and they would have gotten rid of them if it
didn’t cost that much
3. 1536: On orders from London, Irish Parliament (landlords and people of the Pale [area
around Dublin]) approved English laws severing their church from Rome and making it
controlled by the English king
4. Church of England was established on English pattern and it was adopted
5. Most remained Roman Catholic thoughMonasteries were secularized; Catholic
property was sold and profits went to England
C. Lutheranism in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark:
1. Monarchy took the religious initiative
2. 1520: Swedish nobleman Gustavus Vasa led a revolt against DenmarkSweden
Independent
- Wittenberg educated Swede Olaus Petri translated the NT into Swedish and
organized the church along strictly Lutheran lines
3. Christian III, king of Denmark and Norway secularized church property and set up a
Lutheran church
4. Norway adopted Lutheranism as its state religion under Danish influence
2