 England’s break with the RCC
was not caused by religious
reformers but by King Henry
VIII for political reasons
 Henry wasn’t anti-Catholic
 given the title “Defender of the
Faith” by Pope Leo X in 1521 for
his writings denouncing Luther
 So why did he break with Rome?
It all started in 1527 when…
 18 years of marriage to Catherine of Aragon (Spanish)
produced one child, a girl, named Mary Tudor (Tudor
was Henry’s family name)
 Henry wanted a male heir – his wife was too old – here
comes Anne Boleyn, young & attractive, she told him
she could give him a son, BUT….get rid of your wife 1st
 PROBLEM: Catholic law does not permit divorces
 Henry asked Pope Clement VII to annul (cancel) the
marriage, the pope refused
 WHY?: He did not want to offend Catherine’s nephew,
Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor
 Act of Supremacy (1534): made Henry “the only
supreme head on Earth of the Church of England”
 Catholics refusing the act were executed for treason
 Henry’s friend, Sir Thomas More (Utopia) refused & was
beheaded – later martyred & canonized (declared a saint)
 repealed in 1554 by his daughter, Queen Mary, a Catholic
 Thomas Cranmer, the new archbishop, annulled the
kings’ marriage,
 married Henry to Anne & she gave him another daughter,
Elizabeth (what Henry didn’t want in the first place)
 Henry does get a son, Edward, by Jane Seymour
Catherine of Aragon
Anne Boleyn
Anne of Cleves
Catherine Howard
Jane Seymour
Catherine Parr
King Henry the Eighth,
to six wives he was wedded:
one died,
one survived,
two divorced,
two beheaded.
 1536 -1540: monasteries & convents were
found to be centers of immorality
 Henry closed them & confiscated the land & wealth
(almost 1/3 of England)
 to gain support for the new
Anglican Church, he gave lands
nobles to gain their loyalty
 Henry wasn’t a religious radical
to
 he rejected most Protestant doctrine
 he kept most Catholic forms of worship Canterbury Cathedral
Henry didn’t want to create a new religion
(or church), he just wanted to get rid of a wife.
 Henry died in 1547 = his 10-
year-old son becomes Edward
VI of England
 under Edward (a Protestant),
Parliament passed new laws to
bring Protestant reforms to
England
 Archbishop Cranmer drew up
the Book of Common Prayer
 imposed moderate forms of
Protestant service
 still kept many Catholic doctrines
 aka – The Nine Days’ Queen
 ruled from July 10-19, 1553
 great-granddaughter of Henry VIII by
his younger daughter Mary, Jane was
a first-cousin-once-removed of
Edward VI
 was left crown in Edward’s will (he
didn’t want it to go to his half-sister,
Mary, who was Catholic
 She became a prisoner when the
Privy Council decided to change sides
and proclaim Mary, Queen Mary I
 executed for treason on Feb 12, 1554
 Edward died in 1553 at 15
 his older, half-sister, Mary,
became Queen Mary I of
England
 after the execution of Jane
 a staunch Catholic, she
returned England to the
Catholic faith
 executed 100s of
Protestants who would not
convert earning her the
nickname “Bloody Mary”
 Mary died in 1558 at 42
 her half-sister, Elizabeth,
became Queen Elizabeth I of
England at the age of 25
 ruled for 44 years, 127 days
 patron of the arts
 Elizabethan Settlements:
reforms seen as a
compromise between
Catholic & Protestant
practices
 her efforts restored unity to
England
 Church of England (Anglican Church) preserved





much Catholic ceremony & ritual
kept the hierarchy of bishops & archbishops
reaffirmed the monarch was the head of the church
restored the Book of Common Prayer
accepted moderate Protestant doctrine
allowed English to replace Latin in church services
 led by Pope Paul III
 wanted to revive the moral authority of the RCC &
stop the spread of Protestantism
 Council of Trent (1545): reaffirmed traditional Catholic
views
1) salvation comes through faith AND good works
2) the Bible is not the only source of religious truth
 to end abuses in the RCC
1) stiff penalties for worldliness & corruption among clergy
2) created schools to better educated the clergy = to
properly challenge Protestant teachings
 a Church court set up during the Middle Ages
 used secret testimony, torture, & execution to root out
heresy
Hanging to Secure a Confession
The Rack
 list of works viewed as
too immoral or irreligious
for Catholics to read –
included books by
Luther & Calvin
 1540: new religious order was




established by Pope Paul III
a.k.a. – the Jesuits
founded by Ignatius of Loyola
purpose was to combat heresy
& spread the Catholic faith
The Program:
 spiritual & moral discipline
 rigorous religious training
Approving of Bylaw of Society of
 absolute obedience to the RCC Jesus, fresco shows Ignatius
receiving the papal bull,
 Jesuits began a crusade to
defend & spread Catholicism Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae
from, Pope Paul III.
throughout the world
burning at the stake
 both Catholics & Protestants
were intolerant – killing each
other
 each considered the other
heretics
 witch hunts fostered suspicion
among neighbors & led to
persecution & deaths of
innocent people
waterboarding
 Malleus Malificarum (1486)
 published by two Dominicans
 the authoritative book on witches
 seen as an “agents of the devil” – usually women
 1450 -1750: >10,000 women & men died
 WHY?
 most people were superstitious – saw a link between
magic & heresy
 look to scapegoats to blame their problems on
 the accused were often social outcasts (i.e. – beggars,
poor widows, midwives, herbalists)
 most died in the German states, Switzerland, & France
 but don’t forget the Salem Witch Trials in MA (1692)
execution of a witch by pressing
flogging &
disembowelment
burning, tearing of
flesh by dogs, &
the wheel
tied & suspended
above a fire
hanging to prolong
the suffering
breaking with
the wheel
 Spain expelled Jews in 1492
 Luther hoped Jews would
convert, when they didn’t, he
called for them to be
expelled & for synagogues
& books to be burned
 German princes expelled
Jews & other were put in
ghettos & forced to wear
yellow badges if they
traveled outside the ghetto
(sound familiar?)
Jews expelled from Spain on
June 30, 1492. Most died before
finding a new home.
Religious:
 the founding of Protestant churches
 launching of the Catholic Reformation
 strengthening of the Inquisition
 religious wars spread through Europe (Thirty Years’ War)
 increased anti-Semitism
Political:
 weakening of the Holy Roman emperor
 Peasants’ Revolt of 1524