Henry VIII & his reign

Министерство образования и науки РФ 
Федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное учреждение высшего профессионального образования 
Ульяновский государственный университет 
Факультет лингвистики и международного сотрудничества 
Кафедра английской лингвистики и перевода 
 
 
 

Реферат

Henry VIII & his reign 
 

Выполнила: 
студентка 1-ого курса 
группы Л-О-11/1 
Рейимова 
Наргиза Эркиновна 
Научный руководитель: 
старший преподаватель кафедры 
лингвострановедения и 
коммуникации 
Гилазива 
Эльвира Наилевна 
 

Ульяновск

2011 

                                       

                                        Contents:

Introduction

1. Henry VIII of England

2. Early years 1491-1509

3. Early reign 1509-1525

4. Government and finances under Henry

5. Reformation

6. Henry VIII's foreign policy

7. Dissolving the monasteries

8. King’s great matters: 1525-1533

9. Separation from Rome 1533-1540

10. Final years 1540-1547

11. Death and succession

12. Public image and memory

13. Conclusion

14. Bibliographic list 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Henry VIII has been a subject of interest and study for centuries. One of Britain's most powerful rulers, he came to the throne at eighteen and left it at fifty-six. He married six times and left three children, only one of whom was considered his legitimate heir at the time of Henry's death.

After the pervading gloom of Henry Tudor’s last years, Henry VIII came to the throne on the crest of a wave of popularity, for this handsome, beardless youth of seventeen embodied a new age and seemed the antithesis of his father. He was tall and well proportioned, had a fair complexion and auburn hair. He was athletic, riding well, accurate in his marksmanship and determined to shine in jousts.

He had received an enviable general education, understanding Latin easily, speaking French fluently. The boy with profound interests in theological questions and in the problems of the scholarship which worried his friend Erasmus, and possessing a fair for music-making of all kinds.

He was a Renaissance prince to his fingertips, who was determined to make his court a centre for the arts and humane studies.  

He dressed superbly and by natural grace commanded the stage with an easy authority. There was no question that he was a strong personality who would leave an indelible mark on his country. ‘For the future the whole worlds will talk of him’, commented a Venetian in London. Machiavelli (who never met him) described Henry by repute as ‘rich, ferocious and greedy for glory. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as being a claimant to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII.

Besides his six marriages, Henry VIII is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. Henry's struggles with Rome led to the separation of the Church of England from papal authority, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and establishing himself as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Yet he remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings, even after his excommunication from the Catholic Church. Henry oversaw the legal union of England and Wales with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–42.

Henry was an attractive and charismatic man in his prime, educated and accomplished. He was an author and a composer. He ruled with absolute power. His desire to provide England with a male heir—which stemmed partly from personal vanity and partly because he believed a daughter would be unable to consolidate the Tudor Dynasty and the fragile peace that existed following the Wars of the Roses[5]—led to the two things that Henry is remembered for: his wives, and the English Reformation that made England a mostly Protestant nation. In later life he became morbidly obese and his health suffered; his public image is frequently depicted as one of a lustful, egotistical, harsh, and insecure king.

Early years 1491-1509

Born at Greenwich Palace, Henry VIII was the third child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Of the young Henry's six siblings, only three – Arthur, Prince of Wales; Margaret; and Mary – survived infancy. In 1493, at the age of two, Henry was appointed Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. In 1494, he was made Duke of York.

He was subsequently appointed Earl Marshal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Henry VIII was spoilt by his doting grandmother and mother together with the attendants in his retinue. He was considered a handsome and precocious toddler who was noted for his energy and his temper. His grandmother, Margaret Beaufort, supervised his early education. Henry was taught by first-rate tutors, becoming fluent in Latin, French, and Spanish. As it was expected that the throne would pass to Prince Arthur, Henry's older brother, Henry was prepared for a clerical career. Elizabeth of York, his mother, died when Henry was aged 11. 

Early reign 1509-1525

Two days after his coronation, he arrested his father's two most unpopular ministers, Sir Richard Empsonand Edmund Dudley (grandfather of Henry's daughter Elizabeth's favourite courtier, Robert Dudley). They were charged with high treason and were executed in 1510. This was to become Henry's primary tactic for dealing with those who stood in his way, as believed by historians such as Crofton. Henry also returned to the public some of the money supposedly extorted by the two ministers.

His executors made restitution of great sums of money, to many persons taken against good conscience to the said king's use, by the forenamed Empson and Dudley.

Henry cultivated the image of a Renaissance Man and his court was a centre of scholarly and artistic innovation and glamorous excess, epitomised by the Field of the Cloth of Gold. He was an accomplished musician, author, and poet. His best known musical composition is "Pastime with Good Company" or "The Kynges Ballade". He was an avid gambler and dice player, and excelled at sports, especially jousting, hunting, and real tennis. He was known for his strong defence of conventional Christian piety. MeetingFrancis I on 7 June 1520 near Calais, he entertained the French king with a fortnight of lavish entertainment to establish a closer diplomatic relationship after the military conflicts of the previous decade.

Government and finances under Henry

Financially, the reign of Henry was a near-disaster. Although he inherited a prosperous economy (and further augmented his royal treasury by seizures of church lands), Henry's heavy spending and high taxes damaged the economy. For example, Henry expanded the Royal Navy from 5 to 53 ships. He loved palaces; he began with a dozen and died with fifty-five, in which he hung 2,000 tapestries. By comparison, his neighbour and nephew James V of Scotland had five palaces and 200 tapestries. He took pride in showing off his collection of weapons, which included exotic archery equipment, 2,250 pieces of land ordinance and 6,500 handguns. Henry began his reign with heavy reliance on advisors and ended with complete control. From 1514 to 1529,Thomas Wolsey (1473–1530), a Catholic cardinal, served as lord chancellor and practically controlled domestic and foreign policy for the young king. He negotiated the truce with France that was signalled by the dramatic display of amity on the Field of the Cloth of Gold (1520). He switched England back and forth as an ally of France and the Holy Roman Empire. Wolsey centralised the national government and extended the jurisdiction of the conciliar courts, particularly the Star Chamber. His use of forced loans to pay for foreign wars angered the rich, who were annoyed as well by his enormous wealth and ostentatious living. Wolsey disappointed the king when he failed to secure a quick divorce from Queen Catherine. The treasury was empty after years of extravagance; the peers and people were dissatisfied and Henry needed an entirely new approach; Wolsey had to be replaced. After 16 years at the top he lost power in 1529 and in 1530 was arrested on false charges of treason and died in custody. Wolsey's fall was a warning to the Pope and to the clergy of England of what might be expected for failure to comply with the king's wishes. Henry then took full control of his government, although at court numerous complex factions continued to try to ruin and destroy each other.

Elton (1962) argues there was a major Tudor revolution in government. While crediting Henry with intelligence and shrewdness, Elton finds that much of the positive action, especially the break with Rome, was the work of Thomas Cromwell and not the king. Elton sees Henry as competent, but too lazy to take direct control of affairs for any extended period; that is, the king was an opportunist who relied on others for most of his ideas and to do most of the work. Henry's marital adventures are part of Elton's chain of evidence; a man who marries six wives, Elton notes, is not someone who fully controls his own fate. Elton shows that Thomas Cromwell had conceived of a commonwealth of England that included popular participation through Parliament and that this was generally expressed in the preambles to legislation. Parliamentary consent did not mean that the king had yielded any of his authority; Henry VIII was a paternalistic ruler who did not hesitate to use his power. Popular "consent" was a means to augment rather than limit royal power.

Henry VIII's foreign policy

Henry VIII’s foreign policy primarily involvedFrance and the Habsburg Empire. Traditionally, Tudor foreign policy tried to steer a path of neutrality with both these states and initially Henry VIII’s foreign policy was no different. Henry knew that England did not have the ability to take on either state but that as a nation she could profit from extending the hand of friendship to both. This plan fell apart when it became plain that Henry wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Charles V would not contemplate any form of association with Henry VIII – as Catherine was his aunt. Charles believed that Henry VIII was depriving Catherine of all honour, something he was not willing to tolerate. However, Henry was astute enough to know that the position of Charles V in mainland Europe was such that he could not do anything about Catherine’s plight in England. Charles had far too much to think about with the Turks on the southeast of his empire to be able to help his aunt. However, he made clear his displeasure at the way Catherine had been treated. 

Francis I of France tried to take advantage of this breakdown between Henry and Charles. He gave tacit support to Henry’s call for the Pope to nullify his marriage to Catherine. As a result both men met in great splendour at Calais in October 1532, where Francis greetedAnne Boleyn as if she was queen. Francis planned to help Henry further. In October 1533, Francis was due to sign a treaty with Pope Clement VII, which Francis hoped would include some settlement to Henry’s problem. Francis was not being altruistic – he simply wanted to create a powerful bloc against the Habsburgs. Henry ended this try by Francis when he made it plain that he planned to resolve the issue by himself.   

Henry himself had to play a delicate diplomatic game. He knew with a degree of certainty that Francis was only ‘befriending’ him as part of an alliance against Charles V. The last thing Henry wanted was to become involved in a war between France and the Habsburgs – yet he did not want to antagonise Francis. The geographic distance between Vienna and England was sufficient to convince Henry that England was safe from Charles V. However, France was a different matter. When Francis made discreet overtures about marriage between his son and either Mary or Elizabeth, Henry failed to respond. He simply did not want to become embroiled in France politics. 

Francis and Charles concentrated on one another after the death of Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, in 1535. Both concentrated their efforts on who should succeed him – thus leaving Henry with a degree of freedom with regards to his foreign policy. He pursued his desired for policy of neutrality. English diplomats in France were told to keep relations with Francis “cold”. 

Henry could play this policy while Charles and Francis directed their foreign policies at one another. The one thing that Henry feared was an alliance between the two. Such an alliance seemed a distinct possibility by 1538. Charles and Francis met at Aigues Mortes in July 1538 in the presence of Pope Paul III. To Henry it appeared as if the major Catholic powers of Europe were pooling their power. On paper, Henry was in a weak position against such united powerful opponents and he tried to break up the Habsburg-Valois entente - he even offered himself for marriage to various French princesses but this came to nothing. In November 1538 Henry involved himself in negotiations for marriage to the niece of Charles V – but this too came to nothing. His position in a Catholic dominated Europe became even weaker when in December 1538 a papal order was dispatched supporting the deposing of Henry. The papal order called Henry “the most cruel and abominable tyrant”. This order made Henry fair game to any Catholic.  

In response to this threat – a threat Henry took very seriously – Henry did a great deal to develop the navy. In 1539, Marillac, the French ambassador in England, wrote of 120 naval ships being based in the mouth of the Thames and 30 in Portsmouth – a considerable increase on the five ships he inherited from Henry VII. Henry ordered the modernisation of all coastal defences on the south coast – much of the material needed for repairs came from nearby monasteries. 

One way that Henry countered this threat was to court the Lutheran princes of North Germany. On paper, they would not have been able to counter the military might of a combined French-Habsburg attack but they held a strategic position in Europe that could have inconvenienced the emperor. In January 1539, talks were held with the Schmalkaldic League but they got bogged down in theological arguments and came to nothing. 

In July 1539, Henry received the agreement of William of Cleves for his sister, Anne, to marry Henry. William was a Catholic in the same mould as Henry and needed an ally of some standing as his position in Europe was threatened by Roman Catholics loyal to the Pope – men such as Francis I and Charles V. On January 6th 1540, Henry married Anne at Greenwich. Francis had allowed Charles to march across his lands in December 1539 to facilitate the putting down of a rebellion in Ghent – the co-operation between the two was a clear worry to Henry. Charles put down the Ghent rebellion but it did not usher in an era of more co-operation between the two, much to the relief of Charles. 

Henry’s ability to maintain a degree of separation from Europe relied, to a great extent, on the fact the Charles and Francis were to all intents, enemies. Any reconciliation was invariably followed by conflict – and this meant that their attention was concentrated on themselves. The 1539 agreement between Charles and Francis was followed in July 1541 by war between the two. Henry could only benefit from this. In February 1543, Henry allied with Charles. They agreed on upholding ancient trade agreements and guaranteeing the other against invasion. They also agreed that there would be a major attack on France within two years. In particular, Henry wanted to gain Boulogne. Henry committed 5,000 troops to an attack on France. On September 14th 1544, Boulogne surrendered to the English and Henry seemed to be on the ascendancy with regards to his position with Francis. However, on September 18th, Charles deserted Henry and made his own peace arrangements with Francis.

 1545 was a year of crisis for Henry. Many expected a French attack and in July 1544 a French force landed at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight. The fleet also intended a landing at Seaford but disease put paid to this. The one saving grace for Henry was that Francis was not in a strong position and he sued for peace. He granted Henry Boulogne for eight years and agreed to pay Henry a pension of 95,000 crowns for the duration of Henry’s lifetime. 

Henry VIII's foreign policy

Henry VIII’s foreign policy primarily involvedFrance and the Habsburg Empire. Traditionally, Tudor foreign policy tried to steer a path of neutrality with both these states and initially Henry VIII’s foreign policy was no different. Henry knew that England did not have the ability to take on either state but that as a nation she could profit from extending the hand of friendship to both. This plan fell apart when it became plain that Henry wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Charles V would not contemplate any form of association with Henry VIII – as Catherine was his aunt. Charles believed that Henry VIII was depriving Catherine of all honour, something he was not willing to tolerate. However, Henry was astute enough to know that the position of Charles V in mainland Europe was such that he could not do anything about Catherine’s plight in England. Charles had far too much to think about with the Turks on the southeast of his empire to be able to help his aunt. However, he made clear his displeasure at the way Catherine had been treated.