A fellow historian sent me this image and I have been pondering about whether or not to use it on this blog for a while. The caption incites many questions: Did Henry only create a new church for the pupose of getting a divorce? Was he wholly responsible for Anne's death. Instead of weighing in myself, I want to hear your thoughts! Happy commenting!
I don't think he created the Church only for getting divorced. He would have been blind if he did not notice the financial benefits of a Church of England.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't "kill" Anne; she was judicially executed. There is a big difference.
ReplyDeleteBoth great points! It is a controversial statement and evokes many thoughts for me. I'll wait a few more days before sharing my own ideas!
ReplyDeletePeople sometimes forget that HVII was a truly believer and as most people from his time he was indeed superstitious. It is very likely that he thought the lack of a male heir to be a sign of a curse. And besides the financial benefits, as pointed by anonymous, it was important for him to have control of the church instead of giving all this power to popes that would shift sides according to their needs in opposition to England's needs.
ReplyDeleteMarcel,
DeleteI tend to agree that Henry recognized the financial advantages of a church with himself as the supreme head; it kept thousands of pounds in the King's pockets rather than being exported to the Papal coffers in Rome. However, to suggest that Henry truly believed his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was "cursed" "blighted" or frowned upon by God because of a verse in Leviticus is unreasonable. If he thought that this was the case, he never would have married Anne Boleyn. In the medieval mindset, (an Church orthodoxy)sexual intercourse created affinity between people; therefore because Henry had an affair with Mary Carey (nee Boleyn) the same familial bond existed between the King and Anne as he and Catherine.
But he recieved a Papal Dispensation to marry Anne. Retha Warnicke wrote about in her book.
DeleteHenry also applied for, and was granted, a Papal Dispensation to marry Catherine.
DeleteHenry broke with Rome to put aside Catherine so he could attempt to beget a male heir on another woman. That's the primary reason, along with the obvious benefits of seizing all that wealth from monasteries (which started even before the break). If we look at the Six Articles, or even the Ten Articles, we see that he favored many Catholic beliefs and parties. He also persecuted reformers who went too far, in his view. So, yes, the meme is basically right. One can add ''monks, give me your treasure'' but that's not as funny. ---Ewan Cummins
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