Henry VIII Divorcing Catherine and Becoming Head of the Church of England

Was Henry VIII justified in divorcing Catherine and making himself head of the Church of England?

Henry VIII was the king of England during the time of 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry had eight wives during his lifetime and split the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. Henry married his brother’s widow soon after his father died, which was forbidden under Catholic law. In 1533, Henry and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, were divorced. Henry believed that his marriage with Catherine was cursed, and he also became smitten with another lady by the name of Anne Boleyn. Because the Church of England was not agreeing to what Henry wanted and would not annul his marriage with Catherine, Henry made himself head of the Church of England. Henry was justified in divorcing Catherine but was not justified in making himself head of the Church of England. (Letters from Anne, 1526)

Henry and Catherine of Aragon were married on June 11, 1509. Their coronation took place, “The following day being a Sunday, and also Midsummer's Day, the noble prince with his queen left the palace for Westminster Abbey at the appointed hour.” “His grace and the queen were anointed and crowned by the archbishop of Canterbury in the presence of other prelates of the realm and the

nobility and a large number of civic dignitaries.” Henry VIII and Catherine were happy for a while. Catherine bore six children, but only one of them survived, and this child was a daughter named Mary. Catherine and Henry were married for about twenty years before he divorced her in 1533 (Hall, 1509.)

If Henry was truly convinced that his marriage with Catherine was cursed, then his divorce with her was justified, but doing it in secret, however; was not. Henry could be married to whomever he wanted to be married to. Catherine was not able to bear a male heir, and because of this and emotional differences, the pair separated. Henry sent Catherine to a castle. He became infatuated with Anne Boleyn. Henry met Anne because Anne was invited to serve at court as lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon. Anne wrote her first letter to Henry in 1526, when Henry was still married to Catherine (Cavendish). If he did not want to be married to Catherine of Aragon anymore, then he should not have to be.

Henry VIII wanted to be the head of the Church of England because the Church was not agreeing with Henry. The Act of Supremacy, a Parliamentary act under King Henry VII written in 1534, “gave legal sanction to Henry's assumption of those clerical powers.” Henry was in charge of Parliament and therefore was able to produce the Act of Supremacy. He signed this Act of Supremacy because the Pope would not annul his marriage. Henry used his selfish reasons for becoming head of the Church of England and forever changing the church. He caused the Church of England to separate from the Roman Catholic Church. (Koeller, 2005)

Henry did not have any right to become the head of the Catholic Church. Selfish reasons were all that led him to do this. Henry married his deceased brother’s wife, and got special permission to do so, which forbidden under Catholic law. Henry did not have to stay married to Catherine, but he also did not have to become the head of the Church in order to leave her. He was justified in divorcing Catherine, but not in becoming the head of the Church.

Works Cited:

Hall, E. (n.d.). 1509, the coronations of henry viii and katherine of aragon. Retrieved from

http://englishhistory.net/tudor/h8crown.html

Koeller, . (2005). The act of supremacy. Retrieved from http://www.thenagain.info/Classes/Sources/ActSupremacy.html

Letters from anne boleyn to king henry viii. (1526). Retrieved from http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter6.html

Cavendish. (n.d.). The romance between anne boleyn and henry percy. Retrieved from http://englishhistory.net/tudor/ab-percy.html

Image Source:

(2009, December 20). Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mademoiselleboleyn/4199880355/

Notes on Elizabethan Times

1. It was a miracle Elizabeth made it alive to be the Queen in 1558.
2. Elizabeth was 2 when her mother died.
3. Had to persuade everyone that she was innocent
4. Living with guardian when the new husband started to create rumors that he had the right ot marry her or she was pregnant at age 14
5. 19 yr. old: faced danger
6. 25 yr olds - came into inheritance with high hopes
7. Celebrations at her coronation were designed to show her off
8. Did everything women in 16th century weren't suppose to do
9. Loved being adored
10. Sergeant father - William Cecil
• Had to remind Elizabeth that she needed a husband
• If he pushed Elizabeth, she might marry Robert Dudley, Cecil's rival
11. Would have been horrible for Elizabeth to leave her hair down because she had raved about her virginity
12. Dudley's wife was found dead at the bottom of a staircase
13. 1563 - Elizabeth gave up on the possibility of marrying Robert Dudley
• She was going to give him up to Mary Stewart, Queen of the Scots

Mary Queen of Scots

14. Father is James V
15. Born in 1542
16. A Stewart and a Tudor
17. Did not want Elizabeth to tell her what to do
18. Knew a baby would be born even though she had a drunk nitwit husband
19. Gave birth to James VI of Scotland
20. March 9, 1567 = 1567 Bothwell supervised killing Dudley after gunpowder blew up his house
21. Dudley's murder was a turning point in Mary's life
22. Bothwell was there to give Mary help, he had power over Mary
23. Bothwell wanted to take Mary to his castle
24. Mary married him to most of the country's horror - this is where she lost her control
25. Bothwell abandoned Mary when she faced rebel armies
26. Renounced her title because she was considered a prostitute and baby James got the throne
27. Mary was 25 during this time
28. It had been 10 months of imprisonment when Mary made a get-a-way
29. Mary's appearance threw Elizabeth into turmoil, Liz was 35 - was Mary her heir?
30. Elizabeth wore Mary's stolen pearls, stolen by Mary's enemies
31. It was planned for Mary's marriage to Bothwell be annulled and marry Thomas Howard, duke of Norford
32. The plot collapsed
33. Elizabeth will go on to fight the Spanish.
34. Spain is like a puppet, the Pope pulls its strings.
35. The Pope can't raise a fighting force for the English.
36. The English will go on to win the battle.

Three Part DBQ

Part I: Historical Background on the War of the Roses

Henry V (ruled 1413-1422)

Henry V ruled from 1413-1422 and was a member of the House of Lancaster. He was crowned at the age of 26 and spent most of his reign campaigning in France. Henry left the crown to his infant son to Henry VI.

Henry VI (ruled 1422-1461)

Henry VI was the son of King Henry V. He was crowned king of both England and France when he was an infant. He suffered illness and then the throne was take up by Richard, duke of York.

Edward IV (ruled 1461-1470)

Edward was proclaimed King in 1461. Edward had Henry VI executed. Both of his sons were murdered in the Tower of London. He fought alongside his father his father at the Battle of Ludford.

Edward V (ruled 1483)

Edward V was 12 years old when his father died in 1483. Edward was declared illegitimate by Parliament because the marriage of his father to his mother was declared illegal. He lived until he was 13 years old.

Richard III (ruled 1483-1485)

Richard III is the younger brother of Edward IV. He became duke of Gloucester at age nine. He was killed by Henry VIII at the battle of Bosworth field.

Henry VII (ruled 1485-1509)

Crowned king in 1485, Henry was the first ruler from the Tudor Line. He became head of the House of Lancaster. He defeated the Yorkist army at the Battle of Bosworth where Richard II was killed.

Part II: Richard III: Fact and Fiction

Why did Shakespeare portray Richard III the way he did?

Shakespeare portrayed Richard with a hunchback to seem mean and old. Richard was also represented by Tudor writers with a hunchback. Richard committed many horrible crimes on his way to receiving the crown, and Shakespeare shows how nasty he really was.

With regard to the history of Richard III, what is meant in distinction between "Traditionalist" or "Revisionist" source? What is meant between "Lancastrian" and "Ricardian"?

Traditionalist: A traditionalist is someone who adheres to authority. A traditionalist source has information about religious truth derived from divine revelation and received by traditional instruction. In regards to Richard III, a traditionalist kept the same descriptions of Richard and talked about him in the same way. Shakespeare's interpretation of Richard III is a traditional source.

Traditionalist. (2009). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/traditionalist

Revisionist: A revisionist source reevaluates and restates the past based on new standards. A person who is a revisionist advocates doctrines, theories, or practices from an established authority of doctrines. In regard to Richard III, a revisionist source is one that described Richard in new ways with different descriptions. It is an orthodox view on what happens in history.

revisionist. (2009). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/revisionist

Lancastrian: A Lancastrian source is one that pertains to the family of Lancaster. The House of Lancaster was not in favor of Richard III and spoke about him in a harsh way.

House of york. (201-). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_York

Ricardian: A Ricardian source is one that defends Richard III and tries to disprove previously made descriptions and assumptions about him.

Lancastrian or Ricardian?

The first passage is Lancastrian. Part of the passage such as this: "This doone, Richerd, whose mynde partly was enflamyd with desire of usurping the kyngdom, partly was trubblyd by guyltynes of intent to commyt so haynous wickednes (for a guiltie conscience causeth thoffendor to have dew punishment alway in imagination before his eyes)" describes Richard with predefined explanations.

The second passage is Ricardian because Horace Walpole is describing how ridiculous descriptions of Richard III were. Walpole begins his writing with "With regard to the person of Richard, it appears to have been as much misrepresented as his actions." He continued to explain interpretations of Richard. Walpole also writes, "What feature in this portrait gives any idea of a monster? Or who can believe that an eye-witness, and so minute a painter, would have mentioned nothing but the inequality of the shoulders, if Richard's form had been a compound of ugliness? Could a Yorkist have drawn a less disgusting representation?" Walpole is trying to explain a different view on Richard III.

Part III: The Battle of Bosworth Field

Richard III

(in the voice of Richard, as if he were still alive)

I am the son of Richard

Duke of York

And the son of Cecilly,

Duchess of York[1]

I am the only king from the north,

The last of the Plantagenets.

And the last king of England

To die in battle.[2]

I’m thought to be,

By others, not by me,

That I am a hunchback, a deceitful man

And that I claim power wherever I can

It is also said that my left shoulder

is higher than my right,

My back is crooked,

And I am quite an odd height.[3]

My appearance is inaccurate

As are some of my actions

But aside from all that,

I would soon be in a bloody battle against Henry Tudor, that old rat.[4]

My enemy was ashore

August 11, 1485

And it would soon be time

For me to fight for my life[5]

It was then the eighteenth of August

And Henry Tudor reached Litchfield

It was there where he was welcomed

And so I decided, would I take a hard stand or would I yield?

I sent a plea for help

And York city received it

But only a small contribution of eight men was sent,

so my army would soon take a hard hit[6]

I was 32 years old

And fighting the hardest battle of my life

And I soon found out that it would be the last battle

That I would ever fight.[7]

[1] Wikimedia Commons. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/WarRosesFamilyTree.png>.

[2] "The Battle of Bosworth." Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.richard111.com/The Battle of Bosworth Page.htm>.

[3] "Richard III." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bookcase/more/moretext.html>.

[4] "Richard III Society--Horace Walpole, Historic Doubts." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bookcase/walpole/walpole4.html>.

[5] "Chronological Outline of Events." Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.richard111.com/chronological_outline_of_events.htm>.

[6] "Chronological Outline of Events." Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.richard111.com/chronological_outline_of_events.htm>.

[7] "The Battle of Bosworth." Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.richard111.com/The Battle of Bosworth Page.htm>.

Henry Tudor

I am the first Tudor king of England.

And along with only Richard III,

A surviving heir to the house of Plantagenet[1]

My father is Edmund Tudor,

Earl of Richmond,

And my mother Margaret Beaufort.[2]

I would rather have

Peace than war,

But in regards to war,

I have been a winner.[3]

The seventh of August

Is when I anchored in the first inlet

And I first took over

Dale Castle

I did not want anyone

To support Richard III

For no man under the sun

In his right might would.[4]

I fought against Richard

At the Battle of Bosworth Field

Where he was killed

And I lived on

The crown was then

Delivered to me

And we rode to Leister

I was as happy as I could be

Richard was laid to rest

In a place called Newark

And It became obvious

That he just couldn’t face the test

The fighting was brought to an end

Things were looking better

And making we could make an amend.[5]

I became king

And was told by many

That I was worthy

To be a leader

When the war was over,

I found my bride,

Elizabeth

And so the Yorks and Tudors were side by side[6]

[1] "Tudor Monarchs - Henry VII, One." EnglishHistory.net. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/henry7.html>.

[2] Wikimedia Commons. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/WarRosesFamilyTree.png>.

[3] "Primary Sources: The Obituary of King Henry VII, 1509." EnglishHistory.net. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://englishhistory.net/tudor/hobit.html>.

[4] "Chronological Outline of Events." Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.richard111.com/chronological_outline_of_events.htm>.

[5] "Richard III Society- Ballad of Bosworth, Text." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bosworth/ballad2.html>.

[6] Wikimedia Commons. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/WarRosesFamilyTree.png>.