Henry VIII Revision notes
Accession of Henry VIII Young henry:
§ Henry VIII succeeded the throne at the age of 17. § The succession of a
§ It had been 7 years since his brother, Prince Arthur, died. In this time Henry youthful king, bursting
had time to prepare for his new role as King of England. with energy and
§ Henry VIII’s accession was welcomed as a breath of fresh air after the sinister determined to enjoy
atmosphere associated with the influence of Empson and Dudley in the final himself was welcomed
years of Henry VII’s reign. by the nobility
§ Henry had no experience in government or public affairs. § Atmosphere of court
§ Henry’s version of kingship differed from that of his father’s as he had a changed
dislike for the business of government and found reading state papers § Opportunity
tedious.
§ Henry could intervene suddenly in government, in the process of contradicting
decisions or actions which had already been taken.
The Legacy of Henry VII
§ Henry VIII had essentially a fourfold legacy from his father.
§ Money – it was believed Henry VII left around £300,000 upon his death.
§ Unpopular mechanisms for extracting money.
§ A peaceful foreign policy.
§ A conciliar form of government. This was where decisions were made through a council.
§ The money that Henry inherited would vanish as a result of paying for an aggressive foreign policy against France.
§ The conciliar form of government would disappear in the short term as the result of the emergence of Thomas
Wolsey as the focus of government.
§ The members of Henry VIII’s Council were able to dispose of others and establish themselves in power.
§ The key person in this process was Richard Fox, who assisted by Thomas Lovell and Richard Weston, secured the
arrest of Empson and Dudley.
§ Whilst Henry was not responsible for their arrest, he was responsible for their executions.
§ Henry not only distanced himself from his father’s regime, but he also ensured his own popularity amongst the
nobility and the victims of his father’s approach to taxation
Henrys personality:
§ Perceived a sound education his tutor was the poet John Skelton
§ Taught Latin and French
§ Extent versed in theology
§ Father may have intended him for a career in the Church
§ Before 1509 Henry had little in the way of political education
§ Enjoyed jousting and hunting
,What problems did Henry face on becoming king?
§ Marriage- soon solved by the marriage to Catherine of Aragon (Arthurs widow)
§ Tyranny of his father’s later years and the work of the Council Learned with its use of bonds and
recognisances
§ Empson and Dudley: Henry VII’ s most hated ‘’enforcers’’ – arrested and later executed
§ Oyer and Terminer: a commission set up to look into grievances against the late King’s government and
agents throughout the kingdom
To what extent did Henry VII follow different policies in the years 1509-1511
§ Henry had no political experience when he became king, rely on his father’s councillors
§ William Warham (archbishop of Canterbury and Lord chancellor)
§ Richard Fox (lord privy seal)
§ John de Vere (earl of oxford)
§ Thomas Howard (Earl of surrey and Lord treasurer)
§ Fox and Warham most important ; preferred policy of peace
1509-11
§ Henry wished to go to war
§ King was surrounded by his gentlemen of the privy chamber and other young courtiers; bored by the peace of
the last years of Henry VII and wanted military glory and adventure
What actually happened?
§ March 1510- peace treaty signed with France
§ The war party prevailed and in 1511 England went to war with France
§ Henry listened to advice of wife COA who wanted to promote her father’s interests
§ Ferdinand wanted war with France so he could take over the small kingdom of Navarre
§ The holy league: Spain, Venice against France
Successes of administration
§ Rapid and efficient
§ 1519 and 26 with the ordinance of Eltham, Wolsey proposed reform of the royal household as
a means of defeating political rivals and thereby ensuring his own political supremacy
§ Local officials responses more rapidly and efficiently to royal instruction
§ Proposed the reform of the royal household as a means of defeating rivals
§ Achieve victories without needing to reform the royal household with the Eltham ordinances
1926
§ Centralised government- made it more responsive to king’s demand. Appointed kings servants
or his own servants to local roles. Placed outsiders into local government to break up local
power
,Aims of Henry VIII’s government
Henry VIII Early Key aims
§ Dismantling the less popular aspects of his father’s legacy,
§ Establish his status among the European monarch through marriage
§ Re-establish the role of nobility
§ Establish himself as a warrior king with successes in battle
Henrys marriage to Catherine of Aragon:
§ Henry VIII, perhaps believing Catherine had been fairly untreated, anxious to conclude marriage as quickly as
possible.
§ This suited Henry’s councillors who wanted to deflect him from political matters so they could conduct conciliar
business as usual
§ Henry and Catherine married on the 11th June 1509
§ The marriage was initially successful on a personal level, but Catherine also exercised some influence over foreign
policy in the first few years
§ However he would repent the rapidity of his marriage who was 5 yrs. older than him, esp. when it was clear she
could never present him with a healthy male heir
Re-establishing the nobility:
§ Nobility had been frozen out of direct political influence by Henry VII
§ This changed with the accession of Henry VIII who shared the tastes and dominant military culture of the
aristocracy
§ The sons of the nobility, often partnered with Henry in sports and revels at the start of his reign
§ These were also the men who accompanied Henry to wars in Northern and south west France or the earl of surrey
to Scotland
§ However the nobles didn’t have political domination that they hoped for because Henry chose to promote the
interests of Thomas Wolsey, churchman who had organised the war in France on his behalf
§ Execution of Duke of Birmingham indicated Henry's ruthlessness towards the nobility, early in his reign
Foreign Policy His later aims:
Henry sought to overthrow his father’s § He had comprehensively destroyed his father’s legacy through warfare
foreign policy legacy. and extravagance
§ Did not have a consistent approach to his aims in gov
The desire for military glory, which
§ Some themes recurred like pursuit of glory and the need to secure his
fitted in with his rehabilitation of the
succession
nobility, led directly to war in France,
§ Very little interest in the business of gov, except on an occasional and
something which would recur regularly
impulsive basis
throughout his reign.
§ His reign brought about the broadening of the use of statute law (Acts
In these wars with France, huge amount of Parliament, the destruction of traditional religion and the
of energy were spent with small gains plundering of the Church’s wealth
and little to no strategic significance. § The effects on the church were a complete consequence of the break
with Rome, a policy decision seemed inconceivable in the first 20yrs of
Henry occasionally allied with France, the reign
against Spain and the Holy Roman § Henry exhibited ruthlessness and cynicism, demonstrated through his
Empire. treatment of Empson and Dudley a trait present throughout the reign
§ His resort to execution for treason, often on the flimsiest of charges,
combines tyranny and insecurity in a way which overshadowed his
positive qualities
,Foreign policy in the early years of Henry VIII
France
§ Henry VIII’s councillors, whom he had inherited from his father, had sought a continuation of peace and negotiated
the renewal of the Treaty of Etaples in 1510.
§ Henry had conflicting interests as he wanted to be seen as a warrior-king.
§ Henry sent the Archbishop of York to Rome, in an attempt to persuade the Pope to enter an alliance against the
French.
§ The created the Holy League, which joined England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Venice and the Papacy in an anti-
French alliance.
§ However, Henry did not realise that Ferdinand of Aragon and Maximillian I, the Holy Roman Emperor, were using
him.
§ Henry sent 10,000 men to south-west France. However, this achieved nothing, and was used by Ferdinand as a
diversion whilst he successfully conquered land.
§ In 1513, Henry led a force to north-eastern France which was successful as he won the Battle of the
§ Spurs and captured the town of Tournai
Scotland
§ The Battle of Flodden occurred in September 1513.
§ James IV crossed the border with a large force, but was defeated by a smaller English army that was led by the Earl of
Surrey.
§ James IV was killed in battle, along with much of the Scottish nobility
§ This left the throne in the hands of the infant James V.
§ However, Henry did little to build on the advantage which Flodden had given him.
Extent of Success
§ Little was gained in Henry’s military adventures of 1513.
§ The war was costly and Henry was forced to fund it through his inherited assets.
§ There was almost a revolt against taxation in Yorkshire.
§ The renegotiated French pension was lost.
§ Tournai was sold back to the French for less than it had cost to rebuild its defences.
§ Ferdinand and Maximillian made separate peace terms with the French.
§ Wolsey was able, however, to recover the Etaples pension and secure a marriage alliance between Princess Mary and
Louis XII.
,Government in Henry VIII’s early years:
§ Henry VIII liked to have an overview of his government, but he was happy for others to do the mundane work for
him, whether it be his Royal Council or chosen ministers.
§ The style of government therefore varied across his reign.
§ A further complicating factor was the existence of Parliament and its use.
§ Due to the very personal matter regarding Henry’s concern for a son to succeed him, a major overhaul of relations
between Crown and Parliament took place during the reign.
§ Before the 1530s, there was little to suggest Henry VIII’s view of the role of Parliament differed from that of his
father’s.
§ Parliament was still used to grant extraordinary revenue to the Crown and to pass laws.
§ Parliament could also advise the monarch, but neither Henry VII, nor Henry VIII in his earlier years, saw the need to
seek their advice.
§ Before 1529, Henry VIII only summoned parliaments 4 times.
§ Wolsey, in particular, regarded Parliament with distaste and only two parliaments, in 1514 and 1523, called
during his period of dominance.
§ In the first part of the reign, Henry VIII seemed to only use Parliament to secure revenue.
§ Wolsey seemed reluctant to use Parliament. Cromwell, however, exploited its legislative possibilities much more
thoroughly.
§ Consequently, Parliament met much more frequently in the second half of the reign.
§ During Henry VIII’s reign, governance via councils broke down because of the conflict between the King’s impulsive
personality and that of his more conservative councillors.
§ Thomas Wolsey provided effective management of government which was required.
Cardinal Wolsey
§ Butchers son, a commoner
§ Got a 1st from oxford at 15
§ Deane of Canterbury 1502
§ Henry VII’s chaplain
§ Efficient administrator. Royal Almoner
§ Organises successful expedition to Tournai in 1513. Bishop of Tournai in 1514 and Archbishop of York
§ Cardinal and Lord Chancellor
§ 1518: legate a latere (personal representative of the pope)
§ Almoners in court of Henry VII and Royal chaplain in 1507
§ Lord chancellor- overseeing legal system. Came to Henry’s attention as a result of his organisational abilities. Star
chamber- private lawsuits to increase fair justice in 1516
Government under Wolsey:
The ascendency of Wolsey and the end of Government by Council
§ Almoners in court
The conciliar of Henry
approach VII and Royal
to government chaplain
was adopted in from
15071509 to 1514.
§ Lord
Henrychancellor- overseeing
became impatient legal
with thesystem
reluctance of some of his father’s senior councillors to support a war in France.
§ Came to Henry’s attention as a result
As he became more attune to governing- of his organisational
became abilities
increasingly aware of his right to control decision making.
§ Star chamber- private lawsuits to increase fair justice
Henry surrounded himself with like-minded young courtiers. in 1516
§ He was a commoner
Particularly impressed by the organisational skills of Thomas Wolsey, whose contribution to effective management of
the French campaign earned him royal gratitude. Great organisational skills, dominant political figure, gives the king
what he wants
§ Wolsey’s influence came from the closeness of his relationship with the King, rather than from any formal positions
he held
§ Wolsey’s main concerns were the legal system, the formulation of domestic policy and political decision making.
,Role of the privy chamber and importance:
§ Established during Henry VII’s reign but the role was extended in HVIII’s reign
§ Grew In size and power as his minions ‘young courtiers’ became gentlemen of the Privy Chamber. Minions:
Thomas Boleyn, Charles Brandon and William Compton
§ Process transformed both their status and that of the Privy chamber. Collectively minions distrusted Wolsey who
set himself the task of neutralising their influence.
§ Cardinal Wolsey was not in support of the Privy Chamber. In 1519 he secured the removal of the minions and
replaced them with his own supporters
§ However most of the minions managed to recover their positions
§ The privy chamber retained some of its prestige and influence and was the one part of gov which was outside
Wolsey’s immediate control
§ John Guy argued Wolsey tried to disguise this ‘expulsion of the minions’ as gov reform targeting groom of the stool
limiting the amount of money the GOS could spend to £10,000 p/y in order to remove power and improving the
way gov works
§ Became more important than during H7’s reign.
§ Consisted of around 20 men from Court.
§ Early years – Wolsey and Thomas More headed meetings
§ 1532-1540 – Cromwell gained the leading role.
§ Later years – Sir William Paget (Comptroller of the King’s household) took charge.
The court of the Star Chamber: The court of the chancery:
§ Initially set up in 1486, during HVII § Wolsey as Lord chancellor responsible for
§ Increased in prominence during years of Henry VIII overseeing the legal system, right to preside
§ Wolsey’s most distinctive legal contribution came through the over the court of the chancery
operation of the court of the star chamber § The main court of equity within England- judged
§ From 1516 Wolsey increased the availability of the court of cases through fairness rather than a strict
the star chamber so it was accessible to as many as possible reading of the common law
§ Wolseys motive was to increase cheap and fair justice, heard § Used the courts to deal with enclosure,
cases of alleged misconduct by people dominant in their contracts and land left to others in wills
localities § Became too popular and justice was slow as
§ Encouraged use of the star chamber for private lawsuits there were too many cases
§ Proved too successful and forced to set up a series of
‘overflow tribunals’ to deal with pressure of business Failures of legal reform:
§ Permanent committee set up in 1519 became the ancestor of
the later court of requests whos job was to deal with cases § 1516- reforming plan to remove corruption was
involving the poor limited as there was not enough capacity within
the legal system to deal with the overall
Successes of legal reform: demands
§ Becomes a victim of his own popularity.
§ 1516- put forward a plan intending to end
§ Makes Wolsey enemies with people in top of
corruption in the legal system and provide
society
cheap and impartial justice. His success lay
§ Wolsey became more and more distracted by the
in the exposure and punishment of many Wolsey and Parliament
needs of foreign affairs
individuals
§ Earl of Northumberland sent to prison for § Only two Parliaments were called under Wolsey, one in 1515 and
contempt of court one in 1523. The first caused problems for Wolsey as it provided
§ 1517 Sir Robert Sheffield sent to the tower clear evidence of anti-clericalism.
§ Increased work of the court of chancery § The second was called so Parliament could agree to taxation as a
§ Established a permanent judicial result of the expensive foreign policy.
committee dealing with cases brought by § Wolsey didn’t get along with parliament resulting in many of his
the poor proposals getting rejected due to his personality
§ 1515 – dismissed parliament before it granted taxation because
Wolsey wanted to stop it criticising the church
,Financial Reforms
The Tudor Subsidy
§ As under Henry VII, it was expected that taxpayers, including the nobility, would provide extraordinary revenue when
required. This was effectively achieved by raising subsidies.
§ Wolsey made a substantial change in the way subsidies were demanded, a method he used again when later subsidies
were demanded.
§ Instead of using local commissioners to assess taxpayers’ wealth, risking them being over-generous with the nobility,
Wolsey set up a national committee headed by himself.
§ With direct and realistic assessments of the wealth of the taxpayers, the nation’s revenue became much more realist.
In this way, Wolsey raised extraordinary revenue for Henry’s war in France.
The Eltham Ordinances
Wolsey introduced the Eltham Ordinances, in 1526, in order to reform the finances of the Privy Chamber.
§ To reduce expenditure, Wolsey secured a reduction of Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber. This was the one area of
government that Wolsey did not have control over It can be argued that Wolsey was trying to reduce the influence of
others, instead of reforming finances.
Rebellion: The Amicable Grant, 1525
§ Like in Henry VII’s reign, the imposition of taxes to pay for foreign wars brought instability and disorder.
§ There were complaints about the subsidy to raise money for Henry’s campaigns in 1513, particularly I upland areas of
Yorkshire.
§ The taxation demands for some of the areas affected were eventually written off.
§ Similarly, many refused to pay the Amicable Grant in 1525. Opposition was geographically widespread, but the
strongest resistance occurred in Suffolk and Essex.
§ 1000 people reportedly gathered at the Essex-Sussex border to resist the taxation.
§ Wolsey publicly begged the King to offer pardon to those whom he saw as his Suffolk countrymen and leaders of the
resistance were treated leniently.
§ This demonstrated that Henry could not operate in defiance of the taxpaying classes.
§ When he next decided to invade France, Henry used extraordinary revenue along with the sale of monastic lands to
fund it.
Successes: Failures:
§ 1515 Wolsey’s greatest achievement was the § 1525- ‘Amicable Grant’ resulted in a rebellion in east
development of the tax known as the subsidy- Anglia and refusals to pay elsewhere
replaced the inadequate fixed rates and yields with § Forced loan
a flexible system based on accurate valuations of § Wolsey’s domestic policies created enemies those
taxpayers’ wealth which were mishandled more likely to create a
§ Sought to increase the revenue from the crown’s climate of hostility
own lands but never achieved the level Henry VII § Royal income was indeed hopelessly inadequate for
did the demands placed on it by war
§ Act of resumption 1515 returning land to the crown
which had earlier been granted away
§ Change the way subsidies were collected. He set up
a National committee and had assessments of the
wealth of tax payers. He raised a revenue for
Henry’s war in France this way
,Religious developments under wolsey
§ Wolsey also pursued a career in the Church as the Pope’s representative in England.
§ Henry’s support was important when the Pope made Wolsey a Cardinal and when the Pope then appointed Wolsey
as Papal Legate.
§ First, Wolsey was made Papal Legate temporarily, but then was granted additional powers whi enabled him act on
behalf of the Pope from 1524.
§ Therefore, he could give leadership, or reject, those who wanted to reform the Church.
Condition of the Church in the 1520s
§ Most people remained instinctively loyal to the Catholic Church.
§ There was a definite strand of anticlericalism, which Wolsey did nothing to reduce.
§ More people became aware of the criticisms of taxes going to Rome to an extravagant Pope and were aware of the
shortcomings of the clergy.
§ This was personified by Wolsey, with his pomp and ceremony, two illegitimate children and living openly with his
mistress.
§ When the Reformation began in Europe, there were already those in England who were sympathetic to Church
reform.
§ The other strand of dissent from Catholic belief stemmed from events in 1517, following Martin Luther’s arguments
that contradicted some key aspects of Catholicism in Germany.
§ He and other reformers published their beliefs, which stressed the Bible and criticised many Catholic rituals.
Wolsey and Church Reform
§ As Papal Legate, Wolsey was able to order inspections of religious life in monasteries and other religious institutions.
§ The result of these inspections were that over two dozen religious houses were dissolved.
§ In 1528, he drew up plans to close down monasteries with fewer than six inmates.
§ Wolsey was also interested in promoting religious learning to improve the quality of the clergy, partly funded by the
dissolution of some monasteries.
§ As a cardinal representing the Catholic Church, Wolsey was strongly opposed to the spread of Protestant ideas in
England.
§ He encouraged Henry to take a stand against the new ideas of Martin Luther. This led to public burnings of Lutheran
texts.
§ Henry VIII was rewarded as ‘Defender of the Faith’ by the Pope, after he wrote a book against Martin Luther.
§ Lutheran supporters were seen as well-meaning people who had been wrongly influenced and needed to see the error
of their ways and to reform.
§ However, to some, Wolsey embodied everything that needed changing.
§ He had a range of religious titles which attracted a good income.
§ Wolsey could not fulfil his religious duties in any of these posts, so deputies acted for him.
§ Therefore, Wolsey attracted criticisms for absenteeism and plurality.
§ Wolsey- biggest example of corruption church; he takes part in pluralism has too many titles
Failures of the church:
§ Became dissatisfied with his marriage. Henry required Wolsey to secure a papal dispension for an annulment of his
marriage to Catherine-‘kings great matter’ this became an issue for Wolsey to do
§ Wolsey didn’t do anything to bolster the church against crises and didn’t visit his diocese
§ Public display of wealth was a direct contradiction of how churchmen should behave (propaganda for his enemies)
Wolsey= corruption
§ After Wolsey’s death, Henry became the head of the church which means Wolsey could have possibly weakened it in
order for this to happen
, Foreign policy under Wolsey
§ By the end of 1514, Henry had run out of money to continue a war-like foreign policy.
§ This meant he was unable to exploit the weakness of Scotland, following the death of James IV at the Battle of Flodden.
§ It also meant that he tried to secure peace with France, rather than wage war.
§ England remained a relatively minor power and could not really compete on level terms with the major powers of Spain
and France.
§ Henry significantly overestimated English power and Wolsey had to frame the details of foreign policy based on these
false assumptions.
§ The ‘auld alliance’ between France and Scotland remained strong. Therefore, when England and France clashed, there
was also increased tension with Scotland. Similarly, when England and France were on good terms, there were few
issues with Scotland.
France
In 1514, Louis XII of France married Henry’s sister, Princess Mary, as Henry sought peace with France. The marriage,
however, was short lived.
§ Louis XII died in 1515 and was succeeded by Francis I, a young King who Henry immediately saw as his personal and
political rival.
§ Henry’s immediate response was to seek an alliance with Ferdinand of Aragon.
§ Ferdinand, however, died in 1516, and his successor, Charles V, sought an alliance with the French.
§ In 1517, Charles and his grandfather, Emperor Maximilian, agreed to the Treaty of Cambrai with the
§ French. This left England dangerously isolated.
§ The isolation of England gave Francis I the opportunity to undermine Anglo-Scottish relations as the Duke of Albany,
heir presumptive to the Scottish throne, was a member of French nobility.
§ Albany consolidated his power when he was appointed regent to the Scottish throne.
§ However, the threat from Albany was minimised because of the divisions among the Scottish nobility.
§ Henry proved himself incapable of exploiting the divisions and weaknesses in Scotland.
§ Wolsey was successful in ending England’s isolation very quickly with the Treaty of London in 1518, where he
emerged as the leading diplomat in Western Europe.
§ The Pope desired a united Christian front against the threat from the Ottoman Turks, so the treaty’s scope widened to
a ‘treaty of perpetual peace’ between England, France, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and numerous smaller states.
§ Whilst future conflicts suggest the treaty was meaningless, it did not appear that way after the signing of it by all
powers.
§ The result of this treaty was that Wolsey was appointed papal legate over England.
§ The newfound relationship between England and France continued.
§ England agreed to return Tournai to France and the French, once again, agreed to pay the English a pension to
compensate for its loss.
§ Additionally, the French agreed to keep Albany out of Scotland, ensuring more peaceable relations along the Anglo-
Scottish border.
§ The French, in particular, were concerned about the increased power which Spain could exert with the election of
Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor
§ This was what encouraged a change in attitude from the French
§ The improbably good relations with England and France were reinforced by a very extravagant and expensive
diplomatic encounter, known as the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520.
