“Protestant ideas were primarily responsible for the development of the English
Reformation in the years 1529-1547” (25 marks)
From 1529, Henry VIII began to gradually remove Papal Supremacy in England, eventually completely
breaking from Rome by 1534, making himself Supreme Head of the English Church. The Church in
England underwent vast and fluctuant change, moving from conservative Catholicism to reformist
Protestantism to relatively Catholic again. This prompted switches in religious practices and beliefs in
England 1529-1547, hence the name of the English Reformation. It is arguable that the English
Reformation was caused primarily by Protestant ideas, but also Henry’s desire for an annulment,
political control and financial control of the Church. Overall, Henry’s desire for financial control was the
main factor in the development of the English Reformation.
The influence of protestant ideas was significantly responsible for the English Reformation but not
wholly responsible. It was Anne Boleyn, a protestant reformer herself, who introduced Henry to William
Tyndale’s books, which stated the royal authority of the king was more supreme than any other power
and included many Lutherian reformist and humanist Erasmus ideas. Anne also encouraged Henry to
appoint protestant reformers to positions of power within government, such as Hugh Latimer as Bishop
of Worcester, Thomas Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury and Thomas Cromwell as chief minister to
the king. Thomas Cromwell suggested in 1531 that Henry broke from Rome and made himself
Supreme Head of the English Church. Even more, reformist ideas which were gaining support in court,
especially from the Boleyn Faction. Such protestant power and ideas prompted Henry to introduce the
Act of Supremacy 1534, officially removing Papal Supremacy from England like he and the
protestants wanted as there was no mention of the Pope in the Bible. In the later years of Henry’s
reign, he married Jane Seymour (1536) whose reformist family were gaining much influence in court.
Jane, her family and the growing protestant support led to Henry issuing various religious acts thus
changing the practices of Christianity in England for example: the Act of the Ten Articles 1536
removed several sacraments, leaving only 3 (baptism, eucharist and penance) stated as necessary for
salvation as protestants believed you could achieve salvation through faith alone. Henry also
introduced the Royal Injunctions of 1536 and 1538 which limited the number of holy days, discouraged
pilgrimages and ordered that every Church possessed an English Bible. This suggests Henry’s
exposure to protestant ideas, prompted him to make changes to religious doctrine leading to the
English Reformation. Nevertheless, Henry was not wholly supportive of many of the reforms and
remained himself very conservative, shown by his choice to amend the Bishops Books in 1537 to
restore 4 more sacraments and how the Duke of Norfolk and the Conservative Faction at Court were
permitted to persuade parliament to introduce the Act of Six Articles restoring some Catholic doctrine,
making denial of transubstantiation heretical. His decision to marry Katherine Howard, who came from
a Catholic family, in 1542 strongly implies that he was not fully committed to the protestant ideas and
that something else, like the initial annulment was rather the driving factor for the reformation.
Therefore, protestant ideas were very significant in the English Reformation but were ultimately not
the main factor responsible.
Henry’s desire for an annulment and succession was arguably a contributory factor to the development
of the English Reformation but not overall the primary reason. After the dismal failure of Wolsey to
obtain an annulment between 1527-29 for the marriage of Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon, Henry
was desperate to make it happen. Henry appointed Thomas Cranmer as his new Archbishop of
Canterbury in 1533, a strong reformist, tasking him with putting pressure on the Pope to grant an
annulment. Cranmer persisted to persuade Henry to break from Rome and the removal of Papal
Authority in England which Henry did in 1534. The role of Anne Boleyn is very significant as she
became pregnant by January 1533, making the need to acquire an annulment even more imminent, in
order to gain a legitimate heir. In addition to this, Henry was only accepting criticism of the Pope and
clergy post 1529 as it now suited the purpose of pressurising the Pope into granting an annulment,
whereas previously Henry was awarded the title ‘Defender of the Faith’ for fighting against heresy.
Ultimately, it is clear Henry was only accepting many of the protestant ideas so that he could break
from Rome and grant himself an annulment. However, Henry and Anne got married anyway in 1533, in
a secret ceremony, suggesting the break from Rome was unnecessary. Moreover, the desire for an
annulment only lasted from 1527-1533 therefore was not really responsible for the development of the
English Reformation. Subsequently, Henry’s desire for an annulment and succession was not the
driving force of the development English reformation and was merely an initial factor in its
development as it was only really impactful in the first part of the reformation, prompting the break
from Rome.
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