Henry VIII's Reformation

by Peter Beretich

Henry VIII's Personal Motivation Behind the English Reformation

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Outline

Introduction

• Reformation’s sweep across Europe
• Henry VIII’s wife Catherine of Aragon
• Cardinal Thomas Wolsey’s defense of Roman Catholicism

Attempts at Annulment

• Through the Pope
• Through the Archbishop of Canterbury
• Circumventing the Vatican

English Reformation

• Acts of Supremacy
• Removal of St. Thomas Becket
• Dissolution of the Monasteries

Future wives.

• Executions
• Annulments

Epilogue

• Mary I and Catholicism
• Effects on British people today.

Abstract

My project's aim is to analyse King Henry VIII's personal agenda behind initiating the English Reformation. Starting out as a devout Catholic who would consistently defend the Pope and the Vatican, it is curious how he changed his mind so quickly when he wanted to divorce or annul his marriages. His greed and extravagant expenditure also raise questions towards ulterior motives when taking over the land owned by monasteries and appropriating their resources.

Introduction

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As you continue to think about your project milestones, reread the "Goals" narrative on defining project milestones from the HU2900 syllabus. Remember: the idea is to have equip your milestone with a really solid background and then some sort of "thing that you do". You'll need to add in some narrative to describe why you did the "thing that you did", which you'd probably want to do anyway. You can make it easy for your advisors to give you a high grade by ensuring that your project milestone work reflects careful, considerate, and comprehensive thought and effort in terms of your background review, and insightful, cumulative, and methodical approaches toward the creative components of your project milestone deliverables.

PLEASE NOTE: this milestone template has only a few sections as examples, but your actual milestone should have many relevant sections and subsections. Please start to block out and complete those sections asking yourself "who, what, when, where, and why".

Remember, as you move toward your creative deliverable, you're going to want/need a solid background that supports your case, so you want it to paint a clear and thorough picture of what's going on, so that you can easily dissect your creative component and say "This thing I did is rooted in this aspect of my background research".

Section 1: Background

Introduction

Reformation’s sweep across Europe

The desire to reform the Catholic Church began in the 1400s, but it was not until the publication of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 is what caused the movement to gain traction. Luther’s main argument was against the selling of indulgences, which supposedly reduced the punishment after death for sins committed.
In 1521, the young Catholic king, Henry VIII, rebutted against Luther with his piece “Defense of the Seven Sacraments.” For this, Pope Leo X granted the King the title of “Defender of the Faith.” King Henry had demonstrated his faith and loyalty as a devout Catholic.

Catherine of Aragon

Henry was not the first in succession to his father, Henry VII. That position belonged to Arthur, Henry VIII’s brother. Arthur was betrothed to Catherine of Aragon, daughter of the King and Queen of Castile. At the age of 15, Arthur died. This threw off Henry VII's negotiations for a marital alliance with Spain. When Henry VII died, the younger Henry agreed to marry Catherine.

However, as the years passed, Catherine was unable to produce a male heir to the English throne, and Henry became more distant to her. She would eventually only produce one child, the future queen Mary. Henry knew from the loss of his brother that life could end quickly, and without a male heir the kingdom could be thrust into chaos. He needed to find a way to dissolve their marriage, and find a wife who would be able to grant him a son.

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey

Much of Henry VIII's legacy can be attributed to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Christ Church, a part of the University of Oxford, Hampton Court Palace, and the Palace of Whitehall are just some of the buildings initially built or improved upon by Wolsey, and then taken over by Henry VIII.

Wolsey himself was a brilliant negotiator and diplomat, and had the King's ear as Lord Chancellor for nearly 15 years. The meeting between King Henry and King Francis I of France, known as the "Field of the Cloth of Gold" was organized by Wolsey. This magnificent display of wealth held a summit between the two kings

Section 2: Deliverable

Additional Image

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Subsection 1

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Subsection 2

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Gallery

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Conclusion

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Attribution of Work

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