History Essay Henry S Break From Rome Finished Piece

Submitted By will_franklin01
Words: 1399
Pages: 6

h/w Henry’s break with rome.13/11/13 “Theology was the most important reason for Henry VIII’s break with Rome”
In the next few paragraphs seven factors attributing to the English reformation shall be presented, also any flaws in that statement will be presented and strengths in it also. Other points attributing to Henrys break will be brought forward including Anne Boleyn, Theology and international diplomacy there will be other factors reviewed also. As the main question is all about theology that will be reviewed now.
There are many people that consider theology to be a key factor in Henrys break with Rome. Due to the fact that there were many flaws in Pope Clément’s (the Pope at that point in history) time of being the pope but Henry may have just used this as an excuse to cover up this break. Anne Boleyn was a big believer in many of a man named Martin Luther’s ideas; Henry on the other hand was opposed to many of his ideas and was largely happy with the way the church was being run. Henry disagreed with Luther’s ideas so much that he had been known to burn Lutherans (the name given to believers in Luther’s ideas). When he fell in love with Anne though he would do anything to have her as his bride. Even turn against ideas he was happy with. When Henry did break with Rome he did use Theology as an excuse. He may have suggested that had seen the error with the ways the church was being run and claimed to have become a follower of Luther’s ideas. Although Henry did keep many of the catholic faith of the times beliefs he later changed them so they suited many of his own ideas. Henry also claimed that there was corruption in the Catholic Church at the time and that he didn’t want England to be involved with something like that anymore. Corruption in the church was a major problem during the 1500s and since the beginning of the Catholic faith. English monarchs had been quarrelling with the Catholic Church since the days of Henry II. Over the years there had been many monks, priests and nuns breaking vows they had made and many people had made complaints about them. Monks and priests had been known to have fathered illegitimate children. Pope Alexander VI even made his teenage son Cesare into a Cardinal!!! The same Pope had had Fathered 4 children by his mistress now who is to say that Cesare wasn’t one of these children. Anne Boleyn had a major impact on Henry’s choice to break from Rome as he did want to marry her.
Anne Boleyn was the woman that eluded Henry until his first divorce and some might argue the lady that used him to change England to suit her wants and beliefs. When Henry demanded a divorce from Catherine he tried to say that their marriage was wrong and that they weren’t married at all. The Pope would have none of it and said that they were married and Henry could not have a Divorce. This angered Henry and he then looked for other ways to have a divorce. Henry wanted divorce form Catherine as she couldn’t bare him a son like he wanted. It can be presumed that Henry wanted to marry Anne as she continued to deny him of his lusts. She knew that Henry wanted her as his mistress she wouldn’t give in. She didn’t want to be tossed aside like her sister had been as Anne’s sister had also been Henry’s mistress. She said to Henry she wouldn’t be his until he married her. This drove Henry mad and he lusted after her obsessively. When the Pope was taken prisoner, the cardinal closest to Henry declared Henry’s marriage to Catherine annulled and married Anne and Henry in secret. The Pope heard about this and when he wrote a letter to Henry saying this was an outrage. Henry retaliated and declared he was breaking from the Catholic Church to form the Church of England. With him the ‘pope’ of this new faction of Christianity. Another key factor attributing to Henry’s break was money. He most likely realised how much money the Church had and wanted