At the height of King Henry VIII’s reign, he felt that he needed to make a few changes in his life and the life of his kingdom. The two main changes he made were his divorce of his wife, Catherine of Aragon, and his making himself the head of the Church of England. In the king’s eyes he was justified in both of these actions, but the truth as judged by today’s standards, was that he was only justified in one of his actions. It was necessary for King Henry to divorce his wife and marry another because he needed to be sure that the throne be given to a son of his, which Catherine had failed to give him. King Henry’s declaration that he was the head of the Church of England, in contrast, was not justified.
King Henry’s divorce of his wife, Catherine of Aragon, while it was not completely acceptable, was justified given the circumstances. Being a king was not only about ruling a nation, it was about having an heir to the throne, the only thing the loyal Catherine could not give to her royal husband. While it can be said that Henry was scared out of his unclean marriage to the widow of his brother because of a Bible passage, this is simply not true. Had Henry VIII been more of a religious man, he would not have wanted to divorce in the first place because in Matthew 19:6 it is said, “So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate" (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2019:6&version=NIV). So it is concluded that Henry divorced Catherine simply to secure that he would have a successor to his throne. This is made even more evident in Catherine’s letters to Henry, in which even after the divorce still calls him her husband and sees herself as the Queen. “My most dear lord, king and husband… I pardon you everything, and I wish to devoutly pray God that He will pardon you also… Katharine the Quene,” (http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter5.html). In her own words, Catherine had written to Henry, who she knew to be her husband, telling him that she knew why she had to be divorced, and she did not hold anything against him for that. Catherine knew that it was only her failure to provide Henry with a male heir that she had been divorced, and not for any other reason.
The other successful attempt Henry made to reform the power of the English throne was becoming the self-appointed head of the Church of England. This was not justified under any circumstances. This choice was brought about because of his decision to divorce his wife. The Pope refused to have their divorce made official by any means, and this made Henry VIII angry. He tried everything he could to make his divorce a reality, but to no avail. The King sent Thomas Wolsey, the king’s chief minister, but “that for the cardinal's sake the king's matrimonial suit would have the worse speed,” (http://englishhistory.net/tudor/priwols1.html). After his man best suited for the job failed, the King decided to take matters into his own hands. What followed was the Act of Supremacy which made Henry “the supreme head of the Church of England, and so is recognized by the clergy of this realm,” (http://www.thenagain.info/Classes/Sources/ActSupremacy.html). This Act made Henry have absolute dictatorship over the Church of England and he could do what he wished. He could demand for the divorce to take place and be valid, and the Pope and any other clergyman would have to subscribe to the king’s will. This cannot be justified, even if Henry did need to be divorced.
Not only was Henry’s decision to make himself the head of the Church of England unjustified, but once he began to understand the type of authority it gave him, he became a downright menace with power. This power was finally realized and put to use in 1539 at Glastonbury Abbey. King Henry and his new chief minister Thomas Cromwell suppressed the monasteries of Glastonbury Abbey. The effects of this made Henry a political tyrant. When Henry had the monasteries suppressed, he received all of the land owned by them and was proclaimed the most wealthy man in England, having a third of the country’s currency. From there, Henry was unstoppable in his quest for complete and absolute power. To be kept on the good side of the aristocracy, the people who mattered in Henry’s eyes, he gave them parts of his wealth. From this grew Protestantism and a continuing separation from Rome. (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/h8-glastonbury.html). This all stemmed from the fact that Henry wanted a divorce from his wife. Henry made himself the head of the Church, which was unjustified, and then he stole land and wealth from the monasteries and gave it to his aristocracy, which was unjustified. The entirety of Henry’s reign as the head of the Church of England was completely and fully unjustified.
Henry VIII felt that he should get whatever he wanted, since he was the king. If he was told that he could not have his way, he turned the entire country of England on its head until he found a way to get his way. Whether his request was to be divorced from his wife or to gain ultimate wealth, Henry did it. The argument still stands that Henry was justified in divorcing his wife for someone who could give him a male heir and he was not justified in appointing himself the head of the Church.
"Matthew 19:6 - Passage Lookup - New International Version - BibleGateway.com."BibleGateway.com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 100 Versions and 50 Languages.Web. 04 Oct. 2010. <http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew 19:6&version=NIV>.
"Primary Sources - Letter of Katharine of Aragon to Her Husband, King Henry VIII, 7 January 1536." EnglishHistory.net. Web. 04 Oct. 2010. <http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter5.html>.
"Primary Sources: The Fall of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, 1530." EnglishHistory.net. Web. 04 Oct. 2010. <http://englishhistory.net/tudor/priwols1.html>.
"The Act of Supremacy." Then Again. . . Web. 04 Oct. 2010. <http://www.thenagain.info/Classes/Sources/ActSupremacy.html>.
"Medieval Sourcebook: The Suppression of Glastonbury Abbey." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 04 Oct. 2010. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/h8-glastonbury.html>.
Your argument hinges on the idea that Henry was unjustified, but what would have been the result in terms of the political stability of England had Henry died without a male heir? And what was the real reason behind the decision of the Vatican -- dogma or politics? That would be an interesting place to take this study. As well, how does Catherine fit into the equation; did not her connections to the Holy Roman Empire threaten an heir-less English throne?
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