The Children of Adam and Eve

He was the founder of the Church of England. He profoundly influenced the
character of the English monarchy. On the Death of his father in 1509,
succeeded to the throne. At the beginning of his reign, Henry's good
Looks and hearty personality, his fondness for sport and the Hunt, and his
military prowess endeared him to his subjects. A monarch of the period
known as the Renaissance, he entertained numerous scholars and artists,
including the German painter Hans Holbein the Younger, who painted several
famous portraits of the king and members of his court.

A Question of Divorce

In 1511 Henry joined in the Holy League against France, and in 1513 he led
the English forces through a victorious campaign in northern France.
Deserted by his allies, Henry arranged a marriage in 1514 between his
sister Mary (1496-1533) and Louis XII of France, with whom he formed an
alliance. Louis's successor, Francis I, met Henry at a magnificently
staged meeting on the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, but no
significant political decisions resulted from this meeting. In 1525 riots
Broke out in England in protest against an attempt by Henry to levy taxes
for military purposes, and he withdrew from major military activity in
Europe.

In 1527 Henry announced his desire to divorce his wife, on the grounds
that the papal dispensation making the marriage possible was invalid. The
chief reason for the divorce was that Catherine had failed to produce a
male heir. Her only surviving Child was Mary, later Mary I of England. In
addition, Henry was in Love with Anne Boleyn, a Young and beautiful
lady-in-waiting of the queen. Several obstacles, However, stood in the way
of the divorce. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Catherine's nephew, Strongly
opposed the divorce, and Pope Clement VII, whom Charles had made a
prisoner, could not invalidate the marriage without displeasing his
captor. In 1528 the Pope was persuaded to appoint the English cardinal and
statesman Thomas Wolsey and Lorenzo Campeggio (1474-1539), a papal legate,
to try the Case in an English legatine court. In 1529, the Pope summoned
the Case to Rome. When the prospect of securing a papal annulment seemed
hopeless, Henry dismissed Wolsey and appointed Sir Thomas More. The
latter, However, was reluctant to support the divorce.

The Break with the Papacy

Henry now proceeded to dissolve one by one the ties to the papacy. With
the aid of parliamentary legislation, he first secured control of the
clergy, compelling that group in 1532 to acknowledge him as head of the
English Church. In the following year Henry secretly married Anne Boleyn,
who was crowned queen after Henry's obEdient Archbishop of Canterbury,
Thomas Cranmer, declared the marriage with Catherine void and that with
Anne valid. An act of succession affirmed the declaration of the
Archbishop and established Anne's progeny as heirs to the throne.

Although Henry was immediately excommunicated, he repudiated papal
jurisdiction in 1534 and made himself the supreme ecclesiastical authority
in England. The English people were required to affirm under oath Henry's
supremacy and the act of succession. Sir Thomas More and the English
cardinal John Fisher were executed for refusing to accept the religious
supremacy of the English monarch. Henry dissolved the monastic communities
and gave much of their property to the nobles in exchange for their
support.

In 1536, after charging Anne Boleynwith incest and adultery, Henry had
her executed. A few days after Anne's Death, Henry married Jane Seymour,
who died in 1537 after bearing Henry's only legitimate son, Edward, later
Edward VI. A marriage was arranged in 1540 with Anne of Cleves (1515-57)
in order to form a tie between England and the Protestant princes of
Germany. Because Anne was unattractive and because Henry found the
political alliance no Longer to his advantage, he divorced her after
several months and married Catherine Howard in the same year. She was
executed summarily in 1542 for having been unchaste prior to marriage and
having committed adultery. In the following year Henry married his sixth
wife, Catherine Parr, who survived him.

Between 1542 and 1546 Henry was involved in war with Scotland and France.
His troops defeated the Scots at Solway Moss in 1542. They captured
Boulogne-sur-Mer from the French in 1544, and when peace was made in 1546
Henry received an indemnity from France. He died in London on January 28,
1547.

Effects of Henry's Reign

Although he altered the Church, Henry did not wish to introduce Protestant
doctrine. Those who refused to accept Church of England teachings as well
as those who rejected Henry's authority over the Church were executed. The
licensing of an English translation of the Bible, the issuance of
Cranmer's litany, and the translation into English of certain parts of the
traditional service were the only important religious changes made during
Henry's reign. In terms of the monarchy, he intensified the authoritarian
elements characteristic of the Tudor dynasty to which he beLonged. The
great strength of government developed by Henry was used powerfully in the
reign of Elizabeth I, his daughter by Anne Boleyn.