The Failure of the Henrician Reformation - Essay Example

?Corey Aguayo Your 28 February The Failure of the Henrician Reformation The Henrician Reformation, also known as the English Reformation or the precursor thereof, and also referred to as the Protestant Reformation or considered a part thereof, were incidents that resulted in the Church of England breaking away from the authority of the Catholic Church and, thereby, the authority of the Pope. Although it was enforced by Henry VIII, and it was later reversed by him as well, with steps taken to return to conservatism, however, the events that were set in motion by Henry VIII did not end with him. They were responsible for laying the foundation of the Protestant Reformation in England. However, it is worth mentioning that the events that followed point out that the Henrician Reformation was not successful in itself i.e. when taken on its own. The events that followed Henry VIII’s death did cause the Protestant Reformation to be a success in England. The circumstances and public opinion helped ensure that. However, from the point of view of the Reformation that Henry VIII sought to bring about, or did bring about, it is clear to see that it was not a success. Although there were many features that are considered to be factors to the English Reformation, the emergence of common law and feelings of nationalism, as well as the weakening of feudalism, along with the creation of the printed press that resulted in an increased flow of information and thought in the academia, however, it was basically the government policy, that of Henry VIII to be exact, that was the leading cause of this Reformation, with some claiming the entire cause of the Reformation to be Henry VIII’s particular needs (Newcombe 1). Henry VIII, who had married his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon, did not have a male heir. He now sought to marry Anne Boleyn, his present wife’s maid of honor. He wanted his marriage to Catherine annulled and claimed that one of the reasons why Catherine could not produce a male heir was because he had gone against the Bible’s teachings in marrying his brother’s wife. Though he was provided a special permission by the previous Pope (Pope Julius II) to marry Catherine, however, his request to the present Pope, Pope Clement VII, to have his marriage annulled was denied. Caught between a desire to marry Anne Boleyn, and keeping his faith intact, Henry VIII was further influenced by those in his Court, who took this as an opportunity to further goad the King into declaring the Crown’s break from Papal authority. Anne Boleyn and those who sided with her ensured that the King was slowly enticed into breaking away from the Papal authority. Henry VIII, for his own reasons, was swayed by the counsel he was provided. Using praemunire, an edict that forbade allegiance to foreign rulers, Henry VIII moved against the clergy of England who supported the non-annulment of his marriage to Catherine. He proclaimed that all allegiance was owed to him and that he had spiritual jurisdiction as well. Henry VIII proclaimed that only those clergy who agreed to this would be pardoned, the others to be prosecuted under praemunire. However, this alone cannot be termed as the lone precursor to the Henrician Reformation. Other factors also fostered and furthered the Reformation. One such factor was the invention of the printing press. With the inventing of the printing press, the distribution of the Bible was made much easier, what is more the Bible was distributed amongst the masses, or smuggled. This, along with German reformer Martin Luther’s views regarding the sacrament of the altar being subservient to the preaching of the word, entailed that now people were no longer dependant on the interpretation of the Bible by the clergy alone. This also sought to cause harm to the Papal authority. Slowly, with the influence of Anne Boleyn, these ideas were transported into the English towns and village, although it is pertinent to note that the people did not support them at first. As a result, the bible was translated and distributed in the vernacular. Moreover, the services were also ordered to be carried out in the vernacular by Royal edict. With the advent of these new ideas emerging and being implemented, slowly the religious behavior of the people was sought to be changed, and the people did not take kindly to that in most cases. Though there were some clashes between the people and the clergy, however, they were not large enough for people to revolt against the clergy or Papal authority. With the advent of Henry VIII’s break from Papal authority, the anticlerical elements found an opportunity to bring forward their theses regarding the abuses of the clergy in England, without there being much complaint on the part of people. However, it should be kept in mind that were those as well who wanted to reform the English Church for the sake of bringing about a positive change, and not because they wanted a break from the Papal Authority as such. In this regard the role of the motivation behind Henry VIII’s acts is worth looking into as well. His motivation was not to break from the Church for the sake of a reformation; rather it was his marital woes that had much to do with it. He wanted an heir, and at the same time he wanted to ensure that his marriage annulment, or divorce, from Catherine, and subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn was not declared illegal. Therefore, he wanted control of the Church of England. It is also worth mentioning here that Henry VIII remained an orthodox till the end (Newcombe 1). Henry VIII did not hold, himself, to the ideals put forward by the German Martin Luther. He did not take kindly to the ideas of reformation put forward by the former. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that he was given the title “Defender of the Faith” by Pope Leo X, a title he was awarded for defending the Seven Sacraments, and thereby the Catholic Church, from accusations leveled by Martin Luther, and a title he retained till he died. There is much confusion about Henry VIII’s stance, as he is seen to be taking the sides of both the Catholic Church and the Lutheran Reformers. The reforms that were put into practice, like reading the Bible in the English vernacular, along with services in vernacular, and the marriage of priests, made Henry VIII quite uncomfortable. He was not pleased with the same, and was quite disposed to return matters to orthodoxy if he felt that the matters had gone too far. What is more, as a consequence to putting those reforms in action, dissension was made rife and there were violent outbursts against them in some areas. There were clashes within communities that also erupted in violence. Although Henry VIII was unaware of this at first, but upon coming to know about these incidents and what was afoot, he quickly reversed the Reformation. He now sought to bring back the old religious practices in England. In 1539, Henry VIII’s Parliament restored Catholic Practices, which included clerical celibacy, going against which could cause a clergy his life, Catholic communion and confession to a priest were also made compulsory. What is more a proclamation was issued whereby the Bible was once again made inaccessible to the common people, only those of noble birth being allowed to read and interpret it. It would be wrong to attribute any further meaning to Henry VIII’s Reformation. This was an act of a King who wanted to, in vernacular, “have his cake and eat it too.” Without truly believing in the changes he was bringing about, Henry VIII, for his personal reasons, sought to break from the Papal Authority, without actually having any clashes, religiously or practically, with the Catholic Church. The Reformation was basically imposed by the government, and not a popular movement (at least during the time of Henry VIII). The opinion of the minority was amplified in a bid to bring about political changes, so that Henry VIII could attain a marriage annulment, which he had failed to do under normal circumstances, normal circumstances being the Church of England’s subservience to the Catholic Church. The King would not have embarked on this road had the annulment been granted to him. Although the Henry VIII’s Reformation is what triggered events that were to follow later, and also the conversion of England from a Catholic to a Protestant state, however, it was not the Henrician Reformation itself that caused this. By itself, this reformation was not a success. It was brought about through borrowed principles, principles the people and Henry VIII himself did not believe in, the latter only using them as an excuse to get something else: his marriage to Catherine annulled and his marriage to Anne Boleyn considered legalized. There was little to no support by the people, in general, when it came to the Reformation. Therefore, the Henrician Reformation, in itself, was not a success. The fact that Henry VIII reversed his Reformation in 1538 is testament to that fact. Works Cited Brigden, Susan. New Worlds, Lost Worlds: The Rule of the Tudors, 1485 – 1603. New York: Penguin, 2000. Print. Newcombe, D. G. Henry VIII and the English Reformation. New York: Routledge, 2001. Print. Shagan, Ethan. Popular Politics and the English Reformation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Print. Read More