Thomas Cromwell - Essay Example

CROMWELL Thomas Cromwell was an important figure in British history, and the current investigation looks into my personal views regarding the short-term impact of his work, on the relations between Crown and Parliament. Cromwell was certainly that rare sort of history-changing figure who left a permanent impression upon his times. This impression, felt long after the death of the seminal historical figure, is in many regards the legacy of a paradigm changer. Cromwell was such a person, one who recommended to Henry VIII directly to establish the English Church and fly in the face of the convention of acquiescing to Roman authority. And although the name of Henry VIII may be more well remembered today, it is Cromwell who shares credit in terms of the nature and spirit of his reform. “After Cromwells fall in 1540, his successors as Henrys chief advisers also sat there; and the aristocratic regimes of Edward VIs reign strengthened the close ties between the House of Lords and the Crown” (Graves, 2003). Cromwell declared England to be an established Empire, meaning that England was considered to be an independent nation, with sovereign authority and without the interference of Papal decree. It is the basic assumption of the current investigation that in the short term, Cromwell drastically altered the relationship between the Crown and Parliament, and made it a much more intimate and closer relationship between these entities. Cromwell was involved in some major events of his time, such as the decision of Henry VIII to break with Roman authority and form an independent church. Arguably, this action had far reaching repercussions, because without the centrist Catholic church in control from Rome, independent thought and scientific inquiry were allowed to flourish during this epoch. Cromwell was the most important of the advisors who wanted Henry VIII to break away from the authority of Rome and make himself the head of the church in England, through the Act of Supremacy—after this point, Cromwell was promoted to Vicegerent in Spirituals. This united the Crown and the Parliament further, as Cromwell at this point enjoyed power “as supreme judge in ecclesiastical cases and the office provided a single unifying institution over the two provinces of the English Church (Canterbury and York)” (Thomas, 2009). The result was a unified front, which suggested that a unity was found, thanks in part to Cromwell, during this time, between the Crown and the Parliament. Cromwell’s time was full of intrigue, and we may never know the true answers to history’s quandaries. However, it is the assertion of the current report that Cromwell was an epochal figure, despite his unfortunate and dishonorable death and the public desecration of his body. Like many killed by the state, he represented original thinking and a new perspective on political issues, particularly in his advocacy of Henry VIII’s establishment of a separate English church. But at the same time, those with whom he worked for reform, also represented Cromwell’s downfall. “Cromwells destruction had been engineered on light pretexts and against the Kings wishes. In truth, Henry was a victim as well - of a determined group of nobles and clerics, led by Norfolk” (Biography, 2009). In the end result, societal change was affected on many levels by Cromwell and his policies, including programmatic solutions which we can see in place to this very day, thus proving the nature of Cromwell’s figure as epochal. “Once again the first signs of systematic monitoring can be traced to Thomas Cromwell, who sometimes refused requests for absence, in the Kings name” (Graves, 2003). The in absentia legal precedent is of course a part of the understanding of common law as it was also affected during this time period. Some would argue that nothing much changed in the short term after Cromwell’s fall: “Cromwell’s fall in 1540 certainly marked the end of an era in foreign affairs and so much else. The last years of Henry’s rule saw the renewal of the active and aggressive policy” (Smith, 2003). But a true understanding of the issue can be reached, when one sees Cromwell correctly as an epochal and historical figure representing progression and the evolution of government. By supporting the independence of the Church of England, Cromwell was sowing the seeds, both short term and long term, to challenge the traditional notions of absolute monarchy in a pre-Enlightenment world. “In March 1533, Parliament passed the Act in Restraint of Appeals. This act stated that the final authority in all legal matters, whether they were civil or clerical, resided in the monarch” (Cromwell, 2009). Cromwell, under Henry VII, was in charge of the Dissolution of the Monasteries as well, which event started may others, and also was in control of Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, besides being of course the Earl of Essex, of which title he is best known. I think personally that Cromwell left important short-term impacts through this advancement, mentioned above, of a progressive cause. The result was a unification of the Crown and the Parliament, because both, after Henry VIII created the Church of England, could agree on many base levels, including the seriousness of the Papal threat. In addition, this tendency led towards more independent and empirical thinking in England generally, as a spirit of independence and challenge was arguably inexorably formed. Overall, Cromwell can be seen as an Enlightenment progressive thinker, who helped to unify the Crown and Parliament The Enlightenment is often defined simply as a religious upheaval which led to the theses of Martin Luther and the split between Catholics and Protestants. And it is often seen as mainly an anti Catholic movement, which promoted reason instead of religion, and humanism instead of blindly following the church and the divine monarchs. The philosophers of the Enlightenment were celebrating nature and humanity instead of God and the kings and queens of the day, and this caused much social unrest and upheaval. There were three main types of upheaval during this time: religious, social, and political. On the religious side, there was the split between Catholics and Protestants. On the social side, there was the revival of classical art and humanism, and a better appreciation for reason and science. And on the political side, there was the establishment of new republics and revolutions, like the result of the French Revolution. The focus was shifting from a focus on God before Enlightenment (during the Dark Ages of Europe and the Renaissance), and going towards a focus on humanity. This supposition is borne out by these cherished Enlightenment ideals and how they were often only selectively applied. Henry VIII, and by extension, Thomas Cromwell, can be seen as revolutionaries in the sense of the Enlightenment, because by establishing the Church of England, they espoused different representations of freedom and equality. In any case, “Cromwell also became patron to a group of English intellectual humanists whom Cromwell used to promote the English Reformation through the medium of print” (Biography, 2009). In other words, Cromwell affected change, but was not entirely on his own. REFERENCE Graves, M (2003). Early Tudor Parliaments Smith, A (2003). The Emergence of a Nation State. Cromwell and the Divorce (2009) http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/thomas_cromwell_divorce.htm Biography—Thomas Cromwell (2009). http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Bios/ThomasCromwell(1EEssex).htm Thomas Cromwell (2009). http://www.nndb.com/people/302/000096014/ Read More