The House of Tudor and its radical transformation of England

House of Tudor

England's House of Tudor, the story of the Tudor Monarchy, is one of the most dynamic and exciting stories of a royal line in the history of the world. It was the Tudor King, Henry VIII, who brought about the most radical change not just in English history, and in the history of Christianity too. Queen Elizabeth, King Henry's daughter from his marriage with Anne Boleyn, was, until modern times, the longest reigning monarch in English history. It was the House of Tudor, specifically the line of King Henry VIII, which had the most dramatic effect on England and on the world as we know it today. But for King Henry VIII, there would not have been a Reformation, the schism and the separation of England from the Catholic authority in Rome, and leading to the establishment of the Protestant Church of England. The House of Tudor lasted 118 years, and dramatically changed the world, the effects of which continue to exist today (Ridley, Jasper, 23).

The House of Tudor came into existence when Henry Tudor wrested the crown away from Richard III (Slater, Victor, 2002, 5). King Henry VII began a process of centralizing the monarchy's power, which continued under Henry VIII (Slater, 5). Henry VIII was the first King of England to exercise a power of authority over the church, state, and nobility (Slater, 5). The reign of Henry VII was occupied largely with domestic affairs (Slater, 5). He secured the title for his line by shutting down opposing forces and challenges to his royal lineage (Slater, 5). One has to wonder whether or not the rest of the European royalty, that is France and Spain, took Henry VII seriously, or perhaps they believed that he would be overthrown, because it was thirteen years into Henry's reign before the Spanish ambassador finally paid an official state visit to the king (Stater, 5).

The Spanish ambassador, according to his letter back to Spain, arrived in England in July, 1948, and spent a day traveling to London (Stater, 5). Upon arrival in London, Henry VII was out of the city, returned and met with the Spanish ambassador the following day (Stater, 5). It was the Spanish ambassador's mission to gain a sense of who Henry VII was, and what his ambitions were as King of England (Stater, 5). The ambassador noted that Henry was humble enough a king to consult with his council, and that he handled himself in a very kingly manner, and looked the part as he was attended by a large number of his staff and nobility (Stater, 5). So it was that the House of Tudor was established in England, and would go on to change the country, and change the world.

Henry VIII, son of Henry VII, was not diplomatic or as humble as his father. He was prone to fits of rage, and instead of building a loyal and supporting following around himself, and upon whom he could depend on and consult with, he terrorized his inner circle (Ridley, 23). It was not uncommon for members of his inner circle to cause the king to become angry, which would spell not just the end of that person's favor with the king, but their life as well (Ridley, 23). Still, it was the reign of Henry VIII which had the greatest impact on the monarchy and the relationship between the church and state in England, which would be long lasting.

Those Who Shaped Henry VIII Court

When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, he inherited a country that had experienced his father's stabilizing rule. Henry's rule would one of constant change, pulling the power of the monarchy into a tightly held tool that would be wielded in a most self-serving way. It is a complicated reign, in that the intricacies of Henry's relationship and the creation of the Church of England can be difficult at times to understand as regards the legalities associated with the acts which brought about its creation. We have no shortage of academic thought and analysis on the matter, and it is from that body of knowledge that we draw upon here to create a coherent discussion about the impact Henry VIII had on England and the world.

Henry VIII became king shortly before his eighteenth birthday (Ridley, 12). Henry was a skilled archer, avid horseman and hunter, and he attended mass five times a day, but found the time, too, to enjoy the social events that were held in the evenings (Ridley, 12). We know that Henry was athletic, wrote books and papers on theology and other subjects, and brought in foreign writers and others in the pursuit of knowledge and the arts (Ridley, 13). There were three main advisers to Henry during his reign: Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, and Stephen Gardner (Ridley, 13). Each of these men helped to shape Henry's ideas and actions as they manifested themselves in the way of English law, policy, and the relationship between the crown, the church, the nobility, and the people of England (Ridley, 13). Some people suggest that many of the writings on religion and politics and society that were produced by Henry were in fact the product of these three men, and that these men became the objects of Henry's disillusionment, and he blamed them when he either did not get his way, or when things went wrong for the country.

Wolsey was a strong minded and a strong willed man. He was busy during the early years of Henry's reign with legal matters, of which there were no end (Slavin, 1968, 65).

From his seat in the court of Chancery, with the needed strong hand, he controlled the endless conflict of legal systems which was now a permanent menace to good government, and from this point-of-view he was "the chancellor par excellence." His work here is his greatest title to fame. He was no less diligent and masterful in that "courte at Westminster commonly called the Starre chamber"; so diligent, indeed, that he has a claim to be considered the first creator of its fame. With Wolsey in control, this court became the centre to which flowed in all complaints of oppression by the mighty, of neglect and delay of justice, of insubordination to the royal will in administration. The cardinal was prompt, he was just, and extremely vigorous; and he never hesitated to call into his court for settlement cases he thought would be better settled there than in other courts (Slavin, 65)."

Wolsey is also credited with ushering in an era of "anticlericalism (Slavin, 85). It was a time of skepticism, and even clerics were manifesting an anticlericalism thinking and behavior (Slavin, 85). Wolsey had served Henry VII, and Henry, as a young man and king, trusted Wolsey to carry on with that work. Henry VIII had little interest in the politics, but he did have an interest in remaining on his throne, and to that extent it would have been - and ultimately was - a miscalculation on Wolsey's part to think that he could continue to scoop the power of the kingdom unto himself and administer it with the authority he commanded without irking the king at some point. It was, however, less

King Henry VIII was, however, enough to put fear into Wolsey. One of the most significant periods of fear for Wolsey was when Henry became angry with the poets and scholars that he had once admired. "There were four great international scholars, and, in England, two great patrons of learning. Of the six, Henry cold-shouldered Erasmus out of England, imprisoned Vives, decapitated More and Fisher, and frightened Wolsey to death (Slavin, 85)."

Wolsey's end came not on the executioner's block, but when Henry divested him of his authority and took the "Great Seal" away from him (Haigh, Christopher, 95). The impetus for defrocking Wolsey, so-to-speak, was Anne Boleyn, who did not think that Wolsey's efforts in helping Henry VII end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon were sincere, or that at least he had not made it a priority, and Anne campaigned against Wolsey (Slavin, 18). Henry, however, continued to treat Wolsey with a measure of respect, and even consulted with him on matters of state until Wolsey's death (Haigh, 95).

The next in Henry's inner circle was Thomas Cromwell, who accomplished much and contributed to achieving Henry's goals and missions. It is perhaps not accurate to read too much into the influence of Wolsey and Cromwell. They had good reason to fear for their lives since Henry's could never be known as to the direction it was going at any given time. "Cromwell was unable, he believed all men were unable, to describe the unutterable qualities of the royal mind, the sublime virtues of the royal heart (Slavin, 23)." Cromwell would not survive the reign of King Henry VIII, but he did accomplish much.

Cromwell's ministry was in a constant course of flattery and submission; but by that he did great things, that amaze one who has considered them well. The setting up the king's supremacy instead of the usurpations of the papacy, and the rooting out the monastic state in England, considering the wealth, the numbers, and the zeal of the monks and friars in all the parts of the kingdom, as it was a very bold undertaking, so it was executed with great method, and performed in so short a time, and with so few of the convulsions that might have been expected, that all this shews what a master he was, that could bring such a design to be finished in so few years, with so little trouble or danger (Slavin, 19)."

Cromwell's position was no less tenuous than that of his predecessor, Wolsey. Henry did not become a tyrant without warning. Ridley reports that even as a young man, before he succeeded his father as king, Henry was prone to outbursts of anger and bad temper (Ridley, 14). Those who moved within Henry's inner circle must have weighed the risks of being in the inner circle as compared to what would be gained by them to take on that kind of risk. Perhaps they hoped to be able to appeal the King's rational judgment, and so long as it was in the King's own best interest to heed the advice of his counselors, he was known for doing so. Henry VIII was an intelligent man, and much as he preferred to delegate the authority to run his realm, he nevertheless was abreast of what was going on around him, and he was actually an astute politician when it was necessary for him to assume that role.

Cromwell had served as an aid to Wolsey, and had learned from Wolsey matters of state and church (Haigh, 105). Cromwell helped Henry VIII find a way to ignore the Collectanea (Haigh, 105). Cromwell proposed that the king seek a dissolution of marriage from an English court, through the Parliamentary authority (Haigh, 105). This was not the solution that Henry immediately accepted, because others among his inner circle, Norfolk and Suffolk among them, hoped to do it through the Church, and believed that they could exact pressure on the Church of England to make that happen (Haigh, 105). They were wrong of course, and it was here that an almost obsessed King Henry VIII, in his desire to make Anne Boleyn his wife, creates the schism between the Church and England, and the Protestant Church of England is born.

It was Cromwell's solution that in the end was Henry's way out of his marriage to Catherine, and his way to marry Anne Boleyn. The 1533 Act of Appeals was the authority that allowed Henry VIII to break with the Church in Rome, and exert his royal supremacy (Haigh, 106). Ann Boleyn and Henry wed, and it was this union that would see England's greatest monarch born, Elizabeth, who would become Queen of England and rule for 44 years.

Meanwhile, the rise of the Protestant Church of England and the Reformation began and would dominate religion in England until Henry's death.

Conclusion

Elizabeth proved herself to be a monarch capable of making decisions and assessing the volatility of her situation, and equally able to meet the challenges posed by the volatility and vulnerabilities, especially early in her reign (Haigh, 242). More than a Protestant, Elizabeth I was a politician; and this is perhaps to her benefit and to her longevity as monarch. Although Elizabeth understood the importance of faith and religion, and she understood that in relationship to the monarchy and to the people over whom she ruled. She hoped to resolve the question of Protestantism over Catholicism by appeasing both groups, but her efforts to do so were thwarted by Protestant clergymen, who took steps to ensure that Protestantism remained strong and the religion of the land (Haigh, 242). The clergy proposed reforms, and supremacy of the monarchy was reinstated (Haigh, 243). Elizabeth, wishing to resolve the problem of religion, conceded to the pressures of the Protestant leaders, but she continued to wear her Catholic crucifix as an indication that she was aware that her subjects were Catholics and Protestants, and that more so than any one religion, her allegiance was to her subjects (Haigh, 244). It was actually a wise and seasoned political move, and resolved the problems of religion for Elizabeth.

For the remainder of her reign as Queen of England, Elizabeth won the admiration of her subjects and her court by making sound political decisions; except perhaps for one. Elizabeth I remained unmarried, and did not have children. When she died, she was succeeded by the House of Stuart, which was never able to achieve the support of the people in that Elizabeth had been to accomplish.

The House of Tudor is responsible for the biggest changes in the ways in which the monarchy operated, and was perceived. The Protestant Reformation stands as one of the most important political and religious events in history, and has left its imprint on the world in which we live today.