Henry VIII and the English Reformation: A Top-Down Revolution

Introduction: The Reformation and the Church of England

The Protestant Reformation shook the Catholic Church to its very core; it fundamentally and publicly brought into question the divine authority of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and its doctrines. Ever since the birth of the Catholic Church in the Roman Empire, Church officials actively attempted to make their privileged positions in society impervious to assault — a process that progressed for centuries, indeed for tens of centuries. For many years this single faith dominated nearly every aspect of European society and was a strong force in maintaining the status quo.

However, the underlying contradictions between the teachings of faith and the observed practices of the official representatives of that faith gradually emerged as a blemish upon the Church and upon European society as a whole. The mid to latter centuries of the Medieval age saw growing opposition to Catholicism on these grounds, and the sixteenth-century Reformation was the most serious of these threats. Yet when King Henry VIII initiated and enforced the English Reformation in 1534, he appeared to have very few of these objections in mind. He was certainly aware that reform efforts within the Church would be beneficial, but he remained a Catholic until his death. Fundamentally, the Church of England was a creation of Henry VIII, and was a consequence of his attempt to produce a stable and lasting Tudor legacy.

The Church, on the other hand, survived in a number of ways; many clerics immediately sought to remedy the structural and ideological weaknesses that were partly responsible for the success of the Reformation. These actions became known as the Counter-Reformation. Yet within England, the newly established Church continued its methodical breakup of Catholic practices and systems even without mass public support. Consequently, papal efforts to bring England back under control were futile — even less fruitful than they had been in Germany. In other portions of Europe, the Counter-Reformation was as much about addressing the most apparent abuses of ecclesiastical authority as it was about formally defining and enforcing the doctrines of Catholicism. In this way, the Church both made concessions and strengthened its authoritative status with many Protestants. Nevertheless, England firmly became "a protestant nation, but not a nation of Protestants" by the end of the sixteenth century (Haigh, 10).

Popular Discontent with the Catholic Church

Even though it is often said that mass support for the English Reformation was lacking, it is difficult to deny that the English lower classes possessed a history of tension with the Catholic Church. One major crisis that the Catholic Church faced since Constantine first established the Holy Roman Empire made it a somewhat questionable entity in the eyes of many commoners: the Church was wealthy and corrupt. These two negative attributes cannot rightfully be separated from one another when discussing their social implications. Once Christianity became politically backed, its practitioners were afforded the ability to methodically undertake procedures that would ensure its survival. These included stamping out pagan religions, combating internal heresy, and generating wealth and power through taxes. The latter aspect was, by far, the most hated consequence.

By the fifteenth century the Catholic Church had become so wealthy and corrupt that popes, cardinals, and even bishops lived like kings relative to the peasantry: "Most of these [religious] communities had fallen far from the pursuit of Christian perfection which was the ideal of their founders. Few truly religious houses remained. Spiritual corporations had, over the centuries, become economic corporations" (Brigden, 80). This caused many to question the legitimacy of Church taxes, since so much of their hard-earned money went into easing the lifestyles of the clergy.

The Great Schism managed to amplify these negative characteristics of the Church by undermining the pope's ability to bring heretics to justice. Consequently, figures like John Wycliffe and John Ball found themselves able to speak out against the excesses of the clergy: "From 1377 Wycliffe called upon the Church to give up its property on the alms of the faithful" (Cowie, 77). He also denied the authority of the pope and condemned the abuse of secular power exhibited by lords and kings who forever tied peasants to their lands. John Ball effectively took these notions to the streets — when he was forbidden to preach within churches — and put forward the idea that tithes could not justly be paid unless the payer was wealthier than the receiver (Cowie, 79). Essentially, peasants and even those within the Church became able to actively spread ideas denouncing ecclesiastical authority because the mechanisms of that authority were crumbling.

Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell, and the Dissolution of the Monasteries

It has been proposed by many scholars, including A.G. Dickens, that Cromwell was strongly influenced to carry out the violent termination of the English monasteries by a number of radical publications. Among these may have been Marsiglio's Defensor Pacis and Machiavelli's The Prince (Dickens, 110). Additionally, "In Antwerp, the greatest commercial and financial capital since ancient times, Cromwell perfected the knowledge of commerce and finance which he displayed to such advantage during his years of power" (Dickens, 110). It is the belief of many scholars that the closing of the monasteries was almost solely the work of Cromwell; furthermore, if he were financially intelligent and a decidedly amoral individual — as his literary influences would suggest — then it is very likely that the additional 100,000 pounds in annual revenue that renting out monastic lands would generate was exceedingly attractive.

However, although Cromwell's influence is compelling, it is difficult to reconcile the image of an independent-minded and dynamic King Henry VIII with Dickens' vision of a ruler continually manipulated by his advisors. It would seem that such an aggressive overhaul of the Church hierarchy was incongruous with Henry's devout religious foundations. After all, even by the time of Henry's death "the Church in 1547 did not look protestant. Few people would have noticed many changes in the day-to-day practice of their religion" (Newcombe, 1–2). From this point of view, it appears straightforward to assert that all Henry VIII wanted was to remarry, and that Cromwell was the one who initiated the dismantling of the Church.

Even though Henry remained a Catholic, and even though the actual practices of the Christian faith changed little in England during his reign, "Henry was not a conservative, however much his attachment to the mass and rejection of Lutheran ideas might make him appear like one. He did believe that in various respects the Church did need reform" (Bernard, 327). G.W. Bernard contends that Henry VIII did not need Cromwell or his other advisors to recognize the same abuses of power and perversions of faith that the peasants had noticed in 1381.

Works Cited

Bernard, G.W. "The Making of Religious Policy." The Historical Journal, 41, 2, 1998. Pages 321–349.

Brigden, Susan. New Worlds, Lost Worlds. New York: Viking, 2000.

Cowie, Leonard. The Black Death and Peasants' Revolt. London: Wayland Publishers, 1986.

Dickens, A.G. The English Reformation. London: B.T. Batsford, 1964.

Haigh, Christopher. The English Reformation Revised. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Newcombe, D.G. Henry VIII and the English Reformation. New York: Routledge, 1995.