King Henry VIII
Henry was king during the English Reformation. He had many wives during his lifetime, six to be exact, most which he divorced because they would not give birth to a boy. After 18 years of marriage with his wife, Catherine of Aragon, he felt that England's well being relied on having a male heir to the throne. He decided that he would divorce his wife to seek one that would bear a baby boy. However, it was against christian faith to divorce. Also, politics got in the way and his wife had certain links to other powerful leders the pope did not want to break. Henry, in an outrage, wanted to end papal control over the English church, so he established the Church of England. In 1539, Henry had the Act of Supremacy make him "the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England." With this, he divorced his wife and finally found a women who gave birth to his son, Edward.
The Act of Supremacy
"Albeit the king's Majesty justly and rightfully is and ought to be the supreme head of the Church of England, and so is recognized by the clergy of this realm in their convocations, yet nevertheless, for corroboration and confirmation thereof, and for increase of virtue in Christ's religion within this realm of England, and to repress and extirpate all errors, heresies, and other enormities and abuses heretofore used in the same, be it enacted, by authority of this present Parliament, that the king, our sovereign lord, his heirs and successors, kings of this realm, shall be taken, accepted, and reputed the only supreme head in earth of the Church of England, called Anglicans Ecclesia; and shall have and enjoy, annexed and united to the imperial crown of this realm, as well the title and style thereof, as all honors, dignities, preeminences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities, immunities, profits, and commodities to the said dignity of the supreme head of the same Church belonging and appertaining; and that our said sovereign lord, his heirs and successors, kings of this realm, shall have full power and authority from time to time to visit, repress, redress, record, order, correct, restrain, and amend all such errors, heresies, abuses, offenses, contempts and enormities, whatsoever they be, which by any manner of spiritual authority or jurisdiction ought or may lawfully be reformed, repressed, ordered, redressed, corrected, restrained, or amended, most to the pleasure of Almighty God, the increase of virtue in Christ's religion, and for the conservation of the peace, unity, and tranquility of this realm; any usage, foreign land, foreign authority, prescription, or any other thing or things to the contrary hereof notwithstanding."
Analysis
In the Act of Supremacy, it is stating that the king is to be the supreme ruler and have un-matched power. This was for the benefit of the christian religion and its followers, keeping peace and order rather than having a pope with twisted intentions and bribed decisions. Henry passed this law for the good of the people, returning power to the rightful owner, the king. The act clarifies itself over and over again that power is to be held by the king, and that peace will be maintained while under this act.
Time of Religion
This could most likely be described as a time of religion due to the power conflict between kings and popes. Popes were beginning to become very power hungry and wretched, when the pope had denied henry of what he desired, he acted out by creating his own church. During this time period, there was much religious confusion.
King Henry was important to the time period because he played a huge role in the large reformation that took place during the time period. He was considered a religious reformer for his actions while king. passing the Act of Supremacy was the first step to ending papal control which was what most of the people at that time wanted. Henry played a huge role by establishing the Church of England and fighting against the pope.
Citations
Ellis, Elisabeth Gaynor., Anthony Esler, and Burton F. Beers. Prentice Hall World
History: Connections to Today. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.
Print.
History: Connections to Today. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.
Print.