Was Henry VIII justified in divorcing Catherine and making himself head of the Church of England?

Was Henry VIII justified in divorcing Catherine and making himself head of the Church of England?

Henry the 8^th all powerful King of tudor England was used to getting what he wanted even if he had to be controversial. His wife Catherine was unable to produce him a male heir and Henry wanted a divorce. To achieve this Henry tore down the catholic roots of the English church and under the Act of Supremacy placed himself as head of the newly formed Anglican Church which changed the course of history for England and Europe. The question: was he justified in these acts?

When his wife Catherine of Aragon was unable to produce him a male heir Henry wanted to divorce her in favor of his prospective new wife Anne Boleyn who was already pregnant. However, England was a catholic country and divorce was against the catholic religion. On the other hand, what Henry could do was procure and annulment from the pope which basically made his original marriage to Catherine illegitimate. Unfortunately for Henry during this time the Pope was under house arrest by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V who happened to be the nephew of Catherine of Aragon. Under pressure by Charles V the pope refused to grant Henry his desired annulment. This meant that the only way for Henry to get what he wanted he had to break away for the Catholic Church.

Henry was a very religious and suspicious man and according to the bible verse Leviticus 20:21,” If a man marries his brother's wife, it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.” This caused Henry to believe that as long as he was married to his brother’s old wife he would never father a male heir. Leviticus 20:21 was probably a major catalyst in Henry the 8th's decision to break away from the Church in order to divorce his “barren” wife no matter the consequences.

Through the Act of Supremacy and the Act in Restraint in Appeals Henry the 8^th successfully broke his country away from the Pope and Catholicism. The Act of Restraint and Appeals not only helped transfer power to Henry but due to political maneuvering by his advisor Thomas Cromwell the act went through parliament which supposedly was the voice of the people. This made it seem that not only a few people wanted to break away from the church but it was of popular opinion.

Henry the 8^th was the King of a superpower of the medieval world and one of the greatest goals of any medieval monarch was to achieve a lineage and to have heirs in place to continue your bloodline. In Henry’s opinion having an heir was more important than having his wife Catherine of Aragon especially because of his religious superstitions and Leviticus 20:21. Moreover, this is why even though he cast his old wife aside I believe Henry the 8^th was justified in his decision to divorce his wife Catherine because of the time period and circumstances Henry believed he had no choice. However, I believe Henry was unjustified in breaking his entire country from the Catholic Church for his own personal ends. Through clever political maneuvering him and his advisors were able to make it seem that it was what England wanted but as we will see in the future his decision will be costly in blood for the people of England.

Brian Cadden

Works Cited

The Act of Supremacy http://tudorhistory.org/primary/supremacy.html

The Act in Restraint in Appeals http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/act_restraint_appeals.htm

Letter of Thomas Cramner http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/cramner-hen8.html

Hapsburg Geneology http://www.monarchgenealogy.com/habsburghistory.htm