Lust, Power, Greed, or Religion: Why Did Henry VIII Break With Rome?
Henry VIII broke with Rome and therefore became the head of The Church Of England in 1534. He passed the Act Of Supremacy by declaring that he was the head of the Church of England, not the Pope. Many historians believe that power- his desire for a male heir and making the Tudor line as strong as possible- was the reason Henry was led to break with Rome. Other factors that have been considered are lust, greed and religion- his feelings for six different ladies, his need for money and the religious worries he overcame regarding his illegitimate marriage to Catherine, all of which will be explained in this evaluation.
Henry married Catherine of Aragon in 1509 though he soon …show more content…
As a result of all of Catherine’s babies dying, Henry begins to worry that marrying Catherine was a sin and illegitimate in the eyes of God- the Bible states: ‘If a man shall take his brother’s wife it is an unclean thing. They shall be childless’. As Henry believed, the fundamental reason Catherine did not borne a male heir was because their marriage was unlawful. This bred Henry to question why the Pope authorized the marriage in the first place- he had gone against the rules of God initially. Moreover, Anne Boleyn gave Henry a book which claimed that the king was in fact the head of the English Church and not the Pope, which definitely drove Henry to break with Rome- it convinced him that he was right in thinking he deserved all the power. These beliefs lead us to insinuate that Henry may have been a Protestant, which could be another reason as to why the break took place. To conclude, the points made indicates that religion is a factor of importance as to what triggered Henry to break with Rome- the fact that he could not divorce Catherine as it said in the Bible, his influence from Anne and also his actions which resembled the beliefs of
Henry VIII broke with Rome and therefore became the head of The Church Of England in 1534. He passed the Act Of Supremacy by declaring that he was the head of the Church of England, not the Pope. Many historians believe that power- his desire for a male heir and making the Tudor line as strong as possible- was the reason Henry was led to break with Rome. Other factors that have been considered are lust, greed and religion- his feelings for six different ladies, his need for money and the religious worries he overcame regarding his illegitimate marriage to Catherine, all of which will be explained in this evaluation.
Henry married Catherine of Aragon in 1509 though he soon …show more content…
As a result of all of Catherine’s babies dying, Henry begins to worry that marrying Catherine was a sin and illegitimate in the eyes of God- the Bible states: ‘If a man shall take his brother’s wife it is an unclean thing. They shall be childless’. As Henry believed, the fundamental reason Catherine did not borne a male heir was because their marriage was unlawful. This bred Henry to question why the Pope authorized the marriage in the first place- he had gone against the rules of God initially. Moreover, Anne Boleyn gave Henry a book which claimed that the king was in fact the head of the English Church and not the Pope, which definitely drove Henry to break with Rome- it convinced him that he was right in thinking he deserved all the power. These beliefs lead us to insinuate that Henry may have been a Protestant, which could be another reason as to why the break took place. To conclude, the points made indicates that religion is a factor of importance as to what triggered Henry to break with Rome- the fact that he could not divorce Catherine as it said in the Bible, his influence from Anne and also his actions which resembled the beliefs of