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Henry VIII and religion: by positioning him firmly within the changing context of his times, Lucy Wooding sees coherence in Henry VIII's religious policies.

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Henry VIII is notorious for many things, but being very religious is not usually one of them. We might think of him as being majestic, bellicose, destructive or manipulative, but not as being particularly pious. And yet religion was one of the subjects that concerned Henry the most; he gave it perhaps more consideration than any other aspect of his reign save warfare. Religion was an integral part of his daily life and a crucial aspect of his kingship. Henry's religious policies were arguably the most far-reaching of all his innovations as ruler, and his most lasting legacy. Today, the subject of Henry VIII's religion is perhaps the most hotly contested historical aspect of his life and times.

Debating the Reformation

Henry's religion was a puzzle to his contemporaries, and has remained a source of contention ever since. The problem is that his reign coincided with the beginnings of what subsequently was termed the English Reformation. Henry's break with Rome, his institution of the Royal Supremacy, his introduction of an English Bible and the dissolution of the monasteries were all steps on the path to England's Protestant future. The question is whether Henry himself was aware of this, and whether he intended it to happen. Our understanding of the king and our understanding of the English Reformation are inextricably intertwined, and to make sense of one we have to try to make sense of the other.

We used to think that the English Reformation was a progressive movement, inevitable given the corruption of the pre-Reformation church and eagerly welcomed by the populace. Into this kind of interpretation, Henry fitted a little awkwardly, but a plausible enough case was made for him as a king broadly responsive to popular demand for change, if occasionally susceptible to reactionary pressure by conservative courtiers. This view of both Henry and the Reformation originated with John Foxe, whose 1563 Acts and Monuments --nearly always called the 'Book of Martyrs'--was a hugely important moment in the definition of an English Protestant identity, as well as forming the foundation of an enduring historical tradition. Unfortunately, Foxe remains far from reliable; he was not so much writing a history as a work of Protestant inspiration. He wanted to ascribe Protestant tendencies to Henry VIII, but since the facts did not really fit, he did the best he could, making the king appear sympathetic to the cause but inclined to vacillate, according to pressure from the different court factions.

A different view of the Reformation requires a different understanding of Henry VIII. If we take an opposing view to that of Foxe and the Protestant tradition, the Reformation may be seen as having little popular backing, the pre-Reformation church as being in good shape, and religious change as something imposed from above. Within such a context, Henry VIII's motivations look very different--and far less respectable. To take this 'revisionist' view of the king is to argue that his actions were not inspired by a vision--even a partial vision--of Protestant truth, but were the arbitrary acts of a man whose prime concern was his own stability and satisfaction. He broke with Rome because he wanted to get rid of Katherine of Aragon and saw no other way of doing it; he brought in an English Bible because it helped him achieve his own ends; he dissolved the monasteries because he wanted their money. This view we see as modern, associating it with the work...

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