Реферат: King Henry Viii Essay Research Paper King

The monasteries throughout England were dissolved and their vast lands and

goods turned over to the king, who in turn granted those estates to

noblemen who would support his policies. In the northern part of the

kingdom the people rose in rebellion in behalf of the monks, but the

Pilgrimage of Grace, as it was called, was put down.

Although Henry reformed the government of the church, he refused to

allow any changes to be made in its doctrines. Before his divorce he had

opposed the teachings of Martin Luther in a book that had gained for him

from the pope the title Defender of the Faith–a title the monarch of

England still bears. After the separation from Rome he persecuted with

equal severity the Catholics who adhered to the government of Rome and the

Protestants who rejected its doctrines.

Henry was married six times. Anne Boleyn bore the king one child, who

became Elizabeth I. Henry soon tired of Anne and had her put to death. A

few days later he married a third wife, Jane Seymour. She died in a little

more than a year, after having given birth to the future Edward VI.

A marriage was then contracted with a German princess, Anne of Cleves,

whom the king had been led to believe to be very beautiful. When he saw her

he discovered that he had been tricked, and he promptly divorced this wife

and beheaded Thomas Cromwell, the minister who had arranged the marriage.

Henry’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was sent to the block for misconduct.

In 1543 he married his sixth wife, the tactful and pious Catherine Parr.

Catherine, who survived Henry, lived to marry her fourth husband.

During Henry’s reign the union of England and Wales was completed

(1536). Ireland was made a kingdom (1541), and Henry became king of

Ireland. His wars with Scotland and France remained indecisive in spite of

some shallow victories. Although he himself opposed the Reformation, his

creation of a national church marked the real beginning of the English

Reformation. He died on Jan. 28, 1547, and was buried in St. George’s