The Reasons for the Break of Henry VIII from Rome

‘Henry VIII broke from Rome because he wanted to improve his personal energy.’ Explain why you agree or disagree with this view.

It could be interpreted that Henry VIII broke from Rome because he wanted to enhance his own personal energy, nevertheless there are two primary contradicting views. Firstly that Henry realised the wealth of the Church and decided to take that supply for himself, and secondly that he was spurred by his want for an annulment. All round, it can be argued that his need to have for an annulment was the most important issue.

A essential motive behind the break with Rome was Henry VIII’s quest for energy. This is evidenced by means of his attempts in conquest to claim components of France and expand his kingdom, and his want to be observed as an ‘imperial king’. Such a monarch would not accept a larger power than his own, or being contradicted by a greater force in matters of his annulment. This anger would have been supported by the Collectanea satis copiosa, compiled by Cranmer, which undermined the Pope’s function in the English Church and referred to an Erastian tradition – that the King of England was accepted as head of the English Church. However, this need to overthrow the Pope’s energy in no way would have come about if not for the want for an annulment, creating this quest for power more a means than a motive. It can been seen that his desires later alter to a lust for power, through the Act of Supremacy in 1534 which named him ‘the only Supreme Head of the Church in England’, confirming the prior Acts and producing him the unquestionable Head.

However, this grab of power is noticed only as a diverse approach, not the explanation for the break. Originally, via charging the clergymen with praemunire and the Act of Annates in 1532, Henry sought to alter the Pope’s choice by placing economic stress on him. If this had worked, no doubt he would have been contented and had no need to have to pursue power, hence he would not have broken with Rome. There, the want for the annulment was the reason that Henry VIII broke from Papal authority in England. This is the essential starting point from which all other motives arise – if he had not require the annulment, he in no way would have begun the journey which led to his separation with Rome. Marking this motive as the starting of all factors clearly proves that it is the sole reason behind the break, no matter how Henry attempted to obtain it, the explanation he employed these strategies was because he necessary an annulment. It was the trigger, the trigger, at the heart of every Act and each choice until he ultimately declared the marriage invalid in the 1534 Act of Succession.

The final possibility is that Henry was driven by a want for money. He was a king employed to a lavish lifestyle, and right after around twenty years of ruling no doubt the royal coffers would have run low. Along the procedure of striving for an annulment, no doubt Henry would have realised what a vast wealth the Church had – by fining those accused of praemunire he was awarded a huge sum of cash – but this was little far more than a fringe advantage. He did not abolish Papal authority in England for assets, initially he halted annates to put pressure on the Pope, not to advance his personal riches. Although this would have appealed to Henry as an added bonus and an simple source of earnings, it was not a motive.

In conclusion, the cause for Henry’s break with Rome was his need to have for an annulment. This extended quest was not begun with the break in mind, alternatively its origins were his wish for a divorce. While the finish outcome was an accumulation of power and wealth, his seize of power was basically a method with which to obtain his objective. When putting economic pressure on the Pope was ineffective, he sought an additional signifies, hence proving that power was not the cause he broke, no far more than wealth (a fringe advantage) but merely a way of obtaining the annulment with Catherine of Aragon that he so yearned.