On the subject of the schism that King Henry VIII introduced and that turned England into a Church totally independent of Rome, there have been and continue to be a multitude of topics and legends.. From those who attribute the separation to something dictated exclusively by the monarch’s passion for Anne Boleyn, to those who insist on describing Catherine of Aragon as a three-to-a-quarter prude who spent the day praying. As always, the story has many, many nuances.
One of the things that is generally unknown is that, before engaging in an ideological, theological and political war with the Holy See, Henry VIII was proclaimed by Pope Leo monarch in which he defended the Roman faith and attacked the nascent Protestantism.
Of course, at that time no one, much less the Pope, could suppose that, a few years later, the same king who had drafted such a document would initiate a schism that would end with the establishment of the Anglican Church, totally independent of Rome. But let’s go in parts.
To speak properly about the schism of the Church of England, it is necessary to go back to the years before the reign of Henry VIII. It is the 15th century, and humanism triumphs throughout Europe. Thinkers such as Erasmus of Rotterdam (d. 1536) or Thomas More (1478-1535), better known in Hispanic territory as Thomas More, They supported the need for a return to the origins of the Church, to a purer Christianity in line with the Gospels..
The request was not trivial; Let us remember that the 15th century is the century of the great popes of the Renaissance, who had converted the Vatican into a true palace, where concubines, prostitutes (of both sexes) and illegitimate children swarmed. Not only that; With the aim of completing the ambitious project of the new Saint Peter, Pope Leo That was something that many could not tolerate, since it constituted a true prostitution of the faith.
Erasmus of Rotterdam and Thomas More did not intend, in the least, to change the precepts of the Catholic religion. They also did not want a separation from Rome. They only suggested a renovatio, a renewal from the foundations that would return to the corrupted Church the values promulgated by Christ.. However, a German monk took this desire for change much further.
Luther and the new Protestant faith
This German monk was, of course, Martin Luther (1483-1546), Martin Luther for Spanish speakers, who had been completely scandalized by the shameful traffic in indulgences that was rampant throughout Christendom. According to the German theologian, The fact that the faithful had to pay to “relieve their souls” was an aberration that went against the sacrament of confession and true repentance and contrition..
In 1517, according to tradition, Luther nailed his more than famous ninety-five theses to the door of the palace at Wittenberg, in Saxony, where he explained his views on the matter. This is the fact that history takes as the “official” starting signal for Protestantism.
We cannot expand here on the process of expansion of Lutheranism and the conflict in which Europe was plunged as a result of the protest of its leader (hence the name of the new faith, by the way). But it is necessary to emphasize this to deeply understand the historical framework in which Henry VIII moved and in which his schism occurred.
After the publication of his text in defense of the Roman faith and the proclamation of his person as “defender of the faith”, it is logical that relations between the papacy and the English monarch were more than good. On the other hand, At that time Enrique was already married to Catherine of Aragon, one of the daughters of the Catholic Monarchs, about whom, by the way, there are still many clichés that deserve to be examined.
The “prudish” wife and the “impure” lover
In general, traditional historiography and, above all, popular myth has reduced both English sovereigns to these two respective epithets, so cruel and ungrateful. In reality, it is about the same thing as always: the contrast of the virginal, pure, religious and modest woman, with the fiery, sexual and passionate woman, the source of all perdition. But, unfortunately for lovers of clichés and historical mythology in general, this was not the case. At least, not exactly.
Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536) was the last offspring of the Catholic Monarchs. In 1501, at the age of sixteen, she married Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales and, therefore, heir to the English throne.. The young husband died prematurely, and Catherine remarried; on this occasion, with her late husband’s little brother, the future monarch Henry VIII. This information is important, because it will be precisely what the king will cling to when he decides to get rid of Catherine to marry Anne Boleyn. We will talk about it later.
We have commented that popular mythology, spurred by certain historians, has fueled the image of Queen Catherine as an extremely devout woman, almost bordering on prudishness. And, although, of course, the daughter of the Catholic Monarchs firmly followed the precepts of the Church, we must not forget that she was also a great humanist who welcomed into her circle figures such as Erasmus of Rotterdam and Luis Vives and promoted the new current of thought of his century.
The latter’s work De institutione feminae christianae, which defends the education of women, was in fact promoted by the sovereign, endowed with great intelligence and extensive culture. In fact, During the first years of their marriage, and before the lack of a male heir undermined their marriage, Henry and Catherine got along magnificently, as he was also a fairly cultured monarch, fond of music and poetry..
In contrast to the “self-righteous” queen, history has placed Anne Boleyn, better known as Anne Boleyn, as the dangerous siren who enchants an already fallen out of love Henry with her graces. Although Anne Boleyn is described by her contemporaries as cheerful and charming, it is no less true that she was a remarkably cultured and intelligent woman, having been educated in France under the auspices of Queen Claudia.
It is really difficult to discern the real Anne Boleyn from the testimony of her (many) detractors. Calculating, cold, ambitious… Although there may have been some of that, deep down, it may also be a simple exaggeration of those who hated her and wished for her downfall. In fact, experts agree that She was innocent of the charges that were brought against her and that finally led her to the scaffold, among which is the chilling accusation of having had sexual relations with her own brother.. It seems that, ultimately, Boleyn was another victim of that whole pantomime.
The king wants a son
By 1525, Henry had already begun to assume that God was not going to give him an heir. His wife Catalina was already forty years old, an age at which the ability to conceive radically decreases. Of the six children the queen had given birth to, only one daughter survived, the one who would later reign as Mary Tudor. The others were either stillborn or survived a short period of time.
Enrique began to think that such a chain of misfortunes had something to do with divine punishment. Well, hadn’t he married his brother’s wife? According to the Bible, or, more specifically, according to Leviticus, the man who acted in this way was committing incest in the eyes of God. Thus, at the request of the monarch, a theological study began with the aim of assessing the situation and formalizing an annulment for the already detested marriage..
For her part, Catherine defended herself against the accusation by arguing that she had not had sexual relations with Arthur, so the Leviticus sentence had no basis. It must be kept in mind that, at that time, a marriage was only valid if consummation had occurred. Catherine knew this, and she also knew that her husband would use it to get rid of her and deny her her rightful title as Queen of England.
Did the sovereign lie to preserve her status? We will never know. It seems unlikely, given Catherine’s personality and integrity, that she would lie about a matter so important to the salvation of her soul. Either way, His version did not satisfy Enrique, obsessed with the idea of sin and dying without a male heir. And this is where Anne Boleyn comes into play..
Anne Boleyn had returned to her native England after studying in France, as we have already mentioned, at the court of Queen Claudia. Upon her return, she became part of Catherine of Aragon’s entourage of ladies. The king, who at that time was already disenchanted with his marriage, noticed that graceful dark-skinned girl, who knew fashion perfectly and danced and played instruments admirably.
The idea of getting rid of Catherine and marrying Anne matured in the monarch’s head. After many vicissitudes and a long conflict, not only theological, but also political (remember that Catherine was the aunt of none other than Charles V, the powerful emperor of the Holy Empire), In 1534 the Anglican Church was finally born, officially separated from Rome, with its king, Henry, as its head..
The marriage that had given England so many headaches was declared null and void by Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Finally, Henry was able to marry Anne, who was already pregnant with the future Elizabeth I. Catherine, the scorned queen, was confined first to More Castle and, later, to Kimbolton Castle, where she would die in 1536, at fifty years. Until the end of her days she continued to consider herself the legitimate queen of England.
After Henry
We have already commented that Henry did not substantially change the Roman faith. Simply and plainly, he set up his own Church in England, of which he was the visible head, thus taking the role that the Pope had previously played.
The regency established due to the minority of the young Edward VI, the male child that Henry had had with Jane Seymour, his third wife (whom he married after the execution of Boleyn) had begun to establish Protestantism as the basis of the new Anglican Church. The time for the much-desired man soon ran out, as the boy died when he was only fifteen years old.
After the death of the young monarch, a period of instability began that we cannot summarize here and that included the reign of Mary Tudor, Catherine’s daughter (baptized by the English as Bloody Mary), which was characterized by a return to the Catholic faith and the persecution of Anglican dissidents. Mary was succeeded by her sister Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne Boleyn. This reign meant the consolidation of the Anglican Church as an entity independent of Rome, and consolidated its decisive Protestantization..
