This thesis aims to examine Richmond's life in the context of his role as a magnate, a courtier, and the king's only son. As a much neglected subject this includes a good deal of biographical material, in order to present the duke within the context in which he lived. This also allows a re-assessment of his part in the succession crisis, with particular reference to the significance of his elevation in 1525, and the speculation regarding the king's intentions, as represented in the Succession Act of 1536. An examination of his responsibilities, not least as Lord Lieutenant in the north, of Ireland and as Lord Admiral, queries how far his extreme youth and his illegitimacy inhibited or facilitated the role Henry VIII wished him to fulfil. In tandem with this, a special study of the duke as a landlord looks at the relationship between the authority bestowed upon Richmond and the actual freedom of action allowed to the child. A view of his political importance, in matters such as marriage alliances and diplomacy, is considered alongside an appraisal of the personal standing of the duke, both in England and abroad. In order to provide a complete picture of Richmond's circumstances, there is also an account of the fortunes of his maternal relations, the Blounts of Kinlet, tracing their wealth and descent, and in particular those connections and alliances which assisted their daughter's acceptance at court. An analysis of Elizabeth Blount's relationship with Henry VIII leads into a consideration of how her royal liaison affected her life. In discussing the overall legacy left by Richmond's demise, the right and title of his widow, Mary Richmond, to her agreed jointure, and her subsequent fortunes, are weighed against the priorities of the king.

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King Henry VIII (1487-1547) famously severed ties with Roman Catholocism and nationalized the church in England in order to secure an annulment from his wife. His decision instigated the Henrician Reformation (1527-1547), a subset of the English Reformation. The king assumed the title 'Supreme Head of the English Church' and vested himself with the power to reform his country's church/ Occasional liturgies - the formal religious ceremonies surrounding birth, marriage, and death - were prime opportunities to publicly display new doctrines and procedures. Instead, these rituals changed surprisingly little and largely mirrored the pageantry performed by his parents. Two conclusions are drawn from the results. First, the modern perception of Henry VIII as an all-powerful rebel is challenged due to his careful observance of the liturgy in order to achieve a desired outcome, whether it be a proper christening, wedding, or state funeral. Second, these royal rituals are shown to not only demonstrate religious beliefs, but also social and political realities as well. These two principles add complexity to understanding the course of the Henrician Reformation.

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In 1534, the English Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy. This effectively stripped all of the authority the Pope held in England and gave it to Henry VIII. Also because of the Act of Supremacy Henry VIII gained a new title: Supreme Head of the Church of England. However, there was a problem. The Act of Supremacy only vaguely defined the new powers that had been given to the King. Consequently, what exactly his new powers were and their limits had to be established. The other issue that had to be dealt with was the establishment of the canons of the Church of England. It was a new church with no canons or rules in place other then the establishment of Henry VIII as Supreme Head of the Church of England The purpose of this thesis is to explore the use of Anabaptists and Sacramentaries in the formulation of the doctrine of the Church of England and the expansion of Henry VIII's power as Supreme Head of the Church of England. Henry was able to use the Anabaptists and Sacramentaries because they posed no real threat to the state but were easy tools to be manipulated. The main documents that will be dealt with are the November 1538 Royal Proclamation Prohibiting Unlicensed Printing of Scripture, Exiling Anabaptists, Depriving Married Clergy, Removing St. Thomas à Becket from Calendar, the trial of John Lambert, and the February 1539 Royal Proclamation Prescribing Rites and Ceremonies, Pardoning Anabaptists.

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This thesis begins by examining an unexplored contextual background for sixteenth century local maps. It argues that the architectural drawing techniques developed by master masons in the late twelfth century continued to be taught to the King’s masons well into the sixteenth, and that these drawing techniques lie behind the innovations in sixteenth century topographical mapping. Having provided a history of the craft skills that were adapted to make sixteenth century local maps this thesis moves on to consider why masons adapted craft skills traditionally used in full scale drawings on stone and plaster surfaces to make small, paper maps in the sixteenth century. It examines the way in which sixteenth century local maps were used and argues that the changing demands of patrons put pressure on master masons to alter the way in which local maps portrayed their subjects. The surviving archival evidence suggests that Henry VIII was the principle patron of local maps and my research examines the influence of the king over the shifting form of the map. It uses the letters and drawings sent between Henry VIII and his craftsmen to examine the decisive changes that Henry VIII made to the nature of the relationship between patron and builder, and the consequent effects of these changes over the forms of the image used to communicate between them. My argument suggests that Henry employs and promotes the craftsmen whose drawings allow him the greatest level of design control over the works he finances and that through this system maps and plans rapidly advance to include the technical drawing techniques which had, during the Middle Ages, been used exclusively among masons as on-site, working drawings. This thesis focuses attention on the technical aspects of map making, examining the material skills used to construct Henrician local maps and arguing that sixteenth centry local maps need to be related back to the craft skills of an older tradition of masonic drawing. It also suggests that map historians needs to look more closely at the correspondence sent between the king and his craftsmen and it argues this archival evidence provides a new contextual background with which to understand the changing forms of the Henrican local map.

This thesis attempts to describe the contingent events that led to the downfall of Lord High Chancellor Thomas Wolsey in England. Using the British History Online website and Hall's Chronicles, I read all the letters and papers under Henry VIII between the years of 1527 and 1529. While the popular belief is that it was from Wolsey's incapability to get the annulment Henry VIII wanted from his first wife, there are other arguments that attempt to steer away from that popular viewpoint. While I do follow the popular belief, in my research I found that the common belief of the inability to get the annulment is true, but not as black and white as it has been made out to be. There were many events and circumstances that hindered Wolsey and other delegates that were involved ranging from physiologically to politically. In addition, the downfall of Wolsey was not as gradual as has been assumed.

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