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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This dissertation explores humanism, the rediscovery of the culture of ancient Greece and Rome, in late fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century England. It does so with reference to texts, institutional settings, and networks both within and beyond England, and examines the activities of several seemingly minor figures who have been absent from recent scholarship on the topic: John Holt, William Lily, Richard Croke, Leonard Cox, and Thomas Lupset. These figures made distinctive and original contributions to the genres in which they operated, whether the grammatical manual, educational treatise, dialogue, or philosophical meditation. They are also noteworthy for their considerable influence, whether in England or further abroad. With regard to Croke and Cox, the integration of previously unknown sources from France and Germany and overlooked ones from eastern Europe reveals that England could be an exporter and not merely an importer of humanism. Taken together, these individuals demonstrate that English humanism was more sophisticated and complex than its frequent characterisation as 'Erasmian' would suggest. In addition, this dissertation analyses the influence of humanism on two school foundations: St Paul's School and Ipswich College. It re-evaluates the portrayal of John Colet as an anti-intellectual, and understands St Paul's as a deeply personal endeavour, reflecting his desire to do better for the next generation. It establishes the depth and significance of humanism in Cardinal Wolsey's foundation of Ipswich College, hitherto accorded less importance by historians than his Oxford college. The examination of the little-known materials he published on the eve of his fall in 1529, together with reports from staff on its progress, show that he regarded it as central to his ambitious vision for England and to the creation of his own reputation as a civic humanist. This research therefore revises our understanding of a neglected period, and engages with the vexed questions at the heart of the study of humanism: how contemporaries dealt with the tension between their faith and their enthusiasm for pagan culture, and regarded the rival attractions of scholarly leisure and active public service.

Before the reformation and the schism of the Catholic Church, it had always been the duty of the Church and not of the state, to undertake the seven corporal works of mercy; feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick, visit the prisoner, and bury the dead.¹ By dissolving these institutions, Henry had unwittingly created what would become a social disaster of biblical proportions. In essence, this act was rendering thousands of the poor and elderly without a home or shelter, it denied the country of much of the medical aid that has been offered by the church, it denied future generations of thousands of volumes of books and scriptures from the monastic libraries, as well as denied many an education who would have otherwise never received one without the help of the Church. The ultimate goal of my thesis is to prove my hypothesis that the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII was not merely a contributory factor in the need for the creation of poor laws, but the deciding factor (in a myriad of societal issues) for their creation. Footnote 1: Matthew 25 vv. 32-46.