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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTAHS/oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-8168 |
| Date | 01 May 2018 |
| Creators | Wiggins, Joshua C. |
| Publisher | DigitalCommons@USU |
| Source Sets | Utah State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | All Graduate Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact digitalcommons@usu.edu. |
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