As Martin Luther's ideas spread, reformers, who became known as Protestants, emerged throughout Europe. A theological debate followed that eventually erupted into religious warfare that was to last for well over a century. In England, Henry VIII initially defended the Catholic church. However, the lengths to which Henry VIII went to get a male heir shocked Europe. In 1590, he married Catherine of Aragon, but when all her sons died in infancy, Henry wanted the marriage declared invalid. The Pope refused this request. As a consequence Henry cut all ties between England and the Catholic Church in Rome and declared himself Supreme Head of the Church of England.
Fact file
Excommunicated by the Pope, Henry gave himself unrestricted power and set about consolidating the spiritual independence of England from Rome. In 1536, Henry VIII ordered that monasteries such as Tintern abbey be 'dissolved', or closed down and ransacked.
resources: Tell me why (Chancellor Press)
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