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| The English Reformation was about more than Henry's divorce | The English Reformation was about more than Henry's divorce |
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| I don't think we should let the Rev Giles Fraser get away with his swingeing attack on Henry VIII (Loose canon, 23 February). Henry was an unpleasant man, but there was more to the break with Rome than his "vast, destructive ego". For centuries it had been the policy of the popes, particularly with regard to the French royal family, to permit the divorce of kings to ensure peaceful successions. But a man history has been far too kind to, Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, whose Habsburg family had ruthlessly acquired many other lands (including Spain) through marrying heiresses, pressured the pope to block the divorce. | I don't think we should let the Rev Giles Fraser get away with his swingeing attack on Henry VIII (Loose canon, 23 February). Henry was an unpleasant man, but there was more to the break with Rome than his "vast, destructive ego". For centuries it had been the policy of the popes, particularly with regard to the French royal family, to permit the divorce of kings to ensure peaceful successions. But a man history has been far too kind to, Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, whose Habsburg family had ruthlessly acquired many other lands (including Spain) through marrying heiresses, pressured the pope to block the divorce. |
| The aim was to marry Henry VIII's then only legitimate child, Mary, to his son Philip (later Philip II, King of Spain, who sent the Armada). Charles V and his descendants were enthusiastic supporters of the Inquisition, and burnt many heretics at the stake, including William Tyndale. When Mary finally succeeded, there was a vicious persecution of Protestants, and she married Philip, though too late to have a child herself. I suspect we may have a lot to thank Henry VIII for. Jonathan Goll Birmingham | The aim was to marry Henry VIII's then only legitimate child, Mary, to his son Philip (later Philip II, King of Spain, who sent the Armada). Charles V and his descendants were enthusiastic supporters of the Inquisition, and burnt many heretics at the stake, including William Tyndale. When Mary finally succeeded, there was a vicious persecution of Protestants, and she married Philip, though too late to have a child herself. I suspect we may have a lot to thank Henry VIII for. Jonathan Goll Birmingham |
| • Giles Fraser has a very schoolboy view of history if he thinks Henry VIII broke with the Catholic church simply to be able to marry Anne Boleyn. He ignores the central issue of power and authority in Europe, and the increasing intellectual pressures for church reform. He desribes the monasteries as the "National Health Service of the medieval world" and as "great centres of education" but these were marginal activities. He ignores their widespread corruption, gluttony and sexual profligacy. The plethora of monasteries was sucking the people dry and depriving the crown of a potentially vast tax income. Those are some of the real reasons for the dissolution. Bruni de la Motte London | • Giles Fraser has a very schoolboy view of history if he thinks Henry VIII broke with the Catholic church simply to be able to marry Anne Boleyn. He ignores the central issue of power and authority in Europe, and the increasing intellectual pressures for church reform. He desribes the monasteries as the "National Health Service of the medieval world" and as "great centres of education" but these were marginal activities. He ignores their widespread corruption, gluttony and sexual profligacy. The plethora of monasteries was sucking the people dry and depriving the crown of a potentially vast tax income. Those are some of the real reasons for the dissolution. Bruni de la Motte London |
| • Giles Fraser's defence of the Church of England must be the weirdest ever. He writes: "That the C of E was born in disgrace has always seemed to me to be its strongest feature." By which he means the life Henry VIII – a notorious womaniser, an open adulterer, a warlord, murderer not just of the two wives he had beheaded but of any number of other people, and "one of the greatest cultural criminals of history". Just imagine it if the founder of Christianity had been even a bit like that. Matthew's gospel would hardly have concluded with the exhortation: "Go into the whole world and preach the gospel to every nation." What's the Rev Fraser up to inside the walls of his south London church? Michael Knowles Congleton, Cheshire | • Giles Fraser's defence of the Church of England must be the weirdest ever. He writes: "That the C of E was born in disgrace has always seemed to me to be its strongest feature." By which he means the life Henry VIII – a notorious womaniser, an open adulterer, a warlord, murderer not just of the two wives he had beheaded but of any number of other people, and "one of the greatest cultural criminals of history". Just imagine it if the founder of Christianity had been even a bit like that. Matthew's gospel would hardly have concluded with the exhortation: "Go into the whole world and preach the gospel to every nation." What's the Rev Fraser up to inside the walls of his south London church? Michael Knowles Congleton, Cheshire |
| • Henry VIII did not found the Church of England; it pre-existed him by at least 1,000 years. He only withdrew it from the authority of Rome – not the first English king to fall out with the papacy. Under his daughter Mary (Bloody Mary), the Church of England was returned to Rome – which was not altogether a welcome move. I share Giles Fraser's view of the Anglican church as part of the wider Catholic church. But its independence from Rome actually dates from Elizabeth, who tried to steer a wise middle course between the radical and conservative elements of her day (Puritanism and Romanism). Mark Sasse Stafford | • Henry VIII did not found the Church of England; it pre-existed him by at least 1,000 years. He only withdrew it from the authority of Rome – not the first English king to fall out with the papacy. Under his daughter Mary (Bloody Mary), the Church of England was returned to Rome – which was not altogether a welcome move. I share Giles Fraser's view of the Anglican church as part of the wider Catholic church. But its independence from Rome actually dates from Elizabeth, who tried to steer a wise middle course between the radical and conservative elements of her day (Puritanism and Romanism). Mark Sasse Stafford |
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