The King's Reformation

Henry VIII and the Remaking of the English Church

Datos Bibliográficos

ID9799729
AutoresChristopher Haigh (United Church of Christ, autor de correspondencia)
Año2006
Volumen121
Número494
Páginas1455-1457
Fecha de publicación2006-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe English Historical Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0013-8266 • E-ISSN: 1477-4534
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ehr/cel297
OpenAlexW2003651784
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas10

THERE is a pleasing perversity in George Bernard's approach to the reign of Henry VIII. Any idea that looks like gaining acceptance among historians is in the author's sights. Did Anne Boleyn seek to advance the evangelical cause? No, she did not! Was she attacked by political enemies and framed on false charges? No, she was guilty of multiple adultery and rightly rejected by the king. Did political factions vie for influence over Henry VIII? No, there were no factions and the king was always in charge. Did religious policy shift according to political pressures or diplomatic calculations? No, the king had a consistent and determined policy, and knew exactly what he was doing. Was there a religious reaction, in 1538, or 1539, or 1540? Not at all. In articles, essays and this huge volume, Bernard has argued a coherent case on the nature of Henrician politics and of religious change, encapsulated in the title of the book: it was the king's Reformation, and he was remaking the English Church as he wanted it to be. It is an interesting and plausible argument, and we have been thereabouts before: James Froude redivivus

Argument (complex analysis · English Reformation · Political science · Politics · Protestantism · Reign · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Classics · History · Law · Philosophy · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity · Religious studies