Henry's Role In The English Reformation

Historians have disagreed about whether or not the English Reformation was inevitable without Henry’s involvement? What is your view about the importance of Henry’s role in the English Reformation?

Henry’s involvement within the English Reformation has been a debatable factor among historians; some dispute about whether or not the reformation would have occurred if Henry wasn’t the sole factor. Starkey’s critical analysis explores that Henry played an important part in the reformation, yet he does suggest that some factors leading to the eventual reformation had been laid out when Henry took the throne. Contrast to this, Geoffrey Elton’s interpretation claims that the government and key individuals such as Thomas Cromwell was a driving force

The Tudor dynasty was being pulled into the new generation of the British empire; the medieval government was not substantial enough to move into the next generation of the Tudor era, to creation of governmental ‘departments’ as argued by Elton was partly the cause of the revolution; individuals such as Cromwell rose to power through the governmental ranks, he established himself within the house of commons making sure that he had stable foundations for the next stage of his growth, although ‘Entry into the King’s service, not achieved but foreshadowed by the King’s approval of his membership of parliament, was the next step’ (81 Elton) tried to isolate the duties of the crown from government duties for a more efficient system as each bureaucrat could not have to ‘depend on the vigour of the Crown’. The government being controlled by individuals such as the ‘last medieval chancellor’ (Elton 70) Wolsey and Cromwell; both men were eager to ‘manipulate the strings of European diplomacy’ with Cromwell being a ‘modern type of English statesman’ taking up the reigns of power - as a result these two powerful men make it seen that Henry was being influenced by them to break away from Rome, Starkey sheds light being able to agree with this statement as Henry had ‘many...qualities of a born leader’ (Starkey 1), yet he had found it hard with the ‘application to routine in which he father had excelled’ (Starkey 3). As a result Henry relied on many advisors who looked after his accounts, he