How Did Thomas Cranmer Changed History

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There are not many people that changed history and specifically Christianity, that we know of today.Thomas Cranmer was born in Nottingham, England on July 2, 1489. His parents were minor gentry which means that they were the poorest of the rich. Cranmer’s father only had enough land to give to Thomas’ older brother, so Cranmer didn’t get anything. Thomas then left his family and went to school at Cambridge to start his holy life and become a priest. Thomas later married a daughter of a local tavern-keeper near Cambridge. Since Thomas got married, he wasn’t allowed to go to school. His wife later got pregnant and died in childbirth, which resulted in Thomas being accepted into college again. Thomas Cranmer had a major role in the English Reformation by becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1533. Thomas Cranmer wrote the Book of Common Prayer that we still use today. Thomas Cranmer did many great …show more content…

While he was in school a plague swept across the land forcing him to move to Essex. When he was Essex he lived in the area close to Henry VIII. He caught the attention of Henry VIII and Henry asked him if he would be willing to help him out with a case that had never been done before. Henry VIII was unhappily married with his wife Catherine of Aragon. Henry wanted Cranmer to help him get divorced. Henry was in such a hurry to get divorced because his mistress Anne Boleyn got pregnant while he was still married to his wife. Later in 1532, Cranmer became ambassador to Holy Roman Empire Charles V. After some time, Cranmer was sent to Germany to learn more about Lutheranism. It was in Germany that Cranmer met Margaret Osiander who he then married. In 1533, Cranmer was proclaimed archbishop of Canterbury. Cranmer finally did the case for Henry VIII as part of the embassy to Rome. Cranmer later ruled that the king’s marriage to Catherine was void and later validated the king’s marriage to Anne