Quest for an Heir: Henry VIII, Aragon and Boleyn
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Why does Henry VIII want to be the ‘Defender of the Faith’ and how does this shape his early reign?
Want to walk the halls of Anne Boleyn's childhood home, or explore the castles that made up Henry VIII's English stronghold? With a subscription to History Hit, you can dive into our Tudor past alongside the world's leading historians and archaeologists. You'll also unlock hundreds of hours of original documentaries with a brand new release every single week. Covering everything from the ancient world to World War II. Just visit historyhit.com forward slash subscribe. Hello, I'm Professor Susanna Lipscomb and welcome to Not Just The Tudors from History Hit. The podcast in which we explore everything from Anne Boleyn to the Aztecs, from Holbein to the Huguenots, from Shakespeare to Samurai's. Relieved by regular doses of murder, espionage, and witchcraft.
Not, in other words, just the Tudors, but most definitely also the Tudors.
Before Henry VIII broke with Rome, he defended it. This was a king who wrote on theology, cultivated scholars, and publicly attacked Martin Luther's challenge to the Catholic Church, earning from the Pope the title of Fidi Defensor, Defender of the Faith. Henry wanted to be recognized across Europe
as a model Christian prince, learned, magnificent, orthodox, and formidable. But reputation was never enough for Henry. He wanted victories abroad, influence in Europe. And above all, a sun. Behind the brilliance of his court lay a growing dynastic crisis. Catherine of Aragon had endured pregnancy after pregnancy, but by the 1520s their only surviving child was a daughter, Mary. For Henry, the absence of a male heir became increasingly intolerable. And then another woman
entered his orbit. Ambilin. What followed would begin as a royal marriage problem and end by transforming England.
In the first episode of this series, we explored the making of the young Henry, the second son who unexpectedly inherited the throne and began his reign amid extraordinary expectations. Today I'm joined again by Dr. Joanne Paul, author of Tyrant, a forthcoming study of Henry VIII, to follow Henry at the height of his confidence and ambition through war, court politics, and the rise of powerful ministers to the disintegration of his marriage. At the
heart of it all is the tangled mixture of desire, theology, politics, and dynastic fear that would become known as the King's Great Matter. How far would Henry go to obtain the future he believed was his right? I'm Professor Susanna Lipscomb and this is not just the Tudors from History Hit.
So Joe, we're gonna pick up Henry VIII's reign in fifteen seventeen. Where arguably we see the first cracks the Let's talk about the Mayday riots. The
Mayday riots really I mean, we almost shouldn't have to talk about them because in and of themselves, they're not that big of a deal. These are xenophobic riots that take place across London on Mayday Eve and into the early hours of May Day, the first of May fifteen seventeen. And they're sort of typical of things that happened then and now. The uh Londoners are worried about foreigners stealing their jobs, and so they get very drunk and riot. Uh and there's some property damage, possibly a few injuries, but really that's it. And it peters out of its own accord. The reason that we are talking about it is because Henry VIII does think this is a big deal and he takes it personally, which how do we get from foreigners stealing jobs to a rebellion against Henry VIII, which is what he thinks this is?
I think it says a lot about him. I it might say a lot about those formative experiences of the Cornish Rebellion. He reportedly takes to the field in the middle of the Yeah. To rush into London with his troops, he's talked out of that. But in the aftermath he decides that the rioters have committed treason. He gets the Chief Justice to find out a way essentially, to find a way to convict these rioters of treason, which of course it was not. And the penalty for rioting is fines, maybe a few days in the stocks, that sort of thing. Um, but he has them convicted of treason and hung drawn and quartered.
It's so interesting because it's such a precursor of his reaction to the big rebellion that will happen in fifteen thirty six, the pilgrimage of grace, where he also takes it personally.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
Why does Henry VIII want to be the ‘Defender of the Faith’ and how does this shape his early reign?
0:01–17:59
2
What sparked the Mayday riots of 1515 and how did Henry’s reaction foreshadow his later brutality?
17:59–34:15
3
How did the birth of Henry Fitzroy, the king’s illegitimate son, affect the succession crisis?
34:15–53:57
4
What was the Field of the Cloth of Gold and why did it become a diplomatic showdown for Henry?
53:57–54:13