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English Reformation: Product of King or Minister?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2009

Joseph D. Ban
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Extract

Who was the prime mover in the English Reformation? Was it the sovereign, Henry VIII? Or was his minister, Thomas Cromwell, the originating force? According to G. R. Elton, Cromwell was the architect of English reform who spelled out the concept of national sovereignty, established royal supremacy over the church, set the locus of national sovereignty in Parliament, consolidated the national territory and reformed the central administration of government. Thus, Elton has credited Cromwell with the decisive role in creating the ecclesiastical revolution. J. J. Scarisbrick has sharply challenged Elton's thesis. His biography of Henry VIII, published in 1968, is a major contribution to the study of Tudor history. There Scarisbrick demonstrates that the king was committed to ecclesiastical reform well before Cromwell appeared on the political scene. Hence, there emerges a sharp conflict between two modern scholars regarding the role of Henry VIII in originating the reform of the English church.

Type
Research Article
Information
Church History , Volume 41 , Issue 2 , June 1972 , pp. 186 - 197
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Church History 1900

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References

1. Elton, G. R., England Under The Tudors (London, Methuen and Co., 1955).Google Scholar

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4. Ibid.

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24. Ibid., p. 251.

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35. Ibid.

36. Ibid., p. 293.

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