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Different opinions have been advanced as to why England adopted a Reformed faith, unlike France, for instance. Some have advanced the view that there was an inevitability about the triumph of the forces of new knowledge and a new sense of autonomy set over-against superstition and corruption; others that it was a matter of chance: Henry VIII died at the wrong time; Mary had no child.
===[[Henry VIII]] and the Break from Rome=== ====Background to the English Reformation====
[[Henry VIII]] ascended the English throne in 1509 at the age of 17. He made a dynastic marriage with [[Catherine of Aragon]], widow of his brother Arthur, in June 1509, just before his coronation on Midsummers Day. Unlike his father, who was secretive and conservative, the young Henry appeared to be the epitome of chivalry and sociability, seeking out the company of young men like himself. He was an observant Catholic. Between his young contemporaries and the Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, there was a state of hostility. So long as Wolsey had his ear, Henry's Catholicism was secure: in 1521 he had defended the Catholic Church from [[Martin Luther]]'s accusations of heresy in a book he wrote, probably with considerable help from [[Thomas More]], entitled [[The Defence of the Seven Sacraments]], for which he was awarded the title "Defender of the Faith" (Fidei Defensor) by [[Pope Leo X]]. However, Wolsey's enemies at court included those who had been influenced by [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] ideas among whom was the attractive [[Anne Boleyn]]
Anne arrived at court in 1522, from years in Europe, as maid-of-honour to Queen Catherine. By the late 1520s, Henry wanted to have his [[marriage]] to Catherine annulled. She had not produced a male heir who survived into adulthood and Henry wanted a son to secure the Tudor dynasty. Before Henry's father Henry VII ascended the throne, England had been beset by civil warfare over rival claims to the English crown and Henry wanted to avoid a similar uncertainty over the succession. Catherine's only surviving child was Princess Mary. Henry claimed that this lack of a male heir was because his marriage was "blighted in the eyes of God". Catherine had been his late brother's wife, and it was therefore against biblical teachings for Henry to have married her ([[Leviticus 20:21]]); a special dispensation from [[Pope Julius II]] had been needed to allow the wedding in the first place. Henry argued that this had been wrong and that his marriage had never been valid. In 1527 Henry asked [[Pope Clement VII]] to annul the marriage, but the [[Pope]] refused. According to [[Canon Law]] the Pope cannot annul a marriage on the basis of a canonical impediment previously dispensed. Clement also feared the wrath of Catherine's nephew, [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Charles V]], whose troops earlier that year had sacked [[Rome]] and briefly taken the Pope prisoner. ====Break from Rome==== ===[[Edward VI]== ===[[Mary I]] and Catholic Restoration=== ===[[Elizabeth I]]===
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