Considering the period 1485-1603, to what extent was religion the most important factor in shaping the Tudor Dynasty?
Religion played a crucial role in shaping the dynasty, with each individual of the Tudor reign, leaving a significant impact on the religious landscape. Geoffrey Elton, a Conservative and Monarchist traditional historian states Henry VIII’s reign opened in a blaze of [‘…glory…’]as Henry was finally able to annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon despite it being a sin. Henry VIII’s marriage broke down with Catherine of Aragon due to her failure to provide Henry VIII with a male heir to the throne. Henry’s request for the annulment is seen in Appendix 1 which is a letter from Henry VIII requesting an annulment from Pope Clement VII. The letter is valuable to historians studying the extent to which religion shaped the dynasty as it proves Henry VIII’s desire for an annulment which led to the English Reformation and religious divisions that followed . The source is also valuable as it shows that Henry was desperate for an annulment which is true as he needed a male heir to secure the throne. It shows that religion shaped the Tudor Dynasty because due to Henry’s annulment with Catherine of Aragon, he was able to gain a male heir: Edward VI. However, the source is limited as it doesn’t provide the reason why Henry requested an annulment in the first place, which fails to provide evidence as to what factors led to Henry VIII requesting an annulment. Elton clearly states that Henry wanted a ‘new and more attractive wife.’ However, from the perspectives of traditional (Geoffrey Elton) and revisionist historians (John Guy), we can conclude as to what the main reasons were which led to Henry VIII’s desire for an annulment. For example, traditional historian, Elton argues the primary motive for gaining an annulment was because Henry VIII was a devout Catholic, an annulment was invalid in the eyes of God as the Leviticus prohibited marriage with a brother's widow which led to Henry VIII getting frustrated with the Pope which escalated into Henry establishing his break away from the Rome as due to his infatuation which was ‘fully attested by the famous love letters’ by Anne Boleyn. On the other hand Elton’s ideas may be limited because he is a Conservative Monarchist and is more likely to be in favour of King Henry VIII. Revisionist historians such as Guy (Elton’s student) highlights the influence of Thomas Cromwell as a factor that pushed Henry to request for the annulment as well as focusing on just gaining an heir to the throne, like traditional historians. For example, Guy argues that the people against Catherine were Foxe, Cranmer, Cromwell and the Speaker of the House of Commons. They wanted to solve the divorce crisis and supported Henry VIII in breaking away from the Rome and Cromwell became Henry’s business manager in 1531. John guy Argues Cromwell advised Henry to gain an annulment because it was invalid as he had married his brother’s widow. After the dissolution of minus trees Cromwell provided Henry with the financial resources to support his policies including the annulment. Furthermore when Parliament debated the act of Appeals and ruled Catherine of Aragon’s marriage to be invalid, Cranmer annulled it and said that the marriage was valid to Catherine. This is a clear example of how personal desires intertwined with religious matters to shape the Tudor Dynasty, leading to the Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I (all heirs of the throne)to establish their own religious ideas).
Overall, both Elton’s and Guy’s arguments show that religion shaped the Tudor Dynasty because Henry VIII broke away from the Rome and established supreme authority over the Church of England. Whilst the source doesn’t mention why Henry VIII requested an annulment, the source is valuable to historians studying how religion shaped the Tudor Dynasty as it proves Henry VIII’s desire for an annulment, which established the reformation as Elton says it was easily accomplished, which also led to divisions between Catholics and Protestants which were dealt with during the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I . this is what i have please help​