THOMAS CROMWELL

Saintly Reformer or Demonic Minister?

APRIL 24, 2017

By: Matthew Sunderman

 Sunderman 1

Between 1530 and 1540, Thomas Cromwell, a low-born lawyer, gained vast wealth and power

due to his diligent service to King Henry VIII. Cromwell proved to be the most capable minister for

managing the King’s religious reforms and internal policy. The rapid political, societal, and religious

changes of that decade shook English society to its core. King Henry had to bend the clergy, nobility,

parliament and the masses to his will in order to secure a divorce and Cromwell was instrumental in

pursuing this policy. England at this time was a rough, superstitious, excitable, and volatile society

which the King’s government had to rule and on which they attempted to impose new beliefs about the

Pope, the worship of saints, means of salvation, the use of superstitious ceremonies, and matters that

touched people’s lives closely.1

Most modern historians view Thomas Cromwell as a extremely loyal and talented royal minister

who favored pragmatism and utility over tradition and dogma. They are quick to dismiss or downplay

Cromwell’s own religious views which were influenced by his journeys to Europe in his youth and his

service to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. He was chosen for service to the Crown due to his legal and

administrative skills and quickly became one of King Henry VIII’s most trusted councillors. From this

position, Cromwell oversaw the execution of the break with Rome and the establishment of royal

supremacy over the Church of England. Though not the originator of the break with Rome, Cromwell

was integral to the suppression of the clergy and parliament which allowed the English Reformation to

start. As he accumulated power, he also grew in his leaning to the new religion. Though his personal

views were always submissive to Henry’s will, Cromwell still pushed for reform. Thomas Cromwell’s

religious views directly contributed to his rise to prominence, Henry VIII’s dominance of the Church,

and subsequent religious turmoil in England.

The sources are for Thomas Cromwell’s early life are few and their reliability sometimes

questionable: a letter by Imperial ambassador Chapuy; a story told by the cousin of the King, Cardinal

1
G.R. Elton, Policy and Police: The Enforcement of the Reformation in the Age of Thomas Cromwell (Cambridge:
University Press, 1972), 5
 Sunderman 2

Reginald Pole; occasional comments by contemporary native historian Edward Hall; a novella by

contemporary Italian writer Matteo Bandello; a chapter in Acts and Monuments by martyrologist John

Foxe; and the genealogical data in the Wimbledon Manor Rolls. The absence of any trustworthy

chronology, however, prevents us from regarding any of the accounts of these different writers as truely

historical.

The date usually given for Thomas Cromwell’s birth is 1485, though the exact date is not clear.

Though it is certain he was born in Putney.2 Thomas left England in the early 1500s but little is known

as to how he raised money for the voyage, where precisely he lived on the Continent, and how he earned

enough money to survive. Bandello and Foxe place Cromwell at the battle of Garigliano in the service of

the French army against the Spanish in December 1503.3 After his brief military career he became a

merchant working in Florence for the banker Francesco Frescobaldi.

He returned to England sometime between 1512 and 1514. Cromwell married Elizabeth Wycks,

widow of Thomas Williams, a yeoman of the guard, and daughter of a successful shearman. Eventually

he took over his father-in-law’s sheep-shearing business and added estate management, notarial services

and a legal practice. The circumstances of Cromwell’s formal legal training are unknown, but in 1524 he

was admitted to Gray’s Inn.

Cromwell’s travelling days were not over. He returned to Europe in 1514 for trade and traveled

to Italy a few years later in 1517 or 1518. There are records of Cromwell staying at the English Hospice

of the Most Holy Trinity and St. Thomas in Rome in June of 1514 but the trip was most likely to have

been mercantile rather than spiritual in nature.4 Historian Tracy Borman claims that documents from the

archives of the Vatican City suggest that at this time, Cromwell was an agent for Cardinal Reginald

Bainbridge and handled English ecclesiastical issues before the Papal Rote, the highest ecclesiastical

ecclesiastical court constituted by the Holy See. Borman does not include citation for these documents
2
Michael Everett, The Rise of Thomas Cromwell: Power and Politics in the Reign of Henry VIII (London: Yale University
Press, 2015), 13
3
Everett, The Rise of Thomas Cromwell, 14
4
Borman, Thomas Cromwell, 120
 Sunderman 3

and if verified, they prove Thomas Cromwell had prior experience working with ecclesiastical court

before his service to Wolsey.5

In 1517 or 1518 Cromwell returned to Italy. He and two others representing the Guild of Our

Lady of St. Boltolph’s Church in Boston, Lincolnshire, traveled to Rome to secure renewal of pardons

from Lenten observances for members of the guild. Instead of submitting their petition to the curia, they

went directly to the Pope, whom they found at his hunting pavilion outside the city. They sang for Leo X

and presented him a gift of sweetmeats and jellies. The delighted Pope granted them their request then

and there.6 There is some doubt among historians to the validity of this account which only appears in

John Foxe’s Acts and Monuments. If true, it illustrates Cromwell’s ability to win the favor of powerful

people and his experience negotiating with a Pope before entering the Crown’s service.

It is uncertain when exactly Cromwell first became involved with Cardinal Wolsey. It is certain

that Cromwell was known to the Cardinal by 1520 because that year Wolsey commissioned Cromwell to

draft an appeal to the papal curia against a decision in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury in a suit

involving a vicar and a prioress. Three years later, Cromwell sent a petition to Chancery Court over

which Wolsey presided. Besides these two documents, the record of events for Cromwell for these years

are blank. It is certain that he was in Wolsey’s service by 1524 because he was being addressed as

‘councilor to my Lord Legate.’7

Cardinal Wolsey embraced the humanist goal of reinvigorating clerical education and

commissioning the construction of two new colleges at Oxford and Ipswich. To finance these colleges,

he chose to close minor monasteries and redirect their endowments. Wolsey chose Cromwell to

implement the closure and to oversee the construction. The work began in January 1525, after Cromwell

had spent a year proving his competence doing the ordinary secretarial labor of transcribing documents

and conveying deeds.

5
Borman, Thomas Cromwell, 120
6
Everett, The Rise of Thomas Cromwell, 14
7
Everett, The Rise of Thomas Cromwell, 29
 Sunderman 4

Twenty-nine houses were encompassed by the dissolution. They received papal approval after

the fact from Clement VII by arguing the monasteries lacked sufficient numbers to chant the Holy

Offices, which are the daily prayers of the Roman breviary. Cromwell was assigned to inventory the

properties of the monasteries, estimate their value, and arrange for the transfer of moveable goods and

for the sale or lease of lands, draw up necessary deeds, settle accounts with tenants, and find new

residences for the displaced monks and nuns.8 Intimidation, extortion, and bribes were not uncommon

when deciding which houses to dissolve. Cromwell also kept the accounts, drafted documents,

supervised construction, and reported on the progress of Wolsey’s new colleges.9

In 1525, King Henry VIII started to grow impatient with Catherine’s inability to produce a male

heir and he became enamoured with the young Anne Boleyn. By 1526, King Henry had fallen in love

with Anne Boleyn and because she refused to sleep with him unless they were married, the following

year he promised to make her his wife.10 To accomplish this, the King needed a legal annulment for his

marriage to Queen Catherine. In the medieval Catholic Church, divorce could only be granted by the

Pope. Pope Clement VII was reluctant to reverse a dispensation of a previous Pope, and also, in 1527, he

was prisoner to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, nephew of Queen Catherine, whose forces

occupied Rome.11 Henry thought he could pressure the Pope into granting his annulment by pressuring

and controlling the Church within his realm. The Pope, however, was reluctant and unwilling to grant

the King’s desire.

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was tasked with obtaining the annulment from the reluctant Pope.

Wolsey attempted to arrange an ecclesiastical court to meet in England to be presided over by a legate

appointed by Pope Clement VII. Though the Pope agreed to the creation of the court, he did not give his

legate the authority to rule in Henry’s favor. The case was called back to Rome in 1529, thus ending any

8
Borman, Thomas Cromwell, 63
9
J. Patrick Coby, Thomas Cromwell: Machiavellian Statecraft and the English Reformation (New York, NY: Lexington
Books, 2009), 50
10
Borman, Thomas Cromwell, 68
11
Borman, Thomas Cromwell, 70
 Sunderman 5

chance of Wolsey securing an annulment. After nearly five years of being unable to secure a divorce,

Anne turned against the Cardinal, accusing him of deliberately causing delays and obstacles.12 In

October 1529, Cardinal Wolsey was charged with praemunire, asserting papal jurisdiction within the

realm of England, however, he died before his execution.

With Wolsey’s downfall, Cromwell lost his political protection at court. Since Thomas Cromwell

had no formal position or income for his service to Wolsey, his position was dependent of Wolsey’s.

Cromwell, however, was determined not to let his master’s fall interfere with his raise. To maintain his

position, he set out to win the favor of the nobles. Cromwell first move was to alleviate the enmity

between himself and the Duke of Norfolk. It was through the influence of the Duke of Norfolk that

Cromwell had a seat in the 1529 Parliament. This is supported by letter written by Cromwell to Rafe

Sadleyer and an account by Cavendish.13 Instead of going to his master in his disgrace, Cromwell held

him aloof, under the pretext of looking after the Cardinal’s interests at court, while subtly seeking his

own advancement.14

Wolsey’s goods and temporal possessions were forfeited to the Crown in October 1529, however

there were concerns about the validity of the King’s claim to the lands which had not been established

through correct legal processes. Thomas Cromwell proved essential to this process due to his legal

expertise and experience with management of the property. Because Wolsey had confessed to the

charges of praemunire, all monastic lands granted to Wolsey for his college project would escheat, or

revert through forfeiture, to the Crown.15 The Crown needed to proper documentation to establish the

King’s legal title to the lands and turned to Cromwell to handle it. It was Cromwell’s competent

handling of these lands that convinced the King of his utility.

12
Borman, Thomas Cromwell, 78
13
Roger Merriman, The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902), 1:69
14
Merriman, The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, 1:74
15
Everett, The Rise of Thomas Cromwell, 64
 Sunderman 6

When there is a vacancy of any bishopric, the diocese, or territorial jurisdiction of a bishop,

passes to the King temporarily until a new head is elected or more commonly, appointed. During the

vacancy, the Crown receives the revenues from the episcopal see. The Church’s temporal wealth

reinstated when new bishop swear oath renouncing anything received from Rome that could be

prejudicial to King’s authority and pay a fine calculated from taxable income of new see.

Traditionally, monks or members of the church would handle these accounts, however this

usually resulted in fraud and lost revenue for the Crown. To minimize fraud and maximize Crown

revenue, Cromwell personally handle these accounts, having the revenues from fines and church

temporalities paid to and held by himself. As a result, the amount of money going to the Crown from

Churches increased to the highest levels in decades. It is important to note Cromwell was not the sole

collector of these fines, but one of several ministers handling the administrative details of the Church.16

The King seems to have been alerted to the possibility of independent action well before

Cromwell’s emergence. As soon as it became clear that the Pope would not or could not grant an

annulment, Henry began to threaten and hint he may act independently. In 1527, Wolsey told his man in

Rome to inform the Pope that the King’s disregard for the papacy grew daily. In 1528, Stephen Gardiner

told the Pope that if he would not comply with Henry’s wishes, ‘the kinges highness wold doo it without

him.’ From 1529 onwards, Henry was threatening and restricting papal power in England.17

The Crown used praemunire as a legal weapon to threaten and intimidate the English Church.

The praemunire manoeuvres began in July 1530, when fifteen clerics and one lay pastor were charged

with praemunire.18 The Crown charged various clergy with the offense and pressured the Church to pay

118840 pounds to the King for their pardon. It can be argued that this maneuver was profit motivated,

however, the specific use of praemunire, which carried an implicit attack on papal authority and an

16
Madigan, Patrick. "The Rise of Thomas Cromwell: Power and Politics in the Reign of Henry VIII." Heythrop Journal 57,
no. 2 (March 2016): 444-445. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost
17
Elton, Policy and Police, 191
18
Everett, The Rise of Thomas Cromwell, 106
 Sunderman 7

assertion of the King’s supremacy, suggests that the Cromwell was seeking ways to assert its authority

over the Church.19

There has been much debate among historians as to the extent Cromwell or Henry originated the

break with Rome and subsequent reforms to the English Church. The speed and efficiency in which

pressure was placed on the clergy and the brake implemented points to Cromwell’s administrative skills.

Historian Roger Merriman argues Cromwell was the originator of the break with Rome by noting

Cromwell’s involvement in nearly every important Act of Parliament between 1533 and 1540 and an

account in Cardinal Pole’s Apologia ad Carolum Quintum, who was in London at the time.20

For Elton, it was Cromwell’s responsibility for the idea of schism which was crucial to his

emergence as chief minister. Historians Graham Nicholson and John Guy have both shown that the

intellectual origins of the break were being formulated well before Cromwell’s rise. The break with

Rome emanated from Henry but was initially intended to be a threat to pressure the Pope. Once all other

options had been exhausted, Henry resolved to renounce the authority of the Pope. Henry seems to have

developed the policy but left the administrative and technical details to Cromwell. Once the course of

action was set in place, Cromwell vigorously pursued it.21

In March of 1532, a petition called the ‘Supplication of the Ordinaries, was introduced in the

House of Commons. The supplication voiced grievances against court fees, the citing of laymen outside

their diocese by ecclesiastical courts, and other alleged abuses first raised in the 1529 Parliament. The

King used this as an opportunity to send three articles to Convocation for ratification. Though there was

resistance from the clergy, in the late spring of 1532, Archbishop Warham persuaded a sparsely attended

upper house of Convocation to accept Henry’s demands. The clerical parliament agreed to no longer

meet without royal license, not to make any new canons without submitting them for royal approval

19
Pederson, Randall J. "The Rise of Thomas Cromwell: Power and Politics in the Reign of Henry VIII, 1485-1534."
Sixteenth Century Journal 47, no. 3 (Fall 2016): 811-813. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost
20
Merriman, The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, 1:92
21
Everett, The Rise of Thomas Cromwell, 113
 Sunderman 8

first, and all existing canons were to be subject to scrutiny and ratification by a body nominated by the

Crown.

Convocation now recognised Henry as the head of the Church ‘quantum per Christi legem licit,’

as far as the law of Christ allows.22 This became known as the Submission of the Clergy. The King was

now de facto supreme legislator and judge of the English Church. Henry might have used the radicalism

of the Commons as an excuse and justification for the anti-papal measure he himself was introducing. It

was not parliament, but convocation, which declared Henry VIII supreme head if the church, and which

surrendered the Church’s independence. Parliament was then used later to give legal weight to the acts

of convocation. Spiritual sovereignty was now in the hands of the King and the legal independence of

the English Church ceased to exist.

To further pressure Rome to grant an annulment, Parliament passed the first Act of Annates, also

known as the Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates, in 1532, which restricted 95% of revenues from

that annates from being remitted to Rome. Annates were effectively church taxes that were collected in

England and sent to Rome. They were levied on any diocese by Rome as payment in return for the

nomination and Papal authorization for the consecration of a Bishop. One third of the first year's

revenues from the particular diocese went to Rome. King Henry threatened the prohibition of all annates

if he was not appease. The threat proved to be valid when Parliament prohibited all payments to Rome

in 1534. Cromwell himself was unsure of the effectiveness and consequences of this manoeuvre stating

in a letter to Stephen Gardiner ‘as thys day were Redd in the higher house a bill touching Annates of

busshopriches for what ende or effect it will succede suerlie I know not.’23

In December of 1532, Anne Boleyn became pregnant and in January the following year, King

Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn were married in Calis. At this point, no official judgement had been passed

concerning the divorce from Queen Catherine of Aragon by neither an English ecclesiastical court or
22
D.M. Loades, Three Tudor Essays: The Nobility in the Sixteenth Century; Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell and the Church;
The Crown and the Church in the Long Sixteenth Century (Oxford, 2014), 26
23
Cromwell to Gardiner, London, January 1532, in The LIfe and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, ed. Roger Merriman (Oxford:
Clarendon, 1902), 343
 Sunderman 9

papal court. Due to these circumstances, it was necessary for the King to solidify the break with Rome to

secure the divorce and use parliament to ensure the legitimacy of the yet unborn heir.

Cromwell introduced legislation on the 4th of February 1533 that restricted the right to make

appeals to Rome. The Act in Restraint of Appeals technically did not prevent every appeal from going

outside the realm of England, but those specifically concerning ‘ Causes of Matrimony and Divorces,

rightes of Tithes Oblacions, and Obvencions.’ The act was designed to allow the King’s ‘great matter’ to

be settled domestically.

To ensure it passed, Cromwell drew up a list of opponents and sought to influence or bribe them.

In March 1533, the act passed, which solved the problem of potential appeals against the divorce. The

preamble of the Act is historically significant because it establishes King Henry’s claim of royal

supremacy over the Church. “Where by divers sundry old authentic histories and chronicles it is

manifestly declared and expressed that this realm of England is an empire, and so hath been accepted in

the world, governed by one Supreme Head and King having the dignity and royal estate of the imperial

Crown of the same...”24 Royal supremacy was now recognized as law and the King’s powers over the

church were vague, meaning they could potentially be expanded and exploited.25

The Act in Restraint of Appeals ensured that the matter would be settled within England where

the King exercised considerable control over the Church and Parliament. The newly appointed

Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, presided over the trial that declared Henry’s first marriage

null and void and his second marriage to Anne Boleyn as valid.

In March 1534, Parliament passed the First Succession Act. The Act made Princess Elizabeth,

daughter of King Henry VIII by Anne Boleyn, who had been born on 7 September 1533, the true

successor to the Crown by declaring Princess Mary, daughter of the King by Catherine of Aragon, a

bastard. The Act also required all subjects, if commanded, to swear an oath to recognize this Act as well

24
Cromwell, Thomas, and Arthur Joseph Slavin, Thomas Cromwell on Church and Commonwealth: Selected Letters, 1523-
1540. (New York: Harper & Row, 1969), 87
25
Borman, Thomas Cromwell, 120
 Sunderman 10

as the King's supremacy. Under the Treasons Act 1534 anyone who refused to take the oath was subject

to a charge of treason.

The Crown further pushed secular dominance of the English Church by outlawing the payments

that households owning a certain amount of land had traditionally been obliged to pay to Rome with the

Dispensations Act of 1534. That year, Parliament passed the Act in Absolute Restraint of Annates which

fully transferred the revenues from the annates from the Pope to King Henry.

The annates were, along with the supremacy over the church in England, reserved to the Crown,

and the English Crown now took all revenue charged for the appointment of bishops. The Act of First

Fruits and Tenths transferred the taxes on ecclesiastical income from the Pope to the Crown. These acts

of parliament solidified and formalise England's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the

Crown’s leadership of the Church within England.

In 1536 articles were drafted by Foxe and Lutheran clergymen as a compromise between their

Lutheranism and Henry’s more orthodox views. Though it had strong backing from Cromwell and

Cranmer, the articles met strong opposition within convocation in June of the same year, leading Henry

to personally intervene to bring about an agreement. This led to the drafting and passing of the Ten

Articles by convocation in August 1536. The Ten Articles showed a Protestant bias possibly due to an

English desire for a political alliance with the German Lutheran princes. The Ten Articles assert the

necessity of baptism for salvation, the sacrament of penance, the use of images in churches, the honoring

and invocation of saints, the doctrine of purgatory, and justification by faith, joined with charity and

obedience.

The acts passed between 1532 and 1534 are concerned with the immediate problem of securing

Henry’s divorce, and also with restricting the authority of the Pope in a manner that is fiscally

advantageous to the Crown. It is not until 1536 that the government sought to establish the doctrine of

the new order, which continuously threatened to spiral out of control. Even with the passing of the Ten
 Sunderman 11

Articles, the official doctrine of the Church still rested on the whims of a egotistical monarch, which had

been known to change rapidly and severely.

The successes of Parliament and the successful domination and administration of the English

Church by the Crown is due in part to Cromwell’s administrative skills. For his hard work and loyalty,

Cromwell was rewarded by becoming Henry’s principal secretary and chief minister. An indication of

Cromwell’s startling productivity is the sheer volume of statutes passed during his ascendancy. Between

1509 and 1531; 203 Acts passed during 9 sessions. Between 1532 and 1540: 333 Acts passed during 8

sessions.26

Acceptance of the Royal Supremacy was integral to the legitimacy of King Henry’s second

marriage and the solidification of the break with Rome. In Thomas Cromwell’s tenure, there was no

region and no year in which the government could take obedience or even reluctant conformity for

granted.27 The passing of statutes, proclamations, injunctions, and the decision to suppress the

monasteries would mean nothing without permanent enforcement of both large and petty matters.28

Cromwell also orchestrated a propaganda campaign to push royal supremacy on the Church and

the masses. Cromwell at this time was actively involved with the management of the Church and used

his position to promote those willing to speak in favor of the Royal Supremacy and denounce the

authority of the pope. During 1535, he appointed reform-minded men such as Hugh Latimer, Edward

Foxe, and Nicholas Shaxton to the episcopacy. The pulpit was easily the most effective platform for

influencing the popular mind, thus reform-minded men were needed to preach the new doctrine.29

Special steps were taken to involve important people in public statements of adherence which could then

be used to demonstrate unity and silence those claiming only heretics would agree with the

26
G.R. Elton, "The Political Creed of Thomas Cromwell". Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 6 (1956): 69-92.
27
Elton, Policy and Police, 164
28
Elton, Policy and Police, 170
29
Elton, Policy and Police, 8
 Sunderman 12

changes.30The process was long and arduous. It was not until the first half of 1535 that formal

renunciation of papal authority was obtained from all existing occupants of sees.31

The Crown used oaths as an instrument of obedience and as a political test. The oath

accompanying the First Act of Succession requires all subjects to adhere to the acts contents including

the preamble stating Henry as Supreme Head. Failure to take this oath was punishable by death under

the Treason Act of 1534. Oaths were used selectively due to their limited usefulness. While it was useful

to have people aware of their new duty, it was more important to apply pressure to ensure compliance.32

Refusal to take the oath of succession is what ultimately led to the execution of Thomas More, John

Fisher, and many others. Cromwell discusses More’s refusal in a letter to Cranmer in 1534:

‘For in case they be sworn to the succession and not to the preamble it is to be thought that it

might be taken not onlie as a confimacion of the Bisshop of Rome his auctoryte but also as a

reprobacion of the Kinges second mariage wherefore to the intent that no such thinges should be brought

into the heddes of people by the ensample of the saide Bisshop of Rochester and Mr. Moore.’33

Now that the King was the head of the Church, the government was able to exploit the Church’s

established procedures of visitations, or investigation, followed by corrective orders called injunctions.34

Cromwell utilized this system and his new office of Vicegerent to circulated injunctions for the Ten

Articles’ strict enforcement. Cromwell, a low-born former lawyer and royal minister, now had an

official office within the Church of England. The office of Vicegerent gain him the authority to restore

jurisdiction to bishops, issue licenses to preach, and to petition a divorce.35

The elevated status granted to Cromwell by Henry gave him considerable freedom to pursue

actions that he deemed necessary to ensure the success of the Crown. By this time, he referred to himself

30
Elton, Policy and Police, 186
31
Elton, Policy and Police, 228
32
Elton, Policy and Police, 230
33
Cromwell to Cranmer, London, April 1534, in Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, ed. Roger Merriman (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1902), 1:381
34
Elton, Policy and Police, 217
35
Elton, Policy and Police, 247
 Sunderman 13

as “Thomas Crumwell knyght Lorde Crumwell keper of the privey Seale of our said soueraigne Lorde

the king and vitzgerent [stet] to the same for and concerning all his Jurisdiction ecclesiasticall within this

realme.”36 Cromwell seems to be genuinely concerned to root out corruption and abuse within the

Church. For Cromwell, the reformation became more than just a means to power, rather, it was an

expression of his personal piety and values.

It was also necessary to promote Royal Supremacy within the court due to the factions of those

who supported the new learning or adhered to the old religion. Anne Boleyn proved to be an asset for

promoting royal supremacy at court. The longer that Anne Boleyn’s relationship with the King

continued, the greater influence she wielded at court.37 She was known to debate theological ideas with

her brother and she read many banned theological works. At court, she won many enemies for her

leanings towards the New Religion, but also gained supporters.

Anne championed royal supremacy because she knew it held the key to the King’s divorce.

There is little evidence that Cromwell and Anne had a ‘close relationship;’ only a single letter between

the two survives from 1529-1534.38 According to Michael Everett, their collaboration seems to be more

formal. Cromwell organized Anne’s coronation and managed the lands for her endowment. Pragmatism

seems to have brought the two together for a common cause; the advancement of royal supremacy.

Anne’s position at court was less secure than she may have hoped. After giving birth to a

daughter and having two marriages, Anne had yet to give Henry the son she promised. Henry had

overturned the entire religious and political life of England to marry Anne and it had not been as

successful as hoped. Cromwell was quick to recognize the shift in the King’s favor. Once Henry had

resolved to leave Anne, he left the details to Cromwell. Anne was found guilty of adultery and treason

and executed in 1536.

36
G.R. Elton, Reform and renewal: Thomas Cromwell and the Common Weal, (London: Cambridge University Press, 1973),
44
37
Tracy Borman, Thomas Cromwell, 123
38
Michael Everett, Thomas Cromwell, 148
 Sunderman 14

Cromwell directly supervised the dissolution of both Christchurch abbey in Aldgate, London and

Calwich abbey in Staffordshire in 1532. These monastic closures were the first time monasteries were

dissolved without papal approval. Cromwell’s previous experience dissolving monasteries for Cardinal

Wolsey must have influenced Henry’s decision to have Cromwell supervise the effort. Cromwell

executed the dissolution with speed and efficiency. These two dissolutions are precursors to the

secularization of monastic wealth throughout the whole country.

In 1535, Henry had Parliament authorise Thomas Cromwell to "visit" all the monasteries, to

purify them in their religious life, and to instruct them in their duty to obey the King and reject Papal

authority. Cromwell delegated this authority to hand-picked commissioners; chiefly Richard Layton,

Thomas Legh, John ap Rice and John Tregonwell. They were tasked with determining the quality of

religious life and making inquiries into superstitious or morally lax behaviors. The stories of vice and

excess that were collected by Cromwell's visitors may have been biased and exaggerated.

To maximize profits for the Crown, it was necessary to establish the wealth contained in the

English Church. That year, Cromwell implemented a census of the entire temporal wealth of the Church

including its lands, relics, and buildings. The technical term is ‘valor esslesiasticus’ or value of the

Church. The census gave the Crown a clear idea of the wealth of the English Church and the prospect of

acquiring some of that land and wealth proved tempting to the Crown.39

The Suppression of Religious Houses Act of 1535, also referred to as the Dissolution of the

Lesser Monasteries Act, established the King's authority to dissolve religious houses that were failing to

maintain piety and the compulsory dissolution of monasteries with annual incomes less than £200, of

which there were potentially 419. The King retained the right to exempt any houses from dissolution as

he deemed fit. The property of the dissolved houses reverted to the Crown. Only 243 houses were

39
Borman, Thomas Cromwell, 204
 Sunderman 15

actually dissolved at this time. Cromwell established the Court of Augmentations to manage the

revenues from the dissolved houses.40

Cromwell sent an injunction to the clergy in 1536 instructing them to preach obedience to the

royal supremacy, provide copies of the Bible in both English and Latin for their members to read, and

other changes to church doctrine and ceremonies. In the injunction, Cromwell states, ‘And for

thestablishment and confirmacion of the kinges Authoritie and Jurisdiction within the same, as of the

supreme hedd of the Church of Englande; and shall declare at the leaste wise ones euery quarter of a

yere in their sermons howe this busshop of Romes vsurped power and Jurisdiction hauing no

establishment no grounde by the Lawe of god was of most iuste cause taken aweye and abolished.’ 41

Cromwell sought to ensure compliance with his instructions by reminding the clergy of the need

for obedience and the potential of repercussions if they do not.

‘Owe vnto hym no maner of obedience or subiection. And that the kinges power
is within his dominion the highest potentate or power vnder god, to whom all men
within the same dominion by goddes commendement owe moste Loyaltie and
obedience, afore and aboue all other power and potentates in erthe.’

‘All which and singular Iniunctions we woll shalbe inuiolately obserued of the
said deane, persons, vicares curates, stipendiaries and other clerks and beneficed men
vnder the peyne of suspension and sequestracion of the frutes of their beneficies, vntill
they haue doone their duetie according to thies Iniunctions.’42

The authority over the Church granted to Cromwell did not bode well with all bishops and

churches. There was considerable backlash when he overstepped his authority. Cromwell became the

originator of all their troubles. The local church was, for many in the north, the center of community life.

The Ten Articles had made official doctrine more reformed, which went against the conservative beliefs

40
Everett, The Rise of Thomas Cromwell, 162
41
Thomas Cromwell’s Injunction to The Clergy, London, August 1536, in Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, ed. Roger
Merriman (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902), 2:25-29
42
Thomas Cromwell’s Injunction to The Clergy, London, August 1536, in Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, ed. Roger
Merriman (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902), 2:25-29
 Sunderman 16

of most northerners. Historian G.R. Elton argues that the changes in faith and observances caused more

unrest than the political readjustment in England's relations with Rome.43

In October 1536, angry peasants marched on Lincolnshire demanding an end to the Ten Articles,

and end to the dissolutions, and a purge of heretics in governments and a repeal of the Statute of Uses.

The protesters dispersed when the King threatened to suppress them by force with an army recently

mobilised for that purpose. A few weeks later, a man named Robert Aske led a band of 9,000 followers,

including nobles, peasants, knights, and clergy, in the popular uprising in Yorkshire called the

Pilgrimage of Grace. Aske dismissed his followers after the Duke of Norfolk promised a general pardon

and a parliament to be held at York within a year. The rebels denied being disloyal to the King, but

rather acted out of good faith to rid him of his evil counsellors, primarily Cromwell. Cromwell gives an

account of the suppression of the revolt in the North in a letter to Gardiner and Wallop. Ever the lawyer,

he is quick to point out the shortcomings of the rebels negotiation skills and foresight.44

‘It is truth that at the begyning the rebelles made peticion to haue obteyned certain articles, but in

thende they went from all and remytted all to the kinges highnes pleasure only in moost humble and

reuerent sorte desiring their pardon with the greatest repentancethat could be deuised, in somoche as in

their chief Article whiche next their pardon was for a parliament for that they might haue their pardon

therein confirmed, they remytted thappointment of the same holly to the kinges Maiestie without the

namyng of tyme place or any other thing touching that matier.’45

The Crown had no plans on fulfilling these promises, and as a result, in February the following

year, there was a new rising called Bigod’s Rebellion. This time, the leadership and members were

found guilty of treason and executed. In total 216 were executed, including several lords and knights, 6

abbots, 38 monks, and 16 parish priests. Cromwell himself was not involved with the suppression of the

rebellion and this event did not seem to diminish his position or influence at court.
43
Elton, Policy and Police, 34
44
Loughlin, Susan. Insurrection: Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell and the pilgrimage of grace. (Oxford, 2014), 79
45
Thomas Cromwell to Gardiner and Wallop, London, 24 December 1536, in Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, ed.
Roger Merriman (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902), 2:40-42
 Sunderman 17

After the uprising was suppressed the dissolution of the monasteries continued unabated, with

the largest monasteries being dissolved by 1540. Cromwell put constant pressure on monasteries to

voluntarily surrender, and thus potentially obtaining favorable pensions. Refusal to surrender could

result in charges of treason and their houses dissolved anyway. Cromwell was able to bully the

remaining monasteries by threatening to accuse them of participating in the Pilgrimage of Grace which

amounted to treason.46 In 1539, Parliament passed the Second Act of Dissolution which led to the

dissolution of the remaining monasteries and houses.

The strongest motivation for the destruction of the entire monastic community and tradition in

England that had existed for close to a thousand years was the prospect of financial gain for the King.

The King’s conscience was clear due to the involvement of many monks and friars in the Pilgrimage of

Grace. Many thought that the Crown would use this new money and land to reinvigorate the English

Church. However, there is only evidence that he erected six churches and cathedrals after dissolving the

monasteries. Most lands were sold off to nobles as a way of securing their loyalty and generating more

funds. Cromwell was extremely efficient dissolving the monasteries and extracting all wealth and value

from the houses. He seems to have been motivated by a desire to prove his worth and earn a profit for

his master and himself rather than religious conviction.

As a result of the Pilgrimage of Grace, four of the seven sacraments that were omitted from the

Ten Articles were restored in the Bishop's Book of 1537, which marked the end of the drift of official

doctrine towards Protestantism. In May 1539, Parliament passed the Six Articles which reaffirmed

traditional Roman Catholic doctrine on key issues such as transubstantiation, the reasonableness of

withholding of the cup from the laity during communion, clerical celibacy, observance of vows of

chastity, permission for private masses, and the importance of private confession. The Articles were

passed to solidify Church doctrine and the Crown’s authority to dictate doctrine.

46
Merriman, The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, 1:173
 Sunderman 18

The failure of Wolsey’s foreign policy taught the king the danger of having a definite alliance

with either France or Spain while they remained at war. King Henry preferred to remain neutral and

have cordial relations with both the King Francis of France and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

Henry kept the two sovereigns in a constant state of anxiety regarding his true position by alternatively

proposing and retracting from alliances with each of them. England was safe as long as the interests of

the Holy Roman Empire and France remained separate.47 King Henry seems to only enter into a political

alliance if he can throw it away at any moment.48

The divorce complicated Henry’s foreign policy. The King sought support from Francis and for a

time neglected the Charles V who was Queen Catherine’s nephew and in league with the Pope.49 He was

alienated from Francis after being excommunicated by the Pope and putting undue pressure on the King

of France to agree with his action, including his opposition of the Pope. In was in this context that

Cromwell sought alliances with the Lutheran princes. In 1534-5, Henry and Cromwell had twice

unsuccessfully sought security with an alliance with the Lutherans.50

Historian Merriman argues that Cromwell had no love for France due to predominant hatred of

France among the lower classes in England.51 As more evidence, Merriman presents an event in 1535 in

which Cromwell was uncharacteristically rude to the French ambassador Chapuy. This convinced

Chapuy that Cromwell favored the Emperor. Henry berated Cromwell for his foolishness. By 1538,

King Francis and Emperor Charles V had signed a truce, rendering Henry’s policy obsolete. 52 Henry

continued his foreign policy believing this new friendship between France and Spain would be

temporary which proved to be true. Cromwell disagreed and believed an alliance was needed to fortify

England against Charles whom Cromwell now believed to be England’s chief foreign concern. Henry

47
Merriman, The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, 1:233
48
Merriman, The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, 1:248
49
Merriman, The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, 1:216
50
Merriman, The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, 1:227
51
Merriman, The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, 1:231
52
Merriman, The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, 1:237
 Sunderman 19

reluctantly allowed Cromwell to open negotiation with Lutherans in 1538, but Henry sent the envoy

home upon learning the Emperors aims were directed against the Turks, not England.53

The King, always looking for a chance of reconciliation with Charles and Francis, refused to

enter an alliance in which the religious conditions would hinder his ability to pursue his old policy.54

The responsibility for the political alliance brought about by the King’s marriage to Anne of Cleves

rested solely on Cromwell’s shoulders. Henry consented to the marriage but upon meeting her, he was

greatly displeased. Cromwell continued to advocate for a foreign alliance with the Lutherans but to no

avail. The alliance with Cleves was the only one which materialized and Cromwell bore sole

responsibility. The alliance with Cleves was not indispensable for England's safety and ran the risk of

being expected to give aid if Cleves was attacked.55

In 1540, Cromwell’s enemies capitalized on growing popular resentment of Cromwell and his

failure with Anne of Cleves. He was accused of treason and arrested. Parliament produces a long list of

indictments, including supporting Anabaptists, protecting Protestants accused of heresy and thus failing

to enforce the Act of Six Articles, and plotting to marry Lady Mary Tudor. It was introduced to the

House of Lords and a week later it passed on 29 June 1540. He was also accused of protecting

sacramentarians, those who denied transubstantiation. He was promptly thrown into the Tower and had

no trial because the accusers had no evidence that would ensure the wanted guilty verdict.

Cromwell’s religious views matured over the decades. International travel, including Catholic

France, Catholic Italy, Protestant and liberal Low Countries and meeting with the Pope, introduces him

to a wide range of religious ideas and practices. He saw the benefits and disadvantages of both sides. His

reformer leanings became more prevalent the closer he got to the King and the more power and

authority Cromwell accrued. Cromwell was not particularly religious during his youth, though this is

uncertain due to the lack of sources for this time. The fact that he was a layman with a mercantile past

53
Merriman, The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, 1:240
54
Merriman, The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, 1:248
55
Merriman, The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell, 1:285
 Sunderman 20

and a network in the Low Countries and Europe and had so much power and influence over official

Church of England administration and even doctrine is remarkable. At his political zenith, he had more

power over the church than Cardinal Wolsey.

Evidence shows that Cromwell held many traditional views. His will has many traditional

Catholic pieces, however a will would hardly be the place to voice grievances with the Church. Those

who did ran the risk of having their property and inheritance confiscated. In 1540, a delegation of

Lutherans from Germany met with Cromwell and stated that his religious convictions were not strong

enough to see him disagree with Henry.

Though his actions and personal views can be viewed as anticlerical and antipapist, he maintain a

wide and diverse group of friends that included clergy and conservatives. This shows Cromwell was

well-rounded and intellectually curious. His own views were not strong enough to hinder friendships

with both known Protestants and conservatives. His personal religious views seem to contain several

traditional elements but also the willingness ‘to extend royal power over the Church’, and to exploit

their resources.

Cromwell was responsible for maintaining an uneasy balance of conservative and liberal

reformers in the Church and Parliament. The government needed reformers to justify Royal supremacy,

not papal authority. However, it also needed support from the conservative faction to maintain social

cohesion and prevent another popular religious uprising similar to the Pilgrimage of Grace. Cromwell’s

evangelical faith can equally be viewed as the most effective route to power, as well as a means to defeat

his enemies at court, the most dangerous being sworn adherents of the old religion. He was a Rationalist,

preferring arguments based upon evidence and reasoning, rather than tradition or dogma.

Cromwell was pragmatic. His first duty was to faithfully serve his master. He waited until he

could ensure success and minimize risk before acting especially with implementing religious reforms.

Most evidence for his reformist qualities comes after 1534, before that time, it seems he was simply

executing the service of the King. Cromwell may have harbored personal reformist views and planned
 Sunderman 21

on introducing evangelical ideas into England, but by the time of his arrest, he had done nothing more

than prepare the groundwork.

Historians offer Cromwell’s pragmatism as the source of his insistence of an alliance with the

Lutheran Princes. Even after it became evident that the King’s interest in pursuing that policy had sour,

he continued to advocate for a Lutheran alliance. The King was reluctant to enter an alliance that was

conditional to religious doctrines due to the complications in brings, but it seems Cromwell was willing

to negotiate on these terms if given the chance. The only occasions when Henry and Cromwell collided

were disputes over questions of foreign policy. The insistence of allying with the Lutheran Prices could

have been a result of Cromwell’s personal religious views. Most modern historians would argue

Cromwell’s promotion of Protestant ideas was necessary to advance the Crown’s agenda and not a

product of a deep religious conviction. If the former is true, then Cromwell died supporting a foreign

policy based on religious conviction. If the latter is true, then Cromwell died due to his inexperience in

foreign affairs, poor timing, and an unpredictable King.

The biggest evidence for his reformist views was his support for the Bible in the vernacular.

Many saw the benefits of having the Bible in English that were not necessarily reformers or Protestants.

Cromwell pushed to have an English bible in every church in England. Cromwell’s vernacular Bible of

choice was translated from the original Greek and Hebrew into English by William Tyndale. Only 1500

copies of his Bible were printed, so Cromwell commissioned Coverdale to print more using his own

personal funds. By April 1539, 3000 copies of Miles Coverdale’s Great Bible were printed. Coverdale’s

Great Bible was the first authoritative version of the Bible in English. By April the following year, there

were enough copies printed to have one in every parish in the country.

In his early career as a lawyer and merchant he gained a reputation for efficiency and attention to

detail. During his time in the service of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, he learned how to navigate the court

and utilize his legal knowledge and foreign travel experience to gain ever more influence and authority.

Once Wolsey declined from favor, Cromwell emerged from a group of close administrators to a place of
 Sunderman 22

prominence in the King’s favor. As a servant to the Crown, Cromwell orchestrated the Church of

England’s official break from the Roman Catholic Church, handled episcopal vacancies and the

revenues from their temporalities, dissolved the monasteries to enrich the Crown, and he oversaw the

administration and finances of the Church of England and the Crown. At the height of his power, he

controlled access to the King and held sway over Henry’s decisions. From this position, he was able to

nudge the King to a more Protestant, or reformer view. Cromwell in certain instances pushed for reforms

when it was politically disadvantageous, however, his religious views always yielded to Henry VIII.
 Sunderman 23

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