The Renaissance Person – Henry VIII – by Casey Krol

The Renaissance “Person” Henry VIII is a Renaissance person, due to his intellectual intelligence of several subjects and profound skills. The Renaissance was a cultural movement the took place from the fourteenth to seventeenth century, that saw a revival in learning, architecture, literature, and classical art (Henry VI”). Henry VIII was a Renaissance person as he was very had various contributions in literature and cartography, and was intelligent in several subjects. In addition, he also contributed greatly through elisions, military, and political ways to England.

Henry VIII founded a new religion, improved a Navy to the point of dominance, and enforced a imperialism policy. As a result, throughout Henry Vic’s reign as King from 1509 to his death in 1547, he passed many laws and policies witch had great influence on the shaping of England to the nation it is today (Hutting). Henry VIII demonstrated many characteristics off Renaissance person. Henry VIII wrote books, composed music and was a passionate patron of the arts (Henry VI’). Henry VIII is the author of a book called “Assertion Septet Sacramento”, which attacked Martin Luther and supported the Roman Catholic Church.

As a result of this publication, Henry VIII received the title “Defender of Faith” by Pope Leo X (Hutting). In addition, he was educated in the classics, being fluent in Latin and French, along with knowledge in Spanish, Italian and Greek. Along with those qualities he was also a highly skilled musician, mathematician, architect, and a ship designer. Henry VIII was also a cartographer and was responsible for the start of English map making Coffee). Besides being a strong and ruthless ruler, his intellect helped him accomplish many f his goals throughout his reign as king.

In the vast accomplishments of Henry VIII, he had a major influence on religion in England. First of all, Henry VIII established the Church of England in 1534, and became the supreme head when he passed the Act of Supremacy (Palmer 22). The trigger to the reformation was the refusal of a annulment by the Pope, for the marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine (Palmer 96). To further separate the relationship between king and pope, and set the foundations of the emerging Church of England, Henry VIII pasted numerous statutes. Such as the Submission of the

Clergy, which gave the King supremacy over the church. In addition the Treason Act of 1 534 enforced the belief the King was the head of state, and if refused could be punishable by death (Henry VI”). Additionally Henry VIII was the first English Monarch to approve the translation of the Bible into English (Hutting). Which is significant, as it allowed the people of England to read the Bible for themselves, especially if they did not know how to read Latin. To sum it up, Henry VIII was a great leader and still has millions of people following the Anglican religion he founded.

An equally significant aspect of Henrys reign as king is the political influence he had on England. He added imperial concepts to the natural feudal concepts of Kingship. Which basically resulted in a policy which England would extended it’s power through diplomacy or military force(Henry VIII Accomplishments). Which proved significant throughout England’s history and their colonization of the world. On the other hand the Act of Appeals in 1 533 helped the constitutional development of England. This act made all religious or other appeals that would usually go to the

Pope, directed to the King in any English land. Henry VIII also decreased the power of thou nobles, and increased the power of Parliament and the monarchy (Hutting). As a result of Henry VIII reign as king, he set policies that would influence England greatly in the future, in the aspect of the current day parliament and imperialism. Military accomplishments of Henry VIII are far from few. First of all, he is known as the “Father of the Navy’, as the English Navy grew in numbers and power over his reign. As the number of royal warships Jumped form five to fifty ships.

The first naval sock in Britain was built in Portsmouth, along with the establishment of the Navy Board, in 1546. This greatly contributed to England’s future exploration and colonization of the world, through dominance of the sea (Hutting). Henry VIII also began wars with France and Scotland, seeing a English victory over Scotland in the battle of Flooded in 1513. He also created several coastal fortresses in 1540, which improved the defense of the invasion prone island (Henry VIII Accomplishments). Throughout these accomplishments in the military aspect, Henry VIII helped stimulate the idea of nationalistic pride Coffee).

In conclusion, Henry VIII was a Renaissance person due to his contributions to England’s politics, military, and religion, along with his personal intellect in different subjects. He is known as the “father of the Navy’ as he bolstered England’s forces to a level of world best (Hutting). He also became the head of the Church of England, and founder of the Anglican Church. He also set a sense of nationalistic pride through wars and installed the imperialism policy which benefited England throughout history Coffee). As a result, King Henry VIII became one of the most known and expected Renaissance people of all time.