levo

England 1509–58

Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon and the case for annulment

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 1

Overview

The Leviticus argument and Catherine's reply from Deuteronomy, the 1503 dispensation and the part played by Anne Boleyn.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Numbers

When did Henry VIII marry Catherine of Aragon, and what was her previous connection to the family?

Numbers

Which surviving child did Catherine of Aragon bear?

Evaluation

State the scriptural argument Henry used against his marriage.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    When did Henry VIII marry Catherine of Aragon, and what was her previous connection to the family?

    Model answer

    Henry married Catherine in 1509, and she had previously been married to his elder brother Arthur, who died in 1502.

  2. 2

    Which surviving child did Catherine of Aragon bear?

    Model answer

    Catherine bore Mary, born in 1516, who was her only child to survive infancy.

  3. 3

    Why did Henry VIII regard a male heir as essential?

    Model answer

    No woman had successfully ruled England in her own right, and Henry feared that a female succession would invite a disputed claim and a return to civil war.

  4. 4

    State the scriptural argument Henry used against his marriage.

    Model answer

    Henry cited Leviticus, which declared that a man who married his brother's wife would be childless, and argued that the absence of sons proved the marriage was cursed.

  5. 5

    Which text did Catherine's supporters use against Henry's reading of Leviticus?

    Model answer

    Catherine's supporters cited Deuteronomy, which commanded a man to marry his dead brother's widow.

  6. 6

    What had made the marriage lawful in the first place?

    Model answer

    Pope Julius II had granted a dispensation in 1503 allowing Henry to marry his brother's widow.

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