Henry VIII and the Reformation Parliament: Reacting to the Past

Henry VIII and the Reformation Parliament transforms students into lords and commoners and members of the English parliament during the tumultuous years 1529-1536.  The game illustrates the clash between four contending ideas: medieval Catholicism, Lutheranism, Renaissance humanism, and Machiavellian statecraft.

 

Part of the “Reacting to the Past” series, this text consists of an elaborate game in which students are assigned roles that are informed by classic texts and set in particular moments of intellectual and social ferment.  The game unfolds just as Cardinal Wolsey is dismissed as lord chancellor for failing to obtain the divorce King Henry VIII is seeking from Catherine of Aragon, and Thomas More is named as Wolsey’s replacement.

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION: HISTORICAL FICTION

Coming to London

A Farewell Letter

BACKGROUND:  POLITICAL AND INTELLECTUAL HISTORY

The “Great Matter”

The War of the Roses

Genealogy of Henry VIII

Henrician Diplomacy before the King’s “Great Matter”

Contending Ideas at the Time of the Reformation

Medieval Catholicism

Lutheranism

Renaissance Humanism

Machiavellianism

MAPS

English Dioceses before the Reformation

English Counties during the Reign of Henry VIII

Tudor London

Habsburg Possessions

THE GAME

Parliament

Factions

Clergy

Nobility

Commoners

Boleyn-Howard Faction

Cromwell Faction

Lutheran Faction

Aragon Faction

Foreign Powers

Roles

Special Features

Loose Alliances

Extended Time Frame

Planned Confusion

Named Characters

Indeterminates

Henry VIII and His Queens

Patronage and Patronage Chits

Voting Procedures

Embassies Abroad

Revenues

Victory

Papers

Grades

Class Sessions

Schedule of Major Legislation of the Reformation Parliament/Convocation

Significant Characters of the Period

DOCUMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS

Marsilius of Padua, Defender of the Peace

Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

Martin Luther, Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation respecting the Reformation of the Christian Estate

Martin Luther, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church

Martin Luther, Concerning Christian Liberty

J. J. Scarisbrick, “Anticlericalism,” selection from Henry VIII

Simon Fish, A Supplication for the Beggars

Thomas More, A Supplication of Souls

David Pill, “Reform Legislation,” selection from The English Reformation,1529-58

“Statutes of the Reformation Parliament,” selection from Statutes of the Realm

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Reserve Books

Films

Historical Novels

Music

Architecture