Class
Article
College
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty Mentor
Norm Jones
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
The story of the English Reformation is a story of politics and religion. England's schism from Roman Catholicism, altering the course of centuries of history hence, hinges upon moments within one monarch's reign: King Henry VIII (1487-1547). The Henrician Reformation, a subset of the English Reformation, began the trend of religious changes imposed from the top upon the English population. Understand how the country came to (in general) adapt to these changes requires studying the royal family. Henry VIII was the new Supreme Head of the English Church, and important, highly-visible ceremonies—especially christenings, marriages, and funerals—provided an avenue to incorporate new orthodoxy, or to keep old traditions, depending upon pressures from without. These liturgical moments are thus sites of conflict between traditional Catholic doctrine and the new orthodoxy. This paper surveys the liturgical moments surrounding royal births, marriages, and deaths to show on a microcosmic scale the conflict and the evolution of the Henrician Reformation.
Location
Room 421
Start Date
4-12-2018 3:00 PM
End Date
4-12-2018 4:15 PM
Occasional Liturgy in the Henrician Reformation
Room 421
The story of the English Reformation is a story of politics and religion. England's schism from Roman Catholicism, altering the course of centuries of history hence, hinges upon moments within one monarch's reign: King Henry VIII (1487-1547). The Henrician Reformation, a subset of the English Reformation, began the trend of religious changes imposed from the top upon the English population. Understand how the country came to (in general) adapt to these changes requires studying the royal family. Henry VIII was the new Supreme Head of the English Church, and important, highly-visible ceremonies—especially christenings, marriages, and funerals—provided an avenue to incorporate new orthodoxy, or to keep old traditions, depending upon pressures from without. These liturgical moments are thus sites of conflict between traditional Catholic doctrine and the new orthodoxy. This paper surveys the liturgical moments surrounding royal births, marriages, and deaths to show on a microcosmic scale the conflict and the evolution of the Henrician Reformation.