Both Paul’s and Marjory’s ancestors had interactions with the kings and queens of England during the 1500s. This post serves as background for other posts about those ancestors.
The story of these monarchs is interwoven with the story of the Church of England, with the country switching official religions four times. Even under the Church of England, there were swings between the Puritans who sought even more reform and the more conservative churchmen.
The Tudor dynasty began after the War of Roses with coronation of Henry VII in 1486. A Roman Catholic like his predecessors, he is viewed as having returned stability to a war-torn country while taxing the noble class far too highly.
Henry VII was followed by his son, Henry VIII (at right), in 1509. Besides his six marriages (the first three discussed here), he is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church.
Henry VIII first married Catherine of Aragon who, after a stillborn daughter, produced a son Henry in 1511, a daughter Mary in 1516, and another stillborn. The young Henry passed after only seven weeks. As Henry VIII became more impatient for a male heir, he attempted but failed to have the pope annul his marriage to Catherine on various grounds. He wanted instead to marry Anne Boleyn.
In 1532, Thomas Cranmer (at right) was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury with the approval of the Pope. Thomas Cranmer was Paul’s 13th great uncle (see Cranmer Family). The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the church in England. Cranmer, loyal to the king rather than the Pope, annulled the marriage to Catherine and validated Henry VIII‘s marriage to Anne Boleyn. Soon after, in 1533, Anne produced a daughter Elizabeth. The Pope excommunicated Henry VIII as well as Thomas Cranmer, and the Church of England became a protestant denomination separate from the church in Rome.
Still anxious for a male heir, and with Anne Boleyn producing only miscarriages, it was arranged for her to be accused of incestuous adultery. Despite a lack of evidence, she was convicted and executed in May 1536.
Ten days later, Henry VIII married Jane Seymour. It was Jane who gave Henry his male heir Edward. On the death of his father, the son ascended to the throne at the age of 10 as Edward VI. It was during Edward’s reign that Archbishop Thomas Cranmer moved the Church of England event further from Catholic rituals and practices. However, Edward died at the age of 15 with no heirs, and Henry VIII’s eldest daughter Mary (with Catherine of Aragon) was enthroned in 1553.
Mary I was a Roman Catholic, and restored that church as the official religion. She also executed at least 280 protestant leaders, including Paul’s uncle Thomas Cranmer, earning her the nickname “Bloody Mary.” A man named William West was involved in a plot to overthrow Queen Mary. He was convicted of treason, but his execution was not carried out. In 1557, he was somehow pardoned by Queen Mary. This William West was Marjory’s 13th great grandfather (see West Family).
Mary I ruled only five years before passing from influenza. Her half-sister Elizabeth became the next Monarch in 1558. Quite different from her predecessor, she became known as "Good Queen Bess." Elizabeth I restored the Church of England as the official religion. She knighted Marjory’s ancestor William West and created for him the title of Baron De La Warr in 1563. William West descendants later became governors of Colonial Virginia. She also appointed William Tooker as one of her chaplains.
Following the death of Elizabeth I in 1603 without issue, the Scottish king, James VI, succeeded to the English throne as James I, the first English monarch from the House of Stuart. James was descended from the Tudors through his great-grandmother, Margaret Tudor, the eldest daughter of Henry VII. William Tooker was also a chaplain to James I.
Nearly all of these monarch practiced a ritual called the Royal Touch. It was believed that, as a gift from the Divine, English monarchs could heal a disease called Scrofula by the laying on of hands. Scrofula (technically tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis) is an infection of the lymph nodes in the neck.
Henry VII touched seven or eight infected people annually. Henry VIII touched 59 people between 1530 and 1532. The Protestant Edward VI apparently did not perform the ritual, but the Catholic Mary I took it somewhat more seriously. Early in her reign, the Protestant Elizabeth I was reluctant to participate but resumed the practice to prove her legitimacy after the Roman Catholic Church alleged she had lost her healing power. The Protestant James I wished to end the practice, he found himself having to touch an increasing number of people. The same William Tooker wrote a historical vindication of the curing power inherent in the English sovereign.
The story of these monarchs is interwoven with the story of the Church of England, with the country switching official religions four times. Even under the Church of England, there were swings between the Puritans who sought even more reform and the more conservative churchmen.
The Tudor dynasty began after the War of Roses with coronation of Henry VII in 1486. A Roman Catholic like his predecessors, he is viewed as having returned stability to a war-torn country while taxing the noble class far too highly.
Henry VII was followed by his son, Henry VIII (at right), in 1509. Besides his six marriages (the first three discussed here), he is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. Henry VIII first married Catherine of Aragon who, after a stillborn daughter, produced a son Henry in 1511, a daughter Mary in 1516, and another stillborn. The young Henry passed after only seven weeks. As Henry VIII became more impatient for a male heir, he attempted but failed to have the pope annul his marriage to Catherine on various grounds. He wanted instead to marry Anne Boleyn.
In 1532, Thomas Cranmer (at right) was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury with the approval of the Pope. Thomas Cranmer was Paul’s 13th great uncle (see Cranmer Family). The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the church in England. Cranmer, loyal to the king rather than the Pope, annulled the marriage to Catherine and validated Henry VIII‘s marriage to Anne Boleyn. Soon after, in 1533, Anne produced a daughter Elizabeth. The Pope excommunicated Henry VIII as well as Thomas Cranmer, and the Church of England became a protestant denomination separate from the church in Rome.Still anxious for a male heir, and with Anne Boleyn producing only miscarriages, it was arranged for her to be accused of incestuous adultery. Despite a lack of evidence, she was convicted and executed in May 1536.
Ten days later, Henry VIII married Jane Seymour. It was Jane who gave Henry his male heir Edward. On the death of his father, the son ascended to the throne at the age of 10 as Edward VI. It was during Edward’s reign that Archbishop Thomas Cranmer moved the Church of England event further from Catholic rituals and practices. However, Edward died at the age of 15 with no heirs, and Henry VIII’s eldest daughter Mary (with Catherine of Aragon) was enthroned in 1553.
Mary I was a Roman Catholic, and restored that church as the official religion. She also executed at least 280 protestant leaders, including Paul’s uncle Thomas Cranmer, earning her the nickname “Bloody Mary.” A man named William West was involved in a plot to overthrow Queen Mary. He was convicted of treason, but his execution was not carried out. In 1557, he was somehow pardoned by Queen Mary. This William West was Marjory’s 13th great grandfather (see West Family).
Mary I ruled only five years before passing from influenza. Her half-sister Elizabeth became the next Monarch in 1558. Quite different from her predecessor, she became known as "Good Queen Bess." Elizabeth I restored the Church of England as the official religion. She knighted Marjory’s ancestor William West and created for him the title of Baron De La Warr in 1563. William West descendants later became governors of Colonial Virginia. She also appointed William Tooker as one of her chaplains.Following the death of Elizabeth I in 1603 without issue, the Scottish king, James VI, succeeded to the English throne as James I, the first English monarch from the House of Stuart. James was descended from the Tudors through his great-grandmother, Margaret Tudor, the eldest daughter of Henry VII. William Tooker was also a chaplain to James I.
Nearly all of these monarch practiced a ritual called the Royal Touch. It was believed that, as a gift from the Divine, English monarchs could heal a disease called Scrofula by the laying on of hands. Scrofula (technically tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis) is an infection of the lymph nodes in the neck.
Henry VII touched seven or eight infected people annually. Henry VIII touched 59 people between 1530 and 1532. The Protestant Edward VI apparently did not perform the ritual, but the Catholic Mary I took it somewhat more seriously. Early in her reign, the Protestant Elizabeth I was reluctant to participate but resumed the practice to prove her legitimacy after the Roman Catholic Church alleged she had lost her healing power. The Protestant James I wished to end the practice, he found himself having to touch an increasing number of people. The same William Tooker wrote a historical vindication of the curing power inherent in the English sovereign.
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