King henry the viiith

in cardinal wolsey, the king, henry the viii, found an adviser who was essentially a transition minister, holding a middle place between an english statesman and a catholic of the old order. under wolseys influence, henry made war with louis of france in the popes quarrel, entered the polemic lists with luther and persecuted the english protestants.
fishs famous pamphlet shows the spirit that was seething. he spoke of what he had seen and knew. the monks, he tells the king, be they that have made a hundred thousand idle, dissolute women in your realm. but wolsey could interfere with neither bishops nor monks without a special dispensation from the pope. a new trouble arose for the nation in the desire of henry to divorce catherine of aragon, who had been his deceased brothers wife, was six years older than himself and was an obstacle to the establishment of the kingdom. her sons were dead, and she was beyond the period when more children could...