A Man For All Seasons

A Man for All Seasons is set in the early 1500s, during which time Catholicism was the primary type of Christianity practiced in Western Europe; Eastern Europe and some other areas favored Orthodox Christianity. The Catholic Church, which answered to the Pope, had been the prevailing religious authority for centuries, and Catholicism was the state religion of many nations, including England. Some people, most notably the German friar Martin Luther (1483-1546), raised objections to some of the Catholic Church’s practices. Luther argued that practices such as the observance of seven sacraments instead of two, the appointment of a Pope, and the reliance on priests for biblical interpretation did not have clear precedents in the Bible. He also argued against the Catholic practice of selling indulgences, which allowed people to essentially pay for their own absolution and deliverance. Luther was not alone in his objections, and proto-Protestant sentiments soon spread to England and other countries.

King Henry VIII (1491-1547) ruled England during this time of change. He was married to Catherine of Aragon, who had previously been married to his brother, Arthur. After Arthur died, Catherine and Henry received the Pope’s permission to marry on the basis that the marriage between Catherine and Arthur, which lasted only 20 weeks, had never been consummated and was therefore not wholly legally binding. Though their marriage was initially a happy one, Catherine did not bear Henry a son. Without a clear male heir to the throne (Henry did have a daughter at the time, Mary), Henry risked throwing his country into upheaval and even war if he were to die. England had just been through such a time during the War of the Roses (1455-1487), a bitter fight for the throne that only ended when Henry’s father, Henry VII, united the warring factions and restored the nation’s stability. Henry knew that he needed a son, and he knew Catherine was likely too old to give him one. What was more, he had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn, the niece of the Duke of Norfolk. Henry petitioned for a divorce from Catherine. Though the two of them had been married for years, Henry tried to argue that the marriage was not valid, claiming that Catherine and Arthur had consummated their union after all.

When the Pope proved unsympathetic to Henry’s request, several seemingly disparate factors came together all at once. Catholic monasteries in England generated a lot of revenue that the Crown could not tax. Henry’s spending habits were extravagant; an opportunity to make money by dissolving the monasteries was tempting. To secure his divorce, remarry, hopefully gain a son, and line his coffers, Henry turned to the growing Protestant movement, creating the Church of England. He formally broke with Rome, and England became officially Protestant. The shift in England’s politics and laws was profound. Protestants, who had so far feared persecution for going against Catholic doctrine, suddenly found their beliefs, for the most part, legitimized. Catholics were now persecuted, as it was not considered acceptable to hold different religious beliefs from the king. Thomas More and other staunch Catholics like him were forced to choose between their religion and their sovereign. Because More was a close adviser to the king, his views and actions were particularly closely scrutinized.