What if the Pope granted Henry VIII's divorce?

It might call into question when a Pope can agree to a dispensation, if they then go back on it when it suits the powerful. Breaking the rules Catholics had for living by, and gen reversing the rule break on the grounds they were rule breaks may feed the ideas of Reformists, as it would be taken as flip flopping. Plus the King of Spain didn't have much grounds to complain, having subjugated the Church in Spain, taking a percentage of all tithes from the Americas, plus of course setting fire to Rome. And one of Henry's issues was that his marriage didn't get him much in the way of an alliance, with him supporting the Habsburgs in manybwars and the one time they didn't, due to all the blood and treasure lost, the Spanish got the King of France. They refused to support the English in getting the Crown of France, telling them if they wanted it they had to take it. Understandable from realpolitik, of course. Don't want your competitors getting too big. Anyone know if Catherine of Aragon had a dowry? A documentary suggested that she had been pretty much abanonded in England when her parents and Prince Arthur had died, and they made no attempt to push a marriage for her. Unsure if it is true or not.

Also, we should change the title of the thread perhaps. A divorce is a recognition there was a marriage but that it is ending. An annulment says it never legally happened. Though of course I suppose the meaning may have changed over the centuries, like how American Buffalo were named generations before people decided to split up bison and buffalo.
 
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DougM

Donor
Don’t forget that the crown was never very happy about the amount of land and money the Catholic Church controlled. It is not a coincidence that Henry went after the monasteries. And I doubt it was because he was upset with the pope.
So it is not like things were doing great before the annulment issue
 
I wonder what this does to the Irish conflict, since it would be Catholic vs Catholic, instead of Protestant vs Catholic. Maybe they’ll just get assimilated with the native Irish, the way that the Normans did.
 
It might call into question when a Pope can agree to a dispensation, if they then go back on it when it suits the powerful. Breaking the rules Catholics had for living by, and gen reversing the rule break on the grounds they were rule breaks may feed the ideas of Reformists, as it would be taken as flip flopping. Plus the King of Spain didn't have much grounds to complain, having subjugated the Church in Spain, taking a percentage of all tithes from the Americas, plus of course setting fire to Rome. And one of Henry's issues was that his marriage didn't get him much in the way of an alliance, with him supporting the Habsburgs in manybwars and the one time they didn't, due to all the blood and treasure lost, the Spanish got the King of France. They refused to support the English in getting the Crown of France, telling them if they wanted it they had to take it. Understandable from realpolitik, of course. Don't want your competitors getting too big. Anyone know if Catherine of Aragon had a dowry? A documentary suggested that she had been pretty much abanonded in England when her parents and Prince Arthur had died, and they made no attempt to push a marriage for her. Unsure if it is true or not.

Also, we should change the title of the thread perhaps. A divorce is a recognition there was a marriage but that it is ending. An annulment says it never legally happened. Though of course I suppose the meaning may have changed over the centuries, like how American Buffalo were named generations before people decided to split up bison and buffalo.

Catherine's agreed dowry was 200,000 ducats to be paid in installments - the first payment of 100,000 was made after her marriage - the second was never paid.
 
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