Global InformationThomas Cromwell information
Thomas Cromwell | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Thomas Cromwell, Hans Holbein the Younger (1532–1533) | |
| Lord Great Chamberlain | |
| In office 17 April 1540 – 10 June 1540 | |
| Monarch | Henry VIII |
| Preceded by | John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford |
| Succeeded by | Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex |
| Governor of the Isle of Wight | |
| In office 2 November 1538 – 10 June 1540 | |
| Monarch | Henry VIII |
| Preceded by | Sir James Worsley |
| Succeeded by | Richard Worsley |
| Lord Privy Seal | |
| In office 2 July 1536 – 10 June 1540 | |
| Monarch | Henry VIII |
| Preceded by | Thomas Boleyn |
| Succeeded by | William Fitzwilliam |
| Master of the Rolls | |
| In office 8 October 1534 – 10 July 1536 | |
| Monarch | Henry VIII |
| Preceded by | John Taylor |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Hales |
| Principal Secretary | |
| In office April 1534 – April 1540 | |
| Monarch | Henry VIII |
| Preceded by | Stephen Gardiner |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Wriothesley |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| In office 12 April 1533 – 10 June 1540 | |
| Monarch | Henry VIII |
| Preceded by | John Bourchier |
| Succeeded by | John Baker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1485 Putney, Surrey |
| Died | 28 July 1540 (aged 54–55) Tower Hill, London |
| Cause of death | Execution by beheading |
| Resting place | Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London, London, United Kingdom 51°30′31″N 0°04′37″W / 51.508611°N 0.076944°W |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Wyckes |
| Children | Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell Anne Cromwell Grace Cromwell Jane Cromwell |
| Parent(s) | Walter Cromwell, Katherine Meverell |
Thomas Cromwell (/ˈkrɒmwəl, -wɛl/;[1][a] c. 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English statesman and lawyer who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charges for the execution.
Cromwell was one of the most powerful proponents of the English Reformation, and the creator of true English governance. He helped to engineer an annulment of the king's marriage to Catherine of Aragon so that Henry could lawfully marry Anne Boleyn.[3] Henry failed to obtain the approval of Pope Clement VII for the annulment in 1533, so Parliament endorsed the king's claim to be Supreme Head of the Church of England, giving him the authority to annul his own marriage. Cromwell subsequently charted an evangelical and reformist course for the Church of England from the unique posts of Vicegerent in Spirituals and Vicar-general (the two titles refer to the same position).[4]: 658, fn. 2
During his rise to power, Cromwell made many enemies, including Anne Boleyn, with his fresh ideas and lack of nobility. He duly played a prominent role in her downfall.[5] He later fell from power, after arranging the king's marriage to German princess Anne of Cleves. The marriage was a disaster for Cromwell, ending in an annulment six months later. Cromwell was arraigned under an act of attainder and executed for treason and heresy on Tower Hill on 28 July 1540. The king later expressed regret at the loss of his chief minister, and his reign never recovered from the incident.
- ^ "Cromwell". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
- ^ MacCulloch 2018, p. 5.
- ^ Bucholz & Key 2004, p. 62.
- ^ F. Donald Logan (July 1988). "Thomas Cromwell and the Vicegerency in Spirituals: A Revisitation". The English Historical Review. 103 (408): 658–67. JSTOR 572696.
- ^ Peter C. Herman (2011). A Short History of Early Modern England: British Literature in Context. John Wiley & Sons. p. 82. ISBN 9781444394993.
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