1. A Man for All Seasons Robert Bolt

2. Background to the play Play is set in the reign of King Henry VIII, which lasted from 1509 to 1547. Nearly all Bolt’s characters are based on real people - only the Common Man and Chapuys’s Attendant are not. House of Tudor: Henry’s last name was Tudor. Arthur, Henry’s brother, married Catherine of Aragon from Spain in order to strengthen alliances between the two countries. He died at 16 before ascending to the throne.

3. Background Henry became King in 1509, a marriage was arranged for him with Arthur’s widow to retain Spanish alliance. Special permission had to be given from the Pope as the Catholic Church taught it was illegal to marry a brother’s widow. They had several children but none of their sons lived beyond infancy. The Queens failure to produce male heirs explains Henry’s desire to divorce her.

4. Background - The Divorce Only the Pope could break Henry’s marriage but the divorce insulted Spain and King Charles V of Spain had sacked Rome and was virtually holding the Pope prisoner. Henry fell in love with Lady Anne Boleyn which motivated him to drive his administrators to obtain the divorce. Henry claimed the marriage to Catherine was sinful and should never have been allowed and used that as a religious reason for his divorce.

5. Background - Reformation Up to this time only one Christian church - the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope was the highest being in Western Europe and could over-rule monarchs. Henry went against the Pope in order to obtain his divorce. He declared himself head of his own national church giving birth to the Church of England and bringing about the Reformation.

6. Act of Supremacy To establish his new church Henry persuaded Parliament to pass the Act of Supremacy. This stated that the King was ‘Protector and Only Supreme Head of the Church and Clergy in England’.

7. Act of Succession The Act of Succession (1534) declared that Anne’s children, not Catherine’s, should rule England after Henry’s death. It was deemed treasonable to disagree with the new marriage, and influential people had to swear an oath to abide the act. More refused to take the oath and was arrested.

8. The Act Respecting the Oath to the Succession/ Succession to the Crown Act 1534 The Act Respecting the Oath to the Succession (citation 26 Henry VIII. c. 2) was passed by the Parliament of England in November 1534, and required all subjects to take an oath to uphold the Act of Succession passed that March. It was later given the formal short title of the Succession to the Crown Act 1534.Refusal to take the oath lead to the arrests of Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher for treason in 1534. They refused to take the oath because it included the abjuration of the pope and claimed the marriage between King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was annulled and it went against their Roman Catholic beliefs. More and Fisher were beheaded in 1535.Parliament of EnglandAct of SuccessionThomas More John Fishertreason1534popeKing Henry VIII Catherine of AragonRoman Catholic1535