Divine Kingship, Royal Supremacy, and Romans 13 (1526–36)

Abstract

The commands of Romans 13 played a central role in defining the English Reformation. The commands of St. Paul compel Christians to address the often troublesome question concerning their relationship with the civil authorities that govern them. The vocabulary and principles contained within Romans 13 were deeply embedded in early modern conversations concerning the relationship between the temporal and spiritual powers, and the obligations of both the rulers and the ruled. However, despite the ubiquitous nature of St. Paul’s commands during the Reformation period, the text itself often fades so far into the background that it becomes almost invisible in the historiographical discourse over matters concerning kingship, obedience, resistance, duty, and loyalty. This chapter redresses this absence, and make its contribution explicit. It argues that the precepts of Romans 13 played a defining role in shaping the English Reformation. It demonstrates, by tracking them through the texts that defined the early Henrician Reformation’s approach to the royal prerogative, how interpretations of Romans 13 produced the ground-breaking religious and political conclusions that emerged in the 1530s – and illustrates how the text was employed as a means of providing definitive support to Henry’s pursuit of an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. In doing so, it shows how the commands of Romans 13 were indispensable in the formulation, implementation, and defence of a doctrine of princely sovereignty that precipitated England’s break from Rome: the Royal Supremacy.