Abstract
Henry VIII's bishops have never been given a particularly good press. They have been dismissed as 'time servers' and 'royal servants' and have often, consequently; been accused of having failed the Church at a critical moment in its history. This article takes the last criticism and tests it against the evidence of the bishops' ecclesiastical and royal services. This has been done for three reasons: First, in order to show that the Henrician bishops had been conscientious of their duties to the Church. Secondly, to show that, contrary to historical orthodoxy, their collective ecclesiastical service record is quite impressive. Thirdly, to provide an expanded contextual setting for future researches into the Tudor episcopal establishment. The more contextual details historians have available to them, the better our understanding of the events and the persons involved will be and, consequently, our grip on the period as a whole will be that much firmer.
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