Henry VIII, Thomas More, and the Bishop of Rome

Abstract

Henry VIII's Assertio septem sacramentorum of 1521 was only one of many handbooks that pounded the heresies of Martin Luther. Hardly anyone looks at any of these harsh little books today, yet Henry's work is like Ben Franklin's Autobiography; we have heard so much about it that we imagine that we have read it even if we have not. For students of Thomas More, Henry's work is critical: willynilly, it provided a linchpin for More's own assaults on the heretics. He quoted the book again and again. And the events that unfolded from Henry's efforts helped lead More to a polemical career that in turn, led him to his death. Two issues concern us here. What part did More have in doing the work? And what does the book say, especially about the papacy? More has often been suspected of having a hand in the composition of the Assertio. Luther believed that Henry had only been a stooge, putting his royal name on a book done by others.' (He might have been provoked by Henry's insinuation that Luther had not really written the Babylonian Captivity!)2 More himself said that he had only been a redactor.3 And in his Responsio ad Lutheruni, he stoutly defended Henry's authorship.4 But More would have had reason to conceal any part he may have had in shaping the thought of the Assertio. In those days, when royalty meant more than we can possibly imagine now, a book done by a king was a mighty weapon in polemics. Strange as it may seem to us, for More to have claimed much responsibility for the Assertio would have detracted from the work's reputation. Besides, Henry