Dissolution of the monasteries
The dissolution of the monasteries, occasionally referred to as the suppression of the monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541, by which Henry VIII disbanded Catholic monasteries, priories, convents, and friaries in England, Wales, and Ireland; expropriated their income; disposed of their assets; and provided for their former personnel and functions.
King Henry VIII c. 1537 by Hans Holbein the Younger. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid.
Desiderius Erasmus by Holbein; Renaissance humanist and influential critic of religious orders. Louvre, Paris.
Thomas Cromwell by Hans Holbein: Chief Minister for Henry VIII and Vicegerent in Spirituals; created the administrative machinery for the dissolution
Stogursey Priory in Somerset. An alien priory dissolved in 1414 and granted to Eton College
Henry VIII was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage annulled. His disagreement with Pope Clement VII about such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority. He appointed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries, for which he was excommunicated by the pope.
Portrait of Henry VIII after Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1537–1562
Portrait by Meynnart Wewyck, 1509
The meeting of Francis I and Henry VIII at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520
Henry with Emperor Charles V (right) and Pope Leo X (centre), c. 1520
