Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, which was one of the causes of the separation of the English Church from union with the Holy See. Along with Thomas Cromwell, he supported the principle of royal supremacy, in which the king was considered sovereign over the Church within his realm.
Portrait, 1545
Henry VIII recognised Cranmer's value in obtaining support for the annulment of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon. Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1536
The family of Anne Boleyn secured the appointment of Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury. Later portrait by an unknown artist.
Thomas Cromwell was the vicegerent acting as the main agent for the king over spiritual matters. Portrait by Hans Holbein, 1532–1533.
The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England was forced by its monarchs and elites to break away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Reformation, a religious and political movement that affected the practice of Christianity in Western and Central Europe.
King Henry VIII initiated the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid.
The Tyndale Bible was the basis for later English translations.
Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife. Attributed to Joannes Corvus, National Portrait Gallery, London.
Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife, by an unknown artist. National Portrait Gallery, London.
