English Reformation Parliament

The Reformation Parliament was so-called because it was the English Parliament, beginning in 1529, that passed and enabled the major pieces of legislation leading to the English Reformation. 'English' is included to distinguish it from the Scottish Reformation Parliament.

After the failure of Cardinal Wolsey to win the Court of Blackfriars, King Henry VIII of England was frustrated. He was left without a male heir, and his wife, Catherine of Aragon, was considered to be past child-bearing age. In 1529, Henry opened what would later become known as the English Reformation Parliament. It opened in the month of October and ran until December 1529 without forming a coherent plan on what to do. Because of this, Henry used it to discredit Wolsey. Soon after this Henry turned his attentions to the church itself.

The major pieces of legislation from the Reformation Parliament included:

An Act passed to prevent the Clergy being subject to separate canonical courts. Instead they were now to be tried in the same way as everybody else in England was and not be looked upon favourably by the courts.

The Parliament accepted the reinstatement of the charge named Praemunire where individuals could be convicted of a crime for appealing to any power outside of the realm for resolution of a situation within England. In particular, the law was aimed at those recognising the Pope's authority. The law gave leave that charges could be dropped if fines of £118,000 were paid.

The session of 1532 saw plan and purpose that had not been evident in earlier sessions.

The first Act of Annates (the Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates) was passed allowing only 5% of the money normally remitted to Rome. Annates were monies (church taxes effectively) that were collected in England and sent to Rome. They were levied on any diocese by Rome as payment in return for the nomination and Papal authorization for the consecration of a Bishop. One third of the first year's revenues from the particular diocese went to Rome. The king passed legislation threatening to deprive the Pope of these revenues. During this year even more intensive work was done to try to get Pope Clement to agree to the divorce Henry required. The Parliament threatened that if Henry did not get his annulment/divorce within a year, then all payments to Rome would be stopped. The anti-clerical Act titled Supplication Against the Ordinaries was also passed.

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