Today in 1535 Bishop John Fisher was executed for not supporting Henry VIII, speaking out in favor of Catherine of Aragon, and not recognizing Henry as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. He had been in jail for 14 months already, and numerous times he had declined to swear to the Oath. Towards the end, the Pope made him a Cardinal in hopes that that would save his life, but if anything it only enraged Henry further.
Bishop Fisher had been a confessor to Henry’s grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. He had also been a good friend to King Henry. But Henry would not put up with any opposition. He was kept in the Tower for over a year without enough food, or clothing, and was denied a priest even at the end for confession. The executions of Bishop Fisher and Thomas More are truly some of the most shameful of Henry’s reign. And that’s saying a lot.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested link:
Episode 088: The Henrician Reformation
From my shop:
Henry VIII Leggings
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.