Editing Thomas Cranmer (section)

==In the service of Henry VIII (1527–1532)==
[[File:Hans Holbein, the Younger, Around 1497-1543 - Portrait of Henry VIII of England - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|left|[[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]], {{circa|1536}}]]

[[Henry VIII]]'s first marriage arose from the death of his older brother, [[Arthur, Prince of Wales|Arthur]], in 1502. Their father, [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]], betrothed Arthur's widow, [[Catherine of Aragon]], to the future king. The marriage immediately raised questions about the biblical prohibition (in Leviticus 18 and 20) against marriage to a brother's wife. The couple married in 1509, and after a series of miscarriages, a daughter, [[Mary I of England|Mary]], was born in 1516. By the 1520s, Henry still did not have a son to name as heir, and he took this as a sure sign of God's anger and made overtures to the Vatican about an [[annulment]].<ref>{{Harvnb|MacCulloch|1996|p=42}}. According to [[Diarmaid MacCulloch]], he became convinced of this perhaps as much as two years before his passion for Anne Boleyn.</ref> He gave Cardinal Wolsey the task of prosecuting his case; Wolsey began by consulting university experts. From 1527, Cranmer assisted with the annulment proceedings in addition to his duties as a Cambridge don.<ref>{{Harvnb|MacCulloch|1996|pp=41–44}}</ref>

In mid-1529, Cranmer stayed with relatives in [[Waltham Holy Cross]] to avoid an outbreak of the [[Plague (disease)|plague]] in Cambridge. Two of his Cambridge associates, Stephen Gardiner and [[Edward Foxe]], joined him. The three discussed the annulment issue and Cranmer suggested putting aside the legal case in Rome in favour of a general canvassing of opinions from university theologians throughout Europe. Henry showed much interest in the idea when Gardiner and Foxe presented him with this plan. It is unknown whether the King or his new Lord Chancellor, [[Thomas More]], explicitly approved the plan. Eventually, it was implemented, and Cranmer was requested to join the royal team in Rome to gather university opinions.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ridley|1962|pp=25–33}}; {{Harvnb|MacCulloch|1996|pp=45–51}}</ref> Edward Foxe coordinated the research effort and the team produced the ''[[Collectanea satis copiosa]]'' ("The Sufficiently Abundant Collections") and ''The Determinations'', historical and theological support for the argument that the King exercised supreme jurisdiction within his realm.<ref>{{Harvnb|MacCulloch|1996|pp=54–59}}. The full title is ''The Determinations of the most famous and most excellent Universities of Italy and France, that it is unlawful for a man to marry his brother's wife, that the Pope hath no power to dispense therewith'' and it is likely that Cranmer undertook the translation from Latin to English. Comparing the two language versions, MacCulloch notes that the document reveals the first indications of a change away from his humanist Catholicism towards a more radically reformist stance.</ref>

[[File:Cranmer BishopricArms.png|thumb|upright=0.9|New arms granted ''circa'' 1544 to Thomas Cranmer by King Henry VIII, instead of his paternal arms: ''Argent, on a chevron azure between three [[Pelican in her piety|pelicans]] sable [[Pelican in her piety|vulning themselves]] [[Tincture (heraldry)|proper]] as many cinquefoils or'', telling him "That those birds should signify unto him, that he ought to be ready, as the pelican is, to shed his blood for his young ones, brought up in the faith of Christ"{{sfn|Strype|1840|p=181}}]]

Cranmer's first contact with a [[Continental Reformed Protestantism|Continental reformer]] was with [[Simon Grynaeus]], a humanist based in [[Basel]], [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Switzerland]], and a follower of the Swiss reformers, [[Huldrych Zwingli]] and [[Johannes Oecolampadius]]. In mid-1531, Grynaeus took an extended visit to England to offer himself as an intermediary between the King and the Continental reformers. He struck up a friendship with Cranmer and after his return to Basel, he wrote about Cranmer to the German reformer [[Martin Bucer]] in [[Strasbourg]]. Grynaeus' early contacts initiated Cranmer's eventual relationship with the Strasbourg and Swiss reformers.<ref>{{Harvnb|MacCulloch|1996|pp=60–66}}</ref>

In January 1532, Cranmer was appointed the resident ambassador at the court of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]], [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]]. As the Emperor travelled throughout his realms, Cranmer had to follow him to his residence in [[Regensburg]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Ridley|1962|p=39}}</ref> He passed through the Lutheran city of [[Nuremberg]] and saw for the first time the effects of the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]]. When the [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Diet]] was moved to Nuremberg, he met the leading architect of the Nuremberg reforms, [[Andreas Osiander]]. They became good friends, and during that July Cranmer took the surprising action of marrying [[Margarete Cranmer|Margarete]], the niece of Osiander's wife. He did not take her as his mistress, as was the prevailing custom with priests for whom celibacy was too rigorous. Scholars note that Cranmer had moved, however moderately at this stage, into identifying with certain Lutheran principles.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hall|1993a|p=19}}; {{Harvnb|MacCulloch|1996|p=72}}; {{Harvnb|Ridley|1962|p=46}}</ref> This progress in his personal life was not matched in his political life as he was unable to persuade Charles, Catherine's nephew, to support the annulment of his aunt's marriage.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ridley|1962|pp=39–47}}; {{Harvnb|MacCulloch|1996|pp=70–74}}</ref>