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HistoryThe English Reformation, 1509–160338 min★★ difficulty

Lesson 3: Breaking with Rome

In 1534 a constitutional revolution was written into law, but law and belief were not the same thing.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Britain 1066-1901: Understand the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the English Reformation and its impact
  • Historical enquiry: Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims
  • Britain 1066-1901: Understand the development of the Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the theory and practice of monarchy and the origins and progress of the English Reformation

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Understand the legal establishment of royal supremacy

Key learning points

  • • A sequence of statutes
  • • Authority relocated
  • • Limits of the break

This lesson at a glance

  • 38 minutes
  • 19 parts to scroll through
  • 3 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

establishmentsupremacysequencestatutesauthority

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 19 · Discover5%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 19

Watch first

Lesson 3: Breaking with Rome

An English teaching video on this topic from The Northern Historian. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Understand the legal establishment of royal supremacy

2

What you already know

Part 2 of 19

Before we start

What you already know

You should already know why Henry could not obtain an annulment from Rome and that Parliament could pass statutes binding on the whole kingdom.

Recap: Lesson 2: The King's Great Matter
3

Key words

Part 3 of 19

Key words

Words you'll need today

Royal supremacy
The king's legal position as Supreme Head of the Church in England.
Jurisdiction
The authority to rule and make decisions over something.
Doctrine
What a Church teaches people to believe.
Treason
The most serious crime against the Crown, punishable by death.
4

Your lesson plan

Part 4 of 19

Lesson brief

What did the Act of Supremacy actually change?

By the end, you will be able to

  • • Read a statute closely
  • • Explain royal supremacy
  • • Distinguish legal change from religious belief

Resources

  • • Act of Supremacy (1534)
  • • Lesson notes and marked knowledge check
4 minRecall the chronology and frame the enquiry
15 minRead the textbook explanation and build the argument
11 minInterrogate the archive evidence in context
8 minAnswer the checks and write a supported conclusion
5

Learning cycle

Part 5 of 19

Learning cycle 1 of 2

A revolution in law

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

6

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 19

Learn

A sequence of statutes

The Reformation Parliament restricted appeals and payments to Rome before declaring royal supremacy in 1534.

7

Explore the idea

Part 7 of 19

Learn

Authority relocated

The Crown could appoint bishops and direct the English Church. Denying supremacy became treason.

8

Quick check

Part 8 of 19

Quick check

What did the 1534 Act make Henry?

9

Reset break

Part 9 of 19

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
10

Quick check

Part 10 of 19

Quick check

Jurisdiction means…

11

Learning cycle

Part 11 of 19

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Law is not belief

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 19

Learn

Limits of the break

Henry retained many Catholic beliefs. Historians separate jurisdiction—who ruled the Church—from doctrine—what it taught.

13

Quick check

Part 13 of 19

Quick check

Did the Act instantly make England fully Protestant?

14

Investigate evidence

Part 14 of 19

Evidence 1 of 1

primary

Act of Supremacy

Parliament of England, 1534

The King's Majesty justly and rightfully is and ought to be the supreme head of the Church of England.

This classroom extract preserves the Act's central claim. It made Henry, rather than the Pope, the legal head of the English Church; it did not by itself make worship Protestant.

Think like a historian

What changed legally in 1534, and what does this sentence not tell us about belief?

Source: Parliamentary Archives, Public Act 26 Henry VIII c.1, HL/PO/PU/1/1534/26H8n1

View the archive record ↗
15

Common mix-ups

Part 15 of 19

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

  • People often think 1534 made England Protestant. It changed who governed the Church, not yet what it taught.
  • People often think the break happened in one act. A sequence of statutes built up to supremacy.
16

Challenge round

Part 16 of 19

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

17

Challenge round

Part 17 of 19

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

The Reformation Parliament restricted appeals and payments to Rome before declaring royal ____ in 1534.

18

Mastery quiz

Part 18 of 19

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Lesson 3: Breaking with Rome

5 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. The 1534 Act of Supremacy made Henry…

  2. 2. Denying the supremacy became…

  3. 3. Did 1534 instantly make England fully Protestant?

  4. 4. Before supremacy, statutes restricted…

  5. 5. Historians separate jurisdiction from doctrine in order to…

19

Lesson round-up

Part 19 of 19

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Source

A factory inspector's notebook, 1842

"I visited the mill at seven in the morning. The machines were already running. I counted fourteen children at the frames, the youngest no more than nine years of age. The overseer told me they work from six until seven, with forty minutes for dinner."

"The air is thick with cotton dust and the windows are kept shut so the thread does not break. Two of the children showed me hands cut by the shuttles. The owner assured me that the work is light and that the families beg him for the places, since without the children's wages the rent cannot be paid."

"I have written to the magistrates. I doubt much will follow from it."

Original source-style text written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Who wrote this, when, and why might that make it useful to a historian?
  2. What does the source tell you about children's work — and what does it not tell you?
  3. How far does this source show that mill owners were to blame? Answer with a judgement and evidence.

Source for this lesson

Use this for the source work task below.

Act of Supremacy

primary

Parliament of England, 1534

The King's Majesty justly and rightfully is and ought to be the supreme head of the Church of England.

This classroom extract preserves the Act's central claim. It made Henry, rather than the Pope, the legal head of the English Church; it did not by itself make worship Protestant.

Source: Parliamentary Archives, Public Act 26 Henry VIII c.1, HL/PO/PU/1/1534/26H8n1

View the original record ↗

  • Source work

    Reading

    Read the source closely. Write who made it, when, and what it tells you — then what it does not tell you.

    2 paragraphs

  • Essay answer

    Writing

    Answer the enquiry question with a clear judgement. Use two pieces of evidence and finish with a sentence that weighs them up.

    300–400 words

  • Timeline

    Diagram

    Draw a timeline of the events in this lesson with dates, then photograph it.

    6–8 events

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 19 · Watch & discover

How this is going

  • Not looked at yet

    Understand the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the English Reformation and its impact

  • Not looked at yet

    Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims

  • Not looked at yet

    Understand the development of the Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the theory and practice of monarchy and the origins and progress of the English Reformation

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