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Henry VIII The Quest for Fame
John Guy
Penguin Monarchs Series London: Allen Lane, 2014 Hardcover. xiv + 141
p. ISBN 978-0141977126. £10.99
Reviewed by Jean-Pierre Moreau Université Paris III, Sorbonne
Nouvelle
This neat, concise psychological and political portrait of Henry VIII
(1491-1547) is a very good introduction to a most publicised but highly complex
figure. Clearly aimed at the “general reader”, it never sacrifices scholarly
rigour or in-depth analysis. If he did not mean to replace such a classic
biography as J.J. Scarisbrick’s, John Guy, one of the leading specialists in
the field of Tudor history, has nevertheless managed to pack a lot of totally
reliable information in only 115 pages and to provide food for thought in an
elegant, enjoyable style. Not to be neglected, 8 pages of colour plates adorn
the book, adding to its attractiveness. The subtitle highlights the central theme and seems to imply only
partial success in the quest for fame.
And this is precisely what Guy demonstrates: recognition abroad was far from
obvious and authority at home was maintained by often brutal means. But at the
same time Henry VIII contrived to lead his country in new directions which have
not changed: not only did he devise a new religious settlement but he was
careful to rely on Parliament to impose it on the nation, thus enhancing the
powers of the legislature, a hallmark of modern Britain. John Guy wants to understand the character and motivations of a baffling
personality starting from a far from gilded childhood threatened by Yorkist
conspiracies, marked by the early death of a beloved mother and by the cold
cynicism of a calculating father. Probably the origin of Henry’s future
mistrust of everybody around him. Blessed by nature with physical and
intellectual abilities, he also received a very good education, especially in the
liberal arts and he inaugurated his reign under favourable auspices two months
before he was 18, welcomed as a relief after his father’s most unpleasant last
years – propitious conditions to feel oneself a paragon of virtue if not the
centre of the world. As king, he began by seeing himself as “The Pope’s loyal son” [20-39], anxious
to please Rome (and to be given a title similar to that of the “Most Christian
king” of France). Under Wolsey’s guidance, he indulged in complex and not too
rewarding military or diplomatic manoeuvres on the European stage. Evolution
was slow in such an overdeveloped ego but a painfully acquired realistic
approach to international problems led to a more cautious attitude towards chivalrous
dreams of conquest – and towards Rome. Yet no cloud was in sight there, so far. The well-known story of the divorce from Catherine of Aragon, his dead
brother’s former wife, the break with Rome, Anne’s Boleyn’s fate and the new
religious régime are dealt with in the third Chapter [40-60] in the light of
recent historiography. The long-term ascendency of G.R. Elton’s interpretation
of Thomas Cromwell’s role in a “Tudor revolution” is toned down. More
importance is given to Edward Foxe and Thomas Cranmer in adumbrating the
extended supremacy of the crown over clergy and laity alike at the expense of
Rome’s traditional authority. Together with renewed military and diplomatic attempts in Europe,
Henry’s own brand of theology lies at the core of Chapter 4 [61-81]. If two short-lived
rapprochements with the German Lutherans took place, they never went as far as
accepting the Reformers’ central tenet of “justification by faith alone”. Yet,
Guy argues, a radical shift occurred when “God’s Word” as set forth in the
Bible was officially considered as “equivalent to a ‘super-sacrament’, the
cornerstone on which all the other sacraments were built” [66]. Contrarily to
many interpretations, Guy does not see the famous Act of Six Articles (1539) as
a return to more traditional, Catholic doctrine since consecration at the Mass
is not said to be achieved by the priest himself but by ”Christ’s mighty Word”.
After the break with Rome, the king’s theology remained hesitant and changing but
it always steered clear of orthodox Catholicism – one more proof of an
obstinacy exemplified by his slogan of “By God, I trust no one but myself”. An unusual and most welcome chapter follows [82-97] on Henry’s tastes,
revealing as much of his personality as his actions or decisions. All kinds of
tastes, but all denoting excess, self-complacency and thirst for recognition: lifestyle,
dresses, art collections, tapestries, buildings – his own gigantic mausoleum, never
finished, never assembled. Religion always loomed large; he wanted to appear as
a sort of Old Testament patriarch – Solomon or David – majestic, directly
covenanted with God. One man was able to reveal what lay hidden behind the veil
of pomp and pride: Hans Holbein the Younger whose paintings probe into some
unsavoury aspects of the king’s psychology. A good analysis of the artist’s portraits
is provided, stressing Holbein’s genius at depicting “the sitter’s soul rather
than the features of his body” [97]. An “Epilogue” describes the rather gloomy last years of the reign: the
king’s illnesses and obesity, his absurd, monstrous diet, his paranoia, the
succession settlement, the struggle for power around him – that is control of
his son during his minority. A nuanced, balanced conclusion rounds off the
portrait [109-115]. Neither the crimes and failures nor the strength and
achievements of this exceptional monarch who “dragged England into the mainstream
of the artistic Renaissance” [110] are underrated: a fascinating if also, at
times, highly repulsive personality “with an elastic, self-serving conscience” and
finally, according to John Guy, an autocrat more than a despot. No doubt, in spite of its great qualities, such a book cannot please
every reader. Concerning the general assessment of the reign, many will see the
ledger in a different perspective – so many lives butchered! Some will find the
general theme – quest for fame – too reducing, others will question the
author’s stress on Holbein or the somewhat flimsy treatment of the dissolution
of the monasteries. Yet we must thank him for avoiding many pitfalls, in
particular the litany of the six wives, and for maintaining throughout a high
level of academic probity. Every important statement in the book is given reference in 12 pages of
close-set notes at the end – especially primary sources in England and abroad
(United States universities and Vatican archives in particular). A “Further
reading” list gives valuable information on, and evaluation of, all important
studies – not simply biographies – published in recent years; the reader will
then know where to look for more detailed or specialised material, as a
complement to this excellent primer.
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