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Was the Tudor Dynasty Illegitimate?
In medieval England, claims to a strong genealogy dating deep into time provided desired legitimacy to authority regardless of the substance of the claims. In order to validate the Tudors’ legitimacy to the throne, that dynasty’s historians have made such claims of lineage dating back to legendary kings like Arthur.
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Why Did Henry VIII Turn England Protestant?
England’s King Henry VIII founded the Church of England—not from Protestant conviction—but because he needed to assert his autonomy from the Roman Catholic Church to divorce his queen, Catherine of Aragon, and marry his mistress Anne Boleyn. But a king in the 16th century needed the people to view his actions as sanctioned by God and the church.
