Thursday, March 28, AD 2024 1:22pm

The Crowned Tyrant

In his first years on the throne he was called The Golden Hope of England.  A good mind, well read, a strong athlete, handsome and true piety to begin with.  Little wonder that both his wife, Catherine of Aragon, and his people loved him.  By the end of his reign most of his people cursed him as a tyrant.  Sir Winston Churchill tells us why:

 

“Henry’s rule saw many advances in the growth and the character of the English state, but it is a hideous blot upon his record that the reign should be widely remembered for its executions.  Two Queens, two of the King’s chief Ministers, a saintly bishop, numerous abbots, monks and many ordinary folk who dared to resist the royal will were put to death.  Almost every member of the nobility in whom royal blood ran perished on the scaffold at Henry’s command.  Roman Catholic and Calvinist alike were burnt for heresy and religious treason.  These persecutions, inflicted in solemn manner by officers of the law, perhaps in the presence of the Council or even the King himself, form a brutal sequel to the bright promise of the Renaissance.  The sufferings of devout men and women among the faggots, the use of torture, and the savage penalties imposed for even paltry crimes, stand in repellant contrast to the enlightened principles of humanism.” 

 

Out of a population of three million, Henry executed 72,000.  The equivalent in the US today would be over seven million executions.

 

 

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Frank
Frank
Tuesday, June 28, AD 2022 5:56am

What a guy.
“Out of a population of three million, Henry executed 72,000. The equivalent in the US today would be over seven million executions.”
If the radical Left ever gains the level of power they crave in this country, their goal will be well more than seven million.

Donald Link
Donald Link
Tuesday, June 28, AD 2022 9:05am

Interesting thing about the king and his successor daughter “Bloody Bess” is that they are portrayed rather favorably in the imported British films, played often on our PBS stations. The whitewash is excused on the grounds that it merely reflects the times.

Ezabelle
Ezabelle
Tuesday, June 28, AD 2022 9:24am

Something or someone triggers the demise of souls into such a darkness. I wonder what it was in the case of Henry VIII? Those execution numbers are mine-blowing. How did he get away with it without being banished into the bad books of history?

Ezabelle
Ezabelle
Tuesday, June 28, AD 2022 9:31am

*Mind-blowing

The Christian Teacher
The Christian Teacher
Tuesday, June 28, AD 2022 11:21am

Something or someone triggers the demise of souls into such a darkness. I wonder what it was in the case of Henry VIII?
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He simply chose to have his own way, through pride & arrogance, rather than obey God. Man’s will outside of the control of the Holy Spirit is capable of anything.

Elisa
Elisa
Tuesday, June 28, AD 2022 7:59pm

I’ve read a number of non-fiction and novels about the Tudors over the years. There have been some good ones by historians.
At the beginning of his reign, Henry VIII had it all materially and financially thanks to his father Henry VII. At the end, he was a wreck to say the least.

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