Marriage, dispensation and divorce during the years of Henry VIII's "great matter": a local case study

Abstract

The legal changes which underpinned Henry VIII’s various marriages, and in particular the dizzying speed with which certain types of marriage were prohibited, and others permitted, in order to validate the union with the wife of the moment, have been the subject of extensive discussion as well as featuring in novels, plays and films. What is less well known is whether these changes had any impact on the general populace. Given the assumption that annulments on the basis of the marriage being within the prohibited degrees were rare, the topic has attracted little consideration. In this article we will show, through a particularly rich case study, just how profound the impact of these legal changes could be.