During the 1530s immense changes in the relationship between church
and state took place. The marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine
of Aragon had not produced a male heir, but an annulment had not been
forthcoming from the pope. As a result Henry embarked upon the process
of breaking with papal authority, and in 1533 he married Anne Boleyn.
The fifth session of the 'Reformation Parliament', which ended on
30 March 1534, is recorded on these two pages of the journal of the
House of Lords. In accordance with the Act of Succession - which ratified
Henry's marriage with Anne and established the succession - arrangements
were put in place for the swearing of an oath by the king's subjects,
to affirm the Act. Refusal to swear the oath was treated as treason.
HLRO Original Journal, H.L., vol. 1, pp. 174-5 (30 March 1534)
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