aking the lead; but so too was the objective of a German alliance, which Cromwell pursued more avidly than any other. Thus as Henry soured on his new wife and despaired of begetting additional heirs, he looked around for someone to blame; and who better than the Lord Privy Seal, who first reported on Anne’s preeminent beauty.” Bolstered by a substantial retinue of Cromwell’s political enemies, the King had him arrested and he was charged with several crimes including treason. Though he sought to show support for the King, he was executed in 1540. In recent years Cromwell has been called everything, from Henry VIII’s most trusted minister, to his most Notorious minister. Regardless of one’s opinion in this regard, there can be no doubt that he had the ear of the sovereign and did push the advancement of Protestant reform in England. Though he was highly motivated by a number of issues, in the end, the means that he employed to bring about his designs were considered somewhat Machiavellian and he faced the scourge of his antagonists when his day finally came in court. It has rightly been pointed out that service to the King at this time was a very precarious proposition.
在16世纪英国改革运动的所有领导者中，克伦威尔是最有力的支持者之一。在协助亨利废除与凯瑟琳的婚姻后，克伦威尔被授予副摄政王和教区牧师的职位，负责监督英国国教的事务。尽管他早些时候曾帮助沃尔西，但他避免与沃尔西的职位联系在一起，克伦威尔本人也被任命为“枢密院”成员，越来越受国王的青睐。克伦威尔的重要性尤其可以被视为议会许多新法案的执行者，这些法案支持“至高无上法案”，该法案使亨利及其继承人成为教会领袖。还可以注意到，克伦威尔与克兰默和福克斯一起召集了一次“主教会议”，从而帮助塑造了宗教改革，其结果是一份被称为“基督徒制度”的文件。这篇教义论论文被用来帮助平息一些神职人员的起义，他们对镇压英国的修道院犹豫不决。因此，可以看出克伦威尔对改革的教义方面更感兴趣，然而，这些立场也支持他自己的议程。可以看出，他真正的声音是在政治舞台上找到的，为此，他在所谓的“宗教改革议会”的程序中发挥了重要作用。然而，不久之后，他的操纵很短暂，因为他帮助安排了亨利与克莱夫斯的安妮的婚姻，这被证明是他的毁灭。Coby表示，“克伦威尔对这场婚姻灾难负有责任。他与克莱夫斯进行了远距离谈判。信件在他和他的办公室里传递，亨利从来没有评论过。国王的荣誉要求人们不要看到他乞求伴侣，所以下属们不得不代他求爱。这是克伦威尔带头的原因之一，但目标也是如此。”克伦威尔比任何其他人都更热衷于追求德国联盟。因此，当亨利对他的新婚妻子感到不满，并对获得更多的继承人感到绝望时，他四处寻找可以责怪的人；谁比第一次报道安妮卓越美貌的枢密院院长还要出色呢？”在克伦威尔政敌的大批随从的支持下，国王逮捕了克伦威尔，并指控他犯有叛国罪等多项罪行。尽管他试图表示对国王的支持，他还是在1540年被处决。近年来，克伦威尔被称为一切，从亨利八世最信任的大臣，到他最臭名昭著的大臣。不管人们在这方面的看法如何，毫无疑问，他听取了君主的意见，并推动了英国新教改革的发展。尽管他受到了许多问题的高度激励，但最终，他为实现自己的设计而采用的手段被认为有点马基雅维利式，当他的日子终于来到法庭时，他面临着对手的祸害。有人正确地指出，在这个时候为国王服务是一个非常不稳定的提议。
Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) 托马斯·克兰默（1489-1556）
Cranmer studied theology at Cambridge eventually attaining his doctorate and was associated there for over 30 years. When Cardinal Wolsey turned to the universities over the annulment issue, Cranmer gave a good showing and assisted Henry with his support of the annulment and later assisted with the proceedings. Cranmer was then chosen to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1532. Perhaps the most monumental decisions Cranmer made was to denounce the marriage of Henry to Catharine as illegal and in so doing, opened the door for his marriage to Anne. Being archbishop, and therefore under the supposed supervision of the Pope, Cranmer’s actions infuriated Clement VII. Soon after, both Henry and Cranmer were excommunicated. Cranmer’s theological positions continued to change and by 1534, it was clear that he took up a Reformist position which continued and helped to solidify the English churches break with the Church of Rome. Shortly thereafter, Anne was sent to the Tower of London for purported infidelities and Cranmer was summonsed to hear her confession. Though he supported Anne’s innocence, he declared Henry’s marriage to her null and void, and shortly after this, she was executed. Reforms continued under the guidance of Cromwell and Cranmer and after the death of Cromwell, Cranmer’s influence grew even more.
克兰默在剑桥大学学习神学，最终获得博士学位，并在那里工作了30多年。当红衣主教沃尔西就废除死刑问题向各大学求助时，克兰默表现出色，协助亨利支持废除死刑，后来又协助诉讼。1532年，克兰默被选为坎特伯雷大主教。也许克兰默做出的最重大的决定是谴责亨利与凯瑟琳的婚姻是非法的，这样做为他与安妮的婚姻打开了大门。作为大主教，因此在教皇的监督下，克兰默的行为激怒了克莱门特七世。不久之后，亨利和克兰默都被逐出教会。克兰默的神学立场不断变化，到1534年，很明显，他采取了改革派的立场，这一立场继续并帮助巩固了英国教会与罗马教会的决裂。此后不久，安妮因涉嫌不忠被送往伦敦塔，克兰默被传唤听取她的供词。尽管他支持安妮的清白，但他宣布亨利与她的婚姻无效，不久之后，安妮被处决。改革在克伦威尔和克兰默的指导下继续进行，克伦威尔去世后，克兰默的影响力进一步扩大。
Cranmer was to come under fire by conservatives who accused him of several misdeeds and though Cranmer escaped their plot with the support of the king, these men
