English Reformation Parliament

The Reformation Parliament was so-called because it was the English Parliament, commencing in 1529, that passed and enabled the major pieces of legislation leading to the English Reformation. 'English' is included to distinguish it from the Scottish Reformation Parliament.

In terms of its successes, the Reformation Parliament did very little to progress the case of Henry VIII. This was primarily due to its limited powers, its resentment across the country, and above all the bizarre corruption scandal that it was subject to in 1531. With legislation being passed as a result of the Henry's demands, the members of the House had very little to do. As such, many members decided to put an emphasis on a merchanting syndicate named the House Committee. Whilst such committees, combining the strong expertise of all the members, were common place, the House Committee broke the law on many occasions. Due to the implication of so many members, the parliament was officially dissolved in 1532 by Henry, in an attempt to limit the damage to his reign and the legislation passed. The main criminal activity that the House Committee came to be involved with was the illegal smuggling of a marijuana type substance into the kingdom.

After the failure of Cardinal Wolsey to win the Blackfriars trial, King Henry VIII of England was frustrated. He was left without a male heir, and his wife, Catherine of Aragon, was considered to be past child-bearing age. In 1529, Henry opened what would later become known as the English Reformation Parliament. It opened in the month of October and ran until December 1529 without forming a coherent plan on what to do. Because of this, Henry used it to discredit Wolsey. Soon after this Henry turned his attentions to the church itself.