Cranmer, Thomas

Cranmer, Thomas (1489-1556), Archbishop of Canterbury, b. Aslockton, Nottinghamshire, England.

Thomas Cranmer was at first an adviser to Henry VIII.

In 1532 Henry made him Archbishop of Canterbury. Cranmer promptly said that Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon had been unlawful and so he allowed Henry to marry Anne Boleyn.

Later Cranmer helped Henry to dispose of further wives and backed him in the break with the Pope and the setting up of the Church of England.

Under Henry's son, Edward VI (1547-53) Protestantism became the religion of England and Cranmer introduced the Book of Common Prayer. The 'magnificent language' in it was written by him.

When Queen Mary, a Catholic, came to the throne, Cranmer was arrested. He spoke bravely in St Mary's Church, Oxford, before being burned at the stake.

See Dr. Diarmaid MacCulloch Thomas Cranmer