This nature allowed him to declare himself the head of
the church of England instead of the pope.
Henry used and then discarded officers of state e.g. by executing
them for supposed treason. One such was Thomas Wolsey, the son of
a town grazier and butcher, who was another supporter of classical
learning. He rose through the church, the gateway to advancement
in a diversity of occupations of clergy such as secretary,
librarian, teacher, attorney, doctor, author, civil servant,
diplomat, and statesman. He was a court priest when he aligned
himself with Henry, both of whom wanted power and glory and
dressed extravagantly. But he was brilliant and more of a
strategist than Henry. Wolsey called himself a reformer and
started a purge of criminals, vagrants and prostitutes within
London, bringing many before the council. But most of his
reforming plans were not brought to fruition, but ended after his
campaign resulted in more power for himself. Wolsey rose to be
Chancellor to the King and Archbishop of York. As the
representative of the pope for England, he exercised almost full
papal authority there. But he controlled the church in England in
the King's interest. He was second only to the King and he
strengthened the crown by consolidating power and income that had
been scattered among nobles and officeholders. He also came to
control the many courts. Wolsey centralized the church in England
and dissolved the smaller monasteries, the proceeds of which he
used to build colleges at Oxford and his home town.
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