Papal Authority and the Limits of the Law in Tudor England

This volume brings together contributions from two separate editors. The first is a collection of texts edited by Peter Clarke that evidence Cardinal Thomas Wolsey’s legatine powers to grant dispensations and other papal graces and his exercise of these powers during the 1520s in Henry VIII’s realm; these papal favours released Henry’s subjects from the rules of canon law in certain instances. The second is a text edited by Michael Questier comprising glosses on and suggested readings of the Elizabethan statute law which imposed treason penalties on Catholic clergy who exercised their office in reconciling to Rome (i.e. absolving from schism and heresy) and on those who availed themselves of this sacramental power. Both contributions illuminate the limits of the law and flexibility in interpreting and applying it and regard the role of Catholic clergy as agents of papal authority in Tudor England before and after the break with Rome.