Henry VIII did NOT want a divorce,he wanted an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

However,Catherine was the aunt of Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V,who had a large army in Italy,which had sacked Rome in 1527.

So,the Pope was not about to upset Charles V by granting Henry VIII his annulment of his marriage to the aunt of Charles.

With the witch hunts and the inquisition, the plague and the increasing belief that peasants were not human was the Renaissance period worse then the middle ages?

Update : oh well as I said to many people who praise the period for its art you do ...show more