Cromwell, Thomas, earl of Essex, 1485?–1540, English statesman. While a young man he lived abroad as a soldier, accountant, and merchant, and on his return (c.1512) to England he engaged in the wool trade and eventually became a lawyer. He entered Parliament in 1523 and soon became legal secretary to Cardinal Wolsey Wolsey, Thomas (w
..... Click the link for more information. , for whom he managed the suppression of minor monasteries. He avoided being disgraced with Wolsey in 1529, and by 1531 was serving Henry VIII Henry VIII, 1491–1547, king of England (1509–47), second son and successor of Henry VII .

Early Life

In his youth he was educated in the new learning of the Renaissance and developed great skill in music and sports.
..... Click the link for more information. as a member of the privy council. By 1532 he had become the king's chief minister and was responsible for drafting most of the acts of Parliament by which the Reformation was effected. He probably originated the idea of making the king supreme head of the church in England. As Henry's vicar-general after 1535, he supervised (1536–9) the visitation and suppression of monasteries and the confiscation of monastic lands and wealth. Much of Cromwell's unpopularity with the people, demonstrated by the Pilgrimage of Grace Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536, rising of Roman Catholics in N England. It was a protest against the government's abolition of papal supremacy (1534) and confiscation (1536) of the smaller monastic properties, intensified by grievances against inclosures and high rents
..... Click the link for more information. , derived from the ruthlessness of his agents in carrying out that project. He issued injunctions to the clergy, regulating their conduct and duties, assailed the worship of images and relics, and initiated a much-needed system of parish registers. He was made a baron and lord privy seal in 1536, lord great chamberlain in 1539, and earl of Essex in 1540. He negotiated the king's marriage to Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (klēvz), 1515–57, fourth queen consort of Henry VIII of England.
..... Click the link for more information. as a means of securing the North German princes as allies against the Catholic Holy Roman emperor Charles V. When Anne proved unattractive and the alliance failed, Henry allowed charges of treason and heresy to be brought against Cromwell by his bitter enemy, the duke of Norfolk. Cromwell was condemned by act of attainder and beheaded.

Bibliography

See biographies by R. B. Merriman (1902), T. Maynard (1950), and A. G. Dickens (1959); G. R. Elton, The Tudor Revolution in Government (1953) and Reform and Renewal (1973).

Cromwell, Thomas, earl of Essex

(born c. 1485, Putney, near London, Eng.—died July 28, 1540, probably London) English politician and principal adviser (1532–40) to Henry VIII. He was a confidential adviser to Thomas, Cardinal Wolsey, before entering Parliament (1529), where his abilities attracted the king's notice. Entering Henry's service in 1530, he was chiefly responsible for establishing the Reformation in England, for the dissolution of the monasteries, and for strengthening the royal administration. He eventually came into complete control of the government, though he pretended to be acting on the king's authority. In 1539 he made the mistake of inducing Henry to marry Anne of Cleves, which led to his fall. At his enemies' instigation he was arrested for heresy and treason, condemned without a hearing, and executed.