Henry VIII and the Reformation Parliament

John Patrick Coby

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781469647562
• Topic: Storia
• Subtopic: Storia britannica

Henry VIII and the Reformation Parliament transforms students into English lords and commoners during the tumultuous years of 1529 to 1536. Cardinal Wolsey has just been dismissed as lord chancellor for failing to obtain an annulment of King Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Thomas More, the humanist author of Utopia, is named as Wolsey's replacement. More presides over Parliament, which the king has summoned in the hope that it somehow will find the means to invalidate his marriage, thus freeing him to marry his new love, Lady Anne Boleyn. Matters of state also apply, because Henry has no male heir to carry on the Tudor line, and Queen Catherine has passed her childbearing years. But will Parliament be content with solving the king's marital and dynastic problems? For there are some in Parliament who wish to use the royal divorce to disempower the English church, to sever its ties to papal Rome, and to change it doctrinally from Catholicism to Lutheranism. Others, however, oppose the divorce, oppose secular supremacy and independence from Rome, and oppose this heretical creed filtering in from the continent. More is their leader, for as long as he can survive. Thomas Cromwell, reputed a Machiavellian, leads the king's party. The king himself is ambivalent about the reformation unleashed by his "great matter, " as the divorce campaign is called, and so the conservatives are loosed to prosecute reformers as heretics, while the reformers are loosed to prosecute conservatives as traitors. Meanwhile, outside England sits the greatest power in all of Europe, the Holy Roman Empire under King Charles V of Spain--who happens to be the nephew of Catherine! How will the emperor respond to this effort to put aside his aunt? At issue in the game is the clash of four contending ideas: traditionalist Christianity, reformist Protestantism, Renaissance humanism, and Machiavellian statecraft. Depending on the outcome of this contest, the modern nation-state will, or will not, be born.

1

Introduction

WHAT IS A “REACTING” GAME?

This is a “reacting” game. Reacting games use complex role-play to teach about particular moments in history. Students read from specially designed game books that lay out the background history and explain the ideas and issues in conflict at the time. The class becomes a public body; students, in role, become particular persons from the period, often members of factional alliances. Their purpose is to advance a policy agenda and achieve their victory objectives by formal speeches, informal debate, negotiations, vote-taking, and conspiracy. After a few preparatory lectures, the game begins, and the students are in charge; the instructor serves as an adviser. Outcomes sometimes vary from the actual history; a debriefing, postmortem session sets the record straight.

HOW TO PLAY THIS GAME

The following is an outline of what you, the students, will encounter in reacting and of what you will be expected to do.

1. Game Setup

The instructor will spend some time before the beginning of the game helping you to understand the historical background. During the setup period, you will read several different kinds of material:

• The game book (from which you are reading now), which includes background history, rules and elements of the game, primary sources, and essential documents
• One or more accompanying books, which, if recommended, provide additional information and arguments for use during the game
• A role sheet, describing the faction to which you belong and, in many cases, the historical person you will model in the game

Read all of this contextual material and all of these sources and documents before the game begins (or as much as possible, catching up once the game is underway). And just as important, go back and reread these materials throughout the game. A second and third reading while in role will deepen your understanding and alter your perspective, for ideas take on a different coloration when seen through the eyes of a partisan actor. Students who have carefully read the materials and who know well the rules of the game will invariably do better than those who rely on general impressions and uncertain memories.

2. Game Play

Once the game begins, usually one student, randomly chosen, elected, or identified by role, will preside over the class sessions. Your instructor then becomes the Gamemaster (GM) and takes a seat in the back of the room. While not in control, the Gamemaster may do any of the following:

• Pass notes to individual players or to factions
• Announce the effects of game actions on outside parties (such as neighboring countries), or the effects of outside events on the game (such as declarations of war)
• Perform scheduled interventions, often determined by die rolls
• Interrupt proceedings that have gone off track or debates that have become overheated

The student serving as president or chair may still act in a partisan fashion, speaking in support of faction and individual interests. But this person is nonetheless expected to observe basic standards of fairness. As a failsafe device, some reacting games employ the “Podium Rule,” which allows a student who has not been recognized to approach the podium and wait for a chance to speak. Once at the podium, the student has the floor and must be heard.

Most role descriptions contain private, secret information which students are expected to guard. You are advised, therefore, to exercise caution when discussing your role with others. Faction-mates are generally safe and reliable, though even they may not always be with you. Unfortunately, keeping your own counsel, or saying nothing to anyone, is not an option. You must speak with others, because never will a role contain all that its player needs to know, and never will one faction have the voting strength to prevail without allies. Collaboration and coalition-building are at the heart of every game.

In games where the factions are tightly knit groups with fixed objectives, finding a persuadable ally can be difficult. That is why characters called Indeterminates are often included. Indeterminates operate outside the established factions. They tend to be minor historical figures, composite characters, or representative types. Not all Indeterminates are entirely neutral; some are predisposed one way or the other, and all decide for this or that faction as the game nears its close. If you belong to a faction, cultivating these Indeterminates is in your interest, because they provide the most obvious source of outside support.

The classroom may sometimes be noisy with multiple points of focus, because side conversations, note-passing, and players out of their seats are common and accepted practices in reacting. But these practices also are disruptive and can spoil the effect of speeches at the podium. Nothing is accomplished by trying to talk over the din to persons not listening, so insist on order and quiet before proceeding. Ask the president or chair to assist you, if necessary, and the Gamemaster as a last resort. And never be friendless at the podium. Arrange to have at least one supporter second your proposal, come to your defense, or admonish those in the assembly not paying attention.

Always assume, when spoken to by a fellow student—whether in class or out of class—that that person is speaking to you in role. If you need to address a classmate out of role, employ a visual sign, like crossed fingers, to indicate your changed status. It is inappropriate to trade on out-of-class relationships when asking for support or to attack classmates directly. You are characters in a game; attacks should be against the characters that other students are playing, not against them personally.

Wherever the game imaginatively puts you, it will surely not put you in the classroom of a twenty-first-century American college. Accordingly, the colloquialisms and familiarities of today’s college life are out of place.

3. Game Requirements

The instructor will explain the specific requirements for the class. In general, though, a reacting game will have students perform three distinct activities:

• Reading and Writing. This standard academic work is carried on more purposefully in a reacting game, because what you read is put to immediate use, and what you write is meant to persuade others to act in preferred ways. The reading load may vary with roles (for that done as research is in addition to that done as preparation); the writing requirement is typically ten pages per game spread over an indefinite number of papers (the instructor may make adjustments). Papers are often policy statements, but they might be as well autobiographies, poems, newspaper articles, messages circulated clandestinely, or after-game reflections. In most cases papers are posted on the class website in advance of the next game session for examination by others. Papers written provide the bases of speeches delivered.
• Public Speaking and Debate. In most games every player is expected to deliver at least one formal speech from the podium (the length of the game and the size of the class will affect the number of speeches). Debate is what occurs after a speech is delivered. Debate is impromptu, raucous, and fast paced, and it results in decisions voted on by the body. Reacting instructors may disallow students to read their papers when at the podium or may insist that students wean themselves from this dependency as the game progresses.
• Strategizing. Communication among students is a pervasive feature of reacting games. You will find yourselves writing emails, texting, attending out-of-class meetings, or gathering for meals on a fairly regular basis. The purpose of these communications is to lay out a strategy for advancing your agenda and thwarting the agenda of your opponents, or to hatch plots to ensnare individuals troubling to your cause.

4. Skill Development

A reacting role...