Burned at the Stake: The Execution of Thomas Cranmer
Burned at the Stake: The Execution of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury On the 21st of March in 1556, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury , was burned at the stake, in Oxford. Thomas Cranmer was the Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of King Henry VIII, Edward VI, and please not ... Mary-Mother-Of-God-I'm-Going-To-Die. It was Thomas Cranmer who made it possible, and actually constructed the case, for the annulment of the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. He also set up and promoted the newly formed Protestant religion and Church of England with the King as the head of the church, instead of the Pope. This was fine under the Protestant King Henry VIII, and Henry's son, Edward VI. However, when Mary I, a Roman Catholic, became Queen, he was basically screwed. Mary was also the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, so that did Thomas Cranmer no favours. And she held a grudge. Within seconds...