Acknowledge The King’s Supremacy or Else

On May 4, 1535, Henry VIII killed five monks who refused to acknowledge his supremacy.

Disliking the rules of the Catholic Church, Henry VIII created the Church of England. He made himself the head of the church. Predictably, he did not like it when people questioned his supremacy. As king and now head of his church he expected people to accept his decrees.

Not everyone chose to follow the king. They found out that any rejection of the king would result in death. He did not kill them quickly. On this day the monks died gruesomely. First drawn by carts to the hanging site, then hung. Except before death, guards opened their bowels then cut them in pieces and hung them in prominent places. With this death waiting, people had to acknowledge the king’s supremacy or else.