The Tudor monarchs did not like governing through Parliament. Henry VII
had used Parliament only for law making. He seldom called it together, and then
only when he had a particular job for it. Henry VIII had used it first to raise
money for his military adventures, and then for his struggle with Rome. His aim
was to make sure that the powerful members from the shires and towns supported
him, because they had a great deal of control over popular feeling. He also
wanted to frighten the priests and bishops into obeying him, and to frighten
the pope into giving in to his demands.
Perhaps Henry himself did not realise that by inviting Parliament to
make new laws for the Reformation he was giving it a level of authority it
never had before. Tudor monarchs were certainly not more democratic than
earlier kings, but by using Parliament to strengthen their policy, they
actually increased Parliament's authority.
