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A non-contemporary description of the parliament which met throughout the Reformation crisis of the early 1530s. In its first session (November-December 1529), the parliament petitioned Henry to take action against Cardinal Wolsey. Subsequently, the parliament passed acts which defined the nature of the break with Rome and the foundation of the Church of England. In 1532 (a year after Henry VIII had been recognised as Supreme Head of the Church in England), the Commons openly opposed the authority of Church courts and stated that no ecclesiastical laws could be promulgated without the authority of the King.A year later, in the Restraint of Appeals, they codified the legal independence of the realm of England from Rome. As Henry\'s \'great matter\' (his marriage to his brother\'s widow, Katherine of Aragon) became more problematic, parliament continued to support the wishes of their king over the Pope in Rome.
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