Henry VIII used his prototypical concept of divinity to excuse his immoral justifications of divorce and death that were relative to the cultural standards of marriage in the Church of England and the Holy Roman Church. Henry's choice of divorce and death of his wives, particularly with Catherine of Aragon, was an absolute decision that left him, as Mark Johnson states about absolutism, "with a false and dangerous sense of imagination" (page 2).
Catherine of Aragon was the first of King Henry VIII's six wives. Catherine was initially wed to Henry's eldest brother and heir to the throne of England, Arthur. "Negotiations with Madrid were conducted in 1503, and on June 23 of that year a treaty was signed that provided for the marriage of Henry to the widow, Catherine of Aragon, on Henry's attainment of the age of fifteen" (Walker). Once Arthur had died at the age of fifteen Henry's father, Henry VII, had planned for Henry to marry Arthur's widow, Catherine.
"One obstacle that had to be overcome was acquiring a dispensation from Rome to permit the marriage. The need for the dispensation was based on a scriptural directive that prohibited one from marrying the widow of one's brother. Catherine argued that only a dispensation on the basis of the impediment of public honesty was required because the marriage had never been consummated" (Walker). The legality of marriage at the time was very strict because of Catholicism's dominant influence and control over those that followed the religion. Henry was expected to follow and respect the Catholic Church's decisions because of his granted holy position as the next in line to rule England. The sanctity of marriage was taken extremely seriously at the time especially in the case of the king who has been given the power to rule over a kingdom that was connected to the Roman Catholic Church. Catherine claimed that her marriage to Arthur was not legitimized because she had not lost her virginity in the short time that they were married.
