Pope Clement Character Analysis in Wolf Hall

Pope Clement is the pope of the Catholic Church in Rome when King Henry is trying to annul his marriage to Katherine. He rules against Henry’s annulment, siding with Queen Katherine and her nephew, the Emperor Charles. He also excommunicates Henry from the Catholic Church after Henry marries Anne Boleyn but recants this when King Francois requests him to do so. Parliament declares Henry the head of the church in England and makes it illegal for anyone to approach the Pope over Henry’s decisions, so in Clement’s lifetime, papal authority in England is lost.

Pope Clement Character Timeline in Wolf Hall

The timeline below shows where the character Pope Clement appears in Wolf Hall. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Children and Human Connection Theme Icon

Wolsey plans to send Gardiner to Rome to talk to the Pope and other papal delegates about the king’s wishes. Wolsey is aware that Cromwell and Gardiner... (full context)

Dogmatism vs. Open-Mindedness Theme Icon

...through smugglers. The king and More have written a book against Luther, for which the Pope granted Henry the title of Defender of the Faith. Cromwell keeps Wolsey updated on Luther’s... (full context)

Power, Ambition, and Deception Theme Icon

...even if the documents that permitted him to marry Katherine are found to be defective, Pope Clement might just suggest that it be fixed with new documents rather than agree to... (full context)

...in months, are plundering the city’s treasures and raping its women. They also take the Pope prisoner. Since Charles is Katherine’s nephew, no one expects the Pope to favor any appeals... (full context)

...council of cardinals in Avignon so they can approve of King Henry’s separation while the Pope is Charles’s prisoner. In June 1527, when Henry tells Katherine that they should separate, she... (full context)

...a French army that can go fight Emperor Charles in Italy. Then, he thinks, the Pope will be grateful and indebted to Henry and hear out his demands. Cromwell, however, knows... (full context)

Meanwhile, Wolsey writes a personal letter to the Pope in which he praises Anne Boleyn’s virtues. He tells Cromwell that if he thought there... (full context)

In January of 1529, Stephen Gardiner travels to Rome to threaten Pope Clement on the king’s behalf. The Pope falls seriously ill soon after, and Wolsey is... (full context)

...succumb to it this time. Either way, he tells Cromwell, he thinks he “may die.” Pope Clement and the Emperor have signed a treaty, and Wolsey’s plan to align England with... (full context)

...there will be a “tangle of wreckage” if a divorce is “somehow extorted” from the Pope—the “Emperor, in defense of his aunt, may make war on England.” Cromwell knows he is... (full context)

...at Ipswich. The “wealth of twenty-nine monasteries has gone into those foundations,” and by the Pope’s orders, this money can only be used for the colleges. But Henry says he “is... (full context)

...Norfolk’s ideas, has the bishops and peers put their signatures on a letter asking the Pope to “let the king have his freedom,” and it “contains certain murky, unspecified threats.” (full context)

...describe himself as head of the church in England,” and Mary Tudor adds that “the Pope is head of the church everywhere.” Cromwell once again asks Mary to sit down and... (full context)

Cromwell says that “if the Pope were to concede to the king’s wishes,” then they wouldn’t take away his revenues. He... (full context)

...subjects at all since they seem to have taken an oath of loyalty to the Pope rather than to him. Cromwell tells Gardiner that if the king does lock him up,... (full context)

Cromwell tells Anne Boleyn that “if the Pope cannot stop [her] becoming queen,” then neither should Harry Percy. Norfolk asks Cromwell to “[b]eat... (full context)

...to travel to France to meet King Francois, who has promised to speak to the Pope in favor of Henry’s marriage. Anne Boleyn asks Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk, if... (full context)

...a law which would make it illegal to overrule the king and appeal to the Pope. In the morning, he goes to visit Cranmer, who is to be the next Archbishop... (full context)

...him how “his ungodly councilors torment him” and that he longs for “perfect amity with Pope Clement.” Cromwell is filled with admiration for how Henry shifts his behavior in different situations.... (full context)

...with the archbishop’s claim that his marriage to Katherine is void, and Henry says the “Pope has no power to make incest licit.” He says if that were the case, “God... (full context)

...since she does not recognize it as legitimate, and that she will wait for the Pope to get back to her about her case. Cromwell advises her to agree to the... (full context)

...thinks that “Death is a japester; call him and he will not come.” Meanwhile, the Pope has declared Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn void and says he will excommunicate the king... (full context)

Henry hears that King Francois has fallen at the Pope’s feet and is furious. Cromwell, however, is happy to hear that Francois kept his bargain... (full context)

...to remove More’s name from the bill, and the king relents. That same month, the Pope finally gives his verdict on Queen Katherine’s marriage, saying that “the marriage is sound.” The... (full context)

Pope Clement has died, and Cardinal Farnese is the new pope, just as Cromwell had predicted.... (full context)