The history · 1531 · Melanchthon · Luther

Counsel for a king

Advising on Henry VIII's marriage crisis, Melanchthon writes that a second wife would be preferable to divorce, since polygamy is not forbidden by divine law; Luther gives Robert Barnes the same judgment for the same case.

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  • Melanchthon, opinion on the king of England's cause · August 1531; Corpus Reformatorum II

    Summarized rather than quoted: before approving divorce from Catherine, Melanchthon holds it safer for the king to take a second queen, polygamy being no violation of divine law.

  • Luther, letter to Robert Barnes · September 3, 1531; De Wette IV

    Summarized rather than quoted: Luther would sooner allow the king two queens than sanction the divorce.

Put it in context

Henry VIII's divorce was one of the defining marriage disputes of the age, and the reformers considered it in private written opinions. Their advice distinguishes what they believed divine law prohibited from what they thought prudent or publicly teachable.

The documents are private political counsel rather than church confessions, which limits what they can prove about general Reformation doctrine.

What is disputed

This is private political counsel on a dynastic crisis, not a general doctrinal statement, and reading it as the latter is disputed. The surrounding reasoning matters as much as the favorable sentence.

How I read this record

This is my conclusion from the source, not part of the quotation.

In private counsel on Henry VIII's case, Melanchthon and Luther preferred a second wife to divorce because they did not understand divine law to forbid the former. That does not make the advice a public doctrine, but it is part of their recorded reasoning.

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