[livius]

Better late than never, I guess.

One of the problems with the English bishops under Henry VIII is that they really never expected to find themselves in such a situation, and in fact Henry had originally been considered a defender of the Faith. Also, the issue itself may have seemed to them to be trivial, although as things escalated, they must have realized that there was definitely a final confrontation going on.

I read once that in a time of persecution, the people you expected to be those who would remain firm until the end were often those who gave way immediately, and those nobody expected would often be the martyrs.

[Slyfox]

Most of the bishops that sided with Henry later came to their senses, especially after More, Fisher and the Carthusians were executed, the best and holiest men of their days. So, even if the bishops sided wrongly the first time they proved themselves worthy of a martyr's crown later.

There is a really good book on it if you are interested: "The Extinction of the Ancient Hierarchy" by G.E. Phillips (1905). It can be found on Amazon and also through Interlibrary loan.

Eleven English bishops languished to death in prison as forgotten men by the government.