In this comprehensive work, which follows the lives of the sixty-nine bishops who served under Henry VIII, Dr Chibi not only asks why the Henrician bishops have acquired such a poor historical reputation, but also examines the deep impact which these men exerted upon the monarch's reign.

Henry VIII's bishops were both a diverse and interesting group of individuals who had a profound influence on both king and country in the early modern period. They came from all social rankings, were highly educated and had become bishops through talent and ambition, and yet their historical reputation remains unflattering. This study, set within the dual context of court and diocese, breaks new ground in presenting the Henricians as a microcosm of wider society and as the fulfilment of that period's expectations of a bishop.

The book is both an extensive examination of the careers, lives and thinking of an elite ecclesiastical force and a comprehensive review of the background to the early English Reformation. The focus is very much on those men who were caught between church and state, court and country and spirituality and temporality. Dr Chibi takes an in-depth look behind the scenes of Henrician England's religious, social and political turmoil to see the workings of a group of men dedicated to stability and truth; men who were caught between service to the king and service to God.