Prelude: The Navy Before Henry VIII
Britain is an island, and as such, control of its neighboring waters is at least potentially an inherent component of its security. This potential had been grasped and acted upon, from time to time, many centuries before Henry VIII. The first "British Navy" was built by the Roman Empire; the so-called classis Britanniae was an integral part of the Roman defensive system for the island province. It must have ceased to be effective, however, before the time of the Germanic invasions; at any rate we are given no hint that any actual attempt was ever made to stop invaders by sea. The centuries that followed are lost in obscurity, leaving us only the shining legend of King Arthur, but once the English were established on parts of the island, any opportunity to bar further inroads at sea was lost.
By the nineth century, a unified English state emerged out of the wreckage, and this state was agains threatened from abroad, this time by the Vikings. Alfred the Great shares with Henry VIII the distinction of being called a "Father" of the English navy, and he did in fact build a fleet that was evidently configured specifically for maritime defense. We are told in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that "King Alfred ordered warships to be built to meet the Danish ships. They were almost twice as long as the others, some had sixty oars, some more; they were faster and steadier, and had more freeboard." The Anglo-Saxons had substantial contact with Byzantium--some English kings even called themselves Basileus, and it is possible that Alfred's fleet was based on some part on contemporary Byzantine naval practice.
Some idea of naval defense seems to have persisted throughout Anglo-Saxon times. In 1066, King Harold had a fleet in the Channel, intended to counter the Norman threat; unfortunately it was disbanded for the season shortly before William made his crossing. It is worth noting that the English ...