One of my ancestors was Cardinal Wosley (yeah, Catholic clergy could and did get married in that era) who was fired by Henry VIII when he couldn't get him his first divorce.
Sir Thomas More took his place and we all know how that turned out after More got the annulment that Wosley was pushing for after Henry wanted to dispose of his second wife as well.
Wosley, meanwhile, became so popular with his parishioners in York that Henry had him summoned to London to find an excuse to have him executed. God was kind and allowed Wosley to die on the journey there.
I read somewhere that at one point, there were 800 (yes 800) capital crimes in England. People had to stand in line and wait their turn to be hanged, I guess.