Defender Of The Faith

Latin �Fidei Defensor, � a title belonging to the sovereign of England in the same way as Christianissimus (�most Christian�) belonged to the king of France. The title was first conferred by Pope Leo X on Henry VIII (Oct. 11, 1521) as a reward for the king's pamphlet Assertio septem sacramentorum adversus Martinum Lutherum (�Declaration of the Seven Sacraments Against Martin Luther�), written against Luther.