Establishing the Elizabethan Age E-Book

• Herausgeber: Charles River Editors
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 125

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Over 450 years after his reign, Henry VIII is still the most famous and recognizable King of England, but it’s for all the wrong reasons. Though well regarded by contemporaries as a learned king and "one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne", he is best remembered today for his gluttony and multiple marriages, particularly the gruesome way in which he was widowed on more than one occasion. Naturally, that was the focus of the popular Showtime drama series centered around his life, The Tudors.

Henry VIII will probably continue to be best known for beheading some of his wives, most notably Anne Boleyn, so it is somewhat fitting that his most decisive act came as a result of a marital mishap. Sharply at odds with the Catholic Church over his attempt to dissolve his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII ultimately broke with the Church and established the Church of England, which forever both the religious history of England and the social hierarchy of the nation and its empire. 

 Though the popular perception of his reign has taken hold, King Henry VIII did not start life in any of those ways. In fact, he did not even start life as heir to the English throne. And when he did come to the throne at the age of 18, King Henry VIII’s earliest monarchical years showed his promise as a quintessential renaissance, polymath Prince. Even on the religious front, Henry VIII started out believing in the essential Catholic theology, even after the Pope and the Vatican excommunicated Henry from the Catholic Church (until then, the undisputed political as well as theological leader of Christendom, from which monarchs often needed various forms of legitimacy).

Of Henry’s wives, none is more famous than his second, Anne Boleyn, who even today remains both famous and infamous for her personal and political life nearly 400 years after her death.   Anne was a vixen and ultimately a victim, but she was also an astute politician, foolish lover and wise woman who could never decide whether to listen to her heart or her head.  She was also both an adulteress and religious reformer, and these two qualities would come together to change the face of English Christianity forever.

Anne came into the court with a better idea of what she was getting herself into than any other of Henry’s queens, but even she could not see foresee how fickle fate would cost her both her love and her life.  Like Catherine of Aragon before her, she would be unable to hold on to her wandering husband.  However, she would, ironically, be the last of his queens that he’d ever cheat on.  Early female mortality and his own failing health would keep him faithful to the women who would follow her as queen, in a way that the teachings of the Church and common decency never would.

Elizabeth was the last Tudor sovereign, the daughter of the cruel and magnificent King Henry VIII and a granddaughter of the Tudor House’s founder, the shrewd Henry VII. Elizabeth, hailed as “Good Queen Bess,” “Gloriana” and “The Virgin Queen” to this day in the public firmament, would improve upon Henry VIII’s successes and mitigate his failures, and despite her own failings would turn out to “have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too”. Indeed, that was the phrase she would utter in describing herself while exhorting her troops to fight for England against the Spanish Armada.

 Elizabeth often has been featured in biographies that were more like hagiographies, glossing over her fits of temper, impatience and other frailties. It is fair to say, however, that she had also inherited her grandfather’s political acumen and her father’s magnificence, thus creating not just one of the most colourful courts in Europe but also one of the most effective governments in English history. 

Leseprobe

Establishing the Elizabethan Age: The Lives and Legacies of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I

By Charles River Editors

Henry's reconciliation with Anne Boleyn, by George Cruikshank, 19th century.

About Charles River Editors

Charles River Editors was founded by Harvard and MIT alumni to provide superior editing and original writing services, with the expertise to create digital content for publishers across a vast range of subject matter. In addition to providing original digital content for third party publishers, Charles River Editors republishes civilization’s greatest literary works, bringing them to a new generation via ebooks.

Introduction

King Henry VIII (1491-1547)

"We are, by the sufferance of God, King of England; and the Kings of England in times past never had any superior but God." – King Henry VIII

Over 450 years after his reign, Henry VIII is still the most famous and recognizable King of England, but it’s for all the wrong reasons. Though well regarded by contemporaries as a learned king and "one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne", he is best remembered today for his gluttony and multiple marriages, particularly the gruesome way in which he was widowed on more than one occasion. Naturally, that was the focus of the popular Showtime drama series centered around his life, The Tudors.

Henry VIII will probably continue to be best known for beheading some of his wives, most notably Anne Boleyn, so it is somewhat fitting that his most decisive act came as a result of a marital mishap. Sharply at odds with the Catholic Church over his attempt to dissolve his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII ultimately broke with the Church and established the Church of England, which forever both the religious history of England and the social hierarchy of the nation and its empire.

Though the popular perception of his reign has taken hold, King Henry VIII did not start life in any of those ways. In fact, he did not even start life as heir to the English throne. And when he did come to the throne at the age of 18, King Henry VIII’s earliest monarchical years showed his promise as a quintessential renaissance, polymath Prince. Even on the religious front, Henry VIII started out believing in the essential Catholic theology, even after the Pope and the Vatican excommunicated Henry from the Catholic Church (until then, the undisputed political as well as theological leader of Christendom, from which monarchs often needed various forms of legitimacy).

For all these reasons, the manner in which his life and legacy diverge makes him an even more fascinating topic, one that clearly continues to captivate audiences around the world today. Establishing the Elizabethan Age chronicles Henry VIII’s life and reign, but it also humanizes the man who fashioned himself both an athlete and scholar. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events in his life, you will learn about Henry VIII like you never have before, in no time at all.

Anne Boleyn (1501-1536)

“To us she appears inconsistent—religious yet aggressive, calculating yet emotional, with the light touch of the courtier yet the strong grip of the politician—but is this what she was, or merely what we strain to see through the opacity of the evidence? As for her inner life, short of a miraculous cache of new material, we shall never really know. Yet what does come to us across the centuries is the impression of a person who is strangely appealing to the early twenty-first century: A woman in her own right—taken on her own terms in a man's world; a woman who mobilised her education, her style and her presence to outweigh the disadvantages of her sex; of only moderate good looks, but taking a court and a king by storm. Perhaps, in the end, it is Thomas Cromwell's assessment that comes nearest: intelligence, spirit and courage." – Eric Ives

Of Henry’s wives, none is more famous than his second, Anne Boleyn, who even today remains both famous and infamous for her personal and political life nearly 400 years after her death. Anne was a vixen and ultimately a victim, but she was also an astute politician, foolish lover and wise woman who could never decide whether to listen to her heart or her head. She was also both an adulteress and religious reformer, and these two qualities would come together to change the face of English Christianity forever.

Anne came into the court with a better idea of what she was getting herself into than any other of Henry’s queens, but even she could not see foresee how fickle fate would cost her both her love and her life. Like Catherine of Aragon before her, she would be unable to hold on to her wandering husband. However, she would, ironically, be the last of his queens that he’d ever cheat on. Early female mortality and his own failing health would keep him faithful to the women who would follow her as queen, in a way that the teachings of the Church and common decency never would.

Establishing the Elizabethan Age looks at the life and death of the famous queen, but it also analyzes her enduring legacy and popular legends about her. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Anne Boleyn like you never have before, in no time at all.

Elizabeth I (1533-1603)

"Video et taceo." ("I see, and say nothing") – Queen Elizabeth I

When Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1652, many commentators heralded the beginning of her reign as the second Elizabethan age. The first one, of course, concerned the reign of Henry VIII’s second surviving daughter and middle surviving child, Queen Elizabeth I, one of England’s most famous and influential rulers. It was an age when the arts, commerce and trade flourished. It was the epoch of gallantry and great, enduring literature. It was also an age of wars and military conflicts in which men were the primary drivers and women often were pawns.

Elizabeth I changed the rules of the game and indeed she herself was changed by the game. She was a female monarch of England, a kingdom that had unceremoniously broken with the Catholic Church, and the Vatican and the rest of Christendom was baying for her blood. She had had commercial and militaristic enemies galore. In the end, she helped change the entire structure of female leadership.

Elizabeth was the last Tudor sovereign, the daughter of the cruel and magnificent King Henry VIII and a granddaughter of the Tudor House’s founder, the shrewd Henry VII. Elizabeth, hailed as “Good Queen Bess,” “Gloriana” and “The Virgin Queen” to this day in the public firmament, would improve upon Henry VIII’s successes and mitigate his failures, and despite her own failings would turn out to “have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too”. Indeed, that was the phrase she would utter in describing herself while exhorting her troops to fight for England against the Spanish Armada.

Elizabeth often has been featured in biographies that were more like hagiographies, glossing over her fits of temper, impatience and other frailties. It is fair to say, however, that she had also inherited her grandfather’s political acumen and her father’s magnificence, thus creating not just one of the most colourful courts in Europe but also one of the most effective governments in English history. It was an age of Christopher Marlowe’s and William Shakespeare’s flourishing creativity that still enhances English as well as comparative literature. Elizabeth was also patroness of Sir Francis Drake, the pirate, thereby promoting English settlement of foreign colonies. The Jamestown Settlement in Virginia would come in 1607, four years after Elizabeth’s passing, and the Plymouth colony in Massachusetts would come in 1620.

Elizabeth had also fought for her life time and time again in an era that was already unsafe for female leaders and she probably had remembered the searing feeling of realizing that her mother Queen Anne (Anne Boleyn) had been executed by her father arguably on a trumped-up charge. Danger was pervasive; strategy was needed not just to thrive but just to survive.

Establishing the Elizabethan Age chronicles the life and reign of England’s most famous queen, but it also humanizes the woman who ruled one of the world’s most powerful kingdoms in an age dominated by men. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events in her life, you will learn about Elizabeth I like you never have before, in no time at all.

Establishing the Elizabethan Age: The Lives and Legacies of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I

About Charles River Editors

Introduction

Chapter 1: Henry’s Early Life (1491-1509)

Chapter 2: Anne Boleyn’s Early Years

Chapter 3: The First Part of Henry’s Reign, 1509-1525

Chapter 4: Anne Returns to England

Chapter 5: Making Anne Queen

Chapter 6: The Aftermath of the Marriage

Chapter 7: The Death of Anne Boleyn

Chapter 8: Henry’s Final Years (1540-1547)

Chapter 9: Elizabeth’s Path to the Throne

Chapter 10: The First Part of Elizabeth’s Reign, 1558-1587

Handling Religious Divisions

The Virgin Queen

A Challenge to Elizabeth’s Throne

Chapter 11: Final Part of Elizabeth’s Reign, 1587-1603

Preserving England

Managing Foreign Affairs

The Elizabethan Era

Bibliography

Chapter 1: Henry’s Early Life (1491-1509)

Both popular and academic historians have found it easier to fixate the public’s attention on King Henry VIII of England, Ireland and France1 by presenting him to history as the monarch who husbanded six wives, annulled marriages with three of them (two by execution), and executed thousands upon thousands of his subjects on the nebulous charge of “treason.” In short, he became something of a tyrant. Even today’s schoolchildren remember Henry as the corpulent monarch of a bygone era, an egotistical monarch who lusted after women, food, and wars, each to excess. Henry arguably is most famous for creating the Church of England, but here too popular understanding has misunderstood Henry’s actual stance and contributions. Films such as The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)and Elizabeth I (1998) have not helped.2

King Henry VIII did not start life in any of those ways. In fact, he did not even start life as heir to the English throne. And when he did come to the throne at the age of 18, King Henry VIII’s earliest monarchical years showed his promise as a quintessential renaissance, polymath Prince. Even on the religious front, Henry VIII started out believing in the essential Catholic theology, even after the Pope and the Vatican excommunicated Henry from the Catholic Church (until then, the undisputed political as well as theological leader of Christendom, from which monarchs often needed various forms of legitimacy).

For all these reasons, the manner in which his life and legacy diverge makes him an even more fascinating topic, one that continues to captivate audiences around the world today.

Henry VIII at the age of 18

King Henry VIII was born the second son to King Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth of York. The second monarch of the House of Tudor, the royal House that would last in Tudor hands but one more generation,3 on June 28, 1491, Henry VIII was born second in line to the throne after his brother Prince Arthur, the Prince of Wales. Always precocious, at the age of two, Henry was created the Constable of Dover Castle and at the age of four created the Duke of York. Even though Henry VII was the source of Arthur’s potential and Henry VIII’s realized inheritance, it was through Elizabeth of York that the Tudor line received its legitimacy. After all, while Henry VII won his throne in battle, Elizabeth of York actually was descended from King Edward IV of England, a Yorkist monarch.4 Henry VIII was born at a precarious time because the long Wars of the Roses had only nominally ended with Henry VII bringing peace to the realm, and it was for that reason that Henry VIII would spend much of the early part of his reign preoccupied with establishing his male heir and protecting his family’s claim to the throne. Otherwise there were pretenders and challengers galore.

Unusual for an English prince of that era, especially one not expected to ascend the throne, Henry VIII was given a phenomenal classical education. His tutor included the legendary author of Utopia (1516), Sir Thomas More, and Henry’s education included the romance languages (Latin, French and Spanish) as well as music, poetry, writing and the arts generally. Henry’s later compositions still survive and have been rated by reputable academics the world over as superb. Doubtless, some of the credit belongs to this education.

Sir Thomas More

However, Henry’s own utopian childhood was not to last. His brother and future sovereign Arthur’s untimely death at the age of fifteen, when Henry was only eleven, made Henry heir to his father’s throne in 1502. The parade of tragedies in Henry’s young life had begun and would culminate in his beloved mother Elizabeth of York’s death a few months later.

For Henry VII, politics was more important to kingship than sentiments could ever be. This, Henry VII thought and his contemporaries generally concurred, was especially true when the dynasty itself was so young. Legitimacy needed to be secured. As history bears out time and again, the legitimacy problem never quite left the Tudors. What was now problematic for the Tudors was that the late Prince Arthur was survived by his wife of 20 weeks, Princess Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish princess whose formidable parents had united Spain upon defeating the Moors. Henry VII needed the Spanish co-sovereigns (Catherine’s parents, Ferdinand and Isabella) for diplomatic purposes, not only to help England overseas but also to help the Tudors stay in power back home by pointing to their military and economic might and their legitimacy.

Catherine of Aragon

After Arthur’s death, the English and Spanish parties reopened negotiations for a potential marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine. The Book of Leviticus from the Old Testament did stand as a potential barrier (stating, “If a brother is to marry the wife of a brother they will remain childless.”), but Pope Julius II, upon English and Spanish exhortation, granted a dispensation in the form of a Papal Bull. Catherine had maintained that the marriage had never been consummated, for Arthur had grown sick and died too quickly, and at the time Catherine’s assertions went unchallenged. They would not forever. A few decades later the problem would be resurrected by Henry VIII, ironically, for the same overall purpose: preserving the Tudor dynasty’s hold on the English throne.

In 1509 Henry VII died. A few months later, at Westminster Abbey Henry VIII and Catherine, Princess Dowager of Wales, were married. The marriage was a dynastic one, but there appear to have been sparks of interest from both sides. Catherine fell head over heels in love with Henry and Henry too was, for a while, deeply attentive (though never faithful) to Catherine.

Chapter 2: Anne Boleyn’s Early Years