If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. [62], Henry VII used justices of the peace on a large, nationwide scale. The usurpation of Richard III (1483), however, split the Yorkist party and gave Henry his opportunity. : (April 25, 1883. Herbert was captured fighting for the Yorkists and executed by Warwick. This approach raised puzzling questions about similarities and differences in the development of national states. Overblown prose trumpeting his reign seemed to be the order of the day. When Henry VIII and Francis I Spent $19 Million on the Field of Cloth But Henry had a crucial asset: his queen and their children, the living embodiment of his hoped-for dynasty. Philip had been shipwrecked on the English coast, and while Henry's guest, was bullied into an agreement so favourable to England at the expense of the Netherlands that it was dubbed the Malus Intercursus ("evil agreement"). February 7 Sir Francis Bryan loses an eye and Henry VIII has a new love, An interview with historical novelist Sandra Byrd, Henry VIII and His Six Wives event open for registration. Its goals, relentlessly pursued until Henry's death in 1509, were the establishment of a royal house, the elimination of opposition, and the steady accumulation of power and wealth. Henry needed an heir to secure his reign and fortunately an heir came quickly. As his mother was only 14 when he was born and soon married again, Henry was brought up by his uncle Jasper Tudor, earl of Pembroke. After Edward retook the throne in 1471, Henry Tudor spent 14 years in exile in Brittany. ||Wordpress installation and design by http://www.MadeGlobal.com, FREE Anne Boleyn Henry VII: Winter King was aired last night on BBC2 and was the latest programme in BBC2s Tudor Court Season. Overall, this was a successful area of policy for Henry, both in terms of efficiency and as a method of reducing the corruption endemic within the nobility of the Middle Ages. By the way, dont forget that Ian Mortimers Time Travellers Guide to Elizabethan England is on tonight on BBC2 at 9pm. [33], In 1490, a young Fleming, Perkin Warbeck, appeared and claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, the younger of the "Princes in the Tower". Doubtless the plotters were encouraged by the deaths of Henrys sons in 1500 and 1502 and of his wife in 1503. When they married in 1396 they already had four children, including Henry's great-grandfather John Beaufort. Winter King: The Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn - review Henry had only been accepted as King because the Princes in the Tower, the sons of Edward IV, were dead, so when Yorkist exiles groomed Perkin Warbeck to pose as one of the princes and raised an army it was a huge threat. Next month find out more on someone known as The Winter Queen! Luther made a protest against the Catholic practice of Indulgences. Happy St Davids Day! The 6 Main Achievements of Henry VII | History Hit She was Edward's heir since the presumed death of her brothers, the Princes in the Tower, King Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. Henry VII can look a dull king, so dull that Thomas Penn's title omits his name. This book is a nonfiction look at King Henry the VII. Henry IV had confirmed Richard IIs legitimation (1397) of the children of this union but had specifically excluded the Beauforts from any claim to the throne (1407). The last few years of his reign were ones of repression. Four good reasons to indulge in cryptocurrency! Reasonably interesting overview of the reign of Henry VII of England. Iain Hollingshead reviews Henry VII: Winter King, a BBC Two documentary which examines how the first Tudor monarch came to power and went on to have a 23-year reign. Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 11 February 1503) was Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death. He was supported in this effort by his chancellor, Archbishop John Morton, whose "Morton's Fork" was a catch-22 method of ensuring that nobles paid increased taxes: those nobles who spent little must have saved much, and thus could afford the increased taxes; in contrast, those nobles who spent much obviously had the means to pay the increased taxes. [49] The confused, fractious nature of Breton politics undermined his efforts, which finally failed after three sizeable expeditions, at a cost of 24,000. [14] In November 1476, Francis fell ill and his principal advisers were more amenable to negotiating with King Edward. He led attempted invasions of Ireland in 1491 and England in 1495, and persuaded James IV of Scotland to invade England in 1496. With Elizabeth's death, the possibilities for such family indulgences greatly diminished. Edmund was created Earl of Richmond in 1452, and "formally declared legitimate by Parliament". [citation needed] Henry had been under the financial and physical protection of the French throne or its vassals for most of his life before becoming king. For instance, the Stanley family had control of Lancashire and Cheshire, upholding the peace on the condition that they stayed within the law. Coinage of Henry VII of England | Mintage World There's a lot of cloak-and-dagger stuff here, something Henry and certain of his counselors seemed especially skilled at, and it was those parts that I particularly enjoyed. Henry VII was born on 28 January 1457 at Pembroke Castle, in the English-speaking portion of Pembrokeshire known as Little England beyond Wales. He paid very close attention to detail, and instead of spending lavishly he concentrated on raising new revenues. Henry VIII | Biography, Wives, Religion, Death, & Facts How like a winter hath my absence been From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year! They overrode all the usual legal processed and acted with complete impunity. One of the councils prominent members was Edmund Dudley, a man who helped Henry by enforcing the Kings legal rights, finding old laws to use against people and stretching the law to its limits. Watch for $0.00 with Prime. The 17 year-old Prince Henry became King Henry VIII and started a different era. He spent money lavishly, held big parties. Up to a point, he succeeded. The parts on how he abused his position and the law to enrich himself while an entire nation watched helplessly are, frankly, pretty relevant to now. In response to this threat within his own household, the King instituted more rigid security for access to his person. He had brought the country to the brink of dynastic ambition, but not quite, so his closest advisers kept his death secret until St Georges Day, the annual meeting of the Order of the Garter. I don't read a lot of NF because I usually find it to be tedious, but The Winter King certainly wasn't that. It seems that Henry was skilful at extracting money from his subjects on many pretexts, including that of war with France or war with Scotland. Based on the terms of the accord, Henry sent 6000 troops to fight (at the expense of Brittany) under the command of Lord Daubeney. He likens the beginning of Henry VIIIs reign to a metaphorical spring, a second coming of sorts because Henry VIII seemed to be the opposite of his father. However, King Henry the VIII was much more self-centered as most of his spending was inappropriate and did not benefit England much. (We certainly can, and do, decide what sort of king Henry was based on what he had his government get up to, however.). [37], For most of Henry VII's reign Edward Story was Bishop of Chichester. Henry VIII was the first English king to be called "Your Majesty.". Henry was a remarkable man. Henry VIII and the Break with Rome Timeline - History [69] The wedding never took place, and the physical description Henry sent with his ambassadors of what he desired in a new wife matched the description of his wife Elizabeth. The purpose of the agreement was to prevent France from annexing Brittany. The rebellion began in Ireland, where the historically Yorkist nobility, headed by the powerful Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, proclaimed Simnel king and provided troops for his invasion of England. Philip died shortly after the negotiations. His father was the son of Owen Tudor, a Welsh squire, and Catherine of France, the widow of King Henry V. His mother was the great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, whose children by Catherine Swynford were born before he married her. Henry decided to keep Brittany out of French hands, signed an alliance with Spain to that end, and sent 6,000 troops to France. [28], Henry had Parliament repeal Titulus Regius, the statute that declared Edward IV's marriage invalid and his children illegitimate, thus legitimising his wife. He was probably baptised at St Mary's Church, Pembroke,[1] though no documentation of the event exists. Historians debate the extent of Henry's rapacity. The Great Debasement (1544-1551) was a currency debasement policy introduced in 1544 England under the order of Henry VIII which saw the amount of precious metal in gold and silver coins reduced and in some cases replaced entirely with cheaper base metals such as copper. He rewrote history by backdating his reign to 21st August 1485, the day before the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry VII of England - Wikipedia People saw him as being like a traditional king and hoped that his reign would bring positive change. Penn graphically describes a huge financial racket run by the king and his profiteering advisers. It is a sobering reflection for professional historians that the apparently unpromising territory of Henry's reign has recently produced two memorable books, both of them written outside their ranks: this one, and Ann Wroe's biography of the pretender, Perkin (2003), a longer work on a shorter subject. Story's register still exists and, according to the 19th-century historian W.R.W. Having secured financial backing from Florentine bankers in London, Cabot was granted carefully phrased letters patent from Henry in March 1496, permitting him to embark on an exploratory voyage westerly. He was crowned on October 30 and secured parliamentary recognition of his title early in November. He spent most of the next 14 years under the protection of Francis II, Duke of Brittany. Edward would have liked to rid himself of Henry, a rival to his throne, but Francis kept Henry safe. It was presented by historian Thomas Penn, author of Winter King and was an excellent examination of the King who, as Penn pointed out, tend to be eclipsed by Richard III, the glamour and notoriety of Henry VIII and the charisma of Elizabeth I. For me, history is alive and energizing - not something static and remote. Henry VIII, (born June 28, 1491, Greenwich, near London, Englanddied January 28, 1547, London), king of England (1509-47) who presided over the beginnings of the English Renaissance and the English Reformation. Reading this, I got a much better understanding of where Henry VIII came from, and why he was destined to be the colorful ruler he became, as an antidote to his own father. In 1407, Henry IV, Gaunt's son by his first wife, issued new Letters Patent confirming the legitimacy of his half-siblings but also declaring them ineligible for the throne. I wasn't disappointed because, as usual, he did a great job with the narration. Their chief task was to see that the laws of the country were obeyed in their area. Henry himself was clearly a distant figure who governed through his ministers, but this means that it's quite hard to get much of a sense of his character from the few sources available. When the Lancastrian cause crashed to disaster at the Battle of Tewkesbury (May 1471), Jasper took the boy out of the country and sought refuge in the duchy of Brittany. Henry VII is actually a less familiar figure, despite being the same person. Penn pointed out that for over half a century no king had passed on the crown without turmoil and Henry knew that what had happened to Richard could happen to him. [10] A contemporary writer and Henry's biographer, Bernard Andr, also made much of Henry's Welsh descent. There were too many powerful noblemen and, as a consequence of the system of so-called bastard feudalism, each had what amounted to private armies of indentured retainers (mercenaries masquerading as servants). Shakespeare, drawn to the colour on either side of the reign, skipped it. Fittingly he dressed in expensive black. [38], Unlike his predecessors, Henry VII came to the throne without personal experience in estate management or financial administration. So Henry was a valuable bargaining tool, whose fate always depended on what relations were between England and France, always tainted by the recent Hundred Years War, and how Brittany sought to ward off threats to its own independence. [19] He marched toward England accompanied by his uncle Jasper and John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford. Henry VII is known for successfully ending the War of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York and for founding the Tudor dynasty. To be notified of special offers, news, new courses, and new tutors, please subscribe to our newsletter. He attained the throne when his forces, supported by France, Scotland, and Wales, defeated Edward IV's brother Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses. What old December's bareness every where! However, with the help of the forces of his step-father, Lord Stanley, he defeated Richard and Richard was killed on the battlefield. At the same time, Flemish merchants were ejected from England. Castles of . He had, Bacon added, much to be suspicious about, "his times" being "full of secret conspiracies and troubles". [26] Henry married Elizabeth of York with the hope of uniting the Yorkist and Lancastrian sides of the Plantagenet dynastic disputes, and he was largely successful. Stanley was accused of supporting Warbeck's cause, arrested and later executed. Hence, the king was plagued with conspiracies until nearly the end of his reign. In 1485 Henry landed at Milford Haven in Wales and advanced toward London. Happy 14th Birthday to the Anne Boleyn Files! His dynasty was hanging by a thread and all his hopes had to rest on his youngest son, Henry, and Elizabeth of York producing another son, a spare. Raised in France, admiring of Italian-trained lawyers (and reaping the reward of the return of a whole generation of educated English commoners who sat out the War of the Roses abroad), with good taste in Renaissance art and advised by his gracious wife and steely mother, Henry VII is a major figure, not a prequel. The insurrections fronted by the pretenders Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck emerged from wide and formidable networks of conspiracy that drew in foreign rulers and leading English magnates, and infiltrated Henry's court. They were unpaid, which, in comparison with modern standards, meant a smaller tax bill for law enforcement. He would learn better as the new reign unfolded. His claim to the throne was precarious and he wanted to portray Richard III as a usurper. [8], In 1456, Henry's father Edmund Tudor was captured while fighting for Henry VI in South Wales against the Yorkists. He invited artists, musicians and scholars to live at his court. [citation needed], During his lifetime the nobility often criticised Henry VII for re-centralizing power in London, and later the 16th-century historian Francis Bacon was ruthlessly critical of the methods by which he enforced tax law, but it is equally true that Henry VII was diligent about keeping detailed records of his personal finances, down to the last halfpenny;[71] these and one account book detailing the expenses of his queen survive in the British National Archives, as do accounts of courtiers and many of the king's own letters. The dispute eventually paid off for Henry. Through luck, guile and ruthlessness, Henry VII, the first of the Tudor kings, had clambered to the top of the heap--a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England's throne. For Henry VII, it was all about the money and stability. This revived an earlier practice of using a small (and trusted) group of the Privy Council as a personal or Prerogative Court, able to cut through the cumbersome legal system and act swiftly. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For many he remained a usurper, a false king. Sophia Money-Coutts: Sensitivity readers don't want Henry VIII to be Not only was . The Lancastrian Henry and his Yorkist wife Elizabeth strove to reconcile the factions, but unreconciled Yorkists, to whom he was no more than a usurper, harassed his reign. Why was Henry VII called the Winter King? After winning the throne of England, he wed Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of the dead Yorkist king Edward IV. [35] In 1499, Henry had the Earl of Warwick executed. Henry VII (28 January 1457 - 21 April 1509) was King of England from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. Through luck, guile and ruthlessness, Henry VII, the first of the Tudor kings, had clambered to the top of the heap--a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England's throne. That is, suspicious, insecure and crafty but also determined, patient and fiercely proud of his Lancastrian ancestry. Alternate titles: Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, Professor of Medieval History, University of Liverpool, 196780. this was well-written and i love henry vii for how he managed to a) get the throne of england and b) keep it and make the crown so solvent after the devastating years of the Wars of the Roses, but i can't help but think that a lot of this was rather dry. In 1621 Francis Bacon's history of. These bonds were enforced by the Council Learned in the Law, a council of legal advisers who were only answerable to the King. After obtaining the dispensation, Henry had second thoughts about the marriage of his son and Catherine.