The Lancastrians triumphed under the leadership of a 28-year-old exile named Henry Tudor. This meant that Henry had been the rightful King in the battle and that Richard had been the usurper, and those who supported him had been traitors. Henry VIII had become heir to the throne when his elder brother, Arthur, died in 1502. They were appointed for every shire and served for a year at a time. Since he was the second son, and not expected to become king, we know little of his childhood until the death of his older brother Arthur, Prince of Wales. Luther made a protest against the Catholic practice of Indulgences. Henry Tudor, named after his father, Henry VII, was born by Elizabeth of York June 28, 1491 in Greenwich Palace. I picked this audiobook up because it was narrated by Simon Vance. While there, he feigned stomach cramps and delayed his departure long enough to miss the tides. In 1485 Henry landed at Milford Haven in Wales and advanced toward London. Henry decided to keep Brittany out of French hands, signed an alliance with Spain to that end, and sent 6,000 troops to France. Penn's picture of a reign of terror carries disturbing echoes of the Roman historian Tacitus's account of the emperor Tiberius, another ruler whose abridgements of liberty followed an era of civil strife. [48], Henry later concluded a treaty with France at Etaples that brought money into the coffers of England, and ensured the French would not support pretenders to the English throne, such as Perkin Warbeck. This battle saw the end of the Wars of the Roses which had brought instability to England. But, his enemies didnt agree. Swynford was Gaunt's mistress for about 25 years. [79], Amiable and high-spirited, Henry was friendly if dignified in manner, and it was clear that he was extremely intelligent. In 1621 Francis Bacon's history of. [citation needed] John Cabot, originally from Genoa and Venice, had heard that ships from Bristol had discovered uncharted new found territory far west of Ireland. He was, said Penn, a man who never knew a moments peace during his reign. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Until the death of his wife, the evidence is clear from these accounting books that Henry was a more doting father and husband than was widely known and there is evidence that his outwardly austere personality belied a devotion to his family. Henry VIII Books livestream YouTube 18 February 2023, February 13 A queen and her lady-in-waiting are beheaded. They were third cousins, as both were great-great-grandchildren of John of Gaunt. 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). If you missed the programme then here is the YouTube video for you enjoy! 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. The devastated King became so ill that he was close to death, but then he recovered and Penn explains that when he took control once more, he was remorseless. Henry, recognizing that Simnel had been a mere dupe, employed him in the royal kitchens. [43] According to the contemporary historian Polydore Vergil, simple "greed" underscored the means by which royal control was over-asserted in Henry's final years. The King, normally a reserved man who rarely showed much emotion in public unless angry, surprised his courtiers by his intense grief and sobbing at his son's death, while his concern for the Queen is evidence that the marriage was a happy one, as is his reaction to Queen Elizabeth's death the following year, when he shut himself away for several days, refusing to speak to anyone. When Richard III became King, Henrys strategy, planned by Margaret Beaufort, the mother whom he had not seen for years, was to declare in public, in Brittanys Rennes Cathedral, that he would marry Edward IVs daughter Elizabeth, then in sanctuary with her mother, and thus bury the enmity between Lancaster and York by making her his queen. By this marriage, Henry VII hoped to break the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France. 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. Henry, son of Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, and Margaret Beaufort, was born nearly three months after his fathers death. A man who rewrote history and rebuilt the crown, but who was paranoid, manipulative and suspicious; a dark prince with a wintery reign. Thank you for subscribing. By the way, dont forget that Ian Mortimers Time Travellers Guide to Elizabethan England is on tonight on BBC2 at 9pm. (HIST003) Persecutions, Populations and Politics: Early Modern Britain 1550-1750, (HIST004) Country, Colonies and Culture: Early Modern Britain 1550-1750, (HIST006) The Stuart Court: History Politics and Culture, (HIST010) The Tudors: History, Culture and Religion, (HIST011) The English Country House: History, Architecture and Landscape, (HIST018) The Changing English Countryside, 20th Century Musicals: A Celebration of Song and Dance on the Silver Screen and the Stage. : (April 25, 1883. Henry needed an heir to secure his reign and fortunately an heir came quickly. Claiming the throne by just title of inheritance and by the judgment of God in battle, he was crowned on October 30 and secured parliamentary recognition of his title early in November. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. (1): (April 24, 1883. He had enough of that getting himself to the throne. He invited artists, musicians and scholars to live at his court. These laws were used shrewdly in levying fines upon those that he perceived as threats. Having seen it pop up in a lot of papers' Books of the Year lists, I think I was expecting something altogether more gripping and dramatic, but in the end I thought the story of Henry VII and the Tudor succession was just not an especially thrilling tale. She was a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (fourth son of Edward III), and his third wife Katherine Swynford. Though outnumbered, Henry's Lancastrian forces decisively defeated Richard's Yorkist army at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485. His younger brother, Jasper Tudor, the Earl of Pembroke, undertook to protect Edmund's widow Margaret, who was 13 years old when she gave birth to Henry. Hed achieved the impossible, hed risen from refugee to King of England. [59][60][61], He was content to allow the nobles their regional influence if they were loyal to him. To unite the opponents of Richard III, Henry had promised to marry Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV; and the coalition of Yorkists and Lancastrians continued, helped by French support, since Richard III talked of invading France. This was accomplished through the targeted imposition of fines and bonds through extrajudicial councils. Sometimes, Penn explained, charges against people were fabricated so that they would have to pay a fine, for example, a man who was charged with murdering a child and who was found guilty because the jury was rigged. Years of instability, factionalism and his predecessors' penchant for war had seen royal finances severely battered. During his 23-year reign, Henry had only two Lord High Treasurers, and this continuity helped provide stability. Henry VII: The Winter King (95) 59min 2013 PG. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. The father's government was an exercise in discoloration. In that, he was quite successful, but he was neither loved nor admired. Henry gained the support of the Woodvilles, in-laws of the late Edward IV, and sailed with a small French and Scottish force, landing at Mill Bay near Dale, Pembrokeshire. It was really very well researched and painstakingly written. The new prince was the embodiment of the red and white rose, he was the Tudor rose incarnate. While most of us are familiar with Henry VIII and Elizabeth I and we probably have a sense of the Wars of the Roses in England, but how many of us are familiar with Henry VII. 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"). Henry was devastated. Author Thomas Penn takes an extraordinary journey into the dark and chilling world of the first Tudor King, Henry VII. But that's not really what I wanted from a book about Henry VII. [11] When Edward IV became King in 1461, Jasper Tudor went into exile abroad. Some of them have more to say than Penn about the constructive sides of the reign, which developed the state-building methods of his Yorkist predecessors. [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 spent most of the next 14 years under the protection of Francis II, Duke of Brittany. [41] Henry also increased wealth by acquiring land through the act of resumption of 1486 which had been delayed as he focused on defence of the Church, his person and his realm. Henry VII: Winter King was aired last night on BBC2 and was the latest programme in BBC2s Tudor Court Season. [12], Henry lived in the Herbert household until 1469, when Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (the "Kingmaker"), went over to the Lancastrians. To be notified of special offers, news, new courses, and new tutors, please subscribe to our newsletter. Henry came to the throne following the death of his father, Henry VII. I found this really interesting, but Im a history nut. Overblown prose trumpeting his reign seemed to be the order of the day. After Wolf Hall, I wanted to find out about Henry VII, the lesser-studied father of Henry VIII, who founded the Tudor Dynasty. It is not known precisely where Cabot landed, but he was eventually rewarded with a pension from the king; it is presumed that Cabot perished at sea after a later unsuccessful expedition. Lincoln was killed in battle and Henry was victorious. 'Meeting between Francis I and Henry VIII at the Field of Cloth of Gold on 7 June 1520,' a painting by Friedrich August Bouterwek. In 1502 the death of his heir Arthur left the dynasty's prospects with Arthur's 10-year-old brother, Henry. His claim to the throne was precarious and he wanted to portray Richard III as a usurper. Shakespeare later turned to Henry's son and successor Henry VIII, whose rule brought marital sensation, renaissance spectacle and the reformation. This approach raised puzzling questions about similarities and differences in the development of national states. The money so extracted added to the King's personal fortune rather than being used for the stated purpose. Up to a point, he succeeded. of course, a large proportion of my opinion is probably due to the fact that i knew a lot about henry vii already, and Penn tried to create quite a thrilling/mysterious feel, which is all well and good if you don't already know how everything plays out. Shakespeare later turned to Henry's son and successor Henry VIII, whose rule brought marital sensation, renaissance spectacle and the reformation. After his death, a commission found widespread abuses in the tax collection process. Stanleys betrayal led to a complete security overhaul and his privy chamber going into lockdown. But definitely rewarding! Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. His regime was magnificent, yet terrifying and oppressive. 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. The king's own death seven years later had to be kept secret until his nervous entourage had ensured the succession. As we know, Henry VII was true to his word, married Elizabeth and they founded the Tudor dynasty between them. [citation needed], In 1506, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller Emery d'Amboise asked Henry VII to become the protector and patron of the Order, as he had an interest in the crusade. For many he remained a usurper, a false king. [citation needed], However, his principal weapon was the Court of Star Chamber. 1) The number of books on Henry VII can basically be counted on one hand 2) This is Penns first book. [38], Unlike his predecessors, Henry VII came to the throne without personal experience in estate management or financial administration. I've never read much on the reign of Henry VII - mostly because to really get to grips with his policies, you first have to get to grips with his exhaustively complicated financial policies - but Penn provides a wonderful accessibility through his writing, which provides valuable context to the man who founded England's most famous dynasty. To say the least, Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England is quite an interesting read. Present were exiles from Richards court, friends of Edward IVths queen, but King Richard was able to bribe the ageing Duke of Brittany to relinquish Henry in return for funds to fight an increasingly hostile French king, whereupon Henry Tudor flew to the French court for sanctuary. By subscribing you confirm that you have read and agree to the Privacy Policy [opens in new window] and the Terms & Conditions [opens in new window].