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. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. 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. (ROYAL HISTORY) Directors Stuart Elliott Genres Documentary, International Subtitles English [CC] Audio languages English. [50] Henry had pressured the French by laying siege to Boulogne in October 1492. Henry Tudors claim to the throne was, therefore, weak and of no importance until the deaths in 1471 of Henry VIs only son, Edward, of his own two remaining kinsmen of the Beaufort line, and of Henry VI himself, which suddenly made Henry Tudor the sole surviving male with any ancestral claim to the house of Lancaster. He was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle. In the late 20th century a model of European state formation was prominent in which Henry less resembles Louis and Ferdinand. 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. Together, they had seven children. [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. Hidden under the floor in St George's Chapel in Windsor, England where thousands of people walk every day, a forgotten tomb lies. Pembroke Castle, birthplace of Henry VII [ JKMMX ] [ CC BY-SA 3.0 ]. Stanley was accused of supporting Warbeck's cause, arrested and later executed. Serious disputes involving the use of personal power, or threats to royal authority, were thus dealt with. [35] In 1499, Henry had the Earl of Warwick executed. Elizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until her death on February 11th, 1503. I wasn't disappointed because, as usual, he did a great job with the narration. According to John M. Currin, the treaty redefined Anglo-Breton relations. For inheriting an unstable throne, holding it for 25 year and leaving England relatively stable, Henry VII deserves his own biography and a lot more credit. Penn explained how Henry reworked recent events to suit him. So 4 stars. "[73] Further compounding Henry's distress, his older daughter Margaret had previously been betrothed to King James IV of Scotland and within months of her mother's death she had to be escorted to the border by her father: he would never see her again. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort, was a descendant of the Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet. [20] He amassed an army of about 5,0006,000 soldiers. 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. [citation needed], However, his principal weapon was the Court of Star Chamber. Reasonably interesting overview of the reign of Henry VII of England. 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. Two themes of his book preside: the permanent vulnerability of Henry's regime, and his ruthless methods of rule. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Henry VIII Books livestream YouTube 18 February 2023, February 13 A queen and her lady-in-waiting are beheaded. 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. [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. Henry's original head was cut out of the painting and replaced at some point after the work's creation. 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. Today is Shrove Tuesday time for pancakes! 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). Supported at one time or another by France, by Maximilian I of Austria, regent of the Netherlands (Holy Roman emperor from 1493), by James IV of Scotland, and by powerful men in both Ireland and England, Perkin three times invaded England before he was captured at Beaulieu in Hampshire in 1497. Henry VII died on 21 April 1509, and the 17-year-old Henry succeeded him as king. Early life Consultant editor for the. 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. His host was Francis, the Duke of Brittany, who saw Henry Tudor as a pawn in the game between Edward VI and the King of France. Scapegoats were needed for Henry VIIs reign, people to blame for the old regime, so Edmund Dudley was imprisoned and executed on trumped up charges. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Shakespeare, drawn to the colour on either side of the reign, skipped it. His legacy was his son, Henry VIII, lucky old England Penn commented. ), The Reign of Henry VII. Henrys throne, however, was far from secure. Warbeck was finally captured in 1497 and executed. [9] He took it, as well as the standard of St. George, on his procession through London after the victory at Bosworth. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. The usurpation of Richard III (1483), however, split the Yorkist party and gave Henry his opportunity. Winter King: The Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn - review Why is Henry VIII's Tomb So Small When His Life Was So Very Opulent? His history plays depicted the dramatic conflicts of the wars of the roses, which Henry's accession after his victory at Bosworth in 1485 brought to an end. The house of York then appeared so firmly established that Henry seemed likely to remain in exile for the rest of his life. [76] He was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII (reigned 150947), who would initiate the Protestant Reformation in England. For many he remained a usurper, a false king. Backdating Henry's Reign. 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. [11] When Edward IV became King in 1461, Jasper Tudor went into exile abroad. Henry started a new policy to recover Guyenne and other lost Plantagenet claims in France. After the Holy Roman Emperor . [51], Henry VII was one of the first European monarchs to recognise the importance of the newly united Spanish kingdom; he concluded the Treaty of Medina del Campo, by which his son Arthur, Prince of Wales, was married to Catherine of Aragon. For instance, the Stanley family had control of Lancashire and Cheshire, upholding the peace on the condition that they stayed within the law. 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. [32], Next, in 1487, Yorkists led by Lincoln rebelled in support of Lambert Simnel, a boy they claimed to be Edward of Warwick (who was actually a prisoner in the Tower). He stabilised the government's finances by introducing several new taxes. The baby died and Elizabeth, herself, died on 11th February 1503, her 37th birthday. 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. enry VII can look a dull king, so dull that Thomas Penn's title omits his name. [citation needed], Henry honoured his pledge of December 1483 to marry Elizabeth of York and the wedding took place in 1486 at Westminster Abbey. Henry was also worried by the treason of Edmund de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, the eldest surviving son of Edward IVs sister Elizabeth, who fled to the Netherlands (1499) and was supported by Maximilian. To be notified of special offers, news, new courses, and new tutors, please subscribe to our newsletter. Here was a young man who enjoyed jousting, who enjoyed chatting with the other knights in the tiltyard and with people of low degree. Henry VII: The Winter King - Amazon Prime Video Henry VII was king of England from 1485 to 1509. Henry VII comes across as a talented micromanager and financier. Penn ended the programme by visiting the tombs of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York in Henrys chapel at Westminster Abbey, a chapel that remains at the heart of political life. Royal Collection Trust At the summit, even dinnerware testified to its owner's status. Henry restored power and stability to the English monarchy following the civil war. Most often asked questions related to bitcoin. However, with the help of the forces of his step-father, Lord Stanley, he defeated Richard and Richard was killed on the battlefield. Henry then cemented his claim to the throne and his dynastic ambitions by marrying Elizabeth of York and bringing the Houses of Lancaster and York together; the red rose and white rose combined to become the Tudor rose. He paid very close attention to detail, and instead of spending lavishly he concentrated on raising new revenues. I'm not giving this a star rating because I suspect it's me at fault not the book. [citation needed] Henry also formed an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (14931519) and persuaded Pope Innocent VIII to issue a papal bull of excommunication against all pretenders to Henry's throne. Pembroke Castle, and later the Earldom of Pembroke, were granted to the Yorkist William Herbert, who also assumed the guardianship of Margaret Beaufort and the young Henry. By 1900 the "New Monarchy" interpretation stressed the common factors that in each country led to the revival of monarchical power. Henry VII was the King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 to his death. It's difficult to get a handle on Henry VII. Anyone perceived to have any potential political power or social capital was rendered deeply indebted to the crown and at risk of complete financial ruin upon the whim of the king and his councillors. Henry VII: Winter King - A Review and Rundown - The Anne Boleyn Files In that, he was quite successful, but he was neither loved nor admired. Wales was historically a Lancastrian stronghold, and Henry owed the support he gathered to his Welsh birth and ancestry, being agnatically descended from Rhys ap Gruffydd. Dydd Gyl Dewi Hapus! Possession of something the French King wanted also made the Duke of Brittany safer in his own duchy. It was really very well researched and painstakingly written. Henry VII was king of England from 1485 to 1509. No. The last few years of his reign were ones of repression. [46] In 1506 he resumed the construction of King's College Chapel, Cambridge, started under Henry VI, guaranteeing finances which would continue even after his death. ||sitemap_index.xml Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England [4] Owen is said to have secretly married the widow of Henry V, Catherine of Valois. Otherwise, at the time of his father's arranging of the marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the future Henry VIII was too young to contract the marriage according to Canon Law and would be ineligible until age fourteen. He was crowned on October 30 and secured parliamentary recognition of his title early in November. Accordingly, he arranged a papal dispensation from Pope Julius II for Prince Henry to marry his brother's widow Catherine, a relationship that would have otherwise precluded marriage in the Church. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Then in 1491 appeared a still more serious menace: Perkin Warbeck, coached by Margaret to impersonate Richard, the younger son of Edward IV. However, as France was becoming more concerned with the Italian Wars, the French were happy to agree to the Treaty of Etaples. An ally of Henry's, Viscount Jean du Qulennec[fr], soon arrived, bringing news that Francis had recovered, and in the confusion Henry was able to flee to a monastery. Having established his claim to be king in his own right, he married Elizabeth of York on January 18, 1486. Please check your email to confirm your subscription. The future Henry VIII, in contrast,. Henry was a remarkable man. From his victory over Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, to his secret death and the succession of his son Henry VIII, the film reveals the ruthless tactics . In 1837 Henry VIII's tomb was eventually marked in the chapel with a commemorative marble slab. ), Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_VII_of_England&oldid=1141813382, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from September 2021, Articles incorporating a citation from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference, Articles incorporating text from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the ODNB, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from August 2021, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, Articles needing additional references from October 2020, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Katherine (2 February 1503 10 February 1503), This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 23:16. [citation needed], Henry's most successful diplomatic achievement as regards the economy was the Magnus Intercursus ("great agreement") of 1496. Henry the older was lean and shriveled, rigid with prudence, empty of any hunger other than a desire to secure his throne through the acquisition of cash. He was the first Tudor king after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485. After his death, a commission found widespread abuses in the tax collection process. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Annoyingly, much of the most interesting stuff concerns his son, and whenever Penn comments intelligently on how the events here affected the future Henry VIII's reign I found myself perking up such as the suggestion that Henry VII's marriage to Elizabeth was the kind of marriage that their second son, Prince Henry, would spend his whole life trying to find. Some of it is due to his personality--he played his cards close to the vest, unlike his son--and some of it is due to Tudor spin--they were, after all trying to bolster up the royal credentials for a man who didn't have that many. If he trusted anyone, it would be his queen and why not, since both had so much in common both being familiar with being in sanctuary, and pawns in the game of power? Henry's father, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, a half-brother of Henry VI of England and a member of the Welsh Tudors of Penmynydd, died three months before his son Henry was born. [68] In 1505 he was sufficiently interested in a potential marriage to Joanna of Naples that he sent ambassadors to Naples to report on the 27-year-old Joanna's physical suitability. 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). Why is this ambitious? BBC - History - Henry VIII: Majesty with Menace The new prince was the embodiment of the red and white rose, he was the Tudor rose incarnate. Overspending by Henry VIII to pay for his lavish lifestyle and to fund foreign wars with France and Scotland are cited as . You can find out more on the conflicts between England and France, the Wars of the Roses and also the Tudors in our history courses. [70] Henry VII falls among the minority of British monarchs that never had any known mistresses, and for the times, it is very unusual that he did not remarry: his son Henry was the only male heir left after the death of his wife, thus the death of Arthur created a precarious political position for the House of Tudor. His second son, also called Henry, inherited the throne and became . 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. This book was way too focused on what happened, but not so much on the why or why it was important. Musings on History - Henry VII - Learn for Pleasure The wedding was a triumph but in April 1502 a messenger brought the King the news that his eldest son had died of sweating sickness. 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. His supportive policy toward England's wool industry and his standoff with the Low Countries had long-lasting benefit to the English economy. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. In my never-ending quest to read possibly every single published book on the Tudor monarchy, I spied this little gem a few weeks ago and picked it up. When Henry VII became king, the royal exchequer was effectively bankrupt. 'Winter King,' a Portrait of Henry VII - The New York Times Watch for $0.00 with Prime. When he met Richard III at Bosworth Field, Henry found that his army of dissidents and mercenaries was completely outnumbered. How like a winter hath my absence been From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year! 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. He created the sovereign coin to spread the message that he was King. It was the end of the union of Lancaster and York and many had only accepted Henry as King because of his wifes Yorkist roots, so Henry was once more on shaky ground with his old enemies resurfacing and raising armies. By 1500, Henry felt safer and things were looking good. He had a populist touch and his reign started with pardons, reforms and justice. His history plays depicted the dramatic conflicts of the wars of the roses, which Henry's accession after his victory at Bosworth in 1485 brought to an end. Wow, it was like being battered by facts without remission for good intentions. These laws were used shrewdly in levying fines upon those that he perceived as threats. With the English economy heavily invested in wool production, Henry VII became involved in the alum trade in 1486. A fresh look at the endlessly fascinating Tudorsthe dramatic and overlooked story of Henry VII and his founding of the Tudor Dynastyfilled with spies, plots, counterplots, and an uneasy royal succession to Henry VIII. Moneywise, King Henry the VII was frugal and careful with money. [77][78] His mother died two months later on 29 June 1509. He led attempted invasions of Ireland in 1491 and England in 1495, and persuaded James IV of Scotland to invade England in 1496. Gaunt's nephew Richard II legitimised Gaunt's children by Swynford by Letters Patent in 1397. In other cases, he brought his over-powerful subjects to heel by decree. MP3 CD. The country was in a perpetual state of emergency and Henrys subjects were scared and resentful. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. His biographer, Professor Chrimes, credits him even before he had become king with "a high degree of personal magnetism, ability to inspire confidence, and a growing reputation for shrewd decisiveness". By the way, dont forget that Ian Mortimers Time Travellers Guide to Elizabethan England is on tonight on BBC2 at 9pm. His spies and informers were everywhere. He had enough of that getting himself to the throne. 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. Coinage of Henry VII of England | Mintage World His father, Henry VII, was a cold, calculating man (he wasn't called "the Winter King" for nothing), a greedy monarch who during his last years on the throne had squeezed every last drop. While there, he feigned stomach cramps and delayed his departure long enough to miss the tides. Henry showed remarkable clemency to the surviving rebels: he pardoned Kildare and the other Irish nobles, and he made the boy, Simnel, a servant in the royal kitchen where he was in charge of roasting meats on a spit. But that's not really what I wanted from a book about Henry VII. In 1494, Henry embargoed trade (mainly in wool) with the Burgundian Netherlands in retaliation for Margaret of Burgundy's support for Perkin Warbeck. I had an idea Henry VII was a force for stability; in fact he was a terrifying kleptocrat, abusing the law with arbitrary fines and imprisonment, scheming to effectively steal entire estates and wring every penny out of subjects as well as impose political control through financial means. Before taking the throne, he was known as Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond. He was probably baptised at St Mary's Church, Pembroke,[1] though no documentation of the event exists. 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. I couldn't even stay awake reading this. The Lancastrians triumphed under the leadership of a 28-year-old exile named Henry Tudor. Henry VII was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII. Castles of . Henry, son of Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, and Margaret Beaufort, was born nearly three months after his fathers death. He also enacted laws against livery and maintenance, the great lords' practice of having large numbers of "retainers" who wore their lord's badge or uniform and formed a potential private army. Celebrating the release of The Colour of Bone A London Charnel House. Edward would have liked to rid himself of Henry, a rival to his throne, but Francis kept Henry safe. Fittingly he dressed in expensive black. Henry decided to keep Brittany out of French hands, signed an alliance with Spain to that end, and sent 6,000 troops to France. Even if the king outfaced his enemies in his lifetime, would they not forestall a Tudor succession? He had gone from a refugee landing on an isolated beach in Wales to being a great king. He married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon. King Henry the VII and King Henry the VIII both feared being invaded by foreign countries. [8], In 1456, Henry's father Edmund Tudor was captured while fighting for Henry VI in South Wales against the Yorkists. A man who rewrote history and rebuilt the crown, but who was paranoid, manipulative and suspicious; a dark prince with a wintery reign. 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. It took Henry, who in any case needed to marry her if the expected issue was to solve the succession problem, some six years to achieve their joint purpose. Fittingly he dressed in expensive black. Letters to relatives have an affectionate tone not captured by official state business, as evidenced by many written to his mother Margaret. Inadvertently, he provoked a revolution. His first son and heir apparent, Arthur, Prince of Wales, died suddenly at Ludlow Castle, very likely from a viral respiratory illness known at the time as the "English sweating sickness". [66], Henry wanted to maintain the Spanish alliance. At any rate, the Wars of the Roses had ended with a victory by which the winner took all, and regardless of his somewhat dubious Plantagenet ancestry. Claiming to be Edward, earl of Warwick, the son of Richard IIIs elder brother, George, duke of Clarence, he had the formidable support of John de la Pole, earl of Lincoln, Richard IIIs heir designate, of many Irish chieftains, and of 2,000 German mercenaries paid for by Margaret of Burgundy. [74] Margaret Tudor wrote letters to her father declaring her homesickness, but Henry could do nothing but mourn the loss of his family and honour the terms of the peace treaty he had agreed to with the King of Scotland. [38], Unlike his predecessors, Henry VII came to the throne without personal experience in estate management or financial administration.