Omissions? [63] Despite this, Henry was keen to constrain their power and influence, applying the same principles to the justices of the peace as he did to the nobility: a similar system of bonds and recognisances to that which applied to both the gentry and the nobles who tried to exert their elevated influence over these local officials. [citation needed] Nonetheless, by 1483 Henry was the senior male Lancastrian claimant remaining after the deaths in battle, by murder or execution of Henry VI (son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois), his son Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, and the other Beaufort line of descent through Lady Margaret's uncle, Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset. Henry restored power and stability to the English monarchy following the civil war. 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. Henry VII of England - Wikipedia The marriage between Arthur, Prince of Wales, and Catherine of Aragon would be the culmination of everything that Henry VII had fought for at the Battle of Bosworth, so in 1501 there was a fortnight of marriage celebrations and London was in a carnival mood. 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. [58], Henry's principal problem was to restore royal authority in a realm recovering from the Wars of the Roses. I don't read a lot of NF because I usually find it to be tedious, but The Winter King certainly wasn't that. Its inhabitant was once one of England's most exuberant kings, yet his resting place was only re-discovered in 1813. By this marriage, Henry VII hoped to break the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Henry VII. The Winter King HD - YouTube [21], Henry devised a plan to seize the throne by engaging Richard quickly because Richard had reinforcements in Nottingham and Leicester. Watch for $0.00 with Prime. This approach raised puzzling questions about similarities and differences in the development of national states. The Winter King is also the title of a book by Thomas Penn, and a useful read. Henry VII shut himself away in Richmond Palace from January 1509 and at 11pm on Saturday 21st April 1509 he died. At Rennes Cathedral on Christmas Day 1483, Henry pledged to marry Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of Edward IV. [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. Henry VII, also called (1457-85) Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, (born January 28, 1457, Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Walesdied April 21, 1509, Richmond, Surrey, England), king of England (1485-1509), who succeeded in ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York and founded the Tudor dynasty. Lincoln was killed in battle and Henry was victorious. Winter King: The Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn - review Soon after his fathers burial on 10 May, Henry suddenly declared that he would indeed marry Catherine, leaving unresolved several issues concerning the papal dispensation and a missing part of the marriage portion. Read all Directors Giulia Clark Stuart Elliott Writers [citation needed], In 1502, Henry VII's life took a difficult and personal turn in which many people he was close to died in quick succession. Musings on History - Henry VII - Learn for Pleasure But that's not really what I wanted from a book about Henry VII. Henry VIII was the first English king to be called "Your Majesty.". Gaunt's nephew Richard II legitimised Gaunt's children by Swynford by Letters Patent in 1397. [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. [14] In November 1476, Francis fell ill and his principal advisers were more amenable to negotiating with King Edward. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Henry VII ruled as Machiavelli, just after his reign, was to advise usurpers to do through fear rather than love. He created the Tudor dynasty. Henry VII The Winter King is also the title of a book by Thomas Penn, and a useful read. 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. 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. Elizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until her death on February 11th, 1503. There's a (relatively) brief explanation of Henry's rather tumultuous childhood and his rise to the throne, before Penn really gets into the nitty gritty details during the second half of Henry's reign, focusing on his intricate foreign policy, his increasing use of finance as a means of control over his subjects and, most entertaining to me, the various plots and conspiracies of Henry's enemies. Henry needed an heir to secure his reign and fortunately an heir came quickly. A man who rewrote history and rebuilt the crown, but who was paranoid, manipulative and suspicious; a dark prince with a wintery reign. Seriously, got nudged by my partner when I'd nodded off. The whole system was ingeniously designed to ensure the unchallenged supremacy of the king while stamping out any challenges to his authority from the nobles, merchants, and commons. He took care not to address the baronage or summon Parliament until after his coronation, which took place in Westminster Abbey on 30 October 1485. [22] Thus, anyone who had fought for Richard against him would be guilty of treason and Henry could legally confiscate the lands and property of Richard III, while restoring his own. His claim to the throne was precarious and he wanted to portray Richard III as a usurper. [66], Henry wanted to maintain the Spanish alliance. [13] When Warwick restored Henry VI in 1470, Jasper Tudor returned from exile and brought Henry to court. To be notified of special offers, news, new courses, and new tutors, please subscribe to our newsletter. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Royal Collection Trust At the summit, even dinnerware testified to its owner's status. This is why he named the book the Winter King. Who could have expected that he would rule for 24 years, die in his bed, bequeath the first orderly succession to the throne for nearly a century, and found a famous dynasty? Henry was thus handed over to English envoys and escorted to the Breton port of Saint-Malo. 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. 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. When Henry VIII and Francis I Spent $19 Million on the Field of Cloth I found this really interesting, but Im a history nut. He stabilised the government's finances by introducing several new taxes. His first chance came in 1483 when his aid was sought to rally Lancastrians in support of the rebellion of Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham, but that revolt was defeated before Henry could land in England. Why is Henry VIII's Tomb So Small When His Life Was So Very Opulent? He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor.[a]. [citation needed], By 1509, justices of the peace were key enforcers of law and order for Henry VII. I have to admit to being a history geek. He was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle. 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. 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. 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. Elizabeth had died in childbirth, so Henry had the dispensation also permit him to marry Catherine himself. An easy read? Doubtless the plotters were encouraged by the deaths of Henrys sons in 1500 and 1502 and of his wife in 1503. [31] Despite such precautions, Henry faced several rebellions over the next twelve years. He became paranoid and made the decision that if his people couldnt love him then they should fear him. Elizabeth married Henry after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which marked the end of the Wars of the Roses. More than a biography of Henry VII, this book is really a highly detailed history of the last ten years of his reign, and how he meticulously and ruthlessly turned England into a police state ruled by what amounted to an organized crime syndicate. Bacon wanted the future Charles I to learn from Henry's reign, but the financial methods that would provoke fatal opposition to Charles look pale beside the exactions levied by Henry from often innocent subjects, who were denied legal process or threatened with trumped-up prosecutions and had to buy their freedom (though at moments of apparently impending death the king would repent of his methods and have the jails cleared and pardons issued). Stanley placed Richards circlet on Henrys head, he was now King. The Treaty of Redon was signed in February 1489 between Henry and representatives of Brittany. Luther made a protest against the Catholic practice of Indulgences. Richard III's death at Bosworth Field effectively ended the Wars of the Roses. They did as much to endanger his throne as to secure it. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. The last few years of his reign were ones of repression. His second son, also called Henry, inherited the throne and became . The rebels were defeated (June 1487) in a hard-fought battle at Stoke (East Stoke, near Newark in Nottinghamshire), where the doubtful loyalty of some of the royal troops was reminiscent of Richard IIIs difficulties at Bosworth. Penn notes something else about the paeans on the son's accession: later in the Tudor period, apologists for the regime would remember Henry VII as the restorer of national peace and unity, but in 1509 it was the king's death, not his rule, that was held to have ended a long era of dark instability. He spent money lavishly, held big parties. He was crowned on October 30 and secured parliamentary recognition of his title early in November. 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"). His claim to the throne was tenuous and permanently contested. According to John M. Currin, the treaty redefined Anglo-Breton relations. Poor Henry VII. 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. But Henry had a crucial asset: his queen and their children, the living embodiment of his hoped-for dynasty. Henry marries Catherine of Aragon. 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. Henry Tudor, named after his father, Henry VII, was born by Elizabeth of York June 28, 1491 in Greenwich Palace. These bonds were enforced by the Council Learned in the Law, a council of legal advisers who were only answerable to the King. Why was Henry VII called the Winter King? - AnswersAll 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. I thought the way he controled the nobility was fascinating - keeping them in check as well a raising vast sums of money at the same time. The house of York then appeared so firmly established that Henry seemed likely to remain in exile for the rest of his life. He married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon. Wolf Hall this is not. To strengthen his position, however, he subsidised shipbuilding, so strengthening the navy (he commissioned Europe's first ever and the world's oldest surviving dry dock at Portsmouth in 1495) and improving trading opportunities. The fact that a Cockney could provide a recognisable representation of him gives away part of his enduring appeal; in national memory, Henry was one of the lads, the only English king to have. 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. He was the last king of England to win . 'Meeting between Francis I and Henry VIII at the Field of Cloth of Gold on 7 June 1520,' a painting by Friedrich August Bouterwek. [33], In 1490, a young Fleming, Perkin Warbeck, appeared and claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, the younger of the "Princes in the Tower". Next month find out more on someone known as The Winter Queen! Yet in the hands of a narrator as accomplished as Penn, the reign acquires its own, troubling fascination. Yorkist malcontents had strength in the north of England and in Ireland and had a powerful ally in Richard IIIs sister Margaret, dowager duchess of Burgundy. Four different kinds of cryptocurrencies you should know. (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. Warbeck won the support of Edward IV's sister Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy. 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. During Henry's early years, his uncle Henry VI was fighting against Edward IV, a member of the Yorkist Plantagenet branch. His claim to the throne was precarious and was from an illegitimate line, a family who had been banned from taking the throne, so Henry needed to make the people believe that he was their rightful King and to do that he had to start behaving like one. [8], In 1456, Henry's father Edmund Tudor was captured while fighting for Henry VI in South Wales against the Yorkists. He was, said Penn, a man who never knew a moments peace during his reign. The father's government was an exercise in discoloration. Their powers and numbers steadily increased during the time of the Tudors, never more so than under Henry's reign. [3] Henry's paternal grandfather, Owen Tudor, originally from the Tudors of Penmynydd, Isle of Anglesey in Wales, had been a page in the court of King Henry V. He rose to become one of the "Squires to the Body to the King" after military service at the Battle of Agincourt. Henry responded to this threat by embedding spies into households. He led attempted invasions of Ireland in 1491 and England in 1495, and persuaded James IV of Scotland to invade England in 1496. [52] He also concluded the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with Scotland (the first treaty between England and Scotland for almost two centuries), which betrothed his daughter Margaret Tudor to King James IV of Scotland. I'm beginning to wonder if all of the kings beginning with the conquest weren't a little off their rocker in some way. Happy 14th Birthday to the Anne Boleyn Files! [citation needed], After 1503, records show the Tower of London was never again used as a royal residence by Henry VII, and all royal births under Henry VIII took place in palaces. Henry VII, grown rich from Morton's Fork and other squeezes, was far from a bumpkin trying to break into the royal circles of western Europe--he was being courted, and he knew very well to play Castile (Hapsburg) and Aragon off against one another after Isabella died (and Catherine might very well have been packed off home to marry someone else, it was common). His spies and informers were everywhere. He passed laws against "livery" (the upper classes' flaunting of their adherents by giving them badges and emblems) and "maintenance" (the keeping of too many male "servants"). The Merchant Adventurers, the company which enjoyed the monopoly of the Flemish wool trade, relocated from Antwerp to Calais. Henry VII ruled from 1485-1509 and had a dubious claim on the throne, spending most of his time before the famous Battle of Bosworth Field in exile and gaining credibility from his marriage to Elizabeth of York. Get help and learn more about the design. [49] The confused, fractious nature of Breton politics undermined his efforts, which finally failed after three sizeable expeditions, at a cost of 24,000. I wasn't disappointed because, as usual, he did a great job with the narration. [9] He took it, as well as the standard of St. George, on his procession through London after the victory at Bosworth. From 1527 Henry pursued what became known as "the King's great matter": his divorce from Catherine. Henry Tudor is a familiar name to students of English history, especially the military side of it. [15], By 1483, Henry's mother was actively promoting him as an alternative to Richard III, despite her being married to Lord Stanley, a Yorkist. 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]. Thomas Mores coronation poem for Henry VIII contrasted the new Kings reign with the dark days of the past. Fittingly he dressed in expensive black. [45], Henry VII established the pound avoirdupois as a standard of weight; it later became part of the Imperial[46] and customary systems of units. How did a precariously enthroned ruler, lacking a police force or a standing army, manage to run roughshod over the law? [6] Henry IV's action was of doubtful legality, as the Beauforts were previously legitimised by an Act of Parliament, but it weakened Henry's claim. After his victory at Bosworth Field, Henry married Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth of York. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. When Henry VII became king, the royal exchequer was effectively bankrupt. Yet Henry's techniques of power went beyond the needs of surveillance and survival. However, with the help of the forces of his step-father, Lord Stanley, he defeated Richard and Richard was killed on the battlefield. 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). 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. This family took a dim view of Henry and it was John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, who instigated the first rebellion against him. 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. Henry VIII - Loss of popularity | Britannica - Encyclopedia Britannica [39] Despite this, during his reign he became a fiscally prudent monarch who restored the fortunes of an effectively bankrupt exchequer. Edward, Earl of Warwick, the ten-year-old son of Edward IV's brother George, Duke of Clarence, was the senior surviving male of the House of York. 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. Today is Shrove Tuesday time for pancakes! 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. Overspending by Henry VIII to pay for his lavish lifestyle and to fund foreign wars with France and Scotland are cited as . Prince Arthur was born just eight months after his parents marriage, at Winchester, the seat of King Arthurs Camelot. 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. Castles of . Henry VIII had become heir to the throne when his elder brother, Arthur, died in 1502. 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. After obtaining the dispensation, Henry had second thoughts about the marriage of his son and Catherine. Catherine's mother Isabella I of Castile had died and Catherine's sister Joanna had succeeded her; Catherine was, therefore, daughter of only one reigning monarch and so less desirable as a spouse for Henry VII's heir-apparent. Blair Worden's The English Civil Wars is published by Phoenix. Detailed Information. The nobility was forced into bonds, legal agreements that they would act as the King wanted or be fined. 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. Many influential Yorkists had been dispossessed and disappointed by the change of regime, and there had been so many reversals of fortune within living memory that the decision of Bosworth did not appear necessarily final. - and that was only about 50% of the book, it was only about 50% interesting to me. Wow, it was like being battered by facts without remission for good intentions. 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. It was a fantastic programme and I highly recommend Thomas Penns book on Henry VII Winter King. The 6 Main Achievements of Henry VII | History Hit These laws were used shrewdly in levying fines upon those that he perceived as threats. In other cases, he brought his over-powerful subjects to heel by decree. Files Welcome Pack of 5 goodies, 28 January 1457 Birth of Henry VII at Pembroke Castle, 30 October 1485 Coronation of Henry VII, Henry VIIIs Enforcer: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell A Review and Rundown, Henry VII: Winter King A Review and Rundown, 31 May 1533 The Coronation Procession of Queen Anne Boleyn, Why I think Henry VIII was ultimately responsible for Anne Boleyns downfall, 4 March 1522 Anne Boleyn plays Perseverance, The Boleyns of Hever Castle now 99p on Kindle on Amazon UK, YouTube Live 4 March 2023 The Fascinating Background of Henry VIII. Henry VII introduced stability to the financial administration of England by keeping the same financial advisors throughout his reign. enry VII can look a dull king, so dull that Thomas Penn's title omits his name. His claim to the throne was precarious and he wanted to portray Richard . 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. Effectively an orphan, he had spent wretched years as a fugitive in Brittany. 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. For instance, except for the first few months of the reign, the Baron Dynham and the Earl of Surrey were the only Lord High Treasurers throughout his reign. The research was thorough and it was presented well and kept me engaged. In 1501, England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy, coups . [76] He was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII (reigned 150947), who would initiate the Protestant Reformation in England. 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. Luther gained support for his ideas and Europe became . He was probably baptised at St Mary's Church, Pembroke,[1] though no documentation of the event exists. 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. Henry, recognizing that Simnel had been a mere dupe, employed him in the royal kitchens. [30] Before departing for London, Henry sent Robert Willoughby to Sheriff Hutton in Yorkshire, to arrest Warwick and take him to the Tower of London. In turn, Antwerp became an extremely important trade entrept (transshipment port), through which, for example, goods from the Baltic, spices from the east and Italian silks were exchanged for English cloth.