The Triumphant Reign of Henry the Viii-V02
“Alexandru Ioan Cuza” National College
Specialization: Philology - Bilingual English
Discipline: English
The triumphant reign of Henry the VIII
Coordinating Professors: Mariana Gaiu Sorina Şoaică
Student: Irina Stan
2011
Contents
Introduction 2 1. Social background of the age 3 2. Henry VIII 9 2.1 Henry VIII’s character 10 2.2 Cardinal Wolsey 11 2.3 Henry VIII & Christianity 12 a) Popular religious idealism 12 b) Christian Humanism and the influence of Greek learning 14 2.4 Henrician Reformation 16 a) Henry VIII’s first divorce 16 b) Supreme head of the Ecclesia Anglicana 18 c) The dissolution of the religious houses 20 2.5 The matrimonial adventures of Henry VIII 22 2.6 An extension of English hegemony 23 a) The Union of England and Wales 23 b) Tudor Irish policy 24 c) The need to control Scotland 25 Conclusions 28 Bibliography 29
Introduction
The age of the Tudors has left its impact on Anglo-American minds as a watershed in British history. Hallowed tradition, native patriotism, and post imperial gloom have united to swell our appreciation of the period as a true golden age. Names alone evoke a phoenix-glow – Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and Mary Stuart among the sovereigns of England and Scotland; Wolsey, William Cecil, and Leicester among the politicians; Marlowe, Shakespeare, Hilliard, and Byrd among the creative artists. The splendors of the Court of Henry VIII, the fortitude of Sir Thomas More, the making of the English Bible, Prayer Book, and Anglican Church, the development of Parliament, the defeat of the Armada, the Shakespearian moment, and the legacy of Tudor domestic architecture – there are the undoubted climaxes of a simplified orthodoxy in which genius, romance, and tragedy are superabundant. Reality is inevitably more complex, less glamorous, and
Specialization: Philology - Bilingual English
Discipline: English
The triumphant reign of Henry the VIII
Coordinating Professors: Mariana Gaiu Sorina Şoaică
Student: Irina Stan
2011
Contents
Introduction 2 1. Social background of the age 3 2. Henry VIII 9 2.1 Henry VIII’s character 10 2.2 Cardinal Wolsey 11 2.3 Henry VIII & Christianity 12 a) Popular religious idealism 12 b) Christian Humanism and the influence of Greek learning 14 2.4 Henrician Reformation 16 a) Henry VIII’s first divorce 16 b) Supreme head of the Ecclesia Anglicana 18 c) The dissolution of the religious houses 20 2.5 The matrimonial adventures of Henry VIII 22 2.6 An extension of English hegemony 23 a) The Union of England and Wales 23 b) Tudor Irish policy 24 c) The need to control Scotland 25 Conclusions 28 Bibliography 29
Introduction
The age of the Tudors has left its impact on Anglo-American minds as a watershed in British history. Hallowed tradition, native patriotism, and post imperial gloom have united to swell our appreciation of the period as a true golden age. Names alone evoke a phoenix-glow – Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and Mary Stuart among the sovereigns of England and Scotland; Wolsey, William Cecil, and Leicester among the politicians; Marlowe, Shakespeare, Hilliard, and Byrd among the creative artists. The splendors of the Court of Henry VIII, the fortitude of Sir Thomas More, the making of the English Bible, Prayer Book, and Anglican Church, the development of Parliament, the defeat of the Armada, the Shakespearian moment, and the legacy of Tudor domestic architecture – there are the undoubted climaxes of a simplified orthodoxy in which genius, romance, and tragedy are superabundant. Reality is inevitably more complex, less glamorous, and
Bibliography: C.S.L.Davies, Peace, Print and Protestantism, 1450-1558 (London, 1976), a lucid introduction especially useful on social and economic history. G.R.Elton, Reform and Reformation: England 1509-1558 (London, 1977), the best-informed acoount of the early Tudors. A.G.Dickens, The English Reformation (London, 1964), a dispassionate and comprehensive account G.Donaldson, All the Queen’s Men: Power and Politics in Mary Stewart’s Scotland (London, 1983 J.Wormald, Court, Kirk, and Community, 1470-1625 (London, 1981), the best survey of early modern Scotland. S.B.Chrimes, Henry VII (London, 1972), a sound synthesis of recent research. J.J.Scarisbrick, Henry VIII (London, 1968), an enthralling and original biography accepted as standard. A.F.Pollard, Wolsey (London, 1929), a dated but indispensable work. A.Fox, Thomas More: History and Providence (Oxford, 1982), the best biography, achieving a breakthrough in its understanding of More’s mind. D.M.Loades, The Reign of Mary Tudor (London, 1979), a solid but essential conspectus. Mr. Secretary Cecil and Queen Elizabeth, Lord Burghley and Queen Elizabeth (London, 1955, 1960), a two-volume study valuable on diplomacy, but which pays insufficient attention G.R.Elton, Reform and Renewal: Thomas Cromwell and the Common Weal (Cambridge, 1973), the most convincing portrait of Thomas Cromwell by the leading authority. M.Bush, The Government Policy of Protector Somerset (London, 1975), an important anatomy of Somerset’s obsessions. j.Loach and R.Tittler (eds.), The Mid-Tudor Polity (London, 1980), a provocative collection of essays by revisionist historians.