Why is King Henry VIII so important to the Renaissance?
Why is King Henry VIII so important to the Renaissance?
The Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement beginning in Italy in the late 14th century. It took about 100 years later to spread to England. For historical convenience, it began in 1485 when the Wars of Roses ended with inauguration of the Tudor Dynasty and lasted till early 17th century. The movement was slow to develop and reached to its height in the Elizabethan era in the second half of the 16th century. In Renaissance, the study of the humanities (Studia humanitatis) flourished and these included ancient Greek and Latin languages (grammar and rhetoric), literature (eg. poetry), moral philosophy, religion, and visual and performing arts such as music and theatre. The development of large-scale book printing following invention of movable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany (circa 1439) was important to help spread Italian humanistic culture northward to France, Germany, Holland and England, where it became associated with the Protestant Reformation (or the English Reformation). William Caxton (1422-1491) was the first English printer to bring this technology back to England in around 1470. The reign of King Henry VIII saw an important change in religion and politics when he made himself the head of the Church of England, bringing the church and state together (1529-39) and cutting all contact with the Catholic Church and the Pope in Rome. There were several developments in literature, visual arts and architecture during his reign and early period of “English Renaissance”.
Literature
The English humanistic literature was mainly of imaginary character. Thomas More’s “Utopia” written in 1516 in Latin, the international language of that time, was one of the examples. The book consists of two parts and is written in the form of dialogue between Thomas More and a seaman Rafael Hythloday who traveled around the world. In Book 1, Hythloday criticized European political
The Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement beginning in Italy in the late 14th century. It took about 100 years later to spread to England. For historical convenience, it began in 1485 when the Wars of Roses ended with inauguration of the Tudor Dynasty and lasted till early 17th century. The movement was slow to develop and reached to its height in the Elizabethan era in the second half of the 16th century. In Renaissance, the study of the humanities (Studia humanitatis) flourished and these included ancient Greek and Latin languages (grammar and rhetoric), literature (eg. poetry), moral philosophy, religion, and visual and performing arts such as music and theatre. The development of large-scale book printing following invention of movable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany (circa 1439) was important to help spread Italian humanistic culture northward to France, Germany, Holland and England, where it became associated with the Protestant Reformation (or the English Reformation). William Caxton (1422-1491) was the first English printer to bring this technology back to England in around 1470. The reign of King Henry VIII saw an important change in religion and politics when he made himself the head of the Church of England, bringing the church and state together (1529-39) and cutting all contact with the Catholic Church and the Pope in Rome. There were several developments in literature, visual arts and architecture during his reign and early period of “English Renaissance”.
Literature
The English humanistic literature was mainly of imaginary character. Thomas More’s “Utopia” written in 1516 in Latin, the international language of that time, was one of the examples. The book consists of two parts and is written in the form of dialogue between Thomas More and a seaman Rafael Hythloday who traveled around the world. In Book 1, Hythloday criticized European political