Unquestionably, modern film has taken enormous lengths to portray England’s King Henry VIII as a tyrannical monarch with an overwhelming libido who had absolute power over his realm; however, the true nature of the infamous king and his power over his nation are far more intriguing than cinema is capable of portraying. In reality, the power enjoyed by England’s most infamous monarch varied throughout his reign. Additionally, his power was easily manipulated by various courtiers or even his most personal advisors. Furthermore, the amount of influence exhibited over the monarch varied according to the individual motives of the courtier and the year in the king’s reign. In the early years of King Henry’s reign, the king was more preoccupied with enjoying the benefits of fame and power than with ruling his country. During this period, the king was young, energetic, athletic, and quite happy to embrace these qualities of youth. Unfortunately, this left a rather large void in terms of governing England. Into this void, stepped his most trusted advisor, Cardinal Wolsey. Wolsey, during the early years of King Henry’s reign, enjoyed an immense amount of power and influence over many different arenas of English society. He served in several different church positions, much to his contemporaries char grin, and he served as the Lord Chancellor of England from 1515 onwards until his eventual fall from the King’s grace. These positions rewarded Wolsey with an immense amount of influence over the young King Henry VIII and his power. As the king was preoccupied with his youth, he was quite happy letting the cardinal act in his stead. As one can well imagine, letting another act in one’s stead had a detrimental effect on the king’s power.... ... middle of paper ... ... his ruthlessness steadily progressed throughout his reign. Additionally, what begin as a likeable young king grew into a powerful tyrant who would leave England upon his death with a lasting legacy of cruelty, depravity, and the true perils of power. Unquestionably, King Henry VIII’s power is with the modern world still as it shaped the course of English history up to and including the present. Bibliography Bucholz, Robert, and Newton Key. Early Modern England 1485-1714 a Narrative History. Chichester: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2009. Clarke, Peter. "Canterbury as the New Rome: Dispensations and Henry VIII's Reformation." The Journal of Ecclesiastical History 64, no. 1 (2013): 20-44. Ives, E.W. "Henry VIII's Will: The Protectorate Provisions of 1546-7." The Historical Journal 37, no. 4 (1994): 901-14. Mantel, Hilary. Bring up the Bodies. New York: Picador, 2013.
When we look at Henry as a king we have to look in the context of
Comparing Henry VIII's Government in 1509 to 1514 to His Father's From the transition of Old king to Young king we can assume there will be lots of differences in the personalities between Henry VII and Henry VIII, these differences are what makes Henry VIII's policies and government different to that of his father. Henry's personality was quite amazing, his intelligence, learning and curiosity impressed the ambassadors who littered his court, and his thirst for knowledge was insatiable. Like his father, he was caught in the transition from medieval England to renaissance England. And like his father, he was well-versed in English history and desperate to continue the Tudor dynasty, to secure his claims to Ireland, Scotland, and France, to raise England to the status of its continental neighbors, and to expand his God-given right to rule all Englishmen. 'I have no fear
A successful monarchy relies upon a stable leader who is concerned with the satisfaction of those he rules over. Henry Bolingbroke the IV in Shakespeare's Henry the IV Part I follows a trend set by his predecessor in Richard II of self-indulgence and neglect of his kingdom. These leaders worry about the possibility of losing their kingdom or their soldiers to other nobles who were also concerned more with obtaining a higher position rather than governing. The king must also be wary of his own life, something that was once revered and guarded closely by other nobles. Wars once fought for gaining or protecting land are overshadowed by personal battles fighting for the position of king.
Henry V is not a simple one as it has many aspects. By looking into
I believe that is some elements of Henry's reign his ministers were more powerful than himself and perhaps his ministers were controlling the country at one point, but overall Henry disposed of the powerful ministers, Wolsey, was used as a scapegoat when Henry wanted a divorce, this caused ex-communication from Rome and Cromwell abused his position and was punished for it. Henry, once again showing Sovereignty and diminishing Elton's theory.
Great Brittan: Butler & Tanner Ltd, Frome, Somerset., 1984. Print. Loach, Jennifer. “Mary Tudor And The Re-Catholicisation Of England.”
Over the years, the question of ‘What makes a good monarch?’ has arose. There are certain standards that Kings and Queens are held to and many have fallen short in these departments, one being King Richard III. However, there are a few that have exceeded the expectations, followed the standards, and ruled with dignity and honor. King Edward III and his brother-in-law, King Harold II, are two examples of worthy monarchs. The traits that make them so noble and distinguished are their legitimacy, fairness, leadership, protection of the realm, advances of the realm, and their perspective.
King Charles “passed his whole life with the highest love and esteem of everyone, both at home and abroad, and not the least charge of cruelty or unfairness was ever brought against him by anyone” (143). He “protected, increased the size of, and beautified his kingdom” (141). When it came to family, “he could not stand to be parted from their company” (142).
...der to maintain success. King Henry showed that he is restricted to one language which resulted him to not gain the lower class power and it then lead him to focus on his political status. On the other hand, Hal presented himself to the viewers as a friendly character, yet he sustained to manipulate and lie to others to achieve his goals. Henry IV n, Part 1 presents the idea of political power and the different characteristics leaders follow. The lesson for audiences, then, is to develop relationships with different people who will expand one’s area of inspiration and the ability to advance success. One can learn from the mistakes of King Henry and remember to be visible and properly positioned, so society can see one’s strengths and talents.
The Holy Roman Empire was an empire in central Europe consisting of many territories and ethnicities. Once very powerful, the empire’s authority slowly decreased over centuries and by the Middle Ages the emperor was little more than a figurehead, allowing princes to govern smaller sections of the empire. Though the various ruling princes owed loyalty to the emperor, they were also granted a degree of independence and privileges. The emperor, an elected monarch, needed the allegiance of the princes and other aristocracy to support him, in turn giving them power or money. This tenuous allegiance between powers was greatly strained in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as religious reform dominated Europe and religious tensions divided the empire. Beginning in the sixteenth century, the empire’s power significantly declined because of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation split the empire’s states into Protestant and Catholic divisions, straining the peace between territories. Though the relationship between the princes and the emperor had already been tenuous, the princes, seeing the religious divisions, sensed weakness in the empire and further challenged imperial authority. The Holy Roman emperors battled Protestant princes in Germany into the seventeenth century, where tensions were still high from the Reformation and wars of religion – initially contained to the German territories – began to include other territories and states. As more European states joined the conflict, the Holy Roman Empire continued to deteriorate. From the early sixteenth to the mid seventeenth century, the Holy Roman Empire’s power declined greatly because of its internal religious rifts, conflicts (in particular the Thirty Years War, whic...
King Henry VIII’s reign before he met Anne Boleyn must be assessed in order to understand why he severed his ties with the Roman Catholic Church, and subsequently instated the Act of
Wright, Glenn. “Christianity and Romance in Medieval England”, English Studies, 93:1, 106-107. 2012. DOI: 10.1080/0013838X.2011.638447
Henry IV is a play that concerns itself with political power and kingship in English history. References to kingship are prevalent throughout the play, especially in the depiction of the characters. Although most of the characters in this play could teach us about kingship, I would like to focus my attention to Prince Henry. I think that this character helps us to best understand what kingship meant at this particular time in history.
Upon his fathers death, Henry inherited a strong united England. The monarch’s finances were in surplus and the nobility was willing to work for him effectively (Jokinen, Anniina). Henry, in the beginning of his reign, had little interest in the day-to-day business of government and appointed Thomas Wolsey, a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, as his “right hand man.” King Henry named Wolsey Lord Chancellor in 1515 (Carley, James).
Burns, Julia. "Notes MLA 6318". Church and State in Early Modern England. Fall 2013. Dr. D. David.