The usurpation of Richard III (1483), however, split the Yorkist party and gave Henry his opportunity. He likens the beginning of Henry VIII's reign to a metaphorical spring, a second coming of sorts because Henry VIII seemed to be the opposite of his father. 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". He created the sovereign coin to spread the message that he was King. The parts on how he abused his position and the law to enrich himself while an entire nation watched helplessly are, frankly, pretty relevant to now. 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. What old December's bareness every where! 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. 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"). Though this was not achieved during his reign, the marriage eventually led to the union of the English and Scottish crowns under Margaret's great-grandson, James VI and I, following the death of Henry's granddaughter Elizabeth I. Henry's original head was cut out of the painting and replaced at some point after the work's creation. Hed achieved the impossible, hed risen from refugee to King of England. [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. If you are new the era, this wouldn't the first book I would pick up because it does flip flop around a bit in the beginning-but if you want to understand the players that ultimately have a significant impact on Henry VIII, this is the book for you. Thomas Penns Winter King in a brilliant mash-up of gothic horror and political biography. He is credited with many administrative, economic and diplomatic initiatives. [citation needed] Here was a young man who enjoyed jousting, who enjoyed chatting with the other knights in the tiltyard and with people of low degree. Possession of something the French King wanted also made the Duke of Brittany safer in his own duchy. Inadvertently, he provoked a revolution. Several of Richard's key allies, such as Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, and also Lord Stanley and his brother William, crucially switched sides or left the battlefield. Happy 14th Birthday to the Anne Boleyn Files! Some of them have more to say than Penn about the constructive sides of the reign, which developed the state-building methods of his Yorkist predecessors. He cemented his claim by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV. [20] He amassed an army of about 5,0006,000 soldiers. The Lancastrians triumphed under the leadership of a 28-year-old exile named Henry Tudor. His claim to the throne was tenuous and permanently contested. 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. By 1500, Henry felt safer and things were looking good. His legacy was his son, Henry VIII, lucky old England Penn commented. More wrote that this King is loved and compared Henrys accession to the coming of a new season, a new spring following a winter of repression. Based on the terms of the accord, Henry sent 6000 troops to fight (at the expense of Brittany) under the command of Lord Daubeney. I was disappointed by this it was decent but I think it was somewhat overhyped. After Wolf Hall, I wanted to find out about Henry VII, the lesser-studied father of Henry VIII, who founded the Tudor Dynasty. 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. [77][78] His mother died two months later on 29 June 1509. There were some sections I had to skim because I didn't feel they were relevant to the storyline, but mostly I was hooked into this very complex King. What are the differences between Henry VII and Henry VIII? It's difficult to get a handle on Henry VII. [24][17][25] He was 29 years old, she was 20. Moneywise, King Henry the VII was frugal and careful with money. I would read more by this author. 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. His claim to the throne was precarious and he wanted to portray Richard III as a usurper. 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? 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. 7.1 59min 2013 16+. [37], For most of Henry VII's reign Edward Story was Bishop of Chichester. He spent money lavishly, held big parties. 'Meeting between Francis I and Henry VIII at the Field of Cloth of Gold on 7 June 1520,' a painting by Friedrich August Bouterwek. Only through the deaths of more obvious claimants, and after the accession of Richard III in 1483, when Henry was 26, did he become a leading candidate. Luther made a protest against the Catholic practice of Indulgences. King Henry the VII and King Henry the VIII both feared being invaded by foreign countries. In that, he was quite successful, but he was neither loved nor admired. Henry VII: The Winter King (95) 59min 2013 PG. Early life 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 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. The rest, as we say, is history; Richard III was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth and Henry Tudor had arrived out of nowhere and avenged the death of the little princes in the tower, although there is some debate as to who was actually responsible for their murder. Before Henry VIII, English kings were addressed as "Your Grace" or "Your Highness.". 24th April 2023 - courses open for registrations. 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. 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. [11] When Edward IV became King in 1461, Jasper Tudor went into exile abroad. Four different kinds of cryptocurrencies you should know. At Rennes Cathedral on Christmas Day 1483, Henry pledged to marry Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of Edward IV. Well written and really interesting about an often ignored king. The last few years of his reign were ones of repression. 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. This meant that Henry had been the rightful King in the battle and that Richard had been the usurper, and those who supported him had been traitors. 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. [43] According to the contemporary historian Polydore Vergil, simple "greed" underscored the means by which royal control was over-asserted in Henry's final years. ), The Reign of Henry VII. Penn explained that the marriage had been one of genuine love and that Henry was shattered by his wifes death. Henry VII was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII. Henry responded to this threat by embedding spies into households. 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. She was Edward's heir since the presumed death of her brothers, the Princes in the Tower, King Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. Their chief task was to see that the laws of the country were obeyed in their area. Their main aim was money. 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. 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 . Herbert was captured fighting for the Yorkists and executed by Warwick. "[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. He would learn better as the new reign unfolded. Why was Henry VII called the Winter King? 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. Corrections? However, this treaty came at a price, as Henry mounted a minor invasion of Brittany in November 1492. The treaty marks a shift from neutrality over the French invasion of Brittany to active intervention against it. At the same time, Flemish merchants were ejected from England. [13] When the Yorkist Edward IV regained the throne in 1471, Henry fled with other Lancastrians to Brittany. 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"). Henry, son of Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, and Margaret Beaufort, was born nearly three months after his fathers death. I picked this audiobook up because it was narrated by Simon Vance. Wolf Hall this is not. [citation needed] John Cabot, originally from Genoa and Venice, had heard that ships from Bristol had discovered uncharted new found territory far west of Ireland. [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. 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. Penn then moved on to how Henry became King. The nobility was forced into bonds, legal agreements that they would act as the King wanted or be fined. The first rising, that of Lord Lovell, Richard IIIs chamberlain, in 1486 was ill-prepared and unimportant, but in 1487 came the much more serious revolt of Lambert Simnel. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort, was a descendant of the Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet. Reading this, I got a much better understanding of where Henry VIII came from, and why he was destined to be the colorful ruler he became, as an antidote to his own father. Henry VII, also called (145785) Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, (born January 28, 1457, Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Walesdied April 21, 1509, Richmond, Surrey, England), king of England (14851509), who succeeded in ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York and founded the Tudor dynasty. Overall, this was a successful area of policy for Henry, both in terms of efficiency and as a method of reducing the corruption endemic within the nobility of the Middle Ages. "King Henry VII" redirects here. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. There he claimed sanctuary until the envoys were forced to depart. Warbeck won the support of Edward IV's sister Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy. He was crowned on October 30 and secured parliamentary recognition of his title early in November. (We certainly can, and do, decide what sort of king Henry was based on what he had his government get up to, however.). [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. [citation needed], All Acts of Parliament were overseen by the justices of the peace. He had enough of that getting himself to the throne. Henry VII introduced stability to the financial administration of England by keeping the same financial advisors throughout his reign. He led attempted invasions of Ireland in 1491 and England in 1495, and persuaded James IV of Scotland to invade England in 1496. For other uses, see, Henry holding a rose and wearing the collar of the, Law enforcement and justices of the peace, the 1486 rebellion of the Stafford brothers, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Cultural depictions of Henry VII of England, "Tudor Pembroke | Ymddiriedolaeth Harri Tudur | Henry Tudor Trust", "BBC Wales History Themes Pembroke The Main Street", "Westminster Abbey website: Coronations, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York", "Calendar of State Papers, Spain: Supplement To Volumes 1 and 2, Queen Katherine; Intended Marriage of King Henry VII To Queen Juana", "Domestic and foreign policy of Henry VII", "Queen Margaret's Arch | York Civic Trust", "Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond", The Reign of Henry VII. Penn pointed out that for over half a century no king had passed on the crown without turmoil and Henry knew that what had happened to Richard could happen to him. This is why he named the book the "Winter King". Rarely was a father's reign so widely disparaged and disowned on the accession of the son. Henry VII was the founder of the Tudor dynasty and father of Henry VIII and Ive been doing a bit of digging on this lesser known Tudor. I found this really interesting, but Im a history nut. Still, as Penn observes, the national sense of relief in 1509 was palpable. 1) The number of books on Henry VII can basically be counted on one hand 2) This is Penns first book. The future Henry VIII, in contrast,. I really enjoyed it. 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. He created the Tudor dynasty. Since he was the second son, and not expected to become king, we know little of his childhood until the death of his older brother Arthur, Prince of Wales. And yet this time removed was summer's time, The teeming autumn, big with rich increase, Bearing the wanton burden of the prime, Like widow'd wombs after their lords . The country was in a perpetual state of emergency and Henrys subjects were scared and resentful. 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. Thomas More hailed the end of "slavery" and the return of "liberty", "the end of sadness, the beginning of joy". His early reign was plagued by pretenders to the throne, giving the new Tudor dynasty a rocky start and a fear of conspiracy which dogged Henry VII throughout his life. 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. Philip died shortly after the negotiations. [14] In November 1476, Francis fell ill and his principal advisers were more amenable to negotiating with King Edward. Hence, the king was plagued with conspiracies until nearly the end of his reign. Why did the nobility accept the curtailment of the military power it had wielded in the wars of the roses and swallow the elevation of upstarts at Henry's court? For Henry VII, it was all about the money and stability. 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. Penn graphically describes a huge financial racket run by the king and his profiteering advisers. The research was thorough and it was presented well and kept me engaged. No. [44] Following Henry VII's death, Henry VIII executed Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley, his two most hated tax collectors, on trumped-up charges of treason. The rebellion was defeated and Lincoln killed at the Battle of Stoke. [citation needed], Henry also made some political capital out of his Welsh ancestry in attracting military support and safeguarding his army's passage through Wales on its way to the Battle of Bosworth. In 1621 Francis Bacon's history of. In 1485, history was about to be changed for ever by a man who was a refugee, a fugitive whod spent half his life on the run and with barely a claim to the throne: Henry Tudor. Henry VII is also known as Henry Tudor. [25][80], Historians have always compared Henry VII with his continental contemporaries, especially Louis XI of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon. [citation needed], However, his principal weapon was the Court of Star Chamber. [50] Henry had pressured the French by laying siege to Boulogne in October 1492. They were unpaid, which, in comparison with modern standards, meant a smaller tax bill for law enforcement. England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy, violence, murders, coups and countercoups. When they married in 1396 they already had four children, including Henry's great-grandfather John Beaufort. [16] With money and supplies borrowed from his host, Francis II of Brittany, Henry tried to land in England, but his conspiracy unravelled resulting in the execution of his primary co-conspirator, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. 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. Castles of . Henry was thus handed over to English envoys and escorted to the Breton port of Saint-Malo. Overspending by Henry VIII to pay for his lavish lifestyle and to fund foreign wars with France and Scotland are cited as . 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. Warbeck was finally captured in 1497 and executed. To be notified of special offers, news, new courses, and new tutors, please subscribe to our newsletter. After his victory at Bosworth Field, Henry married Edward IVs daughter Elizabeth of York. He was the first Tudor king after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485. Historians debate the extent of Henry's rapacity. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. 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. Henry VII died on 21 April 1509, and the 17-year-old Henry succeeded him as king. In 1485 Henry landed at Milford Haven in Wales and advanced toward London. The Treaty of Redon was signed in February 1489 between Henry and representatives of Brittany. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. 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. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. When Henry VII called his first parliament he used it as an opportunity to legitimise his reign. [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. [47], Henry VII's policy was to maintain peace and to create economic prosperity. [76] He was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII (reigned 150947), who would initiate the Protestant Reformation in 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.