Book Review: 1536: The Year that Changed Henry VIII When one thinks of Henry the eighth the first thing that comes up is fat, wife-killer, meat eater, old, mean and overall horrendous. But almost no one refers to him as misunderstood, manipulated or young man who was not meant to be King of England. This is how Suzannah Lipscomb portrays Henry VIII in her book, 1536: The Year that Changed Henry VIII, King Henry faces many tribulations in 1536 that shaped the rest of his reign; from his marriages, injuries, heirs, to his influence in the European spectrum. Lipscomb notes the importance of Henry VIII in this novel by stating the events that occurred in 1536 that shaped and molded his future character and thoughts. He was a devoted catholic …show more content…
He was a human that had emotions, he experienced grief with the multiple miscarriages and deaths of his sons and the betrayals of his wife’s, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard. Also the death of Jane Seymour, the only wife to give him a male heir, brought him into a depression. These events changed Henry’s perspective of his own self, that he was without a legal heir, his health was horrendous and he was being betrayed by those closest to him. Lipscomb describes the transformation of Henry from the popular prince to the tyrant king know today. As shown, “the last decade of his reign, Henry VIII had begun to act as a tyrant. The glittering, brilliant monarch of the accession, toppled into old age by betrayal, aggravated into irascibility and suspicion as a result of ill health and corrupted by absolute power, had become a despot”. Henry is not thought of as the good Christian, but Lipscomb writes throughout this book that Henry was very serious about his religious affiliations. Lipscomb portrays Henry VIII as, “a man of strong feeling but little emotional intelligence, willful and obstinate but also fiery and charismatic, intelligent but blinkered, attempting to rule and preserve his honor against his profound sense of duty and heavy responsibility to fulfil his divinely ordained role”. In other words he was an emotional mess that did not know what to do with his feelings, so he bottled them up and south to seek
The Challenges to Henry VII Security Between 1487 and the end of 1499 Henry VII faced many challenges to his throne from 1487 to the end of 1499. These included many rebellions and pretenders to his throne. To what extent was the success he dealt with them differs although the overriding answer is that by the end of his reign he had secured his throne and set up a dynasty, with all challengers removed. Lambert Simnel challenged Henry’s security when Richard Symonds passed him off as Warwick. Simnel was taken to Ireland, which had become the centre of Yorkist plotting.
When we look at Henry as a king we have to look in the context of
The given documents are examples of the monarch’s ability to assert their authority through word. The different proclamations illustrate the problems of the time, and how the assumed power of the monarch addressed it. It is assumed that their power goes to include power over the church and all papal authority, ultimate power over Parliament, power over other lands, and it goes as far as suggesting that their power has been bestowed upon them by God. The assumed nature and extent of the Tudors’ power alters over time, each king reacting to a different situation. King Henry VII establishes a strong and clear claim to the crown for the Tudors when there were doubts about his claim. King Henry VIII extends the power of the monarch by annexing the
his coronation. He was a young man coming up to the age of 18. He was
Now, Henry had an heir to the throne, his son Edward. As time would pass, the future king of England was getting more and more weak and sicker. Henry passed on,
One of the key words in his dialogue is 'honour' because in Elizabethan times honour was bound up with ideas of nobility and manliness. Henry has constant reference to the divine, to get permission for his actions, 'God's will.' Additionally there is various uses of semantic fields, associated with religion, God, covet, honour and sin; all taken from the bible. Henry applies a very close relationship term, 'cuz.'
Henry V is not a simple one as it has many aspects. By looking into
King Henry VIII was born in 1491, and became king in 1509, until his death in 1547. He is probably most known for his six marriages, which he had two of his former wives beheaded. As king, Henry VIII was responsible for separating England from the Roman Catholic Church creating the newly formed Church of England. As a result of this reformation, King Henry VIII discontinued all monasteries serving Rome in England to get rid of all Catholic influences which ultimately led to a new form of church music being written for the Anglican Church. King Henry VIII was a unique king in the sense that he was a strong advocate for the arts especially music. He was a composer, musician, and had a very large court fill with some of the best musicians in Europe. His compositions were some of the most popular songs in England during the Renaissance. He was originally intended to play a major leadership role in the church, but due to the death of his elder brother Arthur he became king. The education and training he received for the church naturally played an enormous role in the daily life in his court. The fact that he was so involved with music really shaped his ideology on what should be the role for the arts in his monarch and how his court should function on a daily basis.
Henry's past is described by Ely and Canterbury, the two bishops. Canterbury quotes, "Since his addiction was to cause vain, His companies unletter'd, rude, and shallow, His hours filled with riots, banquets, sports; And never noted in him any study, And retirement any sequestration, From open haunts and popularity. " Ely says, "The strawberry grows underneath the nettle. " And wholesome berries thrive and ripen best.
Throughout Henry’s life he was always questioning things and was also brought into the world with a family that did exactly the same. The family questioned everything and were particularly intrigued in the working of the mind; his brother William, was even named the ‘father of psychology’. Many of Henry’s books dealt with problems of hysteria and stress and how this affected his characters was a frequent theme in his writing.
full a glory that I will dazzle the eyes of France.' Here he says he
King Henry VIII of England and Ireland, third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was born on June 28, 1491. Henry VIII was born, like all other monarchs except Henry VII, at Greenwich Palace. His two brothers, Prince Arthur and Edmond, Duke of Somerst, and of his two sisters died before their father. Henry VIII was the only son. Margaret Tudor and Mary Tudor were the only daughters to survive. It is said the King Henry was destined for the church and that his powers were thrust upon him. He was the first monarch, English monarch, to be educated under the influence of the Renaissance. Henry was an accomplished scholar, musician, and athlete. With the death of his brother, Arthur, and the death of his father, Henry VIII toke the throne.
Hal’s remark to his father indicates a now strong, independent mind, predicting that Douglas and Hotspur will not accept Henry’s offer because of their love for fighting. Henry’s reply in turn indicates a change in attitude towards his son, a newfound respect. Acknowledging Hal’s prediction, the king orders preparations to begin, and we see he has his own set of solid moral values: knowing that their ‘cause is just’ helps him to reconcile with his highly honourable conscience that there is indeed cause for war. Still maintained is the conflict between the very format of the text, with Hal and Henry’s conversation held in formal verse typical of the court world, in which Hal is now firmly embedded. Falstaff, however, sustains his equally typical prose speech, which indicates to the audience the enduring division between the court and tavern worlds.
He is a man of complete integrity and strength. More has an extremely brave mind, loyalty to his king, and a love of his religion. He is a man of strong faith and deep trust in himself when dealing with one of the many difficult situations he is placed in. One of the biggest political issues dealt with by King Henry the 8th is that he needed a son. After nearly twenty years of marriage to Queen Catherine, Henry never got a son and therefore, had a divorce.
The state of affairs and the grim reality of the war lead Henry towards an ardent desire for a peaceful life, and as a result Henry repudiates his fellow soldiers at the warfront. Henry’s desertion of the war is also related to his passionate love for Catherine. Henry’s love for Catherine is progressive and ironic. This love develops gradually in “stages”: Henry’s attempt at pretending love for Catherine towards the beginning of the novel, his gradually developing love for her, and finally, Henry’s impas... ...