The Book Catherine of Aragon written by Garrett Mattingly is about the life of Catherine of Aragon, the princess of Spain during the late 1400’s and early 1500’s. The book begins with Catherine’s life as a small child, before she became Queen. The first section of the book talks of Catherine’s upbringing as a princess and includes details on the duties of her and her siblings. A good example of this is described on page 17 as it shows how Catherine and her sisters had to be educated on their bloodline, heraldry and genealogy as well as dancing, cooking, and horsemanship which were the interests of her class) . In 1501, Catherine is sent to England to marry Henry VII’s son, Arthur. However, their marriage lasts briefly because Arthur dies, leaving Catherine a widow. After Arthur’s death, Catherine is promised to marry Henry’s other son Henry VIII, the Prince of Wales. However, due to financial problems with her dowry, King Henry VII refuses to allow the Prince of Wales to marry her. It is not until the King’s death in 1509 that Catherine and Henry VIII finally get married. The second section of the book deals with her role as a Queen. She manages the household, runs her own estates, and takes care of the poor. She tries to help the poor as much as she can by providing them with food and shelter. She helps Henry out a lot with his role as king in matters of concern. For example, while Henry was off at war in France, Catherine held off Scottish rebellion in England). Her key role as Queen was to bare a son to be the heir. She constantly becomes pregnant but ends up having a miscarriage or giving birth to a still-born child. She eventually gives birth to a son who stirs up great celebrations but unfortunately falls ill and die... ... middle of paper ... ...s unnecessary since it’s written in a narrative style. It is pointless to put that in the book because it does not really do much for the reader. It does not paint a clearer picture of what the narrator is saying. Therefore, it has no significance. As well, the narrator constantly poses questions throughout the book that make it confusing to the reader. It leaves the reader wondering whether or not it really happened or whether the narrator is saying this hypothetically. There are parts that deal with the Queen but aren’t crucially important and are possibly given just as background information. For example, at the beginning of the book, it talks about the way Ferdinand is ruling or about acquaintances of Catherine and Henry in long lengths. If those areas were cut down shorter, there would be better focus for the reader and less distraction on unnecessary details.
...stery compels people to learn more and as a result, historians and those that work with the Tudor England should remain close to fact so that Tudor England does not devolve into a fictional tale. This would be a travesty to history, to the monarchs and to the people that died while the Tudor monarchs tried to unite the kingdom, create peace within the isles, and grow to include more lands and a wealthier empire. Those constructing historical fiction must remember that these people are real, shaped the world and have earned being remembered for their contributions to a world that was expanding rapidly.
The setting of the plot is in England in the year 1290. In addition, in this society, the people follow a lord. It can be seen that the plot takes place in medieval England due to the presence of the lord. “Begun this 19th day of September in the year of Our Lord 1290, the fourteenth year of my life” (Cushman 3). It is shown that the plot takes place in year 1290, and that the people follow a lord. In addition, “No wonder the baron was willing to consider alliance with a knight’s daughter” (Cushman 92). It is further implied about Catherine’s social background that she the daughter of a knight, who is not as high in society as others.
Elizabeth I was born in 1533 to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Although she entertained many marriage proposals and flirted incessantly, she never married or had children.
Queen Isabella was born in 1451, in the city of Castile, Spain (Leon 75). She was the daughter of King John II and Arevalo (Maltby par 1). Her family was very strong Catholics and she was born and raised a Catholic. Her brother, Alfonso, became King. He banished her mother, younger brother, and her from the kingdom (Leon 75, 77). Isabella had chestnut hair with natural red highlights and her look was demure and soft. She went to school with nuns at Santa Ana Convent. At school, she fancied reading, writing, music, and painting. In her free time, she was tutored at home with her older brother. After her childhood, she learned treachery was everywhere. As a teenager, her family forced her to marry a scoundrel. That day, she prayed to God for deliverance. On the way to their wedding, he choked and died from bronchitis. From that day on, she was ready for what was coming her way.
In Shakespeare’s “The Life of King Henry V,” set in England in the early fifteenth century, with the famous and heroic English King, Henry V, claiming his “rights” to the French throne. This claim caused complications and the declaration of war on both English and French soil. This political war, then turn into a route of complicated negotiations, after King Henry’s terrifying forces had successfully defeated French forces. As the result of the war, a peace treaty was made, and part of that agreement was the marriage between King Henry V and the daughter of the King of France, Katherine of Valois. An analysis of the both King Henry’s and Katherine’s relationship reveals that both had conflicting perspectives of one another, which resulted as a marriage in political unions of two powerful nations rather than a union of two lovers.
Henry believed that Isabella should get married if she wanted the crown. With that in mind he thought she should marry Don Carlos Prince of Vienna. But Isabella had other thoughts in mind. She wished to marry Ferdinand Prince of Aragon. Her brother would not fight with her so he allowed her to marry him. But she would have to wait until she got back from her trip. Isabella did not listen and married him during her trip. Therefore they got married in 1469 in Juan de Vivero (“Queen Isabella I” par3-5). When they ...
Mary Tudor or Queen Mary I of England was infamously known as Bloody Mary. While many believe Bloody Mary was an evil monster, others believe she was a great queen because of her many accomplishments. Mary was actually a good devoted Catholic others still to this day believe she was an evil woman, but with these interesting facts it will be determined that Mary was a good queen.
Queen Elizabeth I was said to be one of the best rulers of England. Unlike rulers before her, she was a Protestant and not a Catholic. She was not stupid though. She did go to church and did everything that Catholics did to prevent getting her head cut off under the rules of her sister Mary. Elizabeth was very young when she came to rule. She was only 17 years old when her sister Mary died and she took over.
Queen Elizabeth the first was a woman who cannot just use some simple words and phrases to be described, those words people use for heroes and heroines would not fit to describe Elizabeth. She had been through many tough and difficult situations from her cousins tried to put her to death only because they want the title of hers and the seat where she sat to her trusted friends or even boyfriend turns to mean, unreliable and despicable enemies. She led E England into an age of prosperity, peace, and expansion. People even used her name to name the time period “Elizabethan Age”. She is the one who united England, and also the one who righted the wrongs of past rulers. Even her enemies would agree that what she stood up for and who she was will be remember, deeply, in people’s heart.
Catherine of Siena was born in Italy in 1347 at a time when political and religious changes were affecting the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Dedicating her life to the Holy Spirit from a very young age, Catherine pursued a life of purity and simplicity that served as a background to her great literary work, The Dialogue of the Divine Providence . Her work focuses on the importance of prayer and its transcendent power in human life.
Catherine the Great, really was a great ruler. I think that overall, she was trying to be very fair to everybody. In 1773 Catherine the Great had an edict called “Toleration of All Faiths.” With this edict I thought she was showing how everybody should be treated fair by tolerating free practice of people’s faith. However, the main purpose she did this was she thought it was a good way to pacify frontier territory. Then there were some instances such as how she treated the Jews and when she attacked the privileges of the Russian Orthodox Church, which was not tolerating all faiths. Putting that instance behind though I think that she really was aware of what her duties were and what she was supposed to do. She made it very clear in her law code that the End of Monarchy was to “Not to deprive People of their natural Liberty; but to correct their Actions, in order to attain the supreme Good.”
Queen Elizabeth’s mother, Anne Boleyn, had a pretty rough time. After “marrying” Queen Elizabeth’s father, Henry VII, she became the queen. Soon after she became pregnant, everyone was preparing for the little prince, Prince Edward, but whenever Anne Boleyn’s due date came she had a little girl, Princess Elizabeth. After many failed attempts at conceiving, the king became angry and started to think of a way to end their marriage. With the help of a few of Anne’s enemies at court, King Henry started an investigation. Anne was eventually arrested on the charges of adultery, incest, and plotting to murder the king. With limited evidence, she was found guilty and sentenced to death by beheading. On May 19th, Anne was privately executed.
...periences in life. The most important one is search for freedom. Catherine is always locked up in her chamber, or trying to get away from the suitors. Throughout in the book she thinks about going to the abbey, leaving the manor, or going on an adventure. In the end her marriage with Stephen shows her that now she is “… at least less painfully caged” (Cushman 164). The story was very exciting when you wait to see what she would do to another suitor. I learned that as much as you try to fight something sometimes you cannot and it’s bound to you. As seen with Catherine and marrying any one of the suitors. “If I was born a lady, why not a rich lady” (Cushman 4). I think the author wrote this because she wants to show how medieval Europe was like, the social classes, education, religion, and especially society’s look on marriage.
Queen Elizabeth the first was one of the first woman monarchs to rule alone in the history of Europe. Her character, the way she ruled, and even her gender transformed her country’s go...
The first, most obvious trait of Catherine’s heroism is that she values human relationships above materialism. Nothing is more important to Catherine than her lover, Henry, and as the novel goes on, her baby. When Henry is injured and sent to Milan, she has no trouble transferring to the new hospital there. Catherine loves Henry and would drop anything to be with him. Nothing material holds her back from being with him. Even when they live in Switzerland, they don’t have many material possessions. They live very simple lives because all the couple really needs is each other. In chapter forty, Henry describes their time together with this quote, "When there was a good day we had a splendid time and we never had a bad time. We knew the baby was very close now and it gave us both a feeling as though something were hurrying us and we could not lose any time together." Catherine obviously values her time with Henry more than anyone else, but it isn’t the physical aspect of getting out and doing things that satisfies her. What satisfies Catherine is the extra time she gets to spend with the love of her life b...