Katherine of Aragon is famous for being the first of Henry VIII’s many wives, the one who fought back and defended her papally sanctioned marriage; the mother of Mary I; and the daughter of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, founders of the kingdom of España. These facts place her in the position of a traditional sixteenth century woman by defining her as wife, mother, and daughter. In these roles, many women have been overlooked as the subject of their own study, and it certainly makes sense to do this, as on the surface they are not in control of their own agency. Looking deeper, however, one can see that this role places women instead in a position of power. From behind the scenes, women like Katherine were able to pull the strings of their husbands and children, controlling their affairs while keeping a demure outward appearance. During the early years of their marriage, Katherine did just that. The inexperienced Henry was enamored with his wife and would frequently seek out her input in matters of state. Katherine, in turn, was receiving letters from her father, King Ferdinand of Aragon, advising her what to tell Henry to do, how to push him in the direction that Aragon, Castile, and the Holy Roman Empire wanted England to be pushed into. Using primary documents as well as various biographies, articles, and other scholarly works written about Katherine, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Ferdinand, Mary I, and Arthur Tudor, we can learn more about Katherine and the other players in her life before the betrayal of Anne Boleyn. I will argue that Katherine of Aragon led a fascinating life and was just as important before the divorce as she was after it. Betrothal and Marriage to Arthur On the 16th of December in 1485, only 47 da... ... middle of paper ... ...sh King demanded that Princess Katherine be returned to Spain and the first half of her dowry (which had been paid upon her arrival in England) returned with her. This was but the first step in his new plan to try and have his daughter marry the new Heir Apparent, Henry VIII. Henry VII was not happy with this order to return the money he had received, so he played right into Ferdinand’s game of chess and began the process of securing a marriage contract between Henry VIII and Katherine. However, the two men continued to haggle over the amount to be paid for her dowry, and the marriage contract began to fall apart. By the time Henry VII died in 1509, Katherine was still a widow waiting to marry the future King of England. A Funeral Followed by a Wedding Works Cited The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir New York Times Article Letters by Katherine of Aragon
Anne Boleyn in the spring of 1536 and the consolidation of power at court and in
The story of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, has been elusive to historians since her death in 1536 at the hands of her husband. This, in part, can be attributed to the destruction of almost everything she touched soon after her execution. On orders of the king, the castles that were once her home had all memory stripped of her. Portraits were destroyed, letters disappeared, their symbol of the H and A intertwined had the A ripped away. The remnants of her time on the throne are pieces of history that were overlooked in the workers haste to strip the castles in preparation for Jane Seymour to become queen. There are few hints left of what really happened during Anne’s life and how important she was during her reign which has created the widespread infatuation with Anne and who she really was. Why is Anne’s life of such interest to us then? The reasons are many and include the desire to know her role in the English reformation, being the first queen of England to ever be executed, and the impact it had on her daughter and the later Queen Elizabeth I.
In 1981, Isabel de Madariaga wrote the landmark book, Russia in the Age of Catherine the Great. This book was the first comprehensive study of Catherine the Great’s reign. It was a very long, thoroughly researched, very dense book about later eighteenth-century in Russia and was meant for scholars. The book I read and am reviewing, Catherine the Great: a Short History, also by de Madariaga, is more than a shortened version of her earlier work; it is a manageable, factual examination of only about 200 pages with maps, illustrations and timelines, and genealogical tables.
In 1536, Henry began to believe that his wife was being unfaithful. She was charged with treason and adultery, and soon beheaded. He then married Jane Seymour. She gave him a male heir, Edward, and then died a few days after childbirth [1].
Catherine de Medici’s culpability for the turbulent events in France in 1559-72 remains a topic of some debate. Highly personal protestant pamphleteers associated Catherine with sinister comparisons to the contemporary evil Machiavelli which eventually developed into the ‘Black Legend’. Jean.H. Mariégol consolidates this interpretation, overwhelmingly assuming Catherine’s wickedness; the Queen Mother was deemed to be acting for ‘personal aggrandizement’ without an interest in the monarchy. Neale provides a corrective arguing a ‘dominant maternalism’ drove Catherine’s policies. Sutherland critiques Neale, suggesting he is guilty of using misconceived qualifying phrases from the ‘Black Legend’ stemming from the contemporary pamphlets, instead Sutherland and Heller attempt to disentangle Catherine from the context of the xenophobic Protestant pamphleteers that shaped much of Catherine’s historical analysis thus far, revealing the ‘politique’ whose moderate policies were a force for stability. Knecht is most convincing in his assertion that whilst the ‘Black Legend’ is a misrepresentation of her character and policies, Sutherland goes too far in whitewashing Catherine. Ironically, Catherine as a ‘politique’ aimed for complex policies and yet her role in French politics was over-simplified by contemporaries and arguably even by modern historians contributing to overly polarised interpretations. Instead we should bear in mind the violent pressures Catherine faced in the context of the collapse of monarchical authority and follow the more nuanced interpretation of her role.
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.
Isaacs, Lynn. “ Queen Isabella I of Spain.” Prof. Pavlac’s Women’s History Site. King’s College, 31 May 2008. Web. 1 May 2014.
Loach, Jennifer. “Mary Tudor And The Re-Catholicisation Of England.” History Today 44.11 (1994): 16. World History Collection. Web. 18 Nov.2013
During the Elizabethan era, men were more powerful and the more significant gender type, while women were more obedient and silent. This gender difference influenced how the society viewed women during this time. In “Women in the Renaissance and Reformation” the author discussed about how the women had different jobs then the men did. The men had to do the more work in the family, while the women were sitting at home watching the kids or doing something that was not very productive. The roles women played in their family included “a daughter, then a wife, mother, or widow.” On the contrary, men’s roles were “generally defined by social position or occupation, as in a merchant, knight, priest, peasant and more.” (Carnagie 541). Women were subservient to their men. They relied on their male relatives to support and take care of them while they could have been taking care of themselves. “Before the renaissance even occurred, men dominated European society and women lacked power to challenge them. After about 1400, however, women began to demand for som...
Joan of Arc was born in the village of Domremy in 1412. Like many girls her age she was taught like many other young girls her age not how to read or write but to sew and spin. but unlike some girls her father was a peasant farmer. At a inferior age of thirteen she had experienced a vision known as a flash of light while hearing an unearthly voice that had enjoined her to be diligent in her religious duties and be modest. soon after at the age fifteen she imagined yet another unearthly voice that told her to go and fight for the Dauphin. She believed the voices she heard were the voices of St. Catherine and St. Margaret and many other people another being St. Michael. She believed they also told her to wear mens attire, cut her hair and pick up her arms. When she first told her confessor she did not believe her. When she tried telling the judges she explained to them how the voices told her it was her divine mission help the dauphin and rescue her country from the English from the darkest periods during the Hundred Years’ War and gain the French Throne. She is till this day one of the most heroic legends in womens history.
Sara Mendelson and Patricia Crawford, Women in Early Modern England 1550-1720 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 37-9 Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/journals/parergon/v019/19.1.crawford.pdf
King Henry the VIII can facilely be described as a man of countless mistresses’, a man of little virtue, and finally a man of six wives. Many people know or have heard the story of King Henry the VIII of England. For the most part, when people speak of him, they instantly cerebrate about his six wives, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Kathryn Howard, and lastly Katherine Parr. In addition to his wives, King Henry VIII was also widely known for his illimitable sexual affairs with his numerous mistresses, and rightfully so. Truth be told, he was well known for becoming tired very quickly with his wives and mistresses’. This comes as no surprise, all women, during his reign, desired to become one of King Henry the
Queen Elizabeth I, also known as the “Iron Queen”, was a remarkable woman of her time, she ruled with great power and longevity. She was one of the greatest feminist of time. Coming to the throne in 1558, she took the place of her father, Henry VIII. She was given one of the most difficult jobs fit for a man or King, ruling England. At the time women were second class citizens, they could not vote nor own properties and such. Surprising England with her intelligence and fierce rulings, she changed herself to make better decisions. She proved through her rulings, to everyone that females were strong and could rule just as well as a king. She refused to marry, giving a feeling of “I don’t need a man for anything.” The Queen was responsible for giving females a voice in literature and it is shown through Shakespeare’s writings.
Clever minded with a seductive female presence, Anne Boleyn is the most important wife of Henry VIII. Her contributions changed the course of England’s history, through England’s separation from the Roman Catholic Church to giving birth to England’s greatest monarchs, Queen Elizabeth I. “…swarthy complexion, long neck, wide mouth, bosom not much raised,…and her eyes which are black and beautiful,…she lives like a queen, and the King accompanies her to Mass – and everywhere.” The Venetian Ambassador describes Anne Boleyn in 1532. Simply meaning that Anne was not the most beautiful, but was pretty enough to entice the King. Born in circa 1501, Anne Boleyn’s education was very typical for a female of her class. She learned how to play the lute and other musical instruments, also how to sing and to dance. When Anne’s father saw how clever she was, he sent her to the court of Archduchess Margaret, Regent of the Netherlands in Belgium. At the age of thirteen, Anne was sent away to learn French and to obtain other skills in court life. Two years later Anne joined Henry VIII sister, Mary, wh...