Stanleys betrayal led to a complete security overhaul and his privy chamber going into lockdown. Scapegoats were needed for Henry VIIs reign, people to blame for the old regime, so Edmund Dudley was imprisoned and executed on trumped up charges. Henry was devastated. The reigns of his three predecessors were interrupted or foreshortened. Thomas Mores coronation poem for Henry VIII contrasted the new Kings reign with the dark days of the past. It took Henry, who in any case needed to marry her if the expected issue was to solve the succession problem, some six years to achieve their joint purpose. In 1502 the death of his heir Arthur left the dynasty's prospects with Arthur's 10-year-old brother, Henry. They were third cousins, as both were great-great-grandchildren of John of Gaunt. In the late 20th century a model of European state formation was prominent in which Henry less resembles Louis and Ferdinand. [70] Henry VII falls among the minority of British monarchs that never had any known mistresses, and for the times, it is very unusual that he did not remarry: his son Henry was the only male heir left after the death of his wife, thus the death of Arthur created a precarious political position for the House of Tudor. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. ||Wordpress installation and design by http://www.MadeGlobal.com, FREE Anne Boleyn Henry VIII, (born June 28, 1491, Greenwich, near London, Englanddied January 28, 1547, London), king of England (1509-47) who presided over the beginnings of the English Renaissance and the English Reformation. In 1485 Henry landed at Milford Haven in Wales and advanced toward London. [citation needed], During his lifetime the nobility often criticised Henry VII for re-centralizing power in London, and later the 16th-century historian Francis Bacon was ruthlessly critical of the methods by which he enforced tax law, but it is equally true that Henry VII was diligent about keeping detailed records of his personal finances, down to the last halfpenny;[71] these and one account book detailing the expenses of his queen survive in the British National Archives, as do accounts of courtiers and many of the king's own letters. Author Thomas Penn takes an extraordinary journey into the dark and chilling world of the first Tudor King, Henry VII. He had a populist touch and his reign started with pardons, reforms and justice. He was, said Penn, a man who never knew a moments peace during his reign. Two themes of his book preside: the permanent vulnerability of Henry's regime, and his ruthless methods of rule. [citation needed], By 1509, justices of the peace were key enforcers of law and order for Henry VII. Gaunt's nephew Richard II legitimised Gaunt's children by Swynford by Letters Patent in 1397. He explained how Henry VII had achieved what he set out to do, he had passed on the crown successfully. Moneywise, King Henry the VII was frugal and careful with money. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Henry VII introduced stability to the financial administration of England by keeping the same financial advisors throughout his reign. With the assistance of the Italian merchant banker Lodovico della Fava and the Italian banker Girolamo Frescobaldi, Henry VII became deeply involved in the trade by licensing ships, obtaining alum from the Ottoman Empire, and selling it to the Low Countries and in England. Shakespeare later turned to Henry's son and successor Henry VIII, whose rule brought marital sensation, renaissance spectacle and the reformation. At Rennes Cathedral on Christmas Day 1483, Henry pledged to marry Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of Edward IV. Henry then consolidated his reign with magnificent architecture, an opulent household and money. Well written and really interesting about an often ignored king. [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. [3] Henry's paternal grandfather, Owen Tudor, originally from the Tudors of Penmynydd, Isle of Anglesey in Wales, had been a page in the court of King Henry V. He rose to become one of the "Squires to the Body to the King" after military service at the Battle of Agincourt. The usurpation of Richard III (1483), however, split the Yorkist party and gave Henry his opportunity. 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. Thus, the two warring houses were joined in marriage. Since we are in the middle of winter, Ive been thinking of a volume on my shelves on Henry VII, who could be called the Winter King. Happy St Davids Day! Edmund was created Earl of Richmond in 1452, and "formally declared legitimate by Parliament". Henry then cemented his claim to the throne and his dynastic ambitions by marrying Elizabeth of York and bringing the Houses of Lancaster and York together; the red rose and white rose combined to become the Tudor rose. [47], Henry VII's policy was to maintain peace and to create economic prosperity. His claim to the throne was precarious and he wanted to portray Richard III as a usurper. It was 1501. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. After Wolf Hall, I wanted to find out about Henry VII, the lesser-studied father of Henry VIII, who founded the Tudor Dynasty. [14] In November 1476, Francis fell ill and his principal advisers were more amenable to negotiating with King Edward. The treaty marks a shift from neutrality over the French invasion of Brittany to active intervention against it. By subscribing you confirm that you have read and agree to the Privacy Policy [opens in new window] and the Terms & Conditions [opens in new window]. 1) The number of books on Henry VII can basically be counted on one hand 2) This is Penns first book. He entertained thoughts of remarriage to renew the alliance with Spain Joanna, Dowager Queen of Naples (a niece of Queen Isabella of Castile), Queen Joanna of Castile, and Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Savoy (sister-in-law of Joanna of Castile), were all considered. Quite ambitious in nature, Thomas Penn attempts to write a portrait of Henry VII and his reign. Henry VII was the King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 to his death. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. France, Burgundy, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and the Hanseatic League all rejected the treaty, which was never in force. What are the differences between Henry VII and Henry VIII? He rewrote history by backdating his reign to 21st August 1485, the day before the Battle of Bosworth Field. [56] This trade made an expensive commodity cheaper, which raised opposition from Pope Julius II, since the Tolfa mine was a part of papal territory and had given the Pope monopoly control over alum. He had enough of that getting himself to the throne. The future Henry VIII, in contrast,. In 1622 Francis Bacon published his History of the Reign of King Henry VII. Here is a rundown of the programme for those who missed it. So Henry was a valuable bargaining tool, whose fate always depended on what relations were between England and France, always tainted by the recent Hundred Years War, and how Brittany sought to ward off threats to its own independence. It was really very well researched and painstakingly written. [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. 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. 7.1 59min 2013 16+. The Merchant Adventurers, the company which enjoyed the monopoly of the Flemish wool trade, relocated from Antwerp to Calais. Before taking the throne, he was known as Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond. 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. 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. Henry's father, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, a half-brother of Henry VI of England and a member of the Welsh Tudors of Penmynydd, died three months before his son Henry was born. Warbeck was finally captured in 1497 and executed. He created the sovereign coin to spread the message that he was King. [66], Henry wanted to maintain the Spanish alliance. [19] He marched toward England accompanied by his uncle Jasper and John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford. By 1500, Henry felt safer and things were looking good. On the other side of the coin, instead of the cross, was a Tudor rose and the arms of England. [48], Henry later concluded a treaty with France at Etaples that brought money into the coffers of England, and ensured the French would not support pretenders to the English throne, such as Perkin Warbeck. [24][17][25] He was 29 years old, she was 20. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. I don't read a lot of NF because I usually find it to be tedious, but The Winter King certainly wasn't that. If he trusted anyone, it would be his queen and why not, since both had so much in common both being familiar with being in sanctuary, and pawns in the game of power? By 1600 historians emphasised Henry's wisdom in drawing lessons in statecraft from other monarchs. He created the Tudor dynasty. This revived an earlier practice of using a small (and trusted) group of the Privy Council as a personal or Prerogative Court, able to cut through the cumbersome legal system and act swiftly. He also enacted laws against livery and maintenance, the great lords' practice of having large numbers of "retainers" who wore their lord's badge or uniform and formed a potential private army. By this marriage, Henry VII hoped to break the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France. Claiming to be Edward, earl of Warwick, the son of Richard IIIs elder brother, George, duke of Clarence, he had the formidable support of John de la Pole, earl of Lincoln, Richard IIIs heir designate, of many Irish chieftains, and of 2,000 German mercenaries paid for by Margaret of Burgundy. When Richard III became King, Henrys strategy, planned by Margaret Beaufort, the mother whom he had not seen for years, was to declare in public, in Brittanys Rennes Cathedral, that he would marry Edward IVs daughter Elizabeth, then in sanctuary with her mother, and thus bury the enmity between Lancaster and York by making her his queen. Possession of something the French King wanted also made the Duke of Brittany safer in his own duchy. King Henry the VII and King Henry the VIII both feared being invaded by foreign countries. [54], Henry VII was much enriched by trading alum, which was used in the wool and cloth trades as a chemical fixative for dyeing fabrics. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Henry VII's reign has yielded an evocative study, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, ILLUSTRATION: CLIFFORD HARPER/AGRAPHIA.CO.UK. [citation needed] Bacon wanted the future Charles I to learn from Henry's reign, but the financial methods that would provoke fatal opposition to Charles look pale beside the exactions levied by Henry from often innocent subjects, who were denied legal process or threatened with trumped-up prosecutions and had to buy their freedom (though at moments of apparently impending death the king would repent of his methods and have the jails cleared and pardons issued). Henry VIII was spring and Henry VII was winter. 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. Henry VIII, (born June 28, 1491, Greenwich, near London, Englanddied January 28, 1547, London), king of England (1509-47) who presided over the beginnings of the English Renaissance and the English Reformation. They were appointed for every shire and served for a year at a time. Annoyingly, much of the most interesting stuff concerns his son, and whenever Penn comments intelligently on how the events here affected the future Henry VIII's reign I found myself perking up such as the suggestion that Henry VII's marriage to Elizabeth was the kind of marriage that their second son, Prince Henry, would spend his whole life trying to find. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. For him, it was never about glory and battle. Henry was also worried by the treason of Edmund de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, the eldest surviving son of Edward IVs sister Elizabeth, who fled to the Netherlands (1499) and was supported by Maximilian. It was no easy feat. Henrys throne, however, was far from secure. Henry VII The Winter King is also the title of a book by Thomas Penn, and a useful read. The country was in a perpetual state of emergency and Henrys subjects were scared and resentful. [citation needed], All Acts of Parliament were overseen by the justices of the peace. Henry VII declared himself king by just title of inheritance and by the judgment of God in battle, after slaying Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. In many ways, it highlights that Henry VIII was a feckless inheritor of the tools of Machiavellian power, but had no idea to what productive end to put them. The last few years of his reign were ones of repression. Letters to relatives have an affectionate tone not captured by official state business, as evidenced by many written to his mother Margaret. 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. Henry IV had confirmed Richard IIs legitimation (1397) of the children of this union but had specifically excluded the Beauforts from any claim to the throne (1407). He was crowned on October 30 and secured parliamentary recognition of his title early in November. It seems that Henry was skilful at extracting money from his subjects on many pretexts, including that of war with France or war with Scotland. Not only was . Sometimes, Penn explained, charges against people were fabricated so that they would have to pay a fine, for example, a man who was charged with murdering a child and who was found guilty because the jury was rigged. England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy, violence, murders, coups and countercoups. 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. They were unpaid, which, in comparison with modern standards, meant a smaller tax bill for law enforcement. Why is this ambitious? But that's not really what I wanted from a book about Henry VII. I thought the way he controled the nobility was fascinating - keeping them in check as well a raising vast sums of money at the same time. So 4 stars. [28], Henry had Parliament repeal Titulus Regius, the statute that declared Edward IV's marriage invalid and his children illegitimate, thus legitimising his wife. That was to prevent the King of France capturing him and letting him loose on the English as a rival. Serious disputes involving the use of personal power, or threats to royal authority, were thus dealt with. 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. Henry was the only child of Edmund Tudor , Earl of Richmond , and Margaret Beaufort . His legacy was his son, Henry VIII, lucky old England Penn commented. Files Welcome Pack of 5 goodies, 28 January 1457 Birth of Henry VII at Pembroke Castle, 30 October 1485 Coronation of Henry VII, Henry VIIIs Enforcer: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell A Review and Rundown, Henry VII: Winter King A Review and Rundown, 31 May 1533 The Coronation Procession of Queen Anne Boleyn, Why I think Henry VIII was ultimately responsible for Anne Boleyns downfall, 4 March 1522 Anne Boleyn plays Perseverance, The Boleyns of Hever Castle now 99p on Kindle on Amazon UK, YouTube Live 4 March 2023 The Fascinating Background of Henry VIII. Omissions? What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen! When Henry VII called his first parliament he used it as an opportunity to legitimise his reign. 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. Henry VII: The Winter King (95) 59min 2013 PG. Pembroke Castle, and later the Earldom of Pembroke, were granted to the Yorkist William Herbert, who also assumed the guardianship of Margaret Beaufort and the young Henry. The new prince was the embodiment of the red and white rose, he was the Tudor rose incarnate. He led attempted invasions of Ireland in 1491 and England in 1495, and persuaded James IV of Scotland to invade England in 1496. Swynford was Gaunt's mistress for about 25 years. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. It was propaganda to spread the message that he was the rightful King. Famed British author Thomas Penn takes an extraordinary journey into the dark and chilling world of the first Tudor King, Henry VII. One interesting thing about him is his early youth and the fourteen years he spent in exile in France Brittany to be precise and those, I believe, made him the man he was eventually to become. For many he remained a usurper, a false king. On 7th August 1485, he dropped anchor at Mill Bay, Milford Haven, and when he reached the beach he prayed Judge me, O Lord, and favour my cause. The odds were stacked against him in his quest to take the throne of England. 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. He had to pay a 500 fine to save himself, to buy a pardon for the crime. Thus, Henry Tudor had no choice but to gather together an army including mercenary soldiers as well as his own supporters, and he landed in Wales in August, 1485. Amateur historians Bertram Fields and Sir Clements Markham have claimed that he may have been involved in the murder of the Princes in the Tower, as the repeal of Titulus Regius gave the Princes a stronger claim to the throne than his own. His dynasty was hanging by a thread and all his hopes had to rest on his youngest son, Henry, and Elizabeth of York producing another son, a spare. enry VII can look a dull king, so dull that Thomas Penn's title omits his name. Up to a point, he succeeded. It is a sobering reflection for professional historians that the apparently unpromising territory of Henry's reign has recently produced two memorable books, both of them written outside their ranks: this one, and Ann Wroe's biography of the pretender, Perkin (2003), a longer work on a shorter subject. [65] Henry VII was shattered by the loss of Elizabeth, and her death impacted him severely. Castles of . This is why he named the book the "Winter King". 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. The author does a good job drawing on his sources and bringing the characters to life while staying true to the history, but the subject matter is just not inherently as sexy as Henry VIIIs or Elizabeth Is reigns. Henry VII ruled - as Machiavelli, just after his reign, was to advise usurpers to do - through fear rather than love. [citation needed] Henry had been under the financial and physical protection of the French throne or its vassals for most of his life before becoming king. [41] Henry also increased wealth by acquiring land through the act of resumption of 1486 which had been delayed as he focused on defence of the Church, his person and his realm. Many of the entries show a man who loosened his purse strings generously for his wife and children, and not just on necessities: in spring 1491 he spent a great amount of gold on a lute for his daughter Mary; the following year he spent money on a lion for Elizabeth's menagerie. This was accomplished through the targeted imposition of fines and bonds through extrajudicial councils. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort, was a descendant of the Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet. 4. The union was both symbolic and necessary. Penn graphically describes a huge financial racket run by the king and his profiteering advisers. Their main aim was money. [13] When Warwick restored Henry VI in 1470, Jasper Tudor returned from exile and brought Henry to court. Based on the terms of the accord, Henry sent 6000 troops to fight (at the expense of Brittany) under the command of Lord Daubeney. In turn, Antwerp became an extremely important trade entrept (transshipment port), through which, for example, goods from the Baltic, spices from the east and Italian silks were exchanged for English cloth. According to John M. Currin, the treaty redefined Anglo-Breton relations. 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. [40], Henry VII improved tax collection in the realm by introducing ruthlessly efficient mechanisms of taxation. Alison Weir points out that the Rennes ceremony, two years earlier, was plausible only if Henry and his supporters were certain that the Princes were already dead. To unite the opponents of Richard III, Henry had promised to marry Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV; and the coalition of Yorkists and Lancastrians continued, helped by French support, since Richard III talked of invading France. The King was heavily guarded. Henry VIII had become heir to the throne when his elder brother, Arthur, died in 1502. This approach raised puzzling questions about similarities and differences in the development of national states. 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 17 year-old Prince Henry became King Henry VIII and started a different era. He spent his entire reign fixated on eliminating or disarming his enemies, and stabilizing England after the bloody, seemingly endless War of the Roses. Fittingly he dressed in expensive black. 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". Henry gained the support of the Woodvilles, in-laws of the late Edward IV, and sailed with a small French and Scottish force, landing at Mill Bay near Dale, Pembrokeshire. The rebels were defeated (June 1487) in a hard-fought battle at Stoke (East Stoke, near Newark in Nottinghamshire), where the doubtful loyalty of some of the royal troops was reminiscent of Richard IIIs difficulties at Bosworth. Raised in France, admiring of Italian-trained lawyers (and reaping the reward of the return of a whole generation of educated English commoners who sat out the War of the Roses abroad), with good taste in Renaissance art and advised by his gracious wife and steely mother, Henry VII is a major figure, not a prequel. When they married in 1396 they already had four children, including Henry's great-grandfather John Beaufort. He was a ruler to be feared, a ruler to be paid. It was not until 1506, when he imprisoned Suffolk in the Tower of London, that Henry could at last feel safe. Henry VII shut himself away in Richmond Palace from January 1509 and at 11pm on Saturday 21st April 1509 he died. Consultant editor for the. Henry VII can look a dull king, so dull that Thomas Penn's title omits his name. [55] Since alum was mined in only one area in Europe (Tolfa, Italy), it was a scarce commodity and therefore especially valuable to its land holder, the Pope. His second son, also called Henry, inherited the throne and became . [42], The capriciousness and lack of due process that indebted many would tarnish his legacy and were soon ended upon Henry VII's death, after a commission revealed widespread abuses. Through this, he found that his Lord Chamberlain, Sir William Stanley, was involved in the plot. Shakespeare, drawn to the colour on either side of the reign, skipped it. His spies and informers were everywhere. Sometimes when reading nonfiction of this type, I never know if it is going to be dry and dull or not. His spies and informers were everywhere. Henry Tudor, named after his father, Henry VII, was born by Elizabeth of York June 28, 1491 in Greenwich Palace. [59][60][61], He was content to allow the nobles their regional influence if they were loyal to him. Henry, recognizing that Simnel had been a mere dupe, employed him in the royal kitchens. [69] The wedding never took place, and the physical description Henry sent with his ambassadors of what he desired in a new wife matched the description of his wife Elizabeth. Some of it is due to his personality--he played his cards close to the vest, unlike his son--and some of it is due to Tudor spin--they were, after all trying to bolster up the royal credentials for a man who didn't have that many. An easy read? For instance, the Stanley family had control of Lancashire and Cheshire, upholding the peace on the condition that they stayed within the law.