Династия Тюдоров (essay the house of Tudor)

SCHOOL 1276 WITH PROFOUND

THOROUGH OF THE ENGLISH LANGUGE

OF THE CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICT

OF MOSCOW

THE ESSAY

«THE HOUSE OF TUDOR»

SERGEY SANOVICH

10 B

2002

CONTENTS:

1.Contents………………………………………………………………….….….……….1

2.Introduction……………………………………………………………….….…………2

3.King Henry VII……………………………………………………………...….……2-3

4.King Henry VIII…………………………………………………………….….……3-4

5.King Edward VI……………………………………………………………..………4-5

6.Lady Jane Grey……………………………………………………………...………5-8

7.Queen Mary I……………………………………………………………...…..……8-11

8.Queen Elizabeth I………………………………………………………..….....…11-15

9.Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….……15

10.The list of literature………………………………………………….…..…………16

INTRODUCTION

I decided to write this essay, because, I am really interested in English

history. The five sovereigns of the Tudor dynasty are among the most well-

known figures in Royal history. Of Welsh origin, Henry VII succeeded in

ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York to

found the highly successful Tudor house. He was succeeded by Henry VIII,

who is famous for his six wives. This dynasty ruled in Britain for 118

eventful years.

Henry VIII was followed to the throne by his children Edward VI, Mary I,

and Elizabeth I. (Another Tudor descendant, Jane Grey, was put on the

throne after Edward VI's death but was overthrown after only nine days.)

They increased the influence of the monarchy, established the Church of

England, and made England a world power.

When Elizabeth I died in 1603, the Tudor dynasty ended. But the Stuarts,

who succeeded the Tudors, were descended from Owen Tudor. Even the modern

royal Windsor family can trace its ancestry back to the handsome Welsh

squire who married Queen Catherine of Valois.

KING HENRY VII

The founding of dynasty

The founder of the royal Tudor dynasty was Henry VII's grandfather Owen

Tudor, a well-born Welsh man who served as a squire of the body to

England's King Henry V. The king died in 1422 and some years later his

widow, Catherine of Valois, is said to have married the handsome Tudor,

although it is possible they were never legally married.

Henry V was succeeded by his infant son, Henry VI. The new king (who became

insane as an adult) was little more than a pawn in the so-called Wars of

the Roses, a series of power struggles between the ruling House of

Lancaster and the rival House of York. Owen Tudor was a staunch supporter

of the king. In 1461 Tudor led an army into battle against Yorkists forces

at Mortimer's Cross in Herefordshire. The Yorkist side won; Tudor was

killed; Henry VI lost his throne and the Yorkist claimant, Edward IV,

became king.

Henry Tudor

Owen's son Edmund had married Margaret Beaufort, who was descended from

King Edward III's son John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster. Edmund died

while Margaret was pregnant with their first child, Henry, who was born on

January 28, 1457 at Pembroke Castle in Wales. At first Henry was kept

hidden in Wales by his uncle, Jasper Tudor. In 1471 Henry VI died - he may

have been murdered - in the Tower of London, and Henry Tudor became the

Lancastrian claimant to the throne. Fearing for his nephew's safety, Jasper

Tudor smuggled him to Brittany (in France).

In 1483 Edward IV died suddenly and his young sons, Edward V and Richard,

"disappeared" in the Tower of London. Their uncle, who had imprisoned the

boys, swiftly crowned himself Richard III. Not surprisingly, he was an

unpopular king. In 1485 Henry Tudor returned to Wales, raised an army,

invaded England, and defeated Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field.

Richard died in the battle, and Henry Tudor became Henry VII, the first

Tudor king.

In 1486 Henry married Richard's niece, Elizabeth of York, uniting the

houses of Lancaster and York and ending the Wars of the Roses (although

Henry did have to deal with Yorkist uprisings early in his reign).

An Elizabethan writer, Sir Francis Bacon, said that Henry VII was not an

indulgent husband because "his aversion to the House of York was so

predominant in him as it found place not only in his wars and councils but

in his chamber and bed." Despite this supposed aversion, Henry and

Elizabeth managed to have eight children. The first child, Arthur, died in

his teens. Less than a year later Elizabeth died giving birth to her last

child, who also died. Two other children had died young, so Henry VII was

left with just three offspring: Margaret, who was already the queen of

Scotland; Henry, the future king of England; and Mary, a future queen of

France.

In 1509 Henry VII died of tuberculosis. He had brought law and order to

England after years of chaos, and made the country important in the eyes of

the world. He is not, however, the Tudor king best remembered today. That

honour belongs to his infamous successor, the much-married Henry VIII.

KING HENRY VIII

Henry VIII was born on June 28, 1491. His father and mother, Henry VII and

Elizabeth of York, were loving parents, although they saw little of their

children. Henry, their second son, was styled the Duke of York. He had his

own servants and minstrels, and a fool named John Goose. He even had a

whipping boy who was punished when Henry did something wrong.

Henry VII loved entertainers, and the court attracted acrobats, jesters,

magicians and musicians. Prince Henry enjoyed music and grew up to be an

accomplished musician (although he did not write "Greensleeves," as legend

suggests). At the age of 10 he could play many instruments, including the

fife, harp, viola and drums.

Henry's older brother Arthur married a Spanish princess, Catherine of

Aragon, when he was fifteen. Prince Arthur danced at his wedding and seemed

to be in good health, but within a few months he was dead. Some historians

think Arthur had tuberculosis.

Young Henry was now heir to the throne. He was guarded at all times and

allowed to see few people. Henry was a very tall, athletic, handsome

teenager. He kept his exuberant personality under control on public

occasions because he feared his father's temper. He received little

training for his future role as king, and would rely heavily on his

counsellors in the early years of his reign.

In 1509 Henry VII died of tuberculosis and his son became King Henry VIII.

He was 17.

Although most people today think of Henry VIII as a fat tyrant, in his

youth he was admired for his intelligence, good looks, good nature and

athletic ability. One of his contemporaries wrote that he was "one of the

best men that lived in his time, in manners more than a man, most amiable,

courteous and benign in gesture unto all persons."

But of course, Henry is remembered today for just one thing - well, six

things. Six wives, to be exact. He was married to Catherine of Aragon, Anne

Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Katherine Parr.

EDWARD VI

The King’s son

Edward VI was born on October 12, 1537. His parents were England's King

Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife. For more than a quarter

century Henry had desperately wanted a son, and Edward's birth caused great

rejoicing. But Queen Jane soon fell ill with childbed fever, and on October

24 she died.

Until the age of six Edward was raised by his nurse, Mother Jack, and other

servants. During that time Henry took two wives in quick succession, but

both marriages ended badly; Anne of Cleves was discarded because the king

found her ugly, and Katherine Howard was executed for adultery. In 1543

Henry married Katherine Parr, who became a loving stepmother to Edward and

his older half sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. She was a highly learned woman

who personally oversaw Prince Edward's education.

Edward's tutors taught him geography, government, history, French, German,

Greek, and Latin. He was also given lessons in etiquette, fencing,

horseback riding, music and other gentlemanly pursuits. Perhaps most

important to Edward was his study of the Scriptures. He became a devout

Protestant even though his father, who had severed England's connection to

the Roman Catholic Church, remained conservative and mostly Catholic in his

beliefs.

Although Edward was serious and studious, at times he displayed a savage

temper. According to one account, he once tore a living falcon into four

pieces.

The Boy King

Somerset's brother, Lord High Admiral Thomas Seymour, was jealous of

Somerset and schemed to put himself in power. The admiral was arrested and

charged with treason. Somerset hesitated to sign his brother's death

warrant, so Edward gave the council permission to have his uncle beheaded.

Somerset himself later fell from the king's favour and lost his role as

Protector. The duke of Northumberland took control of the king and council,

and eventually Somerset, like his brother, was arrested and charged with

treason. Under pressure from Northumberland, fourteen-year-old Edward

signed Somerset's death warrant. Somerset was executed in 1552.

By this time Edward had completed his education and was participating in

council meetings. It was decided that the king would take charge of the

country at age sixteen. This was bad news for his sister Mary an ardent

Catholic who refused to cooperate with Edward's religious reforms. However,

Edward got along well with his other sister, Elizabeth, a moderate

Protestant.

Edward suffered bouts of measles and smallpox in April 1552, and from that

time his health declined. By the next spring it was obvious that the king

was dying of consumption (tuberculosis). His father's will had specified

that Mary should become queen if Edward died without children, but

Northumberland had different ideas. He persuaded Edward to name the

Protestant Lady Jane Grey as his successor. Lady Jane was the granddaughter

of Henry VIII's sister Mary; she was also Northumberland's daughter-in-law,

and through her Northumberland hoped to rule England.

On July 6, 1553 Edward whispered his last prayer and died. He was fifteen

years old. He would be succeeded -- briefly -- by the unfortunate Lady

Jane.

JANE GREY

The unhappy childhood

Lady Jane Grey was born in 1537, just two days before King Edward VI, and

may have been his friend in childhood. Her father was Henry Grey, the

marquis of Dorset (later the duke of Suffolk). Her mother was Frances

Brandon, a niece of Henry VIII. At that time, Frances Brandon was third in

the line of succession to the throne. Jane had two younger sisters,

Katherine and Mary.

Jane's parents were, in her words, "sharp and severe" to her. She once told

a visitor to her family home, Bradgate Manor, that her mother and father

expected to do everything "as perfectly as God made the world, or else I am

sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened . . . that I think myself in hell."

She said that her parents pinched her and abused her in other ways she

would not name out of respect for them.

She found refuge in her studies, which she enjoyed so much that she cried

when her lessons were over for the day. "Whatsoever I do else, but

learning, is full of grief, trouble, fear, and whole misliking," she said.

Jane's parents had big dreams for their intellectual eldest daughter. They

hoped she would marry her cousin Edward and thus become queen of England.

When Jane was nine, her parents sent her to live with Henry VIII's widow,

Katherine Parr, and Katherine's new husband, Thomas Seymour. Jane was happy

with the Seymours, but Katherine soon died and Thomas Seymour was arrested,

forcing Jane to return to her parents.

Once, on a visit to Henry VIII's daughter Mary, Jane openly disparaged

Mary's Catholic beliefs. Although Mary was hurt, she later sent Jane a

pretty velvet dress to wear to court. Jane, who thought fine clothes were

sinful, tried to refuse the gift, saying it would be "a shame to follow my

Lady Mary against God's word," but her parents insisted she wear it in the

hope that it would impress the king. Many people expected Edward to marry

Jane, but he wanted to marry Mary, Queen of Scots, or some other foreign

princess.

By the time Jane was 15, her parents had abandoned their dream of marrying

her to King Edward. Jane now believed that she was betrothed to the duke of

Somerset's son, Lord Hertford. She was stunned when her parents informed

her that she was instead to marry Guildford Dudley, the youngest son of the

duke of Northumberland. Guildford was a handsome young man, one year Jane's

senior, but it seems Jane didn't like him very much. She refused to marry

him, and went on refusing until her mother literally beat her into

submission.

The unwanted Crown

Jane married Guildford Dudley in May of 1553. The marriage was consummated

the following month at Northumberland's command, but the couple continued

to live apart. Jane's new mother-in-law visited her on July 3 and told her,

"His Majesty hath made you heir to his realm." Jane said later that this

unexpected news "greatly disturbed" her.

Three days later the king died. Northumberland kept the death secret for

several days to prevent Edward's sister Mary from claiming the crown. But

on July 9 Mary, who was in Norfolk, heard the news and proclaimed herself

queen. On the same day Jane was taken to Northumberland's house and led to

a throne. Everyone bowed or curtsied to her. Realizing what was happening,

Jane began to shake. Northumberland made a speech announcing that Jane was

the new queen, at which Jane fell on the floor in a brief faint. No one

came to her assistance and she remained on the floor, sobbing.

Finally she got to her feet and announced, "The crown is not my right, and

pleaseth me not. The Lady Mary is the rightful heir."

When her parents, husband, and father-in-law remonstrated with her, Jane

dropped to her knees and prayed for guidance. She asked God to give her

"such spirit and grace that I may govern to Thy glory and service, and to

the advantage of the realm." Then she took her seat on the throne and

allowed those present to kiss her hand and swear their allegiance to her.

The next day Jane made her state entry into London. Most people felt that

Mary was the rightful heir to the throne, and very few cheers greeted Jane.

She was taken to the Tower of London, as was traditional. She protested

when the Lord High Treasurer brought her the crown, but after a while she

Страницы: 1, 2, 3