Introduction to the Tudors
The Tudors Henry VII (Henry Tudor) Henry VIII Edward VI Lady Jane Grey Mary I Elizabeth I
The Tudors The Tudors were the royal family who ruled England from 1485 to 1603 . During this period there were three Kings and two Queens . The best known of the Tudor Monarchs are Henry VIII and Elizabeth I . Key Theme: Continuity and Change
The Tudors: Timeline Henry VII Edward VI Mary I 1485 - 1509 1547 - 1553 1553 - 1558 1400 1500 1600 Lady Jane Grey Henry VIII Elizabeth I July 1553 1509 - 1547 1558 - 1603 (disputed)
Primogeniture In Britain, the rule of primogeniture meant that the first born son of the ruling King or Queen would become the King upon the monarch’s death. (If the King has inherited the throne, then his wife is the ‘Queen’ but she only has this position while they are married and/or the King is alive.) This was fine if the King or Queen had a first born son. Until Mary I, no Queen had acceded to the throne and ruled in her own right, largely because it was believed that they were not capable. It was accepted their husband would rule or, as soon as possible, a male heir if there was one. However, this left the throne open to greater threat and did in effect, mean giving up the throne to the family of the husband of the Queen. But sometimes they died without any children. In this instance, they would name an heir to the throne. Some Kings ran the country so badly that other powerful nobles fought them and took the title of King for themselves and their family. The War of the Roses took place between the Houses of Lancaster (red rose) and York (white rose), over claims to the throne between 1455 and 1485.
War of the Roses: People Timeline Edward III Henry IV Henry VI Edward V Henry VII 1483 1327 - 1377 1399 - 1413 1422 - 1461 1485 - 1509 (never crowned) 1300 1400 Elizabeth I Richard III Richard II Henry V Edward IV 1377 - 1399 1413 - 1422 1558 - 1483 - 1485 1461 - 1483 1603
Accession to the Throne Henry VII Henry Tudor’s claim to the throne was tenuous, he was the great, great, great grandson of Edward III . Edward III had 6 sons altogether, all of whose descendants could make a claim to be the rightful heir (some of them would have had a stronger link to the old King). However, the death of Henry VI resulted in Henry Tudor becoming the head of the Lancaster Family. He fled to France during the reign of Edward IV. Henry had attempted to join a revolt against Richard III in 1483, but this failed. Instead he waited until 1485 and defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth . He married Elizabeth of York (daughter of Edward IV and niece of Richard III), thus uniting the Houses of York and Lancaster and ending the War of the Roses.
Accession to the Throne Henry VIII Henry became the heir to the throne when his older brother, Arthur, died from an illness. He was crowned King at the age of 18, after his father Henry VII died. Edward VI Edward was only 10 when Henry VIII died. A ‘Regency Council’ was set up to rule until he became an adult.
Accession to the Throne Lady Jane Grey When Edward VI became terminally (incurably) ill, he and the Council drew up a ‘ Devise for the Succession’ , to prevent Mary from becoming Queen, as she was a Catholic. He also passed over his sister Elizabeth, as he believed in primogeniture and didn’t think women should be heirs to the throne. Edward, with the support of Lord Dudley, settled on the granddaughter of Mary Tudor (Henry VIII’s sister). Lady Jane Grey was his cousin once removed. Yet why, when Edward VI opposed Elizabeth’s claim to the throne, would he pass it to another woman? Well the answer is, he didn’t at first. He actually left the throne to her male heirs, failing that, male heirs of her sisters. Grey was young and recently married to Lord Dudley’s son, so the hope had been that she would give birth to a male child in time.
Accession to the Throne Henry VII Elizabeth of York King of England 1466-1503 1457-1509 Henry VIII Margaret Mary King of England 1489-1541 1496-1533 1491-1547 James V Mary I Edward VI Elizabeth I Frances Brandon Queen of England King of Scots King of England Queen of England 1517-1559 1512-1542 1516-1558 1537-1553 1533-1603 Mary I Lady Jane Grey Queen of Scots 1537-1554 1542-1587
Accession to the Throne However, as he approached death, Edward VI altered the wording of the document to make Lady Jane Grey his successor. He considered this an exception to the rule of primogeniture, necessitated by the reality of his situation, not an example to be followed. Lady Jane Grey became Queen at the age of 15, when Edward VI died. She was to have the shortest reign of any monarch – just nine days! What have you learned? Have a go at the 'Devise for the Succession’ activity sheet.
Accession to the Throne Mary I Mary had been summoned to Edward VI’s deathbed but was warned that it was a pretext to have her captured. This would make it easier for Lady Jane Grey to accede to the throne. Mary fled to East Anglia. After Edward’s death she wrote a letter to the Privy Council, with orders to proclaim her Edward’s successor, as well as sending proclamations throughout the country announcing she was now Queen. She had gathered a force together and went to Framlingham Castle in Suffolk. Meanwhile, the Privy Council realised that they were wrong to go along with Dudley. They declared Mary the true Queen of England. Mary rode into London with her supporters and was crowned Queen Mary I.
Accession to the Throne Dudley was executed immediately. However, plots to overthrow Mary in favour of a Protestant monarch, including one involving Lady Jane Grey’s brother, resulted in the execution of Grey and her husband. Elizabeth, her sister, was temporarily imprisoned in the Tower of London due to the plots in her name, but was released. Mary I was the first undisputed Queen regent (ruler, as opposed to wife of the King) in England. Her husband was given the title of King of England and Ireland but this was not independent of his marriage to Mary I. That is, if she died, he would lose those titles. Elizabeth I Mary I had no children with her husband Phillip II of Spain. While Mary was unhappy about Elizabeth, who was Protestant, succeeding her, she did name her as the heir to the throne in her last days. While her regency was shaky, with more than one plot to overthrow her, Elizabeth I reigned until her death, and she was the last of the Tudor Monarchs.
Christianity Christianity was introduced to England by the Romans. There was a short period of Insular Christianity after which the Anglo-Saxons linked with the Church in Rome during the period AD 500 - AD 600. There have been several schisms (divisions) of the Christian Church. The two main ones were the Great Schism in 1054 and the Protestant Reformation which was started in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed 95 (many critical of the Roman Catholic Church) to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany. The English Reformation followed a different path to that of reformation movements in other European countries as its inception lay in Henry VIII's need for a male heir rather than the criticisms made by Martin Luther or other Protestants.
Christianity Restorationism Anabaptism Protestanism Martin Luther posts 95 Theses. Anglicanism (“Via Media”) Protestant Reformation begins. (1517) Church of England (1534) (Western Rites) Early Great Schism “Union” Roman Catholicism Christianity (1054) Crusades (Eastern Rites) (1095-1291) Council of Eastern Orthodoxy Ephesus (431) Oriental Orthodox (Miaphysites) Council of Chalcedon (451) Assyrian Church
Test Yourself! Have a go at the 'Christianity During the Tudor Period’ reading comprehension.
Politics Monarch This was the ruling King of England (until Mary I). Privy Parliament Prerogative Civil Service Sheriffs and Council Powers Commission House of Law, finances and of the Peace Commons made up communicating 13-20 officials that These were a of 2 representatives royal policy was the gave advice to and number of powers from each county main purpose of the Local government implemented the that only the and borough, which civil servants. who maintained law decisions of the monarch had some villages and and order and monarch. including declaring towns had acquired enforcing royal war and pardoning the right to vote for. policies. They drew up criminals. legislation. The House of Commons and They could act as House of Lords a court of law. did not have the ultimate power to create the law. The monarch could veto it.
Religion and Politics During Tudor times, Church (religion) and State (politics) were more closely aligned and influenced each other. Monarchs used the clergy to ensure that the King’s message got through to ordinary people across England. In turn, everyone had to pay for the local clergy, and church courts were allowed to punish people. Some punishments, such as burning, were carried out by local government on behalf of the church.
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