why was henry vii called the winter king

Claire is going live on YouTube on 11 February! [65] Henry VII was shattered by the loss of Elizabeth, and her death impacted him severely. He became paranoid and made the decision that if his people couldnt love him then they should fear him. 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. At Rennes Cathedral on Christmas Day 1483, Henry pledged to marry Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of Edward IV. They did as much to endanger his throne as to secure it. [47], Henry VII's policy was to maintain peace and to create economic prosperity. Dydd Gyl Dewi Hapus! ||sitemap_index.xml Henry VII, also called (1457-85) Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, (born January 28, 1457, Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Walesdied April 21, 1509, Richmond, Surrey, England), king of England (1485-1509), who succeeded in ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York and founded the Tudor dynasty. 7.1 59min 2013 16+. Serious disputes involving the use of personal power, or threats to royal authority, were thus dealt with. Happy St Davids Day! He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Thomas More hailed the end of "slavery" and the return of "liberty", "the end of sadness, the beginning of joy". Reasonably interesting overview of the reign of Henry VII of England. Why is this ambitious? Penn then went on to talk about the heir to the throne, the young Prince Henry, who seemed very different to the King. Reading this, I got a much better understanding of where Henry VIII came from, and why he was destined to be the colorful ruler he became, as an antidote to his own father. 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. 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. Through this, he found that his Lord Chamberlain, Sir William Stanley, was involved in the plot. [59][60][61], He was content to allow the nobles their regional influence if they were loyal to him. The father's government was an exercise in discoloration. Luther gained support for his ideas and Europe became . This battle saw the end of the Wars of the Roses which had brought instability to England. 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. [13] When Warwick restored Henry VI in 1470, Jasper Tudor returned from exile and brought Henry to court. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). He passed laws against "livery" (the upper classes' flaunting of their adherents by giving them badges and emblems) and "maintenance" (the keeping of too many male "servants"). Henry VII: The Winter King (95) 59min 2013 PG. [24][17][25] He was 29 years old, she was 20. The 17 year-old Prince Henry became King Henry VIII and started a different era. The fact that a Cockney could provide a recognisable representation of him gives away part of his enduring appeal; in national memory, Henry was one of the lads, the only English king to have. Henry VII is also known as Henry Tudor. [51], Henry VII was one of the first European monarchs to recognise the importance of the newly united Spanish kingdom; he concluded the Treaty of Medina del Campo, by which his son Arthur, Prince of Wales, was married to Catherine of Aragon. But Henry had a crucial asset: his queen and their children, the living embodiment of his hoped-for dynasty. If you are new the era, this wouldn't the first book I would pick up because it does flip flop around a bit in the beginning-but if you want to understand the players that ultimately have a significant impact on Henry VIII, this is the book for you. [38], Unlike his predecessors, Henry VII came to the throne without personal experience in estate management or financial administration. Stephens, "affords some illustrations of the avaricious and parsimonious character of the king". 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. Richard III's death at Bosworth Field effectively ended the Wars of the Roses. 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. [36] However, he spared Warwick's elder sister Margaret, who survived until 1541 when she was executed by Henry VIII. Please check your email to confirm your subscription. His claim to the throne was precarious and was from an illegitimate line, a family who had been banned from taking the throne, so Henry needed to make the people believe that he was their rightful King and to do that he had to start behaving like one. [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. After Wolf Hall, I wanted to find out about Henry VII, the lesser-studied father of Henry VIII, who founded the Tudor Dynasty. He cemented his claim by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV. Henry VIII had become heir to the throne when his elder brother, Arthur, died in 1502. For many he remained a usurper, a false king. On the other side of the coin, instead of the cross, was a Tudor rose and the arms of England. 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. 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. 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. [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. Penn then moved on to how Henry became King. Doubtless the plotters were encouraged by the deaths of Henrys sons in 1500 and 1502 and of his wife in 1503. 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. [34], When the King's agents searched the property of William Stanley (Chamberlain of the Household, with direct access to Henry VII) they found a bag of coins amounting to around 10,000 and a collar of livery with Yorkist garnishings. Detailed Information. To say the least, Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England is quite an interesting read. Claiming the throne by just title of inheritance and by the judgment of God in battle, he was crowned on October 30 and secured parliamentary recognition of his title early in November. Gaunt's nephew Richard II legitimised Gaunt's children by Swynford by Letters Patent in 1397. But Henry had a crucial asset: his queen and their children, the living embodiment of his hoped-for dynasty. The Treaty of Redon was signed in February 1489 between Henry and representatives of Brittany. Its restoration by the Magnus Intercursus was very much to England's benefit in removing taxation for English merchants and significantly increasing England's wealth. As we know, Henry VII was true to his word, married Elizabeth and they founded the Tudor dynasty between them. Early life 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). 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. They overrode all the usual legal processed and acted with complete impunity. One of the councils prominent members was Edmund Dudley, a man who helped Henry by enforcing the Kings legal rights, finding old laws to use against people and stretching the law to its limits. 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. It was propaganda to spread the message that he was the rightful King. 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. There's a (relatively) brief explanation of Henry's rather tumultuous childhood and his rise to the throne, before Penn really gets into the nitty gritty details during the second half of Henry's reign, focusing on his intricate foreign policy, his increasing use of finance as a means of control over his subjects and, most entertaining to me, the various plots and conspiracies of Henry's enemies. To be notified of special offers, news, new courses, and new tutors, please subscribe to our newsletter. Henry VII is usually treated as a charmless and thrifty prelude to the big reign of Henry VIII, with the inevitable marriage of Henry and Catherine of Aragon, and the reversal of his father's bully policies for a golden age of chivalry and, you know, all the crazy shit Henry VIII was about to do. He explained how Henry VII had achieved what he set out to do, he had passed on the crown successfully. In other cases, he brought his over-powerful subjects to heel by decree. Together, they had seven children. I'm beginning to wonder if all of the kings beginning with the conquest weren't a little off their rocker in some way. Penn showed a genealogical roll that had belonged to the de la Pole family which showed Henry VI being the end of the Lancastrian line and the Yorkist line continuing on to Richard III. While most of us are familiar with Henry VIII and Elizabeth I and we probably have a sense of the Wars of the Roses in England, but how many of us are familiar with Henry VII. [63] Despite this, Henry was keen to constrain their power and influence, applying the same principles to the justices of the peace as he did to the nobility: a similar system of bonds and recognisances to that which applied to both the gentry and the nobles who tried to exert their elevated influence over these local officials. [22] Thus, anyone who had fought for Richard against him would be guilty of treason and Henry could legally confiscate the lands and property of Richard III, while restoring his own. [10] A contemporary writer and Henry's biographer, Bernard Andr, also made much of Henry's Welsh descent. For Henry VII, it was all about the money and stability. 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? They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Penn graphically describes a huge financial racket run by the king and his profiteering advisers. These bonds were enforced by the Council Learned in the Law, a council of legal advisers who were only answerable to the King. [citation needed], Henry also made some political capital out of his Welsh ancestry in attracting military support and safeguarding his army's passage through Wales on its way to the Battle of Bosworth. A King from upstart usurper to renaissance monarch to Machiavellian schemer. Story's register still exists and, according to the 19th-century historian W.R.W. Otherwise, at the time of his father's arranging of the marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the future Henry VIII was too young to contract the marriage according to Canon Law and would be ineligible until age fourteen. He was a ruler to be feared, a ruler to be paid. It was presented by historian Thomas Penn, author of Winter King and was an excellent examination of the King who, as Penn pointed out, tend to be eclipsed by Richard III, the glamour and notoriety of Henry VIII and the charisma of Elizabeth I. [32], Next, in 1487, Yorkists led by Lincoln rebelled in support of Lambert Simnel, a boy they claimed to be Edward of Warwick (who was actually a prisoner in the Tower). From his victory over Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, to his secret death and the succession of his son Henry VIII, the film reveals the ruthless tactics . [citation needed] Following the example of Edward IV, Henry VII created a Council of Wales and the Marches for his son Arthur, which was intended to govern Wales and the Marches, Cheshire and Cornwall. Penn is not one to understate a case. [18] He was welcomed by the French, who readily supplied him with troops and equipment for a second invasion. For him, it was never about glory and battle. [74] Margaret Tudor wrote letters to her father declaring her homesickness, but Henry could do nothing but mourn the loss of his family and honour the terms of the peace treaty he had agreed to with the King of Scotland. Yorkist malcontents had strength in the north of England and in Ireland and had a powerful ally in Richard IIIs sister Margaret, dowager duchess of Burgundy. It was no easy feat. The devastated King became so ill that he was close to death, but then he recovered and Penn explains that when he took control once more, he was remorseless. Henry VII: Winter King was aired last night on BBC2 and was the latest programme in BBC2s Tudor Court Season. Thomas Mores coronation poem for Henry VIII contrasted the new Kings reign with the dark days of the past. His regime was magnificent, yet terrifying and oppressive. Swynford was Gaunt's mistress for about 25 years. 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. 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. 1845. Henry responded to this threat by embedding spies into households. [39] Despite this, during his reign he became a fiscally prudent monarch who restored the fortunes of an effectively bankrupt exchequer. But he leaves us wondering how Henry got away with it. [15], By 1483, Henry's mother was actively promoting him as an alternative to Richard III, despite her being married to Lord Stanley, a Yorkist. In 1502 the death of his heir Arthur left the dynasty's prospects with Arthur's 10-year-old brother, Henry. [57], In 1506, Henry extorted the Treaty of Windsor from Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy. An easy read? During Henry's early years, his uncle Henry VI was fighting against Edward IV, a member of the Yorkist Plantagenet branch. His supportive policy toward England's wool industry and his standoff with the Low Countries had long-lasting benefit to the English economy. [20] He amassed an army of about 5,0006,000 soldiers. Henry VII can look a dull king, so dull that Thomas Penn's title omits his name. Years of instability, factionalism and his predecessors' penchant for war had seen royal finances severely battered. [citation needed], To secure his hold on the throne, Henry declared himself king by right of conquest retroactively from 21 August 1485, the day before Bosworth Field. Possession of something the French King wanted also made the Duke of Brittany safer in his own duchy. Why did the nobility accept the curtailment of the military power it had wielded in the wars of the roses and swallow the elevation of upstarts at Henry's court? Thank you for subscribing. 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 account of Henry's government is more contentious than he lets on. Present were exiles from Richards court, friends of Edward IVths queen, but King Richard was able to bribe the ageing Duke of Brittany to relinquish Henry in return for funds to fight an increasingly hostile French king, whereupon Henry Tudor flew to the French court for sanctuary. It is not known precisely where Cabot landed, but he was eventually rewarded with a pension from the king; it is presumed that Cabot perished at sea after a later unsuccessful expedition. The first rising, that of Lord Lovell, Richard IIIs chamberlain, in 1486 was ill-prepared and unimportant, but in 1487 came the much more serious revolt of Lambert Simnel. The house of York then appeared so firmly established that Henry seemed likely to remain in exile for the rest of his life. This was excellent. Fittingly he dressed in expensive black. Henry then consolidated his reign with magnificent architecture, an opulent household and money. He had finished his palace of Richmond, he was controlling his allies and keeping an eye on his enemies, and now was the time to finalise the marriage agreement between England and Spain. The Lancastrians triumphed under the leadership of a 28-year-old exile named Henry Tudor. Stanley placed Richards circlet on Henrys head, he was now King. So 4 stars. Having secured financial backing from Florentine bankers in London, Cabot was granted carefully phrased letters patent from Henry in March 1496, permitting him to embark on an exploratory voyage westerly. 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. The Lancastrian Henry and his Yorkist wife Elizabeth strove to reconcile the factions, but unreconciled Yorkists, to whom he was no more than a usurper, harassed his reign. Henry marries Catherine of Aragon. This meant that Henry had been the rightful King in the battle and that Richard had been the usurper, and those who supported him had been traitors. Author Thomas Penn takes an extraordinary journey into the dark and chilling world of the first Tudor King, Henry VII. A fresh look at the endlessly fascinating Tudorsthe dramatic and overlooked story of Henry VII and his founding of the Tudor Dynastyfilled with spies, plots, counterplots, and an uneasy royal succession to Henry VIII. 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. Much of the ruthless machinery of control was designed to deal with ongoing challenged like pretenders and Yorkist sleepers and expats. The rebellion began in Ireland, where the historically Yorkist nobility, headed by the powerful Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, proclaimed Simnel king and provided troops for his invasion of England. Henry the older was lean and shriveled, rigid with prudence, empty of any hunger other than a desire to secure his throne through the acquisition of cash. 'Meeting between Francis I and Henry VIII at the Field of Cloth of Gold on 7 June 1520,' a painting by Friedrich August Bouterwek. From his victory over Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, to his secret death and the succession of his son Henry VIII, the film reveals the ruthless tactics . The portly Henry VIII, and the ill-fated destinies of most of his six wives, is one of the first historical figures primary-aged pupils are aware of.. Thomas Penns Winter King in a brilliant mash-up of gothic horror and political biography. [64] This made Henry VII's second son, Henry, Duke of York, heir apparent to the throne. Hence, the king was plagued with conspiracies until nearly the end of his reign. Their powers and numbers steadily increased during the time of the Tudors, never more so than under Henry's reign. Wales was historically a Lancastrian stronghold, and Henry owed the support he gathered to his Welsh birth and ancestry, being agnatically descended from Rhys ap Gruffydd. There were some sections I had to skim because I didn't feel they were relevant to the storyline, but mostly I was hooked into this very complex King. Happy 14th Birthday to the Anne Boleyn Files! By 1900 the "New Monarchy" interpretation stressed the common factors that in each country led to the revival of monarchical power. The father's government was an exercise in discoloration. Henry VII: The Winter King. Henry VII was also shown, but his black line just traced back to Owen Tudor, a chamber servant. February 7 Sir Francis Bryan loses an eye and Henry VIII has a new love, An interview with historical novelist Sandra Byrd, Henry VIII and His Six Wives event open for registration. I found this really interesting, but Im a history nut. It was 1501. [citation needed], Henry's most successful diplomatic achievement as regards the economy was the Magnus Intercursus ("great agreement") of 1496. [citation needed] During his 23-year reign, Henry had only two Lord High Treasurers, and this continuity helped provide stability. The usual courts and justice system were totally circumvented, and there was no chance of appeal other than purchasing extremely high priced royal pardons. The wedding was a triumph but in April 1502 a messenger brought the King the news that his eldest son had died of sweating sickness. More wrote that this King is loved and compared Henrys accession to the coming of a new season, a new spring following a winter of repression. He had, Bacon added, much to be suspicious about, "his times" being "full of secret conspiracies and troubles". Henry was a remarkable man. 24th April 2023 - courses open for registrations. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort, was a descendant of the Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet. In that, he was quite successful, but he was neither loved nor admired. [25][80], Historians have always compared Henry VII with his continental contemporaries, especially Louis XI of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon. The baby died and Elizabeth, herself, died on 11th February 1503, her 37th birthday. From 1527 Henry pursued what became known as "the King's great matter": his divorce from Catherine. Thus, the two warring houses were joined in marriage. [14] In November 1476, Francis fell ill and his principal advisers were more amenable to negotiating with King Edward. [21], Henry devised a plan to seize the throne by engaging Richard quickly because Richard had reinforcements in Nottingham and Leicester. 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. Henry started a new policy to recover Guyenne and other lost Plantagenet claims in France. [citation needed], However, his principal weapon was the Court of Star Chamber. 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. Life at court was merry under Henry 8th, a fresh new beginning likened to springtime. Henry VII The Winter King is also the title of a book by Thomas Penn, and a useful read. Henry Tudor is a familiar name to students of English history, especially the military side of it. Before Henry VIII, English kings were addressed as "Your Grace" or "Your Highness.". [2] His father died three months before his birth. They were third cousins, as both were great-great-grandchildren of John of Gaunt. For example, they could replace suspect jurors in accordance with the 1495 act preventing the corruption of juries. [67], Henry made half-hearted plans to remarry and beget more heirs, but these never came to anything. On one side of the coin, instead of a profile of his face, there was a full length depiction of Henry sat on his throne with his crown and sceptre. Some of them have more to say than Penn about the constructive sides of the reign, which developed the state-building methods of his Yorkist predecessors. [citation needed] Henry also formed an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (14931519) and persuaded Pope Innocent VIII to issue a papal bull of excommunication against all pretenders to Henry's throne. Hidden under the floor in St George's Chapel in Windsor, England where thousands of people walk every day, a forgotten tomb lies. Loyalty was ensured, and the nobility was effectively neuteredand Henry became the richest monarch in Europe. [6] Henry IV's action was of doubtful legality, as the Beauforts were previously legitimised by an Act of Parliament, but it weakened Henry's claim. He attained the throne when his forces, supported by France, Scotland, and Wales, defeated Edward IV's brother Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses. Alternate titles: Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, Professor of Medieval History, University of Liverpool, 196780. 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. Indeed he was born in winter, on January 28th 1457, in Pembroke Castle, in Wales and that is one of the reasons why the Welsh dragon always formed part of his insignia.