why was henry vii called the winter king

He had enough of that getting himself to the throne. Luther gained support for his ideas and Europe became . Still, as Penn observes, the national sense of relief in 1509 was palpable. Warbeck was finally captured in 1497 and executed. He was supported in this effort by his chancellor, Archbishop John Morton, whose "Morton's Fork" was a catch-22 method of ensuring that nobles paid increased taxes: those nobles who spent little must have saved much, and thus could afford the increased taxes; in contrast, those nobles who spent much obviously had the means to pay the increased taxes. His supportive policy toward England's wool industry and his standoff with the Low Countries had long-lasting benefit to the English economy. Henry VII of England - Wikipedia Henry needed an heir to secure his reign and fortunately an heir came quickly. ||Wordpress installation and design by http://www.MadeGlobal.com, FREE Anne Boleyn Corrections? [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. [49] The confused, fractious nature of Breton politics undermined his efforts, which finally failed after three sizeable expeditions, at a cost of 24,000. Then in 1491 appeared a still more serious menace: Perkin Warbeck, coached by Margaret to impersonate Richard, the younger son of Edward IV. He made huge gobs of money binding his subjects to him with loyalty bonds. Henry started a new policy to recover Guyenne and other lost Plantagenet claims in France. He spent money lavishly, held big parties. [66], Henry wanted to maintain the Spanish alliance. 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. But he leaves us wondering how Henry got away with it. [39] Despite this, during his reign he became a fiscally prudent monarch who restored the fortunes of an effectively bankrupt exchequer. Fittingly he dressed in expensive black. 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. Thus, the two warring houses were joined in marriage. Shakespeare later turned to Henry's son and successor Henry VIII, whose rule brought marital sensation, renaissance spectacle and the reformation. When they married in 1396 they already had four children, including Henry's great-grandfather John Beaufort. Story's register still exists and, according to the 19th-century historian W.R.W. 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? She was a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (fourth son of Edward III), and his third wife Katherine Swynford. [2] His father died three months before his birth. Wolf Hall this is not. 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. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-VII-king-of-England, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Henry VII, English Monarchs - Biography of Henry VII, Henry VII - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Henry VII - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). [13] When the Yorkist Edward IV regained the throne in 1471, Henry fled with other Lancastrians to Brittany. With Elizabeth's death, the possibilities for such family indulgences greatly diminished. In 1497 Warbeck landed in Cornwall with a few thousand troops, but was soon captured and executed. This was excellent. 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. But Henry had a crucial asset: his queen and their children, the living embodiment of his hoped-for dynasty. [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. Henry VII was born on 28 January 1457 at Pembroke Castle, in the English-speaking portion of Pembrokeshire known as Little England beyond Wales. This approach raised puzzling questions about similarities and differences in the development of national states. He had gone from a refugee landing on an isolated beach in Wales to being a great king. [38], Unlike his predecessors, Henry VII came to the throne without personal experience in estate management or financial administration. 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. I don't read a lot of NF because I usually find it to be tedious, but The Winter King certainly wasn't that. [14] In November 1476, Francis fell ill and his principal advisers were more amenable to negotiating with King Edward. Read all Directors Giulia Clark Stuart Elliott Writers At the same time, Flemish merchants were ejected from England. Henry reigned for nearly 24 years and was peacefully succeeded by his son, Henry VIII. 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. Henry VIII | Biography, Wives, Religion, Death, & Facts Henry then consolidated his reign with magnificent architecture, an opulent household and money. $14.97 1 Used from $14.96 3 New from $14.97. There he claimed sanctuary until the envoys were forced to depart. [37], For most of Henry VII's reign Edward Story was Bishop of Chichester. [citation needed], Henry began taking precautions against rebellion while still in Leicester after Bosworth Field. 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. Rarely was a father's reign so widely disparaged and disowned on the accession of the son. [28], Henry had Parliament repeal Titulus Regius, the statute that declared Edward IV's marriage invalid and his children illegitimate, thus legitimising his wife. [20] He amassed an army of about 5,0006,000 soldiers. The marriage between Arthur, Prince of Wales, and Catherine of Aragon would be the culmination of everything that Henry VII had fought for at the Battle of Bosworth, so in 1501 there was a fortnight of marriage celebrations and London was in a carnival mood. [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. Inadvertently, he provoked a revolution. Henry himself was clearly a distant figure who governed through his ministers, but this means that it's quite hard to get much of a sense of his character from the few sources available. ||sitemap_index.xml His history plays depicted the dramatic conflicts of the wars of the roses, which Henry's accession after his victory at Bosworth in 1485 brought to an end. His claim to the throne was tenuous and permanently contested. Its inhabitant was once one of England's most exuberant kings, yet his resting place was only re-discovered in 1813. In 1837 Henry VIII's tomb was eventually marked in the chapel with a commemorative marble slab. This book was way too focused on what happened, but not so much on the why or why it was important. However, this treaty came at a price, as Henry mounted a minor invasion of Brittany in November 1492. He died shortly afterwards in Carmarthen Castle. However, with the help of the forces of his step-father, Lord Stanley, he defeated Richard and Richard was killed on the battlefield. Henry decided to keep Brittany out of French hands, signed an alliance with Spain to that end, and sent 6,000 troops to France. The research was thorough and it was presented well and kept me engaged. [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. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Stanley was accused of supporting Warbeck's cause, arrested and later executed. Until the death of his wife, the evidence is clear from these accounting books that Henry was a more doting father and husband than was widely known and there is evidence that his outwardly austere personality belied a devotion to his family. They did as much to endanger his throne as to secure it. His claim to the throne was precarious and he wanted to portray Richard III as a usurper. Henry VII ruled - as Machiavelli, just after his reign, was to advise usurpers to do - through fear rather than love. [47], Henry VII's policy was to maintain peace and to create economic prosperity. Thank you for subscribing. Penn's picture of a reign of terror carries disturbing echoes of the Roman historian Tacitus's account of the emperor Tiberius, another ruler whose abridgements of liberty followed an era of civil strife. The whole system was ingeniously designed to ensure the unchallenged supremacy of the king while stamping out any challenges to his authority from the nobles, merchants, and commons. [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. Henry had only been accepted as King because the Princes in the Tower, the sons of Edward IV, were dead, so when Yorkist exiles groomed Perkin Warbeck to pose as one of the princes and raised an army it was a huge threat. It was really very well researched and painstakingly written. The future Henry VIII, in contrast,. "[73] Further compounding Henry's distress, his older daughter Margaret had previously been betrothed to King James IV of Scotland and within months of her mother's death she had to be escorted to the border by her father: he would never see her again. Philip died shortly after the negotiations. I thought the book was well written, even though a bit dry is spots. However, as France was becoming more concerned with the Italian Wars, the French were happy to agree to the Treaty of Etaples. Henry, recognizing that Simnel had been a mere dupe, employed him in the royal kitchens. ), Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_VII_of_England&oldid=1141813382, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from September 2021, Articles incorporating a citation from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference, Articles incorporating text from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the ODNB, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from August 2021, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, Articles needing additional references from October 2020, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Katherine (2 February 1503 10 February 1503), This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 23:16. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort, was a descendant of the Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet. Elizabeth did get pregnant, but then went into premature labour. Why was Henry VII called the Winter King? Stanley placed Richards circlet on Henrys head, he was now King. Henry VII: The Winter King. 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. Accordingly, he arranged a papal dispensation from Pope Julius II for Prince Henry to marry his brother's widow Catherine, a relationship that would have otherwise precluded marriage in the Church. He had unified the kingdom, accrued immense wealth and created the most notorious dynasty in English history: the Tudors. Edward, Earl of Warwick, the ten-year-old son of Edward IV's brother George, Duke of Clarence, was the senior surviving male of the House of York. [30] Before departing for London, Henry sent Robert Willoughby to Sheriff Hutton in Yorkshire, to arrest Warwick and take him to the Tower of London. [citation needed], By 1509, justices of the peace were key enforcers of law and order for Henry VII. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [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. 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. In 1485 Henry landed at Milford Haven in Wales and advanced toward London. She was Edward's heir since the presumed death of her brothers, the Princes in the Tower, King Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. The father's government was an exercise in discoloration. Watch with Prime His father, Henry VII, was a cold, calculating man (he wasn't called "the Winter King" for nothing), a greedy monarch who during his last years on the throne had squeezed every last drop. MP3 CD. In response to this threat within his own household, the King instituted more rigid security for access to his person. 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. Why was Henry VII called the Winter King? [4] Owen is said to have secretly married the widow of Henry V, Catherine of Valois. Henry Tudors claim to the throne was, therefore, weak and of no importance until the deaths in 1471 of Henry VIs only son, Edward, of his own two remaining kinsmen of the Beaufort line, and of Henry VI himself, which suddenly made Henry Tudor the sole surviving male with any ancestral claim to the house of Lancaster. His first son and heir apparent, Arthur, Prince of Wales, died suddenly at Ludlow Castle, very likely from a viral respiratory illness known at the time as the "English sweating sickness". Herbert was captured fighting for the Yorkists and executed by Warwick. His host was Francis, the Duke of Brittany, who saw Henry Tudor as a pawn in the game between Edward VI and the King of France. Happy St Davids Day! [a] Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort, was a descendant of the Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet. This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers. The 17 year-old Prince Henry became King Henry VIII and started a different era. Interesting look at the founder of the Tudor dynesty. Thomas Penns Winter King in a brilliant mash-up of gothic horror and political biography. For many he remained a usurper, a false king. Henry VII (28 January 1457 21 April 1509) was King of England from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. 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. 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. In 1501, England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy, coups . [10] A contemporary writer and Henry's biographer, Bernard Andr, also made much of Henry's Welsh descent. [36] However, he spared Warwick's elder sister Margaret, who survived until 1541 when she was executed by Henry VIII. I really enjoyed it. 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. 4. People saw him as being like a traditional king and hoped that his reign would bring positive change. I'm not giving this a star rating because I suspect it's me at fault not the book. Henry responded to this threat by embedding spies into households. 8 Things You May Not Know About Henry VIII - HISTORY The father's government was an exercise in discoloration. Iain Hollingshead reviews Henry VII: Winter King, a BBC Two documentary which examines how the first Tudor monarch came to power and went on to have a 23-year reign. Though this was not achieved during his reign, the marriage eventually led to the union of the English and Scottish crowns under Margaret's great-grandson, James VI and I, following the death of Henry's granddaughter Elizabeth I. Life at court was merry under Henry 8th, a fresh new beginning likened to springtime. It's difficult to get a handle on Henry VII. [46] In 1506 he resumed the construction of King's College Chapel, Cambridge, started under Henry VI, guaranteeing finances which would continue even after his death. I had an idea Henry VII was a force for stability; in fact he was a terrifying kleptocrat, abusing the law with arbitrary fines and imprisonment, scheming to effectively steal entire estates and wring every penny out of subjects as well as impose political control through financial means. [45], Henry VII established the pound avoirdupois as a standard of weight; it later became part of the Imperial[46] and customary systems of units. [16] With money and supplies borrowed from his host, Francis II of Brittany, Henry tried to land in England, but his conspiracy unravelled resulting in the execution of his primary co-conspirator, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. His account of Henry's government is more contentious than he lets on. You can find out more on the conflicts between England and France, the Wars of the Roses and also the Tudors in our history courses. Shakespeare, drawn to the colour on either side of the reign, skipped it. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Henry was building a myth, the idea that he and his family were the true royal blood of England. [79], Amiable and high-spirited, Henry was friendly if dignified in manner, and it was clear that he was extremely intelligent. Penn ended the programme by visiting the tombs of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York in Henrys chapel at Westminster Abbey, a chapel that remains at the heart of political life. The rebellion was defeated and Lincoln killed at the Battle of Stoke. 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. Henry VII - History Learning Site 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. [57], In 1506, Henry extorted the Treaty of Windsor from Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy. Seriously, got nudged by my partner when I'd nodded off. Elizabeth married Henry after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which marked the end of the Wars of the Roses. Categories: Monarchy, NewsTags: birth of Tudor dynasty, Henry Tudor, Henry VII, Thomas Penn, Tudor dynasty, Winter King, Copyright 2023 The Anne Boleyn Files How like a winter hath my absence been From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year! 'Winter King,' a Portrait of Henry VII - The New York Times Here was a young man who enjoyed jousting, who enjoyed chatting with the other knights in the tiltyard and with people of low degree. [65] Henry VII was shattered by the loss of Elizabeth, and her death impacted him severely. His younger brother, Jasper Tudor, the Earl of Pembroke, undertook to protect Edmund's widow Margaret, who was 13 years old when she gave birth to Henry. He was the first Tudor king after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485. But now, sensitivity readers are pushing back . [50] Henry had pressured the French by laying siege to Boulogne in October 1492. In 1622 Francis Bacon published his History of the Reign of King Henry VII. It was propaganda to spread the message that he was the rightful King. 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.. Claire is going live on YouTube on 11 February! 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. Henry VII | Biography & Facts | Britannica Anne Boleyn | Biography, Children, Portrait, Death, & Facts - Britannica Shakespeare later turned to Henry's son and successor Henry VIII, whose rule brought marital sensation, renaissance spectacle and the reformation. During Henry's early years, his uncle Henry VI was fighting against Edward IV, a member of the Yorkist Plantagenet branch. of course, a large proportion of my opinion is probably due to the fact that i knew a lot about henry vii already, and Penn tried to create quite a thrilling/mysterious feel, which is all well and good if you don't already know how everything plays out. Thomas Mores coronation poem for Henry VIII contrasted the new Kings reign with the dark days of the past. Musings on History - Henry VII - Learn for Pleasure 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. [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. [23] After his coronation Henry issued an edict that any gentleman who swore fealty to him would, notwithstanding any previous attainder, be secure in his property and person. After obtaining the dispensation, Henry had second thoughts about the marriage of his son and Catherine. 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. Celebrating the release of The Colour of Bone A London Charnel House. He created the Tudor dynasty. Its goals, relentlessly pursued until Henry's death in 1509, were the establishment of a royal house, the elimination of opposition, and the steady accumulation of power and wealth. Henry VII ruled as Machiavelli, just after his reign, was to advise usurpers to do through fear rather than love. 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. [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. The house of York then appeared so firmly established that Henry seemed likely to remain in exile for the rest of his life. The Great Debasement (1544-1551) was a currency debasement policy introduced in 1544 England under the order of Henry VIII which saw the amount of precious metal in gold and silver coins reduced and in some cases replaced entirely with cheaper base metals such as copper. [21], Henry devised a plan to seize the throne by engaging Richard quickly because Richard had reinforcements in Nottingham and Leicester. Henry VII, also called (145785) Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, (born January 28, 1457, Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Walesdied April 21, 1509, Richmond, Surrey, England), king of England (14851509), who succeeded in ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York and founded the Tudor dynasty. The usual courts and justice system were totally circumvented, and there was no chance of appeal other than purchasing extremely high priced royal pardons. His early reign was plagued by pretenders to the throne, giving the new Tudor dynasty a rocky start and a fear of conspiracy which dogged Henry VII throughout his life. Why was Henry VII called the Winter King? - AnswersAll [citation needed], All Acts of Parliament were overseen by the justices of the peace. He spent his entire reign fixated on eliminating or disarming his enemies, and stabilizing England after the bloody, seemingly endless War of the Roses. The country was in a perpetual state of emergency and Henrys subjects were scared and resentful. After his victory at Bosworth Field, Henry married Edward IVs daughter Elizabeth of York. Through luck, guile, and ruthlessness, Henry VII, the first of the Tudor kings, emerged as rulerbut as a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England's throne, he remained a usurper and false king to many, and his hold on power was precarious. In that, he was quite successful, but he was neither loved nor admired. Even if the king outfaced his enemies in his lifetime, would they not forestall a Tudor succession? We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Through luck, guile and ruthlessness, Henry VII, the first of the Tudor kings, had clambered to the top of the heap--a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England's throne. An easy read? Henry VIII had become heir to the throne when his elder brother, Arthur, died in 1502. They were appointed for every shire and served for a year at a time. [citation needed] John Cabot, originally from Genoa and Venice, had heard that ships from Bristol had discovered uncharted new found territory far west of Ireland. Henry VII is known for successfully ending the War of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York and for founding the Tudor dynasty. [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. Backdating Henry's Reign. If Penn's interpretation can sometimes seem slanted, its exposition would be hard to over-praise. Henry VIII Books Exploring the Best Books on Englands Most Infamous King, 18 February 1516 The birth of Queen Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Doubtless the plotters were encouraged by the deaths of Henrys sons in 1500 and 1502 and of his wife in 1503. BBC Two - Henry VII: The Winter King, Backdating Henry's Reign 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.

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