Notes September 29

• Elizabeth had qualities that made her look like an exceptional politician, just as she was on the inside. This aided her in her quest to reform England. If people saw her as a ruler, then she could lead them without much more effort. 
• Elizabeth had troubles growing up, and she could have very well died. 
• It was rumored that Elizabeth and Thomas Seymour were having affairs when she was only fourteen and that she was pregnant with his child. This was an act of treason and she could have been killed as soon as the king gave the rule.
• Elizabeth, when she was ruler, went against all that women had been taught at the time. 
• She was taught the art of rhetoric by Roger Ascham and she looked men in the eye when she talked to them. While this seemed odd, it gave her massive power when she ruled. 
• But Elizabeth lacked the one thing she needed to make her Protestant reign successful: an heir. 
• She needed a husband, both for an heir, and because people had thought that if she did not, she would become sick. 
• Robert Dudley was a contestant to be Elizabeth's husband. 
• No one ever saw them exhibit relationship type actions, as Dudley was still married. 
• It was assumed that Dudley killed his wife when she was found at the bottom of a staircase. Elizabeth hid Dudley away until he was cleared or accused, and it was the latter. 
• Mary Stewart was the Queen of Scotland, but she was also called Mary I, not to be confused with Mary I of England. 
• Mary and Elizabeth were cousins
• Elizabeth was told to be illegitimate and not an heir to the throne, and the throne was to be passed on to Mary. 
• Mary lusted after a man, David Ritzyo who turned out to be quite a buffoon and a drunk. He could not help with her plans to rule in the slightest. 
• A group of people fled to Mary's room in a tower, and stabbed him. The murderers turned towards Mary's belly. She was not scared though, she knew that her baby would be born. 
• The baby was born, James VI of Scotland. 
• Bothwell, a well known land owner, rigged explosives under Dudley's sleeping chambers and Dudley was killed. 
• Death followed Mary everywhere, and Bothwell offered himself to be the man. He made his wish known, and he executed a plan, and she had no choice but to marry him. She lost everything because of this, her physical appearance, her health, and her nice life. 
• Her husband fled, claiming to be going for reinforcements, but he was never seen again. 
• Mary was disheveled and she was portrayed as a mermaid, a prostitute. 
• She forsook her throne and passed it to her son, James. 
• Mary was jailed for ten months, and then she charmed her jailer. She escaped prison and fled across the border. 
• Mary, when she arrived in England, scared Elizabeth. Elizabeth thought she was there to take the throne. 
• She was hazed by Elizabeth, and she would not even give her proper clothing. 
• Once Elizabeth discovered that Mary did not want the English throne, offered to help her regain the Scottish throne. Then she thought that she should not "rock the boat" and had her cousin incarcerated. 
• The North was Catholic and the South was Protestant, a religious war had begun.

Notes September 28

• Anne Boleyn was set to be executed, and when she was told this, the news did not faze her in the slightest. 
• Along with her execution, all of the men she had affairs with were also executed. 
• Jane Seymour, one of Henry's VIII wives, gave birth to Edward, but she perished during childbirth.  
• The Bible's reading was restricted to people who had a position in the Church. 
• The townspeople had grown used to the idea of receiving Bibles, and that God spoke in English. The Bibles were printed in Latin again, and civilians could not read it. 
• Parliament put forth laws that put to death any priest that got married. 
• Henry VIII made himself out to be an omnipotent being in head of the Church. 
• Henry's children had different views than each other and Henry.
• The future of the city would be in the hands of whoever became the true heir, and depending on which child was the next ruler, would transform into an unrecognizable place. 
• Edward was the heir apparent; Mary, the devout Catholic daughter was next in line; and Elizabeth, a Protestant, would become ruler if Mary died and Edward did not have any children.
• Edward became the heir after Henry VIII died. 
• Religious ceremonies were done away with, along with their relics, and they were not allowed to hold pilgrimages.    
• The changes inside of Churches were made to further connect the priest and his people. 
• Mary waited for Edward to die, and she could make England into what she wanted. 
• Mary wanted to return England to its Catholic roots. 
• Mary was wed to Philip II of Spain. 
• Under Mary's rule, people felt the need to read Bibles, and if they could not, they had to hire people so they could be educated about the important aspects of life. 
• Churches are repainted, Bibles are printed in Latin, and threatened under the penalty of death that people return to their original Catholic ways. 
• Mary died childless after all she had done to reform England. 
• Elizabeth claimed to be the healer of the nation, and she would be a median between the changes made by her siblings. 
• Others saw her as the restoration of a truly English throne. 
• Elizabeth was the great patron of Shakespeare

Notes September 24

• The Rose of Tudor, the Unity Rose, was the combination of the House of York and the House of Lancaster. This was accomplished when King Henry VIII married a woman from the York family. 
• The Battle of Bosworth field was the turning point of England from Medieval to Renaissance. 
• Henry VIII wanted to get divorced but the Vatican refused. King Henry then  to broke off from the Church of England.

• Anne Boleyn returned from a trip, back to England in 1522. 
• She became a member of the Tudor court in her early twenties. 
• Thomas Wyatt was an unhappily married man, but he wanted to marry Anne. He could not divorce his wife, but he offered Anne to be his mistress. She refused. 
• Henry VIII's wife, Catherine of Aragon produced not a single boy heir. 
• Henry VIII saw Anne and the prospect of male heirs. 
• He could not divorce his father, as the Vatican refused to do the deed. 
• Anne gave Henry "On the Obedience of a Christian Man and how Christian Rulers Ought to Govern". Anne helped Henry to realize his own supremacy. 
• Henry had palaces made in his honor, no less than fifty throughout his reign. 
• Henry VIII became a Caesar. 
• Henry broke away from the Vatican. 
• Anne was crowned at Westminster Abbey.   
• Even though England had broken away from the Vatican, many aspects of religion remained the same. 
• In 1532, a law was made that the church had to adhere to Henry VIII's wishes. 
• Thomas Cranmer and Thomas Cromwell worked in unison with the king, and without them, the reformation would never have happened. 
• The three men knew that the Pope, if their rebellions would continue, would use excommunication as a weapon. 
• It became a crime to say anything rude about the rulers, and the people lived in fear. 

Catherine of Aragon

Katherine of Aragon

Katherine was the first wife of Henry VIII(http://englishhistory.net/tudor/h8crown.html). She was wed to him, and seemed very happily in love(http://www.theromantic.com/LoveLetters/catherine.htm). She greatly respected her husband, which showed in her letters to him. She signed them "Your humble wife and true servant, Katherine" (http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter2.html). She took care of a lot of his work for him while he was away, and she sent him letters regarding the current ongoings(http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter2.html). It seemed that she was a very responsible and caring person, but Henry later wanted to divorce her.

Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533-1536.  She was partially responsible for the split between the Church and the monarchy of England.  She encouraged Henry VIII to divorce his wife, Katharine and they married.  She had a daughter, Princess Elizabeth, but could not bear a son.  She bought many lavish things when she was queen, but was not respected by some of her subjects.  She was called "The King's Whore" and other rude names.  She was executed in 1536 for adultery, incest, and treason.

http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter6.html
http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter8.html
http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter10.html
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anneboleyn2.jpg

Thomas Wolsey

Thomas Wolsey was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. King Henry often consulted and debated with Thomas Wolsey and the Bishop of Winchester. Wolsey urged Henry to announce war on France on the behalf of Pope Julius II. From 1515 to 1529, Wolsey became the chief minister of the king. But he soon fell from high regard in the eyes of King Henry. He paled in comparison to Thomas Cromwell, the previous minister. Anne Boleyn disliked Thomas Wolsey. Later he was indicted on forty four charges and was stripped of all of his offices and powers. Henry had kept him from from prison until November 4th. On November 24th, Wolsey died after all he had done to aid the kingdom. (http://englishhistory.net/tudor/priwols1.html), (http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter8.html).

Part III: The Battle of Bosworth Field

Richard III


Here I lay, torn from my horse

With a lance through my heart

I, Richard Three, recall with great force

The tale of my life, at least a small part.

The year be 1483, and my brother had died [1]

His son and his wife, both left, only cried

And I received the boy, Edward V, he was mine1

And if I play my cards right, the throne shall be mine

Now, I had done it, before mere Duke of Gloucester, now King of England1

I was in exactly the position I had wanted, every person in the city would wish to shake my hand

But, no, what be this, a man called Henry has come[2]

Tudor is the end, I can see it, he will ruin my plan, ho hum.

Filthy Yorkists such as he

Tend to hate folks such as me

But I had prepared for spies to tell me what it was he was up to

And tell me they did of an invasion1, this was not new.

I fled to a place known as Nottingham, so I could have the advantage

Lord Stanley acted strangely, a traitor!2

Tudor arrived to meet me at last, no one had made a try to stop him

Recruits were shy on both our ends, prospects of victory looked quite dim

22 August, ’85 my army and his were not even, I outnumbered the likes of Henry1

The battle began, and I knew I could do this, once I won I would feel so free

I had a secret, I had Stanley’s son captive2

So that the Stanley’s would not attack, I would keep him alive

Throughout the course of the battle, starting with archers and cannons, but I had my own surprise[3]

I rushed downhill towards Henry Tudor, I saw the fear in his eyes rise.

But in the blink of an eye, things turned for the worst, and I was surrounded, my final breath taken.

The last words I heard were shouts of the word “Treason”3, as I died, my kingdom was shaken.

---

[1] "The Battle of Bosworth." The Wars of the Roses. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://www.wars-of-the-roses.com/content/battles/bosworth_field.htm>.

[2] "Richard III Society- Ballad of Bosworth, Text." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bosworth/ballad2.html>.

[3] May, By. "Richard III - Bosworth." Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://www.richard111.com/bosworth1.htm>.
_________________________________________________________________________
Henry Tudor

Henry VII, he is I, or if you prefer

The Great Henry Tudor

Here is how I came to take

The England throne from control of a fake.

My claim to the throne was ambitious, yes

But that does not matter, I needed to fix this mess

Richard III had not been honest or nice

He killed because he had been enticed.

I am of Welsh origin, I will admit[1]

But I was destined for greatness, even a bit

My mother helped in no small part, she claimed I was better than Richard Three1

And I saw what she saw, and I knew it to be.

Christmas Day, at Rennes Cathedral, I had vowed to take the hand in wed[2]

Of Edward IV’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York, the heir because the princes were dead

I now have comrades from everywhere, in France they give me troops and supplies1

The number 5,000, my army is that, and we ride into battle to the great battle cries

Bosworth Field, that was the place

That I charged at Richard[3], a deathly race

And then it was over, before it had begun,

The victory, the crown, I had won!

One year later, I kept my promise, to marry Elizabeth of York[4]

To unite the house of mine and hers, it will be great if unity works

The Tudor Rose! Lancaster and York, at last together finally as one

I claim this House shall never perish, the reign will never be undone

But now, I have to take leave of the crown,

I know my heir, my son, will not let me down4

---

[1] 1483, By. "Henry VII of England." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VII_of_England>.

[2] "About Henry VII TUDOR (King of England)." Tudor Place. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/aboutHenryVII.htm>.

[3] "Battle of Bosworth Field." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bosworth_Field>.

[4] "Henry VII." The Wars of the Roses. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://www.wars-of-the-roses.com/content/importantpeople/henry_vii.htm>.