English monarchs

seventeenth century to shield sailors from potential charges. English courts clearly identified the legal demarcation between privateers and pirates as early as the fourteenth century. The sovereign issued commissions to privateer captains authorizing them to attack the vessels of specified enemy nations. Since piracy included an element of robbery, no property legally changed hands as a result of such undertakings. Therefore, English law required that privateer captains present their wartime…

detail focusing on how polluted it was and that the “cramped houses composed of sticks, mud, and straw roofs made it easy for rats to invade and built nests.” (“The Black Death,” par. 17). Prior to the spread in Europe there was a system which honored monarchs and degraded the lower class. This was the feudal system which separated the social classes into ranked titles. For example, there is a king who rules the entire kingdom, while other titles are simply at his disposal, including dukes,…

When Robert Bolt titled A Man for All Seasons he did not draw from the story’s main men as inspiration. The play follows English nobility during a tumultuous time in British history. King Henry VIII wishes to divorce his wife, the Spanish princess Catherine, his brother’s widow, as the pair find themselves unable to produce a male heir. When Sir Thomas More rises to the title of Lord Chancellor of England, the King approaches him, hoping to convince More to support the divorce. More did not…

As monarchy is a hereditary system with primogeniture, it was extremely important that the ruling monarch to produce or declare an heir prior to their death. In the past, realms without a clear heir to assume the thorn saw great conflict which leading to civil war. The cornerstone of any monarchy is in producing children to continue the family line and…

Image is everything. This phrase has become somewhat of a cliché in the world we live in now. However, back in 16th and 17th century England it was the reality. Visual displays of power and authority were vitally important to the functioning of English government. England operated under a rule of personal monarchy, and thus the King was reflected in his peoples. The way the upper echelons of society wielded their powers said much about the nature of society as a whole. There are clear…

literature works were survived to be appreciated and evaluated. It is undoubted that Shakespeare was one of the most important people in England; because he elevated the social developments in England during the monarchs of Queen Elizabeth I and James I by flourishing early modern English languages, popularizing plays and theaters, as well as producing incomparable literature works. Early Modern Language As an outstanding linguist, Shakespeare improved the way people communicated by boosting…

John Milton, considered among the most distinguished authors of the English language, published the Areopagitica in 1644 as an appeal against the English Parliament’s Licensing Order of June 16th, 1643. The Areopagitica, although not considered Milton’s best work, is believed to be one of the most influential and timeless defenses to the basis of free speech and expression with applications to controversies throughout modern history. John Milton lived during a time of religious and political…

Beginning in 1642, The English Civil War, as known as the Great Rebellion, was made up of three different outbreaks. The Great Rebellion consisted of King Charles I going to battle with Parliament. Battle began as the outcome of a fray over the power of the rights of Parliament and rule of the Crown (“English Civil Wars” 1). Throughout the early stages of war, the people of Parliament were set on seeing Charles I as king, but widened powers for Parliament. Setting the tone, the Royalists…

Julia Thompson English IV Mrs. Rachael Obsenica 7 May 2018 Mac Bethad mac Findláich: Man Vs. Legend In Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, Macbeth himself is portrayed as an insane, power-hungry murderer with a vindictive, manipulative wife. Was the historical Macbeth really like that; a bloody murderer or a popular king? The histories tell a story of their own, does it agree with Shakespearean tragedy? The tragic play, Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare in 1606, is based on an account in…

Scotland in 1297. The battle was fought between an English army commanded by John de Warenne and a rebel Scottish army jointly commanded by Andrew Moray and William Wallace, near the beginning of the First War of Scottish Independence. The English army greatly outnumbered the Scottish and possessed superior equipment. However, the Scottish carried the day, due to superior use of terrain and tactics. Wallace and Moray devised a plan to lure the English army over a narrow bridge, which served…