Henry IV of England

Lancaster for the throne of England. Both families were families of the House of Plantagenet, which was a royal house that originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The emblem of membership worn by the York’s war a white rose and a red rose for the Lancastrians in turn the war was named the war of the roses. In 1422 Henry VI became Kind of England and thank to his father’s (Henry V) war success he was also King of France. Though he was the son of Henry V, a good king, Henry VI was a weak…

Although, as Richard the Third, both Laurence Olivier and Benedict Cumberbatch speak straight to the camera in a fashion that makes the viewer feel as if they are complicit in their plots and schemes, and although both costumes show physical indications of Richard’s deformity, the two portrayals tell a considerably different story about Richard’s wicked origins. Laurence Olivier’s Richard is an infamous legend; the film does its best to tell a story about one of many in search of the English…

What was the most significant threat to Henry VII's reign? Some people argue that the De la Poles were the most significant threat to the throne and whilst they surely had the most potential I disagree with that claim. The brothers had three times the chance to make a claim to the throne, as all of them had an equal claim to it through their maternal heritage. Albeit they did not use it to their advantage or were unable to use it. John wasted his claim by supporting another, which would have…

Before Henry VII of England came into power, England was coming out of a fragmented feudal society and was in need of a strong ruler and government system. Rule was shifting from an oligarchy of nobles to a monarchy hungry for power and successors. The church was steadily losing its power as everything became increasingly more secular. As the church lost power rulers such as Henry were gaining. There was a need to sustain and increase this power. Niccoló Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513…

noncompliance, though a testament to her genuine devotion, leads to her unwarranted exile: “Here I [Lear] disclaim all my paternal care” (King Lear I.i.114). This rejection of King Lear’s daughter reflects an analogous disregard of Elizabeth I, one of Henry VIII’s finest children: “Her birth was a disappointment to her father” (“Women in Power” 749), and “Statutes declaring . . . Elizabeth illegitimate were already in place” (725). Similar to Cordelia—who is portrayed by Shakespeare as Lear’s…

hated, yet since loving King Duncan dies so quickly in the book Shakespeare does not think a king should be loved either. Among the many things he does a prime example of something Macbeth does that instantly grants him infamy among his people is in act IV scene 3 he "savagely slaughtered" the wife and children of Macduff. Additionally Macbeth can be seen as unintelligent when he kills the guards of King Duncan. He kills the guards out of impulse and right away Ross says "Alas, the day! What…

Growing up with anti-semitism, Shakespeare experienced the separation of the Jews firsthand. Few Jews lived in England, but still there remained anti-semitism. Statistics show that over 70,000 Jews remained in England (~1.6% of the population) and converted to Christianity. Reasons for the separation of Christians and Jews includes the belief that Jews were heretics, the notion that Jews were associated with the…

Robert Bolt 's biographical play “A Man for all Seasons”, later an Academy Award Winning Film in 1967. Bolt (interestingly, an avowed agnostic) was fascinated by the strength of character and conscience which sustained More through the crucible of Henry VIII 's relentless pressure to submit to his will. While countless of his lay and clerical contemporaries yielded to the command to obey or lose everything (including their lives), More was one of a small handful who persevered to maintain…

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 approve of the marriage from the start, as it went against the Bible and forced the Pope to issue a dispensation to allow the nuptials. Years pass and Henry creates a new…

symbol of God, and the people held their faith they had in there reigning regime so that, nothing could destroy their kingdom nor their faith. Louis and Elizabeth upheld the values of allegiance, bravery, and belief. In the 17th century in Europe, England, and France, there were different monarchies such as absolutism and constitutionalism. King Louis IVX is an absolute monarchy because he was the only child ascended to the throne. Meanwhile Elizabeth is considered a constitutional monarchy…