Henry VII of England

Mr. Donahue, Amongst the many remarkable figures in history, Joan of Arc is one of the most incredible. A simple maid, born in the farmlands of France during the Hundred Years war. Who was called, by God, to bring peace and unity her broken nation at a very young age. Joan then endured persecution and imprisonment from the enemy, always acting on God’s will and not her own. As Joan herself put it, “What I do, I do by commandment.” A very pious girl, Joan started hearing the voices of Saints and…

By the year 900, feudal regimes began to emerge in France, beginning a new era of local supremacy and disregard for the French throne. Indeed, at the commencement of the Capetian dynasty at the end of the 10th century, Hugh Capet’s immediate sphere of power was in the Ile de France. The rest of the France was under the direct authority of the counts of their individual territories. Around the beginning of the 12th century, an anonymous monk from Anjou, one of the many counties of medieval France…

Something is Rotten in England Something is always rotting in politics. Whether it was the middle ages or even now, there are always situations in politics that are too rotten or too taboo to talk about. The Elizabethan era, in particular, had plenty of betrayal, murder, and war. Shakespeare liked to place politics into his histories. Shakespeare’s play Henry IV Part 1 shows characters and events in a political view. During the first half of the play, Prince Hal is a joke throughout the…

In 1533 King Henry VIII divorced his first wife Catherine of Aragon after she unable to produce a male heir, their only son dying after only a few months. When his second wife Anne Boleyn was unable to produce a male heir the king had her beheaded. The question lies why did he simply divorce one and behead the other for the same fault. It is my belief that Henry was angry with Anne for not being able to bear a proper heir and his anger grew when she caught him in an affair, with Jane Seymour,…

The Tudor Dynasty ruled England for more than a century with many powerful leaders. Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, was the most successful and powerful of the Tudors, and also a strong female monarch. Elizabeth was born on September 7, 1533 to King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. As a child, Elizabeth lived apart from her parents at the Royal Palace of Hatfield, where she was exposed to education and politics at a young age. When she was only two years old, her mother was executed on erroneous…

In shakespeare’s play Henry V, King Henry delivers his Saint Crispin’s day speech before he leads England into battle against the overpowering French army. King Henry V overhears some of the men in his army talking about their disadvantage in the battle. He calls the entire army’s attention before delivering his most famous speech which demonstrates his ability to make all of his men feel valued and equal, despite the fact that they come from various social classes. In the following three…

time, but his histories always contain relevant reminders to play attendees: history has and always will repeat itself. From the battlefields of England and France, all the way to Ancient Rome, leaders of the state will take any action necessary to protect the state, other than place themselves in harm’s way, as without them, no state exists. King Henry IV fascinated Shakespeare; the author tells the man’s achievements over the course…

the Magna Carta was written, and it is to be considered one of the most influential documents of all time. Numerous copies of it were spread throughout England so all people of power given fresh knowledge of the law of the land. The original writer of the Magna Carta was Archbishop Stephen Langton, and the document was signed by King John of England. The document was written essentially to control the power of the monarchy, with greater reason to control King John. The King wanted to rule with…

kings should no longer choose the Pope a crack occurred between the church and state. The early 11th century was when the Cluny Reform Movement started. After Emperor Henry III death, This movement tied into Pope Nicholas II declaring that a “body of high church officials and advisers, known as the College of Cardinals,…

begins in England during the reign of Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII. Mary was responsible for ordering the execution of hundreds of Protestants as heretics. On the opinion of her advisors, Mary has her half-sister Elizabeth questioned and locked in the tower of London on suspicion of heresy and plotting with Sir Thomas Wyatt. Mary soon dies as a result of a cancerous tumor and Elizabeth is crowned queen of England. Under the opinion of her advisors, Elizabeth goes to war with Scotland. England…