Tudor period

Why would anyone knowingly marry a serial killer? In the most recent installment of Philippa Gregory’s Tudor Court series, The Taming of the Queen, the answer to that question becomes all too clear: because he is the KING! Kateryn Parr, the final Queen in the reign of Henry VIII, is the subject of this latest piece of historical fiction. Picking up shortly after the execution of Katherine Howard, King Henry’s fifth wife, this book introduces the world to the little known Queen Kateryn. With…

History Script Introduction: Mary, Queen of Scots (also known as Mary Stuart), lived between 1542 and 1587. She was the only child of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise, and through her grandmother Margaret Tudor, Mary had the strongest claim to the throne of England after the children of Henry VIII. This claim (and her Roman Catholicism) made Mary a threat to Elizabeth I of England (who was a protestant), as many English Catholics wanted Mary on the throne in the place of Elizabeth.…

Gertrude & Lady Macbeth: Reflections of Early Modern English Anxieties Regarding Female Rulership It is no secret that, historically, women were considered inferior to men. Since the beginning of time, most cultures have recognized male figures as rightful rulers and discounted women for such positions of power due to assumptions about their lack of capacity for rulership. Whether this was due to superstitions, the belief that women were weaker than men (both mentally and physically), or other…

Queen Elizabeth The Golden Age Queen Elizabeth I ,from the Tudor dynasty, successfully ruled England for forty-five years during the second half of the seventeenth century. Her reign is often referred to as a “golden age” of English history. Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 to 1603, and was the last Tudor monarch. She remains one of history's most famous and remarkable monarchs. Under Elizabeth's reign England began to rise to the position of a strong world power. The…

The attitudes towards values are revealed when comparatively investigating texts separated by centuries, reflective of the beliefs in one’s society. When a social belief system is challenged, individuals being to question the absence of values such as moderation and integrity in their contribution to the downfall of an individual regardless of contexts. A challenge towards the belief of providentialism in Shakespearean society is explored in King Richard III, portraying the impacts of an…

“I may not be a lion, but I am a lions cub, and I have a lion’s heart”. Queen Elizabeth proved these words by showing that although she was a woman, she could rule just like any man could. And although people disagreed with her way of thinking, she refused to compromise England's happiness for her own. But it was also being she could no longer acquire perfect happiness. Queen Elizabeth’s time of reign is often referred to as “The Golden Age”, or “The Elizabethan Age”. This is due to how much…

William Shakespeare (within the class system of Elizabethan England) did not seem intended for enormity. He was not born into a gracious or wealthy family. He did not continue his formal education at university, nor did he take guidance of a senior artist. He didn’t marry to a wealthy or prestigious family. Since he is not been casting for starring roles, his talent appears to have been self-effacing as an actor. As a playwrighter, his success depends in part upon royal sponsorship. In spite of…

family that ruled England for more than three centuries, from 1154 to 1485. During the 15th and 16th centuries, periods of violence and upheaval shook England. The death of Edward III caused the descendants of the two main houses of the Plantagenet families—York and Lancaster—to fight for their right to the throne, causing the War of the Roses to erupt (Miller, 2003). This time period, before the war began, England inherited the King Henry VI, whose reign was soft and pious. He had no idea how…

It can safely be said that my personal interest in Thomas More is not a passing fancy. I have read no less than 10 biographies of the man and the Tudor period in England in which he lived. My oldest son bears his name. There have been many martyrs of conscience in human history, including his contemporary John Fisher among others. What has made this man such a compelling, attractive figure to myself…

In Shakespeare’s well-known play, Hamlet, the ghost of Hamlet’s father divulges, “But that I am forbid/To tell the secrets of my prison house/I could a tale unfold whose lightest word/Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood” (Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, scene v). The people who would interpret this as a hyperbolic autobiography of “Shakespeare” are the same people who are convinced that “William Shakespeare” is a pseudonym. There are hundreds of different theories about who really…