So the Tudors were in town. Laurent had been in the first week with a group of his college students and by the look of his photos, there seemed to be a lot of admirers of that period. A couple weeks went by. Marielle and I checked the Luxembourg Museum a few times and - no crowds. We would go…..
A week before our visit, there was a program on Television all about the Tudors. You like or you don’t like the presenter. He’s a bit precious but invariably the programs are well put together with interesting historians commenting on the contents. During one exhibition at the Louvre, there was a book available from the National Gallery on the Tudors which I bought in preparation for the exhibition- and did not open it once until after the event. The T.V. program though literally threw me back into my school days and the English history we had been taught. There were quite a lot of bits and pieces that I seemed to remember. Now a week has gone by and we shall see what we shall see……
A lot can happen in 118 years. Below is a list of events that were important both at the time of the Tudors and for what they meant for the future.
It is quite obvious that the timeline was found on Internet. To be quite honest, « The Tudors for the Nulls » which I found easier to cope with that other sites. Even so, I have cut a lot out. (See at the end of this chapter...)
What perhaps is essential, the Tudors reigned over England throughout the 16th century leaving an indelible mark on the Kingdom. The founder was
Henry Vll who put an end to civil war which had been going on for 30 years.
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| Henry Vlll |
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| This cape was ordered by Henry V11 for the ceremony at Westminster |
His son,
Henry Vlll - 1491-1547. Reign: 1509-1547 (and I’m sure everyone remembers him) broke away from the Catholic church to marry Anne Boleyn. He was ruthless, a tyrant and yet would show his ambitions abroad even if at home was exceedingly object. I do like Thomas More’s remark
« This is like having fun with tamed lions…Often he roars in rage for no reason, and suddenly the fun becomes fatal. »
Doesn’t that say it all? However, as Marielle pointed out to me, his move away from the Catholic Church was not only to marry Anne Boleyn but also a political move to give him even more power.....
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| Henry Vlll |
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| Francois 1 - but don't their clothes seem alike? |
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| Marie of England, Henry Vlll sister |
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| Henry Vll ("I am, Iam" goesthe song.... |
Then there was
Edward Vl: 1537-1553. Reign: 1547-1553
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| Henry Vlll |
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| Catherine of Aragon 1520 |
As you can see, Edward was only 9 when he became King. It was his Uncle the Duke of Somerset, then Duke of Northumberland who guided him. He sought to establish Protestantism in England during his reign. He named his Protestant cousin Jane Grey as his heir to avoid his half sister, the devout Catholic Mary to be in line for the throne. This of course removed her and his other half sister, Elizabeth l from the line of succession. He was only 15 when he died…..
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| Edward and the Pope |
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| Edward Vl |
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| Anne Boleyn |
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| Edward V1 |
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| Very curious - you look through a hole |
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| and you see this. Well, he was a child was he not? |
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| Henry Vl |
Mary l : 15l6-1559 : Reign: 1553-1558.
Well, she didn’t last too long either and was probably a pawn in the diplomatic game since her marriage was intended to seal an alliance with Spain. She went into recluse for a number of years but when Edward Vl died she was proclaimed queen on the 19th July, 1553. She was the first queen of England at the age of 37. Then of course, she went onto restore Catholicism. It wasn’t this though that caused her downfall but rather her marriage to Philippe of Spain which led to considerable hostility. After all, he could interfere in the affairs of England
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| Marie l |
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| Philippe ll of Spain |
The Plot thickens…..
The daughter of
Henry Vlll, Elizabeth l comes to the throne at the age of 25 following the death of her half sister Mary l in 1558. As we all know, she was called the Virgin Queen, and no-one has ever been able to prove otherwise. She helped to restore the Church of England thanks to a trusted advisor, William Cecil (who I might add, I didn’t remember at all). During her very long reign, the kingdom because a great maritime power ( I can clearly hear myself screeching out Britannia rules the waves….Britain will never, never be slaves…. a very Patriotic song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHNfvJc99YYhttps:
However, this was Queen Victoria’s era - so let’s get back to Elizabeth) .
She was elegant, very intelligent. However, she died without ever naming a successor….it was her cousin James Vl of Scotland, the son of Mary Stuart who came to the throne becoming the first king of GREAT Britain as James l
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| Elizabeth l - Her coronation around 1600 |
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| Elsabeth 1588? |
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| Elisabeth 1575 ? |
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| Eric XlV of Sweden - 1561 : one of her admirers |
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| Around 1575 |
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| Around 1575 ? |
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| Her ring - 1575? |
No doubt at all that the lives of the Tudors have all the ingredients of an excellent plot. Shakespeare was one of the many writers who gave some spice to his plays thanks to the adventures of the Tudors.
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| Some decoration which I liked |
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| The Heritage of Shakespeare - Henry Vlll |
It was in the 19th century, but quite late, that the Tudors became the subject of epic melodramas. The mixture of desire, duty, justice, betrayal gave way to many a staged plays or book backdrops. Of course the wives and suitors of both Henry Vlll and Elizabeth l seemed always be betrayed as victims and I guess they were. I’m certainly not here to list of those beheaded or the works by Hugo, Dumas, Rossini …. I wont be reading them nor listening to the operas. However, because of the relationship with France this may well be why the French are also flocking to see the exhibition.
1485: Henry Tudor invades and defeats Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth and is crowned king Henry VII.
1486: Henry and Elizabeth marry; Prince Arthur is born.
1503: Elizabeth of York dies; Prince Henry and Catherine are betrothed; James IV and Margaret – Henry VII’s daughter – marry.
1509: Henry VII dies and Henry VIII ascends; Empson and Dudley are arrested; Henry and Catherine marry.
1511: Henry joins the Holy League against France.
1519: Charles V becomes holy Roman emperor. Illegitimate Henry Fitzroy is born.
1520: Henry meets Francis I of France at the Field of Cloth of Gold; Henry meets Emperor Charles V; Mary Boleyn becomes the king’s mistress.
1521: Henry orders the execution of the duke of Buckingham and writes a book on his Catholic beliefs.
1522: War with France; Henry ends his relationship with Mary Boleyn.
1527: Henry starts divorce proceedings against Catherine.
1529: Wolsey fails to find a solution to Henry’s divorce and Henry fires him.
1532: Henry sleeps with Anne Boleyn, who becomes pregnant.
1533: Henry marries Anne; Archbishop Cranmer declares Henry’s first marriage null; Act in Restraint of Appeal severs ties to Rome; Elizabeth is born.
1536: Catherine dies; Dissolution of the Monasteries; Act of Supremacy; Pilgrimage of Grace; ‘Silken Thomas’ revolts in Ireland; the English Bible is approved; Henry marries Jane Seymour.
1537: Prince Edward is born; Jane dies.
1540: Henry marries and divorces Anne of Cleves; Thomas Cromwell falls; Henry marries Catherine Howard.
1542: Treaty with the emperor; war with Scotland.
1543: Treaty of Greenwich betroths Prince Edward to Mary Queen of Scots; Henry marries Catherine Parr.
1547: Henry VIII dies; Edward VI – aged 9 – becomes king; duke of Somerset forms the protectorate; war with Scotland;
1549: Act of Uniformity; first Book of Common Prayer issued; rebellions in Devon and Norfolk; Somerset falls; war with France.
1553: Edward VI dies; Jane Grey reigns briefly; Mary succeeds and returns to the old ways in religion.
1554: Sir Thomas Wyatt rebels; Mary marries Philip II of Spain; England and Rome are reunited.
1555: Mary starts burning Protestants; Mary’s pregnancy is false.
1557: War with France.
1558: England loses Calais; Mary and Cardinal Reginald Pole die; Elizabeth becomes queen with William Cecil as secretary of state.
1559: Protestant religious settlement by the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity; Protestants revolt in Scotland.
1560: English intervene in Scotland, resulting in the Treaty of Edinburgh; Elizabeth flirts with Lord Robert Dudley, whose wife, Amy Robsart, dies in suspicious circumstances.
* 1567: Mary Queen of Scots is imprisoned and her husband, Lord Darnley, murdered.
1568: Mary Queen of Scots arrives in England as a fugitive; John Hawkins fights at San Juan d’Ulloa; England seizes Alba’s pay ships.
1570: Papal bull excommunicates Elizabeth.
1587: Drake raids Cadiz.
1588: Spanish Armada is defeated; Robert Dudley dies.
1591: English campaigns in support of Henry IV of France in Normandy and Brittany.
1593: Henry IV becomes a Catholic.
1598: William Cecil, Lord Burghley, dies; Peace of Vervins between France and Spain.
1603: Elizabeth dies; Robert Cecil secures the peaceful accession of James VI of Scotland.
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