English Renaissance History

Steve WoodTCCC

1453This year is often listed as the beginning of the Renaissance because it was the date of the fall of Constantinople; the fall of the eastern Roman empire (the Byzantine empire) was one of the triggers that touched off the Renaissance in Europe, due to infusion of scholars fleeing from the city with their texts.

1453However, England was too unstable for the Renaissance to take hold.In 1453, the English were smarting from the end of the Hundred Years War; all of their continental holdings had been lost save the port of Calais.

1455The War of the Roses began. Henry VI, who had been king since 1422, was perceived as a weak ruler because he had lost the war. Nobles from the house of York decided to overthrow him.Henry’s family, the Lancasters, had a red rose for their emblem; the emblem of the Yorks was a white rose, thus the War of the Roses.

1461Edward of the house of York takes over and becomes Edward IV.

1470Henry VI regained the throne.

1471Edward IV took back the throne, this time imprisoning Henry in the Tower of London.

1483Edward IV died, leaving two young sons. Edward’s brother, Richard of York, imprisoned the boys in the Tower of London (for safekeeping). They were never seen again.Richard then became king, Richard III.

1485The War of the Roses finally came to an end at the Battle of Bosworth Field when the forces of Henry Tudor (heir to the Lancasters) beat the forces of Richard III. Richard was killed, and Henry became king, Henry VII.

The Rise of the TudorsHenry VII was a very sharp ruler. To solidify his power, he married the daughter of Edward IV; he married his daughter off to the king of Scotland, James IV; and he married his son Arthur (a great political name) to Catherine of Aragorn.However, Arthur died at the age of 16 (1502), so Henry arranged for Catherine to marry his second son Henry.

1509Upon his father’s death, Henry VIII was crowned. He married Catherine of Aragorn, the widow of his older brother.

1517Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. This touched off the Protestant Reformation, which became inextricably tied with English political history over the next 50 years.

1527By this time, Henry VIII and Catherine only have one living child, Mary. Five other children have died.

Catherine of Aragorn

1527Because of her inability to produce an heir (not to mention his inability to do so and also his desire to be with his mistress Ann Boleyn), Henry VIII asked that his marriage be annulled. The grounds were cosanguinity; he and Catherine should never have been allowed to get married in the first place because she had been married to his brother. The pope refused.

1529Henry VIII removed the Archbishop of York, the head of the Catholic Church in England, because of his inability to obtain an annulment of the marriage.Henry then appointed a friend of his mistress Ann Boleyn as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer. Henry then married Ann Boleyn.

1532Ann Boleyn became pregnant. To avoid the potential prince being born a bastard, Henry ordered Cranmer to annul his marriage.Cranmer did so, and Henry then married Ann Boleyn.

1533Instead of a son, Elizabeth was born to Henry and Ann. She was, in a sense, the biological product of the English Reformation (and the wandering gleam of her father’s eye).

1534After the pope declared his first marriage to have been valid, Henry was, by default, excommunicated.In response, Henry officially declared himself head of the church in England

1535The Bible was translated into English for the first time. Several different versions appear over the next few decades.Shakespeare’s parents were born about this time.

Henry VIII and His WivesWife Dates Children Rseult

Catherine of Aragorn

1509-1532 Mary Divorced

Ann Boleyn 1532-1536 Elizabeth Beheaded

Jane Seymour 1536-1537 Edward Died

Ann of Cleves 1540 None Divorced

Catherine Howard

1540-1542 None Beheaded

Catherine Parr 1543-1547 None Survived

1536-1537Ten days after Ann Boleyn was executed for adultery in May 1536, Henry VIII married Jane Seymour.In 1537, Henry’s only son, Edward, was born. Unfortunately, Jane Seymour died in childbirth.

1547Henry VIII died.His only son became king, Edward VI. Edward VI was only ten at the time and obviously depended heavily on his advisors.These advisors tried to get Edward married to Mary, Queen of Scots, but were unsuccessful.

1553Edward VI died of an illness.A cousin, Lady Jane Grey, was named queen (supposedly by Edward on his deathbed).After ten days, she was imprisoned (and was eventually executed by her successor, Mary I).

1553The oldest daughter of Henry VIII became queen, Mary I.She was bitter of the treatment of her mother and her by Henry, and she was also devoted to suppressing the Protestant faith that had threatened to destroy Catholicism in England.

Bloody MaryMary I earned her nickname by her ruthless attempt to stamp out Protestantism. Many Protestants were burned at the stake.One of the most popular books of Shakespeare’s day was Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, which contained many accounts of slain Protestants.

Mary’s FailuresMary tried very hard to stamp out Protestantism, but did not succeed.She also tried very hard to have a son, a Catholic heir to the throne, thus avoiding passing the throne to her half-sister Elizabeth. But Mary’s marriage to Philip of Spain in 1556 did not produce an heir, although it did produce two phantom pregnancies.

1558Mary I died on Nov. 17, childless, alone, abandoned by her husband, despised by her people.Elizabeth then became queen.Early on, Elizabeth had to struggle against Mary, Queen of Scots, who also claimed the throne. Mary’s claim was supported by Philip of Spain as well.

Peace At LastIn 1587, Elizabeth executed Mary, Queen of Scots, and in 1588, the English fleet defeated the Spanish Armada.For the first time since the reign of Henry VI, England enters into a period of stability that allows the Renaissance to take root.Elizabeth would reign until 1603; her reign would seen the defeat of the Spanish, the establishment of the Anglican Church, and the establishment of a permanent, professional, secular theater business in London.

1603Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth, the king of Scotland, James, ascends to the throne, becoming James I.

James IJames I, the first Stuart king, was known for his continued support of the theater business, as well as his authorization of a translation of the Bible, which is still regarded by many as the definitive translation.

1625James I died.His son Charles becomes king, Charles I.

1629-1640Charles I, after a series of conflicts, dismissed Parliament. For the next 11 years, he rules England without a parliament.Finally, in dire need of money, he called the Long Parliament in 1640.

1649Charles I was deposed, tried, and executed.For the next 11 years, England would be ruled by Oliver Cromwell and his followers until the Restoration of 1660.