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Династия Тюдоров (essay the house of Tudor)

SCHOOL 1276 WITH PROFOUND

THOROUGH OF THE ENGLISH LANGUGE

OF THE CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICT

OF MOSCOW


THE ESSAY

«THE HOUSE OF TUDOR»


SERGEY SANOVICH

10 B


2002

CONTENTS:

1.Contents………………………………………………………………….….….……….1

2.Introduction……………………………………………………………….….…………2

3.King Henry VII……………………………………………………………...….……2-3

4.King Henry VIII…………………………………………………………….….……3-4

5.King Edward VI……………………………………………………………..………4-5

6.Lady Jane Grey……………………………………………………………...………5-8

7.Queen Mary I……………………………………………………………...…..……8-11

8.Queen Elizabeth I………………………………………………………..….....…11-15

9.Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….……15

10.The list of literature………………………………………………….…..…………16


INTRODUCTION

I decided to write this essay, because, I am really interested in English history. The five sovereigns of the Tudor dynasty are among the most well-known figures in Royal history. Of Welsh origin, Henry VII succeeded in ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York to found the highly successful Tudor house. He was succeeded by Henry VIII, who is famous for his six wives. This dynasty ruled in Britain for 118 eventful years.

Henry VIII was followed to the throne by his children Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. (Another Tudor descendant, Jane Grey, was put on the throne after Edward VI's death but was overthrown after only nine days.) They increased the influence of the monarchy, established the Church of England, and made England a world power.

When Elizabeth I died in 1603, the Tudor dynasty ended. But the Stuarts, who succeeded the Tudors, were descended from Owen Tudor. Even the modern royal Windsor family can trace its ancestry back to the handsome Welsh squire who married Queen Catherine of Valois.

KING HENRY VII

The founding of dynasty

The founder of the royal Tudor dynasty was Henry VII's grandfather Owen Tudor, a well-born Welsh man who served as a squire of the body to England's King Henry V. The king died in 1422 and some years later his widow, Catherine of Valois, is said to have married the handsome Tudor, although it is possible they were never legally married.

Henry V was succeeded by his infant son, Henry VI. The new king (who became insane as an adult) was little more than a pawn in the so-called Wars of the Roses, a series of power struggles between the ruling House of Lancaster and the rival House of York. Owen Tudor was a staunch supporter of the king. In 1461 Tudor led an army into battle against Yorkists forces at Mortimer's Cross in Herefordshire. The Yorkist side won; Tudor was killed; Henry VI lost his throne and the Yorkist claimant, Edward IV, became king.

Henry Tudor

Owen's son Edmund had married Margaret Beaufort, who was descended from King Edward III's son John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster. Edmund died while Margaret was pregnant with their first child, Henry, who was born on January 28, 1457 at Pembroke Castle in Wales. At first Henry was kept hidden in Wales by his uncle, Jasper Tudor. In 1471 Henry VI died - he may have been murdered - in the Tower of London, and Henry Tudor became the Lancastrian claimant to the throne. Fearing for his nephew's safety, Jasper Tudor smuggled him to Brittany (in France).

In 1483 Edward IV died suddenly and his young sons, Edward V and Richard, "disappeared" in the Tower of London. Their uncle, who had imprisoned the boys, swiftly crowned himself Richard III. Not surprisingly, he was an unpopular king. In 1485 Henry Tudor returned to Wales, raised an army, invaded England, and defeated Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field. Richard died in the battle, and Henry Tudor became Henry VII, the first Tudor king.

In 1486 Henry married Richard's niece, Elizabeth of York, uniting the houses of Lancaster and York and ending the Wars of the Roses (although Henry did have to deal with Yorkist uprisings early in his reign).

An Elizabethan writer, Sir Francis Bacon, said that Henry VII was not an indulgent husband because "his aversion to the House of York was so predominant in him as it found place not only in his wars and councils but in his chamber and bed." Despite this supposed aversion, Henry and Elizabeth managed to have eight children. The first child, Arthur, died in his teens. Less than a year later Elizabeth died giving birth to her last child, who also died. Two other children had died young, so Henry VII was left with just three offspring: Margaret, who was already the queen of Scotland; Henry, the future king of England; and Mary, a future queen of France.

In 1509 Henry VII died of tuberculosis. He had brought law and order to England after years of chaos, and made the country important in the eyes of the world. He is not, however, the Tudor king best remembered today. That honour belongs to his infamous successor, the much-married Henry VIII.

KING HENRY VIII

Henry VIII was born on June 28, 1491. His father and mother, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, were loving parents, although they saw little of their children. Henry, their second son, was styled the Duke of York. He had his own servants and minstrels, and a fool named John Goose. He even had a whipping boy who was punished when Henry did something wrong.

Henry VII loved entertainers, and the court attracted acrobats, jesters, magicians and musicians. Prince Henry enjoyed music and grew up to be an accomplished musician (although he did not write "Greensleeves," as legend suggests). At the age of 10 he could play many instruments, including the fife, harp, viola and drums.

Henry's older brother Arthur married a Spanish princess, Catherine of Aragon, when he was fifteen. Prince Arthur danced at his wedding and seemed to be in good health, but within a few months he was dead. Some historians think Arthur had tuberculosis.

Young Henry was now heir to the throne. He was guarded at all times and allowed to see few people. Henry was a very tall, athletic, handsome teenager. He kept his exuberant personality under control on public occasions because he feared his father's temper. He received little training for his future role as king, and would rely heavily on his counsellors in the early years of his reign.

In 1509 Henry VII died of tuberculosis and his son became King Henry VIII. He was 17.

Although most people today think of Henry VIII as a fat tyrant, in his youth he was admired for his intelligence, good looks, good nature and athletic ability. One of his contemporaries wrote that he was "one of the best men that lived in his time, in manners more than a man, most amiable, courteous and benign in gesture unto all persons."

But of course, Henry is remembered today for just one thing - well, six things. Six wives, to be exact. He was married to Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Katherine Parr.

EDWARD VI

The King’s son

Edward VI was born on October 12, 1537. His parents were England's King Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife. For more than a quarter century Henry had desperately wanted a son, and Edward's birth caused great rejoicing. But Queen Jane soon fell ill with childbed fever, and on October 24 she died.

Until the age of six Edward was raised by his nurse, Mother Jack, and other servants. During that time Henry took two wives in quick succession, but both marriages ended badly; Anne of Cleves was discarded because the king found her ugly, and Katherine Howard was executed for adultery. In 1543 Henry married Katherine Parr, who became a loving stepmother to Edward and his older half sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. She was a highly learned woman who personally oversaw Prince Edward's education.

Edward's tutors taught him geography, government, history, French, German, Greek, and Latin. He was also given lessons in etiquette, fencing, horseback riding, music and other gentlemanly pursuits. Perhaps most important to Edward was his study of the Scriptures. He became a devout Protestant even though his father, who had severed England's connection to the Roman Catholic Church, remained conservative and mostly Catholic in his beliefs.

Although Edward was serious and studious, at times he displayed a savage temper. According to one account, he once tore a living falcon into four pieces.

The Boy King

Somerset's brother, Lord High Admiral Thomas Seymour, was jealous of Somerset and schemed to put himself in power. The admiral was arrested and charged with treason. Somerset hesitated to sign his brother's death warrant, so Edward gave the council permission to have his uncle beheaded. Somerset himself later fell from the king's favour and lost his role as Protector. The duke of Northumberland took control of the king and council, and eventually Somerset, like his brother, was arrested and charged with treason. Under pressure from Northumberland, fourteen-year-old Edward signed Somerset's death warrant. Somerset was executed in 1552.

By this time Edward had completed his education and was participating in council meetings. It was decided that the king would take charge of the country at age sixteen. This was bad news for his sister Mary an ardent Catholic who refused to cooperate with Edward's religious reforms. However, Edward got along well with his other sister, Elizabeth, a moderate Protestant.

Edward suffered bouts of measles and smallpox in April 1552, and from that time his health declined. By the next spring it was obvious that the king was dying of consumption (tuberculosis). His father's will had specified that Mary should become queen if Edward died without children, but Northumberland had different ideas. He persuaded Edward to name the Protestant Lady Jane Grey as his successor. Lady Jane was the granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary; she was also Northumberland's daughter-in-law, and through her Northumberland hoped to rule England.

On July 6, 1553 Edward whispered his last prayer and died. He was fifteen years old. He would be succeeded -- briefly -- by the unfortunate Lady Jane.

JANE GREY

The unhappy childhood

Lady Jane Grey was born in 1537, just two days before King Edward VI, and may have been his friend in childhood. Her father was Henry Grey, the marquis of Dorset (later the duke of Suffolk). Her mother was Frances Brandon, a niece of Henry VIII. At that time, Frances Brandon was third in the line of succession to the throne. Jane had two younger sisters, Katherine and Mary.

Jane's parents were, in her words, "sharp and severe" to her. She once told a visitor to her family home, Bradgate Manor, that her mother and father expected to do everything "as perfectly as God made the world, or else I am sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened . . . that I think myself in hell." She said that her parents pinched her and abused her in other ways she would not name out of respect for them.

She found refuge in her studies, which she enjoyed so much that she cried when her lessons were over for the day. "Whatsoever I do else, but learning, is full of grief, trouble, fear, and whole misliking," she said.

Jane's parents had big dreams for their intellectual eldest daughter. They hoped she would marry her cousin Edward and thus become queen of England. When Jane was nine, her parents sent her to live with Henry VIII's widow, Katherine Parr, and Katherine's new husband, Thomas Seymour. Jane was happy with the Seymours, but Katherine

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