King Henry and His Six Wives Essay Example for Free

King Henry and His Six Wives Essay The Elizabethan Era contained major events that remain documented in history. If the historical figures of the Elizabethan Era had not existed, history would have taken a dramatic turn. The full histories and personalities of each of Henry’s wives show how these women left their marks on the English throne and they changed the course of history. King Henry VIII was endowed with outstanding mental and physical gifts. He mastered Latin and French, understood Italian, learned mathematics, studied Homer and Virgil, read Cicero, and was knowledgeable about the histories of Thucydides and Tacitus (Shostak 6). Henry was the first English king to acquire a Renaissance education. Henry was also endowed with great physical accomplishments. He was a superb horseman. He enjoyed wrestling, jousting, swordsmanship, and tennis. Henry also had a passion for music. He mastered the skill of performing with three different instruments: the lute, organ and the harpsichord. He also composed music. He wrote two five-part masses, several different instrumental pieces, several songs and one anthem (6). â€Å"King Henry VIII was born Henry Tudor VIII after late-king, Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth of York on June 28, 1491† (Bruce 3). Henry was the King of both England and Ireland from 1509 until death. Henry VIII was a true Renaissance prince. He also wanted absolute power.Henry was not the only Monarch of the Tudor regime; â€Å"He had three other brothers: Prince Arthur, Edmund, and Duke of Somerset Tudor, and two sisters: Mary and Margaret Tudor† (Shostak 5). Arthur, who became Prince of Wales, married Catherine of Aragon in November 1501. After a short period of the marriage, Arthur died, which made Henry Prince of Wales. On April 22, 1509, Henry VII died, which upgraded Henry VIII as king and the seventeen-years-old prince acceded to the throne on April 22, 1509 (Bruce 23).Two months later, he married his brother ´s widow, Catherine of A ragon. This queen was widower of Arthur, Catherine of Aragon. Catherine was born on December 16, 1485 in Spain. She was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. They sent over 100,000 crown worth of plate and gold as a wedding gift. She had left Spain to marry Prince Arthur of Wales in 1501, which they went off to marry in London. After Arthur died, Catherine and Henry married as King and Queen of England (Shostak 15). She was happy through the first few years of marriage, but due to health problems, she miscarried five of six pregnancies; the child who survived was named Mary, born in 1516. They went off to marry in London. King Henry VIII was brought up to bring forth an heir of his throne a son. He knew after trying continuously with Catherine, he would never have a son, while she was still announced as queen (Bruce 27). Henry tried to put pressure on Pope Clement VII to give a special dispensation to him to divorce Catherine. When Wolsey failed in his negotiation with the Pope to get the dispensation, Henry fired Wolsey and decided to sidestep established legal procedures of the Church (Bruce 34). In a 1529 Act of Parliament, they limited the powers of the clergy by a series of statutes. Then, in 1533, he married Ann Boleyn, who soon gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth (tudorhistory.org). The following year, Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, which named the king the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Then, there followed the suppression of Catholic monasteries throughout England in May, 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed on the grounds of marital infidelity (Shostak 45). Henry married his third wife, Jane Seymour, who died in childbirth after giving birth to the king ´s only legitimate son, the future King Edward VI (tudorhistory.org). In 1540, Henry vice-regent and chief minister Thomas Cromwell arranged a political marriage between Henry and Ann of Cleves in the hope of attaching German protestant interests to those of England. Henry detested Anne ´s appearance so he had the marriage annulled and ordered for Thomas Cromwell to be executed on the charge of treason. In 1543, Henry married Catherine Parr, his sixth and final wife (Jokinen). They were married for three years before Henry ´s death. Henry ´s later years saw a renewal of hostilities with both France and Scottish. Henry personally invaded France in 1544, where his armies captured city of Boulogne (tudorhistory.org). The two nations ceased fighting in 1546. Henry ´s later years were also characterized by rigorous persecution of both Catholics and Protestants. Henry died on January 28, 1547, at the age of 55. It was Henry ´s request that he was laid to rest alongside his third wife, Jane Seymour (Sypniewski). Tudor Parliaments were an essential aspect of English government and administration in the sixteenth century. After the Kings Council, Parliament was the nations most important institution. In Tudor times most important decisions concerning government were made by the king or queen and a small group of advisers called the Privy Council. However, before these decisions became law, they had to be passed by Parliament. Parliament was the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords was made up of about sixty Bishops, Dukes, Earls and Barons. It was unusual for members of the House of Lords to criticize the kings policies. If they did so, they were in danger of being stripped of their titles. Members of the House of Commons were more independent as they were sometimes elected by the people who lived in the area they represented. However, few people had the vote and in many cases the largest landowner in the area decided who went to Parliament. Parliament was much of an occasional institution. Meaning Parliament was active under the Tudors, and exceptionally active in the reign of Henry VIII. Henry VIII was in favor of holding regular Parliaments (Shostak 57). When Henry was in conflict with the Pope in Rome, he claimed that the votes taken in Parliament showed he enjoyed the support of the English people. Elizabeth held fewer Parliaments than her father. On average, she held a Parliament once every four years. Elizabeth made it clear that members of the House of Commons had complete freedom of speech. However, she believed that certain issues such as religion or foreign policy were best left to her and her Privy Council (tudorhistory.org). Henry VIII wanted an annulment of his marriage on the grounds that there had been adultery. Although, nobody knows if this was true or not, was a way out for Henry and a chance for him to marry Anne Boleyn, who he hoped would give him an heir. He sent Cardinal Wolsey to the Pope to plead his case, but he failed, for this reason Henry VIII dismissed him in 1529. However, in 1533, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, deserting the Catholic faith, granted the annulment. He passed legislation restricting papal jurisdiction in England and eventually, passed the Act of Supremacy, making him the Head of the church in England (Jokinen). Thomas Cranmer suggested Henry to abolish and destroy the monasteries, since they were very rich and confiscated their wealth and properties for his own use (Jokinen). Through the Act of Supremacy, he declared himself to be the only Supreme Head in Earth of the Church of England instead of the Pope (Jokinen). Henry VIIIs courtships were equally sexually driven. He wooed Jane Seymour with gifts and bribes to members of her family, but only decided to abandon Anne Boleyn days and possibly hours before she was arrested. In the case of Katherine Howard the transition from would-be mistress to consort is evident. Henry was in full pursuit within weeks of seeing her, not without a degree of encouragement on her part which should have indicated to him that she was more experienced than was claimed (Jokinen). They were married three weeks after the Cleves divorce and by then Katherine may already have begun sleeping with Henry. The Elizabethan Era was full of controversy and obstacles for many of its historical characters to overcome. The six different wives of King Henry VIII experienced first hand controversy due to the King’s love of women as well as power. Although King Henry VIII married six different women, his decisions helped to change and fascinate the course of history for the modern world to reflect.