As the Medieval Period ended a new Tudor dynasty took control of England *Tudor period 1485 – 1603 *includes Elizabethan Era.
According to Historians “England was economically healthier, more expansive, and more optimistic under the Tudors” than at any time since the Roman occupation!
The Tudor dynasty is known in the Welsh origin as the royal house.
It was descended from the last king of Britons, Rhys ap Tewdwr, who is also known to have ruled the realms and the Kingdom of England.
This also includes their ancestral, known as the Lordship of Ireland and the Wales, which later became the Kingdom of Ireland during the year 1485 until the year 1603.
There are five well known sovereign figures in the Royal history of the Tudors.
The first known monarch and the known descendant is Henry VII whose mother belongs to the House of Lancaster, which is known as a legitimized branch.
The dynasty of Tudor have risen to power during the Wars of the Roses’ wake, which then left the Lancaster’s house, wherein the Tudors were known to be aligned.
The five figures were Henry VII, Henry VIII and the children named Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth who together ruled for a total number of 118 years.
Tudor-Rose-Royal-Badge-of-England
The founder of the dynasty of Tudor was Henry VII who is known to have unified the warring fractions in the ‘Wars of the Roses’ .
His main task was to ensure that his position was secured despite the alienation of the Yorkist and the Lancastrians by Richard III.
During the reign of Henry VII, there were a lot of revolts wherein there were instances where there were pretenders to the throne such as Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck – wherein they impersonated the brother of Edward V and Henry.
This then became the reason why in 1485, Henry hired his very own personal bodyguards and named then as the Yeomen of the Guard.
Henry VII then strengthened the monarchy’s power with the use of the traditional governmental methods.
This helped the administration of the royalty to tighten its grip, while increasing revenues.
During the reign of King Henry VII, there were seven Parliaments who sat for almost a year.
Now to establish the Tudor dynasty, Henry VII used the royal dynastic marriages in England to maintain the peace in the country.
One of his daughters, Margaret got married to King James IV of Scotland, while the other daughter got married to King Louis XII of France.
Henry VII shrewdly spent his money and he left a treasury upon his own death in the year 1509.
Painting portrait of medieval king Henry VII
Henry VIII is the second known son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York who was born on June 18 1491 in Greenwich.
He was the heir to the Tudor’s throne when the eldest brother , Prince Arthur died in the year 1502.
During the youth of Henry VIII he was known to be intelligent and athletic.
He is known to speak Spanish, Latin, and French and is known to be very religious.
Henry VIII became the author of one of the best-selling books during that era, wherein it has 20 editions in Europe and England.
He also has the ability to compose and to play different instruments.
Henry VIII was the second Tudor monarch. 1509 – 1547 – period of Henry VIII’s reign.
At the age of 9, Edward VI became the king after his father’s death and it then created Regency.
He was known to be intellectual, wherein he is fluent in Latin and Greek and kept a journal full of his own reign.
However, he was not known to be a robust physically.
During the reign of Edward VI, the Church of England became more Protestant.
This is also the time where the Book of Common Prayer got introduced, which includes the practices of the Roman Catholics.
Unfortunately, the Prayer Book’s imposition led to the Devon and Cornwall’s rebellions.
Edward VI became ill with tuberculosis, which is why Northumberland was in a hurry for Lord Guilford Dudley, his son, and Lady Jane Grey to get married.
Edward VII accepted his niece Jane to be his heir in 1553 and the throne was then assumed by her.
King Edward IV Medieval Kings King Edward IV was the first Yorkist King of England who ruled in two phases.
The Duke of Northumberland was insistent that his son should be married by Lady Jane Grey because he wanted to have his very own dynasty.
Since Lady Jane Grey was the heir of Edward VII her claim was recognized by all of the council.
Unfortunately, she only got to reign for 9 days because she was executed together with her husband in the year 1554.
Lady Jane Grey The Tudors
The first Queen Regnant is Mary I, who was known to be stubborn and courageous.
She was removed from succession many times, first because of an Act of Parliament and his half-brother Edward.
Mary I was the one who restores the supremacy of Papal in England and reintroduced the bishops of the Roman Catholic.
She was also the one who revived the old heresy law to ensure that the conversion of the country when it comes to religious matters would be secured.
Mary I got married to the King of Spain, Phillip in 1556 and bore no children.
She died in 1558 due to illness, which was possibly caused by cancer.
Painting of Medieval Queen Mary I Bloody Mary
The last Tudor monarch was Elizabeth I who was born on the 7th of September 1533 at Greenwich.
She is the daughter of Henry VII and Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth I succeeded her half-sister’s throne in 1558 when Mary I died.
She reigned for 45 years and is known as the glorious one in the history of England. The reason behind this is because of the amazing things that had happened during her reign.
During the reign of Elizabeth I, the arts flourished, while there were also a lot of discoveries when it came to voyages.
This is the reason why the reign of Elizabeth is one of success and triumph – She is known to have sacrificed her happiness for her nation.
Elizabeth died on the 24th of March at Richmond Palace.
Queen Elizabeth was the last monarch of the Tudor Period
Tudors were famous because there created a lot of changes, socially and culturally.
The court of Tudor played a part that is prominent in the Renaissance culture that happened in Europe.
This helped nurture people around the world, such as Cardinal Wolsey, Edmund Spenser, and William Shakespeare.
Another reason is because the reign of Tudors was where there were changes in religion, which resulted in martyrdom of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
This in fact lasted for many centuries and played an important role that is influential when it comes to succession in history.
lively comedies such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, and Twelfth Night.
During the Tudor Times, England developed into one of the highest and leading colonial European powers.
In fact, Sir Walter Raleigh was taking part in the ‘New World’ conquest.
The campaigns that also took place in Ireland brought Ireland under strict control of the English Monarchy.
The Tudor dynasty became famous not only because of the good things that they did, but also because of the controversies that evolved in this dynasty.
The executions were terrible, wherein even the wives of the King were put into execution.
On the other hand, there were also Tudors who reined Britain in a good way such as the flourishing of arts.
All in all, the rule of Tudors was both a good and a bad thing.