[25][80], Historians have always compared Henry VII with his continental contemporaries, especially Louis XI of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon. [56] This trade made an expensive commodity cheaper, which raised opposition from Pope Julius II, since the Tolfa mine was a part of papal territory and had given the Pope monopoly control over alum. An ally of Henry's, Viscount Jean du Qulennec[fr], soon arrived, bringing news that Francis had recovered, and in the confusion Henry was able to flee to a monastery. But definitely rewarding! Henry VIII was spring and Henry VII was winter. After his victory at Bosworth Field, Henry married Edward IVs daughter Elizabeth of York. His legacy was his son, Henry VIII, lucky old England Penn commented. These laws were used shrewdly in levying fines upon those that he perceived as threats. He entertained thoughts of remarriage to renew the alliance with Spain Joanna, Dowager Queen of Naples (a niece of Queen Isabella of Castile), Queen Joanna of Castile, and Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Savoy (sister-in-law of Joanna of Castile), were all considered. Martin Luther 95 thesis. [66], Henry wanted to maintain the Spanish alliance. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Amateur historians Bertram Fields and Sir Clements Markham have claimed that he may have been involved in the murder of the Princes in the Tower, as the repeal of Titulus Regius gave the Princes a stronger claim to the throne than his own. As we know, Henry VII was true to his word, married Elizabeth and they founded the Tudor dynasty between them. Moneywise, King Henry the VII was frugal and careful with money. Before taking the throne, he was known as Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond. "[73] Further compounding Henry's distress, his older daughter Margaret had previously been betrothed to King James IV of Scotland and within months of her mother's death she had to be escorted to the border by her father: he would never see her again. Swynford was Gaunt's mistress for about 25 years. He is credited with many administrative, economic and diplomatic initiatives. Henry VII can look a dull king, so dull that Thomas Penn's title omits his name. Its inhabitant was once one of England's most exuberant kings, yet his resting place was only re-discovered in 1813. [40], Henry VII improved tax collection in the realm by introducing ruthlessly efficient mechanisms of taxation. Local gentry saw the office as one of local influence and prestige and were therefore willing to serve. The money so extracted added to the King's personal fortune rather than being used for the stated purpose. Backdating Henry's Reign. But that's not really what I wanted from a book about Henry VII. Henry VII's reign has yielded an evocative study, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, ILLUSTRATION: CLIFFORD HARPER/AGRAPHIA.CO.UK. Alison Weir points out that the Rennes ceremony, two years earlier, was plausible only if Henry and his supporters were certain that the Princes were already dead. Henry VIII was the first English king to be called "Your Majesty.". His host was Francis, the Duke of Brittany, who saw Henry Tudor as a pawn in the game between Edward VI and the King of France. [5], The descent of Henry's mother, Margaret, through the legitimised House of Beaufort bolstered Henry's claim to the English throne. Henry VII, also called (1457-85) Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, (born January 28, 1457, Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Walesdied April 21, 1509, Richmond, Surrey, England), king of England (1485-1509), who succeeded in ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York and founded the Tudor dynasty. Penn then moved on to how Henry became King. Henry VII was king of England from 1485 to 1509. One interesting thing about him is his early youth and the fourteen years he spent in exile in France Brittany to be precise and those, I believe, made him the man he was eventually to become. The Merchant Adventurers, the company which enjoyed the monopoly of the Flemish wool trade, relocated from Antwerp to Calais. The rebellion began in Ireland, where the historically Yorkist nobility, headed by the powerful Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, proclaimed Simnel king and provided troops for his invasion of England. Only through the deaths of more obvious claimants, and after the accession of Richard III in 1483, when Henry was 26, did he become a leading candidate. Since we are in the middle of winter, Ive been thinking of a volume on my shelves on Henry VII, who could be called the Winter King. Henry was also worried by the treason of Edmund de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, the eldest surviving son of Edward IVs sister Elizabeth, who fled to the Netherlands (1499) and was supported by Maximilian. [57], In 1506, Henry extorted the Treaty of Windsor from Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy. Both parties realised they were mutually disadvantaged by the reduction in commerce. In 1407, Henry IV, Gaunt's son by his first wife, issued new Letters Patent confirming the legitimacy of his half-siblings but also declaring them ineligible for the throne. Henry reigned for nearly 24 years and was peacefully succeeded by his son, Henry VIII. [6] Henry IV's action was of doubtful legality, as the Beauforts were previously legitimised by an Act of Parliament, but it weakened Henry's claim. In 1621 Francis Bacon's history of. He married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon. England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy, violence, murders, coups and countercoups. If Penn's interpretation can sometimes seem slanted, its exposition would be hard to over-praise. I had an idea Henry VII was a force for stability; in fact he was a terrifying kleptocrat, abusing the law with arbitrary fines and imprisonment, scheming to effectively steal entire estates and wring every penny out of subjects as well as impose political control through financial means. Old rivalries simmered, however. This was accomplished through the targeted imposition of fines and bonds through extrajudicial councils. The union was both symbolic and necessary. For many he remained a usurper, a false king. There he claimed sanctuary until the envoys were forced to depart. Still, as Penn observes, the national sense of relief in 1509 was palpable. As his mother was only 14 when he was born and soon married again, Henry was brought up by his uncle Jasper Tudor, earl of Pembroke. He had, Bacon added, much to be suspicious about, "his times" being "full of secret conspiracies and troubles". Lincoln was killed in battle and Henry was victorious. Accordingly, he arranged a papal dispensation from Pope Julius II for Prince Henry to marry his brother's widow Catherine, a relationship that would have otherwise precluded marriage in the Church. Henry VII is also known as Henry Tudor. Blair Worden's The English Civil Wars is published by Phoenix. He took care not to address the baronage or summon Parliament until after his coronation, which took place in Westminster Abbey on 30 October 1485. You can find out more on the conflicts between England and France, the Wars of the Roses and also the Tudors in our history courses. Penn notes something else about the paeans on the son's accession: later in the Tudor period, apologists for the regime would remember Henry VII as the restorer of national peace and unity, but in 1509 it was the king's death, not his rule, that was held to have ended a long era of dark instability. Philip died shortly after the negotiations. Henry VII was born in Pembroke Castle , Wales, on January 28 th, 1457. Henry VII shut himself away in Richmond Palace from January 1509 and at 11pm on Saturday 21st April 1509 he died. Why was Henry VII called the Winter King? Then in 1491 appeared a still more serious menace: Perkin Warbeck, coached by Margaret to impersonate Richard, the younger son of Edward IV. [62], Henry VII used justices of the peace on a large, nationwide scale. He died shortly afterwards in Carmarthen Castle. I'm not giving this a star rating because I suspect it's me at fault not the book. Henry, recognizing that Simnel had been a mere dupe, employed him in the royal kitchens. [citation needed] Henry also formed an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (14931519) and persuaded Pope Innocent VIII to issue a papal bull of excommunication against all pretenders to Henry's throne. I picked this audiobook up because it was narrated by Simon Vance. He rewrote history by backdating his reign to 21st August 1485, the day before the Battle of Bosworth Field. If you missed the programme then here is the YouTube video for you enjoy! [citation needed] Following the example of Edward IV, Henry VII created a Council of Wales and the Marches for his son Arthur, which was intended to govern Wales and the Marches, Cheshire and Cornwall. Since he was the second son, and not expected to become king, we know little of his childhood until the death of his older brother Arthur, Prince of Wales. [50] Henry had pressured the French by laying siege to Boulogne in October 1492. From 1527 Henry pursued what became known as "the King's great matter": his divorce from Catherine. According to John M. Currin, the treaty redefined Anglo-Breton relations. Letters to relatives have an affectionate tone not captured by official state business, as evidenced by many written to his mother Margaret. However, with the help of the forces of his step-father, Lord Stanley, he defeated Richard and Richard was killed on the battlefield. For Henry VII, it was all about the money and stability. Raised in France, admiring of Italian-trained lawyers (and reaping the reward of the return of a whole generation of educated English commoners who sat out the War of the Roses abroad), with good taste in Renaissance art and advised by his gracious wife and steely mother, Henry VII is a major figure, not a prequel. [citation needed], During his lifetime the nobility often criticised Henry VII for re-centralizing power in London, and later the 16th-century historian Francis Bacon was ruthlessly critical of the methods by which he enforced tax law, but it is equally true that Henry VII was diligent about keeping detailed records of his personal finances, down to the last halfpenny;[71] these and one account book detailing the expenses of his queen survive in the British National Archives, as do accounts of courtiers and many of the king's own letters. The devastated King became so ill that he was close to death, but then he recovered and Penn explains that when he took control once more, he was remorseless. The rest, as we say, is history; Richard III was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth and Henry Tudor had arrived out of nowhere and avenged the death of the little princes in the tower, although there is some debate as to who was actually responsible for their murder.