mms (fc ¢1)(y OC ———— © HENRY Vil Henry Vil became the first Tudor king of England at the end of the War of the Roses in 1485. He created anew family emblem, the EAL hich wais the combination of the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York. He imposed high taxation and prevented nobles from raising their own armies. He was a strong king and sent John Cabot to explore the East Coast of America, establishing the colony of Nova Scotia. Erasmus of Rotterdam brought Renaissance Humanism to Oxford and Cambridge. Sir Thomas More brought England near to North European thought and the beginnings of Protestantism. Henry was a good diplomat, he married his oldest son to Catherine of Aragon and his daughters to the kings of France and Scotland, When he died in 1509 he left England financially stable and in peace with Scotland and France. © HENRY Vill Henry Vill became king at 18. He was a skilled sportsman, a musician and a handsome man. He married his brother's wiclow, Catherine of Aragon. Henry was interested in theology and contrasted Martin Luther's anti-catholic theses gatining the title of “Defender of the Faith”. Catherine didn’t bear him a son, so Henry asked the Pope to annul the marriage. However, the Pope refused so Henry broke with Rome, divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn who gave birth to a girl, Elizabeth. With the Act of Supremacy, Henry was declared “the Supreme Head of the Church of England”, so the Monarch now was both the temporal and religious head of the Church of England. The chancellor Thomas Cromwell dissolved the monasteries and confiscated land and money. Henry distributed the land among the new middle class merchants. Anne Boleyn was accused of treason and executed in 1536. The king married Jane Seymour who gave birth to his son Edward but died in childbirth. Henry had three more wives, including Catherine Parr who supervised the education of Prince Edward and Princess Elizabeth. © EDWARD VI Edward VI took over the throne at the young age of 9. His reign saw the protestant reformation and the appearance of “The Book of Common Prayer” written by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. This book helped the development of the English language. His successor, Lady Jane Grey, who was his Protestant cousin, was taken prisoner and executed in the tower of London. © MARY Mary | was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. She declared herself queen in and imposed the restoration of the catholic church. She married Philip Il of Spain making England an alli of Spain against France. Mary's persecution of protestant activists gave her the name: EROET because about 300 martyrs were burned. In 1558 she fell ill and left the throne to her sister Elizabeth.es (i.0)¢[h, | © THE VIRGIN QUEEN Queen Elizabeth was crowned queen when she was 25, and reigned for 45 years during the Golden Age, @ period of stability, religious toleration and domination of the seas. She was intelligent and she strengthened the Reformation with the Act of Supremacy and Uniformity. The protestant church was officially declared in the 39 Articles of Anglican Faith. Elizabeth was tolerant and didn't persecute catholics. As regard to her love life, she refused to marry, although the many proposals, because she didn’t want to risk putting England under overseas rule by marring a foreign, and she thought an English husband would create internal troubles. She was called the “Virgin Queen” because of her affirmation of wanting to ‘rule and die a virgin’. © THE ROYAL PROGRESS AND MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS Elizabeth used to tour the country because she wanted popularity. She was hosted by the nobles as this was a way of showing unity and peace in the country. Mary Queen of Scots was the great-granddaughter of Henry Vil who came from France to Scotland when her husband, the king of France died. She married the Stuart noble Lord Darnley and had a son named James. She was forced to abdicate to her one-year-old son so she ran away to England. She was the centre of conspiracies against queen Elizabeth and she was tried for treason and executed. © SEA EXPLORATION AND THE DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH ARMANDA Elizabeth was interested in new lands and treasures so she sent Sir. Walter Raleigh to South America looking for gold, while Sir. John Hawkins started the slave trade to America. Sir. Francis Drake was the first English sea captain to sail round the world. Philip 1! of Spain wanted to bring Britain under the rule of the Vatican again, For this reason, the Spanish Armada tried to invade British watters, but the British ships were smaller and faster and the bad weather damaged the Spanish ships. The Spanish failed to invade England who became the strongest sea nation. Elizabeth died, choosing James VI of Scotland, Mary's son, as her successor. Elizabeth was a loved queen and she brought England unity and splendour.THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE The Renaissance, literally “Rebirth”, was a cultural and artistic movement that began in Italy in the late 14th century. Man was regarded as a “microcosm”, and his capacity for self-improvement and self-analysis became the focus of the study. Humanism was the major intellectual movement of the Renaissance. Humanists believed that the study and imitation of the classical cultures of ancient Greece and Rome would bring about a cultural rebirth. The focus of the study was the study of the Man and his capacity. The English Renaissance covered the historical period from 1509, the year Henry VIII ascended the throne, to 1660, the year that marked the beginning of the Restoration. It was a period of great innovation and accomplishment as well as one of questioning old assumptions in poetry and drama. Its main feature was its strong protestant basis, influenced by the Reformation during the reign of Henry VIII. The English literature of this period lacked the pagan serenity of the Italian Renaissance and was less linked to visual arts; it investigated human passion. The “New learning” as Humanism was also called in England and was established in grammar schools like Oxford and Cambridge universities. The development of prose was influenced by an increase in the printing of books, more widespread literacy and the rise of a real public of readers. Sonnet: Shakespeare, Edumund Spenser, Thomas Wyatt.THE SONNET The Renaissance is considered the golden age of poetry because of the flourishing of love songs and sonnets. The sonnet was invented by Jacopo da Lentini in the 13th century and it was later experimented with and refined by Dante and Petrarch. It was introduced into England by Sir Thomas Wyatt. Petrarch’s collection of poems the Canzoniere became the model of all European Renaissance poets and contains all the features of Elizabethan sonnet sequences : love sought, love satisfied and, the desire of a lady cannot return poet’s love because she is married or other obscure reason. The italian sonnet is composed of 14 lines and is divided into 2 sections : an octave and a sestet, the octave presents a problem or a situation while the sestet solves the problem / personal reflections. The english sonnet it also composed of 14 lines but is divided in 4 sections : Three quatrains and a final couplet. The poet can use the quatrains to present a theme and can confirm or deny it in the couplet. A conceit is an elaborate poetic image that generally surprises the reader. The main themes were : love, beauty, faith and art. The psychology of love is one of the most important paradoxes : the lady is beautiful but cruel, desirable but chaste. In many sonnets love for a woman turns into love for God. Love must remain pure and idealized.