The Battle of Mons Graupius (AD 83). From Tacitus, Agricola (c.

AD 98)
This historical text is an excerpt from “Agricolae” a book that was written originally in Latin in 98 AD and
talks about a battle that happened in 83 A.D., the famous battle of Mons Graupius. In this battle,
participated the Romans with their leader Agricola and the Caledonians, who lived in northern Britain, the
part that is known as Scotland, with their leader Galgacus. This book was written by Tacitus, Agricola’s
son in-law that was a very important Roman historian thanks to his prose and for his political labor. Due
to Great Britain’s accounts of mineral wealth and its strategic position across from France, Romans
would try to annex the country. Therefore, the Roman commander Julius Caesar attempted twice to
overtake Britain. In 55BC, together with a couple legions, he tried a reconnaissance mission. But he was
driven back to Gaul after a few weeks surprised by the hostility of native Britons on the cliffs above the
beach which prevented Caesar from moving island, together with the lack of supplies and bad weather.
So as an explanatory visit, his landing in Kent was a reasonable success; as an invasion, it was a disaster.
In 54 BC, he returned to southern Britain with a larger army. There, Chief Cassivellaunus leaded the
British resistance, but he was eventually captured, and the Britons defeated, thus having to negotiate
surrender. Rome took hostages and arranged for the Britons to be paid an annual tribute. However,
Caesar had to return, and so did the Romans. Claudius, the 4th emperor, needed military conquests so as
to ensure his throne. Therefore, in 41 AD he sent to Britain an invasion force that soon conquered the
south-east, including Colchester. Then, he left, and the annexation was duly celebrated in Rome. But not
all the tribes surrendered, and thus, the main resistance was mounted by Caractacus, who in 51 AD was
eventually defeated and taken captive to Rome. Then, the Roman province of Britannia was quickly
established. In 61 AD, Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni started a revolt against the Romans, because her
husband, Prasutagus, had been a client of Rome and the tribe was allowed to live relatively independent,
but he died, so the Romans seized all his lands instead, flogging Boudicca and raping her daughters.
Finally, Boudicca was defeated, and she committed a suicide by taking poison. In 83 AD, Agricola, the
Roman governor of Britannia, had advanced conquering southern Scotland. Therefore, the native tribes
to the north had united their forces with no other choice but to win or become slaves in order to face the
imminent invasion. The Romans under Agricola defeated a formidable Caledonian army formed by both
young and veteran warriors. The first paragraph shows the very first moments just before the battle. It is
reflected how Galgacus is clamoring for the battle and since then, showing his concern about the fight in
line 10: “and he said to have spoken thus to the multitude clamouring for battle.” At the same time, it is
also presented how warriors felt and what they thought about their enemy from lines 7 to 9: “came
pouring in every soul of their youth and veterans, …, warriors of fame…” In the second paragraph, the text
indicates what Galgacus said to the British warriors. Here, Tacitus is not using the exactly words that
Galgacus said. Indeed, it is presented as if these were the same words he used in his speech because he
wrote the document in first person to make it more credible and impressive. He talked to his army with
admiration, courage and dignity from lines 11-13: “… my heart beats high…is the down of liberty of all
Britain.” He insists many times in the powerful union and bravery of the soldiers in line 13: “For not one
man among all your thousands has ever bowed his neck to the yoke…” He wanted to motivate his soldiers
to have an opportunity to win the battle and felt very proud of his warriors. On lines 26 to 30, he wanted
to raise awareness of the situation of the Romans, expressing his disagreement: “The plunderers of the
world they have laid waste the land…” and on line 31 too: “To robbery, to murder, and outrage they give
the lying name of government, and where the make a desert they call it peace”. In conclusion, the text
shows that, although Rome was a powerful Empire, it has oversighs. In fact, it is implied the authority
that exists in that period that Tacitus could not express his own opinion. After this, Hadrian’s Wall was
built to separate the Brigantes from other tribes to the north so as to prevent their alliance against Rome
and protect the south population from the Caledonians.
Gildas. De excidio Britanniae (c. 540?) This text is an excerpt from a chronicle entitled “De excidio
Britanniae” written by Gildas around 540 AD. Gildas was a British monk of a Christian Celtic Church;
exactly he was a priest and a writer. He was a distinguished man because of his wisdom; so, he was
known as The Wise. After his dead he was named saint. This work is a sermon divided in three parts
where Gildas describes the invasion of Britannia by Germans. The original text is written in Latin, which
was the official language of the Church. When Gildas wrote this book, Saxons ruled the territory, and
he did not agree with them because he was a Briton. In fact, he wrote this in a very aggressive
language to denounce the attack of the Saxons, whom he called pagans. In the 4th century, Roman
rule in Britain began to decline. In 367 AD was produced a combined attack by Picts, Scots in the
North, Saxons, Franks and other tribes in Britain and northern Gaul. In 383 a Roman general named
Magnus Maximus rebelled against Emperor Gratian and took several legions with him out of Britain in
order to pursue de throne. The military defenses collapsed with the progressive removal of troops that
left the island unprotected. After these centuries, some local leaders tried to keep the power in
Britannia, but no Roman ones. There was a successful Anglo-Saxon invasion. They were Germanic
tribes who migrated to this island from the continental Europe. Therefore, King Vortigern, a British
leader who fought against Picts and Scots, decided to ask for help to two Saxon warriors in order to
defend the country from Picts and Scots. But instead of defending the country, they appropriated
parts of the south-east for themselves, and then the invasions continued. They settled and founded the
kingdom of Kent in 450 approximately and was traditionally presented as a quick invasion followed by
the annihilation of local Britons. The Saxons and Britons fought in different battles, as the Battle of
Mount Badon from 490 to 503, where the British population was led by Ambrosius Aurelianus, a
member of the upper class. Finally, it produced the division of Anglo-Saxon England into seven
kingdoms called “The Heptarchy” composed of East Anglia, Kent, Essex, Sussex together with the
three superpowers of Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex. In the first paragraph, Gildas describes the
history of Roman Britain since his conquest until the times in which he lives. In line 9, he uses a parable
of the Bible comparing Vortigern with the Pharaoh, who was not well advised by his counsellors:
“Foolish are the princes, as it is said of Thafneos, giving counsel to unwise Pharaoh”. In line 10 he
definitely explains the arrival of the Saxons, he says that they came from their “barbaric lioness” by
“cyuls” which were a type of ship. However, the Saxons decided to invade parts of the south-east, so
the author attributed this mistake to the king, presented as a tyrant in line 16: “the unlucky king”. In the
end of the paragraph the author explains that they wanted more money, and the Britons did not have,
so the occupied their lands: “They complain that their monthly supplies… they follow up their threats
with deeds”. In the second paragraph, Gildas explains the tragic end of the Britons on lines 30 to 38;
some of them were murdered, others gave up and started to be slaves, others passed beyond the seas
and other continued in the country, but they went to the mountain, precipices… As Gildas was a monk,
he constantly appeals to God, so in line 44: “with their unnumbered vows they burden heavens”, this
means that they were praying to God to be saved. Gildas thinks that the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons
is a punishment of God because, when the Romans left the island, the Britons practice the religion less
and less. The author says on lines 38 to 46 that the Britons had an opportunity when the Saxons had
returned home, they got together and started a reconquest of the island led by Ambrosius Aurelianus,
which may refer to Arthur. He was a Roman leader who won important battles against the Anglo-
Saxons. He belonged to a rich and powerful family of the upper class of Rome. His parents “were
adorned with the purple” which was the color of loyalty in line 48. In the third paragraph, Gildas
mentions the Battle of Mound Badon in line 55, which took place forty-four years and one month after
the arrival of the Saxons, it was the last battle, and this battle caused the desolation of the country.
Despite the Anglo-Saxon victory, the country was left in a state of peace, as we see on lines 57-60. To
conclude, this text is a piece of criticism of the Saxon arrival and of the behavior of King Vortigern,
who invited them. It is important to say that Gildas is so critical with Saxons because they destroy
Britain and also because they were pagans. He is also warning his generation about the importance of
being Christians. Furthermore, Saxons inhabited and ruled territories that are today part of England
and Wales, from the 5th century to the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
Christianization: The origin of the mission to the English (597) Bede. Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
Anglorum II.1 (731). This text is an extract from Historia Eccleasiastica Gentis Anglorum written during
the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England. This fragment is one of the five books written by
Venerable Bede, a Benedictine monk who spent his life in the monastery of Wearmouth in
Northumbria. In fact, Bede was the most important English scholar during the 8th century and the 1st
English historian to achieve international reputation and to date events from the incarnation of Christ.
His work was completed in 731. It was originally written in Latin and later, in the 9th century was
translated into Old English. It had a great popularity and influence, and more than 130 manuscripts
are preserved. It is also a moral work which contains story of Saints and miracles to testify to the
grace and Glory of God. Originally, people were pagans, but Britain had to convert them into
Christianity because it was the official religion of the Roman Empire. So, in the 5th century Ireland was
Christianized by St Patrick, who was a slave of the Irish who had escaped to Rome and who had
determined to take the faith back to his former captors. Then, in 563, the Irish missionary St Columba
landed in Iona, Scotland, and he began the conversion of the Picts following the traits of Celtic
Christianity. Later, in 597, there was a Christian mission sent by Pope Gregory, led by St Augustine who
arrived in England. St Augustine, who was sent to England by Gregory, arrived in Kent and, not being
able to enter in London, established the ecclesiastical capital at Canterbury. The conversion was
carried out with the support of the Saxon kings, who were receptive to the idea that Christianity would
support their authority and would produce a supply of educated administrators and advisers. The King
of Kent Aethelbert was the first to be converted, and others followed, leading to a pyramidal
conversion. By the late 7th all England was Christian. But the split between the Celtic Church
established in the north of England and the Roman Church established in the south because of
differences between the two, led to the Synod of Whitby in 664. It was a special council of members of
both churches held to discuss such religious issues on which they disagreed, that was summoned
(convocado) in Northumbria by King Oswiu. It finally ended the conflict in favor of the English Church,
thus making the complete incorporation of England to western Christendom. According to the first
sentence, it is relevant how Bede uses the oral tradition because he did not take part in the events:
“Nor must we pass by in silence the story of the blessed Gregory, handed down to us by the tradition
of our ancestors”. That means that the narrator is talking according to what he has been told, it is a
true inherited story. In the first paragraph, he tells how Gregory, while in Rome, sees some boys put up
for sale, who he describes as people with “pleasing countenances and very beautiful hair” on lines 6-7.
He made a series of questions to them, and they told him that they came from Great Britain and that
they did not believe in God, so they were pagans. When he knew that they were pagans, we can see a
disappointing attitude from him, saying “the error of paganism” in line 10. He also said, “Alas! What a
pity” in line 12 as signs of disappointment. From this point on, Gregory starts to play with words while
showing his dissatisfaction with them being pagans. This is called pun: “they were called Angles”,
“should be co-heirs with angels in heaven”, on lines 15-16, comparing them to angels because of their
beauty. Finally, on lines 20-21. Their king’s name was “Aelli” and he, playing upon the name said
“Allelujah”. In the second paragraph, Gregory, as to decided to convert these “poor” people into
Christianity, went to see the Pope of the Roman Apostolic and asks for “ministers of the Word” in line
23, to go to England in order to convert them to Christianity. His request was denied by the Romand,
but, as soon as Gregory was made Pope, he initiated this mission himself, sending monks and priest to
Britain, “yet the citizens of Rome could not be brought to consent that he should depart so far from
the city, as soon as he was himself made Pope, he carried out the long- desired work” on lines 27-29.
This text is very important because it supposed the conversion of the British to Christianity.
Furthermore, the unification and spread of the Christian Church gradually brought the unification of
England. The monks were very important because they were the ones who wrote stories transmitted
through oral tradition and they played a very important role in preserving history and culture.
The Battle of Brunanburh. R. A. Hamer, Choice of Anglo-Saxon Verse. London: Faber and Faber, 1970. /
James W. Bright. An Anglo-Saxon Reader: New York Holt, 1913. This is an anonymous poem originally
written in Old English that belongs to the Battle of Brunanburh in the 10th century. It is preserved in
four of the nine surviving manuscripts of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record of events in
Anglo-Saxon England. This text narrates the conflict between Constantine, the Scottish king, and Owen
with king Aethlestan and Prince Edmund, leader of the Anglo-Saxons. The first two signed an alliance
against the Anglo-Saxons, but they were finally defeated in this violent battle. The Vikings were
Scandinavian people who invaded Anglo-Saxon England between the 8th to 10th century. The first
Viking raids on Britain started in 788. In 793, Lindisfarne was sacked and destroyed, and its monks
murdered. In 865, the first large scale Danish invasion took place, and Danish established landing in
Kent. King Alfred succeeded his brother Aethelred I as King of Wessex and spent most of his life
fighting the Vikings. In fact, he uses the excuse of fighting against the Vikings in order to be
recognized as King of all England by Saxons and Danes. He defeated the Vikings in the Battle of
Edington, and England was divided in Wessex and the Danelaw. Nevertheless, in 937, Britain was a
divided nation ruled by several Kings and Earls all vying for land and power. The Celts were in the north
divided into two main kingdoms, Alba led by King Constantine and Strathclyde ruled by king Owen. At
the same time, there was a set of Norwegian Viking earls from Northumbria. The Vikings also held
power over much of Ireland and were led by the King of Dublin. The final group, the Anglo-Saxons,
controlled the majority of central and southern England and were headed up by King Aethelstan of
Wessex. In the summer of 937, the Anglo-Saxon army fought against the coalition of Scandinavian
Vikings, Irish and Scots. The Anglo-Saxons armies sealed the victory, securing the northern borders of
England and containing the Celts to the west. Consequently, this battle signaled the beginning of a
united “England” and established the modern of England, Scotland and Wales. Regarding to the
structure of the poem, it is composed by lines divided by a space, which is called caesura. Each part of
both sides of the caesura are called hemistich. The caesura facilitates the oral transmission of poetry,
because it gives the possibility of breathing. Along the poem, the author is narrating and describing
the events that happened during the battle. For instance, how the enemies were defeated and the
deaths of five kings and seven earls. To exalt the deeds of the Saxons, the poet uses many common
rhetorical devices of Anglo Saxon literature. The author uses “the lord of warriors” in line 1, “Patron of
heroes” in line 2, to emphasize the name of Aethelstan and Edmund for having emerged victorious
from the battle. Furthermore, the poem is written from an Anglo-Saxon vision. From the very beginning
of the text, it makes it clear that the enemies have everything to lose and will not have a chance to
achieve victory. This is seen in line 9: “Fought for their land, its treasures and its homes”. There is a
poetic diction to say that the battle lasted one day on lines 13-17: “The field was darkened from the
time the sun… sank to its resting-place”. In line 18 we can see how bloody the battle was: “Lay slain by
spears”. Five kings, seven chiefs and an uncountable number of Olaf’s men died in the battle. Alfric
and Athelwin, two Athelstan’s cousins, as well as important bishop died in the battle: “five young kings
lay dead upon the battlefield…” on lines 28-31. On lines 60 to 72, when the battle is over, the text tells
how Constantine has to abandon everything he has, as well as the bodies of his son, soldiers and
friends. Here begins the part of the poem in which the author shows the moments of sadness and how
devastated the soldiers felt after the battle, even if they have won it: “Been ever yet a great number
slain, killed by the edges of the sword before this time, as books make known to us”. To sum up, this
poem is relevant because it narrates the Battle of Brunanburh, a decisive struggle that was important
to establish the Anglo-Saxon territory. Although there was a big number of deaths during the struggle,
Aethelstan and his brother won and made the Vikings and the Scottish to turn back to their land. In
addition, after this battle, the seven kingdoms of England joined in one under king Aethelstan I. What
is more, the author does not attribute the victory to the Anglo-Saxon, but to the King’s sword.
The End of Saxon Britain: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: The Worcester Chronicle (11th c.) This is an
historiographic excerpt from an anonymous chronicle, entitled the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: “The
Worcester Chronicle” written in the 11th century. This chronicle is a collection of annals written in Old
English, which is a vernacular language. The annals are a concise form of historical writing that record
the events chronologically. The Worcester’s Chronicle is one of the most famous chronicles of the
Anglo-Saxon period which tells the story of the Anglo-Saxons, commissioned by Alfred I in the 9th
century. In 991 took place the battle of Maldon, where the Anglo-Saxons were defeated, and they had
to pay to Danes a tribute to keep the peace. In 1013, Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark invaded and
proclaimed himself king of England. After his death, Cnut, his son, became king of the whole England,
Scotland, Denmark and Scandinavia in 1014. He consolidated his position by marrying Emma, Queen
of Normandy, and acting as a rightful Anglo-Saxon king. During his reign, Godwin, Earl of Wessex
became a powerful adviser. But the diverse empire he had built fell into his death in 1035, so his two
sons, Harold “Harefoot” and Hardicanute ruled England in succession. In September 1066, King Harold
II of England led an army against the invading Vikings. The Viking army was led by Harald of Norway
and by his allied, Tostig. The Norse army had ravaged Northumbria and defeated the earls of Mercia
and Northumbria, King Harold has rushed north with his army, leading the battle. While Harold was still
fighting in the North, William Duke of Normandy launched his invasion in the south. In October 1066,
the battle of Hastings was fought by the English under King Harold against the Norman armies of
Duke William, and it lasted all day. Normans sealed the victory by killing king Harold, and as a result.
William was the only candidate to the English throne left alive, so he became King William the
Conqueror. On lines 1 to 2 King Edward was crowned king in the Westminster Abbey which he himself
had built. “And King Edward came to Westminster at midwinter and there caused to be consecrated
the minster which himself…”. Then, appears a poem because the writer wants us to take special
attention. In the first part of the poem he is presented as a devotee, behaving decently in divine
service. That is why when he dies, he leaves his soul to Christ, waiting for God’s security: “Here Edward
king of the lord of the English sent his soothfast soul to Christ…”. Also, the Anglo-Saxon idea of
commitatus appears in line 12 to emphasize the lavishness of wealth that the King used to share with
his warriors. The second part of the poem is dedicated to Edward’s brother-in-law and successor, the
earl Harold. The writer talks about Harold as an obedient and great King on lines 16 to 18: “loyally
obeyed his over-lord…” In the third part of the text, it is explained how Harold had to face two threats
during his reign in 1066. The figure of the comet is used to presage that awful events were going to
happen in line 24: “Some men said it was the comet star…” King Harold, defeated his enemies in the
battle of Stamford Bridge and they had to pay them, this is reflected in line 28: “and there they paid
him both money and food”. In line 31: “all as it afterward happened”, it is referring William’s
Coronation, changing the dynasty into the House of Normandy, which was a French family. In
conclusion, several copies were made and then distributed throughout England. The author of the
chronicle narrates the end of Anglo-Saxon period in England with the dead his lord and the beginning
of an era of civil wars and conquests.
Church vs crown: Henry II and Thomas Becket Roger of Hoveden’s Chronicle (early 13th century) This
is a piece of the work “Chronicle”. It was written by Roger of Hoveden, an employee of King Henry II
who was a chronicler. He was interested in Ecclesiastic’s affairs and in miracles, so it justifies the
assumption that he was a priest. Over time a bilingual English version was made, but it was originally
written in the official language of the Church during the Medieval Period, Latin, in the early 13th
century. The books summarizes England’s history from 732 until the author’s time. William Rufus II was
the son of William “The Conqueror” and he reigned from his father death from 1087 to 1100. Three days
after his death, his brother Henry I succeeded him to prevent his eldest brother Robert de Mowbray
from claiming the throne. He married the Scottish princess Matilda to stabilize relationships with
Scotland. Regarding the Church, Henry stopped confiscating its lands and called back Archbishop
Anselm of Canterbury from exile, which led an investiture contest. Through the Concordat of London in
1107, Henry gave up his right to invest the clergy. As Henry’s son William drowned in the channel, there
was no male heir to succeed him. So, Henry made his barons swear to support his daughter Matilda as
queen when he died. But she was out of England when he died in 1135. So, he was succeeded by his
nephew Stephen. When Stephen died, Henry II succeeded him, introducing the Plantagenet’s dynasty
married with Leonor of Aquitaine and ruled over large parts of France. There was a continuous conflict
between the monarchs and the church. Henry’s II reign was based on the reinforcement of the royal
power, as well as constant disputes against the feudal and the Church. He wanted to be the absolute
sovereign of his kingdom and f the religious institutions. This created a conflict between the king and
his chancellor and friend Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury who did not accept Henry’s
proposals. So, the king wanted to get rid of him judicially, but finally there was no agreement between
them. Henry II appealed to some of his knights to murder the archbishop. At first, the author details
the date of the events: “On the fifth day of the feast of the Nativity…” Roger of Hoveden was a person
very close to the church, so he was not in favor of Henry’s decision and calls these knights “Satan’s
satellites” in line 2. He also gives the names of the knights because they are supposed knights
incriminated in the murder of Thomas Becket, an enormous and shocking crime, all of them related
with the aristocracy. In the second paragraph, the author defended Becket, who is presented as a
martyr in the cause of Christ. He tells of their entry into the church looking for Becket and calling him a
traitor in line 8, but from the perspective of the Church, he has a lot of positive qualities. The third
paragraph is about the moment of the execution when Thomas Becket confronts his destiny with
dignity in line 13: “Behold, here am I”, and on lines 16 to 18: “To God and to Saint Mary…”, saying that
he condemns himself to a Church cause. Then, in the fourth paragraph, Hoveden introduces the figure
of Edward Grim, a clerk, a member of the church that worked with Becket was cut off his arm. Here,
we have some examples of variation in order to avoid repeat the name of Thomas Becket several
times, like “The Righteous man, suffering martyr, Holy Ghost”. In fact, the four knights are described
as killers who do not respect God because they killed an archbishop in a church, the knights and the
king are angry with all the hole religious system, and it is implied in the way they kill Becket. Finally,
Hoveden introduces a metaphor about the color of his blood in line 42, as a symbol of sacrifice and
purity: “while the purple color of the blood bespoke his martyrdom”. In this text, it is reflected the
importance of the Church during the medieval period. Furthermore, it is seen how Henry II fight
against the powerful church to maintain his throne, so he does not mind killing Becket, the archbishop
of Canterbury, in order to get his purpose. Thus text is a great source if relevant historical events, but it
is necessary to be aware of the partiality of the writer when he narrates the events.
Cruasader Kings: Richard the Lionheart. Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi (c. 1220) This
is an English translation piece from the book “Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi” It
dates from 1220, during the Medieval Period and it was the first book written in medieval Latin, edited
multiple times. The author was anonymous, probably written for someone close to the court. It talks
about the Third Crusade comprising the fall of Jerusalen by Saladin and the following expeditions
guided by Frederick I, Philip II of France and King Richard I of England “the Lionheart”. Richard I was
the son of Henry II of England and Eleanor de Aquitaine. He was also known as Richard the Lionheart
because of his reputations as a great military and warrior. In 1174, he joined his mother and brothers
in rebellion against his father. He sought an alliance with Philip II of France, with whom he had such a
close relation. In 1189 Henry II died and Richard I became king. Due to the rivalry going with his
brother John, he refused to give him Aquitaine. He directed his efforts to raising the necessary funded
to participate in the Third Crusade against the Moslems (1189-1192), and in 1190, he departed for Holy
Land. As he would only spend six months in England during his reign, he entrusted the government of
England to William Longchamp, bishop of Ely. Prince John was deeply jealous of his brother, so John
and King Philip II agreed to work together against Richard I. After he was captured near Vienna by
Leopold of Austria in 1192 and eventually released in 1194, Richard returned to England briefly, but by
then Philip had invaded Normandy. John declared that Richard was dead, and he made himself king,
but the English noticed that king still lived. The English were so proud of their great and brave king and
so they thought that it would be dishonorable to let a crusader end his life in a prison. For this reason,
they paid a ransom to the captor. Richard arrived back and the rest of his reign was spent abroad
defending his possessions in France. Finally, he was killed in this struggle, so John succeeded him. In
the first part, the writer describes the king’s personality and emphasize good features that he has. The
king is portrayed as a qualified, brave and generous king who has many honorable skills in line 2: “king
Richard gratified all, by distributing money… thus manifesting his liberality and his great excellence”.
As a result of this, it is seen how the author and the English admired the king. Moreover, the author
compares the king’s abilities with great figures of the past in line 8: “he had the valor of Hector” of “the
magnanimity of Achilles”, it is observed the calvary, the courage and the qualified skill of the king
during a fighting. On lines 19-20: “Richard was never to be overwhelmed with adversity”, it is referring
that he does not mind dying if it were necessary, but he fight for his beliefs. The second part of the text
it seems how the author describes the king’s appearance. The writer exaggerates the king’s description
in order to glorify his appearance. For instance, in line 21, the author introduces a kind of metaphor to
describe the king: “his hair between red and auburn”, like a lion. But what the author thinks is the most
important is the king essential character which it is manifested in line 25: “he gained the greatest
celebrity, not more from his high birth than from the virtues that adorned him”. In line 26, the author
introduces a rhetorical question with no answer to make readers think: “but why need we take much
labour in extolling the fame of so great man?”. The author finishes writing that the king was superior to
everyone in all aspects that anybody could imagine. We can see this in line 29: “he was superior to all
others… in battles”. To conclude, it is noted that the author and even the English admire their king, who
was a wonderful man and worthy of praise. Also, it could be used in order to influence society and as
political propaganda because the author glorify the king to justify the Crusades.
The Norman Yoke, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe (1819) This text is a fragment from the historical novel titled
“Ivanhoe”. It was written by Walter Scott, a novelist who also wrote poems, did opera and films. He is
considered a very important figure in the world of literature. This book was written in 1819 and narrates
the adventures of Ivanhoe, an aristocrat that helps Richard the Lionheart in the Crusades. It is based
in England in the XII century. After the great battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire on September 25,
king Harold II dfated and killed king Harald “Hardrada” of Norway and his half-brother, Earl Tostig.
Meanwhile, Duke William landed at Pevensey Bay of the Sussex coast. Harold quickly marched south
to confront William, obtaining the victory. England was occupied by the Normans after the Hasting
Battle in 1066 in which Harold was defeated and killed, making William king of England. With the
arrival of the Normans, the economy and society changed completely. Anglo-Saxon nobility was
replaced by Norman directors who were given titles and privileges that promised to serve the king. The
English people that remained downgraded became servants who worked the field and gained profits
that the owner kept. These changes allowed the development of a new system: feudalism.
Ecclesiastical elite also suffered Norman changes. Anglo-Saxon bishops were replaced, and new
cathedrals were built. A lot of people started migrating to Scotland and Ireland. Administration
centralized and a pyramidal organization of the territories was established. Ruling systems were also
changed. The French started being spoken everywhere and had an enormous influence on English. This
is mentioned in the text, which is written in Anglo-Saxon, a language that the low-level classes spoke.
The economy, policy, and culture of England and Normandy ended up mixing. Despite the dialogue the
two friends maintain, in this piece of text the narrator is the 3rd person omniscient and is the voice in
the text. The conversation is full of ironic and funny humor and deals with two imaginary figures:
Gurth, a swineherd and Wamba, a jester and Gurth’s friend. Gurth is at the service of Cedric, Ivanhoe’s
father, and has a dog called Fangs. The actions take place in the fields, where Gurth tries to control
their pigs but is not able to do it: “lay stretched… regardless of the voice of their keeper” on lines 12-13.
He calls Fangs, his mixed-breed dog to help him but he is not efficient as the Ranger of the forest of
the forest had cut his nails as a punishment making him unable to work. This figure was in charge of
the forests, king’s property, and appears in line 22: “the Ranger of the forest, that cuts the foreclaws
off out dogs, and makes them unfit for their trade”. Afterwards, Gurth asks Wamba for help to
dominate the swines and he answers in a funny way on lines 27-29: “I have consulted my legs upon this
matter… that would be an act of unfriend ship”, saying that he does not to move. Later he makes an
ironic allusion to the Normans on lines 30-33, referring to the domination of the Normans over the
Anglo-Saxons. Then, Wamba and Gurth used two very different words to designate the same animal:
swine and pork. The word swine according to both friends refers to the animal when it is alive and
indicates the “good Saxon”, the one that works and does the hard job. Nevertheless, the French, pork,
refers to the animal when it is dead, when it is converted into food and indicates the “good Norman-
French”, the one who leads and commands the tasks they do not dare to do. This difference of
language also marks a difference in the society and illustrates the inequalities between the poor and
the rich. The Normans came and delegated the Anglo-Saxons from their positions, turning the lower
classes into servants, so Gurth said: “little is left to us but the air we breathe” on lines 55 to 56. Finally,
we can say that Walter Scott, the author, although he is narrating a fictional story, manages to show
the historical reality of that moment and awakens in the reader the taste for the historical literary
genre.
Magna Carta (1215) This text is titled Magna Carta, also called 'Great Charter' (1215), is a legal
document, which has a clear style in order to make it easier to understand. It was originally written in
Latin and imposed limits on the king's prerogative (King John), attempting to protect the privileges of
the barons and the Church. It was a primitive form of Constitution because it was only a product of
the revolution of a part of the aristocracy, not of the common people. Richard joined the Third Crusade
against the Moslems in the Holy Land. In 1192, Richard was shipwrecked on his way back from the
Holy Land. He became a prisoner of the Duke of Austria. The English paid the ransom and arrived back
in England. The rest of Richard's reign was spent abroad, defending his possessions in France. He was
killed in this struggle. Richard was succeeded by his brother, John, who was a tyrant and an enemy of
the Church and ruled England from 1199 to 1216. During his reign, he had to face several significant
problems, from the attack by Philip II of France in 1202 and his exclusion from the Church by the Pope
Innocent III in 1209 to his attempts to get lost territories in France back. Philip Augustus and the Pope
formed an alliance, and in 1215 John was obliged to give in to the papacy. The war with the papacy
and the French war had meant that John had increased taxation and had used many means to collect
money. The Church had been angry. The richest and most powerful sections of English society, the
aristocracy, the Church and the merchants, formed a rebellion against the king. At Runnymede, the
king and his rebellious subject met and the King was obliged to agree to the terms of Magna Carta.
Magna Carta was a document which laid down the rules that a feudal king had to follow. It listed the
abuses the king had committed and the remedies to rectify the ills. Moreover, it signified the increased
importance of the barons (the feudal aristocracy) and the need for the king to work with them if his
government of the country succeeded. At the beginning of the text, King John introduced himself,
exalting his figure (lines 1-2: "God King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and
Aquitaine"). John addressed the two central states, the Church and the nobility. He greets his subjects
from the highest class, which is the king, to the lowest lever, which he named "servants, and to all his
officials and loyal subjects" (lines 3-4). Then it lists and describes some of the articles, which were
number 1, 39, 40 and 61 and make up the Magna Carta. The first article is related to the independence
and freedom of the Church. One of the reasons for the creation of the Magna carta is stated as
"before the outbreak of the present dispute between us and our barons" (lines 25-26). The Magna
Carta guaranteed their freedom from the monarchy, which would not interfere in the affairs of the
Church "and confirmed by letter the freedom of the Church's elections" (lines 26 27). The fourth
paragraph refers only to a part of the society, since most of the population were unfree peasants and
workers, so they could not obtain any benefit from these advantages (line 31: "TO ALL FREE MEN OF
OUR KINGDOM"). In article 39, he stated that all free men must be judged by jury trial before going to
prison. This is related to the idea of Habeas Corpus. "No free man shall be seized or imprisoned or
stripped of his rights or possessions except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the
land". The next article, number 40, encapsulates the idea that justice cannot be bought. The last article
stated that the king should be responsible for his actions, which means he had to justify them.
Otherwise, he would be judged by a group of barons, created by themselves to secure their rights and
limit the king's power. The last paragraph talks about the punishment, if in 40 days the punishment
had not been imposed, barons could take his properties away, except for his family, because they
compromised to put a remedy to the situation (lines 56-59 "by seizing our castles, lands, possessions,
or anything else saving our own person and those of the queen and our children"). To sum up, Magna
Carta was able to limit the power of the king, in matters of justice and taxation. Moreover, it was the
beginning of the constitutional system in England, it inspired later constitutional documents.
Nowadays, due to these reasons, we can say that it is the most relevant text of the Medieval Period in
England.
The Wars of Scottish Independence: The Declaration of Arbroath (1320) This text is an extract from
“The Declaration of Arbroath” written in 1320. This document was a letter in Latin sent to the Pope
John XXII as a Declaration of Independence of the Kingdom of Scotland. Its author is unknown, but it
is believed that it could have been written by Bernard of Kilwinning, Chancellor of Scotland at the
moment. The text declared Scotland as independent and sovereign, and free to use military force if it
is unjustly attacked. This letter is the only survivor of three created at the time. Edward I was son of
Henry III. At Henry’s death in 1272, Edward returned to England and in 1274 he was crowned king at
Westminster Abbey. In 1275, he attacked Wales after the Prince of Wales refused to bow to him.
Edward was asked to arbitrate between the noblemen who wanted the Scottish throne, who claimant
had to acknowledge Edward’s overlordship. Soon, Balliol started losing authority among the Scots, so
he drew up the “Auld Alliance” with Philip IV of France against Edward. For most of the population it
brought tangible benefits through pay as mercenaries in France’s armies and the pick of finest French
wines. But Edward soon abused his position leading in 1296 to the Wars of Scottish Independence. In
that year, Edward invaded Scotland and he was very successful initially as the Scottish army was
defeated at Dunbar and Balliol was taken prisoner. Besides, he removed the Stone of Destiny from
Scone and took it to Westminster Abbey, to become part of a coronation for English monarchs, as well
as the Holy Rood. Meanwhile, Scottish rebels were becoming stronger under William Wallace and
defeated the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Edward and his advisers considered Wallace a
simple bandit and believed that they could defeat him at any time, so the king, in charge of a great
army, invaded Scotland and beat Wallace’s troops in the Falkirk Battle. Finally, Edward died in 1307
and was succeeded by his son Edward II, weaker and unpopular. Focusing on the text, there are 39
names of important people, eight earls and thirty-one barons, at the start of the document, all of
whom may have signed the document. These people are relevant figures of Scotland who have
properties in Scotland and have the support of the Church. The letter opens, after the customary
greeting, praising Pope John, lines 1-2: “Most Holy Father and Lord in Christ, the Lord, by divine
providence Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Roman and Universal Church”. The second paragraph is a
description of the mythical origins of Scotland. According to this they came from “Greater Scythia by
the way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Pillars of Hercules” on lines 21 to 22, they lived in Spain among
“the most savage people” in line 23. They crossed into Great Britain and settled in the west, making a
comparison between them and Israelites, defeating all the tribe that attacked them. In the next
paragraph, they secure that Scotland was an ancient and legitimate kingdom with a long history of
independence and also had Christian connections through Saint Andrew, “the Blessed Peter’s brother”
on lines 39 to 40. The Scottish have been oppressed by the English who have not good intentions
because they wanted to appear like allies. However, they conquered the north and made barbarities to
the Scottish. For instance, in line 50, the author enumerates the outrages that they suffered “the deeds
of cruelty, massacre… he had seen them with his own eyes”. The Britons made such cruel offences that
he cannot describe them, and he explain that the Pope had to be a witness to know how big the
massacre was. The point of the letter was not to give an objective description of events but to
persuade the Pope, so the conflict was exaggerated. Robert Bruce is praised and glorified, Scots “have
been set free, by the help of Him”. Robert is also compared with biblical characters as Maccabaeus,
Jewish priest, or Joshua, son of Moses. Robert Bruce is believed to have been chosen by God on lines
60 61: “Him, too, divine providence”. They also established that if King Robert, whom they praise and
adore, aligns with the English: “we should exert ourselves at once to drive him out as our enemy and a
subverter of his own rights and ours” on lines 68-70. The attention then turns to the Pope and formally
asks for his support on lines 76-77: “inasmuch as you will in your sincerity and goodness consider all
this”. They were willing to cooperate with him to bring about peace. The Scottish did not want more
deaths. They believed in the Pope and thought that the Pope would support them. And if the Pope
helps them, they will be willing: “ready to so your will in all things, as obedient sons to you…” on lines
106-107. To sum up, the reason given in the Declaration is that Bruce was able to defend Scotland from
English aggression whereas King John could not. The Declaration is evidence of the persistence of the
Scots as a distinct national community, giving a very early date of nationalism and an idea of “Popular
sovereignty”, that is the government is contractual and kings would be chose by the community rather
than by God alone.
The Peasant’s Revolt (1381): Thomas Walsingham, Historia Anglicana II.32 (c. 1395): This is an extract
from the bilingual historical document that belongs to Historia Anglicana II, originally written in Latin
by Thomas Walsingham in 1395. Thomas was an English Benedictine monk and chronicler at St. Albans.
In medieval times, monasteries were the center of cultural knowledge and the place where most
monks were written, translated, or copied. That is the reason why the original version was written in
Latin. This fragment deals with the so-called Peasant’s Revolt during Richard II’s reign. An uprising of
the lower classes instigated by a religious reformer John Wycliff, whose followers were known as
Lollards. There was a feudal system in which the property of the land was owned by feudal lords. These
lands were worked by the minority, the serfs. In exchange for living safely in the properties of nobles,
they paid taxes and gave his feudal lords almost all the production of the land. England was suffering
from the horrific consequences of the Plague, also called the “Black Death”. In 1348, the plague killed
about one-third of the population, so feudalism was breaking down. Those who remained alive worked
twice as hard to reach the fees, but they were realizing that their work was more valuable, so many of
them left their serf jobs and went to the cities looking for new opportunities. Those who remained,
asked for a tax cut and an increase of their profits. They could not keep peasants in that state
because neighboring lords were willing to offer employment at higher wages. Then, was born the
Statute of Laborers in 1351. It was a feudal system that obliged each worker to stay in the village
where they borned. The Ordinance of Laborers, passed in 1349, and it imposed very heavy taxes and
both Acts were detested by peasants. The rebellion started in the South of England, but it expanded
quickly. The grievances of the peasants started in 1381, led by Wat Tyler and John Ball, angry peasants
that marched to London. Richard II met the rebel leaders. They demanded the annulment of
oppressive statutes, the abolition of serfdom and the division of Church property. The mayor of
London thought that Wat Tyler was going to kill the king so, they attacked him and killed him. Richard
II took charge of this situation and the crowds dispersed quietly; he had no intention of giving the
rebels what they demanded. The monarchy and the aristocracy undertook a campaign against the
Lollards. Walsingham had an obvious and conservative point of view of the system. He begins saying
that John Ball had been preaching revolutionary ideas and the lower classes were aware of his
importance, on lines 3-4: “Speaking evil both of ecclesiastical and of temporal lords and had won the
goodwill of the common people”. The author was a follower of the Church, he criticizes the ideas of
John Ball, since the Lollards and him talked about corruption and abuses of the Church. They also
defended the abolition of tithes (diezmos), on lines 5-6: “he taught the people that the tithes ought not
to be paid unless he who gave them should be richer than the vicar or rector who received them”. It
continues by saying that he was forbidden to preach in Churches, but John Ball, did not surrender, in
line 11: “he began to preach in streets and villages”. The author also mentioned that, at the beginning
of the revolt, John was imprisoned but the rebels, freed him, in line 17: “commons broke open all the
prisons and set the prisoners free”. Walsingham insisted that everything Ball said were only lies, and he
compared Ball with an illness in line 20: “he might infect the more with his doctrines”. The author
quotes two biblical references of Adam and Eve in his sermon by saying that the consequences of the
revolution cast doubt the class system, serf and lords, on lines 23-24: “When Adam delved and Eve
span, who was the gentleman?”. Walsingham explained his solution to the problem of Lollards. They
had to kill great lords, slay lawyers and jurors and “all those whom they knew likely to be harmful to
the commonwealth in future” on lines 38-39. The commons and the Lollards just wanted to destroy the
dominant and abusive class to obtain security and end unfairness. It is a very radical idea since John
Wycliff, John Ball and the Lollards were antisystem. The Peasant’s Revolt was quickly crushed by King
Richard II. The king made promises that were revoked later on. Nobles re-established control and the
leaders of the revolt were killed. Although, the revolt caused a huge impact on society, and it was a
trigger for future rebellions.
The Hundred Years’ War: The Battle of Agincourt (1415). Shakespeare. Henry V (1599), 4.3: This text is
an excerpt from “Henry V” written by Shakespeare in 1599. It was written by Shakespeare, who is
considered the greatest dramatist of all times. The play represents events just before and after the
Battle of Agincourt, in which an English army, under Henry V, went to France to invade it, during the
Hundred Years’ War. The performance belongs to a set of plays known as Lancaster’s Tetralogy. The
Hundred Years’ War was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France
which lasted from 1337 to 1453. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was
triggered by a claim to the French throne made by Edward III of England. The war is commonly
divided into three phases separated by truces: the Edwardian phase, the Caroline phase and the
Lancastrian War. During the first moment, there was an English victory at the Battle of Sluys, where
the French fleet was defeated, and the English obtained the control of the Channel. England won other
two famous victories at Crecy in 1346 and Poitiers in 1356. Then, in 1360, the Treaty of Brétigny
between England and France, which summed up with the English renunciation to the French throne. In
1415, the Battle of Agincourt took place. It was unchained by a succession problem created after the
death of Charles IV of France, who died without an heir to the French throne. The French were forced
by the terrain to advance in narrow formations that made them easy targets for Henry’s archers. In
fact, their advance was impeded by mud and their own mounting dead. Meanwhile, Henry kept control
of the battle, encouraging his troops and fighting hand-to-hand. After the English took so many
prisoners that Henry worried, they might overpower their guards, he violated the rule of war by
ordering their immediate execution. Thought not military decisive, the victory at Agincourt won Henry
V important allies and gained him a hero’s welcome on his return to England. In 1420 through the
Treaty of Troyes, he gained recognition as heir to the French throne, and married Charles IV’s
daughter, Catherine. This text is a motivation discourse that King Henry V gives to his cousin
Westmorland and warriors during the battle of Agincourt. On lines 1-2, the French army significantly
outnumbered England’s army. For this reason, Westmorland desires to have more soldiers: “O that we
now had there, but one ten thousand of those men in England”. However, Henry V prefers not having
more soldiers on lines 6-8: “If we are marked to die, we are enough to do our country loss. And if to live
the fewer men, the greater share of honour”. The king does not want to have more casualties. In
addition, if they were not defeated, not only would they win, but also, they would share more honor
and treasure between the winners. Therefore, Shakespeare changes the order of the line to be more
poetic, he is trying to describe the high desire of the king to possess all the glory. Not only did the king
desire fame, but also, he wants the retirement of the people who do not want to fight. We can see this
on lines 21-22: “That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart. His passport shall be
made”. Henry V is conjuring the past. The Feast of Crispian is a date which was important before the
Battle of Agincourt, in this encouraging speech, the honor of winning the war is highlighted. In fact,
this feast is celebrated every year. The victory is so splendid that people will tell the story to the future
generations, as the poetical voice says in line 35: “Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot, but he will be
remember, with advantages”. The English triumph will live and be remembered in every feast. In
conclusion, Shakespeare wants to proclaim, through this discourse, the glory of the England’s army,
which was able to defeat France’s soldiers. Also, he points out the huge valor of the king, who
managed to have the victory and tried to encourage his servicemen when France seemed to win.
Arthurian Myth: Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte D’Arthur, XXI (1485) This is a piece of the historical text
“Le Morte D’Arthur”. It was written by Thomas Malory, who served as a soldier in France and was
prisoned because of his participation in the War of Roses. This book was supposedly made when he
was in jail. It is a book that contains the most important English and French texts of the Arthurian
Myth. William Caxton ordered these texts, organized them in different chapters and then printed the
book. It narrates the story of King Arthur and his knights. It was published in 1485 and became very
famous at the time. The War of Roses were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English
throne between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: York and
Lancaster. Its name was taken from the color of the roses, red for Lancaster and white for York, that
each house used as their emblem. The dynastic conflict between the House of Lancaster and the
House of York, created after the deposition of Richard II, was revived when both houses claimed the
throne through descent from the sons of Edward III. Conflicts started when Henry VI had a bout of
insanity and Richard, Duke of York became Protector of the Realm, while Queen Margaret of Anjou led
the Lancastrian faction. She had a son, Edward of Westminster, in 1453 and fought for his succession
to the throne. Richard was about to become Henry VI’s heir in 1460, but was killed in battle, so
Richard’s son Edward IV became the leader of the Yorkists. In 1461 The Battle of Bowton meant a
Yorkist victory and the deposition of Henry VI, who was replaced by Edward IV. Henry was briefly
reinstated for a year in 1470, but there followed almost complete Lancastrian defeat. Edward IV was
succeeded by his 12 years old son Edward V, but his ancle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, got rid of the
boy and his younger brother and he became Richard III. Richard III’s enemies flocked to a new
contender for the throne, Henry Tudor. At the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, Henry defeated Richard’s
army and Richard died with no surviving heir. That meant the end of the Wars of the Roses and a
change in English dynasty. Henry became Henry VII, the first monarch of the House of Tudor and to
strengthen his position, he married Elizabeth of York, Edward IV’s daughter. In the first line of the text
the figures of Sir Lucan and Sir Bedivere appear. Lucan is Arthur’s servant and responsible for the
royal court, together with Bedivere. Both of them are Arthur’s loyal companions and helped him in the
battle against Arthur’s son, Mordred. Arthur and Mordred faced each other to dispute the English
throne in the Battle of Camlann. It is said that the battle, in which Arthur’s army was disadvantaged,
lasted more than a day. Finally, Mordred is about to die, but in his last seconds he is able to give a
mortal blow to Arthur with his sword. At this moment, he sends Bedivere to throw the Excalibur sword
into the water on lines 14-15: “Bedivere, take thou Excalibur, my good sword, and go with it yonder
water side”. Bedivere seeing how valuable the sword was, decided to hide it and tell his good friend
that he had thrown it. When he came back Arthur asked him what he had seen and Bedivere said
nothing. This is the moment when he knew that his friend was betraying him. He did this twice, but
finally obeyed and took the sword again and threw it into the water, on lines 44 to 45: “and there came
an arm and a hand above the water and met it, and caught it”, referring to the Lady of the Lake.
Arthur is taken by Bedivere next to the water, where a boat with many fairies was waiting to take him
to Avalon, a magic island. Between them was Morgan Le Fay. It is possible to recognize her figure
when she says: “Ah, dear brother, why have ye tarried so long from me?” in line 56. This sister was her
half-sister, lover and mother of his son. Arthur finally dies in the barge because of the serious wounds
he had and rests in Avalon from where he promised to come back when England needed him again.
Bedivere, sad because his friend had died, enters in a hermitage where the archbishop of Canterbury
was hiding himself. He was asked about the grave he was praying for and said that a group of ladies
had come and offered him a lot of coins to bury the dead body. Upon hearing that, Bedivere knew it:
“that was my lord King Arthur, that here lieth buried in this chapel” on lines 78 79. Then, he promised to
spend the rest of his life there by saying “by my will, but all the days of my life here to pray for my lord
Arthur” on lines 81-82. In line 90 there is a comparison between king Arthur and Christ because some
men in England thought that “he shall come again”. Chapter VII gathers men’s opinions about Arthur’s
death. Some of them say that, as it is told in the book, he was taken to Avalon Island. Others say that
he is not dead and many say that he lies in a grave where it can be read: “Hic iacet Arthurus, Rex
quondam, Rexque futurus”, in the last line. To conclude, King Arthur was a Christian knight and king
who is always presented in texts as a good, kindly and honest person. In addition, Henry VII is going
to associate himself with King Arthur in order to strengthen his claim to the throne after a hard period
of wars for England. Henry VII needed popularity and good opinions so he identified himself with the
figure of king Arthur.
The Tudor monarchy; alliance with Scotland. William Dunbar. “To the Princess Margaret on her arrival
at Holyrood” (1503) This text is a poem titled “To the Princess Margaret on her Arrival at Holyrood”,
which was written in 1503 by William Dunbar. He was a Scottish poet from the late 15th century and
the early 16th century. He was closely associated with the court of King James IV from Scotland and
wrote significant amount of works in Scots. These works were very distinguished by their great
variation in themes and literary styles. The War of the Roses was a battle in which the Yorks and the
Lancasters disputed the English throne and started after the deposition of Richard II. The name of the
war comes from the emblem of a rose of both families, the House of York with a white one and the
House of Lancaster with a red. The battle of Bosworth ended the War of the Roses with the victory of
Henry Tudor who soon became the new monarch. After this, he married Elisabeth of York to ensure the
reconciliation between the two sides. His throne was based of making powerful and durable kingdom.
For that, he established alliances to get rid of disputes from the outside territories. Besides, he wanted
to set out nobility and Church influence so as to make an organized and strong monarchy. In those
times, being part of a royal house meant refusing individual tendencies just to maintain the prestige
and honour of the family. After the attempt of Arthur and Isabella to establish alliances with France,
thirteen years old Margaret married James, seventeen years older than her. Finally, in 1512, the Queen
had his fourth baby, James, who would later become king, taking his father’s place. James wanted to
establish an alliance with France and for that married the King of France’s daughter, Princess
Madeleine. This poem is a piece of Humanism in the form of a beautiful poem. It is written in stanzas,
which means rhyming patterns created by quatrains. Margaret was finally crowned Queen in March, in
1504, and that is what this composition reflects, her arrival to the Holyrood, the royal Scottish palace.
As for society at that time, aristocracy had always remained of the top of the social classes, but later
they started increasing their capacities and a new class appeared, “the nobility of merit”. This class
knew perfectly how to maintain their loyalty and their wealth and had a high education level. Margaret
is praised throughout the poem. This is one of the characteristics of the Renaissance poetry, which
tries to apologize nobility in order to maintain their position in the high class and satisfy the kings:
“Princes most plesant and preclare” in verse 2. Then, the author is describing the Tudor’s Rose, which
was the symbol o Margareth. There is an allegory of the Tudor’s rose because the author is
personifying it to be queen’s scent. In fact, the author compares it with the queen. In the second and
third stanza, the family of Margaret was also considered a noble family with imperial blood. Margaret
is referred to be daughter of a powerful queen Elizabeth of York: “most mighty kyngis dochter dere,
borne of a princes most serene”, and “Descendyd of imperyalle blode”. In the last stanza, the author
refers to the War of the Roses, there is an allegory when the writer says “Welcum Rose rede and
whyte” to refer to union between the House of Lancaster (red rose) and the House of York (white rose)
for the English throne, also to refer to the elegance of the queen. To conclude, in this piece it is
reflected how the War of Roses, a war between two royal families that fought for the throne ended
with the marriage of Henry VII, and he made his daughter marry with James IV in order to end with
the rivalry between England and Scotland.
The Reformation: Prologue to Tyndale’s New Testament (Cologne, 1525) This text is an excerpt of the
“Prologue to Tyndale’s New Testament” written by William Tyndale in 1525. Tyndale was an important
figure during the Reformation of the Church in England. He was a protestant that started to translate
the Bible in Germany because there, Martin Luther had started to translate it since the translation were
completely forbidden in England. Tyndale was also the 1st person to translate the Bible from Hebrew
and Greek into English. For this reason, Tyndale is known as the “father of the Bible”. It is important to
emphasize that this text was published illegally, so, he was imprisoned and finally executed. The
Reformation has its origins under the reign of Henry VIII. The Reformation is the religious revolution
that divided Christianity into Catholicism and Protestantism. It began as a movement to reform the
Church of Rome, but it became clear that no reform was possible without breaking all the relations
with Rome. Martin Luther was one of them. He believed that converting the Bible into a vernacular
language was fundamental because the Church were the only who knew Latin and they were giving
their own interpretation of the religious idea to the everyday people. In 1527, Henry VIII sought a
divorce from Catherine, not only because she seemed unable to give him a male heir, but also because
he was infatuated with Anne Boleyn. So, Henry’s chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, negotiated to have the
marriage annulled, what was known as the King’s “Great Matter”. Even if an earlier dispensation of the
Church had consented to the separation of royal couples in the past, difficulties soon arose. Catherine
was opposed to divorce and supported by her family, the Habsburg, who were the most powerful royal
house in Europe. Henry’s hopes that the Pope would grant a divorce were dashed when Pope Clement
VII was made prisoner of Charles V. As Wolsey had failed, Henry turned against him and had him
charged with treason in 1529. That meant the fall of Wolsey, who was almost executed. Then, the task
of obtaining the king’s divorce was entrusted to Thomas Cromwell who was the chief minister at Court
1532-1540. As a lawyer, Cromwell resorted to Parliament to pass legislation transferring the power of
the Church in England from the Pope to crown. So, William also wrote “Practice of Prelates” which
criticized this marriage annulment. Regarding to the text, the first paragraph summarizes the story of
the original sin, in which Adam is expelled from the Paradise for eating the forbidden fruit, which is the
apple. Human beings have inherited that sinful nature because they are coheirs of Adam, in line 4: “we
are yet in our mother’s wombs… yet we are full of natural poison” means that the human being is an
evil born sinner. In fact, in line 7, the author compares human sinful nature to the snake which
represents Satan. The author uses the metaphor in order to connect his beliefs with the original sin,
which is the serpent: “as is the nature of a serpent to sting. And as a serpent”. In fact, Tyndale makes a
comparison with what he calls the “Evil Tree”, whose fruits will always be impure because of its evil
roots. He says that the serpent bit the fruit and then Adam did the same. This is explained in line 14:
“but because it is an evil tree, therefore… even so do not our evil deeds make us evil, but because that
of nature we are evil, therefore we both think and do evil”. In the second paragraph, the author
explains the doctrine of salvation from the point of view of Protestantism, explaining the message of
the Bible. For instance, he uses “we are plucked out of Adam”, which means that even though humans
are sinners, so God decided not to associate them with Adam. Then, Tyndale talks about the life of
Christ in line 22: “and reserved us unto the knowledge of his Son and his holy gospel”. We are believed
to be chosen by God, as the blood of his son, who sacrificed his life to salve the humanity. The idea of
salvation is very relevant. While for the Catholics the doctrine of salvation are the seven sacraments,
Protestants can be saved just by faith in Jesus Christ and by reading the Bible. The Protestantism
defends that after death if they believe in God, they go directly to heaven, by contrast, the Catholicism
have the doctrine of Purgatory, where the souls are selected between those will be condemned and go
hell and those who will saved and go to heaven. To conclude, this text shows the ideas defended by
Protestantism during the English Reformation that are very different from the idea of Catholicism.
Tyndale was a reformer who wanted the king to understand how important it was to illiterate people to
read the Bible in their own language so as to be saved. In addition, protestant believed that it was the
only source of revelation of God.
Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons (1960) This is an excerpt from the play “A man for All Seasons”
which was written by the playwright Robert Bolt in 1960. Robert Bolt was a 20th century agnostic
(sceptic) and socialist writer. The play represents the conflict between Thomas More with the king
Henry VIII because of his divorce with Catherine and her marriage with Anne Boleyn and the English
Reformation. In 1527, Henry VIII sought a divorce from Catherine, not only because she seemed
unable to give him a male heir, but also because he was infatuated with Anne Boleyn. So, Henry’s
chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, negotiated to have the marriage annulled, what was known as the King’s
“Great Matter”. Even if an earlier dispensation of the Church had consented to the separation of royal
couples in the past, difficulties soon arose. Catherine was opposed to divorce and supported by her
family, the Habsburg, who were the most powerful royal house in Europe. Henry’s hopes that the Pope
would grant a divorce were dashed when Pope Clement VII was made prisoner of Charles V. As
Wolsey had failed, Henry turned against him and had him charged with treason in 1529. That meant
the fall of Wolsey, who was almost executed. Then, the task of obtaining the king’s divorce was
entrusted to Thomas Cromwell who was the chief minister at Court 1532-1540. As a lawyer, Cromwell
resorted to Parliament to pass legislation transferring the power of the Church in England from the
Pope to crown. In 1534 appeared the Act of Supremacy, an English Act that recognized Henry VIII as
the “Supreme Head of the Church of England”, not the Pope, so he confirmed the marriage with
Catherine not valid and Anne Boleyn was finally announced Queen of England. The text is a
representation of a tragedy played in form of a dialogue. In it some important figures appear, such as
Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Cranmer, the Duke of Norfolk and Thomas More. The main idea of it is
breaking of England with the Catholic Church that More never abandoned his own ideas. In line 5, we
can observe the concept of the Act of Supremacy which declared that the future children Henry and
Anne would be the legitimate heirs of England, and Thomas knows what to say because he knows the
law perfectly. He refuses to do it. The actual reason why More is imprisoned is because he is accused
to insult the King and His Council for not take the oath and also to be a traitor: “Thomas you insult the
king and his and His Council…” As the author narrates, Thomas More never changed his ideas, he was
always loyal to God, transmitting his loyalty until the end. In fact, he never said the reason of why he
denies the Act of Succession, even though Cranmer read the preamble of the oath: “it states the
preamble that the King’s former marriage… having no authority to sanction it. Is that what you deny?”
Thomas More accepted the Act of Succession. Nevertheless, he does not sign the document. At the end
of the excerpt, Thomas More is represented as an intelligent man that know his rights and how to act
in a court. Besides, he is named as a traitor by Norfolk: “then your reasons must be treasonable!”, but
More rejected it. He was a lawyer and stated that he cannot be executed if he does not give his
reasons to reject the oath. Norfolk agrees with him: “it is a fair assumption”. Henry VIII wanted him to
accept her marriage with Anne Boleyn and the English Bible, but he opposed both things and had to
refuse his title. After he was judged, he was charged with treason and murdered. One of his most
important books is Utopia in which he denounced the social, political and religious order under the
dream of a perfect society. Some Marxists intellectuals thought this book to have a critical view of the
society and economy un pre-modern Europe. It is said that Thomas More has played an important role
in the evolution of the socialist ideas.
Robert Southwell, “Decease Release” (c. 1593-95) The text provided is a poem called "Decease
Release2, it was written by Robert Southwell between 1593 to 1595. He was an English Jesuit poet,
whose objective was to reinforce the Catholic Church, in opposition of the Protestant. Robert was
educated at Jesuit colleges and was ordered priest in 1585, and after that, he was sent to England on
missionary work. At that time, England was already protestant, and Southwell, accused of treason for
celebrating Catholic mass, was imprisoned in the Tower of London, and then, executed. Mary was born
in 1542 and crowned queen the same year. Her parents were James V and Marie de Guise. Ad a
Catholic, she started conspiring against Protestantism. Lots of Protestants were persecuted and
murdered, and many people started migrating. Because of this, she began to be called “Bloody Mary”.
Since she was born, she was engaged to Edward VI, but Mary de Guise, knowing that Mary should be
under Henry’s control until his marriage, changed the agreement and Mary was sent to France to
marry the French Dauphin. She was also Queen of France, but lasted very little, as in 1560, his husband
died, and she had to go back to Scotland. The Queen accepted a mixed administration in which
Catholics and Protestants has representation, but any of them were satisfied. Then, she married again
with Henry Stuart Darnley, and this created conflict between Mary and Elizabeth since if they had an
heir, he would have many options to achieve the English throne. After this, Mary was pregnant and had
James in 1566. Henry was ambitious and wanted to assume power and become king, so he started
interfering until the point that Mary considered separating from him. The castle where Henry was, was
exploded and his body was found in the garden. Mary was alone, with few supporters, so the nobility
organized a rebellion against Mary, and she was detained in the Leven Castle and obligated to
abdicate in favor of his son, James VI. After that, she escaped of the castle and went with Elizabeth,
when she ordered the execution of Mary. The poem is composed by series of nine quatrains. The
speaker of the poem is Mary Queen of Scots as she is immortal. The poem is also published under the
title of “Dum morior, orior”, that means, “while I die, I rise”. The poet uses a complex and sophisticated
vocabulary to make the poem beautiful. He also makes the poem more difficult to read using
hyperbaton, and metaphors, similes… In the first stanza, the common idea is the sacrifice and the
destruction. In line 1: “The pounded spice” produces a pleasing taste and aroma. The paradox is the
contrast between dying and the incense, which shows the power of its taste and scent in smoke that
fades and dies away. The “kernel” in the third line represents the destruction of something that
becomes something better. In the second stanza, Mary assumed her personal sacrifice that are
combined with the image of resurrection. She compared herself with a tree, and with the incense,
because she needs to be destroyed to become a better image of herself. In the third stanza, the
author compares Mary’s beheaded to a “spark”, because her light is now going to be visible, and her
death is going to be the first day of her future. In the fourth stanza, the author compares her name
“Mary” with the word “Martyr”, because she was forced to abdicate, deprived of her kingdom and then
exiled She’s going to lose everything, but she is happy because she will be with God in the heaven. In
the fifth stanza, the author uses the asyndeton, and Mary finds comfort and happiness in dying: “My
life, my grief, my death, hath wrought my joy” in line 17. In the sixth stanza, we find a metaphor as the
author writes that the scaffold is going to be her bed and the block, her pillow. She is no longer going
to suffer, so she has no preoccupations. In the seventh stanza, there is another metaphor: “The bud
was opened to let out the rose” in verse 27, meaning that she is a flower that, because of her death, is
going to flourish. The last line of this stanza refers to her liberation, she is no longer captive. In the
eight stanza there is a comparison of Mary with Christ. From being a Queen, she is now going to be
dead: “From Crown to cross” in verse 30, as Christ, who died on the cross. Like him, she sacrifices
herself, becoming a heroine for the Catholics. In the last stanza, she “receives” the crown of
martyrdom and rises to the throne again, meaning that now she is dead, she will become queen in
heaven. To conclude, the entire poem was written from the point of view of Mary I, who was a Catholic
queen and supposed to be the poetic speaker. Many rhetoric devices are used to show how the Queen
feels after her death. Surprisingly, she feels released. Southwell mixes elements of death with elements
of life. It can be seen since the beginning of the poem an idea of resurrection that wants to express
that while she dies, she also rises.
The Protestant Nation and the Catholic Threats: Queen Elizabeth I, “Song on the Armada Victory” This
is a kind of poetic composition titled “Son on the Armada Victory” that was written by Queen Elizabeth
I in 1588. It was sung when the troops were coming from Whitehall after the defeat of the Spanish
Armada. Elizabeth I was daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She was queen for 45 years, during
a reign which is claimed to be the Golden Age in English culture and literature. Opposing the attempt
of her sister Mary, Elizabeth restored the Protestant church and tried to secure conformity to Anglican
practice, but there were sections of the population that were still Catholic, so they couldn’t get titles. In
1570, Pope Pius V issued a bull excommunicating Elizabeth. This was important because it showed that
Elizabeth was seen as an enemy to the Roman Catholic Church, while increased the threat to her
security, and Philip II signed the Holy League of Paris to combat Protestantism. Spain was the most
powerful country in the world, and they were Catholics, whereas the English were Protestant. In 1588,
Philip had begun to prepare a great flat that, under the command of Santa Cruz, would invade
England. The purpose was to depose Elizabeth and give the throne to his daughter Isabella and
convert England into Catholicism. Eventually, Queen Elizabeth heard that the Spanish were sending an
armada against England, so she spent 200 ships with superior gunnery, faster and more maneuverable
than the larger Spanish galleons. Philip launched the Spanish Armada against England, but it took
longer than expected until the Armada finally sighted from the English coast on 19 July 1588. The
Spanish tried several skirmishes such as their disposal in a crescent formation, the Spanish needed to
board, but English ships maneuvered more easily. Besides, the English were at home off their own
coast. Thus, one of the Spanish flagships was captured. On 25 July the Spanish fleet regrouped and
was ready to attack but change of wind let English ships escape. On 26 July the weather started to get
worse and on 27 July some Spanish ships were missing, others were destroyed because of the force of
the sea. On the 30th, an English fleet with 120 ships sailed from Plymouth and the next day, they met
there and had a small combat which some of the Spanish people died. Each day there were small
confrontation, in which the Spanish Navy started losing people and boats. English vessels attacked
solitary ships until the point that the damage made by the English navy was considerable. On the 9th
of August, Elizabeth made one of the most brilliant and popular speeches of history. It was aimed at
the troops that were in Tilbury waiting for the arrival of the Spanish navy, but also for the English
people in general. Finally, the Spanish Armada decided to retire and return to Spain. This is what the
poem tells us, the celebration of the English victory. It is divided into three stanzas which means
rhyming patterns created by quatrains. In the first stanza, we see in verse 1: “Look and bow down
Thine ear. O lord”, referring that she offers him incense, her scepter, and her throne as a sacrifice to
God. Moreover, she refers at herself as: “Thy handmaid and Thy handwork” in verse 3, meaning that
Elizabeth is God’s servant and Gd’s creation. She celebrates that God helped them in the battle
against her enemies. In the second stanza, Elizabeth praises God thanking him for his help. She
attributes the bad weather that affected Spain to God’s intervention on verses 11-12: “He made the
winds and waters rise, To scatter all mine enemies”. The Spanish Armada was ineffective because the
leaders of the expedition were not the best, but mainly due to the weather that destroyed its ships. In
the third stanza there is a biblical reference in the last two verses when the turtledove, symbol of loyal
appears. We fin this in psalm 74:19: “O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the
wicked”. The Biblical allusions appear because God protects England as they are on the right side of
the conflict, they are God’s chosen, the ones that will get the victory. To conclude, from Philip II’s
perspective, it was not the fleet bur the weather who defeated the Armada and although he sent other
fleets against England in the 1590s, none was as significant. Regarding the English view, the victory
boosted English nationalism. Besides, the English and Elizabeth thoroughly believed God’s providence
had protected England, hence England was God’s chosen nation, and the Queen was God’s instrument.
Consequently, Elizabeth reign is splitting after and before the Armada. However, neither the Spanish
defeat nor the English victory meant that England was going to be independent of the new Catholic
order which Philip II sought to impose.
The union of the crowns (1603): Ben Johnson, “Epigram” This is an epigram titled “On the Union”. This
has origin in Greco Latin tradition and is a poetic composition that condenses several ideas in witty
ways. Its author is Ben Johnson, who composed the best poems of his generation. He wrote
masquerades for James I of England during his reign. This is particular represents the union between
England and Scotland and dates from 1603. This goes back to Mary Queen of Scots. She married with
Henry Stuart, her cousin, and had James. Henry turned into a very ambitious person and wanted to
assume power and become king, so he started interfering until the point that Mary considered
separating from him. The castle where Henry was, strikingly exploded and his body was found in the
garden. He had been strangled, Noblemen were accused of this episode and one of them, James
Hepburn, became rebellion against Mary and she was detained in the Leven Castle and had been
forced to abdicate in favor of his son, James VI of Scotland. He started the Stuart dynasty as a king in
England. As he was very young when was crowned king, a group of Calvinist noblemen obtained the
regency until he was an adult. He was in favor of absolutism and wanted to establish peace with the
rest of European territories. He was raised in the Protestant faith. Tired of the noblemen, he started to
reign any help, alone, like an absolute monarch. As a king, he published the “Black Act”, which declared
the superiority of the Statute against the Church, but it was finally rejected. Later, he married Anne of
Denmark and had Henry. In Scotland, he established a centralized administration with a monarchical
authority, and also imposed Presbyterianism. He also published a short edition of his book “Basilikon
Doron”. Which was a kind of manual that provided guidelines for good governance. A good part of his
throne was based on having cordial relations with Elizabeth I of England, because she was not
married, so she could not have heirs, getting Jacobo great opportunities to opt for the English throne.
Upon Elizabeth’s death, James would obtain the throne of England, crowning himself as James I and
becoming king simultaneously. This is what this quatrain poem reflects, this fictitious union between
England and Scotland and the king’s reign as James VI of Scotland and I of England. In the first verse
of the poem, author writes: “When was there contract better driven by fate?”, which means that both
countries were destined to join, to sign a “contract” reflecting the perfect combination of two
individual territories, like a marriage in which England and Scotland co-joined. In the third verse we
can observe: “The world the temple was, the priest a king”. This reflects that the “world” was the scene
for the union and the “king” was the one who officiated the joining ceremony. The last verse says: “the
sea the ring”, which indicated that the “sea” was a king of barrier that separated both countries from
the attack of other territories and indicated loyalty between them. The sea made Britain special,
unique, and the rings are a metaphor of the union. Once he was proclaimed king of England, he
established in London, where he created several conflicts because of his ignorance of the English
culture and his little support and acceptance between the English people. He suggested a group of
Scottish noblemen to help him at the court, but they were never accepted since they were seen as
foreigners. He wanted to install Anglicanism, which provoked quarrels with the English catholic groups
as well as with the Puritans. They first created the Gunpowder plot in 1605, which his failure started a
period of persecutions led by the State. Puritans organized a meeting with James in Hampton Court in
1604 to discuss differences between the high church and them. They presented the Millenary Petition
which gathered their protests and requests. James accepted some changes, but the most important
one was the approval of a Bible translation in 1611. The king gained great unpopularity due to his
attempt to maintain peace with Spain. He also had a conflict with the Parliament. This defended the
principle of supremacy of the law that came from the court and thought that this law was above any
king’s method or plan. For this reason, James eliminated the Parliament and governed with his
favorite’s help. Later, he joined the country’s representatives to deal with financial matters. Finally,
Stuart kings attempted to avoid the Parliament by looking for other alternatives of profit. Prince
Charles travelled to Spain to marry Philip II’s daughter, but this attempt failed, and James I started to
see Spain as an enemy. A year before his death, power passed into the hands of his second son,
Charles I, since Henry had died before. James never had popularity among the English people
because he did not know how to get along with them and also did not follow English Parliament’s
rights. His son, Charles, would be the one who would compensate for the absolutist behavior with his
own life.
The doctrine of divine right of kings: James I & VI, “Basilikon Doron” (1599) This is a sonnet titled
“Basilikon Doron”, which means royal gift and dates from 1599. Its author is James I of England and
VI of Scotland. It is a kind of personal manual that provides guidelines for good governance and was
addressed to his son Henry, who would become his successor. This political book was very popular and
even became a bestseller. This goes back to Mary Queen of Scots. She married with Henry Stuart, her
cousin, and had James. Henry turned into a very ambitious person and wanted to assume power and
become king, so he started interfering until the point that Mary considered separating from him. The
castle where Henry was, strikingly exploded and his body was found in the garden. He had been
strangled, Noblemen were accused of this episode and one of them, James Hepburn, became rebellion
against Mary and she was detained in the Leven Castle and had been forced to abdicate in favor of
his son, James VI of Scotland. He started the Stuart dynasty as a king in England. As he was very
young when was crowned king, a group of Calvinist noblemen obtained the regency until he was an
adult. He was in favor of absolutism and wanted to establish peace with the rest of European
territories. He was raised in the Protestant faith. Tired of the noblemen, he started to reign any help,
alone, like an absolute monarch. As a king, he published the “Black Act”, which declared the superiority
of the Statute against the Church, but it was finally rejected. Later, he married Anne of Denmark and
had Henry. In Scotland, he established a centralized administration with a monarchical authority, and
also imposed Presbyterianism. In 1599, he published “Basilikon Doron” which means royal gift. This
was a kind of manual which provided the guidelines for good governance, it explained how to be the
ideal king. The political book was divided into three sections. The first one explained how to be a good
Christian king, the second illustrated the king’s functions and the third described the routines of
kingship. This piece is exactly a sonnet, a composition formed by three quatrains and a couplet. The
first 12 lines discuss an idea, and the last 2 provide a summary of that wittily presented. This sonnet
itself represents the idea of the absolute power of the monarchy and contains some biblical ideas. In
the first quatrain, James expresses that God selects a king for a purpose since they are like a god for
the nation, superior to ordinary people, in the 1st verse: “GOD gives not Kings the stile of Gods vaine”.
There is a concept from the Medieval period that indicates that the world is coordinated following
some hierarchical rules, and all of these living things are governed by God. The man would be the
higher individual in the range, that is why he is chosen by God to be king. As he have been chosen, he
must be a good king to please God, in the verse 4: “serve their God againe”. The main idea of these
four verses could be summed up in that God entrusts the ruling of a nation to kings and as a form of
gratitude, as a duty, they must follow the guidelines to be perfect emperors. The fifth and sixth verses
indicates that: “if then he would enjoy a happy reigne, Observe the Statutes of your heavenly King”,
which refers to the law of God, the Bible. On verses 9 and 10, the author reflects the characteristics a
king should have: “(…) be steadfast, true and plaine, Represse the proud (…)”. In verse 12: “who guards
the godly, plaguing the prophane”, expresses the idea of protecting the good ones and punishing the
those who do not obey the divine laws. The last two lines indicate that if you have those virtues
mentioned before, you will resemble God. Once he was proclaimed king of England, he established in
London, where he created several conflicts because of his ignorance of the English culture and his little
support and acceptance between the English people. He suggested a group of Scottish noblemen to
help him at the court, but they were never accepted since they were seen as foreigners. He wanted to
install Anglicanism, which provoked quarrels with the English catholic groups as well as with the
Puritans. They first created the Gunpowder plot in 1605, which his failure started a period of
persecutions led by the State. Puritans organized a meeting with James in Hampton Court in 1604 to
discuss differences between the high church and them. They presented the Millenary Petition which
gathered their protests and requests. James accepted some changes, but the most important one was
the approval of a Bible translation in 1611.
The New World: John Smith, “The General History of Virginia, New England and the Summer Isles
(1624) This is an historical text titled “The General History of Virginia, New England and the Summer
Isles” written in 1624 by John Smith. Its author was the leader of the Jamestown colony and was
given a charter by King James I to exploit the colony under supervision of Virginia Company. He spent
several years of his life travelling around Europe fighting in battles. This piece of text expresses how he
was taken “captive” by the American Indians. The story begins with the discovery of America in 1492
by Christobal Columbus, who first reached the area of Hispaniola. After this, Portugal and Spain
divided the Atlantic Ocean and the territories to conquer in America, the so-called New World.
Elizabeth I thought about promoting a policy of shipbuilding, to travel the world and explore new
virgin areas. English explorations to America led by Walter Ralegh started in 1583. He was given an
opportunity by Queen Elizabeth to explore and settle a new province in North America. Then, he guides
his soldiers to the North coast, and they found an area which was called Virginia, honoring the Virgin
Queen. In 1585, there was a first attempt to establish a colony at Roanoke Island, but supplies were
delayed, and the colonists returned to England. A second attempt was launched in 1587 when John
White sailed to England for supplies but was delayed as ships were confiscated to fight the Spanish
Armada. In 1590, White finally returned, but the settlements had been abandoned and the colonists
had disappeared. In 1606, the Virginia Company was founded in order to establish colonies on the
coast of North America. In 1607, three ships with 144 men sent by the Company reached Chesapeake
Bay in Virginia and the settlers founded Jamestown. The company was founded by merchants who
invested to go to Virginia so as to establish a new market, as the Americas were at the time seen as a
source of resources that would allow people and to start over new. Lots of colonists arrived in the city
with the aim of getting money in the “New World” and then came back to England. However, the
colony had problems because new member started to fight between them. The only target was to find
gold and not to produce food to feed their families or help the rest of the people. These new colonies
survived thanks to captain John Smith. He was appointed to the Governing Council of the colony.
Thus, he organized the building of fortifications, houses and church, but imposed an unpopular rule
based on military discipline. He explored Chesapeake Bay and established trading relations with the
natives. In December of 1607, he was made captive and brought before chief Powhatan. He was
supposedly going to be killed, but was saved by chief’s daughter, Pocahontas. Then, Smith was
adopted into Powhatan’s tribe and released. In this text, John Smith uses the 3rd person to narrate the
different events. He is protagonist of the story and present himself as a hero, disrespectfully
presenting the Indians as a lower grade and not like the rest of the Europeans. On lines 2-3, in
Powhatan’s territory, he was attended by the Queen of Apomatoc who asked to: “bring him water to
wash his hands (…), a bunch of feathers to dry them”. It was like a ceremony in which he was given the
welcome. They were being kind. Then, on lines 7-8, Chief Powhatan came and ordered to kill him:
“ready with their clubs to beat out his brains”, but Pocahontas, who had instantly fallen in love with the
prisoner, on lines 9-10: “got his head in her arms and laid her own upon his to save him from death”.
This deed meant John’s salvation. He was then given an occupation performing the same tasks as the
Indians and treating him as one of them. They were considering him a guest, but he was a racist and
thought they were barbarous and because of that he was scared. This is what is expressed in the
quotation from Euripides, a classical Greek playwright. From lines 20-22, an initiation ritual is
described: “brought forth to a great house in the woods, and thereupon a mat by the fire to be left
alone”, however, John was terrified and thought that he could be murdered at any moment. The tribe,
following their own cultural manners, adopted him and gave him a name (“Nantaquod”) and lands
(“Capahowosick”), but he would have to give something in exchange: “he should go to Jamestown to
send him two great guns and a grindstone”, on lines 26-27. The next lines describe how he was
accompanied by “twelve guides” to Jamestown, not to get lost. However, and as it has been already
mentioned he was always afraid of losing his life, on lines 30-31: “still expecting every hour to be put to
one death or other”. In this moment, John attributes to God the fact that he was not killed because:
“God had mollified the hearts of those stern barbarians” on lines 32-33. In the fifth paragraph, Smith
narrates how they had to remain in Jamestown. Moreover, he was accused of the deaths of two
comrades by the Levitical Law, but finally, he was saved from death. The Levitical Law was a rule
imposed by God in which if someone breaks the relationship with God, he will be punished. The English
wanted to flee from Jamestown because the starving time started. Nevertheless, Pocahontas and her
tribe gave them supplies and the English hope to survive returned. John Smith finally got along so well
with the natives that his people from Jamestown never suffered from food shortage again because:
“Pocahontas with her attendants, brought him so much provision” on lines 51-52- Finally, the explorer
accepted that Indians were not going to kill him. In the last three lines, the author attributes his good
luck and protection to God again, never assuming Indian’s solidarity.
William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation (1635) This is an historical text titled “Of Plymouth
Plantations” written by William Bradford in 1635. This work is divided into two books and this fragment
belongs to chapter 9. The author was a civilian who belonged to the Mayflower pilgrims. In this book,
he writes about the pilgrim’s adventures and experiences on board the Mayflower, a ship that travelled
from England to America because of religious reasons and to establish some colonies there. The
intention of the author was to portray the hardships that the pilgrims went through so that their
descendants could know about them. During the Reformation in England, some religious groups
appeared. Puritans were radical Protestants, mostly Calvinist, who rejected Church hierarchy, ritual
and ornaments, as they believed in predestination. They thoroughly believed that they were those
chosen of God which Tyndale had mentioned in his prologue. In 1593, the Religion Act passed,
declaring that 2Non conformists” could be forced to forfeit their goods and go into exile. But Puritan
congregations defied the government and continued to meet as they were disappointed with King
James’s religious policy. Even if they had already been punished under Elizabeth, the government
pressure forced some of the communities to emigrate to the Netherlands. In 1618, economic problems
and the threat of a Spanish invasion forced them to emigrate again. Motivated by religious and
economic reasons, they resolved to settle in the new world to practice their faith undisturbed.
Therefore, in 1620, they crossed the channel again to England and set out from Playmouth on board
the Mayflower. They sighted land at Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, and they explored the coast until
they found the site for their country, Playmouth Plantation. Since the Pilgrims’ patent applied in
Virginia, but not New England, some of the colonists questioned the authority of the puritan leaders.
The Pilgrims drew up the Mayflower Compact, that was signed on 1620 and it was an agreement in
order to remain united “in a civil body politic”, governed by “just and equal rights”. Without any time to
prepare, the Pilgrims had to face the harsh conditions of a New England winter to which only half of
them survived. The colonists received crucial help from the Native Americans to cultivate the land and
survive their first winter. Firstly, the voyage was going to be done in two ships, the Mayflower and the
Speedwell, but the second one had several problems and leaked, so they ended up: “being compact
together in one ship” on lines 1-2. It is believed that maybe those complications could have been
created by members of the crew, because they were afraid to carry out such a voyage. William
believed that he had been chosen by God to reestablish Christianity in America. That is why the text is
full of Biblical references and God’s attributions. From lines 5 to 15 a moral anecdote associated with
God’s help is told. There was an arrogant man on board that was making fun of the people that were
suffering from “seasickness”. He was not practicing solidarity and because of that God punished him.
The divine father managed to “smite this young man with a grievous disease, of which he died in a
desperate manner”, on lines 12-13. Another episode related to God is described afterwards. This one
talk about a man, named John Howland, who was a member of the puritan community. He “was
thrown into the sea” on lines 20-21, because of the bad weather, but managed to catch a rope and
survive. According to William, this was a God’s deed. God helped him because he deserved to live as
he was a good person. These two anecdotes demonstrate how God helps the good and punishes the
evil, showing contrast between them and providing moral teaching. We can observe how William
Bradford is a modest and objective author, presenting the facts as they really happened. During the
journey, they tried to arrive at Virginia’s coast in the north, but the weather was terrible. Finally, they
reached Cape Cod and thought that this place was a good area to stop the journey. He also attributes
this to “God’s providence” in line 39. There, they signed the Mayflower Compact which established the
government system. The mayflower examined the coast looking for food which they took from
Indian’s communities, who brought them help and were kind with them, as it is expressed in Acts 28:
“the islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us.” Then, the author talk
about the American weather to which pilgrims would be exposed to “winters (…) sharp and violent, and
subject to cruel and fierce storms” on lines 61-62. Lots of them died because of the diseases. From
lines 70 to 79, difficulties to find a place to establish themselves are narrated. Some of them
threatened saying that: “if they got not a place in time, they would turn them and their goods ashore
and leave them” in line 79. The last paragraph refers to Psalm 107 which talk that “they were hungry
and thirsty”, “finding no way to a city where they could settle”, so they “cried unto the lord and he hear
their voice” in line 83. Finally, they encountered the place to establish their colony, which they called
Plymouth Plantation. This document is the only source of details of what pilgrims on board the
Mayflower experienced as well as the first Thanksgiving, a feast that they celebrated with the Indians.
William defined his work as a constant battle against evil, arguing that the best weapon to combat it
was the Church. The author did not finish the book because he thought that it was impossible to se
God’s help among so many misfortunes.
The Civil War: Richard Lovelace. “To Althea From Prison” (1642) This is a poem titled “To Althea From
Prison”, written by Richard Lovelace in 1642. He was a royalist, who strongly supported king Charles I
and the Anglicanism, and wrote Cavalier poetry. The poem is dedicated to a lady called Althea and is a
politic piece of poetry praising the figure of the monarch. It was written as a result of Lovelace’s
imprisonment because he protested that the role of Anglican Bishops must have been restored in
Parliament. Charles I was the third child of James I and Anne Boleyn, and he was crowned king of
England after the death of his brother Henry. He travelled to Spain to marry with the daughter of Philip
II of France. The intention was to achieve peace between both territories, but this attempt failed
because Spain asked that in order for both of them to marry, Charles had to move to Catholicism, and
he was Protestant. This idea was not accepted, and Spain became an enemy for England. Finally, he
ended up marrying with the Catholic French Princess, Henrietta Maria. This created a conflict because
the Parliament thought that Catholic restrictions would be abolished. Charles, who had a controversial
personality, summoned Parliament seeking funds to enter in the Thirty Years War against to Spain. The
Commons not only suspected Charles’s religious stance but also distrusted his favorite the Duke of
Buckingham and granted only a token subsidy. They also refused to grant the king for life the
customary duties of tonnage and poundage. As opposition mounted, Charles dissolved the Parliament.
He to get money to finance the war, he established a “forced loan”, and those who did not accomplish
it were sent to prison. Buckingham failed at managing war efforts and the Commons plan to impeach
him. The king stood by him and dissolved the Parliament. In 1628, the king summoned a new one, but
the Commons presented the Petition of Right. This was a document that asked to stop authority
abuses. It was against taxes not passed by the Parliament, imprisonments without justification,
mandatory billeting and the Martial Law. The archbishop William Laud thought that they could
suppress religious conflicts and started attacking Puritans, who emigrated to America. Then, Charles
tried to establish the Presbyterian Church on the Scottish Kirk. This brought about revolts that
culminated in the elaboration and signing of the National Covenant, aimed at eliminating new
religious impositions. This is when the Bishop’s War started. In 1640, he recalled the Parliament in
search of money, but it rejected the King’s request and was finally dissolved. In the same year, a war
against the Scottish took place and king Charles was obligated to call a Parliament again. Finally,
Charles approved a document that banned Parliament’s abolition without its concession. This caused a
complete break with the Parliament and provoked the Civil War in 1642. The king gave up and
surrendered to the Scots. This poem is divided in four stanzas composed by eight lines and syllables,
so it is an iambic tetrameter with a rhyme scheme of ABABCDCD. For Lovelace, the jail does not mean
stay locked up, but he defends what he thinks about freedom, and he is using his liberty of speech,
also try to show that his spirit is free. In the first stanza, the “Love” is related to the “wings” because
love is in the air, reaches everybody and makes you feel free. Love chooses us and there is nothing we
can do about it. On lines 5-6, he expresses that he physically belongs to her and loves her
unconditionally. Even though he is a prisoner of love and is locked up, he enjoys more liberty than: “The
gods that wanton in the air” in line 7. In the second stanza, the prisoner describes a banquet or a
celebration, and repeats the same idea of being freer than he: “fishes that tipple in the deep”. He is
absolutely happy because he is loyal and devoted to his kings and consequently, he is worthy of the
lady’s love. The third stanza mentions the prisoner singing as the birds. He is demonstrating his loyalty
and mercy to the king; he is freer than: “the winds that curl the flood” in verse 23. He expresses that he
has more liberty than the “winds”, that is the most powerful natural element. In the fourth stanza, he
reflets the idea of liberty again. There is no prison for the mind and the soul, just for the body: “If I
have freedom in my love, And in my soul am free”. He can be physically a prisoner, but he remains
strong in his mind, and he is sure of his convictions and because of that, he is free. In the verse 28, we
can observe the concept of hermitage. He was put in prison by his cruel enemies, the puritan, but he
was innocent. He considers free to love Althea and the king and finally expresses that only “Angels”
“Enjoy such liberty”.
The Restoration of the Monarchy Katherine Philips, “On the Fair Weather just at the Coronation…”
(1661) This is a poem “On the Fair Eather just at the Coronation, it having rained immediately before
and after” written by Katherine Philips in 1661. She was one of the first English poetess who wrote
bucolic poetry, tragedy and epistles in the 17th century. The poem is built in couplets and tell the
celebratory occasion of Charles II’s coronation and how the bad weather stopped for a while to make
it possible. In January of 1649, after Charles’s I execution, the Parliament passed an act prohibiting
the proclamation of a new king. Consequently, a Council of State ruled the country and by the “Act
Abolishing the Kingly office”, England became a Commonwealth. This was a form of government in
which the power was held by representatives elected by people. Before becoming king, Charles II,
suffered a difficult youth. He accompanied his father in his campaigns. In 1645, he was given
command of royalist forces in the West Country. In June of 1646, he was finally persuaded to escape
to France, where he resided at Paris and The Hague. In February of 1649, he was proclaimed king by
the Scottish Parliament, and in 1651, he attempted to invade England with Scottish forces, but he was
defeated at Worcester. In 1653, Oliver Cromwell ruled the government under the name of Protectorate.
Even though he tried to impose puritanism, he gained great popularity among the people and was
proclaimed Lord Protector. He died in 1658, being succeeded by his son Richard, who had no influence
on the army, and was unable to face the service of his father, so he resigned in 1659. After this, people
asked for return of the king and Monck, leader of the Scottish army, restored the crown asking Charles
II to be king of England and establishing national reconciliation by the Declaration of Breda. This was
a document in which the king promised forgiveness, religious respect, the cancellation of back army’s
payments and the confiscation of the territories bought during the Interregnum. In May of 1660, the
Parliament invited Charles II to return to England and thus the monarchy that had been abolished was
restored. This is what this piece of royalist propaganda describes the celebratory occasion of Charles
II coronation and how the bad weather stopped for a while to make it possible. The poem is
composed by one stanza of 18 lines, which have irregular scheme and irregular rhyme. On verses 3-4
there is a personification of the Sun, because it is happy since it can see the performance: “Well knew
the Sun, if such a day were dim, it would have been an injury to him”. Moreover, Katherine narrates
that the sky was clear from storms, and it was lucky because in that moment was the Coronation of
the king. On verses 8-9, reflects the moment when it stopped raining: “And in a bright Parenthesis
appear’d”. Then, it is represented that everybody was so happy because it had been viable to
celebrate the king’s coronation and it is possible to find another personification when the poetess
writes “or the firmament”, in verse 10. Unfortunately, the calmness of the day stopped, because when
Charles II had already been crowned, it started to rain heavily. In fact, the poetess uses the word
“cannons” and “fireworks” in verse 14 to refer to the thunders and lighting of the storm and to
highlight how fiercely the storm. The deed is attributed to God. At the last part of the poem, Katherine
uses a Biblical reference in verse 15: “So Israel past through the divided flood…”. She is talking about
Moses’ story, which narrates how God divided in two the Red Sea to let Moses and his people crossed
it and fled of the Egyptians. The weather of the day was as beautiful and obedient with England’s new
king as the Red Sea with God and Moses. Charles II was known as a kind person, charmed by culture,
arts and pleasures. He defended national reconciliation even if he had to sacrifice English pride. He
married the Catholic Catherine of Braganza but had many royal mistresses. In 1665, London had to
face one of the most important plagues of history, the Great Plague. It is believed that the fire started
because a baker left the oven on and a spark fell near a wood stack, but due to political manipulation,
a rumor that said that the fire had been originated by a French Catholic spread. This disaster was later
compared with the destruction of Sodom, which appears in the Bible. The Restoration focused on
religious labors, reestablishing the dominance of episcopalism. He sacked all Republicans from their
positions and appointed Clarendon as minister. He also had to face a conflict against the Lowlands
and was forced to hand Dunkerque’s post over to Louis XIV. In 1670, Charles had a meeting with him
with the aim of reestablishing Catholicism in England in exchange of economic support, which was
signed in the Treaty of Dover. The Parliament then adopted the Bill of Habeas Corpus, which declared
the right of any person who was arrested to appear before a judge to decide whether or no he was
guilty. Charles had no children with Catherine; however, he had a large number of illegitimate children.
This provoked disputes between whigs and Tories since the first wanted a natural heir for the throne.
He finally died due to a disease, being succeeded by his brother James II.
John Wilmor, Earl of Rochester This text is a sonnet titled “Regime de Vivre” written by John Wilmot in
1685. The date in which this poem was written or published is unknown, but we can relate it with the
reign of Charles II. This poem reflects the debauchery of life in the court during Charles II’s reign. In
January of 1649, after Charles’s I execution, the Parliament passed an act prohibiting the
proclamation of a new king. Consequently, a Council of State ruled the country and by the “Act
Abolishing the Kingly office”, England became a Commonwealth. This was a form of government in
which the power was held by representatives elected by people. Before becoming king, Charles II,
suffered a difficult youth. He accompanied his father in his campaigns. In 1645, he was given
command of royalist forces in the West Country. In June of 1646, he was finally persuaded to escape
to France, where he resided at Paris and The Hague. In February of 1649, he was proclaimed king by
the Scottish Parliament, and in 1651, he attempted to invade England with Scottish forces, but he was
defeated at Worcester. In 1653, Oliver Cromwell ruled the government under the name of Protectorate.
Even though he tried to impose puritanism, he gained great popularity among the people and was
proclaimed Lord Protector. He died in 1658, being succeeded by his son Richard, who had no influence
on the army, and was unable to face the service of his father, so he resigned in 1659. After this, people
asked for return of the king and Monck, leader of the Scottish army, restored the crown asking Charles
II to be king of England and establishing national reconciliation by the Declaration of Breda. This was
a document in which the king promised forgiveness, religious respect, the cancellation of back army’s
payments and the confiscation of the territories bought during the Interregnum. In May Of 1660, the
Parliament proposed Charles II to return to England, beginning the period known as the Restoration,
and he was crowned king in 1661. Government systems were replaced, and a cynical attitude began to
spread in the court, marked by a self-centered hedonism. He defended national reconciliation even
though he had to sacrifice English pride. This poem is a satiric sonnet composed by one stanza, 14
regular lines and 7 couplets. In this poem, we can see the denunciation of libertinism, the description of
his boring life. The poem represents the addiction to sex and immorality that existed in the Restoration
and the lack of joy. In the first part of the stanza, the author narrates his morning, and he is described
as an alcoholic and lazy person, who uses to call a prostitute to satisfy him. He does not care about
rules because his actions were totally accepted. In verse 3: “I send for my whore, when for fear of a
clap”, the author points out that people were aware of the existence of venereal diseases and were
afraid of them. What is more, the author tries not to get the woman pregnant. As it has been
mentioned, the author describes the sex act in a very explicit way. Unfortunately, the prostitute stole
his money when he fell sleep, so he narrates the event with ager childish tone in verse 10: “What a coil
do I make for the loss of my punk”. He is furious because she took his money and left him unfinished:
“At once she bereaves me of money and cunt”. Nevertheless, he shows himself indifferent in verse 12:
“And missing my whore, I bugger my page”. At the end of the satire, he narrates that he takes
advantage of his boy servant, a sexual and immoral deed to Christendom, apart from being a violent
act. The next day, he wakes up with hangover, yell at his servants and goes to bed again. This is
repeated every day. The Protestantism under the Protectorate had finished, also the end of Puritanism
by the Libertine Court. A libertine was a person who was totally freed from morality and chose to
indulge in sexual pleasures. This was a reaction to the spiritual authoritarianism of the Puritanism. The
theaters returned with satires and the Restoration Comedy, which had a crude humor and made fun of
English society. In the composition, John also demonstrates the superiority of his life over those of the
rest of the people, since his only concerns were to satisfy his pleasures and needs, evoking an idea of
Carpe Diem, which reflects that one should enjoy life to the fullest for what may happen tomorrow. His
philosophy and thought of living each moment did not save him from the ruin, alcoholism and sexual
illnesses. His work and literary productions became very important and started to be published after
his death.
The Exclusion Crisis (1679-81): Charles Sackville, Earl of Dorset. “My opinion” (c.1681) This is an
historical poem titled “My Opinion” attributed to Charles Sackville in 1681. He was the 6th Earl of
Dorset, was a libertine English poet, a member of the Parliament and a member of the court of Charles
II. In this piece of poetry, the author criticizes the king, gives his personal opinion and marks his
position about the political conflict of choosing an heir for the throne. Since Charles II was crowned
king, he had to face many problems, many of them provoked by the Puritan excesses and the disorder
generated after the death of the dictator, Cromwell. In 1660, he announced the Declaration of Breda,
in which the king promises forgiveness, religious respect, the cancellation of back army’s payments
and confiscation of the territories bought during the Interregnum. In 1670, the king had a meeting with
Louis XIV to reestablish Catholicism in England and to help him in case of external conflicts in
exchange for an economic subsidy, everything signed in the Treaty of Dover. Then, in 1672, the Dutch
War took place. France was the first to declare war on it and then England. In the same year, Charles
promulgated the Declaration of Indulgence in favor of Catholics, which would receive a special charge
as far as religion is concerned. In 1673, the Test Act was passed by the Parliament. This obligated
office-holders to accept Anglican guidelines and reject any other faith. In this period, Catherine of
Braganza, the wife of the king, had many miscarriages, so James, Duke of York, married Mary of
Modena, with the aim of having possible heir to the throne. This succession caused the emergence of
two political parties, the Whigs, which defended the king and the Tories, which protested in favor of
Parliament. In 1678, the Popish Plot was discovered by Titus Oates, a member from the Anglican
Church who affirmed that the objective of the conspiracy was to kill King Charles and make James
king, who would later restore Catholic faith in all England. The king gave it no importance, but the
cleric swore that his accusations were true. Afterwards, the judge who was handling the case was
strikingly found dead and the Catholics were accused. Many Catholics were accused and then prisoned
in the Tower. Regarding to the text, the poet introduces both political parties “Tories and Whigs” and
he describes them as “fools and knaves” in verse 3. They tried to solve the succession problem but
unable, they just took advantage of it. Whigs tried to take the Duke of York away from the English
throne and present in his place his daughter, Mary, or the Duke of Monmouth. In the second quatrain,
the author refers to the king with the nickname of “Rowley”, his pet’s name. The poet compares the
political parties and the King to the pins of the sport, which formed a triangle. The king is the middle
pin of the group, whereas each Tory and Whig occupy one different corner. Sackville’s strategy
consisted in getting rid of the corners before ending with the middle pin, in order to restructure the
government, in verse 5: “Poor Rowley, who maxims of state are a riddle”, the poet considers that if the
government is not organized, how England will overtake the crisis that have to face. In the third
quatrain, the poetical voice, who is fed up with the situation, recriminates the king for not leaving the
throne; we can see this in verse 10: “he’ll make a wise shift to get rid of his crown”. In fact, Sackville
compares again bowling to the king and his family in verse 12: “He’s have had’em long since tipp¡d
down to the Devil”. The poet wants the king, his brother and his son left the crown successively. The
poem combines sarcasm and irony, as it can be seen in the fourth quatrain, in which the author of the
poem ironically presents both candidates: “The first is a Prince well fashion’d, well featur’d” in verse 13,
referring to the Duke of York, and “The other for government can’t be unfit” in verse 15, describing the
Duke of Monmouth, and attributing them qualities that neither of them have. In the last stanza, the
author gives his final argument by discrediting the Dukes, in verse 18: “I’d hang out with the one and
I’d piss on the other”, as it has been mentioned, the poet refers to the possible successors of the king,
who are unfit to reign the English kingdom. Not only does he think that the Dukes were unable to rule
England, but the Tories and Whigs did not deserve to have the power, in verse 20: “The fools might be
Whigs, none but knaves should be Tories”. The poet says that these political parties were not
competent at all to govern and face the crisis. In conclusion, both of them were ineffective and
represented a bad replacement for the king, so they were not a solution for the crisis. In 1679, Charles
accepted the first Exclusion Bill and broke up the Parliament. Again, new elections were organized, and
the Commons voted for Mary, but it was rejected by the Lords. In January of 1681, the king annulled
the Parliament again. After the last summon in Oxford the same year, the king would not call more
Parliaments.
Invitation to the Prince of Orange (30 June 1688): This text is a fragment of the letter of “Invitation to
the Prince of Orange”. It is a legal and historical document written the 30th of June of 1688, after the
Exclusion Crisis, by the “Immortal Seven”, a group formed by Henry Sidney, a politician and English
officer, five members of the nobility and a bishop to ask William and Mary to come to England and
take the throne in order to end the Catholic tyranny the country was going through. After the
succession conflict and the parliamentary opposition between the Whigs and the Tories, Charles II
broke up with the Parliament, ruling alone until the moment of his death in 1685. After this, James II
was crowned king of England. He had married Mary of Modena with the intention of having a son that
would be educated as a Catholic. In the same year, the Monmouth rebellion took place. Monmouth,
who was illegitimate son of Charles II, claimed to be deserving heir for the throne. Consequently, he
arrived from exile and looked for followers to help him face the opposition and overthrow James.
Monmouth was finally defeated at Sedgemoor and the assassinated. James II began to lose support
by not calling the Parliament and maintaining good relations with Louis XIV of France, who exercised
absolute sovereignty. Besides, James II eliminated legal restrictions against Catholics, and
established religious tolerance, which terrified the Anglicans and the Tories since they thought that
Catholicism would be reestablished. In 1687, the Declaration of Indulgence, a document that
established freedom of religion was published and the clergy was obligated to read it in churches. The
same day, the Archbishop of Canterbury and six other members of the Church refused to do so and
were imprisoned in the Tower of London. James II had just two daughters but both of them were
Protestants. He was already at a certain age and wanted a male to secure Catholicism in England. In
1688, after various abortions, Queen Mary had a son who was named James Stuart. He would be
educated in the Catholic faith, so England would be ruled by a succession of Catholic monarchs.
Rapidly, the Whigs’ party rapidly began to spread the rumor that the son had been born dead and that
a healthy baby had been introduced in a warming-pan to protect the English throne. After this and
seeing that the succession was at stake, the “Immortal Seven” reached William of Orange, to show
him their fear about was going on: “We have great reason to believe we shall be everyday in a worse
condition than we are, and less able to defend ourselves”, on lines 2-4. They sent him the invitation
because he was a great leader, the perfect source of authority they needed, that is why they refer to
the Prince as “Your Highness”, in line 1, as a sign of respect and admiration. The text shows the
frustration and discontent of the nation who had had to accept the impositions of the monarchy: “the
people are so generally dissatisfied with the present conduct of the government in relation to their
religion, liberties and properties”, on lines 11-13. At first, James II tried to reassure the people by
promising them that the structure of the state and the Church would not change and that he would
respect private property, but as it is observable, this did not happen. They just ask for protection in
exchange for helping to bring about the abolition of the king and the imposition of Catholic faith:
“some of the most considerable of them would venture themselves with Your Highness at your first
landing”, on lines 22-23. Moreover, at the beginning of his reign the king announced the part of the
army was Catholic which revitalized the opposition, so within the army there were two sides. One side
declared that “they continue in their service only for a subsistence” in line 32, but they were not in
favor of the king. In this text is also mentioned that anybody believed that the newborn was from the
Queen, affirming that he was illegitimate and unworthy of the throne: “which not one in a thousand
here believes to be the Queen’s”, in line 46. With all these evidence, they asked William to invade
England in order to reestablish freedom and preserve the Protestant religion. James II, sure that
William could not collaborate with the deserters, maintained his confidence and rejected the help
offered by France. Finally, William of Orange accepted his invitation and landed in Torbay with a small
army, unleashing the Glorious Revolution. The king, powerless, fled the country. Afterwards, William
declared that his action was equal to abdication, so he took the power and met the Convention
Parliament, which gave him and his wife the approval to rule England. Finally, William and Mary were
announced monarchs of England. They signed the Bill of Rights, which prohibited Catholics to rule,
limited royal authority and established fundamental liberties of the English people. After the revolution,
James led two rebellions in England, but both of them failed. Firstly, he arrived in Ireland surrounded
by loyal supporters, but was defeated in the Battle of Boyne in July 1690. The second one took place in
Scotland. Troops in the highlands got victory, but they were finally defeated.