source: other-projects/nightly-tasks/diffcol/trunk/model-collect/Tudor-Enhanced/archives/HASH6815.dir/doc.xml@ 34416

Last change on this file since 34416 was 34416, checked in by ak19, 4 years ago

Committing rebuilt model collections after new doc.xml meta gsdlfullsourcepath introduced in commit r34394.

File size: 84.8 KB
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1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
2<!DOCTYPE Archive SYSTEM "http://greenstone.org/dtd/Archive/1.0/Archive.dtd">
3<Archive>
4<Section>
5 <Description>
6 <Metadata name="gsdlfullsourcepath">/Scratch/ak19/gs2-diffcol-26Apr2019/collect/Tudor-Enhanced/import/englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/edward6.html</Metadata>
7 <Metadata name="gsdlsourcefilename">import/englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/edward6.html</Metadata>
8 <Metadata name="gsdlsourcefilerenamemethod">url</Metadata>
9 <Metadata name="gsdldoctype">indexed_doc</Metadata>
10 <Metadata name="Plugin">HTMLPlugin</Metadata>
11 <Metadata name="FileSize">74662</Metadata>
12 <Metadata name="Source">edward6.html</Metadata>
13 <Metadata name="SourceFile">edward6.html</Metadata>
14 <Metadata name="Language">en</Metadata>
15 <Metadata name="Encoding">utf8</Metadata>
16 <Metadata name="Author">Marilee</Metadata>
17 <Metadata name="Title">Tudor Monarchs: King Edward VI</Metadata>
18 <Metadata name="FileFormat">HTML</Metadata>
19 <Metadata name="URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/edward6.html</Metadata>
20 <Metadata name="UTF8URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/edward6.html</Metadata>
21 <Metadata name="dc.Subject">Tudor period|Monarchs</Metadata>
22 <Metadata name="Identifier">HASH6815ffdac32a15841e2fff</Metadata>
23 <Metadata name="lastmodified">1601256680</Metadata>
24 <Metadata name="lastmodifieddate">20200928</Metadata>
25 <Metadata name="oailastmodified">1601256860</Metadata>
26 <Metadata name="oailastmodifieddate">20200928</Metadata>
27 <Metadata name="assocfilepath">HASH6815.dir</Metadata>
28 <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">seymour-cr.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
29 <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">seymour-min.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
30 <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">ed6baby-crop.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
31 <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">ed1543-crop.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
32 <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">parr-cr.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
33 <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">edward4-cr.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
34 <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">ed6main-cr.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
35 <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">edward6.gif:image/gif:</Metadata>
36 <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">loseley.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
37 </Description>
38 <Content>
39&amp;nbsp;
40&lt;center&gt;&lt;table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=8 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH=&quot;98%&quot; &gt;
41&lt;tr&gt;
42&lt;td ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=TOP WIDTH=&quot;20%&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;
43
44&lt;td WIDTH=&quot;15&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
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46&lt;td VALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH=&quot;80%&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;
47&lt;/tr&gt;
48
49&lt;tr&gt;
50&lt;td VALIGN=TOP WIDTH=&quot;20%&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
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115&lt;img SRC=&quot;_httpdocimg_/seymour-cr.jpg&quot; ALT=&quot;etching of Edward's mother, Jane Seymour&quot; BORDER=1 height=169 width=150&gt;&lt;p&gt;
116&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;engraving of Jane Seymour, mother of Edward VI&lt;/font&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;
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169&lt;img SRC=&quot;_httpdocimg_/seymour-min.jpg&quot; ALT=&quot;miniature portrait of Jane Seymour by Horenbout&quot; height=165 width=166&gt;
170&lt;br&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; miniature portrait of Jane Seymour, painted by Lucas
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233&lt;p&gt;&lt;img SRC=&quot;_httpdocimg_/ed6baby-crop.jpg&quot; ALT=&quot;Holbein's famous portrait of Edward as a toddler&quot; BORDER=2 height=194 width=150&gt;&lt;p&gt;
234&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Edward as a young prince, painted by Hans Holbein&lt;/font&gt;&lt;p&gt;
235&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;to learn more about this portrait, &lt;/font&gt;
236&lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fnga.gov%2fcgi-bin%2fpinfo%3fObject%3d74%2b0%2bnone&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;click
237here&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;
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287&lt;p&gt;&lt;img SRC=&quot;_httpdocimg_/ed1543-crop.jpg&quot; ALT=&quot;portrait of Prince Edward in 1543&quot; BORDER=2 height=194 width=137&gt;
288&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt; portrait of Edward VI, c1546, by an unknown artist&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;
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337&lt;img SRC=&quot;_httpdocimg_/parr-cr.jpg&quot; ALT=&quot;Edward's beloved stepmother, Katharine Parr&quot; BORDER=2 height=191 width=150&gt;&lt;p&gt;
338&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Edward VI's beloved stepmother, Katharine Parr, painted by
339William Scrots, c1543 &lt;/font&gt;
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395&lt;p&gt;&lt;img SRC=&quot;_httpdocimg_/edward4-cr.jpg&quot; ALT=&quot;profile portrait of Edward VI&quot; BORDER=2 height=228 width=150&gt;
396&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt; Edward VI, c1546, perhaps painted by William Scrots&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;
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448&lt;p&gt;&lt;img SRC=&quot;_httpdocimg_/ed6main-cr.jpg&quot; ALT=&quot;Edward VI, once more in a Henrician pose&quot; BORDER=2 height=214 width=150&gt;&lt;/center&gt;
449
450&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Edward VI in a pose reminiscent of his father,
451c1543, painted by William Scrots&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;
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609&lt;img SRC=&quot;_httpdocimg_/edward6.gif&quot; ALT=&quot;King Edward VI&quot; height=48 width=315&gt;
610&lt;br&gt;
611&lt;img SRC=&quot;_httpdocimg_/loseley.jpg&quot; ALT=&quot;portrait of Edward VI in 1547, in a pose reminiscent of his father&quot; BORDER=2 height=311 width=226 align=LEFT&gt;&lt;b&gt;Henry
612VIII had just one legitimate son, Prince Edward.&amp;nbsp; Born in October
6131537, Edward was the fulfillment of his father's tangled marital history.&amp;nbsp;
614Henry had ended his marriages to Katharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn when
615they failed at the most important queenly duty, each woman bearing a healthy
616princess but no surviving prince.&amp;nbsp; Jane Seymour, the king's third
617wife, was luckier.&amp;nbsp; She ensured the king's lasting affection when
618she gave birth to Edward, but she died soon afterwards of puerperal sepsis.&amp;nbsp;
619The infant prince was the only male Tudor heir of his generation; he had
620two sisters and Henry VIII's sisters Mary and Margaret had several daughters.&amp;nbsp;
621If Edward died, the throne would pass to a woman and the Tudor dynasty
622would end.&amp;nbsp; Accordingly, King Henry did all he could to protect his
623son's health; the infant prince lived in safe seclusion until his father
624wed Katharine Parr.&amp;nbsp; Henry's last wife became a beloved mother to
625Edward and he adopted the zealous Protestantism which she championed.&amp;nbsp;
626He also grew close to his half-sister Elizabeth, with whom he shared a
627household for some years.&amp;nbsp; His older half-sister, Mary, was an equally
628zealous Catholic; her religion and the vast difference in their ages prevented
629a close relationship.&amp;nbsp; Edward became king at the age of 10, but he
630was a mere figurehead.&amp;nbsp; His Seymour uncles battled with and ultimately
631lost the Protectorship to the ambitious John Dudley, duke of Northumberland.&amp;nbsp;
632During his brief reign, Edward demonstrated impressive piety and intelligence.&amp;nbsp;
633But his potential would never be realized.&amp;nbsp; He died an agonizing death
634at 15, possibly from a combination of tuberculosis and the measles.&amp;nbsp;
635Northumberland had persuaded him to leave the throne to his Protestant
636cousin, Lady Jane Grey.&amp;nbsp; This decision begat one of the most tragic
637tales of Tudor England.&lt;/b&gt;
638&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;
639&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fedward6.html#Biography&quot;&gt;Read
640a more detailed biography of King Edward VI&lt;/a&gt;.
641&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Primary Sources&lt;/b&gt;
642&lt;br&gt;Read &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html&quot;&gt;Edward's
643journal entries&lt;/a&gt;.
644&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fed6birth.html&quot;&gt;Jane Seymour's
645pregnancy is announced&lt;/a&gt;, 1537&lt;/blockquote&gt;
646
647&lt;blockquote&gt;Visit &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.geocities.com%2fmarilee-cody%2fimages.html&quot;&gt;Tudor
648England: Images&lt;/a&gt; to view portraits of Edward.
649&lt;br&gt;Visit the &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fseymour.html&quot;&gt;Jane
650Seymour site&lt;/a&gt; to learn more about Edward's mother.
651&lt;br&gt;Visit the &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html&quot;&gt;Lady
652Jane Grey site&lt;/a&gt; to learn more about Edward's cousin and heiress.
653&lt;p&gt;Test your knowledge of King Edward's life at &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html&quot;&gt;Tudor
654Quizzes&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;The above portrait is of King Edward VI, c1547, by
655 an unknown artist.&amp;nbsp;
656 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.geocities.com%2fmarilee-cody%2fnewpics.html&quot;&gt;Click here&lt;/a&gt; to
657 learn more.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
658
659&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;
660&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;a NAME=&quot;Biography&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;b&gt;Biography&lt;/b&gt;
661&lt;br&gt;Henry VIII married Jane Seymour in shocking haste and, when she died
662less than two years later, he sought another wife immediately afterwards.&amp;nbsp;
663This evident dislike of bachelorhood was a cornerstone of Henry's adult
664life.&amp;nbsp; But it shouldn't imply that he didn't grieve for Jane.&amp;nbsp;
665Indeed, unlike his other wives, she was the only one he always spoke of
666with affection.&amp;nbsp; The cynic may argue this was because she died before
667Henry could turn on her.&amp;nbsp; Whatever the case, when his own life came
668to an end, Henry envisioned a grand tomb to hold him and his 'entirely
669beloved' Jane.&amp;nbsp; This did not come to pass; instead, Henry's body was
670interred with Jane's at her burial site, St George's Chapel.
671&lt;p&gt;It is indicative of Henry's contradictory character that, ten years
672and three wives after her death, he still held Jane in such sentimental
673regard.&amp;nbsp; Though he is notorious for his six marriages, one could easily
674argue that only his union with Jane Seymour - brief though it was - completely
675satisfied him, as man &lt;i&gt;and&lt;/i&gt; king.&amp;nbsp; Unlike her immediate predecessor
676Anne Boleyn (whose motto was &lt;i&gt;le plus heureuse &lt;/i&gt;- 'the most happy'),
677Jane chose as her motto, 'Bound to obey and serve.'&amp;nbsp; A more striking
678contrast to the witty, flirtatious and passionate Anne Boleyn could not
679be imagined.&amp;nbsp; While Anne had been almost exotic in her attractiveness,
680stylish, and educated at the notorious French court, Jane was the pious
681and dutiful daughter of an old English family.&amp;nbsp; Certainly she had
682as many ambitious relatives (including two brothers executed by her son),
683but she never imposed upon the king.&amp;nbsp; When she argued for Henry to
684reinstate his daughter Mary, the king replied that she would do well to
685think of herself and the children they would have; Jane replied, with typical
686tact and submissiveness, that she was thinking only of the king's happiness.&amp;nbsp;
687She had the most pleasing feminine habit of showing disinterested concern
688for others.&amp;nbsp; Again, a contrast to her predecessor who had despised
689- and been despised by - Princess Mary.
690&lt;p&gt;But Jane's quiet, pliant nature should not be mistaken for shyness or
691ignorance.&amp;nbsp; Indeed, she was intelligent enough to manage Henry Tudor,
692a feat at which even great men like Wolsey, Cromwell, and More struggled.&amp;nbsp;
693She also managed to capture and maintain a king's interest while he was
694married to another woman.&amp;nbsp; Certainly Henry was increasingly weary
695of Anne and the lack of a male heir but his desire for Jane also urged
696on Anne's execution.&amp;nbsp; And before the execution, Henry was careful
697to obtain a divorce from Anne as well; this meant that his marriage to
698Jane was the first legal union of his life.&amp;nbsp; At forty-five, well into
699middle-age, the king declared he was finally entering a legally and spiritually
700pure marriage.
701&lt;p&gt;If Jane would have maintained Henry's interest and affection forever
702cannot, of course, be known.&amp;nbsp; She lived just eighteen months after
703their marriage, long enough to deliver a prince and short enough to enshrine
704her memory.&amp;nbsp; Beyond Henry, she also impressed others as the perfect
705epitome of a quiet, obedient and kind wife - various ambassadors and contemporaries
706agree on this.&amp;nbsp; But one musn't forget that she knowingly - if quietly
707- carried on an affair with a married man while ostensibly serving his
708wife.&amp;nbsp; Many vilified Anne Boleyn for the very same behavior; however,
709Jane's behavior is rarely portrayed in a negative manner.
710&lt;p&gt;The exact date she met the king is not known.&amp;nbsp; But before he dallied
711with her, he had made another of Anne Boleyn's ladies-in-waiting his mistress.&amp;nbsp;
712This was Margaret (or Madge) Shelton, Anne Boleyn's first cousin, a girl
713'very gentle of countenance' and 'soft of speech.'&amp;nbsp; She was governess
714to Princess Elizabeth and her husband was captain of the child's guard.&amp;nbsp;
715The affair with Madge lasted about six months in early 1535; Chapuys, the
716Imperial ambassador, also mentions another affair in autumn 1534 but the
717woman's name is not known.&amp;nbsp; In autumn 1535, the king's fancy turned
718to Jane Seymour.&amp;nbsp; Henry was on progress to Southampton and stayed
719at her father's home, Wolf Hall in Wiltshire, with the traveling court.&amp;nbsp;
720This meeting at Wolf Hall was not their first (it simply couldn't have
721been since she had been in royal service since 1529).&amp;nbsp; But Henry VIII
722was rarely one for passion at first sight and, for one reason or another,
723Jane attracted his &lt;i&gt;amorous&lt;/i&gt; attentions at Wolf Hall.
724&lt;p&gt;He had not deserted his relationship with Anne, however; there was still
725a chance she would provide a male heir and Henry was loathe to end a marriage
726he had fought so hard to secure.&amp;nbsp; Still, in the back of all minds,
727the precedent of repudiated Katharine existed.&amp;nbsp; If the aunt of the
728Holy Roman Emperor could be divorced, why not 'Nan Bullen'?&amp;nbsp; But such
729speculation was dormant until Anne suffered a stillbirth during the summer
730of 1534.
731&lt;p&gt;Before this, Chapuys and other enemies commented that she was growing
732old, her dark good looks were fading; she was in her mid-thirties, no longer
733young and leaving her safest reproductive years behind.&amp;nbsp; She still
734could manage Henry though she lacked Jane Seymour's delicate touch.&amp;nbsp;
735But she would have been a fool to think her position was completely secure.&amp;nbsp;
736Each new dalliance, each sharp word reinforced her tenuous position.&amp;nbsp;
737Above all else, she must produce a male heir - Henry would never repudiate
738the mother of his son.&amp;nbsp; So when she miscarried late in her pregnancy,
739she naturally worried.&amp;nbsp; It did not help her disposition or relations
740with the king.
741&lt;p&gt;Shortly thereafter, Henry began the dalliance mentioned above.&amp;nbsp;
742Anne drove her rival from court, Chapuys relates, Henry was angry and threatening
743- he told Anne that she &quot;had good reason tto be content with what he had
744done for her, which he would not do now if the thing were to begin and
745that she should consider from what she had come and other things.&quot;&amp;nbsp;
746One can imagine the effect of such words on Anne.&amp;nbsp; She became terminally
747insecure and anxious even as she struggled to conceive and deliver a healthy
748child.&amp;nbsp; And Henry, sensitive as always, remarked that he believed
749she had never been pregnant at all.&amp;nbsp; (This was untrue - Anne's advancing
750pregnancy had been noted by several contemporaries.)
751&lt;p&gt;From the fall of 1534 and most of 1535, Anne sought security in the
752only way possible.&amp;nbsp; But Henry was occasionally impotent, a not uncommon
753occurrence for an overweight man of forty-five.&amp;nbsp; Like most men of
754his age (and many of ours), he didn't blame himself; after all, he was
755still attracted to other women.&amp;nbsp; Ironically enough, it was after his
756visit to Wolf Hall, when he returned to London in October 1535, that he
757and Anne conceived a child.&amp;nbsp; The fancy for Jane Seymour, only a few
758weeks old, would be overlooked.
759&lt;p&gt;Furthermore, Katharine of Aragon had finally passed away on 7 January
7601536.&amp;nbsp; The great rival vanquished and she herself pregnant, Anne lived
761as her motto decreed - 'the most happy.'&amp;nbsp; But Katharine's death was
762not the happy event it may have seemed.&amp;nbsp; After all, in the eyes of
763Catholic Europe, Katharine had always been Henry's wife.&amp;nbsp; With her
764death, the king of England was officially widowed.&amp;nbsp; In other words,
765he was free to marry again.&amp;nbsp; The union with Anne was not recognized.&amp;nbsp;
766And just a few weeks after Katharine's death, Anne miscarried the child.&amp;nbsp;
767It was a male fetus, about fifteen weeks old.&amp;nbsp; Her own sorrow as a
768mother was undoubtedly overwhelmed by the realization that she was doomed.
769&lt;p&gt;She told Henry she had miscarried because he had suffered a serious
770fall and the news, related by her uncle Norfolk, had distressed her terribly.&amp;nbsp;
771Henry was uninterested.&amp;nbsp; According to Anne's attendants, he said to
772her, &quot;I see God will not give me male children&quot; and that he would have
773&quot;no more boys by &lt;i&gt;her&lt;/i&gt;.&quot;&amp;nbsp; Perhaps two miscarriages was not uncommon
774in Tudor England but, in light of Katharine of Aragon's many miscarriages,
775Anne's were magnified.
776&lt;p&gt;With Anne now widely believed to be incapable of delivering a male heir,
777Henry's relationship with Jane Seymour assumed a new importance.&amp;nbsp;
778There are stories which cannot be confirmed as true - Anne discovered Jane
779sitting on the king's lap, Anne discovered gifts Henry had bought for 'Mistress
780Seymour' - but they are disquieting.&amp;nbsp; In any case, Jane was bewitching
781the king in her own quiet way much as Anne herself had done.&amp;nbsp; She
782denied the king just enough to ensure a chaste reputation and certainly
783Henry was like many men - the forbidden fruit was all the more attractive.&amp;nbsp;
784And she also came from a respectable noble family which passionately pounced
785upon the Boleyn's declining fortunes.
786&lt;p&gt;The Seymours had old antecedents though their claim of Norman ancestry
787was dubious.&amp;nbsp; Their name was originally St Maur and a Sir Wido de
788Saint Maur was supposed to have come over with the conquest.&amp;nbsp; Prosperous
789marriages enriched the family and extended their holdings.&amp;nbsp; Jane's
790father was born in 1474 and knighted in the field by Henry VII at a battle
791called Blackheath.&amp;nbsp; He continued to enjoy royal favor into Henry VIII's
792reign, accompanying the king on his French campaign in 1513 and also the
793infamous Field of Cloth of Gold in 1532.&amp;nbsp; He was a Gentleman of the
794Bedchamber and sheriff of his home county but never especially prominent
795or ambitious.&amp;nbsp; What was important was his reputation as a pious and
796courteous man; also, he was often in close contact with the king.&amp;nbsp;
797And, even more important, he came from a large family with many healthy
798children.&amp;nbsp; Jane herself was one of ten children; her own mother had
799six sons, though two of died of the sweating sickness in 1528.
800&lt;p&gt;Jane's father was over 60 when the king's fancy turned to her; it was
801her older brothers Edward and Thomas who stood to profit most from her
802ascendancy.&amp;nbsp; They seized - and relished - this unexpected opportunity
803to advance their fortunes.&amp;nbsp; Their sister, in her mid-twenties, was
804not particularly beautiful; her most pleasing feature was her fair, unblemished
805skin.&amp;nbsp; Chapuys, who had no cause to denigrate her, described her as
806'of middle stature and no great beauty.'&amp;nbsp; But she was calm, courteous,
807and kindly.&amp;nbsp; Such characteristics were important, especially to a
808monarch like Henry who felt himself surrounded by devious and temperamental
809women.&amp;nbsp; She was also virtuous.&amp;nbsp; She may have responded to Henry's
810flirtations (who would deny the king?) but she responded to no others -
811this despite service under two queens.&amp;nbsp; But when Henry sent her gifts
812with a letter, she returned them, saying, &quot;If the King desired to make
813her a present of money, she prayed that it might be when she made an honorable
814marriage.&quot;&amp;nbsp; Once again, the royal appetite was whetted.&amp;nbsp; And,
815of course, such modest behavior was desirable in a woman Henry increasingly
816wanted to wed.
817&lt;p&gt;Jane's family was joined by supporters who had been slighted by the
818Boleyn faction.&amp;nbsp; In other words, anyone who had not prospered under
819Anne's rule wanted to support Jane.&amp;nbsp; On 18 April 1536, Cromwell (Henry's
820chief minister and confidante) threw in his lot with the Seymours.&amp;nbsp;
821He vacated his apartments at Greenwich Palace so the Seymours could move
822in.&amp;nbsp; This was crucial.&amp;nbsp; Not only could the king visit Jane discreetly,
823without anyone knowing, but Cromwell's opinion carried weight with Henry.&amp;nbsp;
824Anne Boleyn's fall was inevitable; Jane Seymour's rise was unstoppable.
825&lt;p&gt;On Friday, 19 May 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed on various charges,
826the most powerful being that of treason.&amp;nbsp; The secret betrothal of
827King Henry and Jane took place at Hampton Court the next day.&amp;nbsp; During
828Anne's arrest and trial, Henry's sense of decency (never great) had persuaded
829him to send Jane away.&amp;nbsp; She went to Sir Nicholas Carew's house at
830Croydon where she was afforded every respect.&amp;nbsp; But as the date of
831Anne's demise approached, Henry grew more impatient; Jane was moved to
832a closer house just a mile from the king's residence at Whitehall.&amp;nbsp;
833From there she went to Hampton Court for her betrothal; it was back again
834to Whitehall for the marriage on 30 May.&amp;nbsp; Thomas Cranmer performed
835the ceremony.&amp;nbsp; One can imagine it was a happy and triumphant day for
836Jane but confidence would have been foolhardy.&amp;nbsp; After all, the king
837had divorced one wife who had not born a son and executed another.&amp;nbsp;
838She had known both Katharine and Anne quite well.&amp;nbsp; Even if she didn't
839grieve for their fates, she must have realized the instability of her own.
840&lt;p&gt;Once queen, Jane chose a phoenix rising from a castle filled with Tudor
841roses and the panther for her heraldry.&amp;nbsp; It was easy enough to alter
842Anne's leopards and falcons, after all.&amp;nbsp; On their first procession
843through London as husband and wife, they passed the Tower where the late
844queen's body lay stuffed in an arrow chest, the head tucked beneath the
845arm.&amp;nbsp; For 'Jane the Quene,' the Tower was hung with banners and streamers.&amp;nbsp;
846Furthermore, there was the incredible dowry the king had lavished upon
847her - 104 manors, 5 castles and various gardens and forests.&amp;nbsp; Henry
848also planned an equally lavish coronation for his new queen.&amp;nbsp; This,
849however, was stymied by an outbreak of the plague; Henry said that it would
850only be postponed.&amp;nbsp; As soon as it was healthy and safe, Jane would
851be officially crowned.
852&lt;p&gt;Meanwhile, Jane displayed good common sense by ordering her ladies-in-waiting
853to dress conservatively.&amp;nbsp; She wanted no one to tempt the king even
854as she had done.&amp;nbsp; She also became mother to two motherless princesses.&amp;nbsp;
855Both Mary and Elizabeth benefited from Jane's kindness.&amp;nbsp; Mary was
856of marriageable age (seven years younger than Jane) and could be used as
857a tool in Henry's diplomacy.&amp;nbsp; Three-year-old Elizabeth, lacking Mary's
858maternal nobility, was not marriageable yet but Henry was described as
859'very affectionate' toward her.&amp;nbsp; He called her 'his Madame Ysabeau'
860and allowed both Elizabeth and Mary, though bastardized, precedence over
861their cousins.
862&lt;p&gt;Jane's religious opinions should be discussed, if only because history
863has often misread her true feelings.&amp;nbsp; Unlike her brothers and son,
864Jane was not a Protestant.&amp;nbsp; She was conservative in her religion as
865she was in her behavior.&amp;nbsp; The first harsh words Henry was recorded
866as speaking to her were over religion; she mentioned that a rebellion was
867perhaps God's rebuke over Henry's dissolution of the monasteries.&amp;nbsp;
868Henry brusquely reminded her that the late queen had died as a result of
869meddling in his affairs.&amp;nbsp; This implied threat would have been enough
870to frighten any woman.&amp;nbsp; Luckily, Jane became pregnant a few months
871later, in early January 1537.&amp;nbsp; This news undoubtedly helped lessen
872the sadness of her father's death on 21 December 1536.
873&lt;p&gt;Jane's condition was announced in March and the news was officially
874celebrated on Trinity Sunday, 27 May 1537.&amp;nbsp; She was now the king's
875'most dear and most entirely beloved wife', as Henry wrote to the duke
876of Norfolk.&amp;nbsp; Her coronation was now planned to be after the child's
877birth, probably late October.&amp;nbsp; There is no sign that the pregnancy
878was especially difficult; all writings point to Jane's good stature and
879health.&amp;nbsp; Henry canceled a progress to stay with her and certainly
880the entire court - and country - held their breath, wondering if this young
881woman would succeed in her greatest duty.
882&lt;p&gt;Certainly Henry was optimistic and, as usual, the astrologers and doctors
883predicted the birth of a son.&amp;nbsp; They had been wrong with Elizabeth
884but Henry was eager to forget and make preparations.&amp;nbsp; He had a Garter
885stall made for this long-awaited son in St George's Chapel at Windsor;
886the royal apartments at Hampton Court Palace were refurbished in preparation
887for the birth; Jane's brothers were yet again elevated to new positions,
888granted more lands and pensions.&amp;nbsp; And finally, on 9 October, she went
889into labor.
890&lt;p&gt;Her labor was as arduous as any could be in the sixteenth century.&amp;nbsp;
891It lasted three days; after the first two, a procession was mounted in
892London to pray for the Queen.&amp;nbsp; On 12 October, the eve of the Feast
893of St Edward, the child was born.&amp;nbsp; Jane was well enough after the
894birth to receive guests, most touchingly her husband.&amp;nbsp; Henry wept
895when he took this longed-for heir in his arms.&amp;nbsp; The christening was
896held three days later and, wrapped in furs and velvet, she attended.&amp;nbsp;
897Princess Mary acted as godmother to her half-brother and four-year-old
898Elizabeth was carried by Thomas Seymour.
899&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;It would be impossible to list all the celebrations which occurred
900when Prince Edward was born.&amp;nbsp; Suffice to say, 2000 shots were fired
901from the Tower and bells were rung throughout the countryside.&amp;nbsp; On
90218 October, Henry had his son proclaimed Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall
903and Earl of Carnarvon.&amp;nbsp; Yet again the Seymour brothers were given
904generous endowments for the king was never more generous or magnanimous.&amp;nbsp;
905But their sister who had made such celebrating possible was not recovering
906from the birth.&amp;nbsp; In modern times, we call her illness puerperal fever.&amp;nbsp;
907In Jane's time, it was the most common cause of death for pregnant women.&amp;nbsp;
908Cleanliness and the proper treatment for infections were not understood.&amp;nbsp;
909Once she became infected, she was doomed.&amp;nbsp; On 19 October, she took
910to her bed again; she recovered somewhat on the 23rd, as her attendants
911reported, but only for a matter of hours.&amp;nbsp; Soon she was delirious
912and, early the next morning, her confessor was sent for.&amp;nbsp; Henry, who
913had planned to go hunting that day, postponed his trip - but only for that
914day, he told a courtier.&amp;nbsp; It was enough; 'Jane the Quene' died near
915midnight on 24 October, living just days after her great triumph.&amp;nbsp;
916For her husband, increasingly obese, bald, and well into middle-age, the
917grief was genuine.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; He planned a sumptuous burial for 12 November
918and the churches that had celebrated Edward's birth now began to pray for
919the soul of the late queen.&amp;nbsp; Hampton Court Palace, scene of her triumph
920and death, was hung with black.
921&lt;p&gt;Princess Mary was chief mourner at her step-mother's funeral but Henry
922did not attend.&amp;nbsp; He wished to be alone with his grief.&amp;nbsp; Jane
923Seymour was buried as a queen - unlike Katharine of Aragon who had died
924as Princess Dowager and Anne Boleyn, who had died divorced and disgraced.&amp;nbsp;
925Her hearse was taken to Windsor and interred in a vault in St George's
926Chapel.&amp;nbsp; Henry was perhaps already planning a sufficient monument
927for the grave he would eventually share with Jane.&amp;nbsp; But he also kept
928track of his late wife's possessions - her jewelry was distributed to her
929ladies, Princess Mary, and her brothers.&amp;nbsp; But her dowry, the 104 manors
930and 5 castles, were given back to the king.&amp;nbsp; And, very soon indeed,
931speculation began -&amp;nbsp; who would receive these favors next?
932&lt;p&gt;Henry VIII turned to the continent for his next wife, the German princess
933Anne of Cleves.&amp;nbsp; The marriage was famously annulled only a few months
934later.&amp;nbsp; His fifth wife was Anne Boleyn's cousin, the young and pretty
935Catherine Howard.&amp;nbsp; She met her cousin's fate not even two years into
936the marriage and then Henry wed the twice-widowed Katharine Parr.&amp;nbsp;
937Pious, intelligent and an accomplished nurse, she would be his last wife.&amp;nbsp;
938By the time of this last marriage, the king was suffering from a variety
939of ailments, most caused by his increasing obesity.&amp;nbsp; He continued
940to take a keen interest in his son's education and Katharine Parr became
941a true mother to the young Elizabeth and Edward.&amp;nbsp; Her passionate Protestantism
942had a great effect on both children; it also nearly caused her death, since
943Henry VIII had become even more tyrannical as the years passed.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;
944&lt;p&gt;The king's own death on 28 January 1547 was the second and final time
945the Tudor throne would pass, easily and without dispute, to a male heir.&amp;nbsp;
946But Edward VI's extreme youth ensured that his reign would not immediately
947be his own.
948&lt;p&gt;
949&lt;hr WIDTH=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;
950&lt;p&gt;Who was this young man, the product of his father's long and desperate
951search for an heir?&amp;nbsp; He died at the age of sixteen, never more than
952a puppet king who had to beg his uncle for pocket money and was beaten
953by his tutors.&amp;nbsp; Edward VI was just a child when crowned at Westminster.&amp;nbsp;
954His father knew the dangers of leaving a child as heir and did his best
955to protect the court from factionalism.&amp;nbsp; However, Henry's will was
956shortsighted and hardly practical; he wanted a regency council of peers,
957each equal to the other.&amp;nbsp; But even as he lay dying, the earl of Hertford
958and Sir William Paget were already planning their coup.&amp;nbsp; Hertford,
959Jane Seymour's brother and Edward's uncle, would be made Lord Protector&amp;nbsp;
960and Paget would be first minister.&amp;nbsp; On 28 January 1547, Hertford rode
961to his nephew and brought him to the security of the Tower of London.&amp;nbsp;
962On 31 January the council met there and agreed to Paget's nomination of
963Hertford as protector.&amp;nbsp; Only then was Henry VIII's demise made public
964and Edward VI proclaimed king.&amp;nbsp; There followed a distribution of titles
965and sinecures, the most notable being Hertford's elevation to the dukedom
966of Somerset.
967&lt;p&gt;However, Somerset's authority was not fully secure; the council's nomination
968of him as Protector was just a verbal agreement.&amp;nbsp; Without letters
969patent authenticated by the Great Seal, he had a title but no legal basis
970for control.&amp;nbsp; But the Great Seal was in the hands of the lord chancellor,
971a conservative named Wriothesley who had been created earl of Southampton
972during the accession honors.&amp;nbsp; But even elevated to an earldom, Wriothesley
973was not happy with what he perceived to be Somerset's usurption of power.&amp;nbsp;
974He refused to affix the seal to Somerset's patent of formal authority.&amp;nbsp;
975Early in March, Somerset was able to rid himself of this nuisance.&amp;nbsp;
976He brought to the council's attention certain irregularities in the chancellor's
977office (notably his neglect of the legal side of his responsibilities),
978and forced Wriothesley's resignation.&amp;nbsp; Somerset's ally Lord Rich was
979quickly appointed lord chancellor and the Great Seal was finally affixed
980to the letters patent.&amp;nbsp; Somerset was now the most powerful man in
981England, with the exception of his young nephew.
982&lt;p&gt;One of the powers Somerset acquired in his patent of office was the
983right to appoint whoever he wanted to the Privy Council.&amp;nbsp; To that
984end, he brought in some of the older, experienced men who had not been
985appointed executors in Henry's will.&amp;nbsp; But he never allowed the council
986to function with any degree of autonomy and rarely consulted its members.&amp;nbsp;
987Instead, he used them to simply endorse his own privately-made decisions.&amp;nbsp;
988On the rare occasions he did meet with them, he demonstrated an appalling
989lack of the attributes all leaders need - tact and cunning.&amp;nbsp; His tongue
990was so savage that he reduced a colleague to tears and, before long, Paget
991was warning him about his arrogance and rudeness.&amp;nbsp; Somerset ignored
992Paget as he ignored most everyone else.&amp;nbsp; He ruled by edict, issuing
993proclamations to a greater extent than any head of government in the Tudor
994age.
995&lt;p&gt;His fall was inevitable.&amp;nbsp; But it did not happen until five years
996into Edward's reign, by which time Somerset had effectively cemented the
997new religion in England and offended virtually every other nobleman.&amp;nbsp;
998What did Edward VI think of his uncle's autocratic use of power?&amp;nbsp;
999The boy king left behind a journal remarkable in its detachment; indeed,
1000he recorded the executions of both Somerset and his younger brother with
1001no emotion.
1002&lt;p&gt;Edward was not completely cold, however.&amp;nbsp; He was always affectionate
1003to his stepmother, Katharine Parr, whose benevolent influence eased his
1004lonely childhood.&amp;nbsp; He also spent time with his half-sister Elizabeth;
1005the two children were just four years apart in age and Elizabeth was a
1006Protestant.&amp;nbsp; He was never particularly close to his other half-sister,
1007Mary.&amp;nbsp; This was understandable for Mary was old enough to be his mother
1008(21 years older) and a devout Catholic who refused to bow to her brother's
1009religious convictions.&amp;nbsp; Certainly she had obeyed their father but
1010Edward was an adolescent who Mary believed was a pawn of Protestant heretics.&amp;nbsp;
1011(Visit the &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.englishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html&quot;&gt;Primary
1012Sources&lt;/a&gt; site to read selections from Edward's journal &amp;amp; other documents)
1013&lt;p&gt;Edward's education was always strict.&amp;nbsp; His earliest tutors were
1014female and he was guarded under the strictest regulations - for example,
1015nobody less than a knight was allowed to visit him.&amp;nbsp; At the age of
1016six, his two principal tutors were appointed - Ricahrd Cox, a committed
1017but moderate reformer, and John Cheke, the most distinguished humanist
1018in the land.&amp;nbsp; There is evidence that he was occasionally beaten. Upon
1019his ascension, he was a precocious and intelligent boy.&amp;nbsp; His elevation
1020to the kingship did not end his courtesy to his tutors.&amp;nbsp; In fact,
1021he now began to share his studies with a handful of contemporaries; one
1022of these, Barnaby Fitzpatrick, was the son of an Irish peer and became
1023a Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber.&amp;nbsp; He was also Edward's closest friend
1024and, away on a mission to France, received letters from the king which
1025betray normal adolescent exuberance.&amp;nbsp; These letters - along with those
1026to Katharine Parr - are the only examples in which Edward exhibits emotion.
1027&lt;p&gt;Edward left behind a reputation for bigoted, extreme Protestantism which
1028he does not deserve.&amp;nbsp; There were many pro-Protestant laws enacted
1029during his reign, with his approval, but at the instigation of his guardians.&amp;nbsp;
1030He was a devout Protestant, the product of the new religion which even
1031his father had not understood.&amp;nbsp; Still, he was by no means as self-righteouslessly
1032intolerant as his older sister; perhaps he would have been - but that is
1033just speculation.
1034&lt;p&gt;Edward's ministers demonstrated passionate self-interest in this religious
1035climate.&amp;nbsp; These Protestant lords had profitted economically from the
1036dissolution of the monasteries and no one - lord or commoner - wanted to
1037reinstate papal taxation.&amp;nbsp; They were determined to keep their land
1038grants, gold plate, and other treasures.&amp;nbsp; In doing so, they appealed
1039to the intellectual vanity of their young king.&amp;nbsp; Edward was raised
1040a Protestant, even as Mary had been raised a Catholic, and there is no
1041reason to doubt he held his faith as deeply.&amp;nbsp; Unlike their sister
1042Elizabeth, who declared she wanted no windows in men's souls, Edward and
1043Mary believed they were guiding their subjects onto the path of righteousness.&amp;nbsp;
1044When Somerset and others altered their beliefs with changing political
1045climates, they were careful to appeal to this sense of self-righteousness.
1046&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font size=-1&gt;I wrote a more detailed account of Edward's
1047childhood before writing this section; if you would like to read it, &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.englishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fedward33.html&quot;&gt;please
1048click here&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; It will be somewhat repetitious since it contains
1049information found at this page, but there is more detail and might be useful
1050for students researching Edward's life.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
1051The essential fact of Edward's brief reign is this - it is more a commentary
1052on Somerset and his successor, Northumberland, than it is on Edward himself.&amp;nbsp;
1053In the early months of his rule, the councilors were more interested in
1054securing the throne and creating a peaceful transition to the new order.&amp;nbsp;
1055As Edward's uncle and a soldier of experience, Somerset was the natural
1056choice as 'Protector of all the realms and domains of the King's Majesty
1057and Governor of his most royal person.'&amp;nbsp; The other fifteen men Henry
1058had selected as councilors were men only recently promoted to high office;
1059twelve of them were Protestant, since the Howards - the leading Catholic
1060faction at court - had fallen from power.&amp;nbsp; Somerset's main rivals
1061for power were John Dudley, earl of Northumberland (soon promoted to earl
1062of Warwick) and his own brother, Thomas Seymour (soon created Baron Seymour
1063of Sudeley and Lord High Admiral.)&amp;nbsp; Seymour was ambitious and angry
1064that he could not wield absolute power; in his opinion, why should one
1065uncle have control and another be fobbed off with consolation prizes?&amp;nbsp;
1066A more temperate man would have been content with his newly ennobled title
1067and position on the council but Seymour was ambitious and jealous - a lethal
1068combination.&amp;nbsp; In the end, he would bring down himself and his brother,
1069thus securing Dudley's ascendancy.
1070&lt;p&gt;Somerset loved his younger brother and, in general, was considered a
1071kind man - but he was unfortunately ill-equipped to manage his squabbling
1072council and had a mean-tempered wife who offended virtually everyone she
1073met.&amp;nbsp; She was his second wife and mother of his nine children; Somserset's
1074first wife had been banished to a convent after having an affair with his
1075father.&amp;nbsp; Anne Stanhope was as proud and quarrelsome as her brother-in-law
1076Seymour.&amp;nbsp; She considered herself the first lady of the realm, claiming
1077precedence over Katharine Parr, Henry VIII's widow.&amp;nbsp; When Seymour
1078married Katharine just four months after Henry's death, Anne and virtually
1079everyone at court saw it as evidence of his vast ambition.&amp;nbsp; It opened
1080yet another rift between the two brothers.
1081&lt;p&gt;There were, of course, reasons for Seymour to be jealous.&amp;nbsp; On 16
1082February 1547, Henry VIII was buried with the Seymour brothers' sister,
1083Jane, at St George's chapel in Windsor, and - the very next day - Edward
1084VI confirmed his uncle as duke of Somerset.&amp;nbsp; Along with the title
1085came an income of 7400 pds a year, a vast sum in those days.&amp;nbsp; By contrast,
1086Henry VIII left Princesses &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.englishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fmary1.html&quot;&gt;Mary&lt;/a&gt;
1087and Elizabeth 3000 pds each - less than half of Somerset's income but still
1088considered a great sum.&amp;nbsp; Seymour had to content himself with the lands
1089of his baronetcy as well as his wife's fortune - and, soon enough, embezzlement.&amp;nbsp;
1090When his brother made it clear he would not share ultimate authority, Seymour
1091began to plot against him.&amp;nbsp; Already, he had begun flirting with the
1092adolescent Elizabeth, being raised at his wife's home in Chelsea (discussed
1093in greater detail at the &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.englishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html&quot;&gt;Elizabeth
1094I&lt;/a&gt; pages.)&amp;nbsp; He also secured the guardianship of &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.englishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html&quot;&gt;Jane
1095Grey&lt;/a&gt;, telling her parents he would arrange her marriage to the young
1096king.&amp;nbsp; Thus, he was in control of two of Henry VIII's heirs.&amp;nbsp;
1097He also began visiting his nephew, attempting to gain Edward's affections
1098by giving him presents and money.&amp;nbsp; Since Somerset was strict with
1099his nephew and kept him constantly short of money, the king was grateful
1100for the gifts.
1101&lt;p&gt;But even as Seymour began his ambitious plans, Somerset was careful
1102to court Princess Mary's favor.&amp;nbsp; This was a smart policy since she
1103was her brother's heir, popular with the English people, and cousin to
1104the Holy Roman Emperor.&amp;nbsp; Also, she was content to remain in the countryside
1105since she disliked Edward's Protestant court.&amp;nbsp; Many historians have
1106written that Seymour and others courted Mary's favor with the view that
1107she would one day be queen.&amp;nbsp; However, this is wrong - as is the view
1108that Edward VI was a sickly king, always delicate of health.&amp;nbsp; In fact,
1109until the last eighteen months of his life, Edward was quite healthy and
1110gave every intention of living many years.&amp;nbsp; He was slender and had
1111fair coloring but also enjoyed activity and took a keen - and passionate
1112- interest in learning and religion.&amp;nbsp;; As he grew older, he naturally
1113chafed at his uncle Somerset's absolute control over his life.
1114&lt;p&gt;Somerset - unlike his brother and Dudley - never played to Edward's
1115natural feelings of superiority and authority.&amp;nbsp; He treated the king
1116as he treated his children - with firmness, discipline, and a strict regimen.&amp;nbsp;
1117Seymour and Dudley spoke to the young king
1118&lt;i&gt;as a king&lt;/i&gt;, pretending
1119to defer to his naturally superior wisdom.&amp;nbsp; For a while, though, Somerset
1120kept near-absolute control over the council.&amp;nbsp; He became popular with
1121the poor - and unpopular with his fellow nobles - by promoting reform of
1122agricultural laws (creating fixed rents and the abolition of enclosures)and
1123he attempted to reform the judicial system in favor of equality for all.&amp;nbsp;
1124In fact, he established a court of pleas at his own home in London.&amp;nbsp;
1125This earned him the nickname 'the Good Duke' but to his councilors he was
1126too moderate to satisfy any faction and too headstrong to listen to anyone.&amp;nbsp;
1127To this perception of arrogance and class-betrayal was added a spiritual
1128weakness - Somerset would not allow anyone to be tortured or burned over
1129religious matters.&amp;nbsp; This tolerance was unexpected and unwelcome by
1130his peers.
1131&lt;p&gt;But along with idealistic plans for social reform, Somerset was also
1132grasping and greedy.&amp;nbsp; The combination of such traits was considered
1133hypocritical and inconsistent.&amp;nbsp; After all, his councilors muttered,
1134who was Somerset to criticize their rents when he spent the government's
1135money with little regard for moderation?&amp;nbsp; They pointed to his London
1136residence, Somerset House, built&amp;nbsp; at the exorbinant cost of 10000
1137pds; there were other homes, too, equally grand and all designed to emphasize
1138his stature as Lord Protector.&amp;nbsp; It may be that Somerset was uneasy
1139in his role since, before his sister's ascendancy, his family was only
1140moderately successful.&amp;nbsp; In just ten years, they had become the pre-eminent
1141family in the land and he may have been insecure about such a rapid rise.&amp;nbsp;
1142In any case, he was encouraged in such spending by his wife.
1143&lt;p&gt;Somerset's main problem was that he lacked the charisma and will-power
1144of Henry VIII, a man who had blustered and bullied his council into action.&amp;nbsp;
1145The sheer intimidating force of his personality had awed everyone - and
1146Somerset lacked that bravura, a natural ability to inspire and lead.&amp;nbsp;
1147Instead, he was forced to shout and insult his peers into action, at one
1148time driving a man to tears.&amp;nbsp; Meanwhile, his brother was proving an
1149embarrassment.&amp;nbsp; Right after Henry's death, Seymour had sought permission
1150to marry Elizabeth; when that was denied, he renewed a former attachment
1151to Katharine Parr and married her.&amp;nbsp; In any case, in the four months
1152after Henry's death before he married Katharine, his nephew King Edward
1153had suggested he marry Anne of Cleves or Princess Mary.&amp;nbsp; But Seymour's
1154own brother squashed both those plans, the union with Mary in particular;
1155Seymour was not 'born to be king, nor to marry a king's daughter.'&amp;nbsp;
1156So when he married the queen dowager, people naturally assumed it was a
1157union of ambition and not affection.
1158&lt;p&gt;Seymour further angered the council and his brother by flirting with
1159Princess Elizabeth; she was sent from he and Katharine's Chelsea home after
1160Katharine became pregnant.&amp;nbsp; When Katharine died in childbirth, Seymour
1161was soon engaged in pressing his suit to Elizabeth again as well as arguing
1162with the council - and his brother in particular - over Katharine's possessions.&amp;nbsp;
1163He was also ingratiating himself with King Edward by bribing a man called
1164John Fowler, one of the king's closest servants.&amp;nbsp; Fowler and Edward
1165were close and shared conversations; they revealed the young king's increasing
1166frustration with Somerset's actions.&amp;nbsp; Edward wanted more pocket money,
1167less severe tutors, more time for leisure pursuits - he wanted to be treated
1168as king and not a child.&amp;nbsp; Fowler, paid by Seymour, was happy to pass
1169these complaints on.&amp;nbsp; So Seymour smuggled in some money and small
1170presents and, though these pleased the king, they didn't personally endear
1171his uncle to him.&amp;nbsp; Perhaps even the young Edward could sense his uncle's
1172calculating ambition.
1173&lt;p&gt;But Edward did publicly support and bless his uncle and stepmother's
1174marriage.&amp;nbsp; And, in a fit of anger, he once told Seymour that - if
1175Somerset should die - he would appoint his 'favorite' uncle Lord Protector.&amp;nbsp;
1176Such statements only encouraged Seymour.&amp;nbsp; Soon enough, in November
11771547, Seymour had urged Edward to sign a document which would be placed
1178before Parliament in its new session; it would officially divide the office
1179of Lord Protector between the king's two uncles.&amp;nbsp; Edward was naturally
1180cautious and asked his tutor, John Cheke, for guidance.&amp;nbsp; Cheke was
1181a learned man obsessed with otherwordly concerns but he also understood
1182the intrigues of the Tudor court.&amp;nbsp; His advice was for Edward to not
1183sign and distance himself from both uncles.&amp;nbsp; Seymour was furious.&amp;nbsp;
1184He went about telling councilors that he wanted Edward to live with him
1185and the queen dowager and - more threateningly - he could easily steal
1186the king from under Somerset's nose.&amp;nbsp; When Katharine died on 5 September
11871548 after a difficult childbirth, one important link to his nephew disappeared.&amp;nbsp;
1188After all, Edward had been genuinely fond of Katharine.&amp;nbsp; But after
1189her death, Seymour became even more openly ambitious and insulting to his
1190brother.&amp;nbsp; There were rumors that he wanted to marry his former ward
1191Jane Grey but Seymour found this laughable.&amp;nbsp; He had more ambitious
1192plans - once again, he intended to woo Princess Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; It may
1193have been that Katharine Parr exerted a calming influence upon her husband
1194and, once she died, he became more obvious and unrestrained in his plans.&amp;nbsp;
1195Whatever the case, he began to voice open disapproval of his brother's
1196government, threatening to disrupt Parliamenr; in short, he was a great
1197embarrassment to the protector.&amp;nbsp; Somerset tried to be conciliatory
1198but Seymour had none of it.&amp;nbsp; He began to gather support (at least
1199nominally) from other nobles who were dissatisfied with Somerset for less
1200personal reasons.&amp;nbsp; As Lord High Admiral, a post he had heretofore
1201neglected, Seymour was able to control the English navy.&amp;nbsp; He openly
1202asked people for support in case of a coup.&amp;nbsp; In other words, he was
1203completely indiscreet.
1204&lt;p&gt;Meanwhile, Elizabeth's governess Mrs Ashley, another victim of Seymour's
1205charm, was encouraging her young charge to think kindly of Seymour.&amp;nbsp;
1206But Elizabeth was cautious and less than thrilled; she retired to the country
1207and stayed far away from London.&amp;nbsp; But others had heard of Seymour's
1208plans and one of these was Lord Russell, the keeper of the Privy Seal,
1209an important office in Tudor England.&amp;nbsp; He confronted Seymour with
1210rumors of his intention to wed Elizabeth; he said this would ensure Seymour's
1211ruin.&amp;nbsp; Furthermore, Russell cautioned, King Edward would view a match
1212with Elizabeth very suspiciously - after all, it smacked of ambition and
1213the next step would be his own death.&amp;nbsp; Then, Seymour and Elizabeth
1214would rule.&amp;nbsp; Seymour's folly went further, however.&amp;nbsp; He was also
1215embezzling vast sums in a complicated scheme with the vice-treasurer of
1216the Bristol mint.&amp;nbsp; (Once again, this is discussed in the Elizabeth
1217I pages as well.)
1218&lt;p&gt;The vice-treasurer was a man called Sir William Sharington.&amp;nbsp; Sharington
1219had taken advantage of the general laxity and chaos the new reign to clip
1220and debase the coinage produced at Bristol.&amp;nbsp; He doctored the account
1221books to cover the operation but rumors spread of his crimes.&amp;nbsp; It
1222was inevitable - after all, others worked at the mint and Sharington was
1223using the money to refurbish his house in a very lavish manner.&amp;nbsp; Seymour
1224discovered Sharington's secret and, rather than turn him in, decided upon
1225blackmail.&amp;nbsp; He planned to use the proceeds to finance his coup to
1226take over the government.&amp;nbsp; Furthermore, he as using his position as
1227Lord High Admiral to encourage piracy (rather than protect against it,
1228as was his duty), allowing the pirates safe passage in exchange for shares
1229of their booty.&amp;nbsp; He also charged ships a toll to pass from England
1230to Ireland on official government business.
1231&lt;p&gt;He also planned to kidnap Edward, with John Fowler's help.&amp;nbsp; Fowler
1232provided keys to Edward's room and forged a stamp of Edward's signature.&amp;nbsp;
1233But at the end of 1548, everyone knew of his plans.&amp;nbsp; The council openly
1234discussed charges against him.&amp;nbsp; His aristocratic friends cautioned
1235that their support would not be forthcoming after all.&amp;nbsp; Soon enough,
1236someone had tipped off the council to one of the greatest crimes - the
1237Bristol mint was raided and Sharington fell to pieces, accusing Seymour
1238of forcing him to commit treason and turning King's evidence against him.&amp;nbsp;
1239(In an ironic footnote, he was not only pardoned - but restored to his
1240office and position in life.)&amp;nbsp; Somerset attempted to help his brother,
1241summoning him to London for a private audience.&amp;nbsp; Seymour refused.&amp;nbsp;
1242Somerset had no choice but to lay all before the council and let them proceed
1243against his brother.&amp;nbsp; Soon enough, John Fowler's incriminating evidence
1244was laid bare - as was King Edward's.&amp;nbsp; But still no direct action
1245was taken against him; it was just a treason investigation.&amp;nbsp; But on
124616 January, Seymour ensured his immediate arrest.
1247&lt;p&gt;He still had the forged keys to Edward's apartment at Hampton Court
1248and, in the middle of the night, decided to risk everything on kidnapping
1249the king.&amp;nbsp; He entered through the privy garden - but, in the room
1250outside Edward's bedroom, slept the king's pet spaniel.&amp;nbsp; The dog woke
1251up, barking, and Seymour shot him.&amp;nbsp; A Yeoman of the Guard appeared,
1252demanding an explanation, even as King Edward awoke and stood in his bedroom
1253doorway; he was clad in his nightshirt and openly terrified.&amp;nbsp; Seymour
1254told them he had come to test the king's guards; the dog had attacked him
1255so he was forced to shoot.&amp;nbsp; The guard let him leave but, upon learning
1256of the incident, the council decided to confine Seymour to the Tower while
1257they investigated.&amp;nbsp; The official charge was attempting to murder King
1258Edward; even the suspicion of regicide was enough to condemn Seymour.&amp;nbsp;
1259On 18 January, the council officially sent agents to question everyone
1260Seymour had conspired with; among those questioned were Princess Elizabeth
1261and her household.
1262&lt;p&gt;Seymour refused to appear privately before the council; he would settle
1263for nothing less than an open trial.&amp;nbsp; On 22 February, the council
1264officially indicted him of thirty-three charges of treason.&amp;nbsp; And Seymour
1265never had an open trial in which to make his case - as in Henry VIII's
1266time, a Bill of Attainder was passed on 4 March, approved by Parliament
1267and King Edward.&amp;nbsp; Somerset delayed signing the death warrant so the
1268council, led by Dudley, went to Edward for his signature.&amp;nbsp; So on 20
1269March, Seymour was executed at the Tower of London, dying 'dangerously,
1270irksomely, horribly.'&amp;nbsp; Somerset's understandable inability to condemn
1271his brother resulted in a growing rift on the council.&amp;nbsp; His family
1272was disgraced and he was angry at the councilors for so rapidly proceeding
1273against his brother.&amp;nbsp; It was only a matter of time before he, too,
1274fell from power.
1275&lt;p&gt;Somerset's fall was engineered by Dudley and helped along by a backlash
1276against his regime.&amp;nbsp; How did Somerset's policies help foster a climate
1277of betrayal and manipulation; specifically, how had he failed in his duties
1278as Lord Protector?
1279&lt;p&gt;
1280&lt;hr WIDTH=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;
1281&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;A more thorough discussion of Somerset's government policies, and
1282how they led to his downfall&lt;/b&gt;
1283&lt;p&gt;Somerset's government was a confused jumble of misplaced idealism and
1284factional squabbling.&amp;nbsp; With the dynamic and charismatic figure of
1285Henry VIII gone, Tudor government was in a shambles.&amp;nbsp; Its fate was
1286inevitable - an autocratic king was replaced with a nine-year-old boy -
1287what else could result but chaos?&amp;nbsp; Henry VIII had been a mass of contradictions
1288always united in the belief that the king's will was the highest authority.&amp;nbsp;
1289Even when his religious policies became incomprehensible to anyone but
1290him, he still believed they were righteous - and through the force of his
1291will and use of kingly authority, he convinced most others of the same.&amp;nbsp;
1292Up until the week of his death, he entertained foreign ambassadors and
1293plotted grandiose foreign invasions, displaying a disturbing interest in
1294current events while his council thought he should be contemplating the
1295afterlife.&amp;nbsp; When he was gone, no one knew how to fill the void.&amp;nbsp;
1296Certainly his heir, still a child, was king in name only.&amp;nbsp; His Lord
1297Protectors - first Somerset and then Dudley - tried to &lt;i&gt;act&lt;/i&gt; as kings
1298and both perished.&amp;nbsp; The truth was obvious and inescapable - the English
1299people may have muttered (at great risk) about Henry's religious quarrels
1300and his private follies but they had respected his position as king.&amp;nbsp;
1301The men that followed him had grown up in his shadow, jockeying for position
1302and favor.&amp;nbsp; When he died, they struggled amongst themselves for Henry's
1303vanished supreme authority.&amp;nbsp; In the end, they failed and the English
1304people suffered six years of turmoil.
1305&lt;p&gt;Somerset's position as Lord Protector seemed natural enough.&amp;nbsp; After
1306all, no one seriously expected a council of sixteen peers to rule England.&amp;nbsp;
1307Factionalism and squabbling had long marked Henry's court (particularly
1308after Cromwell's execution) and it only worsened after his death.&amp;nbsp;
1309There needed to be a leader, a respected man who (in the council's opinion)
1310would not be a ruler but a figurehead.&amp;nbsp; In other words, he would be
1311perceived as leader while actually sharing authority with the council.&amp;nbsp;
1312(A position, in other words, like that of Speaker of the House in the U.S.
1313Congress.)&amp;nbsp; Of course, such a plan depended on the leader being willing
1314to share power privately.&amp;nbsp; Somerset originally promised to do so but,
1315fairly quickly, decided to disregard his peers.&amp;nbsp; This understandably
1316angered them.&amp;nbsp; In addition to his arrogant refusal to consult them,
1317he also implemented policies which helped the poor at the expense of the
1318aristocracy.
1319&lt;p&gt;In private life, Somerset was regarded as a genial man, though criticized
1320as middle-of-the-road and unreadable.&amp;nbsp; His wife, Anne Stanhope, was
1321the stereotypical shrewish wife who offended virtually everyone she met,
1322particularly other aristocratic wives.&amp;nbsp; She bore Somerset nine children
1323and he was considered a strict but fair father.&amp;nbsp; Insofar as it is
1324possible to sketch a psychological portrait of Somerset at this site, I
1325would characterize him as an essentially kind and sympathetic man who took
1326his responsibilities very seriously; he was also prone to feelings of inferiority
1327and easily offended.&amp;nbsp; As a result, his government policies were idealistic
1328- but his personal relationships with counncil members were unsatisfying.&amp;nbsp;
1329He came to be regarded as arrogant and bullying when, in fact, he was simply
1330ill-suited to his job.&amp;nbsp; Added to this, he craved appreciation - he
1331cultivated the appearance of fairness and virtue even as he replaced the
1332council with his own hand-picked advisors.
1333&lt;p&gt;Somerset had achieved the position of Lord Protector simply because
1334his younger sister, Jane, bore Henry VIII the longed-for son.&amp;nbsp; As
1335such, Henry always regarded her in a sentimental haze; she was the perfect
1336wife - gentle, meek and obedient.&amp;nbsp; She had also fulfilled her duty
1337as queen by providing a male heir, though she tragically died as a result.&amp;nbsp;
1338It was Jane who, years after her death, was painted as Henry's consort
1339in paintings of the Tudor dynasty; and it was Jane whom Henry wished to
1340lie beside in death.&amp;nbsp; While she lived as queen (for a brief eighteen
1341months), her brothers, Edward and Thomas, were showered with favors.&amp;nbsp;
1342After Edward VI's birth, the favors continued.&amp;nbsp; Edward, the elder
1343brother who became duke of Somerset in 1547, was closer to Henry than Thomas
1344and adept at handling his mercurial monarch.&amp;nbsp; In truth, Somerset had
1345emerged as a competent soldier and politician.&amp;nbsp; But competency alone
1346could not run Tudor England; indeed, even the great Cromwell had struggled
1347to control Henry's council before they connived at his execution.&amp;nbsp;
1348Somerset was no Cromwell.&amp;nbsp; He lacked a coherent vision of government
1349and the personality to govern.&amp;nbsp; But for several years he was Lord
1350Protector - before his younger brother's jealousy and ambition destroyed
1351them both.
1352&lt;p&gt;The personal tragedy of Edward and Thomas Seymour was discussed above.&amp;nbsp;
1353Suffice to say, it played out against the backdrop of actual government
1354- all the mundane day-to-day policies whicch actually control a country.&amp;nbsp;
1355Edward VI became king even as his father's past was catching up to the
1356English economy.&amp;nbsp; Henry VIII had indulged in many frivolous pursuits,
1357including several extremely expensive battles in France.&amp;nbsp; He left
1358behind a mountain of debt and little means to pay it.&amp;nbsp; The English
1359economy was heavily dependent upon wool exports to Europe, particularly
1360the Low Countries.&amp;nbsp; And it possessed the enviable ability to feed
1361its population without importing food - but only during good harvests.&amp;nbsp;
1362When harvests were bad, famine occurred and the poor became beggars, often
1363relying on the newly-impoverished churches for support.
1364&lt;p&gt;Somerset dealt with crises by consulting his own advisors and not the
1365council.&amp;nbsp; It was unfortunate that the disregarded councilors included
1366one John Dudley, earl of Warwick.&amp;nbsp; Dudley was very ambitious and determined
1367to destroy both Seymour brothers.&amp;nbsp; He began through simple gossip
1368- encouraging Thomas Seymour's jealousy whhile telling Somerset his brother
1369coveted his position.&amp;nbsp; But, for a long while, Somerset was impervious
1370to Dudley's scheming.&amp;nbsp; Within weeks of Henry's death, Somerset obtained
1371a dry stamp of Edward VI's signature - perhaps his most powerful tool (since
1372the king's signature implied the king's will - and the king's will was
1373law.)&amp;nbsp; And he soon commanded that Edward's signature alone was not
1374completely legal; instead, documents must include both Edward &lt;i&gt;and&lt;/i&gt;
1375Somerset's signatures.&amp;nbsp; For almost exactly two years (until his brother
1376was arrested on 17 January 1549), Somerset ruled England as thoroughly
1377as any king.&amp;nbsp; Indeed, it could be said he consulted the official privy
1378council less than Henry VIII had; certainly he entrusted less business
1379to it.
1380&lt;p&gt;His foreign policy was dominated by one thing - Scotland.&amp;nbsp; He wanted
1381to marry Edward VI to Mary Stuart, heiress to the Scottish throne and known
1382to history as Mary queen of Scots.&amp;nbsp; But he knew that such a betrothal
1383would have to be forced and enforced constantly.&amp;nbsp; He also knew that
1384England could ill afford to continually invade their troublesome northern
1385neighbor.&amp;nbsp; So Somerset proposed a logical - but impractical - plan.&amp;nbsp;
1386He would maintain a permanent English presence in Scotland by constructing
1387armed garrisons.&amp;nbsp; He invaded Scotland in September 1547 and won a
1388battle at Pinkie.&amp;nbsp; He instantly began to build forts while neglecting
1389to enforce a naval blockade to prevent French involvement.&amp;nbsp; Perhaps
1390Somerset did not correctly gauge the Scottish-French alliance; he was certainly
1391unprepared when 6000 French troops arrived and promptly captured English
1392forts and built their own garrisons.&amp;nbsp; Two years after the Battle of
1393Pinkie, the French had moved Mary Stuart to France (thereby ending Somerset's
1394planned marriage between her and Edward.)&amp;nbsp; Also, the battle had become
1395defensive and inconclusive.&amp;nbsp; Somerset was reduced to hiring mercenaries
1396(over 7000) to maintain some positions but conditions were bleak enough
1397to drive mercenaries away.&amp;nbsp; Soon enough, France had decided to declare
1398war; Henri II officially did so on 8 August 1549.&amp;nbsp; England could not
1399fight France and so Somerset offered to return Boulogne (captured by Henry
1400VIII) five years before an earlier treaty demanded.&amp;nbsp; The French king
1401demanded the return of Calais as well.&amp;nbsp; So Somerset ordered new forts
1402built at both cities and managed to fend off an attack at Boulogne.&amp;nbsp;
1403But soon enough the French king declared his trump card - Mary Stuart was
1404betrothed to his son and heir, the Dauphin.&amp;nbsp; The message was clear
1405- soon, the French would control Scotland..
1406&lt;p&gt;The conflicts with Scotland and France cost a great deal of money and
1407hurt Somerset's reputation.&amp;nbsp; Furthermore, he paid for the battles
1408by debasing coinage (hardly an intelligent policy.)&amp;nbsp; He combined these
1409foreign policy and economic mishaps by his religious policy.&amp;nbsp; Keep
1410in mind that in 1547 just 20% of Londoners were Protestant; Protestants
1411were also a vocal minority in Essex, Bristol, Kent and Sussex but outside
1412this all-important southeast corridor, the religion had barely spread.&amp;nbsp;
1413It was long known that whoever could hold London could control all of England
1414- London was the capital and one of the laargest cities in Europe.&amp;nbsp;
1415But since Protestants only accounted for 1/5 of the population, what explains
1416Somerset's - and the rest of government's - legal support for this new
1417religion?&amp;nbsp; The answer is complicated and deserves its own book - in
1418brief, the Protestants were a minority but they were a vocal minority with
1419money and influence.&amp;nbsp; Their members formed the basis of Somerset's
1420support and - as a vocal minority - they were far more passionate and committed
1421to spreading their faith than Catholics were with preserving the old order.&amp;nbsp;
1422This is an important point; offensive actions are more ideologically appealing
1423than defensive actions.&amp;nbsp; The group that initiated the changes (Protestants)
1424were far more likely to be committed
1425&lt;i&gt;and&lt;/i&gt; inspired to action.
1426&lt;p&gt;Many of the wealthy Protestants had benefited from the dissolution of
1427the monasteries in the 1530s but many historians have exaggerated Henry
1428VIII's generosity, implying that he gave vast monastic lands away to favored
1429courtiers.&amp;nbsp; In truth, he and Cromwell charged a fair - and often steep
1430- price for most of the lands.&amp;nbsp; They were purchased by nobles - who
1431then were committed to keeping their new lands.&amp;nbsp; But most were also
1432committed to Protestantism for very real ideological and religious reasons.&amp;nbsp;
1433One should not underestimate the importance of religion to 16th century
1434people, though our own age is awash in skepticism and cynicism.&amp;nbsp; For
1435people of the 16th century, the miseries of this world were transitory
1436- they were more committed to ensuring exiistence in the hereafter.
1437&lt;p&gt;Throughout Somerset's protectorate, the Tudor government - though sympathetic
1438to Protestantism - did not dare officially declare itself Protestant.&amp;nbsp;
1439Why?&amp;nbsp; Once again, the specter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V hung
1440over England.&amp;nbsp; And with the Franco-Scottish alliance a pressing concern,
1441Somerset could not afford to alienate the neutral Charles V.&amp;nbsp; (Like
1442Henry VIII, Somerset wanted to avoid a Franco-Spanish-Scottish alliance
1443against England.)&amp;nbsp; So he avoided an official declaration of England's
1444religious
1445sympathies and allowed Charles's cousin, Princess Mary, freedom to celebrate
1446Catholic services.&amp;nbsp; But the religious policy was as confusing as everything
1447else during those years - what were the proper rites for church services?
1448what doctrinal changes from Henry's reign would remain? would the use of
1449an English bible be enforced? should the Host be elevated during mass?&amp;nbsp;
1450These questions - and many others - remained hotly debated.&amp;nbsp; Meanwhile,
1451Somerset's government passed numerous guidelines, each more upsetting to
1452traditionalists than the last - unlicensed preaching was banned on 24 April
14531548; &lt;i&gt;all&lt;/i&gt; preaching was banned just five months later.&amp;nbsp; Instead,
1454clergy would recite twelve government-approved homilies/proverbs from the
1455pulpit.&amp;nbsp; Images were outlawed, altars were ordered removed, private
1456masses ended....&amp;nbsp; And the twelve government-endorsed homilies continued
1457this destruction, railing against good works and purgatory while advocating
1458salvation through faith &lt;i&gt;alone&lt;/i&gt;.&amp;nbsp; All churchmen felt themselves
1459under attack while their parishes agreed.&amp;nbsp; (For example, good works
1460and purgatory were deeply-held beliefs of common people.)
1461&lt;p&gt;Added to this confusion was Edward VI's blossoming religious convictions.&amp;nbsp;
1462Like his sister, Mary, Edward became committed to a specific ideology and
1463determined to impose it upon the English people - for their own good, of
1464course.&amp;nbsp; His tacit approval did not matter much to Somerset (who,
1465after all, possessed the king's signature) but it was symbolic.&amp;nbsp; For
1466the English people, the religious policies were frightening and confusing.&amp;nbsp;
1467Most English people lived in the countryside and were fundamentally conservative
1468- as most rural populations are; they weree slow to change and suspicious
1469of new ideas.&amp;nbsp; Confined to London for most of his short life, Edward
1470was unaware of this basic truth.&amp;nbsp; Like Somerset, he resided in London
1471where the new ideas were rampant.
1472&lt;p&gt;But, of course, the people had another reason for dissatisfaction.&amp;nbsp;
1473As mentioned earlier, Somerset's economic policy was essentially nonexistent.&amp;nbsp;
1474There was no overriding philosophy - just one hare-brained scheme to raise
1475money after another.&amp;nbsp; The population had been steadily increasing
1476(see &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.englishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ffacts.html&quot;&gt;Tudor Facts
1477&amp;amp; Figures&lt;/a&gt;) and, of course, fueled a rise in prices.&amp;nbsp; But along
1478with this, currency debasement continued and increased inflation.&amp;nbsp;
1479One official mentioned the obvious solution - restore the coinage - but
1480Somerset was desperate for quick money to fund his Scottish plans.&amp;nbsp;
1481Most of his economic policies were implemented by John Hales.&amp;nbsp; Hales
1482introduced many bills to parliament 1548-49, the main ones were: the maintenance
1483of tillage, requiring sheep farmers to keep a certain number of cows to
1484ensure regular milk and cheese supplies; he also attempted to end the compulsory
1485purchase by the government of food at fixed prices.&amp;nbsp; Those bills failed
1486- but a tax on sheep and wool was approvedd in order to discourage sheep
1487farming (and enclosures.)&amp;nbsp; The attempts to end enclosures was perhaps
1488the most ill-advised of Somerset's policies.&amp;nbsp; Landholders were naturally
1489opposed to it and, when they supposedly frustrated attempts to collect
1490evidence of enclosures, Somerset grew angry - he decided to proceed without
1491legal basis.&amp;nbsp; (The landowners had frustrated the government by packing
1492juries with their own tenants and servants.)&amp;nbsp; Somerset's decision
1493to proceed inflamed the entire Midlands (where the commission had begun
1494its work.)
1495&lt;p&gt;In May 1549, revolts began which can be loosely classified as 'class
1496warfare', or as close to such as Tudor England would ever get.&amp;nbsp; This
1497was not a repeat of the Pilgrimage of Grace, where nobleman led their supporters
1498in protest of new religious policies.&amp;nbsp; This was the revolt ot thousands
1499of laborers and poor farmers who had long resented the use of enclosures.&amp;nbsp;
1500They were revolting against the noblemen with, so they believed, the government's
1501support.&amp;nbsp; These poor people, who had suffered through rising inflation
1502and prices and debased currency, were determined to end a grossly unfair
1503practice.&amp;nbsp; When Somerset insisted the nobles had deliberately filled
1504the juries with supporters, the people grew angry.&amp;nbsp; They took to the
1505fields - filling ditches, tearing down fences and hedges.&amp;nbsp; Too late,
1506Somerset recognized the force he had unleashed.&amp;nbsp; He threatened to
1507disperse the rioters by force, to no avail.&amp;nbsp; In May the first revolts
1508broke out; by August, revolts broke out in Leicestershire.&amp;nbsp; It was
1509up to the nobility to restore order to their lands, using troops originally
1510destined for Scotland.&amp;nbsp; But thousands perished during the fighting.
1511&lt;p&gt;The revolts had revealed the ugly undercurrent of dissatisfaction among
1512the English people.&amp;nbsp; The factors already discussed combined to encourage
1513revolt.&amp;nbsp; It was also a terribly hot summer with a bad harvest.&amp;nbsp;
1514As prices rose, Somerset foolishly decided to fix maximum prices for goods
1515- but the prices were incredibly high and,, once again, demonstrated his
1516knowledge of London prices and ignorance of the rest of England.&amp;nbsp;
1517In general, the rebels wanted such basic rights as this - the right to
1518have landlords forced off 'common' ground and the right to fish freely.&amp;nbsp;
1519In a way, it was very much a 'Robin Hood' rebellion; they distrusted the
1520gentry and sought to separate the church and nobility.
1521&lt;p&gt;Somerset's policies during the rebellions were typical of 'the Good
1522Duke', or so the peasantry believed - but they enraged the nobility.&amp;nbsp;
1523In effect, he waffled between action and inaction.&amp;nbsp; When the revolts
1524began, he had not wanted to delay his Scottish campaign and so he didn't
1525respond immediately.&amp;nbsp; Instead, he issued grandiose proclamations and
1526promised to pardon rebels if they stopped.&amp;nbsp; Meanwhile, the revolts
1527spread and the council urged action.&amp;nbsp; In July, Somerset finally brought
1528troops back from Scotland and sent them to smash the rebels with impunity.&amp;nbsp;
1529Thousands of deaths ensued and much property was damaged.&amp;nbsp; The council
1530was furious - Somerset had blundered once again, disregarding their advice
1531and following no clear policy of his own.&amp;nbsp; Even Paget, his former
1532ally, was disgusted.&amp;nbsp; He wrote Somerset a threatening and dismissive
1533letter which read, in part:
1534&lt;ul&gt;Society in a realm doth consist and is maintained by mean of religion
1535and law.&amp;nbsp; And these two or one wanting, farewell all just society,
1536farewell king, government, justice and all other virtue.&amp;nbsp; Look well
1537whether you have either law or religion at home and I fear you shall find
1538neither. ....And put no more so many irons in the fire at once as you have
1539had within this twelvemonth - war with Scotland, with France.... commissions
1540out for that matter, new laws for this, proclamation for another, one in
1541another's neck.&lt;/ul&gt;
1542Paget's opinion of his former ally indicated the growing disillusionment
1543with Somerset.&amp;nbsp; Coupled with his brother's ambitious attempt to overthrow
1544him, the complete loss of the council's confidence was thus the beginning
1545of Somerset's end.
1546&lt;p&gt;
1547&lt;hr WIDTH=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;
1548&lt;center&gt;&lt;font size=-1&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html&quot;&gt;to
1549Tudor Monarchs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;
1550&lt;br&gt;&lt;font size=-1&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor.html&quot;&gt;to Tudor
1551England&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/center&gt;
1552&lt;/blockquote&gt;
1553
1554&lt;center&gt;&lt;font size=-1&gt;written by &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:[email protected]&quot;&gt;Marilee&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/center&gt;
1555&lt;/td&gt;
1556&lt;/tr&gt;
1557&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/center&gt;
1558
1559
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1562</Content>
1563</Section>
1564</Archive>
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