1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
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2 | <!DOCTYPE Archive SYSTEM "http://greenstone.org/dtd/Archive/1.0/Archive.dtd">
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3 | <Archive>
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4 | <Section>
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5 | <Description>
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6 | <Metadata name="gsdlsourcefilename">import/englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/edward6.html</Metadata>
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7 | <Metadata name="gsdldoctype">indexed_doc</Metadata>
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9 | <Metadata name="FileSize">74662</Metadata>
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10 | <Metadata name="Source">edward6.html</Metadata>
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11 | <Metadata name="SourceFile">edward6.html</Metadata>
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12 | <Metadata name="Language">en</Metadata>
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13 | <Metadata name="Encoding">utf8</Metadata>
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14 | <Metadata name="Author">Marilee</Metadata>
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15 | <Metadata name="Title">Tudor Monarchs: King Edward VI</Metadata>
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16 | <Metadata name="FileFormat">HTML</Metadata>
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17 | <Metadata name="URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/edward6.html</Metadata>
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18 | <Metadata name="UTF8URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/edward6.html</Metadata>
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19 | <Metadata name="weblink"><a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/edward6.html"></Metadata>
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20 | <Metadata name="webicon">_iconworld_</Metadata>
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21 | <Metadata name="/weblink"></a></Metadata>
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22 | <Metadata name="dc.Subject">Tudor period|Monarchs</Metadata>
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23 | <Metadata name="Identifier">HASH6815ffdac32a15841e2fff</Metadata>
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24 | <Metadata name="lastmodified">1391131239</Metadata>
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25 | <Metadata name="lastmodifieddate">20140131</Metadata>
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26 | <Metadata name="oailastmodified">1391131633</Metadata>
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27 | <Metadata name="oailastmodifieddate">20140131</Metadata>
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28 | <Metadata name="assocfilepath">HASH6815.dir</Metadata>
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29 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">seymour-cr.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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30 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">seymour-min.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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31 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">ed6baby-crop.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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32 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">ed1543-crop.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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33 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">parr-cr.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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34 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">edward4-cr.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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35 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">ed6main-cr.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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36 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">edward6.gif:image/gif:</Metadata>
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37 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">loseley.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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38 | </Description>
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39 | <Content>
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40 | &nbsp;
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41 | <center><table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=8 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH="98%" >
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42 | <tr>
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43 | <td ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20%">&nbsp;</td>
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44 |
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45 | <td WIDTH="15"></td>
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46 |
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47 | <td VALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH="80%">&nbsp;</td>
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48 | </tr>
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49 |
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50 | <tr>
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51 | <td VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20%"><b></b>
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113 | <br>&nbsp;
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114 | <center>
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115 | <p>
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116 | <img SRC="_httpdocimg_/seymour-cr.jpg" ALT="etching of Edward's mother, Jane Seymour" BORDER=1 height=169 width=150><p>
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117 | <font size="2">engraving of Jane Seymour, mother of Edward VI</font><p><br>
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169 | <p>
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170 | <img SRC="_httpdocimg_/seymour-min.jpg" ALT="miniature portrait of Jane Seymour by Horenbout" height=165 width=166>
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171 | <br><font size="2">&nbsp; miniature portrait of Jane Seymour, painted by Lucas
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172 | Horenbout</font><br>&nbsp;
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234 | <p><img SRC="_httpdocimg_/ed6baby-crop.jpg" ALT="Holbein's famous portrait of Edward as a toddler" BORDER=2 height=194 width=150><p>
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235 | <font size="2">Edward as a young prince, painted by Hans Holbein</font><p>
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236 | <font size="2">to learn more about this portrait, </font>
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237 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fnga.gov%2fcgi-bin%2fpinfo%3fObject%3d74%2b0%2bnone"><font size="2">click
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238 | here</font></a><p><br>
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288 | <p><img SRC="_httpdocimg_/ed1543-crop.jpg" ALT="portrait of Prince Edward in 1543" BORDER=2 height=194 width=137>
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289 | <br>&nbsp;<font size="2"> portrait of Edward VI, c1546, by an unknown artist</font><br>&nbsp;
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338 | <img SRC="_httpdocimg_/parr-cr.jpg" ALT="Edward's beloved stepmother, Katharine Parr" BORDER=2 height=191 width=150><p>
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339 | <font size="2">Edward VI's beloved stepmother, Katharine Parr, painted by
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340 | William Scrots, c1543 </font>
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396 | <p><img SRC="_httpdocimg_/edward4-cr.jpg" ALT="profile portrait of Edward VI" BORDER=2 height=228 width=150>
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397 | <br>&nbsp;<font size="2"> Edward VI, c1546, perhaps painted by William Scrots</font><br>&nbsp;
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449 | <p><img SRC="_httpdocimg_/ed6main-cr.jpg" ALT="Edward VI, once more in a Henrician pose" BORDER=2 height=214 width=150></center>
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451 | <p align="center"><font size="2">Edward VI in a pose reminiscent of his father,
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452 | c1543, painted by William Scrots</font><br>&nbsp;
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604 | </p>
|
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605 | <p>&nbsp;</td>
|
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606 |
|
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607 | <td WIDTH="15"></td>
|
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608 |
|
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609 | <td VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="80%">
|
---|
610 | <img SRC="_httpdocimg_/edward6.gif" ALT="King Edward VI" height=48 width=315>
|
---|
611 | <br>
|
---|
612 | <img SRC="_httpdocimg_/loseley.jpg" ALT="portrait of Edward VI in 1547, in a pose reminiscent of his father" BORDER=2 height=311 width=226 align=LEFT><b>Henry
|
---|
613 | VIII had just one legitimate son, Prince Edward.&nbsp; Born in October
|
---|
614 | 1537, Edward was the fulfillment of his father's tangled marital history.&nbsp;
|
---|
615 | Henry had ended his marriages to Katharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn when
|
---|
616 | they failed at the most important queenly duty, each woman bearing a healthy
|
---|
617 | princess but no surviving prince.&nbsp; Jane Seymour, the king's third
|
---|
618 | wife, was luckier.&nbsp; She ensured the king's lasting affection when
|
---|
619 | she gave birth to Edward, but she died soon afterwards of puerperal sepsis.&nbsp;
|
---|
620 | The infant prince was the only male Tudor heir of his generation; he had
|
---|
621 | two sisters and Henry VIII's sisters Mary and Margaret had several daughters.&nbsp;
|
---|
622 | If Edward died, the throne would pass to a woman and the Tudor dynasty
|
---|
623 | would end.&nbsp; Accordingly, King Henry did all he could to protect his
|
---|
624 | son's health; the infant prince lived in safe seclusion until his father
|
---|
625 | wed Katharine Parr.&nbsp; Henry's last wife became a beloved mother to
|
---|
626 | Edward and he adopted the zealous Protestantism which she championed.&nbsp;
|
---|
627 | He also grew close to his half-sister Elizabeth, with whom he shared a
|
---|
628 | household for some years.&nbsp; His older half-sister, Mary, was an equally
|
---|
629 | zealous Catholic; her religion and the vast difference in their ages prevented
|
---|
630 | a close relationship.&nbsp; Edward became king at the age of 10, but he
|
---|
631 | was a mere figurehead.&nbsp; His Seymour uncles battled with and ultimately
|
---|
632 | lost the Protectorship to the ambitious John Dudley, duke of Northumberland.&nbsp;
|
---|
633 | During his brief reign, Edward demonstrated impressive piety and intelligence.&nbsp;
|
---|
634 | But his potential would never be realized.&nbsp; He died an agonizing death
|
---|
635 | at 15, possibly from a combination of tuberculosis and the measles.&nbsp;
|
---|
636 | Northumberland had persuaded him to leave the throne to his Protestant
|
---|
637 | cousin, Lady Jane Grey.&nbsp; This decision begat one of the most tragic
|
---|
638 | tales of Tudor England.</b>
|
---|
639 | <br>&nbsp;
|
---|
640 | <blockquote><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fedward6.html#Biography">Read
|
---|
641 | a more detailed biography of King Edward VI</a>.
|
---|
642 | <p><b>Primary Sources</b>
|
---|
643 | <br>Read <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html">Edward's
|
---|
644 | journal entries</a>.
|
---|
645 | <br><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fed6birth.html">Jane Seymour's
|
---|
646 | pregnancy is announced</a>, 1537</blockquote>
|
---|
647 |
|
---|
648 | <blockquote>Visit <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.geocities.com%2fmarilee-cody%2fimages.html">Tudor
|
---|
649 | England: Images</a> to view portraits of Edward.
|
---|
650 | <br>Visit the <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fseymour.html">Jane
|
---|
651 | Seymour site</a> to learn more about Edward's mother.
|
---|
652 | <br>Visit the <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html">Lady
|
---|
653 | Jane Grey site</a> to learn more about Edward's cousin and heiress.
|
---|
654 | <p>Test your knowledge of King Edward's life at <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html">Tudor
|
---|
655 | Quizzes</a>.<p><font size="2">The above portrait is of King Edward VI, c1547, by
|
---|
656 | an unknown artist.&nbsp;
|
---|
657 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.geocities.com%2fmarilee-cody%2fnewpics.html">Click here</a> to
|
---|
658 | learn more.</font></blockquote>
|
---|
659 |
|
---|
660 | <br>&nbsp;
|
---|
661 | <blockquote><a NAME="Biography"></a><b>Biography</b>
|
---|
662 | <br>Henry VIII married Jane Seymour in shocking haste and, when she died
|
---|
663 | less than two years later, he sought another wife immediately afterwards.&nbsp;
|
---|
664 | This evident dislike of bachelorhood was a cornerstone of Henry's adult
|
---|
665 | life.&nbsp; But it shouldn't imply that he didn't grieve for Jane.&nbsp;
|
---|
666 | Indeed, unlike his other wives, she was the only one he always spoke of
|
---|
667 | with affection.&nbsp; The cynic may argue this was because she died before
|
---|
668 | Henry could turn on her.&nbsp; Whatever the case, when his own life came
|
---|
669 | to an end, Henry envisioned a grand tomb to hold him and his 'entirely
|
---|
670 | beloved' Jane.&nbsp; This did not come to pass; instead, Henry's body was
|
---|
671 | interred with Jane's at her burial site, St George's Chapel.
|
---|
672 | <p>It is indicative of Henry's contradictory character that, ten years
|
---|
673 | and three wives after her death, he still held Jane in such sentimental
|
---|
674 | regard.&nbsp; Though he is notorious for his six marriages, one could easily
|
---|
675 | argue that only his union with Jane Seymour - brief though it was - completely
|
---|
676 | satisfied him, as man <i>and</i> king.&nbsp; Unlike her immediate predecessor
|
---|
677 | Anne Boleyn (whose motto was <i>le plus heureuse </i>- 'the most happy'),
|
---|
678 | Jane chose as her motto, 'Bound to obey and serve.'&nbsp; A more striking
|
---|
679 | contrast to the witty, flirtatious and passionate Anne Boleyn could not
|
---|
680 | be imagined.&nbsp; While Anne had been almost exotic in her attractiveness,
|
---|
681 | stylish, and educated at the notorious French court, Jane was the pious
|
---|
682 | and dutiful daughter of an old English family.&nbsp; Certainly she had
|
---|
683 | as many ambitious relatives (including two brothers executed by her son),
|
---|
684 | but she never imposed upon the king.&nbsp; When she argued for Henry to
|
---|
685 | reinstate his daughter Mary, the king replied that she would do well to
|
---|
686 | think of herself and the children they would have; Jane replied, with typical
|
---|
687 | tact and submissiveness, that she was thinking only of the king's happiness.&nbsp;
|
---|
688 | She had the most pleasing feminine habit of showing disinterested concern
|
---|
689 | for others.&nbsp; Again, a contrast to her predecessor who had despised
|
---|
690 | - and been despised by - Princess Mary.
|
---|
691 | <p>But Jane's quiet, pliant nature should not be mistaken for shyness or
|
---|
692 | ignorance.&nbsp; Indeed, she was intelligent enough to manage Henry Tudor,
|
---|
693 | a feat at which even great men like Wolsey, Cromwell, and More struggled.&nbsp;
|
---|
694 | She also managed to capture and maintain a king's interest while he was
|
---|
695 | married to another woman.&nbsp; Certainly Henry was increasingly weary
|
---|
696 | of Anne and the lack of a male heir but his desire for Jane also urged
|
---|
697 | on Anne's execution.&nbsp; And before the execution, Henry was careful
|
---|
698 | to obtain a divorce from Anne as well; this meant that his marriage to
|
---|
699 | Jane was the first legal union of his life.&nbsp; At forty-five, well into
|
---|
700 | middle-age, the king declared he was finally entering a legally and spiritually
|
---|
701 | pure marriage.
|
---|
702 | <p>If Jane would have maintained Henry's interest and affection forever
|
---|
703 | cannot, of course, be known.&nbsp; She lived just eighteen months after
|
---|
704 | their marriage, long enough to deliver a prince and short enough to enshrine
|
---|
705 | her memory.&nbsp; Beyond Henry, she also impressed others as the perfect
|
---|
706 | epitome of a quiet, obedient and kind wife - various ambassadors and contemporaries
|
---|
707 | agree on this.&nbsp; But one musn't forget that she knowingly - if quietly
|
---|
708 | - carried on an affair with a married man while ostensibly serving his
|
---|
709 | wife.&nbsp; Many vilified Anne Boleyn for the very same behavior; however,
|
---|
710 | Jane's behavior is rarely portrayed in a negative manner.
|
---|
711 | <p>The exact date she met the king is not known.&nbsp; But before he dallied
|
---|
712 | with her, he had made another of Anne Boleyn's ladies-in-waiting his mistress.&nbsp;
|
---|
713 | This was Margaret (or Madge) Shelton, Anne Boleyn's first cousin, a girl
|
---|
714 | 'very gentle of countenance' and 'soft of speech.'&nbsp; She was governess
|
---|
715 | to Princess Elizabeth and her husband was captain of the child's guard.&nbsp;
|
---|
716 | The affair with Madge lasted about six months in early 1535; Chapuys, the
|
---|
717 | Imperial ambassador, also mentions another affair in autumn 1534 but the
|
---|
718 | woman's name is not known.&nbsp; In autumn 1535, the king's fancy turned
|
---|
719 | to Jane Seymour.&nbsp; Henry was on progress to Southampton and stayed
|
---|
720 | at her father's home, Wolf Hall in Wiltshire, with the traveling court.&nbsp;
|
---|
721 | This meeting at Wolf Hall was not their first (it simply couldn't have
|
---|
722 | been since she had been in royal service since 1529).&nbsp; But Henry VIII
|
---|
723 | was rarely one for passion at first sight and, for one reason or another,
|
---|
724 | Jane attracted his <i>amorous</i> attentions at Wolf Hall.
|
---|
725 | <p>He had not deserted his relationship with Anne, however; there was still
|
---|
726 | a chance she would provide a male heir and Henry was loathe to end a marriage
|
---|
727 | he had fought so hard to secure.&nbsp; Still, in the back of all minds,
|
---|
728 | the precedent of repudiated Katharine existed.&nbsp; If the aunt of the
|
---|
729 | Holy Roman Emperor could be divorced, why not 'Nan Bullen'?&nbsp; But such
|
---|
730 | speculation was dormant until Anne suffered a stillbirth during the summer
|
---|
731 | of 1534.
|
---|
732 | <p>Before this, Chapuys and other enemies commented that she was growing
|
---|
733 | old, her dark good looks were fading; she was in her mid-thirties, no longer
|
---|
734 | young and leaving her safest reproductive years behind.&nbsp; She still
|
---|
735 | could manage Henry though she lacked Jane Seymour's delicate touch.&nbsp;
|
---|
736 | But she would have been a fool to think her position was completely secure.&nbsp;
|
---|
737 | Each new dalliance, each sharp word reinforced her tenuous position.&nbsp;
|
---|
738 | Above all else, she must produce a male heir - Henry would never repudiate
|
---|
739 | the mother of his son.&nbsp; So when she miscarried late in her pregnancy,
|
---|
740 | she naturally worried.&nbsp; It did not help her disposition or relations
|
---|
741 | with the king.
|
---|
742 | <p>Shortly thereafter, Henry began the dalliance mentioned above.&nbsp;
|
---|
743 | Anne drove her rival from court, Chapuys relates, Henry was angry and threatening
|
---|
744 | - he told Anne that she "had good reason tto be content with what he had
|
---|
745 | done for her, which he would not do now if the thing were to begin and
|
---|
746 | that she should consider from what she had come and other things."&nbsp;
|
---|
747 | One can imagine the effect of such words on Anne.&nbsp; She became terminally
|
---|
748 | insecure and anxious even as she struggled to conceive and deliver a healthy
|
---|
749 | child.&nbsp; And Henry, sensitive as always, remarked that he believed
|
---|
750 | she had never been pregnant at all.&nbsp; (This was untrue - Anne's advancing
|
---|
751 | pregnancy had been noted by several contemporaries.)
|
---|
752 | <p>From the fall of 1534 and most of 1535, Anne sought security in the
|
---|
753 | only way possible.&nbsp; But Henry was occasionally impotent, a not uncommon
|
---|
754 | occurrence for an overweight man of forty-five.&nbsp; Like most men of
|
---|
755 | his age (and many of ours), he didn't blame himself; after all, he was
|
---|
756 | still attracted to other women.&nbsp; Ironically enough, it was after his
|
---|
757 | visit to Wolf Hall, when he returned to London in October 1535, that he
|
---|
758 | and Anne conceived a child.&nbsp; The fancy for Jane Seymour, only a few
|
---|
759 | weeks old, would be overlooked.
|
---|
760 | <p>Furthermore, Katharine of Aragon had finally passed away on 7 January
|
---|
761 | 1536.&nbsp; The great rival vanquished and she herself pregnant, Anne lived
|
---|
762 | as her motto decreed - 'the most happy.'&nbsp; But Katharine's death was
|
---|
763 | not the happy event it may have seemed.&nbsp; After all, in the eyes of
|
---|
764 | Catholic Europe, Katharine had always been Henry's wife.&nbsp; With her
|
---|
765 | death, the king of England was officially widowed.&nbsp; In other words,
|
---|
766 | he was free to marry again.&nbsp; The union with Anne was not recognized.&nbsp;
|
---|
767 | And just a few weeks after Katharine's death, Anne miscarried the child.&nbsp;
|
---|
768 | It was a male fetus, about fifteen weeks old.&nbsp; Her own sorrow as a
|
---|
769 | mother was undoubtedly overwhelmed by the realization that she was doomed.
|
---|
770 | <p>She told Henry she had miscarried because he had suffered a serious
|
---|
771 | fall and the news, related by her uncle Norfolk, had distressed her terribly.&nbsp;
|
---|
772 | Henry was uninterested.&nbsp; According to Anne's attendants, he said to
|
---|
773 | her, "I see God will not give me male children" and that he would have
|
---|
774 | "no more boys by <i>her</i>."&nbsp; Perhaps two miscarriages was not uncommon
|
---|
775 | in Tudor England but, in light of Katharine of Aragon's many miscarriages,
|
---|
776 | Anne's were magnified.
|
---|
777 | <p>With Anne now widely believed to be incapable of delivering a male heir,
|
---|
778 | Henry's relationship with Jane Seymour assumed a new importance.&nbsp;
|
---|
779 | There are stories which cannot be confirmed as true - Anne discovered Jane
|
---|
780 | sitting on the king's lap, Anne discovered gifts Henry had bought for 'Mistress
|
---|
781 | Seymour' - but they are disquieting.&nbsp; In any case, Jane was bewitching
|
---|
782 | the king in her own quiet way much as Anne herself had done.&nbsp; She
|
---|
783 | denied the king just enough to ensure a chaste reputation and certainly
|
---|
784 | Henry was like many men - the forbidden fruit was all the more attractive.&nbsp;
|
---|
785 | And she also came from a respectable noble family which passionately pounced
|
---|
786 | upon the Boleyn's declining fortunes.
|
---|
787 | <p>The Seymours had old antecedents though their claim of Norman ancestry
|
---|
788 | was dubious.&nbsp; Their name was originally St Maur and a Sir Wido de
|
---|
789 | Saint Maur was supposed to have come over with the conquest.&nbsp; Prosperous
|
---|
790 | marriages enriched the family and extended their holdings.&nbsp; Jane's
|
---|
791 | father was born in 1474 and knighted in the field by Henry VII at a battle
|
---|
792 | called Blackheath.&nbsp; He continued to enjoy royal favor into Henry VIII's
|
---|
793 | reign, accompanying the king on his French campaign in 1513 and also the
|
---|
794 | infamous Field of Cloth of Gold in 1532.&nbsp; He was a Gentleman of the
|
---|
795 | Bedchamber and sheriff of his home county but never especially prominent
|
---|
796 | or ambitious.&nbsp; What was important was his reputation as a pious and
|
---|
797 | courteous man; also, he was often in close contact with the king.&nbsp;
|
---|
798 | And, even more important, he came from a large family with many healthy
|
---|
799 | children.&nbsp; Jane herself was one of ten children; her own mother had
|
---|
800 | six sons, though two of died of the sweating sickness in 1528.
|
---|
801 | <p>Jane's father was over 60 when the king's fancy turned to her; it was
|
---|
802 | her older brothers Edward and Thomas who stood to profit most from her
|
---|
803 | ascendancy.&nbsp; They seized - and relished - this unexpected opportunity
|
---|
804 | to advance their fortunes.&nbsp; Their sister, in her mid-twenties, was
|
---|
805 | not particularly beautiful; her most pleasing feature was her fair, unblemished
|
---|
806 | skin.&nbsp; Chapuys, who had no cause to denigrate her, described her as
|
---|
807 | 'of middle stature and no great beauty.'&nbsp; But she was calm, courteous,
|
---|
808 | and kindly.&nbsp; Such characteristics were important, especially to a
|
---|
809 | monarch like Henry who felt himself surrounded by devious and temperamental
|
---|
810 | women.&nbsp; She was also virtuous.&nbsp; She may have responded to Henry's
|
---|
811 | flirtations (who would deny the king?) but she responded to no others -
|
---|
812 | this despite service under two queens.&nbsp; But when Henry sent her gifts
|
---|
813 | with a letter, she returned them, saying, "If the King desired to make
|
---|
814 | her a present of money, she prayed that it might be when she made an honorable
|
---|
815 | marriage."&nbsp; Once again, the royal appetite was whetted.&nbsp; And,
|
---|
816 | of course, such modest behavior was desirable in a woman Henry increasingly
|
---|
817 | wanted to wed.
|
---|
818 | <p>Jane's family was joined by supporters who had been slighted by the
|
---|
819 | Boleyn faction.&nbsp; In other words, anyone who had not prospered under
|
---|
820 | Anne's rule wanted to support Jane.&nbsp; On 18 April 1536, Cromwell (Henry's
|
---|
821 | chief minister and confidante) threw in his lot with the Seymours.&nbsp;
|
---|
822 | He vacated his apartments at Greenwich Palace so the Seymours could move
|
---|
823 | in.&nbsp; This was crucial.&nbsp; Not only could the king visit Jane discreetly,
|
---|
824 | without anyone knowing, but Cromwell's opinion carried weight with Henry.&nbsp;
|
---|
825 | Anne Boleyn's fall was inevitable; Jane Seymour's rise was unstoppable.
|
---|
826 | <p>On Friday, 19 May 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed on various charges,
|
---|
827 | the most powerful being that of treason.&nbsp; The secret betrothal of
|
---|
828 | King Henry and Jane took place at Hampton Court the next day.&nbsp; During
|
---|
829 | Anne's arrest and trial, Henry's sense of decency (never great) had persuaded
|
---|
830 | him to send Jane away.&nbsp; She went to Sir Nicholas Carew's house at
|
---|
831 | Croydon where she was afforded every respect.&nbsp; But as the date of
|
---|
832 | Anne's demise approached, Henry grew more impatient; Jane was moved to
|
---|
833 | a closer house just a mile from the king's residence at Whitehall.&nbsp;
|
---|
834 | From there she went to Hampton Court for her betrothal; it was back again
|
---|
835 | to Whitehall for the marriage on 30 May.&nbsp; Thomas Cranmer performed
|
---|
836 | the ceremony.&nbsp; One can imagine it was a happy and triumphant day for
|
---|
837 | Jane but confidence would have been foolhardy.&nbsp; After all, the king
|
---|
838 | had divorced one wife who had not born a son and executed another.&nbsp;
|
---|
839 | She had known both Katharine and Anne quite well.&nbsp; Even if she didn't
|
---|
840 | grieve for their fates, she must have realized the instability of her own.
|
---|
841 | <p>Once queen, Jane chose a phoenix rising from a castle filled with Tudor
|
---|
842 | roses and the panther for her heraldry.&nbsp; It was easy enough to alter
|
---|
843 | Anne's leopards and falcons, after all.&nbsp; On their first procession
|
---|
844 | through London as husband and wife, they passed the Tower where the late
|
---|
845 | queen's body lay stuffed in an arrow chest, the head tucked beneath the
|
---|
846 | arm.&nbsp; For 'Jane the Quene,' the Tower was hung with banners and streamers.&nbsp;
|
---|
847 | Furthermore, there was the incredible dowry the king had lavished upon
|
---|
848 | her - 104 manors, 5 castles and various gardens and forests.&nbsp; Henry
|
---|
849 | also planned an equally lavish coronation for his new queen.&nbsp; This,
|
---|
850 | however, was stymied by an outbreak of the plague; Henry said that it would
|
---|
851 | only be postponed.&nbsp; As soon as it was healthy and safe, Jane would
|
---|
852 | be officially crowned.
|
---|
853 | <p>Meanwhile, Jane displayed good common sense by ordering her ladies-in-waiting
|
---|
854 | to dress conservatively.&nbsp; She wanted no one to tempt the king even
|
---|
855 | as she had done.&nbsp; She also became mother to two motherless princesses.&nbsp;
|
---|
856 | Both Mary and Elizabeth benefited from Jane's kindness.&nbsp; Mary was
|
---|
857 | of marriageable age (seven years younger than Jane) and could be used as
|
---|
858 | a tool in Henry's diplomacy.&nbsp; Three-year-old Elizabeth, lacking Mary's
|
---|
859 | maternal nobility, was not marriageable yet but Henry was described as
|
---|
860 | 'very affectionate' toward her.&nbsp; He called her 'his Madame Ysabeau'
|
---|
861 | and allowed both Elizabeth and Mary, though bastardized, precedence over
|
---|
862 | their cousins.
|
---|
863 | <p>Jane's religious opinions should be discussed, if only because history
|
---|
864 | has often misread her true feelings.&nbsp; Unlike her brothers and son,
|
---|
865 | Jane was not a Protestant.&nbsp; She was conservative in her religion as
|
---|
866 | she was in her behavior.&nbsp; The first harsh words Henry was recorded
|
---|
867 | as speaking to her were over religion; she mentioned that a rebellion was
|
---|
868 | perhaps God's rebuke over Henry's dissolution of the monasteries.&nbsp;
|
---|
869 | Henry brusquely reminded her that the late queen had died as a result of
|
---|
870 | meddling in his affairs.&nbsp; This implied threat would have been enough
|
---|
871 | to frighten any woman.&nbsp; Luckily, Jane became pregnant a few months
|
---|
872 | later, in early January 1537.&nbsp; This news undoubtedly helped lessen
|
---|
873 | the sadness of her father's death on 21 December 1536.
|
---|
874 | <p>Jane's condition was announced in March and the news was officially
|
---|
875 | celebrated on Trinity Sunday, 27 May 1537.&nbsp; She was now the king's
|
---|
876 | 'most dear and most entirely beloved wife', as Henry wrote to the duke
|
---|
877 | of Norfolk.&nbsp; Her coronation was now planned to be after the child's
|
---|
878 | birth, probably late October.&nbsp; There is no sign that the pregnancy
|
---|
879 | was especially difficult; all writings point to Jane's good stature and
|
---|
880 | health.&nbsp; Henry canceled a progress to stay with her and certainly
|
---|
881 | the entire court - and country - held their breath, wondering if this young
|
---|
882 | woman would succeed in her greatest duty.
|
---|
883 | <p>Certainly Henry was optimistic and, as usual, the astrologers and doctors
|
---|
884 | predicted the birth of a son.&nbsp; They had been wrong with Elizabeth
|
---|
885 | but Henry was eager to forget and make preparations.&nbsp; He had a Garter
|
---|
886 | stall made for this long-awaited son in St George's Chapel at Windsor;
|
---|
887 | the royal apartments at Hampton Court Palace were refurbished in preparation
|
---|
888 | for the birth; Jane's brothers were yet again elevated to new positions,
|
---|
889 | granted more lands and pensions.&nbsp; And finally, on 9 October, she went
|
---|
890 | into labor.
|
---|
891 | <p>Her labor was as arduous as any could be in the sixteenth century.&nbsp;
|
---|
892 | It lasted three days; after the first two, a procession was mounted in
|
---|
893 | London to pray for the Queen.&nbsp; On 12 October, the eve of the Feast
|
---|
894 | of St Edward, the child was born.&nbsp; Jane was well enough after the
|
---|
895 | birth to receive guests, most touchingly her husband.&nbsp; Henry wept
|
---|
896 | when he took this longed-for heir in his arms.&nbsp; The christening was
|
---|
897 | held three days later and, wrapped in furs and velvet, she attended.&nbsp;
|
---|
898 | Princess Mary acted as godmother to her half-brother and four-year-old
|
---|
899 | Elizabeth was carried by Thomas Seymour.
|
---|
900 | <p>&nbsp;It would be impossible to list all the celebrations which occurred
|
---|
901 | when Prince Edward was born.&nbsp; Suffice to say, 2000 shots were fired
|
---|
902 | from the Tower and bells were rung throughout the countryside.&nbsp; On
|
---|
903 | 18 October, Henry had his son proclaimed Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall
|
---|
904 | and Earl of Carnarvon.&nbsp; Yet again the Seymour brothers were given
|
---|
905 | generous endowments for the king was never more generous or magnanimous.&nbsp;
|
---|
906 | But their sister who had made such celebrating possible was not recovering
|
---|
907 | from the birth.&nbsp; In modern times, we call her illness puerperal fever.&nbsp;
|
---|
908 | In Jane's time, it was the most common cause of death for pregnant women.&nbsp;
|
---|
909 | Cleanliness and the proper treatment for infections were not understood.&nbsp;
|
---|
910 | Once she became infected, she was doomed.&nbsp; On 19 October, she took
|
---|
911 | to her bed again; she recovered somewhat on the 23rd, as her attendants
|
---|
912 | reported, but only for a matter of hours.&nbsp; Soon she was delirious
|
---|
913 | and, early the next morning, her confessor was sent for.&nbsp; Henry, who
|
---|
914 | had planned to go hunting that day, postponed his trip - but only for that
|
---|
915 | day, he told a courtier.&nbsp; It was enough; 'Jane the Quene' died near
|
---|
916 | midnight on 24 October, living just days after her great triumph.&nbsp;
|
---|
917 | For her husband, increasingly obese, bald, and well into middle-age, the
|
---|
918 | grief was genuine.&nbsp;&nbsp; He planned a sumptuous burial for 12 November
|
---|
919 | and the churches that had celebrated Edward's birth now began to pray for
|
---|
920 | the soul of the late queen.&nbsp; Hampton Court Palace, scene of her triumph
|
---|
921 | and death, was hung with black.
|
---|
922 | <p>Princess Mary was chief mourner at her step-mother's funeral but Henry
|
---|
923 | did not attend.&nbsp; He wished to be alone with his grief.&nbsp; Jane
|
---|
924 | Seymour was buried as a queen - unlike Katharine of Aragon who had died
|
---|
925 | as Princess Dowager and Anne Boleyn, who had died divorced and disgraced.&nbsp;
|
---|
926 | Her hearse was taken to Windsor and interred in a vault in St George's
|
---|
927 | Chapel.&nbsp; Henry was perhaps already planning a sufficient monument
|
---|
928 | for the grave he would eventually share with Jane.&nbsp; But he also kept
|
---|
929 | track of his late wife's possessions - her jewelry was distributed to her
|
---|
930 | ladies, Princess Mary, and her brothers.&nbsp; But her dowry, the 104 manors
|
---|
931 | and 5 castles, were given back to the king.&nbsp; And, very soon indeed,
|
---|
932 | speculation began -&nbsp; who would receive these favors next?
|
---|
933 | <p>Henry VIII turned to the continent for his next wife, the German princess
|
---|
934 | Anne of Cleves.&nbsp; The marriage was famously annulled only a few months
|
---|
935 | later.&nbsp; His fifth wife was Anne Boleyn's cousin, the young and pretty
|
---|
936 | Catherine Howard.&nbsp; She met her cousin's fate not even two years into
|
---|
937 | the marriage and then Henry wed the twice-widowed Katharine Parr.&nbsp;
|
---|
938 | Pious, intelligent and an accomplished nurse, she would be his last wife.&nbsp;
|
---|
939 | By the time of this last marriage, the king was suffering from a variety
|
---|
940 | of ailments, most caused by his increasing obesity.&nbsp; He continued
|
---|
941 | to take a keen interest in his son's education and Katharine Parr became
|
---|
942 | a true mother to the young Elizabeth and Edward.&nbsp; Her passionate Protestantism
|
---|
943 | had a great effect on both children; it also nearly caused her death, since
|
---|
944 | Henry VIII had become even more tyrannical as the years passed.&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
945 | <p>The king's own death on 28 January 1547 was the second and final time
|
---|
946 | the Tudor throne would pass, easily and without dispute, to a male heir.&nbsp;
|
---|
947 | But Edward VI's extreme youth ensured that his reign would not immediately
|
---|
948 | be his own.
|
---|
949 | <p>
|
---|
950 | <hr WIDTH="100%">
|
---|
951 | <p>Who was this young man, the product of his father's long and desperate
|
---|
952 | search for an heir?&nbsp; He died at the age of sixteen, never more than
|
---|
953 | a puppet king who had to beg his uncle for pocket money and was beaten
|
---|
954 | by his tutors.&nbsp; Edward VI was just a child when crowned at Westminster.&nbsp;
|
---|
955 | His father knew the dangers of leaving a child as heir and did his best
|
---|
956 | to protect the court from factionalism.&nbsp; However, Henry's will was
|
---|
957 | shortsighted and hardly practical; he wanted a regency council of peers,
|
---|
958 | each equal to the other.&nbsp; But even as he lay dying, the earl of Hertford
|
---|
959 | and Sir William Paget were already planning their coup.&nbsp; Hertford,
|
---|
960 | Jane Seymour's brother and Edward's uncle, would be made Lord Protector&nbsp;
|
---|
961 | and Paget would be first minister.&nbsp; On 28 January 1547, Hertford rode
|
---|
962 | to his nephew and brought him to the security of the Tower of London.&nbsp;
|
---|
963 | On 31 January the council met there and agreed to Paget's nomination of
|
---|
964 | Hertford as protector.&nbsp; Only then was Henry VIII's demise made public
|
---|
965 | and Edward VI proclaimed king.&nbsp; There followed a distribution of titles
|
---|
966 | and sinecures, the most notable being Hertford's elevation to the dukedom
|
---|
967 | of Somerset.
|
---|
968 | <p>However, Somerset's authority was not fully secure; the council's nomination
|
---|
969 | of him as Protector was just a verbal agreement.&nbsp; Without letters
|
---|
970 | patent authenticated by the Great Seal, he had a title but no legal basis
|
---|
971 | for control.&nbsp; But the Great Seal was in the hands of the lord chancellor,
|
---|
972 | a conservative named Wriothesley who had been created earl of Southampton
|
---|
973 | during the accession honors.&nbsp; But even elevated to an earldom, Wriothesley
|
---|
974 | was not happy with what he perceived to be Somerset's usurption of power.&nbsp;
|
---|
975 | He refused to affix the seal to Somerset's patent of formal authority.&nbsp;
|
---|
976 | Early in March, Somerset was able to rid himself of this nuisance.&nbsp;
|
---|
977 | He brought to the council's attention certain irregularities in the chancellor's
|
---|
978 | office (notably his neglect of the legal side of his responsibilities),
|
---|
979 | and forced Wriothesley's resignation.&nbsp; Somerset's ally Lord Rich was
|
---|
980 | quickly appointed lord chancellor and the Great Seal was finally affixed
|
---|
981 | to the letters patent.&nbsp; Somerset was now the most powerful man in
|
---|
982 | England, with the exception of his young nephew.
|
---|
983 | <p>One of the powers Somerset acquired in his patent of office was the
|
---|
984 | right to appoint whoever he wanted to the Privy Council.&nbsp; To that
|
---|
985 | end, he brought in some of the older, experienced men who had not been
|
---|
986 | appointed executors in Henry's will.&nbsp; But he never allowed the council
|
---|
987 | to function with any degree of autonomy and rarely consulted its members.&nbsp;
|
---|
988 | Instead, he used them to simply endorse his own privately-made decisions.&nbsp;
|
---|
989 | On the rare occasions he did meet with them, he demonstrated an appalling
|
---|
990 | lack of the attributes all leaders need - tact and cunning.&nbsp; His tongue
|
---|
991 | was so savage that he reduced a colleague to tears and, before long, Paget
|
---|
992 | was warning him about his arrogance and rudeness.&nbsp; Somerset ignored
|
---|
993 | Paget as he ignored most everyone else.&nbsp; He ruled by edict, issuing
|
---|
994 | proclamations to a greater extent than any head of government in the Tudor
|
---|
995 | age.
|
---|
996 | <p>His fall was inevitable.&nbsp; But it did not happen until five years
|
---|
997 | into Edward's reign, by which time Somerset had effectively cemented the
|
---|
998 | new religion in England and offended virtually every other nobleman.&nbsp;
|
---|
999 | What did Edward VI think of his uncle's autocratic use of power?&nbsp;
|
---|
1000 | The boy king left behind a journal remarkable in its detachment; indeed,
|
---|
1001 | he recorded the executions of both Somerset and his younger brother with
|
---|
1002 | no emotion.
|
---|
1003 | <p>Edward was not completely cold, however.&nbsp; He was always affectionate
|
---|
1004 | to his stepmother, Katharine Parr, whose benevolent influence eased his
|
---|
1005 | lonely childhood.&nbsp; He also spent time with his half-sister Elizabeth;
|
---|
1006 | the two children were just four years apart in age and Elizabeth was a
|
---|
1007 | Protestant.&nbsp; He was never particularly close to his other half-sister,
|
---|
1008 | Mary.&nbsp; This was understandable for Mary was old enough to be his mother
|
---|
1009 | (21 years older) and a devout Catholic who refused to bow to her brother's
|
---|
1010 | religious convictions.&nbsp; Certainly she had obeyed their father but
|
---|
1011 | Edward was an adolescent who Mary believed was a pawn of Protestant heretics.&nbsp;
|
---|
1012 | (Visit the <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.englishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html">Primary
|
---|
1013 | Sources</a> site to read selections from Edward's journal &amp; other documents)
|
---|
1014 | <p>Edward's education was always strict.&nbsp; His earliest tutors were
|
---|
1015 | female and he was guarded under the strictest regulations - for example,
|
---|
1016 | nobody less than a knight was allowed to visit him.&nbsp; At the age of
|
---|
1017 | six, his two principal tutors were appointed - Ricahrd Cox, a committed
|
---|
1018 | but moderate reformer, and John Cheke, the most distinguished humanist
|
---|
1019 | in the land.&nbsp; There is evidence that he was occasionally beaten. Upon
|
---|
1020 | his ascension, he was a precocious and intelligent boy.&nbsp; His elevation
|
---|
1021 | to the kingship did not end his courtesy to his tutors.&nbsp; In fact,
|
---|
1022 | he now began to share his studies with a handful of contemporaries; one
|
---|
1023 | of these, Barnaby Fitzpatrick, was the son of an Irish peer and became
|
---|
1024 | a Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber.&nbsp; He was also Edward's closest friend
|
---|
1025 | and, away on a mission to France, received letters from the king which
|
---|
1026 | betray normal adolescent exuberance.&nbsp; These letters - along with those
|
---|
1027 | to Katharine Parr - are the only examples in which Edward exhibits emotion.
|
---|
1028 | <p>Edward left behind a reputation for bigoted, extreme Protestantism which
|
---|
1029 | he does not deserve.&nbsp; There were many pro-Protestant laws enacted
|
---|
1030 | during his reign, with his approval, but at the instigation of his guardians.&nbsp;
|
---|
1031 | He was a devout Protestant, the product of the new religion which even
|
---|
1032 | his father had not understood.&nbsp; Still, he was by no means as self-righteouslessly
|
---|
1033 | intolerant as his older sister; perhaps he would have been - but that is
|
---|
1034 | just speculation.
|
---|
1035 | <p>Edward's ministers demonstrated passionate self-interest in this religious
|
---|
1036 | climate.&nbsp; These Protestant lords had profitted economically from the
|
---|
1037 | dissolution of the monasteries and no one - lord or commoner - wanted to
|
---|
1038 | reinstate papal taxation.&nbsp; They were determined to keep their land
|
---|
1039 | grants, gold plate, and other treasures.&nbsp; In doing so, they appealed
|
---|
1040 | to the intellectual vanity of their young king.&nbsp; Edward was raised
|
---|
1041 | a Protestant, even as Mary had been raised a Catholic, and there is no
|
---|
1042 | reason to doubt he held his faith as deeply.&nbsp; Unlike their sister
|
---|
1043 | Elizabeth, who declared she wanted no windows in men's souls, Edward and
|
---|
1044 | Mary believed they were guiding their subjects onto the path of righteousness.&nbsp;
|
---|
1045 | When Somerset and others altered their beliefs with changing political
|
---|
1046 | climates, they were careful to appeal to this sense of self-righteousness.
|
---|
1047 | <blockquote><b><font size=-1>I wrote a more detailed account of Edward's
|
---|
1048 | childhood before writing this section; if you would like to read it, <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.englishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fedward33.html">please
|
---|
1049 | click here</a>.&nbsp; It will be somewhat repetitious since it contains
|
---|
1050 | information found at this page, but there is more detail and might be useful
|
---|
1051 | for students researching Edward's life.</font></b></blockquote>
|
---|
1052 | The essential fact of Edward's brief reign is this - it is more a commentary
|
---|
1053 | on Somerset and his successor, Northumberland, than it is on Edward himself.&nbsp;
|
---|
1054 | In the early months of his rule, the councilors were more interested in
|
---|
1055 | securing the throne and creating a peaceful transition to the new order.&nbsp;
|
---|
1056 | As Edward's uncle and a soldier of experience, Somerset was the natural
|
---|
1057 | choice as 'Protector of all the realms and domains of the King's Majesty
|
---|
1058 | and Governor of his most royal person.'&nbsp; The other fifteen men Henry
|
---|
1059 | had selected as councilors were men only recently promoted to high office;
|
---|
1060 | twelve of them were Protestant, since the Howards - the leading Catholic
|
---|
1061 | faction at court - had fallen from power.&nbsp; Somerset's main rivals
|
---|
1062 | for power were John Dudley, earl of Northumberland (soon promoted to earl
|
---|
1063 | of Warwick) and his own brother, Thomas Seymour (soon created Baron Seymour
|
---|
1064 | of Sudeley and Lord High Admiral.)&nbsp; Seymour was ambitious and angry
|
---|
1065 | that he could not wield absolute power; in his opinion, why should one
|
---|
1066 | uncle have control and another be fobbed off with consolation prizes?&nbsp;
|
---|
1067 | A more temperate man would have been content with his newly ennobled title
|
---|
1068 | and position on the council but Seymour was ambitious and jealous - a lethal
|
---|
1069 | combination.&nbsp; In the end, he would bring down himself and his brother,
|
---|
1070 | thus securing Dudley's ascendancy.
|
---|
1071 | <p>Somerset loved his younger brother and, in general, was considered a
|
---|
1072 | kind man - but he was unfortunately ill-equipped to manage his squabbling
|
---|
1073 | council and had a mean-tempered wife who offended virtually everyone she
|
---|
1074 | met.&nbsp; She was his second wife and mother of his nine children; Somserset's
|
---|
1075 | first wife had been banished to a convent after having an affair with his
|
---|
1076 | father.&nbsp; Anne Stanhope was as proud and quarrelsome as her brother-in-law
|
---|
1077 | Seymour.&nbsp; She considered herself the first lady of the realm, claiming
|
---|
1078 | precedence over Katharine Parr, Henry VIII's widow.&nbsp; When Seymour
|
---|
1079 | married Katharine just four months after Henry's death, Anne and virtually
|
---|
1080 | everyone at court saw it as evidence of his vast ambition.&nbsp; It opened
|
---|
1081 | yet another rift between the two brothers.
|
---|
1082 | <p>There were, of course, reasons for Seymour to be jealous.&nbsp; On 16
|
---|
1083 | February 1547, Henry VIII was buried with the Seymour brothers' sister,
|
---|
1084 | Jane, at St George's chapel in Windsor, and - the very next day - Edward
|
---|
1085 | VI confirmed his uncle as duke of Somerset.&nbsp; Along with the title
|
---|
1086 | came an income of 7400 pds a year, a vast sum in those days.&nbsp; By contrast,
|
---|
1087 | Henry VIII left Princesses <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.englishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fmary1.html">Mary</a>
|
---|
1088 | and Elizabeth 3000 pds each - less than half of Somerset's income but still
|
---|
1089 | considered a great sum.&nbsp; Seymour had to content himself with the lands
|
---|
1090 | of his baronetcy as well as his wife's fortune - and, soon enough, embezzlement.&nbsp;
|
---|
1091 | When his brother made it clear he would not share ultimate authority, Seymour
|
---|
1092 | began to plot against him.&nbsp; Already, he had begun flirting with the
|
---|
1093 | adolescent Elizabeth, being raised at his wife's home in Chelsea (discussed
|
---|
1094 | in greater detail at the <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.englishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html">Elizabeth
|
---|
1095 | I</a> pages.)&nbsp; He also secured the guardianship of <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.englishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html">Jane
|
---|
1096 | Grey</a>, telling her parents he would arrange her marriage to the young
|
---|
1097 | king.&nbsp; Thus, he was in control of two of Henry VIII's heirs.&nbsp;
|
---|
1098 | He also began visiting his nephew, attempting to gain Edward's affections
|
---|
1099 | by giving him presents and money.&nbsp; Since Somerset was strict with
|
---|
1100 | his nephew and kept him constantly short of money, the king was grateful
|
---|
1101 | for the gifts.
|
---|
1102 | <p>But even as Seymour began his ambitious plans, Somerset was careful
|
---|
1103 | to court Princess Mary's favor.&nbsp; This was a smart policy since she
|
---|
1104 | was her brother's heir, popular with the English people, and cousin to
|
---|
1105 | the Holy Roman Emperor.&nbsp; Also, she was content to remain in the countryside
|
---|
1106 | since she disliked Edward's Protestant court.&nbsp; Many historians have
|
---|
1107 | written that Seymour and others courted Mary's favor with the view that
|
---|
1108 | she would one day be queen.&nbsp; However, this is wrong - as is the view
|
---|
1109 | that Edward VI was a sickly king, always delicate of health.&nbsp; In fact,
|
---|
1110 | until the last eighteen months of his life, Edward was quite healthy and
|
---|
1111 | gave every intention of living many years.&nbsp; He was slender and had
|
---|
1112 | fair coloring but also enjoyed activity and took a keen - and passionate
|
---|
1113 | - interest in learning and religion.&nbsp;; As he grew older, he naturally
|
---|
1114 | chafed at his uncle Somerset's absolute control over his life.
|
---|
1115 | <p>Somerset - unlike his brother and Dudley - never played to Edward's
|
---|
1116 | natural feelings of superiority and authority.&nbsp; He treated the king
|
---|
1117 | as he treated his children - with firmness, discipline, and a strict regimen.&nbsp;
|
---|
1118 | Seymour and Dudley spoke to the young king
|
---|
1119 | <i>as a king</i>, pretending
|
---|
1120 | to defer to his naturally superior wisdom.&nbsp; For a while, though, Somerset
|
---|
1121 | kept near-absolute control over the council.&nbsp; He became popular with
|
---|
1122 | the poor - and unpopular with his fellow nobles - by promoting reform of
|
---|
1123 | agricultural laws (creating fixed rents and the abolition of enclosures)and
|
---|
1124 | he attempted to reform the judicial system in favor of equality for all.&nbsp;
|
---|
1125 | In fact, he established a court of pleas at his own home in London.&nbsp;
|
---|
1126 | This earned him the nickname 'the Good Duke' but to his councilors he was
|
---|
1127 | too moderate to satisfy any faction and too headstrong to listen to anyone.&nbsp;
|
---|
1128 | To this perception of arrogance and class-betrayal was added a spiritual
|
---|
1129 | weakness - Somerset would not allow anyone to be tortured or burned over
|
---|
1130 | religious matters.&nbsp; This tolerance was unexpected and unwelcome by
|
---|
1131 | his peers.
|
---|
1132 | <p>But along with idealistic plans for social reform, Somerset was also
|
---|
1133 | grasping and greedy.&nbsp; The combination of such traits was considered
|
---|
1134 | hypocritical and inconsistent.&nbsp; After all, his councilors muttered,
|
---|
1135 | who was Somerset to criticize their rents when he spent the government's
|
---|
1136 | money with little regard for moderation?&nbsp; They pointed to his London
|
---|
1137 | residence, Somerset House, built&nbsp; at the exorbinant cost of 10000
|
---|
1138 | pds; there were other homes, too, equally grand and all designed to emphasize
|
---|
1139 | his stature as Lord Protector.&nbsp; It may be that Somerset was uneasy
|
---|
1140 | in his role since, before his sister's ascendancy, his family was only
|
---|
1141 | moderately successful.&nbsp; In just ten years, they had become the pre-eminent
|
---|
1142 | family in the land and he may have been insecure about such a rapid rise.&nbsp;
|
---|
1143 | In any case, he was encouraged in such spending by his wife.
|
---|
1144 | <p>Somerset's main problem was that he lacked the charisma and will-power
|
---|
1145 | of Henry VIII, a man who had blustered and bullied his council into action.&nbsp;
|
---|
1146 | The sheer intimidating force of his personality had awed everyone - and
|
---|
1147 | Somerset lacked that bravura, a natural ability to inspire and lead.&nbsp;
|
---|
1148 | Instead, he was forced to shout and insult his peers into action, at one
|
---|
1149 | time driving a man to tears.&nbsp; Meanwhile, his brother was proving an
|
---|
1150 | embarrassment.&nbsp; Right after Henry's death, Seymour had sought permission
|
---|
1151 | to marry Elizabeth; when that was denied, he renewed a former attachment
|
---|
1152 | to Katharine Parr and married her.&nbsp; In any case, in the four months
|
---|
1153 | after Henry's death before he married Katharine, his nephew King Edward
|
---|
1154 | had suggested he marry Anne of Cleves or Princess Mary.&nbsp; But Seymour's
|
---|
1155 | own brother squashed both those plans, the union with Mary in particular;
|
---|
1156 | Seymour was not 'born to be king, nor to marry a king's daughter.'&nbsp;
|
---|
1157 | So when he married the queen dowager, people naturally assumed it was a
|
---|
1158 | union of ambition and not affection.
|
---|
1159 | <p>Seymour further angered the council and his brother by flirting with
|
---|
1160 | Princess Elizabeth; she was sent from he and Katharine's Chelsea home after
|
---|
1161 | Katharine became pregnant.&nbsp; When Katharine died in childbirth, Seymour
|
---|
1162 | was soon engaged in pressing his suit to Elizabeth again as well as arguing
|
---|
1163 | with the council - and his brother in particular - over Katharine's possessions.&nbsp;
|
---|
1164 | He was also ingratiating himself with King Edward by bribing a man called
|
---|
1165 | John Fowler, one of the king's closest servants.&nbsp; Fowler and Edward
|
---|
1166 | were close and shared conversations; they revealed the young king's increasing
|
---|
1167 | frustration with Somerset's actions.&nbsp; Edward wanted more pocket money,
|
---|
1168 | less severe tutors, more time for leisure pursuits - he wanted to be treated
|
---|
1169 | as king and not a child.&nbsp; Fowler, paid by Seymour, was happy to pass
|
---|
1170 | these complaints on.&nbsp; So Seymour smuggled in some money and small
|
---|
1171 | presents and, though these pleased the king, they didn't personally endear
|
---|
1172 | his uncle to him.&nbsp; Perhaps even the young Edward could sense his uncle's
|
---|
1173 | calculating ambition.
|
---|
1174 | <p>But Edward did publicly support and bless his uncle and stepmother's
|
---|
1175 | marriage.&nbsp; And, in a fit of anger, he once told Seymour that - if
|
---|
1176 | Somerset should die - he would appoint his 'favorite' uncle Lord Protector.&nbsp;
|
---|
1177 | Such statements only encouraged Seymour.&nbsp; Soon enough, in November
|
---|
1178 | 1547, Seymour had urged Edward to sign a document which would be placed
|
---|
1179 | before Parliament in its new session; it would officially divide the office
|
---|
1180 | of Lord Protector between the king's two uncles.&nbsp; Edward was naturally
|
---|
1181 | cautious and asked his tutor, John Cheke, for guidance.&nbsp; Cheke was
|
---|
1182 | a learned man obsessed with otherwordly concerns but he also understood
|
---|
1183 | the intrigues of the Tudor court.&nbsp; His advice was for Edward to not
|
---|
1184 | sign and distance himself from both uncles.&nbsp; Seymour was furious.&nbsp;
|
---|
1185 | He went about telling councilors that he wanted Edward to live with him
|
---|
1186 | and the queen dowager and - more threateningly - he could easily steal
|
---|
1187 | the king from under Somerset's nose.&nbsp; When Katharine died on 5 September
|
---|
1188 | 1548 after a difficult childbirth, one important link to his nephew disappeared.&nbsp;
|
---|
1189 | After all, Edward had been genuinely fond of Katharine.&nbsp; But after
|
---|
1190 | her death, Seymour became even more openly ambitious and insulting to his
|
---|
1191 | brother.&nbsp; There were rumors that he wanted to marry his former ward
|
---|
1192 | Jane Grey but Seymour found this laughable.&nbsp; He had more ambitious
|
---|
1193 | plans - once again, he intended to woo Princess Elizabeth.&nbsp; It may
|
---|
1194 | have been that Katharine Parr exerted a calming influence upon her husband
|
---|
1195 | and, once she died, he became more obvious and unrestrained in his plans.&nbsp;
|
---|
1196 | Whatever the case, he began to voice open disapproval of his brother's
|
---|
1197 | government, threatening to disrupt Parliamenr; in short, he was a great
|
---|
1198 | embarrassment to the protector.&nbsp; Somerset tried to be conciliatory
|
---|
1199 | but Seymour had none of it.&nbsp; He began to gather support (at least
|
---|
1200 | nominally) from other nobles who were dissatisfied with Somerset for less
|
---|
1201 | personal reasons.&nbsp; As Lord High Admiral, a post he had heretofore
|
---|
1202 | neglected, Seymour was able to control the English navy.&nbsp; He openly
|
---|
1203 | asked people for support in case of a coup.&nbsp; In other words, he was
|
---|
1204 | completely indiscreet.
|
---|
1205 | <p>Meanwhile, Elizabeth's governess Mrs Ashley, another victim of Seymour's
|
---|
1206 | charm, was encouraging her young charge to think kindly of Seymour.&nbsp;
|
---|
1207 | But Elizabeth was cautious and less than thrilled; she retired to the country
|
---|
1208 | and stayed far away from London.&nbsp; But others had heard of Seymour's
|
---|
1209 | plans and one of these was Lord Russell, the keeper of the Privy Seal,
|
---|
1210 | an important office in Tudor England.&nbsp; He confronted Seymour with
|
---|
1211 | rumors of his intention to wed Elizabeth; he said this would ensure Seymour's
|
---|
1212 | ruin.&nbsp; Furthermore, Russell cautioned, King Edward would view a match
|
---|
1213 | with Elizabeth very suspiciously - after all, it smacked of ambition and
|
---|
1214 | the next step would be his own death.&nbsp; Then, Seymour and Elizabeth
|
---|
1215 | would rule.&nbsp; Seymour's folly went further, however.&nbsp; He was also
|
---|
1216 | embezzling vast sums in a complicated scheme with the vice-treasurer of
|
---|
1217 | the Bristol mint.&nbsp; (Once again, this is discussed in the Elizabeth
|
---|
1218 | I pages as well.)
|
---|
1219 | <p>The vice-treasurer was a man called Sir William Sharington.&nbsp; Sharington
|
---|
1220 | had taken advantage of the general laxity and chaos the new reign to clip
|
---|
1221 | and debase the coinage produced at Bristol.&nbsp; He doctored the account
|
---|
1222 | books to cover the operation but rumors spread of his crimes.&nbsp; It
|
---|
1223 | was inevitable - after all, others worked at the mint and Sharington was
|
---|
1224 | using the money to refurbish his house in a very lavish manner.&nbsp; Seymour
|
---|
1225 | discovered Sharington's secret and, rather than turn him in, decided upon
|
---|
1226 | blackmail.&nbsp; He planned to use the proceeds to finance his coup to
|
---|
1227 | take over the government.&nbsp; Furthermore, he as using his position as
|
---|
1228 | Lord High Admiral to encourage piracy (rather than protect against it,
|
---|
1229 | as was his duty), allowing the pirates safe passage in exchange for shares
|
---|
1230 | of their booty.&nbsp; He also charged ships a toll to pass from England
|
---|
1231 | to Ireland on official government business.
|
---|
1232 | <p>He also planned to kidnap Edward, with John Fowler's help.&nbsp; Fowler
|
---|
1233 | provided keys to Edward's room and forged a stamp of Edward's signature.&nbsp;
|
---|
1234 | But at the end of 1548, everyone knew of his plans.&nbsp; The council openly
|
---|
1235 | discussed charges against him.&nbsp; His aristocratic friends cautioned
|
---|
1236 | that their support would not be forthcoming after all.&nbsp; Soon enough,
|
---|
1237 | someone had tipped off the council to one of the greatest crimes - the
|
---|
1238 | Bristol mint was raided and Sharington fell to pieces, accusing Seymour
|
---|
1239 | of forcing him to commit treason and turning King's evidence against him.&nbsp;
|
---|
1240 | (In an ironic footnote, he was not only pardoned - but restored to his
|
---|
1241 | office and position in life.)&nbsp; Somerset attempted to help his brother,
|
---|
1242 | summoning him to London for a private audience.&nbsp; Seymour refused.&nbsp;
|
---|
1243 | Somerset had no choice but to lay all before the council and let them proceed
|
---|
1244 | against his brother.&nbsp; Soon enough, John Fowler's incriminating evidence
|
---|
1245 | was laid bare - as was King Edward's.&nbsp; But still no direct action
|
---|
1246 | was taken against him; it was just a treason investigation.&nbsp; But on
|
---|
1247 | 16 January, Seymour ensured his immediate arrest.
|
---|
1248 | <p>He still had the forged keys to Edward's apartment at Hampton Court
|
---|
1249 | and, in the middle of the night, decided to risk everything on kidnapping
|
---|
1250 | the king.&nbsp; He entered through the privy garden - but, in the room
|
---|
1251 | outside Edward's bedroom, slept the king's pet spaniel.&nbsp; The dog woke
|
---|
1252 | up, barking, and Seymour shot him.&nbsp; A Yeoman of the Guard appeared,
|
---|
1253 | demanding an explanation, even as King Edward awoke and stood in his bedroom
|
---|
1254 | doorway; he was clad in his nightshirt and openly terrified.&nbsp; Seymour
|
---|
1255 | told them he had come to test the king's guards; the dog had attacked him
|
---|
1256 | so he was forced to shoot.&nbsp; The guard let him leave but, upon learning
|
---|
1257 | of the incident, the council decided to confine Seymour to the Tower while
|
---|
1258 | they investigated.&nbsp; The official charge was attempting to murder King
|
---|
1259 | Edward; even the suspicion of regicide was enough to condemn Seymour.&nbsp;
|
---|
1260 | On 18 January, the council officially sent agents to question everyone
|
---|
1261 | Seymour had conspired with; among those questioned were Princess Elizabeth
|
---|
1262 | and her household.
|
---|
1263 | <p>Seymour refused to appear privately before the council; he would settle
|
---|
1264 | for nothing less than an open trial.&nbsp; On 22 February, the council
|
---|
1265 | officially indicted him of thirty-three charges of treason.&nbsp; And Seymour
|
---|
1266 | never had an open trial in which to make his case - as in Henry VIII's
|
---|
1267 | time, a Bill of Attainder was passed on 4 March, approved by Parliament
|
---|
1268 | and King Edward.&nbsp; Somerset delayed signing the death warrant so the
|
---|
1269 | council, led by Dudley, went to Edward for his signature.&nbsp; So on 20
|
---|
1270 | March, Seymour was executed at the Tower of London, dying 'dangerously,
|
---|
1271 | irksomely, horribly.'&nbsp; Somerset's understandable inability to condemn
|
---|
1272 | his brother resulted in a growing rift on the council.&nbsp; His family
|
---|
1273 | was disgraced and he was angry at the councilors for so rapidly proceeding
|
---|
1274 | against his brother.&nbsp; It was only a matter of time before he, too,
|
---|
1275 | fell from power.
|
---|
1276 | <p>Somerset's fall was engineered by Dudley and helped along by a backlash
|
---|
1277 | against his regime.&nbsp; How did Somerset's policies help foster a climate
|
---|
1278 | of betrayal and manipulation; specifically, how had he failed in his duties
|
---|
1279 | as Lord Protector?
|
---|
1280 | <p>
|
---|
1281 | <hr WIDTH="100%">
|
---|
1282 | <br><b>A more thorough discussion of Somerset's government policies, and
|
---|
1283 | how they led to his downfall</b>
|
---|
1284 | <p>Somerset's government was a confused jumble of misplaced idealism and
|
---|
1285 | factional squabbling.&nbsp; With the dynamic and charismatic figure of
|
---|
1286 | Henry VIII gone, Tudor government was in a shambles.&nbsp; Its fate was
|
---|
1287 | inevitable - an autocratic king was replaced with a nine-year-old boy -
|
---|
1288 | what else could result but chaos?&nbsp; Henry VIII had been a mass of contradictions
|
---|
1289 | always united in the belief that the king's will was the highest authority.&nbsp;
|
---|
1290 | Even when his religious policies became incomprehensible to anyone but
|
---|
1291 | him, he still believed they were righteous - and through the force of his
|
---|
1292 | will and use of kingly authority, he convinced most others of the same.&nbsp;
|
---|
1293 | Up until the week of his death, he entertained foreign ambassadors and
|
---|
1294 | plotted grandiose foreign invasions, displaying a disturbing interest in
|
---|
1295 | current events while his council thought he should be contemplating the
|
---|
1296 | afterlife.&nbsp; When he was gone, no one knew how to fill the void.&nbsp;
|
---|
1297 | Certainly his heir, still a child, was king in name only.&nbsp; His Lord
|
---|
1298 | Protectors - first Somerset and then Dudley - tried to <i>act</i> as kings
|
---|
1299 | and both perished.&nbsp; The truth was obvious and inescapable - the English
|
---|
1300 | people may have muttered (at great risk) about Henry's religious quarrels
|
---|
1301 | and his private follies but they had respected his position as king.&nbsp;
|
---|
1302 | The men that followed him had grown up in his shadow, jockeying for position
|
---|
1303 | and favor.&nbsp; When he died, they struggled amongst themselves for Henry's
|
---|
1304 | vanished supreme authority.&nbsp; In the end, they failed and the English
|
---|
1305 | people suffered six years of turmoil.
|
---|
1306 | <p>Somerset's position as Lord Protector seemed natural enough.&nbsp; After
|
---|
1307 | all, no one seriously expected a council of sixteen peers to rule England.&nbsp;
|
---|
1308 | Factionalism and squabbling had long marked Henry's court (particularly
|
---|
1309 | after Cromwell's execution) and it only worsened after his death.&nbsp;
|
---|
1310 | There needed to be a leader, a respected man who (in the council's opinion)
|
---|
1311 | would not be a ruler but a figurehead.&nbsp; In other words, he would be
|
---|
1312 | perceived as leader while actually sharing authority with the council.&nbsp;
|
---|
1313 | (A position, in other words, like that of Speaker of the House in the U.S.
|
---|
1314 | Congress.)&nbsp; Of course, such a plan depended on the leader being willing
|
---|
1315 | to share power privately.&nbsp; Somerset originally promised to do so but,
|
---|
1316 | fairly quickly, decided to disregard his peers.&nbsp; This understandably
|
---|
1317 | angered them.&nbsp; In addition to his arrogant refusal to consult them,
|
---|
1318 | he also implemented policies which helped the poor at the expense of the
|
---|
1319 | aristocracy.
|
---|
1320 | <p>In private life, Somerset was regarded as a genial man, though criticized
|
---|
1321 | as middle-of-the-road and unreadable.&nbsp; His wife, Anne Stanhope, was
|
---|
1322 | the stereotypical shrewish wife who offended virtually everyone she met,
|
---|
1323 | particularly other aristocratic wives.&nbsp; She bore Somerset nine children
|
---|
1324 | and he was considered a strict but fair father.&nbsp; Insofar as it is
|
---|
1325 | possible to sketch a psychological portrait of Somerset at this site, I
|
---|
1326 | would characterize him as an essentially kind and sympathetic man who took
|
---|
1327 | his responsibilities very seriously; he was also prone to feelings of inferiority
|
---|
1328 | and easily offended.&nbsp; As a result, his government policies were idealistic
|
---|
1329 | - but his personal relationships with counncil members were unsatisfying.&nbsp;
|
---|
1330 | He came to be regarded as arrogant and bullying when, in fact, he was simply
|
---|
1331 | ill-suited to his job.&nbsp; Added to this, he craved appreciation - he
|
---|
1332 | cultivated the appearance of fairness and virtue even as he replaced the
|
---|
1333 | council with his own hand-picked advisors.
|
---|
1334 | <p>Somerset had achieved the position of Lord Protector simply because
|
---|
1335 | his younger sister, Jane, bore Henry VIII the longed-for son.&nbsp; As
|
---|
1336 | such, Henry always regarded her in a sentimental haze; she was the perfect
|
---|
1337 | wife - gentle, meek and obedient.&nbsp; She had also fulfilled her duty
|
---|
1338 | as queen by providing a male heir, though she tragically died as a result.&nbsp;
|
---|
1339 | It was Jane who, years after her death, was painted as Henry's consort
|
---|
1340 | in paintings of the Tudor dynasty; and it was Jane whom Henry wished to
|
---|
1341 | lie beside in death.&nbsp; While she lived as queen (for a brief eighteen
|
---|
1342 | months), her brothers, Edward and Thomas, were showered with favors.&nbsp;
|
---|
1343 | After Edward VI's birth, the favors continued.&nbsp; Edward, the elder
|
---|
1344 | brother who became duke of Somerset in 1547, was closer to Henry than Thomas
|
---|
1345 | and adept at handling his mercurial monarch.&nbsp; In truth, Somerset had
|
---|
1346 | emerged as a competent soldier and politician.&nbsp; But competency alone
|
---|
1347 | could not run Tudor England; indeed, even the great Cromwell had struggled
|
---|
1348 | to control Henry's council before they connived at his execution.&nbsp;
|
---|
1349 | Somerset was no Cromwell.&nbsp; He lacked a coherent vision of government
|
---|
1350 | and the personality to govern.&nbsp; But for several years he was Lord
|
---|
1351 | Protector - before his younger brother's jealousy and ambition destroyed
|
---|
1352 | them both.
|
---|
1353 | <p>The personal tragedy of Edward and Thomas Seymour was discussed above.&nbsp;
|
---|
1354 | Suffice to say, it played out against the backdrop of actual government
|
---|
1355 | - all the mundane day-to-day policies whicch actually control a country.&nbsp;
|
---|
1356 | Edward VI became king even as his father's past was catching up to the
|
---|
1357 | English economy.&nbsp; Henry VIII had indulged in many frivolous pursuits,
|
---|
1358 | including several extremely expensive battles in France.&nbsp; He left
|
---|
1359 | behind a mountain of debt and little means to pay it.&nbsp; The English
|
---|
1360 | economy was heavily dependent upon wool exports to Europe, particularly
|
---|
1361 | the Low Countries.&nbsp; And it possessed the enviable ability to feed
|
---|
1362 | its population without importing food - but only during good harvests.&nbsp;
|
---|
1363 | When harvests were bad, famine occurred and the poor became beggars, often
|
---|
1364 | relying on the newly-impoverished churches for support.
|
---|
1365 | <p>Somerset dealt with crises by consulting his own advisors and not the
|
---|
1366 | council.&nbsp; It was unfortunate that the disregarded councilors included
|
---|
1367 | one John Dudley, earl of Warwick.&nbsp; Dudley was very ambitious and determined
|
---|
1368 | to destroy both Seymour brothers.&nbsp; He began through simple gossip
|
---|
1369 | - encouraging Thomas Seymour's jealousy whhile telling Somerset his brother
|
---|
1370 | coveted his position.&nbsp; But, for a long while, Somerset was impervious
|
---|
1371 | to Dudley's scheming.&nbsp; Within weeks of Henry's death, Somerset obtained
|
---|
1372 | a dry stamp of Edward VI's signature - perhaps his most powerful tool (since
|
---|
1373 | the king's signature implied the king's will - and the king's will was
|
---|
1374 | law.)&nbsp; And he soon commanded that Edward's signature alone was not
|
---|
1375 | completely legal; instead, documents must include both Edward <i>and</i>
|
---|
1376 | Somerset's signatures.&nbsp; For almost exactly two years (until his brother
|
---|
1377 | was arrested on 17 January 1549), Somerset ruled England as thoroughly
|
---|
1378 | as any king.&nbsp; Indeed, it could be said he consulted the official privy
|
---|
1379 | council less than Henry VIII had; certainly he entrusted less business
|
---|
1380 | to it.
|
---|
1381 | <p>His foreign policy was dominated by one thing - Scotland.&nbsp; He wanted
|
---|
1382 | to marry Edward VI to Mary Stuart, heiress to the Scottish throne and known
|
---|
1383 | to history as Mary queen of Scots.&nbsp; But he knew that such a betrothal
|
---|
1384 | would have to be forced and enforced constantly.&nbsp; He also knew that
|
---|
1385 | England could ill afford to continually invade their troublesome northern
|
---|
1386 | neighbor.&nbsp; So Somerset proposed a logical - but impractical - plan.&nbsp;
|
---|
1387 | He would maintain a permanent English presence in Scotland by constructing
|
---|
1388 | armed garrisons.&nbsp; He invaded Scotland in September 1547 and won a
|
---|
1389 | battle at Pinkie.&nbsp; He instantly began to build forts while neglecting
|
---|
1390 | to enforce a naval blockade to prevent French involvement.&nbsp; Perhaps
|
---|
1391 | Somerset did not correctly gauge the Scottish-French alliance; he was certainly
|
---|
1392 | unprepared when 6000 French troops arrived and promptly captured English
|
---|
1393 | forts and built their own garrisons.&nbsp; Two years after the Battle of
|
---|
1394 | Pinkie, the French had moved Mary Stuart to France (thereby ending Somerset's
|
---|
1395 | planned marriage between her and Edward.)&nbsp; Also, the battle had become
|
---|
1396 | defensive and inconclusive.&nbsp; Somerset was reduced to hiring mercenaries
|
---|
1397 | (over 7000) to maintain some positions but conditions were bleak enough
|
---|
1398 | to drive mercenaries away.&nbsp; Soon enough, France had decided to declare
|
---|
1399 | war; Henri II officially did so on 8 August 1549.&nbsp; England could not
|
---|
1400 | fight France and so Somerset offered to return Boulogne (captured by Henry
|
---|
1401 | VIII) five years before an earlier treaty demanded.&nbsp; The French king
|
---|
1402 | demanded the return of Calais as well.&nbsp; So Somerset ordered new forts
|
---|
1403 | built at both cities and managed to fend off an attack at Boulogne.&nbsp;
|
---|
1404 | But soon enough the French king declared his trump card - Mary Stuart was
|
---|
1405 | betrothed to his son and heir, the Dauphin.&nbsp; The message was clear
|
---|
1406 | - soon, the French would control Scotland..
|
---|
1407 | <p>The conflicts with Scotland and France cost a great deal of money and
|
---|
1408 | hurt Somerset's reputation.&nbsp; Furthermore, he paid for the battles
|
---|
1409 | by debasing coinage (hardly an intelligent policy.)&nbsp; He combined these
|
---|
1410 | foreign policy and economic mishaps by his religious policy.&nbsp; Keep
|
---|
1411 | in mind that in 1547 just 20% of Londoners were Protestant; Protestants
|
---|
1412 | were also a vocal minority in Essex, Bristol, Kent and Sussex but outside
|
---|
1413 | this all-important southeast corridor, the religion had barely spread.&nbsp;
|
---|
1414 | It was long known that whoever could hold London could control all of England
|
---|
1415 | - London was the capital and one of the laargest cities in Europe.&nbsp;
|
---|
1416 | But since Protestants only accounted for 1/5 of the population, what explains
|
---|
1417 | Somerset's - and the rest of government's - legal support for this new
|
---|
1418 | religion?&nbsp; The answer is complicated and deserves its own book - in
|
---|
1419 | brief, the Protestants were a minority but they were a vocal minority with
|
---|
1420 | money and influence.&nbsp; Their members formed the basis of Somerset's
|
---|
1421 | support and - as a vocal minority - they were far more passionate and committed
|
---|
1422 | to spreading their faith than Catholics were with preserving the old order.&nbsp;
|
---|
1423 | This is an important point; offensive actions are more ideologically appealing
|
---|
1424 | than defensive actions.&nbsp; The group that initiated the changes (Protestants)
|
---|
1425 | were far more likely to be committed
|
---|
1426 | <i>and</i> inspired to action.
|
---|
1427 | <p>Many of the wealthy Protestants had benefited from the dissolution of
|
---|
1428 | the monasteries in the 1530s but many historians have exaggerated Henry
|
---|
1429 | VIII's generosity, implying that he gave vast monastic lands away to favored
|
---|
1430 | courtiers.&nbsp; In truth, he and Cromwell charged a fair - and often steep
|
---|
1431 | - price for most of the lands.&nbsp; They were purchased by nobles - who
|
---|
1432 | then were committed to keeping their new lands.&nbsp; But most were also
|
---|
1433 | committed to Protestantism for very real ideological and religious reasons.&nbsp;
|
---|
1434 | One should not underestimate the importance of religion to 16th century
|
---|
1435 | people, though our own age is awash in skepticism and cynicism.&nbsp; For
|
---|
1436 | people of the 16th century, the miseries of this world were transitory
|
---|
1437 | - they were more committed to ensuring exiistence in the hereafter.
|
---|
1438 | <p>Throughout Somerset's protectorate, the Tudor government - though sympathetic
|
---|
1439 | to Protestantism - did not dare officially declare itself Protestant.&nbsp;
|
---|
1440 | Why?&nbsp; Once again, the specter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V hung
|
---|
1441 | over England.&nbsp; And with the Franco-Scottish alliance a pressing concern,
|
---|
1442 | Somerset could not afford to alienate the neutral Charles V.&nbsp; (Like
|
---|
1443 | Henry VIII, Somerset wanted to avoid a Franco-Spanish-Scottish alliance
|
---|
1444 | against England.)&nbsp; So he avoided an official declaration of England's
|
---|
1445 | religious
|
---|
1446 | sympathies and allowed Charles's cousin, Princess Mary, freedom to celebrate
|
---|
1447 | Catholic services.&nbsp; But the religious policy was as confusing as everything
|
---|
1448 | else during those years - what were the proper rites for church services?
|
---|
1449 | what doctrinal changes from Henry's reign would remain? would the use of
|
---|
1450 | an English bible be enforced? should the Host be elevated during mass?&nbsp;
|
---|
1451 | These questions - and many others - remained hotly debated.&nbsp; Meanwhile,
|
---|
1452 | Somerset's government passed numerous guidelines, each more upsetting to
|
---|
1453 | traditionalists than the last - unlicensed preaching was banned on 24 April
|
---|
1454 | 1548; <i>all</i> preaching was banned just five months later.&nbsp; Instead,
|
---|
1455 | clergy would recite twelve government-approved homilies/proverbs from the
|
---|
1456 | pulpit.&nbsp; Images were outlawed, altars were ordered removed, private
|
---|
1457 | masses ended....&nbsp; And the twelve government-endorsed homilies continued
|
---|
1458 | this destruction, railing against good works and purgatory while advocating
|
---|
1459 | salvation through faith <i>alone</i>.&nbsp; All churchmen felt themselves
|
---|
1460 | under attack while their parishes agreed.&nbsp; (For example, good works
|
---|
1461 | and purgatory were deeply-held beliefs of common people.)
|
---|
1462 | <p>Added to this confusion was Edward VI's blossoming religious convictions.&nbsp;
|
---|
1463 | Like his sister, Mary, Edward became committed to a specific ideology and
|
---|
1464 | determined to impose it upon the English people - for their own good, of
|
---|
1465 | course.&nbsp; His tacit approval did not matter much to Somerset (who,
|
---|
1466 | after all, possessed the king's signature) but it was symbolic.&nbsp; For
|
---|
1467 | the English people, the religious policies were frightening and confusing.&nbsp;
|
---|
1468 | Most English people lived in the countryside and were fundamentally conservative
|
---|
1469 | - as most rural populations are; they weree slow to change and suspicious
|
---|
1470 | of new ideas.&nbsp; Confined to London for most of his short life, Edward
|
---|
1471 | was unaware of this basic truth.&nbsp; Like Somerset, he resided in London
|
---|
1472 | where the new ideas were rampant.
|
---|
1473 | <p>But, of course, the people had another reason for dissatisfaction.&nbsp;
|
---|
1474 | As mentioned earlier, Somerset's economic policy was essentially nonexistent.&nbsp;
|
---|
1475 | There was no overriding philosophy - just one hare-brained scheme to raise
|
---|
1476 | money after another.&nbsp; The population had been steadily increasing
|
---|
1477 | (see <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.englishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ffacts.html">Tudor Facts
|
---|
1478 | &amp; Figures</a>) and, of course, fueled a rise in prices.&nbsp; But along
|
---|
1479 | with this, currency debasement continued and increased inflation.&nbsp;
|
---|
1480 | One official mentioned the obvious solution - restore the coinage - but
|
---|
1481 | Somerset was desperate for quick money to fund his Scottish plans.&nbsp;
|
---|
1482 | Most of his economic policies were implemented by John Hales.&nbsp; Hales
|
---|
1483 | introduced many bills to parliament 1548-49, the main ones were: the maintenance
|
---|
1484 | of tillage, requiring sheep farmers to keep a certain number of cows to
|
---|
1485 | ensure regular milk and cheese supplies; he also attempted to end the compulsory
|
---|
1486 | purchase by the government of food at fixed prices.&nbsp; Those bills failed
|
---|
1487 | - but a tax on sheep and wool was approvedd in order to discourage sheep
|
---|
1488 | farming (and enclosures.)&nbsp; The attempts to end enclosures was perhaps
|
---|
1489 | the most ill-advised of Somerset's policies.&nbsp; Landholders were naturally
|
---|
1490 | opposed to it and, when they supposedly frustrated attempts to collect
|
---|
1491 | evidence of enclosures, Somerset grew angry - he decided to proceed without
|
---|
1492 | legal basis.&nbsp; (The landowners had frustrated the government by packing
|
---|
1493 | juries with their own tenants and servants.)&nbsp; Somerset's decision
|
---|
1494 | to proceed inflamed the entire Midlands (where the commission had begun
|
---|
1495 | its work.)
|
---|
1496 | <p>In May 1549, revolts began which can be loosely classified as 'class
|
---|
1497 | warfare', or as close to such as Tudor England would ever get.&nbsp; This
|
---|
1498 | was not a repeat of the Pilgrimage of Grace, where nobleman led their supporters
|
---|
1499 | in protest of new religious policies.&nbsp; This was the revolt ot thousands
|
---|
1500 | of laborers and poor farmers who had long resented the use of enclosures.&nbsp;
|
---|
1501 | They were revolting against the noblemen with, so they believed, the government's
|
---|
1502 | support.&nbsp; These poor people, who had suffered through rising inflation
|
---|
1503 | and prices and debased currency, were determined to end a grossly unfair
|
---|
1504 | practice.&nbsp; When Somerset insisted the nobles had deliberately filled
|
---|
1505 | the juries with supporters, the people grew angry.&nbsp; They took to the
|
---|
1506 | fields - filling ditches, tearing down fences and hedges.&nbsp; Too late,
|
---|
1507 | Somerset recognized the force he had unleashed.&nbsp; He threatened to
|
---|
1508 | disperse the rioters by force, to no avail.&nbsp; In May the first revolts
|
---|
1509 | broke out; by August, revolts broke out in Leicestershire.&nbsp; It was
|
---|
1510 | up to the nobility to restore order to their lands, using troops originally
|
---|
1511 | destined for Scotland.&nbsp; But thousands perished during the fighting.
|
---|
1512 | <p>The revolts had revealed the ugly undercurrent of dissatisfaction among
|
---|
1513 | the English people.&nbsp; The factors already discussed combined to encourage
|
---|
1514 | revolt.&nbsp; It was also a terribly hot summer with a bad harvest.&nbsp;
|
---|
1515 | As prices rose, Somerset foolishly decided to fix maximum prices for goods
|
---|
1516 | - but the prices were incredibly high and,, once again, demonstrated his
|
---|
1517 | knowledge of London prices and ignorance of the rest of England.&nbsp;
|
---|
1518 | In general, the rebels wanted such basic rights as this - the right to
|
---|
1519 | have landlords forced off 'common' ground and the right to fish freely.&nbsp;
|
---|
1520 | In a way, it was very much a 'Robin Hood' rebellion; they distrusted the
|
---|
1521 | gentry and sought to separate the church and nobility.
|
---|
1522 | <p>Somerset's policies during the rebellions were typical of 'the Good
|
---|
1523 | Duke', or so the peasantry believed - but they enraged the nobility.&nbsp;
|
---|
1524 | In effect, he waffled between action and inaction.&nbsp; When the revolts
|
---|
1525 | began, he had not wanted to delay his Scottish campaign and so he didn't
|
---|
1526 | respond immediately.&nbsp; Instead, he issued grandiose proclamations and
|
---|
1527 | promised to pardon rebels if they stopped.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the revolts
|
---|
1528 | spread and the council urged action.&nbsp; In July, Somerset finally brought
|
---|
1529 | troops back from Scotland and sent them to smash the rebels with impunity.&nbsp;
|
---|
1530 | Thousands of deaths ensued and much property was damaged.&nbsp; The council
|
---|
1531 | was furious - Somerset had blundered once again, disregarding their advice
|
---|
1532 | and following no clear policy of his own.&nbsp; Even Paget, his former
|
---|
1533 | ally, was disgusted.&nbsp; He wrote Somerset a threatening and dismissive
|
---|
1534 | letter which read, in part:
|
---|
1535 | <ul>Society in a realm doth consist and is maintained by mean of religion
|
---|
1536 | and law.&nbsp; And these two or one wanting, farewell all just society,
|
---|
1537 | farewell king, government, justice and all other virtue.&nbsp; Look well
|
---|
1538 | whether you have either law or religion at home and I fear you shall find
|
---|
1539 | neither. ....And put no more so many irons in the fire at once as you have
|
---|
1540 | had within this twelvemonth - war with Scotland, with France.... commissions
|
---|
1541 | out for that matter, new laws for this, proclamation for another, one in
|
---|
1542 | another's neck.</ul>
|
---|
1543 | Paget's opinion of his former ally indicated the growing disillusionment
|
---|
1544 | with Somerset.&nbsp; Coupled with his brother's ambitious attempt to overthrow
|
---|
1545 | him, the complete loss of the council's confidence was thus the beginning
|
---|
1546 | of Somerset's end.
|
---|
1547 | <p>
|
---|
1548 | <hr WIDTH="100%">
|
---|
1549 | <center><font size=-1><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html">to
|
---|
1550 | Tudor Monarchs</a></font>
|
---|
1551 | <br><font size=-1><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor.html">to Tudor
|
---|
1552 | England</a></font></center>
|
---|
1553 | </blockquote>
|
---|
1554 |
|
---|
1555 | <center><font size=-1>written by <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Marilee</a></font></center>
|
---|
1556 | </td>
|
---|
1557 | </tr>
|
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1558 | </table></center>
|
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1559 |
|
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1560 |
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1561 | <!-- text below generated by server. PLEASE REMOVE --><!-- Counter/Statistics data collection code --><script language="JavaScript" src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fhostingprod.com%2fjs%5fsource%2fgeov2.js"></script><script language="javascript">geovisit();</script><noscript><img src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;el=direct&amp;href=http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1108082560" alt="setstats" border="0" width="1" height="1"></noscript>
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1563 | </Content>
|
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1564 | </Section>
|
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1565 | </Archive>
|
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