How far did Henry VIIIs reign begin a new era in Tudor kingship?

Authors Avatar by J-Painter0408hotmailcouk (student)

Joshua Painter         27/09/13

Henry VIII Essay

‘How far did Henry VIII’s reign begin a new era in Tudor kingship?’

Henry VII and Henry VIII were very different kings. Their styles of ruling and aims had very different intentions. Henry VII was a very conservative king who liked to rule very safely and avoid war wherever possible whilst being very obsessive and greedy when it came to money. Henry VIII however was a young and vibrant king who wanted to gain a strong reputation, willing to fight and go to war at any cost. Henry VIII also dished out harsh and extreme punishments. Straight from the start of Henry VIII’s reign changes begin taking place. There were also some aspects of Henry VII’s ruling that stayed the same throughout Henry VIII‘s reign.

One thing that did not change was the fact that a Tudor ruled over England. This eliminated a lot of threat from keen opposition. The fact that Henry VIII was young and healthy at this time was a promising thought for the people of England. The position of Men and Women did not change after Henry VIII became King. Women still had no rights and their views were not acknowledged or cared for. They were also not allowed to go against the word of any man and were expected to continue with their ‘Feminine Activities’.  As Henry VIII needed to produce an Heir, to ensure a Tudor would be ruling over England, he decided to marry Catherine of Aragorn, a Spanish Princess. By doing this he stabilised and secured a firm relationship with Spain. Another factor that was kept the same was the bonds and recognisances between the crown and the nobility, which threatened to fine the aristocracy if they did not remain loyal to the king and break his trust. These bonds were unpopular with the nobility, however they stopped factions being formed, eliminating any threats against Henry VIII. One characteristic that both Henry VII and Henry VII shared was their irrational behaviour with money as they didn’t control it or use it very wisely.

Join now!

Despite some things that did not change after Henry VIII became King, there were many changes that were made when he came into power. Firstly Henry VIII was not interested, like his father, in paperwork and administration. Instead he dreamed of re-asserting England’s claim to the Crown of France. Henry wanted to replicate the glories of his previous warrior kings such as Edward III and Henry V. By doing this he hoped to project an image of strong, personal Renaissance kingship on the rest of Europe. In his mind it was his chivalric duty to wage war on France and ...

This is a preview of the whole essay