Chapter 4' Transition to tke Modern Age (1455-1688) I. Transition to the Modern Age (1455-1485) Although the Plantagenet kings of the 14th and 15th centuries were fairly successful in some ways (e. g. in their relations with Scotland, and their tight control of Wales), foreign wars and domestic unrest prompted a revival of baronial activity, reminiscent of the 13th century troubles. This time the instability was caused by the two branches of the Plantagenet family, the House of Lancaster and the House of York between 1455 and 1485. The name Wars of the Roses was, in fact, coined by the great 19th century novelist Sir Walter Scott, but it has become the accepted way of referring to these battles between the great House of Lancaster, symbolized by the red rose, and that of York, symbolized by the white.
In 1453 England was at last defeated in the Hundred Years' War. At that time power in England was in the hands of a number of rich and ambitious nobles. Because the Hundred Years' War ended, they had to seek a new outlet for their ambition by an attempt to dominate the government at home. There was also a mass of unemployed soldiers. The interests of the majority of the common people were not deeply engaged.
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In 1455, after Henry VI (1422-1461) had completely lost his reason and government put into the hands of a Protector, war broke out between the Yorkists led by Richard, Duke of York, and the Lancastrians led by John Beaufout, Duke of Somerset. More wars were fought between the two sides in 1459 and 1460. In 1461 the Duke of York's son, Edward, emerged the victor, and was proclaimed as Edward IV (1461-1483). Edward reigned for most of the duration of these wars. He set about restoring the finances of the Crown and the disrupted export trade of the country, and gave the country a measure of prosperity.
Edward IV died in 1483 and his thirteen-year-old son was proclaimed his successor as Edward V (1483). While awaiting his coronation the new King and his younger brother were lodged in the Tower of London. Edward IV's brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, had been appointed to the office of Protector. The young King Edward V and his brother mysteriously disappeared. They were probably murdered in the Tower. Richard of Gloucester was crowned in great splendor and became Richard III. To some historians, Richard III was guilty of the murders of Edward V and his brother. However, his guilt has never been proved and there is today a society dedicated to proving his innocence.
On August 22, 1485 at Bosworth Field in Leicestershire the last battle of the Wars of the Roses was fought between Richard III and another claimant to the throne, Henry Tudor, part-Welsh grandson of Owen Tudor and descendant of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. In the battle Richard III
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lost his crown and his life. Soon after his victory, Henry Tudor married Elizabeth of York (Edward IV's daughter), thus uniting the Hoiisi's of Lancaster and York and putting the country under the rule of the Tudors.
Although the Wars of the Roses were waged intermittently for thirty years, ordinary people were little affected and went about their business as usual. From these wars feudalism received its death blow. No less than 80 nobles of royal blood were killed in the wars. The great medieval nobility was much weakened and discredited: The king's power now became supreme.
Five Tudor monarchs ruled England and Wales for just over two hundred years. In a short time span they achieved a great deal. Henry Tudor became Henry VII (1485-1509). He gave England very firm rule. He refilled the royal treasury through loans, subsidies, property levies and fines; he forbade the nobles to keep excessive power; and he made it clear to aEl foreign powers who might hope to disrupt his country by reviving old hostility that this would be dangerous. By careful diplomacy Henry VU was able to neutralize all threats to himself and to his heirs. He gave England peace at home and abroad, which meant that he was able to build up England's navy and foreign trade. England's new international prestige was reflected in the eagerness of other European royal families to make marriage alliances with his children. Yet although a strong king, Henry VII was a very different type of king from any European monarchs of that time. They Were keen to make nation states where the monarch was \
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In other words, they had total power, under no obligation to discuss their policies with any consultative body. This was not possible for Henry VII because, as we have seen, Parliament in England was already a fairly important body which had to be consulted, if only to get grants of pounds agreed upon.
II. The English Reformation
Henry VIII son of Henry VII, is usually remembered as the English king who had six wives one after another. He divorced twice and executed two of his wives for supposed adultery. Yet in spite of this rather frivolous image he is regarded as a great king. He took his father's work in rebuilding the power of the monarch stages further. He tightened England's control over its remote border areas and over Ireland; he placed local government not in the hands of great aristocrats jealous for personal power but in the hands of the gentry. These men were made Justices of the Peace with full power over law and administration in the provinces. They were directly responsible and loyal to Henry himself. In foreign affairs Henry VI was aided by Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop and Lord Chancellor. Together they created for England a new active role in Europe. At one point in 1517 England managed to bring all the important states of Europe to London to discuss international peace. Later England was able to ally with both of the superpowers of the day—France and the Habsburg Empire. It was a triumph in terms of prestige.
Henry VIII was above all responsible for the religious reform of the
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Church. There were 3 main causes: a desire for change and reform in the Church had been growing for many years and now, encouraged by the success of Martin Luther (1483-1546), many people believed its time had come; the privilege and wealth of the clergy were also resented; and Henry needed money.
The reform began as a struggle for a divorce and ended in freedom from the Papacy. Henry VIII wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon because she could not produce a male heir for him. But Pope Clement l refused to annul his marriage to Catherine for he was living in fear of Charles of Spain, the Holy Roman Emperor, who happened to be Catherine's nephew. Henry's reform was to get rid of the English Church's connection with the Pope, and to make an independent Church of England. He made this break with Rome gradually between 1529 and 1534. He dissolved all of England's monasteries and nunneries because they were much more loyal to the Pope than to their English kings. The laws (e g. the Act of Succession of 1534 and the Act of Supremacy of 1535) which made his reform possible had three important effects: they stressed the power of the monarch and certainly strengthened Henry's position (Henry took the title Supreme Head of the Church of England in 1535); Parliament had never done such a long and important piece of work before. Its importance grew as a result too; and although Henry simply wanted to get rid of Papal interference and did not want to alter theology in any way, his attack on the Pope's power encouraged many critics of the abuses of the Catholic Church to expect some movement away from
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