Henry IV was followed by his son Henry V on the 21st of March, 1413. On his father's exile in 1398, Richard II took the boy into his own charge and treated him kindly. He was well educated by the standards of his time. He was fond of music and reading and became the first English king who could both easily read and write in English. In 1403 he took over actual command of the war against the Welsh rebels, a struggle that absorbed much of his energy until 1408. After it he began to demand a voice in government and a place on the council, in opposition to his sick father and Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury. Henry started his reign with setting Edmund Mortimer free and returning estates to some of his father`s enemies. But soon his position was threatened by a conspiracy (July 1415) of Richard of York in favour of Edmund Mortimer. On each occasion Henry was forewarned and the opposition was suppressed without mercy. In foreign policy his ambition was to continue the war and seize the French throne. He also claimed Normandy, and parts of France that had never been in English hands. He demanded the French princess for marriage. King Charles V refused to meet Henry`s demands and England began warlike preparations. Henry V was a true genius of diplomacy and a master of strategy. He made attempts to deprive France of maritime assistance and after the Battle of the Seine (August 1416), England's naval mastery of the Channel was not seriously disputed. Henry turned to the systematic financing of his invasion, partly through borrowing, partly through parliamentary taxation, which was given with generosity because of the national enthusiasm for the war. His main objective in the war was the systematic reduction of the great towns and fortresses of northern France. His first campaign brought the capture of Harfleur (September 1415) and the great victory of Agincourt (Oct. 25, 1415). Then he returned to the war of sieges and the gradual conquest of Normandy. Rouen, the capital of northern France, surrendered in January 1419, and the murder of Duke John of Burgundy in September 1419 brought him the Burgundian alliance. The French had to agree to the Treaty of Troyes on 21st of May. Henry was recognized as heir to the French throne and regent of France, and Catherine, the daughter of Charles, was married to him. He was now at the height of his power: but his triumph was short-lived. His health grew worse at the sieges of Melun and Meaux, and he died of camp fever at the chateau of Vincennes in 1422.
I. Read the text, translate it into Russian.
II. Memorize the words, answer the questions:
| actual – действующий, реальный | What was Prince Henry fond of? |
| absorb - поглощать | What language could the king read and write easily? |
| threaten - угрожать | How did Henry V start his reign? |
| generosity - щедрость | What was his main objective in the war? |
| triumph - триумф | What was the greatest victory won by Henry V? |
| short-lived - краткий | What was the result of his war campaigns? |
| naval – военно-моpской |
Unit 18. Henry VI, Edward IV, V, Richard III and the Wars of Roses
Henry VI ruled England from 1422 to 1461 and from 1470 to 1471. Henry succeeded his father, Henry V, and on the death of his maternal grandfather, the French king Charles VI, Henry was proclaimed king of France in accordance with the terms of a treaty made after Henry V's French victories. There is evidence that he had been a headstrong and unruly boy, but he later became concerned only with religious observances and the planning of his educational foundations (Eton College in 1440-41, King's College, Cambridge, in 1441). His weak home and foreign policy led to the period in English history which was called the Wars of Roses.
It was the period of the fight between the Houses of Lancaster and York for the English throne, named many years afterward from the badges of the contending parties: the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster. Both houses claimed the throne through descent from the sons of Edward III. Henry later proved to be feckless and simpleminded, subject to spells of madness. He lapsed into insanity in 1453, causing a powerful baronial clique, backed by Richard Neville, the earl of Warwick (the "kingmaker"), to install Richard, duke of York, as protector of the realm. When Henry recovered in 1455 he reestablished the authority forcing York to take up arms for self-protection. The first battle of the wars, at St. Albans (May 22, 1455), resulted in a Yorkist victory and four years of uneasy truce. Civil war was resumed in 1459. The Yorkists were successful at Blore Heath (September, 23) but were scattered after a skirmish at Ludford Bridge (October, 12). In France Warwick regrouped the Yorkist forces and returned to England in June 1460, decisively defeating the Lancastrian forces at Northampton (July 10). York tried to claim the throne but settled for the right to succeed upon the death of Henry. This disinherited Henry's son, Prince Edward, and caused Henry`s wife, Queen Margaret, to continue her opposition. Gathering forces in northern England, the Lancastrians surprised and killed York at Wakefield in December and then marched south toward London. York's eldest son and heir, Edward, defeated a Lancastrian force at Mortimer's Cross (February 2) and marched to relieve London. The young Duke of York was proclaimed King Edward IV at Westminster on the 4th of March. Then the Yorkists won a complete victory. Henry, Margaret, and their son ran to Scotland.
The next round of the wars arose out of disputes within the Yorkist ranks. Warwick differed with the King on foreign policy. In 1469 civil war was renewed. Warwick and Edward's rebellious brother George, duke of Clarence, fomented risings in the north; and in July defeated Edward's supporters, afterward holding the King prisoner. By March 1470 Edward regained his control, forcing Warwick and Clarence to escape to France, where they allied themselves with the French king Louis XI and their former enemy, Queen Margaret. Returning to England (September 1470), they deposed Edward and restored the crown to Henry VI. Edward fled to the Netherlands with his followers and, securing Burgundian aid, returned to England in March 1471. Edward regained the loyalty of Clarence, and decisively defeated Warwick at Barnet on April 14. Later (May 4) the army of Margaret was also defeated, she was captured, and her son killed. Shortly afterward, Henry VI was murdered in the Tower of London.
Edward was crowned as King Edward IV in London on the 28th of June. After murdering Henry Edward was secure for the remainder of his life. He continued the war with France. In 1475 he invaded France with the largest army but his ally, the Duke of Burgundy was very ill-prepared and the French wanted to buy him out. He agreed to withdraw from France in return for 75,000 gold crowns down and a pension of 50,000 gold crowns a year. These sums helped to free Edward from dependence on parliamentary grants. As he grew older, he showed ingenuity in raising money. Commercial treaties with France (1475), Burgundy (1468), and the Hanseatic League (1474) combined with external peace and growing internal order to revive trade strikingly after 1475, and this benefited the customs duties and other revenues. Edward became a trader himself, transporting goods in his own ships and those of foreign merchants. These and other measures enabled him to leave behind a fortune; some of his improved financial administration was continued and developed by his successors Richard III and Henry VII. The last decade of Edward's reign also saw an improvement in law enforcement. His later years are said to be a time of prosperity and success. He rebuilt St. George's Chapel, Windsor, and collected illuminated Flemish manuscripts. He was also a friend and patron of the printer William Caxton, and his book collection became the foundation of the Old Royal Library, later one of the glories of the British Museum. As a young man Edward had been trustful and openhanded, but his experiences made him increasingly suspicious, leading him in 1478 to execute his brother George, duke of Clarence, who in former years had sided with Warwick against him.
Edward V was the king of England, who was deposed and possibly murdered by King Richard III. He was the eldest son of King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth Woodville. Upon the death of Edward IV on the 9th of April, 1483, the 12-year-old Edward became king, and his uncle Richard, duke of Gloucester, was made protector of the realm. Conflict between Gloucester and the Woodville nobles who dominated Edward V soon led the duke to arrest the leaders of the Woodville party and secure possession of Edward and his younger brother. The two princes were housed in the Tower of London, which at that time served as a royal residence as well as a prison. Edward V's brief reign came to an end on the 26th of June, when an assembly of lords and commons accepted Gloucester's claim that Edward IV's marriage was invalid and his children illegitimate and proclaimed Gloucester King Richard III. Soon afterward the two princes disappeared from the Tower forever. It is possible they were murdered by Richard's agents in August, 1483, but it is not known for sure. Skeletons found in the Tower in 1674 are thought to be those of Edward and his brother.
Richard III also called (1461-1483) Richard Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester was the last Yorkist king of England, who usurped power in 1483 and ruled until he was killed in battle. An extremely controversial figure, he has been portrayed by historians and in literature as a monster. Modern scholars, on the other hand, tend to regard him as a potentially capable monarch whose reputation for wickedness originated in 16th-century political propaganda. He was the youngest son of Richard, Duke of York (d. 1460) and was made Duke of Gloucester in 1461 after his eldest brother, Edward of York, had deposed Henry VI and assumed power as Edward IV. Returning with Edward to England in March 1471, Richard commanded the vanguard forces in two victories over the Lancastrians that led to Edward's restoration. It is likely that Richard had a hand in the murder of Henry VI in the Tower of London on the night of the 21st of May, 1471. As a reward for his fidelity, the king gave him high offices and large grants of land. Upon the death of Edward IV, Richard became protector of the realm for Edward's son and successor, the 12-year-old king Edward V. Soon he came into conflict with the faction headed by Edward IV's widow, Elizabeth Woodville. Richard broke the power of the Woodvilles by arresting and executing their leaders and by imprisoning Edward V and his nine-year-old brother. King Richard III officially began his reign. When the two young princes disappeared there were rumours that Richard, their uncle, had ordered to murder them. Richard's close associate Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, raised a rebellion in October, 1483 but it quickly collapsed, and Stafford was executed. Richard now devoted his full attention to his kingly duties; he promoted trade and instituted financial reforms. But the aristocracy and gentry, whose support he desperately needed, found it difficult to accept him as a legitimate ruler. Richard's enemies were joining his rival, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, a claimant to the throne of Lancastrian ancestry who was living in exile in France. On the 7th of August, 1485, Henry landed with his army in South Wales; he marched east and engaged Richard in battle on Bosworth Field on the 22nd of August. Richard's forces were larger than Henry's, but several of the king's most powerful nobles betrayed him. Refusing to escape, Richard died fighting bravely. Henry Tudor then ascended the throne as King Henry VII and united the Yorkist and Lancastrian claims by marrying Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth of York. Richard`s image was continually distorted in Tudor times through such writings as William Shakespeare's play Richard III. As to the allegation-in Shakespeare and elsewhere-that Richard was a hunchback, neither portraits nor contemporary reports reveal such a deformity, although there is some indication that one of his shoulders was higher than the other.
I. Read the text, translate it into Russian.
II. Memorize the words, answer the questions:
| terms – условия | What kind of child was Henry VI? |
| headstrong – упрямый | Who fought in the Wars of the Roses? |
| associate – знакомый | What emblems did the Lancastrians and the Yorkists have? |
| collapse – разрушаться | Who had the nickname “Kingmaker”? |
| deformity – уродство | What kind of person was Richard III? |
| legitimate - законный | What happened to king Edward V? |
| distort - искажать | What dynasty came to the throne as a result of the Wars of the Roses? |
Unit 19. The Change of Dynasty. England during the Rule of Henry VII
Henry VII was the son of Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, and Margaret Beaufort. His father was the son of Owen Tudor, a Welsh squire, and Catherine of France, the widow of King Henry V. His mother was the great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster. Henry Tudor's claim to the throne was rather weak and of no importance until the deaths in 1471 of Henry VI's only son, Edward, which suddenly made Henry Tudor the sole surviving male with any ancestral claim to the House of Lancaster. Henry was brought up by his uncle Jasper Tudor, earl of Pembroke. When the Lancastrian cause crashed to disaster at the Battle of Tewkesbury (May 1471), Jasper took the boy out of the country and sought refuge in Brittany. The usurpation of Richard III split the Yorkist party and gave Henry his opportunity. To unite the opponents of Richard III, Henry had promised to marry Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV; and the coalition of Yorkists and Lancastrians continued, helped by French support, as Richard III talked of invading France. In 1485 Henry landed at Milford Haven in Wales and advanced toward London. Thanks to his stepfather`s betrayal, Lord Stanley he defeated and killed Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth on 22nd of August, 1485. He was crowned in October and secured parliamentary recognition of his title early in November. He married Elizabeth of York, but Henry's throne, however, was far from secure. All the powers of Europe doubted Henry's ability to survive, and most were willing to shelter claimants against him. There were several rebellions but all of them were suppressed. Henry got the nickname "Miser", for he was remarkable for his thrift. Henry VII came to the throne after a period of weak monarchy and Civil War. Henry took an active role in the government, supervising the administration and reasserting monarchial control over the nobility. The crown`s feudal rights and judicial authority were both reasserted. Henry earned the respect of his subjects and left his son Henry VIII the peaceful country with a stable royal power. He died in 1509.
I. Read the text, translate it into Russian.
II. Memorize the words, answer the questions:
| refuge - убежище | What family did Henry Richmond come from? |
| thrift - экономность | Whom did Henry promise to marry if he got the throne? |
| secure – заручиться | What kind of ruler was Henry VII? |
| reassert - восстановить | Was England a better or a worse country after Henry VII`s reign? |
| miser – жадина | |
| land –высадиться (с корабля), приземлиться (о самолете) |
Unit 20. Henry VIII and his Reformation
of the Church
Henry was the second son of Henry VII, first of the Tudor line, and Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, first king of the short-lived line of York. When his elder brother, Arthur, died in 1502, Henry became the heir to the throne. He was good at studies, a tireless athlete, huntsman, and dancer. Soon after his accession, Henry married Catherine of Aragon, Arthur's widow. Henry had a serious determination to plan military adventures. Europe was seized by the war between the French and Spanish kingdoms, and in 1512 Henry joined his father-in-law, Ferdinand II of Aragon, against France and ostensibly in support of the pope. Henry himself displayed no military talent, but a real victory was won by the Earl of Surrey at Flodden (1513) against a Scottish invasion. The appearance of success was popular. Henry had a very good minister, Thomas Wolsey, who organized his first campaign in France. He was a self-made man who marched from a simple priest to the position of King`s Chancellor. By 1515 Wolsey was archbishop of York, lord-chancellor of England, and a cardinal of the church, he was also the King's good friend. But Henry never altogether abandoned the positive tasks of kingship and often interfered in business; though the world might think that England was ruled by the Cardinal, the King himself knew that he possessed perfect control any time he cared to assert it. The years from 1515 to 1527 were marked by Wolsey's ascendancy, and his initiatives set the scene.
In 1519, the emperor Maximilian of the Holy Roman Empire died and was succeeded by his grandson Charles V. That event altered the European situation. In Charles, the crowns of Spain, Burgundy and Austria were united and it reduced all the dynasties of Europe, with the exception of France, to an inferior position. While the greatness of England in Europe was being shown up as a sham, the regime was also losing popularity at home. The country was showing increasing signs of its discontent, and Wolsey's efforts to change the situation came to nothing. There were problems with the taxes which were high but did not cover the needs of the state. Among the king`s failures was the absence of a male heir to the throne. Several stillbirths and early deaths had left only a girl, the princess Mary (born in 1516). His rapidly growing aversion to Catherine was augmented by his infatuation with one of the ladies of the court, Anne Boleyn, the sister of one of his earlier mistresses. From 1527 Henry pursued his divorce from Catherine. He convinced himself that his first marriage had been against the divine law; that is, against the biblical injunction (Lev.) forbidding marriage to a brother's widow. The deaths of the children proved God's judgment on the union. He appealed to Rome for a declaration of annulment, but Pope Clement VII dared to resist Charles, whose aunt was Catherine of Aragon. Wolsey obtained a trial of the case in England, but this was frustrated by his fellow judge, Cardinal Campeggio, on orders from Rome (1529). Within weeks, Wolsey was ousted and soon died. The chancellorship went to Thomas More, one of the outstanding minds of the day. He had told Henry that he did not approve of the divorce. In 1534 Henry proclaimed himself the Supreme Head of the Church and married his mistress Ann Boleyn. They had a daughter Elizabeth who became the heiress. In 1536 he accused Ann of adultery and executed her. Several days later he married another maid of honour, Jane Seymour. She died a year later having given birth to a son, who later became King Edward VI.
Henry`s policy created serious problems. As a result of the royal supremacy all religious questions became political. The king`s opponents were treated cruelly. Sir Thomas More who prosecuted protestants was executed as a traitor in 1535. In 1537 an official English Bible was produced and every parish church was instructed to have a copy. The protestant faith was based on the authority of the Scriptures on the belief that the truth about the Christian religion was to be found in the New Testament and that any could discover the truths of religion himself.
The next powerful minister of Henry VIII was Thomas Cromwell, who as well Wolsey was of low origin and a self-made man. Thomas Cromwell reformed the financial administration of the country and established 6 courts. He made the Privy Council, the greatest of the king`s councils. It became the center of government under the Tudors and Stuarts. Between 1536 and 1539 Henry started his attack on monasteries. His minister Cromwell had a scheme to use the lands as a source of income.
After Jane Seymour`s death the new chancellor Thomas Cromwell tried to organize for Henry another marriage with Anne of Cleves, but the king did not like his bride. It enabled Cromwell`s enemies to turn the King against him, and in 1540 he was beheaded. Henry had by now become truly dangerous: always secretive and suspicious, now he was beginning to show paranoiac tendencies. In 1540-42 he married the 20-year-old Catherine Howard, who later was also accused of adultery and sent to the block. The blow finished Henry. After it he was really a sad and bitter old man, and, though he married once more, to Catherine Parr, his physical ruin was complete. Henry concentrated on keeping the realm united, despite the growing strife between the religious factions. In 1542 the Emperor and the King of France resumed hostilities. After a pretense of independence, Henry again joined the Emperor: the Scots joined the French. The war proved ruinous. A violent inflation began. Henry VIII died on the 28th of January, 1547 and Edward succeeded to the throne.
I. Read the text, translate it into Russian.
II. Memorize the words, answer the questions:
| display - демонстрировать | Was Henry VIII a well-educated person? |
| injunction – правило, статья | Who was Henry`s first wife? |
| supremacy - верховенство | Whom did the king fall in love with? |
| realm – королевство | What steps did Henry take to get divorced from Catherine? |
| ruinous –разрушительный | What happened to Anne Boleyn? |
| strife - борьба | Who was Henry`s most powerful minister? |
| аversion - отвращение | What church was established as a result of the Reformation? |
Unit 21. Edward VI and Lady Jane Grey
Edward (1547 to 1553) was King Henry VIII's only legitimate son; his mother, Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, died 12 days after his birth. Edward was traditionally viewed as a frail child but they say several years before his death he was a robust, athletically inclined youth. He was intellectually gifted, knew Greek, Latin, French, and theology. During Edward's minority Edward's uncle, Edward Seymour, duke of Somerset, was regent, with the title of protector, until he was overthrown in 1549 by John Dudley, earl of Warwick (soon to be duke of Northumberland). Edward was devoted to Protestantism. In January, 1553, Edward showed the first signs of tuberculosis, and by May it was evident that the disease would be fatal. He determined to exclude his two half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, from the succession and to put Northumberland's daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, and her male heirs in direct line for the throne. As a result, a power struggle erupted after Edward's death. Lady Jane Grey ruled for nine days (July 10-19, 1553) before she was overthrown by the more popular Mary I (reigned 1553-1558). Beautiful and intelligent, at the age of 15, she reluctantly allowed herself to be put on the throne. Lady Jane was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII through her mother, Lady Frances Brandon, whose own mother was Mary, the younger of King Henry VIII's two sisters. Provided with excellent tutors, she spoke and wrote Greek and Latin at an early age; she was also proficient in French, Hebrew, and Italian. After Lady Jane's father was created Duke of Suffolk, she was constantly at the royal court. In May, 1553, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland married her to his son Lord Guildford Dudley. Her Protestantism, which was extreme, made her the natural candidate for the throne of those who supported the Reformation, such as Northumberland. Lady Jane was proclaimed queen. The rightful heir, Edward's sister Mary Tudor, had the support of the populace, and on the 19th of July she was proclaimed queen. Northumberland's supporters melted away, and the Duke of Suffolk easily persuaded his daughter to relinquish the unwanted crown. At the beginning of Queen Mary's reign, Lady Jane and her father were committed to the Tower of London, but he was soon pardoned. Lady Jane and her husband, were judged for high treason. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death. The execution of the sentence was suspended. But after her father`s participation in Sir Thomas Wyatt's rebellion in February, 1554, she and her husband were beheaded.
I. Read the text, translate it into Russian.
II. Memorize the words, answer the questions:
| frail - слабый | What languages did Edward VI speak? |
| gifted - одаренный | Was Edward a protestant or a catholic? |
| minority – возраст до достижения совершеннолетия | Whom did he leave his crown to? |
| exclude - исключать | How old was Lady Jane Grey when she became queen? |
| relinquish - отказаться | How long did Lady Jane rule? |
| treason – государственная измена | Why was Lady Jane executed? |
| suspend - откладывать |
Unit 22. Mary I and Return to Catholicism
Mary I was the daughter of King Henry VIII and the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon. She was a studious and bright girl. In her childhood she was engaged to the Holy Roman emperor, her cousin Charles V (Charles I of Spain), but later when her parents did not send her to Spain with a huge cash dowry, the engagement was broken. Made princess of Wales in 1525, she held court at Ludlow Castle while new marriage plans were made. Mary's life was radically disrupted, however, by her father's new marriage to Anne Boleyn. In 1534 Henry broke with Rome and established the Church of England. The allegation of incest, in effect, made Mary a bastard. Anne Boleyn, the new queen, bore the King a daughter, Elizabeth (the future queen), forbade Mary access to her parents, stripped her of her title of princess, and forced her to act as lady-in-waiting to the infant Elizabeth. Mary never saw her mother again, though, despite great danger, they corresponded secretly. Anne's hatred pursued Mary so relentlessly that she feared execution, but, having her mother's courage and all her father's stubbornness, she would not admit to the illegitimacy of her birth. Nor would she enter a convent when ordered to do so. After Anne fell under Henry's displeasure, he offered to pardon Mary if she would acknowledge him as head of the Church of England and admit the illegality of his marriage to her mother. She refused to do so. When Henry married Catherine Howard, however, Mary was granted permission to return to court, and in 1544, although still considered illegitimate, she was granted succession to the throne after Edward and any other legitimate children who might be born to Henry. Edward VI succeeded his father in 1547 and made England a more protestant country than it was. Mary continued to celebrate mass. Upon the death of Edward in 1553, she fled to Norfolk, as Lady Jane Grey had seized the throne and was recognized as queen for a few days. The country, however, considered Mary the rightful ruler, and within some days she made a triumphal entry into London. A woman of 37 now, she was forceful, sincere, bluff, and hearty like her father but, in contrast to him, disliked cruel punishments and the signing of death warrants. She wanted to bring her people back to the church of Rome. To achieve this end, she was determined to marry Philip II of Spain, the son of the emperor Charles V and 11 years her junior. When in 1554 it became clear that she would marry Philip, a Protestant insurrection broke out under the leadership of Sir Thomas Wyatt. Wyatt was defeated and executed, and Mary married Philip, restored the Catholic creed, and revived the laws against heresy. The heretics were relentlessly executed, some 300 being burned at the stake. Thenceforward the Queen, now known as Bloody Mary, was hated, her Spanish husband distrusted and slandered, and she herself blamed for the vicious slaughter. An unpopular, unsuccessful war with France, in which Spain was England's ally, brought the loss of Calais. She died on the 17th of November, 1558, and her people did not grieve her death much.
