Was henry viii a good or bad king essay

As his brothers, the Dukes of Bedford and Gloucesterand his uncle, the Duke of Exeterlament his passing and express doubt as to whether his son the as yet uncrowned heir apparent Henry VI is capable of running the country in such tumultuous times, word arrives of military setbacks in France. A rebellionled by the Dauphin Charles, is gaining momentum, and several major towns have already been lost. Additionally, Lord Talbot, Constable of France, has been captured.

He certainly stamped his personality upon the nation, but how should we remember the Tudor titan? He was, in fact, one of the most cultured and sophisticated monarchs ever to sit on the throne.

His enthusiastic patronage of the arts in England, and serious passion for music, painting and poetry, helped drag our country into a new age of creativity. David Starkey, author of Henry: Virtuous Prince, puts things in equally strong terms. The King and His Court, makes it even clearer how Henry was "an intellectual who read St Thomas Aquinas for pleasure, an expert linguist, a humanist, an astronomer, a world-class sportsman, a competent musician and composer, an accomplished horseman, and a knowledgeable theologian.

As a statesman, Henry tamed a nation that had only relatively recently been plunged into strife. After all, his father - Henry VII - had actually won the crown in battle, the last British monarch ever to do so.

This was a country that needed strength and unashamed leadership, and Henry VIII provided exactly that. On top of that, he forged an entirely new sense of national identity by triggering the Reformation and breaking away from the grip of Rome and Catholicism.

Henry VIII was the father of the Royal Navy, giving us a fleet of innovative warships which would pave the way for British victories to come - without Henry foresight, could Elizabeth I have triumphed against the Spanish Armada?

The King's Curse - Philippa Gregory	The third son of Charles I, he was baptised into the Anglican church six weeks after his birth and was created Duke of York at eleven years of age. InJames married Anne Hyde, the daughter of the Earl of Clarendon, by whom he fathered eight children, though only two survived past childhood.
Suppression of English Monasteries under Henry VIII	A Commentary on the Book of Crimes and Punishments.
An Essay on Crimes and Punishments - Online Library of Liberty	It was extraordinary to use the material that I had researched for a novel and write it as a "straight" history.
What's on SparkNotes	It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country.

Alison Weir sums up the greatness of Henry very well: Henry began his reign in a mediaeval kingdom, he ended it in what was effectively a modern state.

Nothing more or less than a medieval dictator, a kind of English Stalin, every bit as paranoid, erratic and bloodthirsty as the notorious leaders of living memory.

He fostered an atmosphere of fear and suspicion, and people were right to be scared, given how many executions took place under his reign. His near-sadistic treatment of his wives is a matter of record, but even if we look at him purely as a monarch and statesman, Henry must surely strike any right-thinking person as a manic despot, complete with militant minions like the ruthless Thomas Cromwell.

Henry never showed any capacity as a general, and his foreign policy was a failure. A warmonger who was constantly at odds with neighbouring nations, Henry laid waste to his vast inheritance thanks to numerous foreign misadventures.

As Professor Ronald Hutton, author of A Brief History of Britain tells us, "Henry never showed any capacity as a general, and his foreign policy was a failure.

He repeatedly attempted to reconquer parts of France, and ended up with Boulogne, a third-rate port that was subsequently handed back to the French after over a million pounds had been spent trying to keep it. Remember, it was all bound up with the soap opera of his marital breakdown, and desire to tie the knot with Anne Boleyn.

Another by-product was the nationwide rampage we know as the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a monumental land-grab, with Henry forcibly closing countless Catholic strongholds.

Quite the way to re-fill the coffers he had emptied thanks to his foreign wars and spoilt, luxurious lifestyle. The Dissolution of the Monasteries was more than about pillaging his own country.

It was a murderous show of force, with hundreds of rebels killed. One abbot was dragged through the streets by a horse, before having his head cut off and impaled on the abbey gates. This was Henry through and through: As author Robert Wilton puts it, he was "wilfully and capriciously dangerous to everything around him including the country Email Sign up By signing up to our newsletter you accept the terms and conditions and confirm that you have had the opportunity to read our privacy policy.

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Find sample tests, essay help, and translations of Shakespeare. A GOOD KING. Think "Henry VIII" and a swollen, cantankerous tyrant comes to mind. This is the cartoon Henry of legend, a Henry who doesn't do the real king justice. Published: Wed, 17 May King Henry VIII was born in Henry was the third child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

He was seen as a promising young prince due to his outgoing personality, and intelligence. Dec 03,  · NPR’s Book Concierge Our Guide To ’s Great Reads. by Nicole Cohen, David Eads, Rose Friedman, Becky Lettenberger, Petra Mayer, Beth Novey and Christina Rees – Published December 3,