Henry VIII-The confused Tudor
Learn about Henry VIII, the king of England who is known as the father of the English Reformation, but also as a mad king who massacred 57,000 to 72,000 people.
Henry VIII (1491–1547) was the second Tudor king of England. He is known for having six wives, two of whom were executed and for starting the English Reformation by breaking away from Rome.
Henry was highly intelligent and educated, as he could speak Latin, Spanish, and French fluently, compose music, and write poetry. He was a good sportsman too, for he was good at jousting, wrestling, archery, hunting, and tennis; an ambitious person, because he wanted to build and empire that covered England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and France; a reformer, as he started the English Reformation and changed the parliament by its nature & role; a great Renaissance ruler and a patron of arts, for he spent lot of money on new palaces, paintings, tapestries etc., and a king who loved fashion and jewels a lot.
He had these qualities when he was young. But one day, an accident in a jousting tournament caused him severe injuries. It meant he could not exercise. This caused him to be obese and develop a 54-inch waist. He was so overweight, that he had to be wheeled around. This time was when he changed.
He was very worried about his appearance. The changed appearance made him frustrated, which in turn made him mad and tyrannical. When he was mid-aged, then he had many mental problems like mental deterioration, paranoia, anxiety etc, and he became lustful and egotistical. He couldn’t make decisions properly and put the English Reformation into reverse. He burnt Protestants at the stake for heresy; Catholics were hanged and quartered for treason; the king’s relatives were killed for being seen as rivals to the throne. He even falsely accused Catherine Howard (1523–1542) and Anne Boleyn (1501 or 1507–1536) and executed them. He was a male chauvinist who was obsessed with a male heir, which became the reason for his divorce with Catherine of Aragon (1485–1536) and execution of Anne Boleyn. He was constantly at war, but was never successful. His relations with Charles V (1500–1558) soured because of Henry’s divorce with Catherine, who was Charles V’s aunt. During the separation from Rome, those who opposed him were falsely accused of treason, tried for it, and executed, like Thomas More (1478–1535), the emperor’s friend and advisor. He was also one of England’s celebrated thinkers and writers. Henry’s wealth increased after the Dissolution of Monasteries (1536–1541), in which all of England’s monasteries and abbeys were shut down, with their wealth and land taken by the king. But due to spending a lot of money, his government always seemed to go bankrupt. During his reign, he devalued England’s currency two times, in 1526 and 1539. He tried to fix the problem but made the inflation worse. He was a very unhealthy person, as he had ulcers in his legs, was overweight, and is rumored to have syphilis.
Henry VIII might have been wealthy, educated, and skilled, but in his later years, he was physically and mentally unhealthy, overspending, mad, frustrated, tyrannical, and very confused king, which made him very infamous.
Bibliography-
Information-
BBC History Extra
Microsoft Edge
Grunge website
History website
Pictures-
