Letteratura inglese 2

The Tudor dynasty

During the period of the House of Tudor, England became the leading European country and started its colonial empire. From a cultural, social, political, and historical point of view, this period had a lot of changes (we don’t have to consider the industrial point of view, because we can only talk about it starting from the 18th century).

Religious changes

Among the most relevant changes of this century were the religious ones, which happened because of the creation of a new Church, the Church of England. One of the consequences that it brought was the martyrs of many believers (both Protestants and Catholics).

The 3 major religious changes were with:

• Henry VIII: from Catholicism to Protestantism;
• Mary I: from Protestantism to Catholicism;
• Elizabeth I: from Catholicism to Protestantism.

Henry VII and the Wars of the Roses

The first King of the House of Tudor was Henry VII (Henry VIII’s father). During his reign, there was an important fight: the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485), in which he won against Richard III (last King of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty). This battle was part of the Wars of the Roses (a series of dynastic civil wars that happened from 1455 to 1487, between the supporters of the rival Houses of Lancaster and York). At the end of the wars, Henry VII married Elizabeth of York to symbolize the union of the two Houses. Tudor’s rose, created by the union of the two Houses’ roses, became the symbol of peace, order, and unity.

Henry VII was a smart King; indeed, he was the first who spoke about what we can call Parliament, which was meant as a cooperation between the King and some aristocratic members of society. Consequently, before Henry VII, Kings and Queens used to rule on their own.

Henry VII and Elizabeth had four children: Arthur, Henry VIII, Margaret, and Mary.

Renaissance

All these events took place in the Renaissance (which means rebirth), which developed from the 15th century to the 16th century. Renaissance started in Italy; it was a historical period in which we can see the rebirth of all the arts (one of the most evident changes was, for example, in architecture). In those years, England became the most powerful nation of Europe, new worlds were discovered, and new ways of seeing and thinking about reality were developed. Moreover, it was in that time that the discovery of America (1492) by Christopher Columbus happened.

Renaissance developed worldwide, and among the most important personalities of that period, we can remember Erasmo da Rotterdam (one of the most famous writers and politicians in history), who was in England during 1499 as the preceptor of William Bount (4th Baron of Montjoy and teacher of Henry VIII). Erasmo’s most famous work is “Encomium Moriae” (“Elogio alla Follia”|1511|, completely written in Latin).

During the Renaissance, scholars shared a desire to learn more about the civilization of the ancient world (Greece and Rome), and they were fascinated by classical literature (ex. Virgil) and even by classical philosophy (ex. Plato). Scholars who spoke other languages became the new English ambassadors, but generally, we can say that they became Humanists (a term that comes from Humanism, a movement centered on humanistic studies).

Once the Renaissance began, it was accompanied by an important discovery: the printing press. Around the year 1450, Johannes Gutenberg developed a new way of printing books, letters, papers, etc., which used movable components to reproduce the elements of a document usually on the medium of paper. Before that, all the books were hand-written.

The use of movable type and the printing press spread quickly throughout Europe, and printers, such as Aldus Manutius, helped to spread important texts about ancient Greece and Rome. Thus, we can say that Humanism and Renaissance are known especially thanks to the printing press.

Henry VIII and the English Reformation

With Henry VIII (1509-1547), England had a new beginning. He was the one who economically financed the English Renaissance and the English Reformation. He was not the first in line of succession, but because of the premature death of his older brother Arthur, he became the heir to the throne.

When Henry VIII became King, he was young (18 years old), and with his ministers, he started the English Empire. One of the reasons why Henry VIII is known is due to the fact that he was the first to ask for divorce (in 1527). He was desperate for an heir to the throne, but his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, gave him a baby girl (Mary I), so he wanted to divorce her to marry Anne Boleyn. After several refusals by Pope Clement VII to his requests for divorce, he started thinking that the Church was a limit to his power. So, even though the Roman Catholic Church didn’t give Henry VIII the permission to divorce, he married his mistress while he was married to Catherine.

This action was revolutionary. When we talk about this period, we talk about the Protestant Reformation, which started with the printing of the book of Martin Luther (a German priest), “Assertio Septem Sacramentorum” (1521). The one who took advantage of this situation was Thomas Cranmer (archbishop of Canterbury and a leader of the English Reformation) who, together with his collaborators, created the Anglican Church, also called the Church of England. For this reason, we can say that the English Reformation was not only institutional but also theological.

During this period, Henry VIII proceeded to the destruction of all the Catholic places, such as churches and monasteries, and he even started killing Catholic people, like Thomas More, the author of “Utopia” (1516).

During 1534, the “primitive” Parliament decided that with the “Act of Supremacy,” Henry VIII could be both King of the Church and of England. In this way, he became the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Thanks to this act, the marriage between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn was recognized.

Due to this, small changes were made in the new religion, such as priests could marry, the Bible was translated into English, and the relics of the saints were destroyed.

From an economic point of view, during 1535, there was the confiscation of the Church’s goods (buildings, libraries, etc.), which were distributed to the aristocrats. That’s why there was a very strong interest of the aristocracy for the Reformation.

The six official wives of Henry VIII

• Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536): She was a Spanish Catholic princess, the daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. Her daughter was Mary Tudor (Mary I, also called ‘Bloody Mary’).
• Anne Boleyn (1501?-1536): She came from a Protestant family; she was the daughter of one of the most important aristocratic families in London. Her daughter was Elizabeth I. She was killed by Henry VIII.
• Jane Seymour (1508-1537): She came from a German aristocratic family. She was the only one to give birth to a baby boy, Edward VI. She died during childbirth.
• Anne of Cleves (1515-1557): She was a German princess. Eventually, Henry VIII divorced her.
• Catherine Howard (1520/25?-1542): She was the niece and previous wife of the Duke of Norfolk. Eventually, she was killed by the King in the Tower of London.
• Catherine Parr (1512-1548): She was the only one who survived Henry VIII.

Nowadays, Anne Boleyn is considered the most important among all of the wives of King Henry VIII. She is even considered as the Queen who created the fortune of England, because of the divorce from the Church of Rome.

As we can see, Henry VIII decided to marry only German (or English) princesses, and this was done to prevent attacks from Germany.

Edward VI (1537-1553)

When Henry VIII died, his son Edward VI became King. He was only 9, and for this reason, a regency (made by the aristocrats that gained power during the Protestant Reformation) was created. However, the one who ruled was his protector, the Duke of Somerset, and also the Duke of Northumberland. So, Edward VI was more like a representative image than a ruler. He was not physically strong, but he was really smart.

When he died, the only book to be considered in the English Church was “The Book of Common Prayer”, which became more important than the Bible. This was the only religious act that he signed.

Lady Jane Grey

At the death of Edward VI, the aristocracy tried to conquer power by supporting the crowning of Lady Jane Grey, who was a member of the Seymour family. She actually became Queen, but her reign lasted only 9 days. During those days, the Duke of Northumberland tried to usurp the throne, and eventually, Lady Jane Grey was imprisoned in the Tower of London and beheaded by order of Mary I.

Mary I (1553-1558)

The next and first actual Queen of England was Mary I, who was a Catholic sovereign and was also known as “Bloody Mary” because she was considered cruel since she committed a lot of murders. It is important to highlight the fact that she killed a lot of Protestant people and used to execute them in public. Indeed, due to the enormous spread of blood that happened during her reign, she was always depicted in a red dress (reminding her nickname).

She was politically very smart and surrounded herself with important political personalities, such as the Spain Ambassador, Simon Renard.

Mary was made Queen in July 1553; she had a short reign (only 5 years), and during her reign, England became again a Catholic country. She began to be despised when she married Prince Philip, a Spanish Catholic prince. She revolutionized a lot of religious aspects, indeed she started re-decorating churches, decided that married priests had to leave their wives, it was made illegal to read or produce the Bible in English, and, of course, those who remained openly Protestant could be executed as heretics.

Mary I was desperate for a baby, and in 1557, she thought she was pregnant (again), and after 9 months, when no child was born, she was forced to accept that her sister would be her successor since, according to the marriage contract with Prince Philip, he had no claim to the throne. Eventually, she died in November 1558, probably of ovarian cancer.

Although Mary I didn’t want to kill Elizabeth I, since they were sisters, when Elizabeth became Queen, she signed her sister’s death sentence.

Elizabeth I (1558-1603) and the Elizabethan Age

After the death of Mary I, Elizabeth I was escorted to London and crowned as Queen at the age of 25, on the 15th of January 1559. Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She was a brilliant student and received a humanistic education; indeed, she could speak several languages like Italian, Spanish, French, apart from the classic ones, like Latin and Greek. She could also play a lot of instruments and dance. She was actually the most educated Queen of England.

This era is also known as the Elizabethan Age, and it was characterized by many changes like, for example, those linked to the Renaissance (which was the age of Humanism), in which many renovations in philosophical, philological, stylistic, rhetorical, and religious horizons occurred. It was also the time of explorations, which were financed by the Queen herself, because she was interested in the raw materials of the colonies. Moreover, there were a large number of scientific discoveries and inventions, like the submarine, the parachute, the bicycle, etc.

With Elizabeth I, there was a return to Protestantism, so it was permitted to use and read again “The Book of Common Prayer”, which remained the most important book, although she allowed the translation of the Bible too. It is important to say that she used mediation to unify Catholics and Protestants.

During Elizabeth’s reign, there was an improvement in the education system, and she also started a transformation from a linguistic point of view, thanks to the translations.

The most important way of demonstrating her power was theatre, which developed a lot during those years. She believed in absolutism, and turning against her and her law was not only a crime but also blasphemous. We have to keep in mind that, when we talk about this period, we are talking about a society based on patriarchy (= society based on male superiority), and in order to justify her status, she used “The King’s Two Bodies” theory, which stated that she has a “natural body”, which was a female body, but she also had a “political body”, which is the body of an absolute monarch.

Elizabeth I was connected to a mythological figure; she was considered as a God (a God of war) and as a mythical Queen, such as Gloriana. She was also known as the Virgin Queen, and for this reason, she was associated with the image of a new Madonna. She also became synonymous with England, because an attack on her (a rape) was an attack on the country. Thanks to her, England had its Golden Age.

Even her way of dressing was a demonstration of her power. When we talk about the power of Elizabeth, we’re talking about the power manifesting through her image and her propaganda. Then, it is very important to talk about Elizabeth’s image; we can say that she possessed a vast repertory of fantastically elaborated dresses and rich jewels. Her passion for dresses was bound up with political calculation and acute self-consciousness about her image. Moreover, she tried to control the royal portraits that circulated widely in England and abroad, and her appearances in public were dazzling displays of wealth and magnificence.