Renaissance Lecture
Monarchy
I. The Tudors
A. Henry VII
1. strong leader
2. spread English power and influence
3. married son Arthur to Catherine of Aragon for analliance with Spain.
B. Henry VIII
1. marries Catherine because Henry VII wants to keep his alliance
a. how is this possible? received a special exception from pope – Henry did not want to marry her
b. child - had only one child – Mary
c. wantsa divorce
i. Catholic Church – doesn’t allow divorce
ii. Henry asks for an exception – one had been made for marriage
d. Church of England is formed because Henry wants a divorce
Head of church – King & then divorces wife
i. Catholic with divorce
ii. this later leads to problems within the church
a. Protestants – protest the corruption in the Church
b. Puritans – want to purify the Church back to its original state
2. Anne Boleyn
a. one of Catherine’s attendants
b. child – Elizabeth
c. dies by beheading
3. Jane Seymour
a. child - Edward
b. dies quickly after childbirth
4. Anne – divorced
5. Catherine Howard – beheaded
6. Catherine Parr – out lives him
C. Edward
1. became king at the age of 9
2. health - sickly child
3. lots of political maneuvering and intrigue while he was on the thrown
4. died at the age of 15
D. Mary
1. took over after her brother’s death
2. brings back the Roman Catholic faith
3. persecutes protestants
Nickname - Bloody Mary
4. dies after tumultuous reign - cancer
E. Elizabeth
1. reestablishes the Church of England
a. stays neutral in the religious debates
b. uses Church of England as a buffer between the Catholics and the Puritans
2. brings prosperity and prestige to England
3. encourages the arts
a. increase in the humanities
b. theater and literature reach new heights
4. defeats Spain to become the most powerful country in the world and a military force
F. Mary Stuart
1. Queen of Scotland – many believed she was the rightful Queen of England
2. supported by the Catholics
3. tries to take British throne – supportive of plots to kill Elizabeth
4. dies – treason - Elizabeth has her beheaded
II. Stuarts
A. James I
1. son of Mary
2. unifies England, Scotland and Wales under one ruler
3. supports Church of England upsetting his Catholic supporters
4. survives Gunpowder Plot (Guy Fawkes)
5. commissions a new translation of the Bible
a. first approved translation
b. still most commonly used version
B. Charles I
1. dismisses Parliament for 11 years – no voice for the people
2. used force against his opposition
3. emigration to America to escape him
4. needs money to fight in a civil war in Scotland
a. brings back Parliament
b. they take away most of his power
c. fighting over how much power leads to a civil war in England
III. War & Results
A. Country divided
1. Royalist – rich Catholics and Anglicans
2. Parliament – Puritans and middle class
B. Oliver Cromwell
1. leads Puritan army that defeats the Royalist
2. starts a commonwealth and eventually becomes king
3. stops the arts
a. shuts down theaters
b. Sunday is a day of prayer
C. Restoration
1. Cromwell’s son takes over after Oliver’s death, but he cannot control the country
2. Parliament invites Charles II back to be king
3. Crowning is the start of the next time period - Restoration
IV. Renaissance
A. means rebirth or renewal
B. Renaissance man – well rounded person who cultivated his talents to the fullest
C. Printing press
1. increases literacy – doubles
2. education is now more affordable – new group of readers
V. Humanism
A. studied the humanities – art, history, philosophy & literature
B. interested in the importance of the individual
C. power of reason – man’s ability to make his own decisions
D. still very Christian (most were devote Catholics) – looked to the classics as guidance not rule
E. Literature
1. Sir Thomas More wrote Utopia about a perfect society
2. Translations
a. Virgil’s Aeneid & Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey
VI. Literature
A. Pastoral Poems
1. portrays shepherds and rustic life
2. not written on common tongue even though it is about common man
3. artificial – very formalic and looked at nature as something to be improved upon
B. Sonnets
1. originally from Italy
2. usually published in sequence
3. English form named after Shakespeare because he was so talented at using the form
C. Spiritual Writings
1. King James Bible
a. full of imagery
b. written in a simple language most people could understand
2. Paradise Lost
a. influenced by the Bible
b. written by John Milton
c. Elaborate language and style that made him stand out
D. Metaphysical Poets
1. broke convention
2. intense poems about death, love, and religion
3. tried to encompass the vastness of the universe
E. Cavalier Poets
1. got their name for supporting Charles I in the civil war
2. sophisticated aristrocrats
3. themes included love, war, chivalry, and loyalty to the throne
4. carpe diem – live for the moment
VI. Theater
A. Drama
1. inspired by medieval mystery, miracle and morality plays
2. also inspired by Latin and Greek drama
3. put new ideas and themes into old formats
B. The Globe Theater
1. most successful playhouse in London
2. had to appeal to everyone – poor to the nobility
C. Shakespeare
1. started as an actor before becoming a play write – many people believe this helped make him a better writer because he knew the limitations of the stage
2. wrote tragedies, comedies and histories
D. Christopher Marlow
1. first popular play write – really good at manipulating the English language to fit these old forms
2. his tragedies were known for being very probing and thought provoking