The Tudors
The reigns of the Tudor monarchs saw fundamental changes in economy and society, in the power and influence of the state, and in religious beliefs and practices. This course explores politics, culture, religion and society in the period, looking particularly at the conduct of royal government, the impact of the changes brought about by the advent of Protestantism in England, and the Tudor image of kingship from Henry VIII to Elizabeth.
The course begins with the young Henry VIII’s accession to the throne in 1509, setting aside the image of the aged king to consider the popular, athletic young man who came to the throne and set out to establish England as a great European power. Yet, it was not long before those closest to him began to fall from favor and to pay with their lives for failing to please the king. Setting aside his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, in favor of the ill-fated Anne Boleyn, Henry’s desire for a male heir initiated far-reaching changes in English religion and society, yet his Reformation went through with little open opposition. Why was this? The course explores the nature of Henry’s rule and addresses the question of whether or not he was a tyrant.
We then turn to the short-lived reigns of Henry’s son and eldest daughter, Edward VI and Mary I, and consider the impact of the sudden and dramatic changes that took place during the mid-Tudor period, switching from radical reformation to Catholic restoration. Finally, the course examines the reign of Elizabeth I, beginning with the Protestant settlement of religion and ending with the death of the aged queen, unmarried and without a Tudor heir. Why was it that Elizabeth never married? How did Elizabeth, and Mary before her, deal with the challenges presented by their position as female monarchs? The course concludes by exploring the later years of Elizabeth’s reign, dominated by her relationship with the young earl of Essex and characterized by the emergence of the so-called “cult of Elizabeth”, a distinct phase of court culture and royal image-making.
Course requirements
Students are required to write one paper of 1,500 to 2,000 words and deliver one oral presentation.
Tutor Biography
Dr. Janet Dickinson, M.A., Ph.D., teaches British history for the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford. She has taught at Durham University, University of Warwick, University of Southampton, and University of London. She writes extensively on the cultural and political history of the Tudor court and has contributed to several books and conferences on the subject. She has taught at the universities of Durham, Warwick, London and Southampton and for OUDCE for the past 3 years.
Tutor Contact Details:jedchesil@googlemail.com
Field Trips
The course includes three days of visits linked to topics discussed on the course. The first is to Hampton Court, built by Henry VIII’s chief minister, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, which passed to the king upon Wolsey’s fall from power. In Oxford we visit the University Archives to see the originals of the documents we examine in class. Finally, we visit Westminster Abbey and the National Portrait Gallery in London, where students come face-to-face with the key figures from the period, and have the chance to examine the changes in royal portraiture during this time as well as visiting the tombs of three of the Tudor monarchs.
Reading List
It is not a course requirement to bring any of these books with you to Oxford.
G.W. Bernard, The King’s Reformation, (2005). Argumentative and thought provoking.
Susan Brigden, New Worlds, Lost Worlds: The Rule of the Tudors, 1485–1603, (2001). An elegantly written general introduction.
C.S.L. Davies, Peace, Print and Protestantism 1450–1558, (1976). A good introduction.
E. Duffy, The Stripping of the Altars: traditional religion in England 1400–1580, (1992). A seminal study of the condition of religious belief and practice at the outbreak of the Reformation.
E.W. Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn, (2005). A sensitive portrayal of a key figure.
Jennifer Loach, Edward VI, (1999). A ground breaking study.
D. MacCulloch, ed., The Reign of Henry VIII: Politics, Policy and Piety, (1995).
Judith Richards, Mary Tudor, (2008). An accessible revisionist account of a much misunderstood queen.
J.J. Scarisbrick, Henry VIII, (1968). There is no satisfactory replacement for this classic biography of Henry VIII and it remains a readable and convincing account.
Kevin Sharpe, Selling the Tudor Monarchy: Authority and Image in Sixteenth-Century England, (2009). A lively, sometimes controversial argument.
David Starkey, Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII, (2004). A readable introduction, but beware the author’s overwhelming desire to scandalize his readers, which can tempt him beyond the bounds of his evidence.
David Starkey, Elizabeth: Apprenticeship, (2001). See above.
Starkey, The Reign of Henry VIII: Personalities and Politics, (1985).
Roy Strong, The Cult of Elizabeth: Elizabethan Portraiture and Pageantry, (1999). Remains the best author on Elizabethan art and this is a seminal study of the Elizabethan court.
Credit and Enrollment Information
X417 History
(EDP 284232)