the most part). If you're interested in Henry VIII or Elizabeth I, how-
ever, you have stacks of correspondence � some of it official, but much of it
personal. Busy secretaries and ambassadors were writing everything down.
Scholars have even uncovered Henry VIII's love letters (or at least some of
them). Of course, these sources didn't always get the details right, but that's
where the fun begins. The official records still exist, of course, but with the
Tudors you can finally get in touch with England's leaders as human beings.
The Tudor monarchs made mistakes, messed up matters and came up with
some very creative solutions � and you can follow all the twists and turns in
this book.
Additionally, the Tudors really were important. Many buildings you visit
(and perhaps live in) throughout England and Wales were built in the 16th
century. Institutions that you may take for granted, such as the Church of
England or Parliament, were invented or took on new importance while the
Tudors were on the throne.
About This Book
This book aims to tell the Tudor story the way it happened; not the whole
story, of course � that would take a whole library of books � but enough
to give you an idea of what was going on from 1485�1603. We're historians
who've been writing about the Tudors for years, but we know that doesn't
go for most of you and so we keep things simple (no offence!), which isn't
always easy. Henry VIII's love life, for instance, defies all attempts to simplify,
as does Elizabeth's on/off search for a husband. But we hope to help you
understand why these events were so important and why they took up so
much time and effort.
2 The Tudors For Dummies
This book focuses on English history. Scotland was a foreign country
(until King James came along), and so it appears alongside France, the
Netherlands and Spain as part of English foreign policy. The Tudors and
the Stuarts in Scotland were related by marriage, but that didn't make them
friends. The two kingdoms were fighting each other throughout the first
half of the 16th century.
Ireland, meanwhile, was a glorified English colony: it became a kingdom in
its own right in 1541 but belonged to the English Crown. In fact, no English
monarch visited Ireland between Richard II (1399) and William III (1689). The
Tudors made a right royal mess of governing Ireland � and the after-effects
still linger. Wales was ruled directly from England; the rulers and citizens
may not have liked this situation, but the country received quite a fair mea-
sure of home rule after 1536. People began to talk about Britain (and even
Great Britain) in the 16th century, but they meant the lands ruled by the mon-
arch of England.
Although the Tudors are very important and fascinating for modern read-
ers, keep in mind that they were small fry in the European political league
at the time. England performed a balancing act between France and the
Roman Empire in the first half of the 16th century, although Henry VIII always
punched above his weight. In the second half of the century Elizabeth led
(or in certain cases, didn't lead) a series of coalitions against Philip II, who
ruled the Spanish Empire, the one superpower of the period.
The only European Community of the time was the Roman Catholic Church,
from which England had firmly withdrawn. Elizabethan England was a sea
power and traded all over the world, but its only colony at Roanoke in the
Americas failed and the days of the British Empire were still 100 years in
the future.
Therefore, this book provides the ingredients and recipe of half an island,
lightly cooked and served (we hope) with enough relish to make it palatable.
Conventions Used in This Book
The system of dating used throughout the Tudor period, and for a long
time afterwards, was the Julian calendar, named after Julius Caesar who
supposedly invented it. This old calendar