An account of the relations between England and France during the later fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, particularly as they influenced the career of Henry V of England, whose life story is interwoven into this account.
Contemporary observers described the young king in glowing terms. At over six feet tall, with rich auburn hair, clear skin, and a slender waist, he was, to many, "the handsomest prince ever seen." From this starting point in Henry VIII, the King and His Court, biographer extraordinare Alison Weir reveals a Henry VIII far different from the obese, turkey-leg gnawing, womanizing tyrant who has gone down in history. Henry embodied the Renaissance ideal of a man of many talents--musician, composer, linguist, scholar, sportsman, warrior--indeed, the Dutch humanist Erasmus (not a man inclined to flattery) declared him a "universal genius."
Henry VII's Lady chapel at Westminster Abbey was arguably the last great architectural masterpiece of the Middle Ages with many of its components, such as its vaulted ceiling and glass screen windows, singled out for particular praise during the last 500 years. During the 1990s the chapel was restored providing an unprecedented opportunity for survey and analysis, resulting in this important collection of sixteen specialist contributions.
Added by: Kahena | Karma: 11526.37 | Fiction literature | 6 February 2011
4
The Wives of Henry Oades
An English accountant and his two wives are the subject of this intriguing and evocative debut novel based on a real-life 19th-century California bigamy case. A loving husband and attentive father, Henry Oades assures his wife, Margaret, that his posting to New Zealand will be temporary and the family makes the difficult journey. But during a Maori uprising, Margaret and her four children are kidnapped and the Oades's house is torched. Convinced his family is dead, Henry relocates to California and marries Nancy, a sad 20-year-old pregnant widow.
The importance of Henry VII is the subject of heated debate. Did his reign mark the start of a new era, or was its prevailing characteristic continunity with the past? The pamphlet: · emphasizes the lasting political stability established during the reign · demonstrates the difference between Henry's policies and those of the Yorkists · shows how successors built on Henry's legacy · argues that victory at Bosworth in 1485 can be seen as initiating a genunine 'Tudor revolution in government'.
