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When and how did Christianity first reach Britain?
That is not an easy task to determine how or when Christianity first reached Britain, but it was certainly well before Christianity was accepted by the Roman Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century AD. Christianity became firmly established across Britain in the last hundred years of Roman government.
How were the Celts influenced by Christianity?
The Celts were driven into the west and north of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons. 
In the Celtic areas Christianity continued to spread, bringing paganism to an end. An interesting example of Christian influence is the number of place-names beginning or ending with llan, meaning the site of a small Celtic monastery around which a village or town grew.
 How Christianity was re-established in England?
Pope Gregory the Great sent a monk, Augustine, to re-establish Christianity in England in 597. Augustine went to Canterbury, the capital of the kingdom of Kent. He did so because the king’s wife, having been born in continental Europe,  was already a Christian. It could be the opportunity to convert the people. 
Who was Augustine?
England accepted Christianity. Nevertheless, Augustine and his group of monks were not successful with ordinary people. That can be explained partly because Augustine was interested in establishing Christian authority, and that meant bringing rulers to the new faith.
How did the Celtic Church contribute to the spread of Christianity?
The Celtic Church brought Christianity to the ordinary people of Britain. The Celtic bishops left their monasteries of Wales, Ireland and Scotland, walking from village to village teaching Christian values. Although there were differences between Anglo-Saxons and Celts, these bishops seem to have been readily accepted in the Anglo-Saxon areas. 
What were the differences between the Roman and the Celtic Churches?
The bishops from the Roman Church lived at the courts of the kings, which they made centers of Church power across England. The Celtic Church was interested in the ordinary people while the Roman Church was interested in authority and organization. The two churches reached a crisis when they disagreed over the date of Easter. In 603 at the Synod (meeting) of Whitby the king of Northumbria decided to support the Roman Church. The Celtic Church retreated as Rome extended its authority over all Christians, even in Celtic parts of the island.
How did the Church grow ?
The phenomenon of Christianization developed quickly throughout the country.  By 660 only Sussex and the Isle of Wight resisted the new faith. Twenty years later, English teachers came back to the land from which the Anglo-Saxons originated, bringing Christianity to them. Saxon Kings helped the Church to grow, but the Church increased the power of kings as well. Bishops supported kings their, which made it harder for royal power to be questioned. Kings’ authority was guaranteed by “God’s approval”. Since uncertainty surrounded the royal succession, any pretension over the throne could only be validated by means of Church approval.
Do you know that an eldest son did not automatically become king?
Any member of the royal family who had enough soldiers could be chosen to try the throne. In addition, at a time when one king might try to conquer a neighboring kingdom, he would probably have a son to whom he would like to pass this enlarged kingdom when he died.
So when King Offa (King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. Offa was a Christian king who came into conflict with the Church, particularly with the Archbishop of Canterbury) appointed his son as his successor, he guaranteed that this was done at a Christian ceremony led by a bishop. It was good political propaganda because it suggested that kings were chosen not only by people but also by God.
How did the Church help to increase the power of the English State?
The Church established monasteries, or minsters, for example Westminster, which were places of learning and education. In these monasteries few men, who could read and write, had their knowledge increased. Alfred, the great king who ruled Wessex from 871-899, was one of the kings who mostly took advantage of the influence of the Church.
He used the literate men of the Church to help him to establish a law system, to educate the people and to register important matters. He started the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the most important source, together with Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, to understand the period.
Why was it so important to be educated?
Laws were made on a large number of subjects during the following hundred years. 
 When the eleventh century comes, royal authority was wider and deeper in England than in any other European country. 
The power of landlords, whose lands were given by the king, was increased because their names were officially registered. 
Peasants, who could not read or write, could lose their traditional rights over  their land, because their rights were not accepted.
What were the economic reasons for the Anglo-Saxon kings adhere to the Roman Church?
Monasteries built in villages and towns grew around and increased local trade which led to human and cultural development. 
Many monks in England came from the Frankish lands (France and Germany). They were invited by English rulers who wished to benefit from closer Church and economic contact with Europe. Most of these bishops and monks seem to have come from european churches and monasteries through vital trade routes.
Close contact with many parts of Europe was encouraged. Besides they all used Latin, the written language of Rome, and this led English to trade with the continent. Trade has grown with the help of increased literacy. Anglo-Saxon England became well known in Europe for its exports of woolen goods, cheese, hunting dogs, pottery and metal goods. It imported wine, fish, pepper, jewellery and wheel-made pottery.
Who were the Vikings?
At the end of the 8TH century, new raiders were attracted by the wealth of Britain: the Vikings. Vikings may have a controversial origin. The world Vikings probably means “pirates” or “the people of the sea inlets”, and they come from Norway and Denmark.
The attacked the churches, the monasteries and the villages along the coast of BRITAIN and Ireland to steal gold pieces from the sacred places.
How did the Vikings settle in Britain?
In 865 the Vikings invaded Britain once it was clear that the quarrelling Anglo-Saxon kingdoms could not keep them out. This time they came to conquer and to settle. The Vikings quickly accepted Christianity and did not disturb the local population.
What was the role of King Alfred?
King Alfred from Wessex managed to unite the Saxons against the Vikings. After some serious defeats, Alfred won a decisive battle in 878 and eight years later he captured London. He sealed a pact with the Vickings: Viking rule was recognized in the east and north of England, in the rest of the country he was recognized as the king of England. During his struggle against the Danes, he had built walled settlements to keep them out. 
These were called burghs. They become prosperous market towns, and the word, now usually spelt borough, is one of the commonest ending to place names, as well as the name of the unit of municipal or town administration today.
How did the powerful Thor influence the English language?
What’s Beowulf, the poem?
Beowulf is an exciting narrative full of action, monsters and heroic deeds. We can understand why J. R. R. Tolkien inspired himself in Beowulf to write, in the 1950s, the trilogy ´The Lord of the Rings` (1954-1955), books which were extremely popular in England. One of Beowulf characteristics which influenced Tolkien is its structure of an epic poem.
Which cultural elements can be found in Beowulf?
In the story of Beowulf, there is a noticeable struggle between Christianity and Paganism, and the characters personal battle between the two. Throughout the story the charactersdisplay actions that lead towards Paganism and Christianity. Contrary to Pagan belief, Beowulf is seen as the epitome of good and beneficent to all of mankind. In Beowulf, the people showed their faith and love in God, however due to horrific events, paranoia caused them to look for a desperate help and turns to the Paganism.
The pagan elements in the epic poem Beowulf are evident in the characters superhuman personifications. Beowulf is depicted as a superhero. Beowulf takes it upon himself to save the Danes from Grendel. In his battle with Grendel, Beowulf chooses not to use weapons; he relies on his super strength. During the fight, Beowulf's strength takes over, and Beowulf wrestles with Grendel until he is able to rip one of the monster's arms out of its socket.
How was England ruled by the Normans?
To understand the issues of Feudalism, we have to understand the events which happened before. When William the Conqueror became king, things did not go well during his coronation.
When people shouted ‘God Save the King’ the Norman guards at Westminster Abbey thought
they were going to attack William. In their fear they set fire to nearby houses and the coronation ceremony ended in disorder.
How did the Norman army behave?
The Norman Conquest did not last for too long. However these were troubled times. Anglo-Saxons promoted continuing revolutions against the Normans. Until 1070, every year new rebellions occurred. As a consequence, the Norman army, though small, marched from village to village; destroying places that they could not control. 
It was a true army of occupation for at least twenty years. In the north, between Durham and York, not a single house was left standing, and it took a century for the north to recover.
Could the Saxon keep their lands?
Few Saxons lords kept their lands and those who did belonged to a small group that had accepted William immediately. The other lords lost everything. By 1086 there were only two great landlords and only two bishops were Saxons. The Norman nobles owned the lands and after each after each suppressed rebellion there was more land to give away, William’s army included Norman and French land seekers. Over 4,000 Saxon landlords were replaced by 200 Normans ones.
How was the land distributed?
The way William ruled the land made him an outstanding example for kings in continental Europe. William gave parts of the land to his captain as a reward. They had small separate pieces of land in different parts of the country so that no noble could easily try to gather his fighting men to rebel against the king. Only larger estates given were the ones along the troublesome borders with wales and Scotland. At the same time he kept enough land for himself to ensure he was much stronger than his nobles.
Half of the farmland of England was given to Norman nobles, a quarter to the Church, and kept a fifth himself. The king kept the Saxon system of sheriffs, and used these as a mediator to the local nobles. As a result England was different from the rest of Europe because it had one powerful family, instead of a large number of powerful nobles. William, and the kings after him, thought of England as their personal property.
What did Feudalism mean?
The word 'feudalism' comes from the French word feu, which the Normans used to refer to land held in return for duty or service to a lord. The holding of the land  was the basis of feudal society and its main purpose was economic. The central idea was that all land was owned by the king but it was held by others, called 'vassals', in return for services and goods.
Large estates were given by the king to his main nobles in return for a promise to serve him in war for up to forty days.. Part of the produce of the land had to be given to the king. The greater nobles gave part of their lands to lesser nobles, knights, and other ´freeman´. Some freeman paid for the land by doing military service, while others paid rent. The noble kept 'serfs' to work on his own land. These were not free to leave the estate, and were often little better than slaves.
What were the two basic principles to feudalism?
The first one was that every man had a lord and the second was that every lord had land. The king was connected through this 'chain' of people to the lowest man in the country. At each level a man had to promise loyalty and service to his lord.
This promise was generally made with the lord sitting on his chair and his vassal kneeling before him, his hands placed between those of his lord. This was called 'homage', and has remained part of the coronation ceremony of British kings and queens until now. On the other hand, each lord had responsibilities to his vassals. He had to give them land and protection.
What happened when a noble died?
The king could benefit from the death of a noble. The noble’s son usually took over his estate but he had to receive permission from the king and make a special payment. If he was a child, the king would often take the produce of the estate until the boy was old enough to look after the estate himself.
If all the noble’s family died, the land went back to the king who later, after using its wealth, would give it to another noble. If the king did not give the nobles land they would not fight for him.
By 1086, the king sent a team of people all through England to make a complete economic survey. His men asked all kinds of questions at each settlement: How much land was there? Who owned it? How much was it worth? How many families, ploughs and sheep were there? The survey was most unpopular with the people, because they felt they could not escape from its findings. Information was gathered and kept in a Book called ‘Doomsday’. The book still exists, and gives us an extraordinary amount of information about England at this time.
What replaced the idea of Nationalism in the early Middle Ages?
William controlled two large areas: Normandy, which was given to him by his father, and England, which was won in war. Both were personal possessions and it did not matter to the rulers that the ordinary people of one place were English while those of another were French.
To William the important difference between them was that as duke of Normandy he had to recognize the king of France as his lord, whereas in England he was king with no lord above him.
What happened when William died in 1087?
What was the Magna Carta?
The Magna Carta, the Great Charter, was an important symbol of political freedom. The king promised all ‘freeman’ protection from his officers, and the right to a fair and legal trial. 
At that time most people were not free, and were serfs or experimented a different intermediate social status, such as artisans. Hundreds of years later, Magna Carta was used by Parliament to protect itself from a powerful king.
In fact, Magna Carta gave no real freedom to the majority of people in England. The nobles who obliged King John to sign it did not defend people’s freedom: they wanted to prevent John from going beyond his rights as feudal lord.
Was Magna Carta a clear sign of the collapse of English Feudalism?
We have some reasons to believe so. First, feudal society was based on links between lord and vassal and at Runnymede the nobles were not acting as vassals but as a class. Secondly, they established a committee of twenty-four lords to make sure John would keep his promises. That was not a ‘feudal’ thing to do. Last, the nobles were acting in co-operation with the merchant class of towns. There were other signs that feudalism was changing.
When the king went to war, the nobles refused to fight more than forty days. The king had to pay soldiers to fight for him. At the same time, lords preferred their vassals to pay them in money rather in services. Vassals were gradually beginning to change into tenants. Feudalism, the use of the land in return for service, was beginning to weaken. But it took three hundred years to disappear completely.
How was the foundation of the English Parliament?
King John signedMagna Carta under pressure and it quickly became clear that he was not going to keep the agreement. The nobles rebelled and pushed John out of the southeast. But John died and Civil War was avoided.
Henry II was nine and he was controlled during sixteen years by the powerful nobles, and tied by the Magna Carta. At the age of twenty-five, he could rule by himself. Henry’s heavy spending to support wars in favor of the pope in Sicily and France and his foreigners advisers upset the nobles. Once again they acted as a class and under the leadership of Simon de Montfort, took over the government and elected a council of nobles.
De Montfort  called it a parliament, or parlement, a French word meaning a ‘discussion meeting’. The nobles were supported by towns, which wished to be free of Henry’s heavy taxes.
The Foundantions to a Future Parliament
King Henry III, the son of King John, began his reign in 1216. At first, he consulted with a small Council of important Lords, who were usually always around him. Later, Henry began the practice of summoning an expanded group of Lords from the entire kingdom. Known as a Great Council, it included the major land-owning barons, other nobles, and the archbishops and bishops of the Catholic Church, the state religion.
The king’s judges and top government officials also attended. Henry summoned about 50 Lords to a Great Council when he needed their advice and consent for such things as going to war, changing the law, or levying a new tax.The Great Council Lords looked upon their advice and consent as both a duty to the king and a right that he was bound to honor.
When he died, Edward I brought together the first real parliament. Several kings had made arrangements for taxation but Edward I was the first to create a ‘representative institution’ which could provide the money he needed. This institution became the House of Commons. Different from the House of Lords, it contained a mixture of ‘gentry' (knights and other wealth ‘freeman’ from the shires) and merchants from the towns.
These were the two broad classes of people who produced and controlled England’s wealth. In 1275 the ‘commoners’ became unwilling representatives of their local community. They did not want to give their money to the king. This, rather than Magna Carta, was the beginning of the idea that there should not be ‘no taxation without representation’, later claimed by the American colonists of the eighteenth century.
How was the system of classes in England?
England was special because the House of Commons contained a mixture of gentry belonging to the feudal ruling class and merchants and freemen. The co-operation of these groups, through the House of Commons, became important to Britain’s later political and social development. After the death of Edward, for 150 years the agreement of the Commons became necessary for the making of all statutes and all special taxation additional to regular taxes.
How can we describe the figure of the knight?
The knight, together with the King, was the most representative figure in Medieval Times. His image evokes qualities such as unconditional bravery, honor and idealization of someone who is able to abandon his desires to favor his principles. 
Knights’ value resided on their ability with arms, physical strength, courage, honor and loyalty towards his lord. In the 12th century, these elements mixed with Christian principles to form a code of knights.
The knights did not only learn how to combat, but also the rules to behave like a real knight, there was a knight’s ethics. He knew how to sing the sufferings and pleasure of the ‘amour courtois’.
In medieval literature, the figure of a knight is outstanding. He is the hero, an example, always related to extreme actions, as in Sir Gawain and the Green knight.
What was the importance of William Caxton and the Printing Press?
Although William Caxton (1422? - 1491?) was at an early age apprenticed to one of England’s richest cloth merchants and ultimately became a wealthy merchant himself, it is with printing that his name is forever associated. Vacationing in the German city of Cologne in the summer of 1471, he saw for the first time a printing press at work.
Gutenberg’s invention of printing from movable type, though not over fifty years old at that time, had already spread to nearly every country in Europe. On his return to England he established the first English press at Westminster in 1476.
One third of the books he issued were his own translations, and to them he contributed prefaces. Among Caxton’s hundred printed books are Chaucer’s  ‘Canterbury Tales’ and Malory’s ‘Morte D’Arthur’, to the latter of which he contributed an excellent preface.
Since books became both less cumbersome and less expensive, and since many different titles were printed, for the first time it became worth while for the average man to learn to read. Thus to a great extent the invention of printing brought England to the close of the Middle Ages and ushered in the Renaissance.
Why are the stories about King Arthur so fascinating?
There was a story that an abbot, in 1200, in a monastery was talking about God in a meeting. He noticed that the monks and nuns were sleepy and that some of them even snored. All of a sudden the abbot announced: ‘Listen, my brothers, once upon a time there was a king called Arthur…’
Everyone who was already sleeping, woke up to listen to Arthur’s stories. The abbot, then, concluded that his audience needed higher spiritual teachings because they were much more attentive to Arthur’s stories than to his preaching about God.
What are Arthur’s historical roots?
Arthur was born as a symbol of hope to the British people. After the Roman legions left Britain to defend Rome against vast groups of invaders in the beginning of century V, the Bretons had to fight their own invaders, the German, called ‘Saxons’.
Over a century , the British soldiers fought against the Saxons, having victories and defeats, up to 577 A.C. when the Germanic conquest  was achieved in the Battle of Deorham. With the Germanic conquest, the major part of Bretons mixed with the invaders; some others, however, went to Wales, and another part crossed the channel to the province of Britain.
When did real facts start to mix with fiction?
Although they have lost their island to invaders, the Bretons kept in their memories the remembrances of times in which they could fight the enemies having as their leader Ambrosius Aurelianus (Ambrósio Aureliano).
That guaranteed them a period of peace of 44 years. This victory was achieved in the battle named Badon in 516, mentioned by Beda in Ecclesiastical History of the English People, and was present in the memory of the Bretons. And since then, they expected the return of the ones who had led them to victory. From this point on, the facts started to mix with reality.
How was the code of chivalry?
According to code of chivalry, the perfect knight fought for his good name if insulted, served God and the King, and defended any lady in need. These ideas were expressed in the legend of the Round Table, around which King Arthur and his knights sat as equals in holy brotherhood.
How did Edward III introduce the idea of chivalry into his court?
Edward III and his eldest son, the Black Prince, were greatly admired in England for their courage on the battlefield and for their courtly manners. They became symbols of the ‘code of chivalry’, the way in which a perfect knight should behave. Edward introduced the idea of chivalry into his court.
Once, a lady at court accidentally dropped her garter and Edward III noticed some of his courtiers laughing at her. He picked up the garter and tied it to his own leg, saying in French, ‘Honi soit qui mal y pense’, which means ‘Let him be ashamed who sees wrong in it’. From this strange yet probably true story, the Order of the Garter was founded in 1348.
Who were the members of the Order of Garter?
Edward chose as members of the order twenty-four knights, the same number the legendaryArthur had chosen. They met once a year on St George´s day at Windsor Castle, where King Arthur´s Round Table was supposed to have been. The custom is still followed, and Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense is still the motto of the royal family.
Why was chivalry useful?
Chivalry was a useful way of persuading men to fight by creating the idea that war was a noble and glorious thing. War could also, of course, be profitable. But in fact cruelty, death, destruction and theft were the reality of war, as they are today. The Black Prince, who was the living example of chivalry in England, was feared in France for his cruelty.
What are the characteristics of a Romance of Chivalry?
The world depicted in these romances is unreal, a world in which daily life is irrelevant, where action dominates reflection and exaggeration rules (the hero is the best, the greatest, the lady the most beautiful, the enemy the cruelest etc.). We have to suspend our disbelief as we enter the black and white world of heroes and villains, virtuous women and immoral women, giants and dwarves and so on.
Chivalric romance looks constantly to the future, as the knight moves from adventure to adventure. This active life contrasts significantly with, for example, that pastoral literature which is typically static, with the shepherd seated on a river bank comparing his past joy-through-love with his loveless present. For the shepherd there is no future; the knight-errant, on the other hand, constantly propels himself forward (unless he is enchanted, in which case he awaits release).
What are the characteristics of a Romance of Chivalry?
Romances of chivalry have a universal, timeless quality. The adventures are variations on the eternal struggle between good and evil, order and disorder, requited and unrequited love, and happen in some vague time in the past (but after the birth of Christ) and in exotic and distant places. The world of romance is still with us, but transformed. We have only to look, for example, at Western (cowboy) movies and novels, the highly popular James Bond novels and films (set in present time but exotic locales), the television series Xena: Princess Warrior (female ‘knight’ and ‘squire’) and the Star Wars movies (which take us into a distant future). 
Who was Sir Thomas Malory?
Shortly before Chaucer’s death, when both feudalism and chivalry were faltering institutions, a man was born who sought to capture in his writings the medieval ideal of knighthood. This man was Sir Thomas Malory. Little is known about his life. For many years scholars have identified the author of Morte D’Arthur  with a Warwickshire knight who was charged with extortion, robbery, and rape and who spent the last twenty years of his life. Recent investigations have discovered other ‘Thomas Malorys’, indicating that the actual author may not have had a criminal record.
What is Morte D´Arthur about?
Malory´s Morte D´Arthur is a gathering of the main body of legends about King Arthur into one narrative, it is the best-known work of fifteenth-century English literature. His simple, forthright telling of Arthurian lore is still enjoyed by modern readers, and the work has long inspired other writings, such as Tennyson´s Idylls of the king.
What were the sources of Morte D’Arthur?
Mallory used 13th century French  version of Arthurian legends, skillfully condensing and rewriting them. Another source was a medieval alliterative poem in English called Morte Arthure. Malory ommited minor episodes found in these sources.
What was the content of Malory’s cycle?
A manuscript discovered in 1934 of Malory’s work lists the eight principal bodies of Arthurian lore:
1- The Tale of Arthur and Lucius
2- The book of king Arthur
3- The Tale of Sir Lancelot du Lake
4- Sir Gareth of Orkney
5- Tristan de Lioness
6- The quest of the Holy Grail
7- Lancelot and Guinevere
8- The Morte D’Arthur
What was the content of Malory’s cycle?
The  selection occurs near the end of the Morte D’Arthur, when the unity of the Round Table has been disrupted by the ambitions of Arthur’s nephew, Mordred. Rallying a band of knights around him, the traitor attempts to seize Arthur’s crown. Ultimately the two factions  meet in a battle which brings about the death of all the knights of the kingdom except the loyal Sir Bedivere. Mordred is killed by Arthur, who is himself mortally wounded. It is left to Bedivere to carry out his king’s last wishes.
For all questions mark the right options in relation to ‘Morte D’Arthur’:
1- We know many facts about Malory’s life.
No
2- ‘Morte D’Arthur’ is an example of an excellent romance of chivalry. 
Yes
3- Malory uses 13th century French versions of Arthurian legends.
Yes
Elizabethan Age – a time of changes
The Elizabethan Age or Golden Age or Tudors Era may very well be called the Age of the Sea. Emerging from the Middle Ages and facing the modern world we know today the country put its efforts in a historical process involving the major nations of the time and would ensure its future as a world leader. In the meantime, the sixteenth century, old and new England shared the same space and fought for it bringing profound changes.
The medieval baron, the knight, the serf, and the Catholic prelate were no longer the dominant types in English society. The agent of the national government, the wealthy urban merchant, the Protestant reformer and the worldly scholar became more important. All the changes that deeply marked English history forever made the Elizabethan Era one of the most remarkable periods in human history.
Who were the Englishmen in the sixteenth century?
Englishmen in the 16th century were as devoutly religious as their medieval ancestors, but also threw themselves passionately into the worldliest of projects and pastimes. They were still superstitious enough to believe in witches and all kinds of sorcery. They were great respecters of authority yet violently critical of their medieval ancestors for accepting it. Despite of being rather conscious of the social status, determined by birth, they proclaimed their human right as men to ascend in a social mobility scale.
Why does the period bear the name of Queen Elizabeth?
Elizabeth I was the greatest of the Tudor monarchs and ruled longer than any of them and promoted tremendous political, religious, economic and intellectual changes during her reign. During this period, fine arts flowered as it had never done before and life was intensively lived and loved.
Routine activity of the court involved royal agents, foreign ambassadors, churchmen, scholars, poets, actors, musicians, all kind of servants, and chambermaids. People in general merged to London from each corner of the country. 
Elizabeth attended to public punishments such as hangings and witch burnings along with her people wearing exquisite jewels and rich garments.
The Elizabethan Age had the most effervescent festive calendar in which dance celebrations, holidays and various celebrations punctuated the life of the country. Besides more profound discussion was openly held involving issues such as Christian theology, Greek philosophy and Italian poetry.
Elizabethans loved their country more than anything else. Being so, they supported their queen in risky endeavors as the remarkable event that occurred during the war with Spain when England faced and overcame the Spanish Armada. The love and devotion they all dedicated to England can be felt when we read the Elizabeth’s own words pronounced during the same episode “(…) I know I have the body of a week feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a King – and a King of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain or any Prince of Europe should dare to invade the borders of my realm”.
These words reveal the same intense patriotism as John of Gaunt’s famous speech in Shakespeare’s Richard II:
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happierlands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this real, this England.
Henry VIII – A divided monarch
As his father, who became a powerful and rich king by taking over the nobles’ lands, Henry VIII was always looking for new sources of money. However, land belonging to the Church and the monasteries had not been touched. The Church was a huge landowner and the monasteries were not important to economical and social growth as they had been in two hundred years earlier. In fact the institution and the clergymen had turned into unpopular elements because many monks no longer led a respectable religious life but lived in wealth and comfort.
How did England become Protestant?
Henry’s break with Rome was purely political. He did not approve the new ideas of Protestant Reformation introduced by Martin Luther in Germany and John Calvin in Geneva. He still believed in the Catholic faith. Like his father, Henry VIII governed England through his close advisers, men who were completely dependent on him for their position.
When he broke with Rome, he used Parliament to make the rupture legal. Through several Acts of Parliament, between 1532 and 1536, England became politically a Protestant country, even though the popular religion was still Catholic.
How did Reformation advance with Henry VIII?
Thomas Cromwell became the king’s chief minister. Between 1536 and 1539 they closed 560 monasteries and other religious houses. Henry did this in order to keep to the crown all the money and goods that had once belonged to the Church and to religious orders, but he also wanted to be popular with the rising classes of landowners and merchants. He sold or gave much of the monasteries’ lands to them. 
Meanwhile the monks and nuns were thrown out. Some were given small sums of money, but many were unable to find work and became wandering beggars. The dissolution of the monasteries was probably the greatest act of official destruction in the history of Britain. However, the king remained loyal to Catholic religious teaching, and executed Protestants who refused to accept it.
Did Henry manage to have a son?
The king, in the following years, would remarry some other times. Anne Boleyn, his second wife, for whom he had changed the country face for ever, did not give him the son Henry wished. Having been accused of high treason, Anne Boleyn was sentenced to death with the knowledge and agreement of the king himself.
She was decapitated, few years after her marriage leaving a daughter – Elizabeth – who would run the country with successful iron fist for a long period. Henry died in 1547, leaving behind his sixth wife, Catherine Parr, and his three children. Mary, the eldest, was daughter of Catherine of Aragon.
Edward VI, who was nine years old, was Jane Seymour’s son, the only wife whom Henry had really loved, but who had died giving birth to his only son. However, Edward VI never ruled England. He died still young and left the throne to her sister.
The English Renaissance occurs much latter, compared to the Italian and Flemish. It only becomes marked in 1485 with the consolidation of the national state English. There was no significant development in the arts as in Italy. The cultural production focused on music, literature and theater.
Actually, the most notable contribution and legacy of the English Renaissance was the Elizabethan theater whose greatest exponent was William Shakespeare (1564-1616).
How did English nationalism become strong?
During Queen Elizabeth’s reign (1558-1603), England became a world naval power and began the foundations of the far-flung British Empire. The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 gave impetus to a powerful surge of nationalistic fervor that energized all English pursuits, including literature and arts.
What were the key Renaissance characteristics?
• Emphasis on classical studies in the expanding universities;
• Increasing literacy among the laity;
• Growth of a critical, skeptical type of scholarship, leading to scientific inquiry;
• Increasing trade leads to individual wealth, general prosperity, nationalism and materialism;
• Gradual movement from unquestioned religious beliefs toward a more human-centered philosophy.
English drama had its beginnings with the church plays and pantomimes of the Middle Ages. Introduced by the clergy in order to help the unlettered congregation to understand the Latin Church service, these plays eventually became so elaborate and so filled with secular or humorous incidents that they were moved to the church porch.
What is Renaissance drama?
The figure of Shakespeare towers above all other English authors, of both the Renaissance and all other periods. Drama at this time has moved completely into the secular world. Blank verse becomes the standard form for drama, except for scenes of ‘low’ comedy, which are in prose. Many early plays were based on this Latin comedies of Plautus and Terence and the tragedies of Seneca.
The revenge tragedy is a popular form, reaching its apotheosis in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The fact that female roles are played by young boys makes somewhat more plausible the standard plot of the girl disguised as a boy in romantic comedies.
How were the characters in the Elizabethan theater?
The characters were complex because they combined personality traits. The transition from personified abstractions to characters drawn from real life was improved by the Renaissance ideas that men and women, as individuals, were fascinating objects of study.
The crowning of this new kind of theater was William Shakespeare who created a roster of characters who often seem more real than our own friends and acquaintances.
What was the aspect and characteristic of the playhouses during Restoration?
• They were rectangular instead of round and no longer open to sky;
• Artificial lighting was necessary for the first time;
• Women’s parts  were now played by women;
• The stage was filled with movable scenery;
• The stage looked like a box left open on one side, or a framed canvas with actors painted on it.
Shakespeare’s historical plays
Most of the plays have an historical element – the Roman plays, for example, are historical but scholars don’t refer to those Roman plays (Julius Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus etc.) as history plays. The plays that we normally mean when we refer to the ‘history’ plays are the ten plays that cover English history from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries, and the 1399-1485 period in particular. Each play is named after, and focuses on, the reigning monarch of the period.
In chronological order of setting, these are King John, Richard II, Henry IV Parts I and II, Henry V, Henry VI Parts I, II and III, Richard III and Henry VIII, although Shakespeare didn’t write them in that order. The plays dramatize five generations of medieval power struggles. For the most part they depict the Hundred Years War with France, from Henry V to Joan of Arc, and the Wars of the Roses, between York and Lancaster.
Shakespeare’s historical plays
We should never forget that they are works of imagination, based very loosely on historical figures. Shakespeare was a keen reader of history and was always looking for the dramatic impact of historical characters and events as he read.
Today we tend to think of those historical figures in the way Shakespeare presented them. For example, we think of Richard III as an evil man, a kind of psychopath with a deformed body and a grudge against humanity.
Shakespeare’s historical plays
Historians can do whatever they like to set the record straight but Shakespeare’s Richard seems stuck in our culture as the real Richard III. Henry V,  Prince Hal, is, in our minds, the perfect model of kingship after an education gained by indulgence in a misspent youth, and a perfect human being, but that is only because that’s the way Shakespeare chose to present him in the furtherance of the themes he wanted to develop and the dramatic story he wanted to tell.
In fact, the popular perception of medieval history as seenthrough the rulers of the period is pure Shakespeare. We have given ourselves entirely to Shakespeare’s vision. What would Bolingbroke (Henry IV) mean to us today? We would know nothing of him but because of Shakespeare’s plays he is an important, memorable and significant historical figure.
The history plays are enormously appealing. Not only do they give insight into the political processes of Medieval and Renaissance politics but they also offer a glimpse of life from the top to the very bottom of society – the royal court, the nobility, tavern life, brothels, beggars, everything. The greatest English actual and fictional hero, Henry V and the most notorious fictional bounder, Falstaff, are seen in several scenes together. Not only that, but those scenes are among the most entertaining, profound and memorable in the whole of English literature.
When the concepts of freedom were first mentioned in the New World ?
The colonists - inheritors of the traditions of the Englishman’s long struggle for political liberty - incorporated concepts of freedom into Virginia’s first charter. This provided that English colonists were to exercise all liberties, franchises, and immunities ‘as if they had been abiding and born within this Realm of England’. They wanted, then, to enjoy the benefits of the Magna Carta and the common law.
How did England loose control over the colonies?
In the early days, the colonies were able to hold fast to their heritage of rights because of the king’s arbitrary assumption that they were not subject to parliamentary control. In addition, for years afterwards, the kings of England were too worried with great struggles occurring in England itself - a struggle which culminated in the Puritan Revolution.
Consequently, before the Parliament could bring its attention to the task of molding the American colonies to an imperial policy, they had grown strong and prosperous in their own right.
How did legislation become American?
From the first year after the colonists had set foot upon the new continent, they had functioned according to the English law and constitution - with legislative assemblies, a representative system of government, and recognition of the common law guarantees of personal liberty.
But increasingly legislation became American in point of view, and less and less attention was paid to English practices and precedents. 
Nevertheless, colonial freedom from effective English control was not achieved without conflict, and colonial history abounds in struggles between the assemblies elected by the people and the governors appointed by the king.
How did legislation become American?
The recurring clashes between governor and assembly worked increasingly to awaken the colonists to the divergence between American and English interests.
Gradually, the assemblies took over the functions of the governors and their councils, which were made up of colonists selected for their docile support of royal power, and the center of colonial administration shifted from London to the provincial capitals.
Early in the 1771, following the final expulsion of the French from the North American continent, an attempt was made to bring about a drastic change in the relationship between the colonies and the mother country.
The colonies offered England little support in relation to the war that was going on with France and, all schemes to bring them ‘to a sense of their duty to the King’ failed.
The colonists could see the war only as a struggle for empire on the part of England and France. They felt no compunction when British government was obliged to send large numbers of regular troops to wage colonial battles. Nor did they regret that the French, the ‘redcoats’, rather than provincial troops, won the war.
Nor did they see any reason for cutting commerce with them when that, in fact , it could mean ‘trade with the enemy’. In spite of no colonial support and of several early military defeats, England won the war.
Was England able to control colonists’ demands for freedom?
It was clear the British need for a new imperial design. However the situation in America was anything but favorable to a change. Long accustomed to a large measure of independence, the colonies were demanding more, not less, freedom, particularly now that the French menace had been eliminated.
To put a new system into effect, to tighten control, the statesmen of England had to contend with colonists trained to self-government and impatient of interference.
To what extent did the financial policy of the British government affect their relationship with the colonists?
How can we link The Declaration of Independence to a philosophy of human freedom?
The Declaration of Independence* -  July 4, 1776 - not only announced the birth of a new nation, but also set forth a philosophy of human freedom meant to be a dynamic force in the entire western world. It rested, not upon particular grievances, but upon a broad base of individual liberty that could command general support throughout America.
*(Its political philosophy is explicit:
‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive  of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness’.)
What was the main purpose of the Declaration of Independence?
 It served a purpose far beyond that of public notice of separation. Its ideas inspired mass fervor for the American cause, for it instilled among ordinary folks a sense of their own importance, inspiring them to struggle for personal freedom, self-government, and a dignified place in society.
Which values were guaranteed in the Constitution?
A Bill of Rights incorporated amendments that have guaranteed to citizens of the United States freedom of religion, speech, press and assembly; a militia instead of a standing army; the right to trial by jury; speedy trials by the law of the land; and prohibition of general warrants. Adoption of the Bill of Rights soon brought the wavering states to the support of the Constitution, which was finally adopted on June 25, 1788.
Which parallels can we draw between the American and French Revolution?
Those Europeans who dreamed about the dawn of a New Jerusalem were fascinated by the American political experiment. The thirteen colonies began with a defensive revolution against tyrannical oppression and they were victorious. The Americans showed how rational men could assemble together to exercise control over their own lives by choosing their own form of government, a government sanctified by the force of a written constitution.
With this in mind, liberty, equality, private property and representative government began to make more sense to European observers. If anything, the American Revolution gave proof to that great Enlightenment idea - the idea that a better world was possible if it was created by men using Reason*.
*(As R. R. Palmer put it in 1959 (The Age of Democratic Revolution: The Challenge): 
The effects of the American Revolution, as a revolution, were imponderable but very great. It inspired the sense of a new era. It added a new content to the conception of progress. It gave a whole new dimension to ideas of liberty and equality made familiar by the Enlightenment. It got people into the habit of thinking more concretely about political questions, and made them more readily critical of their own governments and society. It dethroned England, and set up America, as a model for those seeking a better world. It brought written constitutions, declarationsof rights, and constituent conventions into the realm of the possible. The apparition on the other side of the Atlantic of certain ideas already familiar in Europe made such ideas seem more truly universal, and confirmed the habit of thinking in terms of humanity at large. Whether fantastically idealized or seen in a factual way, whether as mirage or as reality, America made Europe seem unsatisfactory to many people of the middle and lower classes, and to those of the upper classes who wished them well. It made a good many Europeans feel sorry for themselves, and induced a kind of spiritual flight from the Old Regime. (p. 282))
What was the Civil War?
The Civil War is the defining event in American history. No previous American war came anywhere close to it in scale or in the casualties it caused. Its social and political consequences were vast. It preserved the Union, led to slavery's abolition, and dramatically altered the relationship between the states and the federal government.
But the war has also generated ongoing debates about the conflict's causes and outcome. Among the most bitterly contested issues are why the Southern states seceded and the extent to which it was slavery that motivated secession and why the North did not let the Confederacy peacefully secede. Historians continue to debate how to evaluate military leadership and strategy during the Civil War and the reasons for the North's victory and the South's defeat.
What were the differences between the South and the North?
Why did the North win?
Victory depended on devising an effective military strategy and finding commanders who could implement it. There is now little doubt that Confederate General Robert E. Lee's successes prolonged the war long enough to transform it from a war over the preservation of the Union into a war over slavery. In recent years, some scholars have argued that his daring offensive tactics and his focus on Virginia had the practical affect of depleting the Confederacy's limited manpower and denying resources to armies in other parts of the South.
Why did the North win?
It took the Union several years to adopt a strategy that would ultimately win the war. The strategy of total war, which was implemented by General Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Philip Sheridan, entailed destroying the Confederate armies and the South's economic infrastructure, including the institution of slavery. African American troops played an absolutely essential role in securing a Northern victory. It was ultimately the availability of black troops that allowed Lincoln not to compromise on the issue of emancipation.
Excepts of the Declaration of Independence
The lofty rhetoric of the Declaration of Independence from 1776 is so fundamental to American political values that it deserves review.  Excepts are repeated here, without all the grievances which were listed as a final attempt to justify their actions to the King and Parliament in case war could still be avoided.
1) Mark the right options in relation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution:
 
The Declaration of Independence announced the birth of a nation and set forth a philosophy of human freedom.
Yes
2) The Declaration of Independence gave the ordinary people a sense of their own importance.		Yes
 3) In the Constitution we do not find concepts of freedom.	No