British Culture - User contributions [en]

Elizabeth I

2010-05-04T10:59:15Z

Julia:

1533-1603, daughter of [[Henry VIII]] and [[Anne Boleyn]]. She died without heir and was succeeded by [[James I|James VI/I]].

Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace in London on September 7, 1533.
Her childhood is often considered difficult, starting with the fact that she was considered an illegitimate child after the execution of her mother [[Anne Boleyn]]. After the death of her mother on May 19, 1536, she lived with her stepmother Katherine Parr. In 1554, under the rule of her sister [Mary I|Mary]], she was imprisoned in the Tower of London and held under arrest at Woodstock later.

On November 17, 1558, Elizabeth became Queen of England and was from then on named Elizabeth I. However, the official coronation ceremony only took place on January 15, 1559 [the coronation, however, is not necessary for someone to become King/Queen of England].
Another event in the same year was the establishment of the [[Act of Supremacy]] and the [[Act of Uniformity]]. During this process, the Queen became the Supreme Governor of the [[Church of England]]. In 1570, Elizabeth was excommunicated by the Pope.

On February 8, 1587, Elizabeth had her cousin [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] executed.

A very famous battle that took place during Elizabeth’s reign was the battle against the [[Armada|Spanish Armada]] in 1588, which the English navy won. The background of this battle was the Spanish Armada trying to invade England. However, it was defeated near Gravelingen and lost even more ships when going back home due to a storm in Scotland and Ireland.

Elizabeth I is also known as the ''Virgin Queen'' due to the fact that she never married nor did she have any children. Nevertheless, she had several suitors and was also said to have been in a romantic relationship with Sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

Queen Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603, and was buried in Westminster Abbey in London.

== Sources ==
* Grant, Neil. ''Kings & Queens. An Illustrated Guide to British Monarchs''. London: HarperCollins, 2004.
* Maurer, Michael. ''Kleine Geschichte Englands''. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2007.
* Weatherly, Myra. ''Elizabeth I. Queen of Tudor England.'' Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2006.

Henry VIII

2010-04-27T20:35:15Z

Julia:

Son of [[Henry VII]] and Elizabeth of York. Six wives, two divorces, two executions, three children, one reformation.

[[Catherine of Aragon|Catherine]]-[[Anne Boleyn|Anne]]-[[Jane Seymour|Jane]], Anne-Catherine-Catherine.
Divorced-Killed-Died, Divorced-Killed-Survived.

Henry VIII was born in Greenwich on June 28, 1491.

He became King instead of his brother Arthur who was heir to the throne. However, Arthur died at the age of 16 and Henry was the next one with a claim to the throne.
Hence he became King when he was 18 years old, after his father Henry VII had died in 1509.

There were two main aims Henry wanted to achieve during his reign; on the one hand, he wanted to ensure the existence of the House of Tudor in the future, on the other hand, he wanted to rival the Kings of both Spain and France and also the Pope.

His first aim was achieved rather soon – his first wife gave birth to a son, but the child died shortly after. Later, in 1516, his daugher Mary was born. However, since she was a girl, she was rather worthless to Henry since he needed a male heir to ensure his succession. All in all, Catherine was pregnant six times, but only one of their children, Mary, survived.
As Catherine of Aragon was considered too old for any further children, Henry started looking for other women who might be more successful in providing him with a legitimate heir.
He soon fell in love with Anne Boleyn, who was pregnant with their first child in 1532. In the following, Henry had his marriage with Catherine nullified so that he could marry Anne, which he did in January 1533. Only a few months later, in September, their daughter Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth I, was born. Anne lost two other children, which made Henry angry at her. Finally, he had her beheaded because she was accused of adultery.
It was only in 1537 that his son, Edward, was born to Jane Seymour. Jane, however, only died a few days after the birth of their child.
After Jane’s death, Henry married Anne of Cleves who he had not even met before. Soon after the marriage he stated he did not like her and got divorced from her again.
His fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was beheaded as well, since she was said to have committed adultery.
Henry’s last marriage took place in July 1543 when he married Catherine Parr.

As to religion it is important that Henry separated from the Roman-Catholic church and thus ensured England’s turning to Protestantism, although Henry always considered himself a Catholic.
The separation from the Roman-Catholic church occurred after the Pope did not want to accept the nullification of Henry’s marriage with Catherine. In the following, Henry became the head of the Church of England.

Henry was quite popular with the English people since he was a handsome and intelligent young prince when he started to reign. Apart from that, he also had the tax collectors of his father executed, which made him even more popular.
However, Henry wasted a lot of money in wars against France, Spain and Scotland.

Henry VIII died in Whitehall on January 28, 1547.

'''Sources'''

Grant, Neil. ''Kings & Queens. An Illustrated Guide to British Monarchs''. London: HarperCollins, 2004.

Williams, Brenda and Brian. ''Kings & Queens''. Andover: Jarrold Publishing, 2007.

Mary I

2010-04-27T18:51:15Z

Julia:

1516-1558, daughter of [[Henry VIII]] and [[Catherine of Aragon]]. Devout Catholic who wanted to save her country from the eternal sin of leaving the Church of Rome but could not convince her subjects of the benefits of [[Catholicism]]. Also known as "Mary Tudor" or "[[Bloody Mary]]".
Not to be confused with the other Catholic Mary, [[Mary, Queen of Scots|Mary Queen of Scots]].

Mary became Queen after her brother Edward had died at the age of 16. Her reign lasted from 1553 to 1558. In contrast to her brother Edward, Mary believed in the Catholic faith and not in Protestantism.

Her devotion to Catholicism was even more emphasized when she married King Philipp II of Spain, a ruler strongly believing in Catholicism. However, their marriage was not a very happy one since Philipp did not seem to feel love and affection towards his Queen. Apart from that, the marriage remained without children and Philipp went back to Spain and left Mary alone in England.

Her nickname ''Bloody Mary'' came into existence because of the prosecutions and executions of about 300 Protestants during her reign. These prosecutions and also her marriage with King Philipp II of Spain made her even more unpopular with the English people.

Mary experienced more sorrows when England lost its last bastion in France – Calais.
She died on Novermber 17, 1558, shortly after this loss.
Shortly before her death she also reconciled with her sister Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth I, who she had considered one of her adversaries earlier.

'''Sources'''

Mountfield, David. ''Kleine Geschichte Großer Nationen. Großbritannien''. Nyon: Media Books, 1976.

Williams, Brenda and Brian. ''Kings & Queens''. Andover: Jarrold Publishing, 2007.

Mary I

2010-04-27T18:48:23Z

Julia:

1516-1558, daughter of [[Henry VIII]] and [[Catherine of Aragon]]. Devout Catholic who wanted to save her country from the eternal sin of leaving the Church of Rome but could not convince her subjects of the benefits of [[Catholicism]]. Also known as "Mary Tudor" or "[[Bloody Mary]]".
Not to be confused with the other Catholic Mary, [[Mary, Queen of Scots|Mary Queen of Scots]].

Mary became Queen after her brother Edward had died at the age of 16. Her reign lasted from 1553 to 1558. In contrast to her brother Edward, Mary believed in the Catholic faith and not in Protestantism.

Her devotion to Catholicism was even more emphasized when she married King Philipp II of Spain, a ruler strongly believing in Catholicism. However, their marriage was not a very happy one since Philipp did not seem to feel love and affection towards his Queen. Apart from that, the marriage remained without children and Philipp went back to Spain and left Mary alone in England.

Her nickname ''Bloody Mary'' came into existence because of the prosecutions and executions of about 300 Protestants during her reign. These prosecutions and also her marriage with King Philipp II of Spain made her even more unpopular with the English people.

Mary experienced more sorrows when England lost its last bastion in France – Calais.
She died on Novermber 17, 1558, shortly after this loss.
Shortly before her death she also reconciled with her sister Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth I, who she had considered one of her adversaries earlier.

'''Sources'''

Mountfield, David. ''Kleine Geschichte Großer Nationen''''. Großbritannien.'' Nyon: Media Books, 1976.

Williams, Brenda and Brian. ''Kings & Queens''. Andover: Jarrold Publishing, 2007.

Elizabeth I

2010-04-27T17:26:40Z

Julia:

1533-1603, daughter of [[Henry VIII]] and [[Anne Boleyn]]. Books have been written about her, and she appears in many literary texts in not very subtle disguises as, for example, Gloriana, Belphoebe or Britomart.
She died without heir and was succeeded by [[James I|James VI/I]].

Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace in London on September 7, 1533.
Her childhood is often considered difficult, starting with the fact that she was considered an illegitimate child after the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn. After the death of her mother, she lived with her stepmother Katherine Parr. In 1554, under the rule of her sister Mary, she was imprisoned in the Tower of London and held under arrest at Woodstock later.

On November 17, 1558, Elizabeth became Queen of England and was from then on named Elizabeth I. However, the official coronation ceremony only took place on January 15, 1559.
Another event happening in the same year was the establishment of the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity. During this process, the Queen became the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
In 1570, Elizabeth was excommunicated by the Pope.

On February 8, 1587, Elizabeth had her cousin Mary Queen of Scots executed.

A very famous battle that took place during Elizabeth’s reign was the battle against the Spanish Armada in 1588, which the English navy won. The background of this battle was the Spanish Armada trying to invade England. However, it was defeated near Gravelingen and lost even more ships when going back home due to a storm in Scotland and Ireland.

Elizabeth I is also known as the ''Virgin Queen'' due to the fact that she never married nor did she have any children. Nevertheless, she had several suitors and was also said to have been in a romantic relationship with Sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

Queen Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603, and was buried in Westminster Abbey in London.

'''Sources'''

Grant, Neil. Kings & Queens. An Illustrated Guide to British Monarchs. London: HarperCollins, 2004.

Maurer, Michael. Kleine Geschichte Englands. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2007.

Weatherly, Myra. Elizabeth I. Queen of Tudor England. Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2006.

Elizabeth I

2010-04-27T17:16:29Z

Julia:

1533-1603, daughter of [[Henry VIII]] and [[Anne Boleyn]]. Books have been written about her, and she appears in many literary texts in not very subtle disguises as, for example, Gloriana, Belphoebe or Britomart.
She died without heir and was succeeded by [[James I|James VI/I]].

Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace in London on September 7, 1533.
Her childhood is often considered difficult, starting with the fact that she was considered an illegitimate child after the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn. After the death of her mother, she lived with her stepmother Katherine Parr. In 1554, under the rule of her sister Mary, she was imprisoned in the Tower of London and held under arrest at Woodstock later.

On November 17, 1558, Elizabeth became Queen of England and was from then on named Elizabeth I. However, the official coronation ceremony only took place on January 15, 1559.
Another event happening in the same year was the establishment of the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity. During this process, the Queen became the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
In 1570, Elizabeth was excommunicated by the Pope.

On February 8, 1587, Elizabeth had her cousin Mary Queen of Scots executed.

A very famous battle that took place during Elizabeth’s reign was the battle against the Spanish Armada in 1588, which the English navy won. The background of this battle was the Spanish Armada trying to invade England. However, it was defeated near Gravelingen and lost even more ships when going back home due to a storm in Scotland and Ireland.

Elizabeth I is also known as the Virgin Queen due to the fact that she never married nor did she have any children. Nevertheless, she had several suitors and was also said to have been in a romantic relationship with Sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

Queen Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603, and was buried in Westminster Abbey in London.

'''Sources'''

Grant, Neil. Kings & Queens. An Illustrated Guide to British Monarchs. London: HarperCollins, 2004.

Maurer, Michael. Kleine Geschichte Englands. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2007.

Weatherly, Myra. Elizabeth I. Queen of Tudor England. Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2006.

Louis XIV

2009-07-12T20:53:08Z

Julia: Created page with 'The French king Louis XIV, the so-called ’roi-soleil’, was born in 1638 and died in 1715. When his father, King Louis XIII, died, Louis XIV was not even five years old; that…'

The French king Louis XIV, the so-called ’roi-soleil’, was born in 1638 and died in 1715.

When his father, King Louis XIII, died, Louis XIV was not even five years old; that is why instead of Louis, his mother Anne of Austria reigned alongside with Cardinal Mazarin for the first years of Louis’ life.
There were many wars during this time, for example against Spain and Germany, which cost a lot of money. The magistrates were not content with this development and thus claimed reforms which were met by Anne.

As another rebellion started, Anne had to escape from Paris with her children. From this time on, Louis XIV disliked the French capital.
The family was able to return to Paris some time later, but there were several other rebellions taking place.
As Louis wanted to prevent any further revolts, he decided to restrict the rights of nobility and parliament, which resulted in an absolute monarchy.
He forced the people belonging to nobility to live at court with him in order to be able to better control them. This is the reason why he had Versailles built.
Another means he thought useful to ensure his reign was the unity in religion. Therefore he fought several religious groups, like people believing in Jansenism, but also Protestants.

On June 9th, 1660, King Louis XIV married Maria Theresa of Austria who was the daughter of King Philipp IV of Spain, whom he had defeated earlier.

During his reign, Louis XIV was at war with several countries, for example the Netherlands, Spain and England.

The french population was suffering during King Louis XIV’s reign: due to the high amount of wars, taxes had to be raised or were newly established.

King Louis XIV died on September 1st, 1715.

'''Source'''

Levron, Jacques. ''Kleine Geschichte großer Nationen. Frankreich''. Gütersloh: Media Books, 1976.

'''For further reading'''

http://www.louis-xiv.de/

Alexander Pope

2009-07-12T20:02:19Z

Julia:

Alexander Pope was born in London on May 21nd, 1688, and died in Twickenham on May 30th, 1744. Some of his achievements were in the fields of translating ( e.g. ''Iliad'' ) and editing ( e.g. Shakespeare ) of literary works. Besides, he was a writer of satires and epistles.

Pope did not attend university because he was a Catholic and that was why he was not allowed to receive education at a university; but he was nevertheless eager to read a lot and acquire education by teaching himself most of the time.
From his early days, he composed poetry and it was only at the age of 17 that his ''Pastorals'' were published.

His first important success was his work ''An Essay on Criticism'' which was published in 1711. In 1713, he decided to translate the ''Iliad'' which caused people to wonder as to how a man without any academic education could manage to translate such a piece of work. Nevertheless, he started translating the ''Iliad'' and at the time he was working on the translation he was often attacked, above all because of his religion and the fact that people believed his knowledge of Greek was insufficient. Even though other people trying to translate the ''Iliad'' did not do any better, Pope was irritated nevertheless; the attacks towards his work finally made him become a satirist.

He was, above all, influenced by Horace and Boileau, but he was also affected by native English writers like Spenser, Milton and Dryden.
Pope’s affection towards Horace’s writing style is reflected by him saying “that for the future he intended to write nothing but epistles in Horace’s manner.” ( Sherburne and Bond, 929 ) in 1729.

'''Some of his works:'''

''An Essay on Criticism'' ( 1711 )

''The Rape of the Lock'' ( 1712 – 1714 )

''The Dunciad'' ( 1728 )

''An Essay on Man'' ( 1733 – 1734 )

'''Sources'''

Sherburne, George, and Donald F. Bond. ''A Literary History of England, The Restoration and Eighteenth Century ( 1660 – 1789 ).'' London: Routledge, 1967.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/470015/Alexander-Pope

Alexander Pope

2009-07-12T20:01:58Z

Julia:

Alexander Pope was born in London on May 21nd, 1688, and died in Twickenham on May 30th, 1744. Some of his achievements were in the fields of translating ( e.g. ''Iliad'' ) and editing ( e.g. Shakespeare ) of literary works. Besides, he was a writer of satires and epistles.

Pope did not attend university because he was a Catholic and that was why he was not allowed to receive education at a university; but he was nevertheless eager to read a lot and acquire education by teaching himself most of the time.
From his early days, he composed poetry and it was only at the age of 17 that his ''Pastorals'' were published.

His first important success was his work ''An Essay on Criticism'' which was published in 1711. In 1713, he decided to translate the ''Iliad'' which caused people to wonder as to how a man without any academic education could manage to translate such a piece of work. Nevertheless, he started translating the ''Iliad'' and at the time he was working on the translation he was often attacked, above all because of his religion and the fact that people believed his knowledge of Greek was insufficient. Even though other people trying to translate the ''Iliad'' did not do any better, Pope was irritated nevertheless; the attacks towards his work finally made him become a satirist.

He was, above all, influenced by Horace and Boileau, but he was also affected by native English writers like Spenser, Milton and Dryden.
Pope’s affection towards Horace’s writing style is reflected by him saying “that for the future he intended to write nothing but epistles in Horace’s manner.” ( Sherburne and Bond, 929 ) in 1729.

'''Some of his works:'''

''An Essay on Criticism'' ( 1711 )
''The Rape of the Lock'' ( 1712 – 1714 )
''The Dunciad'' ( 1728 )
''An Essay on Man'' ( 1733 – 1734 )

'''Sources'''

Sherburne, George, and Donald F. Bond. ''A Literary History of England, The Restoration and Eighteenth Century ( 1660 – 1789 ).'' London: Routledge, 1967.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/470015/Alexander-Pope

Alexander Pope

2009-07-12T20:01:32Z

Julia:

Alexander Pope was born in London on May 21nd, 1688, and died in Twickenham on May 30th, 1744. Some of his achievements were in the fields of translating ( e.g. ''Iliad'' ) and editing ( e.g. Shakespeare ) of literary works. Besides, he was a writer of satires and epistles.

Pope did not attend university because he was a Catholic and that was why he was not allowed to receive education at a university; but he was nevertheless eager to read a lot and acquire education by teaching himself most of the time.
From his early days, he composed poetry and it was only at the age of 17 that his ''Pastorals'' were published.

His first important success was his work ''An Essay on Criticism'' which was published in 1711. In 1713, he decided to translate the ''Iliad'' which caused people to wonder as to how a man without any academic education could manage to translate such a piece of work. Nevertheless, he started translating the ''Iliad'' and at the time he was working on the translation he was often attacked, above all because of his religion and the fact that people believed his knowledge of Greek was insufficient. Even though other people trying to translate the ''Iliad'' did not do any better, Pope was irritated nevertheless; the attacks towards his work finally made him become a satirist.

He was, above all, influenced by Horace and Boileau, but he was also affected by native English writers like Spenser, Milton and Dryden.
Pope’s affection towards Horace’s writing style is reflected by him saying “that for the future he intended to write nothing but epistles in Horace’s manner.” ( Sherburne and Bond, 929 ) in 1729.

'''Some of his works:'''

''An Essay on Criticism'' ( 1711 )
''The Rape of the Lock'' ( 1712 – 1714 )
''The Dunciad'' ( 1728 )
''An Essay on Man'' ( 1733 – 1734 )

'''Sources'''
Sherburne, George, and Donald F. Bond. ''A Literary History of England, The Restoration and Eighteenth Century ( 1660 – 1789 ).'' London: Routledge, 1967.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/470015/Alexander-Pope

Alexander Pope

2009-07-12T20:01:05Z

Julia: Created page with 'Alexander Pope was born in London on May 21nd, 1688, and died in Twickenham on May 30th, 1744. Some of his achievements were in the fields of translating ( e.g. ''Iliad'' ) and e…'

Alexander Pope was born in London on May 21nd, 1688, and died in Twickenham on May 30th, 1744. Some of his achievements were in the fields of translating ( e.g. ''Iliad'' ) and editing ( e.g. Shakespeare ) of literary works. Besides, he was a writer of satires and epistles.

Pope did not attend university because he was a Catholic and that was why he was not allowed to receive education at a university; but he was nevertheless eager to read a lot and acquire education by teaching himself most of the time.
From his early days, he composed poetry and it was only at the age of 17 that his ''Pastorals'' were published.

His first important success was his work ''An Essay on Criticism'' which was published in 1711. In 1713, he decided to translate the ''Iliad'' which caused people to wonder as to how a man without any academic education could manage to translate such a piece of work. Nevertheless, he started translating the ''Iliad'' and at the time he was working on the translation he was often attacked, above all because of his religion and the fact that people believed his knowledge of Greek was insufficient. Even though other people trying to translate the ''Iliad'' did not do any better, Pope was irritated nevertheless; the attacks towards his work finally made him become a satirist.

He was, above all, influenced by Horace and Boileau, but he was also affected by native English writers like Spenser, Milton and Dryden.
Pope’s affection towards Horace’s writing style is reflected by him saying “that for the future he intended to write nothing but epistles in Horace’s manner.” ( Sherburne and Bond, 929 ) in 1729.

Some of his works:

''An Essay on Criticism'' ( 1711 )
''The Rape of the Lock'' ( 1712 – 1714 )
''The Dunciad'' ( 1728 )
''An Essay on Man'' ( 1733 – 1734 )

Sources

Sherburne, George, and Donald F. Bond. ''A Literary History of England, The Restoration and Eighteenth Century ( 1660 – 1789 ).'' London: Routledge, 1967.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/470015/Alexander-Pope

Anne of Denmark

2009-07-11T16:09:18Z

Julia: Created page with 'Anne of Denmark, wife to King James I, lived from 1574 to 1619 and was Queen from 1603 to 1619. She was the first Queen of Great Britain due to the fact that her husband, James …'

Anne of Denmark, wife to King James I, lived from 1574 to 1619 and was Queen from 1603 to 1619.

She was the first Queen of Great Britain due to the fact that her husband, James VI of Scotland, ascended the English throne as well in 1603. Since then she was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland.

As the Danish King was very wealthy, there were many candidates who wanted to marry Anne and her sister. Denmark finally decided to accept the proposal of King James VI of Scotland because this way the argument about the Orkney- and Shetland islands would finally be solved as they belonged to Anne’s dowry.

The marriage took place on August 20th, 1589, and was carried out without King James – it was a Scottish delegate who was present.
There was another marriage celebration which took place on November 23rd, 1589, this time the King was present as well; the ceremony was repeated once again in the presence of the Danish royal family.

Anne was very popular among the Scottish people; this was both because of her youth and the splendour which accompanied her arrival in Scotland because the financial means of the royal family in Scotland were rather limited. However, court life changed after Anne’s arrival as she was the first Queen after 20 years of male reign.

Anne was crowned Queen on May 17th, 1590, according to Protestant rites, even though King James himself was a Catholic. Soon after, the young Queen was confronted with disagreements between the Protestant and Catholic camps at court.

Anne soon lost her popularity, this was especially due to the fact that she did not get pregnant in the first time. However, their first child was born on February 19th, 1594, and was called Henry Frederick. King James was happy about being provided with an heir as he thought this should confirm his claim on the English throne.
Anne and James had several other children: Elisabeth ( born on August 19th, 1596 ), Margaret ( born on December 24th, 1598, but died at a very young age ), Carl ( born on November 19th, 1600, later King Carl I of England ), Robert Bruce ( born on May 27th, 1602, died early ), Mary ( 1605 – 1607 ) and two other children who also died very early.

After James was crowned King of England, Anne visited England for the first time and discovered many things that were completely new to her. She was highly impressed by masques and thus decided to support Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones.
Apart from supporting English theatre, Anne also spent a lot of money on her clothing and on building projects and thus added to King James' financial troubles.

Anne had rather little influence on King James’ political decisions and they lived in different places for most part of the year. Nevertheless, they still appeared together for official occasions.

'''Sources'''

Panzer, Marita A. ''Englands Königinnen'', ''Von den Tudors zu den Windsors'', Regensburg: Pustet, 2001.

[http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/annedenmark.htm]