John Dudley: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 23:17, 9 January 2018

1504-1553. Also known as First Duke of Northumberland. Full name John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, Earl of Warwick, Viscount Lisle, Baron Lisle. 1549-1553 "de facto ruler" of England being the advisor of the minor Edward VI.

As his father Edmund Dudley was executed for treason under Henry VIII in 1510, although he had been a loyal advisor to Henry VII, John Dudley was in the care of the Guildford family whose daughter Jane became Dudley’s wife later on. His mother, Elizabeth, married again in 1511.

Dudley’s political success was evident in that he took part in several battles such as the invasion of France in 1523 and the invasion of Scotland in 1544. In addition to that, he gained lots of different titles: he was, inter alia, appointed Lord Admiral and Earl of Warwick.

When Henry VIII died and Edward accessed the throne in January 1547, John Dudley started to play a more important role. Due to Edward’s minority, a regency council was given the task of ruling England until Edward would come of age. John Dudley, too, became a member of it and so he gained more influence. However, Edward’s uncle, Edward Seymour, who was Duke of Somerset, introduced himself as his nephew’s Lord Protector thus ignoring the last will of Henry VIII and holding most of the power in the country. Even though John Dudley was not completely in agreement with this fact, he pretended to be and continued working together with him. In 1549 he managed to bring Somerset down by making use of the dissatisfaction and conflicts that prevailed in the country after Somerset’s policies, who had introduced an English Prayer Book beforehand in order to establish Protestantism even more firmly. Dudley took advantage of the ongoing revolts and was able to defeat the rebels, which strengthened his success.

After he had triumphed over Somerset, Dudley was now holding the most influential position. He also installed himself as Duke of Northumberland and in spite of never really being appointed Lord Protector he became the most important and leading advisor of Edward VI. Nevertheless, during his unscrupulous “de facto” reign he managed to improve England’s economy in that he fought inflation and expanded trade.

In 1553 Edward VI became seriously ill meaning that he suffered from tuberculosis. As Dudley, now known as Northumberland, wanted to secure his power and influence, he forced one of his sons, Guildford Dudley, to marry Lady Jane Grey, who also had a claim to the throne. At the same time he convinced the mortally ill King to install Jane Grey as his heir to the throne. This way, his half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth were removed from the line of succession. After the king had died on 6 July 1553, Northumberland appointed his daughter-in-law the new queen of England. But his plan failed, because his decision was not accepted by the council and most of the English people also supported Mary. Thus, Dudley was overthrown and accused of treason which led to his execution on 22 August 1553.

Sources

Beer, Barrett L. “Northumberland: The Myth of the Wicked Duke and the Historical John Dudley.” A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies, vol. 11, no.1, 1979, pp. 1-14. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4048314 . Accessed 2 January 2018.

“History - Edward VI (1537-1553).” BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/edward_vi_king.shtml . Accessed 2 January 2018.

“John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland.” Britannica Academic, http://academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/John-Dudley-duke-of-Northumberland/56273 . Accessed 2 January 2018.

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 -1553. Also known as First Duke of Northumberland. Full name John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, Earl of Warwick, Viscount Lisle, Baron Lisle. 1549-1553 "de facto ruler" of England being the advisor of the minor [[Edward VI]].
-As his father Edmund Dudley was executed for treason under [[Henry VIII]] in 1510, although he had been a loyal advisor to [[Henry VII]], John Dudley was in the care of the Guildford family whose daughter Jane became Dudley’s wife later on. His mother, Elizabeth, married again in 1511.
+As his father [[Edmund Dudley]] was executed for treason under [[Henry VIII]] in 1510, although he had been a loyal advisor to [[Henry VII]], John Dudley was in the care of the Guildford family whose daughter Jane became Dudley’s wife later on. His mother, Elizabeth, married again in 1511.
 Dudley’s political success was evident in that he took part in several battles such as the invasion of France in 1523 and the invasion of Scotland in 1544. In addition to that, he gained lots of different titles: he was, inter alia, appointed Lord Admiral and Earl of Warwick.
-When Henry VIII died and Edward accessed the throne in January 1547, John Dudley started to play a more important role. Due to Edward’s minority, a regency council was given the task of ruling England until Edward would come of age. John Dudley, too, became a member of it and so he gained more influence. However, Edward’s uncle, [[Edward Seymour]], who was Duke of Somerset, introduced himself as his nephew’s [[Lord Protector]] thus ignoring the last will of Henry VIII and holding most of the power in the country. Even though John Dudley was not completely in agreement with this fact, he pretended to be and continued working together with him. In 1549 he managed to bring Somerset down by making use of the dissatisfaction and conflicts that prevailed in the country after Somerset’s policies, who had introduced an [[Book of Common Prayer|English Prayer Book]] beforehand in order to establish [[Protestantism]] even more firmly. Dudley took advantage of the ongoing revolts and was able to defeat the rebels, which strengthened his success.
+When Henry VIII died and Edward accessed the throne in January 1547, John Dudley started to play a more important role. Due to Edward’s minority, a regency council was given the task of ruling England until Edward would come of age. John Dudley, too, became a member of it and so he gained more influence. However, Edward’s uncle, [[Edward Seymour]], who was Duke of Somerset, introduced himself as his nephew’s [[Lord Protector]] thus ignoring the last will of Henry VIII and holding most of the power in the country. Even though John Dudley was not completely in agreement with this fact, he pretended to be and continued working together with him. In 1549 he managed to bring Somerset down by making use of the dissatisfaction and conflicts that prevailed in the country after Somerset’s policies, who had introduced an [[Book of Common Prayer|English Prayer Book]] beforehand in order to establish [[Protestantism]] even more firmly. Dudley took advantage of the ongoing [[Kett's Rebellion|revolts]] and was able to defeat the rebels, which strengthened his success.
 After he had triumphed over Somerset, Dudley was now holding the most influential position. He also installed himself as Duke of Northumberland and in spite of never really being appointed Lord Protector he became the most important and leading advisor of Edward VI. Nevertheless, during his unscrupulous “de facto” reign he managed to improve England’s economy in that he fought inflation and expanded trade.
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 '''Sources'''
 Beer, Barrett L. “Northumberland: The Myth of the Wicked Duke and the Historical John Dudley.” ''A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies'', vol. 11, no.1, 1979, pp. 1-14. ''JSTOR'', http://www.jstor.org/stable/4048314 . Accessed 2 January 2018.