"Catherine Of Aragon: Henry VIII first wife"

Catherine of Aragon:

 

Catherine of Aragon (Catalina: 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536).

Was Queen of England from 1509 until 1533 as the first wife of King Henry VII.

She was previously Princess of Wales as the wife of Prince Arthur.The daughter of Queen Isabella I of Catile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, Catherine was three years old when she was betrothed (promessa in sposa) to Prince Arthur, heir apparent to the English throne. They married in 1501, and Arthur died five months later.She held the position of ambassador for the Spanish Court in England, becoming the first female ambassador in European history.Catherine subsequently married Arthur's younger brother, the recently succeeded Henry VIII.

By 1525, Henry VIII was infatuated with his mistress,Anna Boleyn, and dissatisfied (insoddisfatto) that his marriage to Catherine had produced no surviving sons, leaving their daughter, the future Mary I of England, as heiress presumptive at a time when there was no established precedent for a woman on the throne. He sought (cercato) to have their marriage annulled, setting in motion a chain (catena) of events that led (portato) to England's schism with the Catholic Church. When Pope Clement VII refused to annul the marriage, Henry defied him by assuming supremacy over religious matters.

In 1533 their marriage was declared invalid and Henry married Anne Boleyn on the judgement (giudizio) of clergy in England, without reference to the Pope. Catherine refused to accept Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England  and considered herself the King's rightful wife and queen, attracting much popular sympathy.Despite this, she was acknowledged only as Dowager Princess of Wales by Henry.(Stato riconosciuta solamente come vedova del re). After being banished from court, she lived out the remainder of her life at Kimbolton Castle, and died there on 7 January 1536. Catherine's English subjects held her in high esteem, and her death set off tremendous mourning among the English people. (I sudditi avevano grande cosiderazione di lei e quando morì fu un grande lutto per gli Inglesi).

"Meet the Tudors/ Henry VIII":

Meet the Tudors:

Tudors' Family

Henry VIII:

Henry VIII (1491-1547) was Henry VII's second son. From his birth in 1491 until the death of his elder brother Arthur in 1502, he was brought up in an almost exclusively female household,(portato in una famiglia di sole donne) with his sisters, nurses and his mother,Elisabeth of York. From an early age he was a know figure at court, and his youth he was a natural sportsman, which made him popular both (sia) with the English elite and with the English public. He was called the "Golden Prince" both for his natural good looks and his chivalry (cavalleria) and education.In 1521 he was granted (concesso) the title of " Defender of the Faith" ( Difensore della fede) by the pope in recognition of his Latin treatise (trattato) defending the sacraments. This title has been maintained by English monarchs ever since and is on English coins still today.After Arthur's death, Henry married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon, by special dispensation. In twenty years of marriage Catherine only produced a daughter, Mary, and Henry desperately wanted a male heir to keep the country united and strong.( Voleva disperatamente un erede maschio per mantenere il paese unito e forte.) He began (iniziato) to consider marriage to his pregnant mistress (amante incinta) Anne Boleyn, a lady-in-waiting, and asked the pope for a divorce in order to marry her. When it was clear that the pope would not declare his first marriage invalid, Henry broke with Rome and declared himself "Supreme Head on Earth of the Curch of England' by means of the Act of Supremacy (1534). This meant (significato) that he had the right to appoint (nominare) bishop,decide on articles of faith and impose his will (volontà) on the monasteries

The king soon dissolved the monasteries,talking their wealth (ricchezza), and social charities (Enti di beneficenza)-such as schools and hospitals for the poor (povero)- mostly disappeared ( per lo più scomparsi). Another consequence of Henry's policy was that Ireland remained a Catholic country and this marked the beginning of the Irish question. Henry married Anne Boleyn in 1533, and she gave him a second daughter, Elizabeth.She fell out of favour (caduta in disgrazia),however (tuttavia), and was tried and executed for treason in 1536,leaving the king free to remarry. Henry went on to have four more wives in quick succession and one son, Edward,from Jane Seymoure.

He had six wives:

1- Catherine of Aragon.

2- Anna Boleyn.

3- Jane Seymoure.

4- Anna  of Cleves.

5- Kathryn Howard.

6- Katherine Parr.

"BrainStorming"

"BrainStorming":

(Henry VIII)

Mental Map:

"Queen Elizabeth I"

Film:(Elizabeth I):

Elizabeth:

Directed by Shekhar Kapur;

USA 1998.

With Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth);

Joseph Fiennes ( Robert Dudley).

When Elizabeth I ascends the throne,she is only twenty-five. After succeeding Mary I,she has to face serious religious conflicts as well as the pressing problems of her succession and the birth of an heir. She is in love with a young nobleman, Rober Dudley,but he cannot marry her because he is already married. Supported by the discrete but decisive advice of her minister, Francis Walsingham,the queen takes on the responsibility of her enemies,she symbolically cuts her beautiful hair and declares she has married England.From now on she will be the "Virgin Queen".

What about accuracy? ( Che dire di precisione?):

-The film takes many liberties with history. Francis Walsingham was in his mid-twenties when Elizabeth was crowned,not a middle-aged man. When Elizabeth is being questioned by her accusers at the beginning of the film, the bishop suggests that the debate between Catholicism and Protestantism is what killed her mother, Anna Boleyn. This is not all the case,for it was accusations of witchcraft and treason that sent ( mandano) Anne Boleyn to her death.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age:

Directed by Shekhar Kapur;

USA 2007.

With Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth);

Clive Owen ( Walter Raleigh).

It's 1585. Elizabeth has been on the throne for twenty-seven years. England is still ( ancora) divided between Protestants and Catholics. Mary, Queen of Scots, a potential rival to the throne,is imprisoned. King Philip II of Spain is looking for a reason to destroy the heretic queen and builds the Invincible Armada. The Armada begins its approach up the English Channel and Elizabeth asks Sir Walter Raleigh yo join Sir Francis Drake in the battle. The queen gives a splendid speech to the troops seated on a warhorse. The Spanish ships outnumber ( più numerose) England's,but at the last moment, a great storm blows the Armada towards the beaches.( verso la costa). Elizabeth,back at her coastal headquarters ( sede centrale), walks out onto(su) the cliffs (scogliera) and watches the Spanish Armada sink in flames.

What about accuracy?

- There are some historical inaccuracies. Sir Walter Raleigh's role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada was relatively minor. The role of Sir Francis Drake, one of the key figures in the victory,is downplayed (sottovalutato). The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots,is portrayed as having happened very quickly after her arrest,while she was still a young woman, whereas the real Mary was held in custody in different castles in England for nineteen years before being executed in 1587.

"The Wars of the Roses"

The Wars of the Roses:

By the end of the Hundred Years' War in 1453, England had lost all its French possessions except the port of Calais. Very soon after this conflict came the so-called " Wars of the Roses".

• What was the second half of the 15(th) century characterised by?

-  The period between 1450 and 1500 was characterised by instability due (dovuta) to a civil war fought by the two rival families of York and Lancaster.

• What do the "Roses" refer to?

- The " Roses" refer to  the white rose, the House of York's emblem,and the red rose, the House of Lancaster's symbol.

• How did the Wars of the Roses develop?

- The Wars of the Roses were in fact three separate conflicts, or lightning campaigns ( guerre lampo), that were resolved quickly on the battlefield.( Campo di battaglia).The three main battles were Ludford Bridge, Towton and Bosworth.

• Were there many sieges? (assedi)

- No, there were very few sieges: London was threatened (minacciata) three times and the Tower of London taken twice. For long periods most of the kingdom was at peace.

• How did the wars start?

-  The original clash was between Henry VI and his rival for the throne, Richard, Duke of York, who died at the first battle in 1460. His allies declared Henry unfit (inadatto)to rule and in 1461 they replaced him with the Duke of York's son, Edward IV, and confined Henry to the Tower.

• How did Edward rule?

- At first Edward ruled through (attraverso)  his elder cousin and then through a series of favourites. In 1469 he was deposed and Henry returned to the throne, but Edward managed to recover (riuscito a recuperare) his crown in 1471 after destroying his enemies (nemici) at Tewkesbury; he ruled for twelve years.

• Who governed Wales and the north of England?

- Edward sent his eldest son,Edward,Prince of Wales,to Ludlow Castle to govern Wales, while his brother,Richard,Duke of Gloucester,became Lord of the North.

• When was this period of peace interrupted?

- This period of peace came to an end on Edward's death in 1483. The king's son and successor, Edward V, was deposed and consigned to the Tower by the Duke of Gloucester,who crowned himself as Richard III

but was to meet a violent death two years later.

•  What did Richard do in a symbolic act of reconciliation with the Lancastrian line?

- Richard transferred Henry VI's body to St. George's Chapel in a symbolic act of reconciliation with the Lancastrian line. However (tuttavia) that wasn't enough to stop the bloodshed. In 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth, Richard was killed and Henry VII ( nephew of Henry VI) became the first Tudor king.

• Was this the end of the Wars of the Roses?

- By marrying Elizabeth of York, the daughter of Edward IV, Henry VII sealed (sigillato) the peace between the two contending houses and founded the new Tudor dynasty.

" The Norman invasion"

The Norman invasion:

We are now to doing to explore the places associated with the Norman invasion of 1066 and its aftermath.

(conseguenze).  Edward the Confessor,who had restored the Royal House of Wessex to the English throne in 1042, died childless in January 1066, leaving his successor to be decided by the sword. Edward's brother-in-law, Harold Godwineson, wasted no time asserting his right to the throne and had himself crowned on the day of Edward's burial.( Non perse tempo ha richiedere il suo diritto al trono e fu incoronato il giorno della sepoltura di Edward).

William invades:

Although William,Duke of Normandy, was more distantly related to Edward than Harold,he asserted that he had earlier been promised the throne by Edward. He gathered together his supporters and prepared to invade. William finally crossed the English Channel and landed in Pervensey on 28th September. The Normans laid waste to some of the locality but avoid moving far inland,waiting instead for a reaction from the English. In a confident mood, Harold marched his army quickly down to the south,hoping to destroy the Normans in one decisive clash.

The battle of Hastings:

The meeting of the two armies at Hastings on 14th October is one of the most famous moments in British history. William used archers and mounted warriors,whereas Harold's men were mostly foot soldiers,who relied on their shield wall to protect them from enemy assaults. The battle raged for hours before the more mobile Normans eventually managed to make inroads against the English shield wall. A crucial moment came when Harold was killed. After this, the English were overcome and the death of Harold's two brothers turned the defeat into a catastrophe, leaving the country without a strong leader to oppose William.

Norman rule:

For the next few years William was regularly engaged in putting down rebellions in various parts of the land. Gradually he was able to impose his own authority and conclude the only successful invasion of England in the past 1.000 years. The Norman Conquest brought sweeping changes. The Anglo-Saxon aristocracy was replaced by William's followers, who cemented their positions with castle-building. Another visible sign of Norman rule was churches that adorned the towns and villages of the land. On a cultural level, England turned away from Scandinavia and established closer ties with western Europe and, on a linguistic level. there was an injection of romance languages into the vernacular (volgare),pushing the Old English language into retreat.( Inghilterra si allontanò dalla Scandinavia stabilendo dei legami più stretti con l'Europa.

I Normanni:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HctoccHGAzw

"The Viking attacks"

The Viking attacks:

Introduction:

A savage raid (incursione selvaggia) on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne in 793 marked the beginning of England's Viking era. Lindisfarne was the first of a wave of similar attacks on monasteries in northern Britain.

• Why such hatred? (Perchè così tanto odio?).
• And why 793?.

History:

We need to examine the political situation in northern Europe at the time. The main ( principale) political powers in the world were: Byzantium in the east; the Muslims,whose expansion had driven them eastward ( verso est) as far as Turkistan and Asia Minor; and the Franks,who had become the dominant tribe among (tra) the successor states after the fall of the Roman Empire in the west.(Ovest).

CharleMagne,the ruler of the Franks,expended a huge amount ( quantità enorme) of energy on the subjugation  (sottomissione)of the heathen ( pagani)  Scots on his northeast border.(confini nord-est).

He has been crowned (incoronato) emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III ( Papa Leone III) in 800- emperor of the abstract conception of Christendom (cristianità) as a single community.

The cultural subjugation of the Saxons followed:

1. Death was the penality for following heathen rites or rejecting baptism.

• How should the heathen Scandinavians react to the threat? ( Come dovevano reagire alla minaccia?).
• Should the Vikings wait for Charlemagne's armies to arrive and convert them or should they fight to defend their culture?.

The Christian monasteries in northern Europe were symbolically important and, in the words used by modern terrorism, 'soft targets' (obiettivo facile). The Christian annalists who documented Viking violence viewed (hanno visto) the conflict as a battle between religious cultures.

In 865 ' the Great Heathen Army'  ( grande armata pagana) arrived, a force which after 15 years had gamed control (guadagnare il controllo) of England from York down to East Anglia.( Verso il basso della costa anglicana).

By 927 much of the lost territory had been regained (riaquistato) by the Wessex Kings Alfred The Great, Edward and Athelstan.

Large-scale Viking violence returned to England in the 990s. The policy of the Danegeld-protection money paid in return for being left alone (essere lasciato solo) -was practised regularly.

In 1012 the Archbisshop( argivescovo) of Cantebury was captured and murdered, and within two years a Danish king, Sven Forkbeard,was on the throne.

By 1028 his son, Cnut,was the ruler of a North Sea empire that included Denmark,Norway and all England. Danish rule during less than thirty years. Its memories were wiped (cancellato) out by William of Normandy's conquest in 1066.

Storia dei Vichinghi: