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Edward VI 22-page revision booklet
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Edward VIEngland in Context
Henry VIII had died an old and weak man unable to walk. However England remained a powerful nation, having
waged war with France and therefore the Ottoman Empire in 1544. Not as powerful as France, Spain or the Holy
Roman Empire, but powerful enough to be involved with all of them both in war and in peace. The early 1540s were
the strongest time for England in about a hundred years.
Henry’s reign had seen the Act of Supremacy remove England from the control of the Pope – the first major
European nation to do so, a dramatic change in government from being ministerial to conciliar, and an increase in
the power of the monarchy.
At the King’s death, England was primarily a Catholic nation with the Act of Six Articles and King’s Book being the
dominant forces in religion at that point. However, Edward had been raised a reformist. His uncle was a reformist,
the regency council was majoritively reformist and the Dry Stamp was held by a reformist: Anthony Denny.
England was also at war with Scotland. A peace had been declared in the Treaty of Ardres, but Henry had desired
Edward to marry Mary, the Queen of Scotland. A Lord Protector nor a Regency Council had the right to overrule a
King’s dying wish. The country was also burdened with two cities on the French mainland: Calais from Henry V’s
reign and Boulogne from Henry VIII’s reign. These were expensive to maintain and worthless to have.
Debasement was used to pay for the war of Rough Wooing against Scotland. English currency was rendered
worthless on the continent and many merchants refused to take it. This quickly became a crisis for the country as
Somerset simply could not end the war.
Europe in Context
The Italian Wars still gripped Western Europe. Charles was the King of Naples, but Francis had been vying for control
to such an extent that he had sided with the Muslim Ottoman Empire against the Habsburgs. This was the first
alliance between Christians and Muslims in history. They were, however, drawing to a close in about a decade.
All of Europe was still Catholic – only Denmark, Scandinavia and northern Germanic states had converted to any
form of Protestantism aside from England. This meant that England was hard pushed to find an alliance: even the
alliance against France with the Holy Roman Empire in 1544 had been strained. However, Protestantism was growing
throughout Europe. The Huguenots of France were ever-growing in power, size and influence.
France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire were the dominant forces in Europe, same as ever. Spain and Portugal had
spent the entirety of the first half of the 16th century pillaging South America. France and England had not got
involved; Henry had been uninterested in exploration, unlike his father. This had allowed the Habsburgs to grow in
power extremely quickly, and their influence would only continue to grow for the rest of the Tudor period; they
controlled the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, the Netherlands, and Naples.
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, Edward VI in Context
Edward was the only surviving son of Henry VIII. Henry had many children by his first two wives, but only Mary,
Elizabeth and Edward survived beyond two months. Edward was Henry’s crown jewel; he was absolutely elated at
his birth as a sign from God that his marriage to Jane Seymour was meant to
be. However, only a week and a half later, Jane died. Henry wrote to Francis
that "Divine Providence hath mingled my joy with bitterness of the death of
her who brought me this happiness". Edward was raised as any Prince should
be, beginning education at six in many languages, musical instruments,
behaviour, astrology, history, geometry, economics and geography.
He loved his father, sisters, and stepmother Katherine Parr very much. He
wrote to Mary that he ‘loved her the most’ and thanked Parr for everything
she did for him in 1546. He was given other noble children to play and be
educated with and many of them went on to recall him fondly in their
adulthoods. He is also noted as being more capable than any of them and
was set in his duty to outshine his remarkably intelligent sister Elizabeth. He
idolised his father and took great interest in the study of warfare. He wore a
jewelled dagger on his hip to copy Henry.
Edward’s religious education was reformist, with his tutors being Erasmian.
He wrote, by the age of twelve he had written a discourse on the Pope and
Edward and his dagger
how the Papacy was a form of the Anti-Christ. He was aware of religious
controversies and was taught about the importance of reformism. However,
he was raised to go to Mass and having a reverence for Saints which were a
Popish symbol. Edward had probably never met a foreign King by his accession.
Characters
King Edward VI King of England 1547 - 1553
Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset & Lord Protector 1547 - 1549
John Dudley Duke of Northumberland & Head of Regency Council 1549 -
1553
Mary Heir Apparent to the Throne 1543 - 1553
Jane Grey Queen 1553
King Henry VIII King of England 1509 - 1549
Elizabeth Heir to the Throne 1543 - 1558
Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury 1533 - 1555
Mary Queen of Scotland 1542 - 1567
Henry II King of France 1547 - 1559
Charles V Holy Roman Emperor & King of Spain 1519 & 1516 - 1556
Robert Kett Leader of the Kett Rebellion 1549
2
, Edward Seymour’s coat of arms. They included lions, England’s heraldic symbol, and Fleurs-de-Lys, the symbol of the
Plantagenet family. He was descended from Edward III, giving him the right to use these.
Part I
A King without the Title
1547 - 1549
3
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