Margaret Beaufort was born a healthy and strong child on May 31, 1443. As the daughter of the most powerful men in England, she was expected to marry a titled aristocrat to whom she would provide an heir.

She had to live in very difficult times - during the War of the Scarlet and White Roses, the consequences of which Margaret personally experienced. She lost many close people, but did not give in to despair. The woman focused all her energy on ensuring a bright future for her only son. Thanks to her efforts, Henry VII Tudor was proclaimed king of England.

Origin and childhood

Margaret de Beaufort was the only child of John Beaufort, who was the 1st Duke of Somerset. Mother - Margaret Beauchamp from Bletso. The Beauforts come from the family of the son of the English king Edward III. The royal origin of the Beauforts was confirmed by a special act of parliament, but King Henry IV Lancaster introduced an amendment to the document that prohibited members of this family from making claims to the English crown on an equal basis with other princes of the blood.

Margaret's father died just before her daughter was born. The title of Duke of Somerset passed to his brother Edmund, and all the wealth and land to Margaret as his only child. She was raised by her mother until, in 1450, she came under the guardianship of the royal favorite, who wished to marry her to his son and heir John.

Marriage story

Margaret's first marriage to her guardian's son probably took place in 1444, but the exact date is unknown. Soon, however, it was annulled in February 1453 by the king

Margaret Beaufort was then engaged to the king's half-brother, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (c. 1430 – 1 November 1456). Margaret and Edmund's wedding took place on November 1, 1455. The husband died exactly a year later, and two months later the 14-year-old widow gave birth to her only child, Henry, the future king of England.

After the death of her husband, the girl entrusted custody of her son to her brother-in-law Jasper. She herself married Sir Henry Stafford. This marriage remained childless. The Staffords belonged to the followers of the Lancastrians, so the triumph of the House of York in 1461 forced Margaret Beaufort and her husband to move away from the court.

The events of 1471 had serious consequences for the woman and her son, when, due to the results of the Battle of Tewkesbury, Henry Tudor, the son of Margaret Beaufort, was considered the only legitimate heir to the royal throne. That same year, Margaret was widowed; her next husband was Thomas Stanley, but this marriage was childless.

Social activity

Margaret was involved in a conspiracy against King Richard III. She supported, in particular, the rebellion of the Duke of Buckingham in the autumn of 1483. In 1485, Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at Bosworth and became king. He was very attached to his mother, but she did not take an active part in public royal life.

In 1499, she decided to live separately from her legal husband and took a vow of chastity with his permission. She supported education, built more than one school, and is revered as the founder of Cambridge College. She lived a long life in those days, and died a couple of months after the death of her son the king.

King of England and sovereign of Ireland (1485-1509), first monarch of the Tudor dynasty.

From birth until his accession to the throne, the future king bore the name Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. On his father's side he belonged to an ancient Welsh family that took the surname Tudor in honor of Henry's great-great-grandfather, Tidir ap Goronwy (Tudur). Henry's grandfather, Owen Tudor, was in the service of the widow of King Henry V and mother of Henry VI, the French princess Catherine of Valois; It is not known for sure whether their long-term relationship, from which several recognized children were born, was sanctified by secret marriage. Their son Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, half-brother of King Henry VI, once again became related to the Lancaster family by marrying Margaret Beaufort, granddaughter of the illegitimate (later legitimized) son of the founder of the House of Lancaster, John of Gaunt.

13-year-old Margaret gave birth to her only child - the future Henry VII - two months after her husband's premature death. At this time, the War of the Scarlet and White Roses was already underway. The widowed Countess of Richmond married twice more to prominent supporters of the House of Lancaster, the second of them - Thomas Stanley - subsequently helped his stepson by betraying Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth.

Path to power

No matter how shaky the rights of Henry Tudor, a descendant of an illegitimate son, were (the Beaufort family was traditionally considered to have no rights to the throne, in addition, the marriage of Owen Tudor and Catherine of France was considered illegal - if such a thing took place at all), after the death of Henry VI and his son Edward , Prince of Wales, in 1471, the Earl of Richmond, who was in exile in France with his uncle Jasper Tudor, was one of the few surviving relatives of the Lancastrian dynasty. From 1475, Henry lived in the Duchy of Brittany with Duke Francis II as a prisoner, but enjoyed good conditions.

During the stable reign of Edward IV, the Lancastrian claimants had little chance of success, but after his death and the removal from power (and, as is generally believed, the murder) of his sons by Richard III (1483), England again entered an era of rebellion and opposition unrest. Philip de Commines wrote in his Memoirs: “The Lord very quickly sent King Richard an enemy who had not a penny to his name and, it seems, no rights to the crown of England - in general, there was nothing worthy except honor; but he suffered for a long time and spent most of his life as a prisoner...” With the support of France, in 1485 Henry landed in Wales, where, taking advantage of the Welsh origins of his family, he gained many supporters. On August 22, 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth, King Richard's army was defeated and he himself died. Henry was proclaimed king on the battlefield and, having entered London some time later, by a parliamentary resolution confirmed the throne for himself and his descendants without any special justification - thus, he became the king of England by right of conquest, like William I. If Henry Tudor had officially claimed the crown by right of inheritance of the House of Lancaster, then, obviously, it should have been received not by him, but by his living mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. Margaret, who briefly outlived her son, did not conflict with him over claims to the throne, although she sometimes signed herself “Margaret R” (that is, queen).

Beginning of the reign

The beginning of the reign of Henry VII was accompanied by the first outbreak of an epidemic of a mysterious disease (supposedly brought by his mercenaries from France) with a high mortality rate - the so-called “sweating fever” or English sweat, which was perceived by the people as a bad omen. After his coronation, Henry married Richard III's niece and Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth of York, announcing the unification of the previously warring houses. Previously, she was destined to be the wife of her uncle himself, Richard III. This marriage, which Henry announced back in Brittany, was a condition for parliamentary support for Henry; it is known that he delayed concluding it until January 1486, and crowned his wife only at the end of 1487. A combined scarlet and white rose (still present on the British coat of arms) was adopted as the emblem (badge) of the Tudor dynasty. In addition, Henry emphasized his Welsh origins, using the Welsh (rather than just a diminutive) version of his name - Harry - in official documents and naming his eldest son Arthur in honor of the legendary Celtic King Arthur.

Confirmation of the Tudors in the fight against other claimants

The reign of Henry VII, which lasted 24 years, turned out to be one of the most peaceful eras in the history of England, despite the uprisings of impostors who claimed the throne - Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck - that troubled the state in the early years. Henry showed truly royal magnanimity towards his (potential) rivals by not subjecting to reprisals the legitimate heir of Richard III, Earl of Lincoln (two years later he rebelled and died in battle); Simnel was left alive and worked as a cook at Henry's court, and Warbeck was kept for many years in the Tower in good conditions and was executed only when he tried to escape.

However, there is a version according to which Henry VII, and not Richard III, was the initiator of the murder of the young sons of Edward IV, who allegedly lived until 1485; the murder (along with a number of other obviously improbable crimes) was, according to this version, attributed to Richard by Tudor panegyrists such as John Morton or Thomas More. This version cannot be considered convincingly supported by documents.

Dynastic alliances

Henry VII strengthened England's international position by marrying his eldest son, Arthur, Prince of Wales, to the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon, and his daughter, Margaret, to King James IV of Scotland. The latter move was intended to neutralize hostile relations between the two British kingdoms (James IV had previously supported Warbeck's claims), and a century later this dynastic union brought James and Margaret's great-grandson, James VI, to the English throne and led to the unification of the two states. After the early death of Prince Arthur (1502), Catherine of Aragon remained in England, and after the death of her father-in-law, she married the brother of her late husband (usually such a marriage was considered illegal), Henry VIII, for which she received special permission from the Pope. This situation subsequently contributed to the scandalous divorce of Henry VIII and England's break with the Catholic Church (see English Reformation).

In addition, Henry VII's youngest daughter Mary entered into marriage, already during her brother's reign, with King Louis XII of France (who died shortly after the wedding).

Other events

Henry VII was a thrifty monarch who significantly strengthened England's budget, which had been devastated during the Hundred Years' War and the War of the Roses. For the trial of nobles, a special body was established under him - the Star Chamber.

Among the memorable events of the reign of Henry VII is the expedition of the Italian in the English service Giovanni Caboto (aka John Cabot) to America, supported by him, and the discovery of Newfoundland. Also, at Henry's request, the famous historian Polydore Virgil began writing the History of England.

The king is buried in Westminster Abbey, next to his wife, Elizabeth of York, whom he outlived by seven years.

He was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII.

Lady Margaret Beaufort is the daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and Margaret Beauchamp. On her paternal side she was descended from John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (son of King Edward III) and his mistress and then third wife, Catherine Swynford. The Beaufort family (children of Lancaster and Swinford) had no rights to inherit the throne, but the suppression of the legitimate Lancastrian line in 1471 made this family the main contenders for leadership in the thinning Scarlet Rose party.

After the flight of her son, Henry Richmond, and his uncle Jasper Tudor to Brittany (1471), Margaret remained in England. Margaret's fourth husband, Lord Constable Thomas Stanley, played a key role in the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses, coming to the aid of his stepson in the decisive Battle of Bosworth.

After the accession of her son (1485), Lady Margaret was surrounded by royal honors, but was not titled queen, but “Her Ladyship the King’s Mother.” Henry VII gave his stepfather the title of Earl of Derby; Thus, the king's mother became the Countess of Derby, but preferred to use the title Countess of Richmond after her late husband. Margarita was an educated and pious woman and had a great influence on her son. She briefly survived him and died during the reign of her grandson Henry VIII.

Marriages

Margaret was first formally married to John de la Pole, second Earl of Suffolk (1449 - annulled 1452); since she was 6-9 years old at that time, such a marriage was purely political in nature and remained fictitious. In her second marriage, she was the wife of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, son of Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois, half-brother of King Henry VI. Her third marriage was with Henry Stafford (died in 1471), and her last husband was Thomas Stanley, the first Earl of Derby, who had the honorary title “King of the Isle of Man.”

Margaret had an only child, from her second marriage - son Henry, who later became the king of England, born 2 months after his father's death from the plague. Having given birth to him at the age of 13, Margarita had no children from subsequent husbands.

Henry VII of England. Beginning of a long reign

Henry was twenty-eight years old when he won the crown of England. In the always controversial issue of succession to the throne, he had two advantages: a decisive victory at Bosworth (and few foresaw it) and the childlessness of Richard III. As for the rest... He was no longer a youth. But England has not seen such an inexperienced and inexperienced king since the Norman Conquests. The fate of Henry VII, as we have seen, was peculiar from the very beginning. He had no idea about ruling the country. And I didn’t even know about how kings live, about responsibility for the crown. These qualities were considered among his serious shortcomings. It was probably fair. His claims to the throne had many vulnerabilities, and combined with complete ignorance of state and political sciences, the picture comes out really funny. Tudor cannot be denied anything else but prudence, perseverance and prudence (in the best sense of the word). Became a king - be kind, comply. And in governing the state, he now relies on the people who were with him in childhood and youth. He himself plunges headlong into studying his ancestry and the history of his Welsh ancestors. This was extremely important: it was necessary to prove that the blood of kings really flowed in his veins. Not all of the enemies were killed. And there was plenty of gossip.

In 1485, England saw Henry VII already an adult, mature man. But young Tudor grew up and his character took shape much earlier - more than twenty years ago. Now this is very difficult, almost impossible to trace, since the king did not keep a diary, and only very few of his friends left the memories that interest us. This is the information we have today. In some places, quotes are given verbatim. “At the court of Brittany, he turned into a noticeable gentleman who attracted attention...” (Molineux. Burgundy). And in 1485, merchants of Spain gossiped about Henry VII: “He turns out to be well built. And it looks nice...” Polydore Virgil recognized Henry when he was already fifty years old. The conscientious Italian left his impressions and memories for his descendants. Judging by them, Tudor did not really pass by this time, since “... he was slender, well built. There was a sense of physical strength about him. Outwardly, the king is rather handsome. He has a very lively and expressive face. This is especially noticeable when he speaks. His eyes are small and clear blue...” Few of Henry's contemporaries remember the flaw in his appearance: he had a wart on his chin. Maybe the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty was so charming that people forgot about it? Or is it something else - fear, a desire to flatter?..

Of course, all the sharp turns of his fate affected the character of Henry VII. He was equally characterized by perseverance and determination, cunning and depth of nature. This made him bold and fearless in situations where such qualities were indispensable. He knew how to make decisions quickly, but he appreciated the carefully and intelligently thought out scheme of any plan. If you can take your time, why take risks and act contrary to common sense? In the memoirs of various people, one character trait of Henry Tudor is especially highlighted: he really had rare charm and the ability to get along with people. Stiffness and arrogance, chroniclers unanimously say, were not characteristic of him. We know little about how educated the king was: he spoke several languages ​​- his exile was not in vain, he knew military affairs well, loved history, and had a quick and strong memory. Spanish merchants in England characterize Henry VII as follows: wise, prudent, courageous... Lady Margaret Beaforth's confessor John Fisher, delivering a farewell speech at the tomb of Henry VII in 1509, recalled many things: the king was easily given languages, he spoke excellent French , and in moments of danger he became cool and collected. The priest did not forget about the wisdom, sharpness and liveliness of mind of the first Tudor monarch, his strong memory, and energetic character.

Let us turn again to the memories of contemporaries. The famous Oxford University, in 1485, treated the young king with a respect the depth of which has been compared - without the slightest desire to flatter - with the reverence for his saintly uncle Henry VI. Tudor's military valor is worthy of comparison only with the valor of his grandfather, or rather, his adopted grandfather, Henry V.

Again the memories of Polydore Virgil: “He had rare fortitude, wisdom and prudence. His mind was not afraid of the unknown, it was firm. He seemed to maintain sanity and composure in the most desperate moments. The king's memory was instantaneous and durable. One can envy his education and erudition...

He was distinguished by generosity and kindness. Henry was always attentive to people. Pride and arrogance were not characteristic of his nature.”

Education and a penchant for science are seemingly wonderful traits. But they were the ones who gave rise to gossip. Oh, evil tongues... How tenacious they are! In diplomatic circles, rumors were so stupid that they did not consider it necessary to suppress them: they say that the new king was not in good health, and he looked older than his years.

Henry spent those years in Brittany and France when a person’s character, his tastes, his worldview are formed... Having become king, he is faced with phenomena incomprehensible to him: prejudices passed off as rules of good manners, the arrogance of the British towards people of other nationalities. Henry's misunderstanding was not unrequited. His subjects learned with horror and amazement that their king did not hate the Scots, the French, the Bretons... Something obscene was also going on in the palace of Henry VII: not only that the ruler clearly takes pleasure in speaking French and hires servants from the “foreigners”. He is inclined to make changes to the familiar methods of governing the country, taking into account the experience of the courts of the King of France and the Duke of Brittany. Of course, English kings had previously hired knights and esquires into their court military units. But the detachment of yeoman archers (shooters) to guard the king, which Henry formed immediately after the victory at Bosworth (and most of the soldiers were veterans of the campaign of 1485), was very similar to the professional guard of Duke Francis and King Charles and had little in common with the usual guard of the English kings of the Middle Ages.

The attitude towards religion and views on it and the education of Henry VII baffled the court nobility of the country. But in this he did not seek to become a follower of both the Lancasters and the Yorks. The canonization of the crusades against the Moores in Spain, the reforms affecting some monastic orders in England, “had a French and Breton spirit (smell).” Even the sketch of Henry VII's tombstone was almost an exact copy of the tombstone of Charles VIII in Saint-Denis.

“Henry’s Franco-Breton upbringing, of course, had an effect. He saw one of his missions (as king) in the renewal of the religious (spiritual) authorities of the kingdom.” (Anthony Goodman). And after the victory in Bosworth this became especially obvious.

After 1485, relations with France and Brittany became a significant headache for Henry VII. On the one hand, both Charles VIII and Francis II each in their own way supported the then young Tudor. Would he have been able to defeat Richard without their help? And the new king of England was distinguished by his gratitude. Whatever you say, in 1485 the French government provided Tudor with funds, a fleet and most of the troops to capture (return) England. Henry was grateful to Anne Bejo and the regency council of King Charles VIII. On the other hand, the Duke of Brittany, Francis II, supported him in his most difficult days. Henry felt genuine human affection for both the Duke and Brittany. Young Tudor felt for himself what Polydore Virgil would later call “fatherly affection,” which Francis did not hide in relation to the orphan-exile, who, by the will of fate, found himself under his care.

But both of his benefactors were not accustomed to living in harmony for long: tensions between France and Brittany were growing. How to maintain good relations with both powers? At the very beginning of Henry’s reign, circumstances were such that he succeeded for some time. Unfortunately, not for long...

Anne Bejo and the French Regency Council were completely exhausted with the ambitious Duke of Orleans.

Other factions of the nobility did not lag behind in the degree of importunity. In time, the reins of power would pass into the hands of Charles VIII. This did not promise bright prospects for England: most likely, France's foreign policy would become more active, which in itself already poses a threat to the country's most important and oldest enemy - England.

For example, Pierre Curtier: he was the chief valet of Edward IV and for some time performed the same duties under Richard III. This, however, did not stop him from taking Tudor's side. As a result, a year before the Battle of Bosworth, Pierre had to hide in Westminster Abbey, as his life was in danger. Henry VII valued such devotion and courage. Curtier was later generously rewarded by the king. Tudor also appreciated the help that people provided him out of personal sympathy. Among them, not all were privy to the details of the conspiracy and the plan for his return to his homeland. Fate brought many people together with him by chance. For example, Denis Beto, a merchant from Honfleur. He helped with money and equipment for the expedition that was being prepared in the port of the Seine in the summer of 1485. Henry was grateful and generous to those who spent the long years of exile with him. He remembered the names of many people. The king sincerely sympathized with those who suffered during cruel times. He proudly pronounced the names of those who, side by side, experienced the hardships of the “victorious campaign” with him, whose blood was shed in the “victorious battle”, who celebrated the “royal triumph” with him. Roger Mechado, Leicester Herald... Early in the reign of Richard III, and perhaps under Edward IV, they allied with the Marquess of Dorset on the continent.

Henry VII owed his victory to very, very many things. His gratitude had very wide boundaries both in time and in space: it extended to people connected with the distant past with the Lancastrian dynasty, crossed the English Channel and found those who sheltered Tudor in dangerous days. Bretons, French, Scots, English... The king rewarded each of them. I knew many of them, even just soldiers, by name.

Feelings of gratitude and obligation to the past never left Tudor. He knew how to be generous when generosity was deserved. Another thing was no less strong - soundness and sobriety of mind, they unmistakably told the king what was necessary, what was possible, what could wait, and then we’ll see...

After the victory, Tudor had to assemble a new, strong and capable government from noble people with international authority, experienced in public affairs and, of course, reliable. In this, Henry could rely on a close-knit circle of capable gentlemen well known to him from the years of exile. On the other hand, at that moment it was important to involve young gentlemen who knew and were well versed in the situation that had developed in the country in governing the state. In the very first weeks of his reign, the king appoints two elderly church ministers to responsible government posts. They still served Edward IV, and quickly became disillusioned with Richard III and became his fierce opponents. The sixty-two-year-old Archbishop of York, Thomas Rotherham, was appointed chancellor of the kingdom less than a month after the Battle of Bosworth. The Woodville family's attachment to the archbishop played an important role in this appointment. Rotherham was one of the most experienced and knowledgeable ministers: from 1474 he served as the country's chancellor for several years until Richard demoted him. Thus, there was a rather long break in his government activities. In addition, due to his age, he was somewhat conservative and realized that he was unlikely to be able to adapt to the new regime. In short, a month after his appointment, Thomas Rotheram asks to be transferred to another position. The request was granted, he became temporary treasurer of England. John Alcock, Bishop of Worcester, is appointed chancellor of the kingdom instead. He was once tutor to Edward IV's eldest son. Then, during the reign of King Edward, Elcock worked closely with Thomas Rotherham.

As soon as Henry VII began to create a government and took care of affairs within the country, he immediately turned to his old mentor and adviser John Morton, Bishop of Ely. In this new and difficult task, Tudor cannot do without him. And in March 1486, Morton became chancellor of the kingdom and held this post until his death in 1500. Over the years he becomes Archbishop of Canterbury and a cardinal. Shrewd, knowledgeable about life, and possessing extraordinary abilities, John Morton was at the origins of the conspiracy against Richard III. It was he who thought out the entire plan for Henry’s return to his homeland down to the smallest detail, lived for many years hoping for Tudor’s victory, and did everything to make this dream come true. There were very few people the new king of England could trust as much as he trusted Cardinal Morton.

Appointments to positions in the treasury were also made consistently and thoughtfully. In February 1486, Lord Dinham became Treasurer of England. He would not leave office until his death in 1501. At first glance, its purpose may seem strange. After all, he had been considered a staunch Yorkist since 1461. And he is not a very experienced and skillful statesman. But there is one “but”... During the regime of Richard III, Dinham served in Calais and, apparently, played a role in the escape of the Earl of Oxford in 1484. There is no other way to explain the trust that King Henry had in Lord Dinham. In the end, Tudor gives him the title of Knight of the Order of the Garter.

Responsible positions in the government and high positions in society were occupied by friends of Henry VII. This is a small group of church ministers who were in exile with him during Richard's regime. Richard Fox, Robert Morton (the cardinal's nephew), Bishop Peter Courtenay and Oliver King. Each of them played a vital role under the new regime. Courtenay became Keeper of the Royal Seal in the first two weeks after Bosworth. From the first days of the reign of Henry VII, he showed himself to be a responsible person in state affairs. Fox becomes the king's personal secretary and confidant. In fact, he had already performed these duties in France. Therefore, we can assume that his government activities began earlier and did not interrupt until 1487, when he was replaced in office by Oliver King.

The entire royal economy was, as it were, built anew. The people who were now entrusted with the fate of the country considered serving it as the main work of their lives. Basically, they all treated each other with trust and friendship. Sir William Stanley became valet of the royal household. The most important positions were occupied by people who shared the hardships of exile with Henry Tudor: Sir Robert Willoughby, Sir Richard Edgecombe, Sir Thomas Lovel. Only the choice of a candidate for the position of majordomo of the palace may seem unexpected. He became Lord Fitzwalter. But it turned out that he is the adopted son of the new treasurer of England, Lord Dinham. Fitzwalter was formerly a landowner in Calais. Apparently, he was also involved in organizing the escape of the Earl of Oxford in 1484.

Fitzwalter also had estates in East Anglia. It was there that he later maintained close contact with Oxford. It turned out, however, that in the close circle of Henry Tudor, Fitzwalter was distinguished from others (the same Earl of Oxford) by cruelty and vindictiveness.

All the gentlemen listed above were members of the royal council, the composition of which was then somewhat broader. But in general this government body consisted of people of the same ilk who had proven their loyalty and devotion to Henry VII in 1483-1485: Reginald Bray, Richard Guildford, John Rieley and Gilles Daubeny. All of them enjoyed enormous influence and power in the kingdom. Above was only the power of the king, his mother Margaret Beaforth, Jasper Tudor, Lord Stanley and the Earl of Oxford. The latter was indeed endowed with unlimited powers. An excellent warrior, a knowledgeable commander, the Earl of Oxford was responsible for the security of the kingdom in the broadest sense of the word. Here are some of his positions: Lord Chamberlain and Admiral of England, Constable of the Tower of London.

The king's mother's half-brother John Wales became a viscount in 1486. He's still single. At the end of his reign, Henry VII added another name to the book of peers - Edward Courtenay. He, along with Tudor, was in exile in 1483-1485. By giving his comrade the title of Earl of Devon, the king, in essence, returned the earldom to the family that had owned the lands of Devon for many years in the past. In March 1486, another close friend on whom Henry could rely in everything since 1485, Gilles Daubeny, became a baron.

In state affairs, King Henry invariably relied on the help of his small relatives and a narrow circle of faithful since the time of the expulsion of his friends. An example of this is his coronation on October 30, 1485. According to a long-standing tradition that has survived to this day, the new king was accompanied during the ceremony by the bishops of Darel, Bath and Welza. But in 1485 this tradition was broken: the named bishops were participants in the coronation of Richard III. Instead, Henry VII was accompanied during the solemn ritual by the Bishop of Exeter, Courtenay, and the Bishop of Ely, Morton. Both were the main support of Tudor in exile. The remaining roles of the ceremony were distributed as follows: the crown of England was held by Jasper Tudor, the royal sword was held by Lord Stanley, the chain of the monarch was entrusted to the Earl of Oxford. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Burgcher, despite his advanced age - 75 years old - officiated at the entire coronation ceremony. At one time (the period of the regime of Richard III) he did a lot for the widow of Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville and her children. Bishop Courtenay represented the will of the people, on whose behalf he pronounced the recognition of Henry as King of England. Then the participants and spectators of the ceremony went to the service provided for by the ritual. It was conducted by the Bishop of London, Thomas Kemp. He was already well over seventy. The bishop had seen better times ten to twenty years ago. Now he was entrusted with only part of the ceremony.

Although the rise of the new dynasty was marked by the preservation of economic equilibrium, the search for political stability at the end of the 15th century. remained paramount to future progress. No one now believes that the more than thirty years of internal turmoil known as the Wars of the Roses were anything more than a temporary disruption to the normal life of the nation, or that Henry VII's victory at Bosworth (22 August 1485) had its causes something more than just luck. Indeed, Bosworth proved to be a decisive battle only because Richard III, as well as many of his retinue and supporters, were killed; because Richard himself had previously eliminated other rivals of Henry VII with more preferable rights; and because Henry had the foresight to proclaim himself king on the eve of the battle, which turned Richard's surviving supporters into traitors. By marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, Henry VII provided his Yorkist supporters, who had joined him against Richard from the outset, with a consolation prize. And the subsequent births of Arthur (1486), Margaret (1489), Henry (1491) and Mary (1496) ensured “the union of the two noble and glorious families of Lancaster and York”, which the Tudor chronicler Edward Hall praised; an echo of his pompous phrases can be heard in Shakespeare.

However, the need for stability implied much more than the accession to the throne and the marriage of Henry VII. The winner under Bosworth was able to found a new dynasty; it remained to be seen whether he could create a new monarchy. The main demand was to raise the English crown, as before, above the aristocratic factions. The king had to not just reign - he had to rule. For too long the King of England was not “king and emperor”, but “first among equals.” The War of the Roses did not cause serious lasting damage to agriculture, trade and crafts, but it undermined confidence in the monarchy as an institution: the king seemed unwilling or unable to protect the rights of all his subjects. In particular, the royal government was no longer politically neutral and was increasingly manipulated by individuals as a tool of some faction. All components of the system, especially the justice system, were permeated by family ties, aristocratic rivalries, favoritism, and networks of personal relationships.

In fairness to Edward IV, who, as Sir Thomas More believed, left his kingdom “in peace and prosperity,” it should be noted that under him the work of restoration had already begun. Edward made little progress primarily because of his excessive generosity, his contentious marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, and his barely controlled penchant for revelry. His early death created the opportunity for the usurpation of power by Richard III, the head of a large and unusually powerful faction. Henry VII, on the contrary, was determined and hardworking, shrewd and ascetic, careful with money - almost to the point of greed or even covetousness, as some argued. Another strategic advantage for Henry in his struggle for stability was that success under Bosworth cleared the way for him, as it did for William the Conqueror in 1066, freeing him, at least temporarily, from dependence on any one group or faction . Naturally, Henry constantly had to earn, strengthen and protect his independence and security - a difficult task that took many years to solve. In fact, the first Tudor monarch had to specifically combine the task of restoring the monarchy with protecting its flanks from overactive Yorkist conspirators.

Of the two Yorkist impostors, the more exotic Lambert Simnel (Earl of Warwick in 1487) also proved more dangerous due to Irish support; the uprising of Perkin Warbeck (Richard of York) in the 90s of the 15th century. it was easier to resist, despite the help of Scotland. Simnel was captured at Stoke (16 June 1487); his supporters were either killed or pardoned, and the young impostor was accepted into the royal retinue as a servant. Warbeck fell into the hands of Henry VII in August 1497; he soon abused the king's softness and was hanged in 1499. His death became the pretext for the execution of the real Earl of Warwick. But it took another seven years for the imprisonment of Edmund de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk in the Tower, to complete the protective measures.

By this time it had become obvious that, if Henry VII could not be extolled as the inventor of new methods of government, he was nevertheless very successful in correcting the old. The touchstone of his policies was coercion - the enforcement of political and financial obligations to the Crown, and the establishment of law and order. In seeking to restore the monarchy, the Tudors proceeded from their belief that ability, faithful service and loyalty to the regime should be the primary reasons for promotion, appointments, royal favors and remuneration. Such views were evident in the way Henry VII used royal patronage and in his choice of ministers and advisers. Patronage was the process by which the Crown rewarded its officials and servants by granting them offices, lands, pensions, annuities and other incomes, and was thus a powerful means of political government. All subjects, from noble peers to humble knights and gentry, vied with each other for their share of the spoils: no nobleman was too noble to avoid participating in this unworthy fuss. Henry VII gradually modified the patronage system so that it more realistically reflected the limited resources of the Crown, and then ensured that the value of the grants sealed with the great seal was fully justified in terms of return. The resources of the Tudor monarchy before the Dissolution of the Monasteries and later in the last years of the reign of Elizabeth I were relatively modest. Henry VII set the pace for the distribution of royal income for most of the 16th century; and indeed, the only danger lurking in the Tudor model of handling money was a tendency towards stinginess or excessive frugality. The level and quantity of grants could be so reduced in relation to the expectations of the subjects that they caused irritation, demoralization and even active opposition to the Crown among servants and seekers.

All of Henry VII's ministers were personally selected by the king for their ability, industry, insight and loyalty, another model that was almost always replicated by his Tudor descendants. However, at first glance it appears that Reynold Bray, Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley held minor positions. Bray was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; soon after his death in 1503 Empson succeeded him. Dudley was "President of the Council", which essentially meant a minister without portfolio. But Bray and the others, subordinate to the king, had an authority far superior to that which befitted them in status. The fact is that Henry VII, in a remarkably short time, managed to create a network of financial and administrative control, and the relevant documents never left the hands of the sovereign and the chosen few, and the methods of work were invented exclusively by them. Financial accounting, the exploitation of undervalued Crown land resources in the most modern ways used by aristocratic landowners, the collection of fines and duties and the violent measures of Henry VII (a morally dubious but perhaps necessary system of forcing political opponents or even outspoken supporters to agree to give financial guarantees of good behavior) - all these important matters were dealt with only by the king and his inner circle. Such a system owed nothing to Parliament; she depended on the Council insofar as Bray and others sat on it as the monarch's most trusted advisers; but above all she relied on the king himself, and his vigilance and attention to detail were unparalleled. Nothing escaped Heinrich’s penetrating gaze, and money did not flow from his grasping hands. The surviving books of the House, the main documents of the center of administrative coordination under Henry, are signed, and therefore verified (every page and even every entry) by the king himself - the best entrepreneur who ever sat on the English throne.

However, Tudor governance was as much a partnership as it was a dictatorship. There was no police force or standing army in England. Revenues were constantly insufficient to meet the growing needs of the central bureaucracy and cover military expenses. James Harrington wrote in his treatise The Republic of Oceania, first published in 1656, that government could rely either on the nobility or on the army. He was right: in the absence of a permanent militia, the Crown governed in part through the territorial magnates. Henry VII and his successors managed at best to subjugate, at worst to lead, aristocratic factions while using the resources of the peers in accordance with the interests of the Crown. In short, “too powerful subjects”, the existence of which Sir Jean Fortescue deplored in the 15th century. and Francis Bacon in the 17th century were necessary to govern the country. After all, the disorder was caused not so much by “too powerful subjects” as by “insufficiently powerful kings.” Both Henry VII and Henry VIII understood this: both tamed the nobility in order to ride it.

Here Henry VII's methods were a justifiable combination of carrots and sticks. In a large and active Royal Council, the first of the Tudors held meetings in such a way that they alternately forced the nobles to either be bored or participate in its work. Until Henry VIII's reform of the Council in 1536, all titled nobles could be members, and their political identity depended on periodic attendance at its meetings. At Westminster, the Council met in the Star Chamber (lit. camera stella, because the blue ceiling of the hall was decorated with stars made of gold sheet), which became the meeting place of both the working Council and the court. Outside the parliamentary session, the Star Chamber, until the fall of Wolsey in 1529, was the main meeting place of the Crown, ministers and nobility, and under Henry VII, issues of internal security, defense and foreign affairs were discussed here, which necessarily required the support of the magnates, who were also responsible for collecting militias in the counties and were army commanders. Under Henry VII, the Council never discussed fiscal matters and coercive measures, since these matters were constantly in the hands of ministers and those who belonged to the two judicial departments known as the Council of Laws and the Court of Audit under the King's Council. However, by making participation in the Council part of the magnate's status, Henry VII came closer to eliminating the threat of hostility from the nobility caused by lack of communication and isolation in the political wilderness.

Henry VII then made a determined attempt to hand over the command of castles and garrisons and, as far as possible, the supervision of military affairs to members of the royal retinue, and launched a direct attack on the local power of the magnates on the ground whenever he felt that this power was being used contrary to the royal interests as he had them. understood. Such attacks usually took one of two forms: either prosecutions and fines for mismanagement, or the more severe measures of outlawry and confiscation of property.

For example, George Neville, Lord Bergenny, was tried in the Court of King's Bench in 1507 for maintaining what was essentially an illegal army. He admitted his guilt (this was usually done under Henry VII because it was cheaper) and was fined £70,650: the price (£5 per month per person) he had to pay for employing 471 men for a period of time. for 30 months, from June 10, 1504 to December 10, 1506. Apparently, Neville's "army" consisted of 25 gentlemen, 4 clerics, 440 yeomen, one shoemaker and one coppersmith - the Tudors recorded everything accurately. In this case, Henry VII was by no means against mercenary troops as such; he valued Bergenny's squad, down to the last Kentish coppersmith, especially since Bergenny paid the bill. Despite Henry VII's peaceful foreign policy, England was closely involved in European affairs, not to mention its ever-changing relationship with Scotland. Prince Arthur's brief marriage to Catherine of Aragon in 1501 greatly enhanced Henry VII's prestige in Europe, while his treaty with Anne of Brittany committed him to a brief invasion of France in 1492. England, or, more precisely, the king of England, had practically no army, with the exception of those units that were recruited on demand from the royal domains or provided by the nobility. It was therefore particularly significant in the Bergenny case, which served as an example and a warning, that he was a Yorkist by birth and involved in the unsuccessful Cornish rebellion of 1497.

However, a much more severe and effective measure was the confiscation of property. Outlawry acts were parliamentary statutes that declared a person convicted of high treason, his property forfeited to the Crown, and his blood "tainted." This method almost always involved the execution of the victim, which was not necessarily accompanied by complete confiscation of his lands. Most outlaws were traditionally later reversed in favor of the heirs, but this did not always mean the return of all property. During the reign of Henry VII, 138 people were declared outlaws, and 86 of these declarations were never reversed. Under Henry VII, only 46 such declarations were repealed, and under Henry VIII, six. If we compare these figures with those for the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV and even Richard III, the comparison will not be in favor of the former, which reflects the rigidity of the Tudor policies. Henry VII realized that outlaws were not simply a tool of faction and dynastic intrigue: they could be used to subdue "too powerful" or hostile magnates and at the same time greatly increase the power and revenues of the Crown. Likewise, Henry VIII after the Pilgrimage of Grace (1536) and Elizabeth I after the Northern Rebellion (1569) used outlawry to bolster the Crown's territorial power and root out magnate resistance. However, a certain subtlety was required so that the consequences of using this method did not turn out to be negative. Its too frequent use and constant refusal to reverse outlaws in favor of the heirs could lead to discontent among the peers, whose cooperation with the monarch would be jeopardized. Outlawry could also cause serious damage if it left a power vacuum in a particular area, as happened in East Anglia when the third Duke of Norfolk was outlawed by Henry VIII in 1547. His outlawry reversed by Mary Tudor in 1553. , created instability that the Crown could not easily cope with, and paved the way for Ket's rebellion in 1549.

Historians believe that Henry VII overdid his power politics late in his reign. In 1506 he commissioned one Polydore Virgil, a visiting papal tax collector, to write a history of England, and it was Polydore who opined that the first Tudor, after 1502, practiced harsh financial measures out of greed:

“For he began to treat his people more harshly and cruelly than was his custom, in order (as he himself asserted) to make sure that they were completely and completely in obedience to him. The subjects themselves had a different explanation for his deeds, since they believed that they were suffering not for their sins, but because of the greed of their monarch. It is not entirely clear whether greed was the reason to begin with; however, later it became obvious.”

The debate regarding Henry VII's greed still continues. Whatever their outcome, three points have been proven. First, Henry VII used fines ranging from £100,000 to £10,000 to force his subjects into what he considered acceptable behavior. These bonds were intended to keep the politically active part of the nation, and above all to know, at the mercy of the king and to be able to bypass the due process of common law in the event that the victims committed a crime. If someone was believed to have committed an offense, he was simply prosecuted for the debt in accordance with his bond, and it was impossible to challenge in court the nature or elements of the alleged crime. In other words, Henry VII used pledges to circumvent the law, just as John and Richard II used blank charters as an instrument of tyranny. In addition, Empson and Dudley bribed judges to give verdicts in favor of Henry VII in feudal rights trials. The best example is the case of the estates of the Earl of Westmoreland. During the reign of Henry VIII, a Royal Council investigation had to be carried out to eliminate the abuses. Finally, Henry VII traded positions, including the highest judicial posts. He sold the position of chief judge of the Court of Common Pleas twice, and at a high price. He also sold the positions of Crown Prosecutor, Keeper of the Rolls and Speaker of the House of Commons.