elizabethan - chapter 1.1

Question 1

who was Henry VIII first wife and how long was he married to her for

Answer 1

the Spanish princess, Catherine of Aragon
married to her for 20 years

Question 2

why did the marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon fail

Answer 2

• failed to produce a surviving male heir
• a series of miscarriages, still births and infant deaths had left just one heir to the throne, Mary I
• a female heir did not bode well
  -> the last time england had a female heir (Matilda, daughter of Henry I), when her father died her male cousin took over the throne, triggering civil wars
• henry convinced himself his marriage to catherine was invalid and god had punished them for their sin by denying them any surviving sons
• henry had also become infatuated with another woman, Anne Boleyn

Question 3

why did Henry want to marry Anne Boleyn

Answer 3

he saw her as the solution to all his problems, as he believed she could provide him with a son and heir

Question 4

what led to Henry breaking with Rome

Answer 4

• the pope refused to grant henry the divorce from catherine he needed even after years and years of diplomatic pressure and bullying
• when anne fell pregnant, henry took the drastic step of breaking with rome
  -> so he could divorce catherine, and marry anne to ensure the baby would be legitimate

Question 5

who did anne boleyn give birth to

Answer 5

Elizabeth I

Question 6

when was elizabeth born

Answer 6

7th september 1533

Question 7

where was elizabeth born

Answer 7

Palace of Greenwich

Question 8

what act was passed after elizabeth was born and what did it do

Answer 8

an act of succession
confirmed elizabeth as a new heir to the throne and declare Henry’s elder daughter, Mary, to be illegitimate

Question 9

why did the marriage between henry and anne quickly unravel

Answer 9

due to the disappointment of a birth of another daughter

Question 10

when was anne boleyn executed and what were her charges

Answer 10

may 1536
charged with treason, incest, adultery and witchcraft

Question 11

what act was passed after anne boleyn was beheaded and what did it mean

Answer 11

a second act of succession
declared elizabeth illegitimate with no right to inherit the throne

Question 12

what happened a year after elizabeth was declared illegitimate that seemed to relegate elizabeth to a position of political irrelevance

Answer 12

the birth of a male heir, from Henry’s third wife, Jane Seymour

Question 13

what happened as Henry VIII aged

Answer 13

• his style of government became more tyrannical
• in the late 1530s and early 1540s, many of Elizabeth’s remaining Yorkist cousins were arrested and executed
  -> because the paranoid king felt his position and that of the dynasty be threatened

Question 14

what did elizabeth feel towards her father as she was exiled from court

Answer 14

• she was lonely and isolated from her family
• she rarely saw her father and met him only a few times in her life
• however, this distance only served to strengthen the immense love and admiration she appears to have felt towards him

Question 15

where did elizabeth live during her childhood

Answer 15

• she lived with her own household in various royal residences in the country
  -> the most significant was Hatfield in Hertfordshire

Question 16

what was elizabeth’s education like

Answer 16

• initially, she was taught by a governess, Kat Ashley, who became a lifelong friend
• later, despite being a woman, she was given a brilliant education
  -> she was able to share some of the tutors employed to school her brother
• she was an accomplished linguist
  -> by 14 she was able to speak French, Italian, Spanish and Latin fluently, and could read Greek
• she was good at history and enjoyed writing poetry
• however, she wasn’t just an intellectual, she was musical, athletic (an accomplished horsewoman and dancer), and was skilled at needlework too

Question 17

who was undoubtedly the greatest intellectual influence on Elizabeth

Answer 17

• her tutor, the Cambridge scholar, Roger Ascham
  -> he replaced her previous tutor, William Grindal, when he died of the plague
• Ascham himself revelled in teaching such a conscientious and talented student as Elizabeth, and her love for learning gave her a reputation of seriousness
• she was taught to use the modern italic style of handwriting, as favoured by Ascham, that had been developed in Italy during the renaissance
  -> it contrasted sharply with the ‘secretary hand’ used by most people in england at the time
  -> it demonstrated how modern and advanced an education she had received

Question 18

who acted as a mother figure to elizabeth during her teenage years

Answer 18

Henry’s sixth wife, Catherine Parr

Question 19

how did Catherine Parr influence Elizabeth

Answer 19

• Catherine was a Protestant reformer
• she influenced Elizabeth’s protestant views and the direction of her education

Question 20

during elizabeth’s teenage years how did her position in the family begin to improve

Answer 20

she visited court more often and lived with her siblings for some of the time

Question 21

when was a third act of succession passed and what did it declare

Answer 21

passed in 1544
restored Elizabeth as an heir to the throne (although it didn’t technically make her legitimate), but stated she could only succeed after Edward and Mary

Question 22

why was it expected that elizabeth would never become queen

Answer 22

• she could only succeed after Edward and Mary
• one or the other, or both, were expected to produce children of their own

Question 23

when did Henry VIII die

Answer 23

January 1547

Question 24

how old was Edward when he succeeded Henry

Answer 24

9

Question 25

how did the relationship between Edward and Elizabeth change after he became king

Answer 25

elizabeth had been fairly close to her brother until this point but once he became king he became aloof and arrogant

Question 26

what religion was Edward

Answer 26

protestant

Question 27

what happened under the reign of Edward VI

Answer 27

- edward and his government brought about radical changes to religious practice and belief - colourful images and stained glass windows were removed from churches - the English language, rather than Latin, became widely used in sermons and prayers

Question 28

why can edward not be completely blamed for what happened under his rule

Answer 28

he was so young so could have been easily manipulated by ministers until the end, in 1549, the power behind the throne was his uncle, his mothers brother, the Duke of Somerset -> following serious rebellions and having alienated many, including the king, Somerset fell from power and was later executed on charges of treason

Question 29

who embroiled Elizabeth in her first serious political crisis

Answer 29

Thomas Seymour

Question 30

what was elizabeth’s first serious political crisis

Answer 30

- thomas seymour married elizabeth’s stepmother, catherine parr, after henry died - elizabeth lived in their household - an outrageous flirtation developed between elizabeth and seymour - this led to a grave scandal that had the potential to place elizabeth’s life in considerable danger - seymour was accused of treason and executed in 1549 - as part of the investigation, elizabeth was questioned and it was suggested that Seymour was plotting to overthrow edward and marry elizabeth - elizabeth managed to convince her investigators of her innocence in the matter and she escaped from the affair embarrassed, but still maintaining her freedom, status and life - this taught her some invaluable political lessons about how to behave in future

Question 31

when did edward die

Answer 31

1553

Question 32

how old was edward when he died

Answer 32

15

Question 33

what happened just before edward died

Answer 33

he was unmarried and childless, so the dying boy was manipulated by the Duke of Northumberland into overriding the third act of succession and henry’s will edward was persuaded to name his protestant cousin Lady Jane Grey as his heir in place of his two half-sisters, and the privy council was bullied into accepting the change thus, when edward died, it was Jane, not Mary, who was proclaimed Queen

Question 34

what was lady jane grey known as

Answer 34

the Nine Days Queen

Question 35

what did mary and elizabeth do after lady jane grey was defeated and what did it show

Answer 35

they rode into london together triumphantly the public show of unity disguised the deep gulf that divided the sisters

Question 36

what religion was mary I

Answer 36

catholic

Question 37

what was mary I proud of

Answer 37

her Spanish heritage

Question 38

why did Mary I hate Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth

Answer 38

- Anne displaced her own mother as queen - elizabeth was the product of what she regarded as bigamous marriage - she hated Elizabeth’s youth and beauty, and her protestant faith

Question 39

what did Mary I do during her reign

Answer 39

rounded up protestant heretics, burning nearly 300 of them over her 5 year reign

Question 40

how was the situation between Mary I and Elizabeth further complicated

Answer 40

by the fact that, at 37 years old, Mary was unmarried and childless -> meaning Elizabeth was still the heir to the throne

Question 41

what happened as a result of Elizabeth still being the heir when Mary was 37

Answer 41

- mary negotiated a marriage to her kinsman, Philip of Spain -> this provoke Wyatt’s Rebellion in 1554

Question 42

when was Wyatt’s rebellion

Answer 42

1554

Question 43

what happened in the Wyatt’s rebellion

Answer 43

- happened after Mary I negotiated a marriage to Philip of Spain - outraged at what was seen as a Spanish takeover, thousands of rebels marched into London - the rebellion quickly collapsed

Question 44

what did Mary do to Elizabeth after Wyatt’s rebellion

Answer 44

- commanded elizabeth to go to whitehall palace, where mary could keep an eye on her -> elizabeth claimed she was ill and unable to make the journey - elizabeth, suspected of working secretly with the rebels, had her arrest ordered for by mary -> was imprisoned in the tower of london

Question 45

what happened in the Tower of London (after Wyatt’s rebellion)

Answer 45

- under torture, Wyatt claimed he had written to elizabeth and she had approved of the rebellion -> he later retracted this statement about her involvement just before his execution - imprisoned at the tower for 2 months, elizabeth wrote a letter to mary protesting her innocence - she was eventually released when no solid evidence could be found - however she was kept under house arrest, firstly at Woodstock in Oxfordshire and later in her own palace of Hatfield

Question 46

what happened to Mary I before her death

Answer 46

she was childless and had suffered 2 phantom pregnancies, borne out of her desire to secure a catholic succession

Question 47

what happened just before and after Mary I death

Answer 47

before: - although she knew the end was near, Mary had refused to officially refused to proclaim Elizabeth her heir until just a few days before her death - she died on 17th November 1558 - her cousin and key catholic advisor, Cardinal Reginald Pole, died 12 hours later after: - messengers rode to Hatfield, where elizabeth was living -> they informed her of her sisters death and he own accession

Question 48

when and where was elizabeth crowned queen

Answer 48

in Westminster Abbey on 15th Jan 1559

Question 49

when did Mary I die

Answer 49

17th Nov 1558