A Praiseworthy Monarch?
Henry VII (1457–1509), a friend proclaimed over dinner, is my favourite English monarch:
(1) Through fiscal prudency, he left money in the Royal Treasury – a rarity among kings.
(2) As far as we can tell, he was faithful to his wife – an even greater rarity among kings.
(3) He put an end to a civil war, The War(s) of the Roses.
Which raises at least one question: what the heck happened to his son, Henry VIII?
(1) Through fiscal prudency, he left money in the Royal Treasury – a rarity among kings.
(2) As far as we can tell, he was faithful to his wife – an even greater rarity among kings.
(3) He put an end to a civil war, The War(s) of the Roses.
Which raises at least one question: what the heck happened to his son, Henry VIII?
posted by Sauntering Walker at 6:23 PM
5 Comments:
I can't believe you're holding dinner parties in which English monarchs are ranked and not inviting me!
Oh, who am I kidding... I'd only have voted for Edmund the Magnificent (940-946) just like I always do. I'm so predictable.
I'm hanging out to learn more about Alfred the Great... (800s?)
I think he might be my favourite (although possibly hard to define as English since the English language, I believe, and certainly the nation, were in their fledgeling stage when he was ruling.)
Most of my info has come in the form of small snippets from a book called 'Makers of the Realm', via my Mum.. who's been making her way through it for the last year or so!
Exciting stuff.
I bumped into someone tonight who was wondering why I thought Alfred was such a champ. So here is a bit of info about him, based entirely on my memory of what I've been told (ie. I don't have any historical texts open in front of me). Enjoy!
Alfred:
.had several older brothers who each had their rightful turns at being king - he didn't take them out one by one so as to become king, they just all happened to die, so he dutifully took over the disheveled kingdom.
.was, from what I've heard, a true Christian.
.was taken to Rome by his dad when he was young, and thereafter carried the memory of the civil order, educatedness and general non-barbarianness he'd seen there.
.conquered marauding vikings with the naval fleet he'd built; then, rather than annihilating them, gave them land (in Britain) in which to settle.
That's all for now. Anybody out there know more about him? Maybe one day I'll stop being so lazy and will actually do some research on him!
Very nice work Deb. I'm more-than-happy to get your second-hand research. Maybe you could find out about Edmund the Magnificent? ;)
Chris
I tend to think Liz has done a pretty good job, considering.
Post a Comment
<< Home