Winter King: The Dawn of Tudor England

As a Ph.D in Tudor history, Thomas Penn has produced his master work, what has to be a product of a lifetime of painstaking research and study on the subject of the progenitor of the Tudor dynasty. Prior to this book, the irony of English constitutional history has been that Henry Tudor was perhaps the least known and least studied of the Tudors, even as he laid the fundamental groundwork for a regime that is far better known and studied, that of Henry VIII.In spite of all the details, Penn certainly weaves his research into a most compelling and fascinating personal narrative. Henry Tudor was, in his early life as a claimant to the English throne (notwithstanding the weakness of Henry's claim, as Penn thoroughly demonstrates), a harassed and persecuted figure in the power politics of the Wars of the Roses until the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 thrust him upon the throne of England. The personal dangers and triumphs of Henry Tudor's early life created a monarch who was both clever and cruel, ruthless and ambitious, suspicious and preoccupied with managing every detail of his regime. All of Henry Tudor's micromanagement was done with a mind to creating a personal legacy along with thwarting and defeating actual and potential opponents. In this process, he transformed the English legal and political system for generations to come, and not necessarily all for the good.This is both a readable book and a compelling subject worthy for all those interested in English political history.

I'm an amateur historian who's currently trying to read biographies written on all the English kings, starting with Alfred the Great, so I have some understanding on how hard it must be to bring someone to life who died hundreds of years ago. I thought the author did an outstanding job of putting together a great deal of information, all footnoted, as well as numerous characters and geographical sites, explaining the palace intrigue that went on behind the scene during Henry VII's reign in a way I could understand. It was a bit of a dense read for me, but I truly enjoyed it. I caught myself smiling to myself and even laughing out loud on occasion. Well done!

Mention the words "Tudor England" and what comes to mind are Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Henry VIII's other two children, Mary I and Edward VII are eclipsed by their brilliant half-sibling Elizabeth. And, by the same token, Henry VII, the founder of it all, was eclipsed by his golden son, Henry VIII (who turned out NOT to be so golden, but that's for another review).Not much is known about the founder of the Tudor dynasty -- only that Henry's grandparents were "commoners," which wasn't 100% true, and that the only way he could truly be considered a legitimate contender to the throne was through his marriage to Elizabeth of York. Henry, a descent from the House of Lancaster (on his mother's side), effectively ended the War of the Roses, uniting Lancaster and York. But Henry VII is portrayed as a one-dimensional, dour, humorless king. Until the release of Thomas Penn's "Winter King," there was little to refute that.But Penn breathes life into the character of Henry VII, telling the story from the Tudor king's origins, to his uncertain upbringing, to the battle at Bosworth Field where he won the right to be king of England, to the birth and upbringing of his sons and daughters. I would have liked to have seen more about young Henry's childhood -- it seemed as though the author glossed over his youth, during which he was alternately at the English court and in hiding in Brittany. Penn seems to treat that period as almost an afterthought, which I found curious, as he was so detailed throughout the remainder of the book.At any rate, Penn's writing style adds color to the black-and-white, shadowy Henry VII, explaining, for example, why he treated his daughter-in-law, Katherine of Aragon (wife of his son Arthur) so shabbily upon Arthur's death. One reading history about Katherine would think that Henry VII was being an absolute jackass when it came to keeping both Katherine and her dowry in England following Prince Arthur's death. But Penn looks at it from both sides, portraying Henry VII as a flesh-and-blood human being, rather than a miserly and disliked king.Penn's treatise also does a terrific job of laying the groundwork for Henry VIII's story. Though Henry VIII is mentioned only occasionally in the book, his father's story, as detailed by Penn, provides a lot of justification for the family's need for a son (or two, or three) to secure the Tudor dynasty. Henry VIII's later actions were reprehensible, but in light of what his father went through, one can see why he was willing to kill and divorce to obtain a son.Except for the fact that I would have liked more information about Henry VII's youth, I found "Winter King" to be a compelling and fascinating read; a book that breathes new life into a complex, though short-lived, royal dynasty.

I've been very interested in the Tudor period for several years and have read many, many books about it. This author excelled in writing up the reign of Henry VII in a book I almost could not put down. He put in many, many "tidbits" about the men and women who played out their parts in that grim history. It's evident he has researched exactingly; you'd almost think he was there at the time! I became interested because I had ancestors who were closely involved (Lord Hussey, who like so many others finally lost his head). The author's portrayal of Lord Hussey and most of the other players makes me not so proud to have a noble ancestry. I would heartily recommend this book for anyone with a keen interest in the Tudors, or in how government can go really, really bad -- even when the reign starts out high-minded.

The book is great. Well-written and interesting. But while there is a list of illustrations, there are no actual illustrations in the book. If I had known this, I would not have gotten this version. Very disappointed.

Henry VII was a better king than his more famous son, but if Elizabeth of York had lived, he would have been an even better one. Her death impacted him supremely, and all the worry and strife of holding onto his kingship came to the fore. Obsessed with gaining wealth, his only thought was to have enough to fight off an invasion and keep all Yorkist claimants under control. He was by far a more merciful king than his son, and to accuse him of murdering the princes in the Tower is revisionist history at its ugliest. He deserves more credit than he is given. Thomas Penn has written an excellent account of his life. His style of writing is easy and entertaining. Very enjoyable. I highly recommend it for English history buffs.

Thomas Penn è uno storico accreditato, e tu ti aspetteresti un trattato ineccepibile ma magari pesante. E invece la sua prosa è fluida, piacevole, te la "bevi" e ne rimani dissetato. Da leggere e da rileggere.

I began this book a bit sceptical as to what it would include, though it did win the History Book of the Year award the it was published and this was one of the attractions, as was the fact that I then read the author's details (Cambridge PHD in early Tudor History).I had to read the intro twice to understand the forthcoming narrative - as the movers in the Wars of the Roses are always difficult to recall and understand, but other than that the book is simply brilliant, gripping on the one hand but almost Scottish Parochial Smoke Filled Room Politics on the other. You "feel" Henry VII as a cynical manipulator who wanted t keep his dynasty alive.It is very interesting just how much greater depth analysis on Perkin Warbeck and Lambert Simnel there is and also Dudley and Empson - and I wasn't aware that whilst appearing lavishly living a Royal Life Henery VII was actually skint at times and worried about cash and competition to his reign.I also liked the build up and almost painting of a pastiche in respect of the marriage arrangement between Arthur and Catherine of Aragon. It describes far more about exactly what was invested in the whole matter pageantry and celebrations in London.The grief when they lost Arthur is manifest (a funeral then of £900.00 with 2400 yards of black mourning cloth and 6000 pounds of candle wax used) and well covered by this book and then the deep suspicion - as the book says Henry's agents were everywhere trying to get intelligence on Suffolk - and worry that there would be another descent back into the Wars of the Roses. De la Pole was skulking around (on the continent) and Henry (VIII) was very young - Edward IV's sons were a living memory then.I learnt something (and more) about Sir Reynold Bray, and I was completely unaware of the mantra "all roads lead to Bray" - a bit like a latter Rupert Murdoch character I should have thought.The "Council Learned" is also very interesting and the way that was used and just convened on spec anywhere in London and those summonsed unaware of where they were to turn up.The book actually gets better and better as the description of the monarch unfolds. Edmund Dudley comes onto the scene after Bray, and was a kind of low down ears to the ground spy come lawyer. His intelligence for Henry's fund-raising purposes was it appears second to none as Warham said - without justice what re kingdoms but great bands of robbers (quoting St Augustine), and Henry apparently was going to extract the maximum to hold that system of government together, MP's were expected to stay in London for weeks and pay extortionate rates to hostelries within Westminster (no PPE meal ticket then!), and Dudley through his burgeoning account book slowly cooked the likes of Giles Daubney, Richard Guilford, Gerorge Bergavenny James Stanley and their associates through 'recognisances' that were paid in part but also kept these people and their contacts and family on their toes - a way of keeping order and control and the monarchical seat and also the funds necessary for that endeavour (and I thought it was only Cardinal Morton's Fork that was famous from my History lessons!). Henry VII was actually very savvy. He retained Phillip of Burgundy who was shipwrecked with 2000 or so men off the coast of Cornwall until he had Suffolk in his grasp (to torture) - a gift from god (the shipwreck), he used Dudley and Empson another Official Cash-Extractor to great effect. He encouraged Dudley and Empson to collect revenue at all costs and once people had been informed about there was no let up such that Synyff - £500 fine and topped up by a further £100 fine for later payment - wished he had died in the prison Dudley and effectively privately ran prior to extraction! The again when Henry VII was gravely ill and expected to pass in 1507, the Royal Council were positioning ready. In London, the information gathering and persecution could only go on so far and people were so exhausted by the duration of their anxiety that they voluntarily gave up their money, Thomas Baynard for example was imprisoned on unspecified charges until he 'agreed with the King's grace' and gave up £120; Sir George Talboys gave up £500 to avoid being certified insane a ward and all his properties taken away.Thus whilst one current book of Dudley's Accounts showed a 50% increase in 4 years to £219,316 and there was aged debt of £31,000 handed over to him, to collect, it was not going to last, though armed retainers were assembled on Henry VII's death. Henry VIII's solution to Dudley and Empson is interesting and the backtracking and later beheading of them at Tower Hill in 1510 - and Dudley's attempt to wriggle out of execution by his J'accuse pamphlet.The part on Desiderius Erasmus is interesting. When he addressed the princes of Europe it was to show not that scholars were frivolous luxury, but that as he educated princes essential to them as he educated them and made them glorious too.All in all what is good about this book is its surround sound of Henry VII, a pastiche of colourful pictures giving a feel of Machiavelli.

Fab

Heinrich VII. (1457-1509), der erste englische König aus dem Hause Tudor, stand schon immer im Schatten seines Sohnes und seiner Enkelin, Heinrichs VIII. und Elisabeths I. In Erinnerung geblieben ist Heinrich VII. vor allem durch seinen Sieg über Richard III. in der Schlacht von Bosworth 1485. Die Schlacht markiert das Ende der sogenannten Rosenkriege und den Dynastiewechsel von den Plantagenets zu den Tudors. In den 24 Jahren seiner Herrschaft war Heinrich VII. hauptsächlich damit beschäftigt, seine Stellung als König innen- und außenpolitisch abzusichern. Er musste die Ansprüche anderer Thronprätendenten abwehren und die Anerkennung der Monarchen Europas gewinnen. Im Vergleich mit den Rosenkriegen und mit der Geschichte Englands im Reformationszeitalter ist die Regierung Heinrichs VII. ein ruhiges Zwischenspiel, eine Übergangsphase ohne spektakuläre Ereignisse und dramatische Höhepunkte. Die englische Monarchie erholte sich von den Wirren des 15. Jahrhunderts. Renaissance und Humanismus schlugen erste Wurzeln in England, während die Reformation noch in weiter Ferne lag. Da Heinrich VII. als Mensch und als Herrscher so wenig Potential für eine farbige und spannende Erzählung bietet, wird er sowohl von der akademischen Forschung als auch von populärwissenschaftlichen Autoren eher stiefmütterlich behandelt. Der britische Historiker Thomas Penn hat es sich zum Ziel gesetzt, die Herrschaft Heinrichs VII. genauer und tiefer auszuleuchten als es gemeinhin der Fall ist. Allerdings behandelt er in seinem Buch lediglich die letzten acht Regierungsjahre des Königs (1501-09). Einige Ereignisse aus der Zeit vor 1501 werden in Rückblenden behandelt. Eine Erklärung, warum er sich auf die späten Jahre Heinrichs VII. konzentriert, bleibt Penn leider schuldig.Penn ist ein glänzender Erzähler. Sein Buch besticht durch hohe sprachliche Qualität. Beim Lesen fällt jedoch rasch ein erhebliches Missverhältnis zwischen dem erzählerischen Aufwand des Autors und der inhaltlichen Substanz der Darstellung auf. Penn lässt Heinrich VII. nicht in einem anderen Licht erscheinen als andere Autoren vor ihm. Er präsentiert keine bislang unbekannten Fakten und bietet auch keine originelle Interpretation der Herrschaft Heinrichs VII. Die Erzählung ist einerseits reich an Details, andererseits arm an Spannungs- und Überraschungsmomenten. Penn geht auf eine Vielzahl von Themen ein: Das kulturelle und religiöse Leben am Hof, das Privatleben der königlichen Familie, die diplomatischen Beziehungen Heinrichs VII. zu den Habsburgern, Spanien und der Römischen Kurie, die Anfänge des Humanismus in England, das unablässige Ringen des Königs um die Absicherung seiner Herrschaft. Die Darstellung wirkt mitunter unstrukturiert und ziellos. Es macht sich immer wieder bemerkbar, dass Penn eingangs keine Fragestellungen formuliert. Im Buch kommen zu viele obskure Personen vor, und es werden zu viele nebensächliche Ereignisse und Vorgänge geschildert. Auch bei Penn erscheint Heinrich VII. als stets wachsamer und misstrauischer, wenn nicht gar paranoider Monarch. Breiten Raum nimmt die Finanzpolitik des Königs ein. Heinrich VII. war der einzige König der englischen Geschichte, der sich persönlich um die Finanzen der Krone kümmerte, mit einer Leidenschaft, die an Besessenheit grenzte. Seinen Zeitgenossen galt der König als krankhaft habgierig. Akribisch erörtert Penn die dubiosen juristischen Tricks und Kniffe, die Heinrich und seine Finanzexperten anwandten, um vermögenden Untertanen Geld abzupressen und die Einnahmen der Krone maximal zu steigern.Als Heinrich VII. im April 1509 starb, war die Erleichterung im ganzen Land groß. Niemand weinte ihm eine Träne nach, obgleich er England nach Jahrzehnten dynastischer Konflikte den Frieden zurückgegeben hatte. Heinrich VIII. (1491-1547), beim Tod des Vaters noch keine 18 Jahre alt, wurde landauf, landab als Hoffnungsträger begrüßt. Ein neues Zeitalter schien anzubrechen, ein milder Frühling nach einem harschen Winter. Die gewaltigen Erschütterungen, die England unter den Nachkommen und Nachfolgern Heinrichs VII. erleben sollte, waren nicht abzusehen. Je weiter das 16. Jahrhundert voranschritt, desto mehr geriet Heinrich VII. bei seinen Landsleuten in Vergessenheit. Shakespeare fand den ersten Tudor-König so uninteressant, dass er darauf verzichtete, ihn in den Mittelpunkt eines Historiendramas zu stellen. Heinrichs historische Leistung, die erfolgreiche Etablierung einer neuen Dynastie, verblasste vor den Taten seines Sohnes und seiner Enkelin. Verkörpern Heinrich VIII. und Elisabeth I. Englands Aufbruch in die Neuzeit, so steht Heinrich VII. für den Ausklang des Mittelalters, eine Zeit, in der die epochalen Umwälzungen, die Europa bevorstanden, noch nicht zu erahnen waren. Den großen und bedeutenden englischen Königen kann man Heinrich VII. nicht zurechnen. Mit dem Sieg über Richard III. hatte Heinrich den Zenit seines Lebens bereits erreicht. Danach kam nicht mehr viel. Vorzeitig gealtert und von schwacher Gesundheit, beschränkte sich Heinrich VII. im letzten Jahrzehnt seiner Herrschaft auf die Verwaltung des Status quo. Parallelen zu Heinrich IV. (1367-1413), dem ersten König aus dem Hause Lancaster, sind nicht zu übersehen: Auf den wagemutigen Griff nach der Krone (Entthronung Richards II. 1399) folgte eine glanzlose Regierungszeit. Thomas Penn verdient Bewunderung für seine sprachliche Virtuosität und immense Quellenkenntnis. Am Ende der Lektüre seines Buches stehen aber Zweifel, ob die letzten Herrschaftsjahre Heinrichs VII. tatsächliche eine so umfangreiche Darstellung verdienen.

Thomas Penn has penned a complicated story of the reign of Henry VIi with much research into the many characters who influenced the royal court. “Complicated” because of the many twists ant turns within and without England in the early 1500s that these persons took with the king, and his son the future Henry VIii. Patience is needed to fully absorb the story line. TP’s “The Brothers York”, around the latter years of the Wars of the Roses”, is an easier read.