HENRY VII OF ENGLAND
863
HENRY III OF FRANCE
crowned until 1429, and died on May 21, 1471. He was gentle, pious, well-intentioned and weak. During his reign Joan of Arc caused the redemption of all France, except Calais, from the English; and the civil war, known as the War of the Roses, broke out and raged in England. This cost Henry his throne and the life of his son and heir. It also destroyed the ancient nobility and ended feudalism. Henry deserves permanent remembrance and regard as the founder of Eton College and of King's College, Cambridge.
Henry VII of England, the founder of the Tudor line, was born on Jan. 28, 1456. He was next in right of succession to Richard III, after the death of Richard's nephews. After the battle of Tewkesbury Henry fled to Brittany, and there remained until invited to invade England and overthrow Richard. His first attempt ended in failure, but in August, 1485, he landed at Mil-ford Haven, marched across the country, and met Richard in battle at Bosworth, where the usurper was slain. He now ascended the throne, and his marriage with Elizabeth of York, whereby the red and white roses were united, took place in the following January. In 1492 he led an invasion into France, but the payment of 750,000 crowns bought him from his purpose — indeed, his reign was marked by never-ending effort to secure wealth, for when he died on April 22, 1509, he left a fortune which would now be worth $90,000,000. Yet he was considered an excellent ruler, an able and subtle politician and a successful diplomat. Like Henry IV, however, he acknowledged that he owed his throne to the people and their parliament. Bacon speaks of him as "a wonder for wise men." See Gairdner's Henry the Seventh.
Henry VIII of England, the second son of Henry VII, was born in 1491. Through his mother, Elizabeth of York, he united the rival claims of the houses of York and Lancaster. The death of his older brother made him heir to the throne, and he was betrothed to his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon. He became king in 1509, and was very popular with his people during the first half of his reign. He was the most English of all English kings and the handsomest prince of his times. He had personal qualities that bound to him very strongly such men as More, Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell. For 20 years he was governed by his prime minister, Wolsey, whose intention was to give England im-
Eortance by acting as an arbiter between pain and France. In this period took place the meeting of the French and English kings on the field of the Cloth of Gold, the battle of Pavia and the sack of Rome. The fall of Wolsey was the result of his opposition to Henry's plan of divorcing his wife, Catherine of Aragon, to open the
way for his marriage with a new favorite, Anne Boleyn. The pope refused his sanction, and Henry, whose reply to Luther had won him from Pope Leo X the title of Defender of the Faith, brought about the separation of England from Rome, making himself head of the church in England. The final breach of England with Rome came about in 1534. Henry's quarrel was with the pope, and not with the Catholic church, and he treated with equal severity the clergy of the old church and the new followers of Luther. In 1536 Anne Boleyn was executed in the Tower, and the day before the execution Henry married Jane Seymour, who died leaving one son, Edward VI. His fourth marriage was a political one, brought about by h:s minister, Thomas Cromwell, for the sake of gaining the Protestant interest of Germany. But Anne of Cleves failed to win the regard of the king and was divorced, carry ng down Cromwell, who was executed for treason. Henry's fifth wife was Catharine Howard, who in less than a year suffered the same fate as Anne Boleyn, in her case deservedly. Henry's sixth wife was Catharine Parr, who had the good fortune to survive her husband. Henry died at Westminster, Jan. 28, 1547, unhonored and unmourned. The tyranny that had shown itself in his home-life had grown with his exercise of power, till no man's life was safe who thwarted him. The names of his victims, Wolsey, Cromwell, More, Surrey and Fisher, prove him to have been uninfluenced either by gratitude or merit. But he loved his people, and held England firmly to the path of progress. See History of England by Froude; Lectures on Meai&val and Modern History by Stubbs; and Reign of Henry VIII by Brewer.
Henry II of France, was born on March 31, 1519, married to Catharine de Medici in 1533, and succeeded his father, Francis I, in 1547. He captured Calais from the English during his invasion against her in connection with the Guises. In 1559 he was wounded by a Scotchman when off his guard in a tournament, and died of his injuries on July 10.
Henry III of France, the third son of Henry II and Catharine de Medici, was born on Sept. 19, 1551. He was zealous in the Catholic cause, taking part in the massacre of St. Bartholomew. Through the intriguing of his mother he was elected to the throne of Poland, but, hearing of his brother Charles' death, he fled to France and succeeded him (1574). The incessant wars between the Huguenots and Catholics were features of his reign; but his time was given to riotous excesses and outbreaks of religious fanaticism. He was stabbed by a Dominican friar, Jacques Clement, on Aug. 2, 1589, and died the next day. See M. W. Freer's Henry III, His Court and Times.
