Henry VIII murdered thousands. He even had 2 of his wives beheaded. So why the fascination a lot of us hold for him? People dont find other tyrants and murderers to be glamorous after all...
2007-02-02 17:04:09 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
NB I hold and arts degree with a history major, so ive studied a LOT of history, and still the Tudors seem to have that fascination for people...
2007-02-02 17:48:14 · update #1
Xamanator: Okay, I admit Ive made an error of logic with my oppening question. Im a history major, not an english one (my spelling is a tad awful as well). And as a mother of a 6 month old, I dont have a lot of time to proof-read!
As for knocking a zero off my total, I'm afraid that's what my proffesor told me at university. Otherwise known as the guy with the PHD and a stack of papers on the Tudors under his belt :)
I dont really have the room here to defend my stance of Henry as a tyrant, save to say that whatever the age (you said he was only as bad as those in that era) killing (or ordering the killing ) of a whole lot of people isnt ever a great thing.
Did he make modern England what it is? Well that a whole other question. Please feel free to post it!
2007-02-02 22:12:07 · update #2
Jdog: As a history major, why dont I know? Well, because something like this is based on opinion!! Besides which, I dont fancy myself an expert by any means on this topic. I posted the question more to gain new perspectives rather than ram my own opinion down anybodies throat.
2007-02-02 22:16:14 · update #3
Although he did have many people beheaded, for his time period he wasn't exceptionally bloody. The really fascinating thing about Henry VIII, which has to do with his wives, is that he broke from the Catholic Church. It was unheard of for a monarch to do that, and he not only broke from the church but succeeded in converting his entire nation with very little turmoil. He was an extremely charismatic ruler, to be able to do something as difficult as change the religiong in a continent with really only one religion shows how forceful he was as a ruler.
Plus, there's something about all the intrigue in his life (all those wives and and the fact that he changed his whole nation's religion just so he could get a divorce) that makes him seem a little larger than life.
2007-02-02 17:13:58 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
"The fascination a lot of us hold for him"? Henry's dead, so we can't hold any fascination for him. It's the other way round.
Although you're a history major, you seem not to know that Henry had no standing army and what he did he did with the support or at least acquiscence of most of his subjects.
If you hold a history major you should also know you need to knock one zero off that total. Henry wasn't excessively bloodthirsty by the standards of the age. It just wasn't a good idea to get on the wrong side of him, that's all.
The changes Henry set in motion were the making of modern England.
He is a superficially attractive character. He was cultured and intellectually alert. Like Hermann Goering, he was good-humoured without being good-natured.
2007-02-03 04:45:01 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Henry VIII owes some of the glory to his placement in time. He was a renaissance king, but he also ruled an England that was beginning to emerge as a major power.
Under Henry the Church of England split from the Roman church, making him the founder of a major Protestant denomination (Anglican-Episcopal) that itself spawned numerous other major Protestant churches.
If I correctly recall my history, the wives he had behaded had betrayed him.
Henry VIII has a place in history alongside such people as Augustus Ceasar, Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and Caligula. These Roman emperors also wielded power with an iron fist, and also caused many others to rush along to whatever afterlife they had merited.
When we look at Henry VIII realistically we see him as very like Elizabeth I, who was also at times ruthless, and who loved and exercised power in a very grand way.
Colorful times, colorful rulers. Tyrants as well.
2007-02-03 01:33:12 · answer #3 · answered by Warren D 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
personally, he wasn't a very good guy, he was a total player with 6 wives, and he was pretty fat and ugly, but he did defy the Church by forming his own, just so he could get a divorce.
If you are a history major, why don't you know?
2007-02-03 03:30:42 · answer #4 · answered by jdog 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Henry VIII was glorified by history and King George W Bush hopes the same thing will happen to him.
2007-02-03 01:10:28 · answer #5 · answered by ? 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It's history.
People find history interesting. We can all learn from it.
It is quite amazing. Actually, a lot of other kings are just as well known, maybe you just haven't studied them.
2007-02-03 01:09:23 · answer #6 · answered by :] 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because he gave the finger to the Pope and established the Church of England.
2007-02-03 01:53:48 · answer #7 · answered by fatsausage 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
This is royal propaganda. History is usually slanted in favor of the powerful
2007-02-03 02:12:23 · answer #8 · answered by brainstorm 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋