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Thomas Wolsey: The 'Other King' of Tudor England (Part 1 of 2)

This video provides an overview of Thomas Wolsey's life from 1473 to 1515, please see part two of this two part series for the years 1515 to 1530 (his death).

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey ( c. March 1473 – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal, he became known as the 'Alter Rex' or 'Other King' of Henry VIII's reign in Tudor England. Wolsey became recognised for his highly effective statesmanship; taking on numerous responsibilities that Henry shunned in his early reign.

Wolsey's downfall came after his failure to solve the king's 'Great Matter'; securing an annulment with Catherine of Aragon to enable his remarriage in pursuit of a healthy male heir.

This first video examines his life from 1473 to 1515. The years 1513-15 saw Wolsey's most rapid ascent to power in Tudor England, after proving his abilities to Henry in organising the moderately successful 1513 war with France, and securing an advantageous Anglo-French peace deal the following year.

This video would be suitable for use as a bitesize educational material in teaching GCSE History at secondary education level in England as part of the 'Henry VIII and his Ministers' module.

Sources and endnotes:

Thomas Wolsey, late Cardinal by George Cavendish (Book, primary source, written between 1554 and 1558 by his gentleman-usher)
This extraordinary "eye-witness" account of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey's rise and fall from power was written between 1554 and 1558 by his gentleman-usher, George Cavendish, who was privy to so much of the Cardinal's ambitious endeavors. However, Cavendish prudently waited a long time before chronicling his observations for fear of his life, as there were those who may have take his memoirs the wrong way. Cavendish describes in great detail the daily life of Wolsey, listing his huge household of servants to give a good idea of the magnitude of this larger-than-life man who outdid Henry VIII in lifestyle and riches, which was his undoing. Throughout the book, he records Wolsey's endless acquisitions of bishoprics--including the very rich monastery of St. Albans, even though he was never a monk--all to feather his already very wealthy nest. Cavendish also tells of Wolsey's scheme to put himself over and above the Archbishop of York, the senior prelate in England, later to be named Pope. Wolsey is eventually charged with treason but dies in Leicester, and it is said that had he not died, he would have been more than likely subject to a beheading. Cavendish also delves into the lives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, the infamous Duke of Norfolk, and other prominent figures of the Tudor period, all to bring the sixteenth century to vivid life. This rare document, considered "the most important single source for our knowledge of Wolsey," was edited for easy comprehension by Roger Lockyer, a former faculty member of Royal Holloway College, University of London, and an authority on the tumultuous Tudor period which was so pivotal in England's storied history.

Wolsey: The Life of King Henry VIII's Cardinal by John Matusiak (Book, 2014)
Cardinal Wolsey is a controversial figure: a butcher's son, a man of letters and the Church, a divisive political expert, a man of principle - yet, to some, an arrogant upstart. As Lord Chancellor to the incorrigible Henry VIII he achieved much both at home and abroad, but his failure to achieve the mighty monarch's divorce from Catherine of Aragon saw him brought to his knees. John Matusiak explores the pragmatic cardinal's life and career to uncover a man of contradictions and extremes whose meteoric rise was marked by an equally inexorable descent into desperation, as he attempted in vain to satisfy the tempestuous master whose ambition ultimately broke him.

The King's Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Wolsey by Peter J Gwyn (Book, 1990)
Proud, greedy, corrupt and driven by overwhelming personal ambition. Such is the traditional image of Thomas Wolsey, Lord Chancellor, Archbishop of York, Bishop of Winchester, Abbot of St. Albans, Bishop if Tournai and Papal Legate. It is an image which Peter Gwyn examines, challenges and decisively overturns in this remarkable book.

Видео Thomas Wolsey: The 'Other King' of Tudor England (Part 1 of 2) канала Eyewitness History
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7 апреля 2024 г. 2:49:22
00:10:18
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