Henry VIII wasnāt as widely-hated in England as pop. history genre claims.Ā
The Reformation, of course, wasnāt universally popular by any means. He was certainly hated and there were definitely dissenters, but to claim he himself wasĀ āwidely-hatedā by the English people during his reign is erroneous, and it probably actually slides farther on the other side of the spectrum.
Actually, considering the religious upheaval, and considering the excommunication of the Pope (which allowed any Englishmen to rebel and depose him, said it was not treason to do so, and that those that did so would still go to Heaven) itās incredible that there werenāt more rebellions than there were.Ā
His reign was nearly 40 decades, and all in all there were only four rebellions. For roughly the first 16 years, there were none. None of the rebellions were aimed at deposing Henry.Ā
The first was in 1525, against a high tax. The ringleaders of this one were pardoned after Wolsey interceded for them. There was also the Kildare Rebellion, the Pilgrimage of Grace, and Bigodās rebellion.Ā
In contrast, Henry VII had six rebellions during his reign, some calling for his deposition, within the span of 11 years. Edward VI had three rebellions within the same year. Mary I had one rebellion with the aim of her deposition within her reign of five years. Elizabeth I had seven rebellions, some with the aim of her deposition, within the 45 years of her reign.Ā
So, doing the ratio of years vs. rebellions/uprisings, Henry VIII actually had the least among the Tudors, and none for his deposition.Ā
That is rather remarkable, and the question of why exactly this was (despite the costly wars, despite how the Reformation hit those in poverty the hardest, despite the alleged extremely high number of executionsā 72000 seems very unlikely) is a matter that deserves further examination and attention.Ā
me @ myself: maybe u should try not to depend so much on validation and attention from others because u really let it dictate your mood and itās so unhealthy
Preface it by saying this isnāt me knocking casual interest/ reading for fun (I myself have only shallow knowledge on several topics, and probably not much depth of knowledge for any except likeā¦Tudor but not even all Tudor? Henrician but a pretty shallow understanding of Marian and Elizabethan eras)ā¦
But if your end goal is the understanding of a particular figure at Henry VIIIās court, like Thomas Cromwell or Anne Boleyn, you will eventually need to do some reading on Henry VIII as well. A few articles, and probably at least one biography focused on him at some point.Ā
Personal dislike/hatred aside, youāre not going to have an adequate understanding of the workings of an intricate court if you totally sidestep/ignoreā¦the figure at its center. This is true for whoever your favorite figure at his court is; but itās especially true if that figure had a significant relationship with Henry.Ā
Nor will you have one if you only do reading on the most notorious of his deeds.Ā
on (1) hand iām like glad tobias menzies landed a show as high-profile as the crown because he is talented and absolutely deserves it and on the other hand iām likeā¦
In regards toĀ āthe Tudors are overrated, I donāt want to see more projects about themā:
Is kind of a moot point, because (especially in regards to Henry VIII) theyāre so deeply embedded in the pop culture nexus at this point that theyāre just, quite simply, not going anywhere.Ā
Henry VIII especially because heās really, in essence, a reflection of everything we hate about ourselves (magnified to extremes): capriciousness, vanity, the desire for fame, grandiosity, the inability to forgive, ruled by emotions/highly emotional, hypocrisy, the desire to be loved, self-indulgence, and the desire to be remembered.Ā
