The journal Historical Research has released a special issue to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of King Henry VII (1485-1509) of England. It includes 10 articles about the famous Tudor monarch.
In the introduction to this issue, Mark R. Horowitz writes, "It is hoped that this volume of articles will stimulate both increased interest in the first Tudor king and discussion and discourse that will lead to further investigation and research concerning his reign. It is instructive to note that after 500 years we continue to learn about this enigmatic Anglo-Welshman who risked his life and the lives of those who supported him to pursue the throne of England with not much hope and much less credibility."
Henry VII came to the throne in 1485 after he defeated and killed Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. His tumultuous reign is considered to be one of the most important in English history.
"There remain many contradictory perceptions of the first Tudor king that have given rise to the individuality that is Henry VII," adds Professor Horowitz. "He has been viewed as either the last medieval king or the first modern king; an absolute monarch above the law or a king in support of the law; an emulator of the Spanish and French monarchies or a proponent of distinctly English customs and traditions; a ruler seeking revenge on his enemies or an enlightened king showing uncanny mercy to those against him; a pawn in international affairs or a powerbroker among key nations; a renovator following previous modes and methods of ruling the realm or an innovator seeking more efficiencies and effective government; a king dying cash-poor or in debt or the richest king of England since William the Conqueror."
The articles in this issue are:
Politic history, New Monarchy and state formation: Henry VII in European perspective, by Steven Gunn
Household, politics and political morality in the reign of Henry VII, by David Grummitt
Policy and prosecution in the reign of Henry VII, by Mark R. Horowitz
Loyalty and the usurper: recognizances, the council and allegiance under Henry VII, by Sean Cunningham
The enforcement of the penal statutes in the 1490s: some new evidence, by P. R. Cavill
Urban policy and urban political culture: Henry VII and his towns, by James Lee
Reaction to Henry VII's style of kingship and its contribution to the emergence of constitutional monarchy in England, by Penny Tucker
Henry VII, France and the Holy League of Venice: the diplomacy of balance, by John M. Currin
'Of good name and fame in the countrey': standards of conduct for Henry VII's chamber officials, by Margaret McGlynn
Henry Tudor's treasure, by Mark R. Horowitz
Online access to the journal is available through Wiley Interscience.
