Henry VII (of England), often called Henry Tudor (1457-1509), king ofEngland (1485-1509) and first ruler of the house of Tudor, whose reigninitiated a period of national unity following the strife of the 15thcentury.
Henry, the son of Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond (1430?-56), and MargaretBeaufort, countess of Richmond and Derby (a direct descendant of John ofGaunt, duke of Lancaster), was born on January 28, 1457, in PembrokeCastle, Pembrokeshire. After the Yorkist king Edward IV seized the thronefrom the Lancastrian Henry VI in 1471, Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian, tookrefuge in Brittany. He became head of the house of Lancaster on the deathof Henry VI in the same year. In 1483, taking advantage of theindignation aroused against Edward's successor, Richard III, whosenephews, Edward V and Richard, duke of York (1472-83), were murdered inthe Tower of London, presumably on Richard's order, Henry crossed over toWales, where he gathered an army of supporters. In 1485, at BosworthField in England, he met and defeated Richard, who was killed during thebattle. Henry Tudor was subsequently crowned Henry VII in London. In thefollowing year he married the Yorkist heiress, Elizabeth (1465-1503),eldest daughter of Edward IV, uniting the houses of York and Lancasterand ending the Wars of the Roses.
After his accession Henry had to contend with several Yorkist uprisings,notably one led by the English impostor Lambert Simnel (circa 1471-1534),who claimed to be Edward, earl of Warwick (1475-99), the last Yorkistclaimant to the throne. The real earl of Warwick was actually imprisonedby Henry in the Tower of London at the time. Another revolt was led bythe Walloon impostor Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be Richard, duke ofYork, the younger of the murdered sons of Edward IV. Although bothimpostors had strong backing in England and abroad, their forces weredefeated by Henry. In 1494 Henry sent the English statesman Sir EdwardPoynings (1459-1521) to Ireland to reestablish English control in thatcountry. Henry managed to maintain peaceful relations with Austria,Spain, and France throughout most of his years as king. Thereorganization in 1487 of the Star Chamber was one of several means bywhich Henry strengthened the royal power over the nobles. He died inRichmond, Surrey, on April 21, 1509, and was succeeded by his second son,Henry VIII."Henry VII (of England)," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 96 Encyclopedia. (c)1993-1995 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. (c) Funk & WagnallsCorporation. All rights reserved.
Also known as Rutpert IV.
Edward, called the Black Prince (1330-76), prince of Wales, whodistinguished himself as a military leader during the Hundred Years' War.
Edward was born at Woodstock in Oxfordshire on June 15, 1330, the son ofKing Edward III of England. During his lifetime, he was called Edward ofWoodstock; the name Black Prince was given him because of the black armorhe wore. In 1346 Edward accompanied his father on the English campaign inNormandy, and during the Battle of Crécy, when he was only 16, the princewon high acclaim for his command of the right wing of the English army.
In 1355 Edward was appointed his father's lieutenant in Gascony. He ledthe English army in a series of raids across southern France and in 1356defeated a French army at Poitiers, took King John II of France prisoner,and returned in triumph to England with his captive. In 1361 he marriedhis cousin Joan, countess of Kent (1328-85) known as the fair maid ofKent. A year later his father created him prince of Aquitaine andGascony, and he went to his domains in southern France. As lord of thoselands, Edward became, under feudal law, a vassal of the French king.
During his rule the prince estranged the Gascon nobles, who believed thathe was curtailing their feudal rights. After almost six years of peace,Edward, in 1367, led an expedition to Spain in order to restore Peter theCruel, the deposed king of Castile, to his throne. During the successfulSpanish campaign, Edward contracted an illness from which he neverrecovered; Peter furthermore refused to repay Edward the vast sums thathad been expended on his behalf. On his return to Aquitaine, the princelevied taxes to pay for the expedition, but the disgruntled noblesprotested to Edward's feudal lord, King Charles V of France. The princerefused to answer to the charges against him, and Charles renewed the waragainst England. A revolt against Edward spread through Aquitaine andGascony, and despite his illness the prince led his troops against thecity of Limoges, capturing it in 1370 and massacring its defenders. Ayear later he returned to England and resigned his principality.
During the last years of his life, Edward was a leader of the politicalfaction that rebelled against the misrule of his younger brother, John ofGaunt, duke of Lancaster. Edward finally succumbed to his illness anddied at Westminster on June 8, 1376. He was buried in CanterburyCathedral, in which parts of his armor still hang."Edward," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 96 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1995Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. (c) Funk & WagnallsCorporation. All rights reserved.
Henry I (of France) (circa 1008-60), king of France (1031-60), son ofKing Robert II and grandson of Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetiandynasty. From the beginning of his reign he was occupied with puttingdown rebellions led by members of his family and other French nobles.Between 1035 and 1047 he assisted his nephew William, duke of Normandy,later William the Conqueror, king of England, in establishing William'sauthority over rebellious Norman nobles. Henry later grew jealous ofWilliam's power and waged unsuccessful war against him in 1054 and 1058.Henry was succeeded by his son Philip I.
Anna Agnesa Yaroslavna of Kiev.
