Henry VII

‘It is an exciting time to be studying Henry VII’ proclaims Sean Cunningham. Yet little of the excitement comes through in this book. The picture of Henry is the now established one: of a king who, by ‘effort and vigilance with a clear political programme’ not only survived as king but ‘established his dynasty’. More contentiously, if again fairly traditionally, by so doing Henry is alleged to have achieved a transformation in the relations of Crown and nobility. His predecessors, Dr Cunningham believes, were ‘first among equals’. Thanks to his father, Henry VIII ‘could contemplate an entirely different type of kingship, in partnership with nobles ready for return to magnificence and glory’. Cunningham's study of recent work is generous, indeed over-generous, in its tributes to fellow toilers in the field. But there is no sense of an exciting debate; rather, too often, of work which will, at some time in the future, ‘create a vital foundation for our understanding’ or ‘boost studies of the early Tudor period considerably’. Lightly footnoted, this is manifestly a textbook; but one which fails to explain technicalities or to provide long-term context in a way which would be useful to those new to the subject. A projected ‘Edward IV’ in the same series may have constrained the author in this respect. The view of the fifteenth century which emerges is of a largely undifferentiated period of noble-inspired political turmoil

Aesthetics · Art history · Context (archaeology · Fifteenth · Glory · Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor · Monarchy · Nobility · Performance art · Period (music · Political science · Politics · Subject (documents · Classics · Historical Studies of British Isles · History · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy · Scottish History and National Identity