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Authors: English Historical Fiction Authors
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joined the Lollards in Herefordshire and was accused of heresy in the last days of Henry IV, but his friendship with the Prince of Wales prevented any action from being taken against him. The new king protected him from recurring charges, though he did attempt to dissuade him from his Lollard association. Oldcastle refused, saying that he would give all his wealth to the King, but could not abandon his religious convictions.
Henry at last allowed the Church to take action. Oldcastle was arrested and taken to the Tower of London. He was convicted of heresy, but his death decree was delayed by Henry for forty days. Perhaps the King still hoped for his friend to recant.
Somehow, Oldcastle escaped from the dungeon, was smuggled across the heavily guarded enclosure of the Tower, taken through the Bloody Tower gate, and brought over the Outer Wall and across the wide moat. It is thought that the King must have colluded in the escape.
Oldcastle, however, was not about to change his viewpoints, and he zealously plotted with the Lollards to seize the King and his brothers during a Twelfth Night celebration. His purpose was to abolish the monarchy and set up a Commonwealth.
The King was warned and escaped with his brothers and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry and his men-at-arms captured the Lollards that had conspired against him. Some were killed, others taken to the Tower.
Oldcastle managed to escape and hide in various places for nearly four years. He continued to hatch plots against the King. Finally he was “sore wounded” and brought again to the Tower. Now he was accused of treason as well as heresy, and was hanged and burned, “gallows and all”.
Shakespeare’s play, Henry IV, initially had Oldcastle portrayed under his own name, but the family objected, and the name in the play was changed to Falstaff.
5) Edmund Dudley and Sir Richard Empson
Henry VIII had great autocratic power because powerful barons were dead and their heirs were too young to contend against him when he took the throne. His authority was not strongly challenged as had been that of his predecessors who failed and were forced to sign away power or were deposed or murdered or lost their supporters to rivals. The country wanted peace when he came to the throne, which helped him as well.
Edmund Dudley and Sir Richard Empson had been crooked at procuring money for Henry VII. They charged innocent people with crimes and then allowed them to pay their way out of the legal proceedings. They were highly unpopular.
After Henry VII’s death, the Council arrested them and threw them into the Tower, though Henry VIII kept the moneys that had been extorted.
The Council, to gain popularity for the new reign, decided to execute the two men. There was no death penalty for extortion, so they were charged with “constructive treason”—the assembling of their friends for a discussion was interpreted as “an armed conspiracy to overthrow and murder” the new King, though it was likely organized to discuss how to protect themselves from the wrath of the people after Henry VII’s death.
Dudley wrote a treatise about the advantages of having a monarchy, hoping to impress the new king, but it was never read by Henry VIII.
The two were executed on Tower Hill in 1510.
6) Sir Thomas More
Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor, was not in favor of Henry VIII’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon, but he did defend the King’s motives in Parliament. More also supported the reform of the Church, but could not accept rejection of the Pope’s authority or that Henry should become Supreme Head of the English Church.
More resigned as Lord Chancellor and was living on a low income with his family when he received an invitation to the coronation of Anne Boleyn, along with a fifth additional of his annual income to buy himself a new suit for the occasion. Opposed to the divorce and remarriage, he declined the invitation and returned the money. When he was later
Henry at last allowed the Church to take action. Oldcastle was arrested and taken to the Tower of London. He was convicted of heresy, but his death decree was delayed by Henry for forty days. Perhaps the King still hoped for his friend to recant.
Somehow, Oldcastle escaped from the dungeon, was smuggled across the heavily guarded enclosure of the Tower, taken through the Bloody Tower gate, and brought over the Outer Wall and across the wide moat. It is thought that the King must have colluded in the escape.
Oldcastle, however, was not about to change his viewpoints, and he zealously plotted with the Lollards to seize the King and his brothers during a Twelfth Night celebration. His purpose was to abolish the monarchy and set up a Commonwealth.
The King was warned and escaped with his brothers and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry and his men-at-arms captured the Lollards that had conspired against him. Some were killed, others taken to the Tower.
Oldcastle managed to escape and hide in various places for nearly four years. He continued to hatch plots against the King. Finally he was “sore wounded” and brought again to the Tower. Now he was accused of treason as well as heresy, and was hanged and burned, “gallows and all”.
Shakespeare’s play, Henry IV, initially had Oldcastle portrayed under his own name, but the family objected, and the name in the play was changed to Falstaff.
5) Edmund Dudley and Sir Richard Empson
Henry VIII had great autocratic power because powerful barons were dead and their heirs were too young to contend against him when he took the throne. His authority was not strongly challenged as had been that of his predecessors who failed and were forced to sign away power or were deposed or murdered or lost their supporters to rivals. The country wanted peace when he came to the throne, which helped him as well.
Edmund Dudley and Sir Richard Empson had been crooked at procuring money for Henry VII. They charged innocent people with crimes and then allowed them to pay their way out of the legal proceedings. They were highly unpopular.
After Henry VII’s death, the Council arrested them and threw them into the Tower, though Henry VIII kept the moneys that had been extorted.
The Council, to gain popularity for the new reign, decided to execute the two men. There was no death penalty for extortion, so they were charged with “constructive treason”—the assembling of their friends for a discussion was interpreted as “an armed conspiracy to overthrow and murder” the new King, though it was likely organized to discuss how to protect themselves from the wrath of the people after Henry VII’s death.
Dudley wrote a treatise about the advantages of having a monarchy, hoping to impress the new king, but it was never read by Henry VIII.
The two were executed on Tower Hill in 1510.
6) Sir Thomas More
Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor, was not in favor of Henry VIII’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon, but he did defend the King’s motives in Parliament. More also supported the reform of the Church, but could not accept rejection of the Pope’s authority or that Henry should become Supreme Head of the English Church.
More resigned as Lord Chancellor and was living on a low income with his family when he received an invitation to the coronation of Anne Boleyn, along with a fifth additional of his annual income to buy himself a new suit for the occasion. Opposed to the divorce and remarriage, he declined the invitation and returned the money. When he was later
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