Read Online Henry VIII by Alison Weir - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Alison Weir
Tags: Fiction
Ads: Link
fashion, but it was a world away from the realities of the marriage market.
Courtly love did not always involve real affection, for it was sometimes the ladyâs favour and kindness, expressed through profitable patronage, that the knight sought to attain. Although physical fulfillment was not its prime object, courtly love was often the occasion for adultery. Henry VIIIâs courtships were conducted according to its rules, but the King was a man like any other and was governed by sexual imperatives.
Katherine of Aragon exerted a civilising influence upon the social life of the court. Her presence preempted any vulgar behaviour. She expected her ladies to behave as decorously as she did, forbade any vain amusements in her household, 48 and admitted to her circle members of the older nobility, who provided a counterbalance to the high-spirited young men of the Kingâs entourage. Together with the King, she worked hard to create the semblance, if not the reality, of a virtuous environment.
5
âA Perfect Builder of Pleasant Palacesâ
The setting for magnificence was the royal palaces. These were often built on a large scale and deliberately designed or refurbished with a view to emphasising the majesty and power of the sovereign, since any house where the King took up residence became, for the duration of his visit, the seat of government. The royal palaces also provided a suitable backdrop for court ceremonials and space for entertaining and lodging large numbers of people. 1
Henry VIII was to own more houses than any other English monarch. Most were in London and the Home Counties, while the most important palaces were situated on the banks of the River Thames, so as to facilitate easy access by barge to London and Westminster. Many of the other houses were located near the royal parks or chases.
Unfortunately, little remains today to testify to the sheer splendour of these Tudor palaces. The most extensive remains are at Hampton Court, where some of Henry VIIIâs state rooms and service quarters remain, but even these have been remodelled over the centuries. During the last few years, however, detailed archaeological surveys of some of the palaces have been made, along with several comprehensive studies of the Kingâs building accounts, with the result that far more is known than hitherto about these vanished residences.
In the sixteenth century, there were two kinds of royal house: the greater houses, which were the most magnificent and where âhall was kept,â meaning that the whole court could be accommodated, and its servants fed in the great hall; and the lesser houses, with smaller capacity, which were often used as progress houses or hunting lodges. Sometimes the King would set up court in one of the greater houses and then retreat with a few companions and servants to a nearby lesser house in search of privacy.
From his predecessors, Henry inherited seven greater houses: Westminster Palace, the Tower of London, Greenwich Palace, Richmond Palace, Eltham Palace, Woodstock Palace, and Windsor Castle.
He also inherited seventeen lesser houses. The only one in London was Baynardâs Castle. In Oxfordshire, there were four houses: two hunting lodges, Beckley Manor, at Otmoor, and Langley Manor, Shipton-under-Wychwood, once owned by Warwick the Kingmaker, which Henry VII had rebuilt and often visited; 2 Minster Lovell Hall, confiscated from the Lovell family in 1485, but never used by Henry VIII; 3 and Ewelme, which had been the property of the de la Pole dukes of Suffolk prior to the last dukeâs attainder. In Surrey were Woking Palace and the manors of Wimbledon 4 and Byfleet, the latter once part of the duchy of Cornwall. Collyweston, Northamptonshire, had been a favourite residence of Margaret Beaufort, while Ditton, Buckinghamshire, was to become a nursery palace for Henryâs daughter Mary. In Windsor Great Park was Windsor Manor, 5 and in Windsor Forest was
Courtly love did not always involve real affection, for it was sometimes the ladyâs favour and kindness, expressed through profitable patronage, that the knight sought to attain. Although physical fulfillment was not its prime object, courtly love was often the occasion for adultery. Henry VIIIâs courtships were conducted according to its rules, but the King was a man like any other and was governed by sexual imperatives.
Katherine of Aragon exerted a civilising influence upon the social life of the court. Her presence preempted any vulgar behaviour. She expected her ladies to behave as decorously as she did, forbade any vain amusements in her household, 48 and admitted to her circle members of the older nobility, who provided a counterbalance to the high-spirited young men of the Kingâs entourage. Together with the King, she worked hard to create the semblance, if not the reality, of a virtuous environment.
5
âA Perfect Builder of Pleasant Palacesâ
The setting for magnificence was the royal palaces. These were often built on a large scale and deliberately designed or refurbished with a view to emphasising the majesty and power of the sovereign, since any house where the King took up residence became, for the duration of his visit, the seat of government. The royal palaces also provided a suitable backdrop for court ceremonials and space for entertaining and lodging large numbers of people. 1
Henry VIII was to own more houses than any other English monarch. Most were in London and the Home Counties, while the most important palaces were situated on the banks of the River Thames, so as to facilitate easy access by barge to London and Westminster. Many of the other houses were located near the royal parks or chases.
Unfortunately, little remains today to testify to the sheer splendour of these Tudor palaces. The most extensive remains are at Hampton Court, where some of Henry VIIIâs state rooms and service quarters remain, but even these have been remodelled over the centuries. During the last few years, however, detailed archaeological surveys of some of the palaces have been made, along with several comprehensive studies of the Kingâs building accounts, with the result that far more is known than hitherto about these vanished residences.
In the sixteenth century, there were two kinds of royal house: the greater houses, which were the most magnificent and where âhall was kept,â meaning that the whole court could be accommodated, and its servants fed in the great hall; and the lesser houses, with smaller capacity, which were often used as progress houses or hunting lodges. Sometimes the King would set up court in one of the greater houses and then retreat with a few companions and servants to a nearby lesser house in search of privacy.
From his predecessors, Henry inherited seven greater houses: Westminster Palace, the Tower of London, Greenwich Palace, Richmond Palace, Eltham Palace, Woodstock Palace, and Windsor Castle.
He also inherited seventeen lesser houses. The only one in London was Baynardâs Castle. In Oxfordshire, there were four houses: two hunting lodges, Beckley Manor, at Otmoor, and Langley Manor, Shipton-under-Wychwood, once owned by Warwick the Kingmaker, which Henry VII had rebuilt and often visited; 2 Minster Lovell Hall, confiscated from the Lovell family in 1485, but never used by Henry VIII; 3 and Ewelme, which had been the property of the de la Pole dukes of Suffolk prior to the last dukeâs attainder. In Surrey were Woking Palace and the manors of Wimbledon 4 and Byfleet, the latter once part of the duchy of Cornwall. Collyweston, Northamptonshire, had been a favourite residence of Margaret Beaufort, while Ditton, Buckinghamshire, was to become a nursery palace for Henryâs daughter Mary. In Windsor Great Park was Windsor Manor, 5 and in Windsor Forest was
Similar Books
