A bit of history is a good way to go in acquiring knowledge. Here we are today, on this column, at the Elizabethan Age, an exceptionally important moment in arts.
For regular readers of this column, this Elizabeth of the Elizabethan Age is the same Elizabeth whose mother was the second wife of King Henry VIII of England. Anne of Boleyn was her name, whom her husband the king accused of high treason, a charge which included witchcraft and superstition.
The king, by the way, (and this is tongue in cheek), was a very good Christian. He, on being denied divorce by the pope from his first wife, pulled out of the Roman Catholic Church and founded the Protestant church (i.e. created or began the process of creating the Anglican Church!)
Well, Elizabeth was Anne Boleyn’s only child. Born on 7 September 1533, she ascended the English Throne on 17 November 1558, died 24 March 1603 (Richmond palace) and buried 28 April, 1603 at West Minster Abbey.
We will spend sometime with Elizabeth in order to familiarize ourselves with her before proceeding to the famous writers who sprung up during her time and thrived during her 44 years reign.
A little recap: Elizabeth’s father: Henry VIII married six wives: Catherine of Aragon (who was betrothed or engaged to his sickly older brother, Arthur – Prince of Wales/Earl of Chester/Duke of Cornwall.).
Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish princess, unfortunately could not give birth to a male child; she gave birth to only a daughter, Mary. So, don’t blame Africans! The king, Henry VIII, desired to disannul his legal union with her and marry another woman who could bear a male child. Pope Clement VII refused the king his prayer so he left the Catholic Church.
Henry VIII divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn. Accused of high treason, Anne was beheaded after giving birth to Elizabeth. The king married Jane Seymour and she bore the highly needed heir, named Edward. But Jane died twelve days after baby prince Edward was born.
The widowed king married a fourth wife – Anne of Cleves – her portrait was prettier than her person. The king soon divorced her for a fifth wife – Catherine Howard. Catherine also got beheaded for treason which included witchcraft. Sixth wife Catherine Parr outlived the king.
When the king died, Edward began to reign at the age of nine, under Regency, as Edward VI (1547-1553). When he died six years later of Tuberculosis, same disease that killed his grandfather, Henry VII, his half sister Mary Tudor, daughter of Catherine of Aragon ascended the throne.
Mary, who was known as Bloody Mary for much killing of Protestant Christians, reigned for five years. In 1558 when she died, her half sister, Elizabeth Tudor ascended the throne of England!
Elizabeth was known among other names as Good Queen Bess and the Virgin Queen. She began to reign in 1558 and was there for 44 years! Her ascendancy to the throne of England made me remember the Bible passage in Ezekiel 21:27 which says: “I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.”
When you consider the fact that aspersion was cast on the legitimacy of Elizabeth, and that her sister, Queen Mary imprisoned her for almost a whole year, and that King Edward VI, did not want the kingdom to go to his half sisters – he left a will giving away the throne to Lady Jane Grey, but his will was set aside!
This same Elizabeth, God lifted to become queen and she did so well. She was a man in a woman’s body. She vowed to rather be a beggar and single than to be queen and married!
Elizabeth has to her name so many famous quotes. In her time, England won wars and prospered and art and culture thrived. During her time, writing luminaries like William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlow were born and they prospered giving timeless gifts of their arts to the world.
Elizabeth’s era gave the world so much to learn and rejoice in.
Not quite done with a little bit of info on Elizabeth. This great queen died unmarried and childless. You would be interested in who succeeded her!
Backup a little bit to Elizabeth’s grandfather – King Henry VII of England. Henry VII married Elizabeth of York and they bore Princess Margaret, Arthur, the Prince of Wales and Prince Henry who later succeeded him.
Princess Margaret (Henry VIII’s sister) married King James IV of Scotland and reigned with her husband for ten years over Scotland (1503-1513) before the king died. Her son, James V of Scotland ascended the throne and she was queen regent for two years (1513-1515) before she abandoned that position to remarry.
Margaret was three-times married and became the grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots and great grandmother of James VI of Scotland (this is Margaret’s son, James V’s grandson) who on Elizabeth’s death, was called upon to take up England’s Throne as well) later became James I of England.
This king James merged the royal crowns of Scotland and England. And he is the one who gathered 54 learned scholars to work on the Greek and Hebrew versions of the Bible to give us The King James Version of the English Bible we read today!
This king was Elizabeth’s cousin! This great woman and her family gave the world the famous KJV Bible (King James Version).
Now, note the power of Literature! It is recognized that through the KJV Bible, the English language has gone from local to global. Today, the English Language has become the dominant global language both in a commercial and cultural sense just through translation of the Bible!
Are you still hesitating about putting down your ideas on a piece of paper? Be inspired! Even Shakespeare, in his time, had no clue of how good he was. Write, go ahead and write!
