Henry VIII: King and the court of the Tudor Alison Weir
Ariel
The other day I saw this book in a store, with its cover photo of Jonathan Rhys Meyers, the actor who plays King Henry VIII of England in the television series 'The Tudors' and read the name of the author, Alison Weir (pronounced "Weir"), I realized that it must be a translation of 'Henry VIII: King and court' he wrote in 2000. I have not read the English version (I think it was from 2003, although he probably has now reissued the title and taking advantage of extending the pull of the series), but the English original, so take the opportunity to review and recommend this book strongly.
Obviously, how good are history books is announcing the beginning of what they are going, so every one of them and who are interested in it are mutually attracted. So who take this in their hands would do well to take it, because it does exactly what it says on the cover: it describes not only the life of Henry VIII, but how was his court, with as much detail as possible to know through documents that have survived. Nothing less than a third of the book is devoted to this description, which anyone interested in real life, everyday of the court "Henrician" or who has been smitten with the beautiful clothes and luxurious ambience of the portraits and the series will know exactly how things were. I also indicate that after seeing this series, I've noticed it several details and even whole sentences that he had read earlier in this book, so I have no doubt that the writers have used it extensively as a guide and source of ideas. Orange is the cardinal, the accident with the pole, the leg wound draining all his life, etc, etc.
The court of Henry VIII was big, noisy, greedy, chaotic, smelly and with a strange mixture of formality and almost hooliganism from the abundance of young men of good family who could not sit still, and as soon bored (including Henry himself), organized hunts, fair, entertainment, partying and dancing continue. The clothes were so magnificent as they appear in portraits and films, but hygiene was typical of the sixteenth century, and clean and make things smell good (or merely not smell) was a losing battle. In any residence where he was the king at any given time, there may be between 800 and 1500 people, who ate and were housed under the monarch, that is, from those who paid their taxes. Anyone who could squeeze out all dressed up with no problem despite continuous real fights, the problem of how to tame both nobles and commoners was never fully resolved ever.
Sometimes the best guide you can have on a society are the laws that were enacted, and between this time, was forbidden to be naked in the kitchen, piss in the fireplace and leave dishes on the bed of the king. If this came to be mentioned in a law, it was happening, and often. The feeling I always have these stories of so many courts is that far from being a model of courtesy and delicacies such as love of art displayed on screen, what must be some sort of wedding, bachelor party and any costume party together. Would solemn moments, which would be observed with respect, but after the tedium of the formal part of the day, what must be a pretty Despiporre of consideration. There are several accounts that describe the king throwing chunks of food to tinker with his guests, like a gourd, and also get to help serve. Gives the impression that it had not been the king, Henry would have been the biggest party animal of the kingdom (and even that was given not bad at all). It also seems to be fair, that once he knew he was ultimately responsible for what was his own house, had controlled everything that could come to have, based mostly bad genius.
In all this, of course, it shows the personality of the king who is at the center of the show. Enrique was big, strong, burly young and more morbidly obese. Was not destined to the throne, not being the eldest son of Henry VII, but after the death of his brother Arthur, became heir and king at age 17. In his time the king reigned and ruled, and he always made it clear he was going to do for that person and putting all the resources at its disposal, from giving or withholding appointments, land and privileges to declare war or decree death sentences Ministers reached, enemies, and questionable, as is known, to his wives. "There is no head in the kingdom as Noble can not make it fly, "he said.
received the best education available in his time and although it was not a bookworm, he was awake, then learned what interested him and developed his own views with a strong personality. Although chose many of his companions on account of what had fun with them, buddies plan to be cool you, also had a good nose for people who value the task for government, outside the class it was, but final decisions were reserved jealously: "If my hat found out my plans, I would pull the fire," he would say. And he said: "Be careful what you put in your head, because you can never get back. "
portion of the biography is very well told in strict chronological order to know what the exact status of the situation when it took such and such decisions without what happened then influence the image. We're talking about the life of someone who broke an ancient religion, had wars within and outside the country and married six times, so no matter needed to tell. But the part I find most commendable is the first third of description of the court. Any other detail that you get to do too neat, like the decorations of the palaces or the fabrics of dresses, but it deserves worth reading every word, because you get so the precise effect of a court charged, oppressive, repolluda, where everything that could be turned golden brown, until the pastry, to show opulence. In addition, everyone was together all day and all night, and where there is trust just giving disgust. The king was not alone anymore, and moreover, there were people whose only job was to be with him, some of which dealt exclusively with help when going to do belly and report any problem with it. Other things or documents have not survived, but which informs us of the night feeling more constipated than normal (with the diet that was brought it was not uncommon), took a laxative and to ease up at two in the evening.
Finally, if the mark of excellence in a history book is to reach not only those who are interested in the subject matter, but a majority of the public in general, this takes. Moreover, taking into account the complexity of the character and the court of the moment, is one of the best written books I've ever read, precisely because his style is not having it, but let the events, scenery, customs and actions of the protagonists speak for themselves. Weir is not a typical historian who writes protected by a professor or a researcher or teacher working: not working in anything related to history, so the only way they can sell their books is well documented and written as they are, and since 1991 has published thirteen British royalty on the Medieval and Renaissance (Eleanor of Aquitaine, the War Rose, Mary of Scotland, Elizabeth I, etc., including one on the six wives of Henry VIII himself, serving perfect companion to this volume).
I hope that everyone will be over once the pleasant experience of having a good guide in a museum or an exhibition, or a trip and have enjoyed their good work while you learned a lot. Well that's exactly the book.
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