Tudor - Stewart History

I've learned something from the English this semester that I guess I already knew. Power really is tenuous. It is all about who has the bigger stick, the stronger sons and the bigger cock.

I didn't fully realize this until until I was reading the chapters on Henry the VIII (1509-1547) when he, along with Thomas Cromwell (Wrong Cromwell, don't get ahead of yourself) started to disband the monastic communities located in England. This came after Parliamentary action against the Catholic church, and Henry already saw himself as the supreme head of the Church of England, so there's that. But this land, that he was "dissolving" into the holdings of the English state didn't ever really belong to the church. It had been willed to the individual monastic communities by Lords upon their deaths in exchange for the monks and nuns that lived there saying prayers to help the lords souls on the heaven or some such nonsense.

Henry paid them a visit, said "oooo, such a nice tapestry you have there" and took it all away. There was a rebellion, called the Pilgrimage of Grace, but that just meant Henry killed people. Some of the Monks didn't want to leave (obviously, they had no where else to go) and Henry starved then out, then killed them as traitors.

Similarly, the reigning King of england awarded titles and power, and took them away again almost fluidly. As I read this book, it amazing to me how many people lose favor, titles power, lands, or their lives based on a difference of opinion with the king.

What really makes any government so different?

Macbeth

I'm supposed to be writing a response to a play I saw a few night ago to prove I saw it, but it came out snarky, so I'm posting it here instead of turning into my professor.

Okay, so Duncan is fighting this war. Macbeth, Macduff, Banquo and many more are fighting with him. Macbeth and Banquo are close friends, they are both kicking butt and taking names for the king, and are pretty happy with this. At the start of the play, neither appear terribly power hungry. In the first twenty lines, neither says to the either, man, “I really need to get me that crown.” So far, I get it.
Macbeth and Banquo meet three crazy sisters in the mud in the woods that tell them that Macbeth is going to be King, and Banquo’s sons are going to be Kings. Okay, I’m still with you. Everyone is sane, everything is great. Macbeth writes home to his wife about his awesome day. It went something like this:

Dear Lady Mac
I killed a traitor today, that was pretty cool. Duncan was pleased. He made me Thane of Cawdor. I don’t really know what that is but it sound really badass, so I knew you’d be pleased. I met some dirty sister witches in the woods with Banquo today. They said I’d be king someday. Cool, huh?

Love Forevah,
Macbeth

Lady Mac reads the letter, and then Macbeth walks in directly afterward because the postal service wasn’t all that great back then. Her reaction is: I’m so glad to see you, let’s kill the King.
Is it just me, or does that plan have a lot of holes in it? It does. First Macbeth, then Lady Mac, then Macbeth again, goes freaking insane, and then almost everyone dies. Including people who were barely freaking involved, like Macduff’s wife and children. So I’m going to go with yes on that one. I just don’t understand the leap. Maybe you do live in a time where dirty mythical swamp witches are the supreme authority onthe succession of the crown, but before you decide to off the king, you better take a good hard look at your ability to get away with it- both to the rest of the world, and yourself.

Now to edit this thing so I can turn it in. :p