CLHUMHI219 - A History of Tudor England

At the end of the long and brutal Wars of the Roses, a new royal dynasty emerged in England to great acclaim, relief and uncertainty. Henry Tudor, who was titled Henry VII, began a successful family dynasty that would last more than a century, a period marked by optimism and prosperity. Historian Newell Boyd, Ph.D., sheds light on the lives and legacies of the five Tudor monarchs who reigned from 1485 to 1603, with varying abilities. In spite of the coldness, aloofness and secretiveness of their personalities, they—mostly—maintained the allegiance of the English people. Compared to the Stuarts who followed, the Tudors were a delightful family whose achievements were impressive among the panoply of English rulers.

Course Details

Newell Boyd, Ph.D., is a semiretired professor of history whose primary teaching field is Victorian Britain and the British Empire. He is also an instructor in the Graduate Liberal Studies program at Rice University and won the John Freeman Faculty Teaching Award in 2023. Dr. Boyd was also honored with the national 2023 Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs Faculty Award. He has been published in a variety of books and scholarly journals in the field of British history and has written two published historical novels on the lives of Joseph Chamberlain and John Ruskin. Dr. Boyd holds a doctorate in history from Texas Tech University and has done postdoctoral research at the University of London, University of Birmingham, the London School of Economics, University of Oxford, The University of Manchester and The University of Edinburgh. He has been a fellow at the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London and is a member of England’s Society of Authors and the Royal Historical Society.

On Campus
This course will be delivered on campus / in person. Parking and room information will be sent prior to the class start date.

The intellectual climate including the influence of religion
The arrival of a new dynasty
Henry VII, the spider king
Henry VIII, bonhomie and suspicion
Edward VI, a childhood king
Mary and religious excess
Elizabeth, “Fair Bess” of good reputation
The succession crisis