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Queen Elizabeth I by History-Episode
From the moment she was conceived, Queen Elizabeth I of England was the subject of controversy. The daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth was accused of being illegitimate by English Catholics before she was even born, as they refused to acknowledge the annulment of Henry's first marriage. Elizabeth's childhood was tumultuous, as her mother was executed when she was two and a half years old, and she was raised as Henry's daughter but not Henry's heir.
Elizabeth became Queen in 1558, succeeding her half-sister Mary Tudor to the throne. Elizabeth refused to marry immediately and rule as co-regent with her husband, as Mary had done, and her decision to remain single and rule alone became a defining feature of her reign. However, Elizabeth knew that by entertaining the notion of marriage to a foreign prince she could maintain control of her own political authority. Naming an heir, whether from her own body or not, would destabilize her position and leave her vulnerable to a coup.
Elizabeth’s voluntary decision to never marry inspired a cult of virginity where the Queen’s decision to remain a virgin gradually became regarded as her greatest virtue. Poets, writers, and artists fueled the public’s worship of her virtue by creating recognizable iconography that created a legend around Elizabeth, even while she was still alive. Elizabeth’s loyal subjects often pointed out that her reign fulfilled one of the prophecies of Merlin, “then shall a Royal Virgin reign, which shall stretch her white rod over the Belgic shore and the great Castile smite so sore withal that it shall make him shake and fall.” The “great Castile,” of course, referred to King Philip of Spain.
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The War of the Roses by History-Episode
The Wars of the Roses were a complex set of battles, skirmishes, and kidnappings during the 15th century in England. They had their roots in the nearby Civil War of France, which greatly influenced English politics for years to come. Though there is no one universally accepted start or end date for these wars, the major events throughout the wars occurred between 1455 and 1485.
The central reason for the Wars of the Roses, otherwise referred to as the 15th century English Civil War, was a tug-of-war between two families for the throne of England. Though both families were in fact closely related, they had split half a century earlier. Instead of one unified Plantagenet family, the cousins became Lancasters and Yorks. While the Lancasters remained on the throne, the Yorks were overlooked in the succession of kings. The Yorks became jealous, given their equal relation to England’s ancient monarchy, and when the Plantagenet-Lancaster dynasty appeared tragically weakened by the succession of Henry VI, the royal cousins took the opportunity to demand a new ruler.
Henry VI took over the rule of England upon the death of his father when he was not yet one year old. A scramble over leadership in the boy’s appointed Regency Council led to the prominence first of Henry’s Lancaster uncles, then Richard of York. Upon Henry’s coming of age, Richard of York was unwilling to give up his power and under many pretenses, he raised an army.
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The History of Norway by History-Episode
Most of Scandinavia has been covered by ice at least three times, and the last ice melted about 14,000 years ago. The first traces of man in Norway dates back to sometime after 10,000 BC and they came both from the South and the North East.
The Viking Age (793-1066 AD)
For more than three centuries, the Vikings voyaged and invaded neighboring countries. Little by little they acquired national identities and became Swedes, Danes and Norwegians. Local chieftains were administrating their own areas of the country until Harald Hårfagre united Norway into one kingdom and became the first king around 885.
The fundamental element for the Vikings was the ships, the instrument and symbol of Viking expansion. Due to the exceptional qualities and navigational skills, they spread across Europe, down the Caspian Sea, to Greenland and Iceland, and in the year 1000 to North America, where Leif Eriksson reached the American continent – about five hundred years earlier than Christopher Columbus. At that time Norway became a Christian country and the ruling king oppressed the Viking religion, but many people continued to hold on to the old beliefs. Traces of this Nordic mythology can still be seen in the names of the days of the week and in Norwegian holiday celebrations.
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Scottish History by History-Episode
A sense of poetic irony registers when one learns that Scotland has never won a major military battle when the odds were in their favor.[1] In 1513, the largest Scottish army to ever invade England was defeated by a significantly smaller English army at Flodden Field. In only two hours, the Scots lost ten thousand men. History repeated itself in 1542, when a Scottish army of 15,000 men was defeated by only 3,000 English soldiers. Despite their much smaller numbers, the English managed to take 1,200 Scottish men as prisoners. This humiliating defeat eventually contributed to the demise of King James V.
The massive global success of Braveheart, Mel Gibson’s Oscar-winning blockbuster epic medieval war film, has helped perpetuate a seductive image of the Scottish as being valiant underdogs, possessors of a brand of earthly pride that serve them well in conflicts with their more powerful southern neighbor. Historical facts do corroborate this impression. When they were pitted against English forces that easily outranked them in numbers and technological sophistication, the Scottish prevailed. William Wallace’s victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 is probably the best example of Scottish resilience against the odds. Robert the Bruce has a similar claim to fame with the Battle of Bannockburn seventeen years later when his men defeated an English army that was three times as massive.
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