At the end of the fifteenth century, England entered a new, turbulent, but ultimately beneficent, phase of its history. Civil war, religious schism and Renaissance ideals transformed English culture and politics under the leadership of the new Tudor dynasty. The Tudors, especially Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, are best known for their absolutist rule and for leading England’s separation from the Catholic Church. In addition, the Tudor dynasty helped to bring England fully out of the Medieval Era. Directly and indirectly—by design and by provoking resistance—they promoted humanist ideals which saw feudalism and mysticism replaced by parliamentary and secular ideals.

This course, a successor to earlier courses on English history, examines the increasingly sophisticated relationship between England’s monarchy and its parliament—partly setting the precedent for the Glorious Revolution of 1688—and the cultural developments which distinguished England from the rest of Europe.

NB: England’s Reformation will not be covered in detail as it has previously been covered in Mr. Lewis's earlier course “Reformation and Religious Wars.”

Part 1 was delivered at OCON 2005. Part 2 was delivered at OCON 2006, Part 3 was delivered at OCON 2007, and Part 5 was delivered at OCON 2013