The Age of Henry VIII

Meet England’s most famous monarch; a figure who not only commands our interest on his own terms, but as someone whose life and actions raise larger philosophical questions about what history is and how it is “made.”

Overview

Course No. 8467

Professor Hoak presents 24 lectures examining Henry VIII’s transformative reign through:

• The political and religious revolutions of the English Reformation
• The king’s six marriages and their dynastic consequences
• Thomas More’s humanist ideals versus Tudor absolutism
• The dissolution of monasteries and Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion

From Holbein’s portraits to the break with Rome, this course reveals how Henry VIII reshaped England’s monarchy, church, and national identity.

Video Lectures

Part 1: Foundations of Tudor Power

1-4. From Wars of Roses to Imperial Kingship (30-31 min)
Henry VII’s legacy, chivalric ideals, Wolsey’s statecraft.

5-8. Break with Rome (31 min each)
Anne Boleyn’s rise, parliamentary reforms, More’s execution.

Part 2: Religious and Social Upheaval

9-17. Reformation England (30-31 min)
Monastic dissolution, northern rebellions, humanist thought.

Part 3: The Six Queens

18-22. Marriage and Court Politics (30-31 min)
Boleyn’s fall, Seymour’s heir, Howard’s scandal, Parr’s survival.

Part 4: Legacy

23-24. Final Campaigns and Historical Assessment (31 min)
Costly wars, succession plans, evaluating Henry’s reign.