British History and Romance By Audrey Rogers Dr. Perkins : HIS 315 January 24, 2008 Romance has taken on many roles throughout history. In Britain the legends of adulterous love lead to the demise of the Kingdom, showing the importance of loyalty and nationalism. While the romantic adventures of Henry VIII and the Tudors changed the course of history for religion and monarchies. Finally in a culmination of the transition during the Industrial Revolution, Romanticism, a new intellectual and artistic movement was born. Fervent emotion coupled with simplicity in virtue and beauty created a new social movement in the 18 th and 19th centuries. Ancient love legends of Britain are an indication of the importance of romance to early Britons. The tragic love triangle of Tristan, Isolde, and King Mark is a pervasive theme throughout literature. There are numerous variations and authors of the adulterous love affair between Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish Princess Isolde. Tristan and Isolde fall in love only to be separated without knowing each others true identity. When King Mark is to marry Isolde, Tristan and Isolde rediscover each other, but must hide their love and are miserable. The love story of Tristan and Isolde displays what was important in Medieval Britain. Honor and political loyalty are the highlighted themes of the story. Their love conflict ended with the destruction of the King Mark's Kingdom. Nationalism is also a product of this story, which first appeared in the 12th century, but their stories have been retold and recreated throughout the ages. The legend of Tristan and Isolde was also likely to have had a great influence on the love legend of King Arthur's Camelot. There are many stories with the character of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, but overall images and themes remain consistent. King Arthur is often shown as a perfect, chivalrous leader that respects and honors his Knights. Unfortunately his wife, Guinevere, begins an illicit affair with Arthur's best Knight, Lancelot, which then leads to the fall of his court and perfect Camelot. King Arthur's legend is very similar to that of Tristan 2 and Isolde. The first appearance of Arthur's reign is found in the writings of Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th century Latin work Historia Regum Britanniae. Another French poet, Chr tien de Troyes, had the greatest influence in early documentation of the love story. Alfred Lloyd Tennyson, "transformed culturally problematic Welsh legends into icons for Anglican nationalism" 1 in his Idylls of the King, and his version became extremely popular and is still well known. Tennyson had to handle the myth very carefully due to its heavy Catholic undertones, in order to create "a past in which England, not Rome, reigned as the beacon of divine guidance and moral superiority."2 In this literary history, we find that the legends of King Arthur support English independence from the influences of Rome in two interesting ways. First, the legends assert through mytho-history a freedom from continental religious influence that predates even Henry VIII's break with the Church of Rome. Secondly, Arthurian legends lend the English monarchy spiritual authority equivalent or (depending on the representation) even superior to that of the pope.3 There remains a high level of interest in King Arthur's Camelot. There are many locations in Great Britain that claim to be the site of the Kingdom, even though the legend can not be verified as fact or fiction. However, Cornwall at the Southwest tip of the island is the likely area for Camelot, where the ancient romance legends of Kings and Queens began. These love stories have played an important role in the formation of Britain and British nationalism. Honor, justice, bravery, loyalty, and chivalry are all important themes that were created through these stories, which have in turn shaped the history and peoples of Britain. 1 2 Bowles, Noelle page 574 Ibid, page 574. 3 Romance played a huge role in history of Britain during the rule of Henry VIII, from 1509 to 1547. In search of an heir Henry VIII developed a true obsession with a mistress. He became responsible for one of the largest national and religious upheavals in history. Henry VIII rose to the throne following the death of his brother. In keeping with an alliance between Spain and Britain, Henry VIII assumed the wife of his brother, Catherine of Aragon. Catherine and Henry had a girl named Mary, but the lack of a male heir was very troublesome for "England almost certainly would reject a little girl as his successor" 4Henry VIII soon became entranced with the young, sensual, and charismatic woman, Lady Anne Boleyn. Britain was a Catholic nation that was ultimately overseen by the Pope in Rome. However, Henry VIII desired a divorce from Catherine and the Catholic Church would not allow Spanish Royal to be disgraced. During this time, the Reformation was in full swing; Martin Luther's idea of the Protestant Revolution had spread across the borders of Germany and Thomas Wyndale, an ordained priest, translated and published an English version of the New Testament. The ability to read and interpret the Bible illuminated the minds of Europeans, and eventually the new ideas that resulted reached Britain's Royal court. Anne Boleyn shared some of these ideas with Henry VIII and convinced him of the idea of royal supremacy and divine right. His advisor and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, supported the idea of royal supremacy, as well as the marriage to Anne Boleyn. Driven by his love for Anne Boleyn and the desire for an heir, a Protestant Britain was born during the reign of Henry VIII. Henry VIII's decision to split from the Catholic Church had lasting repercussions in the United Kingdom and the world. During, his reign the conflict between Catholic and Protestant was fierce. Catholics were forced into hiding for fear of being burned at the stake. Meanwhile, 3 4 Ibid, page 574. Levine, Mortimer page 48 4 Anne Boleyn delivered a baby girl named Elizabeth. However, she was unable to produce a surviving male heir. Henry VIII demanded her execution on the basis of adultery and treason. He went on to marry four other women and had a son, Edward, with Lady Jane Seymour. Following the birth of his son, Henry ordered his third Succession Act of 1544 through Parliament, which "set the order of succession after Edward and his children and any future children of the king as Mary and her lawful heirs, Elizabeth and her lawful heirs, and those Henry might designate by letters patent or will" 5However, Henry underestimated the power and strength of his two daughters Mary I and Elizabeth I. Henry VIII died in 1547 and Edward I became king. Edward I ruled for only six years until his death at age 15. His England was Protestant and anti-Catholic. Following his death in 1553, Mary I became Queen an instantly repealed Edward I's anti-Catholic laws. She persecuted the Protestants and became known as Bloody Mary. She then married a Spaniard, which was seen as a denial of love for the English nation. Elizabeth I took over in 1558 and ruled until 1603. Her reign is characterized as the restoration of the English nation, and she is credited for the return of peace. Her virginity and purity garnered support and admiration from her people. Early in her reign, Elizabeth I was involved with Robert Dudley, a married man. The scandalous death of his wife tarnished his reputation with the English people and ended all possibility for marriage with Elizabeth. Their relationship remained special, but platonic, until his death. Elizabeth I always put England first and she was a wonderful ruler. She was a Protestant, yet she was moderate. She even defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588. Elizabethan England is known as the Golden Age in British history because of the surge in English poetry and literature. This English renaissance generated many great intellectuals, like William Shakespeare. The romantic relations of the Tudors, 5 Ibid, page 71. 5 mainly Henry VIII, caused years of unrest and religious difficulties for England. Eventually, his daughter, Elizabeth I, came to be one of the most magnificent rulers of England. The events of British history in the 18th century were somewhat tumultuous and full of contradictions. Britain was becoming more and more involved in India, while losing its 13 colonies in the Americas. Britain declared war on France in 1793 and watched the rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon. Between 1785 and 1825, a new artistic, intellectual, and social movement was termed Romanticism. The age of Romanticism saw a fundamental transition between an Enlightenment world view, spurred by the Golden Age of Elizabeth I, and the values of a modern, industrialized society.6 Romanticism was the bridge that united the modern and ancient world during the evolution into an industrial age. The term Romanticism comes from the word "romance" which is also a genre of poetry. However, the age of Romanticism was very different and more extreme than simply being categorized as romance. The movement stresses strong emotion, the sublime, purity and beauty of nature. Patriotism, nationalism, and revolution were also frequent topics of the period. Nationalism became a central theme in the artistic and intellectual thinking of Romanticism. The nations of Europe had been ravaged by wars and the French Revolution was rooted in Romanticism. British people during this period felt compelled to reassess the nature of heroism, which was provoked by drastic changes in their systems of political authority and by their experience of a prolonged war. Paintings of pastoral scenes, passionate music, and dramatic poetry and literature, which encompassed the juxtaposition of opposites, were the desired products of intellectuals. An example of this is in the 19th century protagonists, like Mary Shelley's creature in Frankenstein and Emily Bront 's Heathcliff. 6 Curran, Stuart page xiii 6 William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Shelley, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Lord George Gordon Byron and William Butler Yeats are examples of writers of the Romantic era. Romanticism is most often associated with William Wordsworth, who was an outspoken support of liberty. The era of Romanticism saw a substantial increase of female writers, intellectuals and artists. Women were more easily accepted as Romanticism thinkers. Stuart Curran, editor of The Cambridge Companion to British Romanticism, believes that the culture range of the romantic era was "at the intersection of competing philosophical traditions, of political and class divisions, of emergent gender distinctions, of high and low and sacred and profane cultures, of battle of books (prose and poetry, fiction and history), and contested claims among the arts, the literature of this age the incomparable literature of Romanticism reflects the tensions that attend and often empower its creation." 7 An example of the cultural range is the adaptation of the love legend, Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner. A Romantic composer, Wagner revisited this ancient love story because of his own love triangle. The result, according to Royal Opera House concertmaster Peter Manning, "is one of the most dramatic pieces ever written. It sustains an intense psychological drama over four hours with an incredible variety and subtlety of sounds." 8 The variety, drama and subtlety of Tristan und Isolde are important themes in Romanticism, along with the themes of the love story. "Romanticism is governed by a sense of the inadequate fit between the real and the apparent, heaven and earth. It is thus governed by struggle (between soul and body, content and form) and be desire (for something always still to come)" 9. Romanticism was a very important and influential movement in the history of Britain. Love is a part of human nature and therefore romance is in every part of history. Romance created a sense of nationalism, pride, justice, honor, and loyalty through the ancient 7 8 Ibid, page xiv Manning, Peter. Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. Strad; Dec2006, Vol. 117 Issue 1400, p74-77, 3p, 1bw. Academic Search Premier, 22 Jan. 2008. <http://web.ebscohost.com>, page 1. 7 love stories of Tristan and Isolde, as well as King Arthur. The idea and importance of chivalry was a lasting result. During the Tudor Dynasty, Henry VIII's desire for romance and a male heir caused huge reform to the religious practices of everyone in Britain. Finally the emergence of Romanticism as a major intellectual and artistic movement changed writing styles and subject, paintings and art, gender roles and relations, and political and class divisions. Romance and Romanticism are still present in Britain today and are easily accessible largely due to their popularity and lasting effects on history. 9 Curran, Stuart page 9 8