Henry VIII (1491-1547; reigned 1509-1547)

Was he Renaissance man or Machiavellian Prince?

Renaissance man

Henry VIII was good example of a Renaissance (meaning 're-birth') man. He was handsome and very accomplished - good horseman, composer (Greensleeves), jouster, multilingual, sportsman, astronomer and religious. How do we know all this? Contemporary accounts e.g. from foreign (Venetian) Ambassador who had no reason to lie or flatter. One has to be careful of later accounts (which are less convincing through lapse of time) and contemporary accounts that may be biased in his favour e.g. from courtiers.

Machiavellian Prince

Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian writer who wrote a famous book called 'The Prince' in 1513, when Henry was 21. This book offered advice to keep monarchs and rulers in power by using means such as deception, opportunism and manipulation. This is where we get the term we use today: 'Machiavellian' - meaning ruthless, cunning and scheming. in 1513, Henry executed the Earl of Suffolk who was the leading Yorkist claimant to the throne and was accused of treason. Also in 1521, the Duke Buckingham - another claimant - was executed because he was accused of treason.
He beheaded 2 of his wives and divorced two.

Conclusion

To conclude, I would say that Henry VII was equally a Renaissance man and a Machiavellian King, because from the sources, there seems to hav e been an equal balance between the two characteristics. Maybe one needed to be both to be a successful monarch in those days.

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