Carolyn P. (Capitana) reviewed Characters of the Reformation: Historical Portraits of the 23 Men and Women and Their Place in the Great Religious Revolution of the 16th Century on + 8 more book reviews
This is not the kind of objective history I am used to reading. Belloc is very biased with many errors of fact. I have been reading English history since I was in high school in the mid 1960s and I have never heard any hint that Henry VIII had syphilis nor read about any symptoms that would lead me to believe he had syphilis. They knew what syphilis was; Lord Darnley had it.
Belloc said Henry didn't really need a son as he had Mary and the example of a reigning queen in Isabella of Castile. That was Spain and England's only experience with a reigning queen had led to civil war. Henry needed a son. I am not fond of Henry and many of his actions. He was a spoiled brat, but on this he did have a point.
Belloc calls all Protestants Calvinist without real religious feeling and that the only thing motivating the Protestants was grabbing church land. Well, they did take church land, but that was far from the only factor. They were religious to an all consuming extent that we find hard to understand in the modern era. So were many Catholics.
Belloc calls Elizabeth's Chancellor William Cecil her puppet master. If he had been, Cecil would have had a lot less trouble getting Elizabeth to agree with him. She was a strong willed, highly intelligent woman, able to put England's needs before her own desires. The best queen England has ever had in my opinion.
Belloc said Henry didn't really need a son as he had Mary and the example of a reigning queen in Isabella of Castile. That was Spain and England's only experience with a reigning queen had led to civil war. Henry needed a son. I am not fond of Henry and many of his actions. He was a spoiled brat, but on this he did have a point.
Belloc calls all Protestants Calvinist without real religious feeling and that the only thing motivating the Protestants was grabbing church land. Well, they did take church land, but that was far from the only factor. They were religious to an all consuming extent that we find hard to understand in the modern era. So were many Catholics.
Belloc calls Elizabeth's Chancellor William Cecil her puppet master. If he had been, Cecil would have had a lot less trouble getting Elizabeth to agree with him. She was a strong willed, highly intelligent woman, able to put England's needs before her own desires. The best queen England has ever had in my opinion.
Ray R. reviewed Characters of the Reformation: Historical Portraits of the 23 Men and Women and Their Place in the Great Religious Revolution of the 16th Century on + 6 more book reviews
Do not read this book unless you are willing to be exposed to one of the best minds I have ever seen or read. He writes a short book which turns aside all the fiction you have probably read about the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in England and Europe. The Reformation wasn't driven by religion at all. It was the biggest heist of money and property in the history of mankind before and ever since. Raymond
