HOME LESSONS.

Northland Age, Volume 24, Issue 48, 26 March 1925, Page 7

HOME LESSONS.

HISTORY NOTES. (Compiled by C. C McAdam). The Tudor period covers the sixteenth century, that is from 1500 to 1600. The first of the Tudors, Henry Seventh, came to the throne at the finish of the War of the Roses. This war had broken the power of the nobles, so the king had now more power than kings had had since the Norman Period. Even apart from the War of the Roses, the nobles had been losing their eminence—as fighting men anyway—as the deeds of the English archers, and the increasing use of gunpowder, had made the common soldier of more importance, and the mail-clad knight was now almost a thing of the past. The War of the Roses was a civil war between two sets of nobles, and the common people did not have much to do with it. Probably it was rather a nuisauce at the time, but it had the effect of causing the nobles to kill a good many of each other and weakened the power of those that were left and thus helped to prepare the way for the power passing to the people. Printing also had been brought to England shorily before this period, bringing in reach of some of the poorer people the power of reading, which had formerly been confined to the clergy and those of the upper classes who cared to learn. In the Tudor Period however, it was not yet the people, but the king, that increased in power owing to the removal of the check of the power of the nobles. It is said, and many agree, that a "benevolent despotism” is the best government a country or smaller community can have. Unfortunately, it seems to be against the usual rules of human nature for a despot or autocrat or anyone who has complete unchecked power in his own hands, to remain benevolent. Alfred the Great is the only instance I can think of, of a really benevolent despot. But one despot, even if not benevolent, is better than a lot of despots. For instance, the people were badly enough treated by William the Conqueror, bu' they had a still worse time later on in the Norman Period when the barons or nobles for a time were able to put aside the power of the king, and then each baron, unchecked by any higher power, terrorised the unfortunate people in his power so as to get as much as possible for himsell before some other baron came along. Educationists nowadays say that we should deal less with kings and wars in history and more with the condition and progress of the people. But up to two hundred years ago, the character of the king had a great effect on the condition ol the country and periods of time are often referred to as the time of some particular sovereign. Besides, some of the time honored little tales ot kings, are now part of the English language as are the fairy tales of Cinderella and Aiaddin.

The second Tudor Henry Eighth, the Norman king who ate too many lamprey fish and never smiled again, and the other king who lost his crown in the Wash—these episodes are referred to in literature, even it not of any direct historical importance. In Henry Eighth's reign, the “balance of pover” idea was taken up, helping France against Spain at one time, and Spain against France another time, “playing off” the two most powerful continental countries against each other, with the object of making England supreme.

On one of the occasions when England was against France, a Scottish army, as old time allies of France, invaded England aud was defeated at Flodden, a great number of the Scots, the "Flowers of the Forest”, being killed. This was about the last great national battle between England and Scotland, but, unlike Bannockburn of two hundred years before, Flodden was not part of any great war, and did not alter the position between the two countries.