Richard Rex

This updated edition of an influential interpretation of Henry VIII's Reformation retains the analytical edge and lucidity of the original work. Richard Rex emphasizes the personal role of Henry VIII in driving the Reformation process, as well as the considerable reinforcement of Henry's power rendered by that process. In a powerful new chapter which takes into account recent research, Rex elucidates the way in which politics and religion interacted in early Tudor England.

Henry VIII and the English Reformation, Second Edition

The best introduction to England A-s most important dynasty A- DAVID STARKEY

The Tudors

The essays in this single-author collection are principally concerned with Madame Eglentyne, the demure and elegant prioress depicted in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Richard Rex contends that how we think about Chaucer as a Christian depends largely on our interpretation of the Prioress's Tale, which in turn is linked to the brilliant portrait of Madame Eglentyne in the General Prologue. While each essay can stand alone in that Rex has approached Madame Eglentyne and her tale with a number of different considerations in mind, together they contribute to our understanding of this Canterbury pilgrim in important ways. Scholars lament the fact that Chaucer refrains from stating opinions - that he seems to have no axes to grind, never chooses sides, and always defers to the authority of others. In the Prioress's Tale, however, Chaucer reveals more of his moral thought than in any of his other works, for in this tale he juxtaposes the theme of martyrdom and vengeance with Christ's crucifixion and the concept of charity.

"The Sins of Madame Eglentyne", and Other Essays on Chaucer

Elizabeth I stands in the English imagination for one of the formative phases of English history. Her reign saw England transformed, at her command, from a Catholic to a Protestant country, with incalculable consequences for the history of Europe and of the world - starting with the attempted invasion by the Spanish Armada, beaten off by the Queen's legendary naval captains. Of the five monarchs who trod the political stage of sixteenth- century England, Elizabeth was the most accomplished and versatile performer. And it is ultimately this which accounts for her enduring fascination. Richard Rex highlights the vivid and contrary personality of a Queen who could both baffle and bedazzle her subjects, her courtiers, and her rivals: at one moment flirting outrageously with a favourite or courting some foreign prince, and at another vowing perpetual virginity; at one time agonising over the execution of her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, then ordering the slaughter of hundreds of poor men after a half-cock rebellion. Too many biographies of Elizabeth merely perpetuate the flattery she enjoyed from her courtiers, as if her dramatic repertoire was limited to the role of Gloriana.

Elizabeth I

Abandoning the traditional narrative approach to the subject, Richard Rex presents an analytical account which sets out the logic of Henry VIII's shortlived Reformation. Starting with the fundamental matter of the royal supremacy, Rex goes on to investigate the application of this principle to the English ecclesiastical establishment and to the traditional religion of the people. He then examines the extra impetus and the new direction which Henry's regime gave to the development of a vernacular and literate devotional culture, and shows how, despite Henry's best intentions, serious religious divisions had emerged in England by the end of his reign. The study emphasises the personal role of Henry VIII in driving the Reformation process and how this process, in turn, considerably reinforced the monarch's power. This updated edition of a powerful interpretation of Henry VIII's Reformation retains the analytical edge and stylish lucidity of the original text while taking full account of the latest research. An important new chapter elucidates the way in which 'politics' and 'religion' interacted in early Tudor England.

Henry VIII and the English Reformation

A new critical edition of Henry VIII's 1526 public letter to Martin Luther, enabling readers to examine how Henry VIII wanted his subjects to regard the German heresiarch.

The Second Controversy, 1525-1527

Henry VIII and Martin Luther

Patrick Collinson

Graham Stanton

An account of the Lady Margaret's Professorship of Divinity at Cambridge.

1502 to 1649

Lady Margaret Beaufort and Her Professors of Divinity at Cambridge

A major new account of the most intensely creative years of Luther's career The Making of Martin Luther takes a provocative look at the intellectual emergence of one of the most original and influential minds of the sixteenth century. Richard Rex traces how, in a concentrated burst of creative energy in the few years surrounding his excommunication by Pope Leo X in 1521, this lecturer at an obscure German university developed a startling new interpretation of the Christian faith that brought to an end the dominance of the Catholic Church in Europe. Lucidly argued and elegantly written, The Making of Martin Luther is a splendid work of intellectual history that renders Luther's earthshaking yet sometimes challenging ideas accessible to a new generation of readers.

Richard Rex

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