The Renaissance in Europe between mid-15^th to mid-16^th century was a time of rapid and widespread change, which signaled the transformation from the medieval to the modern. During this time Europeans read the first books printed in the West, created a new kind of warfare, witnessed the establishment of the middle class, learned of fantastic voyages to the New World, made break-through discoveries in science, and began to develop a new way of learning known as humanism.

 

Another key development was the growth of the sovereign state and the absolute power of monarchs. Before 1453, European states were more feudal than sovereign, and after 1559, they were more sovereign than feudal. Feudal states are those in which the prerogatives of the state (taxation, waging war, etc.) were privately owned and were hereditary among nobles. At the beginning of the 13^th century, kings were regaining power and by the 16^th century, they were practically above the law. The growing sense of nationalism emerged from the desire of each country to enforce its own sovereignty. Throughout this period a series of wars were fought with complex shifts in alliances, partly for economic reasons, but primarily based on this need to establish supremacy.

 

Henry VIII became King of England in 1509. His father, Henry VII, the first of the Tudor dynasty, had been the victor in the Battle of Bosworth, which had ended the so-called War of the Roses. These were a series of wars waged from 1455-1485, between the houses of Lancaster and York, both of whom claimed descent from the Plantagenet royal house. Henry of Lancaster further assured a new dynasty by marrying Elizabeth of York.

 

Key players in the delicate struggle for sovereignty in 16^th century Europe were France and Spain, which included the rest of Holy Roman Empire. Henry VIII was different from his father in that he was interested in interested in forming alliances, waging war, and other otherwise gaining an international presence for England.