Henry VII and the Shaping of the Tudor State
Sean Cunningham highlights the importance of 'rule by recognisance' in the reign of the first Tudor monarch.
In William Shakespeare's King Richard III the victorious Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, has a surprisingly undeveloped role as the saviour of England from Richard's tyranny. Looking back from 1597, Shakespeare saw the fruits of the Tudor victory, and he captured the significance of the battle of Bosworth with the lines:
All that divided York and Lancaster
United in their dire division.
O now let Richmond and Elizabeth,
The true succeeders of each House,
By God's fair ordinance conjoin together,
And let their heirs - God, if his will be so -
Enrich the time to come with smooth-faced peace.
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