English nobleman, a favourite of Henry VII for whom he fought against the Cornish rebels at Blackheath in 1497. He became a privy councillor under Henry VIII, but came under suspicion because of his association with the duke of Buckingham, his father-in-law.
Adrian Dedel was born in Utrecht and studied in Louvain. He was tutor to Charles V,
who subsequently made him inquisitor-general of Aragon. In 1522 he was almost unanimously elected pope. He attempted
reforms of the curia in the face of Luther's revolt, but died the following year before he could be effective.
Author of the Summa Theologiae and Summa de Creaturis. A follower of Aristotle he did much to bring about the union of Aristotelianism and theology that was the basis of
scholasticism. He was influential on Thomas Aquinas, who he taught at Cologne.
Rodrigo Borgia, pope from 1492 to 1503. Born in Spain, he was made a cardinal by his uncle Calixtus III and
succeeded Innocent VIII to the papal chair, which he secured by blatant bribery. He attempted to break the power of
the Italian princes and to appropriate their possessions for his own family. He had several children by Rosa Vanozza,
including the (unfairly) infamous Lucretia Borgia and Machiavelli's model prince
Cesare Borgia.
Called the Astronomer or the Wise, king of Leon and Castile. He caused the first general history of Spain to be written in Castilian and a translation of the Old Testament to be made by the Toledo Jews. His great code of laws and planetary tables were famous; he also wrote several long poems and works on chemistry and philosophy.
English prelate and scholar. His learning and oratory were much admired by James I, in whose reign he was successively bishop of Chichester, Ely and Winchester.
Duchess of Brittany in her own right from 1488 Anne struggled to maintain Breton independence but in 1491 was
forced to marry Charles VIII of France, whereby Brittany was united to the French crown.
Following the death of Charles she married his successor Louis XII.
Scholastic philosopher, born in Aosta, Piedmont. He was appointed to the see of Canterbury in 1093. His principles led him into conflict with the Crown, being temporarily exiled by both
William II and Henry I. He was canonized in 1494.
The Fitzalans were supporters of the Lancastrian side in the Wars of the Roses and were thereafter closely associated with the Tudors. Thomas inherited the earldom in 1487.
English statesman and conoisseur, prominent in the court and public life of his day. He was famous as a patron and collector of paintings and sculpture. It was at Arundel's house in Highgate that Bacon died.
English humanist and scholar, reader in Greek at St. John's College, Cambridge. He was tutor to Elizabeth I and Latin secretary
to Mary I. His principal work was The Scholemaster, a treatise on classical education.
The heir of a Yorkist family, Audley seemed at first reconciled to the Tudor regime and accompanied Henry VII to France in 1492. However, in 1497 he assumed leadership of the rebels at Blackheath and was executed after their defeat.
Born in Roman Africa, St. Augustine was a passionate exponent of Christianity. The author of some 93 books as well as letters and sermons, he is best known for his Confession and The City of God.
The most famous of the medieval Islamic philosophers, born in Cordoba, Spain. The most numerous and important of his works were his Commentaries on Aristotle.
Elder brother of Francis Bacon to whom he was very close. He spent the years 1579-92 in France, where he was part of Walsingham's intelligence network. He subsequently became a friend and client of the Earl of Essex. His health was poor for several years before his death and it was probably this rather than any action by his brother than shielded him from the aftermath of the Essex conspiracy.
Father of Francis Bacon, a common lawyer who entered royal service in 1537 as solicitor to the Court of Augmentations. He rose to be Lord Keeper to Elizabeth I. By his first marriage to Jane Fernley he had 3 sons and 3 daughters. His second wife was Anne Cooke, the sister-in-law of his friend William Cecil. Anthony and Francis Bacon were the children of this second marriage.
Sultan of the Ottoman empire who would have destroyed the Greek empire if he had not been defeated by Tamerlane in 1402. He was succeeded by his son Süleyman I.
Sultan of the Ottoman empire, he succeeded his father Mehmet II, the conqueror of Constantinople, in 1481. His reign was a succession of wars against Hungary, Poland, Venice, Egypt and Persia, which served on the whole to establish Ottoman power.
French soldier, diplomat and poet. A Huguenot, he fought in the religious wars, went on embassy to England and
died of wounds received at the battle of Ivry. His chief poem La Semaine gives an account of the creation
and he also wrote a biblical epic Judith. In his La seconde semaine he commended Sir Nicholas Bacon for his learning
and was known to both Francis and his brother Anthony.
An English prophet known as the Maid or Nun of Kent. She was charged with treason and hanged for denouncing Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and marriage to Anne Boleyn.
English saint and martyr. Born in London, the son of a wealthy Norman merchant, he became the first Englishman to hold high office since the Conquest when he was appointed chancellor by Henry II. He was created archbishop of Canterbury in 1162. He steadfastly upheld the independence of the Church from the king, which led him into conflict with Henry and he spent several years in exile. He returned to Canterbury in 1170, but the reconciliation was shortlived and he was murdered at the altar of the cathedral by four of the king's knights. He was canonized in 1173 and Henry did penance at his tomb the following year. His shrine was destroyed at the Reformation and he is remembered by Bacon as a champion of the Church not as a saint.
French theologian and reformer, born of a noble family in Burgundy, he entered the Cistercian monastery of Cîteaux in 1113 and in 1115 became the first abbot of the newly-founded monastery of Clairvaux in Champagne. His studious, ascetic life and stirring eloquence made him the oracle of Christendom and he founded more than 70 monasteries. His writings include more than 400 epistles, 340 sermons, a Life of St. Malachy and theological treatises.
Second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I. Henry's courtship was prolonged because of the difficulty of acquiring a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, but the marriage was troubled and did not survive the birth of a stillborn son in January 1536. Anne was accused of adultery with her brother and four others and subsequently beheaded. Hostile commentators referred to the queen as Nan Bullen to stress the comparatively humble origins of her father's family.
Italian soldier and captain-general of the armies of the Church, the illegitimate son of Alexander VI. He captured Romagna, Perugia, Siena, Piombini and Urbino, but his power was dependent upon his father and waned with his death and the election of Julius II in 1503. He was presented by Machiavelli in The Prince as embodying the qualities necessary for successful leadership.
Archbishop of Canterbury from 1454 until his death and a cardinal from 1473, Bourchier crowned Edward IV, Richard III and
Henry VII. He was the son of William, earl of Ewe by Lady Anne Plantagent, a granddaughter of
Edward III. His brother was Earl of Essex and his great-nephew Lord Berners. Sir John Bourchier, who served as a pledge in France for Henry VII, was his nephew.
An esquire of the body to Richard III, appointed by him to be constable of the Tower. He apparently refused to be party to the murder of Edward IV's sons, who were in his charge, but remained loyal to Richard III and died fighting on his behalf at Bosworth.
The wife of Sir Edward Brampton (c1440-1508) who is variously named as Catherine or Margaret. Her husband was a soldier, merchant and adventurer who was born in Portugal to Jewish parents, but travelled to England about 1468 and converted to Christianity. He was a member of the household of both
Edward IV and Richard III. He did not return to England after Bosworth and was in Portugal when Perkin Warbeck was sent there to spend some time in his household where he could be groomed for his future role.
The son of Henry VII's standard-bearer who fell at Bosworth, he served as squire to Henry VIII and was a close friend. He was created Duke of Suffolk in 1514. He married the king's sister Mary, the widow of Louis XII of France, without Henry's permission, which initially attracted the wrath of the king but in time the couple were forgiven and welcomed at court.
English poet and courtier. The inscription of his tomb in St. Mary's, Warwick, described him as 'servant to Queen Elizabeth, councillor to King James, and friend to Sir Philip Sidney'. He wrote the Life of the Renowned Sir Philip Sidney, which was published in 1652.
A member of a Lancastrian family, he was attainted by Richard III and joined Henry Tudor in Brittany. He fought for Henry VII at Bosworth and was rewarded for his support by the restoration of his lands and grants of offices. He was summoned to parliament as Lord Broke in 1491.
Restored to the lands forfeited by his father Henry on the accession of Henry VII, Buckingham was one of the richest and most powerful nobles in England. His potential claim to the throne made him an object of suspicion to Henry VIII and his open hostility to Wolsey made him vulnerable. In 1521 he was accused of having aimed at the throne and executed.
A descendent of Edward III and a powerful noble, who on the death of Edward IV initially supported
Richard III and helped him to secure possession of Edward V.
He subsequently changed sides in favour of Henry Tudor, but his uprising was abortive and he was executed.
As chief secretary of state to Elizabeth I Cecil was the main architect of the policies of her government. He was
created Baron Burghley in 1571 and High Treasurer in 1572. His second wife was Mildred Cooke, Bacon's aunt, but Bacon
was never able to obtain the advancement he hoped for through his uncle.
Augier Ghislain de Busbecq, a 16th century diplomat and ambassador in Constantinople for 7 years. He left an account of the Ottoman empire which was translated into several languages.
Third son of James Butler, earl of Ormonde (d. 1452), he succeeded to the title on the death of elder brother
John in 1478. The family had actively supported the Lancastrian cause, although his brother had to some extent been reconciled to Edward IV.
Venetian navigator and cartographer, second son of John Cabot (hailed as the modern discoverer of North America). He sailed with his father on expeditions to find the Northwest Passage. He subsequently worked as a cartographer for Henry VIII and Ferdinand of Aragon. He explored the coast of Brazil and the River Plate in 1526 as pilot-major for Charles V. In 1548 he returned to England and became inspector of the navy for Edward VI and subsequently founded the company of Merchant Adventurers of London.
A London draper, who served as mayor in 1503 and 1509. He was knighted by Henry VII. John Stow records that he was responsible for having a cage set up in each ward for the punishment of vagabonds.
One of the original fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge on its foundation in 1546, appointed Regius Professor of Greek the following year. In 1558 he took the degree of M.D. and subsequently practised medicine to supplement his income.
Italian mathematician, naturalist, physician, philosopher, gambler and astrologer. A strange mixture of polymath and charlatan, he wrote over 200 treatises on a variety of subjects. His most famous work is the algebraic work Ars Magna.
A Tuscan appointed a papal prothonotary by Innocent VIII. Being sent to Scotland, he
returned via England where he created a favourable impression upon the king and archbishop of Canterbury. He returned
to Rome when Innocent died and acted as Henry VII's ambassador in Rome under pope Alexander VI.
Although he never returned to England, he was made successively bishop of Hereford and of Bath and Wells. He was made
a cardinal, but following the death of Alexander VI he fell out of favour with the Curia and withdrew from Rome. He
also antagonised Henry VIII and was deprived of his diocese.
Youngest daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, she married
Henry VII's elder son Arthur in 1501. He died within 6 months and she
was betrothed to his younger brother in 1503, although the marriage did not take place until Henry VIII ascended the throne in 1509.
Her life in the intervening period was difficult, because of the disputes between her father and father-in-law
concerning her dowry. Between 1510 and 1514 she bore Henry four children, who all died in infancy. Her only surviving
child, Mary, was born in 1516. Henry's anxiety over the succession soured the marriage and from
1527 he actively sought an annulment to enable him to marry Anne Boleyn. Catherine refused to accept the annulment of her marriage by the archbishop of Canterbury, Henry's subsequent marriage and the declaration of her daughter's illegitimacy.
The youngest daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, Catherine married Sir William Courtney.
His father was created earl of Devonshire after Bosworth and the family stood in high favour at court during the lifetime
of Henry's queen, Catherine's sister Elizabeth.
Chief justice of Queen's Bench from 1559, he presided over the trial of the Duke of Norfolk for high treason for conspiring to place Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne.
Wife of Richard, duke of York, who claimed the throne by right of his descent from Edward III. He died at the battle of Wakefield (1460) along with their son Edmund. Edward, their eldest son subsequently succeeded in wrenching the throne from Henry VI. According to later accounts Cecily was so upset by Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, that she denounced her son as being the result of an adulterous affair and thus having no claim to the throne. This was subsequently used by her youngest son as part of his evidence that Edward's sons were illegitimate, when he claimed the throne for himself as Richard III. Her other son was George, duke of Clarence. Edward IV had had his father's body moved to Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire, and when she died Cecily was buried alongside him there.
A knight of great influence in the north, excited the people to join the rebellion in 1489 headed by
Sir John Egremond in Northumberland and Durham. Henry, earl of Northumberland, who had orders to enforce the tax,
endeavoured to persuade him to cease his agitation. Chamber would not hear him, and on 20 April the earl was slain by
the rebels at Cock Lodge, near Thirsk. When Thomas, earl of Surrey, was sent to put down the insurrection, he took Chamber and routed the rebels. Chamber was executed at York 'in great state'.
Carolus Magnus, Charles the Great, king of the Franks and Christian emperor of the west. Regarded as the apex of medieval kingship, during whose reign the greatness of classical empires had been restored.
Duke of Burgundy from the death of his father Philip the Good in 1467. Margaret, the sister of Edward IV was his third wife, succeeding Catherine, daughter of Charles VII of France and Isabella, daughter of the Constable of Bourbon. A rich and powerful prince, he dreamed of restoring the old kingdom of Burgundy but his attempts at conquest were ultimately unsuccessful.
Holy Roman Emperor 1519-56 and king of Spain (as Charles I) 1516-56, founder of the Habsburg dynasty. Son of
Philip the Handsome, count of Flanders and son of the Holy Roman Emperor, and Joanna, the Infanta of Spain.
He was raised in Flanders. He became the most powerful ruler in Europe, whose dominions also extended to the New World.
His reign was dominated by war with France over the control of Italy and fruitless attempts to maintain religious unity
in Germany.
King of France from the death of his father Louis XI in 1483. In 1491 his marriage to Anne of Brittany ended Breton
independence, but in 1495-6 he failed in an attempt to secure the kingdom of Naples.
King of France from the death of his brother Francis II in 1559. His reign was dominated by the religious wars between Protestants and Catholics, most notoriously the slaughter of the Parisian Huguenots at the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in 1572.
A champion of Lutheranism and opponent of the Catholic Reformation promoted by his elder brother John III and
nephew Sigismund III, he took charge of the kingdom in 1599 and was declared king in 1604. He was the father of Gustavus Adolphus, the Protestant hero of the Thirty Years War.
Third son of Richard, duke of York and brother of Edward IV and Richard III. He married Isabella, the daughter of Richard Neville, earl of Warwick against his brother's wishes and in 1470 supported
Warwick in the brief restoration of Henry VI, but deserted to Edward IV the following year. He quarrelled with Richard
over the latter's marriage to Anne Neville, his sister-in-law, in 1472, but was later reconciled. In 1478 he was
impeached by his brothers for treason and secretly executed, by popular tradition being drowned in the Tower in a butt of Malmsey.
Pope from 1523 to 1534, a member of the Medici family and cousin of pope Leo X. A cunning diplomat, he proved unlucky as a pope allying himself with Francis I against Charles V, whose forces attacked Rome and captured him. He refused to sanction Henry VII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, his captor's aunt.
Younger son of Thomas, 8th baron Clifford; his elder brother John, 9th baron Clifford was a prominent Lancastrian who was killed on the eve of the battle of Towton.
English jurist, who in 1592 was made solicitor-general in preference to Bacon. He was promoted to attorney-general in 1594 and made chief justice of the Common Pleas in 1606 and of the King's Bench in 1613, when he also became a privy councillor. He resisted the royal prerogative and in 1617 was removed from the bench. In the 1620s he became a prominent opponent of royal policies in the Commons. Through his Institutes and published Law Reports he greatly influenced the development of the common law.
Genoese explorer and discoverer of the New World. While trying to raise support for his expedition to discover a western route to India, he sent his brother Bartholomew to Henry VII. The voyage was eventually backed by Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain and set out in 1492. On the first voyage he landed on the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. In 1493 he made a second voyage on which Dominica in the West Indies was sighted and a third voyage in 1498 led to the discovery of the South American mainland. He died at Valladolid in Spain after one final voyage along the south coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
French statesman and historian, born in the castle of Comines near Courtrai. In 1463 he entered the court of Burgundy, but in 1472 passed over to the service of Louis XI of France. He became one of the French king's most trusted advisers. On the king's death he initially fell out of favour, but subsequently accompanied Charles VIII on his Italian campaign, where he met Machiavelli. His Memoires are the earliest French example of history as distinct from chronicles.
Polish astronomer, who was brought up by his uncle the bishop of Ermeland. He studied mathematics, optics and perspective at Cracow, canon law at Bologna and medicine at Padua. His De Revolutionibus, proving the sun to be the centre of the universe, was completed in 1530 and published just before his death in 1543. Bacon knew of Copernicus' theory, but continued to uphold the medieval doctrine of the centrality of the earth.
The heir of a family who had been attainted by Edward IV for their support of the Lancastrian cause, Edward Courtney was made earl of Devon after the battle of Bosworth. In 1497
he resisted Perkin Warbeck's attempt on Exeter.
Married Catherine, youngest daughter of Edward IV after the battle of Bosworth and enjoyed
favour at court during the life of Elizabeth of York, Catherine's sister and Henry VII's queen. After her death the king became concerned that the Courtneys' closeness to the throne could lead them into conspiracy and William was imprisoned on a charge of corresponding with the Yorkist opposition. He was released on the accession of Henry VIII and allowed to succeed to his father's earldom, but the formalities of restoration were not completed before his own death.
Forced to flee England after the failure of Buckingham's uprising against
Richard III, Daubeney returned with Henry VII and was rewarded with a barony after Bosworth. He became a privy councillor and held several offices, including the mastership of the Mint.
Third husband of Margaret Beaufort, Stanley swam with the tide of events during the Wars of
the Roses, lending support on occasion to both Lancastrian and Yorkist leaders. In 1485 he held aloof from the battle
at Bosworth while his brother William gave decisive help to Henry VII. He was created earl of Derby two months after his
step-son ascended the throne.
Son of Sir John Grey, lord Ferrers of Groby by Elizabeth Woodville, afterwards wife of Edward IV. He fought for
Edward IV at Tewkesbury. When Richard III took the throne from Edward V, his half-brother, he went into exile and
joined Henry Tudor. He was treated with some suspicion, however, and did not accompany Henry to England, being left in
Paris as a guarantee for a loan. He was briefly imprisoned in the Tower during Lambert Simnel's attempt on the throne,
but was released after the battle of Stoke.
English lawyer and privy councillor in the reign of Henry VII. He and Sir Richard Empson were associated with the king's unpopular measures for raising revenue and were sent to the block by Henry VIII on his accession. His son became Duke of Northumberland, an important figure in the reign of Edward VI and prime mover in the unfortunate attempt to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne. His grandsons, the earls of Warwick and Leicester,
were favourites of Elizabeth I.
German painter and engraver, who may be regarded as the inventor of etching. The earl of Arundel had a number of important works by Durer in his collection.
English poet, diplomat and courtier to Elizabeth I. According to Aubrey he 'labour'd much in chymistry, was esteemed by some a Rosie-crucian, and a great devotee to Dr. Joh. Dee and Edw. Kelly'.
King of the English. Alongside St. Dunstan, his adviser and archbishop of Canterbury, he ruled over a period of peace and stability. He declared in his laws: 'I will that secular rights stand among the Danes with as good laws as best they may choose. But with the English let that stand which I and my witan have added to the dooms of my forefathers'.
Having participated in Buckingham's abortive uprising against Richard III, Edgcombe fled to Brittany and joined the earl of Richmond. He fought at Bosworth and was knighted on the battlefield. He was made comptroller of the household and a privy councillor. He undertook a diplomatic mission to Scotland in 1487.
Last Anglo-Saxon king of England from 1042. He spent much of his early life in Normandy and was greatly influenced by Norman favourites. He was obliged to marry Edith, the daughter of the powerful earl Godwin,
but reputedly did not have conjugal relations with her. William of Normandy visited him in 1051 and may have been promised the English throne in preference to Edward's nephew Edward the Ætheling, although
he was claimed to have recognised Godwin's son Harold as his successor on his deathbed. He was buried in Westminster Abbey and became the subject of a cult which saw him canonized in 1611.
King of England, famous for his campaigns against the Welsh, Scots and Irish, which earned him the epithet
'Hammer of the Scots'. In 1295 Edward summoned an assembly of the three estates, which later became known as the
Model Parliament.
The son of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, born in Caernarvon, he was created Prince of Wales in 1301 and became king of England in 1307. The influence of favourites and his defeat by Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn made him unpopular. In 1326 his wife Isabella, the sister of the king of France, led a rising against him alongside Roger de Mortimer, one of the discontented nobles. Edward was captured, made to abdicate and was murdered the following year while a prisoner in Berkeley castle, Gloucestershire.
Son of Edward II, who succeeded to the throne as a minor on his father's abdication. His long reign witnessed the continuation of war with Scotland, the beginning of the Hundred Years War with France and the loss of a third of the English population in the Black Death.
Son of Richard, duke of York and Cecily Neville, Edward was born at Rouen and bore the title earl of March. He wrested the throne from Henry VI in 1461 after the battle of Towton. He was handsome and frank in manners, and quickly became popular, although he imperilled his popularity by his licentiousness, his ill-advised marriage to Elizabeth Woodville and the honours heaped on her relations. He lost the throne briefly in 1470, but regained it the following year. He died suddenly, throwing the kingdom into turmoil once more.
The sons of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. Edward succeeded to the throne on his father's
unexpected death but was never crowned. His uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, took possession of Edward and his younger brother Richard and imprisoned them in the Tower. He then proceeded to declare the boys illegitimate and ascended the throne himself as Richard III. That both boys met an early and violent death seems certain; although Tudor propaganda undoubtedly painted an biased picture of Richard III, he remains the most likely candidate to have authorised their disposal.
Only son of Henry VIII by his third wife, Jane Seymour he succeeded as a minor in 1547 and
the responsibility for government was vested in his uncle Edward Seymour, duke of Somerset until his execution in 1552
and in John Dudley, the duke of Northumberland thereafter. His reign was characterised by the establishment of a firmly Protestant form of religion.
English lwayer, who became solicitor-general in 1581 and was successively attorney-general, lord keeper and finally lord chancellor in 1603. He was a friend of Bacon's and vigorously upheld the prerogatives of Chancery against the attacks of Sir Edward Coke.
Leader of a rebellion in Northumberland and Durham against the heavy subsidy of 1489; when the rebellion failed he escaped abroad, although other leaders of the revolt
such as John a Chamber were executed.
The last Tudor monarch, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, who succeeded her half-sister Mary in 1558. Bacon held the monarch who had promoted his father in great reverence. His own career did not, however, make the progress during her reign that he hoped and it was only with the
accession of James I that he gained the recognition he craved.
The eldest daughter of Edward IV, assuming that her brothers Edward and Richard
were dead, she had the strongest hereditary claim to the throne after the battle of Bosworth in 1485.
Richard III was said to have contemplated marriage with his niece in order to bolster his
own claim to the throne. Negotiations between Henry Tudor and Elizabeth Woodville had taken place
before his invasion to the same purpose. In the event Henry VII delayed his marriage to Elizabeth until parliament had
recognised him as king in his own right. She bore Henry two sons, Arthur and Henry
and two daughters, Margaret and Mary. She died shortly after giving birth to another daughter, Catherine, who died in infancy.
A common lawyer who served as speaker in the parliament of 1491, he became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1504. Closely associated with the unpopular measures taken by Henry VII to ensure his revenues, he was executed with Edmund Dudley following the accession of Henry VIII.
Dutch humanist and scholar, one of the most influential of Renaissance figures. He published many popular works, including the Adages, Handbook of a Christian Soldier and In Praise of Folly.
The son of William Bourchier and Anne Woodville, sister to Edward IV's queen, Henry succeeded his grandfather as earl in 1483. He was a privy councillor to Henry VII and became captain of the bodyguard to Henry VIII.
The stepson of the earl of Leicester, Essex succeeded his stepfather in the affections of Elizabeth I and became the favourite of the last years of her reign. He was tempestuous, proud and desired military glory. His relationship with the queen was often stormy and in 1601 he attempted to raise the city of London in support of his own assumption of government. The rebellion quickly fizzled out and Essex was subsequently tried and executed. Bacon and his brother Anthony had been close to Essex and the former's participation in the earl's trial has been regarded as disloyal to a patron and friend.
Ethelwold was a monk at Glastonbury before being charged with re-establishing the monastic community at Abingdon, where the monastery had decayed. In 963 he became bishop of Winchester and set about restoring monasticism in his diocese. He was responsible for the building of a new cathedral at Winchester to which he transferred the bones of St. Swithun.
His marriage to Isabella of Castile united the thrones of Aragon and Castile to form the basis of modern Spain. Granada was recovered from the Moors in 1492, the Jews were expelled from
Spain and the Inquisition was established. In 1503 Naples became a Spanish possession. Following Isabella's death he
retained hold of Castile in the name of his reputedly mad daughter Joanna and his grandson Charles. He extended his rule by conquering Oran in 1509 and Navarre in 1512.
Ferdinand I was the Aragonese king of Naples, whose claim to the throne was challenged by the dukes of Anjou.
He made an alliance with Florence, Milan and Verona; when pope Alexander VI responded by forming his own Holy League,
Ferdinand appealed unsuccessfully for assistance from the Spanish (1493). His death in 1494 was followed by the
invasion of Charles VIII of France, who entered Naples in 1495 prompting the abdication of
Ferdinand's successor Alfonso II in favour of his son Ferdinand II. Louis XII was declared king of Naples by the pope in 1501,
but the Aragonese retook the throne in 1503 when it became a Spanish possession.
A Bodmin lawyer, Flammock was one of the chief instigators of the Cornish rising of 1497. He was one of those hung, drawn and quartered after the failure of the rising, although most of those who followed him in the march on London were pardoned.
French nobleman and soldier, nephew of Louis XII, he became Duke of Nemours in 1505. In the Italian Wars he displayed such bravery and genius despite his youth that he was nicknamed the 'Thunderbolt of Italy'. He died following his defeat of the Spanish at Ravenna.
Born in Ropesley near Grantham, Foxe studied at Oxford, Cambridge and Paris. In Paris he met Henry Tudor
and was included in his council after Bosworth, becoming lord privy seal. He was successively bishop of Exeter, Bath and Wells and Winchester. In 1517 he founded Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
Italian scholar and physician, born in Verona. He became professor of philosophy at Padua in 1502, practised as a physician in Verona and was also known as a geographer, astronomer and mathemetician. His works on contagion contained an earl version of the germ theory of disease.
King of France from 1515, when he succeeded his uncle and father-in-law Louis XII. Initially successful in Italy, he subsequently suffered a reversal of his fortunes at the hands of his great rival Charles V.
Elected king of Germany in 1440, in 1452 he became the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned by a pope in Rome. His reign was one of anarchy, with wars raging on the frontiers of the empire and
disorders within. However, by the marriage of his son Maximilian to Mary, daughter of Charles the Bold, he laid the foundations of the future greatness of the Habsburg dynasty.
English prelate, born in Bury St. Edmunds. He was sent to Rome to further Henry VIII's
divorce from Catherine of Aragon and was appointed bishop of Winchester in 1533.
He supported the royal supremacy but opposed doctrinal novelties, which led to his deprivation and imprisonment on the
accession of Edward VI. He was released and restored by Mary in 1553 and became an arch-persecutor of Protestants.
English physician, born in Colchester, a fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge and physician to Elizabeth and James I. In his De Magnete(1600) he established the magnetic nature of the earth and conjectured that terrestial magnetism and electricity were allied emanations of a single force. He was the first to use the term 'electricity'.
Daughter of the Earl of Huntley, she was given in marriage by her kinsman James IV to Perkin Warbeck. After her husband's execution she resumed her maiden name and was treated at court as became her status, being awarded a pension by the king. She married three further husbands.
Pope from 590, saint and Church father. He reorganised the public services and ritual of the Roman church and systematized the sacred chants. He pursued the reformation and expansion of the Roman church with equal vigour.
English prelate and archbishop of Canterbury from 1575. His Puritan sympathies estranged him from the Court and his refusal to act against 'prophesyings' or private meetings of the Puritan clergy led in 1577 to his sequestration for 5 years. His Puritan sympathies were shared by Bacon's mother Anne.
Italian historian, born in Florence, who worked in the papal service as a diplomat for two decades. Following his retirement in 1534 he wrote the Storia d'Italia, a dispassionate analytical history of Italy from 1494 to 1532.
French soldier and statesman, one of the contrivers of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572). He was ambitious
to succeed to the throne of France, when Henri III secured his assassination at Blois.
Supporter of Richard, Duke of York and afterwards of his son Edward IV, who bestowed on him his barony and various royal appointments, including that of Chamberlain of the Household. He was on bad terms with the queen after he was appointed governor of Calais in preference to her brother, earl Rivers. Edward IV on his deathbed entreated him to be reconciled with the queen. His behaviour thereafter made it unclear whether he would support Edward V or Richard, duke of Gloucester as king. Consequently, at a meeting at the Tower with the latter he was summarily executed.
Author of various historical works in which he emulated the style of the great Roman historians. His First Part of the Life and Raigne of Henrie the IIII(1599), dedicated to Essex, gave offence to the queen and led to his imprisonment.
King of France from 1574 on the death of his brother Charles IX, responsible with his
mother Catherine de'Medici for instigating the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572). His reign was a period of incessant civil war
between Huguenots and Catholics. His brother the duke d'Alençon placed himself at the
head of the Huguenots while Henri aligned himself with the Catholic League headed by Henry, duke of
Guise. When Alençon died, Henri joined the Huguenots and his brother-in-law Navarre, who was heir-presumptive
to the throne. He was obliged to capitulate to the Catholic League in 1584 and was henceforth caught amid the rivalry
of Navarre and Guise. He was assassinated in 1589, the year after he had engineered the death of Guise.
Son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d'Albret, the niece of Francis I of France and ruler
of Navarre in succession to her father from 1562. Henri was raised as a Calvinist and became the leader of the French
Huguenots. He married Margaret of Valois, the sister of Charles IX and was spared in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. On the death of Margaret's brother
Alençon he became the heir presumptive to the French throne. On the death of Henri III in 1589 he marched on Paris, which was in the hands of the Catholic League. He won the subsequent throne and further secured his succession by declaring his conversion to Catholicism. In 1598 he issued the Edict of Nantes, guaranteeing religious toleration and bringing the wars of religion to a formal end. He was assassinated in 1610.
Youngest and only English born son of William the Conqueror. He seized the throne after the death of William II in 1100. He instigated significant and popular reforms in the administration of justice. The death of his only legitimate son William in 1120 paved the way for civil war after his death, as his daughter Matilda contested with his nephew Stephen for the crown.
Son of Henry I's daughter Matilda and her second husband Geoffrey Plantagenet, already duke of Normandy and count of Anjou Henry succeeded Stephen to the throne of England in 1154. He married Eleanor of Aquitaine, adding Poitou and Guienne to his dominions. His attempts to force the Church to accept his authority in civil matters led to conflict with Thomas Becket, his archbishop of Canterbury. The last years of his reign were marred by the rebellion of his sons Richard 'the Lion Heart' and John, encouraged by their mother.
The first king of the house of Lancaster, son of John of Gaunt and grandson of Edward III. He was banished by Richard II
in 1398 and when his father died in the following year his lands were confiscated by the king. Henry subsequently invaded and deposed Richard. His own reign was beset by rebellion and lawlessness.
Only child of Henry V and Catherine de Valois Henry became king as a baby on the death of his father in 1422. During his reign the victory over France achieved by his father was reversed and the English were expelled,
retaining only Calais. Henry's right to the throne was challenged by Richard, duke of York and despite the vigorous
efforts of his wife Margaret of Anjou he was eventually deposed by Edward IV. His son was slain at the battle of
Tewkesbury in 1471 and Henry was subsequently murdered. When the future Henry VII, son of Henry's half-brother Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, was brought to the king, he was supposed to have predicted his eventual accession to the throne.
The second son of Henry VII who succeeded his father as king of England in 1509. The
English Reformation was initiated in his reign, although the process of turning England into a Protestant country was
not completed until the reign of his daughter Elizabeth. Bacon intended to write a history of
Henry VIII as a sequel to his work on Henry VII, but did not receive the encouragement and research assistance he hoped and only an initial fragment remains.
'Thrice-greatest' Hermes, the God-like sage whose riddling ancient Greek writings, translated into Latin in 1471, were considered to hold the key to occult knowledge. The works were generally believed by Renaissance intellectuals to be pre-Christian, pre-Platonic and possibly even pre-Mosaic. This belief persisted well into the seventeenth century, despite Isaac Casaubon's discovery as early as 1614 that they belonged to the early Christian era. Bacon was generally a sceptic in relation to these works.
Pope from 1484 until his death in 1492. Following his election he called on the rulers of Europe to send representatives to Rome to plan a new crusade, but the initiative fell on deaf ears.
Succeeded her brother to the throne of Castile in 1474, five years after her marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon.
When Ferdinand succeeded his father as king of Aragon in 1479, they became joint rulers of much of Spain. Isabella was
known for her piety. She was the mother of Joanna of Castile and Catherine of Aragon.
Shah of Persia from 1501, founder of the Safavi dynasty, who established the first national government since the Arab conquest and Shi'ite Islam as the national religion.
King of Scotland from 1460. Despite earlier attempts at reconciliation, he was at war with England from 1480. He
was toppled by a rebellion in which his eldest son and successor James participated and murdered.
King of Scotland following the murder of his father James III in 1488, James IV has been
called an ideal medieval king: athletic, warlike and pious. In 1503 he married Margaret, the eldest daughter of
Henry VII. In 1513 he died fighting the forces of his English brother-in-law Henry VIII at Flodden.
Son of Mary, Queen of Scots by Henry, lord Darnley, James was king of Scotland from 1567 and in 1603 succeeded to
the English throne as the descendent of Henry VII's eldest daughter Margaret. Although uncertainty about his
succession abounded until it actually happened, the English welcomed a Protestant king of proven ability with sons to
ensure the succession. During James' reign Bacon gained the high office that had eluded him under Elizabeth I.
Daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, wife of
Philip the Handsome. She inherited the throne of Castile on her mother's death in 1504, but her father declared himself her regent. In 1506 Philip went to claim the throne on her behalf, but died the same year. Stricken by grief Joanna was judged to have lost her reason and confined, leaving Ferdinand to act as regent on behalf of her son Charles V.
Father of Ferdinand of Aragon, John was a man of mediocre competence whose reign was plagued by the machinations of discontented nobles and widespread unrest.
Latin poet and physician, sometime headmaster of Winchester school. Johnson was a leading member of the College of Physicians from 1580, but he left only one extant medical treatise:
Counsel against the Plague.
Called by Bacon Thomas, which was the name of his father, Fitzgerald was initially a Yorkist, but was received into favour by Henry VII and retained as lord deputy of Ireland. He came under suspicion of
favouring Perkin Warbeck and imprisoned, but was once more restored to favour.
French secretary to Edward IV, but deprived and imprisoned in the Tower by Richard III, King was restored by Henry VII and became an important royal servant. In 1495 he was appointed to be bishop of Bath and Wells.
Cambridge divine and reformer, who was a chaplain to Anne Boleyn and became bishop of Worcester in 1535. His enthusiasm for further reform led to his fall from favour; he was sent to the Tower in 1539 and 1546, on the former occasion he resigned his see. In 1555 he was found guilty of heresy along with Nicholas Ridley and Thomas Cranmer and burnt at the stake in Oxford.
A cleric identified by a antipathy to Puritanism, Laud became bishop of St. Davids in 1621 and confessor to Buckingham the following year. His theological position and his administrative abilities recommended him to Charles I, who promoted him to be bishop of Bath and Wells (1626), London (1628) and archbishop of Canterbury (1633). His association with the Charles and the earl of Stratford in the policies of the 1630s led to his impeachment by the Long Parliament. He was executed in 1644.
Fifth son of John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, Robert was sentenced to death with his father on the accession of Mary I, but reprieved. He became a favourite of Elizabeth I, who made him Master of the Horse and raised him to the earldom of Leicester. The death of his wife Amy Robsart in mysterious circumstances in 1560 was a cause of scandal. He led the English forces in the Netherlands and in 1588 was appointed to lead the forces assembled at Tilbury against the Armada.
Giovanni de'Medici, second son of the ruler of Florence, was created a cardinal at the age of 13. He succeeded Julius II as pope in 1513, whose the results of whose military campaigns he consolidated and extended. He is renown as a patron of learning and the arts. His project for the rebuilding of St. Peter's and his permitting of the preaching of an indulgence to raise funds provided the immediate provocation for Luther's Reformation.
King of France from 1461, when he succeeded his father Charles VII who he had previously attempted to depose.
He succeeded in reducing the power of the nobles and reuniting France under one crown with the exception of Brittany.
The son of the Duc d'Orléans, he succeeded his cousin Charles VIII as king of France in 1498 and married his widow Anne of Brittany. In 1514 he married Mary Tudor, younger daughter of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. His ambitious military campaigns in Italy proved unsuccessful, but his reform programme in France was popular.
Supporter of Richard III associated with William Catesby. After Bosworth he became a leader
of the Yorkist opponents of Henry VII and supported Lambert Simnel. After the defeat at Stoke he seems to have retreated to his house at Minster Lovel, Oxfordshire, where he seems to have died of starvation while hiding.
A younger son of a Norfolk gentleman, Lovell fought for Henry Tudor at Bosworth and subsequently became
speaker of the House of Commons, Chancellor of the Exchequer and treasurer of the king's and queen's chambers. Although associated
with the financial policies of Henry VII, he escaped the fate of his colleagues Empson and Dudley and
continued to serve as a royal servant in the reign of Henry VIII.
Spanish theologian and mystic, who produced the Ars Magna, the 'Lullian method', a mechanical aid to the acquisition of knowledge and the solution of all possible problems by a systematic manipulation of certain fundamental notions. His followers, the Lullists, combined religious mysticism with alchemy.
German religious reformer, the son of a miner, who was ordained as a priest in 1507. As professor of Biblical exegesis at Wittenburg from 1512 he began to preach the doctrine of justification by faith alone and in 1517 he drew up a list of 95 theses on indulgences, denying the pope the power to forgive sins. His actions began the Reformation which split the Western Catholic church.
Florentine statesman, writer and political philosopher. His best-known work The Prince drew on his experiences as a diplomat as France and Spain fought for control of Italy to present a handbook for rulers on how to acquire and retain power. It has been praised for its realism and, more commonly, condemned as cynical and amoral. His Discourses on Livy, is by contrast an analysis of forms of government from a republican viewpoint.
The sister of Edward IV and Richard III, Margaret was married to Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy in 1466. There were no children of the marriage and in 1477 she was left a childless widow.
After the accession of Henry VII her court became the centre of Yorkist opposition and she encouraged both impostures of both Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck.
Eldest daughter of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, Margaret married James IV of Scotland in 1503. As a widow she married Archibald Douglas, earl of Angus in 1514 and, having divorced Angus, Henry Stewart, later
Lord Methven in 1527. She was a significant, but shifting, influence in the politics of the minority of James V.
The daughter of the emperor Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy, in 1497 she married the Infante Juan of Spain, who died within a few months and in 1501 Philibert, duke of Savoy. Following the death of Elizabeth of York, Henry VII considered Margaret as a possible bride. In 1507 her father appointed her regent of the Netherlands and guardian of her nephew, Charles. In 1519 her nephew in his turn again appointed this capable stateswoman regent.
Daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon,
Mary was declared illegitimate on her parents' divorce, which she refused to recognise. She maintained her Catholic
faith and in 1553 ascended to the throne on the death of her half-brother Edward VI, despite the attempt of the Duke
of Northumberland to secure a Protestant succession in the shape of Lady Jane Grey. She married her cousin Philip II,
of Spain, the son of Charles V and restored Catholicism in England. Despite false alarms she bore no children and on
her death she was succeeded by her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth.
Holy Roman Emperor from 1493, Maximilian also gained control of Burgundy by his marriage to Mary, the heiress of Charles the Bold. His subsequent marriage to a daughter of the Duke of Milan turned
his ambition towards Italy, but after years of war he was obliged in 1515 to give up Milan to the French and Verona to
the Venetians. The Swiss separated themselves from the German empire in 1499, but the hereditary dominions of his house
were increased by the peaceful acquisition of the Tyrol. The marriage of his son Philip to the Infanta Joanna united the Houses of Spain
and Habsburg, while the marriage of his grandson Ferdinand to the daughter of Ladislaus of Hungary in 1521 added
Hungary and Bohemia to the family's possessions.
Florentine ruler, who succeeded as head of his powerful banking family in 1469. He was an able, though autocratic ruler, who made Florence the leading state in Italy. He was a celebrated patron of literature and art.
A member of a great Florentine banking family, Cosimo was Duke of Florence from 1537 and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1569. He was one of the ablest rulers of his century, although cruel and relentless in his emnities. He developed the trade, agriculture and economic infrastructure of Tuscany, while also acting as an important patron of the arts.
Italian sculptor, painter and poet, born in Caprese, Tuscany and raised in Florence. He was employed by pope Julius II to paint the ceiling of the Sistine chapel (1508-12).
William Mill was clerk of the Star Chamber, the reversion of which was held by Bacon. A member of Gray's Inn and well-known as a moneylender, Mill's tenure of the office was challenged at regular intervals from 1591. He succeeded on holding onto the post until his death in 1608, when Bacon was finally able to assume tenure and the post's income of around £2,000.
Fourth son of Henri II of France and Catherine de'Medici, Alençon became heir-presumptive to the throne on the accession of his elder brother Henri III and was known as 'Monsieur'. He placed himself at the head of the Huguenots and won the favourable Treaty of Etigny(1576). He was a suitor for the hand of Elizabeth I and visited England three times. He hoped to carve out a patrimony for himself by placing himself at the head of the rebels against Spanish rule in the Netherlands. He died in 1584, allegedly worn out by debauchery.
The originator of the personal essay, Montaigne was trained in the law and worked as a councillor in the Bordeaux Parlement. In 1571 following the death of his elder brothers he inherited the family estate. He retired to his chateau at Montaigne, where he wrote his essays.
English statesman and scholar, born in London, the son of a judge. He entered royal service as master of requests in 1514 and became chancellor on the fall of Wolsey in 1529. He was a friend of Erasmus and supported the reform of the church, but opposed Luther and resigned rather than support Henry VIII's schism with Rome. He was convicted of treson for his refusal to acknowledge Henry as head of the English church and was beheaded. His first biographer was his son-in-law William Roper. His History of King Richard III (1513) was one of the sources used by Bacon.
Son of William Lovel, who was summoned to parliament as lord Morley from 1471 in the right of his wife Eleanora, the daughter of Robert Morley, lord Morley. Their son Henry was not summoned to parliament after his father's death in 1475, but was given the courtesy title of lord Morley. He died at Dixmude in 1489.
An advocate in the Court of Arches, Morton adhered to Henry VI, but made his peace with Edward IV after the
battle of Tewkesbury (1471) and was made master of the rolls and bishop of Ely. Richard III imprisoned him, but he
escaped and joined Henry VII, was subsequently made archbishop of Canterbury and chancellor (1486). In 1493 he became
a cardinal.
Byzantine statesman and Persian general, born in Armenia. He rose in the imperial household in Constaninople to become keeper of the privy purse to Justinian I. In 552 he was sent to Italy and defeated the Ostrogoths, becoming prefect of Italy two years later. He was accused of avarice and in 567, following the death of Justinian, was deprived of his office. Gibbon wrote of him that 'a ffeble, diminutive body concealed the soul of a statesman and warrior'.
A Yorkist supporter whose mother was cousin and co-heiress of John Mowbray, duke of Norfolk (d. 1475). In 1483 he was created duke of Norfolk by Richard III and died fighting on the Yorkist side at Bosworth.
The younger son of the poet Henry Howard, earl of Surrey (executed by Henry VIII) and brother of Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk (executed by Elizabeth for treason in connection with Mary, Queen of Scots), Howard did not enjoy the high position in national affairs he considered due his status until the accession of James I. As solicitor-general Bacon worked closely with Northampton, who himself had a reputation as a scholar.
The son of a border chief, Osman founded a small Turkish state in Asia Minor called Osmanli (Ottoman). Following the
overthrow of the Seljuk sultanate of Iconium in 1299 by the Mongols, he gradually subdued much of Asia Minor and hence founded the Ottoman empire.
Inheriting the title as a minor, Oxford became the ward of William Cecil, lord Burghley (Bacon's uncle) and married his eldest daughter. A leading courtier at Elizabeth's court, Oxford was known as a patron of the arts.
Leading Lancastrian, whose father and elder brother were executed by Edward IV. He took a
leading part in the restoration of Henry VI and when Edward IV returned to the throne escaped to
the Continent. He returned in 1485 as captain-general of Henry VII's army. He subsequently became a privy councillor, held various offices of state and led the king's army at Stoke.
Despite being educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, John Pace became a professional fool, initially in the household of the duke of Norfolk and then at Court.
A name coined for himself by Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, a German alchemist and physician (the name means 'beyond Celsus', the Roman physician). He encouraged research, observation and experiment, and revolutionized medical methods, establishing the role of chemistry in medicine.
English Jesuit, born in Nether Stowey, Somerset. In The Conference on the next Succession to the Crown he insisted on the right of the people to set aside the natural heir to the throne on religious grounds.
Sometime warder of Mary, Queen of Scots, Paulet sent as ambassador to France in 1576 by Elizabeth I. Among his retinue was the young Francis Bacon, who was sent abroad in his charge to complete his education.
The Percys were sufficiently powerful and important in the north of the kingdom to be feted by both
Yorkists and Lancastrians. Henry Percy was at Bosworth, ostensibly on the side of Richard III, but his forces did not take part
in the battle. He was swiftly reconciled with Henry VII and confirmed in position. In 1589 he was appointed as a
commissioner to deal with disturbances in the north over taxation and was killed in a skirmish near Thirsk. He was
succeeded by his young son Henry Algernon, who was raised at Henry VII's court.
Known as 'the Fair' (le Bel), he succeeded his father in 1285 and married Joanna of Navarre. His attempts to tax the French clergy led him into conflict with the papacy; in 1305 he secured the election of the Frenchman Clement V as pope and the move of Clement to Avignon began the 'Babylonian Captivity' of the papacy.
Son of the emperor Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy, he was Archduke of Austria and Duke
of Burgundy when he married Joanna, the Infanta of Spain. On the death of Isabella of Castile he claimed the throne of Castile in right of his wife, but her father Ferdinand promptly declared himself regent. In 1506 he went in person to secure the throne, but died that same year.
The only son of the emperor Charles V, he married the Infanta of Portugal in 1543. She died in childbirth and he then married Mary I of England, who
made him joint ruler despite the unpopularity of the marriage which was seem as subordiating English interests to
those of Spain. Following Mary's death, Philip was a suitor to Elizabeth, but was rejected. He succeeded to the throne on the abdication of his father in 1555-6. In 1573 rebellion broke out in the Spanish Netherlands, which was encouraged by the English. In 1580 Portugal was annexed to Spain. In 1588 his Armada sailed from Spain to initiate an intended invasion of England, but was foiled by the English navy and the weather. His extensive dominions gave him immense wealth, but also represented great administrative and political burdens.
Enea Silvio de Piccolomini became pope in 1458. His reign is memorable for his vain efforts to organize a confederation of Christian princes against the Turks. He was one of the most eminent scholars of his age.
Michele Ghislieri, a Dominican friar noted for his asceticism, became pope in 1566. He excommunicated Elizabeth I in 1570 and issued a bull releasing her subjects from their allegiance. With Spain and Venice he organized the expedition against the Turks that culminated in the sea battle of Lepanto (1571).
Lawyer, born in Huntworth, Somerset. He was recorder of Bristol and sat for the city in parliament, becoming speaker in 1580. In 1590 he became chief justice of the King's bench. He presided at the trial of Guy Fawkes.
English soldier and diplomat, appointed governor of Calais in 1493 and deputy-governor of Ireland for Prince Henry
in 1494. His aim was to anglicize the government of Ireland by means of the Statute of Drogheda (Poynings' Law), whereby all Irish legislation had to be confirmed by the Englsih privy council.
French satirist, patronised by Jean du Bellay, bishop of Paris. He was the author of Gargantua and Pantagruel. A Benedictine trained as a physician, he also introduced the melon, artichoke and carnation to France.
English courtier and favourite of Elizabeth I, a navigator who participated in the exploration of America and a poet. A potential hazard to James I's policy of peace with Spain, he was condemned to death in 1603, although the sentence was commuted to perpetual imprisonment. During his incarceration in the Tower he employed his time in study, conducting chemical experiments and writing his History of the World(1614). In 1616 he was released to undertake an expedition to the Orinoco, which was a failure during which a Spanish town was razed. On his return Bacon in his official capacity was required to invoke the suspended death-sentence on his friend with whom he shared so many interests.
French humanist, who wrote treatises on arithmetic, geometry and algebra and was an early adherent of Copernicus. A Protestant, he perished in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. After his death the Ramist system of logic was adopted and taught all over Europe.
Yorkist supporter knighted on the field at the battle of Tewkesbury. With William Catesby he was a confidential counsellor to Richard III, being the 'rat' mentioned in the traditional rhyme. He died on the field at Bosworth.
Name given to the German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Müller. In 1473 he published Ephemerides 1475-1506, which were used by Christopher Columbus.
Son of Edward, the Black Prince, he succeeded his grandfather Edward III as king of England as a boy in 1377.
His uncle John of Gaunt took control of the government until the Peasants Revolt of 1381, when Richard asserted himself.
In 1398 he banished Henry, duke of Hereford, Gaunt's son, for 10 years and on Gaunt's death in
1399 confiscated the lands of the duchy of Lancaster. Henry invaded, deposed Richard and assumed the throne as
Henry IV. Richard was apparently murdered at Pontefract castle in 1400. In the last years of her reign Elizabeth
was very sensitive to references to the deposed king, aware that there were those who wished to see the end of her own long reign.
Youngest brother of Edward IV, created Duke of Gloucester in 1461. He was the guardian of
Edward V and, gaining control of him and his brother, placed them in the Tower. He was crowned
king 6 July 1483 with the approval of parliament. He apparently had the princes murdered around the time of the
duke of Buckingham's failed rebellion, although this has never been conclusively proved. Henry landed at Milford Haven on 7 August 1485 and Richard met him at Bosworth on 22 August, where he was killed. His only son predeceased him.
Daughter of John, Beaufort, duke of Somerset and wife of Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond by whom she was the mother of Henry VII.
The Lancastrian claim to the throne was transferred to her with the extinction of the male line and it was in the
right of his mother's descent from John of Gaunt (third son of Edward III) that Henry VII
claimed the throne against Richard III. After the death of Edmund she married Henry Stafford, son of the duke of Buckingham in 1464
and Thomas Stanley in 1473. She was an important influence on her son's career.
A nephew of the earl of Derby Savage served under Richard III but had a secret understanding with Henry Tudor and joined him on his march through Wales in 1485. He is said to have
commanded the left wing of Henry VII's army at Bosworth. He subsequently took part in the siege of Boulogne, where
being intercepted by the enemy while reconnoitring, he refused to surrender, and was in consequence slain.
English courtier and scholar, warden of Merton College, Oxford (1585) and provost of Eton (1596). He was Latin secretary and tutor in Greek to Elizabeth I and one of those appointed by James I to
prepare the Authorized Version of the Bible. In 1619 he founded the Savilian chairs of mathematics and astronomy at
Oxford. Savile met Anthony Bacon while travelling abroad and was also a member of the Essex circle.
Irish philosopher and theologian, who taught at the court of Charles the Bald. His major work De Divisione Naturae tried to fuse Christian and neoplatonic doctrines. By tradition he became abbot of Malmesbury and was stabbed by the monks with their pens for trying to make them think.
Son of Sulaiman the Magnificent, who succeeded his father in 1566. He proved to be an indolent drunkard. In 1571 his fleet was defeated by the Spanish forces at Lepanto, but the victors did not follow up their success.
Son of Francesco Sforza, duke of Milan, Ludovico acted as regent of Naples for his nephew Gian Galeazzo from 1476,
but expelled him in 1481 and usurped the duchy for himself. He helped to defeat the attempts of Charles VIII
to secure Naples, but was expelled by Louis XII in 1499 and was imprisoned in France, where he died.
The brother of Sir Edmund Shaw, who was elected mayor in 1482, styled John by More and Holinshed, and Raffe by Hall and Fabyan, was chosen by Richard III to preach a sermon at
St. Paul's Cross on 22 June 1483, when he impugned the validity of Edward IV's marriage with
Elizabeth Woodville, and even asserted, according to More, that Edward IV and his brother Clarence were bastards. Fabyan states that
he 'lived in little prosperity afterwards'.
A baker's son who was set up in Ireland firstly as a son of Edward IV and then as the Earl of Warwick. Backed by Margaret of Burgundy, his supposed aunt, he had some initial success, but was defeated at Stoke Field, Nottinghamshire. He subsequently became a royal scullion and falconer, living well into the reign of Henry VIII.
Felice Peretti, a Franciscan preacher and professor of theology, his assumed feebleness procured his election as pope in 1585. Against expectation he oversaw a vigorous programme of reform.
Ottoman emperor who succeeded his father Selim I in 1520. He was an experienced soldier and administrator and the empire he inherited was militarily strong. He instituted a programme of internal reforms and extended the bounds of the empire. One of his wives, the European slave Roxolana, persuaded him to have his son Mustapha strangled.
Humphrey Stafford of Grafton, Worcestershire, was a favourite of Richard III. He helped to defeat his cousin Henry, duke of Buckingham in 1483.
He continued to support the Yorkist cause and consequently was captured and executed at Tyburn by Henry VII.
Younger brother of Thomas Stanley, William was a supporter of Edward IV
and received offices and lands from the Crown. Despite Richard III's attempts to retain his
loyalty, he came to an understanding with Henry Tudor and the entry of his 3,000 retainers on
the Lancastrian side at Bosworth was decisive. He was rewarded by being made Lord Chamberlain and a knight of the
Garter, while his possession of his Welsh estates was confirmed. How far he involved himself with Perkin Warbeck
is uncertain, but this provided Henry VII with an opportunity to remove someone whose loyalty must always have been suspect.
Eldest son of Thomas, lord Stanley and his first wife Eleanor Neville, daughter of the earl of
Shrewsbury. He married Joan, the only daughter of Lord Strange (d. 1477) and was called to parliament as Lord Strange
in the right of his wife from 1482. At Bosworth he was held hostage by Richard III in an
attempt to secure Stanley support. He was made a knight of the garter and privy councillor by Henry VII.
German educationalist, who went to Paris in 1530 and lectured on Cicero. A Protestant who favoured Zwingli over Luther, he was invited in 1536 to reorganize the education system in Strasbourg and in time made it a great educational centre.
A Yorkist supporter Suffolk married Elizabeth, the second of three sisters of Edward IV, by whom he had 6 sons and 4 daughters.
He supported Richard III's assumption of the throne, but was reconciled with Henry VII after Bosworth despite his eldest son's continued adherence to the Yorkist cause.
Second son of John, duke of Suffolk, Edmund agreed to hold the lesser title of earl in view
of his brother's rebellion against Henry VII and the resultant impoverishment of the family. Initially reconciled to
the Tudor regime, he was concerned by the execution of Edward Plantagenet and the threat represented to all those who shared Yorkist royal blood. He fled abroad in 1501 and attempted unsuccessfully to raise foreign backing for his claim to the throne. His younger brother William was arrested in 1502 and remained in prison until the accession of Henry VIII. Taken and returned to England, Edmund was held in the Tower for the remainder of Henry VII's reign and not included in the general pardon on the accession of Henry VIII. He was finally executed in 1513 when his younger brother Richard fought for the French.
Son of John Howard, duke of Norfolk, created earl of Surrey in 1483. He fought alongside his
father at Bosworth and was consequently attainted and imprisoned. He was released and restored to his earldom in 1489,
when Henry VII realised that he could be trusted to be loyal. He was chiefly employed in commanding the king's forces
in the North. Following the victory at Flodden he was restored to the dukedom of Norfolk by Henry VIII.
Turkic conqueror, whose name is an anglicized form of Timur-I-Lang or 'lame Timur', reflecting the wounds he received during the conquest of Transoxiana (1360-70). From there he led his army of nomadic Turks and Mongols to the conquest of Persia, northern India and the defeat of the Ottomans and Mamluks. He died on a campaign in China.
A soldier and knight of the king's body to Henry VII, Darcy was a commissioner for the assessment of fines in several counties in the aftermath of the defeat of Perkin Warbeck. He continued in royal service
in the reign of Henry VIII, but opposed the king's divorce and the dissolution of the monastries, became involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace and was consequently executed for treason.
Yorkist supporter, knighted after the battle of Tewkesbury (1471). He was master of the henchmen and master of the
horse to Richard III and supposedly responsible for the murder of the princes in the Tower.
He was accepted into service by Henry VII and became governor of the castle of Guisnes. His involvement with the earl of Suffolk led to his imprisonment in the Tower, when he is said to have confessed to the murder. He was beheaded in 1502.
Eldest son of Owen Tudor by Catherine de Valois, widow of Henry V. He was created earl of Richmond in 1453. He
married Margaret Beaufort in 1455 at the instigation of his half-brother Henry VI.
He died at Carmarthen in November 1456 and his son, the future Henry VII, was born posthumously two months later.
Jasper was the second son of Owen Tudor and Catherine de Valois, widow of Henry V. He was created earl of Pembroke in 1453, when his
elder brother Edmund became earl of Richmond. He was a loyal Lancastrian. Following the death of
Henry VI without heir he supported the tenuous claim to the throne of his nephew Henry, Edmund's son. When Henry defeated Richard III at Bosworth and acquired the throne, he made his uncle duke of Bedford. Jasper was a staunch supporter of his nephew until his death without heir in 1495.
Chaplain to Margaret Beaufort from c.1482 and involved in the negotiation of the proposed
marriage between her son and Elizabeth of York. He landed with Henry Tudor in England in 1485 and after
the battle of Bosworth was rewarded with various ecclesiastical preferments. He was an important diplomat for the
Tudors, undertaking 11 embassies. He became dean of Windsor in 1495, but refused the bishopric of Norwich three years later.
Flemish impostor, pretender to the English throne in the guise of Richard, duke of York, the younger son of Edward IV. The description of his attempt
on the throne forms a substantial part of Bacon's The History of the Reign of King Henry the Seventh.
A cleric who practised law as an advocate in the Court of Arches, Warham's diplomatic services to Henry VII brought him rapid preferment - master of the rolls (1494), lord chancellor (1501), bishop of London (1502) and archbishop of Canterbury (1503). In 1515 he had to resign the great seal to Wolsey. His death in 1532 opened the way to Henry VIII's divorce under the auspices of his successor Thomas Cramner.
The eldest son of George, duke of Clarence and Isabella Neville, he succeeded to the Neville title of earl of Warwick. His proximity to the throne caused both Richard III and Henry VII to keep him in close confinement. He was allowed a day of liberty from the Tower in 1487, when Lambert Simnel was claiming his identity. He survived this uprising and that of Perkin Warbeck, but in 1498 a further pretender, Ralph Wilford, claimed to be Warwick. His continued existence was seen as a threat by Henry VII, and when he became implicated in a plot to escape from captivity alongside Warbeck, he was charged with conspiring to depose the king and executed.
English clerical reformer, who took refuge abroad in Emden during the reign of Mary but returned on the accession of Elizabeth and was involved in the reform of the liturgy. A puritan, he refused a number of the preferments that were offered to him.
Bastard son of Robert, duke of Normandy, by Arlette, a tanner's daughter, he was accepted as duke on his father's death in 1035. He may have received a promise of the English throne from his cousin Edward the Confessor
during a visit to England in 1051, shortly before his marriage to Matilda, daughter of the count of Flanders. In 1064 Harold Godwin was at his court and swore to help him gain the English throne, but on Edward's death Harold assumed the crown. William
invaded England in the autumn of 1066, Harold was defeated and killed. William was crowned king 25 December 1066.
Known as William Rufus, he succeeded his father William the Conqueror to the throne in 1087, while his elder brother Robert became Duke of Normandy. He was killed by an arrow while hunting in the New Forest.
Knighted for his bravery at the battle of Stoke, Windham was subsequently implicated in the conspiracy of Edmund, earl of Suffolk, convicted of treason and executed.
English prelate and statesman, born in Ipswich, the son of a prosperous butcher and grazier. He began his royal service as a chaplain to Henry VII in 1507 and became chief minister under Henry VIII. He was successively bishop of Lincoln and archbishop of York and acquired a cardinal's hat in 1515. His failure to secure a divorce for the king led to his downfall and he died on the way to the Tower.
The eldest daughter of Sir Richard Woodville, earl Rivers, she initially married Sir John Grey, who was killed at the battle of St. Albans. She married Edward IV privately in 1464 and
was crowned as queen in 1465. After the usurpation of Richard III and the probable murder of her sons Edward and Richard, she entered negotiations with Henry Tudor,
who married her elder daughter Elizabeth once he had secured the throne. Restored to her rights as queen dowager in 1485, she was subsequently forced to retire to the abbey of Bermondsey, where she died.
Brother of Elizabeth, Edward IV's queen, he commanded the Woodville fleet in 1483, and shared Henry of Richmond's exile in Brittany. In 1486-7 he fought in Granada against the Moors. In 1488 he greatly embarrassed Henry by taking over a small force to help the Bretons against the French, and fell in the battle of St. Aubin du Cormier.
A churchman who apparently owed his preferments, some of which were bestowed on him as a minor before he took orders, on his relationship to two archbishops of York, William and Lawrence Booth.
As dean of St. Pauls he was arrested and attainted of treason in 1494 for his involvement in the Warbeck conspiracy, but pardoned because of his clerical status and retained his ecclesiastical preferments.
English traveller, diplomatist, scholar and poet. Like Bacon he was a member of the Essex circle. After nearly two decades as ambassador in Venice for James I, he returned to England, took orders and was appointed to be provost of Eton, a post which Bacon himself had hoped to obtain.
Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros, was confessor to Isabella of Castile, who made him archbishop of Toledo. He was an influential statesman, acting on occasion as regent and a munificent patron of religion and learning. He is notorious as the grand inquisitor, who caused the death of 2500 'heretics'.