Sexual allure and the Tudors.

Henry VIII’s legacy Henry VII was definitely a medieval king, which Henry VIII was determined not to be. Sophisticated and learned Europe was said to be 100 years in advance of England, which was still clinging to the old ways. The “green and sceptred isle” was not attractive to the artists and philosophers who had found a rich and glittering haven in other courts. The eighth Henry was a handsome teenage king with golden hair. An Olympian figure, not least because he was 6 foot 2 inches tall, while the average man of the early 16th century was around 5 foot 5 inches. Later, in Holbein’s portrait we see him massive and magnificent, legs apart, hands on hips, a full manly challenge with a huge codpiece to match. Elevated to kingship with power over Church and land, Henry was highly sexed and predatory but also a man of the Renaissance. He succeeded in putting England on the map whilst encouraging thinkers such as Thomas More and Erasmus of Rotterdam. Henry had to win any battle he was involved in, including the one with the Pope. The chase and the catching of the creature were all. The slaughter often followed soon after.