Chapter 4

Transition to the Modern Age (1455-1688)

向現代英國的過渡

I. Transition to the Modern Age (1455-1485)向近代英國的過渡

The Wars of Rose

玫瑰戰爭

The nature and consequences of the Wars of the Roses:

The name Wars of the Roses was refer to the battles between the House of Lancaster, symbolized by the read rose, and that of York, symbolized by the white, from 1455 to 1485. Henry Tudor, descendant of Duke of Lancaster won victory at Bosworth Fireld in 1485 and put the country under the rule of the Tudors. From these Wars, English feudalism received its death blow. The great medieval nobility was much weakened.

玫瑰戰爭是指，從1455年到1485年，以紅玫瑰為象征的蘭開斯特大家族和以白玫瑰為象征的約克家族之間戰爭的普遍接受的名稱。1485年，蘭開斯特家族的后代亨利都鐸取得了博斯沃恩戰役的勝利，建立了都鐸王朝。這些戰爭使英國的封建主義受到致命打擊，貴族階層受到了削弱。

II. Henry VIII and The English Reformation

亨利八世和英國的宗教改革

Henry VIII was above all responsible for the religious reform of the church. There were three main causes: a desire for change and reform in the church had been growing for many years and now, encouraged by the success of Martin Luther, many people believed its time had come; the privilege and wealth of the clergy were resented; and Henry needed money.

亨利八世最重要的改革是負責進行教會的宗教改革。改革原因有三個主要方面：多年來，人們改革教會的意愿不斷增長，現在又受馬丁路德成功的鼓舞，許多人認為時機已到；教職人員的特權和財富已引起民憤；亨利需要錢。

The reform began as a struggle for a divorce and ended in freedom from the Papacy. Henry VIII wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon but the Pope refused. Henry's reforms was to get rid of the English Church's connection with the Pope, and to make an independent Church of England. He made this break with Rome gradually between 1529 and 1534. He dissolved all of England's monasteries and nunneries because they were more loyal to the Pope than to their English kings. The laws such as the Act of succession of 1534 and the Act of Supremacy of 1535 made his reform possible. He established the church of England as the national church of the country, and he made himself the supreme head of the church of England.

改革以爭取離婚而開始，以脫離教皇而告終。亨利八世欲與阿拉貢的凱瑟琳離婚，但是教皇拒絕了。亨利改革的目的是擺脫英國教會與教皇的聯系，成立獨立的英格蘭教會。1529年至1534年間逐漸地與羅馬脫離了關系。他解散了所有英國的修道院和修女院，因為后者對教皇比對英國國王更忠誠。1534年的《繼位法》和1535年的《王權法案》使改革具有了可行性。1535年他獲“英格蘭教會最高首腦”之稱號。

Henry VIII's reform stressed the power of the monarch and certainly strengthened Henry's position; Parliament had never done such a long and important piece of work before, its importance grew as a result. His attack on the Pope's power encouraged many critics of abuses of the Catholic Church. England was moving away from Catholicism towards protestant ideology.

改革的三大影響：亨利的改革強調了君主權力，自然鞏固了亨利的地位；議會以往從未做過如此漫長而重要的工作，自然其重要性也有所加強；他對教皇權力的打擊鼓舞許多人批評指責天主教會，并希望從天主教轉向新教。