and ProtectorateYou may find it easier to remember this rhyme. Memorise it and you’ll use it and take satisfaction from the knowledge for the rest of your life.
Willie, Willie, Harry, Steve,
Harry, Dick, John, Harry Three,
Edward One, Two, Three, Dick Two,
Henry Four, Five, Six, then who?
Edward Four, Five, Dick the Bad,
Harrys twain and Ned the lad,
Mary, Bessie, James you ken,
Charlie, Charlie, James again.
William and Mary, Anne of Gloria,
Georges (4), Will Four, Victoria.
Edward Seven, Georgie Five,
Edward, George and Liz (alive).
Another excellent mnemonic is for Henry VIII’s wives. In order, he married: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. Their respective fates were: ‘Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.’
King Canute and Queen Aelgifu
Henry VIII
FAMILY TREES OF ROYAL HOUSES FROM THE 9TH TO THE 21ST CENTURY
IN THE MAIN, history springs from both noble and petty sources – from jealousy and murder as much as the dreams of great men and women. As well as being formed in new laws and sweeping cultural movements, history is made on the battlefield, with entire futures hanging on the outcome. You will find further study of these examples both enlightening and rewarding. Each is an extraordinary story in itself. Each had repercussions that helped to change the world.
Darius the Great ruled the Persian lands known today as Iran and Iraq, pursuing an aggressive policy of expansion. He sent his heralds to Greek cities to demand submission. Many accepted, though Athens executed their herald and Sparta threw theirs down a well. War followed and Darius’ ambitions came to an abrupt end when he was beaten at the Battle of Marathon in Greece. Although he planned another great invasion, his death prevented his return. It would fall to his son, Xerxes, to invade northern Greece with a vast army of more than two million in the spring of 480 BC.
The Persian fleet had already won control of the sea and the Greeks could not hold the north against such a vast host. Instead, they chose to defend the pass at Thermopylae in the south. Here, the way through the mountains was a tiny path only fourteen feet wide at its narrowest point. Thermopylae means ‘Hot Gates’, named after thermal springs in the area.
The Spartan king, Leonidas, took his personal guard of three hundred Spartans and about 7,000 other foot soldiers and archers to the pass. Of all the Greek leaders, he alone seemed to understand the desperate importance of resisting the enemy horde. When he reached the pass, his men rebuilt an ancient wall and 6,000 of them waited at the middle gate, the other thousand guarding a mountain trail above. They did not expect to survive, but Spartans were trained to scorn fear and hardship from a young age. They prided themselves on being elite warriors. The Royal Guard were all fathers, allowed to attend the king only after they had contributed to the gene pool of Sparta. They revered courage above all else.
The Persian king sent scouts to investigate the pass. He was surprised to hear that the Spartans were limbering up and braiding their hair for battle. Unable to believe that such a small group would honestly wish to fight, he sent a warning to withdraw or be destroyed. They made him wait for four days without a reply. On the fifth, the Persian army attacked.
From the beginning, the fighting was brutal in such a confined space. The Spartans and the other Greeks fought for three solid days, throwing the Persians back again and again. Xerxes was forced to send in his ‘Immortals’ – his best warriors. The Spartans proved they were poorly named by killing large numbers of them. Two of Xerxes’ brothers were also killed in the fighting.
In the end, Leonidas was betrayed by a Greek traitor. The man went to Xerxes and told him about a mountain track leading around the pass at Thermopylae. Leonidas had guarded one track, but for those who knew the area, there were others. Xerxes sent more of his Immortals to the secret path and they attacked at dawn. The other Greek soldiers were quickly routed, but Leonidas and the Spartans fought on.
When Leonidas finally fell, he had been cut off from the rest of the Spartans. A small group of the guard fought their way into the heaving mass, recovered his body and carried him to where the others were surrounded, fighting all the way. The Persians simply could not break their defence and finally Xerxes ordered them to be cut down with flight after flight of heavy arrows. He was so furious at the losses his army had suffered that he had Leonidas beheaded and his body nailed to a cross.
