Henry VIII's Divorce of Catherine of Aragon and Separation from the Church

Henry VIII made a brash decision to sign the Act of Supremacy, bestowing upon himself the authority over the Church of England, in order to be able to divorce his wife Catherine, who would not give him a son, and marry the younger Anne Boleyn.  By making himself head of the Church of England, Henry disconnected himself from Rome and the Vatican, and had not only the power of the crown, but also the power of the supreme religious leader.  Consequently, he also gave himself the ability to marry any woman who would have him, since he had the power to divorce any of his wives should he so choose.  Catherine of Aragon was the first victim of this.  In signing the Act of Supremacy and divorcing Catherine, Henry pushed his power to its limits, and abused the privileges he already had in order to steal more away unjustifiably, angering Catherine, the Holy Roman Empire, and many of Henry's subjects, even though some did happen to be in agreement.

On a personal level, Catherine could not have been fond of Henry's decision to take away her position as queen and divorce her for a younger woman, all because she could not produce a son.  She had been in power for 24 years, serving her husband faithfully and attempting to give him an heir many times, but all of her children were miscarried, stillborn, or died in infancy, except for one: Mary.  Henry was displeased with her and thought their marriage was cursed.  When the Vatican would not let him divorce Catherine, he made himself head of the Church of England and broke Catherine's heart, sending her away as Princess Dowager and moving on to Anne Boleyn.  None of the years Catherine was faithful to Henry mattered to him; all that he cared about was his wife producing an heir for him.  Catherine, on the other hand, loved Henry with all her heart until her dying day.  In Catherine's opinion, and the opinions of many who agree with her, it was surely not right for Henry to divorce her without her having any say, and Henry should not have done away with her for such petty reasons.

The Holy Roman Empire, on a more political and religious standpoint, thought that Henry was overstepping his boundaries as king when he intruded on the position of a religious leader.  The Vatican, at this time, had a lot of power.  The Holy Roman Empire had started out small in 843, but it had grown to cover much of Europe between that time and the time of Henry VIII's reign.  Also during this time, the Holy Roman Emperor in charge of the entire empire was Charles V.  Holy Roman Empire Charles V happened to be the nephew of Henry VIII's wife he was trying to divorce: Catherine of Aragon.  Not only did the Holy Roman Empire disagree on this attempted divorce on religious grounds, but Charles was surely somewhat biased in his decision to not annul Henry's marriage, because he was working partly on the behalf of his family.  Though this partisan was not completely right, Henry should have yielded to the ruling of the Holy Roman Empire instead of cutting himself and England off completely to satisfy his need for an heir.

Not only were people of authority against Henry's decision, but many of his subjects and people under him were too.  Cardinal Thomas Wosley lost his job and was executed as a result of Henry's discord with the Church, and he surely thought Henry trying to overpower the Vatican was not the best idea.  He did all that he could to try to give Henry what he wanted, but it was not enough.  Henry, crazy with supreme political and now religious power, ordered Wosley to be killed.  Murder on undeserved grounds is never ok, and this resulting from Henry's splitting from the Church to divorce Catherine helps to show how Henry's choice was not right.  On the other hand,  there were those such as Thomas Cranmer, who were very much in favor of Henry's decision to separate from the Church in order to divorce Catherine of Aragon.  Being the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cranmer provided a decent opposing view of Wosley, since both of them held much religious power in King Henry's court at one point in time.

Judging from the viewpoints of many different people in many different positions, as a whole this withdrawal from the Vatican was initially an unjustifiable act of Henry VIII. Some good that came of it in time, though, was a sense of English nationalism when Elizabeth I continued Henry's religious establishment and made Protestantism such a big part of England that is was deeply intertwined in the culture itself.  Henry's decision does show that some good can always come from bad.  Nevertheless, there were many more people who disagreed with Henry's choice than those who did agree with his choice, and despite those opinions, Henry took control and forever changed the fate of England.

Works Cited:
Catherine of Aragon. "Primary Sources - Letter of Katharine of Aragon to Her Husband, King Henry VIII, 7 January 1536." EnglishHistory.net. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter5.html>.

Cranmer, Thomas. "Medieval Sourcebook: Letter of Thomas Cranmer, 1533." FORDHAM.EDU. Fordham University. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/cramner-hen8.html>.

"Habsburg History - European Monarch Genealogy." Welcome - European Monarch Genealogy. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://www.monarchgenealogy.com/habsburghistory.htm>.

Hall, Edward. "Primary Sources: The Fall of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, 1530." EnglishHistory.net. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://englishhistory.net/tudor/priwols1.html>.
"HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE--1500." McMurry University | Christian College | Universities In Texas. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://www.mcm.edu/academic/depts/history/maps/HOLYROMEMPIRE.html>.

"The Act of Supremacy." Then Again. . . Web. 27 Sept. 2010.                        <http://www.thenagain.info/Classes/Sources/ActSupremacy.html>.

"The Holy Roman Empire’s Imperial Diet: Electoral Votes in 1792." The Napoleon Series. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/c_holyroman.html>.

The Battle of Bosworth Field: Henry VII

I, Henry VII, deserved the English crown,
But I remembered Richard III with a frown.
I was Lancaster, he was not;
And for me to become king would be a long shot. (1)
My right to the crown was from a marriage, (2)
And upon this right Richard disparaged.
There were many accusations against Richard the King
And we Lancasters thought taking his crown would be the only thing. (3)
Richard was cruel, murdering those who got in his way,
And I knew he could never stay. (4)
I turned my Lancasters against the king,
And we were ready to make Richard feel the sting
Of the people who didn't want him to succeed,
And the people who only wanted for him to bleed.
We planned a battle in this War of Roses,
Against the ones the House of Lancaster opposes. (5)
We met in August of 1485,
Bosworth Field was where we arrived. (6)
At first my army felt dismay;
We felt that victory was far away.
Richard's supporters outnumbered the stars;
Because of this, our triumph seemed so far.
But we held up their heads in determination,
And I gave them a proclamation.
We would all fight to our very deaths
If we needed to breathe their last breaths.
Some would live, and some would not,
But none of their legacies would be forgot.
Lives of both of the sides were lost,
At this battle, so great a cost.
But we fought on courageously,
Swinging our swords outrageously.
For us of Lancaster, this paid off
And though the Yorkists at first had scoffed,
Many of their knights and even Richard were slain,
And this victory would be our gain.
With our enemy vanquished, our foes were weak;
So with triumph I could speak.
I, Henry Tudor, became the rightful king,
And a knew dynasty in England would begin. (7)



(1)
"Richard III Society--Croyland Chronicle." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bookcase/croyland/croy2.html>.
(2)
"War of Roses Family Tree." Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/WarRosesFamilyTree.png>.
(3)
"Richard III Society--Croyland Chronicle." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bookcase/croyland/croy2.html>.
(4)
Warpole, Horace. "Richard III Society--Online Library." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bookcase/walpole/walpole1.html>.
(5)
"Richard III Society- Ballad of Bosworth, Text." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bosworth/ballad2.html>.
(6)
"Richard III Society-Bosworth Field." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bosworth/index.html>.
(7)
"Richard III Society- Ballad of Bosworth, Text." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. <http://www.r3.org/bosworth/ballad2.html>.

The Battle of Bosworth Field: Richard III

We Yorks and the Lancasters
At ends we had met;
I am the king,
But the war's not over yet.

Two dynasties fighting
For right of the crown,
But the Lancaster family
Would soon be beat down. (1)

In this House of York,
I was the Duke,
And some think my becoming king
Was just a minor fluke.

When people got in my way,
I shut them down,
Not feeling any regret
Or even showing a frown. (2)

When the Lancastrians came
To rival my court herein,
My knights and I laughed;
We would surely win.

The House of Lancaster
thought Henry VII should be king,
And I disagreed with
Much more that that little thing.

And there were many supporters
On my side,
And even if many
Of them would die,

I knew my army
Couldn't be beat,
And I'd never think
He would taste defeat. (3)

Our armies met in at Bosworth,
August of 1485,
And Henry's surely knew
Not all would come out alive. (4)

My army fought
So valiantly,
But besides that,
This gallantry

Would not prevent
The slaughter that occurred
And the devastation that was caused
By the swinging of a sword.

I thought I'd never fall
This very day,
But before I died,
I could at least say

I took some Lancastrians
With me to the beyond,
And all my supporters
Were obviously still fond

Of the things
That I did
For England
And the politics amid

The ruthless murders
The Lancastrians remember,
But even in the end
I never surrendered

I was killed in the battle,
A brave way to go,
And the histories about me
Surely all show

The triumphs I made
When I was still around
And even though now,
With my bones in the ground,

I, Richard III,
Still live on,
And til everyone forgets,
I will never be gone. (5)




(1)

Warpole, Horace. "Richard III Society--Online Library." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. http://www.r3.org/bookcase/walpole/walpole1.html.

(2)

More, Thomas. "Richard III." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. http://www.r3.org/bookcase/more/moretext.html.

(3)

"Richard III Society- Ballad of Bosworth, Text." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. http://www.r3.org/bosworth/ballad2.html.

(4)

"Richard III Society-Bosworth Field." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. http://www.r3.org/bosworth/index.html.

(5)

Warpole, Horace. "Richard III Society--Online Library." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. http://www.r3.org/bookcase/walpole/walpole1.html.

Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533-1536 as the second wife of King Henry VIII. She was a key figure in the English Reformation. Anne started out as the maid of honor for Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife. Henry began to pursue Ann in 1525, and he wanted to annul his marriage to his wife Catherine so that he could marry Anne. The Vatican would not allow Henry to annul his marriage to Catherine; this began the breaking down of the power of the Catholic Church in England. Anne gave Henry documents from the early Church that said that the king had royal supremacy. This is what started the English Reformation, because Henry decided that he would split away from the Catholic Church in order to divorce Catherine and marry Anne, which is what he ended up doing.
http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/boleyn.html#Biography
http://englishhistory.net/tudor/ab-percy.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Boleyn

Thomas Wosley

Thomas Wolsey was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a political figure in England during the late 1400's and early 1500's. Wolsey became Henry VII's almoner -- a church officer who was in charge of distributing alms to the poor. His power continued to grow, and by 1514 he was in charge of almost all the matters of the state. He was extremely powerful within the Church. His highest political position was as Lord Chancellor, the King's chief advisor. In the Church he became Archbishop of York and he was made a cardinal in 1515.
Wolsey was close with the King until he could not get the Vatican to allow Henry to divorce Katherine. In a letter from Anne Boleyn to Wolsey, Anne says, "I cannot comprehend, and the king still less, how your reverent lordship, after having allured us by so many fine promises about divorce, can have repented of your purpose, and how you could have done what you have, in order to hinder the consummation of it" (http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter8.html). From that point on Wolsey was not on good terms with the King. In 1529, Wolsey's government position and property were taken from him. At Cawood, he was accused of treason and ordered to go to London. On the way there he fell ill and died on Novemeber 29, 1530.

Sources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolsey
http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter8.html


Image from:http://www.nndb.com/people/585/000094303/thomas-wolsey-1-sized.jpg

Catherine of Aragon

Catherine of Aragon was born in 1485 in Spain.  She later moved to England and married Arthur, Prince of Wales.  After he died of sickness, Catherine then married his brother, Henry VIII, who would become King of England, with Catherine as his queen.  From the years 1509 - 1533, she ruled the land beside Henry.  Through the years, Catherine became pregnant a total of six times, but only one girl, Mary, survived past infancy.  When Catherine became to old to bear any more children, Henry divorced her for Anne Boleyn, a much younger woman with whom he was smitten, in 1533 (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/cramner-hen8.html).  Three years later, Catherine of Aragon died on January 7 in Kimbolton Castle, after writing a letter to the ex-husband whom she still loved (http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter5.html).

"Catherine of Aragon." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Aragon>.

Lancastrian vs. Ricardian

Polydore Virgil:

In his 1846 account of Richard III, Virgil takes a more Lancastrian point of view against the king. Describing the purpose of the things Richard III did, he says "Thus covering and cloking certane days his desire, under the colour and pretence of common welthe, he so enveglyd the myndes of the nobilitye," communicating that he believes the Richard used flattery and the excuse that everything he was doing was for the kingdom to get the noble people and aristocrats on his side. The noblemen who saw past his ruse, though, Virgil says that Richard wanted nothing more than to get them out of the way, just like he did to William Lord Hastings. Pertaining to this murder, Virgil says "...Whether yt wer that he [Richard] fearyd his [Hasting's] powr, or despearyd yt possible to draw him to his syde and opynyon, he determynyd to ryd the man owt of the way before his purpose showld be discoveryd to the resydew, whom he did not yeat fully trust," meaning that Richard was all too eager to dispose of people who may get in his way to the throne. On the murder itself, Virgil talks about how Richard hired men to kill Hastings " when he [Richard] showld geave a signe," so they could "kill him forthwith."

Horace Warpole:

Opposed to Virigl, Warpole seems to take a more Ricardian opinion of Richard III, talking about how, though the Lancastrians made Richard out to be horribly deformed, Warpole defends that Richard's shoulders may have only be slightly uneven. In his very first sentence, "With regard to the person of Richard, it appears to have been as much misrepresented as his actions," Warpole shows the reader that he believes that Richard III was not bad, in neither looks nor actions, as some Lancastrians make him out to be. Warpole drew his conclusions about Richard III by looking at paintings from that time period, and upon seeing one of them where Richard has no major deformities, he comments, "Who can believe that an eye-witness, and so minute a painter, would have mentioned nothing but the inequality of the shoulders, if Richard's form had been a compound of ugliness?" He even describes the painter, John Rous, as a self-proclaimed Lancastrian, but Rous still painted the truth of what Richard III really looks like. And Warpole, in passing on this truth and not a lie about the deformities of Richard, is Ricardian at heart, and reflects this belief in his writings.

Terms Relating to Richard III

Traditionalist: A tradionalist does things the traditional way, just as the people before them have done, and just how the people in charge want things done.

Revisionist: Revisionists often disagree with popular thought, and go out of their way to back up what they believe. In the time of Richard III, the revisionists were the people who told about the truth, even if the aristocrats were opposed to it.

Lancastrian: This this the way people of the Lancastrian, and later Tudor, dynasty and those who agreed with those people thought of things. In Richard III's case, he was on the opposing side, so many Lancastrians focused on his less-than-ideal traits, and even may have made some things up to make him sound like a villain.

Ricardian: This is the way the people of the Yorkish family and those who were in favor of it viewed Richard III. Since Richard was fighting for them, they glorified him and overlooked his faults, making him seem like a perfect king and ruler.

McPherson, James. "Revisionist Historians." American Historical Association. 7 Feb. 2007. Web. 21 Sept. 2010. .

"Modern History Sourcebook: Editorial of the Liberation Army Daily (Jiefangjun Bao) Mao Tse-Tung's Thought Is the Telescope and Microscope of Our Revolutionary Cause, June 7, 1966." FORDHAM.EDU. July 1998. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. .Nichols, J. B.

"Richard III Society--Croyland Chronicle." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. .

"The Richard III and Yorkist History Server." Richard III Society - American Branch. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. .

William Shakespeare's Richard III

Though Richard III was one of William Shakespeare's historical plays, he managed to inflict some of his own opinion in it, which was that Richard was as evil as his enemies of the House of Lancaster made him out to be. As was the case between the English and the Scottish in the early 1300s, different groups of people had different, biased opinions about different groups of people. The Lancastrians, later the Tudors, thought of Richard III as a wicked man who would -- and did -- kills his friends and relatives to help ensure that he would obtain the crown. Shakespeare was greatly influenced by these views and the writings of Sir Thomas More, who learned much of his information from people who did not like Richard III. One of the biggest evidences of this bias style in which Shakespeare wrote was the fact that, in his play, he portrayed Richard III as being deformed, with a hunchback, like the Tudors, whereas the people of the House of York saw him as being without any flaws. Though many things in Shakespeare's play and the writings of this time period were based on fact, they were also largely based on opinion, and it is for that reason that it is unlikely that the historians of today will ever know the full truth on some matters concerning Richard III.

English Kings During The War of Roses

Henry V

(1387 - 1422) A member of the House of Lancaster, Henry V's biggest accomplishment was the Battle of Agincourt, in which the greatly outnumbered English were able to defeat the French.

Henry VI

(1421 - 1417) Henry VI, crowned king when he was an infant, ruled until 1453 when he was struck with a mental illness and had to be replaced by his successor.

Edward IV

(1442 - 1483) Edward IV was a Yorkish king who, upon discovering that he didn't have enough forces to defeat the Lancastrians, fled to Holland in 1470.

Henry VI

(See above) Henry VI regained the crown for a short time in 1470, but upon Edward's return, he was captured by Edward and executed.

Edward IV

(See above) After returning from Holland, Edward IV had Henry VI executed, and, dying in 1483, he left his sons Edward V and Richard as his heirs.

Edward V

(1470 - 1483) Edward V was set to become king until his uncle Richard III allegedly locked him and his brother Richard in the Tower of London, and they were both mysteriously killed later.

Richard III

(1452 - 1485) Made the Duke of Gloucester at age nine, Richard III was later crowned king after the death of Edward V and Richard, but was defeated by Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth Field.

Henry VII

(1457 - 1509) After defeating Richard III, Henry VII became the first king of the Tudor line, and was able to retain this position by fighting off many other Yorkish attempts at the crown until his death at age 52.

Effects of the Black Plague: DBQ

As the Black Plague ravaged Great Britain, the majorities turned the mass confusion to their advantage when laborers tried to obtain more rights and violently rebelled against their authorities, and when they needed someone to blame the pestilence of the disease on, they looked toward the Jews.

With the death toll staggering from the sever contagion of the plague, the supply and demand went up not only for commodities, but also for hard labor. The people of the working class attempted to take advantage of this by asking for more money for their services. Even if their potential employers did not want to pay anything extra, their were plenty of others who would, so they did not really have a choice. The wealthier people who were higher up in the hierarchy tried to prevent the working class from rising up, but when it all came down to it, they needed these people were indispensable, and the rich needed them. Whether the wealthier liked it or not, the hierarchy was changing, and the peasants were getting wise.

The peasants were rising up in more than just the economy; the plague had wreaked havoc on both the lives of the poor and the lives of the rich, causing their entire way of life to be turned upside down. As a result of the sheer panic that came from this, many of the peasants went crazy. They banded together and even more ruined the lives of the knights and other wealthy people of the nation, harming them, torturing them, and even killing many of them. This peasant rebellion was caused much destruction during the two years of the plague, in addition to the sickness.

When the people realized how devastating the Black Plague was to them and the world in which they lived, they strove to find a scapegoat on which to place the blame. Some people of the Jewish religion had already been previously charged with poisoning well water, and because of this, everyone turned against them and held them accountable for the plague. Jews were a minority, so it was very easy for the rest of Great Britain to overpower them when it came down to it. Many Jews were burned for this apparent crime, and only in cities such as Avignon were they protected by people of authority like the pope.

In this time of bedlam that resulted from the Black Plague, all of these groups -- the employers, the knightly people, and the Jews -- were shoved to the wall as the peasants and the working class were able to collaborate against the peoples they thought were opposing them; though in the end the main thing that resulted from the ruinous plague was not the power of teamwork, but an extreme decrease in Europe's population.

Opinions on the Scots: DBQ

During the early 1300s, the English and the Scottish had very different views on the Scottish people; the English treated them as brutes, cowards, and greedy murders, and the Scottish glorified themselves to the point of calling themselves holy.

In the minds of the English, William Wallace -- a hero for the Scots -- was viewed as a corrupt, insane man who, when in danger, saved himself and let others do his dirty work. They took much joy in the gruesome and painful death of Wallace, believing that he fully deserved it for his crimes.

Robert the Bruce was a hero for the Scottish, but the English considered him a selfish, volatile man who murdered for his own benefit. He demanded to be the King of Scotland, and when John Comyn disagreed, the English report that Robert the Bruce was not at all hesitant to run him through with a sword.

The Scottish, however, consider the English villains, because of their desire to conquer more and more of Scotland's land, and thought that Scotland was favored by the Lord Himself. They even appealed to the Holy Father and requested for Scotland and its freedom to be sacred, so that the English may not disturb them.

The English and Scottish both exaggerated the truth of what Scotland was really like, and though there may be truth to their words, both nations were too biased against one another and to self-absorbed with their own territories to see what that truth really was.

English Monarchy in the Later Middle Ages

• What does the reign of Henry II suggest about the future of English foreign relationships?

At the beginning of Henry II, he was eager to conquer lands and people and control as much territory as he could. Though he owned a part of France by marriage, he sought to obtain more from King Louis VII of France; this did not work out well for Henry II, with Louis having overpowered him. From that point on, he was more careful about what countries and territories he attempted to rule over. He set an example that one should wait and lie low, and only strike when one had the upper hand in a position of power. This strategy worked for both Ireland and Wales (after his first attempt). By remaining disinterested in these other countries, Henry II was able to take them by surprise and seize territories when he had the advantage. For the future rulers of England, King Henry II sets the example that it was important to capture and control as many territories as possible when it was most convenient. He strongly enforced a feudalistic reign over all of the places under his rule and took the first steps to the time where the sun never set on the British empire.

• Does the common conception of Richard as "good" and John as "bad" hold up to reality?

Ever since their birth, both Richard and John were on uneven footing, with Richard, being older, having an advantage with their father, Henry II. It was many factors of their character and events in their child-and young adulthood that led them to be the people they were remembered as, their specific qualities shaping the kind of people they turned out to be.

Richard had always been an ambitious ruler, ever since he refused to give up his control of Aquitaine to John after their older brother, Henry the Younger, had perished. He skillfully made alliances against his enemies, and was eventually able to obtain the position of king after Henry II had passed. Richard was confident and full of bravado, which was demonstrated when he went off to fight for the Holy Land in the crusades. His people did not let his bravery and compassion for their cause go unnoticed.

John, on the other hand, may as well have been condemned from the moment he was born. He was the youngest, therefore the least favorite of his father, the most disadvantaged, and the one with the least experience. On top of this, he was also the opposite of his brother Richard: a coward. He was afraid of both confrontation and trusting people, which made it very hard for him to succeed in politics when he became king, not to mention the problem of his particular fondness for fine jewelry.

Richard and John, both brothers and adversaries at the same time, were rulers that were greatly shaped by their past, and, in turn, this ruling style would shape England and its surrounding territories forever. The terms "good" and "bad" are subjective, but this much is true: John made more serious mistakes due to his difference in character than Richard, and Richard had more of a knack for ruling than John, most likely due to the discrepancy between the brothers' levels of bravery and trust. Because of this, Richard will always still be remembered as the good king, and likewise John as the bad.

• How did the Magna Carta change the relationship of the Monarch and his subjects?

At first, the Magna Carta tried to lessen the king's power over the people, and diminish the influence of the feudal system for the good of the people. King John, though, overcome by the allure of power, disregarded the attempt at fairness and continued to rule and conquer as he was doing before the Magna Carta was ever thought up. After the death of King John, Henry III took his place and issued another Magna Carta, ensuring again the laws of the land of be enforced on the subjects and the barons, while still giving them their own rights, making the relationship between the Monarch and his subjects slightly more equal and fair.

My Histories

Wilbur E. Brown: WWII Survivor

In the style of Thucydides

Brianna Glase, an American teenager, wrote the history of her great uncle Wilbur E. Brown and his time in the United States Air Force, beginning at the time when he was drafted at 18 years old, believing that his story would be very worthy of relation to future generations. This belief has been proven true. Indeed this event was one of the greatest in United States history, not only of the Glase family, but a large part of the world over fifty years ago.

For instance, despite the fact that World War II is now over, it had a very prominent effect on many people while it was still occurring, changing many families and their histories, including the aforementioned Glase family, because of the fact that it involved more than just a few countries, but the majority of the world at that time.

For in those earlier times, Wilbur E. Brown and many people like him had enlisted or been drafted in the United States military, as was common at that time. He would become part of the Ace Air Force, and then later a top gunner in the 702nd bomb squadron, flying in a B-24 bomber aircraft, whose serial number was 100308 and whose nickname was “Our Gal.” This would be the main source of his and his family’s livelihood, no disgrace being attached to such an achievement, but even some glory. An illustration of this honor was displayed when Wilbur Brown became one of few survivors of the Kassel Mission in Germany.

The United States had good pilots, but the Germans, too, had great flyers, as was proved by the following fact. During this 169th mission of the 445th bomb group, a fleet of German planes overtook 35 American planes. Indeed, 31 of these American planes were shot down, and thus the majority of the flyers were killed, having only a few survivors, one of them being Wilbur Brown the gunner.

Now Wilbur Brown was a lucky man; and he could not have survived this ordeal, but through the possession of this luck.

From this flight expedition we may infer a number of things. Now the plane that Wilbur Brown had been flying in had caught on fire, starting at the number 3 engine, and all members were advised to get out of the plane; but this is easier said than done. Indeed, the smoke was so thick and black that Wilbur Brown could not see and was struck unconscious. And yet, somehow, whether he had fallen or had been pushed, Wilbur Brown had gotten out of the combusting aircraft. I suppose if Wilbur Brown had not gotten out of the aircraft, he would have been killed in the fire or in the later crash, as was the case for nearly all of his companions in “Our Gal,” aside from him and two other survivors of that crew. Difficulty of employing the parachute led to Wilbur Brown being in danger yet again. Even after he had managed to utilize the parachute, Wilbur Brown fell into an unconscious state once more. In short, Wilbur Brown eventually landed safely in a German field, his parachute only hanging on by one single strap, and was greeted by a group of unwelcoming local Germans carrying a variety of guns and pitchforks.

Even after the success of his safe landing, Wilbur Brown was still a soldier in a war fighting against the country he had landed in, so consequently he was taken by a German soldier on a motorcycle to a local hospital for treatment of the burns on his face. This led to Wilbur Brown’s discovery of the fact that he had been struck mostly blind and the realization of the terrible burns on his face as a result of engine number 3.

Even after the trip to the hospital, Wilbur Brown was taken to a camp for Prisoners of War, and thus could not return to his family back in America. It was there that he was treated by a British doctor who changed his facial bandages and did anything else necessary to Wilbur Brown’s health. Four weeks later, the bandages could be removed from his face. One month later, his vision was restored; this led to Wilbur Brown’s discovery of the terrible conditions in which he was living.

But as Wilbur Brown’s vision came back and his burns kept healing, he contracted an infection because of them and had to be quarantined in isolation for one week before being transferred to another German camp where it is said that he was held there without any medical attention.

But at last came a time where Wilbur Brown was

sent to yet another German camp; this one specifically for Prisoners of War who had developed eye related injuries and burns, and Wilbur Brown was treated by yet another British doctor. During his time at this camp, Wilbur Brown received much attention to his wounds, including various skin grafts to replace the eyelids and eyebrows that had been burned off by the fire in engine number 3.

A year after the unsuccessful Kassel Mission had gone wrong, Wilbur Brown was released from his German captors and allowed to return to the United States, where much medical attention was given to the injuries that had still not cleared up. I grant that there had been much celebration for his return, likewise all of the other Prisoners of War who had been joyfully reunited with their loved ones at the end of World War II.

Information From:

Brown, Wilbur Ernest. “Personal War Notes of Wilbur Brown.” Maryland. June 2, 1992.

“Burial of a Frenchman in a German Prisoner of War Camp.” Germany. Personal photograph. 1944.

"Kassel Mission". Kassel Mission Memorial Bench . 9/6/10 .

"Kassel Mission Crew Load List". 9/4/10 .
The document at the left is the handwritten personal journal of Wilbur Ernest Brown of his war accounts, with annotations by his granddaughter Stephanie Brown.

In the style of Herodotus

Now, in the year of 1944, the Second World War was in full swing, and the affects of this war and is numerous battles, I say, changed the outcome of many a family at that time. Now, Wilbur Ernest Brown, being the son of Ernest Sylvester Brown and Eleanora Mary Hall, was of eighteen years at the time of WWII, and I shall say that it was customary of his time to have been drafted in the United States military, which is precisely what Wilbur Brown did. This thing Wilbur Brown did later resulted in his institution into the United States Air Force.

Now, in this time of crisis for, not only America but the whole world, Wilbur Brown happened to be one of the young men who was drafted into the military when he was but an 11th grader, though he was 18 at the time, according to Jane Brown, so, consequently he was not able to graduate.

It came to pass that I heard from Stephanie Brown and Diane Glase that Wilbur Brown became the top gunner for his aircraft; but Donna Jeppi relates that he was the flight engineer. With regard to this discrepancy, it is accepted by all parties that in the year of 1944, Wilbur Brown’s plane was shot down in the Kassel Mission in Germany – the 9th mission of his flight crew, and the 169th mission of his 445th bomb group -- with him being one of very few survivors.

Now Wilbur Brown had many difficulties in his descent from 31000 feet, as Stephanie Brown relays; he was struck unconscious before jumping out of his plane, and discovered he was mostly blind from the excess smoke from engine number three which had caught on fire, but not before there were difficulties in opening his parachute, which, in turn, was only hanging on by a single strap. It was said that after being captured by the German enemies in whose country Wilbur Brown had landed, he spent over a year in Prisoner of War camps, most of his time being in the hospital and under intense medical care for his various facial burns and blindness, both of which were cured for the most part under the supervision of very competent doctors. In one of these hospitals was where he was reunited by one of his crewmates, Raymond Wayne Ray, as Ray recorded in his own personal journals, which were consequently told to me by Dorothy Wickman. Raymond Ray had also been a gunner in their plane, and, suffering from a shattered shoulder blade, was also taken as a Prisoner of War by the German people.

Now, it is agreed upon by all relatives of Wilbur Brown that he returned from Germany at the end of the Second World War and was treated for any remainder of his physical ailments, but no attention was given to the mental and emotional trauma that Wilbur Brown had been exposed to. It is said by Stephanie Brown that Wilbur Brown had nightmares about his time in the camps, and it was very difficult for him to sit still for long periods of time, and nervous tension was still sometimes apparent in his demeanor. Dorothy Wickman also communicated that Wilbur Brown’s face was much scarred from his burns, and signs of his struggles would remain written on his face for years after his ordeal had ended.

If it was not for the time in which he was a Prisoner of War, Wilbur Brown never would have reconnected with his future wife, Jane Wickman at the time, had it not been for the block party in celebration of his return, according to Jane herself; from this chance reuniting stemmed many relatives of the Glase family.

Then secondly as a positive consequence of Wilbur Brown’s time spent overseas in Germany, he received the coveted high school diploma that he had not had the chance to obtain before he was drafted into the service. A fellow war veteran contacted Wilbur Brown and 13 other veterans, I was told by Jane Brown, who all consequently took classes until they were all able to receive their General Equivalency Diplomas from Century High School in Westminster.

Now, Wilbur Brown was a lucky man, and though he suffered many hardships, it was very good fortune that got him out of said situations, I say, and there was much good that resulted from them, including his diploma and later his family, which, I say, indeed outweighed the bad.