Leiden University Student Repository

Smolders, Pauline (2016)

Ties of the Tudors: The Influence of Margaret Beaufort and her Web of Relations on the Formation and Preservation of Tudor Rulership.

Master thesis | History (MA)

While Margaret Beaufort (1443-1509) has often been portrayed as a religious woman, as the mother of King Henry VII of England and as a figure with political influence, the crucial network she surrounded herself with is rarely touched upon. This thesis proposes to bring light to the influence that these networks of kinship and patronage had on the formation and preservation of the then brand-new Tudor rulership. Using the primary source material, we can examine these relationships and their influence as well as the impact of female agency on Margaret Beaufort’s abilities to establish and maintain these networks. Unraveling the role of Margaret Beaufort and her networks will lead to a better understanding of the formation and maintenance of Tudor rulership and a deeper knowledge of how female networks of power functioned.

Ties of the Tudors

Margaret Beaufort

English history

Female agency

Networks

Author

Smolders, Pauline

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

History

Supervisors

Geevers, E.M.

ECTS Credits

40

Language

en