Body, Parentage and Character in History: Notes on the Tudor Period

The author argues that bodily constitution and inherited family traits shape temperament and uses that framework to illuminate political and personal conduct in the Tudor era. After outlining theories linking physical organisation to character, he applies them to prominent figures, evaluating family proclivities, marital choices, and recurring qualities such as fitfulness, self-importance, cruelty, and piety. He examines the roles of advisers, institutions, and Parliament, and assesses the monarch's part in religious change while distinguishing essential forces from accidental circumstances. The work concludes with comparative studies of two queens, highlighting contrasts in disposition, bodily peculiarities, and the effects of environment on their careers.