5:12 am
February 8, 2010
The Plantangenets has a good run for their money as did the Hannovarians whose name was only changed to Saxe Coburg Gotha by Victoriia's marriage to Prince Albert and if the 1st world war hadn't happened, we wiwould probably has that same name until Elizabeth 1st married Philp.
So questions:
1) What if Arthur had survived, had had healthy children by Catherine of Aragon? Would the same problem have arisen in the end as did the descendants of the very fertile Edwatd III?
2) In the case of Arthur's death and Katherine had produced for HVIII a glut of sons, how wold that have changed the state of the nation?
It's interesting to ponder on, as I have read on more than one occasion “Faterland” by Robert Harris which is a spy story set in germany onthe premise that the Nazis won the won. There are a number of “what if” novels around in any case.
Love to hear some of your ideas.
3:55 pm
May 20, 2010
IIRC, Kingsley Amis' The Alteration is set in a 20th-century world where Arthur survived and had sons by Katherine. The Reformation's effects were quite limited: proto-Protestants (mostly English and Dutch) were exiled to the New World, where they flourished and led in techology (and also had Native American slaves). Martin Luther never led the Reformation: he became Pope and instituted what we would consider a counter-Reformation. Henry is alluded in passing as a very nasty piece of work. In The Alteration's 20th century, science is associated with magic, which is associated with evil. And most germane for the plot, castrati are still in use, as women are not allowed to sing or act in theatres. The (alternate) historiography of The Alteration was quite Whiggish and anti-Catholic, I thought, but it was still a good novel.
Yours as long as lyffe endures, Katheryn
4:26 pm
August 2, 2010
In either of your scenarios, Jenny, everything I think would have been very altered. For instance, would the Spanish Armada have been defeated-would Spain rule England? England might continue being Catholic, obviously the famous six wives would not have existed, and if Mary Boleyn's children were Henry VIII's (hmm, I wonder if they were? I ponder that constantly!) they would not have existed, obviously as would Elizabeth, Edward, and Mary Tudor, etc…Wow, interesting to think about!
"Grumble all you like, this is how it's going to be"
9:47 pm
November 18, 2010
Jenny said:
The Plantangenets has a good run for their money as did the Hannovarians whose name was only changed to Saxe Coburg Gotha by Victoriia's marriage to Prince Albert and if the 1st world war hadn't happened, we wiwould probably has that same name until Elizabeth 1st married Philp.
Nitpick EII…Unless you are in Scotland.
It's always bunnies.
9:57 pm
November 18, 2010
How far back do you want to go?
If William the Bastard had lost?
If Richard the Lionheart had never gone on the Crusades?
If Edward II had rallied enough troops to defeat Isabella and Mortimer?
MY personal fave…If Richard III had won the Battle of Bosworth?
” Fatherland” is a very good novel. I read it in a single 5 hr stretch.
It's always bunnies.
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