Biography of Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) By Christopher Minster Biography of Sir Walter Raleigh: Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) was an English courtier, explorer, writer, privateer, sailor and poet. Raleigh was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I , and she granted him many titles, positions and estates before he fell out of favor. He was one of many Europeans who searched South America for the legendary city of El Dorado and his failure to find it was a factor in his execution in 1618. Childhood of Walter Raleigh: Records are poor, but Walter was probably born sometime in 1552 in Devon, England. The Raleigh (sometimes spelled Ralegh) family had aristocratic roots but not much money. His father had married three times and Walter had several half-brothers, some of whom would also rise to fame in the Elizabethan courts. Walter enrolled at Oriel College when he was sixteen: he was a brilliant young man. He left his studies for a time to fight in France and returned to study law around 1575.

Raleigh’s Rise to Prominence at Court: continue reading below our video 4 Tips for Improving Test Performance Young Walter was to accompany his half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in 1578 when he led an expedition west to find the fabled Northwest Passage . Because of weather and Spanish attacks, the expedition never really got under way. Stephen went to Ireland instead, and Walter went with him. Walter put down a rebellion of Irishmen and captured and executed some Spanish troops sent to support the Irish. When he returned to London, he was able to use his experience in Ireland to secure a position of advisor in court on Irish affairs. He soon charmed the Queen with his good looks and quick wit: he may have been one of her lovers, although there is little evidence to prove that he was. According to legend, he placed his own cloak over a puddle so that she could cross without getting her shoes muddy. Roanoke: In 1584 Raleigh, by now a favorite at court and one of the most influential men in Britain, received royal permission to establish a colony in the New World.

He sent out an expedition which returned with tales of a fertile land on the shores of North America: Raleigh named it "Virginia" in honor of his Queen. He arranged for a group of colonists to settle Roanoke Island in 1585: the expedition was ill-equipped and returned to England. A second colony, established in 1587, mysteriously disappeared, and to this day historians are unsure what happened to it. Fall From Grace: In 1592 Raleigh married one of Queen Elizabeth's maids of honor, Elizabeth Throckmorton, in secret: the Queen was most displeased and threw both of them in the Tower of London . Raleigh, charming fellow that he was, soon talked his way back out, but he never regained the Queen's favor as he had before and his many enemies at court smelled blood in the water. Raleigh had a plan to win the Queen's favor back, however: he would present her with the gold of El Dorado. El Dorado: By then, the myth of El Dorado had made its way all over the globe.

El Dorado was a legendary city, lost somewhere in the unexplored wilds of South America, rumored to be the wealthiest city of the world. Thousands of Europeans had set out in dozens of expeditions over the decades since Pizarro's stunning conquest of the mighty Inca Empire. By 1595, El Dorado was rumored to be in the highlands of Guyana. The city was not there, or anywhere else: there was nothing more to El Dorado than the fevered dreams of gold-hungry explorers, yet it had an irresistible pull on men like Raleigh. He made his queen promises of great riches and told her that he would find her a prize equal to the vast fortunes delivered to Spain by Cortés and Pizarro. First Expedition to El Dorado: Raleigh outfitted five ships with men and supplies and set out on February 6, 1595. They crossed the Atlantic and scouted military positions on the Spanish Main: they were, after all, deliberately invading Spanish territory. Raleigh captured a Spanish settlement on the Island of Trinidad: the big prize was the capture of Antonio de Berrio, a Spanish explorer who had been seeking El Dorado for years.

Raliegh, acting on information gleaned from Berrio, explored the mainland with 100 men, traveling up the Orinoco and Caroni Rivers. They turned back a few months later when the rains came: they had also heard rumors of a large Spanish expedition which they wished to avoid. Raleigh made friends with natives by telling them that he, too, hated the Spanish. The expedition brought back many rocks which they hoped would prove to have traces of gold. Attack on Cádiz: Raleigh intended to return the following year to search for El Dorado, or “Manoa” as it was also known at that time, but events in Europe conspired to keep him away. His rocks aroused little enthusiasm, and the war with Spain intensified. He captained a ship in the English fleet that captured the Spanish city of Cadiz in 1596. Meanwhile, he sent two expeditions back to Guyana to find a route to Manoa. They found little in the way of gold, but Raleigh’s lieutenant Laurence Keymis claimed to have found a route to the highlands where Manoa was rumored to be.

The Tower of London: From 1596 to 1603 Raleigh spent much time at court, trying to regain favor with the Queen and outmaneuver his enemies. There was little support for an El Dorado expedition in England, and for a short time it appeared that Sweden might fund an expedition for Raleigh, but it came to nothing. In 1603, Queen Elizabeth died childless, and the crown passed to King James of Scotland. Unlike Elizabeth, James wished for peace with Spain. Raleigh's enemies had already been working on James, and when he ascended to the throne he threw Raleigh into the Tower of London once again, charged with treason. Although he was convicted on the trumped-up charge, King James suspended the sentence, which meant that Raleigh would languish indefinitely in the Tower. Death and Legacy of Sir Walter Raleigh: Even from the confines of the Tower of London, Raleigh managed to support an expedition to the New World, which predictably found nothing. Raleigh maintained contact with his friends outside the tower, and repeated endlessly that he knew the way to a great city of gold. Somewhat surprisingly, in 1616 James relented, freed Raleigh and sent him back to the New World.

On June 12, 1617, Raleigh set sail with fourteen ships and about a thousand men. The trip was a disaster nearly from the start: dysentery struck and Raleigh himself became very ill. They reached the New World in November, and Raleigh stayed with the ships while his subordinates searched for the lost city of gold. Once again, they did not find any, and the expedition was forced to return to England empty-handed. Raleigh knew that failure meant death: he was so convinced of his ability to find Manoa that he had tried anyway. Raleigh's charter for his final trip had stated that he was not to attack the Spanish: as there had been a skirmish between his men and some Spaniards in Guyana, he was therefore in violation of King James' orders. On October 29, 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded in London. It was an unjust punishment: although he was convicted of treason, Raleigh was ever a loyal servant of England. Sir Walter was a larger-than-life character, the greatest of the courtiers, whose wit and sense of adventure were legendary.

Time has been kind to Raleigh: he advocated a different way of looking at the New World, one based more on colonization rather than the plundering and enslavement practiced by the Spanish. Although his Roanoke colony failed, later English colonies would thrive. He treated the South American natives fairly and was greatly respected by them. He left behind a large body of literature, including poems and a History of the World that he wrote while in prison. Even today, 500 years after his death, his name is recognizable to many around the world, although not everyone knows why he was so famous. Raleigh was one of the last great seekers of El Dorado: not long after his era, South America had been explored enough that it was obvious that there was nowhere left for a large city of gold to hide. His dogged determination was typical of the men who searched for El Dorado, such as Francisco de Orellana , Nicolaus Federmann and Sebastián de Benalcázar . The city of Raleigh in North Carolina is named for him.

Source: Sir Walter Raleigh executed - Oct 29, 1618 - HISTORY.com Sir Walter Raleigh executed Publisher A+E Networks Sir Walter Raleigh, English adventurer, writer, and favorite courtier of Queen Elizabeth I, is beheaded in London, under a sentence brought against him 15 years earlier for conspiracy against King James I. During Elizabeth’s reign, Raleighorganized three major expeditions to America, including the first English settlement in America, in 1587—the ill-fated Roanoke settlement located in present-day North Carolina. Raleigh laterfell out of favor with Elizabeth after she learned of his secret marriage to Bessy Throckmorton, one of her maids-of-honor, and he was imprisoned with his wife in the Tower of London. After buying his freedom, Raleigh married Bessy and distanced himself from the jealous English queen. After Elizabeth died in 1603, Raleigh was implicated as a foe of King James I and imprisoned with a death sentence. The death sentence was later commuted, and in 1616 Raleigh was freed to leadan expedition to the New World, this time to establish a gold mine in the Orinoco River region of South America.

However, the expedition was a failure, and when Raleigh returned to England the death sentence of 1603 was invoked against him. Related Videos England 1603-1642 [ More on James ] The rough handling that the infant James had received from his Presbyterian tutors - particularly the dour George Buchanan (1506-82) - soured his view of Presbyterianism throughout his life. From the 1590's, James was in close contact with Robert Cecil, Lord Salisbury . James was very eager to ensure that he inherited the English throne, for England was a far richer and more powerful country than Scotland, and its nobility and clergy far less unruly than their Scottish counterparts. Salisbury became James I's chief minister and secured the downfall of Sir Walter Ralegh , who was convicted of treason in 1603. (It was alleged that Ralegh had plotted to install Arabella Stuart on the throne. He spent some years in prison, was released in 1616 to find gold in the New World, but angered the Spanish and was executed in 1618 on the basis of his 1603 treason conviction).

Robert Cecil became Lord Treasurer in 1608, Viscount Cranborne in 1604, and Earl of Salisbury in 1605. Cecil's power was to some extent counterbalanced by that of the Howard family, especially Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton (1540-1614), who had been imprisoned in Elizabeth's reign for intriguing with James' mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. James made Henry Howard Lord Privy Seal in 1605. Henry Howard was a man of great learning, but his involvement in the Overbury scandal tainted his final years. Another of James I's early favorites was Robert Carr (1590?-1645). Devoid of intellect, but extremely handsome, Carr became Viscount Rochester (1611), and Earl of Somerset (1613). The Overbury scandal led to his fall from favor. James I was as extravagant as Elizabeth I had been frugal. He handed out titles, offices and pensions with a trowel. This made him popular in the short-term, but increased the financial problems of the crown. One method that James tried to raise money was impositions.

These additional customs duties were seen as taxation by Parliament and as requiring parliamentary consent. In 1606 the Judges in Bate's Case ruled that impositions were legal, and the government continued to collect them despite protests in parliament. Salisbury tried to resolve the dispute by the Great Contract of 1610. This scheme involved James giving up impositions and other unpopular levies in exchange for a permanent income from Parliament. Negotiations initially made progress but collapsed in mutual distrust - the King thought that the sum he was been offered was too low (ï¿½200,000 p.a.), while Parliament could not bring itself to institute a permanent tax on land. Problems with the puritans continued. They had been optimistic that James would be more favorable to their cause than had Elizabeth and had presented him with Millenary Petition as he traveled to London for his coronation 1603. In 1604 at the Hampton Court Conference, James showed himself as hostile as Richard Bancroft to puritan aspirations. Fortunately for the puritans, many bishops were more tolerant and sympathetic than James and Bancroft. James I continued Elizabeth's policy of fining Roman Catholics for recusancy.

Philip III King of Spain 1598-1621 In 1604, James made peace with Spain which destroyed Catholic hopes of liberation by a Spanish invasion. A few Catholic gentlemen turned in desperation to violence. The Gunpowder Plot was a plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament when King, Lord and Commons were all present and then seize control of England. After the plan's disastrous failure, severe laws were passed against Catholics (in practice, they were rarely enforced). In fact, because of the absence of a foreign Catholic threat, James I's government could afford to be less severe than Elizabeth's - only twenty priests were executed between 1603 and 1625. 2. 1612-1618 The rapid rise of Henry Howard and Robert Carr was ended by a sensational case of divorce and murder: the Overbury scandal. Robert Carr fell in love with Frances - the daughter of Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk. Unfortunately Frances was already married to the Earl of Essex (the son of Robert Devereux ). They had been married when children and had lived separately.

When Essex arrived to claim his bride, Frances (who was attracted to Carr but not to Essex) did all she could to discourage any advances and then divorced him on the grounds of impotence. James took Frances' side in the matter and rigged the divorce court to ensure that France got her annulment (September 1613). Frances and Carr were married in December 1613. Ten days before the divorce was annulled a young gentleman - Thomas Overbury - died by poison in the Tower of London. In 1615, evidence emerged that he had been poisoned by an agent of Frances because he was about to reveal that she had been living as Carr's mistress before her divorce, and had used drugs and witchcraft to engineer her husband's impotence. There was no direct evidence of Carr's involvement in the murder, but enough suggestion of his and Henry Howard's complicity to lose James I's favor entirely. The Howard faction was pro-Spanish, anti-puritan, tolerant of Roman Catholics, and supportive of royal power - this was more or less the opposite of the predominant opinion in the House of Commons.

In 1614, the Addled Parliament had been dissolved without passing any laws or granting any taxes in part because of the Howards plots. (Continued disputes over impositions also caused trouble). The Howard faction also met opposition at court from George Abbot (Archbishop of Canterbury from 1611) and William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke (the richest nobleman in England). George Abbot decided to take advantage of James' weakness for handsome young men by introducing the king to his own client - the particularly handsome and charming George Villiers. James certainly fell for Villiers, making him an Earl in 1617, a Marquess in 1618, and a Duke of Buckingham in 1623. Unfortunately for Abbott, Villiers grew so powerful that he no longer had any need of Abbot's help, and began to make his own choices. 3. 1618-1628 During the early years of James reign, patronage was divided between various factions, but after 1618 all patronage was in the hands of Buckingham. This aroused great resentment.

Buckingham's support for a marriage of Charles (James' heir) to a Spanish princess was also very unpopular. From 1618, Spain was at war with Frederick V, the Elector Palatine, (briefly King of Bohemia) and son-in-law of James I by his marriage to Elizabeth. Frederick was the leader of the German Protestant Union against Hapsburg attempts to reestablish Catholicism throughout the Holy Roman Empire. Territorial and dynastic problems also played their part in causing the Thirty Years War (1618-48), but in England it was widely regarded as a contest between Protestants and Catholics. In England, public opinion was in favor of war with Spain, not alliance with it. In 1624, the marriage negotiations collapsed and Charles and Buckingham called for war. This made them popular for a while. After the death of James I in 1625, England did declare war on Spain. However, not only was the war executed incompetently, but also England started simultaneously war with France. The war was very expensive, and in 1626-27 Charles and Buckingham resorted to measures of very dubious legality to raise money.

The most unpopular was the Forced Loan and the imprisonment of those who refused to pay it. The government also billeted troops in civilians' homes. Even with these methods, Charles still had insufficient money and had to call Parliament. It condemned Charles' illegal methods in the Petition of Right . William Laud The Commons also attacked Arminian doctrines and their most powerful exponent, William Laud. 23 August 1628, a disgruntled soldier, John Felton assassinated Buckingham. 1629, Charles I called another session of Parliament, but when it opposed him as vigorously as in 1628, he dissolved it and decided to try and rule without parliament. Thomas Wentworth The period from 1629 to 1640 is known as the Eleven Years Tyranny or the Personal Rule. Charles I pursued unpopular religious policies, that emphasized ceremonies and sacraments and were seen by many as a return to popery. In Ireland, his trusted agent Thomas Wentworth adopted severe policies to suppress all Irish resistance to English rule. Charles revived long-defunct taxes to finance his regime, that many though simply illegal. He revived and extended Ship Money to finance the expansion of the English Navy.

Charles I had as little taste for presbyterianism as his father, and in 1637 he tried to bring the Scottish Church more into line with the English by introducing bishops and a Scottish Prayer Book modeled on the English Book of Common Prayer. Tradition holds that the "Prayer Book riots" were started by a woman, Janet Geddes, who on Sunday, 23 July 1637 threw her stool at the Dean of Saint Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh in spontaneous outrage at him "saying Mass in her ear". In 1638, the Scottish rebelled. Charles finances were insufficient to put down the rebellion, and he was forced in Spring 1640 to call the Short Parliament (April 13th to May 5th). It was highly uncooperative and Charles dissolved it. The Scots invaded Northern England, taking Newcastle and Durham and defeating Charles army in August 1640. Charles was forced to come to terms with the Scots and agree to pay the wages of the army that had just defeated him. Since he lacked the money to do this, the Long Parliament was summoned 3 November 1640. Over the next two years, England drifted into Civil War.

Charles resented the Commons, and made promises with every intention of breaking them as soon as he could obtain military support from Ireland or the Continent. The leaders of the Parliamentary opposition knew that Charles was not to be trusted, and tried to neutralize him by attacking his trusted agents, Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford and William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury. An Act was passed by Parliament in 1641 declaring Strafford a traitor. Laud was imprisoned. The execution of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford Parliament also forced through legislation to assure its own permanence, to declare illegal Charles I's new forms of taxation, and to reverse his changes in the Church. Almost everyone agreed that Charles had acted badly, but the king's moderate critics began to alienated by the actions of his more radical opponents. In particular, the use of the London mob to stop the Bishops taking their seats in the House of Lords raised fears of social upheaval. Furthermore, many gentry had deep misgivings about the attempts to abolish Bishops altogether and reform the English church "root and branch". During 1641, the King gradually accumulated more support.

The Irish revolt of October 1641 forced the question of who should control the army needed to suppress the uprising - King or Parliament. The issue could not be resolved peacefully; in Summer 1642, the English Civil War began. Hic Jacet - Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) - Life in Elizabethan Times : Barbara O'Sullivan : 9780955991240 Hic Jacet - Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) - Life in Elizabethan Times Hardback Try AbeBooks Description During the reign of King James I, Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned in the Bloody Tower for Treason, 1603-1617. Raleigh was pardoned and Letters Patent issued (26th August 1617) enabling him to embark on a private expedition to Guiana in search of gold. Raleigh was betrayed in advance and was ambushed in Guiana. See Raleigh's letter to Sir Ralph Winwood, Secretary to King James I, dated 17th November 1617.

Raleigh's son, Wat was murdered, and Lawrence Kemish, Raleigh's dear friend, slew himself. Reduced to failure, Sir Walter Raleigh was committed to The Wardrobe Tower on 10th August,1618. Thomas Wilson joined Raleigh on the 9th September, 1618 posing as a prisoner under strict orders to extract information from Raleigh, reporting to his superiors everything he knew. Both men were moved to the Brick Tower on 14th September and Sir Thomas Wilson was rewarded for his efforts in betraying Raleigh's trust and was liberated on the 16th October 1618. Sir Walter Raleigh was executed on 29th October, 1618. show more Product details 152 x 229 x 38mm | 1,039g Publication date Walter Raleigh Biography - Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline Leaders Walter Raleigh Biography Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, politician and explorer. This biography profiles his childhood, life, achievements and timeline.

Quick Facts John Gilbert, Humphrey Gilbert, Adrian Gilbert, Carew Raleigh Spouse/Partner: University of Oxford By 'H' monogrammist (floruit 1588) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons A courtier by heart, an explorer by passion, an aristocrat and author by work and a soldier by spirit, Sir Walter Raleigh donned many hats in his lifetime. Born in a Protestant family, he completed his education from Oxford College and later on rose up to be part of the Hugenot army in France. He played an active role in the suppression of rebellions in the Siege of Smerwick and was offered the status of a landlord, after the land confiscated by the native Irish was transferred to him. It was during the Elizabethan era that he bloomed and prospered, rapidly rising up the ranks due to the favour of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1585 he was knighted and appointed warden of the mines of Cornwall and Devon. He also played a crucial role in the English colonization of North America. It was in 1594 that he set sail to hunt for the âCity of Goldâ.

After his year-long expedition, he penned his experiences in a book which contributed to the legend, âEl Doradoâ. It was after the death of Queen Elizabeth I that he was imprisoned on charges of treason and executed. However, notwithstanding his unnecessary and unjust death, he was and is still considered as the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era. In fact, he was included in the list of 100 Greatest Britons in the BBC poll of 2002. Childhood & Early Life The exact year as to when Walter Raleigh was born is questionable. While historians claim it to be somewhere around 1552, the Oxford Dictionary assumes it to be 1554. However, one thing which is certain is that he was born in Devon, England, to Walter Raleigh and Catherine Champernowne. Belonging to a Protestant family, he developed a religious contention against Roman Catholics since an early age. He gained his education from Oxford University before serving in the Hugenot army in France. In 1575, he was registered at the Middle Temple. Career From 1579, he took part in the suppression of the Desmond Rebellions.

He was awarded with 40,000 acres of land including those of the coastal areas of Youghal and Lismore after the seizure and distribution. In 1581, he returned to England and became active in court life. It was due to his ruthlessness at the siege of Smerwick and plantation of English and Scots Protestants in Munster that he was knighted in 1585. Furthermore, he was given trade privileges and the right to colonize America. In 1581, he was appointed warden of the mines of Cornwall and Devon, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, and vice-admiral of the two counties. For a year, from 1585 to 1586, he even sat in the parliament as the member of Devonshire. In the year 1592, he yet again received numerous rewards from the Queen, including the Durham House in the Strand and the estate of the Sherborne, Dorset. He was appointed Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard. In 1588, he took on the seat of the Vice Admiral of Devon, and was in charge of looking after the coastal defences and military levies.

During his seventeen years of tenure as the Irish landlord, Youghal served to be his occasional home. From 1588 to 1589, he served as the mayor of the town. After a tumultuous phase during which he suffered from personal crisis and was imprisoned, he was released in August 1592 to help set up an expedition for an attack on the Spanish coast. It was during the attack on the Spanish coast that the fleet successfully captured a rich prize. Though he was the in-charge of the mission, the prize had to be distributed among all. In the 1593 parliament, he was elected a burgess of Mitchell, Cornwall. The following year, he retired from his duties and started living as a recluse at Sherborne, where he had built a new house. It was known by the name of Sherborne Lodge. It was while living at the Sherborne Lodge that his religious orientation came to limelight. He was the only Protestant amongst the group of Roman Catholics and thus was often tagged as an atheist. He was even charged of being an atheist.

In 1594, he first came to know about the âCity of Goldâ in South America at the headwaters of the Caroni River. Excited by the piece of information, the following year he set sail in search of Manao through the cities which are today known as Guyana and eastern Venezuela. Returning to England, he then penned his experiences and expeditions in a book which he entitled, âThe Discovery of Guianaâ published in 1596. Though the book made exaggerated claims about his voyage, it was seen as the stepping stone for the âEl Doradoâ legend. In 1596, he actively participated in the capture of CÃ¡diz, during which he was wounded. The following year, i.e., in 1597, he was second in command of the Islands Voyage to the Azores. In 1597, his political career witnessed a major uphill climb as he became one of the chosen members of the parliament for Dorset. Four years later, he was chosen for the parliament of Cornwall. With this, he became the only member to sit in the parliament for three different countries.

During the beginning of the 17th century, his fortunes suffered a major decline as he faced problems managing his estates. As a result, in 1602, he sold his share of lands to Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork Meanwhile, from 1600 to 1603, he took up the duties of the Governor of the Channel Island of Jersey. In the new capacity, he modernised its defences by constructing new fort, thus protecting the approaches to Saint Helier, Fort Isabella Bellissima, or Elizabeth Castle The good luck and high favour of the Queen on which he was riding high ended with the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603. He was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London in July 1603 on charges of being involved in the main plot against King James. He remained imprisoned until 1616 at the Tower of London. It was during this time that he penned numerous treatises. Furthermore, he wrote the first volume of âThe Historie of the Worldâ which was published later on in 1628. The book provided an insight into the ancient history of Greece and Rome.

Post his release from the Tower of London in 1616; he was part of the second expedition to Venezuela in search of El Dorado. It was while at the expedition that his men attacked the Spanish outpost of Santo TomÃ© de Guayana on the Orinoco River. After his return to England, the Spanish ambassador, Count Gondomar demanded the execution of Raleigh which was agreed upon by King James. He was then transferred to London. On the journey, he was presented with numerous opportunities of escape, but he denied taking up either. Personal Life & Legacy In 1591, he tied the nuptial knot with Elizabeth Bess Throckmorton, who was one of the eleven ladies-in-waiting of the Queen. She was pregnant at that time. The marriage was kept secret from the Queen. However, the surreptitious nature of the affair could not stand for long as the Queen came to know of the illegal marriage a year later. Furious at the do, she dismissed Bess from court and imprisoned them. It was only in August 1592 that he was released from prison to help set up an expedition for an attack on the Spanish coast.

She was released a couple of months later in December. Though the couple were separated from each other for several years, they were devoted to each other. During his absence, he took over all the responsibilities of managing the family estate and fortune. The couple was blessed with two more sons, Walter and Carew. Their first-born had died a few months after his birth due to plague. He was arrested in 1618 by the men of King James in an effort to appease the Spanish, especially their ambassador, Count Gondomar. Later on, a request for his execution by the later was successfully passed upon. He was beheaded on October 29, 1618, in the Old Palace Yard at the Palace of Westminster. It is said that his final words were, âStrike, man, strikeâ. His head was preserved and presented to his wife. He was buried at the local church in Beddington, Surrey - the home of Lady Raleigh. However, later on, he was finally laid to rest in St. Margaret's, Westminster. It is reported that the wife of this English aristocrat kept his head in a velvet bag until her death, 29 years later.

It was only thereafter that his head was interred in his tomb in Westminster. Trivia This English aristocrat and explorer and author of âThe Discovery of Guianaâ was responsible for introducing potatoes and tobacco smoking in Britain. Translate this page to Spanish, French, Hindi, Portuguese Pictures of Walter Raleigh Elizabethan Poets Introduction The Elizabethan poets (Sixteenth Century and shortly after) appeared in England during a period roughly contemporaneous with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603). Previous to this, the genius of Chaucer (1343-1400) had established English as a new language of literature and was a primary influence on poets of the Fifteenth Century. With the English renaissance of the Sixteenth Century, the language had moved much closer to its modern form, Chaucer came to be regarded as the English Homer, and a new flowering of poetry took place.

These poets adopted sonnet forms from Italy and wrote enormous numbers of love poems, but they also tried new meters and entertained other subjects, such as the passage of time, the effect of imprisonment, views on the happy life, the kingdom of the mind, old age, advice to a son, true joy, and tributes to the dead. Here, some short extracts from Wyatt, Surrey, Dyer, Sidney, Marlowe, Raleigh, Shakespeare, Campion, Wooton, and Hoskins are presented. Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542), born at Allington, Kent, and educated at Cambridge, was in and out of favor with Henry VIII, whom he served in a number of offices. He was repeatedly in jailï¿½for associating with Anne Boleyn, quarreling with the duke of Suffolk, and on charges of treason. He was knighted in 1537 and served two years as ambassador to Charles V. He translated some of Petrarch's sonnets, as well as writing many of his own and other lyrics and songs.

They flee from me, that sometime did me seek, With naked foot, stalking within my chamber; Once have I seen them gentle, tame, and meek, That now are wild, and do not once remember That sometime they have put themselves in danger To take bread at my hand; and now they range Busily seeking in continual change. Thanked be Fortune it hath been otherwise Twenty times better; but once, especial, In thin array, after a pleasant guise, When her loose gown did from her shoulders fall, And she me caught in her arms long and small, And therewithall so sweetly did me kiss, And softly said, 'Dear heart, how like you this?' It was no dream; for I lay broad awaking: But all is turned now thorough my gentleness, Into a bitter fashion of forsaking; And I have leave to go from her goodness, And she also to use newfangledness. But since that I so unkindly am served: How like you this, what hath she now deserved?

Sir Thomas Wyatt Sighs are my food, my drink are my tears; Clinking of fetters would such music crave; Stink and close air away my life wears; Poor innocence is all the hope I have; Rain, wind or weather judge I by my ears. Malice assaults that righteousness should have. Sure I am, Brian, this wound shall heal again, But yet, alas, the scar shall still remain. Sir Thomas Wyatt Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1517-47) received his title when his father became duke of Norfolk. He fought in Scotland and in Flanders and became commander of a garrison of Boulogne. Quick-tempered and quarrelsome, he made many enemies and was imprisoned several times for misconduct. Arrested on false charges of treason, he was executed in 1547. As with other Elizabeï¿½thans, his poetry was somewhat secondary to his other activities, but he was technically skilled and, like Wyatt, an enthusiast of the Italian sonnet My friend, the things that do attain The happy life be these, I find.

The riches left, not got with pain; The fruitful ground; the quiet mind; The equal friend, no grudge, no strife; No charge of rule, nor governance; Without disease, the healthy life; The household of continuance; The mean diet, no delicate fare; True wisdom joined with simpleness; The night discharged of all care, Where wine the wit may not oppress; The faithful wife, without debate; Such sleeps as may beguile the night; Contented with mine own estate, No wish for death, nor fear his might. Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey Laid in my quiet bed, in study as I were, I saw within my troubled head a heap of thoughts appear. And every thought did show so lively in mine eyes, That now I sighed, and then I smiled, as cause of thought did rise. I saw the little boy in thought how oft that he Did wish of God to scape the rod, a tall young man to be. The young man, too, that feels his bones with pains opprest, How he would be a rich old man, to live and lie at rest.

The rich old man, that sees his end draw on so sore, How he would be a boy again, to live so much the more. Whereat full oft I smiled, to see how all these three, From boy to man, from man to boy, would chop and change degree. And, musing thus, I think the case is very strange That man from wealth, to live in woe, doth ever seek to change. Thus thoughtful as I lay, I saw my withered skin, How it doth show my dinted cheeks, the flesh was worn so thin. And, too, my toothless jaws, the gates of my rightway, That opes and shuts as I do speak, do thus unto me say: ï¿½Thy white and hoarish hairs, the messengers of age, That show, like lines of true belief, that this life doth assuage, Bid thee lay hand, and feel them hanging on thy chin; The which do write two ages past, the third now coming in.

Hang up therefore the bit of thy young wanton time: And thou that therein beaten art, the happiest life define.ï¿½ Whereat I sigh'd, and said, ï¿½Farewell, my wonted joy! Truss up thy pack, and trudge from me to every little boy, And tell them thus from me: their time most happy is, If, to their time, they reason had to know the truth of this.ï¿½ Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey Sir Edward Dyer (?-1607)was born in Somersetshire and was educated at Oxford, but left before taking a degree. He is mentioned as one of the ornaments of Queen Elizabethï¿½s court, and was sent by her on missions to Holland and Denmark in the1580s. He was knighted in 1596. He was well esteemed as a poet by his contemporaries, but little of his poetry has survived. My mind to me a kingdom is, Such present joys therein I find, That it excels all other bliss That earth affords or grows by kind: Though much I want which most would have, Yet still my mind forbids to crave.

No princely pomp, no wealthy store, No force to win the victory, No wily wit to salve a sore, No shape to feed a loving eye; To none of these I yield as thrall: For why? My mind doth serve for all. I see how plenty surfeits oft, And hasty climbers soon do fall; I see that those which are aloft Mishap doth threaten most of all; They get with toil, they keep with fear; Such cares my mind could never bear. Content I live, this is my stay, I seek no more than may suffice, I press to bear no haughty sway; Look, what I lack my mind supplies. Lo, thus I triumph like a king, Content with that my mind doth bring. Some have too much, yet still do crave, I little have, and seek no more: They are but poor, though much they have, And I am rich with little store: They poor, I rich; they beg, I give; They lack, I leave; they pine, I live. I laugh not at another's loss, I grudge not at another's gain; No worldly waves my mind can toss, My state at one doth still remain.

I fear no foe, I fawn no friend; I loathe not life, nor dread my end. Some weigh their pleasure by their lust, Their wisdom by their rage of will; Their treasure is their only trust, A cloaked craft their store of skill: But all the pleasure that I find Is to maintain a quiet mind. My wealth is health and perfect ease: My conscience clear my chief defense; I neither seek by bribes to please, Nor by deceit to breed offence. Thus do I live, thus will I die; Would all did so, as well as I. Sir Edward Dyer Sir Philip Sidney (1554-86) was a courtier, soldier, and poet. Born Kent, and educated at Oxford he was sent by Elizabeth I on diplomatic missions and was considered one of her favorites. He fell out of favor at one point but was subsequently appointed governor of Vlissingen in the Netherlands, taking part in an expedition aiding the Netherlands against Spain. Sidney died of wounds received in a raid on a Spanish convoy. His best known poetic works are some 108 sonnets about unrequited love (Astrophel and Stella), and a pastoral romance (Arcadia).

He defended of poetry against the Puritans in An Apologie for Poetrie. Let not old age disgrace my high desire, O heavenly soul, in human shape contained: Old wood inflamed doth yield the bravest fire, When younger doth in smoke his virtue spend. Nor let white hairs, which on my face do grow, Seem to your eyes of a disgraceful hue, Since whiteness doth present the sweetest show, Which makes all eyes do homage unto you. Old age is wise and full of constant truth; Old age well stayed from ranging humor lives; Old age hath known what ever was in youth; Old age o'ercome, the greater honor gives: And to old age since you yourself aspire, Let not old age disgrace my high desire. Sir Philip Sidney Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) was born in Kent and educated at Cambridge. He became connected with a company of actors for whom he wrote plays. He was also said to be a secret agent and to have led the adventurous life typical of English agents. Denounced as a heretic, he inadvertently avoided further action against him by being murdered in a tavern brawl.

While he is most famous as the first great English playwright (Dr. Faustus, Tamerlane the Great, etc.), he also wrote poetry and translated some of the poems of Lucan and Ovid. Come live with me, and be my love: And we will all the pleasures prove That hills and valleys, dales and fields, Woods or steepy mountain yields. And we will sit upon the rocks, Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks, By shallow rivers to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals. And I will make thee beds of roses With a thousand fragrant posies, A cap of flowers, and a kirtle Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle; A gown made of the finest wool Which from our pretty lambs we pull; Fair lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold, A belt of straw and ivy buds, With coral clasps and amber studs: And, if these pleasures may thee move, Come live with me and be my love. The shepherd-swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May morning: If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me, and be my love.

Christopher Marlowe Sir Walter Raleigh (1554-1618) was born in Devon, educated at Oxford and studied law in London. He first sailed to America in 1578 and then in 1585 attempted to sponsor the first English colony there, which failed. He became a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, who knighted him but became disenchanted with him when he secretly married one of her maids of honor. He was convicted of plotting against Elizabethï¿½s successor, James I, and was sentenced to deathï¿½commuted to a life sentence in the Tower of London, where much of his writing was done in the 13 years that followed. This contained many poems, but most of them have been lost. He persuaded the king to release him in exchange for a fortune in gold that he would find in the Orinoco. He was unsuccessful and his son was killed when they attacked a Spanish settlement, violating an agreement with the king. James had Raleigh beheaded when he returned to England. If all the world and love were young, And truth in every shepherd's tongue, These pretty pleasures might me move To live with thee and be thy love.

But time drives flocks from field and fold, When rivers rage and rocks grow cold; And Philomel becometh dumb; The rest complain of cares to come. The flowers do fade, and wanton fields To wayward winter reckoning yields: A honey tongue, a heart of gall, Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall. Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses, Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies Soon break, soon wither, soon forgottenï¿½ In folly ripe, in reason rotten. Thy belt of straw and ivy buds, Thy coral clasps and amber studs, All these in me no means can move To come to thee and be thy love. But could youth last and love still breed: Had joys no date nor age no need: Then those delights my mind might move To live with thee and be thy love. Sir Walter Raleigh Three things there be that prosper all apace And flourish, while they are asunder far: But on a day, they meet all in a place, And when they meet, they one another mar. And they be these: the wood, the weed, the wag.

The wood is that which makes the gallow tree; The weed is that that strings the hangman's bag; The wag, my pretty knave, betokens thee. Now mark, dear boyï¿½while these assemble not, Green springs the tree, hemp grows, the wag is wild; But when they meet, it makes the timber rot, It frets the halter, and it chokes the child. Sir Walter Raleigh My body in the walls captived Feels not the wounds of spiteful envy; But my thrall'd mind, of liberty deprived, Fast fetter'd in her ancient memory, Doth nought behold but sorrow's dying face; Such prison erst was so delightful As it desired no other dwelling place; But time's effects and destinies despiteful Have changï¿½d both my keeper and my fare. Love's fire and beauty's light I then had store; But now, close kept, as captives wonted are, That food, that heat, that light, l find no more. Despair bolts up my doors, and I alone Speak to dead walls: but those hear not my moan.

Sir Walter Raleigh Conceit, begotten by the eyes, Is quickly born and quickly dies; For while it seeks our hearts to have, Meanwhile, there reason makes his grave; For many things the eyes approve, Which yet the heart doth seldom love. For as the seeds in spring time sown Die in the ground ere they be grown, Such is conceit, whose rooting fails, As child that in the cradle quails; Or else within the mother's womb Hath his beginning and his tomb. And soon is shaken from her heels; For, following beauty or estate, Her liking still is turned to hate; For all affections have their change, And fancy only loves to range. Desire himself runs out of breath, And, getting, doth but gain his death: Desire nor reason hath nor rest, And, blind, doth seldom choose the best: Desire attained is not desire, But as the cinders of the fire. As ships in ports desired are drowned, As fruit, once ripe, then falls to ground, As flies that seek for flames are brought To cinders by the flames they sought; So fond desire when it attains, The life expires, the woe remains.

And yet some poets fain would prove Affection to be perfect love; And that desire is of that kind, No less a passion of the mind; As if wild beasts and men did seek To like, to love, to choose alike. Sir Walter Raleigh William Shakespeare (1564-1616) recognized as possible the worldï¿½s greatest dramatist left little on record to describe his life. The poetry he used in his plays to capture character, motivation, and drama is unique and represents one of the great achievements in human expression. He also took the sonnet form that had been brought from Italy by his Elizabethan predecessors and made it his own in a sequence of sonnets that has no equal. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May; And summer's lease hath all too short a date.

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or Nature's changing course, untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ownest, Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to Time thou growest. So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. William Shakespeare They that have power to hurt and will do none, That do not do the thing they most do show, Who, moving others, are themselves as stone, They rightly do inherit heaven's graces, And husband Nature's riches from expense; They are the lords and owners of their faces, Others but stewards of their excellence. The summer's flower is to the summer sweet, Though to itself it only live and die; But if that flower with base infection meet, The basest weed outbraves his dignity: For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.

William Shakespeare When to the sessions of sweet silent thought I summon up remembrance of things past, I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought, And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste: Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow, For precious friends hid in death's dateless night, And weep afresh love's long since cancelled woe, And moan the expense of many a vanished sight. Then can I grieve at grievances foregone, And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan, Which I new pay as if not paid before. But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, All losses are restored and sorrows end.

William Shakespeare The expense of spirit in a waste of shame Is lust in action; and, till action, lust Is perjured, murderous, bloody, full of blame, Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust; Enjoyed no sooner but despised straight; Past reason hunted; and no sooner had, Past reason hated, as a swallowed bait, On purpose laid to make the taker mad: Mad in pursuit, and in possession so; Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme; A bliss in proof ï¿½and, proved, a very woe; Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream, All this the world well knows; yet none knows well To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell. William Shakespeare Thomas Campion (1567-1620) was born in London and became a successful physician. He was a lutenist and composed lyrics, such as Cherry Ripe, which he and others set to music. His poems, also often set to music, are generally light and charming. The one selected here, however, has a somewhat earthier quality reminiscent of the Chinese Odes .

Fain would I wed a fair young man that night and day could please me, When my mind or body grieved that had the power to ease me. Maids are full of longing thoughts that breed a bloodless sickness, And that, oft I hear men say, is only cured by quickness. Oft I have been wooed and praised, but never could be moved; Many for a day or so I have most dearly loved, But this foolish mind of mine straight loathes the thing resolved; If to love be sin in me, that sin is soon absolved. Sure I think I shall at last fly to some holy order; When I once am settled there, then can I fly no farther. Yet I would not die a maid, because I had a mother, As I was by one brought forth, I would bring forth another. Thomas Campion Sir Henry Wotton (1568-1630) was born in Kent and was educated at Winchester and Oxford. He wrote a play and was a friend of John Donne, but his interests appear to have been mainly scientific. He obtained a diplomatic post under the second Earl of Essex, whose downfall prompted him to leave England for Italy rather rapidly.

He later traveled to Scotland to warn James VI of a plot to murder him. When James acceded to the English throne, Wotton was knighted and became ambassador to Venice. He is credited with the saying that an ambassador is a honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country. His poems were published in 1651. Silence in truth would speak my sorrow best, For deepest wounds can least their feelings tell; Yet let me borrow from mine own unrest But time to bid him, whom I loved, farewell. O my unhappy lines! you that before Have served my youth to vent some wanton cries, And now, congealed with grief, can scarce implore Strength to assent,ï¿½Here my Albertus lies! This is the sable stone,ï¿½this is the cave And womb of earth that doth his corpse embrace; While others sing his praise, let me engrave These bleeding numbers to adorn the place.

Here will I paint the characters of woe; Here will I pay my tribute to the dead; And here my faithful tears in showers shall flow, To humanize the flints whereon I tread: Where, though I mourn my matchless loss alone, And none between my weakness judge and me, Yet even these gentle wails allow my moan, Whose doleful echoes to my plaints agree. But is he gone? and live I rhyming here, As if some Muse would listen to my lay, When all distuned sit wailing for their dear, And bathe the banks where he was wont to play? Dwell thou in endless light, discharged soul, Freed now from Nature's and from Fortune's trust! While on this fluent globe my glass shall roll, And run the rest of my remaining dust. Henry Wotton He first deceased; she for a little tried To live without him, liked it not, and died. Henry Wotton John Hoskins (?-1638) was a Fellow of New College, where he graduated M.A. in 1592. He was expelled, apparently for some sarcastic remarks, made a prosperous marriage, and entered Parliament.

There, "a desperate allusion to the Sicilian Vespers" led to his confinement in the Tower of London in 1614 for a year. He subsequently held a series of public offices, including that of a judge for Wales. He died in 1638. He was said to have produced a book of poems larger than that of John Donne, but it has not been found. If life be time that here is lent, And time on earth be cast away, Whoso his time hath here misspent, Hath hastened his own dying day: So it doth prove a killing crime To massacre our living time. If doing nought be like to death, Of him that doth, chameleon-wise Take only pains to draw his breath, The passers-by may pasquilize, Not, here he lives: but, here, he dies. John Hoskins Sources 1, 3, 4 Tottel's Miscellany. Songes and Sonettes by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrrey, Sir Thomas Wyatt, the Elder, Nicholas Grimald and Uncertain Authors. Edited by Edward Arber. 1557. Reprinted, London, 1870.

(pp 40, 27, 30.) 2 The Poetical Works of Sir Thomas Wyatt. W. Pickering, London, 1831 (p 176.) 5, 8, 9, 10, 11,12, 18, 19, 20, 21 The Poems of Sir Walter Raleigh Collected and Authenticated with Those of Sir Henry Wotton and Other Courtly Poets. Edited by J. Hannah. George Bell & Sons, London 1892. (p 149, 11, 29, 18, 18, 22, 96, 98, 122, 122.) 6 The Compete Poems of Sir Philip Sidney, Edited by Alexander Grosart, Vol. 2, Chatto and Windus, London, 1877. (p 150.) 7 The Poems of Robert Greene, Christopher Marlowe, and Ben Johnson, Edited by Robert Bell. George Bell & Sons, London, 1910.

(p 231.) 13, 14, 15, 16 The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Edited by W. J. Craig. Oxford University Press, 1905.( p 1108, 1119, 1110, 1124.) 17 Campion's Works, Edited by Percival Vivian. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1909. (p187.) Shakespeare's Contemporaries: Marlowe, James I, Raleigh, and more Shakespeare's Contemporaries Shakespearean England was a treasure-trove of historical giants � Elizabeth I, Ben Jonson, the Earl of Essex, Edward Alleyn, John Lyly, William Kempe � all fascinating to be sure. It was hard to choose, but here is a list of those five contemporaries of the Bard whose lives I find most intriguing. 1. Christopher Marlowe The brilliant young playwright Christopher Marlowe was killed in a tavern brawl on May 30, 1593, and the events surrounding his suspicious death have chilled and captivated all those interested in Renaissance England.

Known as Shakespeare's only literary peer 1 until his untimely death, Marlowe is responsible for some of the finest lyrical poetry of any age, and possibly had a hand in writing four of Shakespeare's early dramas. 2 Allusions to Marlowe's work are prevalent in Shakespeare's plays. Here Shakespeare quotes directly a line from Marlowe's Hero and Leander (176): "Whoever lov'd that lov'd not at first sight?" (As You Like It, 3.5.81).

It is argued that Shakespeare alludes to Marlowe's murder in As You Like It, 3.3.11-12: "it strikes a man more dead than a great reckoning in a little room", and apostrophizes his dead friend in A Midsummer Night's Dream: The lunatic, the lover and the poet Are of imagination all compact: One sees more devils than vast hell can hold, That is, the madman: the lover, all as frantic, Sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt: The poet's eye, in fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven; And as imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name. (5.1.8-18) Now, for those with lots of imagination: theory has it that, because he was about to be tried for heresy, Marlowe staged his death and fled to Italy. From there, Marlowe is supposed to have penned all the works attributed to Shakespeare and had them smuggled back to England. 3 2.

King James I After the death of Elizabeth I, James the VI of Scotland became the new ruler, known in England as King James I. His fascination with the occult prompted him to write his own treatise on witchcraft, Daemonology , and many believe that James's vehement belief in the divine right of kings influenced Shakespeare's play-writing methodology. James I is probably best known for his translation of the Bible into English which became known as the Authorized King James Version. For more please see King James I: Shakespeare's Patron . 3. Sir Walter Raleigh Certainly Sir Walter Raleigh, the explorer, poet, philosopher, soldier, statesman, and political pundit, had the busiest life of any Elizabethan subject. As one of Queen Elizabeth's favourite courtiers, the charming Raleigh enjoyed a life of fame, riches, and swashbuckling. However, Raleigh's arrogance and bravado made him unpopular with many, and he was eventually executed for treason against the new monarch, James I. 4. Dr. Simon Forman The mysterious Dr. Forman, an English astrologer and doctor whose many scandals riveted Elizabethan England, wrote scores of papers on the subjects of medicine and astrology.

He saved countless lives during the plagues of 1592 and 1594, yet was imprisoned by the Royal College of Physicians in London for use of "magical potions" to help patients. For a detailed look at Simon Forman please see Going to a Play in Shakespeare's London: Simon Forman's Diary . 5. Richard Burbage Richard Burbage, the famed Elizabethan actor, artist, and theatrical entrepreneur, gained unprecedented acclaim by playing many of the major Shakespearean characters, including Othello, Hamlet, Lear, and Richard III. In 1599, Richard, with the help of his brother, built what is now the most recognizable playhouse in the Western world -- the Globe Theatre. For more information please see Richard Burbage the Legend . _______ Notes 1. John Ingram put it best when he wrote, "One of the brightest intellects of the age was suddenly annihilated; one of the country's purest poetic geniuses was snatched from life just as his powers were ripening to fulfilment.

Prognostication in the presence of fact is purposeless, yet it is difficult to avoid thinking with what glorious masterpieces might the world have been dowered had Shakespeare's only peer at thirty have survived to the fifty years which Shakespeare lived to; if only some further fulfilment had been granted to Marlowe's 'Yearning in desire 6 Famous Prisoners of the Tower of London - History Lists History Lists September 11, 2012 By Evan Andrews Share Get all the facts on London's most iconic landmarks. Share this: 6 Famous Prisoners of the Tower of London Author 6 Famous Prisoners of the Tower of London URL Google The Tower of London has served as everything from a royal residence to a zoo for exotic animals, but it remains best known as a fearsome prison and torture chamber. First constructed in the wake of the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Tower has held some of Great Britain’s most prominent inmates, including disgraced royals, would-be revolutionaries and even Nazi officers. Find out more about six of these famous captives of one of history’s most forbidding prisons.

Anne Boleyn The second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn was twice a resident of the Tower of London—once as a queen-in-waiting and once as a condemned prisoner. Boleyn married Henry in 1533 after the English king defied the Roman Catholic Church and annulled his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Housed in the Tower of London prior to her coronation in June 1533, Boleyn would reign as queen of England for nearly three years. Coupled with courtly intrigue and accusations of infidelity, Boleyn’s failure to give birth to a male heir ultimately proved to be her undoing. Accused of seducing the king into a cursed marriage, in May 1536 she was arrested on trumped-up charges of adultery, treason and even an alleged incestuous affair with her brother. Boleyn was confined to the Lieutenant’s Lodgings of the Tower of London, where she was tried and found guilty. She was beheaded by a French swordsman on a scaffold at the Tower on May 19, 1536.

Catherine Howard, Henry’s fifth wife, would meet a similar fate when she was imprisoned and then executed at the Tower of London in 1542. Sir Walter Raleigh One of the longest-serving prisoners of the Tower of London was the famed Sir Walter Raleigh, who was confined to the citadel for some 13 years. A soldier and explorer who engineered the ill-fated English colony at Roanoke Island, Raleigh was knighted by Elizabeth I in 1585 and became one of the queen’s favorite courtiers. Despite his influential position, Raleigh was briefly imprisoned in the Tower in 1592 when it was revealed that he had secretly wed Elizabeth Throckmorton, one of the queen’s maids of honor. Raleigh was confined to the Tower a second time in 1603 after he was accused of plotting against King James I. Stripped of most of his wealth, he would spend nearly 13 years detained in a part of the castle known as the Bloody Tower. While he was ostensibly a prisoner, Raleigh’s high social standing ensured that he had comfortable lodgings, and he was even joined in the Tower by his family.

During this time he devoted himself to science and writing—composing his “History of the World” in 1614—and also fathered a son. Raleigh was released in 1616 and dispatched to Central America in search of the mythical gold city of El Dorado. The mission proved unsuccessful, and Raleigh was arrested and executed at the block after his forces attacked a Spanish outpost against the orders of the king. The Princes in the Tower Twelve-year-old Prince Edward V and 10-year-old Prince Richard of Shrewsbury—better known as “the Princes in the Tower”—are among the most famous prisoners to have disappeared within the bowels of the Tower of London. The two boys first arrived at the castle in 1483 after the death of their father, King Edward IV. The princes were originally housed in the Tower on the orders of their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, but were stripped of their royal titles after the duke invalidated their father’s marriage, declared them illegitimate and claimed the throne for himself as King Richard III. Moved from their opulent royal apartments to the confines of the Garden Tower (later known as the Bloody Tower), the boys effectively became prisoners of the crown.

While there were initially sightings of the former princes playing in the Tower courtyard, by mid-1483 they had vanished without a trace. The would-be monarchs’ true fate remains a mystery. While a Flemish man claiming to be Prince Richard would invade England in 1497 and attempt to take the throne, he was later revealed to be a pretender and was executed at the Tower of London. The only clue would come in 1674, when the skeletons of two children were found during renovations to the Tower. While these were never proven to be the bodies of the Princes in the Tower, the discovery fueled speculation that the boys had been murdered, with their uncle Richard III the most likely culprit. Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes was a soldier and revolutionary who was imprisoned in the Tower of London for his role in the notorious Gunpowder Plot. A militant Catholic, in 1604 Fawkes became embroiled in an audacious plan to assassinate the Protestant King James I and other members of the British government by blowing up the House of Lords.

After renting the storage room beneath Westminster Palace, Fawkes and his accomplices packed the cellar with 35 barrels of gunpowder, which they planned to detonate on November 5, 1605, during the opening of Parliament. The plot was foiled after an anonymous letter led authorities to search the cellar, and Fawkes was captured when he was found guarding the door. He was then sent to the Tower of London and confined to the infamous cell known as the “Little Ease,” a cramped room that prevented its occupant from either standing up straight or lying down. Following intense interrogation and torture—most likely on the rack—Fawkes exposed the other men involved in the plot. Found guilty of treason, he was condemned to be hanged, drawn and quartered at the palace yard at Westminster, but he avoided this gruesome punishment by throwing himself from the gallows and breaking his own neck. The Gunpowder Plot would later become the inspiration for Guy Fawkes Day, a British holiday celebrated every November 5. Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey’s meteoric rise and fall saw her go from ruler of England to a prisoner in the Tower of London in little more than a week.

The teenage Grey was installed as queen of England in July 1553 after her cousin Edward VI died without a male heir. Desperate to thwart his Catholic half-sister Mary’s claim to the throne, Edward VI had chosen Grey as his successor in order to ensure the crown remained under Protestant control. The new queen’s reign would last only nine days. After Mary raised a large band of supporters, the royal government abruptly switched their allegiance and declared her the rightful queen of England. Forced to relinquish the crown, Grey was taken prisoner and moved from the Tower’s royal apartments to the Gentleman Gaoler’s lodgings. While she was kept under constant guard, she was allowed occasional walks around the castle grounds and even given a weekly allowance. Grey was tried and found guilty of treason in November 1553, but was quickly pardoned by Queen Mary I. A final twist of fate came in January 1554, when Grey’s father’s participation in a Protestant rebellion led the royal government to proceed with its death sentence. Grey was then beheaded on the Tower Green on February 12, 1554.

Rudolf Hess By the 20th century the Tower of London had primarily become a tourist site and storage facility for the Crown Jewels. But during World War II the castle was briefly restored to its role as a state prison when it held two high profile Nazis captured on British soil. One of these men was Josef Jakobs, a German spy apprehended in rural England. Jakobs became the last man put to death at the Tower of London when he was executed by a firing squad in August 1941. Even more famous was “Deputy to the Führer” Rudolf Hess, who served as Hitler’s second-in-command in the Nazi Party. Hess was captured in May 1941 after he parachuted into Scotland as part of a renegade plan to negotiate peace with the British. Doubtful of Hess’s motives, Prime Minister Winston Churchill had him sent to the Tower, making him the final state prisoner to be held at the castle. Hess would only remain for a few days, but rumors that he was hidden away in the Tower would persist for several months. Hess was later tried at Nuremberg and given a life sentence.

He died at Spandau Prison, West Berlin, in 1987. Tags

Question: Which famous Elizabethan was executed for treason by King James in 1618?
Answer: Sir Walter Raleigh