The Scottish Play by William Shakespeare - a visual introduction

Religious Conflict in Europe Until the early 1500s, the Roman Church was the only church in western Europe Pope Leo X (Pope ) issued indulgences to pay for the building of St. Peter’s basilica Many, including the German priest Martin Luther protested this The Reformation had begun

Religious Conflict in Europe, continued In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of a Roman Church The 95 Theses detailed many corrupt practices of the Roman Church Many groups broke away from the church in Rome They became known as Protestants The followers of Martin Luther became known as Lutherans

Religious and Political Conflict in England Henry VIII became Prince of Wales in 1502 when his elder brother, Arthur, died in 1502 In 1509 he became King To help legitimize his kingship, Henry married his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon All their children died in infancy except Mary (born 1516) Frustrated at not having a male heir, Henry asked the pope to annul their marriage. The pope refused – Church of England

Religious and Political Conflict in England, con’t In 1533, Anne Boleyn became queen Daughter Elizabeth was born on Sept They had no further surviving children In 1536, Anne was executed for treason

Religious and Political Conflict in England, con’t Next, Henry married Jane Seymour Their son, Edward – who would become King Edward VI – was born in 1537 Jane died soon after Edward’s birth Mary and Elizabeth were declared illegitimate Henry would have three more wives: Anne of Cleves (annulled), Catherine Howard (executed for adultery) and Catherine Parr (who outlived Henry)

Religious and Political Conflict in England In the early 1530s, to facilitate changes to his marital status, Henry created the Church of England. This increased his power and wealth, for the Roman church owned much valuable property The King became the head of the Church of England

Henry VIII’s Successors In 1547, Henry VIII died Edward VI regency – Earl of Nottingham In 1553, Edward VI - who was always sickly – died After a struggle, Mary became Queen She began the bloody process of reaffirming the Roman Catholic church in England

Henry VIII’s Successors In 1558, Mary died, childless. Earl of Nottingham installed his daughter, Jane, as Queen Mary’s half-sister, Elizabeth, was named queen by the courts Earl of Nottingham rebelled and was defeated Jane executed – she had reigned for nine days Elizabeth also became the Head of the Church of England

The Elizabethan Era ( ) Queen Elizabeth ruled for most of Shakespeare’s life During her reign, England changed from a backwoods nation to a world power She also solidified England as a pro- protestant nation

The Elizabethan Era ( ) It was a time of great exploration and discovery Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the world between 1577 and 1580 in his ship The Golden Hind

Birth and life in Stratford-upon-Avon William Shakespeare was baptized on 26 April, 1564 Top: his birthplace

William Shakespeare: the playwright Shakespeare moved to London, a city of about 200,000 people By the mid-1590s he was a well-known playwright He acted minor parts as well

London in the 1590s

The Globe Theatre Shakespeare was part owner of one theatre in London, The Globe It was rebuilt in the 1990s in its original position on the south bank of the Thames River

The Globe Theatre

Shakespeare died 23 April 1616, a wealthy and famous playwright

The First Folio Shakespeare’s plays were unpublished in his lifetime In 1623 another playwright, Ben Johnson, published a collection of Shakespeare’s works It is known as the First Folio

The First Folio: Macbeth