Howard, Henry, Earl of Surrey

Henry Howard was the son of Thomas, 3rd Duke of Norfolk , leader of the conservative opposition to the Anglican reforms of King Henry VIII . Henry was an approximate king, and in the early 1530s even negotiations were held on the marriage of Surrey with the eldest daughter of Henry VIII, Maria Tudor . In 1542, Henry participated in the English invasion of Scotland , and in 1543-1546 accompanied the king in his campaigns in Flanders and France . In 1544 he commanded the English fleet in a naval battle against France.

The Howards at the court of Henry VIII vied with the house of the Seymours , relatives of Jane Seymour , the king’s third wife. In 1537, Surrey, at the instigation of Seymour, was arrested on charges of sympathizing with a Catholic uprising in northern England . When the cousin of Surrey, Catherine Howard married King Henry VIII in 1540, the Howard’s position at court became stronger, but after her conviction and execution in 1542, Seymour again gained dominance. Taking advantage of the king's illness in 1546, Edward Seymour accused Henry Howard of trying to seize power in the country and restore Catholicism. Howard was arrested, imprisoned in the Tower, and executed in 1547 nine days before the death of Henry VIII. His father, the Duke of Norfolk, was also sentenced to death, but the king died the day before the execution, and Norfolk was pardoned, although he remained in prison for a long time.

Surrey is one of the earliest English humanists . The cult of the Lady (sonnets dedicated to Geraldine) is combined in his poetry with melancholy moods. Apprentice Thomas Wyatt . A fan of Petrarch , probably also familiar with the work of French poets ( Marot , Saint-Jelly ), Surrey transferred to English soil the form of a sonnet , which was masterfully owned. He is usually credited with creating a sonnet with a completely restructured structure, the so-called English sonnet for seven rhymes - three quatrains with a cross rhyme and a couplet with a pair (abab cdcd efef gg). This form of sonnet was subsequently developed by Shakespeare .

Another important innovation of Surrey was the use of white verse (translation of 2 and 4 songs of " Aeneid "). Surrey's verse is light and diverse. The clarity and simplicity of the style brings it closer to Chaucer . Surrey’s works, which were circulated in manuscripts during the poet’s lifetime, were first published 10 years after his death in the poetry collection of several poets, the so-called Tottel collection Songes and sonettes written by the Right Honorable Lorde Henry Howard, late Earle of Surrey and other ”(Songs and sonnets written by His Excellency Lord Henry Howard, the late Earl of Surrey, etc., 1557). Later this collection was reprinted several times.

• The television series The Tudors , starring David Howard, actor David O'Hara .

• Poems (Aldine edition). - L. , 1866.
• Tottel's miscellany. Songes and sonettes by H. Howard, Earl of Surrey. By E. Arber (English reprints, 24). - L. , 1870.
• Bapst E. Deux gentilshommes poètes de la cour de Henry VIII. - P., 1891.
• Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey . Sonnets translated by O. Rumer and S. Schick / West European Sonnet (XIII-XVII centuries): Poetic anthology. - L .: Leningrad State University, 1988 .-- S. 313-315.
• The article is based on the materials of the Literary Encyclopedia of 1929-1939 .

• Henry Howard, Count Surrey in translations by Alexander Lukyanov