Patriotism in Tudor England: How a Nation Learned to Love Itself

About this episode

The episode explores the origins of patriotism in Tudor England and how national identity evolved after the Reformation.

It's Memorial Day, and I've been thinking about patriotism -- where it comes from, why people feel it so strongly, and whether Tudor people felt anything like it at all. The answer is more interesting than I expected. In 1485, when Henry VII takes the throne after the Battle of Bosworth Field, England is basically a collection of feudal relationships. Loyalty runs to your lord, your family, your region -- not to some abstract idea of "England." There's no standing army, no national church, no real sense of a shared national identity. And then the Reformation happens. And everything changes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Heather Teysko

Topics covered

• patriotism
• Tudor England
• national identity
• Reformation
• historical loyalty

Keywords

• patriotism
• Tudor
• England
• Henry VII
• Reformation
• national identity
• loyalty

Mentioned in this episode

Places: England

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