Ivan IV and Elizabeth I

МБОУ «Лицей №44» г. Чебоксары

Ivan IV and Elizabeth I: comparison of two historical figures

Учитель: В.

Ученица:

Чебоксары, 2013

Thesis

1.  Introduction. Queen Elizabeth I of England and Tsar Ivan IV of Russia lived at the same time, they were the first to establish Russian-British relations and they are considered to be the most outstanding personalities of their time.

2.  The 1st steps. The early part of the reign. At the age of twenty-five in 1558 Elizabeth became the Queen of England to the delight of the people. She was full of energy, intelligent and calm. Firstly, she maintained the religious compromise and restored the moderate Protestantism of her father. Secondly, she passed harsh laws against Roman Catholics. Finally, she executed her cousin Mary, Queen of Scotland, in 1587. Ivan IV came to power at the age of fifteen, he was crowned and became the first “Tsar of All Russia” (in 1547). Clever and hot-tempered by nature he did not trust anybody. He began his reign with peaceful reforms and modernization. Firstly, he revised the Sudebnik and created a new army. Secondly, he established the Zemsky Sobor and confirmed the position of the Church. Finally, he introduced the local self-management in rural regions and limited the power of boyars.

3.  Wars and victories. The English navy won a great victory over the Spanish fleet – the Armada in 1588 and suppressed the rebellion in Ireland. Ivan IV won the victory over Kazan and Astrakhan Kingdoms. He conquered in 1552 Tatar Siberia in the east in 1581. In the west he fought the Swedes, Lithuanians, Poles, and the Livonian Teutonic Knights.

4.  Economic growth, trade and arts. In the reign of Elizabeth the Royal Exchange was founded. There were many expeditions, particularly to America. Elizabeth established the East India Company in 1600. She encouraged art, music, poetry and theatre. In the reign of Ivan IV the first Russian book was printed and St. Basil’s Cathedral constructed. The Tsar formed the Oprichnics. They killed those who opposed the absolutist power of Ivan IV.

5.  Conclusion.

Would you like to live in a state created thanks to the wedding of Tsar Ivan IV of Russia and Queen Elizabeth I of England? How would the historical development of the two states have changed if their marriage had taken place? What would happen to our nations? We will never answer these questions, but we have the right to know more about these two monarchs and understand if it could or could not happen.

You know, there are many famous people in the world, but those, who have made great contributions to the development of their country, are only a few. Among such prominent figures are rulers, politicians, scientists…They have done much to improve the lives of common people carrying out reforms and laws. Such outstanding rulers of the 16th century were Elizabeth I in England, who never had a family, because she was “married to the country”, and Ivan IV in Russia, whose first reforms in the country were positive but then for some reason turned out to be negative.

Elizabeth I and Ivan IV had something in common despite obvious differences. They lived at the same time, were the first to establish regular contacts between the two countries and they both are considered to be the most outstanding personalities of their time. But “East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet”, as R. Kipling said.

Let’s try to compare these two figures and find common features and differences.

Firstly, they had a difficult childhood. Elizabeth I was born in September 7, 1533 and her birth was a great disappointment to her father, Henry VIII, who divorced his first wife Catherine of Aragon, broke with the Catholic Church so that he could marry again. The daughter of Henry VIII was born a princess, but her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed two and a half years after her birth, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate. Her childhood was difficult although she received a thorough Protestant education. Alan Axelrod is right on the mark when he states that Elizabeth had “formidable intellect”. Roger Ascham, Elizabeth’s tutor, mentions her linguistic abilities: “French and Italian she speaks like English, Latin, with fluency, propriety and judgement; she spoke Greek with me frequently, willingly and moderately well…” The Venetian ambassador Giovanni Michiel says about Elizabeth: “She prides herself on her father and glories in him…he therefore always liked her and had her brought up in the same way as the Queen.”

Ivan’s father died when the boy was only three and he was proclaimed the Grand Prince of Moscow. At first, his mother Yelena Glinskaya acted as a regent, but she died when Ivan was eight years old. Ivan saw her replaced by a group of noblemen fiercely fighting for power. He was growing up lonely and often humiliated by his mighty regents. N. M. Karamzin, the largest Russian historian, says: “Born with a passionate soul, rare intelligence, peculiar power of the will, he would have had all the qualities of a great monarch, if developed, would raise it the gifts of nature…” and adds that “Shuiskys tried to bind John execution of all its children's desires: constantly entertained, amused at the palace noisy games in the Feral fishing, eating there a tendency to lust, and even cruelty.”

Secondly, their political activity has had a huge positive impact on the country. At the age of 25 Elizabeth became the Queen of England to the great delight of the people. All her actions were based on the fact that she was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn – of the father, who was a great King and national leader, and a mother, who was a real Protestant. But the country, she inherited, was very troublesome. Her first steps were to restore the moderate Protestantism of her father and to maintain the religious compromise, which helped her to unite the nation. She had the Tudor courage, an almost masculine intelligence and feminine intuition, which “enabled her to understand her people and select the right advisers”. She refused to “make windows into men’s souls…” She ruled alone and turned out to be a strong and clever monarch. The police of Elizabeth was one of compromise and settlement. However, numerous plots, which endangered her life enforced her to pass harsh laws against Roman Catholics and agree with the decision of Parliament and her advisers to execute her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scotland, in 1587.

On 12 July 1588, the Spanish Armada, a great fleet of 130 ships, set sail for the channel, planning to ferry a Spanish invasion force under the Duke of Parma to the coast of southeast England from the Netherlands. A combination of miscalculation, misfortune, and an attack of English fire ships on 29 July off Gravelines, which dispersed the Spanish ships to the north east defeated the Armada. Thus, England finally freed itself from the treat of invasion from Spain. Additionally Elizabeth suppressed the rebellion in Ireland. That contributed to the growth of English prestige at home and abroad.

Ivan IV came to power at the age of 15 in 1547. He was crowned with Monomakh’s cap and became the first “Tsar of All Russia”, well-known as Ivan the Terrible. Clever and hot-tempered by nature, he did not trust anybody. He began his reign with peaceful reforms and modernization. He revised the law code (the Sudebnik), created the army (the Streltsy), established the Zemski Sobor, an assembly of people’s representatives of different Russian lands, and confirmed the Position of the Church. He introduced the local self-management in rural regions. All his reforms, aimed to the limitation of the power of boyars, were met by common people with delight. N. M. Karamzin praises the Tsar’s deeds, because he is sure that “Russia needed monarchy in a form of enlightened absolutism.” Moreover, the Victory over Kazan (in 1552) and Astrakhan (in 1556) Kingdoms resulted in the growth of Russian territories and political weight. Ivan supported Yermak’s conquest, adopting a policy of empire-building, which led him to launch a victorious war of seaward expansion to the west, only to find himself fighting the Swedes, Lithuanians, Poles, and the Livonian Teutonic *****ssia was transformed into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state.

Thirdly, they used similar methods of management, but the results of their policies were completely opposite. In the 16th century the economic growth of England was getting faster. Trade and industry were growing. The Royal Exchange was founded in 1571. There were many expeditions, particularly to America (Francis Drake, Humphrey Gilbert and Walter Raleigh). It prepared England for an age of trade expansion, which was started by establishing the East India Company in 1600 and continued by economic relations with Russia, Baltic countries, Africa and many others.

The historian William Camden writes: “the Queen has inspired his people to do great things.” Her reign was “a golden age of grand achievements.”

Ivan, on the contrary, began to pursue a policy for which he received his nickname “the Terrible”. The 1560s brought hardships to Russia that led to dramatic change of Ivan's policies. He formed the Oprichnina. The oprichnina consisted of a separate territory within the borders of Russia, mostly in the territory of the former Novgorod Republic in the north. Ivan held exclusive power over the oprichnina territory. The historian Skrynnikov writes in his book “Ivan the Terrible”: “Oprichnina terror weakened the boyar aristocracy, but also caused great damage to the nobility, the church, the highest mandative bureaucracy, i. e. the social forces that were the most solid support of the monarchy.”

Fourthly, we have compared their attitude to arts. They were very talented and broad-minded persons.

Elizabeth was given a rigorous education in languages, history, rhetoric, and moral philosophy. Of course, she loved theatre. During Elizabeth’s reign of forty years she supported and attended many theatrical productions by famous authors such as Edmund Spencer, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. It was the time of English Renaissance.

Ivan was a poet, a composer of considerable talent, and supported the arts. His Orthodox liturgical hymn, "Stichiron No. 1 in Honor of St. Peter", and fragments of his letters were put into music by Soviet composer Rodion Shchedrin. During his reign the first printing press was introduced to Russia (although the first Russian printers Ivan Fedorov and Pyotr Mstislavets had to flee from Moscow to Grand Duchy of Lithuania).The Tsar had constructed Pokrovsky Cathedral which is better known as the Cathedral of St. Vasili. The temple was founded in 1552, upon the decree of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, in honor of the capture of the Kazan Khanate.

Finally, they shared a desire to establish diplomatic and trade relations between the countries and not only that. We know that in the 16th century Ivan IV began to write letters to Elizabeth I. At first he wanted to marry the Queen of England, but she refused his proposal. After that the Russian tsar offered her to fight against the Livonian Order together. The British Queen refused again. Ivan IV got very angry and he wrote a letter to Queen Elizabeth, where he threatened her and promised to break up all trade and diplomatic relations with Britain. Although the two monarchs had never met they called each other “brother” and “sister”. Some months later the correspondence between the two greatest monarchs of the time ended.

Thus, we have compared these two monarchs and came to conclusion. These two monarchs never set up either political union or matrimony. However, their personal relations helped establish regular contacts between two countries. They were both intelligent and well educated. These two monarchs encouraged technical innovations and art. Despite all the difficulties they contributed greatly to the growth and strength of their countries and gained a powerful reputation for their countries. The prominent role of Elizabeth I and Ivan IV in the development of their countries has been recognized: Ivan was elected one of the 12 most famous people of Russia in a television project “Name of Russia”; the 45-year reign of Elizabeth I is called as “Golden Age of Elizabeth”.

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Appendix

Forensic facial reconstruction of Ivan IV by Mikhail Gerasimov (on the left)

The Queen of England Elizabeth I Tudor (on the right)

“The Oprichniki” by Nikolai Nevrev. Boyarin Feodorov, arrested for treason.

GOLDEN SPEECH 1601

“To be a King and wear a crown is a thing more pleasant to them that see it, than it is pleasant to them that bear it. I were content to hear matters argued and debated pro and contra as all princes must that will understand what is right, yet I look ever as it were upon a plain tablet wherein is written neither partility or prejudice. There is no jewel, be it of never so rich a price, which I set before this jewel; I mean your love. Though God hath raised me high, yet this I account the glory of my reign, that I have reigned with your loves. I have ever used to set the last Judgement Day before mine eyes, and so to rule as I shall be judged to answer before a higher judge. You may have many a wiser prince sitting in this seat, but you never have had, or shall have, any who loves you better. It is not my desire to live or to reign longer than my life and reign shall be for your good”.

Портрет королевы Елизаветы I (Хэмпденский портрет. Приписывается Стивенуван Гервику или Стивенувандер Мейлену Англия, около1560)