Henry VIII as Writer and Lyricist

To one approaching the early Renaissance by way of the literary canon alone, it might seem out of place to consider Henry VIII as an author, or even to consider that a monarch such as Henry chose to occupy himself with writing. Yet it is not in the least odd that Henry wrote. Tutors such as the humanist literati John Skelton, who would later become Henry's Orator regius, and likely Bernard Andre, the continentally trained Latin secretary and historiographer to Henry VII who acted also as Prince Arthur's tutor, would have instilled in Henry a respect for literature. Even without the respect for literary arts that such an education would foster, a young Prince Henry could hardly have been unaware of the value of writing, be it of a literary or a more humanistic nature. Here, Siemens talks about Henry VIII's literary pursuits and particularly his love of lyrics as a writer, a composer, and a performer.