More's 1509 Coronation Ode

Abstract

Henry rejoiced to bear the name of his all-conquering predecessor. … [T]ales of Henry V's exploits … filled his ears as a boy and gave him his ideal of kingship: he too, he resolved, would conquer France and make the name of the king of England the most feared in Europe. David Starkey, Henry: Virtuous Prince , p. 20 How tranquil the clemency that warms his peaceful heart, how far removed from arrogance is his mind – these are the definite marks, marks that cannot be counterfeited [ fingere ], that are displayed on the countenance of our remarkable princeps . Thomas More, Coronation Ode for Henry VIII, 19/78–81 With good right was Socrates' look ever the same [tranquil and serene], since his mind, by which the countenance is fashioned [ fingitur ], underwent no change. Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes 3.31 The natural abilities of a princeps are cultivated by the liberal arts. Thomas More, Coronation Ode for Henry VIII, 19/116–17 On 23 April 1509 Henry became king of England; on 28 June he turned eighteen; by the end of the year, this young “king ever desirous of serving Mars,” began diplomatic and military preparations for war and would go on to spend “roughly a quarter of his reign in open war with France.” In doing so, he was imitating his “idea of man,” his hero Henry V, his “conception and idea of a good person.” Thomas More, in writing his coronation ode for Henry VIII, would try to give his young monarch an alternate idea.