![]() ![]() His religious quarrels are well-known, but Norwich emphasizes that Henry always considered himself a good Catholic. Henry VIII preferred fighting England’s traditional enemy, France. Preferring power to faith, Francis had no objection to cooperating with Suleiman, which outraged Christian Europe without bringing much benefit. His main European opponent, Charles V, ruled the Spanish and Holy Roman empires and had designs on Italy, which were shared by France’s Francis I. Though an “outsider” and the sole non-Christian, he shared their aims: expanding his realm through a bankrupting series of wars, persecuting dissenting sects, and killing rivals. The most powerful was Suleiman the Magnificent. ![]() Neither overly intelligent nor humane, they promoted the well-being of their subjects if it didn’t interfere with their personal desires. All of them reigned long and died in their beds. British polymath, TV personality, and historian Norwich ( Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History, 2015, etc.) delivers lively biographies of all four characters. In fact, their energy and Europe’s turbulence were nothing new, but they were fascinating figures: France’s King Francis I, England’s King Henry VIII, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and Suleiman the Magnificent, leader of the Ottoman Empire. In the decades after 1500, four energetic rulers jockeyed for pre-eminence in a turbulent Europe. ![]()
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