Tudor period Tudor period The Tudor period is the period between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England whose first monarch was Henry VII (14571509). In terms of the entire span, the historian John Guy (1988) argues that "England was economically healthier, more expansive, and more optimistic under the Tudors" than at any time in a thousand years. Following the Black Death and the agricultural depression of the late 15th century, the population began to
House of Tudor and completely unrelated name, etymologically identical with Gaulish "Toutorix", from Proto-Celtic "*toutā" "people, tribe" and "*rīxs" "king" (compare Modern Welsh "tud" "territory" and "rhi" "king" respectively), corresponding to Germanic Theodoric. Owen Tudor was one of the bodyguards for the queen dowager Catherine of Valois, whose husband, Henry V, had died in 1422. Evidence suggests that the two were secretly married in 1429. The two sons born of the marriage, Edmund and Jasper, were among the most loyal supporters of the House of Lancaster in its struggle against the House of York. Henry VI ennobled his half-brothers: Edmund became Earl of