The Renaissance and Reformation (1485-1660 CE)

III. The Renaissance and Reformation (1485-1660 CE)

(The Renaissance took place in the late 15th, 16th, and early 17th century in Britain, but somewhat earlier in Italy and southern Europe and somewhat later in northern Europe.)

                                               I. Early Tudor Period
                                                   (1485-1558)

The War of the Roses ended in England with Henry Tudor (Henry VII) claiming the throne. Martin Luther's split with Rome marks the emergence of Protestantism, followed by Henry VIII's Anglican schism, which created the first Protestant church in England. Edmund Spenser is a sample poet.

II. Elizabethan Period
      (1558-1603)

Queen Elizabeth saved England from both Spanish invasion and internal squabbles at home. Her reign is marked by the early works of Shakespeare, Marlowe, Kyd, and Sidney.

III. Jacobean Period
        (1603-1625)

Shakespeare's later work include Aemilia Lanyer, Ben Jonson, and John Donne.

IV. Caroline Age
       (1625-1649)

John Milton, George Herbert, Robert Herrick, the "Sons of Ben" and others wrote during the reign of Charles I and his Cavaliers.

V. Commonwealth Period/Puritan Interregnum
     (1649-1660)

Under Cromwell's Puritan dictatorship, John Milton continued to write, but we also find writers like Andrew Marvell and Sir Thomas Browne.