亨利八世自幼受到良好教育，诗人斯克尔顿是他的教师，稍长时他会见并请教过伊拉斯莫和一些文艺复兴名人。他懂得拉丁文、法文、意大利文和一些西班牙文、希腊文，爱好诗歌音乐，并能作曲演奏。他还喜欢打猎，并且擅长马术、射箭、摔跤、和皇家网球。


年轻的国王亨利八世，身材魁梧，能文能武。在其统治初年，他的某些作为受到文艺复兴新***的影响。他写了两本书，并且还会写诗作曲，他登基不久创作的民谣《绿袖子》成为众口相传的流行歌曲。

亨利八世亲自拜访《乌托邦》的作者托马斯·莫尔（托马斯·莫尔最后因为拒绝接受亨利八世的宗教改革而被送上了断头台），并一直任用他为亲信大臣。
他也支持维护英国司法权，反对罗马教廷干涉，声称“在英国国内除了上帝，国王是最高威权。”

亨利八世一手创建了英国皇家海军，他下令建造快速灵活的新式战舰，把火炮装在船舱内部，并配备专门的战斗水手，并修建了几个海军专用的船坞。他在1514年给特里尼蒂公司颁发许可状，令其专门经营航海业，并有权征税资助航海和设置灯塔。

亨利八世受封建贵族旧传统的影响也很深。他把大量时间花在与贵族骑士们比武、打猎、游乐上，不愿处理日常政务。他颁布法令，严格规定贵族在服饰上的等级区别，禁止平民在服饰排场方面有逾越之举。他经常在宫廷盛会上展示他的王者风范，以征服群臣和嘉宾。

1517年亨利八世在格林威治举办骑士比武大赛，出场时他披挂金色盔甲，外罩镶嵌各色珠宝的紫色缎袍，胯下战马也披金挂银。一位外国使节赞叹道：“世界的财富和文明尽在此处，某些人把英国视为蛮夷之地，在我看来他们才是野蛮人。”

Henry VIII was well educated from an early age. The poet Skelton was his teacher, and at a later age he met and consulted Erasmo and other Renaissance figures. He knows Latin, French, Italian and some Spanish and Greek, loves poetry and music, and can compose and play. He also enjoyed hunting and excelled in horsemanship, archery, wrestling, and royal tennis.

The young King, Henry VIII, was a great man of letters. In the early years of his reign, some of his actions were influenced by the new ideas of the Renaissance. He wrote two books as well as poetry and music. Greensleeves, a ballad he wrote shortly after taking the throne, became a popular song.

Henry VIII personally visited Thomas More, the author of Utopia (who was eventually guillotined for refusing to accept Henry VIII's reformation), and kept him as his confidant minister.
He also supported the preservation of English judicial power against the interference of the Vatican, stating that "in England, after God, the king is the highest authority."

Henry VIII single-hanely founded the Royal Navy. He ordered the construction of fast and flexible new warships, with guns in their cabins and dedicated combat sailors, and built several naval shipyards. In 1514 he gave the Trinity Company a licence to trade exclusively in the sea, with the right to levy taxes to finance navigation and to erect lighthouses.

Henry VIII was also deeply influenced by the old traditions of the feudal aristocracy. He spent much of his time jousting, hunting, and playing with noble knights, rather than dealing with daily affairs. He issued a decree that strictly stipulated the rank distinction of aristocrats in dress and forbade the common people to go beyond their dress. He often showed off his kinglike demeanor at court events to conquer his courtiers and guests.

In 1517 Henry VIII presented himself at a knighthood tournament in Greenwich, wearing a purple satin robe encrusted with jewels in gold armour and a horse draped in silver and gold. "The wealth and civilization of the world is here," exclaims one foreign envoy. "Some people regard England as a barbarian land. To me, they are barbarians."

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