FIVE THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT. . the Tudors

Ruth Goodman, who teaches our new HistoryExtra Academy course on Tudor life, shares five insights about the dynasty's legacy

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1 The Tudors brought peace and prosperity to England

Bringing peace was probably the most important thing the Tudors did for us. The British countryside is littered with the sites of medieval battles - places where opposing forces stomped over crops, burned barns and rounded up people's sons. For centuries, rival aristocrats made and broke alliances, and killed those who got in their way. Henry Tudor took the throne in exactly this way at Bosworth in 1485, when he persuaded a number of warlords to desert their king, Richard III.

But there it stopped. Intrigue and power politics were thenceforth undertaken by more covert means. Everyone became a bit safer, the day-to-day became a bit more predictable, and lots of people got a little bit richer. Less war meant that more crops made it to market, more young men were available for work, and there was less damage done to buildings, less thievery with menaces and safer travel. In turn, this meant more trade and a greater willing- ness to invest. The peace the Tudors brought to their lands benefited all - rich and poor alike.

2 Henry VIII was a reluctant reformer