FREE ESSAY ON THE TOWER OF LONDON:

THE TOWER OF LONDON:

The Tower of London:
Prisoners of the Tower
The Tower of London has been many things over the years such as a fortress, a state
prison, a zoo, an armory, repository for the crown jewels, a home for Tudor monarchs, and
today a museum. Inside the tower walls has been the last sight for many of its prisoners.
Although there were some prisoners that have escaped the tower walls and fled to
neighboring countries. 
William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066 defeating Harold II. Duke William of
Normandy built on to the existing castle in 1078. He then ordered the construction of
what is now called the "White Tower". It is said to have been completed in 1097. It is
called the White tower ever since Henry VIII had it whitewashed. The Tower is very large,
nearly 13 acres between the walls of the fortress. The entrance of the White Tower is on
the second floor, with a removable staircase. The entrance was designed to make it harder
to enter the tower in case of an invasion. The third floor of the White Tower is the
Chapel of St. John the Evangelist. Which is one of the oldest preserved church interiors.

The first distinguished prisoner in the tower was the Bishop of Durham. He was very
overweight, greedy, and unpopular with nearly everybody. He was sent to the Tower because
he stole from nearly everybody in town. His brother and servants dragged him to prison
with all of his bags of money. He lived very well in the tower, since he had a lot of
money; he could bribe the guards into getting him whatever he desired. One night in
February 1101, he gave a huge banquet with a lot of food and liquor. When he had gotten
all of the guards very drunk, he pushed his moneybags through a window and slid down a
rope to freedom. 
Ralph Flambard was one of the first prisoners in the tower. Henry I ordered him to be
imprisoned on August 15, 1100. Ralph was an extortioner under William II. He took what
money the peasants had and gave it to the King. However, he escaped by lowering a rope
out of the window in the White Tower on February 2, 1101. He fled to Normandy where he
was then safe. 
In 1214, Maud Fitzwalter was ordered to stay in the White Tower by the King John. Maud
had made repulsing remarks against the King. Therefore King John ordered that her eggs be
poisoned. An egg sent to her by the King poisoned her. Seven carloads of prisoners
captured at the castle of Bilham. They were killed at Tower Hill in 1221. Princess
Isabella was held in the Tower pending her marriage to Emperor Frederick II in 1223. She
was held till 1235 when she then was old enough to be married. She then became Empress
and was in wedlock with Emperor Frederick II. Over 600 Jews were killed at the tower
because they would not accept Christian baptism. Many died in the cellar of the White
Tower, and the rest were hung in 1282. 
Sir William Wallace of Scotland fought for his country's freedom serving in the Guardians
of Scotland. Wallace was the catalyst that sparked the revolution. Sir John Mentieth
betrayed Wallce to England. King Edward I first tried him for treason and later for all
war crimes except treason. Treason could not have been a charge because Sir William
Wallace had never sworn allegiance to King Edward I. The trial was however very unfair
because Wallace had no representation and could not speak for himself. He was found
guilty by no surprise and was sent to the Tower. His torture began by dragging him behind
horses to the place of execution. He was hung until only half conscious, then dropped and
tied down. He was castrated and with a dull blade his intestines were ripped out and
burned while he was still alive. Finally, the executioners beheaded him. His head was
placed on a spike on the London Bridge. His body was quartered and displayed at
Newcastle, Berwick, Perth and Stirling. Nine years after his barbaric murder, at the
Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, the Scots, led by King Robert the Bruce, defeated the
English army of Edward II, and so secured that Independence which had made Wallace a
martyr. 
The Knights Templar were a monastic military order formed at the end of the First Crusade
to protect pilgrims traveling on route from Europe to the recently captured city of
Jerusalem. Within a couple of decades the group became an order with the backing of both
the Pope and the collective European monarchies. However, in 1307, the Knights Templar
were arrested and put to torture. During these tortures, confessions ranging from
spitting on the Holy Cross to worshipping an idol called Baphomet were given. The last
Grand Master was Jacques de Molay, which was no exception to all of the torture. On March
18, 1314, De Molay was slowly burned at the stake defending the order the whole time.
Before he died he is said to have asked King Philip and Pope Clement to join him in death
within a year. True to his alleged curse, both men died within the year. 
Robert Hauley and John Shakell captured the Count of Dene at the Battle of Nauara. The
Count gave them his son while he went out to get some ransomed money. The Count died
while he was away; therefore Hauley and Shakell raised objections against handing over
their hostage. For doing this they were cast into the Tower. Both managed to escape from
the Tower on August 11, 1378. Hauley was killed when a group of soldiers confronted them.
Shakell was returned to the Tower and then later released on bail. 
King Henry VI was crowned King of England in 1429. When his first son was born King Henry
VI had a terrible paralyzing stroke. He was mentally incapable for several years but
eventually recovered. When this happened Edward, Duke of York, was now calling himself
King Edward IV. The Queen was forced to retreat to Scotland, with King Henry and the
Prince of Vales. In 1465, Edward captured the King and imprisoned him in the Tower of
London for five years. Meanwhile, The Queen and King Louis XI of France conspired to
release the King and restore him to power. The plan succeeded and King Henry VI was King
again. In 1471, Edward returned and recommitted Henry to the Tower. Henry VI was murdered
there on May 21, 1471. The ceremony of Lilies and Roses is in commemoration of this
tragedy. 
Thomas, Seymour of Sudeley, was an attractive, bold adventurer who had command of the
Channel Fleet during the last seven years of King Henry VIII. Edward, Duke of Somerset
was the Protector, which Thomas was very jealous of. Somerset tried to make things right
by assigning Thomas to Lord High Admiral and gave him an influential seat on the royal
Council. This, however, didn't work and Thomas went out and tried to gain the support of
pirates to undermine his brother. Thomas was convicted of high treason and was executed.

After the execution of his brother, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, suffered a major
blow in his power. John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, took advantage of Edward's misfortunes
and deprived Edward of his position as protectorate. Edward was cast into the Towers
prison. Edward was released for a short while and then cast back into prison on the
charge of felony. Edward was beheaded in 1552 at the Tower of London. 
Lady Jane Grey entered the Tower of London as Queen of England on July 10, 1553. This
impressive fortress, that was to be her palace, became her prison. She was Queen of
England for nine days. She was cast into prison because of the conspiracy that her
parents made to make their friend Guilford Dudley heir to the throng. Seven months later
she would be beheaded within its walls, her body placed beneath the floor of the Chapel
Royal, without ceremony 
In 1605, Guy Fawkes and a group of coconspirators attempted to blow up the houses of
Parliament to kill King James I and all of Parliament. Fawkes was angered because King
James I was exiling Jesuits from England. Fawkes wanted to return the country back to the
Catholic Faith. However, in an attempt to protect a friend in the House of Lords, one of
the group members sent an anonymous letter warning his friend to stay away from
Parliament. The warning letter reached the King, and the conspirators were caught,
tortured and executed. Guy Fawkes and his friends had rolled 36 barrels of gunpowder
under the Houses of Parliament. Everything was set to go off on November 5, 1605. But the
day before the King sent servants to check the houses out and found all of the gunpowder.

There have been many famous prisoners in the Tower of London. Through the hundreds of
years the Tower has been a prison there have been many people breath their last breaths,
see their last sights in the walls of the Tower. It has been said that if the ravens that
live in the White Tower ever leave then Britain has fallen. 
Notes
Bibliography
WORK CITED
Camelot International. White Tower. [Online] Available http://tower-of-london.com,
1997.
Crowl, Philip A. The Intelligent Traveler's Guide to Historic Britain. New York:
Congdon and Weed, 1983.
Gray, Robert. A History of London. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1997.
Fry, Plantagenet Somerset. The Tower of London Cauldron of Britain's Past. 
New York: Quiller Press London, 1990.
Kane, Robert S. London at its Best. Lincolnwood, IL: Passport Books, 1987.
"Lady Jane Grey" Microsoft Encarta 1999
"William Wallace" Microsoft Encarta 1999
Williams, Neville. Royal Houses. New York: Greenwich House, 1997.