General Notes

Seymour, Edward, protector of England (1547-50). Said to have attended both
the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, he gained the favor of King Henry
VIII and was created earl of Hertford in 1537. Upon the king's death in
1547, Seymour assumed the protectorate with the consent of Henry's
9-year-old son and successor, Edward VI, who was Seymour's nephew. With
almost absolute authority, he also assumed the title duke of Somerset.
During his years as protector, he went to war against Scotland, winning the
Battle of Pinkie in 1547. Seymour's influence brought Protestant reforms
into the Church of England, including the adoption in 1549 of the Book of
Common Prayer, but his sympathy with the peasant class eventually led to his
overthrow by John Dudley, duke of Northumberland and earl of Warwick.
Seymour was imprisoned by Northumberland in 1549. He was released in 1550,
was imprisoned again in 1551, and was finally beheaded in 1552.