Welsh-born poet and priest, George Herbert is associated with the Metaphysical literary movement and best remembered for his religious poetry and strong dictional selection.

Hero known for his strength, stamina, and courage, and particularly for his accomplishment of a series of extraordinary labors.

Eastern Roman Emperor whose reign lost Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Byzantine Mesopotamia to the Islamic Rashidun Caliphate.

A representative of the Tudor line and father to Elizabeth I, Henry became king in 1509. He led the separation of the Church of England from papal authority and the Roman Catholic church. A patron of the arts, he was a capable musician and poet in his own right.

King of England, reigning from when he seized the crown from Richard III in August 1485 to his death in April 1509.

The timid and reclusive King of England and proclaimed King of France, Henry VI was an ineffective ruler who inherited a turbulent political climate. Henry VI's reign saw the continuation of the Hundred Years' War, and his ineptitude as a king led to the dynastic conflict which resulted in the Wars of the Roses.

The son of Henry IV, father of Henry VI, and Prince of Wales prior to his coronation as king, Henry V continued the Lancaster dynasty and became known as one of the greatest warrior kings for his success in the Hundred Years' War against France, particularly his victory in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Henry V's profligate youth was dramatized by Shakespeare in his Henriad plays. Although Henry V was known to be occasionally cruel and unchivalrous, he was generally acknowledged to be a brave, pious, and honorable king.

King of Navarre from 1572 and of France from 1589, Henry IV was known almost as much for his numerous love affairs as for his political effectiveness during a period of extreme hostility and widespread violence between Catholics and Protestants.

Previously known as Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, King Henry IV asserted his claim to the thrown as the heir of the house of Lancaster, usurping the throne of King Richard II. During his reign, Henry IV successfully gathered power, despite repetitive uprisings by English nobles. However, the administrative and financial issues faced by Henry IV's rule eventually led to the demise of the Lancaster dynasty.

Popular English actor who, after the death of David Garrick, took on the mantle of the greatest Shakespearean actor.