This week’s Sunday quiz is on a Tudor rebellion, the Prayer Book Rebellion. How much do you know about this rebellion? Test your knowledge with this little quiz. Good luck!
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Prayer Book Rebellion Quiz
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Summer reading recommendations for Tudor history lovers
I’m just about to go on holiday so I’ve been busy putting books on my trusty kindle and it inspired me to share with you some recent Tudor history books, both fiction and non-fiction, and also some series to get stuck into.
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Christopher Hatton (c.1540-1591)
Christopher Hatton was born around 1540 during the reign of Henry VIII. He had a particularly interesting life, originating from a gentry family with few connections to the royal family. He was the second son of William Hatton and his wife, Alice, daughter of Lawrence Saunders. Very little is known of his early life, excepting that his early education is said to have been supervised by his maternal uncle, William Saunders. Regarding his later education, it is recorded that on 26th May 1560 he was enrolled in the Inner Temple. However, this part of Hatton’s life is equally as elusive; arguments suggesting that he may have been a barrister. Hatton’s fame and position came through the unusual concept, by sixteenth-century standards, of ‘social mobility’; essentially rising from one’s social class through personal merit and skill rather than relying on nepotism or family wealth. Hatton did this through monopolising on a relationship with Queen Elizabeth I, which shall be the primary focus of this article.
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7 August 1485 – Henry Tudor returns to claim the throne
On this day in history, Sunday 7th August 1485, Henry Tudor, son of Lady Margaret Beaufort and the late Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, “came unto Wales”, landing at Mill Bay, Milford Haven, Wales. Chronicler Robert Fabyan recorded that on disembarking at Mill Bay, Henry “kneeled down upon the earth, and with meek countenance and pure devotion began this psalm: ‘Judica me Deus, et discerne causam’ [‘Judge me, O God, and favour my cause’].” He then “kissed the ground meekly and reverently, made the sign of a cross upon him” and then “he commanded such as were about him boldly in the name of God and Saint George to set forward.”
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This week in history 6 – 12 August
6 August:
1504 – Birth of Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the parish of St Saviour, Norwich. Parker was the son of worsted weaver William Parker and his wife Alice Monings [Monins] from Kent.
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1514 – Marriage of Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII and widow of James IV of Scotland, and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, at Kinnoull in Perthshire.
1549 – Battle of Clyst Heath during the Prayer Book Rebellion.
1623 – Death of Anne Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare. Anne was buried next to her husband in the Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon. -
August Tudor People and Events Crossword
This week’s puzzle is, as usual, fun and brain-stretching. How much you do you about the August “on this day in history” events for the Tudor period? Test your knowledge with this crossword. All the answers are somewhere on this site!
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The will and funeral of Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves, fourth wife of King Henry VIII, died on 16th July 1557 and was buried on 4th August 1557 at Westminster Abbey.
While I was looking for some information on her funeral, I found a wonderful resource, Samuel Bentley’s Excerpta historica, which not only has a detailed account of Anne of Cleves’ funeral, but also has a transcript of her will.
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Heads on Pikes
In this week’s Claire Chats video talk, I look at the tradition of displaying the heads of traitors on pikes. A lovely subject, don’t you think?
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Expert Talk – Sarah-Beth Watkins – Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor, eldest daughter of Henry VII, sister of Henry VIII and queen consort of James IV of Scotland, tends to get forgotten about so we are delighted to welcome Sarah-Beth Watkins, author of Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots to the Tudor Society to flesh her out. Sarah-Beth will be joining us in the Tudor Society chatroom on Friday 31st August to answer your questions.
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August Live Chats – 18 and 31 August
Here are two dates for you to put in your diary – 18th and 31st August, the dates of August’s live chats.
Both chats will be an hour long and will take place in the Tudor Society chatroom at https://www.tudorsociety.com/chatroom/.
Our informal live chat is taking place on Saturday 18th August and the topic up for discussion is Henry VIII’s love life. We can discuss his relationships with his six wives, the other women he’s been linked to, the names put forward as possible illegitimate children… and so on, we can also share book recommendations, anything related to the king and his love life. I’m sure the hour will fly by!
Here are the times in different time zones:
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Trailer – Sarah Beth Watkins on Margaret Tudor
Join Sarah-Beth Watkins who is our August expert speaker, talking about Margaret Tudor.
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Blessed Thomas Abel’s bell carving in the Beauchamp Tower
As it is the anniversary of the execution of Catholic priest Thomas Abel (Abell) on 30th July 1540, I thought I’d share this photo that Tim took of a carving done by Thomas into the stone wall of the Beauchamp Tower during his imprisonment there. You can click on the picture to make it bigger. As you can see, it’s a rebus, i.e. a puzzle in which words are represented by pictures and letters – so we have “Thomas” then a picture of a bell with the letter “A” on it: Thomas Abell. It’s one of my favourite carvings in the Beauchamp Tower.
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This week in history 30th July – 5 August
30 July:
1540 – Executions of Catholic martyrs Thomas Abell, Edward Powell and Richard Fetherston for refusing to acknowledge the royal supremacy. They were hanged, drawn and quartered at Smithfield. Click here for more information.
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1540 – Burnings of religious reformers Robert Barnes, William Jerome and Thomas Garrard at Smithfield for heresy.
1550 – Death of Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, at Lincoln House in Holborn. He was buried in St Andrew’s Church, Holborn, but then moved later to Titchfield. Wriothesley served Henry VIII as Lord Privy Seal and Lord Chancellor. Click here to read more about him.
1553 – Princess Elizabeth left her new home, Somerset House, to ride to Wanstead and greet her half-sister, Mary, England’s new queen. Click here to read more.
1563 – Birth of Robert Parry, writer and diarist, at Tywysog in Denbighshire, North Wales. His works included “Moderatus: the most Delectable and Famous Historie of the Black Knight”.
1570 – Burial of Sir William Godolphin, soldier, at Breage.
1588 – The wind changed and the remaining ships of the Spanish Armada were forced northwards and scattered. The wind became known as the “Protestant wind” because people believed that God had sent this wind to protect England from the Catholic Spanish Armada. Later, when it was obvious that the Spanish Armada had been defeated, medals were struck to celebrate and these medals were inscribed with “Flavit Jehovah et Dissipati Sunt“, meaning “Jehovah blew with His wind and they were scattered”. The wind certainly helped the English fleet. -
Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots – True or False quiz
Happy Sunday! The trailer for the new Mary, Queen of Scots movie has caused lots of controversy amongst history lovers so I was inspired to make this Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I quiz. So, grab your favourite beverage and snack, make yourself comfortable and let’s get those little grey cells working!
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Thomas Cromwell and Catherine Howard Resources
As today is the anniversary of the execution of Thomas Cromwell and the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine Howard on 28th July 1540, I thought I’d share with you some Thomas Cromwell and Catherine Howard resources as we have plenty of videos, talks, quizzes and articles on these two famous Tudor personalities.
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Live chat transcript – Matthew Lewis – The Survival of the Princes in the Tower
A big thank you to Matthew Lewis for being so generous with his time and knowledge, and to all those who attended the live chat and asked such great questions. The chat was fun and informative.
Here is the transcript of the chat for those who missed it…
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Thomas Cromwell’s fall in 1540
As tomorrow is the anniversary of Thomas Cromwell’s execution on 28th July 1540, I thought I’d examine the events leading up to his fall and consider why Henry VIII’s right-hand man ended up on the scaffold.
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Mary’s Hand Opera – 1 and 2 August, London
I just wanted to let you know about this Tudor-themed opera that is being performed on 1st and 2nd August at Holy Cross Church, Kings Cross, London.
It’s the London premiere of this short opera (approx 70 minutes) on the life of Queen Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Here’s the blurb:
It’s a little-known fact that Queen Mary loved games of chance, such as dice and cards. In Mary’s Hand, the Queen shares a game of cards with the audience who get to choose the next card to be turned. Their choices prompt Mary’s reflection upon the influences and events in her life: her father
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Henry VIII, her mother Katherine of Aragon, her Catholic faith, her half-sister Elizabeth I, and her desperate desire for a child. -
August 2018 – Tudor Life – The Religious Impact of the Tudors
In this month’s Tudor Life magazine we are focussing on the wide-ranging impact of the Tudors on religion. It was a time of great upheaval throughout the country and we look into some of the major changes that took place during the Tudor period.
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Mary I and Philip II of Spain
Today is the wedding anniversary of Queen Mary I and Philip II of Spain. The couple got married on 25th July 1554, the feast of St James, at Winchester Cathedral with Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and Mary’s Lord Chancellor, officiating. The bride was thirty-eight years old and the groom was twenty-seven.
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25 July – The Feast of St James and St Christopher
25 July is the Feast of St James the Great (or Greater), the apostle, and of St Christopher the Martyr.
St James was one of the Twelve Apostles and he and his brother John, “the Disciple whom Jesus loved”, were sons of Zebedee, a fisherman. His martyrdom, being executed by sword on the orders of King Herod, is recorded in the Book of Acts: “Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.” (Acts 12:1-2, King James Version)
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This week in history 23 – 29 July
23 July:
1543 – Mary of Guise and her daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, escaped from Linlithgow Palace, where they were being watched, to Stirling Castle. They were helped by Cardinal Beaton.
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1563 – Death of Cuthbert Vaughan, soldier and Muster-Master and Comptroller of the English garrison at Newhaven (actually Le Havre), from the plague.
1584 – Death of John Day, Protestant printer, bookseller and publisher of John Foxe’s “Actes and Monuments” (“Book of Martyrs”), at Walden in Essex. He was buried at Little Bradley parish church in Suffolk.
1596 – Death of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, Privy Councillor and Lord Chamberlain, at Somerset House. Hunsdon was the son of William Carey and his wife, Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn. Mary was mistress to Henry VIII at some point in the 1520s, and some people believe it is possible that Hunsdon was actually fathered by the King. -
Summer Feast Days Wordsearch
This week’s Sunday puzzle is a wordsearch on the feast days celebrated in Tudor times in the months of June, July and August. I hope you enjoy it!
Click on the link or image below to open and print out.
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Henry VIII’s inventory and his spectacles
I’m finding research and writing a challenge at the moment as I’m having issues with my eyesight, which is very frustrating. It got me thinking about a Facebook Live talk I did on the Tudor Society Facebook page at Christmas on Henry VIII’s inventory and the mentions of magnifying glasses and spectacles that the king owned. He owned quite a few!
I thought I’d share this video with you today, along with a list of what I found in the inventory taken at Henry VIII’s death in 1547. I have changed the spelling to modern English.
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Matthew Lewis – Princes in the Tower – Trailer
Full members can watch the whole 52 minute video, and can join us for a live chat with Matthew Lewis where you can ask any questions you like... it'll be a great livechat!
Join today to enjoy this video and so much more...
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19 July 1553 – Mary I is proclaimed Queen of England, France, and Ireland, and all dominions
On this day in history, 19th July 1553, thirteen days after the death of her half-brother, the fifteen-year-old King Edward VI, thirty-seven-year-old Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, was proclaimed “qwene of England, France, and Yrland, and alle domy(ni)ons”.
Mary was unaware of the proclamation of her queenship and the fact that her first cousin once removed, Lady Jane Grey or Queen Jane, had been removed from the throne.
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Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis (c.1504 – 1537)
On 17th July 1537, Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis, was burned to death on the castle hill at Edinburgh after being found guilty of two counts of treason. She had been charged with plotting King James V of Scotland’s death (by poison) and assisting and corresponding with her brothers, Sir George Douglas and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus.
So who was Janet Douglas, and what led to her brutal death?
janet Douglas was the daughter of the Scottish nobleman, George Douglas, Master of Angus, and his wife, Elizabeth Drummond. Janet was born c. 1504 and her father died at the Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513. Janet’s siblings included Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, who married Margaret Tudor, widow of James IV, and Sir George Douglas of Pittendriech. Janet married John Lyon, 6th Lord Glamis, when she was about sixteen years of age, in 1520. The couple had four children before Lyon died in 1528. Janet married her second husband, Archibald Campbell of Skipness, younger son of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll by July 1532. The marriage was childless.
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This week in history 16 – 22 July
16th July:
1517 – Birth of Frances Grey (née Brandon), Duchess of Suffolk, at Hatfield. She was born on St Francis’s Day and was the eldest daughter of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and Mary Tudor, widow of Louis XII and sister of Henry VIII. Click here to read all about her.
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1546 – Protestant martyrs Anne Askew, John Lascelles, John Adams and Nicholas Belenian were burned at the stake at Smithfield in London for heresy. Click here to read more about Anne.
1556 – Burnings of Julins Palmer, John Gwyn, and Thomas Robyns [some sources say Askew or Askin] in the old sandpits in Enborne Road, Newbury, after they were found guilty of sedition and heresy. They are known as the Newbury Martyrs.
1557 – Death of Anne of Cleves, fourth wife of Henry VIII, at Chelsea Old Manor after a few months of illness. On the same day, her body was embalmed and placed in a coffin covered with a cloth bearing her arms. Tapers were lit around her coffin and prayers said on a daily basis. She was buried in Westminster Abbey on 4th August.
1574 – Death of John Hart, scholar, phonetician and Chester Herald, in London.
1600 – Death of George Cranmer, scholar, administrator and nephew of Thomas Cranmer, the late Archbishop of Canterbury, in a skirmish with Irish rebels at Carlingford. He was in Ireland serving Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy, as Secretary during a military campaign. -
General Tudor History Quiz
Happy Sunday! Here at the Tudor Society, we celebrate the day of rest by exercising only the little grey cells. Grab your favourite beverage and something yummy, make yourself comfortable, and let’s get started. Good luck!
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Behind the scenes of the Tudor Society
For today’s Claire Chats video, we thought it would be interesting for you to see behind the scenes of the Tudor Society.
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