As yesterday was the anniversary of Catherine’s demotion from queen to dowager princess in 1533, I thought I’d test your knowledge of Henry VIII’s Great Matter, his quest for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
How much do you know about the Great Matter?
Find out with this fun crossword puzzle.
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On this day in Tudor history, 9th April, Catherine of Aragon, who’d been banished from the royal court, received a visit from a delegation of the king’s councillors. They were there to inform her that she was no longer queen.
Catherine was a tough cookie, though. Even when she was threatened by the king, she did not submit…
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th April 1554, in the reign of Queen Mary I, there was an act of rebellion and religious defiance in London.
Someone who didn’t like Mary’s religious changes hanged a cat on the gallows at Cheapside. The cat was dressed as a Catholic priest and was holding a piece of paper to represent that communion wafer.
Find out more about what happened, the meaning behind it, and Mary’s reaction to it…
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Further north even than Edinburgh lies the town of St Andrews, famous today for its golf range and its university. But did you know that St Andrews has an ancient history?
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th April 1537, Robert Aske and Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy, were sent to the Tower of London.
Both Aske and Darcy had been involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion of 1536, with Aske being “chief captain” of the rebels.
Even though Henry VIII pardoned the rebels after negotiations in 1536, Darcy and Aske were arrested, imprisoned and executed as traitors.
Find out more about what happened and more about Robert Aske, the rebel leader…
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On this day in history, 6th April 1621, in the Stuart period, Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, died at around the age of 81.
Now, Hertford is known for his secret marriage to Lady Katherine Grey, sister of Lady Jane Grey, and their conjugal visits in the Tower of London, but Hertford had a thing for secret marriages, and his son and grandson followed in his footsteps!
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On this day in 1533, Convocation, ruled that the pope was wrong and that Henry VIII was right, i.e. it ruled that the Pope had no power to dispense in the case of a man marrying his brother’s widow, and that it was contrary to God’s law – Catherine of Aragon should not have been able to marry Henry VIII.
This was just as well seeing as the king had got married to Anne Boleyn and she was pregnant with his child!
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On this day in Tudor history, 4th April 1572, writer and historian William Strachey was born in Saffron Walden in Essex, England.
Strachey’s account of the 1609 shipwreck of the Sea Venture in a hurricane was used as a source for William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”.
Find out more about Strachey, how he was marooned for a year, and why he died in poverty
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Henry VIII has been linked romantically to a number of women, but how much do you know about these women and his alleged illegitimate children.
And what about the other Tudor kings and queens and Tudor personalities who were said to be royal bastards?
Test your knowledge of Tudor mistresses and Tudor bastards in this week’s puzzle – a fun crossword puzzle.
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On this day in Tudor history, 1st April 1578, English physician William Harvey, was born in Folkestone, Kent. Harvey has gone down in history as being the man who discovered the circulation of blood, and he was also physician extraordinary to King James I and King Charles I.
How did Harvey work out that the heart pumped the blood around the body and how was his challenge of Galen’s work received?
Find out more about William Harvey’s work, and also his role in the pardoning of women accused of witchcraft, in this…
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This month we have JoAnn DellaNeva as our expert speaker. JoAnn is looking at the end of Anne Boleyn’s life as shown through Lancelot de Carle’s work
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On this day in history, 31st March 1631, the Tudor and Stuart metaphysical poet, satirist, lawyer and clergyman John Donne died.
Donne had an amazing career, going on voyages, serving as a royal chaplain and diplomat, and writing sermons, songs, satires and poetry, including an erotic poem, “The Flea”.
Find out more about John Donne and hear some of his work in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 30th March 1533, at the Passion Sunday service, Thomas Cranmer, Archdeacon of Taunton, was consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.
His consecration was not like those of others before him, however, because as well as making the usual oath promising to be faithful to the papacy and to denounce heretics, he also made a protestation to show that his oath would not conflict with his loyalty to King Henry VIII and his commitment to reforming the church. Hmmmm…. complicated.
Find out more in this talk…
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Who were the chief ministers in the Tudor period? What influence did they have over the people around them and the country as a whole?
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On this day in Tudor history, 29th March 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Protestant and former Dominican priest, John Laurence, was burned at the stake for heresy in Colchester.
At his burning, young children encouraged him with their prayers.
Find out more about his John Laurence’s sad end in this talk…
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Just to let you know that the April edition of Tudor Life Magazine will be slightly delayed. Tim has been very busy as he was away for a few days last week. He was a hero. He went to Poland to rescue a Ukrainian woman, her 13-year-old daughter and their dog, and bring them home to us in Spain. They arrived safely late on Thursday night and now we have lots to do with helping them settle and register them here. They are lovely people and we’re so very glad to be able to help them. However, it’s had a knock-on effect with work for both of us, so please forgive us if things are delayed or we don’t answer emails quickly – thank you!
Slava Ukraini!
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This day in history, 28th March 1483, is one of the dates out forward as the birthdate of Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, or Raphael as he is known, the Italian Renaissance artist and architect.
Did you know that Henry VII owned a piece of art by Raphael and that Henry VIII admired his work?
Find out a bit more about Raphael and see some of his beautiful works of art in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 27th March 1489, the Treaty of Medina del Campo was signed between England and Spain.
One part of it was the arrangement of the marriage between Arthur, Prince of Wales, and Catherine (or Catalina) of Aragon. It was signed by Spain on this day and ratified in 1490 by Henry VII.
Find out more about this treaty and the betrothal and marriages (yes, plural!) of Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, and Catherine of Aragon in this talk…
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How much do you know about the men who served the Tudor monarchs abroad as diplomats or the men who were sent to the Tudor courts from other countries?
Test your knowledge and get those little grey cells working with this fun word search puzzle.
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On this day in history, late on 26th March 1603, two days after the death of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Robert Carey arrived at Holyrood in Edinburgh, Scotland, to inform King James VI that Queen Elizabeth I was dead and that James was now king.
It took Carey just two days to get from London to Scotland, and he had an accident on the way, but it was all worth it. Find out about his journey and what happened in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 25th March 1586, Good Friday and also Lady Day, the Feast of the Annunciation, Catholic martyr Margaret Clitherow (née Middleton), known as “the Pearl of York”, was pressed to death at the toll-booth on Ouse Bridge in York, under 7 or 8 hundredweight. She was executed for harbouring Catholic priests.
Find out more in this talk…
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This week we have a review of a book from over 70 years ago, yet still available today, Anne Boleyn by Evelyn Anthony.
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On this day in history, 24th March 1619, Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick, Tudor nobleman and politician, died at his London home, Warwick House in Holborn. He was laid to rest at Felsted Church in Essex.
Rich was an incredibly wealthy man and a good catch for Penelope Devereux, sister of the Earl of Essex, but their marriage was unhappy and she had an affair.
Find out more about Rich and his marriage in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 23rd March 1540, Waltham Abbey, an Augustinian house in Essex, was surrendered to the Crown.
It was the last abbey to be dissolved in Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell’s dissolution of the monasteries.
Find out more about this historic abbey, its origins and what’s left today, and also who profited from its lands, in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd March 1582, gunner, mathematician and writer, William Bourne was buried at Gravesend in Kent.
This popular author, who was able to explain technical matters for the common man in his books, was also a gunner, mathematician and inventor, yet he received no university education. He also drew plans for a submarine, although he never built it.
Find out more about the fascinating William Bourne and his works in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 21st March 1603, a dying Queen Elizabeth I finally took to her bed.
Elizabeth I had been queen since November 1558, but now she was dying. She had deep-rooted melancholy, couldn’t sleep and was refusing to eat. She spent her days lying on cushions in her withdrawing chamber. But on 21st March, she was finally persuaded to go to bed.
Find out more about these last days in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th March 1544, Cuthbert Mayne (Main/Maine) or St Cuthbert Mayne, Roman Catholic priest and martyr, was baptised in Youlston in North Devon.
Cuthbert Mayne has gone down in history as the first seminary priest to be martyred. He was hanged, drawn and quartered at Launceston on 30th November 1577, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Find out more about this Elizabethan martyr in this talk…
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This week’s Sunday puzzle tests your knowledge of Tudor Elizabeths.
Elizabeth was a popular name in the 16th century, but can you remember all of these Tudor Elizabeths?
Get those little grey cells working with this fun crossword.
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