In the first part of This Week in Tudor history for the week beginning 22nd February, historian and author Claire Ridgway talks about a translator killed by a broken leg, the lavish funeral of Elizabeth of York, and an earl who rose in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I, but who was implicated in a murder in his final days.
22nd February 1571, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I – The death of translator John Bury after breaking his leg in a fall from his horse….
[Read More...]
This week’s brain teaser is a word search testing your knowledge of Shrovetide and Lent, and the traditions associated with this time of the year. As always, the answers are all on the site. Good luck.
Simply click on the link or image below to open the word search and print out.
[Read More...]
One of the questions I received for the Anne Boleyn Files and Tudor Society Channel’s fan Q&A series was from Tudor Society member Colleen, and her beautiful cat, King Louis.
The question was regarding Anne Seymour (née Stanhope), second wife of Edward Seymour, who, of course became Lord Protector in his nephew Edward VI’s reign. In Showtime’s “The Tudors” series, Anne is rather a colourful character, a badly behaved woman who has an affair with a courtier and another with her own brother-in-law, but is there any truth in this or is it fictional?
[Read More...]
A big thank you to Lorna Wanstall for inspiring this week’s Friday video with her idea about casting our Tudor dream team or dream cast. I’m looking forward to reading your ideas!
[Read More...]
As it’s the 12th birthday of the Anne Boleyn Files website, the blog that started Claire’s career researching and writing, Claire is offering 25% discount code for her online course The Life of Anne Boleyn.
[Read More...]
As it’s the anniversary of Queen Mary I’s birth, on 18th February 1516, I thought I’d share some Mary I resources with you. We have so many Mary I resources – videos, an ebook, quizzes, expert talks… Enjoy!
You can download the Tudor Society Mary I e-book…
[Read More...]
In this second part of “This week in Tudor history” for the week beginning 15th February, I talk about how the death of a French duke led to an awful massacre, and how the imprisoned Margaret Douglas heard of her son’s murder, as well as introducing a countess who served all six of Henry VIII’s wives and who was close to his daughter Mary, and a noblewoman who managed to give birth twice while imprisoned in the Tower of London.
18th February 1563 – Francis, Duke of Guise, was wounded by a Huguenot assassin at the Siege of Orléans. He died a few days later and his death was a factor in the 1572 St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
[Read More...]
I know that many of you enjoy our weekly Tudor crossword puzzles and word searches, so you’ll be interested to know that I’ve collated some of them, plus some new ones, in a paperback book.
I did intend to get the book out in time for Christmas, but with one thing and another it just didn’t happen. Oh well, better late than never! It’s available right now. Here are the details…
[Read More...]
This Valentine’s Day a very special announcement was made by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, they are expecting a child. A royal baby announcement nowadays is made and spread on social media. Since Instagram and other online platforms did not exist in Tudor times, how was this joyous news shared with the rest of the country?
[Read More...]
Yes, it’s that time of year again! It’s Shrove Tuesday! We’re celebrating this last day before Lent by sharing two videos – one with a cute dog and one with yummy pancakes, oh and a cute Tim!
Last year, Teasel and I made a video explaining Shrovetide – Shrove Sunday, Collop Monday and Shrove Tuesday – and how it was celebrated in Tudor times…
[Read More...]
In this first part of This Week in Tudor history for week beginning 15th February, I am going to tell you about the last monk to become Archbishop of Canterbury; the man who wrote one of the most important documents of the Protestant Reformation, and an earl who wept when he had to imprison Princess Elizabeth, the future Elizabeth I.
15th February 1503, in the reign of King Henry VII – The death of Henry Deane, the last monk to become Archbishop of Canterbury.
[Read More...]
William was a very popular name in the Tudor period, so I thought I’d test your knowledge of Tudor Williams in this Sunday’s puzzle, a crossword puzzle.
As always, these are all people who have been mentioned on the Tudor Society.
Good luck!
[Read More...]
This week’s Friday video is from our very own Catherine Brooks who is chatting to Kirsty Saul from Sudeley Castle. Kirsty tells us about her work, the castle itself, which is located in the beautiful English Cotswolds, and its links to the Tudors.
A big thank you to Catherine and Kirsty for this wonderful video.
[Read More...]On this day in history, 11th February 1971, our founder Claire Ridgway was born, meaning that she’s celebrating her 50th birthday! And she’s celebrating by doing some kindle countdown deals for 9 of her books!
[Read More...]
In this second part of This Week in Tudor History for week beginning 8th February, I talk about two parliamentary acts that allowed a king to execute his wife and to execute people showing signs of madness; a miscarriage of justice which led to a priest being executed in Elizabeth I’s reign; an Elizabethan astrologer who was ridiculed after his prophecies didn’t come true, and a man known as William Waste-all.
11th February 1542 – King Henry VIII gave his assent “in absentia” to an act of attainder against his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, and her lady-in-waiting, Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford. A bill allowing people showing signs of lunacy was also passed, an awful thing, but the king was determined to take revenge.
[Read More...]
Elizabeth Stafford was born in 1497 and was the eldest daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, and his wife, Eleanor, eldest daughter of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland. Through her parents, Elizabeth was a descendant of King Edward III, and her paternal grandparents were Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and Lady Katherine Woodville, sister of Elizabeth Woodville. Her paternal grandfather was beheaded for treason against Richard III in 1483, which is a fate her father would suffer in 1521, beheaded for treason against Henry VIII.
[Read More...]
In this first part of “This Week in Tudor History”, I introduce a chap named John, one of the many johns in his family, who turned down a title; explain why Lady Jane Grey’s execution was postponed and what happened, and introduce an earl who appears to have been a bit of a Tudor bad boy.
8th February 1545, in the reign of King Henry VIII – Death of courtier and soldier Sir John Arundell of Lanherne, or John Arundell III, a man who turned down a barony from King Henry VIII. Find out why.
9th February 1554 – Queen Mary I postpones Lady Jane Grey’s scheduled execution and gives her a three-day reprieve…
[Read More...]
I do love getting lost in a good historical novel, especially at this time of year when I can snuggle in front of the log burner under a blanket with a nice mug of hot chocolate. A novel that transports me to the 16th century is just prefect.
But how much do you know about Tudor-themed novels, series and authors?
Find out, and perhaps get some reading ideas, in this week’s quiz:
[Read More...]In this week’s Friday video, Claire talks about the All Souls trilogy of novels by Deborah Harkness, A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night and The Book of Life, and the TV adaptation.
How do these novels link to Tudor history? Find out more about them…
[Read More...]
In this second part of “This week in Tudor history” for the week beginning 1st February, I talk about Tudor events and people associated with 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th February.
4th February 1495, in the reign of King Henry VII – Anne of York, daughter of the late King Edward IV, marries Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, at Westminster Abbey in London…
[Read More...]
In this edition of Teasel’s Tudor Trivia, with a well-wrapped up Teasel, I share some tips on how to keep warm on cold days and nights Tudor style.
Just how did medieval and Tudor people keep warm? What did they wear? How did they keep their houses warm? And what about their bedrooms and beds?
[Read More...]
This month we have the highly successful author Adrienne Dillard as our expert speaker. We know that there are a number of members who are writers and are writing historical pieces at the moment. We wanted to get Adrienne to share her experience in bringing history to life.
[Read More...]
I’m sure many of you have taken down your Christmas decorations by now, with many people believing that they should be taken down by Twelfth Night, but if you have any lurking then today, Candlemas Eve, is the day to take them down, otherwise you might just get visited by goblins.
Teasel and I explain…
[Read More...]
A warm welcome to Emma and Merel who are joining the Tudor Society team today for a 5-month apprenticeship as part of their Journalism degree. We are thrilled to have them on board and you might remember them from the Mary, Queen of Scots video they produced for us back in 2019 – see below.
Here are their bios…
[Read More...]
In this first part of “This week in Tudor history”, I look at Tudor history events for 1st, 2nd and 3rd February.
1st February 1552, in the reign of King Edward VI – The birth of Roger Cooke, an alchemist who worked for Dr John Dee, Francis Anthony, the Wizard Earl (Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland) and Sir Walter Ralegh, and a man with whom Dee shared the secret of a special elixir…
[Read More...]
Thanks as always to those who came to our live chat with Julian Humphrys. We had a spirited discussion and I think a lot was learned by all
[Read More...]
Following on from last week’s Tudor Henry’s Crossword Puzzle, this week’s Sunday quiz tests your knowledge of Tudor Henry’s even further with a word search puzzle.
Do remember that the words can go in any direction.
Hint: The answers can all be found on the Tudor Society website!