On this day in Tudor history, 19th April 1558, fifteen-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots and fourteen-year-old Francis, the Dauphin, son of King Henry II of France, were formally betrothed at the Louvre Palace in Paris.
This betrothal was just five days before their wedding and was a lavish affair, celebrated with a ball.
Find out more about the betrothal, the bride and groom, and arrangements for their marriage, in today’s talk.
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Being under lockdown makes me empathise with those Tudor people who upset the monarch and were kept under house arrest. Some of them spent years under house arrest and some were never given their freedom back. It really doesn’t bear thinking about, does it?
This week’s Sunday quiz tests your knowledge of those Tudors who had to suffer this punishment. How much do you know about them, their circumstances and where they were kept? Test those little grey cells with this fun quiz – good luck!
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In the latest edition of Teasel’s Tudor trivia, Teasel and I explain what Tudor babies and toddlers wore after they’d grown out of being swaddled.
Did boy and girl toddlers wear different clothes? What did Tudor children’s clothes consist of?
Find out about Tudor children’s clothes for toddlers in today’s talk.
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Ok, so they didn’t physically bump into each other, but on this day in Tudor history, 18th April 1536, just a month and a day before Anne Boleyn’s execution, imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys was manoeuvred unto a position where he was forced to pay reverence to Queen Anne Boleyn, the woman he referred to as “the concubine”. By paying her reverence, he was acknowledging her as queen, something that he had managed to avoid doing until now.
What happened and how did Chapuys get into this awkward position?
Find out in today’s talk.
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Back in January, before all the lockdown happened, our roving reporter, Philippa Lacey Brewell, went to Peterborough Cathedral to visit the tomb of Katherine of Aragon and to show us around this wonderful cathedral.
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It’s Friday and I think we’re due some fun, aren’t we? Let’s have it at Tim’s expense, he doesn’t mind.
Here’s our latest Tudor History Challenge! Do play a long. Give yourself a point for each correct answer and there’s a bonus point if you get both parts of question 7 correct. The answers are at the bottom of this post so don’t scroll down and cheat!
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th April 1595, or according to some sources 7th April, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Jesuit Henry Walpole was hanged, drawn and quartered in the city of York. Walpole had been accused of three counts of treason.
Walpole felt that he’d been given a sign at the execution of Edmund Campion to carry on Campion’s work, and, like Campion, his religious mission led him to his death.
Find out about the sign, what Walpole did, how he suffered awful torture, and about his sad end, in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th April 1550, alchemist, apothecary and physician Francis Anthony was born, probably in London. He had a rather eventful life, being imprisoned on several occasions, and he made his fortune from his invention aurum potabile, drinkable gold, which he claimed had amazing curative powers.
Find out more about Francis Anthony and why he ended up in prison in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 15th April 1545, Sir Robert Dymoke, champion at the coronations of Henry VII and Henry VIII, and a man who served in the households of Queens Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, died.
He had an interesting career and survived being suspected of involvement in the 1536 Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion.
Find out more about Sir Robert Dymoke, champion at the coronations of three kings, in today’s talk.
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In this special video, I compare Covid-19, Coronavirus, which is causing havoc here in 2020, to the Sweating Sickness epidemics in England in the 16th century.
Are Covid-19 and Sweating Sickness similar? Are they the same illness?
Find out more in this talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 14th April 1565, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, astrologer, astronomer, mathematician and magician, Edward Gresham, was born in Stainsford, Yorkshire.
Gresham is known for his treatise “Astrostereon” and his almanacs, but what’s really interesting is his connection to a countess’s annulment and a poisoning.
Find out more about Edward Gresham in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 13th April 1557, in the reign of Queen Mary I, John Brydges, 1st Baron Chandos of Sudeley, landowner, soldier and Lieutenant of the Tower of London, died at his home, Sudeley Castle in the Cotswolds.
He served Henry VIII, King Edward VI and Mary I loyally, and even managed to keep royal favour after being accused of being too lenient with prisoners Lady Jane Grey and Princess Elizabeth (future Elizabeth I).
Let me tell you more about Brydges and his time in charge of Lady Jane Grey and Elizabeth I.
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th April 1550, in the reign of King Edward VI, courtier and poet, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was born.
In today’s talk, I introduce Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, and talk about his not-so-nice personality, the Oxfordian theory regarding the works of William Shakespeare, and the idea that Oxford was actually Elizabeth I’s son by Thomas Seymour.
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A very Happy Easter to you! We’re celebrating Easter Sunday with a fun wordsearch. Simply click on the link or image below to open and print out. The words can go in any direction. Good luck!
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On this day in Tudor history, 11th April 1533, Good Friday, King Henry VIII informed his council that Anne Boleyn, the woman he’d married in January 1533, was his rightful wife and queen, and should be accorded royal honours.
Finally, things were going right for the couple, who had been waiting for this moment since 1527.
Find out more about what had led Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn to this point, and why they thought that the Great Matter would be sorted out much quicker, in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th April 1585, Pope Gregory XIII died from a fever. He was succeeded by Pope Sixtus V.
Pope Gregory is known for his reform of the calendar. He introduced what is now called the Gregorian Calendar, or Western or Christian Calendar, replacing the Julian Calendar, which had been used since 45 BC.
But why was this reform needed and how was it done?
Find out more about it, and how England didn’t use it until the 18th century, in today’s talk.
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Let’s forget the horrible things that are happening in the world at the moment and talk about some yummy Easter treats – hot cross buns!
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In a tradition dating back to the medieval period, every year on Maundy Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II visits a church or cathedral for a special service in which she presents local pensioners with Maundy money. This year, the Queen was due to go to St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, but, due to the special measures in place to protect people from Covid-19, has sent letters to those who were due to receive the Maundy gifts at the special service, along with their special Maundy coins.
This is what the Queen wrote:
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On this day in Tudor history, 9th April 1582, Richard Bertie, member of Parliament, evangelical, and second husband of Catherine Willoughby (other married name Brandon), Duchess of Suffolk, died at Bourne in Lincolnshire. He was laid to rest in St James’s Church, Spilsby, with Catherine, who had died in 1580.
Bertie was Catherine’s gentleman usher and the two became close following the death of her sons from sweating sickness.
Find out more about the man Catherine Willoughby chose to marry for love in today’s talk from Claire Ridgway.
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th April 1586, leading Lutheran theologian Martin Chemnitz died in Braunschweig in Germany. He was aged 66.
Martin Chemnitz is known as the Second Martin, with the more famous reformer and theologian Martin Luther being the first, but what did Chemnitz actually do? What was his role in the Reformation?
Find out about the Second Martin in today’s talk.
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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, in today’s talk.
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On this day in history, 6th April 1621, in the Stuart period, Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, died at Netley in Hampshire. He was aged around 81 at his death.
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 marriage and married twice more, all in secret. And then his son and grandson also had secret marriages!
Find out more in today’s talk.
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Catherine of Valois was the youngest daughter of Charles VI of France and Isabella of Bavaria. She was born in Paris in the Hotel St Pol on 27th October 1401. Her childhood was beset with struggles as her family managed the divisions between the Armagnac and Burgundian factions in France. Rumours circulated that Catherine was rejected by her mother and her father, who was said to be mentally unwell, and that she would have been abandoned to live in poverty if not for kindly servants. As with all historical rumours, the truth of these claims cannot be verified. This being said, little is really known about her childhood.
We know that Catherine was betrothed in June 1403 to Charles, the grandson and heir of Louis, Duke of Bourbon, however, by 1408, this betrothal seems to have been retracted. In 1408, Henry IV suggested that a marriage between England and France would help to strengthen peace. Catherine’s name, therefore, recurs during the diplomacy that took place in the next decade. By January 1414, Henry V stated that he would marry no one else before the 1st May. A portrait of Catherine brought from France in 1415 aided marriage negotiations. However, due to the English campaign at Agincourt, the marriage plans were halted until 1418. Henry and Catherine met at Meulan on 2nd June 1419. The meeting was said to have gone successfully, with Henry V being smitten and determined to marry her, promising to give her 10,000 marks and renouncing his title ‘King of France.’ Henry’s terms were that he be recognised as regent during Charles VI’s lifetime. These terms were accepted, and Henry V arrived in Troyes in 1420 to confirm their acceptance. The following day, the betrothal was confirmed, and on 2nd June they celebrated their marriage.
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Today is Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week and the day that commemorates Jesus, the Messiah, entering the city of Jerusalem on the back of a donkey.
Here, where I live in Spain, it’s usually marked with processions just like it was in the medieval and Tudor periods in England. Of course, this year, there aren’t any processions as we are in lockdown. Last year, though, I shared some footage of the Palm Sunday procession from my nearest town Tijola:
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On this day in Tudor history, 5th April 1533, the English Church’s legislative body, 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.
Henry VIII was finally getting the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon sorted out, and it was just as well, seeing that he was married to Anne Boleyn now, she was expecting their first child and was due to be crowned queen shortly!
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This week’s Sunday puzzle is inspired by the Claire Chats talk I did on Tudor Movies on Friday. I didn’t realise there were quite so many!
If you need some help then you can see that video here.
You can open and print out the crossword puzzle by clinking on the link or image below. Good luck!
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On this day in Tudor history, 4th April 1572, William Strachey (and who knows if Claire pronounces his name right!), writer and historian of Virginia, 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, in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 3rd April 1559, the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis was signed between King Henry II of France and King Philip II of Spain. The previous day, 2nd April 1559, it had been signed between Elizabeth I and Henry II.
The treaty, or rather treaties, brought the Italian Wars to an end. But what were these wars? How was England involved? And what were the terms of the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis? Find out more in today’s talk.
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I have several friends who are using lockdown as an excuse to catch up on movies and to watch classic movies they’d missed, it’s a great idea if you’re stuck at home with not a lot to do. And for a Tudor history lover, there is a very long list of Tudor-inspired movies to choose from, dating from the early 1900s to the present day. Let me tell you a bit about some of them.
Do feel free to share any I’ve missed and please do consider reviewing one for our magazine or website – thank you!
[Read More...]Just a quick message from me at this strangest of times.
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