On this day in Tudor history, 1st July 1536, less than two months after the execution of Anne Boleyn, Parliament passed legislation that meant that the king had no legitimate heirs. How strange!
Find out more in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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There’s no question of how important the “House of Austria” was in the history of world politics and this dynastic colossus really burst into English diplomacy in the Tudor era. Henry VIII’s first queen, Katherine of Aragon, was the Habsburg Emperor’s aunt; Mary I married a Habsburg king, while Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots both considered marrying Habsburg princes.
On this day in Tudor history, the night of 20th/21st June 1585, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland, died at the Tower of London.
Was his death murder or suicide? And if it was murder, why?
Find out more…
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th June 1551, Sir George Blage died a natural death in Edward VI’s reign.
Blage was fortunate to die such a death as he’d been condemned to death in Henry VIII’s reign.
Find out more about him in this TudorHistoryShorts talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 2nd June 1537, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Sir Francis Bigod and two of his fellow rebels were executed at Tyburn.
Why had this reformer rebelled against the king and what had happened?
Find out in this #TudorHistoryShorts video:
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th May 1532, Sir Thomas More resigned as Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor.
But what led to More’s resignation when he had been such a loyal servant to King Henry VIII?
Find out…
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On this day in Tudor history, 15th May 1536, Henry VIII’s second wife, Queen Anne Boleyn, and her brother, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, were tried one after the other in the King’s Hall of the Tower of London.
It was during George’s trial that problems the king was experiencing with his wife became public, something which must have been rather embarrassing for the king.
Find out what happened on that day in 1536…
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th May 1560, English troops suffered a heavy defeat at the siege of Leith.
What was this siege all about?
And who described their dead bodies as a fair tapestry?
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The 29th of April is the anniversary of the birth of William Dacre, the only man to be acquitted in Henry VIII’s reign. Quite an accomplishment!
Find out about this Tudor baron…
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Happy St Mark’s Eve! St Mark’s Eve was time to divine your future husband in medieval and Tudor times, but how were you supposed to do that?
Find out how to do it in this #tudorhistoryshorts video.
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Shera is next on our list full of amazing artists! She is 31 years old and is based in California where she makes the most beautiful jewellery. We asked her a couple of questions about her Tudor bracelet collection.
Being a bookseller in Tudor times could be a risky business, particularly if you had the wrong kind of books on your premises!
On 19th April 1601, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, bookseller James Duckett was hanged at Tyburn. Find out why in this #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 14th April 1556, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Sir Anthony Kingston, died at Cirencester. He was on his way to London to face charges that had been laid against him, and it’s likely that he would have been executed.
Why? What had he done?
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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.
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Part 2 of “This week in Tudor History” covers Tudor history events from 22nd to 24th January.
22nd January 1561, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I – The birth of politician, philosopher, author and scientist Francis Bacon at York House, the Strand, London. Bacon is known as “the Father of the Scientific method” and Baconians believe that he was the true author of some or all of William Shakespeare’s plays…
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On this day in history, 29th December 1605, in the reign of King James I, forty-seven-year-old Tudor nobleman George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland was buried at Holy Trinity Church, Skipton, Yorkshire. Clifford was a courtier, naval commander, privateer, Elizabeth I’s champion and a man she called her “rogue”.
Find out all about this Earl of Cumberland, his unhappy marriage, his voyages and what it meant to be the queen’s champion, in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, the feast of Childermas, 28th December 1510, lawyer, administrator and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, Sir Nicholas Bacon, was born. Bacon was the father of the famous philosopher, statesman, scientist and author, Sir Francis Bacon.
Bacon wasn’t just a lawyer and statesman, he was also very concerned with the education of the young, and did much to support it.
Find out all about Sir Nicholas Bacon, his life and career, and how he was banished from court at one point, in today’s talk.
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Happy Christmas!
On this day in Tudor history, 25th December 1587, Brian Darcy, magistrate, Sheriff of Essex, witch-hunter and contributor to the 1582 “A true and just recorde of the information, examination and confession of all the witches, taken at S Oses [St Osyth]”, died.
“A True and Just Recorde” argued for harsher punishments for those found guilty of witchcraft, and Darcy was personally responsible for a number of deaths of people accused of witchcraft.
Find out more about this zealous witch-hunter in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd December 1557, Protestant martyrs John Rough and Margaret Mearing, were burnt at Smithfield for heresy.
John Rough was a Scot who’d encouraged John Knox to be a pastor, but ended in days in England. Interestingly, the woman he died with was a woman he’d excommunicated from his congregation, believing her to be a spy. Although she’d been angry with her treatment, she was not the spy who betrayed him, she visited Rough in prison and was arrested after she tried to confront the real spy.
Find out about John Rough’s life and what brought him to England, how he’d come to be arrested, and what happened with Margaret Mearing, in today’s talk.
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21st December in Tudor times was the Feast of St Thomas the Apostle, or Didymus or Doubting Thomas. The apostle who wouldn’t believe Christ had been resurrected until Christ appeared in front of him and he’d felt the nail wounds and the wound in his side.
Thomas was known for his generosity, and in Tudor times, those in need would go “a-Thomasing”, collecting alms. But there are also other traditions associated with the feast day, such as pie-making. And did you know that Thomas also has links to India?
Find out more about St Thomas, his story, his feast day and the traditions associated with him, in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 15th December, 1560, Comptroller of the Household to Elizabeth I and Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, Thomas Parry died. The Spanish ambassador claimed that Parry had died of “sheer grief”. He was buried at Westminster Abbey.
Parry had served Elizabeth since 1547 and was a loyal servant and friend. So why did he die of grief?
Find out more about Thomas Parry, his background, life, and why he was upset in 1560, in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 11th December 1539, Anne of Cleves and her retinue were received at Gravelines, just a few miles outside of Calais, by Lord Lisle, Deputy of Calais.
Anne of Cleves was on her way to England to marry King Henry VIII, but her journey had been rather slow and she was about to be delayed even more.
The reception was rather lavish, with everyone dressed up to the nines. Enjoy a contemporary description from a Tudor chronicler in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th December 1538, courtier and Master of the Horse to Queens Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour, Sir William Coffin, died at Standon in Hertfordshire.
It is thought that he died of the plague because his wife Margaret wrote to Thomas Cromwell saying that Coffin had “died of the great sickness, full of God’s marks all over his body”.
Who was Sir William Coffin and what did the Master of the Horse do?
Find out in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th December 1549, rebel leader Robert Kett was hanged from the walls of Norwich Castle after being found guilty of treason. His brother William was hanged the same day, but from the steeple of Wymondham Church.
In 1549, Kett was seen as a rebel and traitor who endangered the city of Norwich, but today Norwich pays tribute to him as “a notable and courageous leader in the long struggle of the common people of England to escape from a servile life into the freedom of just conditions”. Find out all about Robert Kett and Kett’s Rebellion in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th December 1573, soldier and administrator, Sir Hugh Paulet, died at his home in Hinton St George in Somerset.
He distinguished himself as a soldier in Henry VIII’s reign, served as Governor of Jersey in Edward VI’s reign, was a Protestant but survived Mary I’s reign and served as Vice-President of the Welsh marches, and had a successful career in Elizabeth I’s reign. He was an important man and a servant of the Crown, but still managed to die a natural death at his home.
Find out more about Sir Hugh Paulet, his life and career, in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 30th November 1601, sixty-eight-year-old Queen Elizabeth I delivered her famous Golden Speech to the House of Commons.
In this final speech to Parliament, Elizabeth spoke of her position as Queen and her love and respect for her realm, her people, and for her members of Parliament. It was a speech that brought many of those listening to tears. It was obviously a very heartfelt speech by a queen who truly loved her people.
In today’s talk, I share Elizabeth I’s Golden Speech, along with some beautiful portraits of the queen.
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On this day in Tudor history, 29th November 1528, nobleman and courtier, Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu, was born.
Montagu began his court career with the help of his father in Henry VIII’s reign. served as a privy councillor in Mary I’s reign, and died a natural death as a wealthy man in Elizabeth I’s reign. He even survived being implicated in a rebellion!
Who was Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu, and just how did he manage to not only have an excellent court career, but leave a fortune to his grandson, when he was a Catholic in Elizabeth I’s reign?
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Merry Christmas to you! December is here and we should make good cheer who wishes! Enjoy the December 2020 magazine!
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th November 1572, John Knox, the Scottish clergyman, famous Reformer , royal chaplain, and founder of Presbyterianism, died at his home in Edinburgh as his second wife, Margaret, read aloud from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians.
John Knox is known for bringing the Protestant reformation to the church in Scotland and his controversial views about women rulers, but he was also chaplain to King Edward VI and had a very eventful life, being taken prisoner by the French and being forced into service on the galleys of their fleet at one point.
Find out more about John Knox’s life and career in today’s talk.
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As today is the anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth I, on 17th November 1558, I thought I’d share with you some links to Elizabeth I resources here on the Tudor Society website.
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