On this day in Tudor history, 24th January 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, a great joust was held at Westminster between English and the Spanish knights. It was one of the events planned by Philip of Spain, Queen Mary I’s husband, to try and tackle the problems between Englishmen and Spaniards in London. Tensions had even led to violence and murder.
Find out more about the problems, and how King Philip tried to tackle them, in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd January 1554, Thomas Wyatt the Younger met with fellow conspirators at his home of Allington Castle in Kent. The purpose of their meeting was to make final plans for their uprising against Queen Mary I and her decision to marry Philip of Spain.
This rebellion would come to be known as Wyatt’s Rebellion, although the leader at the start appears to have been Sir James Croft.
Find out all about Wyatt’s Rebellion and what happened in this talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th January 1558, in the reign of Queen Mary I, England lost Calais to the French.
It was a devastating blow as Calais had been held by England for over 200 years and was an important port for English wool exports. Mary I was said to have exclaimed ““When I am dead and opened, you shall find ‘Philip’ and ‘Calais’ lying in my heart”.
Find out exactly what happened in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 23rd December 1556, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Nicholas Udall (Yevedale), schoolmaster, cleric, humanist and playwright, was buried at St Margaret’s, Westminster.
In today’s talk, I introduce this Tudor man and also share a ballad he wrote for Queen Anne Boleyn’s coronation celebrations in 1533. His ballad was about Anne Boleyn’s falcon badge and how it related to the queen.
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th December 1555, John Philpott, former Archdeacon of Winchester, was burned at the stake for heresy at Smithfield.
Philpott had done a lot in his 40 years, including studying in Italy, upsetting Bishop Gardiner, and supporting fellow Protestants from his prison cell, and he died a courageous death at Smithfield in the reign of Queen Mary I. Find out more about him in today’s talk from Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society.
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On this day in Tudor history, 15th December 1558, Cardinal Reginald Pole, Mary I’s Archbishop of Canterbury and her chief advisor, was buried at Canterbury Cathedral. Coincidentally, Cardinal Pole had died the same day as his queen, on 17th November 1558.
Find out a bit more about Cardinal Pole, his background, death and burial, in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th November 1559, eighty-five-year-old Cuthbert Tunstall, Bishop of Durham, died while in the custody of Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Lambeth Palace.
Cuthbert Tunstall had an amazing career which spanned the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I, and he was imprisoned in two of those monarchs’ reigns. In today’s talk, I give an overview of this bishop’s interesting life and career.
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th November 1558, forty-two-year-old Queen Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, died at St James’s Palace in London. She passed the throne on to her twenty-five-year-old half-sister, Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who became Queen Elizabeth I.
In today’s talk, I talk about the accession of Queen Elizabeth I and the traditional story of Elizabeth finding out that she was queen at Hatfield.
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On this day in Tudor history, 13th November 1553, in the reign of Queen Mary I, the former queen Jane, or Lady Jane Grey, was tried for treason at Guildhall in London. She wasn’t the only one tried, her husband Lord Guildford Dudley, his brothers Ambrose and Henry Dudley, and Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, were also tried for treason for their parts in putting Jane on the throne.
In today’s talk, I explain what happened at their trial and also what happened to these Tudor people after they were found guilty and condemned to death.
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On this day in Tudor history, 3rd November 1592, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, privy councillor and former Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir John Perrot, died at the Tower of London. He’d been imprisoned there since March 1591.
Perrot is a fascinating Tudor man who survived being a Protestant and protecting ‘heretics’ in Mary I’s reign, and who was saved six times from serious punishment by Queen Elizabeth I’s intercession. Some people believe that this favour, and a few other factors, point to him being King Henry VIII’s illegitimate son.
Find out more about Sir John Perrot, his life and the arguments for and against him being Henry VIII’s son in today’s talk.
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Warning: John Foxe’s account is pretty horrible.
On this day in Tudor history, 16th October 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Protestants Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake in Oxford for heresy. Along with Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, they have become known as the Oxford Martyrs.
In today’s talk, I give an overview of Latimer and Ridley’s careers, and then shares an account of their burnings from John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.
“Every eye shed tears at the afflicting sight of these sufferers, who were among the most distinguished persons of their time in dignity, piety, and public estimation.” John Foxe
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On this day in Tudor history, 15th October 1537, Prince Edward ( future King Edward VI), son of King Henry VIII and his third wife, Queen Jane Seymour, was christened in a lavish ceremony in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. He was three days old.
In today’s talk, I share details of Edward VI’s christening, including who played prominent roles, who stood as godparents and what gifts were given to little Prince Edward. Edward’s half-sisters, the future Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I were both there.
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On this day in Tudor history, 23rd September 1571, after being taken ill while preaching a sermon in Lacock, Wiltshire, forty-nine-year-old John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury, died at Monkton Farleigh Manor. He was laid to rest in Salisbury Cathedral.
Not many people have heard of John Jewel, but he had an interesting life which spanned the reigns of King Henry VIII, Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey, Mary I and Elizabeth I – time of religious change. He was a clergyman, a Protestant exile, a theologian and bishop, and someone who spoke up for what he believed.
Find out more about John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury in Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th September 1555, in the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary I, Protestants Robert Glover and Cornelius Bungey, were burned at the stake for heresy at a site in Little Park Street, Coventry. They were two of twelve martyrs burned in the city between 1511 and 1555.
Find out more about them and Glover’s experience as he was taken to the site of execution in today’s talk from Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society.
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th September 1563, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, courtier and soldier Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, died during an outbreak of the plague, which was rife in London that year and killed about 24% of London’s citizens.
Manners served King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I, so had a long and interesting career, which also saw him imprisoned at one point.
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On this day in Tudor history, Thursday 12th September 1555, in the reign of Catholic Queen Mary, the trial of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, began in Oxford.
Archbishop Cranmer, who had, of course, played his part in the annulment of Mary I’s parents’ marriage (King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon) was accused of heresy. Cranmer, however, did not recognise the authority of the court. His intelligent answers to his accusers were to do no good, and he became one of the famous Oxford Martyrs in 1556.
Find out more about what happened at his trial, and what happened next, in this talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 14th August 1473, Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, was born.
Margaret Pole is an interesting lady – the niece of Edward IV, Countess of Salisbury in her own right, governess to Mary I… and she came to a rather awful and sticky end.
Let me tell you a bit more about this fascinating Tudor lady and what happened to her.
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July 1553 was a month of three monarchs: King Edward VI, Queen Jane (lady Jane Grey) and Queen Mary I – what a month for the citizens of London! It was definitely eventful. But how much do you know about the events that led from Edward’s death to Mary’s accession? Let me test your knowledge with this fun little quiz – good luck!
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th July 1556, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Henry Peckham and John Danyell were hanged, drawn and quartered after being found guilty of treason for their involvement in the Dudley Conspiracy.
But what was the Dudley Conspiracy? And who was involved in it? What happened?
I explain all in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 11th April 1554, in the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary I, Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger, son of poet and diplomat Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, was beheaded on Tower Hill after being found guilty of high treason.
Wyatt had led a rebellion which sought to depose the queen and to replace her with her half-sister Elizabeth, but he refused to implicate Elizabeth in the plot. He went to his death asserting her innocence.
Find out more about what happened and hear his final speech in today’s video.
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In today’s video, I talk about an act of rebellion in 1554, an act of defiance by someone opposed to Queen Mary I’s religious changes.
It was on this day in Tudor history, 8th April 1554, that a cat dressed as a Catholic priest and holding a piece of paper to represent the communion wafer, was hanged at the gallows in Cheapside.
Find out more about what happened, the meaning behind it, and Queen Mary I’s reaction to it, in my video.
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th March 1554, two members of Queen Mary I’s council turned up at Whitehall Palace to escort Elizabeth (future Elizabeth I) to prison at the Tower of London. Elizabeth was able to stall things for one day by writing a letter to her half-sister, the queen.
In today’s video, I share Elizabeth’s famous letter and explain how it prevented the men from taking Elizabeth to the Tower that day.
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In today’s “on this day in Tudor history”, I take us back to the reign of Queen Mary I.
On 12 February 1554, Lady Jane Grey, formerly Queen Jane, and her husband Guildford Dudley were executed. Guildford was beheaded on Tower Hill and Jane was beheaded at the Tower of London. I explain what led to their executions and relates what happened at them.
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As we’re coming up to the anniversary of the execution of Lady Jane Grey on 12th February 1554, I thought it would be interesting to examine the time between 19th July 1553, when Mary I took the throne from Jane, and Jane’s execution.
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On this day in Tudor history, the first English Protestant martyr, John Rogers, was burned in the reign of Queen Mary I. Let me tell you more about him and his fate.
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Today’s Sunday quiz is on William Paget, 1st Baron Paget, a man who served Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. How much do you know about this Tudor man? Find out! Good luck!
[Read More...]In today’s “on this day in Tudor history”, we go back to 1554, where trouble was brewing for both Mary I and her half-sister, Elizabeth.
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Thank you to John Tepper Marlin, MA (Oxon.), author of Oxford College Arms for writing this guest post for us.
Six Oxford colleges were founded under the Tudors. Three under Henry VIII, two under Mary I, and one during the reign of Elizabeth I.
As members of the Tudor Society will know, the Tudor dynasty started with Henry VII, son of Lancastrian Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort, a descendant of Edward III. Henry VII was brought up in Wales but had exiled himself to France while the Yorkists were in power. After the disappearance of Edward V in 1483, his uncle Yorkist Richard III was crowned and soon made himself unpopular. Henry VII returned to Wales, assembled an army that defeated and killed Richard III at Bosworth Field in 1485, and was crowned king in London. By marrying Elizabeth of York the following year, Henry VII united the Houses of Lancaster and York and created as his badge the “Tudor Rose” – red outside, white inside–that ever since has been used by every British monarch as a symbol of England.
Thank you so much to Tudor Society member Michelle for inspiring today’s Claire Chats video talk on Acts of Attainder, what they were, how they were used and why Mary I reversed some.
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Just a reminder that our January expert live chat is taking place in the Tudor Society chatroom tomorrow, Friday 25th January.
Our expert speaker for this month is Samantha Wilcoxson, author of The Plantagenet Embers series of historical novels. Her talk is on Mary I, the subject of her novel Queen of Martyrs: The Story of Mary I and you can catch it at https://www.tudorsociety.com/expert-talk-mary-i-samantha-wilcoxson/ if you haven’t had chance to view it yet.
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