The Tudor Society

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  • 20 December – Edward Arden was hanged and Agnes Tilney begged King Henry VIII for forgiveness

    3 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 20th December 1583, the day after his son-in-law, John Somerville, had been found dead in his cell, Warwickshire gentleman Edward Arden was hanged, drawn and quartered at Smithfield.

    Arden, who was related to William Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Arden, and married to a member of the Throckmorton family, had been found guilty of treason, after being implicated in Somerville’s plot to kill the queen.

    But was Arden actually guilty? Why didn’t others involved end up being executed too?

    Find out more about Edward Arden and what happened in 1583, in this talk…

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  • 7 December – A rebel comes to a sticky end and the birth of Henry Stuart

    3 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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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 this talk…

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  • Day 5 of the Tudor Society Advent Calendar

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    We have a wonderful treat for you today on the Tudor Society Advent Calendar – a talk from battlefield historian Julian Humphrys answering the question “Was Henry Tudor a Coward at the Battle of Bosworth?”.

    Find out the answer in Julian’s talk.

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  • Blog: fascinating discoveries and intriguing collections

    3 years ago Author: Emma
    2 Comments

  • 26 November – The first men executed under Elizabeth I’s new law and the marriage of Henry Fitzroy

    3 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 26th November 1585, Catholic priest Hugh Taylor and his friend Marmaduke Bowes were hanged at York.

    They were the first men executed under Elizabeth I’s 1585 statute which made it treason to be a Jesuit or seminary priest in England or to harbour such a priest.

    These two Catholics were beatified in 1987 by Pope John Paul II as two of the 85 Martyrs of England, Scotland and Wales.

    Find out more about these men and what this 1585 legislation was all about in this talk…

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  • 22 November – Explorer Sir Martin Frobisher dies of gangrene and Sir William Butts dies from malaria

    3 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 22nd November 1594, naval commander, privateer and explorer, Sir Martin Frobisher, died at Plymouth. He died of gangrene after having been shot in the thigh during hand-to-hand combat during a siege.

    Frobisher is best known for his three voyages in search of the Northwest Passage and his naval service during the 1588 Spanish Armada, for which he was knighted.

    Find out all about the life and career of this Tudor explorer in this talk…

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  • 21 November – A playwright who courted controversy and Frances Grey, an abusive mother

    3 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 21st November 1495, churchman, Protestant playwright, historian and Bishop of Ossory, John Bale was born in Suffolk.

    Bale wrote twenty-four plays, and a book on famous British writers, which is his most well-known work. His work on Protestant martyrs was also used by the famous martyrologist John Foxe.

    John Bale also courted controversy with his attacks on Catholics, and he spent a fair amount of time in exile.

    Find out all about this accomplished Tudor man in this talk…

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  • 16 November – The death of Charles Neville and the death of William Stafford

    3 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 16th November 1601, nobleman and rebel Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland, died while in exile at Nieuwpoort in Flanders.

    Westmorland had fled into exile following the failure of the Northern Rebellion, a plot to release Mary, Queen of Scots, from prison and to overthrow Elizabeth I. He didn’t learn his lesson, being involved in a further plot.

    The earl died a sad end in debt and separated from his wife and daughters, but it was his own fault.

    Find out more about the rebel northern earl in this talk…

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  • 9 November – The Northern Rebellion against Elizabeth I and the birth of the stillborn daughter of Catherine of Aragon

    3 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    This day in Tudor history, 9th November 1569, is the traditional date given for the start of the only major armed rebellion of Elizabeth I’s reign. It’s known as The Northern Rebellion or Rising of the North or Revolt of the Northern Earls.

    Northern earls Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland and Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland, led this uprising against Elizabeth I, seeking to depose her, replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots, and restore Catholicism.

    But what happened?

    Find out about the 1569 Northern Rebellion and the fate of the Northern Earls in this talk…

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  • 22 October – Examination of accusations against Henry VIII and the death of Baron Morley

    3 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 22nd October 1537, an examination, or rather interrogation, was carried out regarding an accusation of treasonous words spoken against King Henry VIII.

    Further investigations into the matter found that there was no evidence that these words were spoken, and that someone was trying to get another person into trouble.

    What was going on? In a time when the punishment for high treason was death, this was very serious.

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  • Josh Widdicombe, the Boleyns and Edward I

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    In the programme, which aired in the UK on BBC One, comedian Josh Widdicombe was having his family tree examined and he had an incredibly interesting one.

    If you haven’t watched it yet, and plan to, then don’t read on! Although you can tell from the title and the photo that the Boleyns are involved!

    Spoiler alert…

    Josh found out first that he was related to the Barings of Barings Bank, and then he was told that he was descended from Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland. Holland served as Groom of the Stool to King Charles I and unfortunately ended his life on the scaffold due to being a Royalist in the Second English Civil War.

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  • Edward VI resources

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    To mark the birth of King Edward VI on this day in history, 12th October 1537, I thought I’d share these resources with you…

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  • 10 October – The burial of Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I catches smallpox

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    2 Comments

    On this day in Tudor history, 10th October 1588, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was buried in the Beauchamp Chapel of the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, according to his instructions.

    His funeral was well-attended and his widow, Lettice, a woman known by Elizabeth I as “the she-wolf”, erected a monument to “her best and dearest husband” in the chapel, which was also the resting place of the couple’s young son, Robert, “the noble impe”.

    Find out more about Leicester’s funeral and resting place, and see some photos of his tomb…

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  • 8 October – Henry VIII puts pressure on his daughter and the birth of Lady Margaret Douglas

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 8th October 1536, while the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion was getting underway in Lincolnshire and spreading to Yorkshire, Henry VIII wasn’t only issuing orders regarding the rebels, he was also issuing orders regarding his eldest daughter.

    Henry and Mary had recently reconciled after Mary had finally submitted to him and recognised his supremacy and her illegitimate status. It was something that cost Mary dearly, but it did mend her relationship with her father and allow her back at court.

    But then Henry VIII put more pressure on his daughter by forcing her to write to the pope and to Mary of Hungary, the emperor’s sister.

    What did Mary have to write? What did the king want of his daughter? And why had Mary submitted to her father?

    Find out all about this…

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  • 29 September – A papal legate arrives and Robert Dudley receives an earldom

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 29th September 1528, the papal legate, Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio, landed at Dover on the Kent coast.

    Campeggio and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who had been appointed the pope’s vice-regent, were given the task of hearing Henry VIII’s case for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

    Find out more about what happened when next, what happened at the special legatine court, and how Henry ended up waiting for his annulment for a few more years…

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  • October 2021 – Tudor Noblewomen

    3 years ago Author: ADMIN Tim
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    This month’s bumper-sized Tudor Life magazine is packed with articles about some of the interesting Tudor noblewomen.

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  • 22 September – Amy Robsart and Anne of Cleves

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 22nd September 1560, Amy Dudley (née Robsart), wife of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was buried in the chancel of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford.

    Amy had been found dead at the foot of the stairs of her home and the subsequent inquest had ruled her death as caused by “misfortune”. She was buried in a lavish ceremony which cost her widower over £2,000.

    Find out more about her burial, and who attended…

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  • 20 September – The Babington Plot and the birth of Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 20th September 1586, Anthony Babington, John Ballard, John Savage, Chidiock Tichborne and three other conspirators were executed near St Giles-in-the-Fields in London.

    They suffered full traitors’ deaths, being hanged, drawn and quartered, after being found guilty of treason for plotting to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I in the famous Babington Plot, which sought to replace Elizabeth with Mary, Queen of Scots.

    Find out more about Anthony Babington, the Babington Plot, the men involved, how it was discovered, and how it led to Mary, Queen of Scots’ execution…

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  • Expert answer – What does “round machine” refer to in this quote?

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    2 Comments

    Thank you to Tudor Society member Stephanie for asking this question about something written by Estienne Perlin with regards to Mary, Queen of Scot, France and Scotland. Stephanie asks:

    “In the following quote do you know what the ’round machine” refers to:

    “How happy oughtest thou to esteem thyself, O kingdom of Scotland, to be favoured, fed and maintained like an infant, on the breast of the host magnanimous King of France, the greatest lord in the whole world, and the future monarch of the round machine, for without him thou wouldn’st have been laid in ashes, they country wasted and ruined by the English, utterly accursed by God.”

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  • 14 September – A Constable of the Tower and a destroyed shrine

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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  • 12 September – A bridegroom dies suddenly and the trial of Archbishop Cranmer

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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  • 7 September – Charles Brandon marries his young ward, and Elizabeth I is born

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 7th September 1533, just over two months after the death of his previous wife, Mary Tudor. Queen of France, forty-nine-year-old Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, married his ward, fourteen-year-old Catherine Willoughby.

    Find out more about this Tudor couple, how they came to be married, what their marriage was like, and what happened to them…

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  • 6 September – Martin Luther and Timothy Bright

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 6th September 1520, the famous reformer Martin Luther sent his pamphlet “On the Freedom of a Christian” (also known as “A Treatise on Christian Liberty”) to Pope Leo X. In the pamphlet, he emphasised the “two-fold nature” of Christians as saints and sinners, flesh and spirit.

    Luther is, of course, seen as the catalyst of the European Reformation, and in this video, I explain why, what he believed, how he ended up being excommunicated and made an outlaw, and what happened to him.

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  • 5 September – The deaths of Bloody Bonner and Catherine Parr

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 5th September 1569, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Edmund Bonner, Bishop of London and a man nicknamed “Bloody Bonner”, died in Marshalsea Prison. He had started his career in Henry VIII’s reign and was not just a churchman, he was also a diplomat.

    In this video, I flesh out this Tudor bishop who got his nickname from being in charge of burning reformers in London. Find out about his life, career and how he ended up dying in prison…

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  • 29 August – St John the Baptist and Geoffrey Pole

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Today, 29th August, is the Feast of the beheading of St John the Baptist. Lovely!

    In this video, I share the story behind this Tudor holy day, a story which is often depicted in illuminations in manuscripts and psalters.

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  • September 2021 – Star Crossed Lovers

    3 years ago Author: ADMIN Tim
    2 Comments

    Tragic Tudor romances are always fascinating to learn about, and we’ve dedicated this months magazine to this topic. Romeo and Juliet always come to mind when you mention star crossed lovers but there are so many more real-life couples to learn about.

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  • 23 August – A siege and a courtier goes all out to impress

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 23rd August 1548, Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury, arrived at the Siege of Haddington, in East Lothian, Scotland, with a large army. This siege was part of the Anglo-Scottish war known as the War of the Rough Wooing between England and Scotland., regarding Henry VIII’s desire to marry his son, Edward, off to Mary, Queen of Scots.

    What happened at this siege and to Haddington after it?

    Find out…

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  • Battle of Bosworth Quiz

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth. The battle took place on 22nd August 1485 and was between the forces of King Richard III and Henry Tudor. Henry’s forces defeated those of Richard, and Henry became King Henry VII.

    Test your knowledge of the battle with this fun quiz and scroll down for more resources on the battle.

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  • Hans Holbein’s Portrait of Queen Catherine Howard? by Roland Hui

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    6 Comments

    A big thank you to our resident art historian, Roland Hui, for this excellent article on a Tudor miniature by Hans Holbein the Younger which is causing controversy at the moment.

    Over to Roland…

    In an essay on the portraiture of Henry VIII’s six wives, art historian Brett Dolman offered the depressing, but sobering, opinion that pictures of one of them, Catherine Howard, may not even exist:

    “Catherine left no documentary proof that her portrait was ever painted during her lifetime, and perhaps, we are searching for the impossible.”…

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  • 15 August – The Oaten Hill Martyrs and a lady-in-waiting who was attacked by Elizabeth I

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On his day in Tudor history, 15th August 1588, Catholics Robert Wilcox, Edward Campion, Christopher Buxton and Robert Widmerpool were examined while imprisoned in the Marshalsea prison in Southwark, London.

    These men ended up being executed, three of them for being Catholic priests and one for giving aid to priests. All four died with courage and in 1929 were beatified.

    Find out more about these men and how they came to be executed in this video…

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