On this day in history, 29th October, Henry VIII bid farewell to his “loving brother”, his French counterpart, Francis I (1532); and courtier, explorer, author and soldier Sir Walter Ralegh was executed (1618)…
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#OTD in Tudor history – 29 October
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August 30 – The Treaty of the More between Henry VIII and Louise of Savoy
On this day in Tudor history, 30th August 1525, in the reign of King Henry VIII, the Treaty of the More was agreed between England and Louise of Savoy, who was acting as regent for her son, King Francis I of France, while he was imprisoned by imperial forces.
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June 7 – A queen’s physician is hanged, and a historic meeting
On this day in Tudor history, 7th June 1594, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the queen’s physician, Roderigo Lopez, was hanged, drawn and quartered after being accused of plotting to poison the queen.
Find out more about Lopez and what happened…
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29 October – Henry VIII’s farewell to Francis I of France and the execution of Sir Walter Ralegh
On this day in Tudor history, 29th October 1532, King Henry VIII bid farewell to his “loving brother”, his French counterpart, King Francis I.
The two kings had enjoyed each other’s company at Calais and Boulogne, and Henry VIII was pleased with their meetings. In fact, things had gone so well that Henry VIII decided to marry Anne Boleyn!
Find out more about their farewell, and what had happened during the trip, in this talk…
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28 October – Ivan the Terrible writes a rude letter to Elizabeth I and the Feast of St Simon and St Jude
On this day in Tudor history, 28th October 1570, Ivan IV of Russia, known commonly as Ivan the Terrible, wrote a rather rude letter to Queen Elizabeth I.
Ivan was upset with Elizabeth’s reaction to his idea of a political alliance, an agreement to help each other if their lives were in danger, and wrote the letter while he was still angry. They were words that must have made Elizabeth see red for a while, but she managed to write a calm reply to him.
Find out exactly what Ivan the Terrible and Elizabeth I wrote to each other, and how they came to be corresponding in the first place, in this talk…
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25 October – Twin saints and Francis I’s gift to Anne Boleyn
Today, 25th October, is a feast day which was celebrated in medieval and Tudor times – the feast of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, martyrs of the Early Church and the patron saints of cobblers.
Find out more about these saints, how their feast day became linked to an important English victory over the French, how it was marked, and why these saints are linked to Faversham in Kent, in this talk…
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30 August – The Treaty of the More
On this day in Tudor history, 30th August 1525, the Treaty of the More was agreed between King Henry VIII of England and Louise of Savoy, who was acting as regent for her son, King Francis I of France, while he was imprisoned by imperial forces.
Why was Francis in prison? What were the terms of the Treaty of the More? How did this treaty affect Henry VIII’s daughter, Mary? And what happened next.
Find out all about the Treaty of the More and its consequences in today’s talk.
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20 July – Queen Claude of France
On this day in history, 20th July 1524, Queen Claude of France, consort of Francis I, died at the age of just twenty-four at the Royal Chateau of Blois. She was temporarily laid to rest there and then later moved to the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis just outside Paris.
Brantôme declared that Claude’s husband, Francis I, gave her “the pox, which shortened her days”, meaning syphilis, but the cause of her death is not known for certain.
In today’s talk, I give an overview of Queen Claude’s life, as well as sharing the theories regarding her death.
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Henry VIII and Francis I True or False Quiz
As Friday was the anniversary of the beginning of the Field of Cloth of Gold, that historic meeting between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. I thought I’d test your knowledge of these two Renaissance kings.
It’s a true or false quiz, so not too hard! I do hope you enjoy it.
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The Château de Blois
I’ve finally managed to go through my photos of the Château de Blois so here is a Claire Chats video on the Château de Blois, along with galleries of my photos. I hope you enjoy browsing through them.
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King Francis I of France
The subject of today’s Claire Chats video talk is King Francis I of France, “le Roi-Chevalier” (the Knight King) and “Père des Lettres” (Father of Letters), Henry VIII’s contemporary.
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Was Anne Boleyn a mistress of Francis I?
Thank you to Tudor Society member Lynne for asking this question: “When Anne Boleyn was a teenager in the court of Francis I, did she have a bit of a romance going on with the king?”
I (Claire Ridgway) will answer this one as I have done in-depth research into Anne Boleyn’s life, including her time in France.
Anne Boleyn left England in the spring or summer of 1512 to serve at the court of Margaret of Austria in Mechelen. In August 1514, Anne’s father, Thomas Boleyn, wrote to Margaret to inform her that Anne had been appointed to serve Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII. Mary was travelling to France to marry King Louis XII of France and Anne had been chosen as one of her maids of honour. It is not known when Anne arrived in France, whether it was in time for Mary’s marriage on 9th October or whether it wasn’t until her coronation in the November, but Anne served Mary from that time until Mary returned to England in the spring of 1515. Anne was retained by the new queen consort of France, Queen Claude, wife of Francis I, and served her until late 1521 when Anne was recalled to England in late 1521.
So, Anne spent seven years in France, serving at the royal court, but was she linked to Francis I romantically during that time?
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7 June 1520 – The Field of Cloth of Gold meeting begins
On this day in history, 7th June 1520, the famous Field of Cloth of Gold meeting began.
The meeting was between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France and its aim was to solidify the Treaty of London. It took place between the English stronghold of Guînes and the French town of Ardres, on a piece of land referred to as the Field of Cloth of Gold, and ran from 7th June 1520 until 24th June 1520
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Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall, Who’s the Most Renaissance of Them All? Part II: Francis I of France
This is Part II of a four-part series, which seeks to look at what were considered the attributes of a Renaissance prince, and who of our four princes embodied the ideals of the Renaissance best. What were some of those themes? The idea of a Renaissance man stood for a person who strove to embrace knowledge and develop himself. This included concepts such as the arts, knowledge, physical achievements, and social ideals. More plainly and for a prince, this could include cultivating a court known for patronizing artists, musicians, and the like; establishing educational institutions, a good degree of physical fortitude, and things such as chivalric love or engaging in acts of charity.
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Her Brother’s Keeper: Marguerite of Navarre Rescues Francis I from the Emperor by Heather R. Darsie
On 24 February 1525, the Battle of Pavia was fought as part of the Italian Wars that began in 1521 and ended in 1526. The French troops, led by King Francis I, fought against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V’s Imperial army, which was reinforced by Spanish troops. The battle lasted around four hours, with the French taking heavy casualties. Francis himself was taken captive and eventually forced to sign the Treaty of Madrid. It also decisively removed the French threat to Hapsburg Italy.
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7 June 1520 – The Field of the Cloth of Gold meeting begins
This day in history, 7th June 1520, was the first day of the historic meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I of France. It took place between the English stronghold of Guînes and the French town of Ardres, on a piece of land referred to as the Field of Cloth of Gold.
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The Royal Château of Amboise
Louis XI chose Amboise as the royal residence of his consort, Charlotte of Savoy, and their son,the dauphin (future Charles VIII), was born at the château in 1470. It soon became a favourite royal residence and was one of the homes of The French court from Louis XI to Francis I.
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The Château du Clos Lucé
The Château du Clos Lucé is situated just 400m from the Château d’Amboise. It was built on Gallo-Roman remains in 1471 after the land was given as the Manoir du Cloux by King Louis XI to Etienne le Loup, a former kitchen boy who had become a favourite of the king.
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The Field of Cloth of Gold by Sarah Bryson
The Field of Cloth of Gold was a spectacular meeting between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. The meeting lasted from the 7th June to 24th June 1520 and was one of the most impressive, lavish meetings to ever be held between the two Kings. The meeting was held between the English stronghold of Guînes and the French town of Ardres, on a piece of land which was referred to as the Field of Cloth of Gold.
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The Basilica of Saint-Denis Video
In this week’s Claire Chats I talk about my visit to the necropolis at the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris.
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