This week in history 12 – 18 January

12 January

1510 - Henry VIII jousted for the first time as king at a private joust at Richmond Park. His good friend William Compton was seriously hurt but survived.
1519 – Death of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, in Wels, Upper Austria. He was buried in the Castle Chapel at Wiener Neustadt, but visitors to the Hofkirche Court Church in Innsbruck can see a cenotaph tomb for Maximilian there because the church was built in memory of Maximilian by his grandson, Ferdinand I.
1539 - Francis I of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, signed the Peace of Toledo, agreeing to make no other alliances without the consent of the other.
1547 - Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London, tried to save himself from execution by signing a confession.
1559 – Elizabeth I travelled to the Tower of London to prepare for her coronation, which was scheduled for the 15th January.
1560 – Death of John White, Bishop of Winchester, in South Warnborough. He was buried in Winchester Cathedral. White was a Catholic, was imprisoned in the Tower of London and deprived of his bishopric after the accession of Elizabeth I.
1573 – Death of William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham, soldier and naval commander, at Hampton Court. He was buried at Reigate Church. Howard was the fourth son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and his second wife, Agnes Tilney.
1577 – Death of Thomas Fisher (also known as Hawkins), landowner and MP. The first record of Fisher shows him serving John Dudley, who was then Viscount Lisle, but by 1544 he was working for Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford. In Mary I's reign, he served as a Justice of the Peace and member of Parliament. He was buried in St Mary's Church, Warwick, in a tomb with his first wife, Winifred.
1587 – Death of Matthew Godwin, Organist and Choirmaster at the Cathedral Churches of Canterbury, then Exeter.

13 January

1547 - Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, poet and soldier, was sentenced to death. He was tried in front of a common inquest at Guildhall, and despite pleading 'not guilty' and defending himself vigorously, he was found guilty.
1563 – Birth of Mark Alexander Boyd, poet and humanist scholar, in Ayrshire, Scotland. His works included the collections Epistolae quindecim and Epistolae heroides et hymni, and his famous Scots sonnet “Fra banc to banc”.
1584- Death of Thomas Wentworth, 2nd Baron Wentworth and de jure 7th Baron Le Despenser, soldier and administrator, at Stepney. Wentworth served Mary I as Lord Deputy of Calais, and was the one in charge when Calais fell to the French in January 1558.
1592 – Death of Sir Henry Brooke, courtier and diplomat, at Sutton-at-Hone. Although he was not Baron Cobham himself - that title belonged to his father then brother - he used Cobham as his surname. He served Elizabeth I as an ambassador in Spain, the Low Countries and France, and was the resident ambassador in France from October 1579 to September 1583.
1593 – Death of Sir Henry Neville, Groom of Henry VIII's Privy Chamber. He was buried at Waltham St Lawrence in Berkshire.
1599 – Death of Edmund Spenser, poet and administrator in Ireland. He died in Westminster and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Spenser is best known for his allegorical poem “The Faerie Queene”, which was dedicated to Elizabeth I.
1602 – Death of Sir John Forster, soldier and Warden of the Middle Marches, at Spindlestone, Northumberland. He was buried at Bamburgh parish church.
1612 – Death of Jane Suárez de Figueroa (née Dormer), Duchess of Feria. She was buried in the monastery of Santa Clara at Zafra, Spain.
1613 – Death of Edward Gresham, astrologer, astronomer, mathematician, magician and writer of the treatise “Astrostereon”. He died in London and was buried at All Saints-the-Less.
1628 – Death of Sir Anthony Ashley, Baronet, translator and politician, at Holborn House. He was buried at Wimborne St Giles in Dorset. Ashley published an English edition of Lucas Waghenaer's nautical charts, which he adapted and added to with accounts of Sir Francis Drake's 1587 raid on Cadiz and, of course, the 1588 Spanish Armada. It was published as “The Mariners Mirrour”.

14 January

1478 – Birth of Henry Algernon Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland. He was the eldest son of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, and Maud Herbert, daughter of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke.
1515 – Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, was sent to France to bring back Henry VIII's sister, Mary Tudor, Queen of France. The couple later married in secret before returning to England.
1526 – Francis I and Charles V signed the Treaty of Madrid. Francis I had been captured at the Battle of Pavia, and was held until this treaty was concluded. By the terms of the treaty, Francis renounced his claims to lands in Italy, Flanders, Artois and Tournai. Once he was released and back in France, Francis refused to ratify the treaty.
1559 - Elizabeth I's eve of coronation procession from the Tower of London to Westminster.
1589 – Francis Kett, physician, was burned for heresy near Norwich Castle. He had claimed that “Christ is not God, but a good man as others be”. Kett was dragged to the stake “clothed in sackecloth” and went to his death “leaping and dauncing” and “clapping his hands”.

15 January

1522 – Death of Richard Fitzjames, Bishop of London, in London. He was buried in the nave of St Paul's.
1522 – Death of Sir John Heron, Treasurer of the Chamber to Henry VII and General Receiver to Henry VIII. He was buried at the Whitefriars, London.
1522 – Death of Richard Fitzjames, Bishop of London, in London. He was buried in the nave of St Paul's.
1535 – Henry VIII declared himself head of the Church in England.
1555 – Death of Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland and wife of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. Jane died in Chelsea, London, and was buried there. She outlived her husband, who was executed in 1553 after Mary seized the throne from his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey.
1559 - Coronation of Elizabeth I at Westminster Abbey.
1569 – Death of Katherine Knollys (née Carey), wife of Sir Francis Knollys and daughter of Sir William Carey and Mary Boleyn. Queen Elizabeth I was grief-stricken at the death of her cousin and friend, and gave her a lavish funeral at Westminster Abbey. Some believe Katherine to have been the illegitimate daughter of Henry VIII.

16 January

1486 – The Bishop of Imola, the papal legate, authorised the marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, which was due to take place on 18th January.
1501 – Birth of Sir Anthony Denny, courtier and close friend of Henry VIII, at Cheshunt. He was the second son of Sir Edmund Denny and his wife, Mary.
1549 - Thomas Seymour was alleged to have broken into Edward VI's apartments at Hampton Court Palace to kidnap the young King.
1558 – Death of Thomas Alsop, Chief Apothecary to Henry VIII and Serjeant of the Royal 'Confectionary' to Edward VI. He was buried in St Mary Woolchurch.
1572 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, was tried and found guilty of treason at Westminster Hall.
1585 – Death of Edward Fiennes Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, military commander, in London. He was buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Clinton served Elizabeth I as a privy councillor and Lord Admiral until his death.
1606 – Death of Matthew Hutton, Archbishop of York, at Bishopthorpe. He was buried at York Minster.

17 January

1504 – Birth of Pope Pius V, at Bosco in the Duchy of Milan, Italy. He was born Antonio Ghislieri.
1517 – Birth of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk and father of Lady Jane Grey, at Bradgate, Leicestershire. He was the son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquis of Dorset, and Margaret Wotton. Suffolk was executed at the Tower of London on 23rd February 1554 for his part in Wyatt's Rebellion.
1541 – Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, courtier, diplomat and poet, was arrested and sent to the Tower of London after being accused of corresponding with Cardinal Pole, and referring to the prospect of Henry VIII's death.
1562 – Edict of Saint-Germain, or Edict of January. This edict, issued by the regent of France, Catherine de' Medici, aimed at ending the persecution of the Huguenots by allowing them freedom of belief and private worship.
1569 - Agnes Bowker of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, allegedly gave birth to a cat. According to the midwife, Elizabeth Harrison, Agnes had told her of how “the likeness of a bear, sometimes like a dog, sometimes like a man” had carnal knowledge of her in its various guises.
1587 – Death of Bartholomew Newsam, famous clockmaker and sundial maker. He was buried in the church of St Mary-le-Strand. Examples of his work can still be seen in the British Museum.

18 January

1486 - The twenty-nine year-old Henry VII married the twenty year-old Elizabeth of York.
1510 - the King and twelve of his men disguised themselves as outlaws, or Robin Hood and his men, and surprised Queen Catherine and her ladies in the Queen’s chamber. After “certain daunces, and pastime made”, the King and his men departed.
1543 – Baptism of Alfonso Ferrabosco, composer and court musician at the court of Elizabeth I, at the Cathedral of San Petronio, Bologna, Italy.
1616 – Burial of John Bettes the Younger, portrait painter, at St Gregory by St Paul's.