ABOVE: Portrait miniature of Mary by Lucas Horenbout, c.1525 In 1525, when Princess Mary was 9 years old, she was sent to preside over the …
CHAPUYS ON ANNE BOLEYN’S GUILT
ABOVE: Portrait of Eustace Chapuys by an unknown artist, 17th century With the rarest of exceptions, everyone, academics and enthusiasts alike, can look back at …
PORTRAIT JEWELLERY DETAIL OF QUEEN CATHERINE PARR
Catherine Parr was a true Renaissance queen. The Renaissance was literally a time of the rebirth of Classical knowledge and learning, and humanists venerated the …
HENRY VIII’S GENERAL PARDON – THOSE EXCLUDED
ABOVE: Portrait of Henry VIII by Meynnart Wewyck, c.1509, the year of his ascension Royal pardons were common in the Middle Ages and Early Modern …
THE WORLDLY GOODS AND POSSESSIONS OF A TUDOR MURDERESS
ABOVE: Farleigh Castle, where John Cotell was murdered by his wife, Agnes After the death of her second husband, courtier Lord Hungerford, the circumstances of …
“THE QUEEN’S RECKONING”
In the days following the execution of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s clerks compiled a reckoning of the late queen’s expenses in the 5 months before …
HENRY VIII AND KATHERINE OF ARAGON’S ANULLMENT
It is a familiar story – man leaves his devoted wife of many years for a younger woman. It is easy to look at Henry …
HOW TO MAKE A GOOD MARCHPAINE
The festive season at the Tudor Court meant many feasts, featuring many delicious foods, and especially sweets, such as the Elizabethan favourite, marchpane. Marchpane was …
JOHN FOXE’S CONCEPT OF HISTORY AND TIME
In 2019, I wrote a university thesis about concepts of history, change, and time in the 15th and 16th centuries. Part of this thesis included …
KING LOUIS I OF ENGLAND
ABOVE: Arrival of Louis in England, from the ‘Chronica Majora’ of Matthew Paris, c.1236–59 When it comes to regnal lists and the royal family tree, …