The Tudor Society

  • 10 Novemer – An explorer drowns saving ambassador and the death of Sir Henry Wyatt

    2 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 10th November 1556, English explorer and navigator, Richard Chancellor, was killed. Chancellor is known as being the first foreigner to enter the White Sea and to establish relations with Russia and Tsar Ivan IV, or Ivan the Terrible.

    Chancellor was sadly drowned after saving the Russian ambassador, Osip Napeya, when their ship, The Edward Bonaventure, was wrecked just off the Aberdeenshire coast of Scotland.

    Find out about Richard Chancellor’s life, career and sad end 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

    2 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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  • 8 November – The death of William Blount and King Henry VIII praises one wife while trying to marry another

    2 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 8th November 1534, courtier, scholar and literary patron, William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy, died at Sutton on the Hill in Derbyshire.

    He’d had a wonderful court career, helping organise the young Henry VIII’s education, serving as Master of the Mint and chamberlain to Queen Catherine of Aragon, and he’d been close friends with the renowned humanist scholar, Erasmus.

    He’d wanted to be relieved of his position as chamberlain to the queen, though, after she’d been put aside and he’d had to break bad news to her.

    Find out all about Lord Mountjoy, his career and life, in this talk…

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  • 7 November – Henry VII attaints Richard III and his supporters, and Catherine Howard confesses

    2 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 7th November 1485, Henry VII’s first parliament attainted King Richard III and his supporters.

    As well as Richard, who was referred to as Richard, late Duke of Gloucester, and a usurper, the list of those attainted for their treason in fighting against the king at Bosworth included the late John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, and his son, the Earl of Surrey.

    Find out who else was included and whether Parliament’s actions were unusual, in this talk…

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  • The Men in Catherine Howard’s Life

    2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    In celebration of the publication of this month’s expert talk – Gareth Russell on the men in Catherine Howard’s story – I thought I’d test you on your knowledge of the men in her life and story.

    How much do you know about Catherine Howard and the men in her story?

    Test yourself now!

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  • 6 November – Catherine of Aragon met her betrothed for the first time and Catherine Howard was abandoned by Henry VIII

    2 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 6th November 1501, Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, met her betrothed, Arthur, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King Henry VII, at Dogmersfield in Hampshire.

    The couple were actually already married by proxy, but had never met, and Catherine had only just arrived in England.

    Find out more about the lead-up to Catherine of Aragon and Arthur Tudor’s meeting on 6th November 1501, including Catherine’s journey from Spain to England, how their meeting went and what happened next, in this talk…

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  • 5 November – The Gunpowder Plot

    2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Today is, of course, the anniversary of the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot on 5th November 1605.

    It may have been a plot to kill King James I, and so a Stuart plot, but it had its roots in Elizabeth I’s reign.

    You can find out more in the video and resources below:

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  • 5 November – The discovery of the Gunpowder Plot and Mary Tudor was crowned Queen of France

    2 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    Today is the anniversary of the discovery of Gunpowder Plot conspirator, Guy Fawkes, and 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar beneath the Palace of Westminster on the night of 4th/5th November 1605. The plotters were planning to blow up the Houses of Parliament on the opening of Parliament and assassinate the king, his government and leading bishops and nobles.

    But why and what has this event in James I’s reign got to do with Tudor history?

    Well, a lot, because the Gunpowder Plot had its roots in Elizabeth I’s reign.

    Find out more about the Gunpowder Plot, and those involved, in this talk…

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  • Tudor and Jacobean Jewellery – Lil’s Book Reviews

    2 years ago Author: ADMIN Tim
    3 Comments

    This week’s Friday video is a review of Tudor and Jacobean Jewellery by Diana Scarisbrick.

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  • 4 November – The imprisonment of a treasonous family and the arrest of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey

    2 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 4th November 1538, Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu, his brother-in-law, Sir Edward Neville; Henry Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter; Courtenay’s wife, Gertrude Blount, and the couple’s son, Edward Courtenay, were all arrested for treason and imprisoned in the Tower of London.

    Montagu, Neville and Exeter, along with Montagu’s brother, Geoffrey Pole, were accused of plotting with Cardinal Reginald Pole against the king. Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, was also arrested, accused of the same.

    But how had it come to this, when Henry VIII had sought Cardinal Pole’s opinion on his marriage and the papacy?

    Find out what Cardinal Pole had done to upset the king, and what happened to his family and friends as a result, in this talk…

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  • November Live Events

    2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    Just to let you know about the dates of our Tudor Society live events for November:

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  • 3 November – Henry VIII’s supremacy of the English church and the death of Sir John Perrot

    2 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 3rd November 1534, Parliament passed the First Act of Supremacy, establishing King Henry VIII’s supremacy of the English church and rejecting the authority of the pope.

    In today’s talk, historian Claire Ridgway shares what the act said and explains that it didn’t actually make him head of the church, just confirmed the fact, and goes on to share the oath that people had to take and what it meant if they refused.

    It was an important act in the break with Rome and the English Reformation.

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  • 2 November – The birth of King Edward V and the beginning of the end for Catherine Howard

    2 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in history, 2nd November 1470, the feast of All Souls, King Edward V was born at Westminster Abbey, London. Young Edward was King of England for just 2 months in 1483 before he disappeared.

    The events of his short life, his short reign and how it ended, are linked to the Tudors because Henry Tudor returned from exile to challenge King Richard III, who had, of course, taken the throne from Edward V.

    Find out about Edward V’s life and how he came to be one of the famous Princes in the Tower, in this talk…

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  • 1 November – The birth of William Brooke and the death of Edmund Tudor

    2 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 1st November 1527, the feast of All Saints, William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham, courtier and diplomat, was born.

    Cobham was a close friend of William Cecil, Baron Burghley and Elizabeth’s I’s chief advisor, so Cobham became powerful in Elizabeth's reign, serving her in a number of important offices. And, this baron was able to escape charges of treason twice thanks to the influence of his friends and patrons.

    Find out more about Cobham's life, career, and brushes with trouble, which included links with Wyatt's Rebellion and the Ridolfi Plot, in this talk...
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  • The Men in Catherine Howard’s Story – Gareth Russell – Expert Talk

    2 years ago Author: ADMIN Tim
    7 Comments

    Learn what is true, false and open for interpretation about the men in Queen Catherine Howard’s life and eventual downfall with Gareth Russell’s amazing expert talk on the Dukes, Deceivers and Disappointments in Catherine’s life.

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