The Tudor Society

YOUR SEARCH UNCOVERED 274 RESULTS

  • October 9 – The Pilgrimage of Grace rebels send their grievances to Henry VIII

    The Pilgrimage of Grace banner showing the Holy Wounds of Christ

    On this day in Tudor history, 9th October 1536, in the reign of King Henry VIII, the rebels of Horncastle, Lincoln, dispatched their petition of grievances to the king and also north into Yorkshire.

    These were the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion, an uprising in the north of England which was sparked off initially by trouble in Lincolnshire. This trouble, in turn, was caused by discontent over the dissolution of Louth Abbey, the government commissions in the area and rumours that these commissions would confiscate jewels and plate from churches and impose new taxes.

    [Read More...]
  • The Pilgrimage of Grace Rebellion Word Search

    The Pilgrimage of Grace Rebellion broke out in October 1536, in the reign of Henry VIII, but how much do you know about it? Test yourself with this fun word search.

    Hint: Check out our video talks and resources on the rebellion for help….

    [Read More...]
  • 19 October – The Catholic Monarchs and the Pilgrimage of Grace

    On this day in history, 19th October 1469, an event took place in Spain that was not only important in Spanish history, but which had an impact on Europe and which has links with the Tudors.

    The event was the marriage of an eighteen-year-old woman called Isabella and a seventeen-year-old man called Ferdinand.

    They’d become the famous Reyes Catolicos, the Catholic monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, and would bring together two powerful kingdoms, which comprised most of what is modern-day Spain.

    In this talk, I tell you more about this powerful couple, their reigns and their legacy.

    [Read More...]
  • Quiz – The Pilgrimage of Grace Rebellion

    As it’s October, the month which saw the start of the Pilgrimage of Grace Rebellion in 1536, I thought I’d test you on your knowledge of this Henrician rebellion. So, grab your favourite snack and beverage, and let’s get those little grey cells working. Hint: You can find links to resources on the rebellion below the quiz.

    [Read More...]
  • 4 October – The Pilgrimage of Grace Rebellion is underway!

    On this day in Tudor history, Wednesday 4th October 1536, trouble erupted in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. This was part of what we know as the Lincolnshire Rising which, in turn, was part of the famous Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion.

    In today’s talk, I share exactly what happened in Horncastle, which included two murders, what the rebellion was all about, and how King Henry VIII responded to the rebel’s grievances. I read King Henry VIII’s own words to the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace.

    [Read More...]
  • The 1536 Pilgrimage of Grace Rebellion

    The Pilgrimage of Grace banner bearing the Holy Wounds of Jesus Christ

    On this day in history, Wednesday 4th October 1536, there was trouble in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. This was part of what we know as the Lincolnshire Rising which, in turn, was part of the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion.

    [Read More...]
  • 3 December 1536 – A king’s pardon for the Pilgrimage of Grace rebels

  • The Pilgrimage of Grace by Sarah Bryson

    The Pilgrimage of Grace initially formed as a series of revolts which originated in Lincolnshire. The people were unhappy with the dissolution of their Abbey in Louth, upset with many of the government commissions in the area which were being conducted to look at the resources that the smaller monasteries had as well as the conduct of the clergy. There was also widespread rumour that the government would confiscate the jewels, plate and wealth of the monasteries and also impose new taxes upon the people.

    [Read More...]
  • The Pilgrimage of Grace – A Timeline

    The Pilgrimage of Grace banner bearing the Holy Wounds of Jesus Christ

    A timeline of the main events of the Pilgrimage of Grace Rebellion in 1536.

    [Read More...]
  • #OTD in Tudor history – 26 October

    Sir Thomas More by Holbein

    On this day in Tudor history, 26th October, Sir Thomas More was sworn in as Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor, replacing the fallen Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1529); and the Pilgrimage of Grace rebels, who outnumbered the Crown’s forces, chose to negotiate rather than fight (1536)…

    [Read More...]
  • #OTD in Tudor history – 21 October

    Portraits of Henry VIII and Francis I

    On this day in Tudor history, 21st October, Henry VIII left Anne Boleyn behind in Calais to spend a few days in Boulogne with Francis I (1532); and during the Pilgrimage of Grace, Lancaster Herald encountered a group of armed peasants near Pontefract Castle…

    [Read More...]
  • #OTD in Tudor history – 20 October

    A painting of Pontefract Castle and the Pilgrimage of Grace banner

    On this day in Tudor history, 20th October, Lord Darcy yielded Pontefract Castle to the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace, but all was not how it seemed (1536), and courtier Mary Arundell, a countess twice over, died at Bath Place in London (1557)…

    [Read More...]
  • #OTD in Tudor history – 19 October

    Portraits of Henry VIII and Charles Brandon with the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion banner

    On this day in history, two people who’d soon become the famous Catholic monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, got married in Valladolid; and Henry VIII gave brutal instructions on how the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace and their supporters should be handled…

    [Read More...]
  • #OTD in Tudor history – 4 October

    Pilgrimage of Grace banner

    On this day in Tudor history, rebel leader Sir Francis Bigod was born; and the Lincolnshire Rising, the beginnings of the Pilgrimage of Grace, continued as trouble erupted in Horncastle…

    [Read More...]
  • #OTD in Tudor history – 14 June

    Portrait of a young Mary I, portrait of Sir Anthony Browne, and a photo of Sir Francis Bryan in Wolf Hall

    On this day in Tudor history, 14th June, Sir Anthony Browne and Sir Francis Brya, were interrogated regarding their alleged support of Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon; Catherine’s former confessor, William Peto, was made a cardinal; and Sir Christopher Danby, who’d been implicated in the Pilgrimage of Grace and had survived being a Catholic in Elizabeth I’s reign, died…

    [Read More...]
  • #OTD in Tudor history – 2 June

    portraits of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, and Jane Seymour

    On this day in Tudor history, 2nd June, Henry VIII’s third wife, Jane Seymour, made her first appearance as queen; rebels including Sir Francis Bigod were executed in the aftermath of the Pilgrimage of Grace; and Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, was executed…

    [Read More...]
  • #OTD in Tudor history – 7 April

    A still of Robert Aske from The Tudors series, a portrait of Charles VIII of France and a still of Elizabeth Boleyn from The other Boleyn Girl

    On this day in Tudor history, 7th April, Charles VIII of France died after hitting his head on a lintel; Robert Aske and Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy, were sent to the Tower of London for their parts in the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion; and Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire, was buried…

    [Read More...]
  • #OTD in Tudor history – 12 March

    Thomas Boleyn's brass memorial and a photo of Thomas Boleyn from The Tudors series

    On this day in Tudor history, a Cistercian monk was hanged for his involvement in the Pilgrimage of Grace; Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond, and father of Queen Anne Boleyn, died at Hever Castle; and Catholic priest and martyr Christopher Bales was baptised…

    [Read More...]
  • June 30 – Henry VIII and Catherine Howard set off on Progress

    Portraits of Henry VIII and his fifth wife Catherine Howard

    On this day in Tudor history, 30th June 1541, Henry VIII and his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, set off on their royal progress to the North.

    The main aims of the progress were to meet Henry’s nephew, King James V of Scotland, at York in September, and to show the king’s authority in the north, following the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion, and to humiliate his subjects with displays of submission from them.

    Here is my detailed video on this progress, which lasted from this day until the end of October, and was a huge undertaking with the whole royal court travelling from London as far north as York. It was on this progress that Catherine Howard had secret meetings with a member of her husband’s privy chamber, a certain Thomas Culpeper.

    [Read More...]
  • June 2 – The executions of Sir Francis Bigod, George Lumley and Sir Thomas Percy

    An engraving of the Tyburn Tree, the gallows at Tyburn

    On this day in Tudor history, 2nd June 1537, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Sir Francis Bigod, George Lumley and Sir Thomas Percy were executed at Tyburn for their part in Bigod’s Rebellion which followed the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion.

    You can find out more about Bigod and his rebellion in the video below, but interestingly he was a reformer and so initially opposed the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion. However, he realised he had common ground with the rebels: his opposition to Henry VIII’s involvement in religious matters.

    [Read More...]
  • March 27 – George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury

    On 27th March 1539, George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, was laid to rest in the Shrewsbury Chapel of St Peter’s Church, Sheffield.

    Talbot is known for his loyalty to the king during the Pilgrimage of Grace uprisings, which was seen as crucial to the failure of the rebellion.

    But let me tell you a bit more about this Tudor earl…

    [Read More...]
  • October 21 – Armed peasants accost a herald

    On this day in Tudor history, 21st October 1536, during the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion in the reign of King Henry VIII, a herald was accosted by some armed peasants.

    Lancaster Herald was on his way to Pontefract Castle when he met the peasants. When he got to the castle, he met with Robert Aske, leader of the rebels.

    The meeting didn’t go well for the herald. Aske would not allow him to complete his mission.

    What was going on? Who was Lancaster Herald? What was his mission?

    [Read More...]
  • October 4 – Sir Francis Bigod, a Tudor rebel

    On this day in Tudor history, 4th October 1507, Tudor rebel Sir Francis Bigod, was born at Seaton, in Hinderwell, Yorkshire.

    Bigod is known for an uprising he led in Yorkshire in January 1537 after the Pilgrimage of Grace Rebellion had been brought to an end.

    Bigod was an evangelical reformer rather than a Catholic, so why would he be involved with the Pilgrimage of Grace? Why did he rebel and what happened to him…

    [Read More...]
  • May 15 – Two barons tried for treason, the trials of Queen Anne Boleyn and Lord Rochford, and a third marriage for Mary, Queen of Scots

    On this day in Tudor history, 15th May 1537, Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy, and his cousin, John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford, were tried for treason at Westminster after being implicated in the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion.

    Both men may have been sympathetic to the rebel cause, but there was no actual evidence that they conspired against the king. Poor men!

    Find out more about them and how they ended up being branded rebels, and what happened next…

    [Read More...]
  • April 15 – A royal champion, blows and evil words from Elizabeth I, and an unhappy Earl of Essex

    On this day in 1545, Sir Robert Dymoke, champion at the coronations of Henry VII and Henry VIII, and a man who served in the households of Queens Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, died.

    He had an interesting career and survived being suspected of involvement in the 1536 Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion.

    Find out more about Sir Robert Dymoke…

    [Read More...]
  • April 7 – Robert Aske and Elizabeth Boleyn

    On this day in Tudor history, 7th April 1537, Robert Aske and Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy, were sent to the Tower of London.

    Both Aske and Darcy had been involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion of 1536, with Aske being “chief captain” of the rebels.

    Even though Henry VIII pardoned the rebels after negotiations in 1536, Darcy and Aske were arrested, imprisoned and executed as traitors.

    Find out more about what happened and more about Robert Aske, the rebel leader…

    [Read More...]
  • March 12 – The hidden remains of a treacherous monk and The death of Thomas Boleyn, father of Anne Boleyn

    On this day in Tudor history, 12th March 1537, Cistercian monk William Haydock of Whalley Abbey, Lancashire, was hanged for treason at Whalley.

    Haydock’s abbey had been implicated in the 1536 Pilgrimage of Grace Rebellion, so Henry VIII wanted the abbey punished.

    Find out more about Whalley Abbey’s part in the rebellion, how Haydock and several other monks were punished, and what exactly happened to William Haydock’s remains, in this talk…

    [Read More...]
  • 26 October – Rain stops rebels going to battleand and Sir Thomas More is sworn in as Lord Chancellor

    On this day in Tudor history, 26th October 1536, the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace halted at Scawsby Leys near Doncaster, where they met crown troops. The rebels were said to number around 30,000 and the crown’s army was only a fifth of the size, but the rebel leader, lawyer Robert Aske, chose to negotiate rather than fight.

    Why, when they could well have won?

    Well, one Tudor chronicler puts it down to rain. You can find out more about this meeting, how rain put a stop to the rebels’ plans, and what happened next between the Pilgrimage of Grace rebels and Henry VIII, in this video…

    [Read More...]
  • 21 October – Lancaster Herald’s encounter with rebels and Henry VIII’s time at the French court

    On this day in Tudor history, 21st October 1536, during the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion, Lancaster Herald had an encounter with armed peasants on his way to Pontefract Castle and then met with the rebel leader, Robert Aske, at the castle.

    The meeting didn’t go well, with Aske putting his foot down and not allowing the herald to complete his mission.

    What was going on? Who was Lancaster Herald? What was his mission?

    [Read More...]
  • 8 October – Henry VIII puts pressure on his daughter and the birth of Lady Margaret Douglas

    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…

    [Read More...]