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The Tudor Society

  • October 4 – Sir John Cheke recants

    1 hour ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Engraving of Sir John Cheke by Joseph Nutting from the Life of Sir John Cheke by John Strype.

    On this day in Tudor history, 4th October 1556, following five months of imprisonment, humanist, former royal tutor and former secretary of state Sir John Cheke made a public recantation of his Protestant faith in front of Queen Mary I and the royal court.

    Cheke, who had tutored King Edward VI and served Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey) as secretary of state, had been imprisoned in late July 1553 following Mary I’s accession for his part in putting Lady Jane Grey on the throne, but released in spring 1554. Mary I granted him a licence to go into exile abroad, which he did, travelling to Strasbourg, Basel, Padua and then back to Strasbourg.

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  • October 3 – Sir William Fitzwilliam

    1 day ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    A photo of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, resting place of William Fitzwilliam

    On this day in Tudor history, 3rd October 1559, Sir William Fitzwilliam, gentleman of King Edward VI’s privy chamber, died.

    Fitzwilliam was a member of Parliament, a favourite of both the Duke of Somerset and Duke of Northumberland, and served Mary I as deputy chancellor in Ireland.

    Here are a few facts about Sir William Fitzwilliam…

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  • October 2 – The birth of King Richard III

    1 day ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in history, 2nd October 1452, King Richard III, the last Plantagenet king, was born at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire.

    Richard was the youngest surviving child of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville.

    Richard claimed the English throne in June 1483, claiming that his brother Edward IV’s sons were illegitimate because Edward had been pre-contracted to another woman, Eleanor Butler, when he married Elizabeth Woodville.

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  • October 1 – Dorothy Stafford, Lady Stafford

    2 days ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Dorothy Stafford's coat of arms

    On this day in Tudor history, 1st October 1526, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Dorothy Stafford, Lady Stafford, was born.

    Dorothy was the daughter of Henry Stafford, 10th Baron Stafford, and his wife, Ursula (née Pole, and she was married to Sir William Stafford, widower of Mary Boleyn. Dorothy served Queen Elizabeth I as a gentlewoman of the privy chamber and was one of her favourite sleeping companions.

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  • September 30 – Margaret Tudor flees to England

    4 days ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 30th September 1515, Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII and former queen consort of King James IV of Scotland, fled from Scotland to England.

    Margaret was pregnant with the child of her new husband, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, at the time.

    Her remarriage had cost her the regency for her son, King James V, who had been born in 1512 and had become king on his father’s death in September 1513. John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Albany, took over as regent and had custody of the young king and his brother, Alexander. Margaret hoped that her brother, Henry VIII, would help restore her to the regency.

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  • September 29 – Mary I creates 15 Knights of the Bath

    5 days ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Portrait of Mary I with an illumination of the ceremony of the Knights of the Bath

    On this day in Tudor history, 29th September 1553, Michaelmas, the new queen, Mary I, created fifteen Knights of the Bath as part of her coronation celebrations.

    Traditionally, knights were dubbed while naked in their baths, so Henry Fitzalan, 19th Earl of Arundel, represented Mary I at the ceremony.

    You can find out who these fifteen men were, and more about the ceremony itself in an article

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  • September 28 – Robert Willoughby, 1st Baron Willoughby de Broke

    6 days ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 28th September 1502, in the reign of King Henry VII, Robert Willoughby, 1st Baron Willoughby de Broke, died at Callington, Cornwall. He was buried at Callington Church.

    Willoughby had been in exile in Brittany with Henry Tudor and fought with him at the Battle of Bosworth. He served Henry VII as Lord Steward and was made a Knight of the Garter in 1489.

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  • September 27 – William Hobbes, King Richard III’s physician

    6 days ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    A silhouette of a man's side profile

    On this day in Tudor history, 27th September 1488, in the reign of King Henry VII, physician and surgeon William Hobbes died. He was buried in Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate, London.

    Hobbes served Richard, Duke of York, and Edward IV, and was royal physician to King Richard III. He became Master of St Mary of Bethlehem Hospital (Bedlam) in 1479.

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  • September 26 – Poet and translator Thomas Watson

    1 week ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    The Hekatompathia‎, or, Passionate Century of Love, by Thomas Watson

    On this day in Tudor history, 26th September 1592, poet and translator Thomas Watson was buried at St Bartholomew-the-Less, in London.

    Watson is known for his unusual eighteen-line sonnets and his Latin works.

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  • September 25 – Mary, Queen of Scots is moved to Fotheringhay

    1 week ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    A miniature of Mary, Queen of Scots in captivity by Nicholas Hilliard

    On this day in Tudor history, 25th September 1586, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, was moved to Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire, and Elizabeth finally backed down and agreed to the appointing of 36 commissioners to act as judges in her trial. Mary would never leave the castle.

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  • September 24 – Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp

    1 week ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 24th September 1561, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp, was born at the Tower of London. He was baptised two days later.

    Beauchamp was the eldest son of Katherine Grey (sister of Lady Jane Grey) and Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, and he was born in the Tower because his parents had been imprisoned for marrying in late 1560 without the queen’s permission.

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  • September 23 – English privateers fight in Mexico

    1 week ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 23rd September 1568, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the Battle of San Juan de Ulúa took place near present day Veracruz in Mexico.

    The battle was fought between Spanish forces and English privateers led by John Hawkins. The Spanish forces were victorious.

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  • September 22 – Architect James Nedeham

    1 week ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Traitors' Gate, Tower of London

    On this day in Tudor history, 22nd September 1544, in the reign of King Henry VIII, architect, carpenter and surveyor James Nedeham died while accompanying the king to Boulogne. He was buried in Boulogne at the church of Our Lady, and a monument was erected to him at the church in Little Wymondley, Hertfordshire.

    Nedeham worked for Cardinal Wolsey on York Place, and then for the king on Hampton Court Palace, the Jewel House at the Tower of London and St Augustine’s in Canterbury.

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  • September 21 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

    1 week ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    A portrait of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

    On this day in Tudor history, 21st September 1558, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Mary’s cousin and father-in-law, Charles V, former Holy Roman Emperor, died from malaria at the monastery of Yuste in the Extremadura region of Spain.

    Charles had previously been suffering from debilitating attacks of gout which had necessitated him being carried around in a chair.

    He was buried at the monastery church, but later moved to the Royal Pantheon of El Escorial, the Royal Palace at San Lorenzo de El Escorial near Madrid.

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  • September 20 – Sir William Paston (c. 1479-1554)

    2 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    A silhouette of a man's side profile

    On this day in Tudor history, 20th September 1554, in the reign of Queen Mary I, courtier and landowner Sir William Paston died at Paston in Norfolk. He was buried there.

    Paston served Henry VIII as a sheriff and commissioner, and served on the jury trying the Earl of Surrey even though Surrey’s father, the Duke of Norfolk, was his former patron.

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  • September 19 – The death of Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk

    2 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    A sketch of Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk, by Hans Holbein the Younger

    On this day in Tudor history, 19th September 1580, Katherine Bertie (née Willoughby) died after a long illness. She was buried in Spilsby church, Lincolnshire.

    Katherine was known for her Protestant faith and her patronage of Protestant scholars and clergymen, and also for her marriage to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.

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  • Monday Martyrs – Protestants Robert Glover and Cornelius Bungey

    2 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    The Coventry Martyrs' Monument

    This week’s #MondayMartyrs are Protestants, Robert Glover and Cornelius Bungey (Bongey). They were two of twelve martyrs burnt at the stake in Coventry between 1511 and 1555.

    Glover and Bungey were burnt at the stake for heresy in September 1555 in the reign of Queen Mary I. They were executed at a site in Little Park Street, Coventry.

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  • September 18 – Henry Brandon, 2nd Duke of Suffolk

    2 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    A miniature of Henry Brandon, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, by Hans Holbein the Younger.

    On this day in Tudor history, 18th September 1535, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Henry Brandon, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, was born.

    Henry would not have a long life, dying at the age of fifteen from sweating sickness.

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  • September 17 – Heinrich Bullinger

    2 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    A portrait of Heinrich Bullinger by Hans Asper

    On this day in Tudor history, 17th September 1575, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Swiss reformer and theologian Heinrich (Henry) Bullinger died in Zurich.

    Bullinger succeeded Huldrych Zwingli as pastor at Grossmünster and head of the church in Zurich. His main work was “The Decades”, a theological work, but his sermons were also translated and published, and he wrote historical works.

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  • September 16 – Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex

    2 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    A portrait of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, by an unknown artist, NPG.

    On this day in Tudor history, 16th September 1539, in the reign of King Henry VIII, nobleman, soldier and adventurer Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, was born at Chartley in Staffordshire.

    Devereux was the eldest son of Sir Richard Devereux and Dorothy Hastings, and the father of Elizabeth I’s favourite Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex.

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  • September 15 – Thomas Wolsey becomes Archbishop of York

    2 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    A portrait of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey by an unknown artist, Trinity College, University of Cambridge.

    On this day in Tudor history, 15th September 1514, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Thomas Wolsey was appointed Archbishop of York. He had already been appointed Bishop of Lincoln in February of that year.

    The previous Archbishop of York, Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge, had died in Rome on 14th July 1514 and Wolsey had been elected to the vacant office a few weeks later.

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  • September 14 – A second proxy marriage for Princess Mary Tudor

    2 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Mary Tudor, Queen of France, detail from a portrait of her and her second husband, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.

    On this day in Tudor history, 14th September 1514, in the reign of King Henry VIII, King Louis XII of France and Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII, married by proxy in Paris.

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  • September 13 – The Death of Philip II of Spain

    3 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Portrait of Philip II of Spain by Sofonisba Anguissola

    On this day in Tudor history, 13th September 1598, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, Philip II of Spain died at El Escorial, near Madrid.
    He was buried there the next day.

    It is thought that the seventy-one-year-old king died of cancer, and he had been ill for fifty-two days.

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  • September 12 – Marten Micron (Martin Micronius)

    3 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    The title page of Marten Micron's De kleyne cathechismus oft kinderleere

    On this day in Tudor history, 12th September 1559, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Marten Micron (Martin Micronius), Dutch theologian and Protestant minister in the London stranger, died from the plague at Norden in Lower Saxony, Germany.

    Here are some facts about Marten Micron:

    Micron was born in Ghent in 1523.
    It is thought that he converted from Catholicism to Protestantism before he left his homeland in 1546.

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  • Monday Martyrs – Five Canterbury Martyrs

    3 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    he burning of George Catmer, Robert Streater, Anthony Burward and George Broadbridge at Canterbury

    This week’s #MondayMartyrs are Protestants George Catmer and Robert Streater of Hythe, in Kent; Anthony Burward of “Calete” (Calais?); George Brodbridge (Broadbridge, Bradbridge) of Bromfield, in Kent, and James Tutty of Brenchley, in Kent.

    All five men were burnt at the stake as heretics in Canterbury in September 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I.

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  • September 11 – Sir Thomas Kitson the Elder

    3 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Hengrave Hall, which was built by Sir Thomas Kitson. Photo by Bob Jones.

    On this day in Tudor history, 11th September 1540, Sir Thomas Kitson (Kytson), merchant, Sheriff of London and builder of Hengrave Hall in Suffolk, died at Hengrave. He was buried in the church there.

    Here are some facts about Sir Thomas Kitson…

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  • September 10 – Protestant Martyr Joyce Lewis

    3 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    An illustration of the sumner being forced to eat the citation against Joyce Lewis, from Foxe's Book of Martyrs

    On this day in Tudor history, 10th September 1557, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Joyce Lewis (Lewes), was burnt at the stake at Lichfield. She was executed for her Protestant beliefs.

    Martyrologist John Foxe wrote of how Joyce showed such “cheerfulness” as she was tied to the stake that most of those present “did lament, and even with tears bewail the tyranny of the papists”.

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  • September 9 – Sir Humphrey Gilbert

    3 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Portrait of Sir Humphrey Gilbert from Compton Castle with engraving of the sinking of the Squirrel

    On this day in Tudor history, 9th September 1583, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, explorer, soldier and Member of Parliament Sir Humphrey Gilbert died on board the Squirrel after a storm off the Azores.

    As the Squirrel sank, the crew of the Golden Hind heard Gilbert shout, “We are as near to heaven, by sea as by land”.

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  • September 8 – George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon

    3 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    A miniature of George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon, by Nicholas Hilliard

    On this day in history, 8th September 1603, in the reign of King James I and just a few months after the death of Elizabeth I, courtier George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon, died.

    Carey was the son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hundson, and grandson of Mary Carey (née Boleyn).

    He served Elizabeth I as Marshal of the Household, Justice of the Peace, Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Captain of the Isle of Wight, member of Parliament, Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners, Lord Chamberlain and Privy Councillor.

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  • September 7 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, is arrested

    3 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, by an unknown artist

    On this day in Tudor history, 7th September 1571, Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, was arrested for his part in the Ridolfi Plot.

    This plot aimed to assassinate the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I and replace her with Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots.

    Norfolk confessed to corresponding with Mary’s supporters and was taken to the Tower of London. He was executed on 2nd June 1572 after being found guilty of high treason.

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