On the 9th September 1513, while Henry VIII was away, busy campaigning against the French, James IV and his Scottish troops crossed the border and challenged the English force, which was headed by Thomas Howard, the Earl of Surrey, at Flodden in Northumberland.
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On 8th September 1560, Amy Dudley (née Robsart), wife of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, died at her rented home, Cumnor Place in Oxfordshire.
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Today is the 482nd anniversary of Elizabeth I’s birth on 7th September 1533, so Happy Birthday Elizabeth!
Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, and she was born at the Palace of Placentia, or Greenwich Palace.
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Catherine Parr was a fascinating lady, but how much do you know about this queen consort of Henry VIII?
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Catherine was born in 1512, most likely in London or Buckinghamshire. Her parents were Sir Thomas Parr, a favourite of King Henry VIII during his early reign, and Maud Parr, who served as a lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII’s first wife Katherine of Aragon. It is believed that Catherine was named after the Queen. Catherine had a younger brother named William, born in 1513 and a younger sister named Anne born in 1515.
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In today’s Claire Chats, on the anniversary of Robert Dudley’s death on 4th September 1588, I talk about his death, the very last letter he wrote to Elizabeth I and her reaction to news of his death.
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Today is the anniversary of the death of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. He died on 4th September 1588 at his lodge at Cornbury, near Woodstock in Oxfordshire.
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Back by popular demand, historian and author Gareth Russell is our September speaker. Gareth is the author of A History of the English Monarchy,An Illustrated Introduction to the Tudors and The Emperors: How Europe’s Greatest Rulers Were Destroyed by World War I, and he is currently working on a biography of Catherine Howard, Henry VIII’s fifth wife. He is a wonderful speaker and we’ve enjoyed hosting him here before.
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“The Martyrdom of Robert Samuel, Preacher, suffering for the true defence of Christ’s Gospel” is the title of the chapter of martyrologist John Foxe’s account of the imprisonment and death of Robert Samuel, former minister of East Bergholt Church in Suffolk, who was burned at the stake on 31st August 1555. Samuel was one of the Ipswich Martyrs, one of nine people who were executed between 1515 and 1558 for their Lollard or Protestant beliefs.
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For those who were not able to get to our live chat with Susan Higginbotham – you really missed a special chat – here is the transcript where we discuss John Dudley.
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Today we’re broadening our focus to the kings and queens of Great Britain. Test your knowledge with this fun quiz.
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As part of Gareth Russell’s book tour for “A History of the English Monarchy: From Boadicea to Elizabeth I”, I’m delighted to welcome Gareth to the Tudor Society today, which is his home from home anyway! I hope you enjoy his article and please see the bottom of this post for details on how to enter the giveaway for a copy of his wonderful book. Over to Gareth…
Elizabeth I’s decline began in her moment of apotheosis. The defeat of the Spanish Armada coincided with the death of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. In the middle of the victory celebrations, the Queen received the news that her childhood friend-turned-adult-love had passed away and she was heartbroken. It has long been surmised that Elizabeth would have married Leicester had he not already been married and his first wife, Amy Dudley (née Robsart), had not then been found dead in circumstances that looked suspiciously like murder or suicide. However, during a bout of serious illness when she thought she was about to die, Elizabeth made a point of denying that she had ever taken Leicester into her bed, no matter how much she loved him. Despite mountains of speculation then and since, there is in fact no firm evidence at all to suggest that Elizabeth I was not a virgin as she claimed. The risk of pregnancy, the loss of her reputation, death in childbed or yielding her authority to a man made celibacy by far her safest choice. We will never know, of course, what happened every day and night of her life, but it is worth pointing out that it should not be taken as axiomatic, as it too often is, that Elizabeth Tudor lied about her life-long virginity.
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In today’s Claire Chats, I share with you some information on Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare was baptised and buried, along with photos Tim took on our recent visit.
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The following letter was written by Princess Mary, the future Mary I, to her brother Edward VI on 19th August 1551. Henry Ellis, editor of “Original Letters, Illustrative of English History…” explains:
“The following Letter from the Princess Mary to her brother, is preserved upon the Books of the Privy Council. It is probably the best specimen which we have in our power to give of her talent at writing: and, with the singular Paper which follows it by way of comment, will show her to have been a woman of more intellect than the world has usually supposed. Queen Catherine Parr took great pains in the education both of Mary and Elizabeth.
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Lights, Camera, Action… September is “movie month” for the Tudor Life magazine. We’ve gone crazy with everything film related – but of course it is all in relation to the real history of the times!
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Childbirth is openly discussed in today’s society. Images of pregnant women appear in magazines and women giving birth can be seen on television and in movies. Yet during the medieval period, childbirth was deemed a private affair. Giving birth in the middle ages was a dangerous time for women and childbirth did not discriminate. Young mothers, older mothers, poor or rich mothers, all could die not only in childbirth but also due to complications afterwards. Sadly, more than one in three women died during their child-bearing years.
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On 27th August 1549, the Battle of Dussindale took place, ending Kett’s Rebellion in Norfolk.
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Historian Gareth Russell is the editor of our monthly Tudor Life magazine and he’s been working hard on scheduling expert articles and also expert talks for the next few months. We are thrilled to bits that so many historians and authors want to be involved in the Tudor Society by offering their knowledge and expertise to our members – a big thank you to them and to all our members too for your continued support.
Contributors to Tudor Life magazine in the coming months include:
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Just a reminder that Susan Higginbotham’s live chat is taking place on the Tudor Society chatroom this Friday (28th August) at 9pm US Eastern time.
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Just to let you know that author and Tudor Life magazine editor Gareth Russell has embarked on a week long book/blog tour for his non-fiction history book A History of the English Monarchy: From Boadicea to Elizabeth I. He will be stopping here at the Tudor Society on 30th August but do catch him at his other stops too to enter the giveaways for a copy of his book.
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Marguerite d’Anjou, more commonly known as Margaret of Anjou and wife to Henry VI of England, was born to René, Duke of Anjou, and Isabella, daughter of the Duke of Lorraine, in Pont-à-Mousson, France on 23 March 1429. Pont-à-Mousson lies in modern north-eastern France, close to the countries of Luxembourg and Lichtenstein. The Moselle river flows through Pont-à-Mousson and the skyline boasts the impressive Norbertine abbey, which was built in 1121. Young Marguerite spent her early years in the castle of Capua in Naples, Italy, where her father was titular king, and in the castle of Tarascon on the Rhône River. Marguerite was tutored by her well-educated mother and may have received some lessons from Antoine de la Salle, who tutored Marguerite’s brothers.
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On this day in 1572, the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre took place. An estimated 3,000 French Protestants (Huguenots) were massacred in Paris, and a further estimated 7,000 in the provinces. According to tradition, Catherine de’ Medici persuaded her son, King Charles IX of France, to order the assassination of key Huguenot leaders who had gathered in Paris for the wedding of their leader, Henry of Navarre, to Margaret of Valois, the King’s sister.
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Primary source accounts of the 1572 St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
Eye witness account, written by historian Jacques Auguste de Thou:
So it was determined to exterminate all the Protestants and the plan was approved by the queen. They discussed for some time whether they should make an exception of the king of Navarre and the prince of Condé. All agreed that the king of Navarre should be spared by reason of the royal dignity and the new alliance. The duke of Guise, who was put in full command of the enterprise, summoned by night several captains of the Catholic Swiss mercenaries from the five little cantons, and some commanders of French companies, and told them that it was the will of the king that, according to God’s will, they should take vengeance on the band of rebels while they had the beasts in the toils. Victory was easy and the booty great and to be obtained without danger. The signal to commence the massacre should be given by the bell of the palace, and the marks by which they should recognize each other in the darkness were a bit of white linen tied around the left arm and a white cross on the hat.
Philippa Langley, who, of course, spear-headed the Looking for Richard project, has announced that she is going to investigate the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower by teaming up with cold case experts.
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As yesterday was the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth, why not test your knowledge of this historic battle.
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On 23rd August 1548, Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury, arrived at the Siege of Haddington, in East Lothian, Scotland, with a large army.
The siege was actually part of a series of sieges at Haddington, which were all part of the Anglo-Scottish war known as the War of the Rough Wooing, so named because it was had been started in 1543 by Henry VIII in a bid to secure a marriage agreement between England and Scotland, between Prince Edward and Mary, Queen of Scots.
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Here is the transcript from the live chat with Livi Michael. We had an amazing discussion about many things to do with Livi’s talk, and thank you so much to all those who attended – it was great fun!
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