Marriage during the Tudor period was very different to how it is today. First and foremost marriage was considered to be between a man and a woman, and there was no room for anything else. There was also no need for a marriage certificate or legal process as there is today. Instead the Church’s law dictated that all that made a legal marriage was the consent of two people.
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On the 10th August 1512, the Battle of Saint-Mathieu, a battle in the War of the League of Cambrai, took place between the English and Franco-Breton fleets off the coast of Brest. England at this time were allied with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire against France.
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On the 9th August 1588, Elizabeth I appeared before the troops that had gathered at Tilbury Fort in anticipation of a Spanish attack.
In her article “The Myth of Elizabeth at Tilbury”, Susan Frye, writes that there are no reliable eye-witness accounts regarding Elizabeth I’s appearance on that day, but that tradition places the Queen in armour, giving a rousing speech – an iconic Gloriana.
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How much do you know about the queen consorts of the Plantagent and Tudor kings?
Test your knowledge with this fun quiz!
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Louis XI chose Amboise as the royal residence of his consort, Charlotte of Savoy, and their son,the dauphin (future Charles VIII), was born at the château in 1470. It soon became a favourite royal residence and was one of the homes of The French court from Louis XI to Francis I.
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The Battle of Clyst Heath was another battle fought between the rebels of the Prayer Book Rebellion and Edward VI’s forces.
Upon hearing of the news of the massacre the previous day, two thousand rebels made their way to Clyst Heath where the Lords Russell and Grey were camped, and opened fire. The battle lasted all day, but the rebels were defeated in the end. The 18th century historian, John Hooker, wrote of the battle:
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The Battle of Clyst St Mary, which was a battle fought during the Prayer Book Rebellion, took place on 5th August 1549 at the village of Clyst St Mary, 3 miles east of Exeter in Devon.
The Devonian and Cornish rebels were defeated by Lord Russell’s troops, and around 900 prisoners were massacred later that day on Clyst Heath.
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Today is the anniversary of the death of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, at his home in London in 1598. Here is a bio of this extraordinary Tudor man:
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The Battle of Woodbury Common, part of the Prayer Book Rebellion, took place on 4th August 1549 on Woodbury Common, near the village of Woodbury in East Devon. The battle took place at 4am and happened when the rebels, who had been defending Clyst St Mary, marched to Woodbury Mill where Lord Russell and his troops had camped for the night. The rebels were defeated.
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As an extra “Expert Chat” for August, we have a short presentation by author Livi Michael, author of “Succession” who talks about Margaret Beaufort and much more. Livi is very kind to have shared this exclusive presentation with us – thank you Livi!
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It has been happening to women since the dawn of time and yet during the Tudor age it was rarely spoken about. The monthly curse, flowering, coming of age, a period, a woman’s menstruation goes by many names yet how did women during the Tudor age handle their cycles without the modern day use of sanitary napkins or in some cases pain killers? (And lots of chocolate!)
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On 2nd August 1595, as part of the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585-1604, four galleys containing somewhere between 200 and 400 Spanish soldiers landed at Mount’s Bay on the coast of western Cornwall. The fleet was commanded by Captain Carlos de Amésquita and it had left Port Louis, Brittany, France, on 26th July to raid the south-west of England.
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Sir Edward Kelley (Kelly), apothecary, alchemist and medium, was born on 1st August 1555 in Worcester. In March 1582, Kelley called on astrologer and mathematician Dr John Dee at his home at Mortlake in Surrey. Kelley impressed Dee with his abilities as a medium, after Dee had been unsuccessful in making contact with angels. He worked closely with Dee for seven years, travelling around Europe and taking part in seances and allegedly communicating with angels in a special angelic language.
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The Château du Clos Lucé is situated just 400m from the Château d’Amboise. It was built on Gallo-Roman remains in 1471 after the land was given as the Manoir du Cloux by King Louis XI to Etienne le Loup, a former kitchen boy who had become a favourite of the king.
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On 31st July 1548, the fourteen year-old Elizabeth, future Elizabeth I, wrote to her stepmother Catherine Parr, the Dowager Queen. The letter was written just before the pregnant Catherine took to her chamber, and just weeks before Catherine died of puerperal (childbed) fever. Elizabeth wrote:
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On this day in history, Catholics Thomas Abell, Edward Powell and Richard Fetherston were hanged, drawn and quartered at Smithfield for refusing to acknowledge the royal supremacy. Also, at Smithfield that day, religious reformers Robert Barnes, William Jerome and Thomas Garrard were burned at the stake for heresy. Reformers and Catholics being executed on the same day – I wonder what the common people made of that!
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In my last article, Unravelling Mary Boleyn, I wrote about Catherine and Henry Carey, the children of Mary Boleyn. There have always been questions surrounding the paternity of Mary Boleyn’s children as around the time that both children were conceived Mary Boleyn was not only a married woman but she was also the mistress of Henry VIII.
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Test your knowledge on the people and families of the Wars of the Roses in this fun quiz.
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On 25th July 1554, the feast day of St James, Mary I married Philip of Spain, son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. The wedding took place at Winchester Cathedral and the ceremony was performed by Stephen Gardener, Bishop of Winchester and Mary’s chancellor.
In the appendix of The Chronicle of Queen Jane and of Two Years of Queen Mary, and especially of the Rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyatt, written by a Resident in the Tower of London, edited by John Gough Nichols, there is an official account of the preparations for the wedding and the wedding itself by the English Heralds:
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In this week’s Claire Chats I talk about outdoor games and pursuits enjoyed by Tudor people, including stool ball, quoits and Last Couple in Hell.
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On 24th July 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots, who was imprisoned at Lochleven Castle and who had recently suffered a miscarriage, was forced to abdicate. The Scottish crown was passed on to her one year-old son, James, who became James VI of Scotland, with his uncle, Mary’s illegitimate half brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, acting as regent.
Claude Nau de la Boisseliere, Mary’s private secretary, recorded this event in his memoirs, which were translated from French into English as The History of Mary Stewart: From the Murder of Riccio Until Her Flight Into England:
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I’ve had an email from the Cambridge University Institute of Continuing Education about an online course they’re running in 2016 on Elizabeth I. It looks really good so I just had to share the details.
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Here’s the August 2015 magazine with all our regular items and contributors plus lots of fascinating articles. This month we have a “Coronation Special” section with articles from a number of eminent historians….
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We tend to think of her as the woman who comes from nowhere, she’s not. In many ways she’s the most interesting, the most exciting, the best educated, and the cleverest of Henry’s wives. -David Starkey
Katherine Parr has been remembered through history as King Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife. The fortunate wife that survived. She has been labelled as merely Henry’s nurse, tending to the sickly king’s infirmities. Essentially, she is believed to be little more than Henry’s companion in his final years, with no great achievements of her own. She is often viewed as a wife of lesser importance, in contrast to the hugely popular Anne Boleyn whose legacy has been carried through centuries of intrigue and fame. This article intends to demystify the myths associated with Katherine Parr’s turbulent life, thus to reveal a more realistic view of a women who was well read, deeply religious and ultimately important during her time.
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