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25 April – Thomas Stafford, Protector of the Realm
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24 April – Mary, Queen of Scots gets married
On this day in Tudor history, 24th April 1558, fifteen-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, got married for the first time. The groom was fourteen-year-old Francis, the Dauphin of France.
Find out more about the bride and groom, their wedding and what happened to them in today’s video.
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23 April – William Shakespeare’s Birth and Death
Not only is today the anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare in 1564, but it is also the anniversary of his death in 1616!
In today’s “on this day in Tudor history” video, I share some facts about the Bard, along with a few phrases from his works that have become part of common parlance.
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22 April – Gaol Fever Hits!
On this day in Tudor history, 22 April 1598, Justice Francis Beaumont died after contracting gaol fever at the Black Assizes of the Northern Circuit.
But what exactly was gaol fever?
Let me explain…
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Happy Easter!
Tim and I would just like to take this opportunity to say a very Happy Easter to all Tudor Society members. We hope you have a wonderful day, whatever you are up to today.Find out more about how Easter Sunday was celebrated in Tudor times, and also enjoy some photos I took at a re-enactment of the Easter story, in my article Easter Sunday.
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21 April – The king is dead! Long live the king!
On this day in Tudor history, 21st April 1509, King Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty on the English throne, died at Richmond Palace.
Henry VII was succeeded by his seventeen-year-old son who, apparently, did “not desire gold or gems or precious metals, but virtue, glory, immortality”! Yes, this was Henry VIII.
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April Tudor Events Crossword
Happy Easter!
As our last week’s puzzle was an Easter-themed one, I thought that, today, I’d test your knowledge on April “on this day in Tudor history” events. My daily posts and videos will definitely help you with this. Good luck!
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20 April – The end of the Nun of Kent
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A Good Friday (Viernes Santo) Procession
Tim and I got up extra early this morning to go to the town at the bottom of our mountain to take part in the dawn Good Friday (Viernes Santo) procession.
This annual procession starts at the town church and makes its way up to “Calvario” (Calvary), the hill behind the town on which there is a big wooden cross. We process with a big statue of Jesus carrying his cross and also a replica of Jesus actually on the cross. As we make our way up the hill, we pause at each of the 12 stations of the cross for a reading and prayers. When we reach the cross, the replica of Jesus on the cross is hoisted up onto it. Later in the day, there is another service and procession when Jesus is taken down off the cross.
It is a beautiful and very moving procession, and I’m so glad that we got up for it.
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Good Friday – It is finished
Good Friday is, of course, the day in the Christian calendar that commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary, where he took on the sins of the world to restore man’s relationship with God.I did a talk last year on the medieval and Tudor traditions associated with Good Friday – click here to view that now – and today I want to simply focus on Christ’s crucifixion, the event that was at the root of all of these traditions.Following Christ’s condemnation for claiming to be King of the Jews, he was taken to Calvary and crucified. I’d like to share St John’s account of Christ’s crucifixion from William Tyndale’s 1534 New Testament:
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April 19 – Sir Francis Drake singes the King of Spain’s beard
On this day in Tudor history, 19th April 1587, Sir Francis Drake “singed the King of Spain’s beard”, as he called it, by attacking the Spanish fleet in the harbour of Cadiz.
Drake’s actions on that day and the following few days meant that King Philip had to postpone his plans for the Spanish Armada to attack England – phew!
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Resources for Historical Novelists, Re-enactors and Time Travellers!
In my Claire Chats video today, I thought I’d share with you some of the resources that I’ve found useful in giving me an insight into Tudor life and the Tudor mindset, and I know these would be useful to novelists, re-enactors and anyone just wanting to try and understand Tudor people and how they lived.
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Maundy Thursday and the Last Supper
Today is Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday and the day that commemorates the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ had with his disciples before his arrest – the origin of the Eucharist – and Jesus’ act of washing the feet of his disciples.
It was a special day in medieval and Tudor times…
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April 18 – The death of John Foxe
On this day in Tudor history, 18th April 1587, the famous martyrologist John Foxe died at the age of around seventy.
In today’s video, I talk about this famous Tudor man and just how useful his work on Protestant martyrs is.
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17 April – What happens when a jury doesn’t do what the Crown wants?
What happens when a jury doesn’t find an alleged traitor guilty and, instead, acquits him? Well, the jurors get arrested and thrown into prison, of course!
I explain exactly what happened on this day in Tudor history, 17th April 1554, in the case of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton. I also give details on how the jurors finally got released and what happened to Throckmorton. Don’t you just love Tudor justice?!
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16 April – Guy Fawkes was baptised
On this day in Tudor history, 16th April 1570, Gunpowder Plot conspirator Guy Fawkes was baptised in York.
In today’s video, I talk about how the Gunpowder Plot has its origins in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and why these men were driven to try and blow up Westminster.
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15 April – The beginning of the end for Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex
You’d think that the appointment of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland might be something to be pleased about, but Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, who was sworn in as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland on this day in 1599, was not at all happy. He didn’t want to be in Ireland!
The earl’s time in Ireland was to be his undoing, as the arrogant earl decided to ignore the queen’s orders and do his own thing. Oh dear! Find out what happened in today’s video.
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A Palm Sunday Procession
On Friday, I talked about Palm Sunday in my Claire Chats video and I promised that I would share with you photos of the Palm Sunday processions here. Well, I’ve gone one better, and actually recorded some video of the Palm Sunday procession in our nearest town, Tíjola, this morning. I do hope you enjoy it.
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14 April – The death of the insane Earl of Bothwell, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots
On this day in Tudor history, 14th April 1578, Mary, Queen of Scots’ third husband, James Hepburn, Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell, died at Dragsholm Castle in Denmark. He’d been held at the castle in appalling conditions and it was said that he’d gone insane.
Find out more about the life of this earl who’d risen to be the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, but who’d died in prison, far away from home, in today’s “on this day in Tudor history” video.
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Holy Week Wordsearch
As we’re starting Holy Week today, I thought it was fitting to celebrate with a bit of Easter fun – a Holy Week Wordsearch. It’s not very hard, so shouldn’t take you long. Have fun!
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13 April – Sir Thomas More gets into trouble
On this day in Tudor history, 13th April 1534, Sir Thomas More got into a spot of bother, or rather a lot of bother, when he refused to swear his allegiance to the Act of Succession. This act of defiance, or rather of his conscience, would, of course, lead to More’s execution in 1535.
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Live chat reminders – 13 (tomorrow!) and 28 April
Just a reminder about tomorrow’s informal live chat on the merry subject of death and burial in Tudor times! Sorry about the topic! Still, it will be interesting to talk about the rituals associated with death and to share resources and book recommendations. Please do come, if you are able to.
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12 April – Queen Anne Boleyn makes an entrance with her sixty ladies
On this day in Tudor history, 12th April 1533, Anne Boleyn made her very first public appearance as King Henry VIII’s official queen consort.
Anne made quite an entrance! Accompanied by sixty ladies and “loaded with jewels”, she processed to Easter Eve mass at Greenwich Palace, setting tongues wagging.
Hear an account of this event in today’s video.
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Palm Sunday traditions
In this week’s Claire Chats, I talk about how Palm Sunday was commemorated in the medieval and Tudor periods, and how it is celebrated today where I live. I would love to hear how your community, church, or family mark this day, if they do.
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11 April – The end of rebel Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger
On this day in Tudor history, 11th April 1554, in the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary I, Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger, son of poet and diplomat Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, was beheaded on Tower Hill after being found guilty of high treason.
Wyatt had led a rebellion which sought to depose the queen and to replace her with her half-sister Elizabeth, but he refused to implicate Elizabeth in the plot. He went to his death asserting her innocence.
Find out more about what happened and hear his final speech in today’s video.
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10 April – The birth of King James V of Scotland
On this day in Tudor history, 10th April 1512, Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, eldest daughter of the late King Henry VII, and sister of King Henry VIII, gave birth to a boy who would become King James V of Scotland.
Find out more about James V, his life and reign, and his relationship with his uncle, King Henry VIII, in today’s video
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9 April – From Queen to Dowager Princess
On this day in Tudor history, 9th April 1533, Catherine of Aragon, who’d been banished from the royal court, received a visit from a delegation of the king’s councillors. They were there to inform her that she was no longer queen.
Catherine was a tough cookie, though. Even when she was threatened by the king, she did not submit, she carried on calling herself queen right until the end – good for her!
Find out all about this visit, and their subsequent visit in July 1533, in today’s video.
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8 April – A cat in priest’s clothing
In today’s video, I talk about an act of rebellion in 1554, an act of defiance by someone opposed to Queen Mary I’s religious changes.
It was on this day in Tudor history, 8th April 1554, that a cat dressed as a Catholic priest and holding a piece of paper to represent the communion wafer, was hanged at the gallows in Cheapside.
Find out more about what happened, the meaning behind it, and Queen Mary I’s reaction to it, in my video.
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7 April – Elizabeth Boleyn, mother of Queen Anne Boleyn, is laid to rest
On this day in Tudor history, 7th April 1538, Elizabeth Boleyn, (née Howard), Countess of Wiltshire and Ormond, was laid to rest at St Mary’s Church, Lambeth.
In today’s video, I give details on Elizabeth’s burial and her resting place, which is now a Garden Museum, and her ledger stone. You can also see my photos of the former church.
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Horrible Deaths Crossword
The topic of this week’s Sunday fun is not very nice I’m afraid – sorry! It’s a crossword puzzle on horrible deaths and executions that happened in the Tudor period.
Open and print out the crossword puzzle by clicking on the link below, or the image below, grab your favourite snack and drink, make yourself comfortable, and let’s get that brain working!
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