The Tudor Society

  • Good Friday – It is finished

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    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:

    [Read More...]

  • April 19 – Sir Francis Drake singes the King of Spain’s beard

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet
    A miniature of Francis Drake by Nicholas Hilliard

    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!

    [Read More...]

  • Resources for Historical Novelists, Re-enactors and Time Travellers!

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    3 Comments

    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.

    [Read More...]

  • Maundy Thursday and the Last Supper

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    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…

    [Read More...]

  • April 18 – The death of John Foxe

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    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.

    [Read More...]

  • 17 April – What happens when a jury doesn’t do what the Crown wants?

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    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?!

    [Read More...]

  • 16 April – Guy Fawkes was baptised

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    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.

    [Read More...]

  • 15 April – The beginning of the end for Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    2 Comments

    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.

    [Read More...]

  • A Palm Sunday Procession

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet
    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.

    [Read More...]

  • 14 April – The death of the insane Earl of Bothwell, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    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.

    [Read More...]

  • Holy Week Wordsearch

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    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!

    [Read More...]

  • 13 April – Sir Thomas More gets into trouble

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    2 Comments

    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.

    [Read More...]

  • Live chat reminders – 13 (tomorrow!) and 28 April

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    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.

    [Read More...]

  • 12 April – Queen Anne Boleyn makes an entrance with her sixty ladies

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    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.

    [Read More...]

  • Palm Sunday traditions

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    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.

    [Read More...]

  • 11 April – The end of rebel Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    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.

    [Read More...]

  • 10 April – The birth of King James V of Scotland

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    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

    [Read More...]

  • 9 April – From Queen to Dowager Princess

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    2 Comments
    A portrait of Catherine of Aragon

    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.

    [Read More...]

  • 8 April – A cat in priest’s clothing

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    2 Comments

    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.

    [Read More...]

  • 7 April – Elizabeth Boleyn, mother of Queen Anne Boleyn, is laid to rest

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    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.

    [Read More...]

  • Horrible Deaths Crossword

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    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!

    [Read More...]

  • 6 April – Sir Francis Walsingham: The Queen’s spymaster

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment
    Sir Francis Walsingham

    Today is the anniversary of the death of Sir Francis Walsingham on 6th April 1590. Walsingham had an amazing career, serving Elizabeth I as a diplomat, secretary, adviser and spymaster.

    Find out more about the man Elizabeth I called her “Moor” in today’s video.

    [Read More...]

  • 5 April – A bishop’s cook gets into hot water

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    Sorry about the tongue-in-cheek title, but the cook of Bishop Fisher’s household really did get into hot water on this day in 1531 when he was boiled to death for high treason at Smithfield.

    He was found guilty of high treason by an act of Parliament, but why? What happened and why did King Henry VIII take a personal interest in this case?

    Find out all about Richard Roose and the case of poisoning in today’s video

    [Read More...]

  • The role of religion in daily life

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    3 Comments

    “The past is a foreign country”, so says the blurb for Ian Mortimer’s “Time Traveller’s Guide” series of books, and it’s so true. One of the things that people find it hard to understand, when looking at the lives of medieval and Tudor people, is the role of religion in their daily lives, just how central it was to everything.

    In this week’s Claire Chats talk, I go into this and attempt to give you a little more insight into the lives of these people.

    [Read More...]

  • William Strachey and Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

  • Easter at the Mary Rose Museum: 6-22 April 2019

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    3 Comments

  • 4 April – Mildred Cecil, Lady Burghley – far beyond the race of womankind

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet
    Mildred Cooke

    Today, I pay tribute to the amazing Mildred Cecil, Lady Burghley, on the anniversary of her death in 1589, by sharing some facts about her.

    Mildred was not only the wife of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, she was an accomplished and influential woman in her own right. A truly fascinating Tudor personality.

    [Read More...]

  • 3 April – The burial of Lady Margaret Douglas, “a lady of most pious character”

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, cousin of Queen Elizabeth I, was buried in a lavish funeral at Westminster Abbey.

    Find out about her tomb, and her incredible lineage and links to royals, in today’s video.

    [Read More...]

  • 2 April – Edward VI catches smallpox and measles

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 2nd April 1552, King Edward VI recorded in his diary “I fell sick of the measles and the smallpox”.

    What do we know about his illness and subsequent recovery? What was smallpox like and how was it treated? Did this bout of illness have any bearing on his future health?

    Find out, in today’s “on this day” video.

    [Read More...]

  • April 1 – Henry VIII courts Jane Seymour

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    On this day in Tudor history, 1st April 1536, the imperial ambassador passed on information he’d received from two separate sources to his master, Emperor Charles V. The news was regarding Henry VIII and his behaviour towards one of his wife’s ladies-in-waiting, a certain Jane Seymour.

    Find out exactly what happened, what Henry and Jane were up to, and how long this had been going on, in today’s video.

    [Read More...]