The Tudor Society

  • October 17 – The death of Sir Philip Sidney

    1 year ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 17th October 1586, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Philip Sidney died.

    The poet, courtier and soldier died as a result of an injury sustained fighting against Spain at the Battle of Zutphen in the Netherlands.

    Sir Philip Sidney is known for his literary works, which include “Astrophel and Stella”, “The Arcadia” and “A Defense of Poetry.

    Sidney was lucky to escape the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in Paris, but was shot in the thigh at the Battle of Zutphen and died twenty-six days later.

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  • 27 October – The birth of Mary Herbert and the dramatic entrance of Anne Boleyn

    2 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 27th October 1561, Mary Herbert (née Sidney), Countess of Pembroke, writer and literary patron, was born at Tickenhall, near Bewdley in Worcestershire. She was the sister of the poets Sir Philip Sidney and Robert Sidney, Earl of Leicester, was a writer herself and an extremely talented lady, and she also lived life to the full.

    After her husband died, she had fun shooting pistols, flirting, taking tobacco and dancing. A fun lady!

    Find out more about this gifted Tudor woman, who was as beautiful as she was talented, and whose work was praised, and used, by men such as Shakespeare.

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  • 17 October – Sir Philip Sidney, Tudor poet, courtier and soldier

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 17th October 1586, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney, died as a result of an injury inflicted by the Spanish forces at the Battle of Zutphen in the Netherlands.

    Sir Philip Sidney is known for his literary works, which include “Astrophel and Stella”, which was inspired by his sweetheart, Lady Penelope Devereux, “The Arcadia” and “A Defense of Poetry.

    Sidney was lucky to escape the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in Paris, but was shot in the thigh at the Battle of Zupthen and died twenty-six days later.

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  • Mary Herbert (née Sidney), Countess of Pembroke

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Mary Herbert (née Sidney), Countess of Pembroke, writer and literary patron, was born on 27th October 1561 at Tickenhall, near Bewdley in Worcestershire. She was the third daughter of Sir Henry Sidney and his wife, Mary (née Dudley), daughter of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and she was the sister of the poets Sir Philip Sidney and Robert Sidney (later Earl of Leicester).

    Mary’s parents were loyal servants of the Crown. Edward VI had died in Mary’s father’s arms and Mary’s mother had nursed Elizabeth I through smallpox, and been badly disfigured as a result of contracting the disease. Mary was also the niece of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Elizabeth I’s favourite, and Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick.

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  • Sir Philip Sidney

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in history, 17th October 1586, Sir Philip Sidney, the famous Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier, died as a result of an injury sustained at the Battle of Zutphen in the Netherlands. He was just thirty-one years old. His body was returned to England and laid to rest on the 16th February 1587 in St Paul’s Cathedral.

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  • Sir Philip Sidney 1554-1586

    7 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in history, 17th October 1586, the poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney, died as a result of an injury inflicted by the Spanish forces at the Battle of Zutphen in the Netherlands. His body was returned to England and laid to rest on the 16th February 1587 in St Paul’s Cathedral.

    Philip Sidney was born on the 30th November 1554 at Penshurst Place, Kent. He was the eldest son of Sir Henry Dudley and Lady Mary Dudley, sister of Elizabeth’s favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and daughter of John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland. Sidney was educated at Shrewsbury School, where he met Fulke Greville, and Christchurch, Oxford, and in 1572 he was chosen by Elizabeth I to undertake an embassy to France to negotiate a marriage between the Queen and the Duke of Alençon.

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