Samuel Pepys' diary has been very useful to historians because it gives a first hand account of the Restoration, the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London, so at the moment I'm keeping a daily diary for future historians to use as a source on the Coronavirus. Who knows if anyone will ever read it, but keeping it is also keeping me sane.
It made me think about the memoirs and diaries from the Tudor period, and just how useful they are at giving us an insight into the lives of Tudor people.
- The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant-Taylor of London, 1550-1563 - https://www.british-history.ac.uk/camden-record-soc/vol42
- Memoirs of Robert Carey, Earl of Monmouth - https://archive.org/details/memoirsrobertca00orregoog/page/n11/mode/2up
- Philip Henslowe's diary - https://archive.org/search.php?query=henslowe%20diary...
- The Private Life of an Elizabethan Lady (Margaret Hoby) - https://www.amazon.com/Private-Life-Elizabethan-Lady-1599-1605/dp/0750913495
- The Diary of Richard Madox - Find out more at https://www.worldcat.org/title/elizabethan-in-1582-the-diary-of-richard-madox-fellow-of-all-souls/oclc/3334261
- John Manningham's diary - https://archive.org/details/diaryjohnmannin00manngoog/page/n8/mode/2up
- Hayward Townshend's diary - https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/parliament-proceedings-eliz1
- Thomas Coningsby's Journal of the Siege of Rouen - https://archive.org/details/journalofsiegeof00conirich/page/n6/mode/2up
- “The world encompassed by Sir Francis Drake”, based on Francis Fletcher's account - https://archive.org/details/worldencompass00drakrich/page/n5/mode/2up
- Richard Cocks' account of his time in Japan, 1615 - https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/43961
- Lady Anne Clifford's diary - see parts of it at https://archive.org/details/ladyanneclifford00willuoft/page/iii/mode/2up
- "Humphrey Newton (1466-1536): an early Tudor Gentleman" - https://boydellandbrewer.com/humphrey-newton-1466-1536-an-early-tudor-gentleman.html
- Diary of Samuel Pepys - https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/
Thanks, Claire!
I’m a memory keeper (scrapbooker, whatever). For about 7 years now. I do it to remember, and it centers around my family, but it’s in my perspective. (The Tudor Society made my 2018 Project Life album, as well as a small gratitude project). Anyway, I hit a bump in the road middle of last year when one of my sons stayed in the city of his university for the summer, to work, and I couldn’t get past him not being here. (Rational minds don’t always translate to a beloved hobby). But I’ve got the spark again, and have planned a few pages, my daughter doing online schoolwork, for one. Anyway, I do it because I want to remember.
Thanks for the awesome resources. I’m glad you guys are well.
Michelle t
Brilliant! I wish I’d done it before now, it’s a wonderful idea and something that can be shared later with family members and future generations. I’ve kept baby things, baby books, and things to do with my children’s births, such as newspapers and CDs of music that was top of the charts etc. but I haven’t scrapbooked or journalled otherwise. It really is a lovely thing to do. Well done, Michelle!
I totally agree about primary sources. They’re totally addictive. I have thousands of books now, so although they are expensive, quality is more important to me than quantity. Having said that some of the secondary sources are coming up with new angles and information.
Claire,
Thanks for a wonderful chat! As a historian I also felt compelled to document every statistic, feeling, idea, thought and observation of this crazy time. I encouraged my friends and family to do the same. I’ve already forgotten what I was thinking and doing back in March when we in the states (sporadically and not efficiently) went into lock down. These are historic times and if just one of us can shed light for those in the future, it will have been worth the trouble to write it all down!