Tudor Source

A 21st Century Take on 16th Century Problems.

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19th May 1536 - Execution of Anne Boleyn

479 years ago, Anne Boleyn stepped onto the scaffold at the Tower of London, wearing a fur-lined grey damask gown with an ermine mantle and a gable hood, and made her final speech:

Good Christian people, I have not come here to preach a sermon; I have come here to die. For according to the law and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak of that whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never, and to me he was ever a good, a gentle, and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me.

Before Anne’s trial had even taken place, an expert swordsman had been ordered from Calais to perform her execution in the more merciful French style - the victim was to kneel and their head was struck off with a sword, a cleaner death than the English tradition of resting on a block waiting for a downwards blow from an axe. The French executioner’s fee was £23 6s 8d - just over £7,500 in today’s money. Traditionally, as a female traitor, Anne would have been burnt at the stake, but in her death warrant it states that Henry VIII was moved by pity for her, and would not punish her with such a painful death.

Her mantle and hood were removed, and with no chaplain with her, she knelt, repeating her own prayer; ‘Jesu receive my soul; O Lord God have pity on my soul, to Christ I commend my soul’. When the continentals heard the reports of her execution, they were amazed that she had not been bound or restrained in any way, but bravely knelt to meet her fate with only a blindfold.

Anne had been the first woman to receive a noble title in her own right, and less than 4 years later she became the first queen of England to be executed.

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Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth II

You come from a long line of admirable women. The men…ehh.

Queen Elizabeth turns 89 years old today, April 21, 2015. (Photo credit CNN)

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Considerable practice was required to produce the swift and effective combat shooting required. Skeletons of longbow archers are recognizably adapted, with enlarged left arms and often bone spurs on left wrists, left shoulders and right fingers. [x]

(Fact Source) For more facts, follow Ultrafacts

[tudorsource]

Long Live the Queen...the Other Queen.

Portraits of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn.

On April 9th, 1553. King Henry officially ordered his first wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon, to cease using the title of queen. Three days later, he declared his new wife, Anne Boleyn as the new Queen of England. Her coronation, played to a less than enthusiastic crowd, was held June 1st of the same year.

Catherine's reign had lasted 24 years. Anne's would last only three. But their fates were similar. These women were the only two of Henry's wives to be coronated as queens. Each gave birth to a daughter who would eventually rule England, and each died out of favor with Henry...although Anne's death was a bit more dramatic.

The story of Henry, Catherine and Anne would change Europe and the fate of England. Read more about it here. http://tudorsource.com/henryviii

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♔ The D O W N F A L L of A N N E  B O L E Y N.

January 29th 1536 - Anne Boleyn suffered a tragic miscarriage, losing a baby boy, which she is believed to have carried for but fifteen weeks.

March 1536 - Anne Boleyn argued with Thomas Cromwell, stating that monastic assets should be redistributed to charitable and educational causes.

April 1st 1536 - Henry VIII sent Jane Seymour a letter and purse of gold, which she asked to be given to her only when she made an honourable match.

April 2nd 1536 - Anne Boleyn’s almoner, John Skip, preached a sermon that attacked Cromwell’s ideas about the dissolution of the monasteries.

April 24th 1536 - Thomas Cromwell and Sir Thomas Audley set up two commissions of oyer and terminer to investigate alleged acts of treason.

April 26th 1536 - Anne Boleyn entrusted her chaplain, Matthew Parker, with the spiritual care of her little daughter, should anything happen to her.

April 29th 1536 - Anne Boleyn quarrelled with Sir Henry Norris, accusing him of being in love with her, and thus looking for “dead men’s shoes”.

April 30th 1536 - Carrying her infant daughter in her arms, Anne Boleyn made her final, most desperate appeal to her estranged husband.

May 1st 1536 - Henry VIII received a letter at the May Day joust, which led him to abruptly leave Anne Boleyn at the joust, and interrogate Sir Henry Norris.

May 2nd 1536 - Accused of committing adultery with at least three different men, Anne Boleyn was arrested, and thus imprisoned in the Tower of London.

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How to Die in Tudor England

No beheading by the King. No plague that wipes out you and your neighbors. Not even a starvation. This article (published 2011 by BBC) honors Henry’s fallen subjects who had the audacity to die with originality. Enjoy the read. 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-13762313

Death by Maypole, anyone?

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Traditional macaroni and cheese is a casserole baked in the oven; however, it may be prepared in a sauce pan on top of the stove or using a packaged mix.

Pasta and cheese casseroles have been recorded in cookbooks as early as the 14th century’s Liber de Coquina, one of the oldest medieval cookbooks. It is an Italian dish of parmesan and pasta but known in England in the 14th century, where a cheese and pasta casserole known as makerouns was recorded in the famous medieval English cookbook, the Forme of Cury, which was written in the 14th century.

"Take and make a thynne foyle of dowh. and kerve it on peces, and cast hem on boillyng water & seeþ it wele. take chese and grate it and butter cast bynethen and above as losyns. and serue forth." 

(“Make a thin foil of dough and cut it in pieces. Put them in boiling in water and seethe them well. Grate cheese and add it with butter beneath and above as with losyns, and serve.”) [x]

(Fact Source) For more facts, follow Ultrafacts

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Love the idea of sharing some Mac n Cheese with Henry VII!

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Henry’s Acts of Succession...Third Time’s a Charm

Today in 1534, the children of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn were declared the legitimate heirs to the throne of England, officially excluding Henry’s first daughter, Mary. That was Henry’s First Act of Succession. But we know how that turned out. Anne fell out of favor, was executed, and her daughter Elizabeth met the same fate as Mary...declared illegitimate. All of this required a Second Act of Succession.

Finally, along came Edward, son to Henry and Jane Seymour, giving England and Henry their rightful male heir. 

But Henry was nothing if not paranoid. Toward the end of his life he decided the Tudor line should not rest solely on one young boy, and once again included his daughters in the line of succession. Henry’s Third Act of Succession declared his heirs as Edward, Mary and then Elizabeth...in that order. None of them produced offspring, and each of them ruled England in turn.

Interestingly, the Third Act of Succession, while it returned his daughters to the official Tudor line, did not remove their illegitimate status. So when Mary took the throne after Edward’s death, she became England’s first female monarch, as well as its first illegitimately born monarch. But that didn’t sit well with Mary and her first act in Parliament was to reinstate the marriage of Henry to her mother Catherine of Aragon as valid, thereby making her birth legitimate once again.

Which means, of course, the trailblazing of an illegitimate heir would be passed to Elizabeth. Now that’s another story...

http://tudorsource.com/blog/post/2015/03/23/64

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You're Royalty and You Know It!

If you're Welsh, you now have the opportunity to prove it. The Cymru DNA Wales project is looking for males with the last name of Tudor to volunteer for DNA testing in an attempt to find descendants of the ancient Tudor Royal line. Feel lucky? Read more about it...

http://tudorsource.com/blog/post/2015/02/13/61

Henry Tudor, who became Henry VII of England and founded the Tudor Dynasty, descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd, Anglesey. (Credit: The Daily Post)

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Tudors vs. Plantagents

You decide. Here's a compelling essay-off (no really--we just invented that term) about which was the greater dynasty. Or rather, which dynasty did more to make Britain great. Read on!

http://tudorsource.com/blog/post/2015/01/17/59

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Who's Sleeping in Henry VIII's Bed?

Well, no one. But his marriage bed to Anne of Cleves (which didn't go so well––the marriage that is) is now on display as part of the Burrell Collection in Glasgow. 

http://tudorsource.com/blog/post/2014/12/11/58

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Let's Talk Pirates!

Okay, so it’s international Talk Like a Pirate Day. And while I’ll spare you the agony of me trying to write like a pirate, I will share a bit of English pirate history. Enter, Sir Francis Drake.  To the Spanish, whose ships he harassed and plundered, Drake was always a pirate. But to Elizabeth I, who had him on the payroll, Drake was a patriot and loyal subject. She paid him to harass the Spanish and he did it well, bringing plenty of treasure back to share with the English crown. Drake was also the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and was instrumental in the defeat of the Spanish Armada. And while he lived a successful “pirate’s” life, those who came after him did not always earn the approval of the English monarchy. Read more about Drake at tudorsource.com.

Sir Francis Drake, National Portrait Gallery, London

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Source If you want more facts, follow Ultrafacts

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Who wants to live in castle? I do! Good to know I'll be getting a deal!

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Tudor vs. York

The Battle of Bosworth ended it. Or so we thought. It seems the old factions still like to fight. Whatever side you're on--Tudor Propaganda or Misunderstood York--its fascinating science to be able to find these bones and interpret so much. Enjoy the read.

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A good laugh for the middle-aged!

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What's in Queen Elizabeth's Closet?

If you've ever wondered what Henry VIII, or Elizabeth I, or even James I wore around the castle, now's you're time to find out...if you can make it to Edinburgh that is. If you're lucky enough to find yourself in Scotland this spring, head on over to Holyroodhouse and treat yourself to a 16th century fashion show.

Photo Credit: Travel Trade and Groups

Holyroodhouse, the Queen's royal residence in Edinburgh, will be hosting In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion. By using paintings, drawings and miniatures from the Royal Collection, as well as surviving examples of actual period clothing, this exibit gives a glimpse into the fashions and social stratifications of the Tudor and Stuart eras. The exhibit runs from March 14 to July 20, 2014.

Learn More About the Tudors in Modern Culture

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"I have no desire to make windows into men's souls"

Elizabeth I's response to the religious divide she faced when ascending the throne of England. She did not share the strident religious views of either of her siblings, and wanted to help England heal from the Inquisition tactics used by Mary.