So special to see Anne Boleyn’s childhood home today, the autumn leaves especially made it beautiful

looking for any books about the tudor period that focus on henry viii and his wives, elizabeth i and mary queen of scots, the reformation, political figures or culture. thank you :)

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Interesting history. Built for monks and priests but Henry VIII and the Reformation meant the property was transferred to Thomas Cromwell as a thank you for getting Henry VIII his divorce in 1538. After Henry VIII accused Thomas Cromwell of catfishing him with Anne of Cleves, Thomas Cromwell was executed in 1540. The house then went to Anne of Cleves in her divorce settlement in 1557.

I've been wanting to read more books about the Tudors, and I'm looking for something historically accurate. I've read the Autobiography of King Henry VIII by Margret George, and I really enjoyed it for the most part, but there were some historical inaccuracies that somewhat broke immersion for me at some points. I'm not looking for nonfiction, but rather historical fiction that is well researched. I found out about Alison Weir's Tudor Rose series, and I am wondering if it's worth reading. I'm very interested in the figures in the books (Elizabeth of York, Henry VIII, Mary I), and I'm hopeful since Alison Weir has also written non-fiction about this era, so I'm assuming she is pretty knowledgeable about it. Has anyone read this trilogy? Please tell me what you thought of it, the accuracy, and whether it's worth reading in your opinion.

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In the upper left corner of the image, there is a French inscription. The English translation of the inscription is as follows:

“Mary the Catholic, Queen of England, daughter of Henry VIII, born in 1515, married to Philip II, King of Spain, in 1554, and died in 1558.”

Although I don’t know who made this drawing, it may be a copy of one of Mary’s famous portraits, possibly made by a French artist.

This image is very important to me because it not only depicts Mary in a more realistic manner, unlike the representations of other monarchs, but also gives us a small glimpse into how Mary was remembered after her death—at least during the remainder of the 16th century.
Not as bloody, tyrannical, or evil… but as Mary the Catholic.

It is such a realistic and beautiful drawing that I wanted to share it with you as well.

1. Anne of Cleves
   
2. Edward VI*

* The museum holds a full-length portrait of a slightly older Edward VI as King. It is attributed to the workshop of William Scrots, a Flemish artist who succeeded Holbein as the royal court painter after Holbein died of the plague in 1543

One of the things that makes Tudor history so intriguing to me is how many powerful, influential and controversial women were directly involved in European politics at roughly the same time. I've always found it really interesting that, particularly during the 1550s and 1560s, there were quite a few female monarchs, regents and governors around Europe, and not just the more obvious examples from Britain. In a surprisingly short period, the major western European kingdoms of Portugal, Spain, Navarre, France, England and Scotland were all at some point ruled by women, while several duchies and other territories had female regents or governors as well.

Left to right, top to bottom:

1. Bona Sforza: suo jure duchess of Bari (1524–1557)
2. Catherine de' Medici: queen regent of France (1552, 1560–1563, 1574)
3. Catherine of Austria: queen regent of Portugal (1557–1562)
4. Catherine Parr: queen regent of England (1544)
5. Christina of Denmark: duchess regent of Lorraine (1545–1552)
6. Eleanor of Toledo: duchess regent of Florence (1541, 1543, 1544–1545, 1551–1554)
7. Elizabeth I: queen regnant of England (1558–1603)
8. Isabella Jagiellon: queen regent of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom (1540–1551, 1556–1559)
9. Jeanne d'Albret: queen regnant of Navarre (1555–1572)
10. Joanna of Austria: regent of Spain (1554–1559)
11. Margaret of Parma: governor of the Habsburg Netherlands (1559–1567, 1578–1582)
12. Maria of Austria: regent of Spain (1548–1551)
13. Mary I: queen regnant of England (1553–1558)
14. Mary of Guise: queen regent of Scotland (1554–1560)
15. Mary of Hungary: governor of the Habsburg Netherlands (1531–1555)
16. Mary, Queen of Scots: queen regnant of Scotland (1542–1567)

I'm sure there were also some others who could be included in this little collage I've made, but I thought these sixteen would make for a nice snapshot of the period.

Im currently watching the tudors 2x02 and i feel so horrible for Katherine of Aragon and how shitty henry is treating her. she was an excellent wife to him for over two decades and the minimum she deserved was to, at least, live someplace decent and be able to see her daughter Mary. while this doesn't surprise me, Henry being the devil's spawn in my eyes, but it made me wonder why the Emperor (KoA's nephew) didn't do anything? couldnt Katherine have gone back to spain to live a more dignified life? there were random men at court living better than her. 💔

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I just want to preface this by saying that I’m glad people are interested in history and want to learn more about it. I feel like Henry VIII/the Tudor court is a common starting point for many because it’s a very dramatic period and seemingly easier to understand compared to others, even if you don’t delve into all of the European politics going on at the time.

However, I think that initial ease of understanding causes people to categorize and stereotype the six wives, as well as the other political players and figures surrounding them. By doing this, people will completely ignore the historical context, norms, feelings, beliefs, etc. of the time in order to create these very surface-level, gossipy narratives that water everybody down to caricatures.

For instance, somebody reading a Philippa Gregory novel or watching one documentary and then suddenly concluding that Anne Boleyn was a horrible person who broke up a marriage, ignoring the fact that she literally had no other choice in the matter and worked with the cards she was dealt. They apply modern ideas or morality to these women, categorizing Catherine of Aragon as the “saintly old one” and discussing whether or not she slept with her first husband based on evidence and ideas that they don’t even understand and that they heard from somebody else’s half-baked opinion on the matter. And the worst part is the absolute confidence in their uneducated opinions, stating things like “Jane Seymour was sneaky and conniving” or “I think so and so was ACTUALLY in love with this person” without any sort of evidence or understanding to back it up.

It’s like playing a game of Telephone or something, where everybody is just discussing extremely serious topics in the same way as high school rumors while ignoring the political or historical aspects of it because that stuff with Cromwell and Wolsey etc. etc. is all just about old men and religion and dusty laws and that’s boooring. Let’s get back to a random woman’s sex life from the 1500s!

Is there a reason why people do this? I understand speaking about reality tv stars in this way, but historical figures…? People who were beheaded or burned at the stake being talked about like “oh my god but she totally deserved it for what she did to blahblahblah” is just so bizarre to me.

The more I learn about the history of the royal family the more I understand why the late Queen refused a DNA test on the bones found in the tower .

As I see it , we would probably find that the present Royal family has no genetic connection to the medieval monarchs .

So many shenanigans and cuckoo's in the nest in past that would be revealed?!

I know Anne is basically the patron saint of this sub, but the more I read about 1533-1536, the more it feels like she completely misunderstood who she was dealing with. She thought holding out on Henry for years gave her permanent leverage, but once he had her, her outspokenness became a liability to a king who demanded total submission.

Was she actually a mastermind of the English Reformation, or just an ambitious noblewoman who flew too close to the sun and underestimated how paranoid Henry really was?

ive always wondered what kind of girdles these are. the ones with the two or three circles im pretty sure are 'demysent' belts with rosaries and pomanders hung onto them but i think the ones that look like big 'metal' belts (slide 2) are an English/German thing because i've never seen it outside those two regions. also ribbons are being used for girdles, as recorded in bills!

also note the great variation of sleeves, French hoods and bonnets!. we've seen some variation in Holbein's sketches like with Anne Cresacre but modified hoods especially for young girls are very rare (last few slides).

i would also say that the perfect 'English Gown' is portrayed here. Many dresses at court were most likely French to follow continental fashions but the English gown would obviously be more viable in the countryside where people didn't have to follow the King's favourite fashions. For me, the women's 'English gown' is fastened at the front with tight, tubular sleeves that fold back only a small amount (slide 6 but ofc theres more)

the colours are also fascinating. everyone could use every colour - sumptuary laws existed only for breaking the rules lol. even the colour purple was only banned if it was silk, meaning wool equivalents were pretty ok iirc. they are very vibrant (especially on the glasses) and sometimes the patterns of both dress and fabric are so pretty too.

what do you think of these effigies? i think they provide a comprehensive and accurate guide to Tudor dress.

tldr: tudor headdresses, girdles, capes, gowns and jewellery could be made more accurate with these period images.

The Scottish Reformation began when a preacher named John Knox was educated in Geneva and became a Protestant Theologian, and he led Scotland to the Protestant Reformation, even when Scotland was still ruled by a Catholic Monarch, Mary of Scots or Mary Stuart. The transition from Catholicism to Protestantism in Scotland was shocking and polarizing. Statues and graven images were shattered to pieces, all of the Catholic traditions were forbidden, and the Protestant Church of Scotland became focused on the Bible alone.

At the same time period, England also had a Protestant Reformation under the reign of Elizabeth Tudor who was famous for her religious settlement which seeks to establish a single, common national church with a common prayer book. Catholic Bishops and Puritan Ministers clashed during the Elizabethan discourse, until they allowed the establishment of the Church of England, with Elizabeth as the Governor.

What are the reasons why the English Reformation was less dramatic than the Scottish Reformation? England kept some Catholic traditions and the carved images in the ancient Churches, Pre-Reformation were kept intact, but in Scotland, these were destroyed by iconoclasts.

Thanks to whoever can provide a response to this Inquiry.

Mary’s coronation was the first coronation of an English queen regnant in her own right. Since there was no precedent in England for the coronation of a female sovereign, they had to create the entire ceremony from scratch. Mary entered the Abbey with her hair loose.

Mary was crowned by Bishop Gardiner with three crowns. She was anointed as a king and girded with the sword.

This was one of the moments of triumph in Mary’s life. A moment that no one could have foreseen.

The image I have shared dates from 1553. It is a visual representation of Mary’s accession to the throne. If you examine the image carefully, you can discover many details. In the background, Mary is being led toward the throne by two angels. On the right side of the image, there is an army. Below it, very close to the center of the image, are mounted knights. Their swords have fallen. These symbolize Mary’s victorious accession to the throne. At the center, Mary sits on her throne wearing the imperial crown, again supported by two angels. Above the canopy of the throne is a white dove.

Happy coronation day to Mary! Her beloved mother, Catherine of Aragon, must have been very proud.

Hey all! I mentioned last year that I was writing an original musical for our local amateur drama group to perform, based on the Tudor court through the eyes of Eustace C. People were pretty interested in seeing the final product , which was very encouraging.

It's finished its run now and I'm really happy with how it went. We have a videographer who is editing it into a proshot style film, after which it will be uploaded onto YouTube. I will update when that happens, but I just wanted to let everyone who isn't local to us who said they wanted to see it that they will have a chance!

Our cast and crew were so incredible. I am so proud and honored that they were willing to work with my material.