-
The Death of Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer had made many enemies in his tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury. He had played a major role in the divorce of Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII so Henry could marry Anne Boleyn. Rome had failed Henry, so he broke with Rome and made Thomas Cranmer his chief churchman. It had been a long road for the young man born to a family of modest means. Thomas Cranmer was born in 1489 to Thomas and Agnes Cranmer, a moderately wealthy family but certainly no aristocrats. He went to Jesus College, Cambridge and gained a Bachelor and Masters of Arts. He lost his fellowship because he was not ordained,…
-
The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn
In October of 1532, Anne accompanied Henry on a trip to Calais to meet with the French King Francis I. There are a variety of theories surrounding this trip, for which Anne was accompanied by a large retinue, which suggests either Francis or his ladies of Court were unwilling to meet her based on their views of the delicate situation regarding her relationship with the King. This supposed bad feeling resulted in Henry’s reluctance to take her with him to meet the French King. One such theory has Anne disguising herself as a courtier before attending Court and dancing with the King at a ball, before revealing herself to be…
-
Thomas Wyatt the Younger
Thomas Wyatt the Younger was the son of Thomas Wyatt, the Court poet in the reign of Henry VIII famously arrested for having a romantic liaison with Anne Boleyn. He was born in 1521, the only child from his father’s unsuccessful marriage to Elizabeth Brooke. He was known to have three younger illegitimate half-brothers, Henry who died as a child, born sometime after 1538, Francis born in 1541, and Edward, all as a result of Thomas the Elder’s relationship with Elizabeth Darrell. Judging by Thomas the Elder’s will, it is entirely likely that he died in 1542, before Edward was born, as he makes provision for both Francis and Elizabeth…
-
What If Tudor Edition- Catherine of Aragon
There are always points in history where a different choice could have been made and the end would have been very different. There are many what if points in the Tudor time period. In this post, I will address two of the most tantalizing. Prince Arthur lived and became King of England Arthur Tudor was the first born of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. He was meant to be the embodiment of the golden age of England, and the flower of the Tudor dynasty. He was married to Catherine of Aragon on November 14, 1501. The newly married pair traveled to Ludlow and administered Wales from that castle.…
-
Death of Henry VII, accession of Henry VIII as King – a synopsis.
Henry was born at Pembroke Castle, the only child of Margaret Beaufort and her husband Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who died of plague, three months before Henry was born whilst being held captive by William Herbert in Carmarthen leaving his heavily pregnant widow just 13 years of age. It has been said that Henry’s birth was a difficult one for a girl so young, and left her physically unable to have more children. As a result Margaret was a somewhat protective even overbearing mother. Henry had a challenging childhood, firstly under the protection of his Uncle Jasper Tudor, and then Henry and his mother were placed under the guardianship…
