The Tudor Fair Blog
Petrarch the Mountain Climber
The Italian poet Petrarch, who is often credited as the father of Humanism (and as such, the Renaissance), was, when he wasn’t inventing sonnets and writing poetry about his unrequited love for Laura, also was an extensive traveler. In fact, in addition to being the father of the Renaissance, he is…
Anglican Choral Evensong
Something that definitely needs to be included in any Museum of Things Heather Loves is choral music; specifically early choral music (ie before Bach) and even more specifically (because let’s drill down further, shall we?) early Anglican choral music. One of the reasons I consider myself Episcopalian (the American version…
Roger Mortimer, England’s Greatest Traitor
I’ve recently started reading The Greatest Traitor, The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, Ruler of England 1327-1330, by Ian Mortimer. I’m a big fan of Ian Mortimer, having read his Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the 14th Century several years ago. He writes about…
Renaissance English Trade with Russia
So one of the things I do in my “free <cough, ahem> time” is a podcast on Renaissance English History. I’ve been doing it in spurts for several years, and it’s a chance to learn new things as I research topics and episodes. On my Bucket List is getting three…
I Heart Bill Bryson
This week I finished One Summer: America 1927 by Bill Bryson. I first discovered Bill Bryson with his Notes from a Big Country column he wrote when he returned home to the US after living in the UK for 20 years. I had only lived in the UK for two years,…
Geeking out on Richard III
I’ve been watching the Trial of Richard III on youtube – there is no end to the geekiness. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries?list=PLE2FB948FC7CE8C2A] What, you might ask, is the Trial of Richard III? Let’s start at the very beginning… 1480’s. Wars of the Roses. Medieval England is in shambles as one family has…
Cool Women in History: Nellie Taft
I’ve been reading Doris Kearns Goodwin’s The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism about, well, Roosevelt, Taft, and journalists (as the name would so cleverly imply). Doris Kearns Goodwin was actually my university’s commencement speaker the year I graduated, though I don’t really remember…
Baroque bubblegum pop
I’m a big fan of baroque music that doesn’t require a lot of thought and concentration. The equivalent of somebody like, say, James Taylor. He’s soothing, and nice to have on while you’re reading or something, because he isn’t very demanding. He’s going to Carolina and you don’t need to…
Crystal Palace, the world’s most awesome building at the time
I recently watched a few episodes of my Favorite TV Show Ever, Great British Railway Journeys; a trip from Brighton to Crystal Palace. I first heard the words Crystal Palace used together in a sentence when my voice teacher lived at the Crystal Palace train stop in south London. Yes,…
The perfect crime of the 1870’s
I’ve been reading The Men Who United the States by Simon Winchester, a history of the US told through the elements of wood, metal, water, fire, and air, which is an interesting lens through which to view history. The wood chapter, for example, was all about when wood was the primary…
The Man Behind “Mr. Selfdidge”
I’ve been watching the ITV show, Mr. Selfridge, about Harry Selfridge, the American who transformed British retail, and it got me curious as to how much of the salacious tale was actually true. He was one of the retail magnates that dominated the changing world in the late Victorian period,…
The Beguines – medieval upstart mystic feminists
I’m reading a book called Growing Into God, a Beginner’s Guide to Christian Mysticism right now, and I just finished a chapter on Meister Eckhart, the 13th century German theologian (who has the wonderful quote, “if the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, it will be enough”).…
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