Today in 1541 London was reeling from the executions of Thomas Culpepper and Francis Dereham, that happened yesterday. Dereham had been arrested after Thomas Cranmer let Henry know that his fifth wife, Katherine Howard, was no virginal maid, and in fact had been with Dereham before she was married. Katherine admitted that she and Dereham had been together before she was married to Henry. Then Dereham mentioned Culpepper, saying that he had been replaced in the Queen’s affection by Culpepper. Katherine denied any kind of physical relationship, though Culpepper admitted that they had both wished to do ill with each other. Culpepper had his head cut off, while Dereham suffered the full traitor’s death of hanging, disemboweling, and being quartered. Katherine, who was still alive, couldn’t have felt any kind of confidence that her fate would be any different.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Episode Link: Claire Ridgway at the September 2018 Tudor Summit on the Fall of Katherine Howard
https://heatherteysko.lpages.co/claire-ridgway-tudor-summit/