The Tudor Fair Blog
That time when William Byrd made his Catholicism obvious
William Byrd was a recusant Catholic, which means that he refused to attend the official Church of England services. For most people, that alone would have warranted fines. His association with the Paget family, who were involved in the Throckmorton Plot, would have merited torture and death. But Byrd was…
Tudor Minute June 19: Happy Birthday James VI of Scotland
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for June 19. Today is the birthday, in 1566, of James VI of Scotland/I of England. He was the son of Mary Queen of Scots with her husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and he…
Tudor Minute June 18: Legatine Court opened in Blackfriars
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for June 18. Today in 1529 the Legatine Court opened in Blackfriars. This was the court that was held by the Papal Legate, Cardinal Campeggio, to decide whether Henry VIII’s marriage to Katherine of…
Episode 105: Historian Alison Weir on Jane Seymour
Episode 105 saw historian Alison Weir return to the show to talk about the third book in her Six Tudor Queen series, A Haunted Queen, about Jane Seymour. Buy her book on Amazon (this is an affiliate link – you pay the same price, and the podcast gets a…
Tudor Minute June 8: The Death of Elizabeth Woodville
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for June 8. Today we mark the death, in 1492, of Elizabeth Woodville, in Bermondsey Abbey. She was the mother of Elizabeth of York, and the princes in the Tower, and the grandmother to…
Monkbot: 16th century AI
We think about Artificial Intelligence as a uniquely 21st century invention, but recently I heard, in passing, about Monkbot, a 16th century robot. Monkbot now lives in the Smithsonian, but he originally started out in Spain (most likely) created by a mechanic who worked for Charles V. He’s a brilliant…
Tudor Minute June 7: The Field of Cloth of Gold
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for June 7. Today in 1520 the first day of the Field of Cloth of Gold took place. This was the long anticipated meeting between Henry VIII and Francis of France where the two…
Tudor Minute June 6: Emperor Charles V visits London
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for June 6. Today in 1522 Emperor Charles V entered London on a state visit. He’d been in England since landing at Dover on 26th May. This is the trip where Charles met the…
The Music of Orlando Gibbons
Today is the anniversary of the death of Orlando Gibbons, in 1625. He was only 41 years old, but during that time he managed to amass a body of work that has lasted over 400 years. A generation younger than Byrd, Gibbons is the link between the great Renaissance composers,…
Tudor Minute June 5: Orlando Gibbons Death Anniversary
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for June 5. Today is the anniversary of the death of Orlando Gibbons, a famous composer of madrigals, in 1625. One of the most versatile English composers of his time, Gibbons wrote a large…
Tudor Minute June 4: Lightning strikes “Old” St. Paul’s Cathedral
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for June 4. Today in 1561, “old” St Paul’s Cathedral – as opposed to the New Christopher Wren one there now – though it was actually the fourth one built on that site –…
This week in Tudor News: June 1 Edition
The news cycle is fast, and it’s hard to keep up with our favorite interests and topics! That’s why once a week I make up this post with the top stories that have caught my attention. Hidden Poisons of the Royal Court How noble lords and ladies, terrified of poison,…