Nick Hayes lives on a houseboat moored on the north bank of the Thames alongside Hardwick House in south Oxfordshire, the clues to his work and passion displayed onRead More
Type: Articles
Egleton Church, Rutland
The Aged M and I took a minute to check out a local Rutland church at Egleton, noted for its birdwatching on Empingham reservoir these days. It’s a small churchRead More
Was Edward VI’s Devise for the Succession lawful?
Mr Justice Tyrwhit argues that Montagu was right, and Edward did not have the power to make Jane Queen
Chaucer, the English and the Sea
Matt Firth writes about what Chaucer and his Shipman tell us of England and the sea
Some opinions about Henry VIII
Just a few quotes I have picked up over the last year about Henry VIII. Don’t forget the Henry VIII Poll after the podcast on 15th July. The official oraclesRead More
Anne Askew, Martyr and Author
Anne Askew – protestant martyr, renaissance writer, woman who refused to submit to the rules of her day, and innocent victim of vicious Tudor politics.
Catherine Howard: Love letter and Confessions
The letter that suggests Catherine Howard really was in love with Culpepper – and her two surviving confessions
A contemporary view of the Tudor peerage in 1538/9
A contemporary assessment of Henry VIII’s 19 peers in 1538, with a helpful RAG rating
Katherine Howard, Countess of Bridgewater
Rebellion, divorce, conspiracy, the Tower and treason – all in a life
Thomas Cromwell and his reputation
Thomas Cromwell had been painted royal thug or far sighted statesman. It’s difficult to get away from that portrait though…
Medieval Castles
The Medieval Castle Mention the Middle Ages and most people immediately visualize a great stone castle, surrounded by a sturdy moat, and protected by Knights on horseback and legions ofRead More
Anne Boleyn Website links
Some links to topics on the Anne Boleyn Files and On the Tudor Trail websites to open the door to a world of amazing information
The Incident at Grafton
September the 19th may have represented Wolsey’s last chance of political survival
Bishop John Fisher
John Fisher was a man of courage and integrity who openly defied Henry VIII
Thomas More: A very brief history
Saint or Sinner? A brief life, timeline and my thoughts on great courage and a little hypocrisy
Henry VIII’s Westminster Tournament 1511
The Medieval king When he came to the throne as a teenager, Henry VIII chose the traditional view of monarchy, a very medieval view of the role of the kingRead More
Medieval tournaments illustrated glossary
Here is a quick fly-by of some of the words and events that went to make up the favourite social pastime of the medieval knight and lady – the tournament. There’s alsoRead More
St Bartholomew the Great
My tale of the Church of St Bartholomew the great. Available in podcast format too, if you become a member ! An Oasis discovered There I was in Smithfield. Frankly itRead More
Henry VIII and his Beard
Henry changed the royal attitudes to beard, but almost caused a diplomatic incident in the process
Cardinal Wolsey and the Historians
Wolsey has had a hard time of it at the hands of the historians. This article gives a brief survey of his reputation through the ages, and is taken from theRead More
Cardinal Wolsey: A Timeline
The famous Cardinal was born in 1571, and died about 60 years later. It was a rags to rags story. Here is a simple timeline charting his personal rise toRead More
The Minions of Henry VIII
One of the delightful things about the passion for Tudor history is the quality of information freely available about the characters that inhabited Henry VIII’s world. So this page givesRead More
Pictish Stones
Henry VII’s hatchet men: Empson and Dudley
Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley earned a reputation as extortioners. But it was the king’s policy they executed.
Early Tudor Court
The king was the government. His household was to serve all his needs – and provide a properly magnificent ceremonial setting for his glory and power.
New Learning: England’s first Humanists
Some early proponents of the new learning in England – and their mentor Erasmus
Catherine Gordon and Perkin Warbeck
In November 1495, the Pretender (from the french for ‘claimant’) Perkin Warbeck arrived at the Scottish court, looking for allies in his attempt to win the English throne. Which of courseRead More
Medieval Prices and Wages
Medieval prices and wages are basically impossible to know. I can hear you fighting against this as a write but there are so many vagaries. Just for example – board and lodging wouldRead More
Mountjoy, Henry VIII’s Humanist Mentor
William Blount was Prince Henry’s mentor who’s culture and learning helped form England’s first Renaissance king
Fotheringhay
Given its size, it’s really rather remarkable what has happened at Fotheringhay. In this lovely stone village with its magnificent perpendicular church across green fields and the River Nene, theRead More
Henry VII and his loyal Councillors
The men who made Henry’s government work no longer came solely from the ranks of the nobility
Henry VII and the historians
The Tudor myth When looking at how historians have dealt with Henry VII, the startingpoint has to be the story that Henry VII told about himself, and that his successorsRead More
Henry VII Character and Portraits
Personality of the king By and large, Henry impressed those people, especially foreign visitors, who have left us opinions. But firstly, Polydore Vergil again: His spirit was distinguished, wise and prudent;Read More
The Family de la Pole
The story of the de la Pole family – from ‘rags to rags’ over 6 generations between 1290 and 1525, is evidence that there were ways to escape the rigidityRead More
The Epitaph and Tomb Henry gave Richard
I must admit that I had heard pretty consistently of the need to honour the body of a dead king; and therefore I assumed that, outrageously, Henry never provided aRead More
St Bees
We arrived at the delightfully named St Bees in Cumbria on the North West coast of England, and we found a load of things; a saint with all the delightful mythsRead More
The Fate of the Princes – Suspects
This page gives a few of the arguments about the possible motivations of some of the players discussed in the podcast episode 193 on 4th September 2016 – just ifRead More
The Fate of the Princes – Evidence
I join a long list of people writing and talking about this murder mystery. This page supports episode 193 of the podcast with a bit of background information about whatRead More
The indispensable John Morton
John Morton was at the very top of Henry VII’s government, and a man with a high reputation – and yet now is largely forgotten. Morton’s reputation suffers I think for 3Read More
William Hastings – Victim or player?
The rise of Hastings William Hastings’s father Leonard had been a follower of Richard of York; so when he died, William naturally followed his father and became part of theRead More
Contemporary Sources
On the Richard III section, I have put a few pages with contemporary content- there are links below so you can use this as a contents page, as well asRead More
Dominic Mancini
Dominic Mancini and ‘The usurpation of Richard III’ Not much is known about Dominic Mancini’s life; but he was probably born before 1434, and therefore somewhere around 50 when heRead More
Major players in 1483
Here are a few of the players that would play a leading role in the reigns of Edward V and Richard III. Below you’ll find: Thomas Stanley, Earl ofRead More
History of Richard III by Thomas More
Thomas More (1478-1535) I am seriously not going to attempt a proper biography of Thomas More – books have been written on the subject. But a very quick summary maybe.Read More
Titulus Regius and Gloucester’s claim to the throne
The super summary “Therefore, at the request and by assent of the Three Estates of this Realm…be it pronounced, decreed, and declared that our said Sovereign Lord the King was,Read More
Polydore Vergil and Historia Anglia
Polydore Vergil was a renaissance scholar, who wrote a history once much referred to in studies of Richard III. His text is now very much suspect and most historians agree has too many inaccuracies and biases to be relied on. None the less, it’s worth giving a bit of background about him – he was no mean scholar.
But the main reason for the post is to give you all access to the text itself. This text is an extract from an edition which is now out of copyright. It was produced in 1844 for the Camden Society in 1844, edited by Sir Henry Ellis. I have further extracted the text covering the period from Edward IV to Richard III
Crowland Chronicle
The Crowland Chronicles and 1483 The Crowland Chronicles give one of the two most authoritative sources for the events of 1483 and indeed the reign of Richard III. Below isRead More
The 1483 Timeline
A nice and easy timeline for the dramatic events leading from the death of Edward IV to the coronation of Richard III. Timeline of Events: April to July 1483 APRILRead More
Regulation of a Prince’s household and education, 1473
In 1473, Edward IV set up the household of his son and heir Edward – the future Edward V. He gave over the regulation of the household and tutelage ofRead More
Leading Families in 1471
The leading families and players had changed between 1450 and 1471; here’s a brief summary of the major families that would influence events under Edward IV and his successors. BelowRead More