Type: Articles

    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.

    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

    Bishop John Fisher

    John Fisher was a man of courage and integrity who openly defied Henry VIII

    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: 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

    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.

    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

    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 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

    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 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

    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

    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

    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

    Letter of William de la Pole

    he contemporary verdict on William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk  (1396-1450) was a good deal harsher than the modern historian. At the time, William was hounded from officeRead More

    The power of propaganda

    Now those of you who have been with me for a while will know that I love Alfred as a brother. He is the greatest of English heroes; a manRead More

    Loyalty Ladder

    This is my attempt to give some idea of the orientation of some of the major peers during the wars of the roses. It is, I confess, deeply flawed. ItRead More