Tudor Times

This blog I ran across this morning features photos from a visit to Wolf Hall, family home of the Seymours and where Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife, was probably born and raised. Her father is buried there, with a small monument to him. The photos are lovely, and the author tells about their trip there! I hope to get there next time I head to the other side of “the pond.”

Here’s the link to the blog.

Sadly, the festivities are soon over! I read today that Portmouth’s ten-day Tudor spectacular ended with more than 7,000 people at Castle Field watching an extravaganza of dance, fireworks and bonfire! It marked the end of the city’s Henry 500 celebrations. I am sad.

But, many of the exhibits are still running (some through next year!) I will try to post which one’s those are, but probably not until later tonight. I am soooo busy this week so please forgive me!

This one I am quite excited about! Westminster Abbey (quite important in English history since it is where most monarchs have been crowned!) will be receiving £23 million for restoration/renovation!!!! It is the first construction at the Abbey in 250 years! As part of the construction, “the Dean and Chapter of the abbey are hoping to build a £10 million ‘crowning feature.’ The new corona is likely to be the most dramatic addition to the London skyline.” What is really exciting is that the public will be consulted on the design of the corona. It is going to replace the lantern, “a small, plain concrete, pyramid rof above the crossing that stands in front of the high altar where every monarch has been crowned for the past thousand years.”

Here is the link to the article I pulled the quotes from. It has a neat picture of the inside of the Abbey and more info. on the various construction projects!

A tiny Birmingham Company is producing some lovely pewter for Hampton Court to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s reign! According to the article (linked below) “The firm, the oldest family-run pewtersmith in the world, has supplied more than 500 pieces of pewterware for the display…’Earlier this year we were re-approached by Marc to again reproduce 16th-century pewter to decorate the king’s top table in the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace. The pewterware can be seen at the hall until the end of August and guests are invited to take up their place on the royal throne and have their picture taken.’”

Here’s the link to the full article.

First off…I feel like a terrible Tudorian. I have been traveling for the past two days with no really connection to the internet! So, sorry things have been a little slow!

But…Happy Birthday Henry!

On June 28, 1491 he was born to King Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth of England. He was born at Greenwich Palace, a favorite of his in his later years. He had two older siblings, Princess Margaret and Prince Arthur. Because Henry was the second son, he was probably destined for the Church, though some scholars have recently been debating this. He was raised with his sisters by his mother whose handwriting greatly resembles his own.

In 1494 Henry was made Duke of York, but it was not until Arthur’s death in 1502 that Henry really came into true importance in the world. With his brother’s death, Henry became Prince of Wales and heir to the throne. His father sheltered him, keeping him close at hand. He had his son moved to his own chambers where all who wanted access to him had to pass through the King’s own bedroom.

However, all that changed in 1509 when Henry VII died and Henry, Prince of Wales, became King of England.

Bust thought to be of Henry as a child

Not surprisingly, there are a ton of Tudor-related events going on right now! Here are a few:

1) According to an article I found, “BECCLES living history music group will be performing at some of the country’s most prestigious historical buildings after they dazzled the crowds at Hampton Court Palace in May.” The article talks about their performance at Hamtpon Court and of future performances. If you are interested in reading and (hopefully) attending, you can read more here.

2) I posted a while back about the new Mary Rose exhibit. Apparently some of the former crew members will be attending! (OOOO Ghosts!!!!) According to the article, “the spirit of the Mary Rose will haunt Southsea’s Castle Field at the finale of this year’s Portsmouth Festivities…A cast of sailors, shipwrights, flag bearers and musicians will parade from the Mary Rose at Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard to Southsea Bandstand for a family picnic and music. And the evening will end with a Ghost Ship Spectacle, with a cast of hundreds using lighting effects, music and fireworks to celebrate the 500th anniversary of both the building of the Mary Rose and King Henry VIII’s ascension to the throne.” It sounds really cool!

Here’s the link.

Speaking of the Mary Rose…I found this article talking about the new high-tech museum to be built to house the ship. According to the article, “The new museum will resemble a finely crafted, wooden jewelry box, clad in timber planks invoking the structure of the original ship, its designers say. Some of the money will also be used to continue spraying the hull with a special water-based wax preservative — polyethylene glycol — until 2011 before it is carefully dried for full open-air display in 2016.”

Here is the link to the article (which is quite long and detailed) and also has a picture!

Here are two articles on Henry VIII exhibits from the Tower of London (with a video) and Windsor Castle. I had the pleasure of seeing both and they were amazing! If you get a chance to go, I highly recommend it. If not (bc you are stuck in the US like me…) at least read the articles which give some detail about the artifacts.

Here’s the Tower of London (with video) Link

Here’s the Windsor Castle Link

On June 24, 1509 Henry Tudor and his wife Katherine of Aragon were crowned King and Queen of England in a magnificant ceremony at Westminster Abbey. According to the chronicler Edward Hall, 

“…The following day being a Sunday, and also Midsummer’s Day, the noble prince with his queen left the palace for Westminster Abbey at the appointed hour.  The barons of the Cinq Ports held canopies over the royal couple who trod on striped cloth of ray, which was immediately cut up by the crowd when they had entered the abbey.  Inside, according to sacred tradition and ancient custom, his grace and the queen were anointed and crowned by the archbishop of Canterbury in the presence of other prelates of the realm and the nobility and a large number of civic dignitaries.  The people were asked if they would take this most noble prince as their king and obey him.  With great reverence, love and willingness they responded with the cry ‘Yea, Yea’.

When the ceremony was finished, the lords spiritual and temporal paid homage to the king and, with the queen’s permission, returned to Westminster Hall - each one beneath his canopy - where the lord marshal bearing his staff of office ushered all to their seats.  Each noble and lord proceeded to his allotted place arranged earlier according to seniority.  The nine-piece table being set with the king’s estate seated on the right and the queen’s estate on the left, the first course of the banquet was announced with a fanfare.  At the sound the duke of Buckingham entered riding a huge charger covered with richly embroidered trappings, together with the lord steward mounted on a horse decked with cloth of gold.  The two of them led in the banquet which was truly sumptuous, and as well as a great number of delicacies also included unusual heraldic devices and mottoes. How can I describe the abundance of fine and delicate fare prepared for this magnificent and lordly feast, produced both abroad and in the many and various parts of this realm to which God has granted his bounty.  Or indeed the exemplary execution of the service of the meal itself, the clean handling and distribution of the food and the efficient ordering of the courses, such that no person of any estate lacked for anything….”

Here is a woodcut of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon’s coronation. It is symbolic, showing the Tudor rose for Henry and the pomegranate for Katherine.

Here is a link to David Starkey on the early years of Henry and Katherine, including their marriage and coronation.

Hey! Well, I have been working hard on a new addition to the site: A section on the Wars of the Roses. I have wanted to add this section since I began the site, but others things took precedence. Well, not anymore!

I am in the process of finishing up a timeline for it as well as biographies of the principle characters. I know the Wars of the Roses pre-dates the Tudors…but hey. If Henry VII hadn’t won the Wars of the Roses, there would be no Tudor Dynasty!

I will post as I finish and upload!