Now for the first time in 500 years much of the music included in Anne Boleyn’s songbook has been recorded by the Alamire Consort, under the direction of Dr. David Skinner of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University.
If You Had Married King Henry VIII…….What Would Your Fate Have Been?
August 19, 2015 By
Is it off with your head? or do you stand a chance of surviving?
‘Décapitation’ by Femme No. 5 – get your own Tudor-inspired perfume at York
August 19, 2015 By
Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII who was said to have had an illicit liaison during her visit to York in 1541, is the inspiration of a new perfume now available at Barley Hall in York as part of its ‘Power & Glory: York in the Time of Henry VIII’ exhibition.
BOOK REVIEW: The Tapestry by Nancy Bilyeau
July 26, 2015 By
Joanna Stafford, our intrepid ex-Dominican super sleuth is at it again. This time, she’s hurled straight into the midst of plotting and deception at Henry VIII’s court.
Dynastic Politics: Five Women of the Howard Family During the Reign of Henry VIII, 1509-1547
June 4, 2015 By
The Howards were the most important noble dynasty of Henry VIII’s reign. Tudor political history cannot be written without them; they lived their lives at its core, in the shadow of the Crown.
Mystery, Secrets and Magic
May 12, 2015 By
When I decided to put pen to paper for a Tudor historical fiction story, I had no idea what I wanted to write. The subject has been analyzed and romanticized for five hundred years. What could I do that would be an original slant on this iconic subject matter? After having a look around I noticed that no one appears to have the exact moment of her execution. From there, the story began to slowly develop and present itself to me.
Review of Wolf Hall, Episode 5: Crows
May 3, 2015 By
In this tense and well written episode, Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell experience, in different ways, the unpredictable, explosive anger of Henry VIII.
Review of Wolf Hall, Episode 3: Anna Regina
April 19, 2015 By
Three things happened that made it possible for Henry VIII to marry Anne Boleyn. Without these three factors, there’d have been no marriage.
Review of Wolf Hall, Episode 2: Entirely Beloved
April 12, 2015 By
I will try to unravel some of the complexities of the relationships in the court of Henry VIII, which are shown on Wolf Hall without much effort to explain. While such a sophisticated script yields rich rewards, it assumes a certain working knowledge of 16th century power players.
Review of Wolf Hall, Episode 1: Three Card Trick
April 5, 2015 By
Tudor mystery author Nancy Bilyeau explains the intricate plot of the premiere episode of Masterpiece Theater’s ‘Wolf Hall,’ about Thomas Cromwell, the chief minister of Henry VIII, whom some decry as an evil genius and others praise as the leader of the English Reformation.
Interview: Ben Miles on playing Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall
April 1, 2015 By
Was there ever a time that Thomas Cromwell, lord privy seal of England in the reign of Henry VIII, was not front and center in the culture?
Grainne Uaile: The Movie
September 10, 2014 By
An up and coming movie about Grace O’ Malley (Grainne Uaile), Ireland’s famous female pirate!
BOOK REVIEWS: “The Chalice” by Nancy Bilyeau
April 8, 2014 By
My book review of Nancy Bilyeau’s, “The Chalice”.
Christmas Books: Great Medieval Fiction Reads for the Christmas Holidays!
December 8, 2013 By
Some medieval stocking stuffers for the historians on your Christmas list!
Book Review: In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn
December 6, 2013 By
It is particularly useful in that it brings together much (usually) scattered information into one place and links places, events and context together. It is a useful reference book with extensive links to further information.
Twilight Tours at the Tower of London!
December 1, 2013 By
A review of the Twilight Tour at the Tower of London!
Great Medieval Fiction 2013!
November 28, 2013 By
For those of you who enjoy some fantasy or a historical novel – this list is for you!
Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales
August 6, 2013 By
Arthur Tudor was born shortly after midnight on September 20, 1486, just eight months after his parent’s marriage. King Henry was optimistic and insisted his son be born at Winchester, the legendary capital of King Arthur’s Camelot.
Welsh Poetry and the War of the Roses
May 5, 2013 By
This is a brief summary of a paper on Welsh poetry, patronage and politics. It was given at the Celtic Studies Association of North America Annual Conference at the University of Toronto April 18 – 21, 2013.
Perkin Warbeck: Whether my hero was or was not an impostor, he was believed to be the true man by his contemporaries
December 2, 2012 By
So what about the famous confession? By historians in the Tudor tradition this is usually seen as absolute proof that he was an impostor, arguing that “there is nothing in [his] confession which should make us doubt his truthfulness”. Somehow they cannot have looked at it too closely.
The Curious Career and Uncertain Past of Perkin Warbeck
December 2, 2012 By
Was Warbeck just another in a long line of pretenders to the throne of England, or did his appearance in Ireland in 1491 prove the innocence
of Richard III, whom most historians accuse of murdering his nephews, the Princes in the Tower?
“Partners in the same”: Monastic Devotional Culture in Late Medieval English Literature
September 9, 2012 By
To understand this apparent incongruity, it is, I argue, necessary to interrogate more carefully the continuation of monastic literary culture and its gradual diffusion beyond the walls of the cloister.
Gender Equality in Wage Labour Relations: the example of statutory regulation in late medieval and early Tudor England
September 2, 2012 By
The first question, not yet raised in labour historiography, is about the impact of wage labour relations on gender equality.
The second question is related to the first one: what role did women play as protagonists of wage labour relations.
Were the “Princes in the Tower” Murdered?
September 2, 2012 By
The short answer is ‘No, not together nor in the Tower’, but as to their murder elsewhere, it all depends on the definition.
‘He contents the people wherever he goes’ Richard III: His Parliament and Government
April 29, 2012 By
In recent years new biographies of great figures such as Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy have shed great light on key issues of English-European relations, while studies of Margaret Beaufort have redefined the political role of the women of this era.
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