Recent Posts
A Tudor Summer Progress
I hope you can all free up your calendars because we’re going on a Tudor Summer Progress! Well, maybe not physically but one of On the Tudor Trail’s readers is and has very generously offered to let us join him – in a cyber sense that is… Mike Glaeser is about to set off on an eight-day tour of England where he will visit many important Tudor sites. We will live vicariously through him, as he has kindly offered to update us from each location and provide us with pictures of his journey … [Read More...]
I have but such a little neck…
I wanted to share with you this very moving poem written by Lynne Edwina Pearce. A lovely addition to our 'Remembering Anne Boleyn' section. If you have written a poem or fictional piece about Anne that you would like to share, please contact me. Thank you Lynne! I have but such a little neck, My hands they do entwine Will tears fall and wails be heard, From others in my line I've had my use, I failed the test, Now cast aside am I, Abandoned in these prison walls, And left alone … [Read More...]
Henry VIII and the ‘Great Matter’
I am very happy to share with you that I have selected Lynn Oliver's article about Henry VIII and the 'Great Matter' as the runner up in our 'Write Anne Boleyn' competition. I hope you will join me in congratulating Lynn on a very detailed and well researched article. Henry VIII and the 'Great Matter' by Lynn Oliver Henry VIII is most well known for his six wives and his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church that generated the Reformation. Henry … [Read More...]
Winner of our write Anne Boleyn Competition!
I am delighted to share with you the winning entry of our 'Write Anne Boleyn' competition! Jessica Pringle has written a very moving fictional account of Anne's last moments on the scaffold. I greatly admire the courage Anne displayed and I have often wondered about what Anne's thoughts were in these final moments. I ask you to join me in congratulating Jess and I hope you enjoy her work as much as I did. O death, rock me asleep... by Jessica Pringle ‘Good Christian people, I am … [Read More...]
A Visitor’s Companion to Tudor England
In March 2012, Suzannah Lipscomb's book, 'A Visitor's Companion to Tudor England' will be published and I must say I cannot wait to own a copy! As you are all aware, I am fascinated by the idea of walking in the footsteps of the Tudors and in this book Suzannah visits over 50 Tudor places uncovering the stories behind this famous period of history. Product Description: For the armchair traveller or those looking for inspiration for a day out, The Visitor’s Companion to Tudor England … [Read More...]
Thomas Boleyn’s Brass at Penshurst Church
After my initial post about ‘The Other Boleyn Boy’, that you can read here, one of my very generous readers, Gilly, offered to travel to Saint John the Baptist Penshurst to take some photos of the brass and try to uncover some more information about the other Boleyn boy - Thomas Boleyn (a sibling of Mary, Anne and George’s). Unfortunately, the church was deserted and Gilly was unable to find any church employees to question but did take some wonderful photos of the church and brass. [cincopa … [Read More...]
Lady Jane Grey
I have just published a wonderful guest article by author Ella March Chase. The article entitled 'I Look For Light After Darkness' is the story of Lady Jane Grey, England's nine days queen. Ella March's new book 'Three Maids for a Crown: A novel of the Grey sisters' will be available from August 2nd. Here is a short synopsis: 'In an age where begetting sons was all that mattered and queens rose and fell on the sex of their child, three girls with royal Tudor blood were born to the … [Read More...]
Thomas Cromwell’s plea for mercy from the Tower of London
On the 28th July 1540, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief minister, was executed for treason and heresy on Tower Hill. I wanted to share part of a letter Cromwell wrote to Henry VIII on 30 June 1540 from his cell in the Tower of London, effectively begging for mercy. Most merciful King, and most gracious sovereign Lord, may it please the same to be advertised that the last time it pleased your benign goodness to send unto me the Right Honourable Lord Chancellor, the Right Honourable Duke … [Read More...]
Did Anne Boleyn spend time at Brie-sous-Forges?
So much about Anne Boleyn’s early years and time spent in France is unknown and open to speculation. Most historians though do agree that Anne Boleyn stayed in France, in the household of Queen Claude, for almost seven years, a period for which, according to Eric Ives, ‘we have no direct evidence’ (Pg. 29). What we do have is local French tradition linking Anne Boleyn with Brie-sous-Forges, a town located southwest of Paris. According to folklore Anne Boleyn lived at … [Read More...]
National Portrait Gallery London Talks & Events
On Thursday 11 August at 13:15, Dr Anna Beer will talk about 'The Life and Times of Sir Walter Raleigh' at the National Portrait Gallery in London. "Dr Anna Beer looks at explorer and poet Sir Walter Raleigh and his relationship to Queen Elizabeth I and her successor, James I. Beer will show the significance of portraiture to the worlds of both literature and politics at this point in history." Another event that sounds fascinating is Imagined Lives: Mystery Portraits from the National … [Read More...]
Supposed letter by Anne Boleyn
I have only recently come across this letter supposedly written by Anne Boleyn to an acquaintance sometime after 1524. First printed in 1769 as part of an article by an anonymous author comparing 18th century manners to those of previous centuries. Elizabeth Norton in ‘Anne Boleyn: In Her Own Words & the Words of Those Who Knew Her’ describes how the anonymous author claimed a friend had given him the letter along with the assurance that it was in fact written by Anne Boleyn before … [Read More...]
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