Recent Posts
Women’s Hygiene in Tudor England
A question that I have seen comes up regularly in forums and chats is how did women cope with menstruation in the sixteenth century? According to Ninya Mikhaila and Jane Malcolm-Davies ‘there is almost complete silence in the archival record on the practical business of dealing with menstruation’ (pg. 24). Sixteenth century translations of The Bible (Isaiah, chapter3, verse 22) mention the use of menstruation cloths and further clues can be obtained from Queen Elizabeth’s household … [Read More...]
King Henry VIII’s marriage to Katherine Parr
On the 12 July 1543, 52-year-old Henry VIII married for the last time; his bride on this occasion was the wealthy widow, Katherine Parr. According to Katherine’s biographer, Linda Porter, twenty people, including the King’s daughters, the Lady Mary and Elizabeth, crowded into the Queen’s closet at Hampton Court Palace to witness King Henry VIII marrying his sixth wife. It must have been a very intimate occasion, as the room measured approximately 10 by 14 metres (Porter, Pg. 143). There … [Read More...]
Tudor Festival at Stretton Watermill
Stretton Watermill is hosting a Tudor Festival this weekend (16-17th July) in Cheshire from 12-5pm. Sounds like a lot of fun! 'Step back in time to 1596, when the mill was taken over by Ursula Leche of nearby Carden Hall, and experience an Elizabethan country fair. Costumed millers will operate the ancient machinery and grind flour and there will be demonstrations of lacemaking and Tudor medicine. Music of the period will be performed on a range of intriguing instruments by Richard and … [Read More...]
George Boleyn’s dedication to his sister Anne
George Boleyn, at the request of his sister Anne Boleyn, translated two religious books for her, ‘The Pistellis and Gospelles’ and ‘The Ecclesiaste’. For over a century it was thought that George’s father-in-law, Henry Parker, Lord Morley, had translated the texts but in 1998, as Eric Ives points out, James Carley read a damaged inscription and determined that the person responsible for the translation of ‘The Pistellis and Gospelles’ was in fact George Boleyn (pg. 271). The inscription … [Read More...]
Folger Shakespeare Library
There are some wonderful exhibitions and lectures taking place at the Folger Shakespeare Library, in Washington D.C., over the next few months. Here is a quick look at what's on: Fame, Fortune, and Theft: The Shakespeare First Folio Jun 3–Sep 3 Tickets: FREE 'This exhibition explores the complex history of the First Folio, from its humble beginnings in the seventeenth century to stories of theft and recovery of an idolized book, recounting how it came to mean so much across … [Read More...]
The Art of Courtly Love: Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII
Today's post is a wonderful guest article by Sandra Byrd, author of To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn. Sandra looks at the art of courtly love and how several of the 'rules', as outlined in the definitive book by Andreas Capellanus, The Art of Courtly Love, interplayed for Anne and Henry. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did! The Art of Courtly Love: Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII by Sandra Byrd The art of courtly love and chivalric romance so popular during the early medieval … [Read More...]
Important update: Yellow was not the colour of Royal mourning in Spain
In a recent post discussing how Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII reacted to the news of Catherine of Aragon’s death I examined what contemporary evidence survives and also outlined the views of several prominent Tudor historians. When outlining Alison Weir’s views I quoted from the 2007 edition of The Six Wives of Henry VIII where it is said that Anne and Henry wore yellow ‘as a mark of respect for the woman that Henry insisted had been his sister-in-law’ as yellow was the colour of royal mourning … [Read More...]
Write Anne Boleyn Competition!
On the 30 July, On the Tudor Trail turns two years old! To celebrate and thank you all for your wonderful support, I am running a ‘Write Anne Boleyn’ competition. To enter you need to either write a short story including Anne as one of the main characters or alternatively, write an article about any aspect of Anne Boleyn’s life. Maximum word count is 2,000 words. Entry is only open to our mailing list subscribers (if you are not one already, sign up on our homepage). All entries should … [Read More...]
Anne Boleyn: The Young Queen To Be
Anne Boleyn: The Young Queen To Be by Josephine Wilkinson was recently published by Amberley Publishing and promises to be the story of Anne Boleyn's early life, told in detail for the first time. Well, not exactly the first time, as this is a reprint of The Early Loves of Anne Boleyn published in 2009 except with a new title. Here is the synopsis: The story of Anne Boleyn's early life, told in detail for the first time. Anne Boleyn is perhaps the most engaging of Henry VIII's Queens. … [Read More...]
How did Anne Boleyn react to the news of Catherine of Aragon’s death?
This post was prompted by an interesting comment left by one of On the Tudor Trail’s readers in regards to whether or not Henry and Anne celebrated the news of Catherine’s death or whether the evidence has in fact been misinterpreted by various authors and historians. I have myself read many interpretations, including that Henry and Anne wore yellow and celebrated with great relief at the passing of their enemy; that only Anne wore yellow, as Henry was too distressed by the news and ordered … [Read More...]
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