Friday 26 February 2021

March 2021 issue of 'Tudor Life'

 


The latest issue of 'Tudor Life' is out, with 'Pride' as its theme, and is about 70 pages long.


Check out a sample copy here: https://www.tudorsociety.com/tudor-life-march-2021-taster/


To learn more about 'The Tudor Society': www.tudorsociety.com

Wednesday 24 February 2021

The Return of Anne Boleyn?

With the recent violent eruptions of Mount Etna in Sicily, one is reminded of a local legend.

According to the late 18th century traveller Patrick Brydone, those loving around the area believed that the soul of Anne Boleyn - because of her wickedness - was 'condemned to burn forever' in the volcano.

 

Photo taken on Feb. 16, 2021

 

Anne Boleyn (by an Unknown Artist) from The Dulwich Picture Gallery


 

Tuesday 23 February 2021

The Royal Couple by Nicholas Hilliard

Portrait miniatures of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour by Nicholas Hilliard.

 


 

These are comparable to the likenesses made for the lost 'Bosworth Jewel' as shown below.

 


Sunday 21 February 2021

'My Lady Princess'

 

 

Designs for jewelry for 'Mi Ladi Prinsis' (the future Elizabeth I) by Hans Holbein. From The British Museum.

Made between Elizabeth's birth on Sept. 7, 1533 and Anne's downfall in May 1536 (when Elizabeth subsequently lost her royal title).

 

 


Illustration (by John Kenney) of the infant Elizabeth with Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn taken from The Story of the First Queen Elizabeth (Ladybird Books, 1958).



Saturday 20 February 2021

The Valois Royal Family of France

 


 Across the Channel from the Tudors - the Valois royal family.

 From top left, clockwise:

- Francis II with his wife Mary Queen of Scots

- Francis I with his wife Claude of France

- Charles IX with his wife Elisabeth of Austria

- Elisabeth (Isabella) of Valois (wife of Philip of Spain)

- Francis Hercules, Duke of Alençon

- Margaret of Valois (wife of Henry of Navarre)

- Claude of Valois with her husband Charles, Duke of Lorraine

-Henry III with his wife Louise of Lorraine

Center: Henry II with his wife Catherine de Medici

 

 

Friday 19 February 2021

Katheryn Howard's Jewelry Collection



 
Certain jewels of sundry natures given by the King's Majesty unto Queen Katheryn, his most dearest wife at the time of the solemnization of Their Graces' marriages ...
 
The inventory, compiled by Nicholas Bristow, lists the treasure trove given to Katheryn, and later, the items 'taken by the King into his own hands' at her downfall in late 1541.
 
You can read what jewels Katheryn received, and what she gave to her stepdaughters, Princess Mary and Princess Elizabeth, in the summary in Letters and Papers, Henry VIII (go to 1389) by clicking here.



Katheryn Howard(?) by Hans Holbein


A Book for Queen Katheryn Howard

 A rare artifact from Katheryn Howard's brief queenship from The British Library.

 'An Excellent Work on the True Difference between Royal and Ecclesiastical Power' by Edward Foxe (1534). From Henry VIII's book collection at Westminster in 1542. 

 On the cover - 'K' for Katheryn and 'H' for 'Henry'.

 


 

Thursday 18 February 2021

Dutch Drawings of King Henry VIII

Illustrations of Henry VIII, attributed to the Dutch artist Cornelis Anthonis (1505-1553). 

From the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. 

 




 

Sunday 14 February 2021

Tudor Portrait Miniatures in the Buccleuch Collection


A set of Tudor monarchs and their wives:

  • Henry VII (by an Unknown Artist)
  • Elizabeth of York (by John Hoskins)
  • Katherine of Aragon (by Lucas Horenbout)
  • Henry VIII (after Hans Holbein)
  • Anne Boleyn (by John Hoskins)
  • Mary I (by Hans Eworth)
  • Edward VI (after William Scrots)
  • Elizabeth I (by Nicholas Hilliard) 

 





The Duke of Buccleuch with a miniature of Elizabeth I (by Nicholas Hilliard)



 

Friday 12 February 2021

The End of Lady Jane Grey

 On this day, the teenage Lady Jane Grey was tragically executed in 1554.

 In the 19th century, she was esteemed by the Victorians as a representation of ideal womanhood - courageous, virtuous, and devoutly Protestant.

Her death (as a sacrificed innocent) was popularized by artists such as Paul Delaroche and George Cruikshank. Their sketches (later worked up into famous images) are from The British Museum's collection.

 


 


 

Monday 8 February 2021

Mary Queen of Scots (1542 - 1587)

On this day in 1587, Mary Queen of Scots was executed at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire.

Most of us are familiar with the images of Mary in later life during her long sad captivity in England.

Here instead, are 2 pictures of Mary (by François Clouet) as a young girl at the French court, with a life still full of promise ahead of her.