April 17 – A stolen head, an executed Jesuit and a jury thrown in prison

On this day in Tudor history, 17 April 1554, in the reign of Queen Mary I, celebrations for the acquittal of a Tudor courtier led to the head of his fellow rebel being stolen. It was the head of Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger.

Find out what happened…

On this day in 1595, or according to some sources 7th April, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Jesuit Henry Walpole was hanged, drawn and quartered in the city of York. Walpole had been accused of three counts of treason.

Walpole felt that he’d been given a sign at the execution of Edmund Campion to carry on Campion’s work, and, like Campion, his religious mission led him to his death.

Find out about the sign, what Walpole did, how he suffered awful torture, and about his sad end…

What happens when a jury doesn’t find an alleged traitor guilty and, instead, acquits him? Well, the jurors get arrested and thrown into prison, of course!

I explain exactly what happened on this day in Tudor history, 17th April 1554, in the case of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton. I also give details on how the jurors finally got released and what happened to Throckmorton. Don’t you just love Tudor justice?!

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