Claire | December 19, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 19th December 1576, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Katherine Palmer, Abbess of Syon, died in Mechelen in Belgium. The abbess died just over a month after she had confronted a mob that had broken into her monastery. Find out more about Abbess Katherine Palmer, how her order […]
Claire | November 27, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 27th November 1531, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Reformer Richard Bayfield was burnt at the stake at Smithfield for heresy. The former Benedictine monk had been caught importing heretical books into England by Sir Thomas More. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Bayfield’s first brush with the authorities. Bayfield had […]
Claire | November 3, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 3rd November 1534, in the reign of King Henry VIII, the First Act of Supremacy was passed by Parliament. This act established the king’s supremacy of the English church and rejecting the authority of the pope. It was an important act in the break with Rome and the English […]
Claire | October 23, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 23rd October 1538, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Thomas Goldwell, Prior of Christchurch, Canterbury, wrote to Thomas Cromwell. Goldwell was writing to Henry VIII’s chief advisor and vicar-general regarding the forthcoming dissolution of his monastery and its fate. His letter is rather sad and grovelling. It’s even […]
Claire | October 2, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 2nd October 1528, in the reign of King Henry VIII, reformer and Bible translator William Tyndale’s book “The Obedience of a Christian Man” was published in Antwerp. Anne Boleyn owned a copy of this book and, when it ended up in the king’s hands, it became a catalyst of […]
Claire | September 14, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 14th September 1538, the Shrine of Our Lady of Caversham, a religious shrine which had stood since the early 12th century, was destroyed on the orders of King Henry VIII. The shrine was destroyed as part of the king’s dissolution of the monasteries. Let me share some contemporary accounts […]
Claire | September 12, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, Thursday 12th September 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary, the trial of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, opened in Oxford. The archbishop stood accused of heresy, but he did not recognise the authority of the court. He gave intelligent answers to his accusers, but they did him no […]
Claire | September 6, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 6th September 1520, in the reign of King Henry VIII, the famous reformer Martin Luther sent his pamphlet “On the Freedom of a Christian” (also known as “A Treatise on Christian Liberty”) to Pope Leo X. In this pamphlet, Luther emphasised the “two-fold nature” of Christians as saints and […]
