Category: The Reformation
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#WednesdayFact – Anne Boleyn was a catalyst for the English Reformation

| May 24, 2023

#WednesdayFact – Anne Boleyn was a catalyst for the English Reformation

Henry VIII’s obsession with Anne Boleyn led to the break with Rome and the English Reformation, but Anne Boleyn had more to do with it than that. In this short video, I talk about how Anne Boleyn showed Henry VIII that he didn’t need the pope… Find out even more in this longer video:

December 19 – Abbess dies far from home

| December 19, 2022

December 19 – Abbess dies far from home

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 […]

November 27 – A former monk is burnt for heresy after being caught by Sir Thomas More

| November 27, 2022

November 27 – A former monk is burnt for heresy after being caught by Sir Thomas More

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 […]

November 3 – The First Act of Supremacy

| November 3, 2022

November 3 – The First Act of Supremacy

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 […]

October 23 – The devastation caused by Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries

| October 23, 2022

October 23 – The devastation caused by Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries

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 […]

This Book is for me and all Kings to Read – Henry VIII, Tyndale and Anne Boleyn

| October 2, 2022

This Book is for me and all Kings to Read – Henry VIII, Tyndale and Anne Boleyn

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 […]

September 14 – Henry VIII destroys a centuries-old shrine

| September 14, 2022

September 14 – Henry VIII destroys a centuries-old shrine

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 […]

September 12 – The trial of Archbishop Cranmer

| September 12, 2022

September 12 – The trial of Archbishop Cranmer

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 […]

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