Primary Sources

The huge array of Tudor books and biographies that are on the market today are great for us Tudor fans but there is nothing quite like reading primary sources and, now, you don’t even have to go to the British Library or National Archives to read historical documents, you can read them from the comfort of your favourite armchair – perfect for insomniacs!

• Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII – These documents from Henry VIII’s reign are always included in biographies and Tudor history books and are cited as “LP” and now you can browse through them at British History Online – simply type “Henry VIII” into the search box and lots of volumes will come up. You can then search for particular names or events.
• Henry VIII’s Love Letters to Anne Boleyn
• Calendar of State Papers and Manuscripts in the Archives of Milan, 1359–1618
• Calendar of State Papers Relating to English Affairs in the Archives of Venice, Volume 2 – 1509-1519
• Journal of the House of Lords: volume 1 – 1509-1577
• Hall’s Chronicle – This is another historical document that is often cited in history books. Edward Hall’s Chronicle, proper name “The Union of the Two Noble and Illustrate Famelies of Lancastre and Yorke”, was published in 1542 and is a chronicle running from the accession of Henry IV in 1399 to the death of Henry VIII in 1547. The part of the chronicle which covers Henry VIII’s reign is called “The Triumphant Reigne of King Henry the VIII” and can be readonline – click here to read the original handwritten text or click here to read or download the much easier type-written text.
• Holinshed’s Chronicle – You can download the pdf of this at http://ia310836.us.archive.org/3/items/holinshedschroni01holi/holinshedschroni01holi.pdf or read it online at The Holinshed Project
• Charles Wriothesley’s “A Chronicle of England During the Reigns of the Tudors from AD 1485-1559” – Download the pdf of Volume I at http://ia341309.us.archive.org/2/items/chronicleengland00wriouoft/chronicleengland00wriouoft.pdf and Volume II at http://ia331313.us.archive.org/3/items/chronicleofengla02wriouoft/chronicleofengla02wriouoft.pdf
• The Spanish Chronicle – The Spanish Chronicle, or “The Chronicle of King Henry VIII of England”, can be read online at http://www.archive.org/stream/chroniclekinghe00humegoog#page/n0/mode/1up
• “The Chronicle of Calais in the Reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII to the year 1540” Edited by John Gough Nichols
• The Life of Cardinal Wolsey by George Cavendish, click here to read it online.
• Calendar of State Papers, Spain – Found online at British History Online
• Calendar of State Papers, Venice – Found online at British History Online
• The Privy Purse Expenses of King Henry the Eighth, from November 1529, to December 1532 edited by Nicholas Harris – available online at Internet Archives
• John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs – Can be downloaded or read online at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/22400

• Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 1, Volume I
• Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 1, Volume II
• Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 1, Volume III
• Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 2, Volume I
• Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 2, Volume II
• Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 2, Volume III
• Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 3, Volume I
• Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 3, Volume II
• Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 3, Volume III
• Original Letters, Illustrative of English History, edited by Sir Henry Ellis – Series 3, Volume IV
• Ecclesiastical memorials, Relating chiefly to Religion, and the Reformation of It … under Henry VIII, King Edward VI and Queen Mary I, ed. John Strype
• History of the Reformation of the Church of England, ed. Gilbert Burnet – 7 Volumes
• Memorials of the Most Reverend Father in God, Thomas Cranmer, sometime Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, Volume 1, ed. John Strype
• Memorials of the Most Reverend Father in God, Thomas Cranmer, sometime Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, Volume 2, ed. John Strype

Specific Topics

British History Online have put together some lists of primary sources for topics pertaining to Henry VIII, see timeline and topics at http://www.british-history.ac.uk/period.aspx?tme=8:-

1509 Marriage to Catherine of Aragon

• Parishes – Kimbolton
• Parishes – Buckden
• Henry VIII – February 1534, 1-10
• Parishes – Kimbolton
• Milan – 1536

1520 Field of Cloth of Gold

• Henry VIII – June 1520
• Henry VIII – April 1520, 2-15
• Henry VIII – May 1520, 16-30
• Venice – May 1520, 21-25

1521 Defender of the Faith

• Henry VIII – October 1521, 11-20

Anne Boleyn

• Henry VIII – May 1536, 16-20
• Henry VIII – June 1536, 1-5

Anne Boleyn’s Execution

• LP x. 911, 919 and 920
• The Spanish Chronicle, p70-71
• Wriothesley’s Chronicle, p41-42
• Hall’s Chronicle, p819
• The Chronicle of Calais, p46-47
• Holinshed’s Chronicle, p796-797
• The History of the Reigns of Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI and Queen Mary, Francis Bacon, p80-82
• LP x.1036, Poem descriptive of the life of Anne Boleyn
• The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn, Eric Ives, Chapter 24 “Finale”, p357-359
• The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn, Alison Weir, p259-273, UK hardback version
• The Queens of England Volume 1, Agnes Strickland, p400-402
• Anne Boleyn: In Her Own Words & the Words of Those Who Knew Her, Elizabeth Norton, p208-270
• Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII, David Starkey