The Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 was an eighteen day meeting and celebration between King Henry VIII and the King of France François I. It is an example of one of the grandest meetings between different nations. From fountains flowing with real wine, to 36 metre tents made entirely from cloth of […]
Life in Tudor England
Elizabethan Poor Laws
Did you know that the social welfare system in the 16th century was very different from what we have today? The Elizabethan Poor Laws were a series of laws that were enacted in England to assist the poor. These laws were very controversial and sparked a lot of debate. In this article, we will discuss […]
The 39 Articles of Religion
What Are The 39 Articles Of Religion? The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion or the XXXIX Articles are the rules, regulations, and practices of the Church of England after the English Reformation. These Thirty-nine Articles are a portion of the Book of Common Prayer that is used by both The Episcopal Church and the Church of […]
Act of Supremacy
What was the Act of Supremacy? The Act of Supremacy is the name of two different acts passed by the English Parliament, both of which establish the English monarch as the head of the Church of England and removed the powers of the Pope as the head of the church. The original act passed in […]
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Reformation was a period of rapid change in Europe, and England was no exception. King Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547 CE) broke away from the Catholic church, and in doing so he left the church’s monasteries, priories, and other holdings in an awkward position. They had a great deal of wealth, but they no longer […]
Tudor Trivia – Did You Know Facts About Tudor England
During Elizabeth I’s reign, one in four girls born in England were named after the queen! King James I of England was the first English monarch to have more than one name. His full name was Charles James Stuart. The ‘Charles’ was in honor of Prince Charles of France, who was Mary queen of Scots’s […]
Tudor England Mental Illness Types & Facts
(This applies to medieval and early Tudor England.) Early Tudor medical opinion believed there were 5 types of mental disease: MELANCHOLIA (depression and apathy); MANIA (violent action); DELIRIUM (abnormal behavior accompanied by fever); AMENTIA (lack or complete loss of mental abilities); and PHRENITIS (inflammation of the brain.) Also, epilepsy was believed to be a mental […]
John Skelton Poetry – Collection Of Poems
To Mistress Margaret Hussey Merry Margaret, As midsummer flower, Gentle as falcon Or hawk of the tower; With solace and gladness, Much mirth and no madness, All good and no badness; So joyously, So maidenly, So womanly Her demeaning In every thing, Far, far passing That I can endite, Or suffice to write Of merry […]
Tudor Houses – Great Houses & Types In Tudor England
Please note: The English crown changed hands FIVE times in the twenty-four years before Henry VII’s rule. The great households of England were convulsed in the battles between Lancaster and York. They chose sides, clashed, lost lands, and won them. They could do this because they possessed the disquieting ability to raise large armies. And […]
Tudor England Food And Drink
Everyone in Tudor England ate bread and cheese – the only difference between classes was the quality of bread and cheese. The cheapest bread was called ‘Carter’s bread’; it was a mixture of rye and wheat. The middle classes (or prosperous tenants) ate ‘ravel’, also called ‘yeoman’s bread’ and made of wholemeal. The most expensive […]