Tudor History with Claire Ridgway

The Pope Who Celebrated a Massacre

A medal for a massacre. A Te Deum for thousands of deaths. A celebration that still shocks centuries later.On this day in history—11 September 1572—Pope Gregory XIII ordered Rome to give thanks for not one, but two "victories": the Catholic triumph over the Ottomans at Lepanto and the mass slaughter of French Protestants during the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.In this episode:
The shocking papal reaction to the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
The political and religious tensions behind Gregory’s “thanksgiving”
Why he linked the massacre with the naval victory at Lepanto
The commemorative medal and what it tells us about 16th-century propaganda
Gregory XIII’s surprising legacy—from calendar reform to Jesuit patronage
To some, it was divine justice. To others—then and now—it was unthinkable.Watch next:The St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre – https://youtu.be/1DmTMXr0TcQThe Gregorian Calendar - https://youtu.be/VRz98plSjqkLike, subscribe, and ring the bell for more daily deep dives into Tudor and early modern history.#OnThisDay #StBartholomewsDay #Lepanto #GregoryXIII #TudorHistory #Reformation #CounterReformation #ClaireRidgway #GregorianCalendar #HistoryDebate #ReligiousHistory #EarlyModernEurope

She Faced the Flames Cheerfully – The Martyrdom of Joyce Lewis

On this day in Tudor history—10 September 1557—Joyce Lewis was led to the stake at Lichfield for her Protestant faith.Eyewitnesses said she faced the flames with cheerfulness.I’m historian and author Claire Ridgway, and in today’s episode, I share the powerful and heartbreaking story of a Tudor gentlewoman who chose faith and conscience over compliance—with devastating consequences.In this video:
Her noble lineage and tragic first marriage
The moment that changed her faith
Her arrest, trial, and unwavering defence of conscience
Her final toast to gospel believers
The dignity and defiance she showed at the stake
Her lasting legacy, memorialised centuries later in Mancetter
This is the story of a woman whose quiet courage still echoes today.Like, comment, and subscribe for more daily Tudor history stories.What do you think sustained Joyce Lewis’s bravery—faith, community, or sheer inner resolve? Tell me in the comments.Want more Tudor content, including my monthly digital magazine The Privy Chronicle? Consider becoming a channel member and stepping into my Tudor court!#TudorHistory #JoyceLewis #MarianMartyrs #OnThisDay #ProtestantMartyrs #MaryI #ClaireRidgway #TudorWomen #FaithAndFire #HistoryWithHeart #TudorMartyrs #ReformationHistory

“Near to Heaven by Sea”: Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s Last Voyage

We are as near to Heaven by sea as by land.” On this day, 9 September 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s tiny ship, the Squirrel, disappeared in an Atlantic storm, and an audacious Elizabethan life ended in a flash of foam and darkness.I’m historian and author Claire Ridgway, and today we follow Gilbert’s extraordinary arc: Devon gentleman and half-brother to Sir Walter Ralegh; soldier praised at Newhaven and feared in Munster for brutal tactics; polemicist for a Northwest Passage and English colonisation; MP who clashed in Parliament; and, finally, patent-holder who sailed to Newfoundland and claimed St John’s for Queen Elizabeth I, before disaster struck on the homeward voyage.In this episode:
Gilbert’s powerful family network (Kat Ashley & the Ralegh connection)
Soldier and strategist: praise in France, terror in Ireland
Pen and policy: A Discourse of a Discoverie & dreams of an academy
The 1583 voyage: The Delight, the Golden Hind, the Swallow, and the fateful Squirrel
Claiming St John’s—and losing men, charts, and nerve in a wreck
The storm off the Azores and Gilbert’s haunting last words
Legacy: how his vision fed later English ventures in the New World
If you enjoy these daily Tudor deep dives, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell so you don’t miss the next one.#TudorHistory #OnThisDay #Elizabethan #Exploration #Newfoundland #SirHumphreyGilbert #WalterRaleigh

The Boleyn Grandson Who Backed Shakespeare

Grandson of Mary Boleyn. Cousin to Elizabeth I. Patron to Shakespeare’s company. On 8 September 1603, George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon, died, leaving a legacy that runs from court politics to the playhouse. Some even whispered he was Henry VIII’s grandson. Rumour or not, Carey stood right behind the stage that gave us Hamlet, Henry V and more.
I’m historian and author Claire Ridgway. In today’s “On This Day,” meet the steady court insider who helped shape the English Renaissance, from border forts and the Isle of Wight to the Lord Chamberlain’s Men.
What you’ll learn:
Carey’s Boleyn roots & royal connections
Missions to Scotland and a knighthood at Berwick (1570)
Roles that kept him close to Elizabeth I (Marshal of the Household, JP, Constable of Bamburgh, Captain of the Isle of Wight)
How he supported the fleet during the Spanish Armada
Why becoming Lord Chamberlain (1596) mattered to Shakespeare’s troupe
Honours (KG, Privy Council) and his late-life legacy under James I
The enduring rumour about Tudor blood in the Carey line
If you enjoyed this, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell for daily Tudor stories.Tell me in the comments: Do you think the Carey–Tudor blood rumour holds water?
#TudorHistory #AnneBoleyn #ElizabethI #Shakespeare #LordChamberlainsMen #OnThisDay

Who was Anne Boleyn REALLY?

Who was Anne Boleyn...really? In this fast, source-based overview I cover her debated birth year, French education, rise to queenship, real influence on religion and politics, the 1536 downfall, and the biggest myths to bin (no, not a sixth finger). Perfect for newcomers and Tudor die-hards.What you’ll learn    • How Mechelen & France shaped her polish and politics    • What Anne actually did as queen: patronage, reform, image    • The 1536 crisis: miscarriage, factions, the trial of the five men    • Myths vs reality: portraits, “witchcraft,” birth year    • Legacy, places to visit, and what we still don’t know
    • My take on Anne Boleyn's fall
 
Further reading (starter list)    • Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn
    • Claire Ridgway, The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown
    • G. W. Bernard, Anne Boleyn: Fatal Attractions    • Retha M. Warnicke, The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn   Watch next: 
Anne’s Fall playlist (step-by-step from April–May 1536) - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLepqWJ7TpkrIov3Augf3dy9QDBFL1yViKAnne Boleyn and the Boleyns playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLepqWJ7TpkrLjVti06aNo1KLQg9Cn64FR

Mary Tudor’s Hidden Influence + How Tudors Learned - Claire Ridgway Interviews Amy McElroy

Join me for a lively deep-dive with historian and author Amy McElroy—whose books include Educating the Tudors and Women’s Lives in the Tudor Era, with Mary Tudor, Queen of France out next and a new project on Desiderius Erasmus underway. We talk Tudor education, women’s real power at home and court, Mary Tudor’s overlooked influence, and why Erasmus matters.In this interview, we explore:
How Amy fell in love with history and turned blogging into books
Educating the Tudors: what (and how) children learned—across class and gender
Women’s Lives in the Tudor Era: daughters, wives, mothers, widows—how much agency did they really have?
Mary Tudor, Queen of France: the sister who shaped a dynasty—beyond the shadow of Henry VIII
Erasmus: Europe’s sharpest mind—visionary or misunderstood?
Research wins, writing routines, audience Qs, and a quick-fire Tudor round
About my guest:Amy McElroy is the author of Educating the Tudors (2023), Women’s Lives in the Tudor Era (2024), and Mary Tudor, Queen of France (2025), with Desiderius Erasmus: The Folly or Far Sightedness of Renaissance Europe's Greatest Mind (2026) forthcoming. She co-hosts The Tudor Notebook on Substack and has appeared on several podcasts.
Links:Amy’s books & Substack — https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Amy-McElroy/author/B0BBSK2SDQ, https://www.amazon.com/stores/Amy-McElroy/author/B0BBSK2SDQ, https://amymcelroy.substack.com/My December online event The Other Tudors: The Forgotten Figures Who Shaped a Dynasty — Launching soon at https://claireridgway.com/ - keep an eye out!Subscribe for more Tudor interviews & deep divesSay hello in the comments:Which part of Mary Tudor’s story deserves its own episode? And what’s your take on Erasmus?

Could You Really Get Away with Murder at Henry VIII's Court? - Tudor True Crime

In April 1532, Sir William Pennington was cut down on the very edge of Westminster sanctuary—and his killers walked away with a manslaughter verdict, a £1,000 pardon, and glittering careers. In this Tudor true-crime deep dive, I unpack the fight, the politics, and the legal loopholes that made it possible.What’s inside:
The argument and fight, from Westminster Hall to the sanctuary precinct
How sanctuary should have worked—and how it was bent
The official indictment vs. Carlo Capello’s explosive diplomatic report
Cromwell’s intervention and the price of a royal pardon
Holbein’s 1537 portrait: the scar carried from the fight
What this case tells us about power, patronage, and Tudor justice
Sources & further reading:
Shannon McSheffrey, “The Slaying of Sir William Pennington: Legal Narrative and the Late Medieval English Archive" - https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/flor/article/view/21566/25053
Venetian ambassador Carlo Capello’s report, Calendar of State Papers Relating To English Affairs in the Archives of Venice, Volume 4, 1527-1533, 761 - https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/venice/vol4/pp331-334
Hans Holbein: preparatory sketch & portrait of Richard Southwell (1537) - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Hans_Holbein_d._J._060.jpg and https://www.rct.uk/collection/912242/sir-richard-southwell-15023-1564
If you enjoy Tudor true crime & deep dives into the records, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell. 
Tell me in the comments: Was this justice, or a cover for court politics?#TudorHistory #TrueCrime #HenryVIII #ThomasCromwell #AnneBoleyn #Westminster #Sanctuary #Holbein #RichardSouthwell #SirWilliamPennington

From Paston Letters to Power

On this day in Tudor history, 4 September 1550, Sir Thomas Paston, a gentleman of the privy chamber under Henry VIII and Edward VI, died. If the name Paston rings a bell, it should: the Paston Letters gave us one of the richest pictures of late-medieval/early-Tudor gentry life. But Thomas Paston wasn’t just part of a famous family, he carved out his own path at the heart of power.In this video, I trace his journey from younger son to royal insider:
Gentleman of the privy chamber (daily access to the king)
Keeper of the armoury at Greenwich (1541)
Steward & constable of Castle Rising (1542)
French campaign with Henry VIII and knighthood after Boulogne (1545)
Local authority & Parliament: steward of estates, MP for Norfolk, J.P.
Crisis manager: helped quell Kett’s Rebellion (1549)
Family life: marriage to Agnes Leigh; heir Henry (aged 4 at Thomas’s death), with Agnes pregnant with Edward
If you enjoy these “On This Day” spotlights, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell. Want Tudor extras? Consider joining my YouTube channel as a channel member for exclusive talks, resources, and my monthly magazine.
#TudorHistory #PastonLetters #HenryVIII #EdwardVI #Norfolk #KettsRebellion #OnThisDay #AnneBoleynFiles #HistoryYouTube