Tudor History with Claire Ridgway

April 27 - A Tudor and Stuart adventurer

On this day in history, actually in the Stuart period, 27th April 1609, Sir Edward Michelborne, member of Parliament, soldier and adventurer, died. 
 
He'd survived an unsuccessful naval campaign against the Spanish, being implicated in a rebellion, and an attack by pirates, to die a natural death at his home in Hackney.
 
Find out more about Sir Edward Michelborne in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society.
 
You can find out more about the Japanese pirate attack on the Tiger in my video from 29th December - https://youtu.be/XKdRcXgxYew 
 
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/JNwbZX8bB5A
 
On this day in 1536, in the fall of Anne Boleyn, writs were issued summoning Parliament and according to Eustace Chapuys, a bishop was consulted regarding whether Henry VIII could abandon his second wife, Anne Boleyn. What was going on? Find out in my video at https://youtu.be/lpgeeVoJcgo
Also on this day in Tudor history, 27th April 1584, civil lawyer and judge, David Lewis, died in London. You can find out more about him in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/f7pGwIvDBzc 

April 26 - Shakespeare and the plague

On this day in Tudor history, 26th April 1564, the Bard, William Shakespeare, was baptised at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. This was just three months before the plague hit the town, wiping out a fifth of its population. Fortunately for him, and us, Shakespeare didn't catch it - phew!
 
Find out more about the plague and its outbreak in Stratford-upon-Avon in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of "On This Day in Tudor History".
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 26th April 1540, Catherine Carey, daughter of Mary Boleyn and niece of the late Queen Anne Boleyn, married Francis Knollys.It is not known whether the marriage was a love match, but it appears to have been a very happy and successful marriage, and resulted in 14 children. You can find out more about them in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/c_rcS3AX7nk 
 
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/fbY5itlDUeY
 
And on this day in 1536, in the lead up to Anne Boleyn's fall, Queen Anne Boleyn met with her chaplain, Matthew Parker. The words that she spoke to him that day had such an impact on him that they stayed with him for the rest of his life. Find out more about this in my video on 26th April 1536 - https://youtu.be/2pgryv6sz3g 

April 25 - Catherine Parr publishes a book

 
On this day in Tudor history, 25th April 1544, an English translation of John Fisher’s Latin work, “Psalms or Prayers”, was published. It had been translated by none other than Catherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife. 
 
It was published anonymously, but there's rather a lot of circumstantial evidence pointing towards Queen Catherine as the translator. Find out more in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of several history books. https://youtu.be/7bAAgFnKxMQ
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 25th April 1557, Tudor troublemaker Thomas Stafford, grandson of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, proclaimed himself "Protector of the Realm". It didn't go down well! Find out what happened in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/74aUAE-g22Q 
 
And don't forget to check out today's Fall of Anne Boleyn countdown video - https://youtu.be/XH3kyeRbdcI

April 24 - Divining your future love

Today, 24th April, is St Mark’s Eve, the day before the Feast of St Mark the Evangelist, one of Christ’s apostles and the man who is said to have written the Gospel of Mark. In medieval and Tudor times, St Mark's Eve was the night to divine who you were going to marry.
 
How did people go about divining their future partner?
 
Find out in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of "On This Day in Tudor History". https://youtu.be/EH0DDFQgSuM
 
24th April is the first day of The Fall of Anne Boleyn Countdown series of videos that I did last year and you can find out all about what happened on 24th April 1536 in this video - https://youtu.be/jRx9pKlmABQ 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 24th April 1558, fifteen-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, got married for the first time. Find out more in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/Xe3v6dVwwac

April 23 - George Boleyn loses out

On this day in Tudor history, 23rd April 1536, St George's Day, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, lost to Nicholas Carew in the Order of the Garter elections.
 
George Boleyn was, of course, the brother of Queen Anne Boleyn, so how did he lose, and was this a sign of the beginning of the end for the Boleyns?
 
Find out what exactly happened in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of "The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown" and co-author of "George Boleyn: Tudor Poet, Courtier and Diplomat".
 
Today is also the anniversary of the birth and death of William Shakespeare in 1564 and 1616. Find out more about the Bard in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/a1HLH5iIhMM 

April 22 - Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland

On this day in Tudor history, 22nd April, Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland, magnate and Warden of the West Marches, died.
 
This Knight of the Garter had a successful career, although he was imprisoned once and upset the king on at least one occasion. He was also described as a greedy landlord.
 
Find out more about Henry Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of several Tudor history books.
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 22nd April 1598, Justice Francis Beaumont died after contracting gaol fever at the Black Assizes of the Northern Circuit. But what exactly was gaol fever? Find out in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/TvLQwIESn88 

April 21 - The Philosopher's Stone offered to Elizabeth I

On this day in Tudor history, 21st April 1581, alchemist Thomas Charnock was buried at Otterhampton in Somerset.
 
Charnock was obsessed with alchemy and claimed to have made the philosopher's stone, which he offered to Queen Elizabeth I in exchange for financial support.
 
Find out more about Thomas Charnock, his work on alchemy, and the philosopher's stone, in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of "On This Day in Tudor History".
 
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/spVgXLThSug
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 21st April 1509, King Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty on the English throne, died at Richmond Palace. He was succeeded by his son, Henry VIII. Find out more in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/ngAH2vn7l40 

April 20 - Lady Mary Grey, sister of Lady Jane Grey

On this day in Tudor history, 20th April 1578, Lady Mary Keys (née Grey), sister of Lady Jane Grey and wife of Thomas Keys, died at her home in the parish of St Botolph without Aldgate, London.Like her sisters, Mary had a sad life. Her secret marriage led to Elizabeth I imprisoning her and her husband, and they never saw each other again.
 
Find out more about the tiny Mary who was described as "crook-backed", her marriage to a man who was said to be 6'8, and what happened to Mary and Thomas, in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society.
 
Book recommendation: “The Sisters Who Would be Queen” by Leanda de Lisle.
 
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/amBA9_Ifjno
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 20th April 1534, Elizabeth Barton, the Nun of Kent, was executed for treason. Find out more about her, the visions she had concerning Henry VIII, and how she ended up being hanged, in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/rJNeSRcqIg0