Happy 516th! You barely look a day over 450.

Here’s a post from the Oxford University Press blog for the occasion.

This is just sickening:

A church’s Elizabethan Tudor Rose window has been smashed to bits by thieves just a fortnight after clergymen proudly showed it off to the Prince of Wales.

They climbed in through the remains of the stained glass window at St Gredifael Church in Penymynydd, Anglesey, seized an ancient cannonball and hurled it through another Elizabethan window.

Full article (2 pages)

This is the window that was smashed, which some of you might recognize as the image that used to be on the front page of the website:

Click on the image to go to a page with a little bit more about the window and a link to the full sized picture. I’ve also got a few other pictures of the church itself, which I visited in 2000. (I’m in the process of re-doing all my photos from the negatives, so at some point I’ll have some nicer and bigger versions of the church photos up.)

Click on the thumbnails for a larger view.

Images courtesy Jonathan Hession/Showtime

From the Leicester Mercury

The mystery has baffled historians for centuries – what became of the remains of Richard III?

Folklore and many history books claim that the king’s bones were dug up and hurled into the River Soar some 50 years after his death in 1485.

Others contend that they remain where they were laid.

Archaeologists may get the chance to find out when they excavate the site of the former Greyfriars Church, in St Martins, Leicester.

Full article

Sixteenth Century Falconry tag to be auctioned

A rare silver varvel, or falcon’s tag, that belonged to the powerful and oppressive lawyer, Richard Rich, is to be sold at auction in July.
…
This silver tag is of shield form with one side engraved “Lord Rich” above a naïve bird figure, and the reverse features his family crest.

Full article (with photo)

And…

Congratulations to Dr. David Starkey!

Queen’s birthday honours recognise famous names and private deeds

… Also appointed a CBE today is the historian and broadcaster David Starkey. As an academic at LSE, his greatest contribution to Tudor research was an exploration of the social etiquette of Henry VIII’s household. But it is Dr Starkey’s popular television series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Monarchy, which are credited with making history accessible.

Full article

CBE stands for “Commander of the British Empire” more from Wikipedia

So, how many of my fellow Tudor/Harry Potter fans out there got a chuckle out of the question above on the third W.O.M.B.A.T. exam at J.K. Rowling’s website?

From 24 Hour Museum:

Extensive archaeological remains of an old guard house dating to the Tudor and Jacobean periods have been uncovered at the Tower of London.

Staff were relaying a cobblestone path across Tower Green to conform with disability regulations when they found evidence of walls, which turned out to be the remains of a substantial building.

Full article

From Art Daily (with a larger photo of the miniature)

A previously unrecorded portrait miniature of Queen Elizabeth I circa 1595/1600 by Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619) (estimate: £60,000-80,000) leads Christie’s London Important Portrait Miniatures and Gold Boxes sale on 5 June 2007. This is part of a collection of 17 portrait miniatures from a private collection which was formed by a descendent of Sir Edward Lycett Green Bt. These works have not been seen on the market for over half a century.

Full article

Variety and several other sites are reporting that film legend Peter O’Toole will be joining the cast of “The Tudors” as Pope Paul III in the second season. As the Variety article notes, O’Toole has played a King Henry with Church troubles himself… in his case Henry II in “Becket” and “The Lion in Winter” (one of my favorite movies!).

… and up for sale. Got a spare £1,000,000 (about $2,000,000 US)? And want to donate it to the owner of a Tudor History website? It would look great in my living room.

From The Times Online (with photo):

The 15ft (4.5m) by 6ft piece was made by William Sheldon, England’s finest tapestry maker, in Warwickshire in about 1580. Sheldon is thought to have made fewer than 20 large tapestries, and the Crocker Sheldon, which portrays scenes from English country life, is one of the few to have survived.

Full article

And another (longer) article from The Independent

Update: Here’s another article with some more pictures, including some close-ups