From The Telegraph:

Forensic examination of the crew’s skulls, which were found next the 16th century wreck in The Solent, has revealed that Henry VIII’s flagship was mainly crewed by foreign sailors, thought to be either mercenaries or Spanish prisoners of war.

Historians have always believed that the warship sank when it performed a sharp turn during a battle with the French in July 1545 and heeled so steeply that water flooded through the open gun ports.

But the new theory suggests that the gun ports may only have been open because the crew spoke little English and did not understand orders to close them as the ship’s commander, Admiral George Carew, took evasive action.
…
The theory has been put forward by Professor Hugh Montgomery, of University College London, whose research team was given access by the Mary Rose Trust to the remains of 18 crewmen.
Forensic anthropologist Lynne Bell examined their skulls to determine where they had lived, and discovered that about 60 per cent were of southern European origin.

Scientists can determine roughly which region a person grew up in by analysing the chemical composition of their teeth, which retain the type of water molecule they consumed while growing up.

Full article with a photo of Dr. Montgomery examining a skull

And another article, from The Daily Mail, with some photos of the ship.

Found via Permanent Record

Check out this knitted Anne Boleyn with a detachable head. She’s planning on doing more and releasing the basic pattern. It’s probably a good thing I don’t knit since I’m already working on the Six Wives in cross stitch and have plans for a Six Wives quilt!

It’s too late if you missed Henry Fitzroy, but now you can read Francis Drake’s biography for free this week!

[Edited to update link per comment below]

I’ve finally started posting the new versions of photos of the places I’ve visited in the Architecture section. So far I’ve updated Hever, Sudeley and Kenilworth Castles. I added a couple of photos that I left off the first time around, even though some aren’t great or a little redundant. Also, the thumbnails and full views are bigger now, since I have more storage and bandwidth to play with. I’ve also done a few tweaks with the layout and added an image to the history pages. I’m going to work on this some more over the weekend but I might not get the new pages uploaded until I get back to work on Monday.

On the occasion of the anniversary of his heath, Henry Fitzroy is featured at the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Lives of the week. Catch it while it’s free this week!

Or should that be Henry the Hut?

Worth1000.com had a Star Wars art photoshop contest and the entry above caught my eye.

It looks like Showtime’s execs are planning to take it through to wives 5 and 6 in a fourth season, but it doesn’t sound like there are plans to go to the other monarchs. Too bad… they could have some fun in Edward VI’s and Mary I’s reigns, especially since those haven’t gotten a lot of play of late with Elizabeth getting most of the screen time. Although the Lady Jane Grey storyline would have to come from somewhere inventive since the Mary/Margaret story got changed so much in the first season.

Article from Broadcasting & Cable

“The Tudors” picked up two nominations this time, for Best Casting and Best Costumes for a series. I’m kind of surprised that they didn’t get a few more since I thought the second season (in particular the finale) was stronger than the first. Oh well!

Here’s the full list from The Emmys

Hello all! Yes, I know there is some news that needs to be posted, but I’m going to do my WordPress upgrade today (probably before noon US Central time) so things might either be unavailable or look a little wonky for a while.

Update: All done! I don’t see anything broken, but if there is something that doesn’t work right now, please leave a comment.

I received an email from the author about this upcoming book – The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: The Tragedy of Katherine, Mary and Lady Jane Grey by Leanda de Lisle. Looks interesting!

It will be out in September in the UK (Amazon UK pre-order link below) and next year in the US (I couldn’t find a pre-order link yet, but I’ll post one when it shows up).

Update: I received an email from the author saying that the publication will be delayed until early 2009 for the UK version. I’ll post on the book again when we get closer to the final publication date.

Well, I’m not, but I wish I was since I’m really tired of the hot and dry summer here in Texas.

From the BBC:

Seven horse riders in period costume are aiming to retrace the route taken by Henry Tudor more than 500 years ago from Pembrokeshire to Leicestershire.

On Sunday they started the journey taken by Henry Tudor which culminated in the defeat of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

Setting off from Dale near Milford Haven, the riders plan to take six days to travel more than 100 miles.

The Henry Tudor Ride aims to raise over £50,000 for the Army Benevolent Fund.

Full article (with photos)

And here’s a second article with a larger photo of the riders in costume.

There have been a lot of news stories about this floating around, so I randomly chose the one from The Guardian to link to and quote here.

A tale of greed, woe and comic folly – not unlike those contained within its ancient pages – appeared to be nearing its final act today after the recovery of a “priceless” edition of Shakespeare’s plays stolen a decade ago.

The first folio edition, printed in 1623, was among a number of books and manuscripts taken from Durham University library in December 1998.
…
Durham police said a 51-year-old man, claiming to be an international businessman who had acquired the volume in Cuba, had showed the folio to staff at a library in Washington, DC and asked them to verify it was genuine.

In a moment of apparent foolhardiness, he agreed to leave it with librarians, whose research revealed it as stolen.

After a search involving the FBI, the British embassy in Washington DC alerted Durham police to the find.
…
Also stolen were two handwritten manuscripts from the late 14th or early 15th century, one bearing an English translation of the New Testament and the other being a fragment of a poem by the Canterbury Tales author, Geoffrey Chaucer.

A Beowulf edition printed in 1815 and two editions of the Old English epic by the 10th century scholar Aelfric, one printed in 1566 and the other in 1709, were also taken.
…
He said there was no suggestion at the moment that the house contained the other seven books and manuscripts taken from the library.

The Shakespeare edition is in the care of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC until it is returned to Durham. The university’s vice-chancellor, Prof Chris Higgins, said security had been significantly improved in the past decade.

Full story

I meant to post this earlier today but things just got away from me.

Go to Executed Today for More (yes, horrible pun intended).

With all the books coming out (seemingly daily) about the Tudors, I don’t go out of my way to find them. But, if I come across a good review, or someone mentions a new book on my email list or in a blog comment, or when a publisher or author asks me to post something, then I’ll fire up Word Press. It would be practically a full-time job to post about just the books related to Tudor history, not to mention all the other stories that come through my Google news alerts!

First up is a new book by John Guy about the relationship between Thomas More and his daughter Margaret. I’ve vaguely been aware that she was a very well-educated and intellectual woman, but not much more. I think I’ll have to pick up a copy of this book to fill out my knowledge! Here’s a review in the Times Online. And below are links to pre-order at Amazon US and to buy at Amazon UK.

Next up are pre-order links for a book discussed in this thread over on the Question and Answer blog on the Tudors and Stuarts on Film. It sounds fascinating!

From The Welwyn & Hatfield Times:

Universal Studios in California has loaned some of the outfits used in Elizabeth: The Golden Age for a new exhibition.

Parts of the movie, which stars Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush and Clive Owen, were filmed at the stately home.

And the display ties in with the 450th anniversary of Elizabeth I’s accession to the throne – which she discovered while she was at the Old Palace in Hatfield.

Full article

From The Times Online

The barrel of the cannon had been plugged with a tampion of wood and sealed with candle wax by sailors more than 400 years ago.

The stale air of another age whistled out with a hiss when the seal was broken finally last week. Archaeologists gathered around the weapon could smell the gunpowder and hydrogen sulphide as it escaped.

The cannon is one of a set that comprises the first archaeological evidence of a revolution in weaponry that took place during the reign of Elizabeth I – a revolution upon which an empire would be built.
…
A replica is to be cast in iron, transported to a quarry in the Midlands and fired at a replica of the side of an Elizabethan ship.

Ballistics experts will measure its range. The archaeologists will examine its handling and recoil, and the damage that it could inflict.

Full article