A mixed bag of stuff this week:
* Richard III reinterment: Details king’s final ceremonial route through Leicestershire revealed
* http://westminster-abbey.org/press/news/2014/october/westminster-abbey-submits-plans-for-new-access-tower – This is a continuation of a story I mentioned back in 2010
And just for fun:
* Here
So… yeah… I completely forgot to write this post last weekend to get it out before the end of the month. Whoops! And *that’s* why I have now put a reminder on my Google calendar for the 27th of every month!
Books
Dan Jones’ The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses and the Rise of the Tudors (US title: The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors) was released September 4 in the UK and will be out October 14 in the US.
In new books this month, Amy Licence’s latest, The Six Wives and Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women’s Stories is out at the end of the month in the UK and next month in the US.
Out at the end of the month in both the UK and US is Geoffrey Parker’s Imprudent King: A New Life of Philip II, an important figure in the Tudor story.
Events
The Annual BBC History Weekend is Thursday October 16 through Sunday October 19 in Malmesbury. There are a number of Tudor-era historians speaking, although I think some talks may already be sold out. They often put recordings of talks from this on their podcast, so I’ll be sure to link to those on the news blog as they are posted (assuming they are).
Continuing Events and Exhibitions
* The Royal Shakespeare Company’s plays of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies has finished the run in London, but will be moving to Broadway in the US in the spring. More details in early 2015!
* Treasures from the Royal Archives opened at Windsor Castle on May 17, 2014 and runs through January 25, 2015 and will feature some items from the Archives that have never been on display before.
* The Real Tudors: Kings and Queens Rediscovered display at the National Portrait Gallery opened September 12, 2014 and will run through March 1, 2015.
The biggest story of the week were further details on the death of Ricard III –
* King Richard III’s Final Moments Were Quick & Brutal
* King Richard III killed by blows to skull
* Richard III died in battle after losing helmet, new research shows
And other news from the week –
Quick round-up again this week since I have been out showing the sun (safely!) to visitors to the Texas State History Museum all day. 🙂
* What Does History Mean to You? – Guest post on On the Tudor Trail from a teacher who needs help from Tudor History enthusiasts and historians. I’m not really in much of a position to help, but I can at least spread the word!
* Wolf Hall TV cast to include Damian Lewis and Mark Rylance – More casting updates on the TV adaptations of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.
* No mod cons: Fitted kitchen? Chuck it. Bathroom suite? Swap it for a lead-lined tub. Meet the man whose DIY makeover took his home back 500 years – I don’t know that I would want to live in a home like this, but I would certainly love to stay a few days and nights to try it out!
And finally…
* Sir David Attenborough helps Bradgate Park campaign – (Warning – autoplay video at the link) The Leicester Rotary Club has launched a campaign to construct a visitor center for the park, which includes the ruins of Bradgate House, childhood home of Lady Jane Grey. You can find out more at the the Facebook page for the campaign.
Books
Catching up on book releases the slipped past me in the last few months:
Robert Stedall’s second volume on Mary Queen of Scots, Survival of the Crown was released in February in both the UK and UK. Check out his website MaryQueenofScots.net for more information on both the books and the history!
Next is The Third Plantagenet: George, Duke of Clarence, Richard III’s Brother by John Ashdown-Hill. It is out in hardback in the UK and on Kindle in the US, but won’t but out in print in the US until June (where the link below goes).
And finally, I mentioned in last month’s round-up that Jessie Childs’ God’s Traitors: Terror and Faith in Elizabethan England would be out in April in the US, but now it looks like it won’t be until September. Sorry!
New Display
* Hans Holbein Re-made: Copies and versions of portraits from the Tudor court, went on display at the National Portrait Gallery on March 4th and will be up through August 31.
Continuing exhibitions
* Closing this month: The Museum of London’s exhibition on the Cheapside Hoard, a collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewels that were found in a cellar in 1912. The exhibition opened October 11, 2013 and runs through April 27, 2014.
* Strange Beauty, an exhibition on painters of the German Renaissance (including Hans Holbein) opened at the National Gallery in London on February 19, 2014 and runs through May 11, 2014.
* If you missed out on In Fine Style when it was at Buckingham Palace, you can catch it now at the Palace of Holyroodhouse from March 14 to July 20.
Quick and dirty round-up this week – I’ve worked the past two Saturdays and I’m completely knackered after yesterday in particular (working this, for those interested) and in general.
* March 2014 issue of BBC History Magazine out now – featuring a cover article on Chapuys and the Six Wives of Henry VIII by Lauren Mackay
* Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn: Suzannah Lipscomb dispels myths about the lovers who changed history
* The Lovers Who Changed History – Related to above, a post from the British Library Manuscripts Blog about Anne Boleyn’s Book of Hours
* TannerRitchie and the Scottish Record Society announce new agreement
* York’s
Books
Just a couple of books this month!
First up is God’s Traitors: Terror and Faith in Elizabethan England by Jessie Childs, author of the award-winning Henry VIII
The story that lit up my news alerts the most this past week was the announcement that a team of researchers working on the DNA of Richard III are going to map the king’s complete genome:
* Richard III: Scientists to sequence DNA
Another popular story last week was the auction of another supposed flag from the Battle of Bosworth (see here for a link to another from past September):
* Richard III’s ‘Battle of Bosworth flag’ sold at Suffolk auction
In “Tudors on TV” news – Suzannah Lipscomb’s newest program, a two-part documentary on Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s relationship, starts Thursday on Channel 5 in the UK:
* Henry & Anne: The Lovers Who Changed History
And finally…
I just wanted to give a shout-out to the British Library’s Flickr account, which now has over 1 million public domain images from their collections. And of course there are some Tudor-history-related items in there, such as the one above of Henry VIII and Will Somers from the Psalter of Henry VIII and this one of the Trial of Mary Queen of Scots as just a few examples!
* The Missing Tudors: black people in 16th-century England – They were baptised and buried in parishes across the country, and even attended queens at court. So why, asks Onyeka, do we continue to airbrush black Africans out of Tudor England?
* Work starts on ‘exceptional’ Beauchamp Chapel in Warwick – Work is set to start on the restoration of a 15th Century chapel, described by English Heritage as being “of exceptional interest”.
Books
Once again I have to start out with a book that I missed from previous months!
Blackamoores: Africans in Tudor England, Their Presence, Status and Origins was released last October and looks like an interesting read!
And there is just one new release on my calendar for February:
Inside the Tudor Court: Henry VIII and His Six Wives Through the Writings of the Spanish Ambassador Eustace Chapuys by Lauren Mackay is out in February in both the UK and US.
And a book that has been out for a while in the UK and is now out in the US – Anna Whitelock’s Elizabeth’s Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queen’s Court was released last year in the UK and will be published with the title The Queen’s Bed: An Intimate History of Elizabeth’s Court on February 11 in the US.
New events and exhibitions
I almost missed this year’s Katharine of Aragon Festival at Peterborough Cathedral, but since I’m getting this posted before the end of the month, I have enough time to include it! This year’s festival will run January 31 through February 2.
Strange Beauty, a new exhibition on painters of the German Renaissance (including Hans Holbein) opens at the National Gallery in London on February 19, 2014 and runs through May 11, 2014.
Continuing events and exhibitions
* The Royal Shakespeare Company’s plays based on Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies opened on December 11th and 19th respectively and will run through March 29, 2014. They are both being staged at the Swan Theatre of the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon. Click the links on each title for information on tickets, rehearsal photos, and more.
Books
In new releases:
Marilyn Roberts’ newest book Lady Anne Mowbray, The High and Excellent Princess is now in print. You can read more about the book and order it from Marilyn’s website by clicking the cover image below.
And a few books that have already been out for a while in the UK are out now in the US:
Chris Skidmore’s Bosworth will be out on January 14 in the US under the title The Rise of the Tudors: The Family That Changed English History
Susan Higginbotham’s The Woodvilles: The Wars of the Roses and England’s Most Infamous Family is now out in hardcover in the US
And Glenn Richardson’s The Field of Cloth of Gold will be out in the first week of January in the US after a November 2013 release in the UK
Continuing events and exhibitions
* The Royal Shakespeare Company’s plays based on Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies opened on December 11th and 19th respectively and will run through March 29, 2014. They are both being staged at the Swan Theatre of the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon. Click the links on each title for information on tickets, rehearsal photos, and more.
* Just a few days left! Elizabeth I & Her People opened at the National Portrait Gallery in London on October 10, 2013 and runs through January 5, 2014.
News seems to be slowing down as we approach the end of the year, so it’s another short round-up this week. Two of the stories are more close to home for me than usual (one is *really* close), but first we start with the news from today:
* Peter O’Toole, Lawrence of Arabia star, dies aged 81 – Fans of “The Tudors” will remember him from season 2 when he played the Pope. Most people associate him with “Lawrence of Arabia” but for me, it’s his two turns as Henry II in “Becket” and “The Lion in Winter”.
The first closer-to-home story:
* What happened to the lost colony of Roanoke Island? Remote sensing unearths clues to 400-year-old American mystery – I’ve been interested in the Lost Colony since I first learned about it in my 8th grade American History class. Mrs. Lively, the teacher of that class, is responsible for more of my historical interests than probably anyone alive! (And yes, for those who have been around here for a long, long time, she’s the teacher who also sparked my interest in the Tudors.) Plus, it’s always fun to be reminded that there is Tudor history here in the States!
And finally, the very close-to-home story:
Quite a hodge-podge of things today, including three things that you can help out with!
* Foose noted in the comments a couple of weeks ago that actor Nigel Davenport passed away on October 25th. He was Norfolk in the 1966 “A Man for All Seasons” and Bothwell in the 1971 “Mary Queen of Scots”.
And now on to the things you can help with!
* If you’ve ever downloaded documents from Archive.org please consider sending them a small donation after their scanning facility was damaged by fire last week. The archive has scanned many old books with primary sources and are a valuable resource to Tudor history fans and researchers alike.
* Have an interesting Tudor item you might like to sell? The Channel 4 program Four Rooms wants to hear from you! Click here for more information (PDF).
* The Rediscovering Rycote project that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago is hosting a Wikipedia Editathon on Friday November 15. You don’t need any prior Wikipedia editing experience and you can participate virtually if you aren’t lucky enough to be in Oxford. You can learn more about it here!
A couple of interesting articles about the Sir Walter Ralegh portrait on display at the new Elizabeth I & Her People exhibition at the NPG:
* Sir Walter Raleigh’s crescent moon compliment to Elizabeth I revealed
Not near as many things to link to as last week!
Lots of articles related to the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Flodden on Monday the 9th:
* 500 years ago- the bloodiest of battles
* 500th anniversary of the Battle of Flodden – the last time a British king died in battle
* Your 60-second guide to the battle of Flodden
* Excavation search for soldiers killed on Flodden battlefield
* Battle of Flodden burial excavation work begins
One of the stories that lit up my news alerts and Twitter stream was, unfortunately, also quite “Ewwwwww”-inducing:
* Soil samples show Richard III suffered from roundworm – and here’s another version of the story with a short video clip with one of the scientists involved in the work.
First in a set of follow-ups – some results from the 3-D scanning of tombs that I linked to previously here and here have been revealed:
* Tudor sculptures reassembled with help from 3D scanning
* Unfinished Tudor Sculptures Recreated
And a couple of follow-up stories related to Kenilworth Castle:
* Kenilworth Castle moat flood plans put on hold – I thought I had previously mentioned the discussions about re-flooding the mere at Kenilworth but I couldn’t find a post about it. Well, it looks like the plans are on hold for now anyway.
* Viewing platforms set back until February – (previous mention of the viewing platforms here back when I still thought I was going to get back there this year! *pout*)
And last, but definitely not least…
* The Tudor Ghost Story Contest is on again this year over at On the Tudor Trail!
This week ended up pretty heavy on the audio and video entertainment stuff, although we’ll start out with a print story:
* Read the Introduction for the upcoming In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn by Sarah Morris and Natalie Grueninger over at On the Tudor Trail
* BBC Two announces Tudor Abbey Farm – The BBC Two living history series takes on the Tudor era
* BBC History Magazine’s podcast this week featured Linda Porter discussing Mary Queen of Scots
And finally…
* The White Queen premieres this weekend on Starz here in the US (I’ll be grabbing it with the DVR but who knows when I’ll get to actually watch it!)
A variety of stories came along this week.
The story that generated the largest number of alert emails was the revelation of the plans for Richard III’s raised tomb (as opposed to the earlier slab marker) in Leicester Cathedral:
One of the big stories from last week were the revelations from the first academic paper to published from the dig that uncovered the grave of Richard III. The University of Leicester made an arrangement with the publisher to give free access to the paper, given the popular interest in the topic. You can download the paper from Antiquity‘s website.
Some press articles are linked below:
* Richard III buried in ‘hastily dug untidy grave’
* New Study Finds That King Richard III Was Buried in a Hurry
As you can see up at the top of the post, the June issue of BBC History Magazine features a cover article by Chris Skidmore on the path to and the battle at Bosworth Field, the basis of his new book.
Last week the first two programs of the BBC2’s “Tudor Court Season” aired in the UK. For those outside the UK, you can see them on YouTube (for now – I wouldn’t be surprised if they get pulled down) here:
* The Last Days of Anne Boleyn
* Henry VIII’s Enforcer: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell
As we get close to the opening of the new Mary Rose Museum at the end of the week, a new app has launched (for iPhone and Android) with information on artifacts, upcoming events, and more to help you plan a visit.
And finally…
I keep forgetting to post about the upcoming series The White Queen about the women of the Wars of the Roses, based on Philippa Gregory’s novel. It will air on BBC One in the UK and on Starz in the US this summer. Embedded below is one of the trailers.
[Edited March 2016 – the original video linked here as been removed]
Elizabeth and the Three Goddesses. Image:NPG
The big news in the Tudor/Elizabethan art realm this past week was the announcement that the National Portrait Gallery has purchased a portrait of Elizabeth I from a house sale and that it would be included in the gallery’s forthcoming exhibition Elizabeth I & Her People (opening in October).
Here are a few of the articles about the painting from last week:
* Elizabeth I portrait found in house clearance sale – BBC article with a video discussing the painting with the NPG’s Tarnya Cooper
* Elizabeth I portrait to be displayed after being hidden for centuries – From The Telegraph
* National Portrait Gallery buys postcard-sized portrait of Elizabeth I – From The Guardian
Several stories related to Mary Queen of Scots came along last week:
* Mary, Queen of Scots death warrant to go on show – It will be part of an exhibition that I’ll post more about in an upcoming round-up
* Mary, Queen of Scots statue call – If Mary gets a statue, I hope this prompts Pembroke to grant the request for one for Henry VII.
