Ceiling of St. Mary’s Church, Bury St Edmunds. Photo May 2015.
Picture of the Week #826
Blacksmith demonstration at Mary Arden’s Farm, Wilmcote, near Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo May 2015.
This demo reminded me of going to the various renaissance festivals we have here in Texas. I haven’t been to any of them in a while, but this is making me nostalgic for them!
Picture of the Week #825
Greyhound heraldic beast in the Chapel Court Garden at Hampton Court Palace. Photo May 2015.
Picture of the Week #824
Passport for Dr. Valentine Dale, signed by Elizabeth I on December 27, 1563. Photo April 2016.
I wanted something Elizabeth-related today since yesterday was her 491st birthday. (Note to self: prepare to go to England again in 9 years for all of the 500th birthday special exhibits that are bound to be coming…)
This was on display at the exhibit for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death at the Harry Ransom Center on my university’s campus. From the exhibit’s info card on the letter:
“The passport provided Dr. Valentine Dale (d. 1589) safe passage to the Low Countries where he attempted to convince Margaret, duchess of Parma, to lift an embargo on English cloth. Elizabeth’s seal on the letter communicated her authority to the recipient, but also kept the contents from being read in the pre-envelope sixthteenth century.”
Upcoming Books, Exhibitions, and Events for September 2024
Happy September! Even though the summer here in Texas was pretty tolerable this year, I’m still looking forward to fall. And, if I’m being honest, I look forward to fall every year regardless of how bad the summer was!
Books
I don’t have any new books on my tracking sheet for this month, but I see quite a few new US releases of books that are already out in the UK.
First up is Heroines of the Tudor World by Sharon Bennett Connolly, which came out back in June in the UK and will be released on September 10 in the US.
Next is The Female Tudor Scholar and Writer: The Life and Times of Margaret More Roper by Aimee Fleming, which will be out in the US on September 9.
Susan Doran’s From Tudor to Stuart: The Regime Change from Elizabeth I to James I that came out earlier in the year in the UK and will be out on September 24 in the US.
Next up, out at the end of the month in the US – Henry VIII and the Plantagenet Poles by Adam Pennington.
And finally, Helene Harrison’s Tudor Executions: From Nobility to the Block will be out on September 9 in the US.
Continuing Exhibits – Ending Soon!
The National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition, Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens opened on June 20 and runs through September 8. Click through for more information on the many related events the gallery will be hosting!
About the exhibition:
Tudor paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger and contemporary photography by Hiroshi Sugimoto meet in the National Portrait Gallery’s first exhibition of historic portraiture since reopening, presenting a study of the lives and afterlives of the six women who married Henry VIII.
Six Lives will chronicle the representation of Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr throughout history and popular culture in the centuries since they lived. As a frequent source of fascination, the stories of the six women has repeatedly inspired writers and artists of all kinds to attempt to uncover the ‘truth’ of their lives: their characters, their appearance and their relationships. From historic paintings, drawings and ephemera, to contemporary photography, costume and film, the exhibition draws upon a wealth of factual and fictional materials to present the life, legacy and portrayal of six women who forever changed the landscape of English history.
Picture of the Week #823
Another old door at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo May 2015.
Picture of the Week #822
Bosworth Battlefield. Photo May 2015.
Picture of the Week #821
Castle Rising Castle, Norfolk. Photo May 2015.
Picture of the Week #820
Norman keep of Kenilworth Castle. Photo May 2015.
Upcoming Books, Exhibitions, and Events for August 2024
Welcome to August, the month that *should* mark the end of summer, but I live in a Texas and summer can stretch all the way into October some years. (I can’t complain too much this year though, we’ve caught a bit of a break over some of the recent summer hellscapes we’ve had.)
Books
This month we have a couple of books coming out in the US that were previously released in the UK – first up is Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens, the companion to the current exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery (see below), which will be released in the US on August 20.
And Courting the Virgin Queen: Queen Elizabeth I And Her Suitors by Carol Ann Lloyd will come out in the US at the end of August.
And in new books this month, The Tragic Life of Lady Jane Grey by Beverley Adams will be out at the end of August in the UK and the end of October in the fall.
Continuing Exhibits
The National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition, Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens opened on June 20 and runs through September 8. Click through for more information on the many related events the gallery will be hosting!
About the exhibition:
Tudor paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger and contemporary photography by Hiroshi Sugimoto meet in the National Portrait Gallery’s first exhibition of historic portraiture since reopening, presenting a study of the lives and afterlives of the six women who married Henry VIII.
Six Lives will chronicle the representation of Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr throughout history and popular culture in the centuries since they lived. As a frequent source of fascination, the stories of the six women has repeatedly inspired writers and artists of all kinds to attempt to uncover the ‘truth’ of their lives: their characters, their appearance and their relationships. From historic paintings, drawings and ephemera, to contemporary photography, costume and film, the exhibition draws upon a wealth of factual and fictional materials to present the life, legacy and portrayal of six women who forever changed the landscape of English history.
Picture of the Week #819
Outer walls of Framlingham Castle. Photo May 2015.
Picture of the Week #818
Part of the front of Hampton Court Palace. Photo May 2015.
I believe this is the section that houses the Royal School of Needlework. Somehow or another I’ve never managed to actually visit the RSN on any of my three trips to Hampton Court. Must rectify that someday!
Picture of the Week #817
Tycho Brahe’s Astronomiae instauratae progymnasmata at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Photo January 2012.
Something a little different this week, since I’m in a bit of a ‘history of astronomy’ mood right now…
I’ve posted at least one other photo from this exhibit from my university’s Harry Ransom Center that was put on during the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin in 2012. It was smaller than the exhibit they did during the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, but still showcased some of their impressive collection of historical astronomy works, including a lot of the papers of the Herschel family.
One of the works on display was Tycho Brahe’s Astronomiae instauratae progymnasmata that was published in 1602, shortly after his death. This page shows some of Tycho’s observations of De Nova Stella Anni 1572, i.e. the supernova that we now commonly call “Tycho’s Supernova”. And while this obviously occurred during Tudor times (which someday will show up in that Tudor-era astronomy book I keep threatening to write) there may be another connection between this supernova and English history – it may be referenced in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. If you’re interested in learning more (and don’t want to wait for me to write about it in that Tudor-era astronomy book I keep threatening to write), see the works of Texas State University’s Profesor Emeritus Donald Olson, especially his book Celestial Sleuth. (Fun little piece of trivia – Texas State University is the alma mater of both of my mom’s parents, although WAY back when it was called Southwest Texas State Teachers College!)
Picture of the Week #816
Cooking hearth at Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo May 2015.
Picture of the Week #815
Gatehouse of Castle Acre Priory, Norfolk, England. Photo May 2015.
Upcoming Books, Exhibitions, and Events for July 2024
Hopefully this posts when it is supposed to since I wrote and scheduled it ahead of time since I’m actually at McDonald Observatory when this goes up and I’m going to be assisting with observing, so I’m probably on a very weird sleep schedule right now…
Books
First up is a book from June that I missed – Heroines of the Tudor World by Sharon Bennett Connolly that came out on June 15 in the UK and will be out in September in the US:
And in new releases in July –
First up is James Taffe’s Serving the Tudors, which will be out on Kindle in both the UK and US on July 1.
Next is Nathen Amin’s latest (which I’m really looking forward to!), The Son of Prophecy: The Rise of Henry Tudor, which will be released on July 15 in the UK and in November in the US.
And there are three Tudor-related releases on July 30 in the UK that will be out in the fall in the US:
The Female Tudor Scholar and Writer: The Life and Times of Margaret More Roper by Aimee Fleming:
Henry VIII and the Plantagenet Poles by Adam Pennington
And finally, Tudor Executions: From Nobility to the Block by Helene Harrison
Continuing Exhibits
The National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition, Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens opened on June 20 and runs through September 8. Click through for more information on the many related events the gallery will be hosting!
About the exhibition:
Tudor paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger and contemporary photography by Hiroshi Sugimoto meet in the National Portrait Gallery’s first exhibition of historic portraiture since reopening, presenting a study of the lives and afterlives of the six women who married Henry VIII.
Six Lives will chronicle the representation of Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr throughout history and popular culture in the centuries since they lived. As a frequent source of fascination, the stories of the six women has repeatedly inspired writers and artists of all kinds to attempt to uncover the ‘truth’ of their lives: their characters, their appearance and their relationships. From historic paintings, drawings and ephemera, to contemporary photography, costume and film, the exhibition draws upon a wealth of factual and fictional materials to present the life, legacy and portrayal of six women who forever changed the landscape of English history.
Picture of the Week #814
West front of Peterborough Cathedral. Photo May 2015.
Yeah, this is basically the same as Picture of the Week #364, but I took a gazillon photos of the front of Peterborough so there are going to be a few over the years that look very similar. (If you look at the clouds and the lighting, you can tell that is isn’t *exactly* the same view!)
Picture of the Week #813
Palmer’s Farmhouse at Mary Arden’s Farm, Wilmcote, near Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo May 2015.
Picture of the Week #812
Oxburgh Hall from the orchard. Photo May 2015.
Picture of the Week #811
Tomb of George Carew (1555-1629) and Joyce Clopton Carew (d. 1637) in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo May 2015.
