Canterbury Cathedral Gate. Photo May 2003.
You’ll probably recognize several Tudor symbols in the center, including the Tudor rose, the Beaufort Portcullis, and the Royal Arms with Henry VII’s supporters – the Welsh dragon and the white greyhound. Cathedral records indicate that the gate was built in the early 16th century (more here from Canterbury Archaeology).
Reliquary busts of three female saints. Early 16th century, South Netherlandish. The Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo August 2006.
Yes, two blog posts in one day! I would love to say that I used my extra hour from the time change for extra productivity, but in reality I was catching up on about two weeks’ worth of not enough sleep (seriously, I can’t believe I managed to sleep nearly 10 hours in each of the last two nights, I was that tired).
* Jousting secret explains how Charles Brandon rose in the court of Henry VIII – [N]ew records show how he managed to stay in favour at court
Books
Catching up with books that have already been released in the UK or that I missed in October:
* Digging for Richard III: The Search for the Lost King was released back in April in the UK and will be out November 11 in the US.
* Amy Licence’s The Six Wives and Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women’s Stories is officially listed as November 19 for release in the US, but I believe you can already get it on Kindle.
Two books that came out in October that I missed – and both sound like they would be good presents for friends and family who have been listening to your chatter about the Tudors for years and have finally started to express interest. 😉
* Gareth Russell’s An Illustrated Introduction to the Tudors came out mid-October in both the UK and US and I totally missed it in last month’s round-up.
* Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Tudors but were Afraid to Ask by Terry Breverton came out in October in the UK and will be out in December in the US in hardback, but is already available on Kindle.
And a few new books in November:
* A new biography of Elizabeth I entitled Elizabeth: Renaissance Prince by Lisa Hilton is due out November 13 in both the US and UK:
And finally, Bishop Richard Fox of Winchester: Architect of the Tudor Age by Clayton J. Drees is out later in November in the US and UK.
Continuing Exhibitions
* 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.
Three Apes Building a Trestle Table, c.1480-00, German. The Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo August 2006.
Copernicus’ heliocentric solar system diagram. Harry Ransom Center collection, The University of Texas at Austin. Photo January 2012.
For someone like me, who works in astronomy and has a love of history, the collection at my university’s Harry Ransom Center is a joy. I’ve had multiple opportunities to see some of the great early astronomical text they have, including the one pictured above: Nicolaus Copernicus’ De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, published in 1543.
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
Allegorical scene with bookburning, c.1520-30, The Netherlands. The Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo August 2006.
Stained glass of the Royal Coat of Arms of England at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Photo August 2006.
This is one a many stained glass panels from England that were on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art when I visited in the summer of 2006. This particular one is from Coombe Abbey, Warwickshire, c. 1525-1550. I didn’t get a bunch of great photos of a lot of them, but I’ll be posting some of the better ones periodically as featured pictures.
Just a few stories this week!
* Five Things From the Mary Rose That’ll Make You Go ‘Oooh’! – Actually, I would say these make you go “Eewwwww” more than “Oooh”!
* Choral music not heard since era of Henry VIII has been played for first time in 500 years – Choral music not heard since the time of Henry VIII has been brought to life for the first time in 500 years. The manuscript, a book of 34 religious songs, was given to Henry VIII as a lavish gift from a French diplomat in his early reign. (Autoplay video at link)
And finally, a video from one of my favorite places:
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.
Outside the walls of Pembroke Castle. Photo May 2003.
Wow, I made it to 300! I figured I’d go with another photo from Pembroke Castle since that was the place in Picture of the Week #1.
I think from here I’m going to start incorporating some more photos from the broader British, Medieval, and Renaissance collection of pictures I’ve taken. I visited The Cloisters in New York in 2006 and I have a few photos from other museums I’ve been to in the US that readers might find interesting. And hopefully I’ll be back in the UK next year so I can have a whole bunch of new photos from there to use!
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 –
Closer view of the west window of Canterbury Cathedral (wide view seen earlier in Picture of the Week #83). Photo May 2003.
The National Portrait Gallery’s The Real Tudors opened this week, so there was quite a but of coverage of that (although my pre-order of the accompanying book still hasn’t shipped from Amazon – grrrr).
* The Tudors as we’ve never seen them before
* National Portrait Gallery researchers reveal ‘airbrushed’ Elizabeth I in X-ray of portrait
* Tudor portraits exhibition at National Portrait Gallery reveals bug
View from the walls of Warwick Castle. Photo May 1998.
That’s it for photos from Warwick! There is a chance I’ll be back in the area next year, so maybe some new photos will show up after then. *fingers crossed*
Back with another round-up, including a few things I should have posted last week!
* This week’s BBC History Extra podcast features Tracy Borman speaking on Thomas Cromwell, the subject of her new book and cover article for BBC History magazine’s September issue.
* Also from BBC History Extra: 10 things you need to know about the battle of Bosworth
An update to a story that I posted about last year:
* Views fit for a Queen revealed at Kenilworth Castle
* Leicester’s Building at Kenilworth Castle reopened after more than 350 years
And just for fun…
And finally – this may be my new favorite in the on-going series of “neat historical houses for sale that I’ll never be able to afford”:
The view from the top of Harlech Castle. Photo May 2000.
