Picture of the Week #137

Axe and block in the Tower of London. Photo May 2003.

The block seen here is made of oak and weighs 56.75 kg (125 lbs) and probably dates from the 18th century. The axe is thought to be one of the four noted in the Tower inventory from the 17th century, but may date from the 16th century.

Blanche Parry and Elizabeth I 2012 calendar

In celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, Ruth Richardson, author of Mistress Blanche: Queen Elizabeth I’s Confidante, has put together a limited edition calendar featuring images related to Elizabeth I and Blanche Parry. Proceeds from the calendar will benefit Becton Church in Hertfordshire, which has ties to Blanche and her family.

This calendar commemorates the Diamond Jubilee of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, 2012. Through the generosity of the Queen it includes the gorgeous portrait of Princess Elizabeth, c.1546, in her red and gold dress. The Marquess of Salisbury generously allowed the Rainbow portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, the portrait of Lord Burghley (Blanche’s cousin) and a photograph of Hatfield Old Palace to be used. The other pictures show: Blanche Parry’s St. Margaret’s Church (Westminster) tomb, her Bacton monument, Queen Elizabeth I’s Presence Chamber, the frontispiece of the 1588 Welsh Bible, Llangorse Lake + 1584 map, the site of Newcourt + drawing of the house, Bacton Church and Dore Abbey. We are most grateful to all the picture owners. Each picture has an explanatory paragraph describing the picture’s relevance. The front and back covers of the calendar, plus details of all the pictures, can be seen on www.blancheparry.com

More information and instructions on how to order are available at http://www.blancheparry.com/calendar_release.shtml

Picture of the Week #135

Gold medal from 1545 with image of Henry VIII. Photo May 1998.

This is one of a number of Tudor coins and medals on display in the British Museum (as of 2003 – the last time I was there). The text around the edge is Latin that translates to: “Henry VIII, King of England, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, and under Christ the supreme head on earth of the Church of England and Ireland.”. The same text is written in Hebrew and Greek on the other side.

Apologies for blog downtime

Just wanted to post a short note apologizing if anyone has had trouble accessing the blog today. I was messing around with some stuff “under the hood” and it made the WordPress database hiccup a little. Everything seems to be working okay now, but let me know if there are any problems. There is a small chance it will do it again while I’m playing around with stuff, but if there is any downtime it shouldn’t be for more than half an hour.

Thanks for your patience!

BBC History Magazine Tudor issue, podcasts and audiobook

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that BBC History Magazine had a Tudor history special issue coming, and it’s now out in the UK. (I’ve found it usually takes a few weeks to a month to show up on newstands and in bookstores in the US – if anyone has already seen it in the States please post in the comments!)

In addition to the issue, BBC History Magazine launched their first audiobook, a guide to the Tudor Kings and Queens.

More information:

The audiobook features interviews with five leading historians of the period, with each expert discussing the life and times of one of the Tudor monarchs.

* Dr Steven Gunn of Oxford University starts us off with Henry VII

* Professor George Bernard of Southampton University introduces us to Henry VIII

* Reading University

Sunday Short Takes

Just a few short links today since I have several things that I want to dedicate their own posts to in the next few days…

* In honor of the final Harry Potter movie, a Tudor recipe for Buttered Beere from Historical Foods

* Rare portraits of England’s early monarchs in London display – More from the Making Art in Tudor Britain research project of the National Portrait Gallery

* All the King

Picture of the Week #132

Tudor royal arms from the gatehouse section of the remains of Richmond Palace. Photo May 2000.

The supporters – the dragon and the greyhound – were those used by Henry VII, who is responsible for building Richmond Palace after the older medieval palace of Sheen burned in 1497.

Sunday Short Takes

* I’m sure most of you have already heard about this but the National Portrait Gallery announced last week that the funding goal for the preservation work on the Anne Boleyn portrait has been reached! They will update that page periodically with progress reports. (My original post about the needed work can be found here.)

* Vatican’s Secret Archives on display in Rome exhibition – From the article: “An appeal by the English Parliament asking the Pope to annul Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon will be among 100 priceless documents from the Vatican’s Secret Archives to go on display in an unprecedented exhibition in Rome.”

* Cardinal Thomas Wolsey statue unveiled in Ipswich – Pictures from the unveiling of the statue project that I’ve linked to in the past

* King Henry VIII Gets a New Coat (original link expired and removed) – The Henry VIII statue at the Mary Rose Museum (my Picture of the Week #122) got a bit of a spruce up earlier this year and is now back in place

Blog header rotation time!

When I debuted the new blog header a few months ago I mentioned that I had put four together initially and would change them periodically. So I thought while I was off for a four-day-weekend I would switch it out to a new one. This new one is a slice from a painting of Richmond Palace and the Thames from the early 17th century by an unknown artist. It is currently in The Fitzwilliam Museum at The University of Cambridge.

Sunday Short Takes

* Alas poor William, I knew him: Scientists in bid to dig up the grave of Shakespeare to work out how he died

* New Battle of Bosworth trail reveals the true location of the historic English battlefield

* BBC History Magazine’s August 2011 Tudor Special

* BBC – Your Paintings – From the “About” page: Your Paintings is a website which aims to show the entire UK national collection of oil paintings, the stories behind the paintings, and where to see them for real. It is made up of paintings from thousands of museums and other public institutions around the country.

Picture of the Week #129

Stained glass of John Knox at the John Knox House in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo May 2000.

Although the place is known as “John Knox House”, he probably never even visited the house. It is a late-15th century mansion along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and in the 16th century it was owned by goldsmiths who refashioned the Scottish crown for James V. Sadly, I didn’t take any other photos inside the house since it was pretty dark and I was shooting on film (I can’t wait to get back to a bunch of these places now that I use a DSLR!), but some of the interiors are amazing. I have a thing for uneven wood plank floors and wood-panelled rooms and it was full of them!