TudorCast #22- March 2008

Featured website: English Heritage http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/
Images of England: http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/
PastScape: http://www.pastscape.org/

Wikimedia link for fan vaults: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Fan_vaults

Oriel window images:

Shakespeare’s Birthplace

Sudeley Castle

Hampton Court Palace

Portcullis images:

Bodiam Castle

Westminster Abbey exterior (can you find all five portcullises?)

Music from Magnatune.com
La Primavera, The Dufay Collective (album “Cancionero”) and Jacob Heringman (album “Jane Pickeringes Lute Book” and “Blame Not My Lute”)

Intro – “Greensleeves” by La Primavera on “English Renaissance Music”
After news – “Larouse” by Jacob Heringman on “Blame Not My Lute”
After “This Month” – “Galliard” by Jacob Heringman on “Jane Pickeringes Lute Book”
After glossary – “Baloo” by Jacob Heringman on “Blame Not My Lute”
After text – “Dindiridin” (excerpt) by Dufay Collective (album “Cancionero”)
After closing – “Differencias sobr’el canto” by Dufay Collective (album “Cancionero”)

Episode Transcript

Direct mp3 download

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More on the popularity of the Tudors

I wasn’t planning on posting this originally, since it sort of covers territory of other articles I’ve recently posted, but since several people have mailed me the link, I guess I had better post it! 🙂

From The New York Times:

Among the many things for which he will be remembered, Paul Scofield, who died on Wednesday at 86, helped to usher in a whole era of classy, lushly produced costume films set in the Tudor period. He made the 16th century seem glamorous.
…

Article on the upcoming second season of “The Tudors”

There have been lots of articles, but I thought this one was interesting because the writer addresses some issues that we discussed about the first season. I’ll pull a few quotes below:

The king’s physical appearance may be a minor point, really, when you consider the historical facts that “The Tudors” have played fast and loose with. And Michael Hirst, the show’s creator and writer, will defend every single decision.

“Showtime commissioned me to write an entertainment, a soap opera, and not history,” said Hirst, taking a break in an office at Ardmore Studios, near Dublin. “And we wanted people to watch it.”

It seems there have been practical moviemaking reasons for the misrepresentations. Take Henry’s sisters. In Season 1, Gabrielle Anwar played one, Princess Margaret, who marries an older man, the king of Spain, against her will. As any number of Internet history buffs will tell you, it was Henry’s other sister, Mary, who did that, and the older man was the king of France. So didn’t the writer do his research?

As it turns out, Hirst was well aware of both facts. But the list of characters already included a Princess Mary, Catherine of Aragon’s little daughter. “I didn’t want two Princess Marys on the call sheet,” he said, because it might have confused the crew. ” `Which one do you mean, Michael? Who do we dress?’ ”

As for Margaret/Mary’s husband, “The Tudors” had shown a French king in a different context in Season 1. Hirst feared that viewers might be confused, so he just chose another European country.

Full article

Paul Scofield dies at age 86

From The Telegraph:

Scofield, one of the finest classical actors of his generation, won his Academy award as well as a Bafta, in 1967 for his role as Sir Thomas More, the 16th century Lord Chancellor executed by Henry VIII, in the film of Robert Bolt

Watch the first episode of season two of “The Tudors”

The first episode of the second season is now available through the Showtime website and through the podcast for the show (which you can find through the iTunes podcast directory). I just downloaded it myself to watch later at home. The file size for the podcast is over 600MB, so be careful if you have bandwidth caps (like I do at home… pesky satellite internet!).

(Tip o’ the French hood to Holly!)

Spammers and phishing scams

I just wanted to put something out there that spammers and scammers are once again trying to spoof my domain or use the site address in emails to try to scam folks. The only two email addresses that I use are tudorhistory@tudorhistory.org and lara@tudorhistory.org. Anything else that appears to be coming from my domain has been faked. Generally the only email you will get from me is in response to an email you sent to begin with or to a question submitted through the Q&A form.

Also, I’ve seen at least one email of a Nigerian-type scam saying that they saw a person’s profile on tudorhistory.org. The only “profiles” that are on my site are from people who have commented on the blogs or have submitted listings on the penpal pages, so if you’ve done either of those, you might want to be on the lookout for that type of scammer email.

Tudor reviews at Open Letters Monthly

I don’t even TRY to make an attempt to keep up with all the book and movie reviews on Tudor topics since there are way too many, but here’s an exception. Open Letters Monthly, an arts and literature review site, is doing “A Year With the Tudors” with Steve Donoghue, and you can see the first three installments here:

January – Henry VIII: Court, Church, and Conflict By David Loades

February – Edward VI: The Lost King of England by Chris Skidmore

March – Henry VIII

Another fun You Tube video

Although I don’t intend to get into the habit of a bunch of funny You Tube videos here, I couldn’t resist to this one. Thanks to Stephen on the TudorTalk list for bringing it to our attention. BTW, it’s a parody of the “Leave Britney Alone” video, but you don’t necessarily have to have seen that to enjoy this one.

Royal Mail “Houses of Lancaster and York” Stamp Set

Yet another neat collectible that I’m going to have to get… although my Elizabeth I coin is still back-ordered from the Royal Mint (pout).

From the Royal Mail website:

This issue has one of the earliest known images of King Henry IV in 1399, who will adorn one of the 1st Class Stamps, whilst his son, Henry V is shown in profile on the other. Son and heir Henry VI was swiftly followed by Edward IV from the rival House of York and his ill

Reporter looking for Tudor fans in the New York City area

If you’re in the NYC area and are willing to talk about why you’re a fan of the Tudor era, then there is a reporter who would like to talk to you! If you’re interested, drop me a line at lara@tudorhistory.org and I’ll put you in touch with the reporter.

Update – I’ve heard from a few people now and passed on the addresses, so I think the reporter has enough people to talk with. Thanks to everyone who emailed!

Some upcoming books

The first up is the next fictional work from Alison Weir, this time about Elizabeth I in the years before she became Queen. Personally, I find that to be the most intriguing part of Elizabeth’s life, so I’m looking forward to this. I really enjoyed “Innocent Traitor”, so my hopes are high! Below are the pre-order links to my affiliate stores at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. It will be out on April 29 in the US and April 3 in the UK.

The next is one that Foose brought to my attention. I haven’t been able to really find out much about it, but below are the Amazon links. The book is another on Catherine Parr by Susan James, but I don’t know if it is an update to her previous work (from the late 1990s) or something new. It has been published, but neither store has it in stock yet. The Amazon.uk link mentions that it is being published to coincide with this year’s celebrations of the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s succession to the throne.

Mary Queen of Scots’ death warrant purchased

From Reuters:

The Church of England has bought the only surviving copy of the warrant which Queen Elizabeth I reluctantly signed in 1587, authorising the execution of her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots.

The warrant, one of the most dramatic documents in British history, will go on display at the Lambeth Palace Library.
…

The manuscript instructed Henry Grey, the sixth Earl of Kent and one of two commissioners tasked with the execution, to “repair to our Castle of Fotheringhaye where the said queene of Scottes is in custodie and cause by your commaundement execution to be don uppon her person.”

Full article (with picture)

[Update 10 April 2008 – The Daily Record is reporting that the document will be going on display at the Blairs Museum in Scotland]

[Update 17 November 2008 – According to the BBC, the document is now on display]

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