Blog Archives - Meandering Through Time

Birth of Henry VIII

28/6/2017

On this day in 1491, the birth of Henry VIII recorded here in his grandmother Margaret Beaufort’s Book of Hours.

Henry VIII was born at Greenwich Palace, the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, his older brother Arthur had died in 1502 which left Henry as heir to the throne.

On the death of his father on the 22nd of April 1509, Henry became King Henry VIII. Henry was seen as a clever and active young man, he spoke three languages fluently, he was an excellent sportsman too. He played tennis, he wrestled, he liked archery and bowling. Henry also enjoyed hunting, jousting and hawking.

Henry, of course, is famous for his dealings with women, there were six wives and assorted mistresses who accompanied him through life.

This kings story has kept us enthralled for many years, his exploits viewed on the big screen and on television many many times. Let's have a look at who has played him over the years.

meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/history-blog/seven-faces-of-henry-viii8681604

George Orwell

25/6/2017

George Orwell, author of such books as Animal Farm, 1984 and The Road to Wigan Pier was born this day in 1903.

Orwell's book, Wigan Pier, his vision of a fractured society that funnily enough is as relevant today as it was when he wrote it in 1937, is a book that is close to my heart.

When researching his book, Orwell visited the Yorkshire town of Barnsley, watching and talking with the men whose lives were solely dependent on a living made from the coal mines, he used what he learnt there as reference for this book.

Coal was many thing to many people, some became rich because of it, many died because of it but it was the mainstay of my Taylor family's whole existence. Reading Wigan Pier, listening to my grandparent's stories of their life in the mines and writing their story, I know exactly what Orwell meant when he wrote:

"If there is one type of man to whom I do feel myself inferior, it is the coal miner."

My paternal ancestors story, a Life in the Dark, can be read on my website at:

meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/taylor-of-yorkshire.html

Who Discovered America ?

23/6/2017

24th June 1497: John Cabot reached North America.

The first map to use the name America is known as the Waldseemuller Map, it was published in the April of 1507 by German cartographer Martin Waldseemuller in his Universalis Cosmographia.

The image below is the first map to show America as a continent, this too was created by a German cartographer known as Sebastian Munster. His work, Cosmographia was published in the mid sixteenth century and taken from book five of his works.
This proves that America was known to us in the time of Henry VIII.

So who actually discovered America?

Well, it was not Christopher Columbus in 1498 according to a number of historians. These scholars claim there are a number of others who may have discovered the country many years before. In 2008, Gavin Menzies, a British historian, claimed it was one Chinese Admiral named Zheng in the first part of the fifteenth century. Menzies claims it was Zhengs map of 1418, seen here, that Columbus used when he plotted his journey to the new continent decades after Zheng.

Over forty years ago in 1966, English scholar, Alwyn Ruddock, discovered a letter, dated 1498 written to Columbus by an English merchant who was named John Day. In it, Day said that it was ‘considered certain’ that the North American mainland had been ‘found and discovered in the past’ by seamen from the port of Bristol. Italian explorer John Cabot had visited Bristol the previous year, 1497, and left from there to eventually find Newfoundland. It was probably Cabot that Day was suggesting to Columbus who had 'seen' America. Ruddock also owned more papers suggesting that America had been reached as early as 1470. There is no way to confirm these facts as Ruddock, for some unknown reason, ordered all of these papers to be destroyed at her death.

Cabot indeed may have been in Bristol as the letters suggested as he had found an English investor to fund his journey, he had also received a patent from Henry VII. Another group of people in the running for the discovery, are the Scandinavians. When Columbus finally arrived in America the were already people living there, these were the descendants of the Vikings who had landed there between 970 to as late as 1066, Columbus would not have known that so we can see why he is credited.

By far the most interesting candidate is one Abu Raihan al-Biruni, who is being put forward as 'discovering' America without leaving his desk. Biruni was an Islamic scholar born in 973. He studied cartography, mathematics, astronomy, geography and geometry. He had worked out the latitude and longitude of his own town and began to collect similar co-ordinates for other places. Biruni used ancient Greek sources to compile data on hundreds of other places in world and then began adding calculations on other locations from all points of the compass.

If this is fact, then it can be said that he, in theory, discovered America a short time before the Vikings actually set foot in the country.

If any of these contenders for the title of the discovery of America are proven to be fact then Christopher Columbus can still be credited with being the first to initiate regular contact between the peoples of America and Europe.

Midsummer

19/6/2017

The summer solstice or Litha, meaning a stopping or standing still of the sun, by tradition has been attracting people to monuments such as Stonehenge and Avebury for thousands of years.

Once gathered people are able to witness the sun rising and setting on the longest day of the year.

The origins of the Cornish Obby Oss dates back to the Beltane festival which celebrates the coming of summer or the Celtic worship of horse deities. It has been suggested that it may be related to the tradition of the Grey Mare in South Wales.

The Obby Oss is one of many ritual beasts and monsters found in English folk traditions, in addition to Padstow’s Obby Oss there was a tradition in West Penwith of a similar creature called Pengwyn and another named Penglas, meaning grey/blue head, which was probably a horse’s skull that is usually associated with other festive occasions such as the midsummer fire festival Golowan, celebrated in Penzance, which has quite recently been revived.

There is mention of a Oss in the Cornish language play Beunans Meriasek, about the life of a saint from the Cornish town of Camborne and the Oss is a companion or follower.

Portrait of Henry VII

18/6/2017

This painting of Henry VII is an important and rare work, it is thought to be derived from the preparatory work of court artist Hans Holbein. A declaration by Mansion House Antiques & Fine Art dates it as the sixteenth century. Including the frame, which is a 'hand sculptured wooden gilt frame, enhanced with carved tulips, fruit flowers, English roses, acorns an inter-twining ribbon', it measures 63 inches by 51 inches, the artist is unknown.

You will recognise the sitter of this oil painting as King Henry VII and you will no doubt think 'where have I seen him before?' If you haven't already remembered, Henry's image forms part of what is known as The Whitehall Mural.

It was at the palace of Whitehall that Holbein created his largest and most important royal commission, in which Henry VIII was portrayed with his Queen Jane Seymour and his parents, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. It was probably painted on the wall of Henry's privy chamber and no doubt dominated it. It is said to have faced the door and any visitor would have been immediately overwhelmed by the life-size image of Henry VIII confronting them, one visitor wrote

"was so lifelike that the spectator felt abashed, annihilated in its presence"

It is not known when the mural was commissioned, but it is thought to have been during Henry's marriage to Jane Seymour and completed after her death in 1537. The Palace of Whitehall burned down in the January of 1698 and Holbein’s mural burned along with it.

Thirty-one years before the fire, Charles II commissioned Remigius van Leemput to copy of the mural, and thank goodness he did.

Death of a Hero: Horatio Nelson

14/6/2017

In the July of 1794, English Admiral Horatio Nelson, lost the sight in his right eye at the Siege of Calvi, and on the 25th July 1797 he was shot in the arm at the Battle of Santa Cruz.

According to the ships surgeon, Nelson sustained a

"Compound fracture of the right arm by a musket ball passing through a little above the elbow;
an artery divided; the arm was immediately amputated."

Eight years later, Nelson would receive another injury that would prove fatal.

On the 21st of October 1805, the Battle of Trafalgar took place between the combined forces of the French and Spanish navy and the English under Nelson as part of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle resulted in the loss of nineteen French and Spanish ships and 6,953 enemy casualties. Among the English there were 1,690 casualties and no loss of ships.

The Battle of Trafalgar was a celebrated victory for the English forces but the death of Nelson on the deck of HMS Victory was a massive loss for the country and to the men who fought under him. It was noted that many of his men did

 "nothing but blast their eyes and cry ever since he was killed. Chaps that fought like the Devil, sit down and cry like a wench"

A bullet had entered Horatio Nelson's left shoulder, passed through his spine and lodged two inches below his right shoulder blade, when Nelson was close to death, he famously asked Vice Admiral Hardy to take care of his mistress Lady Hamilton and to kiss him. Hardy kissed him on the cheek and Nelson asked who it was

"It is Hardy" he said "God bless you Hardy" was Nelson's response.

This great hero's last words were

“Thank God I have done my duty”.

Such a hero was Nelson that I named my very first cat after him, and yes he did have a patch over one eye.

The Peasants Revolt Begins

13/6/2017

It was on the 12/13th June in 1381 that over 100,000 peasants marched to London, headed by one Wat Tyler, in the hope that government and their king would listen to their grievances.

Between the years 1348 and 1350 thousands of men, women and children had died due to what we now call the Black Death. Just over thirty years later in 1381, England had still not recovered, workers were few, jobs were many, the treasury was empty and in an effort to counter this taxation was increased.

This new tax angered the poor, for they had come to enjoy their 'freedom' and to a certain extent they had gained the ability to control their own lives.

In 1380, to rectify the situation, a poll tax to raise money to help England financial situation was introduced that would initially result in the nonpayment of taxes but escalate into violence and death.

The seeds of this revolt were set just a month previous, you can read about that here

meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/history-blog/john-bampton-and-the-events-of-may-1381

The Treaty of Tordesillas

7/6/2017

On the 7th June in 1494 what is known as the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed.

In 1493, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain were requesting that Pope Alexander VI establish a boundary to show what areas of land belonged to them. In 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas settled the question as far as Spain and Portugal were concerned: an imaginary line was drawn west of the Azores, everything west of this line would belong to Spain, everything east of the line would go to Portugal.

So how did this treaty affect the European countries? Well, it left them no legal rights to any lands or treasure in the New World, the result of which lead them to resort to illegal methods, that is, piracy.

On this matter, that is Treaty of Tordesillas, the king of France is thought to have said...

"The sun shines on me just the same as on the other, and I should like to see the clause in Adam's will that
cuts me out of my share in the New World!"

There was no way that the Francis was not getting his share of the booty and so the piracy began. Think of the image of Captain Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl and you can easily visualise Francis's galleons capturing two Spanish treasure ships as they were on the way to Spain, carrying Aztec treasure.

These two ships were brought to France, on board were gold, emeralds, pearls and various other valuables to the value of 150,000 ducats. (Perhaps some of you will know how much that is in today's money, I couldn't find out.)

Sir John Wingfield

4/6/2017

The county of Suffolk lies on the east coast of England and only has minor A and B roads but no motorway system, therefore the small village of Wingfield can only be found by ambling along the counties high hedged, long windy thoroughfares that cut between Halesworth and Eye, two of Suffolk's bigger villages.

Wingfield, in its prime, was the home of one of the most powerful families in late medieval England, the De La Poles, Earls and Dukes of Suffolk. It was the De La Poles, who in 1384 applied for a royal permit, to castellate Wingfield Castle. This 'castle' actually isn't a castle at all, its rather a cross between a 'feudal fortress and the ordinary moated manor house.' Wingfield owes its name to Sir John Wingfield who was responsible for the founding of two other building in the village, Wingfield College founded in 1362 and its church, which is dedicated to St. Andrew. It is within this church that the tomb of Sir John Wingfield can be found.

In 1351 Sir John Wingfield was in the pay of Edward the Black Prince as his chief administrator, he was also directly responsible for the princes private affairs. He and his brothers had fought at Crecy, they also fought in Normandy between 1347 and 1348. At Poitiers Wingfield had captured a French knight name D'Aubigny who was the French kings body guard, Edward III quickly purchased him from Wingfield for over eight hundred pounds, using D'Aubigny it as political leverage.

Sir John Wingfield died of the black death in 1361. His only child was a daughter named Catherine, she had married Micheal de la Pole 1st Earl of Suffolk. It was Catherine's descendants who went on to become key players in the political life of the next two centuries.

Boudica

1/6/2017

Boudica was the name given to the leader of the Iceni tribe by Tacitus the second-century Roman chronicler, it is thought to be the only contemporary use of the name. The name Boadicia was used in 1534 by Polydore Vergil and then used by other historians in later centuries.

As with many battles in our history, the site and the exact date Boudica's last battle is not known. The date of 60/61 is considered to the be the year it took place, and the site where this female warrior took on an army is thought to have been in the middle of England.

Boudica was long forgotten, however it was during the Victorian era that she was resurrected. The name Boudica means 'victory', and it has been suggested that Queen Victoria was named after her. I can see why this idea is popular, but the fact that Boudica was fighting against an empire and the Victorians were taking areas of the world to build theirs seems wrong somehow.

Her rape, and that of her daughters is thought to have been Boudica motivation of her cause, bringing together the indigenous tribes of Britain against the might of the Roman empire.

Roman historian Tacitus wrote of what Boudica said that day:

'it is not as a woman descended from noble ancestry, but as one of the people that I am avenging lost freedom, my scourged body, the outraged chastity of my daughters. Roman lust has gone so far that not our very persons, nor even age or virginity, are left unpolluted. But heaven is on the side of a righteous vengeance; a legion which dared to fight has perished; the rest are hiding themselves in their camp, or are thinking anxiously of flight. They will not sustain even the din and the shout of so many thousands, much less our charge and our blows. If you weigh well the strength of the armies, and the causes of the war, you will see that in this battle you must conquer or die. This is a woman's resolve; as for men, they may live and be slaves.'

and he also wrote that Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, the Roman leader addressing his troops said:

"Ignore the racket made by these savages. There are more women than men in their ranks. They are not soldiers, they're not even properly equipped. We've beaten them before and when they see our weapons and feel our spirit, they'll crack. Stick together. Throw the javelins, then push forward: knock them down with your shields and finish them off with your swords. Forget about plunder. Just win and you'll have everything."

It is unlikely that these are the exact words spoken, and it would not be the last time we would read a bias report of an event by a historian is it?

Was Tacitus placing Boudica on a pedestal so that in the eyes of his Roman readers their mighty army could knock her down and put Britain in its place?

The Roman's were not stupid, they did learn a lesson, they were more careful when dealing with the British and its people after that. In this famous battle the Roman army was massively outnumbered but it was their strength and superior weapons that enabled them to inflict such a crushing defeat.

So what happened to Boudica? Well, we have to rely on Taticus again, he writes that she took poison, preferring to kill herself rather than face capture.

Maybe Boudica's fate was like that of the Welsh hero Owen Glyndwr or Cornish King Arthur, both men disappeared after a battle without a trace, after which they were never heard of again. Maybe, like the Welsh and the Cornish expected of their heroes, Boudica will one day appear to save us from our enemies.

Boudicca was the name given to the leader of the Iceni tribe by Tacitus the second-century Roman chronicler, it is thought to be the only contemporary use of the name. The name Boadicia was used in 1534 by Polydore Vergil and then used by other historians in later centuries.