Category: July - Meandering Through Time

Death of Edward VI

6/7/2018

The death of Henry VIII's long-awaited heir is quickly passed over, the tale of the succession crisis that followed being deemed more interesting, yet often forgotten or ignored is how the boy must have suffered.

In the April of 1553 it was reported that Edward became

“weaker as time passes, and wasting away. The matter he ejects from his mouth is sometimes coloured a greenish yellow and black, sometimes pink, like the colour of blood. His doctors and physicians are perplexed and do not know what to make of it.”

One would hope that Edward drew some comfort as he looked into the eyes of those around him and that he felt secure in the knowledge that his physicians at least were doing their best to ensure his recovery, but when you read the accounts of the events that led up to the poor boys death you really wonder if anyone cared in the slightest.

Edward had become ill in the February of 1553 and a series of other illnesses had sapped the king's strength - he would never really recover his health and in all that time, nobles and courtiers alike thoughts, quite naturally I suppose, were centred on what would happen if this boy died. History relays to us that as the court watched the king's life slip away, one man, in particular, was feathering his own nest. John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland was quick to realise that the plans for his families rise to greatness was heading for the grave along with his sickly king and in the June had issued what we know no as the letters patent. This document made his daughter in law, Lady Jane Grey, Edward VI's heir.

On the 6th of July the fifteen-year-old heir of the Tudor dynasty died at Greenwich Palace, and after that, as the saying goes, all hell broke loose.

Edward was buried almost a month later at Westminster Abbey beneath the original altar of Henry VII's Lady Chapel.

Marriage of Margaret Tudor

31/7/2017

The marriage of Margaret Tudor to James IV of Scotland took place on the 8th August in 1503, it followed their marriage by proxy on the 25th January 1503 at Richmond Palace.

The future queen of the Scots was accompanied on her journey north by her father, they left Richmond Place at the end of June, crossing the border into Scotland on the 1st August where they were greeted by the Archbishop of Glasgow and a large crowd of nobles all decked out in ‘in rich jewels and massy chains’.

It may have taken Margaret a while to settle into her new life in Scotland, it seems that she was homesick, writing to her father

‘I would I were with your Grace now and many times more’

Margaret bore James six children but only one survived. The future James V was seventeen months old when his father was killed fighting the English in 1513 at Flodden. Margaret stepped in to rule for her infant son.

Her marriage, a year later to Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, gave the Scottish Parliament an excuse to replace her with John Stewart, Duke of Albany

Isabella of Portugal

24/7/2017

At the age of thirty-two Isabella of Portugal, the daughter of John of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster and the granddaughter of John of Gaunt, was married to Philip the Good by proxy on the 24th July 1429 and married on the 7th of January 1430.

Born in 1397 Isabella as you have just read, married late in her life, her husband was one year older than her. In 1415 Isabella had received an offer of marriage from her cousin Henry V of England, but negotiations came to nothing and as we have seen Isabella remained unmarried.

In the second of the images is thought to be that of Isabella aged about fifty three but the inscription on the original frame states "Michelle de France" - Michelle was Phillips first wife. However, it is thought to be that of Isabella. Because it is unusual in style, a profile pose, the artist may have been trying to portray Isabella in a "better light" with a "convincing yet elegant style." It may well be that Isabella was like her mother in looks, Philippa was thought to be rather plain.

She looks rather lovely in the first image, don't you think?

Looks are not everything, Isabella is said to have been a generous and intelligent woman, able to hold her own in diplomatic conferences. She was influential in the marriage arrangements of her son Charles the Bold and the marriage of her great niece to James II of Scotland.

Isabella died in Dijon in 1471 after living a devout and quiet life.

Execution of Thomas Percy

23/7/2017

It was today, three days following the Battle of Shrewsbury, that Thomas Percy, Earl of Worcester was executed.

Battle of Shrewsbury from the Beauchamp Pageant

Thomas Percy was the younger son of Henry Percy of Alnwick and Mary of Lancaster. As with many a younger son Thomas had little in the way of land and the income that was gained from it. He was the uncle of Henry (Hotspur) Percy.

When Henry, his elder brother inherited their fathers titles in 1368, Thomas was probably in Spain fighting under the banner of the Black Prince, and on his death in 1376 Thomas transferred his loyalties to his son, Richard II. In his years of service under Richard he was rewarded with lordships in Wales and a number of castles and following his support of Richard during an attempted overthrow in 1397, Thomas was granted the title of Earl of Worcester.

Surprisingly, following the murder of Richard II on the order of Henry Bolingbroke in 1400 and his usurpation of the crown Thomas Percy did not suffer any consequences, in fact he was given a number of prominent position in Henry's court including Lieutenant of Wales.

Percy was still in this position in the spring of 1403, and we can only wonder if he had any knowledge of his nephew's grievances with Henry IV's rule. The discontent that Hotspur felt culminated in a rebellion against Henry and eventually his death at the Battle of Shrewsbury on the 21st July. The seeds of Thomas's part in the rebellion may have been set four months previously when the king replaced him as lieutenant of Wales, however he did remain in the kings service until the 17th, but by the 20th Thomas was riding with his nephew against the king.

Percy (played by David Hayman in the Hollow Crown) can be seen being led to his execution.

Henry Hotspur died in battle, Thomas was captured and decapitated, his head eventually stuck on a pole in London where it remained until the end of the year. He was laid to rest Shrewsbury Abbey.

What were the reasons Thomas Percy changed sides? I like to think that his reason was his loyalty to Richard II, maybe he, like me, thought Henry IV shouldn't have been king at all.

History doesn't tell us why Thomas changed his allegiances, but it does tell us battles were won and lost on the actions of men like Thomas Percy - sadly in this battle all Thomas lost was his life.

Marriage Annulled of Anne of Cleves

7/7/2017

On the 9th July in 1540 Henry VIII annulled his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.

In 1527, at the age of eleven, Anne was betrothed to Francis, son of the Duke of Lorraine, though the betrothal was broken in 1535. In 1539, urged by his chief advisor, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII sought a marital alliance with the Duke of Cleves. Anne left for England that same year, and on 6 January 1540 she became Queen of England and Henry’s fourth wife. The marriage was, however, already doomed to failure. Henry and Anne had met before their marriage, on New Year’s Day. It is commonly thought that Henry was disappointed in Anne’s appearance but it is more than likely her found her 'different' with her German clothing and mannerisms.

Painting of Anne c 1540 by Bartholomaus Bruyn the elder.

On 24 June, only six months after their wedding Anne was commanded to leave court. The marriage was annulled on the grounds that Anne was still betrothed to Francis of Lorraine and that her union with Henry remained unconsummated. Anne willingly (and wisely) agreed to the annulment, and she received a generous settlement as a result.

She became “the King’s Beloved Sister” and was given both Richmond Palace and Hever Castle.

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.

Sir Thomas Herriot

28/7/2016

‪The 27th of July 1586 is the date given for the arrival of tobacco in England, brought, it is said, by Sir Walter Raleigh from Virginia. Indeed, one legend tells of how Sir Walter’s servant, seeing him smoking a pipe for the first time, threw water over him, for fear that he was on fire. Raleigh is also credited as being responsible for our love of that round brown vegetable
that we just love to chip, boil, roast and mash.............. the potato
.
However, it is one Thomas Harriot, and not Raleigh who should get the credit.

On the 28th of July 1586, Sir Thomas Harriot disembarked from a ship in Plymouth harbour with a number of bags of potatoes, returning from Raleigh’s English colony on Roanoke Island, that today we know as North Carolina, where he had been studying wildlife.

Of this vegetable he would later write his "A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia" and in it would describe the potato as

“Openavk are kind of roots of round forme, some of the bignes of walnuts, some far greater, which are found in
moist & marish grounds growing many together one by another in ropes, or as thogh they were a string. Being boiled or
sodden they are very good meate.”

Harriot, who was born in Northumberland in 1564, was employed by Raleigh as his maths teacher, he was also friends with Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, however Raleigh's execution and Percy's connections with the Gunpowder Plotters saw his funding end, it was then he took up astronomy. This in turn lead to him being credited as the first person to draw the moon, over four months before Galileo put ink to paper.

Anne Askew, Lincolnshire Born Protestant Martyr.

16/7/2016

Anne Askew was just twenty five when she was executed for her beliefs on the 16th July 1546.

Anne was born Anne Ayscough in South Kelsey, a village just south of Caistor in 1521, the daughter William Ayscough, a wealthy Lincolnshire land owner, who was one of the jurors in the trial of those accused along side Anne Boleyn. The Ayscough's or Askew's, as history states their name to be, are an old Lincolnshire family thought to originate from Stallingborough, near Grimsby, where it is said that Anne was actually born.

Anne grew up to be a strong willed, highly intelligent woman who refused to take her husband's name of Kyme on their marriage, which is seems was an unhappy one.

In 1544, Anne was forcibly evicted from the family home by her husband. A year later she was distributing bibles and preaching Protestantism in London. No doubt highly vocal, she eventually was arrested on charges of heresy. Anne was released, but soon found herself arrested once more, this time she was committed to Newgate Prison. From Newgate, Anne was taken to the Tower of London, where she is tortured on the rack but she refused to name anyone and therefore condemned to death.

The treatment of her within the tower walls was nothing less than barbaric, it left her unable to walk and on the 16th July, she had to be carried to her execution on a chair.

Anne Ayscough remained defiant as she was burned at the stake at Smithfield, just outside the cities wall.

The following is an excerpt about Anne's death from John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs

"The day of her execution being appointed, she was brought into Smithfield in a chair, because she could not go on her feet, by means of her great torments. When she was brought unto the stake, she was tied by the middle with a chain, that held
up her body. When all things were thus prepared to the fire, Dr. Shaxton, who was then appointed to preach, began his sermon. Anne Askew, hearing and answering again unto him, where he said well, confirmed the same; where he said amiss, “There,” said she, “he misseth, and speaketh without the book.”

The sermon being finished, the martyrs, standing there tied at three several stakes ready to their martyrdom, began their prayers. The multitude and concourse of the people was exceeding; the place where they stood being railed about to keep out the press. Upon the bench under St. Bartholomew’s church sat Wriothesley, Chancellor of England; the old Duke of Norfolk, the old Earl of Bedford, the Lord Mayor, with divers others. Before the fire should be set unto them, one of the bench, hearing that they had gunpowder about them, and being alarmed lest the faggots, by strength of the gunpowder, would come flying about their ears, began to be afraid: but the Earl of Bedford, declaring unto him how the gunpowder was not laid under the faggots, but only about their bodies, to rid them out of their pain, which having vent, there was no danger to them of the faggots, so diminished that fear.

Then Wriothesley, Lord Chancellor, sent to Anne Askew letters, offering to her the king’s pardon if she would recant; who, refusing once to look upon them, made this answer again, that she came not thither to deny her Lord and Master. Then were the letters likewise offered unto the others, who, in like manner, following the constancy of the woman, denied not only to receive them, but also to look upon them. Whereupon the lord mayor, commanding fire to be put unto them, cried with a loud voice, “Fiat Justitia.”

And thus the good Anne Askew, with these blessed martyrs, being troubled so many manner of ways, and having passed through so many torments, having now ended the long course of her agonies, being compassed in with flames of fire, as a blessed sacrifice unto God, she slept in the Lord A.D. 1546, leaving behind her a singular example of Christian constancy for all men to follow."

William Parker 11th Baron Monteagle

1/7/2016

William Parker, 11th Baron Monteagle's claim to fame is the part he played in the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot.
For this he was generously rewarded by a grateful James I, who awarded him £700 a year and lands to the value of £200
which in today's money is about £67,000, some of which he invested in projects abroad.

William Parker, was born in 1575 the son of Edward Parker, 12th Baron Morley and his wife Elizabeth Stanley.
He had married Elizabeth Tresham, the sister of Francis Treshem, who it is thought sent what is known as
the Monteagle Letter.

It was on the 26th October 1605 that Lord Monteagle received said letter from an 'anonymous' source warning him not to
attend parliament when it resumed in the next few days. The letter, with reference to the government stated

My lord, out of the love I bear to some of your friends, I have a care of your preservation, therefore
I would advise you as you tender your life to devise some excuse to shift your attendance at this
parliament, for God and man have concurred to punish the wickedness of this time, and think not
slightly of this advertisement, but retire yourself into your country, where you may expect the event
in safety, for though there be no appearance of any stir, yet I say they shall receive a terrible blow
this parliament and yet they shall not see who hurts them, this counsel is not to be condemned
because it may do you good and can do you no harm, for the danger is past as soon as you have
burnt the letter and I hope God will give you the grace to make good use of it, to whose holy
protection I commend you

Transcript of Letter to Lord Monteagle
26 October 1605

Monteagle left his home and passed this letter to the secretary of state Robert Cecil, who in searching the cellars under
the Palace of Westminster found evidence to the truth of the letter in the form of thirty six barrels of gunpowder,
and hiding among the barrels was one Guy Fawkes.

And the rest, they say, is history.

The Duke of Northumberland and the Devise for the Succession

21/6/2016

In June 1553, Edward VI's Devise for the Succession was signed by one hundred and two members of the royal council, in it he named his cousin Lady Jane Grey as his heir, and disinherited his half sisters Mary and Elizabeth.

In the chaos following Mary being proclaimed queen, the signatories stated that they were forced to sign the document by
John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland.

John Dudly Duke of Northumberland

According to Jehan de Scheyfye, imperial ambassador, Edward feared John Dudley, and with his uncle Edward Seymour,
a gentler, less imposing character dead and in the ground for over a year, the young king was right to do so.

Northumberland, as Jane's father in law and Jane's parents, Francis and Henry Grey, were the epitome of grasping, self serving nobles who were not afraid to use and abuse their offspring if it meant getting what they desired.
In Northumberland's case his intention was to be chief puppeteer, with a wish to make England dance to his tune, and no
better way to start than organising marriages, to the benefit of himself, to high ranking nobles within the royal court.

Guildford, Catherine and Katherine were all married on the same day, the 25th May 1553.

With Edward's illness beginning in the February and three dynastic marriages taking place less than a
month before the king became ill, it's difficult to believe that Dudley's only concern was king and country. As the court
watched the king's life slipping away, Northumberland was quick to realise that the plans for his families rise to greatness
was heading for the grave along with his sickly king. It most certainly had not slipped Dudley's mind, that on Edward's
death, the Grey family members were at the top of Edwards list of heirs. It was still possible that Francis Grey could give Suffolk a son, and that would be disastrous for Dudley, he knew that whoever was at England's helm it would be Henry Grey who would be pulling the strings.

All Northumberland needed to do was to whisper in the kings ear that it was in 'countries' interest that he declare
Jane Grey his heir and then sit back and watch as the plans for his new 'dynasty', plans that had been in the making
since at least 1525, come to fruition.

The question has to be asked if Northumberland was a schemer, it has been said he was 'morally bankrupt'
and 'the subtlest intriguer in English history.' However, there are those who would argue that Dudley was the Tudor
dynasty's saviour in a time of in fighting, religious upheaval and rebellion, and if this was the case then perhaps the
Duke of Northumberland was the right man for the job, however Dudley had much to gain and for me, this counteracts everything else.

It has been suggested that the change to the succession was Edward's own idea and his own doing, and that this boy
wasn't a pawn in the machinations of his protectors at all, but an intelligent, if somewhat sober, young man. However, at this point in time he was weak and vulnerable, would a boy so sick, whose body was swollen and covered in ulcers, who was suffering from a high fever and in great pain from bedsores, be able think about such a change? After all he had already made his decision and drafted it to his satisfaction, excluding his sister on the grounds of religion and illegitimacy, important
reasons to him. No, Northumberland saw an opportunity and he took it.

Edward made the changes to the succession, altering 'L Janes heires masles' to L Jane AND her heires masles' as you can see in the text below.

On the 21st June, the Devise for the Succession of King Edward VI was signed, and on Edward's death on the 6th July,
Jane Grey became queen. Never crowned, she 'reigned' for just nine days.

Jane's story is a tragic one, she along with her husband, Guildford Dudley were tried for treason in November 1553 and executed on the 12th of February 1554. Henry Grey was executed ten days later.

In August, just two weeks following Mary's triumphant ride through the streets of London, John Dudley was one of the
first to climb the steps of the scaffold.

What doe's that tell you?