Tudor Times

PERSON OF THE MONTH

Katherine Parr

Queen of England from 1543 until 1547, the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII.

On This Day 26th April 1616

On 26th April 1564, John Shakespeare and his wife Mary, nee Arden, took their first son to be baptised at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. Little did they know that the baby at the font would become one of the most famous Englishmen ever born. William Shakespeare wrote about forty plays, considered to contain some of the finest prose and poetry in the English language as well as sonnets which have enchanted lovers for four hundred years. His career as an actor and playwright took him to the top of his profession, playing for both Elizabeth I and James VI & I. Read more about the sources of inspiration for his work here
On This Day 25th April 1507

25th April 1507 is the first recorded use of the name ‘America’ on a map. The map was created by the German cartographer, Martin Waldseemuller (also known in typical Humanist fashion by the Latinised form ‘Hylacomylus’). He based his 'Univeralis Cosmographia' on the accounts of Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci ('Americus Vesputi' in Latin), whence he derived the name ‘America’, on the basis that as Europa and Asia had been named for mythical women, so the new lands should be named for their explorer.

The map was produced both as a globe, and as a 12 panel wall-map (pictured) now in the US Library of Congress.
On This Day 24th April 1558

On 24th April 1558 the wedding of Francois, Dauphin of France to Mary, Queen of Scots, took place in the grand cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Mary had been brought to France in 1548 at the age of 5 in contemplation of this match, which was preferred at that time in Scotland to the alternative on offer – marriage to Edward VI of England. Mary and Francois had been brought up together and were very attached to each other, although their characters were very different – he quiet and studious, she boisterous and fun-loving. He was fourteen, and she fifteen. In July 1559, they became King and Queen of France, as well as Scotland, but Francois died in December 1560 in excruciating pain from some sort of infection that began in his ear. Mary nursed him devotedly.

Conflicting Religious Perspectives (1517 - 1558)

When Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558 the Reformation had already been in progress for forty years and there were four major competing religious perspectives in Western Europe - Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anabaptist. In this Guest Article, Karen Haden, author of Paying in Blood, examines the beliefs and practices of each in turn.

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