Thomas Cromwell

The Truth and Myths of Thomas Cromwell (Guest Post)

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The Truth and Myths of Thomas Cromwell Guest Post by Caroline Angus Baker Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, Lord Privy Seal of England, has enjoyed a revival as a popular Tudor character in recent years after being reshaped into a hero. But was Thomas Cromwell ever a villain? After his execution in 1540, all mention of Cromwell falls away, only to be plucked from the archives in the 1950s and made in the villain who brought about all the Protestant changes made by [More]

Thomas Cromwell: Rags to Riches to the Scaffold

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Guest post by Diarmaid MacCulloch Thomas Cromwell has rarely had a good press, even in Protestant England’s triumphant island story, in which the Pope’s deluded followers were repeatedly put in their place so that the British Empire could flourish and spread Christian civilisation far and wide.  In that tale, Henry VIII could take all the credit for making Tudor England walk tall, and he had the glamour which his most effective minister notoriously lacked.  Various survi [More]

Anne Boleyn’s Last Pregnancy: The Beginning of the End?

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When Anne Boleyn miscarried what her midwife called a boy it was also reported by the midwife that the child was malformed*. In Tudor England, at the time, a malformed* baby meant that the mother had gravely sinned, whether it be witchcraft, adultery or incest. Are these the events that began the downfall of Anne Boleyn? Henry was an extremely religious man and this miscarriage caused him to question everything. What had he done wrong to not be given a healthy, [More]

Book Review: “The Raven’s Widow” by Adrienne Dillard

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It is through my connections to the Tudor world online that I ran into author Adrienne Dillard. Adrienne is a total sweetheart and sent me her book to review after I asked her to write an article about Jane Boleyn for my site. I already had a growing "To Be Read" pile going on but I moved her book closer to the top because I was reading about Katheryn Howard at the time and I thought Jane Boleyn would be a great follow-up book. I wasn't sure what to expect since this is the [More]

Katheryn Howard: Part One

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The story of Katheryn Howard intertwines with many other notable figures of the time but none more than Anne of Cleves and Thomas Cromwell. We'll start with Katheryn's childhood and attempt to chronologically move through time until her execution in 1542. After writing Part One, I realized her story deserves multiple parts. Part One, will start from Katheryn's childhood up to her marriage to King Henry VIII. Part Two will cover her downfall. That part of her life definitely [More]

The Life of Jane Seymour – Third Wife of Henry VIII

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Described by Polydore Vergil as "A woman of the utmost charm both in appearance and character" and Sir John Russell as, "the fairest of all his wives". Eustace Chapuys described Jane as "of middle stature and no great beauty". Jane was of a natural sweet-nature, unlike her predecessor Anne Boleyn and had also been considered virtuous. Before you continue reading, if you'd prefer, you can listen to a supplemental podcast I made about Jane with the help of Matthew [More]