Untitled - The Henry Tudor Drama Company

Preface.
We are The Henry Tudor Drama Company, a Tudor re-enactment Theatre group who have been
working around the UK and Europe since 2004 and have visited over 750 schools with a full day
Tudor workshop. Our King Henry VIII is the most accurate characterised lookalike in the History reenactment sector and with his vast knowledge and experience of all things Tudor we have put
together these selected 500 questions from the General Public whom have visited our well used
website www.HenryTudor.co.uk
Not just an actor who looks like the real King, we have a great selection of accurate and high
quality costumes, now add Henry’s deep knowledge and you have the greatest Tudor Story Teller
of all time. You will see from the way he answers the questions his personality comes out as a King
not to be messed with, a dominating manner but with pure evidence of his accurate answers.
I must go now as the King is looking for me,
Be polite, be to the point.
Enjoy reading this eBook.
Thomas Cromwell
The Henry Tudor Drama Company
www.HenryTudor.co.uk
2012
Q1. From a lost soul in Liverpool, wherever that is.
Henry, how much money did your Father leave you?
Well consider that a Tudor £1 is worth £300 in your 21 st Century, he left
me £1.25M Tudor that is £375M in today's money. I however spent it
all in about 10 years, well it's expensive being a King worthy of the
throne. The cost of cloth of gold, jewellery, banquets, castles, jousting,
hunting, courting and food for the court. It soon adds up! I have my
White Rod pay my bills.
Q2. Why did you want to get rid of your first wife, Katherine of Aragon?
We were both well matched and in love at first, but her Father
Ferdinand betrayed me badly. Him being a king also then made me look
bad. I didn't trust her after that, she could be telling her Father my
plans! I also needed a son to keep the Tudor line going, remember
England didn't know how to cope with a Queen alone, especially when
she marries and the crown moves to another heir, it could be Spanish
y'know. I needed a son, we tried hard, had many sad times together, in
the end I took a girlfriend, Bessie Blount, she proved to the country
that I was a man by giving me my first surviving son, Henry. I called
him, Fitzroy, y'know, Son of Royal. Katherine was well loved by my
people, they never liked me as much after the annulment.
Katherine of Aragon
Henry Fitzroy
Q3. Who made you laugh?
Will Sommers (Somers), a clever funny man, came to me via Wolsey.
He came to the Palace with his Master to receive a repayment of a
debt, Will saw me playing bowls and made a joke about my playing. It
all went silent until I saw the funny side and burst out laughing. Will
joined my personal courtiers after that day. He is by my side all the
time ready to cheer me up and I might say ready to add clever advice in
his joking as well. He knows he can criticise me in his jokes and seem to
get away with it. There is a limit and he knows where it is.
Q4. Why did you fine your Sister Mary Tudor for marrying your best
friend Charles Brandon?
Hey! I lost £6M your money, on that marriage. It was my duty as King
to choose who she married after her first husband King Louise died. I
sent Charles over to Paris to bring her back not to marry her! Good job
she was my sister and he was my best friend. Had to do something to
save face, so I fined them both. But I did make them Duke and Duchess
of Suffolk, so they could afford to repay the fine! They had children and
grandchildren, little Jane she could do well in the future!
Charles Brandon.
Lady Jane Grey my Sister's grand-daughter.
A question from the planet Zog.
Q5. Is it true, that Ann Boleyn had an extra finger?
Hey the Mother-ship must be back! Ann was made out to be a witch,
who bewitched me into a marriage. Of course she did not have an extra
finger, she had a growth a bit like a wart. Do you think I would have
married her if she had an extra finger? She would have polluted the
Tudor gene pool! It was just propaganda to give the people something
to hate her for. I must admit that we went a bit over the top really, we
were quite ruthless in those days!
Hey, hi there New Zealand, are you ok this way up?
Q6. Who was Henry Carey and was he related to you?
Now you've been reading Alison Weirs book haven't you! She stops
short of stating if I was the Father of Henry Carey, and I'm not sure I
want to tell the truth even now. Oh! go on then, Yes Henry is my son.
It's very delicate this Carey business, you see I was having a fling with
Mary Boleyn, nice girl. She was Ann's sister and already married to
Carey. I was trying to get closer with a coy Ann at the time so a baby
with Mary would have been a bit of a scandal. Catherine she knew
what was going on and together we concocted the fact that the baby
boy was indeed Carey's child. Henry Carey always had a fine position in
life and was treated like a Brother by my other children.
But if you want to take it further and challenge the history writers, then
Prove It!
Henry Carey.
Obviously a lover of Horses like myself.
Q7. What was your favourite Horse?
I liked a spirited horse in my athletic youth, Spanish given to me by
Ferdinand, but nowadays I'm more inclined to ride a single footer, a
Palfry to keep the ride smooth. The propaganda in the history books
will tell you that I'm too fat to get on my horse and need a crane. Well
the fact is every Lord needs a set of steps to mount a horse as I do, but
when I'm wearing the armour or my processional clothes yes there is a
contraption to help life me onto the horse. I do tend to be singled out
as an example of being over weight and lazy, but remember the books
are written by the winners, the history writers need to grab attention. I
was older by 20 years than the average mans lifespan in England, so
consider the fact now.
Ah! Wales the land of my Fathers.
Q8. Why did your Father use the Dragon in his coat of arms?
The dragon was also used on my brother Arthurs coat of arms too. It
was a political ploy really, my Father needed some degree of respect
from his history, to convince the people of his right to be King after
removing the Plantagenets. King Arthur Pendragon was and still is
revered in fable. He came from Wales too, Pembrokeshire where my
father was born (Pembroke Castle) and where my grand father is
buried (St.David's Cathedral), so it was a good ploy to claim to be an
indirect descendent and add the Dragon onto the coat of arms together
with our white greyhound.
This is a Photograph of the Scene at Pembroke castle of Margaret
Tudor (nee: Beaufort) after the Birth of Henry Duke of Lancaster (To
become Henry VII).
King Arthur
St.David's Cathedral
See the guy in the white hat. Hey! That's me in disguise visiting old
Grand-dad's crypt.
Here is an example of Henry VII, Prince Arthur and Princess Katherine
of Aragon's Coats of Arms. See the Dragon.
There's always one to ask the most searching of questions.
From Wigan.
Q9. Why did you not bathe a lot?
Obviously you've got central heating and you don't live in a cold stone
castle. I kept clean by washing and changing my clothes regularly, say
every three days! The fur around the cloak was to attract the body lice
off my skin and I kept away from the dirty people. My Guardrobe was
properly maintained and my personal toilet courtiers of the stool were
expert in keeping me clean. It was a commonly known fact that too
much washing took the oils out of the skin to leave you exposed.
Go to any castle and look at the latrines, the walls are eroded by the
ammonia, well this fume would ward off the moths from the clothing in
the Guardrobe, bet you didn't know this is where the word Wardrobe
comes from! The whole scene was called the Gong tower, and we
would leave for another stage of our progress when the moat needed
emptying.
I believe my two daughters Mary and Elizabeth have a regular bath in
hot water! Every month whether they need one or not.
My eldest Daughter, the Lady Mary.
Q10. Bob on the road in Shropshire.
I enjoyed your file about words and their origins. Do you have
anymore?
Sure Bob, every word has an origin, but some are not obvious.
Now take the humble cast iron cooking pot. It brought us the following
words:
Pot-luck, Not knowing just what you are going to get on your trencher.
Pot-shot, Taking a single shot at an animal to kill for food.
Potent, The strength on the food at the bottom of the pot. The Pot end.
Potch later became Poach, To cook with liquid.
Pot-bellied, Speaks for itself.
Potato, Pot-ato a vegetable for cooking in the pot.
Hot-pot, The actual cooking pot, or the eternal kettle.
Here's a common word, The horse pulling the cart would throw up
muck at the driver, this was when it dashed, so a board was fixed to
protect the driver called the "Dashboard".
A common Board game was called "Hand I the cup" which was basically
a dice thrower, but the person with it could not move until they got rid
of it by throwing 6's. This was their Handicap.
Wood was stained with Shellac, made from the crushed shells of the
Lac beetle mixed with spirit. Shellac is still used today as is Lacquer.
I could go on all day with this entertaining item but must go now as my
dinner is ready.
Eh! Bob how did you email from the road in Shropshire. It must be that
Blueband or some new fangled gizmo!
A Grandmother from Wales.
Q11. I know that blaggard come from something in the kitchen, do you
know what it is Henry?
Yes Glynnis I do. It's the young lad who cleans all the burnt surfaces off
the cooking pots and stokes the fire. He has the worst job in a Manor
house and was called the Black Guard which became Blaggard. I
remember in the palace some year's ago. I walked into the kitchens by
surprise and caught the Blaggards peeing in the fireplace. It became a
law after that, No Peeing in the Kitchen!
Here's another for you Glynnis, the cooking pot was hung from the
rafters from a wooden block and tackle from a ship. If the pot was too
full it was referred to as Chocked full, the block couldn't lift is because
it was Choca-block!
Alison from Chorley.
Where?
Q12. A Question for Ray not Henry.
Sorry Alison, this section is Henry's. You need to send one to Ray in the
next section.
Obviously a History Buff from London.
Q12. What was the reason you instigated the Alum fiasco in Yorkshire?
Peter.
The Alum fiasco? Never heard of it.
I think you mean the Colour fixer fiasco.
Well you know that the Pope didn't like me after I changed the Church
to the Catholic Church of England. He put an embargo on goods from
Italy which included the colour fixer Alum. This meant well heeled folk
couldn't wear new coloured cloth without the colour running out or
losing its depth in the wash. I asked the cleverest people why we could
not make our own Alum. They told me that it needed lots of energy and
heat for a prolonged time, Italy had its volcano's we didn't. Alum came
from a rock ore, I believe you use it more now refined and call it
Aluminium.
So I demanded the experts make a volcano! Yes! A volcano.
They found a source of Alum ore in Yorkshire, Ravenscar I believe, and
built a huge conical heap of it with a fire underside. They kept is alight
for 9 months! At the end of this ambitious project they produced Alum!
I therefore got my colour fixer and snubbed my nose at the Pope. Hey
there's a free file about this.
Click here to download this file
Does this reply agree with what you thought it was about Peter?
Portsmouth Calling.
Q13. What influenced did you have on the sinking of the Mary Rose?
The sinking of my favourite ship had too many influences on it. I
analysed the tragedy myself and came to the conclusion that not one
single factor was responsible for the capsizing. I'll try to put it in a few
words.
The Mary Rose was my flagship, built to English design and quality but
in a time when technology was changing and new innovations were
instigators of winning sea battles. Now other designs, especially from
Portugal, were better at fighting apart and not for the boarding fight as
we new it. They had Carvel timbers which allowed cannons in lower
decks nearer the waterline. Carvel is timber edge to edge. The Mary
Rose was originally built with English Clinker design timbers,
overlapping in a stepped format. This design could not seal any gun
hatches near the waterline. So the Mary Rose had a refit, the Clinker
removed in favour of Carvel. Cannons were mounted in lower decks
and near to the waterline. Now Clinker design had a greater resistance
to capsizing because of the steps, which have now been removed.
Add to this too many soldiers in full armour, their ammunition and
supplies, add a heavy gust of wind and cannons not firmly fixed down
and you've got a tragedy which is unavoidable. The ship heeled over in
the wind, the cannons moved sideways and the water came in the new
gun-ports. That's it. My only influence on the whole sad event, was to
ask for my ship to be updated for modern battles. The builders were
trying out new technology without testing it first.
Anybody got a simpler question, I'm getting a headache. Where's them
leeches?
Q14. A Chef in London.
Hi Jamie here, what was your favourite food. Is that a Vespa scooter?
I have lots of favourite foods, must admit I've got a sweet tooth
though. I like biscuits made by my two chefs, Jamie (that's a
coincidence!) and Gary.
They have named their biscuits after themselves!
Jamie Dodgers and Gary Baldie.
He he he. Will Sommers told me that one!
Seriously, I like artichokes, fruit pies and delicate meat. All the reports
of Swans, Venison etc. Well I leave that kind of food for banquets, gives
me indigestion.
The Vespa is my Italian Stallion.
Here's a recipe:
BEEF POTTAGE WITH WHOLE HERBS
2 lb joint of beef
4 oz each of the whole leaves of spinach, endive and white cabbage or
cauliflower
1-2 tsp salt
4 tbsp wine vinegar
2 oz fine or medium oatmeal
3 English onions, sliced
Small squares or triangles of white bread
Vegetables grown in England were seen as food for the poor.
Here's the recipe for a biscuit called Jumbles, it was knotted in its
dough state.
These biscuits are baked in a knot-shape, so they are decorative as well
as tasty.
Jumbles
You need:
2 eggs
100g sugar
15ml aniseed or caraway
175g plain flour
1. Beat the eggs.
2. Add the sugar and aniseed (or caraway) and beat again.
3. Stir in the flour to make a thick dough.
4. Knead the dough on a floured board then make it into rolls 1cm thick
by 10cm long.
5. Tie each roll into a single knot.
6. Drop the knotted dough (a few at a time) into a pan of boiling water.
Let them sink at first, then use a spoon to lift them until they float to
the top.
7. After the knots have floated for a minute and have swollen, take
them out of the water and let them drain on a wire rack covered with a
cloth or kitchen roll.
8. Put the knots on buttered baking sheets and bake for fifteen minutes
at 180°C (gas mark 4).
9. Turn them over and let them bake for another 10 minutes until they
are golden brown.
The other day I was walking in the sun in the grounds of Samlesbury
Hall, minding my own business when someone on an electric three
wheeled scooter sneaked up behind me and sounded a loud trumpet. It
nearly scared me to death.
Come on Stuart, "King of the Castles" , have you a question for Ol'
Henry?
Q15. I have a question for you?
As you are already one of the best known English monarchs, why did
you find
it necessary to build a website and what was the motivation behind the
idea?
Hi Stuart, My website is the only way of being myself to the public. All
the written work out there from Historians paint a picture of a tyrant
King who ruled England by fear. My website gives me the chance to
show the world that this was not the case. Take a look at the world in
the 16th Century, I was not the only ruler, look at France, how many
Protestants, Lutherans and Hugano's were killed! Look at Spain, look at
the Holy Roman Emperor, fear was a common factor by those
Monarchs who ruled by force. I think a lot of the History books blame
me for events out of my control. The Dukes and Lords of Manors were
a law to themselves and they dealt out cruel rulings in my name, there
was no communication like today, news took weeks to arrive and it was
changed by word of mouth. I became the one to blame for all events,
so be it. The winners write the history books, or write the plays for the
world to absorb, as in the Shakespeare propaganda.
I cannot change the way History has been written nor the way I have
been depicted, but I can show the people my good side in my website.
A visitor to England from Canada
Q16. Hi Henry. Today I was in one of your tours at Samlesbury Hall in
Lancashire, 22 May 2005.
My wife and I enjoyed your tour and were quite taken with your
humor. (Humour).
Did King Henry VIII have a good humor?
I remember you amongst the visitors.
Yes, I had and still have a wonderful humour, maybe a bit rude at times
and maybe a little childish, but a great sense of what was funny and
what could insult a person. I would dress up in charade's and try to
surprise my wife(s), I would pretend to be someone else and mingle
with my court jumping out of the disguise to surprise them all. A
practical joker.
A long funny story was my favourite method of making people laugh,
my inner court would sit for hours listening to my fantasy stories.
I did not however stand fools easily and I can easily root out sarcastic
comments....
My jester and friend Will Sommers taught me how to give out a serious
message in a humorous manner.
Rachel aged 9 from a school party from The Children's court of King
Henry VIII.
Q17. Hello Henry.
What do you like best from 2005?
Velcro. Now I can get my Royal robes on without the help of 3
courtiers. Oh! I do like your fast motorcars, to do 30 miles in one hour
without collapsing! I told my daughter Mary I would bring back the
fastest vehicle from the 21st Century, faster than a Ferrari, faster than
a Porche, one that can pass any other car on the motorway whatever
speed it was going at!
She said, "Oh great, we're getting a White Transit Van!" Hehehehe!
Now, if you'd asked me what I didn't like about 2005 then I would have
a lot to say.
Q18. From Mrs. C. A concerned member of the silent majority.
If King Henry was alive now what would he make of binge drinking ,as it
is
now widely publicised in the news and Henry was a drinker of wines?
I'm not a heavy drinker, I could not show myself up in front of my
people and court. I do like Portuguese wine with my meals but I
definitely do not go drinking as a social event. The binge drinkers of
today are lacking in confidence, they want life too quickly and need the
alcohol to bolster their self image. They need to slow down, take life as
it comes, enjoy the moment with a clear mind, not put their health and
reputations on the line. Henry's words: Lying on the pavement with
your dignity out of your control is not attractive to anybody except the
worst of humanity.
The TV interviewer at Discovery's "My other Life" exhibition.
Q19. Are you scared that people will start to recognise Ray as Henry
when you are out and about?
You had to ask the Producer which guest was Henry!
Look at this picture taken the same day as the filming, would you just
walk past or say "Oh! there's Henry VIII". I rest my case.## Your picture:
'You can't hide like that!.jpg' has been inserted here ##
Q20. What does your wife think of you being King Henry VIII?
My wife is a self thinking person, you should ask her.
Ray's wife's answer:
"At first I thought masquerading as a dead King was silly, but then as
Ray started to explain the details, show how he was going to dignify his
portrayal with knowledge and historic accuracy, I thought what the hell
his ideas in the past have always worked. Now after nearly a year since
his idea he looks great, the audiences at Samlesbury Hall love Henry,
the press love Henry, now TV loves Henry. I would never have thought
it possible that one man could attract so much interest, King Henry VIII
does seem to capture the imagination of our nation and Ray is coping
well with the pressure. In the end I'm just proud of my Husband
whatever he did for a career, he was a brilliant Designer, a wonderful
Teacher and now a fabulous King."
I'm embarrassed now at this public display of affection!
From Alison
Q21. Knowing what Henry was like with his many wives , would you
consider him still a possible family man , because we all know he had a
favourite wife , if he'd met her first would he have been content?
If katherine had given me a son and took the pressure off me to keep
the Tudor Line going, I would have been content. She was a lovely lady
who loved being in England, but alas circumstances took over.
Jane was the real love of my later life, if she was my first wife then yes I
would have been content. I couldn't have stayed with Ann, even if she
gave me a son, she was so interfering and the people hated her it
would never have worked.
Anna Von Cleve, now she was a fine woman and she would have been
good for this country, pity I made a great mistake and publicly
humiliated both her and myself. Catherine Howard, what a great
blunder marrying her, the Howard's should have found a better, more
refined girl who knows what honour means. Catherine Parr a fine lady
well suited to be my companion in my last year's but still susceptible to
the political vultures out there.
History Buff
Q22. What new information could you give to history?
Wow! That's a good question, I've had it for 2 days because I needed
time to think about it. I'm not sure whether it should be Ray answering
this one.
There is a strange idea that if I am a close resemblance to the King
Henry VIII portraits that we all know them, then I must resemble the
man in earlier days when young! This means that if my photographs of
my youth were seen as a good estimate of what King Henry looked like.
I hope I can experience just what Henry felt and his feelings. How did
the man inside cope with being King and why he made such monstrous
decisions.
I already know why Ann of Cleves was called a Flemish Mare!
This is my new information: I am King Henry VIII, I have seen a beautiful
portrait by master Hans Holbein of Ann in courtly robes. I have waited
for 6 weeks for her to come to England after I had chosen her above
her sister Amelia. I am rather looking forward to seeing her, I am used
to people instantly recognising me. Ann arrives in England, do I wait
until she has been prepared for my court? No. Is she dressed in travel
Germanic clothes? Yes. What do I do? I ride over to where she is in my
armour together with my Knightly friends. What happens? She doesn't
recognise me, she says "which one is my Henry?" in her Germanic
accent. It takes me by surprise and shock, I immediately renounce her
as ugly, a Flemish Mare" not true of course but my character trying to
save face.
Had we met in court, she dressed as a Queen to be, I dressed as a Royal
character I think we would have been well suited and history would
have taken a new direction.
Another visitor to Samlesbury Hall
Q23. I enjoyed your tour. I noticed that King Henry gave out small gifts
to all children who came to Samlesbury Hall, why?
Our children are our future, they have lots of electronic aids, lots of
technology which we are still learning about, they shouldn't miss the
old ways. I give out a picture of me and a Quill feather. The quill will be
a practical project for them to learn how to create a pen that works,
the picture is a safety poster in miniature. They love the gifts and
appreciate them as much as an expensive electronic gizmo. We all hear
about the rough, tough, vandalising youth of today, well they are a
small minority who get too much media coverage. The majority of
children are kind hearted people who care about others and who will
make sure our country stays at the forefront in social care. If King
Henry VIII can dispel the notion of being a ruthless, fictionalised antihero and show his good side to our children then this should have a
positive spin off.
Q24. Does everybody take notice of you because you are King Henry?
Nope. I send out emails with Ray to Councils, Castles and Big houses
but we only get about 10% replies. At first I thought it was ignorant,
then I became certain it WAS ignorant. It's not as though we are after
heaps of money, some of them were offered our time for free for
charity work, they could not be bothered and could not see the big
picture above their own little world. But I'm not a vindictive man any
more, if they suddenly see King Henry on the TV or in the press and
remember the email they didn't answer do you think I will give them a
second chance? Not on your Nelly.
Oop's a raw nerve!
Ray to Henry.
Hey big guy, don't get rattled. They will one day need you to head up a
charity gig or a public opening of some great venture, so stay cool and
accept their silence as mere lack of imagination.
Q25. Newspaper reporter on the Phone.
You have a strong Lancashire accent, do you change it for Henry?
Yes. Anyhow what was Henry's accent? His Father was Welsh, His Mother was
a Yorkshire Princess, His Grandmother was a Lancashire Duchess, so what
would be his accent?
Have you read Henry VII by Francis Bacon? in olde Tudor? Well it sounds like
Yoda from Starwars. Now add it all together.
Yudor.
I speak slowly, more pronounced and slightly mixed up like Yoda.
Q26. Same reporter, (Well he was on the phone a long time!)
Do you and Ray make a lot of money out of being Henry?
No. We only break even at the moment. It pays for the clothes and fuel and
this computer that's all. But it does give Ray a lot of fun in his old years
(hehehe), we both will keep on doing our best hoping that King Henry will get
a new audience and that our time is to come again. All our work up to now
has been for charity, Samlesbury is a charitable trust and know of our
expensive materials, they pay for our clothes and fuel but we bring them a lot
more visitors to join Henry on his tour of the house. Visiting Primary schools
are charged very little really, their coach costs are greater than what the Hall
charges, we believe we help them.
One day a great big corporation will want King Henry VIII for their advertising
campaign and then we will be ready to begin making a profit, until then we
will reap the wonderful times we have together.
Or as Henry would say in Tudor/Yudor. "Big times come maybe a day soon".
One of those age questions.
Q27. King Henry died when he was 55, what age does Ray play you?
Well I've got a stick, I'm a bit overweight and I'm hiding up North away from
my critics. I think Ray's playing me about 45 years of age don't you. Ray's just
told me he is now 56 but was worried about February this year!
The great thing about having a time machine is that you never age any more.
A History researcher from The Discovery Channel.
Q28. Who was your greatest rival?
"Rival" has to be analysed.
If it was Rival Monarch, then Francis of France was my greatest personality
rival. He was as good looking as me, strong, athletic and popular. He nearly
knocked me off top spot as Europe's most Majestic King.
If it was Athletic Rival, then Charles Brandon when he was a younger fellow
would take that honour. He became my Brother in law and was always my
best friend, the only sportsman who would dare to try his best to beat me. I
must admit he was the one who knocked me off my horse during a joust and
injured my leg, it still hurts today and is getting worse.
Power Rival must have been my Father in law, Ferdinand in my earlier year's.
Hey! All the criticism I have endured about the Church of England, yet
Ferdinand and Isabella were much more ruthless with the Islamic people of
Spain. I think the power crazy Emperor of the Roman Church was much more
cruel than I was.
Now the greatest Rival in matters of love must have been Thomas Culpepper,
he took the chance of hapiness away from me with his affair with my wife
Catherine Howard. I think I changed then into a person even I didn't like.
My greatest rival would be the Popularity Rival, it was of course my first wife,
Catherine. The people loved her because of her devotion to them. She
pushed me into second place even when I annulled our marriage, making
Queen Ann a target of abuse.
Q29. What was your greatest fear?
I had no fear. Or that's what I tried to portray. Fear of failure really, not
producing a son to carry on the line.
We all feared the Plague, it was indiscriminate in its culling of our population.
I tried to keep away from it by moving into non infected places with my
Progresses.
From a Teacher visiting Samlesbury Hall
Q30. I read that Ray was once an AST teacher and is now retired. Is being King
Henry VIII better than being a teacher.
It is now for us both. Ray loved teaching for 20 of his 22 years, the last 2 were
hell. Not that much had changed, more that he was ill. As King Henry VIII we
can still communicate to people, we can still tell stories to crowds. Ray likes
Henry.
Oh! by the way. Ray is still an AST teacher retired or not, once made up to
one always one!
Q31. Did King Henry ever draw or paint?
It was not seen as a Royal practice to paint portraits because only the masters
did it and they were from common stock. I wrote poetry, songs and music if I
did draw anything it was for my wife at the time and private. I discussed the
science topics a lot and Humanism with Erasmus, sometimes we drew
diagrams to clarify meanings. I can draw and paint, but with Master Hans
Holbein in my employ it seemed pointless not to have him do royal pictures.
Q32. Thomas Wolsey seemed to have a lot of power, did he have too much?
No. I let Thomas have the power, he was a very hard working man and self
motivated. His tastes were a little outlandish but then so were mine and he
worked with me closely. He ran my court really, he was a master of
organisation and could move armies, feed them, clothe them, organise them
which made me look very good indeed. He failed miserably though trying to
get the Pope to agree to my divorce with Katherine, we went out of favour
then. Remember he did die of natural causes.
From a lovely lady who volunteers at the Hall.
Q33. I have listened to your tour a few times around the Hall, noticing that
you change its content nearly every time, Why?
I get bored very easily. The research I have done for the Hall has given me to
much information to impart in one tour, so I mix and match as I go round. I
have noticed that some people have been on the tour more than once, so I
have to keep it interesting all the time. Hey! You're an ex teacher too, you
have got to keep the audience on the edge of their seat in order to win their
complete attention.
I tell them, if I wink it's a joke just in case they are not sure whether to laugh
or not.
A Historian from oop North.
Q34. Which member of your family had the most influence on your life?
Without any hesitation that would be my Grandmother, Margaret Beaufort.
Margaret Beaufort.
Q35. What was the population of England in your reign?
Better see it on a graph.
Q36. What did the Tudors think of the poor people?
Tudor people believed there were three types of poor people:
1. Those with just enough to live on.
2. The "deserving poor", those who could not work, eg. the very young, the
very old, and disabled people - these should be looked after as an act of
charity.
3. Sturdy rogues: vagrants and people who moved about looking for work.
People felt this type should be punished. However, there was not enough
work.
In 1485 unemployment was not a problem, but by 1530 there were many
more people than jobs.
Q37. What did a real Tudor Village look like?
They are still about today 2005!
It would have a Manor house, Dairy etc. see below for some of my pictures
from Tudor Village in Dorset.
The Manor house
The style of construction was dependent upon the building materials
available locally.
With a Half Timbered House, remember half-timbering means to split a tree
down the middle and use each half opposite each other to equalise the
movement over the years. Further South than say Leicester, the stripes were
mainly vertical this was due to the trees not being fully mature and still a bit
springy, in the Midlands Oak was easy to get, but not long straight ones so
the houses were fairly large square patterned with big diagonals, in the North
they had Wych Elm trees and the layout was small squares, reinforced in each
square corner by a quartered tree producing a pattern called Quatrefoil.
Timber framed buildings filled with bricks and/or rendered was also common.
A young student on a school visit ask me this question, I thought it was worth
adding to the website.
Q38. Which common names came from Medieval and Tudor times, what did
"Tudor"mean?
First of all Tudor means "House of Iron" in ye olde Welsh. Similarly Tuyer
means Iron tap in the Welsh iron smelting days.
Henry means master of the house and was usually a royal name for a first
born son, Katherine my first wife and I had a son called Henry but he died
very young.
Well most names came from the skills that certain people had, they would
work around the country plying their trade and become known as Thomas
the Smith etc.
Smith/Smithson-- Blacksmith, Miller-- Corn Miller, Thatcher-- Roof thatcher or
Prime Minister!, Potter-- Ceramic Potter, Carpenter -- House frame maker,
Milliner-- Cloth maker, Weaver-- Cloth maker, Cook/Cookson-- Cook, Brewer-Ale brewer, Carter-- cart driver, Cartwright-- Maker of the carts, Wright-Wheel maker, Mason-- Stone mason, Farmer-- Farmer, Cooper--Couper or
barrel maker, Lamb-- A shepherd, and so on........
If anybody has more to add please email and I will load it up.
Q39. What's the funniest thing that has happened to you as Henry in the 21st.
Century?
I was walking through a charity function giving out leaflets, I offered a leaflet
to a small child amongst her parents and older family.
I said, "I'll give you a leaflet if you know who I am".
The little girl looked at me in the eyes and answered" You're Father
Christmas.!"
I said, quite deflated, "That'll do nicely" and gave her a leaflet knowing she
had stolen the show.
Q40. Your beard is one of your most famous features. Why did you grow it in
the first place?
That's a very personal question, but one that has a significant event in my
mind.
My rival in popularity, Francis, King of France and I had a most elaborate
meeting which took weeks to prepare, cost millions to equip for and became
known as "The field of the cloth of gold". We met as brothers, our armies and
courtiers all mixed together in friendship and we jousted, danced, made
music for a month. We decided together that we were such good friends that
we would not shave again until we both met again. It was a sign of high
beauty then for a man to shave and show his full face, so to grow a beard was
to hide ones looks and be more modest. I made sure my beard was a low,
thin one that wouldn't hide my looks too much! I kept my beard after that as
it became a fashion within my court, I believe Francis shaved down to a
moustache which also became a French fashion.
From 100's of children who have met Henry at Samlesbury Hall. The most
asked question of them all!
Q41. Which of your wives did you love?
Mmm. Not an easy answer this one, it is difficult to put into words the
meaning of love and in one way or another I loved all my wives, even Anna
Von Cleve after we were divorced. I'll try to explain my feelings for all my
wives and let you all decide which you think was my soul mate.
Katherine, for the first 10 years of our marriage we were devoted to each
other, we started as an arranged marriage but soon fell in love and she was
my best friend. We drifted apart because of her Father, my duties and her
work with schools and the poor. She was better thought of by my people than
me. Eventually we were so much apart we had lost our affection for each
other.
Ann, I fell for her charms before marraige, she bewitched me, she was a coy
flirt with my affections. I don't think I actually loved her. The last straw was
the death of our son at birth, the marriage may have lasted had the boy
survived. Her sister Mary would have been a better match had the
circumstances been different.
Jane, lovely Jane, she knew how to keep in the background and give me
comfort in my private life. Jane gave me my son and heir, Edward but she
only lived 14 days after the birth. I didn't even have the chance to have her
coronation as my Queen. My heart was broken with her death and I still long
for her.
Anna, I was a little rash when we first met, I embarrassed us both and the
marriage was doomed from the start. Anna became my advisor and I made
her my official Sister in my court, she would have made a fine Queen had I
not been looking for love. I admit she was the finest looking Queen I married
and that Holbein was accurate in his portrait.
Catherine, she made me lose heart, she was so young and full of life I could
not keep up with her energies. It was obviously a mismatch but I was
overjoyed with her as my wife, she however saw the match as a way of
having fun, especially with other men. Her treachery, broke my heart and it
was the first and only time I cried in public when her affair was exposed to
me by her Uncle.
Catherine, I never loved her, but I had a lot of affection for her. She nursed
me in my later years but was under the influence of the Seymours and I
began to worry about her politics. She was very clever y'know! Wrote a
wonderful book and poems for me.
Fom a descendant of The Southworths of Samlesbury hall.
Q42. Who was the Southworth at Samlesbury Hall during the Battle of
Bosworth Field, did he get Knighted for his part in it?
MMM. No. The owner of Samlesbury Hall in 1485 was Sir Christopher
Southworth and he was already a Knight, having gained his spurs on a
campaign in Scotland two years ealier. There was no Southworth at Bosworth
Field. See this website page for a full Role Call of knights at Bosworth Field.
www.richard111.com/roll_call_of_the_battle_of_boswo.htm
Hey the rest of you! Go look at this role call you never know you might be
famous or infamous!
I think this guy is a builder or architect.
Q43.
I notice that the roof tiling on a Tudor House has stones that are graded
fromlarge to small towards the top instead of a common size in slate. Do you
know why?
Yes. In Tudor times, houses builder used materials which were local, so Welsh
ones used Welsh slate and cut the fairly soft material to a common size
before splitting them into thin squares. However if slate was not a local
commodity, stone was used. Nature has moved the stone in the Ice age down
a valley by way of glaciers and the large ones will get further down. By
grading the stones into a range of sizes and then cutting into slabs the roof
tiles were made. Now think about it, which one would you carry all the way
to the top of the roof? The large ones or the smaller ones? Obviously the
larger ones were lower on the roof and the smaller ones higher up. Thicker
tiles tend to form a curve if added togther on a sloped roof so the grading
also helped to form a flat side to the constuction.
Q44. Where did a bouncer on a pub door, get his name from?
Taverns had a lot of damage caused by drunken behaviour. A tarrif was added
as an entrance fee to cover repair costs, an amount of 1 Penny tudor was
asked. This equates to £1.30 nowadays. People who couldn't afford the tarrif
would forge a penny out of lead. A man would stand at the entrance to the
tavern and collect the tarrif, he would throw the coin onto the stone floor. If
the coin hit and stopped thereby being soft Lead he would stop the person
entering, if the coin bounced on the stone he would let the person in because
the coin was made of a brass type metal. He became known as a Bouncer.
Q45. Who was the character that Humpty Dumpty was based upon?
There are a few characters who have been dubbed the inspiration behind the
song, but I believe it was my old friend Thomas Wolsey. Think about the fate
of old Wolsey a fat man who taxed the people and was hated by most. He
fled me after the divorce fiasco, hiding in York. I send my soldiers to get him
worning them not to fail me. They catch him and march hem back to London,
but ala he dies on the way down. The soldiers are now pretty scared of the
consequences, and try hard to revive him but he is dead.Now sing the song.
Humpty Dumpty sat of a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
Q46.
Was there really a Little Jack Horner?
Yes. Jack Horner was the clerk of my court whom I sent around the country
collecting the deeds of the Monasterial land confiscated during the
reformation. His reward was to keep one confiscated land for his own. He of
course picked a plum site, I believe the Horners still live there.
Q47. Stuart again.
During your lifetime, how many castles , palaces and the like did you manage
to build?
Also what where their names?
If it wasn't for all that cut shaped stone from the monasteries I wouldn't have
been able to build my castles over 20 of them.
Here's the list in no order, straight out of my head .
Pendennis, Hurst, Sandown, East Cowes, West Cowes, Yarmouth,
Sharpenode, Calshot, Southsea, Netley, St.Andrews point, Deal, Hull,
Brownsea, Portland, Sandsfoot, Walmer, St.Mawes, Camber as well as
finishing off Hampton court and my pet project Nonsuch Palace. Oh, and the
Entrance gate to Lower ward at Windsor Castle. Can't think of any more
without a drink of fine port. Is that ok Stuart?
From a BBC Producer who has waded through this website and survived!
Q48.
How long have you been portraying King Henry and how did you start?
I planned it from May 2004, I had retired through ill health and loved my job
as a classroom teacher this being hard to let go. I decided I would be an actor
and have a go to realise another ambition. I knew I looked a lot like Henry so
it wasn’t hard to develop my character. I had the costume made
professionally, I travelled the country learning what it was like to be Henry,
and I read all the books until I became sick of them. My first gig was at Astley
Hall in Chorley in August 2004, after that I work every week mainly with
Samlesbury Hall near Preston. Samlesbury Hall is manned by especially nice
people and I love going there, it’s a family feeling that’s hard to find
nowadays. I conduct a Henry’s Tour of the house every Sunday and run their
School’s programme.
Q49.
Henry Tudor can be found on Sundays at Samlesbury Hall, what do you get
up to there?
I have a bit of fun with the visitors, they come now expecting to see a lookalike but they get a very accurate portrayal from the best look-alike.
My calendar is full up to next year and my new career in acting is an
astounding success.
Q50.
Are people scared of you?
Yes. At first it’s a bit scary, then I smile and wave, the children are more open
to Henry and soon like being seen with him, the Mothers soon like having
their pictures taken with Henry, The Fathers and most men are a bit cautious.
Retired people who come to the Hall really take to Henry especially when I
tell them about the sayings from Tudor times.
Q51.
Best thing about being Henry?
I don’t have to work too hard to be him, as soon as I get the costume on I
develop the Henry limp, my memory becomes fills with Tudor history and my
personality changes from a quiet ordinary man into an egocentric, power
crazy monarch.
Q52.
And the worst?
It’s far too hot in centrally heated Manor houses for a fur lined King Henry
Costume. Over heating is the biggest problem I have.
Q53.
What is on the menu at Samlesbury Hall? What was Henry's favourite meal?
For the King’s Board we have tried to keep it as genuine as possible, we will
serve chicken stuffed with spicy meat and wrapped with cured ham, then we
will serve vegetables that were around in the 1500’s. The King’s board will
take all night to serve and eat and will be the fulcrum of the evening with
Henry and his band of players filling in the evening.
I actually perform an act called Stand up Henry, which could be described as
an intellectual, clean, comedy of History.
Henry’s dislike for massive meals is well recorded by Historians; the swan
stuffed with other fowl is only for large banquets where we English were
trying to impress visiting foreign dignitaries. King Henry in private would eat
simple dishes like Chicken and Artichokes.
Q54.
Six mothers-in-law eh? How bad is that?
They Kept out of politics; it was the Father in laws that were the biggest
problem to me, especially Ferdinand of Spain.
Some morbid reader looking for an argument!
Q55.
What was in the speech that Queen Ann Boleyn made on at the time of her
execution?
Here speech was made after I had annulled the marriage, so she wasn't a
Queen anymore. She did not admit to bewitching me and asked why this had
happened to an innocent woman. This at the time made me mad, I know with
hindsight she was right.
This is her speech in full, you decide.
“Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, according to law and
therefore I will speak nothing against it. I come here only to die, and thus to
yield myself humbly to the will of the king, my lord. And if, in my life, I did
ever offend the king’s grace, surely with my death I do now atone. I come
hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that whereof I am accused,
as I know full well that aught I say in my defence doth not appertain to you. I
pray ant beseech you all, good friends, to pray for the life of the king, my
sovereign lord and yours, who is one of the best princes on the face of the
earth, who has always treated me so well that better could not be, wherefore
I submit to death with goodwill, humbly asking pardon of all the world. If any
person will meddle with my cause, I require them to judge the best. Thus I
take my leave of the world, and of you, and I heartily desire you all to pray for
me”
Now I'm feeling guilty again!
On a lighter note!
Q56. You kept the old sport of Jousting alive well after it should have been
forgotten, why?
Hey! Jousting was still practiced in other countries, why is it always me that
gets the bad press!
Anyhow, here's some very interesting terms used in the play Battle of male
supremacy:
Jousting Terms
Caparison
The decorative covering worn by jousting horses at tournament.
Chanfron
Metal plate armour that is moulded and constructed for the war horse.
Chief Marshal
The man who is in charge of the tournament list. He also assists judges and
settles disputes.
Coat of arms
The name given the identifying symbols that were placed on shields, surcoats,
horse trapping and banners.
Coat-of-Plates
Basic Medieval torso protection.
Coronal
This was the name given to the metal tip that was attached to the end of the
lance for a Joust a' Plaisance, or a joust of pleasure.
Cuir Bouille
Leather soaked in hot wax and bent into shape while still hot.
Gorge't
Also call collar armour, designed to protect the neck.
Graper
This is the enlarged area of the lance that is located just in front of where the
shoulder is tightened.
Hastilude
A game fought with spears or lances.
Heraldry
A system for identifying individuals by means of distinctive hereditary
insignia.
Melee
The name given when two teams of knights met as if in the open battle field,
in general, a free-for-all.
Recet
A place of refuge on the tournament field where knights could rest, rearm or
hold prisoners.
Tenan
The challenger of a Joust or Pas d'Armes. The host of the joust.
Umbo
Refers to a type of construction of the shield in the early Middle Ages.
Venans
Knights who have accepted a challenge .
Remember my Father claimed to be an ancestor of King Arthur Pendragon
and so his sport was carried on.
Q57. How many children did you have altogether?
Losing children at birth or soon after has been the most sad times of my wife
and myself. Here are the legitimate births and deaths.
1510 Daughter - died
1511 Son - died
1513 Son - died
1514 Son - died
1516 Mary - survived
1518 Daughter - died
1533 Elizabeth - survived
1534 Son - died
1535 unknown - died
1536 Son - died
1537 Edward - survived
Then there were my illegitimate children. Henry Fitzroy, Henry Carey.
So you see I actually had 7 sons.
From a party of four Cheshire folk who braved it across the border into sunny
Lancashire.
Q58. Where did the term "Clapped out" come from?
A Clapper was a medieval term for a stone slab bridge across a stream or
river. Slabs of granite on top of granite piers spanning up to 4 feet. Can be
worn out by continued traffic and then need refurbishment , they are then
termed "Clapped Out". The name came from the noise they made when
crossed, they would rock slightly and clap the pier.
Q59. Why did Henry feel the need to marry again after the death of Jane?
That question touches a nerve, yes I now had a legitimate son to keep the
Tudors in Power, yes Jane was the love of my life and yes I was now getting
old and infirm. But, I was left alone. Alone at the top. Anna Von Cleve was to
be my new partner, my friend as well as my Queen. You have to put it in
context, the king of England is two persons, Henry Tudor and King Henry VIII
that is why all royals use the Royal WE a plural of ourselves. When I married
Jane twice, she married both persons separately because we were in love.
Anna Von Cleve (Kleve) was picked to marry King Henry and become his
partner on the throne as well as his companion. Even after our divorce, Anna
became my friend and I made her my court Sister! She stayed in England
because her conditions were much better than going back to the small
Dukedom her Brother ruled from, she helped with my children and became
well known for good sense in my court.
Now I'm bored with Wife questions!
From an old movie fan from Nelson in Lancashire.
Q60. Why did you throw your food about?
HOLLYWOOD! How many times must I say this? A black and white movie with
Charles Laughton is made for the American appetite for crass depiction of
historical myth and everyone on the planet believes it!!!!!!!
Ok, I've calmed down now.
King Henry VIII did not throw his food about, he was meticulously clean and
his manners were second to non in the entire country. He would not lower
himself to that of a peasant by eating like one. The Palaces and castles where
he stayed were spotless, he had everyone decorated before he visited them,
the food was prepared by two chef's and perfect in every detail and he eat
politely, never talking at the same time. Propaganda is in all our media,
people are manipulating your information before you absorbe it, they want
to guide our world their way. This was not invented by Tony Blair nor George
Bush, it has been going on in humans since the first one stood upright. My
Daughter, Elizabeth was as big a political manipulator as I was and fed the
peoples appetite with stories of my reign that make her appear the Angel of
Freedom, read Shakespeare, the biggest propaganderist ever! Today he
would be the editor and she the proprietor .
Natalie from St.Helens
Q61. In your talk about Samlesbury Hall, Why does the White lady hate the
house?
Ah! Now that's because her boyfriend Robert Houghton was murdered by her
own brother and her Father had forbade her to see Robert.
Sarah from St. Helen's
Q62. Does the White lady live with you?
No, Dorothy Southworth Wanders along the main road outside Samlesbury
Hall looking for her boyfriend Robert.
When she sees me she disappears.
My wife at home in the Palace is not a White lady she is blue! Only when
she's using a face pack! Hehehehe.
Obviously an investigative Historian.
Q63. You mention Nicholas Owen in both your Tour and your website, yet
you cover yourself in case it was not true. What is the truth as you believe it
and what is your evidence based upon?
How many history books have turned out to be garbage? Lots of them. The
author writes them with information thought to be correct at the time of
going to press and then puts it right if it is proven to be wrong. Well I believe
that Nicholas Owen was at Samlesbury Hall and he built the priest holes
there. We already know that St.Edmund Campion was caught in Samlesbury
Hall and there is proof that Nicholas Owen was a companion of Campion, see
this website.
www.geocities.com/francischinchoy/sjnicholasowen.html
Look at the dates, look at where Owen was known to work and then piece it
all together. Every one of his designs were of the same parameter, "one way
in and two ways out" in order to give the captured priest another chance of
freedom. Look at the fireplace in Hindlip Hall where he was captured, the
same style and workmanship as the Samlesbury Hall Fireplace in the Parlour.
Work out his route of work, East Anglia, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Lancashire,
Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire where he was captured. Now put rough
dates on these counties estimating how long he would be at on to make such
constructions, and you get him in Lancashire about 1580/1582. Just when the
fireplace was made.
Now the fireplace in the Parlour seems to have no priest hole or does it? The
top stone has broke in half because of the house loading, but why has the
halves not fallen? There must be a brick wall behind the stone frontage. Now
tap the fireplace and the only place not stone in near the breakage, the same
width as need for a man to enter it. The other way out I suspect to be outside
the building under a stone slab that has no moss on it.
There you are, I cannot say with strong physical evidence that Nicholas Owen
built the priest holes but I can show the evidence of history. If the directors of
Samlesbury Hall search through the back wall of the chimney breast I should
think the whole mystery of the broken stone will emerge.
From the Lady sat next to me at the Canon's dinner.
Q65. Do you know what Plantagenet means?
I must admit I didn't. So I have talked to my learned scholars at court and
have come with this answer.
Plantagenet! Why would I want to know their history? They were our
predecessors and brought chaos to England. Ok, I am not the right person to
give an unbiased opinion so I’ll try my best to forget bygones.
They were the Angevin dynasty from Anjou in France, their English link were
the Plantagenets with Lancastrian and Yorkist backgrounds. My
Grandmother, Margaret Beaufort and my Mother, Elizabeth were the last
one’s to enter the Tudor dynasty. Plantagenet was a Plant called the Genesta
in Latin, or Broom Flower in English. Hey! That’s cool! Richard III was a Broom
Hehehe.
It started in England with Geoffrey of Anjou who was the Father of Henry II,
then Richard Duke of York then Edward IV ant the old hunchback himself,
Richard III.
I know that my father made Richard III’s history a lot blacker that in reality
and that he didn’t have a hunchback, so I’m following in my Father’s
footsteps and giving the English people someone to hate.
Q64. Who is the Girl/Lady in your picture with you?
That is Lady Elizabeth, my daughter by Ann Boleyn. Not a Princess anymore
because that marriage was annulled and therefore not legal. She has my red
hair, her mother's stance and figure, definately a strong willed woman.
She has started her own website. www.ElizabethTudor.co.uk
It's ok, but not up to mine yet!
From a lovely lady from Knutsford in Cheshire, who obviously knew the
answer and was testing me!
Q65. I come from Knutsford in Cheshire, it is famous for another King and is
named after him, do you know the story.
Pity she didn't know Ray used to live in Knutsford, Hehehe, but I didn't tell
her, I just let her believe I was a genius.
Sure, King Canute. Canute crossed the River Lilly in the town and thus it
became known as Knute-Ford. By the way the River Lily is only 2 feet wide,
sorry, 61 cms wide. So no big deal then eh!
Crossing Rivers by ancient Kings has a link with the Northwest and King
Arthur! He crossed the Sea from Anglesey back into England on his drive for
power, landing near the Ribble estuary and making his way across the Fylde
to Chorley, where he famously crossed the River ............ to beat his rivals in
Battle by surprise.
Anybody know its name?
Wow! that only took 5 minutes. Quite right Chorley river was the River
Douglas.
Q66. Just how closely does Ray resemble Henry?
See this picture.
Ray should really trim his beard a bit closer to Henry, but he's stubborn and
likes it the way it is! True Henry's beard is not as grey as Ray's, but then he's
not got questioners like you mithering him!
The fact is, Henry posed for hours then the artist made sure he was perfect,
whereas Ray posed for 20 seconds and the photographer was his wife! Still
the resemblance is striking. Ray tells me it's Henry who is close to Ray not the
other way round!
Q67. In your day, the rose was a significant emblem, why was that?
In my day! I'm still in my day!
The cultured Rose is not native to Britain, the Romans brought it over here
after they had taken it from the Greeks. It has a cultural meaning, Honour,
truth and loyalty and so is used today for a love token. The big families in
history needed to keep confidences and the Rose was used as a form of
contract, not a written one but one that was attached to houses and if you
entered the house you entered the contract of confidentiality. The Romans
called this Sub-rosa, Latin meaning Under the Rose. A rose was carved above
heads in talking rooms, such as Parlours, Chapels and Great Halls, in the
centre for the most important room in the house and along the top edges in
the others.
Roses were even over the doorways so that you "signed" the contract as you
entered. Lancashire and Yorkshire have a Rose as an emblem, well many
Monarchs came from these counties y'know. My father joined the two
warring counties together with the Tudor Rose when he married my Mother,
Elizabeth. Next time you go to an old historical house look for the roses in the
ceiling.
Q68. I read in your Samlesbury Hall tour guide that you call the roof design
"Dittonian Stone" What kind of stone is that?
Ah! I should have pointed out that the word Dittonian wasn't the name of the
actual stone, it was the repeated pattern of layers reducing geometrically to
ensure the end result was in fact flat. Because if the thick slabs of roofing
stone was kept the same size the roof would curve in a Parabola. Now you
have brought up the subject! Dit is Roman, Latin for repeat and so Ditto,
Dithering can be extrapolated from the same origins. I know this makes me
look clever! But after a couple of days walking the hills with a History
Professor you tend to fill up with such detail.
A perplexed businessman from London.
Q69. I think your website is fantastic, my kids are still making the castle after
the house and the drawbridge. BUT, how are you making any money out of
giving away so many kits when you could be selling them?
Look! There are more important things in life than making money, there's
being useful for one.
I gladly give all children my eKits, surely it's better for our children to create
than to play computer games! I hope one day to look back and see these kits
as seeds of British ingenuity planted in our next generation and this ploy of
mine is called LONG TERM PLANNING. Where are all the skills,
apprenticeships, craftsmen (person), why is it more glamorous to be in the
service industries than the creative industries. A computer should be seen as
a tool for human development of human skills not for the repeat of
experiences but for the creation of new ones.
Sorry if I sounded off, but as you can see it's my goal in life to bring back
human endeavour which hopefully will reduce the youth boredom and
revitalise new opportunities for future ventures. How many children today
were sat at a computer game console, or watching cartoons, all day? I know
that 2000 were making cardboard Tudor houses, castles, ships, etc.
A Director of Education no less!
Q70. Where do you get your inspiration for the cardboard kits?
Everywhere. We in Britain are blessed with lots of fine old buildings and
technology from most of our history, I just imagine them in pieces small
enough to fit on a Powerpoint slide. I could make models with less joints but
they would be too small and complicated. I took these three pictures on my
travels and will be making models in the future, you could say they gave me
inspiration.
A water powered Corn Mill from the early 1500's.
See the mill stones.
A Hand powered Wool Combing machine from about 1650.
From Holland.
Q71. I heard you explaining the way nursery rhymes had been based upon
facts. How did "Goosey Goosey Gander" develop?
Priest holes had more than one use, one is obvious, they hid the Priests from
the soldiers in the reformation. The other is quite sinister, they hid the priest
from the family so he could spy on individuals to make sure they were being
God fairing people.
From the Coach driver.
Q72. I have been to hundreds of old Tudor Houses, all Black and White. Yet
you say this is not the proper colour for these houses, why is that so!
I will let you the sad truth my friend, you may take it around with you on your
travels and tell your passengers about the Victorian Folly.
Sad but true, wood soaks up water, it loses its colour by weathering and the
effects of sunlight. The type of wood is crucial in the longevity of a timber
house, so a house that was built in the 1400/1500's was unsealed, untreated
and built of the trees in its locality. Look at the houses in the South, (the
lowlands), they are vertical timbering with close pitching. This was because
they over farmed the forests and immature trees were used which were very
springy and not good at carrying horizontal loads. Now go to the Midlands,
(strangely called the highlands), they had lots of Oak trees. Trouble with Oak
trees, they are not very straight after 20 feet tall, so spans of 16/20 feet are
very common, this leads to a square block type panelling of 5 feet squares
filled in with either wattle-n-daub or bricks. Now come up to the North of
England, (strangely called the Upper highlands), here they are blessed with
Wych Elm trees, planted by the Romans, which grow 50 feet in 50 years and
go on to over 100 feet tall. This tree is waterproof, straight and can be steam
bent easily. Wych Elm trees were used for large houses, barns, ships, forts
and weapons. The Mary Rose keel was of Wych Elm, the first water pipes
were of Wych Elm.
Maintenance of timber houses will be high as the house gets older, loses its
pigments and becomes tubular in macro-section. The Victorians in the middle
of the Industrial Revolution were making steel using Coal/Coke in their blast
furnaces. The difference in coal to make coke is to remove the tar, so they
were awash with the black stuff. Some idiot decided to paint the old timber
houses with tar, the panels with white lime-wash, this made them look
strangely attractive so the practice prevailed. After all if to paint a wooden
railway sleeper with tar, preserved it, why should this happen to a timber
house? Well nobody lives inside a railway sleeper, condensation from warmer
rooms is not present either and worse of all the sleeper is coated all over and
thus need not breath as do the timbers in a Tudor house. So the tarring of old
houses should be seen as a Victorian mistake, one that we now have to live
with. Open fires were the bonus of long living houses, but now take them
away and substitute central heating and the damp will get much worse. Big
old house should light up their fires at least once per week to keep the rot
down.
Notice how Queen Victoria always wore black. Hmmm makes you think!
## Your picture: 'No I won't go on a date with you.JPG' has been inserted here
##
Q73. What do you think you know about Henry more than already written?
Mmmm. Maybe it's Ray you should be asking, Hang on I'll ask him for you!
Ok a bit radical here! Henry is left handed. How do I know? Look where he
wears his dagger but even more obvious to me, look at his bedroom in
Hampton Court. The layout would be awkward for a right hander.
I think he had bad breath, not because I do, but because the lack of exercise,
rich food and not cleaning his teeth on fibrous vegetables will result in poor
breath.
I think he was lonely.
Q74. Is it true that King Henry started the Alum Industry in England?
We had Alum before, the Romans brought it here in the first Century. Henry's
break with the Pope caused an Alum stoppage. Alum was used to fix colours
in cloth and so mainly the rich used it. King Henry did get his own men to
search for Alum bearing shale in England, which was duly found in Ravenscar
North Yorkshire. If you want to see the whole story then see this file.
Click here to download this file
Q75. What truth is there about the connection of Nonsuch Palace and Queen
Anne’s Well?
The naming of the well at Carshalton, outside All Saints Church has nothing at
all to do with the Myth of Queen Anne Boleyn’s horse stumbling and a spring
came forth from the ground.
This was supposed to have happened when Anne and myself were riding from
Nonsuch Palace to see a friend.
Rubbish!
The dates are wrong.
Anne Boleyn met her fate at the Tower of London in 1536, Nonsuch clearance
of land for the building of my new Palace started in 1538!
The Well is just a Well, sounds like a local clergyman trying to make
something out of nothing to me.
Q76. How many palaces did you possess and why did you build Nonsuch
Palace? At what cost?
About 1530 I owned 13 palaces in and around London, non of which I had
built.
I always concealed my jealousy of rival Francis I King of France, so I decided to
build a place to compete with his fantastic Palace at Chambord on the Loire. I
bestowed the name for my new Palace to indicate that it was to excel all
others.
I wanted people to be astonished at this new palace, and to say that they had
never seen such a fine palace before, hence its name - 'Nonsuch.‘
Now referred to as Cuddington Manor, I acquired the area and in 1538
demolished the village and proceeded to construct the buildings. The Church
disappeared beneath the inner courtyard of the Palace, two deer parks were
set up within the Parish. It took nine years to build and was completed at a
cost of at least £24,000 (Tudor) which is £7.2 Million nowadays.
Go to the freebies section and you will find one of my eKits to make this
Palace!
Q77. Hi Henry, What is a Lumber Gudgeon?
Short but sweet! A Lumber Gudgeon is a rogue who looks like he's up to
mischief.
Q78. Who is the White Lady of Samlesbury Hall?
Half-timbered Samlesbury Hall in Lancashire, built during the reign of Edward
III, lies halfway between Preston and Blackburn. It is haunted by the ghosts of
Lady Dorothy Southworth and her lover, Robert Houghton, the handsome son
of a noble family, who owned a large estate nearby.
Dorothy was the daughter of Sir John Southworth, who was to die in 1595, a
staunch Roman Catholic who had forbidden his daughter to marry Robert,
who had turned Protestant. John Southworth even forbade his daughter from
meeting her lover again.
The couple planned to elope, but their plans were discovered and when they
met on that fateful day to leave the house, they were intercepted by her
brother, accompanied by a small band of friends, and in the ensuing fight,
Robert and two friends who were helping them, were killed. Dorothy was
sent to a Nunnery in France, where she died from insanity, probably caused
by a broken heart. The bodies of Robert and his two friends were buried near
the domestic chapel at the Hall.
In the 19th century, three skeletons were found where the three unfortunate
men had been buried, and since that time the figure of Dorothy Southworth,
dressed in white, has been seen walking down the staircase and along the
path leading to the garden wall, where in life she had planned to meet
Robert. The figure of Robert has also been seen standing by the wall, and on
several occasions the two have been seen standing together, holding each
other in embrace before vanishing. Weeping and wailing has also been heard,
as if someone is crying bitterly.
Dorothy has also been seen wandering down the road outside the Hall, and
on one occasion a bus driver actually stopped his bus, thinking that she was
an intending late-night passenger.
Just after the Second World War, workmen digging a ditch whilst engaged in
drain-laying, discovered the almost complete-skeleton of a man at a spot,
only a few feet from the point where the couple have been seen to embrace
and disappear.
Q79.
From USA.
From Sapphire and Sage, makers of fine historical jewellery.
What was the name of the Garter that King Henry wore and why did he wear
it?
It was because of Chivalry and all that it implied, I was a big fan of the Black
Prince and of course King Arthur and his Knights. The use of a garter to
recognise the fact that the wearer was a Knight has two possible origins.
Below I have made a card to print off for your study book.
Q80. Just who named America?
I have left this question long enough, waiting in vain for reliable sources to
back up my family claim. So I have put together some pictures and slides for
you to make up your own minds. Let us all hope it stirs up enough factual
comment.
First of all, John and Sebastian Cabot were financed by my Father, Henry VII
and Ameryk of Bristol for their voyage of discovery aboard the Matthew, a
small ship with only 18 crew!
Amerigo Vespucci has always been given the accolade, but we were there
two years earlier! Anyhow Amerigo is a derivation of Enrico and Enrico is
Henry in Spanish!
Cabot leaving on the Matthew for new lands to find, New found lands, get it?
Newfoundland!
See the US flag and Ameryk's emblem! Hey, they are so similar.
Now you decide.
Q81. What was really wrong with your legs?
My legs have given me so much torment over the years, they have even been
used by my enemies to start rumours of disgusting diseases that the poor get.
I reality my ailment was started by my best friend, Charles Brandon!
Yes he was the only opponent in my chosen sport of jousting, that would
actually play to win. The others let me win for fear of hurting me and being
blamed. Charles however jousted with passion and to beat him was a
challenge I loved. However one day he knocked me off my horse and my
lance split, my leg received a large splinter with also chipped my bone. It
healed fairly quickly, but the time off my legs increased my body weight due
to the Royal diet, eventually the stress on the mend caused a piece of bone to
surface. This in turn caused inflammation and swelling.
My diet and lifestyle were not conducive to healthy living, I suffered from a
mild form of diabetes which developed into a serious condition in later life.
My legs and feet were affected with ulcers. It was noted by my physicians
that my toes began to be gangrenous as the condition advanced. This is an
ulceration pattern far more typical of advanced diabetes and dispels the
slanderous rumours of any low morality.
I was subjected to terribly primitive and painful medical practices, the ulcers
were continually cut into, lanced, cauterized, and then dressed with an
ointment that contained ground pearls and lead! Medical procedures were
not only primitive, but were carried out under completely unsanitary
conditions. My legs were continually infected and incompetent physicians cut
into them and burned them. The lead poisoning coming from that pearl and
lead ointment alone would have been enough to cause mental illness.
Q82. Quite a difficult pair these!
Just what did Will Somers look like and what did King Henry’s signature look
like?
## Your picture: 'Henry's handwriting.jpg' has been inserted here ##
Even though I was a scholar of note, I did not like writing.
Q83. Have you ever found new Historical artefacts when in and around the
Hall where you work?
Yes.
The House had a moat at one time, on one corner there was a crossing point
into the Hall’s farmland. Shallow enough for a cart and horse but needing
stepping stones for people. See this sketch.
Now because the stepping stones need to be of different thicknesses finding
a set of Octagonal shaped stones being used as Plant stands was a big clue,
when measured in thickness I found them to be Shallow to deep to shallow
again. So I found Medieval Octagonal Stepping stones.
Why Octagonal? So as to not cause turbulence with sharp corners!
Q84. I notice that you visit the historical places as well as reading about them.
What advantage do you get by doing both?
That’s a good question. Seeing something in real life give a more
impressionable memory and enable me to think like Henry would have when
acting the part. It also give me an appreciation for the skills of the people
then and may I say the faults in their designs sometimes.
See this picture where I have found a design fault in none other than
St.Nicholas Owens fireplace at Samlesbury Hall. It has a secret chamber in it
for a Priest to hide, however it has a hidden wall to protect the Priest from
the fire, this wall has cause a stress fracture to the stone mantle.
Hey! Not all humans are perfect, remember he was building this 475 years
ago with no lasers, stress gauges, or computers, just his brain.
Q85. In a Manorial setting, did the Lord and Lady’s family attend chapel with
the common workers?
Yes and No
They were in the same building, but fear of disease kept them apart in height.
They believed that diseases did not rise upwards so they designed their
chapels where the Noble family were on a balcony and the common workers
were on the ground floor. The Priest feared reprisals from the commoners
because of the church taxes imposed even on the poor, so a barrier was fixed
between the Priest and the congregation of poor. I have found a picture of
the actual barrier and have drawn where it was fixed together with the place
the nobles were praying.
Q86. How did a Priest breath when hiding behind lit fires?
I suspect a clever questioner who already knows the answer and is testing Old
Henry!
Ok, I’ll go along with the ruse.
The oxygen would burn up and any Priest would die of asphyxiation soon
after entering the priest hole if it was behind a fireplace, hehehe. Well that’s
what the builder wants you to think, especially Nicholas Owen who had lots
of tricks up his sleeves.
His design at Samlesbury Hall has a false back firewall and outer chimney
breast. The priest would climb up into the cavity and rest near a vent hole
patterned to look like the house design. Here is such a vent and how it
worked.
Q87. What are Murder Holes and where are they?
This is a good question. Murder holes were invented well before the Tudor
monarchy; they were used in Norman Castles as a deterrent to invaders.
The normal line of Castle defences are a collection of designs of barriers.
1st line of defence: A hill where the castle sits, or on the rocky coast or a
moat around the walls.
2nd line of defence: The outer wall with a drawbridge over a ditch or the
moat.
3rd line of defence: A portcullis and heavy wooden gates.
4th line of defence: The flat exposed area before the inner buildings.
Last line of defence: the inner buildings with towers and window slits for
archers.
The Murder holes were above the portcullis and were a series of holes in a
stone balcony where soldiers could drop stones or pour boiling oil onto
invaders trying to get into the gates. Here’s a picture of Murder Holes taken
at Beaumaris Castle in Anglesey.
Q88. Did King Henry have nightmares about what he had done?
Not about my actions, I had regrets but had to stick by my decisions to show
a strong monarchy. Thomas More was a big regret as was my preoccupation
with fathering a son to the treatment of my lovely wife Jane in the delivery
chamber. The taking of the throne by force and the establishment of the
Tudors as legitimate Royals always played on my mind. Taking the Dragon of
King Arthurian legend and making it Tudor was a big propaganda exercise
which I feared would come back to haunt me.
Q89. From Krys.
What's your greatest accomplishment?
What do you regret the most?
How do you make your decisions?
How can you improve your kingdom?
Who do you idolize?
Five questions from one person must be a Noble Lord or Earl, or Lady Krys
from the wonderful Far east
One at a time and think Henry the person not Henry the History character.
My greatest accomplishment was to provide an heir to the Tudor line to keep
the name going, I proved to the country my manhood. The minor
accomplishments such as the Battle of the Spurs were blown out of all
proportions and written up by my councillors for the future history books.
Personal grief and frustration under pressure was the major factor in my life
which could only be resolved with a son and heir.
I have answered the regret question before. My regrets were often in my life,
to make life or death decisions is a great burden to carry and to accept the
inevitable consequences to keep my authority is the most difficult thing to
harbour in my mind. Thomas More’s death was the greatest regret, he will
always haunt me. Jane’s death, caused partly by the need to make sure the
Boy was safely delivered and the health of the Mother second to that need
will stay with me all my days.
I have problems to solve all the time; I use my Chancellors a lot for day to day
political advice, but big decisions and ideas I usually sleep on them. I have a
wonderful gift of clarity when I awake, my problems are solved overnight and
my mind made up. I consult my Thomas’s to get their biased views and then
move in a positive manner forward with a determination second to none.
Improving my Kingdom would be to expand it and make it self sufficient in
resources and strength. The French with Francis, will never be my real ally we
have always been in competition personally and our countries have more
than the sea as a barrier. Past French lands have been lost from our
conquests and I intend to get them back if not expand further into their
territories. The main trouble is one of logistics, getting armies out there, with
resources to maintain them, I have to resort on the help of other leaders and
that takes away my edge. Papal interference and heavily influenced decisions
gave me the impetus to change the church for all to belong to it. English
written Bibles and simpler services gave my people a better focus for their
beliefs as well as bringing together the English Language at last. Without their
influence my Kingdom with me as head of the Nation and the Church will
flourish. Minor problems can be solved, the Pope’s embargo means nothing
to me, and I will find a solution to everything he throws my way, including
making my own Alum.
I do not idolize anybody in public. I do however keep a space in my heart for
the people who have given me so much comfort over the years. My
grandmother, Margaret Beaufort, she was so strong and yet so quiet; she was
the Tudors rod of steel in the beginning. The Black Prince and past heroes of
the people such as Arthurian legend, they give me a focal point for my own
persona. Don’t get me wrong, I am a man who likes the company of women
and Ann Boleyn was in my sights for many years of longing until I finally won
her, then she seemed to be a disappointment to me and that magic left our
relationship.
Now! Which one is Krys?
There you see, my spies are everywhere! Second from the Right front row.
Q90. What exactly is a Medieval manifold system?
I made it up. Medieval is the date in which it was originally made and a
Manifold divides or collects a fluid from a flow.
I have found a real manifold in the grounds of Samlesbury Hall near Preston it
is presently being used as a flower planter, it was originally sited where a
stream passed the hall in the south west corner and it collected water
through Wych Elm pipes into the stone carved manifold where it was divided
into three different flows. One flow went to the Moat to replenish the water
and for the health of the fish being farmed in it, another went to the House
and the last one to the farm animals. The pictures below show the manifold
as it is now, the drawing shows how it was used.
Q91. From Stefania who certainly wants to grill me by the number of
questions she has!
I think short but concise answers are the best.
What is it like to be king? Great, everybody does what you tell them.
Why did you chop off two heads and divorce two of your wives? Beheading is
the death for a noble for treason, whilst I may have been cruel to Ann,
Catherine Howard deserved it. Divorce was the best way to allow me to
marry again for Catherine de Aragon and Anna von Cleves.
Why did you want to have six wives? I didn’t go out to have 6 wives, I was
firstly looking to have a son and heir, then comfort and then a nurse.
Do you have a best friend? Yes, Charles Brandon who eventually became my
Brother-in –law by marrying my widowed sister Mary, without my approval I
might add as it cost me a lot of money in dowry. They had children and Grand
children one of which was Lady Jane Grey. Doomed by her family
connections!
Why did you want a son and not a daughter? To keep the family name in
power, a Queen would lose her last name by marrying.
What are your parents names? My Father was Henry, my Mother was
Elizabeth.
What is your brothers name? Arthur, he died before he became King, I
married his widow Catherine.
Did you like your palace? I liked Thomas Wolsey’s palace, so I swapped it for a
small town house in London, I finished it for him and it became Hampton
Court Palace. My favourite building project was Nonsuch Palace, non such a
Palace ever existed like it before.
Where you naughty as a young boy? No, I was very studious, though I did
answer back a lot to my Father, questioning him about his policies and
history. I don’t think he like me much, Arthur was his favourite.
Did you have lots of sweets? Honey based cakes, biscuits were our sweet
things, yes I like them, I have a chef who works all the time making them for
my court.
Did you love your wives? Yes. I loved Catherine for 15 years for our marriage,
I loved Ann more before our marriage, I loved Jane all our marriage, I loved
Anna after our divorce more as a sister really, I loved Catherine Howard right
up to finding out about her infidelities and finally I loved Catherine Parr when
she cared for me and brought my estranged family back together.
The King courting Ann Boleyn.
Who was your best wife? Define Best! From a noble point of view, good for
the country, loved by the people, able to take over the reigns when I was
absent, it must be Catherine de Aragon. From a love point of view and for
providing the nation with a male heir, it must be Jane Seymour.
Q92. What did the Royal Tudors think of the poor people.
Tudor people believed there were three types of poor people:
Those with just enough to live on.
The "deserving poor", those who could not work, eg. the very young, the very
old, and disabled people - these should be looked after as an act of charity.
Sturdy rogues: vagrants and people who moved about looking for work.
People felt this type should be punished. However, there was not enough
work.
In 1485 unemployment was not a problem, but by 1530 there were many
more people than jobs.
Q93. Were your soldiers better off than the ordinary people?
A Tudor soldier's daily rations are
32oz (910g) of meat
24oz (680g) of bread
16oz (455g) cheese
and 5 pints (2.8 litres) of beer.
The minimum diet for poor people was one loaf od bread per couple per day.
Q94. How did the Black Death Plague effect your reign.
Well before my reign the Black death came to England in 1348 and in two
years wiped out 40% of the population. The fear of this disease was always in
my mind, I would hear of rumours of the return of the plague and would go
on my travels to get away from it.
I have put together a file for you to download detailing the Black Death and
its effect on England, religion and the attitude of the survivors.
Click here to download this file
Q95. I listened with great interest on your tour of Samlesbury Hall especially
about the origins of the town names in Lancashire. You have not written
them all down in the Samlesbury Hall folder and seemed to explain much
more than you have written. Do you have a file with all the names in it?
I have now!
Download this file.
Click here to download this file
Q96. What entertainment did you have?
Lots really.
The poor had singing, dancing, self taught music, board games, story telling,
travelling fairs, football on a village scale.
The rich had all the same except for football which was seen as common plus,
horsemanship, hunting, hawking, reading latin script, banquets, music from
minstrels, visiting actors.
The nobles had the same plus Tennis, archery as a skill, jousting, masgue
balls, card playing, chess, music lessons, debates with clergy and
philosophers, bowls and travel for hunting, dining and to keep clear of the
plague.
Q97. Have put down all your research in the form of a timeline?
No. Have you kept a diary for every day of your life? No.
I have a concise timeline that every one of you can put together from facts off
the internet. Best thing though is the use of Excel to record the timeline, that
way you can search and sort the line into any order you may need. Add more
facts as you find them and then re-sort to restore the date line.
Here it is.
Click here to download this file
Timeline Spreadsheet
Q98. How good a view did archers get through those slits in castle walls?
Apart from going and seeing for your self I have taken a couple of pictures
from just outside and inside such an opening. I know I’d rather be inside.
These I took in Portland castle.
I still can see you.
I can see you but you cannot see me.
Q99. Dis King Henry VIII ever visit Warwick castle?
No. Old stone castles were too cold for me and the high wall with its town
next to it had little privacy for my hunting and hawking expeditions.
Q100. Did you write out all the death warrants yourself?
Of course not, my clerk or chancellor wrote out the details after parliament
had ratified the decision. I signed the warrants with a heavy heart, usually
alone in my privy chamber where I could think more clearly. I hated the job
but it was for the good of the country and the security of the Tudor monarchy
so I did it.
Q1. From a lost soul in Liverpool, wherever that is.
Henry, how much money did your Father leave you?
Well consider that a Tudor £1 is worth £300 in your 21st Century, he left me
£1.25M Tudor that is £375M in today's money. I however spent it all in about
10 years, well it's expensive being a King worthy of the throne. The cost of
cloth of gold, jewellery, banquets, castles, jousting, hunting, courting and
food for the court soon adds up!
Q2. Why did you want to get rid of your first wife, Catherine of Aragon?
We were both well matched and in love at first, but her Father Ferdinand
betrayed me badly. Him being a king also then made me look bad. I didn't
trust her after that, she could be telling her Father my plans! I also needed a
son to keep the Tudor line going, remember England didn't know how to cope
with a Queen alone, especially when she marries and the crown moves to
another heir, it could be Spanish y'know. I needed a son, we tried hard, had
many sad times together, in the end I took a girlfriend, Bessie Blount, she
proved to the country that I was a man by giving me my first surviving son,
Henry. I called him, Fitzroy, y'know, Son of Royal. Catherine was well loved by
my people, they never liked me as much after the annulment.
Catherine of Aragon
Henry Fitzroy
Q3. Who made you laugh?
Will Sommers (Somers), a clever funny man, came to me via Wolsey. He came
to the Palace with his Master to receive a repayment of a debt, Will saw me
playing bowls and made a joke about my playing. It all went silent until I saw
the funny side and burst out laughing. Will joined my personal courtiers after
that day. He is by my side all the time ready to cheer me up and I might say
ready to add clever advice in his joking as well. He knows he can criticise me
in his jokes and seem to get away with it. There is a limit and he knows where
it is.
Q4. Why did you fine your Sister Mary Tudor for marrying your best friend
Charles Brandon?
Hey! I lost £6M your money, on that marriage. It was my duty as King to
choose who she married after her first husband King Louise died. I sent
Charles over to Paris to bring her back not to marry her! Good job she was my
sister and he was my best friend. Had to do something to save face, so I fined
them both. But I did make them Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, so they could
afford to repay the fine! They had children and grandchildren, little Jane she
could do well in the future!
Charles Brandon.
Lady Jane Grey my Sister's grand-daughter.
A question from the planet Zog.
Q5. Is it true, that Ann Boleyn had an extra finger?
Hey the Mother-ship must be back! Ann was made out to be a witch, who
bewitched me into a marriage. Of course she did not have an extra finger, she
had a growth a bit like a wart. Do you think I would have married her if she
had an extra finger? She would have polluted the Tudor gene pool! It was just
propaganda to give the people something to hate her for. I must admit that
we went a bit over the top really, we were quite ruthless in those days!
Hey, hi there New Zealand, are you ok this way up?
Q6. Who was Henry Carey and was he related to you?
Now you've been reading Alison Weirs book haven't you! She stops short of
stating if I was the Father of Henry Carey, and I'm not sure I want to tell the
truth even now. Oh! go on then, Yes Henry is my son.
It's very delicate this Carey business, you see I was having a fling with Mary
Boleyn, nice girl. She was Ann's sister and already married to Carey. I was
trying to get closer with a coy Ann at the time so a baby with Mary would
have been a bit of a scandal. Catherine she knew what was going on and
together we concocted the fact that the baby boy was indeed Carey's child.
Henry Carey always had a fine position in life and was treated like a Brother
by my other children.
But if you want to take it further and challenge the history writers, then Prove
It!
Henry Carey.
Obviously a lover of Horses like myself.
Q7. What was your favourite Horse?
I liked a spirited horse in my athletic youth, Spanish given to me by
Ferdinand, but nowadays I'm more inclined to ride a single footer, a Palfry to
keep the ride smooth. The propaganda in the history books will tell you that
I'm too fat to get on my horse and need a crane. Well the fact is every Lord
needs a set of steps to mount a horse as I do, but when I'm wearing the
armour or my processional clothes yes there is a contraption to help life me
onto the horse. I do tend to be singled out as an example of being over
weight and lazy, but remember the books are written by the winners, the
history writers need to grab attention. I was older by 20 years than the
average mans lifespan in England, so consider the fact now.
Ah! Wales the land of my Fathers.
Q8. Why did your Father use the Dragon in his coat of arms?
The dragon was also used on my brother Arthurs coat of arms too. It was
political really, my Father needed some degree of respect from his history, to
convince the people of his right to be King after removing the Plantagenets.
King Arthur Pendragon was and still is revered in fable. He came from Wales
too, Pembrokeshire where my father was born (Pembroke Castle) and where
my grand father is buried (St.David's Cathedral), so it was a good ploy to claim
to be an indirect descendent and add the Dragon onto the coat of arms
together with our white greyhound.
This is a Photograph of the Scene at Pembroke castle of Margaret Tudor (nee:
Beaufort) after the Birth of Henry Duke of Lancaster (To become Henry VII).
King Arthur
St.David's Cathedral
See the guy in the white hat. Hey! That's me in disguise visiting old Granddad's crypt.
Here is an example of Henry VII, Prince Arthur and Princess Katherine of
Aragon's Coats of Arms. See the Dragon.
There's always one to ask the most searching of questions.
From Wigan.
Q9. Why did you not bathe a lot?
Obviously you've got central heating and you don't live in a cold stone castle.
I kept clean by washing and changing my clothes regularly, say every three
days! The fur around the cloak was to attract the body lice off my skin and I
kept away from the dirty people. My Guardrobe was properly maintained and
my personal toilet courtiers of the stool were expert in keeping me clean. It
was a commonly known fact that too much washing took the oils out of the
skin to leave you exposed.
Go to any castle and look at the latrines, the walls are eroded by the
ammonia, well this fume would ward off the moths from the clothing in the
Guardrobe, bet you didn't know this is where the word Wardrobe comes
from! The whole scene was called the Gong tower, and we would leave for
another stage of our progress when the moat needed emptying.
I believe my daughter Elizabeth has a regular bath in hot water! Every month
whether she needs one or not.
My Daughter, the Lady Elizabeth.
Q10. Bob on the road in Shropshire.
I enjoyed your file about words and their origins. Do you have anymore?
Sure Bob, every word has an origin, but some are not obvious.
Now take the humble cast iron cooking pot. It brought us the following
words:
Pot-luck, Not knowing just what you are going to get on your trencher.
Pot-shot, Taking a single shot at an animal to kill for food.
Potent, The strength on the food at the bottom of the pot. The Pot end.
Potch later became Poach, To cook with liquid.
Pot-bellied, Speaks for itself.
Potato, Pot-ato a vegetable for cooking in the pot.
Hot-pot, The actual cooking pot, or the eternal kettle.
Here's a common word, The horse pulling the cart would throw up muck at
the driver, this was when it dashed, so a board was fixed to protect the driver
called the "Dashboard".
A common Board game was called "Hand I the cup" which was basically a dice
thrower, but the person with it could not move until they got rid of it by
throwing 6's. This was their Handicap.
Wood was stained with Shellac, made from the crushed shells of the Lac
beetle mixed with spirit. Shellac is still used today as is Lacquer.
I could go on all day with this entertaining item but must go now as my dinner
is ready.
Eh! Bob how did you email from the road in Shropshire. It must be that
Blueband or some new fangled gizmo!
A Grandmother from Wales.
Q11. I know that blaggard come from something in the kitchen, do you know
what it is Henry?
Yes Glynnis I do. It's the young lad who cleans all the burnt surfaces off the
cooking pots and stokes the fire. He has the worst job in a Manor house and
was called the Black Guard which became Blaggard. I remember in the palace
some year's ago. I walked into the kitchens by surprise and caught the
Blaggards peeing in the fireplace. It became a law after that, No Peeing in the
Kitchen!
Here's another for you Glynnis, the cooking pot was hung from the rafters
from a wooden block and tackle from a ship. If the pot was too full it was
referred to as Chocked full, the block couldn't lift is because it was Chocablock!
Alison from Chorley.
Where?
Q12. A Question for Ray not Henry.
Sorry Alison, this section is Henry's. You need to send one to Ray in the next
section.
Obviously a History Buff from London.
Q12. What was the reason you instigated the Alum fiasco in Yorkshire? Peter.
The Alum fiasco? Never heard of it.
I think you mean the Colour fixer fiasco.
Well you know that the Pope didn't like me after I changed the Church to the
Catholic Church of England. He put an embargo on goods from Italy which
included the colour fixer Alum. This meant well heeled folk couldn't wear new
coloured cloth without the colour running out or losing its depth in the wash.
I asked the cleverest people why we could not make our own Alum. They told
me that it needed lots of energy and heat for a prolonged time, Italy had its
volcano's we didn't. Alum came from a rock ore, I believe you use it more
now refined and call it Aluminium.
So I demanded the experts make a volcano! Yes! A volcano.
They found a source of Alum ore in Yorkshire, Ravenscar I believe, and built a
huge conical heap of it with a fire underside. They kept is alight for 9 months!
At the end of this ambitious project they produced Alum! I therefore got my
colour fixer and snubbed my nose at the Pope. Hey there's a free file about
this.
Click here to download this file
Does this reply agree with what you thought it was about Peter?
Portsmouth Calling.
Q13. What influenced did you have on the sinking of the Mary Rose?
The sinking of my favourite ship had too many influences on it. I analysed the
tragedy myself and came to the conclusion that not one single factor was
responsible for the capsizing. I'll try to put it in a few words.
The Mary Rose was my flagship, built to English design and quality but in a
time when technology was changing and new innovations were instigators of
winning sea battles. Now other designs, especially from Portugal, were better
at fighting apart and not for the boarding fight as we new it. They had Carvel
timbers which allowed cannons in lower decks nearer the waterline. Carvel is
timber edge to edge. The Mary Rose was originally built with English Clinker
design timbers, overlapping in a stepped format. This design could not seal
any gun hatches near the waterline. So the Mary Rose had a refit, the Clinker
removed in favour of Carvel. Cannons were mounted in lower decks and near
to the waterline. Now Clinker design had a greater resistance to capsizing
because of the steps, which have now been removed.
Add to this too many soldiers in full armour, their ammunition and supplies,
add a heavy gust of wind and cannons not firmly fixed down and you've got a
tragedy which is unavoidable. The ship heeled over in the wind, the cannons
moved sideways and the water came in the new gun-ports. That's it. My only
influence on the whole sad event, was to ask for my ship to be updated for
modern battles. The builders were trying out new technology without testing
it first.
Anybody got a simpler question, I'm getting a headache. Where's them
leeches?
Q14. A Chef in London.
Hi Jamie here, what was your favourite food. Is that a Vespa scooter?
I have lots of favourite foods, must admit I've got a sweet tooth though. I like
biscuits made by my two chefs, Jamie (that's a coincidence!) and Gary.
They have named their biscuits after themselves!
Jamie Dodgers and Gary Baldie.
He he he. Will Sommers told me that one!
Seriously, I like artichokes, fruit pies and delicate meat. All the reports of
Swans, Venison etc. Well I leave that kind of food for banquets, gives me
indigestion.
The Vespa is my Italian Stallion.
Here's a recipe:
BEEF POTTAGE WITH WHOLE HERBS
2 lb joint of beef
4 oz each of the whole leaves of spinach, endive and white cabbage or
cauliflower
1-2 tsp salt
4 tbsp wine vinegar
2 oz fine or medium oatmeal
3 English onions, sliced
Small squares or triangles of white bread
Vegetables grown in England were seen as food for the poor.
Here's the recipe for a biscuit called Jumbles, it was knotted in its dough
state.
These biscuits are baked in a knot-shape, so they are decorative as well as
tasty.
Jumbles
You need:
2 eggs
100g sugar
15ml aniseed or caraway
175g plain flour
1. Beat the eggs.
2. Add the sugar and aniseed (or caraway) and beat again.
3. Stir in the flour to make a thick dough.
4. Knead the dough on a floured board then make it into rolls 1cm thick by
10cm long.
5. Tie each roll into a single knot.
6. Drop the knotted dough (a few at a time) into a pan of boiling water. Let
them sink at first, then use a spoon to lift them until they float to the top.
7. After the knots have floated for a minute and have swollen, take them out
of the water and let them drain on a wire rack covered with a cloth or kitchen
roll.
8. Put the knots on buttered baking sheets and bake for fifteen minutes at
180°C (gas mark 4).
9. Turn them over and let them bake for another 10 minutes until they are
golden brown.
The other day I was walking in the sun in the grounds of Samlesbury Hall,
minding my own business when someone on an electric three wheeled
scooter sneaked up behind me and sounded a loud trumpet. It nearly scared
me to death.
Come on Stuart, "King of the Castles" , have you a question for Ol' Henry?
Q15. I have a question for you?
As you are already one of the best known English monarchs, why did you find
it necessary to build a website and what was the motivation behind the idea?
Hi Stuart, My website is the only way of being myself to the public. All the
written work out there from Historians paint a picture of a tyrant King who
ruled England by fear. My website gives me the chance to show the world
that this was not the case. Take a look at the world in the 16th Century, I was
not the only ruler, look at France, how many Protestants, Lutherans and
Hugano's were killed! Look at Spain, look at the Holy Roman Emperor, fear
was a common factor by those Monarchs who ruled by force. I think a lot of
the History books blame me for events out of my control. The Dukes and
Lords of Manors were a law to themselves and they dealt out cruel rulings in
my name, there was no communication like today, news took weeks to arrive
and it was changed by word of mouth. I became the one to blame for all
events, so be it. The winners write the history books, or write the plays for
the world to absorb, as in the Shakespeare propaganda.
I cannot change the way History has been written nor the way I have been
depicted, but I can show the people my good side in my website.
A visitor to England from Canada
Q16. Hi Henry. Today I was in one of your tours at Samlesbury Hall in
Lancashire, 22 May 2005.
My wife and I enjoyed your tour and were quite taken with your humor.
(Humour).
Did King Henry VIII have a good humor?
I remember you amongst the visitors.
Yes, I had and still have a wonderful humour, maybe a bit rude at times and
maybe a little childish, but a great sense of what was funny and what could
insult a person. I would dress up in charade's and try to surprise my wife(s), I
would pretend to be someone else and mingle with my court jumping out of
the disguise to surprise them all. A practical joker.
A long funny story was my favourite method of making people laugh, my
inner court would sit for hours listening to my fantasy stories.
I did not however stand fools easily and I can easily root out sarcastic
comments....
My jester and friend Will Sommers taught me how to give out a serious
message in a humorous manner.
Rachel aged 9 from a school party from The Children's court of King Henry
VIII.
Q17. Hello Henry.
What do you like best from 2005?
Velcro. Now I can get my Royal robes on without the help of 3 courtiers. Oh! I
do like your fast motorcars, to do 30 miles in one hour without collapsing! I
told my daughter Mary I would bring back the fastest vehicle from the 21st
Century, faster than a Ferrari, faster than a Porche, one that can pass any
other car on the motorway whatever speed it was going at!
She said, "Oh great, we're getting a White Transit Van!" Hehehehe!
Now, if you'd asked me what I didn't like about 2005 then I would have a lot
to say.
Q18. From Mrs. C. A concerned member of the silent majority.
If King Henry was alive now what would he make of binge drinking ,as it is
now widely publicised in the news and Henry was a drinker of wines?
I'm not a heavy drinker, I could not show myself up in front of my people and
court. I do like Portuguese wine with my meals but I definitely do not go
drinking as a social event. The binge drinkers of today are lacking in
confidence, they want life too quickly and need the alcohol to bolster their
self image. They need to slow down, take life as it comes, enjoy the moment
with a clear mind, not put their health and reputations on the line. Henry's
words: Lying on the pavement with your dignity out of your control is not
attractive to anybody except the worst of humanity.
The TV interviewer at Discovery's "My other Life" exhibition.
Q19. Are you scared that people will start to recognise Ray as Henry when
you are out and about?
You had to ask the Producer which guest was Henry!
Look at this picture taken the same day as the filming, would you just walk
past or say "Oh! there's Henry VIII". I rest my case.## Your picture: 'You can't
hide like that!.jpg' has been inserted here ##
Q20. What does your wife think of you being King Henry VIII?
My wife is a self thinking person, you should ask her.
Ray's wife's answer:
"At first I thought masquerading as a dead King was silly, but then as Ray
started to explain the details, show how he was going to dignify his portrayal
with knowledge and historic accuracy, I thought what the hell his ideas in the
past have always worked. Now after nearly a year since his idea he looks
great, the audiences at Samlesbury Hall love Henry, the press love Henry,
now TV loves Henry. I would never have thought it possible that one man
could attract so much interest, King Henry VIII does seem to capture the
imagination of our nation and Ray is coping well with the pressure. In the end
I'm just proud of my Husband whatever he did for a career, he was a brilliant
Designer, a wonderful Teacher and now a fabulous King."
I'm embarrassed now at this public display of affection!
From Alison
Q21. Knowing what Henry was like with his many wives , would you consider
him still a possible family man , because we all know he had a favourite wife ,
if he'd met her first would he have been content?
If katherine had given me a son and took the pressure off me to keep the
Tudor Line going, I would have been content. She was a lovely lady who loved
being in England, but alas circumstances took over.
Jane was the real love of my later life, if she was my first wife then yes I
would have been content. I couldn't have stayed with Ann, even if she gave
me a son, she was so interfering and the people hated her it would never
have worked.
Anna Von Cleve, now she was a fine woman and she would have been good
for this country, pity I made a great mistake and publicly humiliated both her
and myself. Catherine Howard, what a great blunder marrying her, the
Howard's should have found a better, more refined girl who knows what
honour means. Catherine Parr a fine lady well suited to be my companion in
my last year's but still susceptible to the political vultures out there.
History Buff
Q22. What new information could you give to history?
Wow! That's a good question, I've had it for 2 days because I needed time to
think about it. I'm not sure whether it should be Ray answering this one.
There is a strange idea that if I am a close resemblance to the King Henry VIII
portraits that we all know them, then I must resemble the man in earlier days
when young! This means that if my photographs of my youth were seen as a
good estimate of what King Henry looked like.
I hope I can experience just what Henry felt and his feelings. How did the man
inside cope with being King and why he made such monstrous decisions.
I already know why Ann of Cleves was called a Flemish Mare!
This is my new information: I am King Henry VIII, I have seen a beautiful
portrait by master Hans Holbein of Ann in courtly robes. I have waited for 6
weeks for her to come to England after I had chosen her above her sister
Amelia. I am rather looking forward to seeing her, I am used to people
instantly recognising me. Ann arrives in England, do I wait until she has been
prepared for my court? No. Is she dressed in travel Germanic clothes? Yes.
What do I do? I ride over to where she is in my armour together with my
Knightly friends. What happens? She doesn't recognise me, she says "which
one is my Henry?" in her Germanic accent. It takes me by surprise and shock,
I immediately renounce her as ugly, a Flemish Mare" not true of course but
my character trying to save face.
Had we met in court, she dressed as a Queen to be, I dressed as a Royal
character I think we would have been well suited and history would have
taken a new direction.
Another visitor to Samlesbury Hall
Q23. I enjoyed your tour. I noticed that King Henry gave out small gifts to all
children who came to Samlesbury Hall, why?
Our children are our future, they have lots of electronic aids, lots of
technology which we are still learning about, they shouldn't miss the old
ways. I give out a picture of me and a Quill feather. The quill will be a
practical project for them to learn how to create a pen that works, the picture
is a safety poster in miniature. They love the gifts and appreciate them as
much as an expensive electronic gizmo. We all hear about the rough, tough,
vandalising youth of today, well they are a small minority who get too much
media coverage. The majority of children are kind hearted people who care
about others and who will make sure our country stays at the forefront in
social care. If King Henry VIII can dispel the notion of being a ruthless,
fictionalised anti-hero and show his good side to our children then this should
have a positive spin off.
Q24. Does everybody take notice of you because you are King Henry?
Nope. I send out emails with Ray to Councils, Castles and Big houses but we
only get about 10% replies. At first I thought it was ignorant, then I became
certain it WAS ignorant. It's not as though we are after heaps of money, some
of them were offered our time for free for charity work, they could not be
bothered and could not see the big picture above their own little world. But
I'm not a vindictive man any more, if they suddenly see King Henry on the TV
or in the press and remember the email they didn't answer do you think I will
give them a second chance? Not on your Nelly.
Oop's a raw nerve!
Ray to Henry.
Hey big guy, don't get rattled. They will one day need you to head up a
charity gig or a public opening of some great venture, so stay cool and accept
their silence as mere lack of imagination.
Q25. Newspaper reporter on the Phone.
You have a strong Lancashire accent, do you change it for Henry?
Yes. Anyhow what was Henry's accent? His Father was Welsh, His Mother was
a Yorkshire Princess, His Grandmother was a Lancashire Duchess, so what
would be his accent?
Have you read Henry VII by Francis Bacon? in olde Tudor? Well it sounds like
Yoda from Starwars. Now add it all together.
Yudor.
I speak slowly, more pronounced and slightly mixed up like Yoda.
Q26. Same reporter, (Well he was on the phone a long time!)
Do you and Ray make a lot of money out of being Henry?
No. We only break even at the moment. It pays for the clothes and fuel and
this computer that's all. But it does give Ray a lot of fun in his old years
(hehehe), we both will keep on doing our best hoping that King Henry will get
a new audience and that our time is to come again. All our work up to now
has been for charity, Samlesbury is a charitable trust and know of our
expensive materials, they pay for our clothes and fuel but we bring them a lot
more visitors to join Henry on his tour of the house. Visiting Primary schools
are charged very little really, their coach costs are greater than what the Hall
charges, we believe we help them.
One day a great big corporation will want King Henry VIII for their advertising
campaign and then we will be ready to begin making a profit, until then we
will reap the wonderful times we have together.
Or as Henry would say in Tudor/Yudor. "Big times come maybe a day soon".
One of those age questions.
Q27. King Henry died when he was 55, what age does Ray play you?
Well I've got a stick, I'm a bit overweight and I'm hiding up North away from
my critics. I think Ray's playing me about 45 years of age don't you. Ray's just
told me he is now 56 but was worried about February this year!
The great thing about having a time machine is that you never age any more.
A History researcher from The Discovery Channel.
Q28. Who was your greatest rival?
"Rival" has to be analysed.
If it was Rival Monarch, then Francis of France was my greatest personality
rival. He was as good looking as me, strong, athletic and popular. He nearly
knocked me off top spot as Europe's most Majestic King.
If it was Athletic Rival, then Charles Brandon when he was a younger fellow
would take that honour. He became my Brother in law and was always my
best friend, the only sportsman who would dare to try his best to beat me. I
must admit he was the one who knocked me off my horse during a joust and
injured my leg, it still hurts today and is getting worse.
Power Rival must have been my Father in law, Ferdinand in my earlier year's.
Hey! All the criticism I have endured about the Church of England, yet
Ferdinand and Isabella were much more ruthless with the Islamic people of
Spain. I think the power crazy Emperor of the Roman Church was much more
cruel than I was.
Now the greatest Rival in matters of love must have been Thomas Culpepper,
he took the chance of hapiness away from me with his affair with my wife
Catherine Howard. I think I changed then into a person even I didn't like.
My greatest rival would be the Popularity Rival, it was of course my first wife,
Catherine. The people loved her because of her devotion to them. She
pushed me into second place even when I annulled our marriage, making
Queen Ann a target of abuse.
Q29. What was your greatest fear?
I had no fear. Or that's what I tried to portray. Fear of failure really, not
producing a son to carry on the line.
We all feared the Plague, it was indiscriminate in its culling of our population.
I tried to keep away from it by moving into non infected places with my
Progresses.
From a Teacher visiting Samlesbury Hall
Q30. I read that Ray was once an AST teacher and is now retired. Is being King
Henry VIII better than being a teacher.
It is now for us both. Ray loved teaching for 20 of his 22 years, the last 2 were
hell. Not that much had changed, more that he was ill. As King Henry VIII we
can still communicate to people, we can still tell stories to crowds. Ray likes
Henry.
Oh! by the way. Ray is still an AST teacher retired or not, once made up to
one always one!
Q31. Did King Henry ever draw or paint?
It was not seen as a Royal practice to paint portraits because only the masters
did it and they were from common stock. I wrote poetry, songs and music if I
did draw anything it was for my wife at the time and private. I discussed the
science topics a lot and Humanism with Erasmus, sometimes we drew
diagrams to clarify meanings. I can draw and paint, but with Master Hans
Holbein in my employ it seemed pointless not to have him do royal pictures.
Q32. Thomas Wolsey seemed to have a lot of power, did he have too much?
No. I let Thomas have the power, he was a very hard working man and self
motivated. His tastes were a little outlandish but then so were mine and he
worked with me closely. He ran my court really, he was a master of
organisation and could move armies, feed them, clothe them, organise them
which made me look very good indeed. He failed miserably though trying to
get the Pope to agree to my divorce with Katherine, we went out of favour
then. Remember he did die of natural causes.
From a lovely lady who volunteers at the Hall.
Q33. I have listened to your tour a few times around the Hall, noticing that
you change its content nearly every time, Why?
I get bored very easily. The research I have done for the Hall has given me to
much information to impart in one tour, so I mix and match as I go round. I
have noticed that some people have been on the tour more than once, so I
have to keep it interesting all the time. Hey! You're an ex teacher too, you
have got to keep the audience on the edge of their seat in order to win their
complete attention.
I tell them, if I wink it's a joke just in case they are not sure whether to laugh
or not.
A Historian from oop North.
Q34. Which member of your family had the most influence on your life?
Without any hesitation that would be my Grandmother, Margaret Beaufort.
Margaret Beaufort.
Q35. What was the population of England in your reign?
Better see it on a graph.
Q36. What did the Tudors think of the poor people?
Tudor people believed there were three types of poor people:
1. Those with just enough to live on.
2. The "deserving poor", those who could not work, eg. the very young, the
very old, and disabled people - these should be looked after as an act of
charity.
3. Sturdy rogues: vagrants and people who moved about looking for work.
People felt this type should be punished. However, there was not enough
work.
In 1485 unemployment was not a problem, but by 1530 there were many
more people than jobs.
Q37. What did a real Tudor Village look like?
They are still about today 2005!
It would have a Manor house, Dairy etc. see below for some of my pictures
from Tudor Village in Dorset.
The Manor house
The style of construction was dependent upon the building materials
available locally.
With a Half Timbered House, remember half-timbering means to split a tree
down the middle and use each half opposite each other to equalise the
movement over the years. Further South than say Leicester, the stripes were
mainly vertical this was due to the trees not being fully mature and still a bit
springy, in the Midlands Oak was easy to get, but not long straight ones so
the houses were fairly large square patterned with big diagonals, in the North
they had Wych Elm trees and the layout was small squares, reinforced in each
square corner by a quartered tree producing a pattern called Quatrefoil.
Timber framed buildings filled with bricks and/or rendered was also common.
A young student on a school visit ask me this question, I thought it was worth
adding to the website.
Q38. Which common names came from Medieval and Tudor times, what did
"Tudor"mean?
First of all Tudor means "House of Iron" in ye olde Welsh. Similarly Tuyer
means Iron tap in the Welsh iron smelting days.
Henry means master of the house and was usually a royal name for a first
born son, Katherine my first wife and I had a son called Henry but he died
very young.
Well most names came from the skills that certain people had, they would
work around the country plying their trade and become known as Thomas
the Smith etc.
Smith/Smithson-- Blacksmith, Miller-- Corn Miller, Thatcher-- Roof thatcher or
Prime Minister!, Potter-- Ceramic Potter, Carpenter -- House frame maker,
Milliner-- Cloth maker, Weaver-- Cloth maker, Cook/Cookson-- Cook, Brewer-Ale brewer, Carter-- cart driver, Cartwright-- Maker of the carts, Wright-Wheel maker, Mason-- Stone mason, Farmer-- Farmer, Cooper--Couper or
barrel maker, Lamb-- A shepherd, and so on........
If anybody has more to add please email and I will load it up.
Q39. What's the funniest thing that has happened to you as Henry in the 21st.
Century?
I was walking through a charity function giving out leaflets, I offered a leaflet
to a small child amongst her parents and older family.
I said, "I'll give you a leaflet if you know who I am".
The little girl looked at me in the eyes and answered" You're Father
Christmas.!"
I said, quite deflated, "That'll do nicely" and gave her a leaflet knowing she
had stolen the show.
Q40. Your beard is one of your most famous features. Why did you grow it in
the first place?
That's a very personal question, but one that has a significant event in my
mind.
My rival in popularity, Francis, King of France and I had a most elaborate
meeting which took weeks to prepare, cost millions to equip for and became
known as "The field of the cloth of gold". We met as brothers, our armies and
courtiers all mixed together in friendship and we jousted, danced, made
music for a month. We decided together that we were such good friends that
we would not shave again until we both met again. It was a sign of high
beauty then for a man to shave and show his full face, so to grow a beard was
to hide ones looks and be more modest. I made sure my beard was a low,
thin one that wouldn't hide my looks too much! I kept my beard after that as
it became a fashion within my court, I believe Francis shaved down to a
moustache which also became a French fashion.
From 100's of children who have met Henry at Samlesbury Hall. The most
asked question of them all!
Q41. Which of your wives did you love?
Mmm. Not an easy answer this one, it is difficult to put into words the
meaning of love and in one way or another I loved all my wives, even Anna
Von Cleve after we were divorced. I'll try to explain my feelings for all my
wives and let you all decide which you think was my soul mate.
Katherine, for the first 10 years of our marriage we were devoted to each
other, we started as an arranged marriage but soon fell in love and she was
my best friend. We drifted apart because of her Father, my duties and her
work with schools and the poor. She was better thought of by my people than
me. Eventually we were so much apart we had lost our affection for each
other.
Ann, I fell for her charms before marraige, she bewitched me, she was a coy
flirt with my affections. I don't think I actually loved her. The last straw was
the death of our son at birth, the marriage may have lasted had the boy
survived. Her sister Mary would have been a better match had the
circumstances been different.
Jane, lovely Jane, she knew how to keep in the background and give me
comfort in my private life. Jane gave me my son and heir, Edward but she
only lived 14 days after the birth. I didn't even have the chance to have her
coronation as my Queen. My heart was broken with her death and I still long
for her.
Anna, I was a little rash when we first met, I embarrassed us both and the
marriage was doomed from the start. Anna became my advisor and I made
her my official Sister in my court, she would have made a fine Queen had I
not been looking for love. I admit she was the finest looking Queen I married
and that Holbein was accurate in his portrait.
Catherine, she made me lose heart, she was so young and full of life I could
not keep up with her energies. It was obviously a mismatch but I was
overjoyed with her as my wife, she however saw the match as a way of
having fun, especially with other men. Her treachery, broke my heart and it
was the first and only time I cried in public when her affair was exposed to
me by her Uncle.
Catherine, I never loved her, but I had a lot of affection for her. She nursed
me in my later years but was under the influence of the Seymours and I
began to worry about her politics. She was very clever y'know! Wrote a
wonderful book and poems for me.
Fom a descendant of The Southworths of Samlesbury hall.
Q42. Who was the Southworth at Samlesbury Hall during the Battle of
Bosworth Field, did he get Knighted for his part in it?
MMM. No. The owner of Samlesbury Hall in 1485 was Sir Christopher
Southworth and he was already a Knight, having gained his spurs on a
campaign in Scotland two years ealier. There was no Southworth at Bosworth
Field. See this website page for a full Role Call of knights at Bosworth Field.
www.richard111.com/roll_call_of_the_battle_of_boswo.htm
Hey the rest of you! Go look at this role call you never know you might be
famous or infamous!
I think this guy is a builder or architect.
Q43.
I notice that the roof tiling on a Tudor House has stones that are graded
fromlarge to small towards the top instead of a common size in slate. Do you
know why?
Yes. In Tudor times, houses builder used materials which were local, so Welsh
ones used Welsh slate and cut the fairly soft material to a common size
before splitting them into thin squares. However if slate was not a local
commodity, stone was used. Nature has moved the stone in the Ice age down
a valley by way of glaciers and the large ones will get further down. By
grading the stones into a range of sizes and then cutting into slabs the roof
tiles were made. Now think about it, which one would you carry all the way
to the top of the roof? The large ones or the smaller ones? Obviously the
larger ones were lower on the roof and the smaller ones higher up. Thicker
tiles tend to form a curve if added togther on a sloped roof so the grading
also helped to form a flat side to the constuction.
Q44. Where did a bouncer on a pub door, get his name from?
Taverns had a lot of damage caused by drunken behaviour. A tarrif was added
as an entrance fee to cover repair costs, an amount of 1 Penny tudor was
asked. This equates to £1.30 nowadays. People who couldn't afford the tarrif
would forge a penny out of lead. A man would stand at the entrance to the
tavern and collect the tarrif, he would throw the coin onto the stone floor. If
the coin hit and stopped thereby being soft Lead he would stop the person
entering, if the coin bounced on the stone he would let the person in because
the coin was made of a brass type metal. He became known as a Bouncer.
Q45. Who was the character that Humpty Dumpty was based upon?
There are a few characters who have been dubbed the inspiration behind the
song, but I believe it was my old friend Thomas Wolsey. Think about the fate
of old Wolsey a fat man who taxed the people and was hated by most. He
fled me after the divorce fiasco, hiding in York. I send my soldiers to get him
worning them not to fail me. They catch him and march hem back to London,
but ala he dies on the way down. The soldiers are now pretty scared of the
consequences, and try hard to revive him but he is dead.Now sing the song.
Humpty Dumpty sat of a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
Q46.
Was there really a Little Jack Horner?
Yes. Jack Horner was the clerk of my court whom I sent around the country
collecting the deeds of the Monasterial land confiscated during the
reformation. His reward was to keep one confiscated land for his own. He of
course picked a plum site, I believe the Horners still live there.
Q47. Stuart again.
During your lifetime, how many castles , palaces and the like did you manage
to build?
Also what where their names?
If it wasn't for all that cut shaped stone from the monasteries I wouldn't have
been able to build my castles over 20 of them.
Here's the list in no order, straight out of my head .
Pendennis, Hurst, Sandown, East Cowes, West Cowes, Yarmouth,
Sharpenode, Calshot, Southsea, Netley, St.Andrews point, Deal, Hull,
Brownsea, Portland, Sandsfoot, Walmer, St.Mawes, Camber as well as
finishing off Hampton court and my pet project Nonsuch Palace. Oh, and the
Entrance gate to Lower ward at Windsor Castle. Can't think of any more
without a drink of fine port. Is that ok Stuart?
From a BBC Producer who has waded through this website and survived!
Q48.
How long have you been portraying King Henry and how did you start?
I planned it from May 2004, I had retired through ill health and loved my job
as a classroom teacher this being hard to let go. I decided I would be an actor
and have a go to realise another ambition. I knew I looked a lot like Henry so
it wasn’t hard to develop my character. I had the costume made
professionally, I travelled the country learning what it was like to be Henry,
and I read all the books until I became sick of them. My first gig was at Astley
Hall in Chorley in August 2004, after that I work every week mainly with
Samlesbury Hall near Preston. Samlesbury Hall is manned by especially nice
people and I love going there, it’s a family feeling that’s hard to find
nowadays. I conduct a Henry’s Tour of the house every Sunday and run their
School’s programme.
Q49.
Henry Tudor can be found on Sundays at Samlesbury Hall, what do you get
up to there?
I have a bit of fun with the visitors, they come now expecting to see a lookalike but they get a very accurate portrayal from the best look-alike.
My calendar is full up to next year and my new career in acting is an
astounding success.
Q50.
Are people scared of you?
Yes. At first it’s a bit scary, then I smile and wave, the children are more open
to Henry and soon like being seen with him, the Mothers soon like having
their pictures taken with Henry, The Fathers and most men are a bit cautious.
Retired people who come to the Hall really take to Henry especially when I
tell them about the sayings from Tudor times.
Q51.
Best thing about being Henry?
I don’t have to work too hard to be him, as soon as I get the costume on I
develop the Henry limp, my memory becomes fills with Tudor history and my
personality changes from a quiet ordinary man into an egocentric, power
crazy monarch.
Q52.
And the worst?
It’s far too hot in centrally heated Manor houses for a fur lined King Henry
Costume. Over heating is the biggest problem I have.
Q53.
What is on the menu at Samlesbury Hall? What was Henry's favourite meal?
For the King’s Board we have tried to keep it as genuine as possible, we will
serve chicken stuffed with spicy meat and wrapped with cured ham, then we
will serve vegetables that were around in the 1500’s. The King’s board will
take all night to serve and eat and will be the fulcrum of the evening with
Henry and his band of players filling in the evening.
I actually perform an act called Stand up Henry, which could be described as
an intellectual, clean, comedy of History.
Henry’s dislike for massive meals is well recorded by Historians; the swan
stuffed with other fowl is only for large banquets where we English were
trying to impress visiting foreign dignitaries. King Henry in private would eat
simple dishes like Chicken and Artichokes.
Q54.
Six mothers-in-law eh? How bad is that?
They Kept out of politics; it was the Father in laws that were the biggest
problem to me, especially Ferdinand of Spain.
Some morbid reader looking for an argument!
Q55.
What was in the speech that Queen Ann Boleyn made on at the time of her
execution?
Here speech was made after I had annulled the marriage, so she wasn't a
Queen anymore. She did not admit to bewitching me and asked why this had
happened to an innocent woman. This at the time made me mad, I know with
hindsight she was right.
This is her speech in full, you decide.
“Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, according to law and
therefore I will speak nothing against it. I come here only to die, and thus to
yield myself humbly to the will of the king, my lord. And if, in my life, I did
ever offend the king’s grace, surely with my death I do now atone. I come
hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that whereof I am accused,
as I know full well that aught I say in my defence doth not appertain to you. I
pray ant beseech you all, good friends, to pray for the life of the king, my
sovereign lord and yours, who is one of the best princes on the face of the
earth, who has always treated me so well that better could not be, wherefore
I submit to death with goodwill, humbly asking pardon of all the world. If any
person will meddle with my cause, I require them to judge the best. Thus I
take my leave of the world, and of you, and I heartily desire you all to pray for
me”
Now I'm feeling guilty again!
On a lighter note!
Q56. You kept the old sport of Jousting alive well after it should have been
forgotten, why?
Hey! Jousting was still practiced in other countries, why is it always me that
gets the bad press!
Anyhow, here's some very interesting terms used in the play Battle of male
supremacy:
Jousting Terms
Caparison
The decorative covering worn by jousting horses at tournament.
Chanfron
Metal plate armour that is moulded and constructed for the war horse.
Chief Marshal
The man who is in charge of the tournament list. He also assists judges and
settles disputes.
Coat of arms
The name given the identifying symbols that were placed on shields, surcoats,
horse trapping and banners.
Coat-of-Plates
Basic Medieval torso protection.
Coronal
This was the name given to the metal tip that was attached to the end of the
lance for a Joust a' Plaisance, or a joust of pleasure.
Cuir Bouille
Leather soaked in hot wax and bent into shape while still hot.
Gorge't
Also call collar armour, designed to protect the neck.
Graper
This is the enlarged area of the lance that is located just in front of where the
shoulder is tightened.
Hastilude
A game fought with spears or lances.
Heraldry
A system for identifying individuals by means of distinctive hereditary
insignia.
Melee
The name given when two teams of knights met as if in the open battle field,
in general, a free-for-all.
Recet
A place of refuge on the tournament field where knights could rest, rearm or
hold prisoners.
Tenan
The challenger of a Joust or Pas d'Armes. The host of the joust.
Umbo
Refers to a type of construction of the shield in the early Middle Ages.
Venans
Knights who have accepted a challenge .
Remember my Father claimed to be an ancestor of King Arthur Pendragon
and so his sport was carried on.
Q57. How many children did you have altogether?
Losing children at birth or soon after has been the most sad times of my wife
and myself. Here are the legitimate births and deaths.
1510 Daughter - died
1511 Son - died
1513 Son - died
1514 Son - died
1516 Mary - survived
1518 Daughter - died
1533 Elizabeth - survived
1534 Son - died
1535 unknown - died
1536 Son - died
1537 Edward - survived
Then there were my illegitimate children. Henry Fitzroy, Henry Carey.
So you see I actually had 7 sons.
From a party of four Cheshire folk who braved it across the border into sunny
Lancashire.
Q58. Where did the term "Clapped out" come from?
A Clapper was a medieval term for a stone slab bridge across a stream or
river. Slabs of granite on top of granite piers spanning up to 4 feet. Can be
worn out by continued traffic and then need refurbishment , they are then
termed "Clapped Out". The name came from the noise they made when
crossed, they would rock slightly and clap the pier.
Q59. Why did Henry feel the need to marry again after the death of Jane?
That question touches a nerve, yes I now had a legitimate son to keep the
Tudors in Power, yes Jane was the love of my life and yes I was now getting
old and infirm. But, I was left alone. Alone at the top. Anna Von Cleve was to
be my new partner, my friend as well as my Queen. You have to put it in
context, the king of England is two persons, Henry Tudor and King Henry VIII
that is why all royals use the Royal WE a plural of ourselves. When I married
Jane twice, she married both persons separately because we were in love.
Anna Von Cleve was picked to marry King Henry and become his partner on
the throne as well as his companion. Even after our divorce, Anna became my
friend and I made her my court Sister! She stayed in England because her
conditions were much better than going back to the small Dukedom her
Brother ruled from, she helped with my children and became well known for
good sense in my court.
Now I'm bored with Wife questions!
From a old movie fan from Nelson in Lancashire.
Q60. Why did you throw your food about?
HOLLYWOOD! How many times must I say this? A black and white movie with
Charles Laughton is made for the American appetite for crass depiction of
historical myth and everyone on the planet believes it!!!!!!!
Ok, I've calmed down now.
King Henry VIII did not throw his food about, he was meticulously clean and
his manners were second to non in the entire country. He would not lower
himself to that of a peasant by eating like one. The Palaces and castles where
he stayed were spotless, he had everyone decorated before he visited them,
the food was prepared by two chef's and perfect in every detail and he eat
politely, never talking at the same time. Propaganda is in all our media,
people are manipulating your information before you absorbe it, they want
to guide our world their way. This was not invented by Tony Blair nor George
Bush, it has been going on in humans since the first one stood upright. My
Daughter, Elizabeth was as big a political manipulator as I was and fed the
peoples appetite with stories of my reign that make her appear the Angel of
Freedom, read Shakespeare, the biggest propaganderist ever! Today he
would be the editor and she the proprietor .
Natalie from St.Helens
Q61. In your talk about Samlesbury Hall, Why does the White lady hate the
house?
Ah! Now that's because her boyfriend Robert Houghton was murdered by her
own brother and her Father had forbade her to see Robert.
Sarah from St. Helen's
Q62. Does the White lady live with you?
No, Dorothy Southworth Wanders along the main road outside Samlesbury
Hall looking for her boyfriend Robert.
When she sees me she disappears.
My wife at home in the Palace is not a White lady she is blue! Only when
she's using a face pack! Hehehehe.
Obviously an investigative Historian.
Q63. You mention Nicholas Owen in both your Tour and your website, yet
you cover yourself in case it was not true. What is the truth as you believe it
and what is your evidence based upon?
How many history books have turned out to be garbage? Lots of them. The
author writes them with information thought to be correct at the time of
going to press and then puts it right if it is proven to be wrong. Well I believe
that Nicholas Owen was at Samlesbury Hall and he built the priest holes
there. We already know that St.Edmund Campion was caught in Samlesbury
Hall and there is proof that Nicholas Owen was a companion of Campion, see
this website.
www.geocities.com/francischinchoy/sjnicholasowen.html
Look at the dates, look at where Owen was known to work and then piece it
all together. Every one of his designs were of the same parameter, "one way
in and two ways out" in order to give the captured priest another chance of
freedom. Look at the fireplace in Hindlip Hall where he was captured, the
same style and workmanship as the Samlesbury Hall Fireplace in the Parlour.
Work out his route of work, East Anglia, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Lancashire,
Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire where he was captured. Now put rough
dates on these counties estimating how long he would be at on to make such
constructions, and you get him in Lancashire about 1580/1582. Just when the
fireplace was made.
Now the fireplace in the Parlour seems to have no priest hole or does it? The
top stone has broke in half because of the house loading, but why has the
halves not fallen? There must be a brick wall behind the stone frontage. Now
tap the fireplace and the only place not stone in near the breakage, the same
width as need for a man to enter it. The other way out I suspect to be outside
the building under a stone slab that has no moss on it.
There you are, I cannot say with strong physical evidence that Nicholas Owen
built the priest holes but I can show the evidence of history. If the directors of
Samlesbury Hall search through the back wall of the chimney breast I should
think the whole mystery of the broken stone will emerge.
From the Lady sat next to me at the Canon's dinner.
Q65. Do you know what Plantagenet means?
I must admit I didn't. So I have talked to my learned scholars at court and
have come with this answer.
Plantagenet! Why would I want to know their history? They were our
predecessors and brought chaos to England. Ok, I am not the right person to
give an unbiased opinion so I’ll try my best to forget bygones.
They were the Angevin dynasty from Anjou in France, their English link were
the Plantagenets with Lancastrian and Yorkist backgrounds. My
Grandmother, Margaret Beaufort and my Mother, Elizabeth were the last
one’s to enter the Tudor dynasty. Plantagenet was a Plant called the Genesta
in Latin, or Broom Flower in English. Hey! That’s cool! Richard III was a Broom
Hehehe.
It started in England with Geoffrey of Anjou who was the Father of Henry II,
then Richard Duke of York then Edward IV ant the old hunchback himself,
Richard III.
I know that my father made Richard III’s history a lot blacker that in reality
and that he didn’t have a hunchback, so I’m following in my Father’s
footsteps and giving the English people someone to hate.
Q64. Who is the Girl/Lady in your picture with you?
That is Lady Elizabeth, my daughter by Ann Boleyn. Not a Princess anymore
because that marriage was annulled and therefore not legal. She has my red
hair, her mother's stance and figure, definately a strong willed woman.
She has started her own website. www.ElizabethTudor.co.uk
It's ok, but not up to mine yet!
From a lovely lady from Knutsford in Cheshire, who obviously knew the
answer and was testing me!
Q65. I come from Knutsford in Cheshire, it is famous for another King and is
named after him, do you know the story.
Pity she didn't know Ray used to live in Knutsford, Hehehe, but I didn't tell
her, I just let her believe I was a genius.
Sure, King Canute. Canute crossed the River Lilly in the town and thus it
became known as Knute-Ford. By the way the River Lily is only 2 feet wide,
sorry, 61 cms wide. So no big deal then eh!
Crossing Rivers by ancient Kings has a link with the Northwest and King
Arthur! He crossed the Sea from Anglesey back into England on his drive for
power, landing near the Ribble estuary and making his way across the Fylde
to Chorley, where he famously crossed the River ............ to beat his rivals in
Battle by surprise.
Anybody know its name?
Wow! that only took 5 minutes. Quite right Chorley river was the River
Douglas.
Q66. Just how closely does Ray resemble Henry?
See this picture.
Ray should really trim his beard a bit closer to Henry, but he's stubborn and
likes it the way it is! True Henry's beard is not as grey as Ray's, but then he's
not got questioners like you mithering him!
The fact is, Henry posed for hours then the artist made sure he was perfect,
whereas Ray posed for 20 seconds and the photographer was his wife! Still
the resemblance is striking. Ray tells me it's Henry who is close to Ray not the
other way round!
Q67. In your day, the rose was a significant emblem, why was that?
In my day! I'm still in my day!
The cultured Rose is not native to Britain, the Romans brought it over here
after they had taken it from the Greeks. It has a cultural meaning, Honour,
truth and loyalty and so is used today for a love token. The big families in
history needed to keep confidences and the Rose was used as a form of
contract, not a written one but one that was attached to houses and if you
entered the house you entered the contract of confidentiality. The Romans
called this Sub-rosa, Latin meaning Under the Rose. A rose was carved above
heads in talking rooms, such as Parlours, Chapels and Great Halls, in the
centre for the most important room in the house and along the top edges in
the others.
Roses were even over the doorways so that you "signed" the contract as you
entered. Lancashire and Yorkshire have a Rose as an emblem, well many
Monarchs came from these counties y'know. My father joined the two
warring counties together with the Tudor Rose when he married my Mother,
Elizabeth. Next time you go to an old historical house look for the roses in the
ceiling.
Q68. I read in your Samlesbury Hall tour guide that you call the roof design
"Dittonian Stone" What kind of stone is that?
Ah! I should have pointed out that the word Dittonian wasn't the name of the
actual stone, it was the repeated pattern of layers reducing geometrically to
ensure the end result was in fact flat. Because if the thick slabs of roofing
stone was kept the same size the roof would curve in a Parabola. Now you
have brought up the subject! Dit is Roman, Latin for repeat and so Ditto,
Dithering can be extrapolated from the same origins. I know this makes me
look clever! But after a couple of days walking the hills with a History
Professor you tend to fill up with such detail.
A perplexed businessman from London.
Q69. I think your website is fantastic, my kids are still making the castle after
the house and the drawbridge. BUT, how are you making any money out of
giving away so many kits when you could be selling them?
Look! There are more important things in life than making money, there's
being useful for one.
I gladly give all children my eKits, surely it's better for our children to create
than to play computer games! I hope one day to look back and see these kits
as seeds of British ingenuity planted in our next generation and this ploy of
mine is called LONG TERM PLANNING. Where are all the skills,
apprenticeships, craftsmen (person), why is it more glamorous to be in the
service industries than the creative industries. A computer should be seen as
a tool for human development of human skills not for the repeat of
experiences but for the creation of new ones.
Sorry if I sounded off, but as you can see it's my goal in life to bring back
human endeavour which hopefully will reduce the youth boredom and
revitalise new opportunities for future ventures. How many children today
were sat at a computer game console, or watching cartoons, all day? I know
that 2000 were making cardboard Tudor houses, castles, ships, etc.
A Director of Education no less!
Q70. Where do you get your inspiration for the cardboard kits?
Everywhere. We in Britain are blessed with lots of fine old buildings and
technology from most of our history, I just imagine them in pieces small
enough to fit on a Powerpoint slide. I could make models with less joints but
they would be too small and complicated. I took these three pictures on my
travels and will be making models in the future, you could say they gave me
inspiration.
A water powered Corn Mill from the early 1500's.
See the mill stones.
A Hand powered Wool Combing machine from about 1650.
From Holland.
Q71. I heard you explaining the way nursery rhymes had been based upon
facts. How did "Goosey Goosey Gander" develop?
Priest holes had more than one use, one is obvious, they hid the Priests from
the soldiers in the reformation. The other is quite sinister, they hid the priest
from the family so he could spy on individuals to make sure they were being
God fairing people.
From the Coach driver.
Q72. I have been to hundreds of old Tudor Houses, all Black and White. Yet
you say this is not the proper colour for these houses, why is that so!
I will let you the sad truth my friend, you may take it around with you on your
travels and tell your passengers about the Victorian Folly.
Sad but true, wood soaks up water, it loses its colour by weathering and the
effects of sunlight. The type of wood is crucial in the longevity of a timber
house, so a house that was built in the 1400/1500's was unsealed, untreated
and built of the trees in its locality. Look at the houses in the South, (the
lowlands), they are vertical timbering with close pitching. This was because
they over farmed the forests and immature trees were used which were very
springy and not good at carrying horizontal loads. Now go to the Midlands,
(strangely called the highlands), they had lots of Oak trees. Trouble with Oak
trees, they are not very straight after 20 feet tall, so spans of 16/20 feet are
very common, this leads to a square block type panelling of 5 feet squares
filled in with either wattle-n-daub or bricks. Now come up to the North of
England, (strangely called the Upper highlands), here they are blessed with
Wych Elm trees, planted by the Romans, which grow 50 feet in 50 years and
go on to over 100 feet tall. This tree is waterproof, straight and can be steam
bent easily. Wych Elm trees were used for large houses, barns, ships, forts
and weapons. The Mary Rose keel was of Wych Elm, the first water pipes
were of Wych Elm.
Maintenance of timber houses will be high as the house gets older, loses its
pigments and becomes tubular in macro-section. The Victorians in the middle
of the Industrial Revolution were making steel using Coal/Coke in their blast
furnaces. The difference in coal to make coke is to remove the tar, so they
were awash with the black stuff. Some idiot decided to paint the old timber
houses with tar, the panels with white lime-wash, this made them look
strangely attractive so the practice prevailed. After all if to paint a wooden
railway sleeper with tar, preserved it, why should this happen to a timber
house? Well nobody lives inside a railway sleeper, condensation from warmer
rooms is not present either and worse of all the sleeper is coated all over and
thus need not breath as do the timbers in a Tudor house. So the tarring of old
houses should be seen as a Victorian mistake, one that we now have to live
with. Open fires were the bonus of long living houses, but now take them
away and substitute central heating and the damp will get much worse. Big
old house should light up their fires at least once per week to keep the rot
down.
Notice how Queen Victoria always wore black. Hmmm makes you think!
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Q73. What do you think you know about Henry more than already written?
Mmmm. Maybe it's Ray you should be asking, Hang on I'll ask him for you!
Ok a bit radical here! Henry is left handed. How do I know? Look where he
wears his dagger but even more obvious to me, look at his bedroom in
Hampton Court. The layout would be awkward for a right hander.
I think he had bad breath, not because I do, but because the lack of exercise,
rich food and not cleaning his teeth on fibrous vegetables will result in poor
breath.
I think he was lonely.
Q74. Is it true that King Henry started the Alum Industry in England?
We had Alum before, the Romans brought it here in the first Century. Henry's
break with the Pope caused an Alum stoppage. Alum was used to fix colours
in cloth and so mainly the rich used it. King Henry did get his own men to
search for Alum bearing shale in England, which was duly found in Ravenscar
North Yorkshire. If you want to see the whole story then see this file.
Click here to download this file
Q75. What truth is there about the connection of Nonsuch Palace and Queen
Anne’s Well?
The naming of the well at Carshalton, outside All Saints Church has nothing at
all to do with the Myth of Queen Anne Boleyn’s horse stumbling and a spring
came forth from the ground.
This was supposed to have happened when Anne and myself were riding from
Nonsuch Palace to see a friend.
Rubbish!
The dates are wrong.
Anne Boleyn met her fate at the Tower of London in 1536, Nonsuch clearance
of land for the building of my new Palace started in 1538!
The Well is just a Well, sounds like a local clergyman trying to make
something out of nothing to me.
Q76. How many palaces did you possess and why did you build Nonsuch
Palace? At what cost?
About 1530 I owned 13 palaces in and around London, non of which I had
built.
I always concealed my jealousy of rival Francis I King of France, so I decided to
build a place to compete with his fantastic Palace at Chambord on the Loire. I
bestowed the name for my new Palace to indicate that it was to excel all
others.
I wanted people to be astonished at this new palace, and to say that they had
never seen such a fine palace before, hence its name - 'Nonsuch.‘
Now referred to as Cuddington Manor, I acquired the area and in 1538
demolished the village and proceeded to construct the buildings. The Church
disappeared beneath the inner courtyard of the Palace, two deer parks were
set up within the Parish. It took nine years to build and was completed at a
cost of at least £24,000 (Tudor) which is £7.2 Million nowadays.
Go to the freebies section and you will find one of my eKits to make this
Palace!
Q77. Hi Henry, What is a Lumber Gudgeon?
Short but sweet! A Lumber Gudgeon is a rogue who looks like he's up to
mischief.
Q78. Who is the White Lady of Samlesbury Hall?
Half-timbered Samlesbury Hall in Lancashire, built during the reign of Edward
III, lies halfway between Preston and Blackburn. It is haunted by the ghosts of
Lady Dorothy Southworth and her lover, Robert Houghton, the handsome son
of a noble family, who owned a large estate nearby.
Dorothy was the daughter of Sir John Southworth, who was to die in 1595, a
staunch Roman Catholic who had forbidden his daughter to marry Robert,
who had turned Protestant. John Southworth even forbade his daughter from
meeting her lover again.
The couple planned to elope, but their plans were discovered and when they
met on that fateful day to leave the house, they were intercepted by her
brother, accompanied by a small band of friends, and in the ensuing fight,
Robert and two friends who were helping them, were killed. Dorothy was
sent to a Nunnery in France, where she died from insanity, probably caused
by a broken heart. The bodies of Robert and his two friends were buried near
the domestic chapel at the Hall.
In the 19th century, three skeletons were found where the three unfortunate
men had been buried, and since that time the figure of Dorothy Southworth,
dressed in white, has been seen walking down the staircase and along the
path leading to the garden wall, where in life she had planned to meet
Robert. The figure of Robert has also been seen standing by the wall, and on
several occasions the two have been seen standing together, holding each
other in embrace before vanishing. Weeping and wailing has also been heard,
as if someone is crying bitterly.
Dorothy has also been seen wandering down the road outside the Hall, and
on one occasion a bus driver actually stopped his bus, thinking that she was
an intending late-night passenger.
Just after the Second World War, workmen digging a ditch whilst engaged in
drain-laying, discovered the almost complete-skeleton of a man at a spot,
only a few feet from the point where the couple have been seen to embrace
and disappear.
Q79.
From USA.
From Sapphire and Sage, makers of fine historical jewellery.
What was the name of the Garter that King Henry wore and why did he wear
it?
It was because of Chivalry and all that it implied, I was a big fan of the Black
Prince and of course King Arthur and his Knights. The use of a garter to
recognise the fact that the wearer was a Knight has two possible origins.
Below I have made a card to print off for your study book.
Q80. Just who named America?
I have left this question long enough, waiting in vain for reliable sources to
back up my family claim. So I have put together some pictures and slides for
you to make up your own minds. Let us all hope it stirs up enough factual
comment.
First of all, John and Sebastian Cabot were financed by my Father, Henry VII
and Ameryk of Bristol for their voyage of discovery aboard the Matthew, a
small ship with only 18 crew!
Amerigo Vespucci has always been given the accolade, but we were there
two years earlier! Anyhow Amerigo is a derivation of Enrico and Enrico is
Henry in Spanish!
Cabot leaving on the Matthew for new lands to find, New found lands, get it?
Newfoundland!
See the US flag and Ameryk's emblem! Hey, they are so similar.
Now you decide.
Q81. What was really wrong with your legs?
My legs have given me so much torment over the years, they have even been
used by my enemies to start rumours of disgusting diseases that the poor get.
I reality my ailment was started by my best friend, Charles Brandon!
Yes he was the only opponent in my chosen sport of jousting, that would
actually play to win. The others let me win for fear of hurting me and being
blamed. Charles however jousted with passion and to beat him was a
challenge I loved. However one day he knocked me off my horse and my
lance split, my leg received a large splinter with also chipped my bone. It
healed fairly quickly, but the time off my legs increased my body weight due
to the Royal diet, eventually the stress on the mend caused a piece of bone to
surface. This in turn caused inflammation and swelling.
My diet and lifestyle were not conducive to healthy living, I suffered from a
mild form of diabetes which developed into a serious condition in later life.
My legs and feet were affected with ulcers. It was noted by my physicians
that my toes began to be gangrenous as the condition advanced. This is an
ulceration pattern far more typical of advanced diabetes and dispels the
slanderous rumours of any low morality.
I was subjected to terribly primitive and painful medical practices, the ulcers
were continually cut into, lanced, cauterized, and then dressed with an
ointment that contained ground pearls and lead! Medical procedures were
not only primitive, but were carried out under completely unsanitary
conditions. My legs were continually infected and incompetent physicians cut
into them and burned them. The lead poisoning coming from that pearl and
lead ointment alone would have been enough to cause mental illness.
Q82. Quite a difficult pair these!
Just what did Will Somers look like and what did King Henry’s signature look
like?
## Your picture: 'Henry's handwriting.jpg' has been inserted here ##
Even though I was a scholar of note, I did not like writing.
Q83. Have you ever found new Historical artefacts when in and around the
Hall where you work?
Yes.
The House had a moat at one time, on one corner there was a crossing point
into the Hall’s farmland. Shallow enough for a cart and horse but needing
stepping stones for people. See this sketch.
Now because the stepping stones need to be of different thicknesses finding
a set of Octagonal shaped stones being used as Plant stands was a big clue,
when measured in thickness I found them to be Shallow to deep to shallow
again. So I found Medieval Octagonal Stepping stones.
Why Octagonal? So as to not cause turbulence with sharp corners!
Q84. I notice that you visit the historical places as well as reading about them.
What advantage do you get by doing both?
That’s a good question. Seeing something in real life give a more
impressionable memory and enable me to think like Henry would have when
acting the part. It also give me an appreciation for the skills of the people
then and may I say the faults in their designs sometimes.
See this picture where I have found a design fault in none other than
St.Nicholas Owens fireplace at Samlesbury Hall. It has a secret chamber in it
for a Priest to hide, however it has a hidden wall to protect the Priest from
the fire, this wall has cause a stress fracture to the stone mantle.
Hey! Not all humans are perfect, remember he was building this 475 years
ago with no lasers, stress gauges, or computers, just his brain.
Q85. In a Manorial setting, did the Lord and Lady’s family attend chapel with
the common workers?
Yes and No
They were in the same building, but fear of disease kept them apart in height.
They believed that diseases did not rise upwards so they designed their
chapels where the Noble family were on a balcony and the common workers
were on the ground floor. The Priest feared reprisals from the commoners
because of the church taxes imposed even on the poor, so a barrier was fixed
between the Priest and the congregation of poor. I have found a picture of
the actual barrier and have drawn where it was fixed together with the place
the nobles were praying.
Q86. How did a Priest breath when hiding behind lit fires?
I suspect a clever questioner who already knows the answer and is testing Old
Henry!
Ok, I’ll go along with the ruse.
The oxygen would burn up and any Priest would die of asphyxiation soon
after entering the priest hole if it was behind a fireplace, hehehe. Well that’s
what the builder wants you to think, especially Nicholas Owen who had lots
of tricks up his sleeves.
His design at Samlesbury Hall has a false back firewall and outer chimney
breast. The priest would climb up into the cavity and rest near a vent hole
patterned to look like the house design. Here is such a vent and how it
worked.
Q87. What are Murder Holes and where are they?
This is a good question. Murder holes were invented well before the Tudor
monarchy; they were used in Norman Castles as a deterrent to invaders.
The normal line of Castle defences are a collection of designs of barriers.
1st line of defence: A hill where the castle sits, or on the rocky coast or a
moat around the walls.
2nd line of defence: The outer wall with a drawbridge over a ditch or the
moat.
3rd line of defence: A portcullis and heavy wooden gates.
4th line of defence: The flat exposed area before the inner buildings.
Last line of defence: the inner buildings with towers and window slits for
archers.
The Murder holes were above the portcullis and were a series of holes in a
stone balcony where soldiers could drop stones or pour boiling oil onto
invaders trying to get into the gates. Here’s a picture of Murder Holes taken
at Beaumaris Castle in Anglesey.
Q88. Did King Henry have nightmares about what he had done?
Not about my actions, I had regrets but had to stick by my decisions to show
a strong monarchy. Thomas More was a big regret as was my preoccupation
with fathering a son to the treatment of my lovely wife Jane in the delivery
chamber. The taking of the throne by force and the establishment of the
Tudors as legitimate Royals always played on my mind. Taking the Dragon of
King Arthurian legend and making it Tudor was a big propaganda exercise
which I feared would come back to haunt me.
Q89. From Krys.
What's your greatest accomplishment?
What do you regret the most?
How do you make your decisions?
How can you improve your kingdom?
Who do you idolize?
Five questions from one person must be a Noble Lord or Earl, or Lady Krys
from the wonderful Far east
One at a time and think Henry the person not Henry the History character.
My greatest accomplishment was to provide an heir to the Tudor line to keep
the name going, I proved to the country my manhood. The minor
accomplishments such as the Battle of the Spurs were blown out of all
proportions and written up by my councillors for the future history books.
Personal grief and frustration under pressure was the major factor in my life
which could only be resolved with a son and heir.
I have answered the regret question before. My regrets were often in my life,
to make life or death decisions is a great burden to carry and to accept the
inevitable consequences to keep my authority is the most difficult thing to
harbour in my mind. Thomas More’s death was the greatest regret, he will
always haunt me. Jane’s death, caused partly by the need to make sure the
Boy was safely delivered and the health of the Mother second to that need
will stay with me all my days.
I have problems to solve all the time; I use my Chancellors a lot for day to day
political advice, but big decisions and ideas I usually sleep on them. I have a
wonderful gift of clarity when I awake, my problems are solved overnight and
my mind made up. I consult my Thomas’s to get their biased views and then
move in a positive manner forward with a determination second to none.
Improving my Kingdom would be to expand it and make it self sufficient in
resources and strength. The French with Francis, will never be my real ally we
have always been in competition personally and our countries have more
than the sea as a barrier. Past French lands have been lost from our
conquests and I intend to get them back if not expand further into their
territories. The main trouble is one of logistics, getting armies out there, with
resources to maintain them, I have to resort on the help of other leaders and
that takes away my edge. Papal interference and heavily influenced decisions
gave me the impetus to change the church for all to belong to it. English
written Bibles and simpler services gave my people a better focus for their
beliefs as well as bringing together the English Language at last. Without their
influence my Kingdom with me as head of the Nation and the Church will
flourish. Minor problems can be solved, the Pope’s embargo means nothing
to me, and I will find a solution to everything he throws my way, including
making my own Alum.
I do not idolize anybody in public. I do however keep a space in my heart for
the people who have given me so much comfort over the years. My
grandmother, Margaret Beaufort, she was so strong and yet so quiet; she was
the Tudors rod of steel in the beginning. The Black Prince and past heroes of
the people such as Arthurian legend, they give me a focal point for my own
persona. Don’t get me wrong, I am a man who likes the company of women
and Ann Boleyn was in my sights for many years of longing until I finally won
her, then she seemed to be a disappointment to me and that magic left our
relationship.
Now! Which one is Krys?
There you see, my spies are everywhere! Second from the Right front row.
Q90. What exactly is a Medieval manifold system?
I made it up. Medieval is the date in which it was originally made and a
Manifold divides or collects a fluid from a flow.
I have found a real manifold in the grounds of Samlesbury Hall near Preston it
is presently being used as a flower planter, it was originally sited where a
stream passed the hall in the south west corner and it collected water
through Wych Elm pipes into the stone carved manifold where it was divided
into three different flows. One flow went to the Moat to replenish the water
and for the health of the fish being farmed in it, another went to the House
and the last one to the farm animals. The pictures below show the manifold
as it is now, the drawing shows how it was used.
Q91. From Stefania who certainly wants to grill me by the number of
questions she has!
I think short but concise answers are the best.
What is it like to be king? Great, everybody does what you tell them.
Why did you chop off two heads and divorce two of your wives? Beheading is
the death for a noble for treason, whilst I may have been cruel to Ann,
Catherine Howard deserved it. Divorce was the best way to allow me to
marry again for Catherine de Aragon and Anna von Cleves.
Why did you want to have six wives? I didn’t go out to have 6 wives, I was
firstly looking to have a son and heir, then comfort and then a nurse.
Do you have a best friend? Yes, Charles Brandon who eventually became my
Brother-in –law by marrying my widowed sister Mary, without my approval I
might add as it cost me a lot of money in dowry. They had children and Grand
children one of which was Lady Jane Grey. Doomed by her family
connections!
Why did you want a son and not a daughter? To keep the family name in
power, a Queen would lose her last name by marrying.
What are your parents names? My Father was Henry, my Mother was
Elizabeth.
What is your brothers name? Arthur, he died before he became King, I
married his widow Catherine.
Did you like your palace? I liked Thomas Wolsey’s palace, so I swapped it for a
small town house in London, I finished it for him and it became Hampton
Court Palace. My favourite building project was Nonsuch Palace, non such a
Palace ever existed like it before.
Where you naughty as a young boy? No, I was very studious, though I did
answer back a lot to my Father, questioning him about his policies and
history. I don’t think he like me much, Arthur was his favourite.
Did you have lots of sweets? Honey based cakes, biscuits were our sweet
things, yes I like them, I have a chef who works all the time making them for
my court.
Did you love your wives? Yes. I loved Catherine for 15 years for our marriage,
I loved Ann more before our marriage, I loved Jane all our marriage, I loved
Anna after our divorce more as a sister really, I loved Catherine Howard right
up to finding out about her infidelities and finally I loved Catherine Parr when
she cared for me and brought my estranged family back together.
The King courting Ann Boleyn.
Who was your best wife? Define Best! From a noble point of view, good for
the country, loved by the people, able to take over the reigns when I was
absent, it must be Catherine de Aragon. From a love point of view and for
providing the nation with a male heir, it must be Jane Seymour.
Q92. What did the Royal Tudors think of the poor people.
Tudor people believed there were three types of poor people:
Those with just enough to live on.
The "deserving poor", those who could not work, eg. the very young, the very
old, and disabled people - these should be looked after as an act of charity.
Sturdy rogues: vagrants and people who moved about looking for work.
People felt this type should be punished. However, there was not enough
work.
In 1485 unemployment was not a problem, but by 1530 there were many
more people than jobs.
Q93. Were your soldiers better off than the ordinary people?
A Tudor soldier's daily rations are
32oz (910g) of meat
24oz (680g) of bread
16oz (455g) cheese
and 5 pints (2.8 litres) of beer.
The minimum diet for poor people was one loaf od bread per couple per day.
Q94. How did the Black Death Plague effect your reign.
Well before my reign the Black death came to England in 1348 and in two
years wiped out 40% of the population. The fear of this disease was always in
my mind, I would hear of rumours of the return of the plague and would go
on my travels to get away from it.
I have put together a file for you to download detailing the Black Death and
its effect on England, religion and the attitude of the survivors.
Click here to download this file
Q95. I listened with great interest on your tour of Samlesbury Hall especially
about the origins of the town names in Lancashire. You have not written
them all down in the Samlesbury Hall folder and seemed to explain much
more than you have written. Do you have a file with all the names in it?
I have now!
Download this file.
Click here to download this file
Q96. What entertainment did you have?
Lots really.
The poor had singing, dancing, self taught music, board games, story telling,
travelling fairs, football on a village scale.
The rich had all the same except for football which was seen as common plus,
horsemanship, hunting, hawking, reading latin script, banquets, music from
minstrels, visiting actors.
The nobles had the same plus Tennis, archery as a skill, jousting, masgue
balls, card playing, chess, music lessons, debates with clergy and
philosophers, bowls and travel for hunting, dining and to keep clear of the
plague.
Q97. Have put down all your research in the form of a timeline?
No. Have you kept a diary for every day of your life? No.
I have a concise timeline that every one of you can put together from facts off
the internet. Best thing though is the use of Excel to record the timeline, that
way you can search and sort the line into any order you may need. Add more
facts as you find them and then re-sort to restore the date line.
Here it is.
Click here to download this file
Timeline Spreadsheet
Q98. How good a view did archers get through those slits in castle walls?
Apart from going and seeing for your self I have taken a couple of pictures
from just outside and inside such an opening. I know I’d rather be inside.
These I took in Portland castle.
I still can see you.
I can see you but you cannot see me.
Q99. Dis King Henry VIII ever visit Warwick castle?
No. Old stone castles were too cold for me and the high wall with its town
next to it had little privacy for my hunting and hawking expeditions.
Q100. Did you write out all the death warrants yourself?
Of course not, my clerk or chancellor wrote out the details after parliament
had ratified the decision. I signed the warrants with a heavy heart, usually
alone in my privy chamber where I could think more clearly. I hated the job
but it was for the good of the country and the security of the Tudor monarchy
so I did it.
Q101. From a Photographer called John
Can you please tell us the name of Henry VIII’s main residence in 1540, and if
we were writing to him what would his title be?
In 1540 King Henry VIII had four favourite residences.
First of all his most favourite was Westminster Palace.
Secondly would be Greenwich Palace which was also his birthplace.
Thirdly he liked Hampton Court Palace.
Lastly would be Windsor Castle.
The first three were very easy access by royal barge down the Thames.
You would address him as Your Royal Majesty
He was officially called King Henry VIII
He would sign himself as either
1. Henry Octavia for court purposes
2. Henry R for all other purposes.
3. Henry Tudor to family and close friends.
See the Tudor map of London in Hampton court beyond the ropes section of
my website, you will see how close each Palace was to each other and how
the Thames was used for access.
Q102. Okay I give up! Another question about Ann Boleyn.
Look! Download this file, it will tell you about the Death of Ann Boleyn.
Click here to download this file
Q103. A question from IKB, some sort of music band without instruments.
My mate has the look of Henry, how would I go about getting the costume?
The simplest way is to hire one from a fancy dress shop, but beware they
mainly are rubbish and aimed at the party people. However there is one
shop, in Dorset which has a great quality stock and they have one of Henry’s
costume which is very accurate although very heavy. The town is Bridport,
cannot remember the shop name, though there is only one so a man of your
calibre should be able to find it.
Alternatively, get it made to measure. Take along a picture of Henry to a
costumier and pay the rate, about £1000 should do it. You could have a go at
making it yourself, try Artisan Accessories in Cheltenham, they stock lots of
olde worlde things.
In the end there are a few King Henry’s about and the face grades them into
“Hmm the costume is good” to “Wow! It’s King Henry VIII”, you know what I
mean!
If it works out for you, buy some instruments.
Q104. From a Mr. Moody in the USA.
Greetings from California. I am thoroughly in love with your website. I find it
to be extremely delightful, interesting, informative and fun. Congratulations
for making history come alive and so relevant.
According to the English Chronicler, Edward Hall, late in the year 1525, you
were out hawking near the small market town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire.
While you were following your hawk, you tried to leap over a ditch with a
pole, but unfortunately the pole broke and you went straight down into the
muddy waters getting your head stuck in the clay. One of your footmen,
Edmund Moody, was near by and jumped into the waters to pull you out,
thus saving your life from drowning. On Thursday, October 6th, in the year
1541, you granted Edmund a coat of arms and land as a reward for this deed.
My question is this: What kind of costume did a footman wear during your
life and are there any painting showing footmen? Also, what were some of
the duties that a footman in your court would have performed on a daily
basis?
It is nice to here from the Colonies!
I remember the incident well; your ancestor well deserved the accolade of a
new family crest. Silver on a chevron between three trefoils and three gold
lozenges, the head of a Wolf being the main feature.
I will let you into a secret!
To be seen and then the story to be exaggerated about me being stuck
headfirst in a muddy ditch would have lowered my persona in the eyes of the
people. It would have shown me to have a weakness and my enemies would
have used the incident to betray me. So I made Edmund promise to keep it
secret and if it got out he was to deny it at first then if pressed to expand on
the bravery I showed in the unfortunate accident. My armour was weighing
me down, my horse stumbled, and I was going faster than anybody else in the
party, that sort of embellishment. History was written to make me look Royal.
Edmund would have been the first son of a middle-class family because his
name would have been chosen to depict where he came from, the Moody’s
go back a long way and Edmund was only 8 years younger than myself so he
would be well known to the King and in employ for many years. I think he had
children in the servant’s quarters and one of them married higher to a
Kilbourne, anyhow with his new land and status the Moody’s went on to be a
well thought of family, some leaving for the Americas early in its history.
I have put together this postcard for you showing the type of clothes
Footmen wore, notice they had swords and only most rusted servants were
allowed them near the King. Padded tops and coloured tights. Now
remember that there was a ban on coloured clothes for the poor, only from
Knights upwards were bright colours allowed, this shows how highly rated
were the Kings Footmen.
May you continue to enjoy my mumblings.
105. Sometimes the deepest questions come from the mouths of babes, from
a 10 year old.
Is the name Tudor connected to any other word?
Tu is old Welsh for Iron, Tudor is "House of Iron". Tuyere, Tube and Tyre all
have connections. See this postcard I've made for your history book.
106. How did you use the media to your advantage?
Media, media? I used many forms of communication with my people to give
them knowledge of their King’s appearance and of course the history facts.
When Master Holbein painted my portrait I must admit that he exaggerated
the shoulder line and the belly stance, he made my face squarer to give an air
of strength and the clothing an air of wealth. Not to show off, but to give
them a feeling of well being, being led by a healthy, strong, good looking and
intelligent King. Holbein made blank copies called cartoons, with punched
holes that would give copies with a few dabs of soot. There was a problem
around Shropshire; the cartoon blank was used back to front thus producing
a mirror image of me. It didn’t matter, the mirrored Henry was Right handed
instead of Left, and he looked much fiercer than me. Then of course, like my
Father before me, I made sure all that came off the Caxton press was vetted
first, and that it always put me in a good light for the people. Playwrights,
Authors and the press were all required to report to me before publication,
which is why I took umbrage with the original English Bible. It was Ann who
steered me towards it in the end, remember that the English Bible brought
together common English words and our language was formalised at last. The
hysterical media was used by word of mouth and leaflets about the
bewitchment I suffered at the hands of Ann, this gave me public support
when I needed it after the demise of Catherine, the people’s champion.
The production of accurate portraits and then the Camera Obscurer which
produced the likes of Thomas More, gave the people a clear picture of their
leaders. King Arthur had always been a story worth telling because of the
chivalry in his court, but his facer was not really known and his Queen, his
Knights have all been fictionalised because of this. My use of the media
brought the real monarch to life for posterity.
107.
Celebrity Big Brother is on the TV at the moment. Would you go on it as King
Henry VIII?
No.
Do I look desperate for publicity? Do I seem to have low self esteem? Do I
seem the kind who would like to make a fool of himself? Would I expose my
image to that kind of public mockery? Would I want to share my time with
fickle self important morons? Am I so desperate for money that I would sell
my proud character?
No of course I wouldn’t.
But then the ones in it would say yes to all those points, wouldn’t they?
108. Are there any secrets in your reign which if proved true, would have
changed the course of History?
Oh yes I’m going to admit to this one? Not.
There have been lots of scandal mongering over the past half millennia, non
of which have ever been proved to have any scrap of truth to them. Looking
for an edge in novels to gain an audience is not my way of recording history, I
believe in factual evidence such as the way Alison Weir researches for her
series of books. There have been many claims and statements which are
impossible to have happened but which become headline news to increase a
reader base. Here are a few of the most stupid claims I have had the
misfortune to read, especially on the internet.
1. I killed my Father. What a load of rubbish.
2. My first wife Catherine was in fear of her life because of the marital
problems.
3. I killed my Brother Arthur to become the next King.
4. I framed my second wife for treason.
5. I killed my father’s accountants because the people hated them.
6. I broke my promise to my sister Mary, that she may marry her choice after
being widowed. Never made such a promise.
Even my family came into the view of the sniping:
7. My daughter Elizabeth killed my eldest daughter Mary.
8. My daughter Mary killed my son Edward.
Absolute rubbish.
Now do these contrived lies sound plausible, would I not have been found
out, would my reign have been changed, I think not. They are all scurrilous
tales to break my family’s grip on the monarchy.
109.
Hi. When Henry became King, it is known as what era?
For example : When an Edward is King it’s Edwardian time.
Please could you get back to me a.s.a.p because it’s a school project and
needs to be in Friday.
Thanks Roxanne M
Hello Lady Roxanne, a fine question.
My Father Henry VII's reign was long enough to get the era called the Tudors,
I am still Henry Tudor even though I'm called Henry VIII. The time was still the
Tudors. My son Edward and daughter Mary were also under the same era
title.
Even though Elizabeth was a Tudor, she was so loved that the era became
Elizabethan.
Using the Tudor name meant to the people that the hated Plantagenets were
gone at last. This is possible why the people changed Tudor to Elizabethan
because of their hatred of Queen Mary. After Elizabeth the names changed
back to surnaming, with the Stuart’s until another well loved monarch came
to the throne, Victoria.
The Edwardian era was named after King Edward VII, they needed to change
the name because this Mother’s reign was called Victorian after her first
name.
Don't mix up my Son's name Edward with Edwardian.
Henry R
110. What exactly is a cowman? There is a butcher in Clitheroe, Lancashire
called the Cowman’s, but I’m told it does not mean a Farmer and it comes
from the 16th Century.
You are correct it does not mean a farmer. A cowman lived in a community
where each family had a job to do, whether it was a miller, a Thatcher, a
baker, there was also a Cowman. The Cowman did not own fields; the family
had a shippen where up to 10 cows would be kept. This family also would
have a dairy shop in there house and would sell fresh milk, cheese, butter.
The cows never left the building and would be fed on hay traded by the
cowman for milk products. No money changed hands, the bartering of goods
and services being the method of purchase. There was also a pigman, though
not a sheepman as the sheep grazed the hills and used land which was cheap
and hard to work. The town cowmen would get the name of their town or
community added on their title, “Liverpool Cowmen” etc. The cowman also
would slaughter a cow or bull for meat in their backyard, the meat being
traded in the shop.
111. What age would a couple marry in Tudor times?
Hey! Look at the average life span first before the facts are laid before you.
1. A girl would be betrothed at the age of 9, to a boy chosen by her parents or
the boys parents choosing her.
2. The girl would marry her betrothed at the age of about 11 or 12, the boy
about 14.
3. The couple would have 6 babies on average by the time the girl was 20,
half of the children would die young.
4. The girl would be a grandmother by the age of 30.
5. They would die, naturally by the age of 40/45.
The male was always the family line and the preferred sex of children.
To marry a 20 year old girl would reduce your chances considerably of having
an heir to your family. Girls of over 16 and not married were seen as having
something wrong with them, or awkward to get on with by potential
husbands.
This early marriage age, though seen as a dreadful loss of childhood
nowadays, was the norm in Medieval and Tudor times, even Margaret
Beaufort married Edmund Tudor when she was only 11 and gave birth to
Henry VII when she was 12, poor old Edmund died before the birth at the age
of 16.
Older widowers could remarry girls a lot younger than they were, especially if
they were rich, powerful and looking for an heir to their line. After Queen
Catherine, Henry married girls a lot younger than him, which became a
problem when he married a flirty young girl called Catherine Howard.
In some 21st countries, to marry at 11/12 is common, but look at their
deathrates and poverty levels to see the root cause.
112. If Henry were alive today what would be his life style?
What do you mean IF? You are talking to him.
I hope that Henry would have developed into a caring person who looks after
other people and cares what they think of him. Society moulds people, so
Henry would have been moulded into a less selfish personality. He is very
clever, tall, strong, loved technology and finding out facts and figures. He
would not want the restrictions of being King of England, 21st century
monarchs have no private life and everything they do is either on the front
covers of tacky newspapers or they get criticised about all their opinions.
Being an artistic person, creator of designs and a showman puts 21st Century
Henry into a limited field of operation.
He would be an inventor, an ideas man who passes on the ideas to the
producers because of his lack of staying power, he would do the he-man
sports with technology possible gliding, micro-light flying, skiing. No dirty,
team sports like football, he is not a team player. He would have a large,
flashy website top communicate through, have his pictures on posters,
maybe be a TV personality but definitely not a regular show to keep his low
boredom levels happy. He would travel to places not frequented by the
tourist, to see the world as it is, collect strange items because they give him
ideas for business back home. Back home would be out of the city, a large
house with traditional looks but lots of quality workmanship. His car would
have to be British made, it doesn’t matter who owns the company but the car
must be made by British craftsmen whom he regards as the best in the world,
I’m getting the colour of British Racing green in my head as I write this
sentence. He would have lots of daughters, would have liked a son but is
satisfied with his family size and glad not to be under pressure for an heir,
married to one woman all his adult life.
Do you know anybody who fits this description?
ME.
113. I realise this question was aimed at Lady Jane Grey, my Sister's and best
freind's grand daughter, but I include it here because it is so sad an episode.
Q. What would have been Lady Jane Greys entry in her diary just before her
coronation?
Dear Diary:
I really do not want to be Queen of England, my Uncle is pushing me into it.
My Grandparents were the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk or Charles Brandon
and Mary Tudor, the Best friends of King Henry VIII and his little Sister Mary. I
know they were in big trouble when they got married in France, Charles was
supposed the bring Mary back to England to remarry the Choice of the King,
but she married my Grandfather instead because they were in love. Just
because of this marriage my Uncle believes I can become Queen of England in
place of Princess Mary. Princess Mary will try to change the Church of
England back again to Roman Catholic, after Henry and Edward’s movement
towards the Protestant faith. My family is Protestant and so Uncle thinks we
could take over and keep the Protestant faith for England.
I’m not sure, I am scared of Princess Mary. I must do my duty now and be
crowned Queen of England, I hope Mary accepts this because she could start
a civil war with the number of followers she has. I would rather just go home.
Jane.
See what I mean!
Q.114. Taking a non-biased position, can you defend your Father’s claim that
America was named after Ameryk who was one of the backers to John
Cabot’s voyage to Newfoundland?
A non-biased position! What on earth does that mean? Cabot was not an
Englishman, he was a Venetian, and at the same time Columbus lived in the
same city, for all I know they knew each other! We were the third attempt by
Cabot to find a sponsor, after the Portuguese and Spanish declined. My
Father accepted the chance to give Cabot Royal patronage with the provisory
that he went West and North so to keep away from the Portuguese/Spanish
claimed areas. John Cabot had Ameryk as his Bristol merchant backer yet this
is not mentioned in many history books, being politic I believe and not
wanting to start a row with the accepted notion that the American name
came from Italian sources. I stand by the Ameryk claim as the evidence
predates the Columbus enterprise and Ameryk’s Stars and Stripes family
crest.
Q.115. Just what was the Caxton Press all about?
A revolution in making readable copies of the printed word. Books were very
expensive because they were painstakingly hand copied, only rich people
were deemed necessary to be able to read and write. Caxton set up in
England the first mechanical press using separate letters which could be put
together to make words. The discovery of a metal alloy made from Lead and
Antimony solved the problem of low melting points and poor surface finish,
the alloy also gave good sharp edges when cast. So the printer would have
moulds of the letters, cast the letters then arrange them in a printing block
which made up the page to be copied. The block was then put over a piece of
paper and pressed hard with ink that was smeared over the letters. The
words were them transferred onto the paper. I’ve made two pictures for you.
From Kathycool
Q116. In what ways did Henry VIII use Hampton Court Palace?
King Henry had many Palaces, is favourites in realistic order were:
1. Westminster Palace, this has since burnt down and is now where House of
Parliament is to be found.
2. Greenwich Palace, his place of birth and where he developed his love of
Jousting.
3. Hampton Court, he took it from Cardinal Wolsey in a notorious swap for a
smaller London town house. He played Tennis, Bowls and his 6 Tiltyards were
huge. He held large banquets and his own rooms were of magnificent
decoration.
4. Windsor Castle, not his favourite because if its distance from London and
being a stone castle, quite cold.
All these palaces and Castles are situated on the river Thames so to be
accessible by Royal barge with their own landing stage for the Monarch.
Hampton Court has huge cellars for wine, beer, 300 barrels of each per year,
with large kitchens to cater for hundreds of guests at a time.
Henry took on the Palace from Wolsey when it was not yet finished; he
employed 70 Masons, 80 Bricklayers, 20 Joiners, 45 Carpenters and 200
labourers to finish off the palace to his taste. It can only be calculated from
food receipts, Henry stayed at Hampton Court for about 30 days per year. His
1,200 household lived in or around the 36,000 square feet of rooms to
kitchens being 3,350 square feet alone.
One year’s food can be summed up as follows:
1,240 Oxen; 8,200 Sheep; 2,330 Deer; 760 Calves; 1,870 Pigs and 53 Wild
Boar, all of which are red meat, now add 20,000 Chickens etc and vegetables
you can see how the Royal Court lived.
Q.117. What was your Mother like?
Mother, Elizabeth, was devoted to my father Henry, I was one of seven
children of whom only four survived, my Brother Arthur and my two sisters
Margaret and Mary. When my Mother was Elizabeth of York she was happy
until her father, King Edward IV died and the monarchy went into turmoil
because her brothers were too young to take over the throne straight away.
Because of this my Mother’s Uncle Richard took the Throne as Protector and
he became King Richard III. This man took my Mother’s young brothers and
put them into the Tower of London, secretly killing them. From then on My
Mother was scared for her life, she knew how murderous Richard was and
how he would do anything to keep the throne, including killing his niece.
When my Father and Grandmother (Margaret Beaufort) beat Richard III at
Bosworth field to become King Henry VII, he saw Elizabeth as a way of
bringing the country together, stopping the War of the Roses and getting a
beautiful Queen as well. For it to be an arranged marriage was normal in our
times, but to be a very happy one was unusual. They were so happy it made
our family life good, my Brother Arthur was born and named after King Arthur
Pendragon and he was deemed to become the next King of England, I was
content to be Duke of York. Alas Arthur died just after he married Catherine,
my Father and Mother were heart broken, my position suddenly changed and
so did the affection from my Father. He resented my intelligence, he started
to object to my comments, he often had me taken out of the room when I
had ideas for him to think about, yet my Mother had seen my desire to be
involved and to learn the art of being a ruler. She was the fence between my
Father and me.
Mother died in 1503 only one year after Arthur, she was only 37 years old, it
broke my Father’s heart and mine too. I kept my distance after my Mother
had died, my father’s grief and my need to be involved did not bode well in
our household. When I became King, my children were named after family
members, Mary after my Sister, Elizabeth after my Mother and Edward after
Mother’s Father, my grandfather.
Q.118. By Royal Appointment is when a company gets the approval of a
Royal. How did it get started?
It is nowadays. Here is a Royal Appointment to the court for chocolate.
It certainly was not the case in Henry’s day!
In my day, I had two men who were my direct contacts for people and
politics, one was the Black-rod who opened my parliament for me, the other
was White-rod who was my accountant and paid the bills. Now my father
Henry VII was a tight, money hoarding type of person and never liked paying
bills, he dreamt up a great scam. If all big buy foods and goods were bought
more than one day’s march away from the court it would be difficult for the
seller to get into court to get paid. Now if you only paid out on one day per
month with the White-rod and he took a lot of time to cause a backlog, the
seller could be ages before he got paid. When the goods were purchased, a
sheet of paper, the order, was written out for the Royal Court to pay, so the
King was not liable in any way. With a Royal seal of approval on the top of the
order it passed as a signature by proxy.
If you were the seller, instead of walking one full day, queuing up, then
walking a full day back just to get your money, it was easier to just let it go as
a bad debt and put the seal of approval on your shop sign, “we sell to the
King of England so we must be good!”
This Royal coat of arms became a major marketing tool, so later Royal
families then asked for sellers to apply for it to be issued.
Quite a scam eh!
Q119. I read with interest your answer to the Caxton Press question. Are
there any real presses or pictures of the Caxton Press available for people to
go and see in the UK?
I think so.
There are definitely no actual presses to see because they were worked to
death and made of wood so 500 years would have seen them off. There are
no paintings but I have found a picture on my research visits which must be
the Caxton press because of the age of the carvings which was the media to
capture the press workings for eternity. Go to Bristol, Industrial museum and
in the printing press section there are 22 carvings on blocks of stone around
the room. Go look at carving block 22, it shows the press being worked by a
man. I have produced this picture for you.
From the mother of a good friend, let's called her JB.
Q.120. Did Ann Boleyn really have an extra finger on one hand and did she
have her clothes made to hide this because it was a sign of being a witch?
It's always difficult to explain the errors in some history books; the writers
take one minor part that sound strange and build a theme to be different
from their competitors. After talking to the Hampton Court royal experts it
seems Ann didn't have an extra finger, she had a large mole or lump on her
hand. Thomas Cromwell used the finger ruse as a way of getting public
support for his accusations against the poor girl. Yes it was true that she did
have longer sleeves to hide the lump, as she was afraid of being called a
witch.
Q.121.
Have you heard of the mirrored Henry pictures?
It seems that Hans Holbein painted Henry perfectly, with only minor changes
to enhance his manliness, and then he had an apprentice copy the painting
into a cartoon outline. They then put 6 blank canvases under the cartoon,
punched holes through the entire stack to create 6 copies in holes form
around the drawing lines. The 6 blanks were then sent around the country, an
artist would put a blank canvas under the punched blanks and dab soot in a
bag over it, the soot causing a black dot on the blank through the holes. The
artist then joined up the dots and made a copy of Henry. Now a mistake
occurred in Shropshire, they turned the new mast over and produced a
mirrored image with the dagger on the right hand side instead of the left.
When Henry saw this picture he was delighted, because he thought it was
more accurate than from the original Holbein. Well he would because he had
only ever seen himself in a mirror before!
There is actually a mirrored carving in Samlesbury Hall, a mirrored painting in
Thornbury Castle so go and see for yourself.
Hey there’s a few Elizabeth ones too, I saw a picture of Lizzy with her troops
with a ship on her left, and then I saw it again with the same ship on her right.
It’s all done with mirrors.
Q122. I have noticed that the farm fields in Wales are a lot smaller that the
ones in England. Do you know the reason?
Yes!
The medieval inheritance laws of both countries were different.
In Wales the inheritance of land and wealth was to all sons divided equally, so
farms would be carved up by building stone walls, thus creating small
holdings. This was called Gavelkind, which means divide to sons. BUT! The
daughters got nothing at all.
In England the inheritance of land and wealth was to the first born son only
thus causing it to stay in one piece and large. This was called Primogeniture,
meaning First boy from genitals, again the daughter got nothing.
Thanks to Bob for help with this one. Yakydar.
Q123. Tell me your view of the reformation.
So 18 visitors in a mini bus from Clitheroe, Lancashire. They were mostly
retired teachers full of historical questions and asking ones that they
obviously had researched before they appeared. I raised a few eyebrows with
my declaration that the majority of the English people were on my side when
I threw out the Roman, Papal Catholic church to replace it with the Church of
England Catholic Church. I was expecting that question; I had in the past
researched that very question myself, not from the mass of books but from a
source more in tune with the people, the Church itself. You see, the Pope
then was a Borga, notorious in the dealing of blood letting, murder, revenge,
theft and moral disgrace. The people, though scared, hated these people who
robbed them of their living whilst the priest lived a grand life.
Take into account also the loss of good priests in the Black Death, replace
them with low intelligent, second sons of nobles who wanted to get a foot
into the prosperity of the Church and you’ve got the makings of decline.
I came along just at the right time, my divorce from Catherine, my dealing
with a less sympathetic papal leader and boom boom; we have the
reformation of the church. Yes the people were on my side, only some
aristocracy with a priest in the old system resented the change along with
their little herd of peasant followers scared of losing their meal ticket.
60% of priests died in the Black Death creating a holy shortage, who should
fill the spaces? Supposedly educated sons of the Nobility, who could read
Latin. Did they understand the words they read out at mass? NO. The
reformation gave our people the Mass in English; it rid this nation of the
hypocrites in Rome who ran it with an iron fist. Just how many people died at
the hands of the Roman Catholic Church? Millions! In Spain with the
Inquisition, in France against the Huguenots, in Germany against the
Lutherans. Worst of all, against the Moors by my Father-in –Law, Ferdinand
of Spain.
Much is said of the Reformation, with me as the obvious target, but I say to
you all, it was inevitable because of the behaviour of the Papal system.
Q.124. I have read your file about the making of Alum for Henry after the
Pope had banned the import to England. What happened to the village of
Ravenscar after the making of Alum ceased?
It’s one of those sad tales of boom and bust. The boom lasted 250 years; we
were exporting Alum to Europe because of the decline in Papal power and
the growth of the Protestant Church throughout Europe. The invention of a
new synthetic polymer based fixer soon killed off the Alum trade, although it
had growth in other Chemical industries it was not enough to keep the
industry going.
The Alum making site and Shale source were kept alive by changing into
brickworks thought the labour force was vastly reduced. Now all that remains
of the brickworks and Alum making site is excavations by archaeologists and a
National Trust visitors centre.
A sad end to our first chemical industry and one of King Henry’s creative
legacies.
I have made this postcard for you our of my collection of photographic
evidence.
Q125. A question from Joe
I want to know why Henry VIII needed pictures and why didn’t he have a
background in any of his Portraits?
A good question from an enquiring mind.
Master Hans Holbein painted King Henry VIII whenever he could get the King
to pose with sufficient time; it took months to produce a good portrait and so
any background out of doors would have changed with the seasons, as well as
Henry would not have wanted to stand in view of other people. The
backgrounds were kept bland so as to enhance the appearance of Henry. In
the famous portraits, Henry has very wide shoulders, straight back and is
fairly muscular; this was artistic licence to enhance Henry’s looks for the
people. Henry wanted to send his portraits all over England and Wales so his
people would know how he looked, so Holbein made one copy of each
portrait, called a cartoon, which he place up to 6 blanks underneath. He then
punched holes right through the pile of canvasses. The punched canvasses
were then sent around the country for artists to dab a bag of soot on them
which will go through the holes and make a rough outline to be filled in. Now
there was a big mistake made in Shropshire, where the punched master was
put upside down and the pictures made from it were then in mirrored image,
this made the Left-Handed King of England out to be Right-Handed. Henry
was not displeased with this mistake because he only ever saw himself on a
day to day basis in a mirror, so he thought they were quite accurate.
If you go to Thornbury Castle or Samlesbury Hall you will find a copy of a
Right Handed King Henry VIII when he was actually Left Handed.
Q.126. From Gary
How much control did King Henry the VIII have over England?
Was he successful in battles?
How rich was he?
A lot to answer for eh!
First of all I was very powerful in England, my Father had seen off most of the
quarrelsome Plantagenet’s and the other ones were on our side for the battle
against Richard III. The law concerning traitors was that all their land was
confiscated by me, so this kept any mumblings out of earshot. The people
were great admirers of my reign as they were glad to see the back of the
murderous Richard and the money hoarding Henry VII, my style of
showmanship was a great spectacle and one that made them proud to be
citizens. The control system was easy, I ruled the Lords, and they ruled the
people.
At first I was unsuccessful in battle, King Ferdinand asked me to join him in
battle against the French to retrieve lands taken from Spain. When my
soldiers turned up the Spanish never arrived to back us up in battle and we
were wiped out. Ferdinand instead had gone to the lost land and won it back
because the soldiers were fighting my army. I never trusted the Spanish after
that. My big success was really a glorified siege, called the “Battle of the
Spurs”, Charles the Emperor of Rome aided my armies to beat the French, but
it was really his cruelty to the people that scared the enemy. I built up 25
forts along our south coast for defend us from the French and Spanish.
I was left £375 million (2006) by my miser Father; I got a further £175 million
from the proceeded of the monastery dissolution.
Q127. Could you please answer these questions on Henry VIII? It is also ok for
you to put them on your website.
What did the historical period in which Henry VIII lived, impact on him?
What had been Henry VIII’s role at the time and what impact did he have on
society at the time.
Thanks Rebecca
Hi Rebecca
I’ve spent a lot of time this week thinking about your questions, lots of
incidents had profound effects on my life such as the stubbornness of
Thomas More, the loss of many babies with Queen Catherine even the
betrayal played on me by my Father-in-law Ferdinand. All of these were
insignificant compared with the Papal decision to back Catherine in my search
for a way out of that failing marriage. Remember, the Pope was a Borga,
ruthless, murdering band of thugs who ruled the Catholic Church with an iron
fist, killing opponents, causing death on a continental scale and far too
powerful. I took away the rule of the Borga’s and created the Church of
England, still Catholic but for the people, with the bonus that I declared my
marriage null and void. The repercussions were incredible, armies were
raised, Countries changed elegancies and brave, stubborn people went to
their deaths by shunning the crown.
The Papal church had lost 60% of its clergy during the Black Death, their close
communities were struck hard and they needed new priests quickly. Second
and third sons of the aristocracy who never got any inheritance they easily
got into the church only to use it to feather their own nests at the cost of the
people. The people, being scared of the church just continued to pay up, the
rich were looked after spiritually because they could afford to pay for their
salvation. Along comes, Martin Luther who protested and the Pope was in
trouble. The Lutherans, Protestants movement spread like wildfire across
Europe, the papal threat still managing to kill many of them, but the people
saw an alternative to the Popes rule. I stepped in to stop the Protestants at
the Scottish and European borders and begin a crusade of a new Catholic
Church, one that the people could belong to, they could read English
transcribed bibles, and they could afford the lower requirements of the new
priests. They were on my side.
I know I had a lot to gain from the reforming of the church, but so did the
people. If the true meaning of religion would have been kept by the papal
system the reformation would have failed. In my view the Borga Pope got the
church he deserved.
Q128. Rebecca again, just a couple more questions if you don’t mind.
1. Has Henry VIII had a positive or negative impact / influence on modern day
society?
2. What was significant about the time in which Henry VIII lived?
Also who was Thomas More?
Thanks Bec.
The impact of Henry must be different from different perspectives.
1. To a Roman Catholic he reduced the influence of their Church, he took
away the leadership and reduced the Monasteries to have no influence.
Whether the leadership of their church was corrupt or not will not enter the
heads of today’s critics.
2. To a Protestant, Henry opened the gate to their religion, even though he
did not bring the Protestant movement into England he weakened the Roman
Catholic Church to the extent even Mary could not restore it to the prime
religion of the country.
3. To the aristocracy, 50% went with the flow, 50% resisted quietly because
they had deep connections with the old church.
4. The people, all 4 million of them, they moved along. They accepted the
new Church of England as their own church and not one on the fringes of the
Roman Catholic Empire. They could see their leader in the flesh, they could
read the Bibles and understand them, the old guard of unscrupulous priests
had gone, the old leadership in the Manors had been silenced. So they were
pleased with old Henry.
The fact that the people loved Catherine of Aragon so much was a blow to
Henry and one that the people did not forgive easily when he divorced her for
a young, English aristocrat. Ann never recovered from this hate.
Overall, the flamboyant King Henry VIII had a great influence on history, he
put England on the map and gave us the Church of England, the rest of the
world the Anglican Church. He gave us great sea defences and a strong navy,
which we needed later on in the century. Without Henry, England would be
another Spain.
The major significant thing going on in Henry’s time was the development of
Communication. The Caxton press under the control of the monarchy became
their propaganda tool. Elizabeth used it much more than I did, with
Shakespeare delivering the biased stories in the form of entertainment.
Sir Thomas More, my chancellor and friend. A strong Roman Catholic with
principles beyond the norm. He went to the block for refusing to sign a
declaration to accept me as head of the Church of England. I could not
persuade him out of the path he had chosen to go. My greatest regret.
Q129. From Judith.
Hi. I want to know why you sent Anne Boleyn to the tower, because she
would have to be my mentor.
See the attached file.
Click here to download this file
It’s better to have a mentor who is alive, otherwise they cannot help you and
you build them up onto a pedestal. It could get freaky.
Henry
Q130. Did Henry ever go sailing?
Not for a hobby or sport, sailing then was a form of transport, Henry went to
France twice by ship, he also love his Mary Rose and sailed on her a couple of
time in front of his new fleet/navy. As a sport, sailing was never seen as
anything else but a form of transportation. Sailors had a great knowledge of
the sea and how to handle their sails in winds and currents, the saying
“Learning the ropes” came from young sailors learning from older more
experienced men and from on the job experience. Maybe rowing was seen as
athletic, but again not for the rich who were used to being taken aboard in
comfort and then to be powered by strong, working class men at the oars.
Q131. From Germany, Jacob.
How many Castles and Palaces do you own?
There are many ownership issues here.
1. I inherited property owned by my Father and Mother, which they had in
turn received from their Parents. 7 Greater houses, 17 lesser houses.
2. I became custodian to property owned by the Crown, accumulated over
the centuries but not actually owned by the person on the throne. 14
Medieval castles but they were too far away and cold so I rarely ever visited
them, if at all.
3. I bought and built private property which I own personally. The most
important ones would have to be on the banks of the river Thames for easy
access by barge. The Greater houses which had large halls for the court were
the ones by the river, the lesser houses were used by me for hunting lodges
or for my progresses.
4. I built property for the country, such as defensive forts. 20 were built along
the South coast of England, mainly out of stone from the Monasteries.
5. I claimed property from traitors and their families for the Crown this was
called Acts of Attainer.
Over 70 properties were either built or Attained.
6. Lastly I took over Monastery lands and buildings for my court, myself and
many loyal nobles. 800 small religious houses were ceased, 80 Monasteries
were taken having a minimum annual income of £200 (Tudor) or £60,000
(2006). These were either used by the new Church of England, given to loyal
subjects or stripped for materials to build new forts.
Q132. Hi Henry
Where did you get all your clothes from?
I had full time clothiers working for me in my Palaces, they would bring to me
new materials from Traders who came from abroad. I set up a Trading area in
London for cloth to bring these Traders together.
I wore a new costume every three days after which they were burnt to avoid
other people wearing them and Physicians checking them for illness
evidence.
The People would make their own cloth and clothes, if they were good at it
they sold them or bartered for other goods. Here is a picture taken in
Yorkshire.
Q133. I have heard about St. Nicholas Owen, he being the constant
companion of St. Edmund Campion. Yet he seems unknown to many people.
Do you know the places he visited and where he built the escape tunnels and
Priest Holes he was famous for?
This is a difficult question to answer as it is past my time as King Henry.
Nicholas Owen died in the reign of King James I a Stuart and the Gunpowder
plot was the main cause of his problems as it heightened the search for the
man who was building the secret chambers that hid the Catholics.
Harvington Hall is best known for its priest-holes, installed around the time
the house was built in the 1580s by Nicholas Owen. The holes are all situated
around the Great Staircase and were created to hide Catholic priests during
the reign of Elizabeth I.
Huddington Court under his care became a known refuge for priests. Two
priest holes, which were probably constructed by Nicholas Owen.
Others include Coughton Court ; Baddesley Clinton House ; Hindlip Hall ;
Samlesbury Hall.
Nicholas Owen used a variety of names to conceal his identity as he travelled
around England--Little John, Little Michael, Andrewes, and Draper. He used
the name Little because he was a small humped back man but of great
strength.
When Robert Cecil realized that he had caught the famous maker of hiding
holes, he expected to gain devastating intelligence against the Catholics, and
he wrote his instructions accordingly: "No dealing now with a lenient hand.
We will try to get from him by coaxing—if he is thus willing to contract for his
life—an excellent booty of priests. If he will not confess, he shall be pressed
by exquisite torture and we will wring the secret from him by the severity of
his torments.“
Nicholas Owen often used existing features to produce his escape routes for
example at the Baddesley Clinton mansion, Owen contrived secret trapdoors
in the turrets and stairways, connecting them with the mansion’s sewer
system. During a 1591 search, several priests stood up to their waists in
water, hidden from searchers for four hours. In some cases, priests survived
several searches of the same house. At Samlesbury Hall he used the existing
underground channel across the yard where the late 16th Century buildings
were being erected.
As you can see my other self, Ray has this man as his hero.
Q134. What is a Gong Tower in a Castle?
It is the tower with the toilet in it. Not exactly a toilet, more a hole in the
floor and a chute out of the Castle into the surroundings. Here’s a picture I’ve
made for you which shows where the chute is located.
The stench would be horrendous, many castle walls have eroded due to the
ammonia from the fumes and when the stink got too much it was time to go
off on a progress.
Q135. I realise you are not a sailor but do you know what a fathom is an how
it was measured? Also what is a Knot?
I am an enthusiastic mathematician so this interests me greatly, therefore I
can answer you directly without asking my naval councillor.
A fathom is a depth of 6 feet of water. A rope with a Lead weight on the end
had markers on it at 6 foot intervals except for the first one which was only 3
feet. The markers were made of cotton and leather so the sailor could taste
them in the dark or fog to see if it was cotton or leather. Yellow markers were
6 feet and red one was 3 foot spacing. The sailor would swing the rope with
the lead weight and let the weight go into the sea, this was known as
“swinging the Lead”, the weight would sink to the bottom and the sailor took
up the slack in the rope. He then read off how many markers there were until
the weight came back onto the ship. If he saw the red marker he knew the
ship was in danger of running aground. Measuring the depth of sea was know
as “Fathoming it out”.
A Knot is a way of measuring how fast a ship is going. A floating piece of
wood has a rope tied to it with Knots every yard. A sailor throws the wood
overboard and then counts out how many knots pass through his hands in a
10 second period. One knot is one nautical mile per hour. Not very accurate
for both methods, but good enough to navigate with.
Q136. Did you take Hampton Court off Thomas Wolsey by force?
No.
I did however, get the property by pressure on my chancellor Wolsey, he was
in fear of his life and felt his run of luck was nearing an end so to be asked to
swap Hampton Court for a lesser London house came as a loyalty gesture and
prolonged his position. Not that he hadn’t put a lot into the buildings, his
taste was similar to mine and the Palace was on the Thames which was
perfect for my mode of transport by barge.
His silly, money saving methods were the real pain in my takeover of the
building project, painting bricks to look like a regal pattern was well below my
standards and needed to be over bricked. Not enough Royal emblems, no
sporting facilities all these needed addressing.
My design of Tilt yard was my finest input, six huge courts, mock castles and
stabling took over hundreds of acres, only one tiltyard court exists today and
that hold a café for the public. The brickwork was hard to produce, blowholes and shrinkage from poor technology plagues the build, the chimneys
were designed to dissipate the heat and spiral up the smoke, my idea’s!
The changeover from Queen Ann Boleyn to my dearest Jane caused fast
changes to the decoration, HA-HA-HA emblems had to be changed to HJ-HJHJ and so on. I found later that the workers had cheated me by not changing
old emblems behind wall hangings and nowadays this can still be seen in the
great hall.
My kitchens and cellars were the envy of the Royal world, they cold serve
many hundred’s of courtiers at once with a grand selection of food and wine.
Hampton Court is still the finest historical house to visit in the world, go there
and immerse yourself into real history.
Q.137 From your own point of view, how do you see the way history has
treated you?
Far too complicated an answer without directive focusing. Being the second
son of the King of England and not expecting the throne was a big factor in
the way I was educated. Not only religious and political subjects but also the
sciences, mathematics and the arts were on my agenda. You could say I had a
well rounded education delivered by the best tutors in Europe. I could not
accept that people didn’t see my views and ideas as radical new thoughts, my
father quashed any notion of change and only saw the path of the Tudors as
strong leaders and longevity with heirs. I wanted to change the way we lived,
understand our world and science, I wanted to be with intelligent people
whatever their background and status.
It was easy to see why I saw nobility as generally stupid, generations of
wealth and careful in-breeding of marriage partners culminated in a gentry
that had short term interests, ignored the intellectuals believing the word of
priests and how they translated the Papal doctrines for their own personal
gains. Could it be so difficult to relate to the past historical facts of how the
church had evolved in England and how the plague had decimated the clergy,
how the desperate church had given priesthoods to the nobility’s second
sons. How these new unsuitable, unscrupulous priests had brought down the
church to their level of incompetence and treachery to the ordinary people. I
cannot understand how the recording of history has missed the point, why I
as the man who stopped it in its tracks, is now the culprit of the whole
episode.
I came to the throne eager to change the England of Henry VII and become
the peoples hero, successful for many years but I did not calculate the
importance to the people of Catherine’s personality. She was loved by
everybody, respected throughout Europe and related to powerful leaders. To
discard such a woman, reduce her to the widowed wife of a prince, reduce
our child to noble status from Royal status was the biggest mistake of my
reign. It was at this point that my place in history turned away from being the
hero of the scene, to become the dysfunctional tyrant that history books
expanded on to increase their sales.
Q.138. I have included here a set of questions sent in by a year 4 class today, I
met them yesterday at Samlesbury Hall and we had lots of fun learning. I
would not dream of insulting them by correcting any spelling mistakes, just
read them and marvel at their curiousity.
With children like these around us, England will always be great.
> dear henry i hope your okay. i liked the chair because it felt like
> your brain was spinning around. hey henry what do you call a dinosaor
> that is scary. a terro daktl. can you tell me the answer to this
> questen.does henry vll have a wife?
Henry VII was my Father and of course he had my mother as his wife.
She was called Elizabeth and they were devoted to each other.
She was Princess Elizabeth of the house of York. My father was the Duke of
Lancaster and they married to stop the war of the roses. My grandmother
Margaret Beaufort organised the wedding and the marriage, she also
organised the troops for the battle of Bosworth field where my Father
defeated Richard III.
Henry R
> Dear henry
> we had a gret time with you i hope you think the same.
> Me and Isaac like the brass rubbing espescially because it came up in
> patnes.
> It was funi when the girs did the coutsey.
> what kinds of things did Edward do in his spare time.
> hope to see you a gen from Alex and Isaac
Edward was Prince of Wales and our future King to be, he was always fussed
upon, very clever and well educated.
His food is checked, his clothes made in secret, his whereabouts always
secret. To keep him safe.
His uncles the Seymours were always with him and saw him a way to get
power, which they did. Catherine Parr married the Seymour Uncle.
Henry R
> Hi henry it was briliant yesterday when we did the Egals wing.Then
> when we sat on the chear were [wats his name suferd].KNOC KNOC WHOS
> THERE BOO WHO DONT CRIE.What suplies did poor tudors have.
Tudors ate what they grew, they traded with others so their food was
plain, but plentiful.
A visiting Venetian noble reported back to the Pope that the English were
an overfed rude hard drinking people. Cheek or what!
The clothes were all had made and usually wool, colours of bright hue were
illegal for the poor, only the rich could wear such colour of status.
Houses were built by the owners, the glass in the windows was a status
symbol and would be taken with the family if they sold their house.
Henry
> Hi Henry!!Thankyou for the tremendous tour of Smallsburry Hall
> yestrday.Our favourite part of the day was when we sat on the chair
> where [we can't remember his name!]was sat for 3 days because it made
> me and Ria feel sick,dizzy and extremly cold!Ria had gousbumps from
> sitting on it.Now me and Ria have now got a question to ask you in
> great detail.What tipe of illnesses did tudor people suffer from in
> your time? we know heve a joke for you.Knock knock whoses there
> Isabell.Isabell who?Is a bell nesaserry on a bike!!
>
>
> love from jessica and riaxx
Illnesses were caused by poor medical knowledge and practitioners. Living
to 40 was average.
Illnesses from lice infection, plague, sweating sickness (flu) and over
eating poor food.
The rich had an ailment called "rich man's dropsy" This was thought to be
because of the rich food they ate, but it was because they ate off pueter
plate made of lead and were slowly being poisoned.
Henry R
> hello henry
> we loved the trip you invited us to yesturday and we liked brass
> rubing and mmaking eagles wings was great to.the chair made some of us
> dizzy.
Remember a King is always right. I of course regretted some of the things I
did, but for the people I was a good King.
I regretted having the Mary Rose refitted with carvel design and low gun
ports, my design of course. This was the reason it sank when overloaded
with too many soldiers in full heavy armour.
Henry R
> hello henry,
> i enjoyed it yesterday exspecialy when we went into the spooky room
> with the scary chair made out of a whales back bone.
>
> what sort of animals did you like to hunt most?
On my horse I hunted wild boar and deer. Actually there was no real wild
boar left in England at the time so the keepers of my lodges would breed
them and stock the forests with them for me to hunt.
Henry R
> Dear henry
> We hope you had a great time yesterday with us.I espescially liked the
> brass rubbing the best. now we want to ask you a question which was
> your best wedding and wye?
The wedding that made me cry with happiness was not an official one.
It was marrying Jane Seymour in her father's mansion as Henry Tudor. We
married again in public at Westminster two weeks later.
Henry R
> To Henry
> Hello,i had a brilliant time yesterday at Samlesbury Hall.I liked the
> little picnic area where we had our dinner.I have to admit that those
> gohst stories where scary.The best thing that i did was brass
> rubbing,i did 7 pictures.Now i would like to ask you a question.Where
> was Henry VII burried?
Buried?
I'm still alive!
The real Henry is buried in Windsor castle with the true love of his life
Jane Seymour.
Henry R
> Dear Henry
> Thank you for the lovely time yesterday.Leanne's favorite part of the
> day was brass rubbing.My favorite parts was taking the photo with you
> and eating lunch next to you.It was a great day.We hope you liked it
> to.We'd like to ask a question
> Did you travel the world as king?
> We hope we could come again from Rebecca Berwick and Leanne.
I only ever went to France twice.
Once to invade it, hehehehe
The other time to meet the King of France, Francis I and have a months
celebration of friendship this event was organised by Thomas Wolsey and we
called it the Field of the cloth of Gold.
Henry R
> Hi Henry i had a great time yesterday when you tuke us on the ghost
> walk but it was a bit freaky and i had a nightmair after siting on
> that whale boned cher and i had a fun time.But i have a question for
> you where was the food stored?
Believe it or not we had a cool room. We would take the ice off the lakes
in winter and put it in a room underground and well insulated. We stored
our food there.
We bought live animals and kept them in the grounds to keep the meat
fresh. We made preserved food like Tudor Marmalade made from sugar and
honey. We used a lot of salted food and smoked food to preserve it.
Henry R
> Dear Henry
> we both had a great and fun time yesturday and we loved you're gardens
> were we had are piknik.We both had a head-ake when we came off the
> whale chair it made us feel dizy,and we wanted to ask you a question
> What made you decided to behaed some wives rather than just divorce
> them?
> We both hope we see you again from Rachael and Charlotte.
Catherine Howard was definitely a traitor, she had a boyfriend called
Thomas Culpepper behind my back.
Ann Boleyn was set up by Thomas Cromwell because she wanted to give the
monastery moneys to charities and the poor whilst he wanted to keep the
money. He mislead me into believing Ann was a witch and a traitor.
Henry R
> hi henry,
>
> We really enjoyed our visit and hope you liked us coming to.My
> (Rebecca) favourite part was going on the ghost hunt and sitting on
> the haunted chair, i felt as if i was spinning around.My (Chloe)
> favourite part was the great picnic.We would like to ask you
> something, would you have prefered to have technology when the Tudors
> were around?
>
> from Rebecca and Chloe
We did have Technology.
We had:
The Camera Obscura
The latest ship design Carvel
My design of castle
Making Alum flour in Yorkshire
Jetties on upper floors in houses
Priest holes
Spiralled chimneys to take the smoke upwards.
Clockwork clocks
I'm glad you enjoyed the day, I did too
Henry R
> To Henry how are you feeling? we had a great time the ghost walk was
> the best and the brass rubbing and makeing egals wings was great to.
> We had a great time charlotte did not like the chair it was scary and
> a dead body was left on it but it is a ghost know.Acacia liked all of
> it even the chair and the ghost walk.We would like to ask you a
> queshton. How did the poor tudors entertain themselfs at parties?
>
> love from Acacia and Charlotte.
Not a lot of parties I'm afraid.
When they celebrated a wedding or a birth they would sing, dance and drink
Ale.
Sometimes they would dress up and dance around a maypole.
I'm so pleased you enjoyed your time with me.
Henry R
Q.139. What could England have looked like if Queen Mary I had survived
longer?
Quite a facinating scenario cold be unravelled by the thought of Mary
surviving longer.
The country was nearly bankrupt thanks to the extravagance of Henry and
the inneptitude of the Seymours.
Here's my imagination
What if Bloody Mary survived longer?
Reversing the reformation would have been possible had Mary survived
longer. The main changes that had occurred under her Father Henry VIII, her
Step Brother Edward and his Uncles the Seymours had only just took root.
There were still many recusant Catholics about and these would back up her
aim to reverse the religious direction the country was going.
However she was clumsy in her choice of husband. A Spanish husband and so
King of England, did not go down too well in the hearts of the English, even
though they loved Katherine de Aragon, the people always thought she was
well Anglified and someone to trust. Not the same however for Phillip.
If I put on my “What if” hat this is how I think history would have been
rewritten.
Points of clarity:
1. Mary lives for another 20 years on the throne.
2. Elizabeth survives Mary’s reign.
3. Mary is still childless, not a common occurrence is the birth of children at
her age.
4. Elizabeth still comes to the throne but for only 30 year reign.
The Queen of England, Mary Tudor, will establish a stronger Papal Catholic
Church in England than before the reformation. Many protestants will have
died, a war with Scotland would have been won but with many casualties on
both sides. Phillip never comes to England, the marriage is annulled as he
wants to marry another. Mary never marries again and remains childless.
Eliziabeth stays in the Tower for many years but is eventually released to a
convent under house arrest. Some attempts by King James of Scotland to get
Elizabeth released go unsuccessfully until Mary relents with a peace plan with
Scotland and Elizabeth goes to Scotland for her own safety.
Jame’s Mother, Mary Stuart dies in mysterious circumstances whilst being
wooed in her new role within Queen Mary’s court, Mary Stuart’s lover a
Howard dies at the same time.
The war with Spain never happens, Holland and France are protestant and
join together to fight the Spanish and her allies , England however sits on the
political fence.
Mary Dies childless and Princess Elizabeth returns from Scotland to take up
her throne, being a strong Protestant but clever enough to know the
consequences of digging up the past, she tolerates the catholic presence but
gets Parliament to allow any religion as long as they accept Elizabeth as the
monarch. Elizabeth was married I Scotland and now has children, one boy and
one girl. Her husband was from the Scottish nobility and was a marriage of
love. They ruled England for 30 years as Queen and consort.
Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth, her son Prince Henry becomes King
Henry IX, a strong Protestant ruler with an agenda to get rid of the Papal
Catholics and install the true English Protestant church in its place with
himself as leader. A political move to appease the French and the rest of
Protestant Europe, Spain falls to Protestant rule, the Pope is defeated in
battle and agrees to a watered down catholic doctrine taking into account the
Protestant world and the notoriety of the Papal system.
Where would England be now in 2006 had these things actually occurred?
Our present monarch would have been from a different lineage, there would
have been no civil war, no Cromwell, no execution of the King. I believe we
would have followed the rest of Europe and have had a revolution, possibly
on religious grounds but the outcome was the same, no monarchy.
A Parliament with a Presidential figurehead with no power for go to war.
So much for dying young eh!
Q.140. Dear Henry VIII,
Please answer the following questions for us. Please feel free to put these
into your web-site.
1. Did Henry VIII have any pets?
2. Did men or women wear make-up in Tudor times?
3. How often did Henry VIII wash?
Thank-you!
Children in Newcastle
Hi Newcastle
1. My favourite pet was a family of white greyhounds. They were Royal dogs
and no-one else was allowed to have that colour. See my Father's coat of
arms it
has white greyhounds on it too, a greyhound was seen as a hunting dog
which could keep up with a galloping horse, a white one was very rare. I also
liked horses as long as they were single footers, trained to run not gallop,
nowadays you call them Palfry's, I couldn’t stand being jogged about by a
horse in full gallop. I had Hawks for hunting, not really pets but a lot of fun.
2. The women liked to be very white in complexion, it meant they were not
sun burnt like common people. The make-up was made of Lead oxide, which
is
very poisonous and can react badly to sunlight, lead poisoning came also
from eating off plates made from pewter and we called the poisoning “rich
man’s dropsy” as it made your bones soft, hair fall out and teeth turn blueyblack. Sometimes arsenic was used too to whiten the skin, any sweat would
mix and poison the lady. Men only ever used Potash mixed with goats cream
to get rid of spots. Nowadays Potash is called
Potassium. Perfume was used to cover the smell of our bodies and other
people in the room, thought a roaring fire and candles often overcame the
smell of the courtiers. Rose water was used a lot in my court, on kerchiefs
and in small cloth bundles to put over our mouths and noses when the smell
got too bad, the open latrines into moats would also stink and we moved
about when that was very bad too.
3. Wash? Wash? why take off all that natural oil in the skin and expose it
to diseases. I washed twice per year fully, I washed the necessary bits
every two or three days. We wore ermine fur to attract the lice off our
bodies and even had ermine under our pillows to attract lice from our hair.
My daughter Elizabeth, she washed once per month whether she needs it or
not.
Henry R
Q.141. Dear Henry,
Thank you for replying to our e-mail. We really enjoyed your answers. We
Hope you don't mind but we'd like to ask you some more questions. Here
goes. .
1. Did people play football in Tudor times?
2. What happened to all the poo people threw outside?
3. Did children have toys in Tudor times?
4. What did you like to eat?
Thank you for your help! You are making our topic much more interesting and
Exciting!
Children in Newcastle
Hello again oop there in the Northeast.
1. Yes. Football had no rules; no football ground and any number of players
each side. The men-folk from the village would play against the next village;
the ball was placed exactly halfway between them. The teams had to get the
ball between the church gates to score a goal. It was banned in my reign
because villagers were getting killed or badly hurt in the brawls that always
happened, villages began to hate each other too.
2. The human waste went into the ground from poor working people; the soil
system was very healthy. Putting the waste into water is very unhealthy but it
carried it away from the rich people to the poor people. A castle with a moat
had a Gong Tower for their toilet, the waste would fall out of the castle into
the moat, the ammonia would rise and keep all the moths out of the toilet
room which was called the guard-robe, because of this it became know as the
wardrobe (warding off the moths).
3. Toys were always in existence, mainly made of wood, tops, stilts, dice,
wheeled toys. Dolls too, not stuffed furry animals though as they were
unknown to the poor (no-one knew what a giraffe or a crocodile was!) Rich
children had small musical instruments, cards, and small toy castles.
4. It has been wrongly reported about my gigantic meals because yes we had
15 courses but they were served at the same time so you would call a buffet
nowadays. We had large banquets for visiting dignitaries, courtiers etc, but
day to day meals were more subdued and only my inner council of friends
would eat with me. I liked fowl and artichokes, lots of honeyed cakes.
Ok, class 5 you have had it too easy, asking the King of England difficult
questions and giving him a headache. It is about time you answered my
questioning.
Talk amongst yourselves and come up with class answers for these puzzling
questions. There is a Royal present for your school if you get them all correct.
1. If a Tudor £1 is worth 300 21st Century £1’s and my father King Henry VII
(miser) left me £1.25M Tudor, how much money did he leave me in today’s
money?
2. I spent all my inheritance in 9 year’s, which is difficult without a Tudor
Argos. What do you think I spent it on?
3. How many of my wives survived me? This is a trick question. What are the
names?
4. How did the Mary Rose sink? There is a file on this in the website.
5. What was the real story behind the nursery rhyme “Little Jack Horner”?
6. What was the real story behind the nursery rhyme “Goosey Goosey
Gander”?
7. What was the real story behind the nursery rhyme “Ring a ring of roses”?
This one is so easy it is embarrassing.
8. Where was my new palace, Nonsuch Palace?
9. Why did I have my soldiers collect barrels of Men’s Pee? There is a file
about Alum in the website.
10. I only preferred to ride Palfry horses, why?
If you manage to convince King Henry VIII that you Tudor Knowledge is sound
and you can answer all these Royal questions, I will reward your class with a 3
Disc set of my Tudor CDROM’s.
Be careful my young courtiers many have tried before and failed to please His
Majesty King Henry VIII.
Henry R
Q.142. TO HENRY VIII
What I want to know is how many children you have??????
These were my legitimate children:
1510 Daughter - died
1511 Son - died
1513 Son - died
1514 Son - died
1516 Mary - Became Queen Mary I
1518 Daughter - died
1533 Elizabeth - Became Queen Elizabeth I
1534 Son - died
1535 unknown - died
1536 Son - died
1537 Edward - Became King Edward VI
These were my illegitimate children
Henry Fitzroy. Son of Bessie Blount. Became Duke of Richmond.
Henry Carey. Son of Mary Boleyn, a fairly scandalous affair this would have
been, had we not kept it quiet.
Plus a couple of Daughters from serving wenches. Illegitimate girls are not
counted, their mothers are married off and sent away.
Court etiquette and good manners would be to ask questions with the words
Please and Thankyou.
So thank you master hooper for your enquiry.
HenryR
Q143. From Texas
I have a Question to Ask His Majesty, Henry VIII, King of England, Ireland,
Scotland, Wales and all else that doth truly matter. To wit: Sir, Growing up-What was your relationship to your parents and brother?
D.U. Houston, Texas, USA
A Fan
A very pointed question indeed
My Father was scared of my intelligence, he wanted his tame son Arthur to
carry on where he left as an accountant King, whereas I was a flamboyant
extravert with brains. I hated him.
My Mother Elizabeth protected me from my fathers wrath, though she died
when I was young as did my brother Arthur, I loved her dearly so I names
my daughter with Ann Boleyn after her.
My brother Arthur was physically weak and not at all clever, I respected
him as he was older than me and about to be King, I looked after him. I
was jealous of his appointed wife to be, Katherine of Aragon and quite sad
when they married. I was very sad when he died after only 6 months of
marriage. I now could marry the girl I longed for.
I was interested in Maths, science, architecture, astronomy, so my
accountant Father was quite angry at my knowledge of things he didn't
understand.
Pray continue viewing my website I will endeavour to please your enquiring
mind.
Q144. Why did you want to get rid of the Catholic Church?
Who said that?
The Catholic Church is good, its leaders are not. Well before we the Tudors
took the throne from the Plantagenet’s the leaders of the Church have been
robbing the poor with promises of paradise if they pay up for the Latin
readers to pray for them. My Pious Grandmother and strict Father drummed
into me the very nature of the Papal control over the people of Europe,
leaving no room for new ideas. I am a lateral thinker and such restrictions are
bound to clash. The great Plague killed off many good priests as they lived in
close proximity to each other, 60% perished, the Papal ruling for the clergy to
re-establish themselves with learned men who could read Latin whether they
understood it or not, led to the intake of second sons of Manors. Low of
income these men began as they intended to carry on, taking money for
themselves and living the rich life. Over 150 years of this ruinous condition
gave rise to unrest not only amongst the people but also the good clergy.
Martin Luther is the one name that comes to mind. It only took one argument
between me and the Pope to create a break, a break not resisted much by
the people. Remember I did not remove the Catholic Church from England, I
removed the Papal control, the new Church of England was still Catholic but
with me as its head and English as the written word for the people to
understand.
The Protestant Church came after my reign thanks to the Seymours, my son
Edward, my daughter Elizabeth and my Nephew James Stuart.
How come I get blamed for everything?
Q145 to Q151
This day is worth remembering, the Mobile castle Hampton Sport GTi has
gone Bluetooth. Not an old man showing the younger audience he has some
street cred, remember, Ray is an expert computer programmer right from the
days of Fortan4, Cobol and Sinclair spectrums. The GTi is connected to the
main computer in his office by his laptop and software through the mobile
system. It does mean leaving the main computer in tick over mode and not
hibernation, and hopefully nobody messes with the alone computer in his
connection. BUT, this time it goes well, let us hope it stays that way.
So by laptop-software-mobile phone-modem-software-desktop computer,
greetings.
Here are six questions from Romford, reading between the lines at the detail
of the questioning I suspect a caller who already knows the answers, maybe
college age but more likely Tudor researcher or even Tudor group
conspirator. Being Henry certainly make one suspicious.
Hello, your Grace. I offer greetings from Rumford (Romford) which is in the
Havering Liberty in the home county of Essex. In the time of your Majesty, I
believe Sir William Parr is the Earl of Essex?
My county is steeped with Tudor history from your great self to your
daughter, Elizabeth. I live just up from Havering-atte-Bower, the sight of your
Royal Palace of Havering. My garden path is laid of York Stone taken from the
remains of your royal hunting lodge "The Dagnams".
Henry's response:
There have been at least three manor houses - and possibly as many as five on the site of Dagnam Park, including a moated Elizabethan manor house in
the sixteenth century.
Dagenham has been a place of Industrial wealth for this country.
The one thing that you longed for was a son and heir to continue the Tudor
lineage. How do you feel knowing that your most glorious successor was not
your son but your daughter, Elizabeth?
Henry's response:
The main thing is I was not the last with the Tudor name as King. Edward was
weak, both in control and health, easily manipulated by his minders and
suffering an early death before he could produce a male heir, he then was the
last male Tudor. Mary was powerful but flawed with hatred and revenge for
the way her Mother was treated and the loss of her Papal influence; she
never stood a chance to revert the flow of change in England once the people
had tasted free religion without the burden of corruption. A ridiculous
decision to marry a Spanish King, hated by all Englishmen would stop such an
act happening again. Elizabeth, fiery red hair, strong willed and determined to
succeed; I should have known she would be the one to bring this country
back from the brink. I do however see her unwillingness to make decisions as
a poor side to her reign; he decision to remain unmarried was flawed as she
would never leave an heir. She flirted with the wrong men, never rewarded
the people at the pointed end, who gave her combat success, she sat on the
fence too long. I know it would upset many Elizabeth admirers for me to say
this, but ruling for such a long time is not a sign of greatness, what you
achieve in your time on the throne is a sign of greatness. Just what did she
achieve?
Financial prosperity? Nope. The country debt from her siblings never went
away.
Beat the Spanish Armada? Not without the weather, tides, bad Spanish
leadership.
Schools for the people? Edward did more in his short reign.
Pick a successor? No choice really, killing Mary Stuart left only one direct
successor, James of Scotland which brought more turmoil for the church that
the rest of the Tudors put together. Even the council was in two minds about
bypassing James.
To sum up then. Elizabeth I is very popular for reasons not connected with
reality. She was a woman, pretty, less violent than her Sister Mary and there
for a long time thus giving a sort of stability. But a Glorious Successor I think
not.
Speaking both as a father and as a body politic, do you feel your daughter
Mary's gruesome synonym "Bloody Mary" was just deserved?
Henry's response:
Burning Protestants, killing the clergy, taking away the new freedom of the
people’s church and re-establishing the corrupt Papal system. Marrying a
Foreign King thus giving away her country, threatening the life of the last of
the Tudor children, Elizabeth; taking the life of an innocent girl who was
paraded by her Uncles as her replacement, Jane Grey.
I think the name Bloody Mary lets her off the hook too easily; it should be
Bloody Fool Mary. So, yes well deserved but not hard enough. Probably one
of the worst monarch’s this country has had the misfortune to have had on
the throne.
With which Tudor monarch did the "Tudor Ruff" collar appear? I have seen
paintings of people with very small ruffs. But, by the time we reach the
1580's, the "ruff" has trebled in size. Your daughter Elizabeth's were huge by
comparison.
Henry's response:
This too is the era of the ruff, an impressive combination of two under
exploited costume inventions of the previous Century: starch and lace. Ruffs
had begun very modestly in mid Century on the wealthy, primarily in France
and Spain, but spread rapidly, and grew in size to the end of the Century, and
into the beginning of the next.
Ruffs were made so wide that they often caused eating difficulties for the
wearers, so much so that women had the happy thought of splitting the ruff
in the front to make meals easier, and frame the cleavage.
No rich person in Elizabethan times felt properly dressed to impress unless he
or she was wearing a ruff. This heavy collar came to England from France. Like
so many Tudor clothes, it gave a strong signal about the wealth and
importance of the person wearing it. The ruff started as a small ruffle or frill
on shirt collars in early Tudor times. By the time Elizabeth I was queen, ruffs
had grown in size, decoration and weight. Elizabeth I was a renowned fashion
leader. Portraits of her show how she used her clothes to present a picture of
herself as a great and important queen. A ruff was like a wheel made of
decorated and pleated material, usually open at the front of the neck. Some
ruffs used as much as 18 metres of cloth! Made of linen, silk or organza, ruffs
had lots of lace, beads and jewels, held together with a wire frame and sewn
with horsehair thread. To make sure a rich person's ruff stood up at a
fashionable angle he or she had to wear a semicircular rebatos or supportass
at the back of their neck. Most ruffs were white but some were starched pale
colours, and a few were even black. People who were less rich gradually
copied the high fashions of the Elizabethan court, but using cheaper materials
and less excessive sizes. Keeping your ruff looking clean was a major job,
especially as Elizabethans were very fond of make up. Servants had to take
them apart, wash, starch, pleat and put them together again to keep them
looking attractive. A useful small piece of clothing called the partlet collar
helped to keep the ruff clean. It lay between the ruff and the wearer's neck,
and was a lot easier and quicker to wash than the hefty ruff.
Whilst talking to a Historian about Ruffs, he mentioned the need to keep
insects away from ones necks as this is the method of catching the Plague,
keeping cool also meant having a ventilated collar design. Now put this
together and the corrugated ruff collar completes the design criteria
The Palace of Whitehall, The Palace of Placentia (later Greenwich Palace), and
The Palace of Westminster are synonymous with your Grace. Sheen Palace
(later Richmond Palace), however. was a favourite of both your parents and
your children, why did this palace not find favour with your Majesty?
Henry's response:
I liked big roomed palaces where banquets, balls, jousting, tennis and
entertainment can take place; Richmond Palace is good but too many small
rooms and restricted areas. All my favourite palaces must be on the River for
barge access. Hampton Court and Nonsuch all had my architectural changes
made and so were more personal to me.
Your daughter, Elizabeth, wrote some of history's most stirring speeches ("It
would please me best if, at my end, a marble headstone would state that this
Queen, having reigned such and such a time, lived and died a virgin" and "I
may have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and
stomach of a king... and a King of England too. And think foul scorn that
Parma or Spain, or any other prince of Europe, should dare to invade the
borders of my realm..."). Did, her Grace receive this divine gift from his
Majesty?
Henry's response:
Tudors+Propaganda=Stirring speeches. We invented the Spooks, the spies,
the written templates of history manipulation; we were spinning before
anybody recognised what was going on. May historical leaders have been
good speech makers, mainly though the villains. Elizabeth was a good leader
of men; she used her throne and supposedly female weakness to good
purpose. I don’t believe for a single minute that any of her reported
melodramatic speeches were not rehearsed or helped along by her close
council. Too good for off the cuff! All written to get the men to fight, to stir
them up into a fighting team.
I am currently adding the finishing touches to a set of variations on a melody
written by your Grace entitled "Past Tyme withe Gode Companye" in honour
of your Majesty. You are a fine player of the Virginal and your daughters also
played the Virginal and the Lute. Did Mary or Elizabeth ever write down any
music they wrote? If, indeed, they did write music?
Henry's response:
Mary was not a talented writer; she did however love music though more a
religious message rather than for fun. See this webpage.
www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=15926&highlight=1&highlightterms
=&lstKeywords=
Elizabeth a famous poet, rather than lyricist. See this webpage
www.elizabethi.org/us/pastimes/poems.htm
I humbly thank your Majesty for take the time to read my messages to him.
Best wishes
DN (It is the policy of HenryTudor.co.uk not to print full names without
permission)
Of the county of Essex.
Q152. From Clara in Norfolk uk
I know this may sound silly, but, is it true that Americans have a Royal Family
and Palace?
Not a silly question at all Madam. By a strange coincidence my good buddy,
the Wizard of Manhattan, Master Blackthorn who writes for my
TudorDynasty magazine, he wrote the other day about the American Royal
Family.
Here is a small part of his article.
“Did you know, however, that America once had a Royal Palace, too? It still
does, as a matter of fact, but to get there, you have to visit Honolulu, Hawaii!
'Iolani Palace is the only official state residence of Royalty on American soil. It
was the home of the Kingdom of Hawaii's last two ruling Monarchs, King
David Kalakaua, who built the place in 1882, and his sister Queen
Lili'uokalani, who succeeded him. Though its grandeur was a bit neglected
shortly after the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, the restoration of
'Iolani Palace began during the 1970s, through the efforts of various
concerned individuals.”
If you want to read all the article:
www.TudorDynasty.co.uk
His stories are most captivating and give a wonderful insight to daily
American life from someone to watches.
Q153. Miss Nobles Class.
Who was your best friend and why?
We would love to see our class question reproduced on your website!
Q154. Were you and Ann Boleyn ever happy together?
Q155. That kind old Wizard of Manhattan has ask me a question.
Master Blackwolf, here your great humptyness.
Did you like eating Chocolate, especially in cakes?
Ah! Chocolate. Yes we had Chocolate but not as you do in 2006, not in solid
bars or powder or even in cakes, even though I might nip down to the
kitchens and ask WHY NOT! We had cocoa beans from Portugal, we would
roast them then crush them into a drink, it would help us to sleep when we
felt ill. The flavour was enhanced with honey and some brown sugar from our
crops of sugar beet in Norfolk. It was ok, not my favourite drink but a change
from Port wine and Beer. I had two chefs, one was English who would make
fantastic roasts and vegetables for banquets, the other chef was French who
could make smaller more complicated dishes, my favourite being roasted
artichokes in Honey. I will ask him to try and make some chocolate cake, as
he is very good at making cakes and pastry's.
Q156. A Lady Kathy from Texas.
What was your relationshp with your sister Margaret?
I loved my sister Margaret, she being the oldest of our brood, looked after me
when I was very young until she was promised in matrimony to the King of
Scotland James IV. We the English were not really at peace with Scotland and
it was the arranged marriage that was planned to create a joining for peace.
Margaret was apparently not happy in her early days in Scotland, as is evident
in a letter she wrote to our father, Henry VII. James died at Flodden Field 9
September 1513. When James IV died, Margaret's infant son became James
V. The Scottish Lords did not like the fact that their Queen was on English
birth and always distrusted her intentions, this made her very unhappy with
her life there.
John Stuart, Duke of Albany, used the Scottish Lord's distrust of Margaret to
make himself regent and sent the Queen to flee to England in 1516 with her
second husband, Archibald Douglas, the Earl of Angus, whom she had married
in 1514, which was 5 years after I became King of England. She had married
the Earl without my consent and I was angry with her, this also happened
with my younger sister Mary when she married Charles Brandon without
consent. The marriage with the Earl was dissolved in 1527. The couple had a
daughter, Margaret Douglas who was the mother of HenryStuart, Lord
Darnley who married Mary Queen of Scots and died in an explosion with her
innocence in doubt.
Margaret Tudor took a third husband in 1528 - Henry Stewart, Lord Methven.
"This year also Margaret, queen of Scots, wife of James IV killed at Flodden in
the fifth year of the king's reign, and elder sister of the king, after the death
of her husband married Archibald Douglas, earl of Angus, without the consent
of the King her brother or the council of Scotland, with which he was not
pleased. But after that there arose such strife between the lords of Scotland
that she and her husband came into England like banished persons, and
wrote to the king for mercy and comfort. The king, ever inclined to mercy,
sent them clothing and vessels and all things necessary, wishing them to stay
in Northumberland until they knew further of his wishes. And the queen was
there delivered of a fair lady called Margaret, and all the country were
commanded by the king to do them pleasure."
So as you can see Margaret had a stormy life, her happiness was always in
doubt and she started a family lineage which brought strife to Scotland and
the Stuarts to England.
Q.157. From Helen.
What was the name of your female sugar artist who made you your moulded
sugar desserts? There is a book out about her apparently, and I'd like to get it,
but can't find her name anyway. You thought so highly of her you gave her a
house!
Ah! Madam you have discovered my sweet tooth. The sugar sculptures were
not only to eat but to show our wealth to foreign visitors.
The lady in question was called the Royal confectioner, Lucy Cornwallis.
The book I think you are looking for is entitled: The Queen of Subtleties.
I hope this helps you.
Q.158. Do any things ever get stolen from Old Manor houses like to ones you
work in?
Yes. Small pieces of ornaments and things from the shop, but the main thing
that is stolen is masonery from the grounds. Obviously someone is
refurbishing their house or an unscrupulous supplier is selling them off. We
have lost a path twice in two years, old medieval hand carved slabs are worth
a lot of money and vans come in at night and steal them. See this picture I
made for an article in July's magazine TudorDynasty.
Q.159. Hi Henry
Even though I’ve heard the name many times before, just what is an
Almshouse?
These are Almshouses in East Coker.
Divide the word up into two, Alms and house. Alms is a way of giving
charitable help and comes from the 10th Century but may have even been
started in Arabic nations well before that, a quote from the Quran:
“If you give alms openly, it is well; but if you do it secretly and give to the
poor, that is better.”
So an Almshouse is to house the poor people who cannot help themselves.
Q.160. Dear Henry.
A difficult question for you. Do you have a Tudor map showing where
Samlesbury Hall actually is in the county of Lancashire?
Yes, here it is.
Q.161. How did they control smoke from chimneys?
Chimneys were in existence with the Romans, not high through the roof but
high enough to get rid of the smoke, usually on top of an oven in a kitchen.
The chimneys had their distinctive column of smoke into the atmosphere. The
Saxons lived on the hills and in the forests and didn’t like giving away their
position with the smoke line, so they used their thatched roof and open fire
with a short inner chimney technology. Even as late as the 1400’s houses
would still have thatch roofs with a central fire, a wooden chimney lined with
cow dung to stop it burning. A small young lad would be responsible for
applying the dung up the chimney, he was called the Black guard which
became “Blaggard”. The chimney did not go out of the roof, it stopped just
under the thatch. The smoke had cooled down at the top and then filtered
into the atmosphere through the thatch. Obviously they liked to be away
from possible view by their enemies.
Using the Chimney was a wealthy persons house, to take away the smoke,
not caring about being seen and using a stone-slabbed dittonian roof. It was a
regular occurrence to find small openings into the chimney breast which was
a design for smoking meat. They would hang their meat joint above the fire in
the chimney on a metal bar across the chimney hole. A metal door would seal
it in.
Having a chimney became a sign of wealth, go see Bess of Hardwick’s hall and
she how many chimneys she had! Trouble is, the Tudor brick-making was a bit
hotch-potch. Too fast a cooling, too hot a baking all produced a high scrap
rate and bricks that were not very stable in hot conditions. To dissipate the
heat the Tudors designed their chimneys with lots of surface area, again the
wealthy used to show off with their brickwork design. This show of wealth
lead to the invention by some unknown builder of the spiralled brick
chimney. It not only cooled easily but it turned the wind spiralling upwards
and took the smoke higher.
As you know the chimney became a focal point for builders of Priest holes,
but they became a well known position even then, so much so that Nicholas
Owen would build a tunnel into a fireplace as a red herring, so the soldiers
would find it and go away when they found it empty. There is a fine example
of such a red herring in Samlesbury Hall.
Q.162. What is the worst job in the court of King Henry VIII?
Ah! Now that is a coincidence, I actually have just drafted an advertisement
for my inner court.
Job Description in Ye Olde Tudor Press.
Attention all ye Graces, Lords and Gentlemen please take note that His
Majestic Highness King Henry VIII is looking for suitable replacements to his
staff as the previous incumbents have suddenly past away.
Vacancies: Courtier of the Stool . Three positions
Duties: The main function of this position is to look after his Majesty during
his ablutions.
1. To help dress his Majesty.
2. To prepare his Majesty’s toilet stool.
3. To check his Majesty’s soil and urine for any sign of illness.
4. To clean his Majesty’s person after toilet use.
5. To freshen his Majesty’s person after toilet use.
6. To intake and analyse his Majesty’s flatulence.
7. To work as a team within the Gong Tower.
8. To keep all secrets divulged within the presence of his Majesty, on fear of
death.
9. To destroy all clothing with more than three days of wear, by fire.
10. To journey with his Majesty of his progresses and to provide the above
duties in places wherever he wishes.
Remuneration:
For the successful candidate the duties being of National importance an
appropriate level of remuneration will be paid.
Salary: One ounce of salt per day.
Pension: £200 per year.
Position: You will be entitled Courtier of the Stool.
Accommodation: You will sleep close to his Majesty, at the foot of his bed.
Uniform: The position requires top level quality of clothing which you must
supply.
Application:
Write in personal hand writing to The Lord Chancellor, Thomas Cromwell with
a stamped addressed envelope.
Closing Date: Before winter sets in.
Q.163. From Cloe
Why did you like betting on cocks so much?
Cock fighting was a national betting activity.
I always love betting, but am a poor card player and would be beaten easily
by a card sharp. I used to bet with my friends on the outcome of a game of
bowls but they always let me win so it was not exiting. Now Cockfighting was
never fixed, and the outcome was never biased.
Nowadays cockfighting is banned and is a cruel sport just like fox hunting. I
would support the ban if I were King today because you have so much more
exiting activities than we had. Play stations for instance.
So the quick answer to your question my dear is:
Because the outcome was unknown and therefore more exiting.
HenryR
Q.164. From Kea with a most difficult question that only I could answer.
What is your biggest weakness and your biggest strength?
A very good question and one that only I could answer. You see after being
King Henry VIII now for two years I have found just what he feared the most.
Strangely the answer to both parts of your question is the same.
King Henry VIII's greatest weakness and strength was that he was always
right, whether he was or not. He couldn't go back on a decision as it would
look weak.
Here are some examples:
1. The Mary Rose disaster. The original ship had a clinker wooden hull with
stepped overlaps. Henry told the shipyard to refit her with Portuguese styled
carvel timbers with smooth sides so that gun ports cold be fitted near the
waterline. The ship sank because of this design change. Why did the shipyard
not tell Henry it would be a bad idea? Because he is always right.
2. Jane Seymour died 14 days after the birth of Edward, from septicimia.
Henry had ordered that the baby if it was a boy should take precedence in
care. The midwife took it literally and cut Jane too much to make sure
Edward's birth was less dangerous. Why? Because they did what Henry said,
whether they thought he was wrong or right never came into their minds.
Right though his reign, bad decisions were made in haste and had to be
followed through, not surprisingly then that he became notorious.
Q.165. I saw a programme about making iron and steel in huge blast furnaces
with coke and limestone with the iron ore. How on earth did they make iron
in olden days good enough to make steel swords?
Here is a picture of the iron making in the 1500’s.
The process was basically the same as you saw in the documentary, there is
nowadays two basic methods 1. Blast furnace and 2. Electric Arc furnace.
In 1500 there was only one method, the blast furnace. The furnace had to
burn pure carbon to get rid of the impurities and to achieve the desired
temperature, air was blasted into the bottom of the furnace to increase the
combustion. A waterwheel drove the bellows, men loaded by hand the iron
ore and the limestone. Nowadays they use Coke which is coal with the tar
removed, but in my day they used Charcoal which is charred wood, so the
furnace had to be in the forests. The molten iron was tapped off at the
bottom through a Tuyere (Tu as in Tudor means Iron and yere is the Tap) it
ran into channels and then into big moulds called Pigs, because they looked
like troughs. The pig Iron was then formed into small parts to be made into
weapons by the Blacksmith. Nowadays the Pigs are re-melted and mixed with
alloying elements to form special steels.
Swords were only as good as their edge strength and toughness, cheaper
swords were made on one piece and formed into shape on the anvil.
Expensive, very tough and strong swords were made from lots of thins bars
hammer welded together in one direction. Sometimes the Blacksmith would
pattern the bars which would show up throughout the blade when heat
treated. Only Royalty and Top Nobility could afford such swords.
Q.166. How do those arches stay up in old castles?
The keystone at the top was doing all the work, it transferred the downward
forces sideways into the curved sides and to the floor.
Q.167. From Donna
Hi, I was just wondering if you could tell me why king Henry broke away from
the Church of England...???
There is so much confusion around about the events of the Reformation in
English History. First of all Henry did not break away from the Church of
England, he in fact created it. Here’s a synopsis of the whole picture.
1200’s, England along with Europe are in the grip of the Black Death Plague.
Brought here by sailors who were refused entry in the Mediterranean ports,
they made their way over to England. The disease was from fleas which bit
the sweaty areas of the body around the neck (Ring a ring of roses), then
infested rats which spread the disease around much of the mainland killing
40% of the population. Trouble is it killed 60% of the priests because they
lived in a walled monastery and the disease spread easily.
We were staunch Roman Catholics, a religion left by the Romans, banned by
the Saxons and re-introduced later by the newly Anglicised population.
With such a loss of priests the church was in danger of collapsing and so the
Pope demanded an immediate re-manning of priest positions by learned men
who could read Latin, the language of the church. Remember that lots of
people died in the epidemic and so anybody who could read was taken on by
the church as new priests, no training, no moral interviews were given.
In England, Lords of manors had sons; the first born would inherit all the
family wealth, not so in Wales where all sons got an equal share. So English
second and third sons were the targeted pool of new priest applicants. These
men were unscrupulous; they wanted money, wealth and power which were
denied to them by the English inheritance laws. They took money from the
poor, spent it on themselves and robbed the people. They charged money to
pray for the poor, so they could go to heaven, they helped the rich and
brought the church down in terms of a religion and made it a business.
Now you get to my reign, early 1500’s in Europe, priests began to object to
the bad priests amongst their numbers, they protested by posting up noticed
on church doors. Martin Luther was the leader of this new Protesting wave of
feeling, which became the Protestant church. I objected to this Lutheranism
and was rewarded by the Pope for my stand; he made me the leader of the
Papal Church in England. Remember at this time that even the Popes were
corrupt, they were the worst leaders imaginable, and they were called the
Borga’s.
After 20 years of marriage to Catherine, 6 births with only one surviving child,
Mary. Our marriage was on the rocks, I wanted a divorce, she didn’t and she
had powerful relations in her family, the Holy Roman Emperor for instance.
So this connection went against my request for a divorce. My new lady love
was Anne Boleyn; she had the idea to annul the marriage because I had
married my brother’s widow which was banned by the Catholic Church. Still
no joy, the church stood firm and declared their allegiance with Catherine’s
family. Therefore, I disbanded the Papal control of the Catholic Church and
created a new off-shoot, called the Church of England.
Please remember this, this new church was still Catholic, the Protestant ethos
was not allowed in my new religion. I allowed in the English language so the
people could understand the scriptures, I stopped payments for prayer, I
disbanded the rich monasteries and took their land, any monastery earning
over £60,000 (2006 values) was disbanded the others changed into Church of
England.
So, who really did bring the Protestant Church into England?
The Seymour’s’, brothers of Jane and uncles to the next King, Edward IV my
son and heir. When he died, my daughter Mary took over the throne after a
near coup by the Uncle of Lady Jane Grey. Mary tried in vain to reverse the
reformation back to Papal Catholic and lots of people were killed, this is why
she is called Bloody Mary. Elizabeth always sat on the fence and allowed both
Catholic and Protestant religions together as long as they allowed her to be
head of the church. The big culprit who came next, King James I was already a
Protestant from Scotland and would not allow the Papal Catholic any extra
space to develop. No wonder there was a plot against him and he blamed the
Jesuits, this put an end to the official allowance of the Papal Catholics
altogether. Y’know I suspect the gunpowder plot was James’ big double cross
ideas from the onset, to become the hero who fought off murderers and got
rid of the Jesuits at the same time. Only time will tell if I am correct.
Oh! Sorry, there I am wondering off the track. Remember I said that the
Welsh had a different inheritance law. Well this is the reason why not only
are their farms smaller because of dividing up for the sons, but their church is
not in the Church of England design and Chapels are the order of the day.
Another story methinks for another day.
There you have it in a nutshell, I hope it clears your mind to the truth and
gives you new directions of study. If you discover new directions please let
me know.
HenryR
Q.168. Hi Henry
What was meant by “…….the cook’s main function was to keep the Lord and
Lady in good humor.”
The easiest way to answer this one is by establishing the etymological
background with the term “Humor”.
humor
1340, "Fluid or juice of an animal or plant," from Anglo-Norm. humour, from
O.Fr. humor, from L. umor "body fluid" (also humor, by false assoc. with
humus "earth"), related to umere "be wet, moist," and to uvescere "become
wet." In ancient and medieval physiology, "any of the four body fluids"
(blood, phlegm, choler, and melancholy or black bile) whose relative
proportions were thought to determine state of mind. This led to a sense of
"mood, temporary state of mind" (first recorded 1525); the sense of
"amusing quality, funniness" is first recorded 1682, probably via sense of
"whim, caprice" (1565), which also produced the verb sense of "indulge," first
attested 1588. "The pronunciation of the initial h is only of recent date, and is
sometimes omitted ...." [OED] Humorous in the modern sense is first
recorded 1705. For types of humor, see the useful table below, from H.W.
Fowler ["Modern English Usage," 1926].
So the medical condition of the Lord and Lady was seen as a responsibility for
the cook to produce food which kept the desired balance of the four Humors.
Addition of extra salt on hot days, iron rich food etc.
Q.169. When in character, just what does an audience expect is the limit of
sarcasm given out by questioners and how much instant repartee should King
Henry VIII give back?
Having heard all the questions that could be levelled at the King and having
experienced the response from audiences when sharp answers are delivered,
it was an instant decision last week to respond to this biting questioner.
The American lady, at the front of the 100 strong crowd, chewing open
mouthed drawled out “Being so fat from all those dinner courses, why do you
eat so much?” Remembering instantly that she was from a Cruise Liner tour, I
declared that had she asked the Beefeaters in the Tower of London where
they had got their name from, Buffetiers who would guard and serve up food
from the 20 courses which were all served together on one board. A BUFFET!
I then asked that is it not true that your cruise liner served up over 40 courses
per buffet and they must have been much larger than my meals as you are
still eating it!
The audience fell into a one second silence, then uproar as they laughed out
loud, poor questioner suddenly stopped machinating the plastic chewing gum
and seemed rather taken aback by the forthright response. “Gee, you really
are King Henry aint ya!”
Q.170. Hi Henry.
I have just been to a Manor house with my parents, totally boring. How could
anybody enjoy walking round a big house full of things that the average
person cannot afford, when the people were starving too? Beats me! Oh
whilst in there, I noticed a bunch of dried old weeds hanging from the
bedroom ceiling, what’s that all about?
Manor houses provided shelter and food to the poor, it gave them a home in
return for working the land. I agree that showing off one’s wealth is a bad
side of humans, we still do it today, with our clothing, our cars, houses and
even our play-stations. Yes, play-stations. Let me see if I hit a nerve or two.
You have a PS2 with all the games and gizmo’s, so do your friends by now as
they have been on sale for quite a while. What happens then when PS3
comes along next year, a race to be the first to rub the others noses in it and
show off how cool you are to be first to have one.
It’s not changed then eh! The houses with their chimneys were a big deal to
show off with as was the furniture and fittings in carved wood instead of
plain. Walking round the houses should tell you how they once lived and how
similar they were to what we are now.
The bunch of “dried old weeds” are herbs, they would probably be Tansy, a
herb with such an aroma it would keep away the insects from the bedroom
on a hot night. Used also as a remedy for kidney pains and to rid children of
ringworm.
Here’s a picture of a bunch of Tansy.
The Tansy from the Daisy family.
By the way, trying to be cool can backfire and make you sound quite the
opposite.
HenryR
Q.171. Is it true that Tudors had a ¾ penny piece?
Yes! I know it sounds silly but it was to solve a big problem.
You see a 1 Penny piece was worth one penny in bronze. There were Half
penny and farthing pieces too all worth there weight in bronze. Problem now
is that the farthing or ¼ penny piece was so small too many were lost and you
could buy bread or onions with a farthing. The authorities had a brain-wave,
they would make ¾ penny pieces instead.
To spend a ¼ of a penny, you would pay with a penny and get a ¾ penny
change, thus spending a ¼ of a penny. If you wanted to buy something for 1 ¼
pennies, then you would tender 2 pennies and get ¾ penny change and so on.
Actually I saw a real one only yesterday, a collector showed me his Tudor
coinage and one was in it.
Q.172. How on earth did Tudors bore out those cast iron cannon barrels
without machines?
This is a very good question, so I have produced a card for printing it off.
Actually I saw the machine myself and took the pictures in the cellar of Anne
of Cleves House in Lewes, Sussex.
Q.173.
Somewhere in Texas.
After reading your file about Alum Flour, how is it related to Aluminum?
Before I answer your question, most Brits would try to correct your use of the
word Aluminum but you are CORRECT to use it! Yes we call the same metal
Aluminium but your version came first.
In 1808, Sir Humphrey Davey isolated the metal from its ore and he called it
Alumium, he never liked the name so in 1812 he renamed it Aluminum.
Trouble is the British establishment had a lot of new metals with …ium at the
end of the name, like Sodium, Calcium etc and so they got together and
changed it yet again this time to Aluminium. So there you have it, American
Aluminum was before British Aluminium.
Alum flour is technically Aluminium Sulphate crystals. The crystals form
naturally in layers of silt which are then pressed and cooked by millions of
years in the earth. The layers form the rock we know as Shale and it you split
the rock along the layers you will see small shiny crystals of the Alum. When
the shale is super-heated the crystals melt and find each other, the shale
releases the Alum crystals. The Romans had this chemical in abundance
because their Empire included Countries with volcano’s which were near the
sea and so had shale layers. The black shale would turn to red shale after the
super-heating and breaking this red shale up and boiling it released the Alum.
The Romans called it flour because it is a white powder. There are many uses
for the flour all of which was beneficial to being wealthy as the flour was very
expensive and a symbol of wealth. Its uses were: Softens leather, fixes
colours, calms nerves, clears skin and softens water for washing clothing.
Q.174. In the history of the world, how did you get so well known after only
38 years on the throne?
Mmm. Must be my personality.
Seriously, if you want to understand where we humans fit in the history of
the world consider the beginning of the Earth as Midnight, now up to August
2006 it is 24 hours later on the same clock. How long do you think we humans
have been on the Earth, even as cavemen?
77 seconds! 77 seconds! I repeat it because it is such a short time when
compared to say a Rock or even a Shark. So my time as Ruler of England
would begin and end in only 0.0015 of a second!
Now the real facts that you can understand better. We Tudors were in power
at the same time that two inventions were developed.
1. The printing press.
2. The Camera Obscurer.
These two inventions would be used to propagate our personalities to the
mass media which we controlled. We made sure books were written with us
reflected in a good light and we literally cut to pieces our enemies or rivals
with bad press. It back fired on me when my Daughter Elizabeth became
Queen because she controlled the press and the direction playwrights wrote
their public deliverances. She did not like me at all and it came across for the
public in Henry VIII from William Shakespeare’s work.
I can hear you tutting from here. Look at your own country, its rulers, its
press the media. The Propaganda continues.
Q.175. The fact that your Father, Henry VII was born in Pembroke and he
named his first son Arthur, do you think he was trying to claim to be related
to King Arthur of the Round Table fame?
Yes.
I must go along with the implication that my Father was trying to gain country
wide acceptance for a throne taken in battle from the Plantagenets. He had
much in symbolic evidence, Pembroke Castle is only 5 miles from Merlin’s
Bridge at Haverfordwest and just look at the castle there, it is the nearest
design to the mythical Camelot that you will ever see. On top of a conical hill,
with towers centring. By taking the Tudor colours and green and white he
also made the Welsh flag with the inclusion of the Arthurian Dragon. The
Cornish claim for Camelot could easily be cut to pieces because where is it?
Henry said that Arthur went to Cornwall to conquer it and built a replica
castle at Tintagel. Look at the map, Cornwall is but a short sea voyage from
Pembroke.
The Round Table is supposed to be in Pembroke Castle, I never saw it though.
Obviously I had to go along with the tale to give credence to the Tudor legacy,
the 21st Century obsession with Renaissance fairs and Arthurian Legend has
romanticised the truth whatever it was.
Q. 176 From "Crashtest Susan" (I won't let her drive my Motorhome!"
Q.177. Why do you wear that hat? Tony.
Why pick on me for that hat?
Go look at previous monarchs and see that a felt hat is the common garb.
Here I’ve saved you the trouble of searching the facts.
Obviously each monarch will change the hat to create a style that they like,
hunting is a style that I preferred and so the feather was a feature in mine.
Basically the country was in the middle of a mini Ice age, we were cold and
our houses and Palaces were draughty so we wore warm clothing which
includes a hat.
We Kings do not wear a crown all day y’know!
In fact I hated wearing a crown and would adapt a felt hat to have a crown
over it.
Q.178. What is a Thunder box?
Hehehehe!
It was for the Manor houses and villages, the same as my Gong Tower! In
other words a toilet.
When someone went to the potty in the night they then put it under their
bed, in the morning it would be emptied into a thunder box with everyone’s
else’s “Human night soil”. Using the name soil was very apt because it was
then put into a central open hole to change into rich soil. This night soil was
then used on the farm land as fertiliser, which was very good for growing
vegetables.
I did find it a funny story from a castle guide, he said that the collection box
should be kept away from a naked flame as the methane would occasionally
explode.
Here are a couple of pictures of real thunder-boxes.
Q.179. How was Honey made for everybody?
Hey! That’s a great question, mass production was used even in the 16th
Century. One wild natural Bee hive could not be relied upon to quench man’s
need for sweet food. With 4 million people we needed to have a factory of
hives, either on field with wooden hives or built into a wall called Hive Boles. I
have place a picture below of a genuine Hive Bole wall in a Tudor mansion
grounds. The wall best suited the production as it used existing structures
and little land.
You must consider why Humans and animals like sweet things. It is a natural
instinct to crave for food that is full of energy, because energy is life. So
blame your sweet tooth on nature!
Q.180. I read in your pages that you like Artichokes, what do they look like
and how are they grown?
How should I know how they are grown! I will have to ask my court merchant
where he gets them from and how they grow them.
Ok, here is the Artichoke story. I like Artichokes for their flavour, rarity and
exclusiveness. They are quite large, the picture shows one before it looses its
flower with an adult hand behind it, the other picture shows it when it is ripe
for cooking.
We baked them with honey over them which burns a bit and gives them a
roasted coating. I get them from Portugal, though my gardeners are trying to
grow them in Cornwall and Devonshire because of the fair climate there.
The people never had Artichokes, they were suited with their Pottage, or
Hotpot. Here is a picture of their food being made.
YUK!
Q.181.If the Castle was for protection against enemies, how did Iron-age
people defend themselves?
Keeping in one group and building on a hill with two deep ditches around
them for safety. The first ditch was called the Ankle breaker as it was full of
sharp crossed pieces of wood. The second ditch was deep and steep sided so
the intruder had to climb out to get to the middle and was picked off as they
were defenceless. There is a famous saying which came from this ditch, as it
was the last feature to stop them getting into the middle to fight the leader
of the invaders would say: “Come on lads this is our last ditch chance to win!”
This is Roundwood Fort, an Iron age dwelling, see the first ditch. The trees
would not have been in the ditch them just around the outer ditch. You can
imagine men charging over the edge and falling on wooden traps, climbing up
to find another deeper ditch in front of them. The defender would be hurling
stones and spears at them. Iron would not have been used to throw at the
enemy because of it being hard to make, it would be used for hand to hand
weapons.
Q.182.
Q.183. A question for Mary Stuart but reproduced here for its interest.
For our school subject on Mary Queen of Scots we need to know the
following:
What did Mary wear?
What was Mary’s bedroom like?
Why did she have a private chapel?
What duties did Mary carry out as queen of Scotland?
Who were servants to the Queen?
What were they eating for dinner?
What was her supper like?
A young 5 yrs old Princess Mary Stewart (Not Stuart Yet!) was sent to France
by sea to be Educated in the Catholic French Court with a possibility of
becoming the next Queen of France my marriage. She had with her four
companions, all girls and all called Mary too, they became her like long
friends and closest sympathisers. Their names were:
Mary Fleming ; Mary Livingstone ; Mary Beaton and Mary Seton.
Princess Mary did become Queen of France and changed her name from
Stewart to the French version Stuart, from them on this was the Stuart’s
proper name. Now remember that Europe was changing in it’s religion, the
people were sick of being robbed by the Papal Catholic system which was
very corrupt and a new Religion was sweeping across for the people. Started
by Martin Luther who Protested about the corruptness of the Roman Catholic
Church, the new Protestant church was formed where each country had its
own leader but the people had direct access to it. Scotland became a
Protestant country whilst Mary was in France, the trouble was France
remained Catholic whilst she was there, so Mary was a Roman Catholic. The
King of France died and Mary became the dowager Queen of France, the
Scottish King died and Mary was to be their new Monarch. She accepted and
the people welcomed her back, a beautiful red haired woman of high
standing, her religion accepted in the privacy of her court.
At this stage the answer to your question of her Chapel is clearly seen, She
worshipped privately with her catholic Priest in a Protestant Country that she
ruled.
The Scottish court was divided into Protestants and Catholics here are the
Names of her court, just see how they were divided:
The Protestant Lords:
Argyll; Arran; Bothwell; Boyd; Chatelherault; Crawford; Fleming; Glencairn;
Herries; Huntly; Lennox; Lindsay; Livingstone; Maitland; Mar; Moray; Morton;
Ochiltree; Rothes; Ruthven.
The Catholic Lords:
Atholl; Caithness; Eglington; Home; Huntly; Seton.
The coloured ones were the families of her best friends from the time in
France.
Queen Mary’s bedroom had a French influence because of her love of the
French may of life, here are pictures of her actual bedroom at Borthwick
Castle.
Mary’s clothing was formal but heavily influenced by French love of bright
colours.
The food for Royals was similar throughout Europe, lots of selection.
Sometimes books misrepresent the number of courses that was eaten during
a banquet, actually only one course was eaten but maybe 20 choices on the
centre table. We call it a buffet nowadays, buffeters would look after the
food and serve each person with what they wanted. Buffeters are now called
Beefeaters. Supper came from the Roman word Supra, which means a stew
which could be soaked into bread, when it is very thin it is called soup.
Mary’s Supper would be a stew made from left-overs from the dinner. The
stew from a Pot was a common way of re-using food.
The Queen’s servants were a standard throughout Britain, a Councillor for
legal advice, Courtiers of the stool they would look after Mary in her
bathroom and toilet, lady’s in waiting would be her close companions but still
her personal servant even thought they were from noble blood.
I hope I have covered all your questions enough for your school, even though
you wrote to Mary all her emails are re-routed to me, King Henry VIII so I can
decide which website they will appear in.
Thank you for your questions they were good ones.
Henry Tudor
Q.184. I agree with you that King Henry VIII was a leftie, his portraits show a
definite dress to the left tendency. Were there more Royals who were left
handed?
George II, King UK Royalty (UK)
George IV, King UK Royalty (UK) 12-Aug-1762
George VI, King UK Royalty (UK)
King VI, George UK Royalty (UK)
King VIII, Edward UK Royalty (UK)
Louis XVI, King French King
Queen Mother UK Royalty (UK) 4-Aug-1900
Prince William UK Royalty (UK) 21-Jun-1982
Rhys-Jones, Sophie UK Countess of Wessex (wife of Prince Edward) 20-Jan1965
Queen Victoria UK Royalty (UK) 24-May-1819
Yes try, these for size. Seems to be a Royal trait.
Q.185. Hi Henry. I have been asked by my teacher to find out where the term
Ruffian comes from. Can you help?
Sure can, but we have to go to the Scottish borders to find the start of the
name.
Reive is a Scottish word meaning to plunder or to rob, also spelt Reave in
English , which comes from the Old English reafian.
In the Scotland the word reive has been used particularly to refer to the theft
of livestock, especially cattle. The border reivers were groups of raiders in the
Scottish Borders with a reputation for forays into the north of England. To be
robbed in such a way you would be bereft of your property. In Celtic lands
such as Wales or Scotland the laws of inheritance were different to England
where all was left in tact to the first son, instead all was divided up equally for
all sons. This left the sons not enough land to live off, so inter-clan rustling of
cattle went on and it became know as bereaved.
They also gave us the word “Blackmail” though it had been passed on from
the roaming Knights who would ask for protection money instead of harming
the villagers, the word came from Black meaning bad and Mail meaning meal
or chain-mail, both being described by various experts of History.
Go tell your teacher all this and say hello from me.
HenryR
Q.186. Hi Henry Sire.
Is it true that they buried the dead with bells just in case they woke up?
Yes indeed, you have to think what it was like then to understand the
problem. There were no real doctors, nurses, ambulances or hospitals
nearby, so it was the family leader who decided who was dead. Because this
was too easy to make a mistake the family would hold a Wake to give the
body a chance to wake up. The wake differed between the lower classes and
the upper classes. The body was put into an open coffin
Either on a table or onto two matching stools called “jointed stools” in front
of the roaring fire. A drink of wine was put into the hand of the body and a
loud party took place to wake the dead, this is the Wake. After the party the
wine would have evaporated in a straight line, also the feet of the body
would have curled up with the heat of the fire, now they knew the body was
dead because it had “popped their clogs”. The coffin was then lidded and
taken to be buried, after a bell was put into the body’s hand. The coffin duly
buried. If the body woke up, it would ring the bell or pull on a string with a
bell at the end. Bodies which come back were “saved by the bell” and if you
had the same face as a past dead person you were called a “dead ringer”. Like
Ray I suppose.
Now there is a sinister side to this tale.
There was not enough space in churchyards because of the high mortality
rate, so old graves were dug up and the coffins re-used. Many coffins had
scratch marks on the inside as if the dead were trying to get out!
Wish you hadn’t asked me this question now, I’ll not sleep tonight.
Q.187. Just how dirty were people in Tudor days?
They bathed once a year whether they needed it or not!
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May
(it was warmer) and were still smelling pretty good by June. However, they
were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the
body odour.
Baths equalled a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the
privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the
women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was
so dirty you could actually loose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don’t
throw the baby out with the bath water".
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the
saying "dirt poor".
I washed daily in the standing up position, my daughter Elizabeth bathes once
per month, reckless girl!
Q.188. Hi Henry. Did any food poison the ones who eat it?
Only if it was either deliberate or an allergy just like today. BUT, the materials
that the food was prepared with or on could be very harmful.
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with a high acid content
caused some of the lead to leach onto the food. This happened most often
with tomatoes, so they stopped eating tomatoes... for 400 years.
The central Pot for making the supper cold have food in it that was a week
old, Potent you could say, even Putrid.
Q.189. What kind of peculiar illnesses did Tudor people have?
Medieval physicians believed that the secretions of a frog could cure a cough
if they were coated on the throat of the patient. The frog was placed in the
mouth of the sufferer and remained there until the physician decided that
the treatment was complete. Hence “I’ve got a frog in my throat”.
The Table was called a board, a place where one would eat and talk, hence
the board room, Room and board, chairman of the board, sideboard,
cupboard, across the board and above board.
They never washed their boards and a lot of times worms would get into the
wood. After eating off the trencher which was placed on the boards the food
was contaminated with the worms, they would get "trench mouth."
The pewter plates would poison the eater, usually the rich people who could
afford plates, this was called rich-man’s dropsy or as we would call it today
lead poisoning.
A pitcher - A leather jug treated with tar pitch to help it hold its shape would
leach out its tar and slowly poison the drinker or start stomach cancerous
cells.
Q.190. Did you allow dogs into your court?
The only dogs I allowed at my court were ‘small spaniels for the ladies’." The
Cavalier was a common lady's companion, held on the lap to provide warmth
and attract fleas off the lady’s body. It is said the Queen's physician instructed
her to keep a dog for comfort on her lap to treat a cold. The reference was to
the Cavalier, known also as the Comforter or Spaniel Gentle. “The title of
comforter was well earned; the dogs were placed under ladies' skirts to act as
foot warmers, and it was believed that they could cure stomach ailments and
other diseases.
Q.192. What kind of hats did other people wear?
Hats again!
Here's a picture I conjured up from a great website called
members.fortunecity.com/cadieux3/renh.html
Q.193 and Q194. a) How does Henry VIII Solve His Problem of Divorcing
Catherine of Aragon?
b) How Does Divorcing Catherine Of Aragon Show He's Powerful?
Thanks Amelia
a) It has been a misconception regarding the nature of the “Divorce” from my
fist wife Catherine. Divorce is when you are legally married and you both
break the contract and become divorced, this means that any children born in
the marriage are not illegitimate. Trouble my separation from Catherine was
not a divorce it was an annulment. An annulment is when the marriage was
not legal in the first place and any children born are considered illegitimate.
Poor Princess Mary became just plain Lady Mary after the separation, and
Queen Catherine became Dowager Princess Catherine because she was
previously married to my brother Prince Arthur who died after only 3 months
of marriage. A dowager is the widow of a Royal.
The annulment became necessary because the Roman Catholic Church does
not allow one to marry the widow of one’s brother. Some say that I used it to
get rid of a wife who could not have any more children and so not a son and
heir to the Tudor name. Ann Boleyn gave me the idea for the annulment; this
made her a hated personality with the English, a position that she always
tried in vain to mend bridges with.
b) The Roman Catholic Church did not agree with me about the evidence for
annulment, I tried in vain to impress to them the nature of the problem, but
the Holy Roman Emperor was a nephew of Catherine so they refused. This
meant I had to try something else. I saw that the Lutherans were spreading
discontent throughout Europe, so I declared the Papist Church illegal and set
up the Church of England with me as the official head. Now I could grant
myself an annulment. Now that’s power.
Q.195. How hard is it to be a good Jester?
Will Sommers was my Jester, and I think the best one ever, he has become
the benchmark for all Jesters following him. A jester is not just a clown, a
stand-up comedian, a story teller, a juggler, fire-eater, stilt walker, cynic and
someone to talk to. He is all of them. To do all these things even when your
are feeling ill, down or tired will become a stressful occupation. Now add to
the job resentment from other budding jesters, and the Councillors who think
you have the ear of the King and so too much power. A jesters life is not an
easy one.
This picture depicts jesters as we all think of them.
This picture shows one Peter Kin, working hard in 2005 at Thornbury Castle.
Q.196. Henry, where did you first meet Ann Boleyn?
It could be said to be romantic, but the very place that I met Ann Boleyn is
still with us in the 21st Century! And! I met her in the 1530’s no less.
It is looked after by the National Trust and is a tree.
It is called the Ankerwyke Yew, Wraysbury, Berkshire. It is a 2500-year-old
yew tree and stands close to the Thames within eye-sight of Runnymede (
where King John met the barons and sealed the Magna Carta in 1215).
Q.197.I listened with great interest at your morning talk last Sunday at
Samlesbury Hall, your explanation of place names was quite absorbing. I live
in Standish, Lancashire and have always thought it came from the family
name of Miles Standish. Is this true or is it the other way round?
Finding which way round things happened has always been a real challenge,
for instance did the Southworth’s name their village near Croft or did they get
named from the Village of Southworth? In this case the latter is the correct
one, the village was named Southworth from Sout wort or South Pasture. In
your case it’s the same. Standish means Stone Pasture land, the Standish’s
were named after the place where they came from.
Here are some more for you to ponder about:
Q.198. From Abdessalan Bouda
Hi there have been more than 500 popes and I want to know something
about the pope 16th if its possible thank you very much.
Only 266 Popes my friend from the date of the death of Jesus,32 AD. Here
they are in one great list. But if you click on the file you will get all their
stories too.
Click here to download this file
Q.199. Hi Henry, Hey I’m the last one on this page!
Was there really a Camelot and if so where was it situated. I have been to
Cornwall and they claim it, Lancashire Claim it too, so what is the truth?
Truth is what we believe it to be, the stories from historical writers can have
lots of false claims in them, but we cannot question them. I have studied King
Arthurian legend and have come to this conclusion which settles my mind,
though
some Historians would beg to differ. If you are not satisfied with my answer, I
suggest you do what I did and read a lot about it, visit the places mentioned
and work it out for yourself as nobody has the definitive answer.
BUT! I beg you, don’t believe the Hollywood script writers, the biggest artistic
licence ever issued.
I reckon this.
When the country was run by one power, the Romans, all was calm and the
wealth of the nation was positively growing alongside its technology
advantages. Alas, the central core of power left to defend their own
homeland and left behind a void of power. The Romanesque people of Britain
started to power play and wars were started , mini-kingdoms were created.
One of the ex-Romanesque soldiers was Arthur, he came to power in one of
the new “tribes” and fought his way to the top. His people had their own way
of building their forts and castles so their design became known as Camelot.
Lancashire, Pembrokeshire and Cornwall are mentioned in Arthurian legend,
so I believe he did indeed go to these places and fight there, he built a
Camelot in each of them. Look at a map of Britain, Lancashire to South Wales
to Cornwall (by sea) all are possible in one man’s lifetime.
So my friend, not trying to squirm out of a difficult question, my answer is
that I believe there were three Camelot’s, Lancashire, Pembrokeshire and
Cornwall.
Q.200. Jughead from Essex writes.
Everybody has seen the Holbein picture of Queen Ann of Cleves, do you have
anymore of her so we can judge if she really was as ugly as you said!
Yes! I have more. But! Anna and myself became best of friends after we
divorced, I even made her my official sister of the court. I may have jumped a
wee bit fast and declared her looks to be similar to a Dutch horse, but she
eventually forgave me. Here are three pictures, one is the Holbein (top right)
the others I’m not sure who painted them but will find out for you. Here
actual name should be Anna Von Kleve, she had a sister Amelia.
HenryR
Q.200. Jughead from Essex writes.
Everybody has seen the Holbein picture of Queen Ann of Cleves, do you have
anymore of her so we can judge if she really was as ugly as you said!
Yes! I have more. But! Anna and myself became best of friends after we
divorced, I even made her my official sister of the court. I may have jumped a
wee bit fast and declared her looks to be similar to a Dutch horse, but she
eventually forgave me. Here are three pictures, one is the Holbein (top right)
the others I’m not sure who painted them but will find out for you. Here
actual name should be Anna Von Kleve, she had a sister Amelia.
HenryR
Q.201. Can you tell me the poem about each of Henry's Wives fate. Thank
you
Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.
Although the truth was:
1. Catherine of Aragon...Marriage annulled not divorced
2. Marriage to Ann Boleyn annulled just before beheaded.
3. Died 13 days after childbirth, Jane Seymour never had royal coronation
so was only Mrs.Tudor.
4. Anna von Cleve, married only 6 months with agreed divorce, actually
outlived Henry and Catherine Parr.
5. Catherine Howard, beheaded for high treason.
6. Catherine Parr remarried after Henry's death to Seymour, died in child
birth.
HenryR
Q.202. hi. What is your favourite sport and what do you like doing best
singing or dancing?
My favourite sport depends on when in my lifetime, age controls ones ability
to compete.
When I was a young man I loved the Joust, it was so chivalrous and like my
hero the Black Prince but when I hurt my left leg in an accident with Charles
Brandon I had to stop such hard sports. I liked hunting, hawking, bowling and
tennis, I was the court champion.
Dancing is great especially the masque ball where we all wore fantastic masks
to hide our identity. Tudor dancing is like slow barn dancing and the whole
court would dance together. My favourite dance was the Washer Woman’s
Brawl. I liked singing and wrote some songs, but dancing was my favourite
because we all did it together
HenryR
Q.203. Why did Henry VIII need money?
Why to live like a King of course.
Feeding 2,000 people in Hampton Court, wearing new clothes every three
days encrusted with jewels, riding horses, building Fortresses, all these take a
lot of money.
I had £375 Million in 2006 money left me by my father Henry VII but it soon
ran out. I got £175 Million from Monastery money but that too soon ran out.
So money was always a key issue.
HenryR
Q.204. Can you please tell me how you changed the Church of England and
what
happened after you did it?
The Church of England was created by me, I did not change it. Before the
change it was the Catholic Church of Rome in England.
The changes in England to the Catholic Church were inevitable, the papal
control and corruption had taken away its heart. Priests were in it for the
money, they took hard earned money from the people to pray for them, their
text’s were in Latin and not readable by the majority of the people. The
priests were recruited from the nobility when the black death had decimated
their numbers. The nobles were only too eager to get rid of their second sons
to earn their own wealth. The Church was alienating itself, not only in
England but across Europe. Martin Luther has protested to the church and
started up his new Catholic religion for the common man, it became known
as the Protestant Church. In England the problem of getting the Pope to allow
my divorce from Catherine was the last straw and with the ideas from Ann
Boleyn I established the English Catholic Church with me as the head. This
became known as the Church of England. The Church would have English
written bibles, open for all who entered the building, the priest would not
take money to pray for the people, it became the peoples church, though still
Catholic. After my reign, Edward became a Protestant at the insistence of his
mentors, the Seymours and the Church of England moved into the Protestant
arena. Mary Tudor became his successor and tried to reverse the change, a
sort of re-reformation but failed miserably as she did not survive long enough
to bring the full change about and did not produce an heir to her throne.
Elizabeth was head of the Church of England but allowed both religions as
long as she was recognised as head. The Spanish and Holy Roman empires
declared Elizabeth a heretic as she would not allow her church to revert back
to papal control. It was King James I from Scotland, a devout Protestant that
fought the Catholic Church the hardest, hunting the Jesuits into hiding places,
publicly executing the gunpowder plotters as well as the leader of the Jesuits.
Footnote from Ray.
I wander off the answer so I will stop now, King Henry VIII was always a
Catholic, never a protestant though his change in Church management
started a huge change in our country’s religion after his death. Remember
then that is was not just for a divorce did Henry take over control, it was for
power, money and independence from Rome.
Q.205. How did Gilbert De Southworth know that the family D’Wyas (De
Eaves) of Samlesbury Lancashire has a Daughter that they wanted to marry
off ?
Wow! Someone trying to catch old Henry out. It was simple my good fellow,
he was told about her by her own family.
I got this informational evidence from an old map of Winnick where the
Southworths lived nearby in Croft. The Manor next door was called Eaves,
now it is Eaves farm. So part of the Eaves family lived next door and they told
Gilbert about their cousin in Samlesbury. Simple solutions are usually the true
ones.
Q.206. Why did you have Holbein paint your picture using a template to send
it around the country, were you so vain?
Vain! What an outrageous accusation!
My master plan was simple. When workers are employed in service to a
manor or Dukes estate they are firstly required to serve him in war and peace
times. However the Duke should be loyal to me, however if the people have
only ever seen their Lord before how do they know who is above the boss?
They need to be able to recognise their King and thus take away some of the
power of their Duke or Lord of the manor. I would be much harder to press
gang their workers into a revolt against me if the people involved knew I was
the King and it would be treason if they followed their direct boss. Also of
course the propaganda benefits of showing me in a healthy state, strong
muscular and tall would impress the people who would compare me with
their employers. Holbein made a Cartoon copy (Black and white outlined
drawing) of me and pierced through a pile of 6 blank canvasses thus making
holed master templates. Each template was sent to another artist in a
different county who would tamp the master with a soot filled bag over
another blank canvass. The new canvass would then have black outlines of
the portrait and he finished it off to be shown across the county. Big mistake,
some of the artists involved reversed the master and made my copy mirrorimaged.
And of course a little vanity came into the equation.
Q.207. A question from Ray to Henry.
Who decided who was dead?
Morbid or what!
Although quite morbid it was a real problem to decide on a death. Put
yourself in the viewpoint of a master of a household, coming downstairs after
a nights sleep only to find a body lying in the Boardroom (parlour). Now what
would you do? Call a doctor! Call for an ambulance! A physician? Sorry not
possible as the only one in any position of decision making is you. The poor
old body may be in a deep coma, asleep, knocked out so your decision is
crucial, you could bury a live person!
One would place your hands on the cold stone floor to cool them down, then
touch the body’s face, declaring them to be “Stone cold dead” if it feels cold
too.
In the Boardroom a pair of stools would be situated next to the fireplace,
called “jointed stools” meaning both exactly the same especially in height.
The body is put in an open coffin and placed on top of these two stools which
are “dead-level” and placed in front of the lit fire, a glass of wine is put into
the body’s hand. The furniture is moved to the side of the room and a party
takes place, loud, singing, dancing, drinking takes place so the body can hear
it and wake up. This party is called the Wake.
After 24 hours the family of the body stand around the coffin and see what
the fire has done to it, if the wine has evaporated, the feet curled and the
shoes coming off at the heel, the body is declared to have “popped its clogs”
and if dead. The glass of wine is removed and a bell put into the hand, the lid
attached and the coffin taken for burial.
The Bell is in case the body is still alive, if it wakes up under the ground and
rings the bell it is said have been “Saved by the Bell”, many people who look
like dead people from the past are said to be “dead-ringers”.
And what you may ask was all this process called?
Dead Reckoning of course!
Another saying is related, the nails that were used in doors were bent over to
not stick out, this meant they could not be re-used. Hence the body is as dead
as a door nail.
So to let me put all these sayings into one list:
1. Dead-Ringers
2. Saved by the Bell
3. Popped your Clogs
4. The Wake
5. Dead Level (the stools and the wine mark on the glass after evaporation)
6. Stone cold dead
7. Dead reckoning
8. As dead as a door nail
So you see death was not so straight forward. In Tudor times with the
average lifespan only 40 years, the cemeteries were full and if not used for 50
years the coffins would be dug up for cremation to re-use the plots. Many
coffins were found to have finger scratching marks on the inside! Probably
couldn’t find the bell!
Having recalled this from an old Samlesbury guide book I closed my mind to
the Undertaker's view of such a tale. Here is an email from the USA world of
the here-after. Not sure which one I would prefer for myself.
Hi Henry,
I love your website! I am an American funeral director, and I found only one
error in your fact finding. A king's body would never have been rested by a
fire for the toes to curl (although such methods were indeed used by the
common masses, more out of supersitition than any factual basis -- a fire will
not truly make a cadaver's toes curl, although heat will sometimes speed up
the process of curling extremities in people who suffer arthritis). A king,
queen, duke or other person of rank would not have been subjected to any
test which might have altered their physical appearance, both out of respect
and to prevent any question of inheritance -- those who showed disfiguration
after death were occassionally investigated for signs of poison, particularly if
the inheritor was unpopular; a king with three or more possible heirs, the
most legitimate of whom was a child, would never have been placed so close
to a fire. Instead, the deceased would be inspected in much the same way we
inspect the assumed dead now (Yes! Funeral directors are still required to
confirm that Grandma is dead before we take her away!). First a physician
would listen for a heart beat, after which a mirror would be held over the
dead's mouth to test for breath. The "final" test was a washing of the corpse
with warm water. Although this later took on a spiritual meaning and was
considered a purification ritual, its original purpose was to attempt to revive
the dead. The Greeks began the custom, in the belief that, because warm
water sometimes brings color back to recently deceased flesh, if a person
were not truly dead they would be revived by the proccess, and the color
would remain rather than fade away after a moment. The real test was the
Waiting Period or, as it was more commonly referred to by the 16th century,
the Waking Period. A commoner would be waked only a day or two, as they
could not afford a costly embalming, and this period was enough to
determine that an unembalmed corpse was dead (a dead body looks very
dead after only half a day or so without refrigeration or embalming). A royal
person would be embalmed after only a day or so of true waking -- enough
time to confirm that the corpse was indeed a corpse, but not long enough to
allow rigor mortis to completely depart (the release of rigor mortis is
responsible for the facial distortion of most non-refrigerated corpses.) As a
formality, the wake of a royal person would continue on for 1 to 2 weeks
after embalming, but unlike the Greeks or Romans, who wished to confirm
their loved ones dead before entombing them alive, this was merely to show
the populace that their monarch had passed a natural death, and also to give
the towns and cities through which the cortege passed an opportunity to
show their respect to the deceased (and therefore confer their blessing on his
-- or later her -- successor).
As to the rest of your points, most of them are half true, but many are from
different periods than you ascribe them. Bells were a quaint addition to the
Victorian era, although relatively useless. On the rare occassion that a person
was buried alive (they were much better at determining death by then), it is
unlikely that anyone would ever have heard a bell ringing -- most likely the
living person would have suffocated before ever regaining consciousness, and
would certainly have done so after only a few minutes of struggling with a
bell. Even if they did manage to ring it, it is unlikely that in that short time of
consciousness the bell would be heard by anyone wandering through a
cemetery (for fun? exercise?).
Popping clogs was a dutch saying, but more of a joke which came along after
the fact. Clogs were not referred to as we think of them until after the
industrial revolution there; at the time of Henry VIII's death they were merely
referred to as shoes. (For some interesting clog facts, research the etymology
of the word "sabotage.") The joke is aimed as much at their former ignorance
as it is at the condition of a dead body.
Stone cold dead refers to a time before coffins were used in church vaults.
Unlike underground crypts, caskets were not used in church vaults. The first
clergymen and, later, royals to be interred there were merely laid in a stone
vault and the lid placed on top. Eventually stone caskets were placed within
the vaults, to help prevent disruption of the corpse (two stone lids are harder
to lift than one) but wooden caskets were rarely used in vaults, even in later
times. Thus, a person entombed within a vault (a highly coveted position as
intramural grave space became limited) was usually laid upon cold stone.
I don't know the accuracy of the rest of the terms you used, but they sound
like they're probably at least half true! One of the things that's always
amused me about my profession is just how much people don't know about it
-- in spite of the fact that everyone in history has died! It amazes me how
little people choose to know about the only thing in life they can be certain
of!! Anyway, you seem like someone who values the truth of fact over the
bliss of ignorance, so thank you for taking the time to read this.
Very Truly Yours,
Jessica W
Q.208. Fotheringhay Castle was the place of the execution of Mary Queen of
Scots, but whose family did it belong to?
An old adversary of the Tudors, see this picture I've made for you.
See what I mean!
Q.209. Hi Henry. Our school regularly visits your tremendous website, we
have downloaded every question and answer and it has made a book. Have
you ever thought of publishing this series as a reference book?
Yes, I offered my Henry Tudor book to a few publishers before I even had the
website, they never answered. So being Henry, I thought OK then I will do it
myself. So the website was born. To put these articles on my website(s) it
automatically becomes copyrighted, therefore nobody can use them
commercially without my permission. I would rather give it away to schools
and history lovers on a free basis instead of kowtowing to these publishers
who are only out for commercial gain and have lost the spirit of individual
communication. This website is my book; it has as many pages as a book, as
much information as a book and is always being updated unlike a book.
Being Henry in the 21st century has it moments but I never lose sight of my
goals, to provide History from a human perspective as best as I can.
Q.210. Dear Henry VIII. Who would have been Henry IX had history not
intervened?
Mmmm! Now that’s a very good question. Let me first of all put the
candidates forward.
1. Prince Henry, my son with Queen Catherine of Aragon but who died early
after birth.
2. Henry Fitzroy, my son with Elizabeth Blount.
3. Henry Darnley, in line for the throne but went up North, married Mary
Stuart and became King of Scotland, eventually blown to pieces by murderous
villains (One suspects Mary had a hand in it!)
4. If King Edward VI had had a son, if Queen Mary I and Elizabeth I had a son
each maybe they would have been called Henry.
Now it is for me to choose who came closest to the throne.
Henry Fitzroy would be my choice, he had been approved by parliament to
become the next King after my death if I did not have a son legitimately. Alas
he died before it could happen, but then I had a son with Jane Seymour so
Edward became the heir.
Henry Fitzroy
Q.211.Hi Henry. How much did it cost to build an average castle?
All castles are different, in different places and have different problems to
solve, so their cost cannot be comparative. So I will tell you about Portland
Castle which is right next to the stone supply at Portland Bill in Dorset.
Portland Castle at Castletown was built in 1539 following attacks by the
French, built of Ashlar stone, the finest Portland Stone available, and cost
£4,964 at its completion around 1540. Ashlar stonework is the name given to
its design, 4 sides are cut flat so it can be made into a secure, sealed wall.
So to bring this cost to today’s money. 4,964 X 300 = £1,489,200
Here’s a picture of the Castle and the Ashlar Stonework.
Q.212. Is it true that Yorkshire had the first Stock Exchange?
Nope sorry.
First of all what is a stock exchange? It is an exchange of stock. Not money,
not shares. People would barter their goods for other people’s goods so no
money was used, so really stock exchanges have been around since the year
dot, the farmer could swap a pig for some fish from the fisherman. The actual
exchange building or market for swapping stock was in London and was set
up so Cloth merchants from all over the country and Europe cold meet and
exchange their cloth to enable them to have a larger range. Yorkshire copied
the exchange for a Northern centre of cloth trading. I have put found this
picture in my vast collection.
Q.213. Why did you destroy the Monasteries?
There were many reasons for the removal of the Monasteries.
1. It took away the Papal ownership of the Catholic Church; the Pope would
know I meant business.
2. It freed up the Monastery land for other uses. I kept the counties in line by
giving them the land and so bringing them into the reformation.
3. It provided cut stone for building the Forts along the south coast of
England as a protection against French invasion. Cubed stone was necessary
to produce strong, functionally defensive fortresses.
4. The new Church of England even though still Catholic in nature was to be
seen as a fresh start and not use the buildings of the old Papal system. The
new churches to be simpler in design, less ornate and less homage to a stone
idol.
5. The majority of the people were in favour of the new Church of England so
it became their church with access for them, English bibles and no cost
prayers. The majority of the stone laid from the destruction of the
monasteries was actually taken by the people to rebuild their own homes.
Many Manor houses used the stone to build accommodation for the people.
6. The main political reason for the destruction was to show the Papal
Catholics their church had been removed from England and they should
embrace the new Church of England Catholicism with the monarch at the
head, as it is today.
7. The removal of a corrupt leadership was seen on the ground.
HenryR
Q.214. Hi Henry. What was your favourite breed of dog?
Look at the Tudor coat of arms, the White Greyhound is prominent. A great
hunting dog named by the Romans “Hare Hunter” or Leporarius. The Buck,
the Hare, the Doe and wild Boar all chased to exhaustion by the Greyhound.
Please note that we never hunted the Fox, a peasants target.
Edmund de Langley's Mayster of Game, AD 1370, describes the ideal
greyhound:
'...The Greihound should have a long hede and somedele grete, ymaked in
the manner of a luce; a good large mouth and good sessours, the one again
the other, so that the nether jaws passe not them above, ne that thei above
passe not him neither.
The neck should be grete and long, and bowed as a swanne's neck.
Her shuldres as a roebuck; the for leggs streght and gret ynow, and nought to
hind legges; the feet straught and round as a catte, and great cleas; the
boones and the joynetes of the cheyne grete and hard as the chyne of an
hert; the thighs great and squarred as an hare; the houghs steight, and not
crompyng as of an oxe.
A catte's tayle, making a ring at eend, but not to hie.
Of all manere of Greihondes there byn both good and evel; Natheless the
best hewe is rede falow, with a black moselle...'
Wow! You should see the amount of spell-check red lines after that
paragraph, hehehe.
Q.215. Hi Henry. Were there any tramps or homeless people in Tudor times?
Ah! Now that’s a sore point with me, with only about 4 million people and
plenty of arable land we in court could not see why there was any level of
unemployment. So we were quite hard on Tramps and vagrants.
A law of 1536 was severe. Vagabonds were whipped the first time caught by
Lord’s of Manors. However for a second offence they had the lower part of
their right ear cut off (so they could be easily identified wherever they went).
For a third offence they were hanged.
However officers of the law were reluctant to carry out such harsh
punishments. So the law was eased a little, anyone who roamed or loitered
for 3 days without a job must offer to work for any employer for any wages
he was willing to pay. If nobody would employ him then he must offer to
work just for food and drink. If he did not do this then anyone could take him
to the local magistrate. The vagrant was then made that person's slave for 2
years. If he ran away during that time he was branded and made a slave for
life. If he ran away again he was hanged. This terrible law was abolished in
1550. The earlier punishment of flogging was made the cost for being a
tramp.
Oh come now, you must be able to work it out for heaven’s sake!
The vagrants with cut ears who had to take any job, were Earmarked for a
job! The Vagrants who were made into virtual slaves and bonded to a manor
were now called Vagabonds. Do I have to explain it all for you?
Homelessness nowadays means you cannot afford somewhere to live. In
Tudor days to could live where you worked or even make a shack out of old
timber and branches, so there was no excuse to be without somewhere to
sleep or shelter. This of course would be impossible today with 53 Million
people and no free land, this is why real homeless people live under bridges
in cardboard boxes, so who is more caring Tudors or You?
HenryR
Q.216. I read that only if you were middle class could you afford glass for your
windows. How did poor people in Tudor times see out of the windows or stop
the wind and rain from coming in?
In the 15th century only a small minority of people could afford glass
windows. During the 16th century they became much more common.
However they were still expensive. If you moved house you took your glass
windows with you! Tudor windows were made of small pieces of glass called
Quarries, held together by strips of lead called Cames. They were called
lattice windows because they had a lattice pattern. However the poor still
had to make do with strips of linen soaked in linseed oil. If you soak linen with
oil it becomes translucent and you can see movement, and outlines of objects
through it. The oil would seal the weave of the linen to stop the wind, though
the Sun would dry it out and it needed to have more oil added.
HenryR
Q.217. Are there any funny sayings that were used in Tudor times?
Yes! My favourite.
Let me first of all explain when it was used.
When people seemed to have died, a bell was put into their hand just in case
they were still alive when buried, we have discussed this before.
So, say the deceased was a tyrant to his family and they hated him. When he
was lying there sick and near death they would say:
“A cracked bell does not sound well!” Hehehehe, I like that one.
Q.218. What is the differnce between Stocks and Pillory?
Height. The Stocks were low down and designed to clamp the victime by the
legs and/or hands. The Pillory was on a post or "pillar" which was designed to
clamp the victime by the head and hands. The Pillory was for considered the
worst and was for more horrible people. Here's a fw pictures I took on my
travels, notice there are no Pillaries, this is because they were banned and
have rotted due to their all wood constuction.
Q.219. From Grace. Dear Henry
Where can I find a digital image of one of your Officers from the Mary Rose
for my history project?
Why are you sooooooo fat? How many calories could you consume in Tudor
times?
What a preposterous attitude! Asking me to answer a quite difficult question
and then immediately insulting me.
Having calmed down the King decided to answer this enquiry with the dignity
expected from Royalty.
Firstly there are few pictures out there of Naval officers because they were
not high enough nor rich enough to have them painted. Any pictures are from
the imagination of Historians who put together the pieces of investigative
research and formulate the apparent style of clothing. The actual officers
would not have had a real uniform; they would have bought their own
clothing and would use hard wearing cloth and leather. Their clothing would
need to be very flexible and allow their limbs to move freely, when climbing
rigging etc.
I have found via my many sources of information the following pictures, reassembled into a usable collage.
Now about fatness, I was a diabetic in my latter years and the body fluid
accumulated to create a fattening effect, my legs were unusable due to a
cracked bone and infection. Eating great amounts is a myth; I was an athlete
up to the age of about 38 and after kept my diet to a sustainable level. Great
banquets of over 20 courses are a complete fallacy, they were all different
items served at the same time. A BUFFET, that’s why we had guards to serve
us called Buffeteers or Beefeaters.
Y’know sometimes it aghast the King that questioners don’t read previous
enquiries, I must have answered this question 4 times.
It’s so hard being a King with so may attention grabbing, misleading, so-called
historians out there trying to sell their rubbish. Thank heaven for real,
accurate authors like Alison Weir, David Starkey, Antonia Fraser who sell
many thousands of books because they give a balanced view and the facts.
Q.220. I’ve been ganged up on by a whole class of Young Tudors from
Devonshire.
Here is a card especially made for you all, my Daughter Elizabeth sends her
greetings too and is making sure I mention her website too.
To answer all your questions together then for the world to see:
1. How rich was I?
2. How Successful was I?
3. How many Battles did I win?
Wealth is of two origins in the Monarchy, the country’s wealth and the
Monarchs personal wealth. Our present Queen Elizabeth II is very rich; she is
about the 4th richest person in the world with about £1 Billion pounds. My
Father Henry VII left me £1.25 Million Tudor that is £375 Million now, I spent
it. I then raked in £175 million from the sale of Monastery lands giving a total
of £550 Million, which I also spent.
My Children Edward and Mary were not very good with money too and nearly
bankrupted England so when Elizabeth became Queen she was personally
quite poor for a Queen. She made England rich again in her 50 years in
power.
Success could be judged in many ways, I prefer to judge it by how popular the
Monarch was. In my heyday I was the most popular King this country has ever
seen, though my antics with various wives and my latter years made the
people fear and hate me. Elizabeth stood out for England, stood up to the
Papist Europe and the invasion of the Spanish aggressor. So being a realist
Elizabeth was the most successful of us two but she had the Tudor line as an
inherited trust and she never had a son to keep it going.
I never had a really big war to prove my spurs as a Knightly King, I joined up
with Ferdinand but was let down by his underhanded tricks, I joined up with
the Emperor Charles and invaded a small insignificant part of France which
we emblazoned as the battle of the Spurs, a pure propaganda exercise. My
new navy fought off the French invasion in the Solent where my favourite
ship Mary Rose was lost.
I suppose Elizabeth was the most effective battle head as she brought the
country through the Spanish Armada attempt to invade us, though there is a
lot of truth behind the fact that the weather had a lot to do with it.
Go see the other websites
www.ElizabethTudor.co.uk
www.TudorDynasty.co.uk A Tudor monthly magazine written by the experts.
Q.222. How old would you be if you were still alive?
Not a silly question, I was born in 1491 so I would be 515 years old. Now
here's a question for you, if I ws 18 when I became King what year was it?
And I died when I was 55 nearly 56 so when was that too?
Can you put a date next to these happenings?
a. I married Ann Boleyn in..........
b. I married Jane Seymour in........ when I was ........ years old.
c. My Daughter Elizabeth was born in..........
d. The Mary Rose sank in ............
Hehehehenry
Q.223.Hi Henry. Did you have Slaves?
No. Everyone who worked at the Court was a paid employee.
But! If you define what slavery means then England had Slaves for Centuries.
We had men and women bound under law as “owned by another person”,
they were called Serfs, we also made tramps into slaves for not working when
work is offered.
The Slave trade is not a British invention, it is a Middle Eastern invention, Asia
and South East Asia also prospered with free labour. To this world’s discredit,
the Slave trade is still alive in some North African countries. Nobody should
be owned by another person this should be a given right to all people
wherever they live.
I have put together a collage of the English Slave trade based upon the Cotton
and Sugar trade of the 17th/18th Centuries.
Q.224. Hi Henry. Why did you like Artichokes so much?
Ah! Not a well known fact, but Artichokes have for a very long time been
associated with raising the virility of men. At a time when I was under
tremendous pressure to produce a son and heir to the throne, I eat a lot of
Artichokes. I became very fond of them especially when my two Chef's
designed meals to make the Artichokes more interesting.
Q.225. Hi Henry. My family were at your talk at Samlesbury Hall last Sunday,
the children have not stopped talking about it and have started to visit your
website, making the models and reading the files. A wonderful way of
teaching History.
I do have a Question.
How often did people have a bath and how many set of clothing did Henry
have?
Cleanliness was a problem. The people only had two set of clothes each, one
for everyday and the other for special days. They changed them when they
wore out, they slept in the undergarments too. The people had a Bath once
per year, usually in early May when Spring was upon us, this was named
Spring Cleaning. Their houses were cleaned out at the same time. The bath
was a shared system, the man of the house went first, the lady, the male
children, the daughters then the babies. All in the same water, hence “Don’t
throw the baby away in the bath water!”
We in the higher nobility wore furs to attract body lice off our skin and hair. I
washed every day on the parts that showed, I changed my clothes three
times per day to give my staff chance to shake them and beat out the dust. I
had a new set of clothes every three days the old ones were burnt. Burnt!
Yes, to keep others from wearing my past clothing and to stop spies checking
for body stains to see if I am ill. The jewellery was dismantled and re-set into
new pieces. I had full time clothiers and jewellers.
My Daughter Elizabeth bathes once per month! Silly girl, this washes off the
natural body oils and will leave her vulnerable to diseases, won’t it?
Remember if we all smell the same, who knows who smells?
Q.226. Hi Henry. Did you like your Father?
I respected my Father, after all he was the one who fought Richard III and
brought the English Crown to the Tudors. He was very careful with money
and wrongly was considered a miser. He actually was generally careful but if
the occasion arose he would [put on a fantastic banquet and ball. He loved
my Mother dearly but he favoured my Brother Arthur above me, which I
resented. He did not like my level of intelligence and questioning, he often
sent me away from his presence because I would argue against his reasoning.
I feared my Father when Arthur was alive because I was the second son and
he could have me punished severely. When Arthur died and I became the
heir, my Father had to accept my opinions though he resented me even
more. I pushed my opinions further into our quarrels and really risked my life
at times, but he could not risk losing the Tudor throne so I got away with it.
When he died, I quickly threw away the austerity of his reign and started the
have fun.
A short answer then would be that I did not like my Father, though I
respected him, my Mother and Grandmother were my icons.
Q.227. How many horses did you have?
I had over 200 horses at any one time in my life, though the form they took
changed as I became less athletic. From Coursers to Palfreys shows how I
went from galloping horses to single footers, well who wants to bounce up
and down when old as in armour. To run a stable of race horses it was seen as
a sport of Kings because of the cost, a horse was called a Hobby horse and so
the Hobby became an expensive past time. I had Spanish, French, Italian and
African horses, many of which were gifts but when I bought them they cold
cost up to £15,000 of your money, I used them in my own stud and sold the
foals as profit.
Q.228. To Henry
Why do you wear heavy clothes ?
from Georgia
Only when I go outside or into a cold part of an old stone castle would I wear
heavy clothing. Normally the rooms are heated for me with a big log fire.
In the 1500's England went through a mini-Ice age and even the river Thames
would freeze up every year so it was very cold. 2006 temperatures in degrees
Centrigrade for a year is -10 to 95, in 1500's the range was -20 to 60 and
that's cold enough to freeze the sea!
HenryR
Q.229. To Henry
How old were you when you died?
Sofie and Manjari
I’m still alive! I'm now 515 years old young Lady.
Ok, Ok, I'll let you in on the secret, I died when I was 55 years and 9 months
old. Shhhhhh! Don't tell anybody I'm still alive because of the Time machine
that looks like a Motorhome is my big secret and everyone will want one.
HenryR
Q.230 From Melika
To Henry which is your favourite piece of clothing?
Hi Melika
The top cloaks are very cumbersome but also very warm so I like them in
winter, however I like to ride my horses and go hunting, so my leather topped
tunic and riding breeches are my favourite.
When dancing I like my lightweight tunic with my silver dagger. I have trouble
with shoes, the square fronted Tudor leather shoe is a bad design and very
uncomfortable, you are so luck in 2006 having soft shoes so well made. I have
a few pairs of woollen shoes, I think you call them slippers.
HenryR
Q.231 To Henry
What is your favourite sport?
from
Maddie
It depends on my age and health which becomes my favourite sport.
When I was young and athletic, I loved to gallop in the Tilt yards and be the
Royal Knight trying to rescue the trapped Princess in the castle tower. All
pretend though! Then when I became older, I just went hunting on
horseback. Now I'm old, I like Hawking with my Eagles-Owls and Peregrine
Falcons becasue they do all the work and I just watch.
I also like tennis and bowls.
HenryR
Q.232 From Ellie
What happened at a Tudor banquet?
What food did they eat at a Tudor banquet?
What entertainment was there at a Tudor banquet?
There was different levels of banquet.
1. The daily banquet for the King and his court.
A great table with all the course out at the same time, up to 20 different
things to choose from. It was a Buffet. The King had two Buffeteers to go and
collect the food he wanted, these buffeteers are now called Beefeaters.
2. Visiting Friends Lords of the realm.
Still a Buffet but more elaborate food, lots of sweets to display the wealth
needed for sugar and spices.
3. Visiting foreign dignitaries and ambassadors.
Still a buffet but with a centre piece, often a swan stuffed ten layers with
other fowl meats. A large sugar carving in the centre which would be eaten
with the sweets.
The court would have its Jester plus a band of players. The larger banquets
would have jugglers and singers maybe even a short play.
Occasionally a Knight would ride his horse right into the banqueting hall to
impress visitors.
It is a fallacy that King Henry VIII was a greedy eater; he chose his food from
the buffet and did not gorge himself. His over weight I later life was due to
lack of activity through his long illness the cause eventually of his death at 55
year 9 months, an old age for a Man in those days.
Q.233 Hi Henry.
Who was described as “A nymph from heaven”?
This was not in my presence because it would have been rude to describe my
Sister like that in court. Mary Tudor, became the Queen of all France when I
had arranged her marriage to the old, toothless King Louis XII. We had made
a promise before that marriage that she would be allowed to choose her own
husband when the old King died. He did die soon of course but her beautiful
looks preceded any encounter in her presence and other prominent
European leaders were very interested in a union. I therefore had decided to
arrange yet another marriage despite our promise, sending over Charles
Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk and my best friend, to collect her and bring her
back to England, now the Dowager Queen of France. Venetian ambassadors
were very prominent in my court as we traded heavily with Venice and its
South-sea fleet of merchant ships. It was these Venetians who describe Mary
in those terms.
Charles Brandon loved Mary and though he has promised to bring her back
safely to our shores she won his heart even more when she declared that he
should marry her himself to stop her Brother marrying her off for some
political gain. The worst candidate on her horizon was Charles V the Emperor
of Rome, a villain and in-bred monarch who had that infamous Hapsburg
chin. His looks prompted Mary to state, “I would rather be torn to pieces”
than marry him. So Charles took the biggest risk of his life and married the
beautiful Mary, thus taking the arranged marriage out of the equation. I was
furious with them both; I had lost money on the possible deal with Charles V
because these two fools had married without my consent. However I relented
from pressure of the people who loved Mary, Charles was my best friend and
I decided to fine them instead.
The newly married Suffolk’s went on to become parents then grandparents
and was always loyal to my throne. However there is a sinister ending, one of
their granddaughters, Lady Jane Grey went on to a terrible end thanks to an
unforgiving Queen Mary I, my daughter.
Q.234 Hi Henry.
I heard the name Baldric and wondered if there was really a person called
Baldric who was the dogsbody character in Blackadder.
Don’t be silly, A Baldric was a silk sash or leather band slung over one the
shoulder and round the opposite hip. Later it was fastened on the left hip and
carried the sword holder. It steadiest the sword or dagger when walking.
There was a Blackadder though, in the court of Queen Mary Stuart of
Scotland!
Q.235 Hi Henry
If a person could not afford a four poster bed to stop birds and vermin in the
thatched roof defecating on them when they were asleep, what did they do
instead?
They wore a tie with a cap around their chins to keep their mouths closed, it
was called a Biggin.
Q.236 Hi Henry
Where does the word Bombastic come from?
I hope you are not insinuating something about me! If I wanted to look more
fierce and powerful than I really am I would wear a Bombast under the
clothes to pad out the shoulders. Padding made of cotton and rags used to
stuff in the linings of 16th-century garments.
Q.237 Hi Henry
We call our penny 1p, with the “p” to mean a penny. Why did we used to call
a penny 1d?
A silver penny had a Romanesque name Denarius
DENARIUS: The English silver penny, hence the abbreviation "d."
Here is a fantastic website for you to calculate the value today of money from
historical dates.
www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ppoweruk/
Q. 238 to 243 From Sweden
We are two students from Nykopings Enskilda Gymnasium in Sweden. This
year we are working on a project in our English course consisting of a visit to
London. The purpose with the task is that we ourselves plan our trip and days
in London and during our visit make a project valuable to another subject.
The trip will take place between the 5th and 10th of March.
We have planned to study the dark history of London with alignment of the
life and actions of King Henry the VIII.
In our project we search answers on questions that will give us a good outline
of the life and actions of Henry the VIII:
• Who was Henry the VIII?
• What influence had Henry the VIII on the Church of England and the
inhabitants?
• Which marks are significant of Henry the VIII that the society confirm today
(laws, firm standards, history, buildings etc.)
• Which changes has England lived through and how does it show in modern
time?
• What “made” Henry the VIII a cruel monarch and which amount were the
executions and wars he started?
We would like to know if you could help us with this by an interview or
meeting.Or perhaps we could join in a group that will see King Henry?
Hoping for an answer soon
Yours Sincerely
Linnéa Franzon and Sara Larsson,
Ah! Sweden calling, do you know I once fancied marrying a Scandinavian
Princess? But she told me that she would only marry me if she had two
heads. Cheeky wench!
I will indeed answer your questions dear ladies.
1. Who was Henry VIII? King Henry Octavia please! I am the son of Henry
Tudor King Henry VII who deposed the outrageous King Richard III of the
Plantagenet line. Bosworth Field was the nemesis of that cruel and
murderous King. My older brother Arthur was to be the next in line but he
died before he could take the throne, leaving me to become King Henry VIII.
38 years on the throne, some say I changed from magnificent ruler to a tyrant
I my latter years, maybe so but it was caused by too much anguish and
betrayal amongst my family. I ruled England from 1509 to 1547, glorious
years when technology came into the royal control. The printing press, cast
iron, newer battle planning and better fortress design for defence.
2. I invented the Church of England. Before it was the Roman Catholic Church
ruled by a corrupt Papal system. The poor had to pay for have prayers spoken
for them in Latin by priests who were not holy men at all, most were second
sons of wealthy families and were only in it to make money, which they did
on abundance. I lost all confidence in the papal church when they would not
grant me an annulment of my marriage to Katherine of Aragon. Our marriage
was once very happy but after 23 years it became a farce and we did not even
like each other during the last few years. Because the church head was
related to Katherine, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles was her nephew; they
refused to listen to my pleas for a divorce or annulment. So I broke away
from that church and formed my own English version, this was called the
Reformation. The people liked it because they now did not have to pay their
money to the corrupt church. Lots of nobles were against it because their
sons were priests.
3. What did I leave England? I left England with strong defences fortress
system along the South coast, a strong navy, wonderful Palaces such as
Hampton Court and Nonesuch Palace, I left then the right to their own
Church of England controlled by their own monarch. More than all this I left
my people a stronger country with an influential monarchy.
4. The greatest change my reign had and is still seen was the Church of
England, now modelled on the Protestant faith because of my Son Edwards
influence on the faith itself. I left England with my daughter Elizabeth who
became even greater than me.
5. My cruelty is related really only to the ones who hurt me. Catherine
Howard betrayed me so badly I began a campaign of revenge against the
Howard’s and their relations, remember that Ann Boleyn was of Howard
blood too. Catherine had an affair behind my back with a courtier Thomas
Culpepper, they died by the rule of the treason laws. All high born nobles had
the right to judge and execute in the name of the throne, so many died
without my knowledge and in my name. The History books fail to decipher
this fact. So I got the blame for all executions.
As for a meeting. Well my calendar for 2007 is rather full at the moment. You
say you are in London between 5th and 10th March. I am I Southampton and
Dorset between 6th and 9th March, an evening interview cold be arranged
but you will have to do the travelling as I am performing at two venues.
I hope all this information helps you in your studies.
His Royal Highness
King Henry Octavia
Q.244 How much did things cost in Tudor times?
I have asked my other self to research this one for you.
How much did things cost in Tudor times?
By Ray Irving
No need to guess my friend, just multiply the following prices by 300 and they
are then converted to present day values.
Annual Salary of the Queen's ladies was £33. 6s. 8d. or £33.34p
For two female servants and a groom, 13s. 4d or 67p per week.
A Priest cost 10d or 5p per
2 shillings a month or 12p were the board wages of the Fool.
The Master of her barge received 1s. 4d. or 7p a day, and the rowers 8d or
4p.
A messenger for going from Greenwich to London was paid no more than 6d
or 3p.
The expense of keeping a child was 16s or 80p a year.
The breakfast of one of the Ladies of the Court cost 9d or 4.5p.
The hire of a boat from Greenwich to London was 4d or 2p and from London
to Westminster 2d or 1p.
A surgeon's fee for going from London to Richmond to visit the Queen was
13s. 4d or 68p.
Workmen and labourers' wages appear to have been 6d or 3p a day.
An embroiderer was allowed £2 a year for his house rent, and 1s. 4d or 7p. a
week board wages; whilst women embroiderers were paid 3s or 18p a week,
which included their board wages.
A pair of shoes for the Fool, and for footmen, cost 6d or 3p each; and a pair
for the Queen, single- soled, with Laton buckles, 1s or 6p., but a pair of
buskins for her use cost 4s or 24p.
Fifty-two barrels of beer, which were given to the Friars Observants of
Greenwich, cost £6.18s. 8d or £6.94p, 2s. 8d. or 14p a barrel
The hire of a horse, to carry a female servant from Easthampstead to London
was 1s. 4d. or 7p. and the wages of grooms of the chamber were 1s.or 5p and
of the pages 8d. or 4p per day.
Go to this website for more revelations
www.r3.org/bookcase/wardrobe/ward6.html
Q.245. Do you have a family tree showing everybody on the throne of
England from William the Conqueror to our present Queen Elizabeth II?
Sure do.
Q.246. A number of questions about your daughter Mary.
Dear Mary,
We are a group of Year 8 students from Stocksbridge High School in Sheffield.
We have been studying your reign and thinking about your reputation. These
are some questions we would like to ask you:
1. Why did you burn and kill people?
2. Did you enjoy killing people?
3. Why did you part boil Wyatt after his death?
4. Did the fact that you were mistreated as a child, influence the way you felt
and behaved in later life?
5. Why did you change from being a popular Queen at the start of your reign,
to a cruel and hated one by the end?
We hope you are able to answer our questions, and look forward to hearing
from you soon.
Thank-you
Class 8NA
Stocksbridge High School
Hello year 8 Class 8NA
Thank you for your enquiry and for your sharp questions. I must before I
answer them put you in the view of life for Mary Tudor.
She was always wanted to be a boy by her father and a fair disappointment
when she always took her Mothers side in any argument. Her Mother was a
Spanish Princess before she became Queen, wife of King Henry VIII, so being
a princess herself made her feel more towards her Mothers viewpoint. Now,
her Father did not divorce her Mother, he annulled the marriage which
means it was unlawful and therefore Mary became just plain old Lady Mary a
clear demotion from that of Princess Mary. He Mother was demoted to
Widowed wife of a dead Prince so was called Princess again.
Now her Father takes her Roman Catholic Church away and even gets her to
look after the new baby with Anne Boleyn, the baby being Princess Elizabeth.
Can you see why she resented her half sister and her father and the New
Church Head Thomas Cranmer. Worse to come, her new baby Brother is
going to be the next ruler of England; she has to look after him as well. He
becomes King and changes the Church to Protestant; at least her Father’s
church was still Catholic if not papal. Edward dies and the councillors do not
pick her to be the next ruler, instead her half cousin Lady Jane Grey gets the
throne. Mary has to raise an army and take London back by force.
Now Mary is Queen, she is fairly old to be a new Queen with new ideas, so
she marries the King of our old arch enemy, Spain. This does not go down
well in the country, as Mary promises to bring the Roman Catholic faith back
to a land that now has a majority who don’t want it back. Force is applied,
people are burnt for heresy and she gets the new Nickname Bloody Mary.
Was she cruel, well yes very much so, with all the hurt inside her, she now let
go of her self control. Thomas Cranmer was burnt at the stake but she
ordered the fire not to be too large as she wanted him to burn slowly.
I have asked Mary if she enjoyed the killing of people, she shrugs her
shoulders and walks away from the questioning. She does not care less.
When a commoner is found guilty of treason they are hung drawn and
quartered, a punishment stretching back to 1066, their heads are par boiled
to make then turn black before being stuck on a spike on London Bridge to
warn others. To blacken one’s reputation came from this.
Mary was only popular with the Roman Catholics but by the end of her reign
she was the most hated ever.
Mary never liked me, she hated Elizabeth and resented Edward. Quite a
mixed up individual really.
Q.247. And now I’m doing people’s homework!
Greeting your majesty.
I have a question for thee. Why did you close down the monasteries? Write
back quickly I have an essay to do about you.
God speed.
Julian.
I took over the papal control of the monasteries. I sent Jack Horner with
soldiers to collect the deeds of all monasteries earning more than £60,000 in
today's money which is £200 Tudor. The ones below that figure I left alone
but they had to conform to my new Catholic ruling. Only Monasteries that
held back and resisted were destroyed.
The Nursery Rhyme Little jack Horner was based upon these seizures. He was
paid by letting him pick one for his family to own, he picked the plum one,
near Exeter. The Horner’s still live there today!
HenryR
Q.248. Did you make many mistakes? Fred from Dunbar.
Now do you expect me to admit to making mistakes? I am the King of England
and never make mistakes!
This is rather a bad view of the monarchy, but a true one. So here are the
many mistakes I made, but don’t tell anybody else!
I had the Mary Rose ship refitted with carvel timbers instead of Clinker, this
made it less stable, then I had more cast iron cannon fitted near the waterline, then I put too many men in it. Then it sank! So I blamed the captain.
I believed Thomas Cromwell when he told me Anne Boleyn was a witch and
she bewitched me into marriage, the proof being she couldn’t give me a son.
I banned the English Bible, even had the writer executed for writing it. Then I
issued it in all my Church of England churches.
I annulled a perfectly good marriage with Katherine of Aragon on the
pretence that the marriage was illegal as she was the widow of my brother
Arthur.
I forced Mary to be a minder of my other children, she was demoted from
Princess to Lady Mary which turned here rather bitter towards me and my
new Church.
I lied when I told my sister Mary Tudor that she could marry her own choice if
and when her husband the King of France died, she married Charles Brandon
before I cold stop it.
I’m not admitting to anymore, except to say that Will Somers calmed down a
few mistakes in court with his humour, thus making them look like a joke.
HenryR
Q.249. What was your saddest moment?
Everybody has many sad moments I their lives and just because the history
books see me as the powerful egotistical monarch it does not mean I had no
heart. I was very sad when my Mother, Elizabeth and my grandmother
Margaret died. They were a great influence on my life. But the saddest
moments in my adult life were the deaths of my lovely wife Jane and finding
out in public that my traitorous wife Catherine Howard had a boyfriend
behind my back. The loss of many babies were a constant reminder of my
mortality and human side.
Now you have put me into a sad mood, boo hoo.
HenryR
Q.250 To Henry
Did you like your brother or sister?.
From Maddie
Hello Lady Maddie
I liked my Brother Arthur, remember that when he was alive he was going to
be the next King.
I never really knew my Sister Margaret, she went away to be Queen of
Scotland, I never saw her again.
I really liked my younger sister Mary, though when I became King she didn't
want me to choose whom she married. We came to the understanding that i
picked an Old, sick man for her first husband, which was King Louis of France,
and when he died she could choose her own husband next. I actually changed
my mind and was about to marry her off to my choice, but she married my
best friend Charles Brandon without my approval.
I forgave them and made them the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk. They had
children and grandchildren, the most famous being Lady Jane Grey.
Lady Jane Grey
HenryR
Q.251 Why did you fine your best friend £6m ?
Because Charles Brandon was sent as my emissary to France to bring back my
sister Mary, now the widow of the late King Louis. I had negotiated a £6m
deal to marry her off to another European Prince as a political move. Alas
Charles was succumbed into an unlawful marriage to Mary by the new King of
France, Francis I. When they returned to my court I fined them the money I
had lost, but I made them both the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk so they could
afford to pay it off.
So don’t say I am not a forgiving and kind man!
HenryR
Q.252. Hi Henry. As Ray, who was your Historical hero after all the past years
of being King Henry VIII?
It is a good question because before being Henry VIII my hero’s were like
every one else, King Arthur and Queen Elizabeth I. Yet after delving deeply
into human history where the person comes out and you begin to understand
how they thought these two ex-hero’s of mine move into the shadows. King
Arthur it seems as a Romanesque Briton taking advantage of the vacancy left
by the garrison as they were recalled to defend Rome. He was a leader who
took over the hot seat, battled in the Northwest of England in the rushes of
the River Douglas and worked his way down to Pembrokeshire and the hove
the sea to Cornwall. He was just a thug who overran communities. Then
Queen Elizabeth I, I still regard her as a great monarch, but she manipulated
people badly, never made decisions well and passed on the blame for her
errors. She sounds like she would do well in modern-day politics.
I do have two heroes, one is a rich man of political power but with the high
courage of his own convictions and he was King Henry’s Chancellor, Thomas
More. He was executed because he would not accept publicly that the head
of the Church of England would be the Monarchy, as it became and still is
today. The other was a poor man, a deformed stone mason who became the
constant companion to the Jesuit leaders, Edmund Campion and later Henry
Garnet. This man became a Saint and is called St. Nicholas Owen, sometime
called Little John. On the run most of his adult life because of his skills in the
making of priest holes and tunnels for hiding and aiding the escape of
Catholic Priests. Nicholas Owen will always have the respect of me writing his
full name and will never be used in historical writings as anything but a real
human being.
Nicholas Owen was hiding in one of his own spaces when soldiers raided
Samlesbury Hall and found the brothers Edmund and John Campion. John
Campion was killed and Edmund taken to London to be publicly executed.
Nicholas Owen now teamed up with the next leader of the Jesuits, from
nearby Preston, Lancashire. Both men were captured later on after the
Gunpowder plotters were being hunted, at Hindlip Hall. Both men died at the
hands of their captors, Nicholas Owen whilst being tortured and Henry
Garnet publicly hung drawn and quartered. We were once a Nation of
barbaric laws.
Q.253. How high was a blacksmiths skills considered in Tudor days?
You ever done Blacksmithying?
By Ray Irving
No such word as Blacksmithying, it’s either Forge work or it is Hot Metalwork
but today I don’t care if the spellcheck burns out. The Blacksmith was the
highest Technologist supplier of Henry’s day, he made a wrought iron suit of
armour and the sword Henry used, and he was sought after for his skills on
the anvil. Nowadays a Blacksmith is a tourist attraction, yet we still have
“wrought” iron gates made by factories or railings or brackets because we
like steel as much as we like wood. Yet I must say if you noticed the inclusion
of the “” the term wrought iron is badly misused these days. Wrought Iron is
pure iron, no carbon nor alloying metals, and true wrought iron will not rust
because it resists oxidation whereas if you had the nasty experience of a
Soviet made car, steel rusts. Modern “wrought ion” is actually black mild
steel, a hot rolled metal which has been quenched in oil thus giving it a soft
and malleable condition suitable for cold bending. Factories make the gates
and fitments on their fixtures and fittings thus getting rid of the magic of the
Blacksmith’s hammer blows. To find a modern-day blacksmith is still
reasonably easy but expect high costs as the work he does is very skilful and
time consuming, he may use real wrought iron and use black old engine oil to
quench his finished product, this absorbs a little carbon on the surface to give
a black appearance. He will not try fooling you, the swirls on one side will not
be exactly the same as the other side, and he uses his eyes to balance the
product, no sign of any automation accuracy, real hand made with errors in it
to give it a personality.
I have made hundred’s of steel products in my time as a Technology Teacher,
when practical skills were seen as essential to the growth of a child and the
word computer was never uttered. Nowadays Technology is a design study,
computerised and costed as if to go into mass production, it has lost the skill
development in the motor-skills department of the human being. The
Blacksmith, Carpenter, Builder and plumber are under attack from the factory
mass production market who persuade the average Joe to buy from the DIY
store, clip together technology reigns. I often hear visitors at Samlesbury Hall
comment, “we couldn’t make it like this nowadays” when they study the
carving on the posts or the ornate stone fireplace, well they are correct we
could do it because we just couldn’t afford to do it.
Q.254. Do you have real close up pictures of King Henry's jewellery?
Yep! Taken just last week in the Tower of London.
Q.255. Hi Henry. I enjoyed your story about your visit to Nonsuch Palace in
Ewell, Surrey.
Just why did Henry build this fantastic Palace and why did he designed it in
such a fashion? I have seen only a few pictures of the Palace, are there any
bits of it left?
Camelot was in my mind when I designed this Palace, also my hunting needs.
MY son also needed a place to learn to be King of England and so he was
trained in the art of Kingship there.
There are small pieces of masonry in the foyer of Bourne Hall in Ewell.
Q.256. I have heard that you have a “devils mask”, is that true?
No it is not true, but I do have a devilish mask. A mask designed to scare off
opponents during Jousting. It was a gift from Emperor Maximillian.
Q.257. Greetings your Majesty, my Year 5 class and I have been learning all
about you in our daily lessons and we were hoping that you could shed some
light on your lifestyle as King. What are your duties? Can you tell us your four
favourite accomplishments (achieved over your lifetime)? What kind of duties
would you not perform and last but not least could you tell us about a typical
'work' day for yourself?
Thank you for your time
Kind regards,
Miss S and 5AS
I do believe that the most compelling of my achievements was to rid this
country for the leaches that ran the Papal Catholic Church, remember they
were Borga’s and ruthless in their methods of controlling their Holy Empire,
Emperor Charles was the most blood thirsty man I have ever met, he
murdered his way across Europe in the name of God. My wife was his Aunt,
enough said.
My people had been robbed by the antics of the Church ever since they restocked their pulpits with second sons of Nobles; the Black Death had reaped
havoc with their numbers of Priests. These money minded individuals began
selling God to the people in the form of paid prayers and the people resented
it. This Pope even refused my pleas for a divorce from a woman who bored
me and was my brother’s widow, which was illegal. Her nephew put an end
to my request leaving me no option but to disband their hold on my people
and my own freedom to change my wife. I dissolved their Papal system, some
land went to nobles who helped me and some went to nobles to bring them
on my side, the people flocked to the new Church of England, still catholic but
now with no payment and the Bibles in English for the first time.
My other achievements undertaken before I died and never seen by myself as
a saviour to my Country was the building of our Navy and the fortresses along
the South coast. I used the monastery stones to build them, so it was rather
nice to see the Pope helping without knowing.
I designed Castles, Palaces and Houses. I brought together middle class
intellectuals to form my court, keeping the rather stupid Nobility at arms
length; again this did not weather well with the system.
My day is always varied; I dine with my court in the morning and discuss the
proceedings for the day, what you would call a management meeting. I would
then do Royal things like to go Hunting, or archery, or design my Jousting
parties. My chancellor would be in charge of all the political duties and he
would report to me during the day. Much had been said, wrongly I might add,
by the media of Books of my passion for large meals. 20 courses they say,
every meal they say. All is rubbish. Yes there were 20 different types of food
at every meal, they were set up on a middle table and was for 200 people. A
Buffet. I even had two servants to get the one or two different items for my
meal, these men were called Buffeters, nowadays you call them Beefeaters.
So you see History books have been written with exaggerated claims to make
them sell, like the Sun newspaper. Propaganda! Poppycock!
What you see is definitely not what you get.
Take my portrait by Hans Holbein for an instance. It took his three months to
paint, I asked him to make me look aggressive, commanding and strong of
character, which he did. Now you think me and a tyrant. It was a manipulated
portrait and you fell for it, hehehehe.
I am a human being; picture snapshots do not reflect the man. I changed to a
more revengeful King after being hurt badly by Catherine Howard’s adultery
with one of my friends. I was a sad man after my beloved wife Jane died 13
days after out son Edward was born, in her arms he slept as she died, I went
into a two year decline.
So Dear Children, being King Henry VIII is not all sport, eating, drinking,
womanizing it was also one of the most heartbreaking lives one could live.
Being a King is about being powerful so nobody will try to invade, or take
your throne whilst you are sat on it. To this end I believe I was a good King
with marital problems.
Take some time to study these websites of mine:
1. www.HenryTudor.co.uk Full of facts, pictures and kits.
2. www.ElizabethTudor.co.uk Elizabethan version of my website.
3. www.TudorDynasty.co.uk A monthly free Tudor magazine written by
academics.
4. www.TheCastleKeeper.com All my pictures taken from inside the Kings
viewpoint.
5. www.TudorRoyal.com A new and exciting website for your class to join,
only free materials, only real people a new insight to the world of History.
New for 2007! A set of real video’s for schools of Henry explaining his history.
These will be available from about may 2007.
I thank you dear people for your patience.
HenryR
Q.258. Hi Henry
Were you sad when your brother Arthur died so young?
Oops! Sore point. I never really knew my brother Arthur; he was destined to
be the next King of England after our father, so he was never with me. He was
being trained in Kingship with father in the court procedures, the running of
households and religion whilst I was having fun learning my favourite subjects
like Astronomy, Mathematics and Art. Got to say at this juncture that I did
not get on at all well with my father, he thought I was too clever for my own
food, that my ideas of kingdom control were at odds with his money making
schemes and tightness. I did covert Arthur’s new wife to be, she stood out
amongst the pale, drab court women, with her wonderful accent, tanned skin
and Spanish lace, and I was smitten. Obviously I could do but nothing about
this young mans dream, I even had to be a page boy at their wedding, my
jealous urge just grew through the ceremony. Six months later Arthur was
dead, of course I was sad after all I had just lost my brother and poor
Katherine was now a dowager Princess instead of potential Queen of
England. I later decided that my inner love for Katherine could be quenched
by getting the Popes permission to marry her when I became King. You see it
was illegal in the eyes of the Church of Rome to marry one’s Brother’s widow,
I don’t see why but hat was the law. I married Katherine when I was 18. So a
short answer to your question, yes I was sad but I soon got over it!
Q.259. Is it true that the Black and White tudor houses are wrong?
Yep!
The Black and White trail in Herefordshire, the Black and White mock Tudor
modern buildings are all wrong! Black and white Tudor houses are not the
correct colour; they are a Victorian folly, a mistake of Technology. Brash
statement you may think, how can all those Black and white houses up and
down the country be wrong, you may scorn. But alas it is perfectly true.
Tudors built their houses to last, they used the best hardwoods they could
find locally, Oak, Wyche Elm etc, the tress that could withstand the British
climate and carry enormous loads, and then they let them breath. Okay the
wood will eventually loose its pigments and turn into a drab grey colour but
the wood will last for many centuries because it is drying out after it gets wet.
The Tudors even designed their overhanging upper floors, the jetty, with the
correct angle of water drip in the wind; it’s called the Eaves drop, now just
draw a line from the roof edge to the end of the wood near the ground and
the corner of the Jetty will just touch the line. So why would they seal the
outside of the timber and let the inside dampness rot the wood? Well they
wouldn’t and they didn’t.
Now we have it, the Victorians made a cumbersome mistake of painting all
those beautiful half Timbered houses with Tar, thinking the tar would seal
and protect whilst instead it sealed and rotted. Why did they do it?
Victoriana was the age of the Industrial Revolution, steel the culprit here.
Making steel for the mass use of the builders and Engineers was changed to
use Coal instead of the finer Charcoal. Coal is good if there is no Tar present,
so they cooked the coal in closed ovens and melted out the tar leaving behind
the husks of the coal which is called coke. What do they do with all that scrap
tar? I know let’s dip all the railways sleepers and paint all those ancient
wooden houses, it’ll save us a lot of money in maintenance!
However, the Tar was the most precious of the elements in the coal, if they
had studied the tar more closely as Madam Curie did, they would have found
many new elements, and even Nylon and more to the point in this dirty era,
coal tar soap. The irony of it was that madam Curies may have studied tar a
bit too closely as she died of leukaemia from her discovery of radium in the
tar.
So what colour should a Tudor half timbered house be? Well grey wood and
cream wattle and daube. Go to Dorset there’s plenty of untouched houses
there, maybe the Industrial Revolution never got there!
Footnote: How did they cut those trees in half to form the meaning of Halftimbering?
They laid the tree over two stumps, splitting it at the thick end; two men used
an 8 foot long saw called a Dog, because it had straight dog teeth for cutting
along a grain. The man at the top was called the Top dog, whilst the man at
the bottom who got covered with sawdust was called the Underdog.
Q.260. What are the meanings of the symbols on Coats of Arms?
How much time have you got? I suggest a really good book for beginners:
Basic Heraldry2 by Stephen Friar and John Ferguson ISBN 0-7136-5119-9
Easy to follow and a good read.
Here's a quick answer on a single picture I have produced.
I got some good information from a maker of shields, he told me that if you
stood where the Knight stood then that's the front, so the left is the left and
the right is the right.
Q. 262. Hi Henry,
What problems did Henry VIII encounter in his quest for divorce?
Need to understand the politics of the time. Katerina De Aragon, my Queen,
was the Aunt of Charles the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and he was in
charge of the Pope’s actions.
Now divorcing/Annulling a Queen makes her revert to her old status that of
widow to an English Prince, Prince Arthur Tudor. It also makes her children
illegitimate which would demote the princess Mary down to plain Lady Mary.
Pressure from Spain and Charles stopped the Pope granting me a Divorce
from Katerina so I could marry my sweetheart Ann Bollin (Boleyn). This forced
me to consider alternative directions for the Church.
Before the plight of the Pope is considered, remember he was a Borga and a
ruthless man himself, Emperor Charles was also a very cruel ruthless man too,
so having them as allies was not a good idea. The Roman Catholic Church had
been robbing our people ever since the great plague had wiped out 60% of
the priests. Re-manning with nobles sons, the Pope put ruthless, money
grabbing men in charge of our religion and we suffered at their hands whilst
they got rich. After all why should a family of peasants pay money for a priest
to pray for them in a language they could not understand, Latin?
The Reforming of the Catholic Church was to take away the rule of the Papist
and put our own country in charge of our own religion. Still a Catholic church
until Thomas Seymour ran the country whilst his ward, Prince Edward
became of age, when he changed it into a Protestant Church.
Resistance to the reformation from Monasteries was squashed, only
monasteries earning more than £60,000 in today’s money were taken over,
Nobles whose sons were priests were resistant and so were Roman Catholic
families, usually from the Plantagenet line.
I sent Thomas Cranmer around the universities and churches of Europe to
convince them of the need to take charge of the papist control, the rise of
Lutherans and Protestants helped to get it understood more.
After the change in the church I annulled my marriage to Katerina on the legal
grounds that no man should marry his brother’s widow, Mary became Lady
Mary and Spain began hostilities as they took it as a slight on their people to
demote the daughter of a Spanish Princess. Mary eventually married the King
of Spain and under the laws of inheritance and marriage assumed England
was his for the taking, Spain tried but failed with the Armada to take over the
country they thought they owned.
Q.263. Are there any Tudor Stables still in use today?
Yes but not for feeding horses!
Q.264. Quite a complicated question and answer from a student in Sapin, so
as always never one to give in here's my opinionated reply.
Hello, I am a student from Spain and I have to do an essay about: "the
importance of the Tudor Dynasty in Britain", I would like you as an English
person and knowing many things about it than me, send me something about
that. It is like an article basing your opinion, why do you think the Tudor
Dynasty is important and how it has affected Britain? Thank you very much
indeed. Please speak as you as you could. My name is Pilar and I am studying
a subject at the college called "History and Culture of United Kingdom", thank
you very much again.
Ah! Spain, I like Spain.
First of all Pilar you must put England into perspective, the Tudors were
inevitable in a country so badly ruled before them. I think the problem
started with the great plague in the late 1300’s when 40% of the people died
and 60% of the Roman Catholic priests died because of close proximity to
each other. Up to then the English feudal system appeared to be working,
where all people had work to do and a living could be made by the lowest
skilled person, the Monasteries provided medicine and education for many
but the lowest, they did however look after the poor very well. When these
skilled practitioners of faith and care died leaving behind a void, the Pope
ordered replacement priest from the stock of Nobles sons who were not to
inherit, that is the second and third sons. They saw the priesthood as a way to
make a lot of money and provide a cushion for them to live off. This changed
the Roman Catholic Church dramatically, the shortage of labour and the
resistance to the payment to the church forced the Church to make people
pay go to heaven. This misuse of power caused much resentment to the
Church, though the Nobles liked it and so did the Monarchy, as it kept them
in power and the people under control. The accession of the Plantagenet line
was badly interrupted by Richard Plantagenet who abducted the rightful
Princes, his nephews, and put them into the Tower of London from where
they were never seen again.
Henry Tudor, the son of Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor was an
outsider who had a flimsy connection to the throne by way of Owen Tudor’s
affair with the Plantagenet Queen, their son Edmund became their link.
The Northern war of the Roses had split the country into the two halves of
Lancaster and York, and it was the thought that Richard III would kill the next
in line, Elizabeth Plantagenet that made the Yorkist's look towards their
enemy, the Lancaster's for help. Margaret Beaufort brought the two warring
factions together to help get rid of Richard. Henry Tudor and French
mercenaries led the ranks of the Yorkist's and Lancaster’s to defeat Richard III
at Bosworth field to become the first Tudor King, Henry VII. The two Princes
in the Tower were dead, Henry married Elizabeth of York and the new
dynasty began.
How the Tudor effected Britain is quite awe inspiring, firstly the Feudal
system ended and people worked for wages, Henry used clever people in his
court and not necessarily from the nobility as was previously done, anybody
could rise in status with hard work and intelligence. Henry took a bankrupt
nation from wars and badly run exchequers and created a wealthy nation. He
and Elizabeth had children, joining Scotland and Spain by way of arranged
marriages with Margaret Tudor and Arthur Tudor.
Henry VII helped finance the exploration of America and the development of
the printing press as well as the development of using cast iron for cannons
instead of bronze thus decreasing their cost and increasing their accuracy.
The deaths of Arthur, Elizabeth and then Henry himself brought in the next
son in line, King Henry VIII.
King Henry VIII, flamboyant, clever, strong and tall, an athlete was seen as the
most perfect King we have ever had, even foreign ambassadors reported that
King Henry is a most perfect King and his people love him. When Henry
Married Arthur’s widow Katerina de Aragon from Spain the alliance was kept
intack. The main problem now was the production of a male heir to the
throne and as you know this caused much in the way of wife changes and the
dissolution of the now chaotic Roman Catholic faith. The Pope with Charles
the Emperor of Rome was bringing the Church down by their misuse of power
and the total ignorance of the plight of the common people. Throughout
Europe there was a movement for change, a Protesting movement, started by
Martin Luther but basically he was speaking out what the people were
thinking.
Henry knew this was a good time for change as well as granting his own
divorce from his now embittered wife; he created the Church of England, still
Catholic but not Roman Catholic. This change split the Church into two
halves, eventually the protestant faith merged into it and it spread into
Anglican, puritan religions.
King Henry knew he would be attacked by orders from the Pope and the
Empire of Rome’s allies, France, Spain, and Portugal and so he built his Navy
from forests all over England. He had inherited only 7 ships from Henry VII all
manned by mercenaries, so he built it up to 53 ships and 8,000 sailors in a
real Navy. He built 26 forts and castles along the south coast of England from
the monastery stones, both of these developments saved England many
times from invasion.
When Henry VIII died in 1547, Edward his son was too young to take the
throne and so was looked after by his Uncle Thomas Seymour, it was
Seymour who led the country until Edward was old enough. Seymour brought
in the protestant faith changing the Church of England from Catholic, now
this change was to prove the biggest cause of friction within the country.
Catholicism versus Protestantism reared its ugly head and factions began to
hate each other. When Mary Tudor became the next monarch after Edward
she tried to reverse the change back to catholic and more deaths were
caused. Her marriage to the King of Spain was seen as a woman marrying
away the country to a foreign King and the people would not accept this.
However when Queen Elizabeth I acceded Mary to the throne she brought
the two factions together and her rule was a steadying factor in the countries
history.
The fortifications and the Navy were used to full advantage when the Spanish
King wanted his country by marriage back; his Armada was defeated by a
combination of treacherous weather, bad judgements and clever techniques
by the nimble English fleet. The end of the Tudor line came at the death of
the unmarried Elizabeth whom had not wanted to marry away her country
again like her sister had before her. Her second cousin’s son King James VI of
Scotland was invited down to London to become King James I, the first of the
Stuart line, a protestant with more religious problems ahead.
HenryR
I don't often print the kind of replies I get from my answers, but here is Pilar's
Thanks for all information you have provided to me, it will be really helpful
for my essay!!!!!!!!!!!! You should be a professor of English history as you
have explained to me the tudor dynasty better than my own teacher in the
faculty!! Thank you very much again!!!!!! This is one of the worderful things
why internet is a brilliant tool. Have a nice day!!. Pilar, Spain
Q.265 What where the names of your brothers and sisters?
Life and death are very flimsy and history tells us that neither should be far
apart.
My family
Arthur born in 1486
Margaret born in 1489
Me Born in 1491
Elizabeth Born 1492, but died young in 1495
Mary my favourite, Born 1495, just before the death of Elizabeth.
Edmund Born 1488 but died only months later in 1500
And my poor mother Elizabeth of York died in 1503 giving birth to a sister,
Catherine who also died.
A trail of death brought about by bad medicine, food and conditions. To be
repeated with my marriage to Katerina de Aragon.
HenryR
Q.266. Hi Henry Tudor
When I go into large cathedrals or castles and see those thick stone columns
holding the roof up, I am overcome with wonder. Are they great big stones
sat on top of each other; can they really be that thick? I realise this is a hard
question for you to answer, so I hope you can put my mind at rest.
Moggie, Durham.
Stone was used from the local areas. Just look at the red sandstone of
Kenilworth Castle and how it is being eroded, then see the Granite of
Cornwall. The builders used what was available and manageable. I have found
a lovely picture amongst my collection which shows the cross-section of one
of the thicker Columns you mentioned. Don’t take it that all columns were
made this way, but it depended on what was there and how many men were
doing it, as well as how much cost it was. The picture shows the column made
by fabricating a shell, a hollow stone tube which was then filled with rubble.
The Picture was taken in the ruins of Whalley Abbey in Lancashire’s Ribble
valley.
Here's Kenilworth stone
Hollow Columns filled in with rubble
However, we in the 21st century value our Historical artifacts, whilst I'm
afraid our ancestors did not.
Hope this answers your query.
HenryR
Q.267. Hi Henry
I came with my parents to your talk last week and was interested in the way
the bread was steamed, you called it a trencher as it was cut in half and dug
out to make a plate for the workers. Is a Trencher still a plate?
Yep! A trencher today in 2007 is the silver plate in the middle of the table.
But it has more history than such a leap. The bread trencher became a
wooden plate, again dug out to hold food that was sloppy, but it also was
shaped square. A square plate was taken from ships, as they resisted
movement in stormy seas. The square trencher was given to visitors to Halls
so they could eat off their laps, a space for a cup as well as the food. This
became known as a “Square meal”.
Q.268. Hi Henry,
Just how accurate was a cannon firing a ball?
The material of the cannon, the method of producing the bore, the length of
the bore in relation to the diameter, the quality of the ball to be fired, and
finally the skill of the operator all had significant effect on how far and where
the ball went.
Here are a couple of pictures to show you the technology.
HenryR
Q.269. Hi
Just what are all the small holes in castle walls, they are the ones which are in
a straight row but inside the walls?
Just pictures wooden beams coming out of them and a floor placed on the
beams. The wooden beams will have rotted and so leaving the holes.
I’ve created this picture for you which shows the holes as they were intended
to be used.
HenryR
Q.270. Hi
Just how tall could a castle be built?
Depends on the type of foundations you had, stone available, why you
needed to go high, and how much money you had to build it. The crushing
strength of stone is quite high but does have its limits, compression failure
would be seen by a 45 degree fault line in the break in brittle materials such
as stone. I think the tallest Stone Castle is Bolton Castle, I could be wrong so if
anybody out there has seen a taller one let me know.
HenryR
Q. 271. Hi Henry
How did they make sure a person was safe to be let into a castle? And did
they have a way of making them go away?
A very valid question. I have already answered the one regarding Murder
Holes and their method of stopping invading armies. But as you rightly ask,
what about normal traders trying to sell goods, but who are not yet trusted
by the castle owners to be let fully into their haven. And what about making
sure the visitor pays money before they are allowed out? That is a real teaser.
But alas I have found the answer, sophisticated castle designs had holding
spaces in between a double acting portcullis, I have found this picture which
shows how it works.
HenryR
Q.272. Hi Henry
If honey was the only sweetener, how did they make enough for everyone?
Honey was not the only sweetener, we had Sugar beet but is was very
expensive and so only for the rich. Fruit juice was also used to sweeten food
and make sweet drinks. Honey was virtually mass produced for the masses,
they even had double-storey hives! See this picture. Then of course
remember in my day there was only 5 million inhabitants not the 60 million of
2007.
HenryR
Q.273. Hi Henry VIII
Your father King Henry VII was considered a miser. Where does the name
Miser come from because I think my father is one too!
I’m sure your father cannot not be as tight at my father was.
Obviously it is associated with the word Miserable but don’t just accept that
as the definitive answer. Miserable people were either not very happy or had
a horrible life and so they were helped with Mercy. The church of the Papal
Catholics charged people money to pray but they gave free pews to poor
miserable people. These seats were backless benches and were very close to
each other to get more into a smaller space, they were Tightly arranged. So
there you have it, Miser, Miserable, Mercy and Tight. The seats were called
Misericords ot “mercy seats”. Sometimes tight fisted people with reasonable
wealth, would use the seats so as not to pay their money to the church.
HenryR
Q.274. I have heard that Henry used the colours and styles of clothing to
show a
Person’s social standing. How?
It’s all about the cost and availability and a chemical called Alum Flour.
A fixing agent for colours in cloth.
First of all, Yellow was the mourning colour, not black. So if you see some
renaissance re-enactor wearing yellow tell 'em.
Black, Pure white, Blue and Red were very difficult to make and mix and their
ability to stay in the dyed cloth was nearly impossible. Hence the need for a
chemical. This fixer was Aluminium Sulphate. Only the rich could afford the
chemical fixer and so coloured cloth was seen as a preserve of the rich.
Mixing the two hardest colours to fix and make, would be mixing red and blue
and so the colour Purple was only for the Royals. Even though the family
colours of the Tudors were Green and White, the green was the most used
colour amongst the commoners, Henry even saw this as his proof he was a
man of the people.
With an affluent society colours began to spread amongst the rich end of the
people and so a law was passed to make sure certain colours were only for a
person of status.
Laws called- Acts of Apparel -were passed to regulate what clothes and
materials
Different classes could wear.
Only the King, the Queen and their children could wear that special of all
cloth, “cloth of gold” which was silk interwoven with real gold strands and
was recycled with fashion changes, the colour of purple was reserved for the
first family. Henry VIII was the most splendidly dressed person at court, he
was always clean and he changed his clothing three times per day and every
three days the clothes were disassembled parts being re-used the rest burnt.
His clothes were made from the richest fabrics such as silk brocades, taffeta,
satin and velvet. The fur along the top of the outer coat was to keep Lice off
his body as well as enhancing his physique. His shirts were of the finest
quality embroidered linen. Padding enhanced the impression of strength and
virility and these were captured in paintings which depicted a leader of
strength and character. Velvet, silk and the finest linen were the favourite
fabrics of the lords and ladies. Deep colours including black were expensive as
it was difficult to obtain the dyes. The dress of lower ranking gentry was
generally made of more ordinary fabrics like wool and had fewer decorations.
Servants of all ranks wore clothes called livery, rather like uniforms, the
colour and design of which depended on both the status of their master and
their particular role within his household. At Hampton Court, the Yeomen of
the Guard and other servants in the State Apartments wore red clothes
decorated with the king’s insignia, ‘H R’, in gold. Ground floor servants like
the kitchen staff wore less fashionable green clothes as a livery.
Thanks to Hampton Court for some of the above details.
Q.275. What were the significance of grave stone markings?
See this clever website title: Tomb with a view
members.aol.com/TombView/symbol2.html
Q.276. I listened to your talk two weeks ago at Samlesbury Hall and was
interested in the central open fire in the hall. Do you have any pictures of
what it would have looked like?
The Fire was on a stone plynth so it would not burn the floor, a metal cradle
was across the stone to carry a kettle and hold the fire in place. Logs were
stacked into the centre. The fire was then surrounded by worought iron
fixtures for holding the meat which was rotated to cook on all sides, "done to
a turn". A wooden canopy was over the fire and was pasted inside with wet
cow muck to stop it burning, this was then used to start the fire in the
morning after.
Q.277. What kind of weaponry would a Knight have and roughly how much
would it cost?
So expensive they would never ride alone, it was akin to riding with a pot of
gold.
The suit of armour would easily be the amount of one years pay of the middle
class say about £40,000, then main sword with engraving another £10,000,
the rest another £20,000. So a run of the mill Knight, say Dave, it would cost
him about £70,000 before he puts anything on his horse to protect it!
By the way, "Run of the Mill" means mass produced and the majority has
them.
Q.278. Hi Henry.
Is it true that in Tudor times Animal baiting was a sport to watch in the City?
Sore point I’m afraid! It is true that we had an arena for Bull and Bear Baiting,
not specifically a Tudor invention but to our discredit we went along with it
and should have banned it. But! Remember the times, Hunting was how food
was found and it was a sport of the Kings, no PC then! The Spanish Bull bait to
this day but they call it Bull Fighting.
See this map I have, in Southwark there was an arena as big as my
Westminster Palace.
HenryR
Q.279. Hi Henry Tudor
What types of vegetables did Tudors eat? Is it true that there was a vegetable
named after you?
Upper classes avoided eating vegetables, especially those grown under the
soil, they were seen as only fit for the poor, so a high protein diet was what
gave the upper class illnesses such as mild forms of scurvy because they ate
little fruit. A lack of vitamin A, found in green vegetables milk, butter and
eggs, led to painful bladder and kidney problems later in life giving then
chronic back-ache. Even today the cure for a Kidney ache is to drink lots of
vitamin A and C usually in cranberry juice. But the rich saw these ailments as
an indicator of status, they even put white lead powder on their faces to look
like they hadn’t been in the sun like the poor.
Yeomen grew vegetables for the market which included leeks, garlic, peas,
parsnips, skirrets (like parsnips), collards and kale (types of cabbage), lentils,
turnips, broad beans, onions, spinach, carrots, beets, artichokes (Jerusalem),
radishes, asparagus.
Yes I believe that the poor did use my name for one of their vegetables, but
not in vain. “Good King Henry” (a summer savoury vegetable like spinach with
a peppery flavour), sought after and relatively expensive when in season.
Remember all vegetable were eaten according to the season they grew in.
HenryR
Q.280. Hi Henry
Is it True that the Tudors steamed some of their food?
Of course! Steaming food has been done since BC was in the date.
Bread, Puddings, Suet pies all were steamed, some vegetables were also
steamed for use when cold.
Food production was a status in itself, from the raw fire to the "genteelness"
of the steamer.
Status symbols come in various shapes and sizes, it could be the position of
the swirls in the glass quarries in your Tudor window, the smaller more
coarse ones indicating you are Middle glass, class. The smoother, more clear
pieces from the outer rim of the spinning process would be thro the higher
glass, class. It could be that you sleep at the Solar end of the hall whilst the
servants have to sleep at the darker Service end.
You may be a Manor house with your own fish farm for Friday meals, but if
the pond goes around your house like a shallow moat you are setting yourself
up to be Remote from your more common neighbours. Eating off a plate and
not your bread, sleeping in a four poster bed with its own roof to protect you
from animals in your thatched roof, sleeping off the floor. All these are signs
of class status. Back to the bread.
The loaf was called a Trencher, it was cooked not baked to keep it white,
another status symbol. The bottom half was burnt to seal it on a hot plate
over a fire, the loaf was then placed into a steamer cabinet as shown below.
The bottom was filled with red hot stones from the overnight hall fire, the
loafs on the next open shelf. A wooden pole was inserted across the cabinet
from opposing holes in the sides, a wet muslin cloth placed over the pole to
form a tent. The wetness of the cloth could have been with onion water to
give a hint of the flavour into the bread. The bread was then steamed for two
hours. Long loaves were placed above the trenchers between rotating
spindles. (A bread Roll!).
The servants and workers eat off their bottom have and dug out the soft
bread for their stew, thus trenching the bread. The nobles eat the top half
which was pure white and soft, because they were the upper crust.
Now about pies: The Clanger was steamed in a cabinet like this one. The pie
was filled with meat and vegetables and then the sweet pudding. Carried on
the shoulder in a cloth wrap the clanger was very hot and contained all your
food needs for a day in the fields. Drop it and you lost your entire days food,
you dropped a Clanger.
Q.281. Hi Henry.
I was recently watching a bio about your life. They read a few love letters you
had written to Anne Boleyn. In this letters you signed your name as Henry
Rex. I thought your surname was Tudor? What does the Rex mean exactly?
Sassy
All English Royals use the letter R
I'm HenryR
Queen Elizabeth I signed herself ElizabethR
Even our present Queen Elizabeth II uses R too!
For a man R equals Rex which in Latin means King
For a woman R equals Regina in Latin means Queen
My surname is Tudor which means Theodore in old Welsh. Theodore means
House of Iron.
HenryR
Q.282 Hi Henry! From Sassy
I have yet another question for you...haha! I was wondering if you have ever
seen the Showtime drama 'The Tudors'? If you HAVE you will have noticed
some discrepancies on this show. For instance, the show claims that Princess
MARGARET marries Charles Brandon after she is sent to PORTUGAL to marry
the king there. In this episode she actually suffocates the old man with a
pillow. Charles Brandon brings her back to England, during which they have
an affair. Afterwards of course they marry, and you banish them from court.
The other thing I noticed is that an outbreak of 'the sweating sickness'
happens. To remedy this, a physician uses some sort of tool with a sharp
point, he uses a small hammer and actually makes a hole in the man's back
that has this sickness, claiming that it will remedy him. The man dies of
course.
Also, the Anne Boleyn on the show is actually a very pretty girl. Most things I
have read and paintings I've seen of Anne portray her as a somewhat plain
looking woman. Needless to say, I am disappointed by the things that are
wrong on this show. What's your take on all of this? You may use this
question on the site if you wish.
What absolute rubbish, had I Known that they had made such a fool out of
our history I would not have agreed for them to link to my pages, and my
dear Henry is about to sack them.
Princess Mary Tudor, my young sister whom I adore and so does all of
England was my ward of court and so I decide to whom she marries. She of
course wants to marry some fellow she loves but will not tell me the
scoundrel’s name. I negotiated with her to marry the ailing King Louis of
France and she abides by this decision. Alas the dying King finally pops his
Royal clogs and so I send my best friend Charles Brandon to fetch her back as
I have already fixed a new husband for her, with a £2M dowry to be paid to
me.
Then scoundrel turned out to be Charles Brandon himself and with the aiding
of the new King of France just to annoy me, they got married in Paris. I was
very angry with them for disobeying my orders and so fined them £2M for
their act of love for each other. I then made them the Duke and Duchess of
Suffolk so they could pay off the fine.
Sweating sickness was a from of flu, probably brought in by merchants from
foreign lands and we did not have the resistance to fight off the disease.
Ann Boleyn was a boyish looking girl with a thin body and long slender neck,
her hair always tied at the back. In today’s talk you could call her Olive Oil!
Do not watch The Tudors and believe what you are seeing it is crass
Hollywood lying in the script to make it more Americanised.
An angry Henry
Q.283. Hi Henry, from Peder
I have been watching Showtime's "The Tudors" and enjoy it very much. But I
was wondering if they made a mistake by not having the men's hairstyles
A little longer in length. They look like men's hairstyles of today, pretty short.
The only one who has a longer hairstyle is the court musician. And most
pictures of Henry show him wearing a hat, so it's hard to tell how long his hair
was. Thank you. I have been reading your answers to questions on Henry and
his court and find it very interesting.
Hello Peder: First of all I must say this statement:
Factual The Tudors are definitely not. To the extent that I have demanded
they take my link off their website.
In the 1500's England was in the middle of a mini ice age, with temperatures
well below freezing in winter, Henry and Ann walked across a frozen Thames
to the applause of the crowds lining London Bridge. When summer came, the
freeze disappeared only for a short time and the insect population burst on
the people. Insects were responsible for spreading the plague so Henry
demanded that all men should shave their heads and wear hats to keep them
cleaner. Women were asked to wear their hair in tight bunches at the back
and wear a hat also. The court was instructed to wash their hats regularly to
keep head lice away. Fur was worn around collars to attract lice off ones body
and a piece of fur was placed under the pillar at night to keep live off your
head.
Long live shampoo!
HenryR
Q.284. From Maureen in Las Vegas
Just where was Jane Seymour born?
She was Born at Wulfhall 1509/10, in Savernake Forest, near Burbage,
Wiltshire
Means a corner of land with wolves in Severn Acre forest.
The websites below will take you to these appropriate pages for detailed
research.
www.burbage-wiltshire.co.uk/historic/wolfhall.html
www.multimap.com/maps/#t=l&map=51.40314,1.6997|13|4&loc=GB:51.40314:1.6997:14|savernake%20forest|Savernake%20Forest,%20Savernake,%20SN8
%204&hloc=GB|wulfhall,%20wiltshire
The name of Seymour:
Although the area now takes the name of the famous family from Wolfhall,
the original name - Suthmere - means South Pond, i.e. the pond at the
south of the village. Although the area now seems to be an natural
extension of the High Street, this only became so in the 20th century.
Prior to that there were only about a dozen scattered cottages.
Street names from the Tudors in Burbage.
Henrys Garth Named in honour of the fact that Henry VIII's entourage
camped in Burbage when their master visited the Seymours at Wolfhall
Seymour Court Named after the Seymour family who not only lived at
Wolfhall but also produced an English monarch.
Q.285. Was there a political reason as well as the need for a divorce, to get
rid of the Roman Catholic Church from England?
The Roman Catholic Church for two centuries before had been overrun by
money grabbing second sons of the nobility when the church had lost 60% of
its priests died to the plague. The new priests saw the church as a money
making scheme and charged the common people to pray for them, would not
allow English to be spoken in mass and treated the poor badly even calling
them lazy scoundrels. This misuse of power went right to the top of the
church as the Pope of the day were the infamous Borga's, power hungry,
cruel leaders with lots of influence over European countries.
The Pope and the Emperor of Holy Roman Empire, Charles, was Katherine’s
nephew and so would not allow their Aunt the humiliation of a divorce.
Henry decided to try asking, bringing over a cardinal to try the case in his
court but expected to loose, which he did. He then disbanded the Roman
Church and set up his own Church of England, Catholic still. He brought in
English bibles and did not charge the people to pray. There was little
resistance from the common people, only the nobility with priests in their
families resisted.
The monasteries were ransacked for stone and land, many a stone was taken
by the people to build better houses, but lots more were taken to build the
27 fortresses along the South coast of England which were a prime defence in
later years against French and Spanish invasions. I have travelled all over
England and am surprised nobody has noticed the better made houses nearer
the remains of destroyed Monasteries, maybe I’m biaised!
Without this reforming of the Roman Catholic Church in England we would
not have the Anglican and the Church of England. The Protestant faith started
in Germany as Lutherism and Thomas Seymour brought it to England when he
was protector of the young King Edward VI.
Now add all this above to the man with a huge ego, who would not tolerate
other people letting him what to do, especially foreigners, and this King
would have reformed the Church divorce or not!
HenryR
Q.286. Hi Henry
Just how difficult was it to travel in Tudor times and how did this effect
history?
I difficult question, but an easy answer. Because of the lack of good roads, a
mini-Ice age and the problem of accommodation, one could only travel on
average 15 miles per day. Horses needed to be looked after, food needed to
be carried and encampments needed to be erected too, so the 15 miles is not
really accurate too. King Henry and his party of 200 would travel one or two
days, then rest one or tow days until they got to their destination. It could
take weeks for a trip that we could do in a single day nowadays with our cars
and motorways. I have drawn circles over a Tudor map of England; each circle
represents a single day’s travel without, bad weather or terrain. So you can
see why the Tudors never went to the extremities of their country.
This reason came up recently when we were discussing Tudor Music and
Dance. The only way to take music and dance to the people was by way of
performers who had learnt them by watching other performers in the
Palaces. These travelling performers would forget, change and alter the
dances to suit the circumstances of the venue. For an instance, a column
dance in a great hall at Hampton Court could not be undertaken in a small
hall in Lancashire, so it was altered to fit. Words of song were not written
down because they could not write, the memory changed some lyrics and
tunes. Now consider this proposal: Because of the travel problem there is no
such thing as a Tudor Dance for all of England, there were Northern, Eastern,
Western and Southern versions and the further you travelled away from
London the more pronounced the changes.
Q.287.Hi Henry Tudor
I do agree with you about Historical facts being bent a little because of the
lack of instant communications, it is interesting to consider the effect on the
music and lyrics this would have had. Do you have any pictures showing
Tudor travelling players who would go around the big manors entertaining
the people?
I do have some great pictorial recordings of professional players in castles
here is a compilation of some of my favourites.
Q.288. Hi Henry
What were the significant items on your Father’s Coat of Arms?
Q.289. Hi King Henry
Firstly I would like to say your website is wonderful, it made me visit
Hampton Court whilst in England on vacation. I do however have a question
to ask your good self. What kind of Clock is it in the outer courtyard of
Hampton Court, it baffles me!
J. Mellor, New York.
The Clock is very interesting, powered by a weight on a rope, it depicts time,
month, day, season, moon, and sun as well as star signs, trouble is the maker
thought the Sun went round the Earth!
Q.290. Just how much Padding did King Henry VIII wear to make him look so
strong?
Q.291. Hi Henry
How did all the deaths of your children affect your life?
At last a questioner whom can see the real Henry VIII in the factual deposits
of History books.
I must talk firstly about life expectancy in Tudor times. An average lifespan of
40 years with a child mortality rate of 50% made one glad to wake up in the
morning. Trouble is with my first wife, Katalina De Aragon, we had six babies
and only one survived into adulthood. 16% survival rate! Their recording by
authors have been brutally short. b. d. Born and then died is all they were
worth to these history buffs with no heart. They have missed the point, they
should have written b. d. c. Born Died Cried! You read about my callous way
of finding new women in my life, yet with such dreadful statistics do you not
think I must have been searching for happiness, for children who would live
and for women who could give birth to healthy children! Of course my
Elizabethan critics will conjure up some gothic excuse and formulate my
reputation for propaganda purposes to make me a scoundrel and womaniser
but how many out there would not have wondered if some evil force was
killing off my family.
Five dead children from Katalina, one from Ann and a dead wife with the
birth of Edward, an early death of my prodigy Henry Fitzroy and you have the
making of my life personality mould which changed me from that happy,
debonair, fair King into a sad, vengeful tyrant often depicted by my enemies
within.
Q.292. What were the Toilets really like in old castles?
Gruesome is a short but accurate answer. Here is a picture which shows you
what I mean!
Q.293. How much money did you get from the sale of monstery lands?
There is even a twist in the tail of this episode.
Q.294. What was the Battle of the Spurs realy like?
Propaganda really with a nasty ending, my biggest mistake was having
Emporer Maximilian in on the action.
Q.295. Can you show me round one of your Southern coast Fortresses?
I will try.
Q.296.Is it true that you conned Thomas Wolsey out of Hampton Court Palace
I may have taken advantage of one man’s fear to acquire this Palace, even
though I did swap it for a London house. However Wolsey did cheapen the
build with his attempt to save money, he actually painted the patterns in the
brick walls instead of using a more expensive coloured brick. Here are some
of my pictures of Hampton Court in a huge collage.
Q.297. Why do roof tiles go smaller to the top?
If you go around looking up all the time you will walk into a tree!
Q.298. What is the significance of having three Lions on the Royal Coat of
Arms?
When Richard I came to the throne, so too did his personal coat of arms. The
'three lions passant guardant in pale' appeared in gold on a red background.
Before this point, only two golden lions had adorned a red crest, following
the Norman Conquest of 1066 (the House of Normandy). Then following the
succession of King Henry II (the House of Plantagenet) in 1158, it became one
golden lion. King Richard simply brought together the lions of Normandy and
Plantagenet, and created the new Three Lions.
Q.299. Hi Henry, do you know the origin of the term's “Filthy rich? And
“Calling the Shots.”
Yes! Again it’s those blaggard priests who repopulated the monasteries after
the black death wiped out 60%, they became rich by using the Church as their
personal money making machine. William Tindale who was against the old
Papal system before I was, wrote in 1526, “Teachinge Thinges which they
ought not, because of filthy lucre” he meant they were using the Church for
dishonourable gain.
Calling the shots means being in charge, it came from being in charge of the
army’s gunnery and shouting “Fire” to send off a round of cannon balls at the
enemy. Some today believe it was from playing pool or snooker, but it is
much older than that.
HenryR
Q.300. Hi Henry, do you have an easy way to show all the Kings and Queens
of England and their houses?
Try this picture.
Q.301. Hi Henry. Who was Audrey Tudor?
Who’s Audrey?
By Henry Tudor
Royals have flings, girlfriends and boyfriends, it is the way of the world, no
tutting, just look at your own society before you cast any criticism this way. In
had many children on my lifetime, fourteen to be exact. Not all with one of
my wives and the others were not all with noble women either. Now the
truth be known, I did have a daughter called Audrey, actually her full name
was Ethelreda Tudor and she was born about 1525 whilst I was still married
to my first wife Katerina. Audrey’s mother was a Royal laundress and a fine
looking woman I must say, she took away the anguish of those poor late
children of mine unable to survive in this cruel world.
Audrey’s mother was called Joan Dyngley and we married her off to a man
called Dobson, yet we did the best we could to give Audrey a better
background by persuading my actual tailor, a John Malte to announce that he
was the father. It was not a great snub to be illegitimate to a wealthy man.
Audrey took the name of Malte and eventually married a knight called Sir
John Harrington in the year of my passing 1547, they had lands bequeathed
by my will. Audrey died about 1558 and her now wealthy husband remarried
in 1559, he died in 1582, and was buried on 15 Mar 1583 in St.
Gregory's,London.
In 1546 I, Henry VIII granted Katherine’s Court and the attached Manor to
John Malte, my Tailor. The deed also mentions Etheldreda, Maltes ‘bastard’
daughter by a certain Joan Dyngley.
The gift included the manor of Kelston on the west side of Bath and the 400
Ewe Flock of Chermadon’. There was speculation as to why such a generous
gift was made to my tailor and, more specifically, to his daughter who was
specifically named in the deed. Women were rarely identified as the owners
of property at this time
On John Malte’s death, Ethelreda inherited a fortune. She married John
Harrington, an official at my Court, in 1548. She died 3 years later and John
inherited her fortune and both Manors. On the accession of Queen Mary I, in
1553 he had been imprisoned in the Tower for a short while with the young
Princess Elizabeth. Following Elizabeth’s accession to the throne he married
Isabella Markham, one of her ladies-in-waiting. In 1561 their son John was
born and the Queen became his godmother. In c1567 John Harrington built
Kelston manor but died intestate a year later, leaving his son John to inherit
both manors.
And that was Audrey!
Q.302. Hi Henry. I keep on reading about your progresses, just what were
they and do you have any pictures to explain them?
A Progress
By Henry Tudor
The term to progress came from the way I toured England, it was obviously a
holiday but also it was to let the people see me. The tour was mainly to go
hunting and hawking in fresh surroundings especially when the sign of the
plague was getting close to London. I have produced a picture detailing the
progress of 1526, I realise that it does not seem to be a great distance from
the centre of London but remember we were on horseback and the roads
virtually impossible to ride on. But also consider that my hosts at each place
of call, paid for all my accommodation cost which were enormous, hehehe.
Q.303. Hi Henry. Are there any modern fixings to the old Castles which spoil
the look?
I'm not sure they would agree that they spoil the actual overall looks, but
modern fixings may have been fitted to stop erosion or water damage. Here
is a picture I have made of Sizewell Castle in which I have high-lighted the
modern features.
And yes! Ivy wuld not have been allowed to grow up a Tudor house or castle
due to its reputation for poison and being associated with witchcraft.
The main addition for old castles would be for the safety of the visiting public,
imagine falling down a spiralled stone staircase just because it was old
looking. Here is a picture of the modern stair rail fitted to Middleham Castle,
Richard III's old haunt, they blend into the view well enough I think.
Q.304. It's me again. thanks for the quick answer to 303. Do you notice all
changes in houses?
Not all, as it depends if I am looking for any. However I do study actual
pictures to see if some changes were taking place even in Tudor times. Here
is a picture which seems typically tudor, but study it closely and you will see
that even these people have had the builders in. I suspect the room was
halved to create two living rooms and the door inserted into a corner, the Bay
added later and there was orignially a stone floor. Now that's being a real old
Sherlock.
Q.305. Hi Henry. I read in your website about the Rood length of the
sanctuary behind the Rood screen. What is a rood stair and what other words
come from the word Rood?
Hey! I need to sleep as well and such heavy details keep me awake. First of all
the whole thing started with a prodding stick which was used to encourage
the cattle to move and was a method of steering them, in fact the name steer
came from this as the way a herd was turned. The rod became the standard
rood length of 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet. This Rod gave rise to the name Goad,
they shout Go go go to the cattle to make them move, which the farmers
called their rods so the cattle were goaded to turn! Four Rod lengths were
the measure of the width of an acre where its length was a furlong length,
the length of a standard furrow! The cattle plus the plough would be one
Rood long and a rood length by a rood width was called a perch or the
smallest place the cattle could stop and rest or to turn the rig around. A perch
was also used for the measurement of dry stone walling, it was one Rood in
length, by I foot thick by 1.5 feet tall and this was used to pay the builder for
his work done. A bird sits on the wall and so it is sitting on its perch. The Rood
stair is the way up to the Rood loft where the lord of the manor watched a
religious service away from the commoners downstairs. So to summarize:
One Rood equals 16.5 feet it is also a Rod or a Pole or the length of a Perch.
A furlong is the length of a furrow and if it is four Roods wide it is an acre.
An area Perch is one rood square and is the minimum area at each end of a
furrow to turn the cattle drawn plough.
A volumetric Perch is the measure of a dry wall and is where birds sit.
The Rood stair is the way up the nobility ladder to view the service.
I remember reading somewhere about the lightning rood. Not a joke! It was a
lead covered rod on the ends of the roof to save the building in an electric
storm, except they believed it was to stop witches landing with their
broomsticks on your roof. Oh yea! Yes! Then it was known as a finial. If you
only knew how hard that answer was to put together and how many
websites, books I had to search through. That’s it I’m off to bed.
Q.306. Did the Tudors have vinegar?
Of course they did because they had wine and vinegar means “sour wine”. It
was used in cooking for sauce but it was also used for a very strange purpose
too. The people believed wrongly that Bubonic Plague could be spread from
people to people but it couldn’t as the method was by insect infection. They
would put out aromatic vinegar to keep the flies away and “clean the air”.
Thieves found out that they were safe in these houses of the sick and would
rob them, the vinegar became known as Thieves Vinegar. They would sprinkle
it in the house they were robbing to make sure by encasing the house in a
protective atmosphere before they robbed it. This was casing the house
before robbing it.
Q.307. Hi Henry. We I the US call the toilet for men, “the John”. Where do we
get this from?
Have I got to answer all the daftest questions in the world? Wait! You are
actually correct sir, the wording of John does have a historical meaning.
In Tudor England a privy (private place) was first referred to as a jakes in
1530. In modern Ireland the term jacks is still used, and is probably the
predominant way of referring to the toilet. As you know Jack is also John!
Not finished yet! What about Loo? Now you’ve got me on the subject, the
word comes from a nautical terminology; loo being an old-fashioned word for
lee. Early ships were not fitted with toilets but the crew would urinate over
the side of the vessel. However it was important to use the leeward side.
Using the windward side would result in the urine blown back on board.
Q.308. Hi Henry. As your Father beat and killed King Richard III in the Battle of
Bosworth field, is there an actual memorial that was erected on the spot of
his death?
Yes. It is the focal point of the Richard III Society and they annually place
flowers there.
Q.309. Hi Henry. Why did people called one of the Kings, Hog Mouth?
You are referring to King Carlos of Spain, an ugly brute of a man with a chin
like a ski jump! It was of course that inbred feature of the Habsburgs and is
well known as the Habsburg Chin. I have made a picture to explain it for you.
Q.310. Hi Henry. How did Henry VII get to use the Ostrich Feathers in his
crest?
Ostriches were a rare animal and their feathers sought after for plumage,
especially by Kings. Our family of Tudors have always been influenced by
chivalry and Knights in armour, King Arthur was our hero and we even built
our palaces to emulate Camelot. Now when History records the antics and
bravery of our very own Black Prince, Edward, not only am I going to name
my son the same, but my father is going to take the emblem of Ostrich
feathers and used them in his crest. The Black Prince took the feather from a
king he defeated in battle in Europe; Crecy I think was the name of the Battle.
It began as a single feather, then two then eventually three and became the
emblem of the Prince of Wales, still used today.
Q.311. Hi Henry. What on earth is a Groin vault, it make me shudder to think
of what could be stored in it!
Rather funny that! Actually the Groin vault does have connections with your
groin. It is a similar shape to your nether regions where your legs meet your
bum. Though it is in fact a stone arch in a tall hall. I have put this picture
together to show you what it looks like. I must admit it does bring tears to my
eyes to look at it.
Even funnier, see the name of the crease at the top. The Arris, no that's got to
be a joke!
Q.312. Hi Henry. Can you tell me what King Henry's life was like in his younger
days? LouAnn.
My position as second son meant I was not direct heir to the throne and so
was made Duke of York instead of Prince of Wales. This is a drastic difference
of status and attitude towards me from my father and the rest of the court.
My father actually disliked me a lot, I answered back to his comments, and I
disagreed to his ideas and decisions to the extent that we often quarreled. He
actually treated me quite badly, whilst my Mother, Queen Elizabeth of York
loved me dearly. I had my own household with servants and tutors; they
taught me technology, mathematics, Astronomy, Music and languages. My
favourite teacher was master Erasmus who described me as a very able
brained child with a mind of his own. If my brother Arthur had not died I
would have been Duke of York for the rest of my life. My father’s attitude
towards me changed drastically when Arthur died, knowing it was going to be
me who carried the Tudor name on the throne of England. I eventually
became King of England and married Arthur’s widow to keep the alliance with
Spain intact.
Q.313. Hi Henry. What is the present place name in Wales, where the Tudors
originated from?
The lovely Island of Anglesey, if you go the tourist information centre, they
will NOT tell you where it is, they will aim you in the right direction to the
nearest village. People still live in the actual house and so I will do the same,
here is a picture with the nearest village and the picture of the Church next
door. But how to actually find it, my lips are sealed.
Q.314. Hi Henry. Is it true that the “Work Houses” were created in Tudor
times?
Not in my day. It was in Elizabeth’s time on the throne that the incarceration
of beggars and tramps together with debtors expanded. In 1576 an Act of
Parliament enabled Houses of Correction or "Bridewells", administered by
local justices of the peace, to be built where able-bodied idlers and the
unemployed were sent and put to work people were imprisoned for nonpayment of fines, vagrancy and owing a debt. Often, the debtors awaiting
trial were held with those already found guilty in crowded, grossly unhealthy
conditions. Men, women and children were imprisoned together and disease
and immorality were rife. They got their name from a hospital built in 1553
near St. Bride's (or Bridget's) well, in London, which was subsequently a penal
workhouse. They were also called Spikes, which meant dormitory space with
spikes at the windows like a prison. These were the Tudor’s way of tackling
the unemployment and poverty problem, though often inhumane. See the
windows of the building in the Picture. Bridewell Hospital, in Bridge Street,
Blackfriars, was once a Royal Palace, given by Edward VI to the City of London
in 1553 for use as a training school for homeless apprentices. The building
later became a prison. Bridewell, thus came to be used as a general term for
a prison or house of correction, the Unilever building, constructed in 1931,
stands on its site.
Q.315. Hi Henry. What kind of clothing did you wear to go hawking?
I had a large leather bag for rewards, a large left handed glove to protect my
arm and a leather long jacket. I wore a dark plain kilt and a sword. My hat
was plain so not to distract the Bird. My shirt was a long, baggy affair to give
me ease of arm movement.
Q.316. Hi Henry. Did the Tudors write a lot down, and work in offices?
The Tudors were very keen on good office work, Thomas Wolsey was a
meticulous office manager and would document every transaction and work
detail, the office however was rather crude in apparatus. There were no ball
point pens, pencils, reams of cheap paper, typewriters or computers, and
there was no such thing as a photocopier. What the Tudor scribes used for
writing with was a large bird feather, cut at an angle to reveal a hollow quill.
The inside of this quill would have had a waxy substance called lanolin, which
is the grease which exudes from the pores of the animal to enable its wings to
be resistant to rain. This lanolin would stop ink from entering the tube of the
quill, and so the writer would lick the end or warm it up to melt the wax.
Eventually a metal nib was fitted which increased the life of a quill tenfold.
Here is a picture I have taken of a Tudor times office. Can you see the
following details?
1. Back to the fire to keep warm.
2. Quill and ink well.
3. Brick floor with no carpeting, a working place not a restful room.
4. Candles for light.
5. The Boss’s picture behind your head.
6. Sloping desktop with storage underneath.
7. Jug of ale.
8. Thick leather bound books for reference.
9. Ornate carving to the chair and desk to show status of worker.
10. White painted walls to give a light environment and to reflect the candle
power.
Q.317. Hi Henry. I love the pictures of you holding the big birds in the forest.
Are they heavy and did women go hawking?
Yes to both accounts. The Eagle owl is not heavy at first but because you have
to hold it outwards away from your body to allow the wings to flap, its weight
makes you arm ache.
The little Harrier Hawk is the little one and would be considered to be a
Lady’s hawk for hunting. I must add though the Harrier Hawk is a killing
machine, it flies much faster than the Eagle or the Eagle owls, it’s speed kills
instantly when the strike is made. I can hold the Harrier all day long without
feeling the effect of the weight.
All the birds are brilliant balancing acts; their heads stay at the same position
no matter how wobbly you are, only if you twist your wrist on purpose to
make the bird feel slightly uneasy does it open its wings. This is how we
managed to get the pictures with a flapping winged bird. Oop’s have I given
away the trick of the trade?
Q.318. Hi Henry. Why was glass so expensive as the Romans had brought it to
Britain as early as the first century?
A very good question I might say. First of all not all sand makes good glass,
impurities cause lots of scrap and it is not just a case of heating up sand it
also needs an enclosed kiln and additional chemicals to cause the change of
state to occur. Luckily for us, Britain had abundant glass bearing sand,
especially in the North West so we could make glass ourselves quite easily in
Tudor times, except that to make a sheet of glass had a very difficult problem
to solve. Molten glass is very sticky, if it touched a surface it immediately
sticks to it and also transferred the surface texture to the surface of the glass
sheet. If glass is not perfectly smooth it is not transparent. Look at sand
blasted glass and it is grey and translucent not transparent. The Tudors would
spin a large molten blob of glass on the end of a rod so that it grew in
diameter without toughing any other surface. When it set the disc of spun
glass would be cut into small pieces called Quarries and made like a jigsaw
into panes of windows with strips of lead called Cames to hold it all together.
Each window was very expensive and was not considered part of the house, if
you sold your house and moved, you took your window glass with you!
Wealth was shown off with the number of glass windows. Now the word
Glass became the word Class and if you could just afford the middle of the
spun glass you were called middle class. The upper class thought they were a
cut above you, because they were!
Q.319. Hi Henry. What is a flying buttress? Can you show me one?
If the weight of a roof made of stone is too much it can fall down, so to make
a large cathedral type building with huge roof heights and spans, there had to
be a way of getting the weight down to the ground and transferring the
forces to avoid collapse. Imagine a curved, stone arch butting out of the wall
and carrying a force from the roof, if it then went into other vertical
structures this force would be transferred away from the inner wall carrying
the roof. The fact that is seemed to cross open space without support got it
the title of Flying. Here’s a picture showing a flying buttress on a medieval
Cathedral.
Q.320. Hi Henry. I understand how cast iron became the major change in
cannon technology, but were there any other changes made because of the
cast iron.
Cast iron was a huge change in metal usage, not only Cannons, but water
tanks now need not be lead lined to make them waterproof, railings for
security, ornamental fittings and grids for the floor. Fittings for carrying heavy
components were made from cast iron and its property of high strength in
compression began it’s for stanchions. I notice too that mechanisms began to
emerge from the crudity of a wooden wedge to universal jointing, I found this
mechanism in Pendennis castle in Cornwall, the movement control is
universal on two planes. This must have been a major change in accuracy and
speed of response in any fire fight. The barrel of this gun is of cast iron, the
spindle at the underside is cast iron and I think the actual bracket is too. It is
not a rifle, because there are no grooves down the bore of the barrel, but it
was machined to create the bore not cast that way!
Q.321. Hi Henry. I need to know how a Water Mill works for a school project,
is there a simple way of explaining it?
No better way that with pictures, I have made this for you which shows only
the main parts and what they do.
Q.322. Hi Henry. I have noticed the very varied methods of Tudor house
construction throughout Britain, especially the corner braces which stop the
square frames from moving. Why is that?
Quite so, quite so. But remember that there were no books of how to build a
house, nor did people travel far to build. So it was a case of building the
method you knew best, and handed down in generations of builders. Also the
types of timber around you was very important, nobody would carry a tree
from a distance , so the copse of trees locally would provide the wood for the
frames. Oak trees are very strong but not straight so only short spans could
be achieved, usually about 20 feet maximum, tall trees such as Wych-Elm
could make longer spans and were used in large Manor houses. Here are
some examples of timbered designs showing the corner pieces which
strengthened the structures.
Q.323. Hi Henry. I must admit I am feeling more than a little anxious writing a
letter to His Majesty. My very distant cousin was one of Your favorite
courtiers, Nicholas Bristowe, The Royal Clerk of Jewels and Plate. Please, kind
Sir, will You share with me a description of his position and its duties and
range? Was he with You during The Field of Cloth of Gold?
Henry, in my nervousness as I was writing You, I forgot to ask if the story
about You and Nicholas Bristowe regarding Ayot St. Lawrence is true? Did You
really give the place to Bristowe during a ride through the countryside, and is
it true Your hat and a Queen's slippers were part of the gift? Denise of Austin,
Texas.
Now this is a very interesting point you have raised my dear Lady. You see
King Henry VIII never bought finished jewellery unless a certain stone cluster
might have caught his eye. He would have employed jewellers and Gold/silver
smiths to make his own designs, he would also have recycled pieces he was
bored with and to show off his wealth as well as his design ability. Now
consider just what type of stones the Tudors could manage to cut and polish.
Melting down gold and silver, remounting gemstones would have been the
order of the day and the loss of gold or stones would have been the main job
for the Clerk of the Jewel-house. He would not have been the actual maker of
the jewellery, but he would need knowledge enough to know if theft was
being done. Weighing in old discarded pieces would have been the main
function, he would then have to watch over the remaking of the materials
into new pieces again, the main method by weighing to make sure all was
used and where excess had gone to.
Try finding a portrait showing glittery diamonds, non to be found. Facetted
Gemstones and diamonds made their appearance in European jewellery
during the late 13th and early 14th centuries but were badly polished and not
cut to show its properties. The first "Brilliant" cut was introduced in the 17th
century and is largely credited to Italian ambassador, Jules Cardinal Mazarin.
Born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino, Cardinal Mazarin had a long-standing
fascination for gemstones. The first Brilliants were known as "Mazarins" and
were called "Double-Cut Brilliants." After Henry’s death!
In 1525 the village of Ayot St. Lawrence had descended to Henry Courtenay,
Marquis of Exeter, who was beheaded for treason in 1539, and so came into
the hands of the king. In 1540 Nicholas Bristowe was made steward of
reading Abbey where he made many high ranking friends and built up a fine
reputation for himself as a fair man. In 1543 the lease of Ayot St. Lawrence,
together with the manor of Canon Holmes, was granted to John Brockett,
John Alway and Nicholas Bristowe by Sir Edward North, treasurer of the
Augmentations. Nicholas Bristowe held the manor in 1572 and made his title
secure, in other words he purchased it as rightful owner to be able to leave it
to his heirs. The only public house in the village is still there and was called
“The Brocket Arms” tavern. It would indicate that the three men leased from
King Henry VIII the parts of the small village, Brockett the tavern, Bristowe
the Manor, no information as to what Alway leased.
There would have been a Clerk of the jewels at the Field of the Cloth of Gold
in France, where I tried to match the wealth and showmanship of Francis The
King of France. But this was an earlier venture whilst still married to Katerina
de Aragon.
The hat of Henry VIII and the shoes of Anne Boleyn!
Anne Boleyn was put to death seven years before Bristowe and his partners
acquired the estate, and that the story of the King granting it to him when
riding by it with Anne must be wholly false.
The legends:
“Nicholas Bristowe, a favourite courtier of Henry VIII, was riding with the king
and Queen Anne Boleyn in Hertfordshire. Passing Ayot St Lawrence he greatly
admired the place, wondering whose it was. The king said, "It is mine, but
now shall be yours." Bristowe asking what evidence he was to produce of the
gift, the king gave him the hat he was wearing and asked the queen for her
slippers, saying, "Bring these in London and I will give you the title deeds."
The hat and slippers have since always gone with the estate.” She must have
been a ghost!
Another legendary tale of Henry VIII's supposed wooing of Catherine Parr in
the Manor House, but consider that she came from Kendal, and he was quite
infirm at this supposedly wooing age, another mistake by the inventor of the
story I assume.
The family name of Bristowe:
He was descended from a family seated anciently at Burstow in Surrey,
whence by a corruption of the name came Bristow. A member of this family,
Nicholas Bristowe of Little Bibbesworth and Ayot St. Lawrence, Hertfordshire,
held an appointment as Clerk of the Jewels to Henry VIII, Edward VI, Queen
Mary, and Queen Elizabeth.
There are several suggested meanings for 'ayot': the most logical is that it
means a 'gap' or an 'island' and even these days, when it rains heavily over
the winter and the single-track approach roads flood, it still maintains that
feeling.
Famous residents: Douglas Fairbanks and the golfer Nick Faldo as well as
George Bernard Shaw lived there for 44 years from1906 to his death 1950.
Q.324. Hi Henry. Nowadays Birmingham is said to be the country’s second
city after London. What was the second city in Tudor times?
Well there is a clue in the ranking level of the Dukes of Counties. Norfolk is
the highest ranking Dukedom under the Royals, the Howard’s were the Dukes
of Norfolk and their city of Norwich was the second ranking city after London.
It was very rich because of trading and all the Rivers they could use to get to
other Cities like Cambridge. It was rich with Wool, hops and European cloth.
But one of the biggest things they had going for their title was the washed up
fragments of carbonated prehistoric wood from forests long gone and now
fossilised under the sea. What you may ask would that kind of flotsam be
used for? Well the old wood absorbed Iron Sulphate and with the carbon left
behind from the wood it was a treasure chest of chemicals, Gunpowder, cloth
dye, ink was all made from this valuable commodity, The collection of the
material which became known as Copperas carried on for over two hundred
years. However, now move on to the Industrial Revolution of the Victorian
age and Norfolk being a county void of Coal, it’s importance diminished to the
extent that the midlands became more wealthly and Birmingham took over.
You could say that Birmingham with it’s coal fired iron works gave Norwich a
black eye.
Q.325. Hi Henry. How did they make Chain-mail hundreds of years ago?
First of all they did not have very good machines to shape Iron, except for the
hammer and the skill of the Blacksmith. He would keep hitting the soft, red
hot Iron until he got it forged to a small diameter rod. Then he would curl it
around another rod to make what looks like a spring. By cutting along the
springs length all the curls of the spring would fall off as circular pieces that
look like the Letter “C”, not full circles as the saw cut out some metal. Not he
would weave them together in loops, closing the circle as he went, this makes
a sheet of flexible mesh but it is still very bumpy, so he would then heat it up
again and flatten the sheet until it would be fairly comfortable. Some
flexibility would have been lost but sufficient left for muscle movements.
Now here’s an extra bit about chain-mail! The mail was hard to stop rusting,
so the blacksmith heated it up and quenched it in oil, the carbon in the oil
absorbed into the iron and made it black, hence the name “Blacksmith from
the iron now called Black-iron, and Knights roaming around the country
solving problems for the people for money, would ask for Blackmail money!
Did I say Solving problems? Sorry I meant Causing Problems!
Q.326 and Q.327. Another question. What is a Shaffron and was there really
something called a Baldrick?
That’s two extra questions!
A Shaffron or Chanfron is the iron helmet which a Knight fits to his horses
head.
Yes funnily enough there was a Baldric, no K. It is the leather strap which
crosses the body from shoulder to hip, to carry a heavy sword hanging from
the hip. Hey there was a man called Blackadder too! He was in the Scottish
nobility during Queen Mary Stuart’s time.
Q.328. Hi Henry. When you wrote “Past time in good company” what was it
about?
Pastime with good company
I love and shall until I die
Grudge to lust, but none deny
So God be pleased, thus live will I
For my pastance,
Hunt, sing and dance,
My heart is set,
All goodly sport
For my comfort:
Who shall me let?
It was for times when I was with my friends and doing what we loved.
Hunting, Dancing, singing and of course feasting.
Q.329. Hi Henry. Did the Tudor play football?
Yes. But! There were no football fields or stadiums, it would be one village
against another village. There would be no rules, no limit to the number of
players and no goals. The actual goals were the gates of each village Church.
There were many injuries and even deaths, the Church complained to the
courts that people were getting maimed in their grounds. In 1540, I had to
ban Football because of the amount of hatred it caused and the number of
injuries.
An actual quote from Tudor times!
“Football is more a fight than a game....sometimes their necks are broken,
sometimes their backs, sometimes their legs.....football encourages envy and
hatred....sometimes fighting, murder and a great loss of blood.”
Q.330. Hi Henry. What weapons did The Tudors use for hunting?
Bows and arrows, Crossbows, Lances, knives and swords. The use of guns was
seen as poor sportsmanship although the use of Hawks and falcons must
have been similar but wholly excepted.
Q.331. Hi Henry. Must be a simple sort who asks a question then continues to
insult me. So here's the answer for others to read, but no more questions
opened from this guy.
What were the dates of the marriages to your wives?
1509 - 7 June Henry married Katherine of Aragon in private chapel of
Placentia at Greenwich
1533 - Henry marries Anne Boleyn in secret (25 January)
1536 - Henry marries Jane Seymour
1540 - Henry marries Anne of Cleves - divorced 6 months later.
1540 - Henry marries Catherine Howard
1543 - Henry marries Catherine Parr
Q.332. Hi Henry from Ray
I was quite surprised at the lack of detail in text books given to the person
who was potentially going to be King Henry IX, Henry Fitzroy. Born out of
wedlock to my King Henry VIII with a courtier called Elizabeth Blount, during
the marriage with Katherine of Aragon. I acknowledged his being, because it
did not look like I would be getting a son in wedlock for the inheritance of the
English throne. Politically a potential nightmare scenario, with Plantagenet
Howard’s watching the throne carefully and hoping to be seated there
themselves, Fitzroy was sent to Windsor for his education, with Howard’s son
Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey. Howard was a fine poet and became rather
famous in later life; they became inseparable friends just as I had planned.
How can a close friend betray Fitzroy in the future, was my thought pattern in
this decision.
I even agreed that Henry Fitzroy marry Mary Howard, so that their off springs
would give the Howard’s enough Throne to keep them down, but alas I was
not aware of the deep betrayal in the veins of Howard kin. Poor Fitzroy died
young, in a mysterious manner and was buried undignified quickly by the
Howard’s, I suspect foul play to this day. I have written a poem depicting this
sad tale for you to ponder about the lad who would have been King after me.
Oh! Fitzroy
By Henry Tudor
A son with Bess, my son no less
A prodigy, a double of me.
A boy of mine, Henry nine
Fitz the son, my only one.
Windsor turn, there to learn
Take a friend, Surrey’s end.
Keep the faith, I do make
Watch your back, from attack.
Howard’s all, you may fall
Marry well, Mary swell.
Create our kin, then re-begin
In Fitzroy’s path, strike your staff.
Tudor way, will be yours one day
Hold it tight, it is your right.
Accept the throne, as your own
Royal child, may be reviled.
Prove your worth, with Royal birth
Give them a boy, my Fitzroy.
Mary Howard, unlike the coward
Will love you true, I’m telling you.
Watch her kin, they might walk in
And take your throne, for their own.
So Richmond, make this a bond
I am so proud, and say aloud
My son Fitzroy, is my boy
Your future King, my loins did bring.
We comfort to know, his throne will glow
And England’s way, is safe today.
Q.333. Hi Henry. What was Tudor Tennis really like? Did it have an umpire, a
grass surface like today?
Nope. One or two of my courts may have been out of doors but mainly I built
purposely my courts under roof. The one at Greenwich was a timber clad
building but my favourite one I built at Hampton Court in 1534 a brick
building with crenulations in the design, and with two levels of windows filled
with leaded glass which was protected by iron mesh grills in case the ball
would smash the windows. The court surface was of stone slabs to help with
the bounce and the walls touched the sides, the ball could bounce back into
play and it was the aim just to make the opposite player miss the shot. Sadly
it does not exist today as it was demolished and rebuilt in the 1620’s to a
lesser design.
As far as umpires were concerned, if I was playing, I decided the point!
Q.334. Hi Henry. Who built the fantastic stained glass windows in Royal
Palaces?
My Father, Henry VII brought Dirck Vellert from Antwerp, Barnard Flower and
Galyon Hone from Holland to work on the windows in Kings College,
Cambridge. But the English glaziers did not welcome these foreign craftsmen
as they resented being overlooked by the Royal court for the best jobs. The
foreign craftsmen kept to themselves and did not mix with their English
fellow glaziers.
At Hampton Court the most well known master glazier from Holland, Galyon
Hone, built the polished stained glass windows with their heraldic captions
around 1531. He found virtually constant work from Henry VII and Henry VIII
in all their major Palaces and even had to change his own designs as the latter
Henry’s wives changed! October 17th 1544, Galyon Hone returned to
Whitehall Palace to change the symbols in the windows to those of Katherine
Parr.
The present day use of the term to Hone something means to improve the
surface finish for exact fitting together of two mating components. Galyon
Hone was a master craftsman who could use abrasives in an artistic manner
to create cloth-like folds in seemingly three dimensions on the surface of his
glass work. As the surface of glass is abraded the colour lightens slowly,
Galyon would manipulate the colour to look like a folded silk dress or shirt
spending much time for such small but intricate details.
Q.335. Hi Henry. Was Thomas Cromwell always a lawyer for a profession?
No not at all, as well as being a trained accountant and banker, he had many
professions in his lifetime. He was a Lawyer foremost, but also set up
businesses as merchant, money-lender and even a clothe processor with the
fulling of woollen cloth
Fulling, tucking or waulking are all the same process and is a step in woolen
cloth-making which involves the cleansing of cloth to get rid of oils, lanolin
grease, dirt, and other impurities, and then thickening it. The worker who
does the job is a fuller or a tucker or the walker. The lanolin was used as a
face cream for society women, and a base for perfumed balm creams. Fulling
involves two processes - scouring and milling (thickening). These are followed
by suspending the cloth on wooden frames known as tenters and held onto
those frames by tenterhooks, hence the saying when being kept in
suspension “being on tenter-hooks”. People’s names, Fuller, Tucker and
Walker came from these professions.
Q.336.Hi Henry. Did the Tudors have sewers?
Nope. This is why the plague and sickness was most prevalent. The moat was
the final resting place of many a latrine which would turn the water green,
the stink would be obnoxious and the occupants of the said castle or Manor
house would leave for a holiday whilst the poor servants had to get in the
moat and dig out the waste materials. Queen Elizabeth, my daughter had the
first actual sewerage system and that was down open topped channels and
they took the waste in flowing water away from the house, but it ended not
at a sewerage plant, but in neighbouring villages.
Q.337. Hi Henry. Need help for my Daughter’s homework, What was the full
name of King Henry VIII?
You will never find any other name in your research because a Tudor or
Elizabethan character would not use what we now call a "middle name,"
which is essentially an extra given. Double given names were slowly
spreading on the Continent, but the custom had not yet reached England, and
in fact did not become really common in English-speaking countries until
much later, as late as the 19th century in places. We know of literally only
about a dozen cases in all of Elizabethan England (before 1600), and most of
them are among the nobles, or are people who were born abroad, such as
Jane Sybilla Grey, who was born in France.
Talking of Lady Jane Grey, did you know it was not her name when she was
executed by Queen Mary I? Lady Jane Grey was forced into a marriage with a
son of the Protector, Dudley so she was technically Lady Jane Dudley when
she became the nine day Queen.
Henry was Prince Henry Tudor, Duke of York before being King apparent after
the death of his brother Arthur. See what happens when an interesting point
is made, I go off on a tangent. Now King Henry would never be called VIII or
number eight, he preferred King Henry Octavian, which of course means the
same in latin.
Q.338. Hi Henry. I read with interest that the Mary Rose was built of many
types of wood, not just oak, and that Wych Elm had a significant part to play
in the build. Is Wych Elm a British tree and what does “to stand down”
actually mean when the navy is told to relax?
No not a native wood of Britain, Wych Elm introduced by the Romans to drain
the boggy land of the flood plains of East Anglia, Somerset, Lancashire and
Cheshire. There you will find towns with the ending …Wich, from these huge
forests.
Wych Elm has a strong, irregular grain structure which made it ideal as
planking for the ship’s boats as it was bendable, in fact I think the term Wych
means “to bend” in Latin. As well as transporting people and goods, these
boats were used as tugs to tow the ship on days when there was no wind.
They were not considered as lifeboats – if a sailor was unlucky enough to fall
overboard he was unlikely to be saved. Renowned for its strength, wood from
this evergreen tree was seen in contrasting places on ships. Elm was
particularly valuable to ship builders as it does not rot when kept in water.
The keel of the Mary Rose and planking beneath the waterline were made
out of lengths of elm. It was also used for casing the pumps, used to prevent
the ship from sinking. The capstan, used to raise the ship’s anchor, and the
carriages which supported the enormous guns were also made of this wood.
The term to stand down in the navy meant to lower the masts and rigging
because of no need for sailing in the near future.
Q.339. Hi Henry. I read in your website, the colour of Mourning was Yellow,
why was it not black like it is today?
Simple really, the colour easily washed out and when it did it became a rat
colour of dull grey. Only the Nobility with their access to the colour fixer Alum
Flour could keep the colour in, so Black was the colour of Noblemen’s clothes
for business. Yellow was the colour of mourning because everybody could
make it and so it was universally used. However, there are some very unusual
names for some of the Tudor colours, I have listed them here in Alphabetical
order. Notice just what carnation means! Carne!
Black. A nobleman’s colour
Bristol Red: A "pleasant" red.
Cane Colour: Yellowish tint.
Carnation: Resembling raw flesh
Crane Colour: Greyish white
Dead Spaniard: Pale greyish tan
Gingerline: Reddish violet
Goose-Turd: Yellowish green
Hair: Bright tan
Incarnate: Red
Isabella: Light buff
Lincoln Green: Bright Green
Lustie-Gallant: Light Red
Maiden Hair: Bright tan
Milk and Water: Bluish white
Murrey: Purplish red
Orange Tawney: Orangish brown
Peach: Deep pinkish orange
Plunket: Light blue
Popinjay: Bluish Green
Primrose: Pale yellow
Puke: Dirty Brown
Rat's Colour: Dull grey
Sangyn: Blood red
Sheep's Colour: Natural
Strammel: Red
Straw: Light Yellow
Tawney: Brown tinged with yellow
Yellow: Used for mourning.
Watchet: Pale greenish blue
Whey: Pale whitish blue
Willow: Light green
Q.340. Hi Henry. There are many pictures of you in records and Palaces, but
not many of your father, King Henry VII. Have you got any pictures of him
never seen before?
This is asking a great deal and so I have made a picture for you out of his
death mask which will show you exactly what he looked like.
Not as handsome as me, me thinks!
Q.341. Hi Henry. This questioner was in person at the Hall.
What actually was the price of salt?
I have put this togther to explain the cost with actual recorded evidence.
The Cost of Salt.
By Henry Tudor
Based upon the Cheshire Wyches and terminology of a Shire being a
“hundred” these are the writings of salt dealing. Dates, about 1200.
"Whoever carries away purchased salt in a cart from these wiches paid four
pence in toll if he had four oxen or more in his cart ; if two oxen he paid two
pence."
Now a rough guide of carrying capacity had been drawn up which compared
Oxen+cart with horse drawn cart with human carrying. From the figures
below it is as follows.
One cart with four oxen paid 4 pence, a man with two oxen paid 2 pence, so
the charge was one penny per ox.
One half penny per horse and cart this being half the charge, so a horse was
½ penny each load.
A single man was considered to be equal to one eight of an ox!". If on foot,
"twopence or a penny", respectively "for eight (man) loads".
There were local concessions. A man from another hundred "paid two pence"
for a horse-load, "a man from the same hundred only a half-penny".
There was a three day credit line, this allowed regular customers to take
away the salt, sell it and come back and pay for the salt as well as picking up
the next load.
"Anyone who brought a cart with two or more oxen from another shire paid
four pence in toll. A man from the same shire paid two pence for his cart
within the third night after his return home."
"A man from another shire paid a penny for a horse-load", but a man from
the same shire paid 'a minuta' "within the third night."
The selling of salt had a season! Probably due to weather conditions both for
mining the salt and for travelling to distribute the commodity. So could this
be where “to season with salt” comes from?
"If a man living in the same hundred carted salt about the said county to sell,
he paid a penny for each cart as often as he loaded it. If he carried salt on a
horse to sell he paid a penny at the Feast of St. Martins" (which feast marked
the end of the 'season').
What about during Tudor times?
'In the earlier years, when Sir Richard Shuttleworth was resident at Smithills
[near Bolton], his younger brother Thomas acted as his steward. At his order
the yearly supply of salt was bought each summer at Northwich and brought
home by one or more of the servants.' The salt was bought by the 'crannock'
a size of uninterpreted magnitude, 'but costing 14s. to 16s.,' against 11s. to
12s. 'paid for a 'lode' or a 'quarter' of salt in later years.'
The toll paid on two crannocks was fourpence. [The price of one Saxon cart
with four oxen at Nantwich & Middlewich].
In June, 1586, 'twoe krenneckes and a halffe of salte at the North - Wyche
~~35s.
spente in fetching the same and for that which was payed for towle~~~~~~3s.
4d.
July, 1590 - towe crineokes of sallte~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~31s.
toule in the wyche for the same sallte~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4d.
June, 1591 - thrie crynokes and a halfe of
salte~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~54s.
those that fechide the same at towe several tymes~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5s.
6d.
towle at the Wyche for the same~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~8d.
It is not to be supposed that Northwich was the only source of salt for these
households. (For example after the death of Thomas the Steward.) If more
expedient, salt was also gotten from other sources eg Clitheroe (1602 - one
mette of salte in Clitherew - 2s. 6d.) and Manchester (1611- Four lode of sault
- at 11s. ) ; and once, when the same household had run out and was in need
of urgent supply for salting the winter beef, cote-salt was bought: this would
be salt from the Lancashire coast.
Q.342. Many a soul has asked me how much the cost of living was in Tudor
days. So here for you is a chart. Work it out as follows: all category costs are
100 in the year of my birth 1491.
Just see that chaos occurred in the Edward to Mary to Elizabeth fiasco!
As you can see, the poor would have seldom eaten meat and the advent of
Technology brought in the Industrial changes.
If you want a full Excel chart then click here.
Click here to download this file
Q.343. Hi Henry. Nowadays we have Pounds (£) and Pence (P). But what are
£sd. I understand the pounds and shillings but why the letter D for pence? I
asked my dad and he's old, but he didn't know, I asked my Grand dad and
he's ancient and he didn't know either!
Well, that was long ago, when pennies were white, because they were then
made of silver. Each one was worth a denary, which was a coin worth about a
shilling, or a quarter of a dollar. Hence £ S D. If your grand dad is ancient,
what am I?
Q.344. Same lad. Who invented money?
The Roman's they named it after Juno Moneta, a goddess in Rome.
Before money was invented, exchanges of goods was the method of
bartering. Salt for meat etc. The Roman’s bought about the use of Money
although metals were considered good for battering with well before the coin
first appeared.
Q.345. Hi Henry. I love the way you tell us where names and sayings come
from. Where does the term “Sticky Fingers” come from?
To catch a crow for food was not as easy as it sounds, the birds were nearly
impossible to shoot with an arrow and to lay traps meant you had to build it
first them leave it near the tree from where the trap was often stolen. The
poorer people had a nasty trick for catching Crows for food. They would make
a glue which looked like bird droppings and spread the glue on the tree
branches. The crows would get stuck fast and the people catch them easily. It
was seen as nearly stealing the crows form the trees. The glue was made
from boiling the bark of the Holly tree, the glue was so powerful that the
hunters had sticky fingers hence the saying for hunters who went after crows.
The glue was called Bird Lime which has mistakenly been used to refer to the
bird droppings.
"Bird lime" is also providentially sticky; hence it may be used to refer to a
"sticky-fingered person"
The use of glue to catch birds was made illegal.
However the poor hunter also had another nasty trick up his sleeve. He would
climb the tree where there was a crow’s nest and chicks in it. He would then
tie a thin chord to the chicks legs and wait until the chicks were older and
about to fly the nest. The birds not knowing what was tied to their legs would
try to fly off but got caught at the end of their rope and dangle helplessly
until the hunter came to collect his booty. Hence “at the end of the rope”.
Again this practice was outlawed, not because of cruelty but because it was
very efficient.
Q.346. Hi Henry. Is it true that the Tudor's had an Organ musical instrument?
If so how did they make it work?
Yes we did, I was quite proficient on it too. Mind you the power source for all
the air pressure was rather crude, here’s a picture to show you what I mean!
Many thanks to Trouvere.
www.trouvere.co.uk/
Go see this website, well worth the effort.
Q.347. Hi Henry.
Did you choose to be buried at St. George's at Windsor Castle? Why not
Westminster Abbey with your parents? Why didn't you have a more
elaborate tomb designed to befit your status as England's greatest monarch?
More than one reason.
1. I never got on with my father.
2. I designed and had built the principle entrance to the castle
3. I wanted my favourite wife to be buried there, Jane Seymour
4. I wanted to be buried with my wife.
5. I wanted the procession to enter the castle with my coffin through my
gate.
6. I had a lost baby son buried there before Jane, Ann Boleyn's still born child
which changed our relationship drastically.
I wanted to be alone with my lost wife, I actually used the tomb cover
Thomas Wolsey had made for himself, plain but dignified.
K is my Gate
G is the place of my burial
After me King Charles I, was buried in the same chamber.
See the picture for the close proximity.
HenryR
Q.348.Hi Henry. What ever happened to the portrait by Hans Holbein of
Amelia von Kleve?
Well by not choosing her from her sister Anna, the picture was discarded or
lost. Here is a copy.
Q.349. Hi Henry. My Father says his car is a Sedan which was a very old
carriage without wheels, is this correct?
Actually a good point. From about 1700 the roads were very rough and rich
people would get from one place to another in a carriage, which actually was
carried by two men in between two long poles. Here is a picture.
The name Sedan became the description of a motorcar with separate, engine
and luggage compartments and only two doors. If your Father’s car has four
doors it is a saloon.
Q.350. Hi Henry. I love your website, we go on History trips now and I can talk
to teachers knowing things more than my friends. How can I tell when an old
building has been changed in its past history?
Glad about your new status as class genius, well look for the way the walls
have been attached together. Nowadays they latch in the bricks to create a
strong joint because a brick is relatively thin, medieval building of thick stones
were very difficult to latch together so they just built new walls up to old
walls. Here is a picture which shows the poor joining on an old Abbey, they
obviously built an extension onto an old outside wall and created a strange
arch to cover an old doorway. Look at the differing stone quality and standard
of building.
Q.351. Hi Henry. I know you will defend your actions in the demolition of the
Roman Catholic monasteries and abbeys. But why did you not punish the
people who helped themselves to the masonry before you had the stonework
removed to build your forts?
Hmmm! A trouble maker methinks. Well to put it simply, the more people
who profited by the dissolution of the Monasteries the more that would not
retaliate. Go see the quality of the houses around the old ruins of
monasteries and abbeys, they have wonderful arches, fireplaces and
chimneys, carved oak doors and regal looking wrought ironwork. So paying
for a priest to pray in Latin, certainly did nothing for the Church of Rome,
after all it started Martin Luther on his Protesting path. Here is a poem
describing the theft as a National event.
Where did all the stones go?
By Henry Tudor
Not just Royals with their carts
We were there first to collect
Glass of colours and arches
The rest they can have for their forts.
Over the wall we went, peoples army with intent.
Intent to carry off our rightful stone
We alone paid for it, it is our own.
The King cares not for Papal lands
Take what you can in your hands.
Be quick, be stealthy, be strong
Hide the booty, us it wisely, belong.
Troops will move fast, to claim the last
So make your move and be fast.
Abbey, Monastery ruined and broke
Now your house a chimney smoke.
Arch your door, carve your gate
Use their wall for your estate.
Glass is class, get the lead cames too
Build a window, then look through.
No draught, no wet, just coloured tones
Now surround them with mighty stones.
The King will take all the blame
He doesn’t care it’s all the same.
He’ll build our defence with last large stones
Leaving only the Papal, monastery’s bones.
The reformed way is better now
We all feel richer for it somehow.
English bibles, no mass, no saints
A simpler faith for us he paints.
Harry takes and gives out too
The Church of England, for me and you.
Get in the loop, don’t take your time
Be part of this enormous, crime.
Let him head the faith, it is his way
But get your bit, this very day.
You’ve paid your dues to past regime
Now collect, first come, first seen.
Hide your loot inside your home
Don’t show wealth, you’re not alone.
Time will pass and time will heal
But you’ll still have the spoils to feel.
Nicking stone and glass today
Make the Roman forever pay.
Remember the cost of large cuboid stone nowadays would be about £100
each, so a cart full was real booty, consider the cost of stained glass and lead
and then think about what the poor thought about the priests and their
wealth. It was a change about to happen all over Europe caused by greedy
men and weak helpless poor people being their victims for centuries before
any reformation.
Q.352. Hi Henry. From a Little girl and her Mother in the crowd at Samlesbury
Hall. What were you really like?
This is the most difficult question ever to answer. Psychologists say we are all
three people!
1. We are what we think we are.
2. We are what people think we are.
3. We are what we want people to think we are.
So starting with number three. I built up my reputation, looks and persona to
make the people believe me to be a strong, healthy, intelligent man with a
strong heart and solid outlook. This would be the greatest impression a King,
who is sole ruler of a country, to portray. I did this by way of enhances
portraits, lots of jewels, lots of parties and Royal events and making decisions
quickly and sticking to them.
Number two, if people think I am magnificent then I act more magnificent
thus giving them what they want. They see me as a ruler who does not make
mistakes, so all my decisions are final and may seem cruel but are still final.
Number one. The real me, I need company of intelligent people, I need to be
loved, I love my children and my family. I get scared of making bad decisions,
I never want to hurt people but sometimes it is unavoidable, my personal life
should be separate from my public life but it isn’t. I desire peace and quiet,
my own space with people not afraid of my power, but this is impossible as a
King.
So again as the psychologists say, the three people inside us all mix together
to make our personality, but number one is our true self.
Q.353. Hi Henry. Why was Charles Brandon given to you officially to be your
best friend?
If we did not like each other it would not have worked. Charles is older then
me, he was a young baby when his father was killed in the battle of Bosworth
Field where my father Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III. My father
promised the dying Brandon that he would look after his son Charles and he
did by putting Charles into schooling with me with my tutors. Being together
at all times and he being older, we became best of fiends, I looked up to him
as an older brother. We hunted, played sport and drank together throughout
our lives. If it were not for this bond between us, I would not have forgiven
him for marrying my sister Mary without my approval as he did. I gave the
couple the Duchy of Suffolk, mainly to keep an eye on the Norfolk's whom I
never trusted, and to pay off a fine for the marriage. They went on to have
daughters, a Tudor curse it seems, and grand daughters one of whom was
Jane Grey.
Q.354. Hi Henry. What to do think of the latest TV show called “The Tudors”?
A misrepresentation of the first order. If you were to spend millions on such a
series, filmed over a long period, you would think they should have gone out
and bought a history book! Maybe even read it. Just keep a count of the
errors in actual events they call history, the worst being Mary Tudor marrying
the King of Portugal!!!!! When it was the old King of France she married. I am
six foot two tall; this lead actor needs a box to stand on. Red hair, blues eyes
where were their researcher looking when they cast the show.
A typical Americanised tale perpetuated by producers not caring about truth,
but more concerned with making money from an audience who wouldn’t
know real history if it perched on their heads and pecked out their ear wax.
Q.355.Hi Henry. Why did you just drop Mary Boleyn for her Sister?
Mary Boleyn was the court girl, she came from the court of Francis I having
been escorted around by most of their top courtiers, including the king
himself. She was in France with her younger sister Anne, though much
different in nature. Anne preferred the company of the Queen Claude and
kept away from the bawdy life near the amorous King. Anne was very
conservative and wanted to keep herself for only one man, her future
husband, whoever that would be. Mary came back to England first and came
into my court where she used her attractiveness to gain access to the top
levels of the court, including myself. Mary gave birth to two children, some
say both were mine to make me look full of virility whilst I was going though
the worst time with Katherine the Queen. A girl and a boy were born, both
looked like me, one called Catherine, the boy we named Henry. We married
her off to a lower level family called Carey and her new husband William took
good care of the children as I gave the boy a pension of £30,000 per year in
your money.
Anne Boleyn was my prey, I was the hunter she the deer, she resisted and
made the hunt all the more enjoyable. In modern talk, I would be seen as a
stalker, and that is just what a hunter is, he stalks the deer until it gives up.
After many months had turned into years, she gave in. I sent her a roe deer I
had killed myself, and had a jewelled necklace placed around its neck. She
saw this as herself with a collar of captivity. In the end of all my misfortunes
with lost babies and a miserable wife, I could see a shining light in the
distance where we would marry and live happily ever after!!!
Marrying the quarry after a long hunt, using all your skills and tricks to win
the battle of wills ends up with complete boredom and Anne only survived as
Queen for 1,000 days. Still! Many more deer in the forest.
Q.356. Hi Henry. Was the marriage between Mary Tudor, the dowager Queen
of France and your best friend Charles Brandon, done just to spite you?
Lots of writers have come to that conclusion, but there is another line of
thought which adds to it comfortably.
Yes it is true that Mary my little sister and the darling of the court, was an
impetuous, self centred, aggressive girl with sudden mood changes and a
displeasing nature when you got below her graceful well acted surface.
Yes it is true I arranged her 61 day marriage to an ailing King of France for a
handsome dowry. And yes we did agree verbally to let her marry her own
choice when the sick King died and left her the widow of France.
But she had always hankered after the like of Charles behind closed doors, he
being a gruff, strong and handsome athlete, well respected and powerful in
his proximity to myself.
But, over in France Mary played the field of parties and balls, after the death
of her husband and the pregnancy watch period after, she had a great time.
Her new nephew the new King Francis even considered marrying her, even
though he was already wed to Claude the Queen, who was busy producing a
brood of babies. I in my mistake, sent over Charles to bring her back from this
cesspit of shame, to marry another younger Royal, whom I had chosen and
bargained another handsome dowry. Yes you could say I broke the verbal
agreement, but she needed to be calmed down by a Royal position. She
however forced Charles into an illegal marriage, close to traitorous act had
she not been a sister and he a best friend. I fined them the dowry to get my
money. It is at this stage that Mary nurtured a deep hatred for Anne Boleyn,
who had been watching her antics in the French court from the relative safety
of the French Queen’s chambers and knowing of her involvement in
unsavoury antics which could be used in a blackmail scenario. Though Anne
Boleyn always kept what she saw to herself.
Q.357. Hi Henry. Why did the Roman Catholic Church embrace the man
Thomas More to become their hero?
What you meant to say was, how did Thomas More rise from a mere Lawyer
to become the Saint?
The answer has been used by many authors who have expanded on the
theme of a Man’s religious principles. However please don’t read all and
believe all, there was a man under this shroud of respectability who had a
deep hatred of other religions and who spent most of his life verbally hunting
down non Roman Catholics to aid in their destruction.
Find his book, “Dialogue Concerning Heresies” written in 1529. A rather
awfully written, crowd stirring book of hatred for fellow humans centred
upon the Lutherans of Europe who had broke free from the Papal reigns. I
could not write here on this website the actual wording a it is so foul
mouthed and obscene. Even Cardinal Wolsey was embarrassed by the book
and forced More to use a false pseudonym of William Rose. Thomas more
even wrote his own reviews for the people to believe the book was the
highest order of truth, he even invented false names of foreign reviewers to
give credence to this rubbish. Not the saint as painted, more the man as
hidden.
The Roman Catholic church had organised a gruesome murder of Richard
Hunne, a respected merchant, who was accused of heresy in being a
reformist and folloer of Martin Luther. He was taken by the church soldies
and died in his cell under suspicious curcumstances. Because of the uproar
the Church tried to quell the people by actually digging up the body and
burning it in a dramatic re-execution. The Church were found guilty of murder
but nobody was brought to justice. Thomas More was the lawyer who was
hire to fight the case for the church.
I’d rather not write the words of his enemies at the time, as it would be seen
to be using the same tactics as More himself, but read for yourself the words
of Ridley and Joanna Denny then judge this complex character for yourself.
Q.358. Hi Henry. I read that you believe the Roman Catholic Church was
doomed to reformation because of the greedy individual who ran it. How
much wealth did the church have in England before the reformation?
They owned 1/3rd of all England, the manors, the lands, and even foreign
territories. They owned 1/10th of all crops, meadow, pasture, grass, wool,
colts, calves, lambs. pigs. geese, and chickens. Then worst of all they
demanded 1/10th of all persons wages. They never paid for anything, just
took it. Now do you see why the people were over the walls well before the
soldiers arrived in the destruction of the monasteries.
Q.359. Hi Henry. How much would it have cost for a Peasant in Tudor, prereformation times to be Roman Catholic?
The old Papal Church took in huge revenues across Europe, pay to be preyed
for, was a real money earner and eventually the Church’s downfall in many
countries.
Sinners could buy redemption as the Church openly sold them, they were
called Indulgencies. People on their deathbeds could buy their way out of
Purgatory too, which was the place name for the waiting room to heaven or
hell. Tithes were the Church’s protection money payment, a tax on the
people to ensure a passage to heaven. 10% of all crops, stock and income was
the cost to all the working population. The population of priests were
infested with swindlers who lined their own pockets and lived lavish
lifestyles. Religious relics were used to raise money too, put on show the
Church would charge poor pilgrims to just view them or kiss them. An
infamous Holy site was Hailes Abbey in Gloucestershire, which had the blood
of Christ weep out of a statue, only to be found to be a series of manually
activated pumps delivering fresh Duck blood. But over the Centuries this fake
produced huge revenues for the Abbot.
Q.360. Hi Henry. How could Jane Seymour just sit and watch how Anne
Boleyn was framed and murdered by her future husband.
Strong words, but true. Jane Seymour was seen at first as the hope of the
Roman Catholics to rid England of the Evangelical Anne Boleyn and bring back
the old faith, thus reinstating the ex-Princess Mary to her rightful succession.
The Seymour’s were seen as respected Catholics but not expected to change
to embrace the new reformed church when Jane actually became Henry’s
third wife. She was not well educated and quite a cunning person who
watched as her marital obstruction was finally killed off. Gambling upon the
birth of a son for Henry to give the Seymour’s a mighty position was in her
mind. However her plans went astray when she died of blood poisoning from
the delivery of Edward. If history could be re-written, just how long could she
have lasted had she not died so early on in the marriage? Would Henry not
have become bored with her too and trumped up more charges to get
another lover?
Unanswerable questions thankfully as one Royal debacle is enough, that is
until Catherine Howard came on the scene and revived Henry’s homicidal
tendencies.
Q.361 Hi Henry. Is it true that even Serf’s had to pay to let their daughters
marry?
Not if they were to marry a man in the same manor, but they still needed the
permission of the lord of their manor. However if the marriage was between
the daughter of a man who was from outside the manor, the father of the girl
had to pay his lord of his manor a sum of money called the Formarriage or
Merchet.
Q.362 Hi Henry. Did Castles have advertisements?
This question nearly caught me out and I nearly dismissed it as seriously daft.
But, yes they did!
Just before a battle the castle would hang a wooden balcony over the stone
walls so that they could drop missiles and boiling oil over the fearsome
intruders, they would also either paint or hang a clothe saying for the
aggressors to read, warning them not to bother attacking as they will all die a
horrible agonising death. This temporary structure was called a Hoarding.
Nowadays the large temporary advertising signs on the side of the road are
called hoardings.
Q.363 Hi Henry. What does “Hue and cry” actually mean?
The requirement of all members of a village to pursue a criminal with loud
horn and high voices.
Q.364 Hi Henry. What does “LEASE FOR THREE LIVES” mean?
Fairly easy really, leasing land as a farmer had a lease period of people’s lives
not a defined period. So a farmer could lease the land for his life, his Wife or
Son’s life and then his Grandson’s life span. Notice the absence of
“daughter”!
Q.365 Hi Henry. How much wages did metal workers in the Minting of money
earn?
Mmmm! This took a while to find the answer. When there was 240d in one
Pound the Moneyer (Mint worker) would keep one penny or as a fraction
1/240th of the value of the amount made.
Q.366 Hi Henry. I was in your audience some time ago and remember you
mentioning that dead people had wooden soled shoes on their feet during
the Wake in the parlour. What were the shoes called?
Thanks for the memory. The wooden shoes were only soles with straps, the
fire nearby would curl them up off the corpses feet so “popping their clogs”.
The wooden soles were called Patten’s. They were also used for people to
wear over their soft “slippers” when they went outside for a short while.
Q.367 Hi Henry. Where did Piccadilly in London get it’s name from?
A Piccadil is a special cut of opening in Tudor/Stuart clothing. The neck and
armholes had a flanged edge as a fashion of the aristocracy and a tailor in
London made them especially for them, his shop area became known as
where the Piccadils came from.
Q.368 Hi Henry. Could a serf run away from his master and gain freedom if he
stayed away for a year and a day?
Yes. Town’s had charters to proclaim freedom of any serf who lived there for
a year and a day, without being recaptured by his lord. The saying “TOWN AIR
IS FREE AIR”
Q.369 Hi Henry. What was the state of the Church when you died? Thaks
Fernie.
Hi Fernie
People were having problems with the Roman Catholic Church ever since the
Black Death, plague of the 14th Century when 60% of all priests died of the
disease. The Pope ordered that any man with reading ability could be taken
on as a priest which opened the gateway for poor second sons of middle class
people who began to rob the people by charging for prayers with the threat
of not going to heaven if they missed a payment. The people were not happy
at all with their church. When I wanted a divorce for my first wife Katalina de
Aragon, her nephew Charles the Emperor of Rome told the Pope not to grant
my wish. This went on for 6 years and so I threw out the Pope’s rule of the
church and created The Church of England, thus allowing me to grant my own
divorce. However, it was still Catholic except for the mass and the saints, and
I allowed for the first time, English written bibles so the people knew what
the priests were saying.
Thomas Cromwell, my councilor masterminded the entire change over, even
letting people cross the walls of old monasteries to take away stone for their
own use, leaving the big pieces for my soldiers to take and build my castles
along the south coast of England.
Major problems were caused because the Roman Catholic countries suddenly
became my enemies and I was excommunicated from their church. My exwife Katalina even plotted against me, trying to get her nephew to come and
kill me, and put our daughter Mary on the throne in my place.
My son Edward went to live with his uncles, the Seymour’s who by then were
Protestants and when he came to the throne, the Seymour’s had already
changed the Church of England to protestant. When he died, my niece, Jane
Grey was put on the throne by the Government though she only lasted 9 days
because Mary came and arrested her. Jane was completely innocent of
treason as she was forced to do it by her parents. Mary wanted to let her go,
but the Pope and the Emperor demanded she be executed for treason or
Mary would not be allowed to marry the Spanish King to keep the Roman
Catholic faith back in England. Poor Jane died.
When Mary died her sister, Elizabeth, a Protestant came to the throne and
re-establish the new Church of England.
So you see, if the Pope had granted me a divorce, and Katalina had not
pressured her nephew, we would probably still be a Catholic nation, Jane
Grey would have survived, and Elizabeth may still have been a Protestant as
her Mother was one.
After the Tudors. King James I came to rule England, he was a Protestant but
his executed Mother, Mary Queen of Scots, was a Catholic. This led to
rebellion and the gunpowder plot!
Lots of problems eh!
HenryR
Q.370 Hi Henry. On all your travels, what is the strangest stone carving you
have come across, and what was the meaning of it?
It is true, History has given us some weird stone effigies to ponder about.
Apart from the horrible gargoyles, I came across a rather gruesome carving
whilst in Germany last September. We were in the City of Kleve to investigate
the Anna Von Kleve story and there in the grounds of the Cathedral was this
strange piece of Gothic type art.
I later found out it was not Gothic, but fairly modern and was made when the
war damaged Cathedral was rebuilt, it was in remembrance of the holocaust.
Q.371 to Q.375 From Sivad in Athens, Greece.
Ah! (sigh), Athens one of my favourite places in the World.
Q.371. What was a marital relationship like between young child wives and
older widows given the huge age difference and how did child brides cope
with supervising a manor/ household staff if they were so young?
Strange as it seems in Tudor times, age was not the same as we view it today.
For the poor to middle class, no child had their birthdays each year and they
were not seen as a potential surviving member of their family until they had
reach the age of eight. The children suspected of being about eight were
made to undergo the left arm over the head test to touch the lobe of their
right ear. If they could manage it then they were deemed to be eight and now
they can be betrothed to be married, by parental arrangements. They
married about 11/12 years of age to get as many childbearing years into the
marriage. By the time they had reach 20 years of age on average 6 babies
would be the norm, of which 3 will have died. By 24 they were grandparents,
36 they were great grandparents and 40 they were dead. So a bride of say 15
years of age was a fully recognised adult and managed their houses as such.
Lots of women/girls viewed the marriage as a major risk to their life as the
number of deaths during childbirth was staggeringly high.
You might think this eight year old test to be ridiculous, but we were still
doing in Victorian days when apprenticeships were being taken up by young
children and the average age of adults around the dirty cities was only 28
years. I know that some countries still do this test today 2008!
Q.372. As she was a queen, why did the government fail to provide a casket
for Anne Boleyn; was this intended as a final insult? What is the
measurement of the arrow box that she was placed in? Would her body have
been prepared in any way by her ladies-in-waiting or was she just thrown into
the box?
Anne Boleyn was executed as a traitor who had bewitched the King of
England, the people mainly hated her for causing the break up in the King’s
first marriage, although the break was on the cards BEFORE Henry actually
started courting Anne. She was executed on the green in the Tower and her
body was expected to be removed by her lady’s in waiting, her body put in an
arrow box as non was supplied by her family. Her body put in the chapel as a
matter of course for Royal executions. She is now with many other “traitors”,
Catherine Howard, Essex etc.
Q.373. Given the history of dislike between the sisters, why were Mary Tudor
and Elizabeth I buried together? Did Elizabeth leave instructions to be buried
with her half-sister? Did Mary Tudor ever have an effigy over her tomb when
she died and if yes, what happened to it? Under Elizabeth's effigy, is one
casket on top of the other or are they placed side by side?
After all they were sisters and both daughters of Henry who had ruled their
lives so greatly. Mary never liked Elizabeth, but initially Elizabeth loved Mary
until the poor health of Edward was looking like Mary might influence her life
as well. Elizabeth never knew about how her Mother had died until at the
execution of Catherine Howard, when someone let it slip that Anne Boleyn
died the same way. From then on Elizabeth disliked her own father and would
never have wanted to be buried with him and her step mother Jane Seymour.
Q.374. After their deaths, what happened to all of the costly gowns/ shoes of
Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I, and do any of their gowns still exist intact and
on display? How did they select what they would wear on a daily basis and
how were their gowns & shoes stored? Do you know who made their amazing
gowns? How long would it take to produce a jewel studded gown?
Now get this into perspective. Kings and Queen’s don’t have large filled
wardrobes, because they do not want to be seen in the same clothing twice.
They buy large rolls of cloth, boxes of jewels and blocks of gold. Then they
have professional jewellers, dress makers to make their clothes, usually to
their own whims and ideas. After maybe only one third of a day X three days,
which equals only one full day, they would have the clothes dismantled and
the un usable bits burnt. I have probed the reason for burning old clothes and
found that it was to stop others spying on their health, and passing around
the Royals own designs. I don’t think you will find more than ten dresses for
Anne Boleyn, even less for King Henry VIII. I would say the most are in Hever
Castle and Hampton Court. Clothes like these are now worth millions and so
fragile nobody can touch them. The Royals were fashion icons of their day,
other would see their new clothes and rush off to have copies made, but then
another design would appear, nobody could second guess the Tudors for
design. Anne Boleyn had French influence on her ideas and so the court
began to look French in nature and more flowing, brighter in colour and the
colour of clothes increased the level of status.
Q.375. Prince Arthur and Princess Katherine were raised from a young age
understanding what their royal 'responsibilities' were. What is the chance
that the young couple never consummated their 6 month marriage as
Katherine claimed - especially as other accounts at the time mention
otherwise.
Arthur was always a weak boy and by the time he married Katalina he did not
look like a King in the making. To die after only 6 months of marriage of a
lung disorder, he must have been ill for over two years. Katalina must have
been aware of her problems and would have tried to get pregnant as soon as
she could with her new husband. I think he would have been able to
consummate the marriage, even though records were written to the contrary
and for the convenience of the lady’s next role. No proof what so ever about
whether the marriage was in fact consummated, but I think it was as this
Princess needed a baby boy to keep her in the Royal league in England.
HenryVII actually waited to see if she was pregnant before he even tried to
contact the Pope for dispensation to allow the marriage with his other son.
I use the name Katalina for Katherine of Aragon. The Tudors used Anglified
names to create less disruption amongst the people for the King marrying a
foreign Princess. Katalina was her proper name.
Q.376 Hi Henry
The armour in the Tower of London is seven feet tall, why?
Propaganda sir that’s all. It has spacers in the feet and shoulders, yes I can
wear it but only if I stand still as when watching troops or as people pass in a
ceremony. So the armour was made just to spread the rumour of me being a
tall, strong leader. Hehehe.
Q.376 Hi Henry
What kind of shoes did you wear?
Do you always wear the same kind of shoes? For walking, running, climbing,
hiking, riding horses, soft ones for the evening, waterproof ones and snow
coverings?
Well I did the same. I would have long leather boots for riding and jousting,
flat soled leather shoes for dancing and walking in the Palaces and a variety
of shoes for comfort. Yes! We had slippers. They were soft leather soled
shoes with woollen tops for comfort and warmth and they were named for
not slipping on a marble or stone floor.
Q.377 Hi Henry
How much warning did you give to your hosts when you went on one of your
Progresses?
My plans were made a year in advance and my hosts were chosen by me
from my courtiers as they were close at hand. I would only pick political
alliances and host who could afford my visit. I took about 12weeks maximum
for my progresses and travelled not more that 20 miles per day between
hosts. I would also choose the host with good hunting and space for dancing
in their houses. There were sudden progresses caused by the spread of
sickness nearby, I would up sticks and move one without much notice, a rider
would be a day for so in front and declare my intention of arriving at a venue
without much notice at all. These hosts may have considered my visit to be a
burden with the cost being so high for my entourage, I may reward them with
honours but never lower myself to pay for my own keep.
What’s that I hear you mumbling to yourself? Why twelve weeks maximum?
Well, if you were the first inherited King in the Tudor line and there were
thousands of Plantagenet supporters out there waiting to take over and
restore the old line, would you stay away a long time?
Q.378 Hi Henry
Why do you never wear a crown?
I do wear a crown, but so infrequently that I am never seen in public in one.
My hats are my fashion and serve the purpose of keeping my head warm in
these dark, cold Tudor days. My head is shaved to keep away mites and
insects and of course where would I be without my slanted hat to produce by
Evil eye?
My father started the hat fashion and even James I carried it on, though
much more flamboyant than any on mine.
Q.379 Hi Henry
What ever happened to Will Sommers your famous jester?
Jesters were seen as the TV for rich people, entertainment, the Xbox of today.
There were initially two kinds of Jester both based upon a “silly” look. There
were Natural deformed characters who used their deformity to make people
laugh. There were Artificial characters who acted the deformity for make
people laugh. I had many jesters of both categories.
Martin (natural) inherited from my father, Sexton and Patch (both natural).
Then along came Will Sommers with a party of cloth suppliers for payment.
He was a skinny, bow backed boy with a ridiculous sense of humour but who
could bring a smile to any frown. I made him my Greenwich palace jester
where he stayed for all his life with my court.
Will actually lived to 1560 a grand old age and was inherited to Edward, Mary
and Elizabeth’s court. He finally worked with her favourite jester, Jane the
fool.
Notice how close his clothing was to mine, cocked hat, false chain and fur
top. This showing how much status he had.
Will was also my spy in the court, he told me about Wolsey hoarding gold in
his cellar and that started me watching this greedy man in more detail, some
say the beginning of his demise.
Q.380. Hi Henry.
Whilst up in Cumbria last weekend I noticed there was a medieval hall there
called Moot Hall. What does Moot Hall mean?
Sounds like you were in Keswick in the Northern lake District. Not medieval
this one though. There the Moot hall was a place of Judicial meetings, its
spelling would then have been Mot or Mote, actually just meaning Meet. It
was a place where an assembly of people could discuss legal things, Things
that were Mooted about were being put up for discussion, a Moot point I
might add. I don’t think they had Moats, but they would have had some sort
of local security to enable serious discussion without fear of interference.
Thanks to www.visitcumbria.com/kes/kestic.htm
Q.381. Hi Henry
What evidence is there that Anne of Cleves real name was in fact Anna Von
Kleve?
How's about her actual signature!
Q.382. It is not often that I cannot prove a source. But here is a question
answered from verbal evidence, word of mouth over a period of 500 years
must have a lot of changes but hopefully some of the content has original
truths. I got this description of Samlesbury Hall's own Tudor dance steps from
two elderly ladies visiting the house who remember it being done in their
youth. How can we keep such stories without passing them on?
The Beehive.
Tudor dances invented for large Palaces such as Hampton Court did not travel
well to the provinces. They would not fit into small halls, the travelling
minstrels would change them and thus alter their steps and meanings to suit
their audience and so beyond the original recognition. A sort of Chinese
whispers.
A Tudor Hall far away from the cultural capital would however design their
own dance and music. They would base it upon what would suit their houses
and the number of people dancing.
The Hive is a dance from a small hall in the North of England, 250 miles from
Hampton Court. It is based upon a Bee Hive where Bee's buzz about in their
own tiny space.
The man holds out his right harm, palm downwards, if he keeps his hand level
aiming at the ladies face it means he has affection for her, if he points his
hand towards the floor, no affection, just a dance. The lady touches the back
of his hand with only two fingers to pivot.
The man bows without being "Forward" that is he slides his left foot in a
curve to his rear and bows with a stiff back. This makes his behind move
backwards and his head just drops not going forward, considered rude. At the
same time the lady curtsy's with her left leg behind her right leg.
When the man slowly raises back up, he lifts his right arm and the Lady walks
two steps to stand under the arch created. The man now struts slowly around
the lady with three steps. The man's arm now lowers to shoulder height, then
they take two steps forward, turn and bow/curtsy again, all this is repeated
until the music stops. A good speed and tune is Henry's "With goode
Company" though the local hall would not know this song and would play
their own. I do not know of any local tunes to fit this dance.
Basically it is a local evening dance, to get to know each other better!
I actually demonstrate this dance to visiting schools at the Hall, it fits in
beautifully in their room for about 40 people.
Here is a poem about the Hive steps.
Steps
By Henry Tudor
Swing good leg around and back
Never leave the floor, that’s slack.
Keep your back straight and tall
This night of Tudor, no drink, no fall.
Bow not stoop for Lady true
Don’t lean forward, shame on you.
She will curtsy low in tune with song
Not need for rest, not very long.
Hold your arm above her head
She steps into the arch instead.
Stride around her back to guide her on
Two steps forwards, now you’re gone.
Repeat these steps ‘till tunes doth stop
Do not change your hand from flop.
Unless you now like her be praised
For she will see now your hand has raised.
This simple dance in Tudor hall
Maybe done in Palace Ball.
Indicate the man’s intention
Must be Henry’s cunning invention.
So what must we call this small hall dance?
So short of space, it doth entrance.
To bring together man and girl
By just a simple, tuneful twirl.
H
Q.383. What was Birdlime and was it associated with Honeydew?
No both are quite different.
Birdlime is a viscous sticky stuff prepared from holly bark and used to catch
small birds. Poachers would mix the glue and then paste it on the branches to
look like bird droppings. The Crows would walk on the glue and stick to the
branch, the poachers would climb up and steal the stricken birds, leaving
them in a sack for another accomplice on the other side of the boundary
fence to collect. This accomplice was called the “Fence”, meaning a man who
passes on stolen goods.
Honeydew was a sticky substance exuded by insect, aphids, firstly named
from sticky sap from plants, so only connected to the Birdlime by way of it
could have come from a Holly tree bark.
Q.384. Hi Henry. How did they catch large animals to eat?
Not just by the obvious of using arrows from a crossbow, we also dug large
holes and put branches across then chased the animals into it. This pit gave
us the term “Pitfall” meaning a trap hidden from view.
How did people see out of windows if they had no glass?
Windows were filled with oiled linen in place of glass which was expensive
and hard to obtain, it made the linen translucent which is not transparent but
shapes can be seen through it and it let in the sunlight. The oil used was
called Linseed Oil which had many uses other than for their poor window
panes. Linseed could also be used to dry paint and varnish, waterproof cloth
and when heated it went darker and harder and linoleum and oilcloth was
made from it. Did I say varnish? Yep! Tudors had varnish, it was made from
the shells of Lac beetles and called Shellac!
Oh, and the very poor had no windows anyhow.
Q.385. What was an Eaves Trough?
Early roof guttering on the edge of the slope of the roof.
Q.386. Hi Henry.
Why did families have to provide a dowry for a marriage?
Actually it was only for the girls parents to provide a dowry. The money or
property she gave towards the marriage offset the fact she was a woman in a
time when men were seen as superior. They Endow a gift towards the
marriage, usually left as an inheritance for the marriage of a daughter or
granddaughter, an endowment. If the man dies before the woman then she
becomes the Dowager widow who inherits. The law of marriage however was
very biased towards the husband, “What’s mine is mine, what’s yours is mine
too!” The dowry level depended upon the position of the man in society, not
necessarily his wealth so a girl marrying into an aristocratic family would
need a larger dowry than if she married a farmer’s son.
Quite right too, says Henry!
Q.387. Hi Henry. I believe your second wife Anne Boleyn had a dog; do you
know what breed it was and maybe even its name?
Yappy little horror and I mean the dog! He dog was called Purkoy another of
her French ways, from the French Pourqios which I believe meant “intuitive”
or could not keep its nose out of anything! As for the breed, not sure at this
time, but will get back.
Q.388. Hi Henry. Do you know the names and jobs of the senior staff from the
Palaces, I mean the skilled workers.
Oh! Ask me a hard one, some would shudder at such a question and declare
that they would not be aware of such commoner names, but I am a Humanist
at heart and I know that talent is cross status so I would know the people
who pleased me most. Here is a list as far as I can remember, if I leave any off
please do not take it as a slight on their character nor a lapse in my memory.
From my childhood, my teachers:
Erasmus—Philosopher
John Skelton--- Poet
William Hone
Bernard Andre--- Latin
Richard Croke--- Greek
From my household:
Galyon Hone--- Glazier artist
John Browne ---- Painter and decorator.
John Rastell---- Painter and decorator.
Clement Armstrong--- Designer of my pageants
Alexander Barclay--- Poet
Richard Gibson--- Builder of pageant scenery and pavilions
Lucy Cornwallis--- Confectioner
George Talbot--- Lord Steward in charge of all 25 departments.
Sebastion Le Senay--- Maker of my Coat of Arms though not resident.
Jean Millard--- Mapmaker and my globe maker.
John Craddock--- Maker of fine rush mats for the halls.
Anne Harris--- Keeper of my linen
William Abbott and Richard Hill--- My personal cellar men
John Shirley--- Provider of food, he located and purchased meats and
vegetables for all my palaces.
Pero Doux--- My personal French Chef
John Bricket---Master Chef
John Wynkell--- Master baker.
Richard Harris--- My senior gardener.
Will Sommers--- My favourite Jester.
Q.389. Hi Henry. Love the website and your answer to the question of when
did Henry meet Anne Boleyn has intrigued me. If she was in a play and so
were Mary Tudor and Mary Boleyn, where was it held?
Now what a revelation my last trip to France to research the Field of the Cloth
of Gold, has been. Some months ago I was happily reading a wonderful book
about the Boleyn’s and mentally noted the meeting circumstance, not the
place, but the reason Anne became an obsessive of Henry. Now here I am
researching the Field of the cloth of Gold and up springs Anne Boleyn yet
again, this time in the town of Ardres, in the place where Francis I had his
castle headquarters. Their literature describes the meeting. So I can actually
answer your question quite new information.
Here it is: the play was put on to entertain both King’s Henry and Francis in
The Bastion du Festin in Ardres the location of King Francis’s quarters. The
dowager Queen of France, Henry’s sister, Mary Tudor was lead role, Mary
and Anne Boleyn were in the play. Anne Boleyn played a role called
Perseverance, a character portrayal of a girl with hard to solve problems and
that attraction to men of a challenge. This actual meeting now answers a
question in my mind too. How did the Boleyn girls get into Henry’s court so
quickly? Now add the fact that their father was ambassador to Paris and now
add that Henry watches Anne in the play in France, Francis tells Henry of his
affair with Mary Boleyn. Do I need to paint a clearer picture? When
diplomatic niceties where long gone and we recalled the Boleyn’s back to
England, they were place into Henry’s court straight away, Henry took Mary
Boleyn as his mistress thus telling Francis his rival in straight and manhood
just who has her now! Anne Boleyn must have been Henry’s target from day
one, because he knew Francis had not managed to seduce her, so it started as
a ploy to beat the French King which finally got out of hand.
And a date for you then, what year did Henry actually meet Anne Boleyn,
must have been 1520 then!
Here is a picture of the Bastion du Festin.
Thanks to the Historical Society of Ardres (Feb 2008).
Q.390. Hi Henry. Wow! Why have many books not seen the Anne Boleyn
meeting before?
Sometimes accidental luck occurs. I was not looking for anything about Anne
Boleyn so I was not focussed on where to look. I was browsing through a pile
of paper in the Historical section of the Tourist office in Ardres and low and
behold, I saw the name Anne Boleyn (Bollin). This raised my eyebrow and
latched together the story of the play and the placing of Anne in the French
court at about the same time. So it was pure luck, not even deep research.
Q.391. Hi Henry. Just how big was the Field of the Cloth of Gold?
I knew my new trip would conjure up a few hard questions.
One Royal camp at Guines the other at Ardres which are 11 miles apart. The
field of the cloth of gold is 5.5 miles for each place and is now the village of
Balinghem. The entrance to the Field was 0.5 miles from the centre where
the Royal pavilion was placed. So therefore I suggest it was either 1 mile in
diametre or 1 mile square. The land was very flat and with soft topsoil so it
would have been quite muddy with horse’s hooves throwing up the soil. The
weather was poor and a storm stopped the proceedings thus causing the two
Kings to have a banquet and play indoors in Francis’s castle at Andres.
Q.392. Hi Henry. Is there a picture somewhere in Historical circles which
shows your bad leg?
Defined bad leg. Is it the normal malady of which Courtly Knights endure
when they put their off leg into the horses stirrup, the armour clashes with
the skin and a bruise appears, thus being hidden by a garter. Or was it about
the ulcers which appeared in my old age due to the broken knee joint which
festered and came out eventually as my great illness.
Well there is a picture from France, of my malady leg but there is non of my
final bad leg though you could say it would look like the malady but ten times
worse.
Here is the picture of the bruised leg. At this point I must show you a strange
bit of evidence as to Henry being left handed but trying not to show it. The
garter is missing and normally would have covered the bruises, Henry in
France with Francis I not wanting to be in any way seen as inferior! Strange
times.
Q.393. Why did you wrestle with Francis I of France?
Sport of course, wrestling was a close contact sport and we were in
competition with each other to see who was the fittest King. Just a bit of fun
really at the end of the Field of the Cloth of Gold.
I have put togther two portraits by Holbein, one coloured which shows how
he doctored the original picture showing the wrestling match and the other
showing it before being doctored.
Q.394. Hi Henry:
Why was Lead used so much when it was a poisonous metal?
Nobody connected the poison of lead to anything. Lead was used for water
tanks and pipes, sealing of roofs and the jointing between stone blocks to
make them watertight, cannon balls and any large container needing metal to
stop burning. However it was also used to copy ornamental objects in other
metals. Say for instance a Bronze casting was one of a pair and the other was
lost or broken, the surviving one would be pressed into sand and molten lead
poured in to copy it. Painting both would hide the forgery. Lead was used also
in an alloy with tin to make pewter, what looks like tarnished silver. Pewter
was used for plates and drinking tankards, rich people would get lead
poisoning and be seen to droop, with bluish eyes and teeth. Called Richman’s dropsy it was seen as an ailment only for the rich so being acceptable.
Lead was used for counterfeit coins by thieves who had stolen it off the roofs,
to make money to get into taverns when there was a one penny tariff to
cover cost from drunken fights. Lead was used to make whole windows of
Quarries and Cames which we called stained glass windows today. Mines in
Derbyshire would have serfs working in them, a better job than farming as
the pay was higher. Only five days were allowed off per year and others could
claim the mine if they could prove the miner had missed five days. Men
would sit outside the mine entrance and carve a Groove or Nick on the
entrance lintel. Getting a mine this way was called Nicking the mine.
Containers for logs could be made out of lead as it is easy to make into
sheets, impress a pattern on the surface then roll up and weld into a circular
vessel with a round base welded on. No need for draft casting angles this way
and complicated shapes could be fabricated.
Q.395. I read your poem about Sticky fingers and the poaching of crows from
private land. What do crows nests look like in stately home grounds?
Easy to show you with a picture
I am told that a crows nest is usually sited along the edge of a forest to give
access to tall trees in flight and not too high for Eagles and hawks to prey.
Q.396. Hi Henry.
Were there ever any “Black people” in the Tudor palaces?
Never being one to run away or ignore difficult questions, I had to dive in
deep to find the answer to this important point. The Tudors were aware of
other nations and some of African and even Chinese origin managed to get to
England. In the courts of King Henry VIII there is only one recorded Black
person in a prominent “seen” position and he was called John Blank, he was a
trumpeter in a troupe of sixteen musicians who announced the Royal
entrances to their visitors.
Q.397. From Miss Chorley class three.
1) What did you go hunting for and how did you capture the animals?
2) How much time did you spend on your royal duties?
3) Did Francis Drake ever meet Henry VIII before Henry died?
4) How many men fought in the War of the Roses? How many people died?
1. I went hunting most mornings for Deer. Wild boar. Sometimes I would get
up between 4.00 and 5.00 am to catch the sunrise in the forests. Return at
07.00am for food and then go out again until 11.00am and dinner. Dinner
took two whole hours because it was usually two shifts for the 200 courtiers
all to get served. I would then work with my Council until about 4.00pm
signing laws and declarations. It was the work of close council to organise all
banquets and visits by ambassadors but they had to wait for me to be ready,
sometimes all day. Evening supper was between 7 and 9pm and then we
danced until 10pm. We went to bed then to be ready for another early start.
Household servants rose at 07.00am and only my inner servants got up with
me.
We ate the animals we caught after they had hung in the kitchen for three
days.
We would hunt with Bow and arrow and occasionally a lance or spear, never
used traps as this was not sport.
If you want to read a book which describe my normal day as King
Try this short book by Christopher Gidlow, who is a good friend of mine and
curator of Hampton Court and The Tower of London for HRP.
“Life in a Tudor Palace” ISBN 978-0-7509-4608-7
2. So from the answer to question 1. I only spent about 2 hours per day on
actual duties.
3. Sir Francis Drake. Born: 1540. Died: 1596
So he was only 7 years old when I died in 1547.
4. For casualties in battle during the Wars of the roses go to this website and
click on each battle, it will tell you so you can add them up.
www.wars-of-the-roses.com/content/battlesmainpage.htm
Q.398. Hi Henry. Why did Tudors consider a candle to be a spice?
Only partially true, the Beeswax candles used in the presence of the court
were very expensive as they were hard to produce and did not give off a
nasty smell, so they were stored with the spices because of their value. They
were not considered to be spices. The poorer people used candles made from
animal fat called tallow, I have found that the cooking of pork was always
done away from a main hall because the smell was similar to tallow candles
burning and the courtiers did not want to appear to be using tallow candles.
So the idea of a roast pig turning on a spit in the middle of a Great Hall with
Royalty present is not correct, it would be cooked in the kitchens and then
dressed on the Sideboard dresser ready for serving to the guests, thus leaving
the smell of cooking pork in the kitchen and not interfering with the smell of
Beeswax candles lighting the room.
Now that’s what I call snobbery.
Q.399. Hi Henry. I wonder just what the court thought of all your marriages?
People will always have their opinions it is human nature, although to voice
one’s opinions could be considered dangerous. My daughter Mary was
demoted to Lady Mary when I annulled my marriage to her Mother, however
some still considered her to be a Princess, a Lady Hussey was sent to the
Tower of London for calling Mary a princess out loud! Remember the fate of
Catherine Howard, she the traitor who dallied with Thomas Culpepper, well
two of Anna von Kleve’s ladies ion waiting were sent to jail for muttering
“….how many wives will he have!”
So you see, the rule of survival in the Royal court was definitely, “keep your
opinions to yourself!”
Q.301. Hi Henry. Who was Audrey Tudor?
Who’s Audrey?
By Henry Tudor
Royals have flings, girlfriends and boyfriends, it is the way of the world, no
tutting, just look at your own society before you cast any criticism this way. In
had many children on my lifetime, fourteen to be exact. Not all with one of
my wives and the others were not all with noble women either. Now the
truth be known, I did have a daughter called Audrey, actually her full name
was Ethelreda Tudor and she was born about 1525 whilst I was still married
to my first wife Katerina. Audrey’s mother was a Royal laundress and a fine
looking woman I must say, she took away the anguish of those poor late
children of mine unable to survive in this cruel world.
Audrey’s mother was called Joan Dyngley and we married her off to a man
called Dobson, yet we did the best we could to give Audrey a better
background by persuading my actual tailor, a John Malte to announce that he
was the father. It was not a great snub to be illegitimate to a wealthy man.
Audrey took the name of Malte and eventually married a knight called Sir
John Harrington in the year of my passing 1547, they had lands bequeathed
by my will. Audrey died about 1558 and her now wealthy husband remarried
in 1559, he died in 1582, and was buried on 15 Mar 1583 in St.
Gregory's,London.
In 1546 I, Henry VIII granted Katherine’s Court and the attached Manor to
John Malte, my Tailor. The deed also mentions Etheldreda, Maltes ‘bastard’
daughter by a certain Joan Dyngley.
The gift included the manor of Kelston on the west side of Bath and the 400
Ewe Flock of Chermadon’. There was speculation as to why such a generous
gift was made to my tailor and, more specifically, to his daughter who was
specifically named in the deed. Women were rarely identified as the owners
of property at this time
On John Malte’s death, Ethelreda inherited a fortune. She married John
Harrington, an official at my Court, in 1548. She died 3 years later and John
inherited her fortune and both Manors. On the accession of Queen Mary I, in
1553 he had been imprisoned in the Tower for a short while with the young
Princess Elizabeth. Following Elizabeth’s accession to the throne he married
Isabella Markham, one of her ladies-in-waiting. In 1561 their son John was
born and the Queen became his godmother. In c1567 John Harrington built
Kelston manor but died intestate a year later, leaving his son John to inherit
both manors.
And that was Audrey!
Q.302. Hi Henry. I keep on reading about your progresses, just what were
they and do you have any pictures to explain them?
A Progress
By Henry Tudor
The term to progress came from the way I toured England, it was obviously a
holiday but also it was to let the people see me. The tour was mainly to go
hunting and hawking in fresh surroundings especially when the sign of the
plague was getting close to London. I have produced a picture detailing the
progress of 1526, I realise that it does not seem to be a great distance from
the centre of London but remember we were on horseback and the roads
virtually impossible to ride on. But also consider that my hosts at each place
of call, paid for all my accommodation cost which were enormous, hehehe.
Q.303. Hi Henry. Are there any modern fixings to the old Castles which spoil
the look?
I'm not sure they would agree that they spoil the actual overall looks, but
modern fixings may have been fitted to stop erosion or water damage. Here
is a picture I have made of Sizewell Castle in which I have high-lighted the
modern features.
And yes! Ivy wuld not have been allowed to grow up a Tudor house or castle
due to its reputation for poison and being associated with witchcraft.
The main addition for old castles would be for the safety of the visiting public,
imagine falling down a spiralled stone staircase just because it was old
looking. Here is a picture of the modern stair rail fitted to Middleham Castle,
Richard III's old haunt, they blend into the view well enough I think.
Q.304. It's me again. thanks for the quick answer to 303. Do you notice all
changes in houses?
Not all, as it depends if I am looking for any. However I do study actual
pictures to see if some changes were taking place even in Tudor times. Here
is a picture which seems typically tudor, but study it closely and you will see
that even these people have had the builders in. I suspect the room was
halved to create two living rooms and the door inserted into a corner, the Bay
added later and there was orignially a stone floor. Now that's being a real old
Sherlock.
Q.305. Hi Henry. I read in your website about the Rood length of the
sanctuary behind the Rood screen. What is a rood stair and what other words
come from the word Rood?
Hey! I need to sleep as well and such heavy details keep me awake. First of all
the whole thing started with a prodding stick which was used to encourage
the cattle to move and was a method of steering them, in fact the name steer
came from this as the way a herd was turned. The rod became the standard
rood length of 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet. This Rod gave rise to the name Goad,
they shout Go go go to the cattle to make them move, which the farmers
called their rods so the cattle were goaded to turn! Four Rod lengths were
the measure of the width of an acre where its length was a furlong length,
the length of a standard furrow! The cattle plus the plough would be one
Rood long and a rood length by a rood width was called a perch or the
smallest place the cattle could stop and rest or to turn the rig around. A perch
was also used for the measurement of dry stone walling, it was one Rood in
length, by I foot thick by 1.5 feet tall and this was used to pay the builder for
his work done. A bird sits on the wall and so it is sitting on its perch. The Rood
stair is the way up to the Rood loft where the lord of the manor watched a
religious service away from the commoners downstairs. So to summarize:
One Rood equals 16.5 feet it is also a Rod or a Pole or the length of a Perch.
A furlong is the length of a furrow and if it is four Roods wide it is an acre.
An area Perch is one rood square and is the minimum area at each end of a
furrow to turn the cattle drawn plough.
A volumetric Perch is the measure of a dry wall and is where birds sit.
The Rood stair is the way up the nobility ladder to view the service.
I remember reading somewhere about the lightning rood. Not a joke! It was a
lead covered rod on the ends of the roof to save the building in an electric
storm, except they believed it was to stop witches landing with their
broomsticks on your roof. Oh yea! Yes! Then it was known as a finial. If you
only knew how hard that answer was to put together and how many
websites, books I had to search through. That’s it I’m off to bed.
Q.306. Did the Tudors have vinegar?
Of course they did because they had wine and vinegar means “sour wine”. It
was used in cooking for sauce but it was also used for a very strange purpose
too. The people believed wrongly that Bubonic Plague could be spread from
people to people but it couldn’t as the method was by insect infection. They
would put out aromatic vinegar to keep the flies away and “clean the air”.
Thieves found out that they were safe in these houses of the sick and would
rob them, the vinegar became known as Thieves Vinegar. They would sprinkle
it in the house they were robbing to make sure by encasing the house in a
protective atmosphere before they robbed it. This was casing the house
before robbing it.
Q.307. Hi Henry. We I the US call the toilet for men, “the John”. Where do we
get this from?
Have I got to answer all the daftest questions in the world? Wait! You are
actually correct sir, the wording of John does have a historical meaning.
In Tudor England a privy (private place) was first referred to as a jakes in
1530. In modern Ireland the term jacks is still used, and is probably the
predominant way of referring to the toilet. As you know Jack is also John!
Not finished yet! What about Loo? Now you’ve got me on the subject, the
word comes from a nautical terminology; loo being an old-fashioned word for
lee. Early ships were not fitted with toilets but the crew would urinate over
the side of the vessel. However it was important to use the leeward side.
Using the windward side would result in the urine blown back on board.
Q.308. Hi Henry. As your Father beat and killed King Richard III in the Battle of
Bosworth field, is there an actual memorial that was erected on the spot of
his death?
Yes. It is the focal point of the Richard III Society and they annually place
flowers there.
Q.309. Hi Henry. Why did people called one of the Kings, Hog Mouth?
You are referring to King Carlos of Spain, an ugly brute of a man with a chin
like a ski jump! It was of course that inbred feature of the Habsburgs and is
well known as the Habsburg Chin. I have made a picture to explain it for you.
Q.310. Hi Henry. How did Henry VII get to use the Ostrich Feathers in his
crest?
Ostriches were a rare animal and their feathers sought after for plumage,
especially by Kings. Our family of Tudors have always been influenced by
chivalry and Knights in armour, King Arthur was our hero and we even built
our palaces to emulate Camelot. Now when History records the antics and
bravery of our very own Black Prince, Edward, not only am I going to name
my son the same, but my father is going to take the emblem of Ostrich
feathers and used them in his crest. The Black Prince took the feather from a
king he defeated in battle in Europe; Crecy I think was the name of the Battle.
It began as a single feather, then two then eventually three and became the
emblem of the Prince of Wales, still used today.
Q.311. Hi Henry. What on earth is a Groin vault, it make me shudder to think
of what could be stored in it!
Rather funny that! Actually the Groin vault does have connections with your
groin. It is a similar shape to your nether regions where your legs meet your
bum. Though it is in fact a stone arch in a tall hall. I have put this picture
together to show you what it looks like. I must admit it does bring tears to my
eyes to look at it.
Even funnier, see the name of the crease at the top. The Arris, no that's got to
be a joke!
Q.312. Hi Henry. Can you tell me what King Henry's life was like in his younger
days? LouAnn.
My position as second son meant I was not direct heir to the throne and so
was made Duke of York instead of Prince of Wales. This is a drastic difference
of status and attitude towards me from my father and the rest of the court.
My father actually disliked me a lot, I answered back to his comments, and I
disagreed to his ideas and decisions to the extent that we often quarreled. He
actually treated me quite badly, whilst my Mother, Queen Elizabeth of York
loved me dearly. I had my own household with servants and tutors; they
taught me technology, mathematics, Astronomy, Music and languages. My
favourite teacher was master Erasmus who described me as a very able
brained child with a mind of his own. If my brother Arthur had not died I
would have been Duke of York for the rest of my life. My father’s attitude
towards me changed drastically when Arthur died, knowing it was going to be
me who carried the Tudor name on the throne of England. I eventually
became King of England and married Arthur’s widow to keep the alliance with
Spain intact.
Q.313. Hi Henry. What is the present place name in Wales, where the Tudors
originated from?
The lovely Island of Anglesey, if you go the tourist information centre, they
will NOT tell you where it is, they will aim you in the right direction to the
nearest village. People still live in the actual house and so I will do the same,
here is a picture with the nearest village and the picture of the Church next
door. But how to actually find it, my lips are sealed.
Q.314. Hi Henry. Is it true that the “Work Houses” were created in Tudor
times?
Not in my day. It was in Elizabeth’s time on the throne that the incarceration
of beggars and tramps together with debtors expanded. In 1576 an Act of
Parliament enabled Houses of Correction or "Bridewells", administered by
local justices of the peace, to be built where able-bodied idlers and the
unemployed were sent and put to work people were imprisoned for nonpayment of fines, vagrancy and owing a debt. Often, the debtors awaiting
trial were held with those already found guilty in crowded, grossly unhealthy
conditions. Men, women and children were imprisoned together and disease
and immorality were rife. They got their name from a hospital built in 1553
near St. Bride's (or Bridget's) well, in London, which was subsequently a penal
workhouse. They were also called Spikes, which meant dormitory space with
spikes at the windows like a prison. These were the Tudor’s way of tackling
the unemployment and poverty problem, though often inhumane. See the
windows of the building in the Picture. Bridewell Hospital, in Bridge Street,
Blackfriars, was once a Royal Palace, given by Edward VI to the City of London
in 1553 for use as a training school for homeless apprentices. The building
later became a prison. Bridewell, thus came to be used as a general term for
a prison or house of correction, the Unilever building, constructed in 1931,
stands on its site.
Q.315. Hi Henry. What kind of clothing did you wear to go hawking?
I had a large leather bag for rewards, a large left handed glove to protect my
arm and a leather long jacket. I wore a dark plain kilt and a sword. My hat
was plain so not to distract the Bird. My shirt was a long, baggy affair to give
me ease of arm movement.
Q.316. Hi Henry. Did the Tudors write a lot down, and work in offices?
The Tudors were very keen on good office work, Thomas Wolsey was a
meticulous office manager and would document every transaction and work
detail, the office however was rather crude in apparatus. There were no ball
point pens, pencils, reams of cheap paper, typewriters or computers, and
there was no such thing as a photocopier. What the Tudor scribes used for
writing with was a large bird feather, cut at an angle to reveal a hollow quill.
The inside of this quill would have had a waxy substance called lanolin, which
is the grease which exudes from the pores of the animal to enable its wings to
be resistant to rain. This lanolin would stop ink from entering the tube of the
quill, and so the writer would lick the end or warm it up to melt the wax.
Eventually a metal nib was fitted which increased the life of a quill tenfold.
Here is a picture I have taken of a Tudor times office. Can you see the
following details?
1. Back to the fire to keep warm.
2. Quill and ink well.
3. Brick floor with no carpeting, a working place not a restful room.
4. Candles for light.
5. The Boss’s picture behind your head.
6. Sloping desktop with storage underneath.
7. Jug of ale.
8. Thick leather bound books for reference.
9. Ornate carving to the chair and desk to show status of worker.
10. White painted walls to give a light environment and to reflect the candle
power.
Q.317. Hi Henry. I love the pictures of you holding the big birds in the forest.
Are they heavy and did women go hawking?
Yes to both accounts. The Eagle owl is not heavy at first but because you have
to hold it outwards away from your body to allow the wings to flap, its weight
makes you arm ache.
The little Harrier Hawk is the little one and would be considered to be a
Lady’s hawk for hunting. I must add though the Harrier Hawk is a killing
machine, it flies much faster than the Eagle or the Eagle owls, it’s speed kills
instantly when the strike is made. I can hold the Harrier all day long without
feeling the effect of the weight.
All the birds are brilliant balancing acts; their heads stay at the same position
no matter how wobbly you are, only if you twist your wrist on purpose to
make the bird feel slightly uneasy does it open its wings. This is how we
managed to get the pictures with a flapping winged bird. Oop’s have I given
away the trick of the trade?
Q.318. Hi Henry. Why was glass so expensive as the Romans had brought it to
Britain as early as the first century?
A very good question I might say. First of all not all sand makes good glass,
impurities cause lots of scrap and it is not just a case of heating up sand it
also needs an enclosed kiln and additional chemicals to cause the change of
state to occur. Luckily for us, Britain had abundant glass bearing sand,
especially in the North West so we could make glass ourselves quite easily in
Tudor times, except that to make a sheet of glass had a very difficult problem
to solve. Molten glass is very sticky, if it touched a surface it immediately
sticks to it and also transferred the surface texture to the surface of the glass
sheet. If glass is not perfectly smooth it is not transparent. Look at sand
blasted glass and it is grey and translucent not transparent. The Tudors would
spin a large molten blob of glass on the end of a rod so that it grew in
diameter without toughing any other surface. When it set the disc of spun
glass would be cut into small pieces called Quarries and made like a jigsaw
into panes of windows with strips of lead called Cames to hold it all together.
Each window was very expensive and was not considered part of the house, if
you sold your house and moved, you took your window glass with you!
Wealth was shown off with the number of glass windows. Now the word
Glass became the word Class and if you could just afford the middle of the
spun glass you were called middle class. The upper class thought they were a
cut above you, because they were!
Q.319. Hi Henry. What is a flying buttress? Can you show me one?
If the weight of a roof made of stone is too much it can fall down, so to make
a large cathedral type building with huge roof heights and spans, there had to
be a way of getting the weight down to the ground and transferring the
forces to avoid collapse. Imagine a curved, stone arch butting out of the wall
and carrying a force from the roof, if it then went into other vertical
structures this force would be transferred away from the inner wall carrying
the roof. The fact that is seemed to cross open space without support got it
the title of Flying. Here’s a picture showing a flying buttress on a medieval
Cathedral.
Q.320. Hi Henry. I understand how cast iron became the major change in
cannon technology, but were there any other changes made because of the
cast iron.
Cast iron was a huge change in metal usage, not only Cannons, but water
tanks now need not be lead lined to make them waterproof, railings for
security, ornamental fittings and grids for the floor. Fittings for carrying heavy
components were made from cast iron and its property of high strength in
compression began it’s for stanchions. I notice too that mechanisms began to
emerge from the crudity of a wooden wedge to universal jointing, I found this
mechanism in Pendennis castle in Cornwall, the movement control is
universal on two planes. This must have been a major change in accuracy and
speed of response in any fire fight. The barrel of this gun is of cast iron, the
spindle at the underside is cast iron and I think the actual bracket is too. It is
not a rifle, because there are no grooves down the bore of the barrel, but it
was machined to create the bore not cast that way!
Q.321. Hi Henry. I need to know how a Water Mill works for a school project,
is there a simple way of explaining it?
No better way that with pictures, I have made this for you which shows only
the main parts and what they do.
Q.301. Hi Henry. Who
was Audrey Tudor?
Who’s Audrey?
By Henry Tudor
Royals have flings, girlfriends and boyfriends, it is the way of the world, no
tutting, just look at your own society before you cast any criticism this way. In
had many children on my lifetime, fourteen to be exact. Not all with one of
my wives and the others were not all with noble women either. Now the
truth be known, I did have a daughter called Audrey, actually her full name
was Ethelreda Tudor and she was born about 1525 whilst I was still married
to my first wife Katerina. Audrey’s mother was a Royal laundress and a fine
looking woman I must say, she took away the anguish of those poor late
children of mine unable to survive in this cruel world.
Audrey’s mother was called Joan Dyngley and we married her off to a man
called Dobson, yet we did the best we could to give Audrey a better
background by persuading my actual tailor, a John Malte to announce that he
was the father. It was not a great snub to be illegitimate to a wealthy man.
Audrey took the name of Malte and eventually married a knight called Sir
John Harrington in the year of my passing 1547, they had lands bequeathed
by my will. Audrey died about 1558 and her now wealthy husband remarried
in 1559, he died in 1582, and was buried on 15 Mar 1583 in St.
Gregory's,London.
In 1546 I, Henry VIII granted Katherine’s Court and the attached Manor to
John Malte, my Tailor. The deed also mentions Etheldreda, Maltes ‘bastard’
daughter by a certain Joan Dyngley.
The gift included the manor of Kelston on the west side of Bath and the 400
Ewe Flock of Chermadon’. There was speculation as to why such a generous
gift was made to my tailor and, more specifically, to his daughter who was
specifically named in the deed. Women were rarely identified as the owners
of property at this time
On John Malte’s death, Ethelreda inherited a fortune. She married John
Harrington, an official at my Court, in 1548. She died 3 years later and John
inherited her fortune and both Manors. On the accession of Queen Mary I, in
1553 he had been imprisoned in the Tower for a short while with the young
Princess Elizabeth. Following Elizabeth’s accession to the throne he married
Isabella Markham, one of her ladies-in-waiting. In 1561 their son John was
born and the Queen became his godmother. In c1567 John Harrington built
Kelston manor but died intestate a year later, leaving his son John to inherit
both manors.
And that was Audrey!
Q.302. Hi Henry. I keep on reading about your progresses, just what were
they and do you have any pictures to explain them?
A Progress
By Henry Tudor
The term to progress came from the way I toured England, it was obviously a
holiday but also it was to let the people see me. The tour was mainly to go
hunting and hawking in fresh surroundings especially when the sign of the
plague was getting close to London. I have produced a picture detailing the
progress of 1526, I realise that it does not seem to be a great distance from
the centre of London but remember we were on horseback and the roads
virtually impossible to ride on. But also consider that my hosts at each place
of call, paid for all my accommodation cost which were enormous, hehehe.
Q.303. Hi Henry. Are there any modern fixings to the old Castles which spoil
the look?
I'm not sure they would agree that they spoil the actual overall looks, but
modern fixings may have been fitted to stop erosion or water damage. Here
is a picture I have made of Sizewell Castle in which I have high-lighted the
modern features.
And yes! Ivy wuld not have been allowed to grow up a Tudor house or castle
due to its reputation for poison and being associated with witchcraft.
The main addition for old castles would be for the safety of the visiting public,
imagine falling down a spiralled stone staircase just because it was old
looking. Here is a picture of the modern stair rail fitted to Middleham Castle,
Richard III's old haunt, they blend into the view well enough I think.
Q.304. It's me again. thanks for the quick answer to 303. Do you notice all
changes in houses?
Not all, as it depends if I am looking for any. However I do study actual
pictures to see if some changes were taking place even in Tudor times. Here
is a picture which seems typically tudor, but study it closely and you will see
that even these people have had the builders in. I suspect the room was
halved to create two living rooms and the door inserted into a corner, the Bay
added later and there was orignially a stone floor. Now that's being a real old
Sherlock.
Q.305. Hi Henry. I read in your website about the Rood length of the
sanctuary behind the Rood screen. What is a rood stair and what other words
come from the word Rood?
Hey! I need to sleep as well and such heavy details keep me awake. First of all
the whole thing started with a prodding stick which was used to encourage
the cattle to move and was a method of steering them, in fact the name steer
came from this as the way a herd was turned. The rod became the standard
rood length of 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet. This Rod gave rise to the name Goad,
they shout Go go go to the cattle to make them move, which the farmers
called their rods so the cattle were goaded to turn! Four Rod lengths were
the measure of the width of an acre where its length was a furlong length,
the length of a standard furrow! The cattle plus the plough would be one
Rood long and a rood length by a rood width was called a perch or the
smallest place the cattle could stop and rest or to turn the rig around. A perch
was also used for the measurement of dry stone walling, it was one Rood in
length, by I foot thick by 1.5 feet tall and this was used to pay the builder for
his work done. A bird sits on the wall and so it is sitting on its perch. The Rood
stair is the way up to the Rood loft where the lord of the manor watched a
religious service away from the commoners downstairs. So to summarize:
One Rood equals 16.5 feet it is also a Rod or a Pole or the length of a Perch.
A furlong is the length of a furrow and if it is four Roods wide it is an acre.
An area Perch is one rood square and is the minimum area at each end of a
furrow to turn the cattle drawn plough.
A volumetric Perch is the measure of a dry wall and is where birds sit.
The Rood stair is the way up the nobility ladder to view the service.
I remember reading somewhere about the lightning rood. Not a joke! It was a
lead covered rod on the ends of the roof to save the building in an electric
storm, except they believed it was to stop witches landing with their
broomsticks on your roof. Oh yea! Yes! Then it was known as a finial. If you
only knew how hard that answer was to put together and how many
websites, books I had to search through. That’s it I’m off to bed.
Q.306. Did the Tudors have vinegar?
Of course they did because they had wine and vinegar means “sour wine”. It
was used in cooking for sauce but it was also used for a very strange purpose
too. The people believed wrongly that Bubonic Plague could be spread from
people to people but it couldn’t as the method was by insect infection. They
would put out aromatic vinegar to keep the flies away and “clean the air”.
Thieves found out that they were safe in these houses of the sick and would
rob them, the vinegar became known as Thieves Vinegar. They would sprinkle
it in the house they were robbing to make sure by encasing the house in a
protective atmosphere before they robbed it. This was casing the house
before robbing it.
Q.307. Hi Henry. We I the US call the toilet for men, “the John”. Where do we
get this from?
Have I got to answer all the daftest questions in the world? Wait! You are
actually correct sir, the wording of John does have a historical meaning.
In Tudor England a privy (private place) was first referred to as a jakes in
1530. In modern Ireland the term jacks is still used, and is probably the
predominant way of referring to the toilet. As you know Jack is also John!
Not finished yet! What about Loo? Now you’ve got me on the subject, the
word comes from a nautical terminology; loo being an old-fashioned word for
lee. Early ships were not fitted with toilets but the crew would urinate over
the side of the vessel. However it was important to use the leeward side.
Using the windward side would result in the urine blown back on board.
Q.308. Hi Henry. As your Father beat and killed King Richard III in the Battle of
Bosworth field, is there an actual memorial that was erected on the spot of
his death?
Yes. It is the focal point of the Richard III Society and they annually place
flowers there.
Q.309. Hi Henry. Why did people called one of the Kings, Hog Mouth?
You are referring to King Carlos of Spain, an ugly brute of a man with a chin
like a ski jump! It was of course that inbred feature of the Habsburgs and is
well known as the Habsburg Chin. I have made a picture to explain it for you.
Q.310. Hi Henry. How did Henry VII get to use the Ostrich Feathers in his
crest?
Ostriches were a rare animal and their feathers sought after for plumage,
especially by Kings. Our family of Tudors have always been influenced by
chivalry and Knights in armour, King Arthur was our hero and we even built
our palaces to emulate Camelot. Now when History records the antics and
bravery of our very own Black Prince, Edward, not only am I going to name
my son the same, but my father is going to take the emblem of Ostrich
feathers and used them in his crest. The Black Prince took the feather from a
king he defeated in battle in Europe; Crecy I think was the name of the Battle.
It began as a single feather, then two then eventually three and became the
emblem of the Prince of Wales, still used today.
Q.311. Hi Henry. What on earth is a Groin vault, it make me shudder to think
of what could be stored in it!
Rather funny that! Actually the Groin vault does have connections with your
groin. It is a similar shape to your nether regions where your legs meet your
bum. Though it is in fact a stone arch in a tall hall. I have put this picture
together to show you what it looks like. I must admit it does bring tears to my
eyes to look at it.
Even funnier, see the name of the crease at the top. The Arris, no that's got to
be a joke!
Q.312. Hi Henry. Can you tell me what King Henry's life was like in his younger
days? LouAnn.
My position as second son meant I was not direct heir to the throne and so
was made Duke of York instead of Prince of Wales. This is a drastic difference
of status and attitude towards me from my father and the rest of the court.
My father actually disliked me a lot, I answered back to his comments, and I
disagreed to his ideas and decisions to the extent that we often quarreled. He
actually treated me quite badly, whilst my Mother, Queen Elizabeth of York
loved me dearly. I had my own household with servants and tutors; they
taught me technology, mathematics, Astronomy, Music and languages. My
favourite teacher was master Erasmus who described me as a very able
brained child with a mind of his own. If my brother Arthur had not died I
would have been Duke of York for the rest of my life. My father’s attitude
towards me changed drastically when Arthur died, knowing it was going to be
me who carried the Tudor name on the throne of England. I eventually
became King of England and married Arthur’s widow to keep the alliance with
Spain intact.
Q.313. Hi Henry. What is the present place name in Wales, where the Tudors
originated from?
The lovely Island of Anglesey, if you go the tourist information centre, they
will NOT tell you where it is, they will aim you in the right direction to the
nearest village. People still live in the actual house and so I will do the same,
here is a picture with the nearest village and the picture of the Church next
door. But how to actually find it, my lips are sealed.
Q.314. Hi Henry. Is it true that the “Work Houses” were created in Tudor
times?
Not in my day. It was in Elizabeth’s time on the throne that the incarceration
of beggars and tramps together with debtors expanded. In 1576 an Act of
Parliament enabled Houses of Correction or "Bridewells", administered by
local justices of the peace, to be built where able-bodied idlers and the
unemployed were sent and put to work people were imprisoned for nonpayment of fines, vagrancy and owing a debt. Often, the debtors awaiting
trial were held with those already found guilty in crowded, grossly unhealthy
conditions. Men, women and children were imprisoned together and disease
and immorality were rife. They got their name from a hospital built in 1553
near St. Bride's (or Bridget's) well, in London, which was subsequently a penal
workhouse. They were also called Spikes, which meant dormitory space with
spikes at the windows like a prison. These were the Tudor’s way of tackling
the unemployment and poverty problem, though often inhumane. See the
windows of the building in the Picture. Bridewell Hospital, in Bridge Street,
Blackfriars, was once a Royal Palace, given by Edward VI to the City of London
in 1553 for use as a training school for homeless apprentices. The building
later became a prison. Bridewell, thus came to be used as a general term for
a prison or house of correction, the Unilever building, constructed in 1931,
stands on its site.
Q.315. Hi Henry. What kind of clothing did you wear to go hawking?
I had a large leather bag for rewards, a large left handed glove to protect my
arm and a leather long jacket. I wore a dark plain kilt and a sword. My hat
was plain so not to distract the Bird. My shirt was a long, baggy affair to give
me ease of arm movement.
Q.316. Hi Henry. Did the Tudors write a lot down, and work in offices?
The Tudors were very keen on good office work, Thomas Wolsey was a
meticulous office manager and would document every transaction and work
detail, the office however was rather crude in apparatus. There were no ball
point pens, pencils, reams of cheap paper, typewriters or computers, and
there was no such thing as a photocopier. What the Tudor scribes used for
writing with was a large bird feather, cut at an angle to reveal a hollow quill.
The inside of this quill would have had a waxy substance called lanolin, which
is the grease which exudes from the pores of the animal to enable its wings to
be resistant to rain. This lanolin would stop ink from entering the tube of the
quill, and so the writer would lick the end or warm it up to melt the wax.
Eventually a metal nib was fitted which increased the life of a quill tenfold.
Here is a picture I have taken of a Tudor times office. Can you see the
following details?
1. Back to the fire to keep warm.
2. Quill and ink well.
3. Brick floor with no carpeting, a working place not a restful room.
4. Candles for light.
5. The Boss’s picture behind your head.
6. Sloping desktop with storage underneath.
7. Jug of ale.
8. Thick leather bound books for reference.
9. Ornate carving to the chair and desk to show status of worker.
10. White painted walls to give a light environment and to reflect the candle
power.
Q.317. Hi Henry. I love the pictures of you holding the big birds in the forest.
Are they heavy and did women go hawking?
Yes to both accounts. The Eagle owl is not heavy at first but because you have
to hold it outwards away from your body to allow the wings to flap, its weight
makes you arm ache.
The little Harrier Hawk is the little one and would be considered to be a
Lady’s hawk for hunting. I must add though the Harrier Hawk is a killing
machine, it flies much faster than the Eagle or the Eagle owls, it’s speed kills
instantly when the strike is made. I can hold the Harrier all day long without
feeling the effect of the weight.
All the birds are brilliant balancing acts; their heads stay at the same position
no matter how wobbly you are, only if you twist your wrist on purpose to
make the bird feel slightly uneasy does it open its wings. This is how we
managed to get the pictures with a flapping winged bird. Oop’s have I given
away the trick of the trade?
Q.318. Hi Henry. Why was glass so expensive as the Romans had brought it to
Britain as early as the first century?
A very good question I might say. First of all not all sand makes good glass,
impurities cause lots of scrap and it is not just a case of heating up sand it
also needs an enclosed kiln and additional chemicals to cause the change of
state to occur. Luckily for us, Britain had abundant glass bearing sand,
especially in the North West so we could make glass ourselves quite easily in
Tudor times, except that to make a sheet of glass had a very difficult problem
to solve. Molten glass is very sticky, if it touched a surface it immediately
sticks to it and also transferred the surface texture to the surface of the glass
sheet. If glass is not perfectly smooth it is not transparent. Look at sand
blasted glass and it is grey and translucent not transparent. The Tudors would
spin a large molten blob of glass on the end of a rod so that it grew in
diameter without toughing any other surface. When it set the disc of spun
glass would be cut into small pieces called Quarries and made like a jigsaw
into panes of windows with strips of lead called Cames to hold it all together.
Each window was very expensive and was not considered part of the house, if
you sold your house and moved, you took your window glass with you!
Wealth was shown off with the number of glass windows. Now the word
Glass became the word Class and if you could just afford the middle of the
spun glass you were called middle class. The upper class thought they were a
cut above you, because they were!
Q.319. Hi Henry. What is a flying buttress? Can you show me one?
If the weight of a roof made of stone is too much it can fall down, so to make
a large cathedral type building with huge roof heights and spans, there had to
be a way of getting the weight down to the ground and transferring the
forces to avoid collapse. Imagine a curved, stone arch butting out of the wall
and carrying a force from the roof, if it then went into other vertical
structures this force would be transferred away from the inner wall carrying
the roof. The fact that is seemed to cross open space without support got it
the title of Flying. Here’s a picture showing a flying buttress on a medieval
Cathedral.
Q.320. Hi Henry. I understand how cast iron became the major change in
cannon technology, but were there any other changes made because of the
cast iron.
Cast iron was a huge change in metal usage, not only Cannons, but water
tanks now need not be lead lined to make them waterproof, railings for
security, ornamental fittings and grids for the floor. Fittings for carrying heavy
components were made from cast iron and its property of high strength in
compression began it’s for stanchions. I notice too that mechanisms began to
emerge from the crudity of a wooden wedge to universal jointing, I found this
mechanism in Pendennis castle in Cornwall, the movement control is
universal on two planes. This must have been a major change in accuracy and
speed of response in any fire fight. The barrel of this gun is of cast iron, the
spindle at the underside is cast iron and I think the actual bracket is too. It is
not a rifle, because there are no grooves down the bore of the barrel, but it
was machined to create the bore not cast that way!
Q.321. Hi Henry. I need to know how a Water Mill works for a school project,
is there a simple way of explaining it?
No better way that with pictures, I have made this for you which shows only
the main parts and what they do.
Q.322. Hi Henry. I have noticed the very varied methods of Tudor house
construction throughout Britain, especially the corner braces which stop the
square frames from moving. Why is that?
Quite so, quite so. But remember that there were no books of how to build a
house, nor did people travel far to build. So it was a case of building the
method you knew best, and handed down in generations of builders. Also the
types of timber around you was very important, nobody would carry a tree
from a distance , so the copse of trees locally would provide the wood for the
frames. Oak trees are very strong but not straight so only short spans could
be achieved, usually about 20 feet maximum, tall trees such as Wych-Elm
could make longer spans and were used in large Manor houses. Here are
some examples of timbered designs showing the corner pieces which
strengthened the structures.
Q.323. Hi Henry. I must admit I am feeling more than a little anxious writing a
letter to His Majesty. My very distant cousin was one of Your favorite
courtiers, Nicholas Bristowe, The Royal Clerk of Jewels and Plate. Please, kind
Sir, will You share with me a description of his position and its duties and
range? Was he with You during The Field of Cloth of Gold?
Henry, in my nervousness as I was writing You, I forgot to ask if the story
about You and Nicholas Bristowe regarding Ayot St. Lawrence is true? Did You
really give the place to Bristowe during a ride through the countryside, and is
it true Your hat and a Queen's slippers were part of the gift? Denise of Austin,
Texas.
Now this is a very interesting point you have raised my dear Lady. You see
King Henry VIII never bought finished jewellery unless a certain stone cluster
might have caught his eye. He would have employed jewellers and Gold/silver
smiths to make his own designs, he would also have recycled pieces he was
bored with and to show off his wealth as well as his design ability. Now
consider just what type of stones the Tudors could manage to cut and polish.
Melting down gold and silver, remounting gemstones would have been the
order of the day and the loss of gold or stones would have been the main job
for the Clerk of the Jewel-house. He would not have been the actual maker of
the jewellery, but he would need knowledge enough to know if theft was
being done. Weighing in old discarded pieces would have been the main
function, he would then have to watch over the remaking of the materials
into new pieces again, the main method by weighing to make sure all was
used and where excess had gone to.
Try finding a portrait showing glittery diamonds, non to be found. Facetted
Gemstones and diamonds made their appearance in European jewellery
during the late 13th and early 14th centuries but were badly polished and not
cut to show its properties. The first "Brilliant" cut was introduced in the 17th
century and is largely credited to Italian ambassador, Jules Cardinal Mazarin.
Born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino, Cardinal Mazarin had a long-standing
fascination for gemstones. The first Brilliants were known as "Mazarins" and
were called "Double-Cut Brilliants." After Henry’s death!
In 1525 the village of Ayot St. Lawrence had descended to Henry Courtenay,
Marquis of Exeter, who was beheaded for treason in 1539, and so came into
the hands of the king. In 1540 Nicholas Bristowe was made steward of
reading Abbey where he made many high ranking friends and built up a fine
reputation for himself as a fair man. In 1543 the lease of Ayot St. Lawrence,
together with the manor of Canon Holmes, was granted to John Brockett,
John Alway and Nicholas Bristowe by Sir Edward North, treasurer of the
Augmentations. Nicholas Bristowe held the manor in 1572 and made his title
secure, in other words he purchased it as rightful owner to be able to leave it
to his heirs. The only public house in the village is still there and was called
“The Brocket Arms” tavern. It would indicate that the three men leased from
King Henry VIII the parts of the small village, Brockett the tavern, Bristowe
the Manor, no information as to what Alway leased.
There would have been a Clerk of the jewels at the Field of the Cloth of Gold
in France, where I tried to match the wealth and showmanship of Francis The
King of France. But this was an earlier venture whilst still married to Katerina
de Aragon.
The hat of Henry VIII and the shoes of Anne Boleyn!
Anne Boleyn was put to death seven years before Bristowe and his partners
acquired the estate, and that the story of the King granting it to him when
riding by it with Anne must be wholly false.
The legends:
“Nicholas Bristowe, a favourite courtier of Henry VIII, was riding with the king
and Queen Anne Boleyn in Hertfordshire. Passing Ayot St Lawrence he greatly
admired the place, wondering whose it was. The king said, "It is mine, but
now shall be yours." Bristowe asking what evidence he was to produce of the
gift, the king gave him the hat he was wearing and asked the queen for her
slippers, saying, "Bring these in London and I will give you the title deeds."
The hat and slippers have since always gone with the estate.” She must have
been a ghost!
Another legendary tale of Henry VIII's supposed wooing of Catherine Parr in
the Manor House, but consider that she came from Kendal, and he was quite
infirm at this supposedly wooing age, another mistake by the inventor of the
story I assume.
The family name of Bristowe:
He was descended from a family seated anciently at Burstow in Surrey,
whence by a corruption of the name came Bristow. A member of this family,
Nicholas Bristowe of Little Bibbesworth and Ayot St. Lawrence, Hertfordshire,
held an appointment as Clerk of the Jewels to Henry VIII, Edward VI, Queen
Mary, and Queen Elizabeth.
There are several suggested meanings for 'ayot': the most logical is that it
means a 'gap' or an 'island' and even these days, when it rains heavily over
the winter and the single-track approach roads flood, it still maintains that
feeling.
Famous residents: Douglas Fairbanks and the golfer Nick Faldo as well as
George Bernard Shaw lived there for 44 years from1906 to his death 1950.
Q.324. Hi Henry. Nowadays Birmingham is said to be the country’s second
city after London. What was the second city in Tudor times?
Well there is a clue in the ranking level of the Dukes of Counties. Norfolk is
the highest ranking Dukedom under the Royals, the Howard’s were the Dukes
of Norfolk and their city of Norwich was the second ranking city after London.
It was very rich because of trading and all the Rivers they could use to get to
other Cities like Cambridge. It was rich with Wool, hops and European cloth.
But one of the biggest things they had going for their title was the washed up
fragments of carbonated prehistoric wood from forests long gone and now
fossilised under the sea. What you may ask would that kind of flotsam be
used for? Well the old wood absorbed Iron Sulphate and with the carbon left
behind from the wood it was a treasure chest of chemicals, Gunpowder, cloth
dye, ink was all made from this valuable commodity, The collection of the
material which became known as Copperas carried on for over two hundred
years. However, now move on to the Industrial Revolution of the Victorian
age and Norfolk being a county void of Coal, it’s importance diminished to the
extent that the midlands became more wealthly and Birmingham took over.
You could say that Birmingham with it’s coal fired iron works gave Norwich a
black eye.
Q.325. Hi Henry. How did they make Chain-mail hundreds of years ago?
First of all they did not have very good machines to shape Iron, except for the
hammer and the skill of the Blacksmith. He would keep hitting the soft, red
hot Iron until he got it forged to a small diameter rod. Then he would curl it
around another rod to make what looks like a spring. By cutting along the
springs length all the curls of the spring would fall off as circular pieces that
look like the Letter “C”, not full circles as the saw cut out some metal. Not he
would weave them together in loops, closing the circle as he went, this makes
a sheet of flexible mesh but it is still very bumpy, so he would then heat it up
again and flatten the sheet until it would be fairly comfortable. Some
flexibility would have been lost but sufficient left for muscle movements.
Now here’s an extra bit about chain-mail! The mail was hard to stop rusting,
so the blacksmith heated it up and quenched it in oil, the carbon in the oil
absorbed into the iron and made it black, hence the name “Blacksmith from
the iron now called Black-iron, and Knights roaming around the country
solving problems for the people for money, would ask for Blackmail money!
Did I say Solving problems? Sorry I meant Causing Problems!
Q.326 and Q.327. Another question. What is a Shaffron and was there really
something called a Baldrick?
That’s two extra questions!
A Shaffron or Chanfron is the iron helmet which a Knight fits to his horses
head.
Yes funnily enough there was a Baldric, no K. It is the leather strap which
crosses the body from shoulder to hip, to carry a heavy sword hanging from
the hip. Hey there was a man called Blackadder too! He was in the Scottish
nobility during Queen Mary Stuart’s time.
Q.328. Hi Henry. When you wrote “Past time in good company” what was it
about?
Pastime with good company
I love and shall until I die
Grudge to lust, but none deny
So God be pleased, thus live will I
For my pastance,
Hunt, sing and dance,
My heart is set,
All goodly sport
For my comfort:
Who shall me let?
It was for times when I was with my friends and doing what we loved.
Hunting, Dancing, singing and of course feasting.
Q.329. Hi Henry. Did the Tudor play football?
Yes. But! There were no football fields or stadiums, it would be one village
against another village. There would be no rules, no limit to the number of
players and no goals. The actual goals were the gates of each village Church.
There were many injuries and even deaths, the Church complained to the
courts that people were getting maimed in their grounds. In 1540, I had to
ban Football because of the amount of hatred it caused and the number of
injuries.
An actual quote from Tudor times!
“Football is more a fight than a game....sometimes their necks are broken,
sometimes their backs, sometimes their legs.....football encourages envy and
hatred....sometimes fighting, murder and a great loss of blood.”
Q.330. Hi Henry. What weapons did The Tudors use for hunting?
Bows and arrows, Crossbows, Lances, knives and swords. The use of guns was
seen as poor sportsmanship although the use of Hawks and falcons must
have been similar but wholly excepted.
Q.331. Hi Henry. Must be a simple sort who asks a question then continues to
insult me. So here's the answer for others to read, but no more questions
opened from this guy.
What were the dates of the marriages to your wives?
1509 - 7 June Henry married Katherine of Aragon in private chapel of
Placentia at Greenwich
1533 - Henry marries Anne Boleyn in secret (25 January)
1536 - Henry marries Jane Seymour
1540 - Henry marries Anne of Cleves - divorced 6 months later.
1540 - Henry marries Catherine Howard
1543 - Henry marries Catherine Parr
Q.332. Hi Henry from Ray
I was quite surprised at the lack of detail in text books given to the person
who was potentially going to be King Henry IX, Henry Fitzroy. Born out of
wedlock to my King Henry VIII with a courtier called Elizabeth Blount, during
the marriage with Katherine of Aragon. I acknowledged his being, because it
did not look like I would be getting a son in wedlock for the inheritance of the
English throne. Politically a potential nightmare scenario, with Plantagenet
Howard’s watching the throne carefully and hoping to be seated there
themselves, Fitzroy was sent to Windsor for his education, with Howard’s son
Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey. Howard was a fine poet and became rather
famous in later life; they became inseparable friends just as I had planned.
How can a close friend betray Fitzroy in the future, was my thought pattern in
this decision.
I even agreed that Henry Fitzroy marry Mary Howard, so that their off springs
would give the Howard’s enough Throne to keep them down, but alas I was
not aware of the deep betrayal in the veins of Howard kin. Poor Fitzroy died
young, in a mysterious manner and was buried undignified quickly by the
Howard’s, I suspect foul play to this day. I have written a poem depicting this
sad tale for you to ponder about the lad who would have been King after me.
Oh! Fitzroy
By Henry Tudor
A son with Bess, my son no less
A prodigy, a double of me.
A boy of mine, Henry nine
Fitz the son, my only one.
Windsor turn, there to learn
Take a friend, Surrey’s end.
Keep the faith, I do make
Watch your back, from attack.
Howard’s all, you may fall
Marry well, Mary swell.
Create our kin, then re-begin
In Fitzroy’s path, strike your staff.
Tudor way, will be yours one day
Hold it tight, it is your right.
Accept the throne, as your own
Royal child, may be reviled.
Prove your worth, with Royal birth
Give them a boy, my Fitzroy.
Mary Howard, unlike the coward
Will love you true, I’m telling you.
Watch her kin, they might walk in
And take your throne, for their own.
So Richmond, make this a bond
I am so proud, and say aloud
My son Fitzroy, is my boy
Your future King, my loins did bring.
We comfort to know, his throne will glow
And England’s way, is safe today.
Q.333. Hi Henry. What was Tudor Tennis really like? Did it have an umpire, a
grass surface like today?
Nope. One or two of my courts may have been out of doors but mainly I built
purposely my courts under roof. The one at Greenwich was a timber clad
building but my favourite one I built at Hampton Court in 1534 a brick
building with crenulations in the design, and with two levels of windows filled
with leaded glass which was protected by iron mesh grills in case the ball
would smash the windows. The court surface was of stone slabs to help with
the bounce and the walls touched the sides, the ball could bounce back into
play and it was the aim just to make the opposite player miss the shot. Sadly
it does not exist today as it was demolished and rebuilt in the 1620’s to a
lesser design.
As far as umpires were concerned, if I was playing, I decided the point!
Q.334. Hi Henry. Who built the fantastic stained glass windows in Royal
Palaces?
My Father, Henry VII brought Dirck Vellert from Antwerp, Barnard Flower and
Galyon Hone from Holland to work on the windows in Kings College,
Cambridge. But the English glaziers did not welcome these foreign craftsmen
as they resented being overlooked by the Royal court for the best jobs. The
foreign craftsmen kept to themselves and did not mix with their English
fellow glaziers.
At Hampton Court the most well known master glazier from Holland, Galyon
Hone, built the polished stained glass windows with their heraldic captions
around 1531. He found virtually constant work from Henry VII and Henry VIII
in all their major Palaces and even had to change his own designs as the latter
Henry’s wives changed! October 17th 1544, Galyon Hone returned to
Whitehall Palace to change the symbols in the windows to those of Katherine
Parr.
The present day use of the term to Hone something means to improve the
surface finish for exact fitting together of two mating components. Galyon
Hone was a master craftsman who could use abrasives in an artistic manner
to create cloth-like folds in seemingly three dimensions on the surface of his
glass work. As the surface of glass is abraded the colour lightens slowly,
Galyon would manipulate the colour to look like a folded silk dress or shirt
spending much time for such small but intricate details.
Q.335. Hi Henry. Was Thomas Cromwell always a lawyer for a profession?
No not at all, as well as being a trained accountant and banker, he had many
professions in his lifetime. He was a Lawyer foremost, but also set up
businesses as merchant, money-lender and even a clothe processor with the
fulling of woollen cloth
Fulling, tucking or waulking are all the same process and is a step in woolen
cloth-making which involves the cleansing of cloth to get rid of oils, lanolin
grease, dirt, and other impurities, and then thickening it. The worker who
does the job is a fuller or a tucker or the walker. The lanolin was used as a
face cream for society women, and a base for perfumed balm creams. Fulling
involves two processes - scouring and milling (thickening). These are followed
by suspending the cloth on wooden frames known as tenters and held onto
those frames by tenterhooks, hence the saying when being kept in
suspension “being on tenter-hooks”. People’s names, Fuller, Tucker and
Walker came from these professions.
Q.336.Hi Henry. Did the Tudors have sewers?
Nope. This is why the plague and sickness was most prevalent. The moat was
the final resting place of many a latrine which would turn the water green,
the stink would be obnoxious and the occupants of the said castle or Manor
house would leave for a holiday whilst the poor servants had to get in the
moat and dig out the waste materials. Queen Elizabeth, my daughter had the
first actual sewerage system and that was down open topped channels and
they took the waste in flowing water away from the house, but it ended not
at a sewerage plant, but in neighbouring villages.
Q.337. Hi Henry. Need help for my Daughter’s homework, What was the full
name of King Henry VIII?
You will never find any other name in your research because a Tudor or
Elizabethan character would not use what we now call a "middle name,"
which is essentially an extra given. Double given names were slowly
spreading on the Continent, but the custom had not yet reached England, and
in fact did not become really common in English-speaking countries until
much later, as late as the 19th century in places. We know of literally only
about a dozen cases in all of Elizabethan England (before 1600), and most of
them are among the nobles, or are people who were born abroad, such as
Jane Sybilla Grey, who was born in France.
Talking of Lady Jane Grey, did you know it was not her name when she was
executed by Queen Mary I? Lady Jane Grey was forced into a marriage with a
son of the Protector, Dudley so she was technically Lady Jane Dudley when
she became the nine day Queen.
Henry was Prince Henry Tudor, Duke of York before being King apparent after
the death of his brother Arthur. See what happens when an interesting point
is made, I go off on a tangent. Now King Henry would never be called VIII or
number eight, he preferred King Henry Octavian, which of course means the
same in latin.
Q.338. Hi Henry. I read with interest that the Mary Rose was built of many
types of wood, not just oak, and that Wych Elm had a significant part to play
in the build. Is Wych Elm a British tree and what does “to stand down”
actually mean when the navy is told to relax?
No not a native wood of Britain, Wych Elm introduced by the Romans to drain
the boggy land of the flood plains of East Anglia, Somerset, Lancashire and
Cheshire. There you will find towns with the ending …Wich, from these huge
forests.
Wych Elm has a strong, irregular grain structure which made it ideal as
planking for the ship’s boats as it was bendable, in fact I think the term Wych
means “to bend” in Latin. As well as transporting people and goods, these
boats were used as tugs to tow the ship on days when there was no wind.
They were not considered as lifeboats – if a sailor was unlucky enough to fall
overboard he was unlikely to be saved. Renowned for its strength, wood from
this evergreen tree was seen in contrasting places on ships. Elm was
particularly valuable to ship builders as it does not rot when kept in water.
The keel of the Mary Rose and planking beneath the waterline were made
out of lengths of elm. It was also used for casing the pumps, used to prevent
the ship from sinking. The capstan, used to raise the ship’s anchor, and the
carriages which supported the enormous guns were also made of this wood.
The term to stand down in the navy meant to lower the masts and rigging
because of no need for sailing in the near future.
Q.339. Hi Henry. I read in your website, the colour of Mourning was Yellow,
why was it not black like it is today?
Simple really, the colour easily washed out and when it did it became a rat
colour of dull grey. Only the Nobility with their access to the colour fixer Alum
Flour could keep the colour in, so Black was the colour of Noblemen’s clothes
for business. Yellow was the colour of mourning because everybody could
make it and so it was universally used. However, there are some very unusual
names for some of the Tudor colours, I have listed them here in Alphabetical
order. Notice just what carnation means! Carne!
Black. A nobleman’s colour
Bristol Red: A "pleasant" red.
Cane Colour: Yellowish tint.
Carnation: Resembling raw flesh
Crane Colour: Greyish white
Dead Spaniard: Pale greyish tan
Gingerline: Reddish violet
Goose-Turd: Yellowish green
Hair: Bright tan
Incarnate: Red
Isabella: Light buff
Lincoln Green: Bright Green
Lustie-Gallant: Light Red
Maiden Hair: Bright tan
Milk and Water: Bluish white
Murrey: Purplish red
Orange Tawney: Orangish brown
Peach: Deep pinkish orange
Plunket: Light blue
Popinjay: Bluish Green
Primrose: Pale yellow
Puke: Dirty Brown
Rat's Colour: Dull grey
Sangyn: Blood red
Sheep's Colour: Natural
Strammel: Red
Straw: Light Yellow
Tawney: Brown tinged with yellow
Yellow: Used for mourning.
Watchet: Pale greenish blue
Whey: Pale whitish blue
Willow: Light green
Q.340. Hi Henry. There are many pictures of you in records and Palaces, but
not many of your father, King Henry VII. Have you got any pictures of him
never seen before?
This is asking a great deal and so I have made a picture for you out of his
death mask which will show you exactly what he looked like.
Not as handsome as me, me thinks!
Q.341. Hi Henry. This questioner was in person at the Hall.
What actually was the price of salt?
I have put this togther to explain the cost with actual recorded evidence.
The Cost of Salt.
By Henry Tudor
Based upon the Cheshire Wyches and terminology of a Shire being a
“hundred” these are the writings of salt dealing. Dates, about 1200.
"Whoever carries away purchased salt in a cart from these wiches paid four
pence in toll if he had four oxen or more in his cart ; if two oxen he paid two
pence."
Now a rough guide of carrying capacity had been drawn up which compared
Oxen+cart with horse drawn cart with human carrying. From the figures
below it is as follows.
One cart with four oxen paid 4 pence, a man with two oxen paid 2 pence, so
the charge was one penny per ox.
One half penny per horse and cart this being half the charge, so a horse was
½ penny each load.
A single man was considered to be equal to one eight of an ox!". If on foot,
"twopence or a penny", respectively "for eight (man) loads".
There were local concessions. A man from another hundred "paid two pence"
for a horse-load, "a man from the same hundred only a half-penny".
There was a three day credit line, this allowed regular customers to take
away the salt, sell it and come back and pay for the salt as well as picking up
the next load.
"Anyone who brought a cart with two or more oxen from another shire paid
four pence in toll. A man from the same shire paid two pence for his cart
within the third night after his return home."
"A man from another shire paid a penny for a horse-load", but a man from
the same shire paid 'a minuta' "within the third night."
The selling of salt had a season! Probably due to weather conditions both for
mining the salt and for travelling to distribute the commodity. So could this
be where “to season with salt” comes from?
"If a man living in the same hundred carted salt about the said county to sell,
he paid a penny for each cart as often as he loaded it. If he carried salt on a
horse to sell he paid a penny at the Feast of St. Martins" (which feast marked
the end of the 'season').
What about during Tudor times?
'In the earlier years, when Sir Richard Shuttleworth was resident at Smithills
[near Bolton], his younger brother Thomas acted as his steward. At his order
the yearly supply of salt was bought each summer at Northwich and brought
home by one or more of the servants.' The salt was bought by the 'crannock'
a size of uninterpreted magnitude, 'but costing 14s. to 16s.,' against 11s. to
12s. 'paid for a 'lode' or a 'quarter' of salt in later years.'
The toll paid on two crannocks was fourpence. [The price of one Saxon cart
with four oxen at Nantwich & Middlewich].
In June, 1586, 'twoe krenneckes and a halffe of salte at the North - Wyche
~~35s.
spente in fetching the same and for that which was payed for towle~~~~~~3s.
4d.
July, 1590 - towe crineokes of sallte~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~31s.
toule in the wyche for the same sallte~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4d.
June, 1591 - thrie crynokes and a halfe of
salte~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~54s.
those that fechide the same at towe several tymes~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5s.
6d.
towle at the Wyche for the same~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~8d.
It is not to be supposed that Northwich was the only source of salt for these
households. (For example after the death of Thomas the Steward.) If more
expedient, salt was also gotten from other sources eg Clitheroe (1602 - one
mette of salte in Clitherew - 2s. 6d.) and Manchester (1611- Four lode of sault
- at 11s. ) ; and once, when the same household had run out and was in need
of urgent supply for salting the winter beef, cote-salt was bought: this would
be salt from the Lancashire coast.
Q.342. Many a soul has asked me how much the cost of living was in Tudor
days. So here for you is a chart. Work it out as follows: all category costs are
100 in the year of my birth 1491.
Just see that chaos occurred in the Edward to Mary to Elizabeth fiasco!
As you can see, the poor would have seldom eaten meat and the advent of
Technology brought in the Industrial changes.
If you want a full Excel chart then click here.
Click here to download this file
Q.343. Hi Henry. Nowadays we have Pounds (£) and Pence (P). But what are
£sd. I understand the pounds and shillings but why the letter D for pence? I
asked my dad and he's old, but he didn't know, I asked my Grand dad and
he's ancient and he didn't know either!
Well, that was long ago, when pennies were white, because they were then
made of silver. Each one was worth a denary, which was a coin worth about a
shilling, or a quarter of a dollar. Hence £ S D. If your grand dad is ancient,
what am I?
Q.344. Same lad. Who invented money?
The Roman's they named it after Juno Moneta, a goddess in Rome.
Before money was invented, exchanges of goods was the method of
bartering. Salt for meat etc. The Roman’s bought about the use of Money
although metals were considered good for battering with well before the coin
first appeared.
Q.345. Hi Henry. I love the way you tell us where names and sayings come
from. Where does the term “Sticky Fingers” come from?
To catch a crow for food was not as easy as it sounds, the birds were nearly
impossible to shoot with an arrow and to lay traps meant you had to build it
first them leave it near the tree from where the trap was often stolen. The
poorer people had a nasty trick for catching Crows for food. They would make
a glue which looked like bird droppings and spread the glue on the tree
branches. The crows would get stuck fast and the people catch them easily. It
was seen as nearly stealing the crows form the trees. The glue was made
from boiling the bark of the Holly tree, the glue was so powerful that the
hunters had sticky fingers hence the saying for hunters who went after crows.
The glue was called Bird Lime which has mistakenly been used to refer to the
bird droppings.
"Bird lime" is also providentially sticky; hence it may be used to refer to a
"sticky-fingered person"
The use of glue to catch birds was made illegal.
However the poor hunter also had another nasty trick up his sleeve. He would
climb the tree where there was a crow’s nest and chicks in it. He would then
tie a thin chord to the chicks legs and wait until the chicks were older and
about to fly the nest. The birds not knowing what was tied to their legs would
try to fly off but got caught at the end of their rope and dangle helplessly
until the hunter came to collect his booty. Hence “at the end of the rope”.
Again this practice was outlawed, not because of cruelty but because it was
very efficient.
Q.346. Hi Henry. Is it true that the Tudor's had an Organ musical instrument?
If so how did they make it work?
Yes we did, I was quite proficient on it too. Mind you the power source for all
the air pressure was rather crude, here’s a picture to show you what I mean!
Many thanks to Trouvere.
www.trouvere.co.uk/
Go see this website, well worth the effort.
Q.347. Hi Henry.
Did you choose to be buried at St. George's at Windsor Castle? Why not
Westminster Abbey with your parents? Why didn't you have a more
elaborate tomb designed to befit your status as England's greatest monarch?
More than one reason.
1. I never got on with my father.
2. I designed and had built the principle entrance to the castle
3. I wanted my favourite wife to be buried there, Jane Seymour
4. I wanted to be buried with my wife.
5. I wanted the procession to enter the castle with my coffin through my
gate.
6. I had a lost baby son buried there before Jane, Ann Boleyn's still born child
which changed our relationship drastically.
I wanted to be alone with my lost wife, I actually used the tomb cover
Thomas Wolsey had made for himself, plain but dignified.
K is my Gate
G is the place of my burial
After me King Charles I, was buried in the same chamber.
See the picture for the close proximity.
HenryR
Q.348.Hi Henry. What ever happened to the portrait by Hans Holbein of
Amelia von Kleve?
Well by not choosing her from her sister Anna, the picture was discarded or
lost. Here is a copy.
Q.349. Hi Henry. My Father says his car is a Sedan which was a very old
carriage without wheels, is this correct?
Actually a good point. From about 1700 the roads were very rough and rich
people would get from one place to another in a carriage, which actually was
carried by two men in between two long poles. Here is a picture.
The name Sedan became the description of a motorcar with separate, engine
and luggage compartments and only two doors. If your Father’s car has four
doors it is a saloon.
Q.350. Hi Henry. I love your website, we go on History trips now and I can talk
to teachers knowing things more than my friends. How can I tell when an old
building has been changed in its past history?
Glad about your new status as class genius, well look for the way the walls
have been attached together. Nowadays they latch in the bricks to create a
strong joint because a brick is relatively thin, medieval building of thick stones
were very difficult to latch together so they just built new walls up to old
walls. Here is a picture which shows the poor joining on an old Abbey, they
obviously built an extension onto an old outside wall and created a strange
arch to cover an old doorway. Look at the differing stone quality and standard
of building.
Q.351. Hi Henry. I know you will defend your actions in the demolition of the
Roman Catholic monasteries and abbeys. But why did you not punish the
people who helped themselves to the masonry before you had the stonework
removed to build your forts?
Hmmm! A trouble maker methinks. Well to put it simply, the more people
who profited by the dissolution of the Monasteries the more that would not
retaliate. Go see the quality of the houses around the old ruins of
monasteries and abbeys, they have wonderful arches, fireplaces and
chimneys, carved oak doors and regal looking wrought ironwork. So paying
for a priest to pray in Latin, certainly did nothing for the Church of Rome,
after all it started Martin Luther on his Protesting path. Here is a poem
describing the theft as a National event.
Where did all the stones go?
By Henry Tudor
Not just Royals with their carts
We were there first to collect
Glass of colours and arches
The rest they can have for their forts.
Over the wall we went, peoples army with intent.
Intent to carry off our rightful stone
We alone paid for it, it is our own.
The King cares not for Papal lands
Take what you can in your hands.
Be quick, be stealthy, be strong
Hide the booty, us it wisely, belong.
Troops will move fast, to claim the last
So make your move and be fast.
Abbey, Monastery ruined and broke
Now your house a chimney smoke.
Arch your door, carve your gate
Use their wall for your estate.
Glass is class, get the lead cames too
Build a window, then look through.
No draught, no wet, just coloured tones
Now surround them with mighty stones.
The King will take all the blame
He doesn’t care it’s all the same.
He’ll build our defence with last large stones
Leaving only the Papal, monastery’s bones.
The reformed way is better now
We all feel richer for it somehow.
English bibles, no mass, no saints
A simpler faith for us he paints.
Harry takes and gives out too
The Church of England, for me and you.
Get in the loop, don’t take your time
Be part of this enormous, crime.
Let him head the faith, it is his way
But get your bit, this very day.
You’ve paid your dues to past regime
Now collect, first come, first seen.
Hide your loot inside your home
Don’t show wealth, you’re not alone.
Time will pass and time will heal
But you’ll still have the spoils to feel.
Nicking stone and glass today
Make the Roman forever pay.
Remember the cost of large cuboid stone nowadays would be about £100
each, so a cart full was real booty, consider the cost of stained glass and lead
and then think about what the poor thought about the priests and their
wealth. It was a change about to happen all over Europe caused by greedy
men and weak helpless poor people being their victims for centuries before
any reformation.
Q.352. Hi Henry. From a Little girl and her Mother in the crowd at Samlesbury
Hall. What were you really like?
This is the most difficult question ever to answer. Psychologists say we are all
three people!
1. We are what we think we are.
2. We are what people think we are.
3. We are what we want people to think we are.
So starting with number three. I built up my reputation, looks and persona to
make the people believe me to be a strong, healthy, intelligent man with a
strong heart and solid outlook. This would be the greatest impression a King,
who is sole ruler of a country, to portray. I did this by way of enhances
portraits, lots of jewels, lots of parties and Royal events and making decisions
quickly and sticking to them.
Number two, if people think I am magnificent then I act more magnificent
thus giving them what they want. They see me as a ruler who does not make
mistakes, so all my decisions are final and may seem cruel but are still final.
Number one. The real me, I need company of intelligent people, I need to be
loved, I love my children and my family. I get scared of making bad decisions,
I never want to hurt people but sometimes it is unavoidable, my personal life
should be separate from my public life but it isn’t. I desire peace and quiet,
my own space with people not afraid of my power, but this is impossible as a
King.
So again as the psychologists say, the three people inside us all mix together
to make our personality, but number one is our true self.
Q.353. Hi Henry. Why was Charles Brandon given to you officially to be your
best friend?
If we did not like each other it would not have worked. Charles is older then
me, he was a young baby when his father was killed in the battle of Bosworth
Field where my father Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III. My father
promised the dying Brandon that he would look after his son Charles and he
did by putting Charles into schooling with me with my tutors. Being together
at all times and he being older, we became best of fiends, I looked up to him
as an older brother. We hunted, played sport and drank together throughout
our lives. If it were not for this bond between us, I would not have forgiven
him for marrying my sister Mary without my approval as he did. I gave the
couple the Duchy of Suffolk, mainly to keep an eye on the Norfolk's whom I
never trusted, and to pay off a fine for the marriage. They went on to have
daughters, a Tudor curse it seems, and grand daughters one of whom was
Jane Grey.
Q.354. Hi Henry. What to do think of the latest TV show called “The Tudors”?
A misrepresentation of the first order. If you were to spend millions on such a
series, filmed over a long period, you would think they should have gone out
and bought a history book! Maybe even read it. Just keep a count of the
errors in actual events they call history, the worst being Mary Tudor marrying
the King of Portugal!!!!! When it was the old King of France she married. I am
six foot two tall; this lead actor needs a box to stand on. Red hair, blues eyes
where were their researcher looking when they cast the show.
A typical Americanised tale perpetuated by producers not caring about truth,
but more concerned with making money from an audience who wouldn’t
know real history if it perched on their heads and pecked out their ear wax.
Q.355.Hi Henry. Why did you just drop Mary Boleyn for her Sister?
Mary Boleyn was the court girl, she came from the court of Francis I having
been escorted around by most of their top courtiers, including the king
himself. She was in France with her younger sister Anne, though much
different in nature. Anne preferred the company of the Queen Claude and
kept away from the bawdy life near the amorous King. Anne was very
conservative and wanted to keep herself for only one man, her future
husband, whoever that would be. Mary came back to England first and came
into my court where she used her attractiveness to gain access to the top
levels of the court, including myself. Mary gave birth to two children, some
say both were mine to make me look full of virility whilst I was going though
the worst time with Katherine the Queen. A girl and a boy were born, both
looked like me, one called Catherine, the boy we named Henry. We married
her off to a lower level family called Carey and her new husband William took
good care of the children as I gave the boy a pension of £30,000 per year in
your money.
Anne Boleyn was my prey, I was the hunter she the deer, she resisted and
made the hunt all the more enjoyable. In modern talk, I would be seen as a
stalker, and that is just what a hunter is, he stalks the deer until it gives up.
After many months had turned into years, she gave in. I sent her a roe deer I
had killed myself, and had a jewelled necklace placed around its neck. She
saw this as herself with a collar of captivity. In the end of all my misfortunes
with lost babies and a miserable wife, I could see a shining light in the
distance where we would marry and live happily ever after!!!
Marrying the quarry after a long hunt, using all your skills and tricks to win
the battle of wills ends up with complete boredom and Anne only survived as
Queen for 1,000 days. Still! Many more deer in the forest.
Q.356. Hi Henry. Was the marriage between Mary Tudor, the dowager Queen
of France and your best friend Charles Brandon, done just to spite you?
Lots of writers have come to that conclusion, but there is another line of
thought which adds to it comfortably.
Yes it is true that Mary my little sister and the darling of the court, was an
impetuous, self centred, aggressive girl with sudden mood changes and a
displeasing nature when you got below her graceful well acted surface.
Yes it is true I arranged her 61 day marriage to an ailing King of France for a
handsome dowry. And yes we did agree verbally to let her marry her own
choice when the sick King died and left her the widow of France.
But she had always hankered after the like of Charles behind closed doors, he
being a gruff, strong and handsome athlete, well respected and powerful in
his proximity to myself.
But, over in France Mary played the field of parties and balls, after the death
of her husband and the pregnancy watch period after, she had a great time.
Her new nephew the new King Francis even considered marrying her, even
though he was already wed to Claude the Queen, who was busy producing a
brood of babies. I in my mistake, sent over Charles to bring her back from this
cesspit of shame, to marry another younger Royal, whom I had chosen and
bargained another handsome dowry. Yes you could say I broke the verbal
agreement, but she needed to be calmed down by a Royal position. She
however forced Charles into an illegal marriage, close to traitorous act had
she not been a sister and he a best friend. I fined them the dowry to get my
money. It is at this stage that Mary nurtured a deep hatred for Anne Boleyn,
who had been watching her antics in the French court from the relative safety
of the French Queen’s chambers and knowing of her involvement in
unsavoury antics which could be used in a blackmail scenario. Though Anne
Boleyn always kept what she saw to herself.
Q.357. Hi Henry. Why did the Roman Catholic Church embrace the man
Thomas More to become their hero?
What you meant to say was, how did Thomas More rise from a mere Lawyer
to become the Saint?
The answer has been used by many authors who have expanded on the
theme of a Man’s religious principles. However please don’t read all and
believe all, there was a man under this shroud of respectability who had a
deep hatred of other religions and who spent most of his life verbally hunting
down non Roman Catholics to aid in their destruction.
Find his book, “Dialogue Concerning Heresies” written in 1529. A rather
awfully written, crowd stirring book of hatred for fellow humans centred
upon the Lutherans of Europe who had broke free from the Papal reigns. I
could not write here on this website the actual wording a it is so foul
mouthed and obscene. Even Cardinal Wolsey was embarrassed by the book
and forced More to use a false pseudonym of William Rose. Thomas more
even wrote his own reviews for the people to believe the book was the
highest order of truth, he even invented false names of foreign reviewers to
give credence to this rubbish. Not the saint as painted, more the man as
hidden.
The Roman Catholic church had organised a gruesome murder of Richard
Hunne, a respected merchant, who was accused of heresy in being a
reformist and folloer of Martin Luther. He was taken by the church soldies
and died in his cell under suspicious curcumstances. Because of the uproar
the Church tried to quell the people by actually digging up the body and
burning it in a dramatic re-execution. The Church were found guilty of murder
but nobody was brought to justice. Thomas More was the lawyer who was
hire to fight the case for the church.
I’d rather not write the words of his enemies at the time, as it would be seen
to be using the same tactics as More himself, but read for yourself the words
of Ridley and Joanna Denny then judge this complex character for yourself.
Q.358. Hi Henry. I read that you believe the Roman Catholic Church was
doomed to reformation because of the greedy individual who ran it. How
much wealth did the church have in England before the reformation?
They owned 1/3rd of all England, the manors, the lands, and even foreign
territories. They owned 1/10th of all crops, meadow, pasture, grass, wool,
colts, calves, lambs. pigs. geese, and chickens. Then worst of all they
demanded 1/10th of all persons wages. They never paid for anything, just
took it. Now do you see why the people were over the walls well before the
soldiers arrived in the destruction of the monasteries.
Q.359. Hi Henry. How much would it have cost for a Peasant in Tudor, prereformation times to be Roman Catholic?
The old Papal Church took in huge revenues across Europe, pay to be preyed
for, was a real money earner and eventually the Church’s downfall in many
countries.
Sinners could buy redemption as the Church openly sold them, they were
called Indulgencies. People on their deathbeds could buy their way out of
Purgatory too, which was the place name for the waiting room to heaven or
hell. Tithes were the Church’s protection money payment, a tax on the
people to ensure a passage to heaven. 10% of all crops, stock and income was
the cost to all the working population. The population of priests were
infested with swindlers who lined their own pockets and lived lavish
lifestyles. Religious relics were used to raise money too, put on show the
Church would charge poor pilgrims to just view them or kiss them. An
infamous Holy site was Hailes Abbey in Gloucestershire, which had the blood
of Christ weep out of a statue, only to be found to be a series of manually
activated pumps delivering fresh Duck blood. But over the Centuries this fake
produced huge revenues for the Abbot.
Q.360. Hi Henry. How could Jane Seymour just sit and watch how Anne
Boleyn was framed and murdered by her future husband.
Strong words, but true. Jane Seymour was seen at first as the hope of the
Roman Catholics to rid England of the Evangelical Anne Boleyn and bring back
the old faith, thus reinstating the ex-Princess Mary to her rightful succession.
The Seymour’s were seen as respected Catholics but not expected to change
to embrace the new reformed church when Jane actually became Henry’s
third wife. She was not well educated and quite a cunning person who
watched as her marital obstruction was finally killed off. Gambling upon the
birth of a son for Henry to give the Seymour’s a mighty position was in her
mind. However her plans went astray when she died of blood poisoning from
the delivery of Edward. If history could be re-written, just how long could she
have lasted had she not died so early on in the marriage? Would Henry not
have become bored with her too and trumped up more charges to get
another lover?
Unanswerable questions thankfully as one Royal debacle is enough, that is
until Catherine Howard came on the scene and revived Henry’s homicidal
tendencies.
Q.361 Hi Henry. Is it true that even Serf’s had to pay to let their daughters
marry?
Not if they were to marry a man in the same manor, but they still needed the
permission of the lord of their manor. However if the marriage was between
the daughter of a man who was from outside the manor, the father of the girl
had to pay his lord of his manor a sum of money called the Formarriage or
Merchet.
Q.362 Hi Henry. Did Castles have advertisements?
This question nearly caught me out and I nearly dismissed it as seriously daft.
But, yes they did!
Just before a battle the castle would hang a wooden balcony over the stone
walls so that they could drop missiles and boiling oil over the fearsome
intruders, they would also either paint or hang a clothe saying for the
aggressors to read, warning them not to bother attacking as they will all die a
horrible agonising death. This temporary structure was called a Hoarding.
Nowadays the large temporary advertising signs on the side of the road are
called hoardings.
Q.363 Hi Henry. What does “Hue and cry” actually mean?
The requirement of all members of a village to pursue a criminal with loud
horn and high voices.
Q.364 Hi Henry. What does “LEASE FOR THREE LIVES” mean?
Fairly easy really, leasing land as a farmer had a lease period of people’s lives
not a defined period. So a farmer could lease the land for his life, his Wife or
Son’s life and then his Grandson’s life span. Notice the absence of
“daughter”!
Q.365 Hi Henry. How much wages did metal workers in the Minting of money
earn?
Mmmm! This took a while to find the answer. When there was 240d in one
Pound the Moneyer (Mint worker) would keep one penny or as a fraction
1/240th of the value of the amount made.
Q.366 Hi Henry. I was in your audience some time ago and remember you
mentioning that dead people had wooden soled shoes on their feet during
the Wake in the parlour. What were the shoes called?
Thanks for the memory. The wooden shoes were only soles with straps, the
fire nearby would curl them up off the corpses feet so “popping their clogs”.
The wooden soles were called Patten’s. They were also used for people to
wear over their soft “slippers” when they went outside for a short while.
Q.367 Hi Henry. Where did Piccadilly in London get it’s name from?
A Piccadil is a special cut of opening in Tudor/Stuart clothing. The neck and
armholes had a flanged edge as a fashion of the aristocracy and a tailor in
London made them especially for them, his shop area became known as
where the Piccadils came from.
Q.368 Hi Henry. Could a serf run away from his master and gain freedom if he
stayed away for a year and a day?
Yes. Town’s had charters to proclaim freedom of any serf who lived there for
a year and a day, without being recaptured by his lord. The saying “TOWN AIR
IS FREE AIR”
Q.369 Hi Henry. What was the state of the Church when you died? Thaks
Fernie.
Hi Fernie
People were having problems with the Roman Catholic Church ever since the
Black Death, plague of the 14th Century when 60% of all priests died of the
disease. The Pope ordered that any man with reading ability could be taken
on as a priest which opened the gateway for poor second sons of middle class
people who began to rob the people by charging for prayers with the threat
of not going to heaven if they missed a payment. The people were not happy
at all with their church. When I wanted a divorce for my first wife Katalina de
Aragon, her nephew Charles the Emperor of Rome told the Pope not to grant
my wish. This went on for 6 years and so I threw out the Pope’s rule of the
church and created The Church of England, thus allowing me to grant my own
divorce. However, it was still Catholic except for the mass and the saints, and
I allowed for the first time, English written bibles so the people knew what
the priests were saying.
Thomas Cromwell, my councilor masterminded the entire change over, even
letting people cross the walls of old monasteries to take away stone for their
own use, leaving the big pieces for my soldiers to take and build my castles
along the south coast of England.
Major problems were caused because the Roman Catholic countries suddenly
became my enemies and I was excommunicated from their church. My exwife Katalina even plotted against me, trying to get her nephew to come and
kill me, and put our daughter Mary on the throne in my place.
My son Edward went to live with his uncles, the Seymour’s who by then were
Protestants and when he came to the throne, the Seymour’s had already
changed the Church of England to protestant. When he died, my niece, Jane
Grey was put on the throne by the Government though she only lasted 9 days
because Mary came and arrested her. Jane was completely innocent of
treason as she was forced to do it by her parents. Mary wanted to let her go,
but the Pope and the Emperor demanded she be executed for treason or
Mary would not be allowed to marry the Spanish King to keep the Roman
Catholic faith back in England. Poor Jane died.
When Mary died her sister, Elizabeth, a Protestant came to the throne and
re-establish the new Church of England.
So you see, if the Pope had granted me a divorce, and Katalina had not
pressured her nephew, we would probably still be a Catholic nation, Jane
Grey would have survived, and Elizabeth may still have been a Protestant as
her Mother was one.
After the Tudors. King James I came to rule England, he was a Protestant but
his executed Mother, Mary Queen of Scots, was a Catholic. This led to
rebellion and the gunpowder plot!
Lots of problems eh!
HenryR
Q.370 Hi Henry. On all your travels, what is the strangest stone carving you
have come across, and what was the meaning of it?
It is true, History has given us some weird stone effigies to ponder about.
Apart from the horrible gargoyles, I came across a rather gruesome carving
whilst in Germany last September. We were in the City of Kleve to investigate
the Anna Von Kleve story and there in the grounds of the Cathedral was this
strange piece of Gothic type art.
I later found out it was not Gothic, but fairly modern and was made when the
war damaged Cathedral was rebuilt, it was in remembrance of the holocaust.
Q.371 to Q.375 From Sivad in Athens, Greece.
Ah! (sigh), Athens one of my favourite places in the World.
Q.371. What was a marital relationship like between young child wives and
older widows given the huge age difference and how did child brides cope
with supervising a manor/ household staff if they were so young?
Strange as it seems in Tudor times, age was not the same as we view it today.
For the poor to middle class, no child had their birthdays each year and they
were not seen as a potential surviving member of their family until they had
reach the age of eight. The children suspected of being about eight were
made to undergo the left arm over the head test to touch the lobe of their
right ear. If they could manage it then they were deemed to be eight and now
they can be betrothed to be married, by parental arrangements. They
married about 11/12 years of age to get as many childbearing years into the
marriage. By the time they had reach 20 years of age on average 6 babies
would be the norm, of which 3 will have died. By 24 they were grandparents,
36 they were great grandparents and 40 they were dead. So a bride of say 15
years of age was a fully recognised adult and managed their houses as such.
Lots of women/girls viewed the marriage as a major risk to their life as the
number of deaths during childbirth was staggeringly high.
You might think this eight year old test to be ridiculous, but we were still
doing in Victorian days when apprenticeships were being taken up by young
children and the average age of adults around the dirty cities was only 28
years. I know that some countries still do this test today 2008!
Q.372. As she was a queen, why did the government fail to provide a casket
for Anne Boleyn; was this intended as a final insult? What is the
measurement of the arrow box that she was placed in? Would her body have
been prepared in any way by her ladies-in-waiting or was she just thrown into
the box?
Anne Boleyn was executed as a traitor who had bewitched the King of
England, the people mainly hated her for causing the break up in the King’s
first marriage, although the break was on the cards BEFORE Henry actually
started courting Anne. She was executed on the green in the Tower and her
body was expected to be removed by her lady’s in waiting, her body put in an
arrow box as non was supplied by her family. Her body put in the chapel as a
matter of course for Royal executions. She is now with many other “traitors”,
Catherine Howard, Essex etc.
Q.373. Given the history of dislike between the sisters, why were Mary Tudor
and Elizabeth I buried together? Did Elizabeth leave instructions to be buried
with her half-sister? Did Mary Tudor ever have an effigy over her tomb when
she died and if yes, what happened to it? Under Elizabeth's effigy, is one
casket on top of the other or are they placed side by side?
After all they were sisters and both daughters of Henry who had ruled their
lives so greatly. Mary never liked Elizabeth, but initially Elizabeth loved Mary
until the poor health of Edward was looking like Mary might influence her life
as well. Elizabeth never knew about how her Mother had died until at the
execution of Catherine Howard, when someone let it slip that Anne Boleyn
died the same way. From then on Elizabeth disliked her own father and would
never have wanted to be buried with him and her step mother Jane Seymour.
Q.374. After their deaths, what happened to all of the costly gowns/ shoes of
Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I, and do any of their gowns still exist intact and
on display? How did they select what they would wear on a daily basis and
how were their gowns & shoes stored? Do you know who made their amazing
gowns? How long would it take to produce a jewel studded gown?
Now get this into perspective. Kings and Queen’s don’t have large filled
wardrobes, because they do not want to be seen in the same clothing twice.
They buy large rolls of cloth, boxes of jewels and blocks of gold. Then they
have professional jewellers, dress makers to make their clothes, usually to
their own whims and ideas. After maybe only one third of a day X three days,
which equals only one full day, they would have the clothes dismantled and
the un usable bits burnt. I have probed the reason for burning old clothes and
found that it was to stop others spying on their health, and passing around
the Royals own designs. I don’t think you will find more than ten dresses for
Anne Boleyn, even less for King Henry VIII. I would say the most are in Hever
Castle and Hampton Court. Clothes like these are now worth millions and so
fragile nobody can touch them. The Royals were fashion icons of their day,
other would see their new clothes and rush off to have copies made, but then
another design would appear, nobody could second guess the Tudors for
design. Anne Boleyn had French influence on her ideas and so the court
began to look French in nature and more flowing, brighter in colour and the
colour of clothes increased the level of status.
Q.375. Prince Arthur and Princess Katherine were raised from a young age
understanding what their royal 'responsibilities' were. What is the chance
that the young couple never consummated their 6 month marriage as
Katherine claimed - especially as other accounts at the time mention
otherwise.
Arthur was always a weak boy and by the time he married Katalina he did not
look like a King in the making. To die after only 6 months of marriage of a
lung disorder, he must have been ill for over two years. Katalina must have
been aware of her problems and would have tried to get pregnant as soon as
she could with her new husband. I think he would have been able to
consummate the marriage, even though records were written to the contrary
and for the convenience of the lady’s next role. No proof what so ever about
whether the marriage was in fact consummated, but I think it was as this
Princess needed a baby boy to keep her in the Royal league in England.
HenryVII actually waited to see if she was pregnant before he even tried to
contact the Pope for dispensation to allow the marriage with his other son.
I use the name Katalina for Katherine of Aragon. The Tudors used Anglified
names to create less disruption amongst the people for the King marrying a
foreign Princess. Katalina was her proper name.
Q.376 Hi Henry
The armour in the Tower of London is seven feet tall, why?
Propaganda sir that’s all. It has spacers in the feet and shoulders, yes I can
wear it but only if I stand still as when watching troops or as people pass in a
ceremony. So the armour was made just to spread the rumour of me being a
tall, strong leader. Hehehe.
Q.376 Hi Henry
What kind of shoes did you wear?
Do you always wear the same kind of shoes? For walking, running, climbing,
hiking, riding horses, soft ones for the evening, waterproof ones and snow
coverings?
Well I did the same. I would have long leather boots for riding and jousting,
flat soled leather shoes for dancing and walking in the Palaces and a variety
of shoes for comfort. Yes! We had slippers. They were soft leather soled
shoes with woollen tops for comfort and warmth and they were named for
not slipping on a marble or stone floor.
Q.377 Hi Henry
How much warning did you give to your hosts when you went on one of your
Progresses?
My plans were made a year in advance and my hosts were chosen by me
from my courtiers as they were close at hand. I would only pick political
alliances and host who could afford my visit. I took about 12weeks maximum
for my progresses and travelled not more that 20 miles per day between
hosts. I would also choose the host with good hunting and space for dancing
in their houses. There were sudden progresses caused by the spread of
sickness nearby, I would up sticks and move one without much notice, a rider
would be a day for so in front and declare my intention of arriving at a venue
without much notice at all. These hosts may have considered my visit to be a
burden with the cost being so high for my entourage, I may reward them with
honours but never lower myself to pay for my own keep.
What’s that I hear you mumbling to yourself? Why twelve weeks maximum?
Well, if you were the first inherited King in the Tudor line and there were
thousands of Plantagenet supporters out there waiting to take over and
restore the old line, would you stay away a long time?
Q.378 Hi Henry
Why do you never wear a crown?
I do wear a crown, but so infrequently that I am never seen in public in one.
My hats are my fashion and serve the purpose of keeping my head warm in
these dark, cold Tudor days. My head is shaved to keep away mites and
insects and of course where would I be without my slanted hat to produce by
Evil eye?
My father started the hat fashion and even James I carried it on, though
much more flamboyant than any on mine.
Q.379 Hi Henry
What ever happened to Will Sommers your famous jester?
Jesters were seen as the TV for rich people, entertainment, the Xbox of today.
There were initially two kinds of Jester both based upon a “silly” look. There
were Natural deformed characters who used their deformity to make people
laugh. There were Artificial characters who acted the deformity for make
people laugh. I had many jesters of both categories.
Martin (natural) inherited from my father, Sexton and Patch (both natural).
Then along came Will Sommers with a party of cloth suppliers for payment.
He was a skinny, bow backed boy with a ridiculous sense of humour but who
could bring a smile to any frown. I made him my Greenwich palace jester
where he stayed for all his life with my court.
Will actually lived to 1560 a grand old age and was inherited to Edward, Mary
and Elizabeth’s court. He finally worked with her favourite jester, Jane the
fool.
Notice how close his clothing was to mine, cocked hat, false chain and fur
top. This showing how much status he had.
Will was also my spy in the court, he told me about Wolsey hoarding gold in
his cellar and that started me watching this greedy man in more detail, some
say the beginning of his demise.
Q.380. Hi Henry.
Whilst up in Cumbria last weekend I noticed there was a medieval hall there
called Moot Hall. What does Moot Hall mean?
Sounds like you were in Keswick in the Northern lake District. Not medieval
this one though. There the Moot hall was a place of Judicial meetings, its
spelling would then have been Mot or Mote, actually just meaning Meet. It
was a place where an assembly of people could discuss legal things, Things
that were Mooted about were being put up for discussion, a Moot point I
might add. I don’t think they had Moats, but they would have had some sort
of local security to enable serious discussion without fear of interference.
Thanks to www.visitcumbria.com/kes/kestic.htm
Q.381. Hi Henry
What evidence is there that Anne of Cleves real name was in fact Anna Von
Kleve?
How's about her actual signature!
Q.382. It is not often that I cannot prove a source. But here is a question
answered from verbal evidence, word of mouth over a period of 500 years
must have a lot of changes but hopefully some of the content has original
truths. I got this description of Samlesbury Hall's own Tudor dance steps from
two elderly ladies visiting the house who remember it being done in their
youth. How can we keep such stories without passing them on?
The Beehive.
Tudor dances invented for large Palaces such as Hampton Court did not travel
well to the provinces. They would not fit into small halls, the travelling
minstrels would change them and thus alter their steps and meanings to suit
their audience and so beyond the original recognition. A sort of Chinese
whispers.
A Tudor Hall far away from the cultural capital would however design their
own dance and music. They would base it upon what would suit their houses
and the number of people dancing.
The Hive is a dance from a small hall in the North of England, 250 miles from
Hampton Court. It is based upon a Bee Hive where Bee's buzz about in their
own tiny space.
The man holds out his right harm, palm downwards, if he keeps his hand level
aiming at the ladies face it means he has affection for her, if he points his
hand towards the floor, no affection, just a dance. The lady touches the back
of his hand with only two fingers to pivot.
The man bows without being "Forward" that is he slides his left foot in a
curve to his rear and bows with a stiff back. This makes his behind move
backwards and his head just drops not going forward, considered rude. At the
same time the lady curtsy's with her left leg behind her right leg.
When the man slowly raises back up, he lifts his right arm and the Lady walks
two steps to stand under the arch created. The man now struts slowly around
the lady with three steps. The man's arm now lowers to shoulder height, then
they take two steps forward, turn and bow/curtsy again, all this is repeated
until the music stops. A good speed and tune is Henry's "With goode
Company" though the local hall would not know this song and would play
their own. I do not know of any local tunes to fit this dance.
Basically it is a local evening dance, to get to know each other better!
I actually demonstrate this dance to visiting schools at the Hall, it fits in
beautifully in their room for about 40 people.
Here is a poem about the Hive steps.
Steps
By Henry Tudor
Swing good leg around and back
Never leave the floor, that’s slack.
Keep your back straight and tall
This night of Tudor, no drink, no fall.
Bow not stoop for Lady true
Don’t lean forward, shame on you.
She will curtsy low in tune with song
Not need for rest, not very long.
Hold your arm above her head
She steps into the arch instead.
Stride around her back to guide her on
Two steps forwards, now you’re gone.
Repeat these steps ‘till tunes doth stop
Do not change your hand from flop.
Unless you now like her be praised
For she will see now your hand has raised.
This simple dance in Tudor hall
Maybe done in Palace Ball.
Indicate the man’s intention
Must be Henry’s cunning invention.
So what must we call this small hall dance?
So short of space, it doth entrance.
To bring together man and girl
By just a simple, tuneful twirl.
H
Q.383. What was Birdlime and was it associated with Honeydew?
No both are quite different.
Birdlime is a viscous sticky stuff prepared from holly bark and used to catch
small birds. Poachers would mix the glue and then paste it on the branches to
look like bird droppings. The Crows would walk on the glue and stick to the
branch, the poachers would climb up and steal the stricken birds, leaving
them in a sack for another accomplice on the other side of the boundary
fence to collect. This accomplice was called the “Fence”, meaning a man who
passes on stolen goods.
Honeydew was a sticky substance exuded by insect, aphids, firstly named
from sticky sap from plants, so only connected to the Birdlime by way of it
could have come from a Holly tree bark.
Q.384. Hi Henry. How did they catch large animals to eat?
Not just by the obvious of using arrows from a crossbow, we also dug large
holes and put branches across then chased the animals into it. This pit gave
us the term “Pitfall” meaning a trap hidden from view.
How did people see out of windows if they had no glass?
Windows were filled with oiled linen in place of glass which was expensive
and hard to obtain, it made the linen translucent which is not transparent but
shapes can be seen through it and it let in the sunlight. The oil used was
called Linseed Oil which had many uses other than for their poor window
panes. Linseed could also be used to dry paint and varnish, waterproof cloth
and when heated it went darker and harder and linoleum and oilcloth was
made from it. Did I say varnish? Yep! Tudors had varnish, it was made from
the shells of Lac beetles and called Shellac!
Oh, and the very poor had no windows anyhow.
Q.385. What was an Eaves Trough?
Early roof guttering on the edge of the slope of the roof.
Q.386. Hi Henry.
Why did families have to provide a dowry for a marriage?
Actually it was only for the girls parents to provide a dowry. The money or
property she gave towards the marriage offset the fact she was a woman in a
time when men were seen as superior. They Endow a gift towards the
marriage, usually left as an inheritance for the marriage of a daughter or
granddaughter, an endowment. If the man dies before the woman then she
becomes the Dowager widow who inherits. The law of marriage however was
very biased towards the husband, “What’s mine is mine, what’s yours is mine
too!” The dowry level depended upon the position of the man in society, not
necessarily his wealth so a girl marrying into an aristocratic family would
need a larger dowry than if she married a farmer’s son.
Quite right too, says Henry!
Q.387. Hi Henry. I believe your second wife Anne Boleyn had a dog; do you
know what breed it was and maybe even its name?
Yappy little horror and I mean the dog! He dog was called Purkoy another of
her French ways, from the French Pourqios which I believe meant “intuitive”
or could not keep its nose out of anything! As for the breed, not sure at this
time, but will get back.
Q.388. Hi Henry. Do you know the names and jobs of the senior staff from the
Palaces, I mean the skilled workers.
Oh! Ask me a hard one, some would shudder at such a question and declare
that they would not be aware of such commoner names, but I am a Humanist
at heart and I know that talent is cross status so I would know the people
who pleased me most. Here is a list as far as I can remember, if I leave any off
please do not take it as a slight on their character nor a lapse in my memory.
From my childhood, my teachers:
Erasmus—Philosopher
John Skelton--- Poet
William Hone
Bernard Andre--- Latin
Richard Croke--- Greek
From my household:
Galyon Hone--- Glazier artist
John Browne ---- Painter and decorator.
John Rastell---- Painter and decorator.
Clement Armstrong--- Designer of my pageants
Alexander Barclay--- Poet
Richard Gibson--- Builder of pageant scenery and pavilions
Lucy Cornwallis--- Confectioner
George Talbot--- Lord Steward in charge of all 25 departments.
Sebastion Le Senay--- Maker of my Coat of Arms though not resident.
Jean Millard--- Mapmaker and my globe maker.
John Craddock--- Maker of fine rush mats for the halls.
Anne Harris--- Keeper of my linen
William Abbott and Richard Hill--- My personal cellar men
John Shirley--- Provider of food, he located and purchased meats and
vegetables for all my palaces.
Pero Doux--- My personal French Chef
John Bricket---Master Chef
John Wynkell--- Master baker.
Richard Harris--- My senior gardener.
Will Sommers--- My favourite Jester.
Q.389. Hi Henry. Love the website and your answer to the question of when
did Henry meet Anne Boleyn has intrigued me. If she was in a play and so
were Mary Tudor and Mary Boleyn, where was it held?
Now what a revelation my last trip to France to research the Field of the Cloth
of Gold, has been. Some months ago I was happily reading a wonderful book
about the Boleyn’s and mentally noted the meeting circumstance, not the
place, but the reason Anne became an obsessive of Henry. Now here I am
researching the Field of the cloth of Gold and up springs Anne Boleyn yet
again, this time in the town of Ardres, in the place where Francis I had his
castle headquarters. Their literature describes the meeting. So I can actually
answer your question quite new information.
Here it is: the play was put on to entertain both King’s Henry and Francis in
The Bastion du Festin in Ardres the location of King Francis’s quarters. The
dowager Queen of France, Henry’s sister, Mary Tudor was lead role, Mary
and Anne Boleyn were in the play. Anne Boleyn played a role called
Perseverance, a character portrayal of a girl with hard to solve problems and
that attraction to men of a challenge. This actual meeting now answers a
question in my mind too. How did the Boleyn girls get into Henry’s court so
quickly? Now add the fact that their father was ambassador to Paris and now
add that Henry watches Anne in the play in France, Francis tells Henry of his
affair with Mary Boleyn. Do I need to paint a clearer picture? When
diplomatic niceties where long gone and we recalled the Boleyn’s back to
England, they were place into Henry’s court straight away, Henry took Mary
Boleyn as his mistress thus telling Francis his rival in straight and manhood
just who has her now! Anne Boleyn must have been Henry’s target from day
one, because he knew Francis had not managed to seduce her, so it started as
a ploy to beat the French King which finally got out of hand.
And a date for you then, what year did Henry actually meet Anne Boleyn,
must have been 1520 then!
Here is a picture of the Bastion du Festin.
Thanks to the Historical Society of Ardres (Feb 2008).
Q.390. Hi Henry. Wow! Why have many books not seen the Anne Boleyn
meeting before?
Sometimes accidental luck occurs. I was not looking for anything about Anne
Boleyn so I was not focussed on where to look. I was browsing through a pile
of paper in the Historical section of the Tourist office in Ardres and low and
behold, I saw the name Anne Boleyn (Bollin). This raised my eyebrow and
latched together the story of the play and the placing of Anne in the French
court at about the same time. So it was pure luck, not even deep research.
Q.391. Hi Henry. Just how big was the Field of the Cloth of Gold?
I knew my new trip would conjure up a few hard questions.
One Royal camp at Guines the other at Ardres which are 11 miles apart. The
field of the cloth of gold is 5.5 miles for each place and is now the village of
Balinghem. The entrance to the Field was 0.5 miles from the centre where
the Royal pavilion was placed. So therefore I suggest it was either 1 mile in
diametre or 1 mile square. The land was very flat and with soft topsoil so it
would have been quite muddy with horse’s hooves throwing up the soil. The
weather was poor and a storm stopped the proceedings thus causing the two
Kings to have a banquet and play indoors in Francis’s castle at Andres.
Q.392. Hi Henry. Is there a picture somewhere in Historical circles which
shows your bad leg?
Defined bad leg. Is it the normal malady of which Courtly Knights endure
when they put their off leg into the horses stirrup, the armour clashes with
the skin and a bruise appears, thus being hidden by a garter. Or was it about
the ulcers which appeared in my old age due to the broken knee joint which
festered and came out eventually as my great illness.
Well there is a picture from France, of my malady leg but there is non of my
final bad leg though you could say it would look like the malady but ten times
worse.
Here is the picture of the bruised leg. At this point I must show you a strange
bit of evidence as to Henry being left handed but trying not to show it. The
garter is missing and normally would have covered the bruises, Henry in
France with Francis I not wanting to be in any way seen as inferior! Strange
times.
Q.393. Why did you wrestle with Francis I of France?
Sport of course, wrestling was a close contact sport and we were in
competition with each other to see who was the fittest King. Just a bit of fun
really at the end of the Field of the Cloth of Gold.
I have put togther two portraits by Holbein, one coloured which shows how
he doctored the original picture showing the wrestling match and the other
showing it before being doctored.
Q.394. Hi Henry:
Why was Lead used so much when it was a poisonous metal?
Nobody connected the poison of lead to anything. Lead was used for water
tanks and pipes, sealing of roofs and the jointing between stone blocks to
make them watertight, cannon balls and any large container needing metal to
stop burning. However it was also used to copy ornamental objects in other
metals. Say for instance a Bronze casting was one of a pair and the other was
lost or broken, the surviving one would be pressed into sand and molten lead
poured in to copy it. Painting both would hide the forgery. Lead was used also
in an alloy with tin to make pewter, what looks like tarnished silver. Pewter
was used for plates and drinking tankards, rich people would get lead
poisoning and be seen to droop, with bluish eyes and teeth. Called Richman’s dropsy it was seen as an ailment only for the rich so being acceptable.
Lead was used for counterfeit coins by thieves who had stolen it off the roofs,
to make money to get into taverns when there was a one penny tariff to
cover cost from drunken fights. Lead was used to make whole windows of
Quarries and Cames which we called stained glass windows today. Mines in
Derbyshire would have serfs working in them, a better job than farming as
the pay was higher. Only five days were allowed off per year and others could
claim the mine if they could prove the miner had missed five days. Men
would sit outside the mine entrance and carve a Groove or Nick on the
entrance lintel. Getting a mine this way was called Nicking the mine.
Containers for logs could be made out of lead as it is easy to make into
sheets, impress a pattern on the surface then roll up and weld into a circular
vessel with a round base welded on. No need for draft casting angles this way
and complicated shapes could be fabricated.
Q.395. I read your poem about Sticky fingers and the poaching of crows from
private land. What do crows nests look like in stately home grounds?
Easy to show you with a picture
I am told that a crows nest is usually sited along the edge of a forest to give
access to tall trees in flight and not too high for Eagles and hawks to prey.
Q.396. Hi Henry.
Were there ever any “Black people” in the Tudor palaces?
Never being one to run away or ignore difficult questions, I had to dive in
deep to find the answer to this important point. The Tudors were aware of
other nations and some of African and even Chinese origin managed to get to
England. In the courts of King Henry VIII there is only one recorded Black
person in a prominent “seen” position and he was called John Blank, he was a
trumpeter in a troupe of sixteen musicians who announced the Royal
entrances to their visitors.
Q.397. From Miss Chorley class three.
1) What did you go hunting for and how did you capture the animals?
2) How much time did you spend on your royal duties?
3) Did Francis Drake ever meet Henry VIII before Henry died?
4) How many men fought in the War of the Roses? How many people died?
1. I went hunting most mornings for Deer. Wild boar. Sometimes I would get
up between 4.00 and 5.00 am to catch the sunrise in the forests. Return at
07.00am for food and then go out again until 11.00am and dinner. Dinner
took two whole hours because it was usually two shifts for the 200 courtiers
all to get served. I would then work with my Council until about 4.00pm
signing laws and declarations. It was the work of close council to organise all
banquets and visits by ambassadors but they had to wait for me to be ready,
sometimes all day. Evening supper was between 7 and 9pm and then we
danced until 10pm. We went to bed then to be ready for another early start.
Household servants rose at 07.00am and only my inner servants got up with
me.
We ate the animals we caught after they had hung in the kitchen for three
days.
We would hunt with Bow and arrow and occasionally a lance or spear, never
used traps as this was not sport.
If you want to read a book which describe my normal day as King
Try this short book by Christopher Gidlow, who is a good friend of mine and
curator of Hampton Court and The Tower of London for HRP.
“Life in a Tudor Palace” ISBN 978-0-7509-4608-7
2. So from the answer to question 1. I only spent about 2 hours per day on
actual duties.
3. Sir Francis Drake. Born: 1540. Died: 1596
So he was only 7 years old when I died in 1547.
4. For casualties in battle during the Wars of the roses go to this website and
click on each battle, it will tell you so you can add them up.
www.wars-of-the-roses.com/content/battlesmainpage.htm
Q.398. Hi Henry. Why did Tudors consider a candle to be a spice?
Only partially true, the Beeswax candles used in the presence of the court
were very expensive as they were hard to produce and did not give off a
nasty smell, so they were stored with the spices because of their value. They
were not considered to be spices. The poorer people used candles made from
animal fat called tallow, I have found that the cooking of pork was always
done away from a main hall because the smell was similar to tallow candles
burning and the courtiers did not want to appear to be using tallow candles.
So the idea of a roast pig turning on a spit in the middle of a Great Hall with
Royalty present is not correct, it would be cooked in the kitchens and then
dressed on the Sideboard dresser ready for serving to the guests, thus leaving
the smell of cooking pork in the kitchen and not interfering with the smell of
Beeswax candles lighting the room.
Now that’s what I call snobbery.
Q.399. Hi Henry. I wonder just what the court thought of all your marriages?
People will always have their opinions it is human nature, although to voice
one’s opinions could be considered dangerous. My daughter Mary was
demoted to Lady Mary when I annulled my marriage to her Mother, however
some still considered her to be a Princess, a Lady Hussey was sent to the
Tower of London for calling Mary a princess out loud! Remember the fate of
Catherine Howard, she the traitor who dallied with Thomas Culpepper, well
two of Anna von Kleve’s ladies ion waiting were sent to jail for muttering
“….how many wives will he have!”
So you see, the rule of survival in the Royal court was definitely, “keep your
opinions to yourself!”
Q.400. Hi Henry. What were the toilets like in a Palace for the courtiers?
The higher ranking the courtier achieved the better their accommodation so
the top ranking one’s hade their own guardrobes for their toilet. The rest of
the court who needed to relieve themselves during a banquet would have to
go to the common toilet called the Jakes which was just outside the entrance.
This is the origin of the Americanised name for a toilet the “John". The Jakes
was for all courtiers and senior servants who lodge outside the Palace, it was
a building of two levels each level having about fourteen toilet seats which
were just holes in planks of wood over a big hole which went into the moat or
river. Yuk!
I must continue this answer into the realms of ridiculous happenings. People
who could not be bothered to walk the distance to relieve themselves would
use a wall or the nearest convenient space which annoyed me greatly as I
cannot stand such crudity and behaviour. I actually had signs mounted for the
court and servant to adhere to: “Beware of emptying of piss-pots” and “No
pissing in the chimneys”. Now that conjures up horrible visions. There were
many toilet devices about in my day, the funniest of all was the wooden chair
with a drawer at the bottom full of soil. The cushion would be removed and
the rope “springs” moved to make a round hole in the centre, the box would
make a high volume noise as the wood reverberated, thus giving this device
the name “Thunder Box”, others called them Lambing chairs.
Q.401. Hi Henry. What was an Acatry?
The word catering comes from the term Acatry so it is the “below-stairs”
servants, who bought, stored and cooked the food for the Palace.
Q.402. Hi Henry. How does the food of today compare with your food?
You must sit back and think, put all factors into the equation before any
possible understanding of our food can be compared. Here are the 10 factors:
1. We had no long term storage of food except for salting, pickling or
smoking.
2. We had no mass transportation systems.
3. We had no long reach purchasing to foreign countries.
4. We had no mass production of foodstuffs and any form of refining.
5. We had no health and safety watchdogs.
6. We had no airtight reseal-able packaging.
7. We had fears of dirty food.
8. We had status of certain types of food. I would not eat a vegetable grown
under the soil, so goodbye carrots!
9. We had Epothacaries who advised about the healthy effect of certain
foodstuffs.
10. We at the Palace fed hundreds of people every day.
BUT the biggest factor of all was the seasonal food growing problem.
Strawberries cannot be eaten fresh all the year round in Tudor days, unlike
today 2008 thanks to international haulage movement.
Your food is super pure and clean, packed in airtight containers to keep
germs at bay, this has increased your lifespan but I believe it beginning to
reduce your body resistance to illness.
In my day, the poor eat better balance food than the rich; they had much less
meat and more fibrous vegetables. Bread was fresh every day because of
storage problems, meat was killed fresh on the day of cooking, fish was
farmed for Fridays in Manor ponds. The poor ate quite well and we were the
best fed country in Europe as we were self sufficient. Salt lay at the heart of
our well being, food flavouring, storage and bodily well being it was the main
element of life. We had our own salt in the Cheshire plains, we even exported
it. Cooking was mainly by roasting and large simmering pots though we did
have a crude form of Steamer powered by hot stones which cooked the suet,
sweets and replenished the dry bread. Seasoning and spices were very
expensive and we treasured them to the extent of housing them in their own
room under lock and key.
I would say that 2008 has much better food than we ever had, you are spoilt
for choice, you get fresh every day and all can afford to eat well if chosen. I
must say that with all the knowledge and advice about good food, I fail to
understand why a large number of people still go down the Rich Tudor route
of eating fatty, sweet, cholesterol foods when so much better food are
readily available, but then who am I to criticise.?
Q.403. Hi:
Just saw your web site
Can you help me please?
I am trying to find data concerning how young children were treated during
the reign of Henry VIII-- were they apprenticed and at what age?
How were poor widows treated and aided financially?
I know there were hated beggars and vagabonds but poor ill men- how did
they treat them? Who was responsible??
UNDER ELIZABETH I:
Local parishes vs. the church took care of ill, poor and children UNDER HENRY
VIII: who was responsible?
Any resources I can go to also please??
Thanks
Loved your web site but these questions could not be answered on your site.
Charles.
There has been a question answered on the website about the poor, Q36.
But, that was a long time ago and I now have much more in the way of
explaining the attitude of people in the 1500/1600’s.
First of all you must consider the way people viewed their very existence.
They only lived for about 40 years and the death rate of babies was at the
chronic level of 50% before the age of 8yrs. To see one’s own grand children
and maybe even great grand children, the “adults” would get married at
about 11/12 yrs of age which seems, and is very young if not criminal these
days. The normal length of time of any engagement for marriage was about 3
years, so parents would organise a marriage for their child and the
engagement, would take place at the earliest age of 8yrs. Now notice the
significance of the age 8yrs. The children would not be considered to have
come of age until they had passed the death rate barrier and achieved 8
years, then they get promised in marriage and start their working life, a rich
child would begin their studies. Girls slept on wooden planks tied between
two stanchions and they would be tied to it to stop falling off, sleep tight! The
Boys would sleep on a pad of hay on the floor, come back to my pad!
Treatment of the poor was the responsibility of the manors, they would be
expected to feed the very poor who could not help themselves, they must off
work for food to the poor who only needed some help to get going and they
would punish malingerers.
I have found a Tudor Steamer cabinet; it has “poverty rails” in the top of the
cabinet. The rails have balls and cutters to press a line in the top of stale
bread to show it is re-softened second hand bread for the poor; “The bread
Line” is not a queue! Poor people would try to grow their own food, work for
food and take hand-outs.
Official reports back to their masters, foreign ambassadors have written that
“England feeds its poor better than all the rest of Europe”.
Young children left alone after their parents die could be taken into house to
work for their food, duties such as looking after the fire, Black guards which
became blaggards, they could also do the cleaning and washing eventually
working up to the fields as a proper worker.
No apprenticeships for skills in Tudor days, the sons of skilled men would
carry it on or the6 would take in a helper to learn the skill. An apprenticeship
was a structured system for replacing skills and keeping the skill alive.
Towards the Industrial revolution the apprenticeship system came into being
for all young boys to apply for, though the age of 8yrs was still the starting
age.
Resources for more facts are mainly by the author Alison Weir who makes a
point to write about the common person.
The poor were actually better off after the Reformation of the Church, no
more Pay to pray and the 10% levy from the Monasteries dissapeared too.
Some could argue that it was a ploy to bring the people into the crime and
keep any resistance to a minimum, Always expect a kick back eh!
Just a little quip about paying your bills. King Henry’s suppliers of animal stock
would be picked from over 20 miles away so that the farmer had to walk for
over a day to get his payment, he would then wait all day for the money, then
have to walk all the way home. Many suppliers could not be bothered, so
they just displayed the Royal order on their sign to show they feed the King.
One way of not paying your bills!
Q.404. Hi Henry my name is Georgina
Why did Tudor ships have cannons?
At one time, fighting ships would sail alongside each other and fighting men
would swing across to try and capture the ship. To capture a ship was a real
prize as it was a very expensive piece of weaponry. Then ships had cannons
mounted upon their deck aiming upwards, the cannon ball would fly to the
enemy and hopefully break the rigging and bring a mast down. Then we
started firing with cast iron cannon barrels which were very accurate and so
we aimed the cannon balls directly at the ships hulls to try and sink the
vessel. This was because we had built up a good size navy and capturing
whole ships was not as important. Cannons were also use to bombard the
ports and forts of the enemy on land. We did overdo the number of cannons
as the poor old Mary Rose found out when she turned over in the Solent, the
problem too was that we also had men in armour ready to board French ships
and they weighed too much for the ship to be stable. The wood around the
hull was smooth (carvel) and not stepped (clinker) like our older designs and
this reduced the resistance to tip over.
HenryR
Q.405. Hi Henry. What did the Spanish think of England as a power?
I’ve been trying to answer this question for ages and it took a trip to Spain, 20
miles North of Madrid to the Castle of Manzanares to find evidence of one of
the factors influencing the Spanish attitude towards England.
They considered England to be just an annex to their Empire, but a really
strategically placed one with great access to the sea and the new America’s.
The change to my Catholic version of their Church was Tolerated until my
Son’s reign, when he and the Seymour’s threw it out completely in favour of
the Protestant new church. With the death of Edward without children, it
became apparent that the English did not want the Holy Roman influence
again and tried to usurp the throne with poor Lady Jane Grey. After only nine
days, she had lost power to the rightful heir Mary, daughter of a Spanish
Princess and an English King. She wanted to marry well and reinforce the
Roman Catholic Faith and it took blackmail and threats to force her to
execute her own cousin Jane, evidence kept surfacing too about the antics of
Elizabeth, she being a staunch Protestant. Mary’s marriage to Prince Phillip of
Spain was a sham, he had mistresses and she was too old and ill to bear
children. Spain always considered that Phillip was King of England and so
their aim to retake their lands culminated in the Armada and their old enemy
Elizabeth beating them.
You see from the picture that the Spanish had poor maps of our coastline, so
when the weather pushed the Armada up the channel and around the
Scottish and Irish Northern coasts, they foundered on the rocks and
sandbanks. So rather than laugh at such a ridiculously poor atlas of our land,
marvel at how this helped to save us.
Q.406.Hi Henry. I read with interest about how your designs of Fort down the
south coast could be classified as “Stealth Castles”, by the way the walls were
shaped to deflect incoming cannon balls. Did any other castle design exist
before your “Stealth” shapes were introduced, which also deflected the
Cannon balls away?
I must not claim lone ownership of the idea that a design can deflect a
speeding cannon ball away from the wall. The Spanish were doing it for over
100 years before me, except they had not quite got the idea of actual
redirecting the cannon balls flight, more the case that they skimmed it off at a
random angle which was away from harm.
Here is a Castle in 1400’s Spain showing their ideas for diverting the Cannon
Balls using Hemispherical shapes instead of flat. I thought this design to be
rather crude, so I went back to the flat surface but angled it to give a more
accurate redirection.
This next picture is from the same Castle but mid 1500's changes. See how
prisms have replaced Spheres!
Q.407. Hi Henry: How did they cross huge spaces to make floors in Castles?
Thanks to the arch and the keystones which were clad above with
intermittent beams of wood. See this Picture to explain it and it also explains
why the holes are the only thing left today after the wood rotted.
Q.408. Hi Henry. Who told your daughter Elizabeth about how and when
Anne Boleyn, her mother, had died?
Not a subject I care to talk about, but I must clear the air and explain the
situation for you.
Elizabeth was 3 years old, staying with her guardian the Lady Bryan, Anne was
executed on the 19th May, actually the anniversary soon. I sent a special
messenger, Lady Mary Tudor, her sister to tell her. Mary always loved
Elizabeth even though she hated Anne Boleyn for causing the rift between
Katherine and me, or so she thought. I had actually stopped loving Katherine
before I even met Anne Boleyn. Mary was kind and told her gently in her
garden at Hatfield, Lady Bryan stood there to comfort Elizabeth but she broke
down and cried. When my son Edward was born I asked Lady Bryan to be his
guardian and gave Elizabeth a new lady to look after her, Kat Cambernowne
who became Kat Astley when she married. This decision was to give Elizabeth
a second mother figure to love and Kat was wonderful becoming Elizabeth’s
best friend for life. Kat Astley was also Anne Boleyn’s second cousin so she
knew about Elizabeth’s mother and could tell her about Anne s Elizabeth
grew up. I even allowed Elizabeth to stay for a short while with Princess Anna
Kleve in Hever Castle where she lived and also where Anne Boleyn was
brought up. All this was to give Elizabeth some memories of her mother back
to her, though she must not mention her name in court as it brings back bad
memories and pricks many consciences.
Anne Boleyn had made a beautiful tangerine dress for Elizabeth’s coming of
age and she turned up in it for party at Greenwich which upset me and Mary,
Elizabeth was sent to her room to take it off.
Q.409. Hi Henry. Where did you die?
Enfield. Short question and so short answer.
Q.410. Hi Henry: Why did you order the coffin which held your dead son
Henry Fitzroy, to be lead lined?
I suspected he was poisoned by the way his skin had turned black, he would
have bloated and smelt of the poison, so I had him sealed airtight in his
coffin. I instructed Howard to have him buried secretly for a while, then after
a few weeks I instructed them to raise the coffin to be buried properly. I
always suspected foul play, and the Howard’s were on the top of my list of
those with much to gain from Fitzroy disappearing. There was also rumours
that Fitzroy was plotting to overthrow me but I never believed he would do
such a thing.
Q.411. Hi Henry. Thomas More was made a Saint in the Roman Catholic faith,
just how Saintly was he?
He stood up for his beliefs and defied me, so the Roman Catholic faith
rewarded his memory. Mind you, so did Lady Jane Grey who died because she
would not renounce her Protestant Faith but then the Protestants don’t put
memories up as sainthoods.
Thomas More wrote a famous book “Utopia”, the most anti-female book ever
written, he tortured men and women to find out their secrets, jailed
hundreds of poor people for not paying taxes, physically hit his own family as
punishments. So being a saintly person, I think not. Being a high profile
denouncer of the reformation, now that’s it in a nutshell. Propaganda.
Remember you asked Henry for his opinion and got it.
Q.412. Hi Henry: A difficult question for you. What age could one expect to
live for in Tudor times, and are there any figures to show the death rates for
each age?
Correct, it is a difficult question to answer and I don’t think even living in
Tudor times one could work it out because of poor communications, word of
mouth and who cares anyhow. But being a man of great wisdom, I have
produced a graph in a spreadsheet using figures written by many Historians
of the number of deaths at certain ages including the survival rate of the birth
itself. Nobody can say it is right or wrong, but the overall picture does tell a
true story of fear of dying before one achieves their aim in life.
It also answers another question, Was King Henry VIII old or middle aged
when he died at the seemingly early age of 55? Actually quite old really.
The graph is below, just click the file and download it.
Click here to download this file
I deny any knowledge of population statistics, historical records of England’s
population death rates, so don’t bother me with trifles such as “where did
you get the numbers from”, just read it as picture of survival in Tudor times.
Q.413. Hi, I just wanted to know; who did you send to the pope to ask for a
divorce between you and Catherine?
I could easily answer this in two names, but the melodrama of the occasion
needs outlining so you can understand the whole scenario.
During May and June of 1527 the Pope, Clement VII, was imprisoned by the
Emperor of The Holy Roman Empire, Charles who just happened to be
Catherine’s nephew. Whoever was sent on the mission for the marriage to be
officially annulled was going to fail, as Catherine had sent previously another
messenger to make sure her nephew would not allow his Aunt to be slighted
in such a move. Wolsey thought up the plan of getting the imprisoned Pope
to delegate powers to the English cardinal, himself, who could then annul the
marriage and let the king marry again. Sounds good!
Trouble was the whole plot needed to be very secret or Emperor Charles
would find out and scupper it, Wolsey told the only person who could be in
the loop, the King himself who brazenly went to Catherine to tell her about
their marriage being null and void. So Henry actually gave the secret away.
Catherine sent her trusted aid Felipez who had to lie to the King about a sick
relative in Spain to get travel permission, Henry suspected he was a spy on a
mission for his wife, and tried to waylay him in France but Felipez got away
and eventually reached Charles. Charles wrote back secretly to his Aunt
Catherine promising full support of the Holy Roman Empire and of course the
Pope, who was still his prisoner. Eventually Henry succeeded with some sort
of allowance from the Pope when he sent his own emissaries from Embassies,
but the wording was technically wrong on purpose and Catherine making
sure would still be Queen. Now desperate, Henry demanded that Wolsey
send his secretary Stephen Gardiner and Edward Fox to extract an agreement
from the Pope which turned out only to be an agreement for the hearing to
be held in England instead of Rome.
The Pope sent a sick and ageing Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio who took his
time to get to England which infuriated Henry but also consoled Emperor
Charles who was watching the proceedings on behalf of Catherine. He arrived
in London on 9th October a full six months of travel causing a long anxious
wait for Henry. When Campeggio announced he had come to heal the love
rift between Henry and Catherine, an order from Charles, Henry erupted,
threatening that if it did not go his way he would cut all ties to Rome in
favour of the new teachings of the Lutherans.
As secrets go this was hopeless, the people of England had worked it all out
and when the Pope’s emissary suggested that Catherine might keep her titles
and enter a Nunnery, giving Henry the opportunity of an accepted mistress,
the people chanted against the poor man as he went through the streets.
“We want the Queen, no Nan Bullen for us!” You could say this was the
beginning of the hatred Anne Boleyn endured from the People who loved
Catherine. Wolsey never recovered his position of trust with the King.
Q.414. Hi Henry. I'm totally intrigued by the making of window glass by
spinning it on the end of a rod. Do you have a greater explanation?
Sure do, I even have a picture and a poem about the famous Galyon Hone,
"to hone" now means to fine tune a fit.
Galyon Hone
By Henry Tudor
Punty rod ready, wet the grooved wood steady
Heat the end bright, large wheel make tonight
Blow a great ball, cut the end open small
Spin and spin ‘til opening
Now heat and treat the glass in neat.
Spin out the shape, wheel will imitate
Thickness fatter in the middle, impossible to fiddle
Wrinkles and rings formed within
Let the wheel congeal, greater feel.
Cut the quarries at the edge, richest there to pledge
Middle class get the middle
Cut above higher shove
Colour and paint, etch in faint
Place together in leaded came, tight in frame
Create your art, that’s my part
Create your light, air and water tight
From Holland all alone, except for flowers near my home
We work so hard to please the King, jubilant we sing
Were are masters of our ware, nobody can compare
I now stand here alone, master of glass, Galyon Hone.
Imagine a great bubble of glass, spinning at the end of a rod called the punty.
The glass maker then punctures the end, the spin then opens the hole and
the ball slowly becomes a flat disc spinning. As the disc opens it causes
wrinkles or waves to form, getting more pronounced towards the centre. So
middle class had middle glass, upper class had upper glass who thought they
were a cut above the others.
Cannot find a picture of Galyon Hone, so I made one up.
Q.415. Hi Henry. How many were executed in the Tudor era?
I hate having to cobble up an answer from a range of books with such a wide
range of facts and figures given to either wow the reader or blind them with
statistics. Not as many died as traitors as you might think, more died at the
hands of Dukes, landowners punishing thiefs etc. Anyhow here we go.
Not an easy question to answer because executions could have been ordered
by as low as a the Head of the Manor for the stealing of a loaf of bread and all
in the Monarch’s name. No newspapers, recordings of nationwide deaths
unknown, so it is about educated guesses! About 200,000 in all out of an
average population of 5 million.
Here is a rough estimate of the death by tragic circumstance on each reign:
King Henry VII, the first Tudor King, not recorded but estimate of 50,000
King Henry VIII reigned for 38 years and 72,000 died.
King Edward VI along with the Seymour’s and the Dudley’s as protectors,
7,000 died.
Queen Jane Grey, only nine days on her unwilling throne, but still about 500
died trying to stop her reaching the throne.
Queen Mary I, Bloody Mary, trying to reverse the reformation, killed 2500. I
cannot find greater numbers in Mary's reign, so maybe not as Bloody as we
all thought.
Queen Elizabeth I, our favourite but still about 50,000 died. Remeber she
reigned for half a century and thieves still got themslves hung.
Elizabeth I is not commonly considered a tyrant like her Father, but she was
in a delicate position. The Pope in Rome had declared her essentially a
“pretender” to the throne and she was considered illegitimate. To be loyal to
the Pope was to be opposed to her rule. After it became a capital offence to
be a Roman Catholic priest in England, the stage was set to root out the papal
supporters of England. Almost 50 Catholic priests were executed during
Elizabeth’s reign and over 20 people were executed for either helping priests,
having or printing Roman Latin Catholic books or practicing the Roman
Catholicism Mass. There were those executed in relation to the “Irish
troubles” and those for political treason in the Babington plot including its
pretender waiting in the wings, Mary Queen of Scots, and those who
supported Robert Devereaux the 2nd Earl of Essex in the seemingly naïve plot
to overthrow the Queen.
Q.416. Thanks Henry for the estimate of deaths. What was Europe like pre
Tudor for death from unnatural causes?
This is very difficult to answer, because how do we know? Who can prove
otherwise? Who counted?
Here is a graph which averages all the claims.
Must add, because of my own astonishment, the biggest death toll in actual
genocide committed in the history of our world, was 50 million. It was the
wiping out of the resistance to the Peoples Revolution in China, then what
about the 21 million Jews in WW2 and 18 million Native American Indians
and ........and ......... These figures makes a mockery about being Human.
Q.417.
Hi Henry
I understand that cleanliness was not high on the agenda in Tudor times. Who
were the best environmentalists?
I was very clean; I washed three times per day and burnt my clothing every
three days after only wearing each piece for about 12 hours. The people
however were rather dirty. The best environmentalists were the farmers and
the priests. Farmers would recycle waste as a form of natural fertiliser; the
priests in the monasteries had to find a method of removing their waste away
from their stone built buildings. I have compiled a picture showing a 1,000
year old plumbing system for taking away rain water, notice the following
things:
A. There is a catchment pool carved on every step to stop the running water
splashing over where you walk!
B. The channel is turned so the running water comes out of the wall at 90
degrees and so misses the wall.
C. The end of the water system has a long reach stone nozzle to make sure
the water misses their own wall. They obviously didn’t bother about the
village below.
Q.418. Hi Henry
Thomas Culpeper the boy friend of Katherine Howard, what was he really
like?
Yes he was a young handsome man in his early twenties when he formally
met Katherine gain, her cousin. In fact Katherine’s mother was a Culpeper.
Now you must consider his actual personality before you consider him to be
ill treated in the treason that befell his fate and left his head on the spike of
London bridge for four years whilst his body was laid to rest in the cemetery
of St. Sepulchre’s church in Newgate.
He was a cad, a nasty schemer who would use people to get ahead. He saw
the working classes as animals, raping a gamekeeper’s wife and murdering
the hero who tried to stop the rape. He had an illegal affair with the Queen
behind my back and then when caught he tried to blame Katherine, he kept a
private letter from Katherine for future blackmail but it was used as evidence
against him. So he was not Katherine’s boyfriend, he was her tormentor with
his power over vulnerable women.
Q.419. Hi Henry
Did you ever regret having Thomas Cromwell executed?
Ah! You are considering the comment I made in the hear-shot of my court
when I was angry at their feeble attempts to do an efficient job in the
gathering of evidence against the traitor Katherine Howard. They heard me
shout “…on light pretexts, by false accusations, the made me put to death the
most faithful servant I ever had!”
Don’t read too much into this, I was only trying to scare the court into
working harder. Thomas Cromwell was a schemer and he made too many
errors of great magnitude, he deserved his end.
Q.420. Hi Henry
Talking about Thomas Culpeper, I have read somewhere that there was in
fact two Thomas Culpepers, is that true?
There were two brothers, both called Thomas Culpeper. It was a practice in
ambitious families to name two sons after their father, or a courtly name, just
in case one died thus leaving the surviving son to carry it on. Half the children
died before adulthood so you see is was hedging their bets. “Hedging was to
put a protective barrier around a vulnerable prize”, so creating another
Thomas mad it a better gamble to make sure one used the name to further
the family. The notorious Thomas Culpeper was the younger of the two
brothers.
Q.421. Hi Henry
What are “clodhoppers”? My Mother says that they are clumsy people who
wear less than fashionable shoes.
I’ve heard that one too, but it is a derivation of the actual intended meaning.
A “clodhopper” was someone who would rather read, and learn than hunt
and do skilful sports. Nowadays we call them Nerds who are seen as
weaklings and clumsy with the opposite sex by six packers.
Q.422. Hi Henry
Who invented the Rack?
John Holland, Duke of Exeter who was the constable in the Tower of London
in the reign of Henry VI. It was nicknamed “The Duke of Exeter’s Daughter”
sometimes called the Brake. Other countries had similar torture instruments
to the rack; Spain had the escalera, Germany had the folter and France had
the chevalet.
Being racked with pain became a saying for chronic back and joint ailments.
Q.423. Hi Henry
What kind of table manners were children expected to learn?
The children of the nobles were taught not to take too much wine, limit their
choices of food dishes from the normal buffet to one or two selections and
not to pick their noses, belch, cough, scratch or fart whilst at the table.
Q.424. Hi Henry
Most of the monasteries I have seen are quite tall, which is the tallest and
how did they get the supplies up to the entrance?
I don't know which is the tallest, although there are a few on the top of
mountains and I've just been to see quite a tall one this week, Mount St.
Michel on the Brittany/Normandy border. Luckily your question was on my
RV browser so I went back and took these pictures for you. I would have just
walked past without a second glance, so thanks for focussing my attentions.
Q.425. Hi Henry . How did Britain become such good farmers?
Hey! We were really only hunter gatherers before the Romans turned up, OK
we had bread and wheat and we kept our families alive by breeding the pigs
and sheep, but to feed a whole army, well that’s different. The Roman’s
arrived in the first century to a country opposed to their presence, though
divided into tribes and haphazard communities. We held out a strong
resistance and Britannia was the one country which needed the most Roman
control structure, hence more mouths to feed. They were experts at crop
growing and land drainage; they would build huge farms manned by Roman,
Romanesque mercenaries and Briton collaborators. We in the Northern apart
of Britain had to endure an invading army of mainly Spanish tribesmen from
Astures in Spain. So the type of farming varied according to the type of
Roman in charge. The Governor of Britannia was put to the task of feeding
the troops and getting local agreement to work alongside the invaders, he
was very successful. He reduced the flooded plains by planting forests, mainly
by the use of Wychelms and also by diverting rivers. He created farmland for
selected types of crops within a catchment area connected by the new
Roman road system he was building. So this man should be acclaimed to be
the godfather of the British farming science. Oh, have I mentioned his name
yet? Sorry.
The governor at the time was called Julius Agricola. Guess what they called
his farming methods? Agriculture.
A silly fact to be added to this. His boss, the Emperor of Rome at the time was
a well known bully, always overriding other people’s ideas or even stealing
them as his own. His name! Emperor Domitian! Quite a dominating
character!
Q.426. Hi Henry. Where did ancients get the stone from to build their castles?
I hope you mean those who are older than me when you call them ancients!
Only idiots would build a castle at the bottom of a hill, open to attack and
cannot see too far either. Luckily a hill that will carry the weight of a castle is
itself made of rock with possibly a covering of soil and trees. So the
“ancients” built their early castles out of the rock it sat on, quarrying around
the part of the hill they will not use as access to the castle thus making the
sides of the hill much steeper and safer. So castles are made from local stone.
Now when I came along, I took the stone4s from the bottom third of the
monasteries which have the largest stones. I needed to build lots of castles
along the south coast to protect us from invasion and the largest stones were
considered to be cannon ball proof. The smaller stones built the insides of the
castles and some went to loyal subjects. Now the stone circles were a
different thing. They were a religious symbol for the whole community and
the sighting was very important, so stones were man-handled many miles to
the site from quarries of the hardest of stones.
Here is a small castle sat on a rocky hill and I walked around it to find the
medieval quarry from where the castle walls were built. If you look closely at
the castle walls you will see a shale fill between large stone outer walls, also
look at the quarry, it is also large rock covered with the same shale. Great
history isn’t it!
Q.427. Hi Henry. Where does the term “take him down a peg or two” come
from and what does it really mean?
It means to lower the reputation of a man in the eyes of a leader and came
from the passing of a drinking vessel around the inner circle of a manor
lordship. He inside of the tankard had round pegs in a vertical column from
the top to the bottom. As many pegs as drinkers around the lords table. As it
was passed around drinkers would drink the ale down from one peg to
another as an equal sharing. Now by drinking less on purpose, the next one
would drink more than one peg depth thus being seen as greedy and not a
team player. Sneaky eh!
Q.428. Hi Henry. Sire, did you ever acknowledge Henry Carey as your
illegitimate son with Mary Boleyn, publicly?
Yes. Not by a proclamation but by the way I organise his care after his
adopted father William Carey died at the youngish age of 32. I publicly asked
my wife, Anne Boleyn, Mary’s sister and so Henry’s aunt to be his Ward with
the widowed Mary being taken in by Lord Rochford, Annes brother. Henry
Carey was a successful courtier even up to and including his half sister
Elizabeth.
Q.429. Hi Henry. I read a lot about “the sweating sickness” and that it killed
more than the plague. Just what was it?
Simply the flu.
But! You live in a western world of large communities who travel widely. You
have built up body resistances to germs such as the flu germ, it makes you ill
once a year and you feel bad for up to ten days. In Tudor days communities
were much more smaller and the population one tenth of today, so people
seldom travelled too far from home. Local community flu was resisted and
made people ill, though some died because of the lack of medicine and the
need to work to eat. Now along comes a traveller, caught the flu from a
community a long way away and he spreads this new variation which nobody
has any resistance for. The majority of victims die because of the strength,
trying to work through it, no medicine and lack of comfort. The Duke of
Norfolk caught the flu and passed it on to three of my close privy councillors,
they died. “death caused by the neglect of letting them sleep in the early
stages of the sickness.”
Flu from foreign lands were the most virulent and killed off many a sailor, ran
riot in ports and moved around the country with merchants who had been in
the ports buying from the ships. Move on a hundred years and see how many
died in New England with the early pioneers, more to the point how many
native Americans did the pioneers infect!
Here's a poem about the sweating sickness.
Tudor Life
By Henry Tudor
A merchant I from land afar, enter this England with cloth and jar
Many a tale I’ve heard of power and wealth, not so good the tales of health
The sweat from the city swell, the crowded streets, the discarded smell
The flooded paths with wooden ways, the beggars, the dogs, the strays
Never will I stay in such a place, I need to move to open space, and retrace
I cross the Thames on nineteen posts, avenue of filth indifferent hosts
Head up north to find retreat, carry my goods on back and feet
Soon the darkness brightens up, people greet me offer food and cup
They buy my wares of spice and thread, they offer comfort, drink and bed
All are working from child to man, seem to accept the best they can
They eat their food grown by their hand, not burying heads in ignorant sand
I move on again with new intent, stay away from the city, stay content
But now there’s worry up ahead, some lay sick in their death bed
The sweat of flu has caught them out, stranger coming they fearfully shout
No resistance to foreign germs, no conscience in their blinkered terms
Move me on and bar my way, not welcome here, go away, today
So it seems this England fair, full of fear, rely on prayer
Cannot stay in fearsome land, need to feel my sea and silver sand
Goodbye old England wet and cold, fearful of demons, legends old
I’ll stay in my warm and pleasant home, no more up north will I ever roam
Blame me for spreading bugs and fear, but more will follow when clouds are
clear
I’ve made much in money for my wealth, and spread havoc to your nation’s
health.
Q.429. Hi Henry. Just how beautiful was your younger sister Mary Tudor?
She was entrancing, long red to golden hair, tall with a perfect complexion.
She was very intelligent and spoke many languages and played musical
instruments a perfect bride for any King.
A two feet long lock of her hair is preserved in Moyse’s Hall museum, Bury St.
Edmunds it is the same colour of my hair when I was younger.
Q.430. Hi Henry. How many medical staff did you have?
I had six Physicians who were of the church and only ever dealt with
symptoms and diagnosis, under them were Barber surgeons who cut hair,
pulled bad teeth, let blood and performed minor surgery. I had about five of
these surgeons but only their sergeant I allowed to work on me, he was called
Thomas Vicary. Now then there were my apothecaries whom I entrusted to
watch over my body on a day to day basis, tasting my defecations to analyse
my body salt, they would keep my chef’s informed so that my food was a
correct balance, I had five apothecaries and it was a sought after position!
Q.431. Hi Henry. As popular books were dedicated to the Royals, were there
ever any books dedicated to your fifth wife Katherine Howard?
Stop asking hard questions, ones which show me to be a cruel and spiteful
person. Remember she had an affair with Thomas Culpepper and so deserved
to lose her head. So the answer is yes. A popular book about midwifery and
entitled “The Birth of Mankind”. But! I had the dedication removed for the
second edition in 1545 because of her treachery.
Now all you book collectors out there, how much would the first edition of
this book be worth today with the dedication intact? Millions! So if you find
an old book about childbirth dated about 1543/44 then buy it quietly, show
no emotion. When you get out of the shop shout it out aloud, “I’m rich!”.
Trouble is finding one.
Q.432. Hi Henry. Was Anne of Cleves nose so big as to warrant the name
“Flanders Mare?”
This name was not of my making, Bishop Burnet made it up in the 17th
century. Anne did have a long nose however and Holbein painted her away
from his usual angled view to make sure it was not as pronounced.
Subsequent portraits of Anne by Barthel Bruyn show her from a side
perspective and her nose was seen as very long. It was changed to be a
shorter nose before ending up in St.John’s College Oxford which to she gave
money. The portrait has been examined by Xray and shows the original long
nose under the alterations. So Yes she had a very long nose and No I did not
call her a Flanders Mare amongst the ill chosen names I did call her. Staying
with Anne, I actually recall saying that she should never have come to our
shores for marriage. This had nothing at all to do with her looks, the marriage
was an alliance against the French and Francis I of France actually sent a
message for a truce and a new alliance with England. So you see the arranged
marriage was in fact out of date by the time it occurred.
Q.433. Hi Henry. I know this sound like a daft question, but did you once own
Brooklands race-track?
You are correct on both accounts, Yes it is a daft question and yes the land on
which Brooklands was built I did own. It was a deer park within the grounds
of Oatlands in Weybridge, Surrey. I obtained the property by trading a Priory
with the owner, a William Reed, I think the priory was called Tandridge. I
spent a lot of money to rebuild the manor to my taste, it had ten acres and
was one of my favourite greater houses.
Q.434. Hi Henry. I read that you all carvings of Anne Boleyn’s name removed
just before your marriage to Jane Seymour. Are there any surviving?
Mmmm! There would have been three reasons for not changing the initials.
1. Too many so they would be hidden behind great tapestry’s as in the great
Hall of Hampton Court, so they still exist in the very same room as Jane’s.
Some would say the masons could not be bothered to change them all on
such a short schedule, but would you cheat me?
2. Too hard to change as in the entwined carving in the ceiling of Anne
Boleyn’s gateway also at Hampton Court.
3. Against the church. The Rood screen of a church is God’s gateway to
sanctuary and must not be tampered with. So if Anne Boleyn had any emblem
in the actual rood screen then it cannot be changed. Go to King’s College
Chapel in Cambridge, there you will find her Falcon emblem still intact.
Q.435. Hi Henry. Has a Royal Tudor ever resided in Yorkshire?
Ah! A trick question, I like them . You cannot count my Mother who was the
Yorkshire Princess, she was not a Tudor until she married my father. But, yes
there was a Tudor in residence in Yorkshire during my reign and actually one
of my children at that! It was 1525, the worst year for the plague and so I sent
my son, Henry Fitzroy, heir to the throne at the time and Duke of Richmond,
up to Yorkshire to avoid contact with the plague. He was sent to Sheriff
Hutton Castle of which only the ruins remain today on a farm.
Q.436. Hi Henry.
I love reading history books at school, but they always name past people
without explaining where they got their names from.
Names of past people were given by modern people. Past civilisations have
been divided into technology era’s such as Stone age, Bronze age and Iron
age. You could say we are in the Communication age today.
The word Meso means Middle, Neo means New and Lithic means Stone Age,
so
Mesolithic man just means they lived in the middle of the Stone age and
Neolithic man means they lived at the end of the Stone age so newer
compared to us. Remember that numbers in dates BC are younger when the
number is smaller which is opposite to dates AD which get bigger as they get
closer to us.
I always smile when I listen to how Copper was found and first used as a
metal. The copper would have been greenish in the rocks, possible curio’s to
foraging hunters, but definitely less boring that plain rock. They could have
been taken into their caves and places around fires to provide a barrier. Heat
from the fire hot enough to melt copper from its oxide ore would have
relived the rock of the metal. Imagine the first cave dwellers finding the
metal, burning hands as they lift it up, wondering where it came from, see
why I smile. They soon found the green rocks to be full of this new material
and began making cooking pans and weapons, though soft in nature, not very
good but better than a stick. Now go looking for another metal in the rocks
and soon tin was found, mixing the copper with the tin and now Bronze is
made, a new change in man’s development, this metal alloy was much harder
than Copper and made great weapons. Finding iron was another major
change, maybe you could say we are still reliant of iron and steel for our
present day worlds. Iron oxide is brown, Iron pyrites look like gold and maybe
they dug it up for decoration. Smelting the iron out of the ore is now much
more complicated, great amounts of heat, production of fuel for the furnace
a speciality so this spells how humans had moved on greatly. Lead was found
early on in Egyptian and Chinese cultures and used to seal stone together,
make pipes and early utensils, not realising of course the poisonous effects of
Lead. Adding tin again to Lead this time, it was hardened again like Bronze
and made it also easier to mould, this is still done today in the battery trade.
I have to stop now, but as you can see our History is easy if you put our
simpler words into it and not be put off by professional wording. Here’s a
near miss! The Roman’s had a substance they called Alum Flour, made from
the red shale on their hillsides, it was used to soften leather and seal colours
into cloth. We call it today, Aluminium Sulphate and if you reheat it for a
prolonged period it makes Aluminium. Now if the Romans had re-melted
their Alum flour they could have had cast alloyed wheels on their chariots!”
Wow, that would have been a new historical era! Just joking.
Q.437.
Hi Henry. Can you explain why the arranged marriages of your two sisters,
Margaret Tudor and Mary Tudor were in anyway beneficial to England and
the countries concerned?
Complicated politics. It all started when King Ferdinand of Spain wanted
England as an ally against the French and offered his daughter Katherine
(Katalina) of Aragon to my father for by elder Brother Arthur’s bride and
future Queen. However he also promised Scotland’s new King, James IV a
wife too making sure France was virtually surrounded, but failed. It now came
back to England for my Father to offer my elder sister Margaret Tudor as the
new Queen alongside King James IV. But, with the death of my father Henry
VII and of course Arthur, things changed on the ally front and I married
Arthur’s widow against the Roman Catholic rules of marriage. I also held back
the last part of the dowry for Margaret which enraged Scotland. Further into
my marriage with Katherine we became less a loving couple after many
miscarriages and we were heading for the rocks, at the same time Spain was
showing a more aggressive view to England and so I decided to negotiate with
our neighbours, France. Their King was old and sick, King Louis XII agreed to
marry my younger sister Mary Tudor, though she was totally against it. I
agreed with her, that when her husband died she could pick her own second
husband, she agreed. When old Louis died his nephew Francis took over as
King Francis I, I went over the France to forge a strong alliance, much to
annoyance of Spain and Scotland. Margaret was so mad at me over the
dowry, that she encouraged King James to try and invade England whilst I was
in France, but under the control of my wife Katherine and the old Duke of
Norfolk the English army beat the Scots at Flodden. This started many battles
and began long grudges well into our history. My sister Mary stayed in France
for a while and I decided to change my mind about our promise, and so I
began to look for a political ally for Mary to marry. I sent over to France my
best friend Charles Brandon to bring the reluctant Mary back. Under the
influence of King Francis I, the couple were coaxed into a marriage to stop me
forming allies around France’s borders, this annoyed me so much that I fined
the couple 6 million pounds in today’s money. They became the Duke and
Duchess of Suffolk and grandparents of Lady Jane Grey! Just goes to show
how political marriages do not work. Remember also that my Brother in law,
King James IV was killed by my troops and that Margaret and James were the
grandparents of Mary Stuart who as Mary Queen of Scots believed she was
the true catholic Queen of England much to my daughter Elizabeth’s
annoyance.
James IV son James V married King Francis’ daughter, Madeleine to forge an
alliance, then a second marriage to Mary of Guise, their daughter was Mary
Stuart.
At one time it was thought that my son, Edward should marry Mary Stuart to
bring Scotland back into being a friendly ally, but he died. My eldest daughter
Mary set the country on fire politically by marrying into the Spanish Royal
family thus trying to reverse the reformation, this would have eventually
caused a war with Scotland if not a civil war in England itself. No wonder
Elizabeth refused to marry!
Q.438.
Hi Henry. Which passage in the Bible did you use to justify your divorce with
your first wife Katherine?
I was betrothed to the widowed Princess Katherine in June 1503, in
December Pope Julius issued a bull providing a dispensation for the betrothal.
This was necessary because it would have meant i was betrothed to my
brother’s widow, a union prohibited by Leviticus 20:21, which stipulates that
if a man marries his brother’s widow she will be cursed with childlessness.
The loss of five babies in the subsequent marriage gave me the evidence to
pronounce the marriage illegal and so it was annulled.
Whilst on this subject may I throw an academic spanner in the works. The
next marriage to Anne Boleyn as you know ended with her sticky end from
evidence conjured up using adultery and incest with her brother. Now can
you see a similarity? Both wives failed to provide a son, lost babies and have
a connection to brothers, this would have been political propaganda on the
greatest level.
Q.439.
Hi Henry. What was the cause of the death of your father King Henry VII?
Malicious authors state rudely that my father died mysteriously and
suddenly, pointing a literal finger in my direction. I’d have their heads for
such flagrant lies. Here is the evidence of my father’s natural causes. First of
all we were seldom together, that old fear of Tudor rebellion still looming.
Two years before his death he was taken ill with gout and bad lungs, coughing
a lot and short of breath. He was diagnosed to have contracted a downward
flow of the humors causing a disease called defluxion. In his last year he had
three fits and labours of the tissick (lungs). I was seventeen and the people
were looking to me as their next King. Father though made a great mistake
during his last year, he increased taxes to make sure my reign would have
funds. This turned the population against father and they were actually
pleased when he died, this gave credence to rumours of foul deeds and
fuelled the storylines for traitors.
Q.440. Hi Henry
Meat seems to be the most prominent part of a Tudor diet, how did this
compare with Europe?
When the Spanish came over to England in force and lodged with the English,
we made them all sick by the amount of meat we had them eat. They were in
fact used to a small amount of meat and made up their home meals with
vegetables and pastry, their diet was much more healthier than ours. The
smell of cooking meat drenched the streets of London and many a visitor was
astounded at our use of the food. In 2008 the average meat eater has up to
30% of the meal as meat the rest being vegetables or pasta/noodles/rice etc.
But in Tudor days, the ratio was 70% meat the rest being pastry, soup and
maybe artichokes, fruit and nuts. As you know this is a high cholesterol diet
and so we only lived a short lifespan. Probably you could say that the
peasants had a much better diet than the rich as they had more root
vegetables than us, in fact the richer you became the less root vegetables you
ate. Visiting ambassadors were noted as saying that the English eat well
above their station, the poor are not thin and have food without much in the
way of begging.
I know I planted a rash statement into your head.... “When the Spanish came
over to England in force....” This was true, when my daughter Mary became
Queen of England and married her nephew the Prince from Spain. Did I say
nephew? Boy am I antagonistic tonight! The Spanish came over in their
thousands and were employed as servants, courtiers of the Spanish Prince
and of course his personal guards. Clock makers, stone masons, cooks and
carpenters came too to make gifts and commemorations of the new liaison
between Spain and England. They were given accommodation in and around
the palaces and the lower ranks were placed in boarding houses near the
palaces.
Q.441.Hi Henry.
What is a “Leaning place”
Great lines of servants carrying platters of food would wait in a wide corridor
for their entrance to be announced, they would find the platters very heavy
after a while so they leaned on the sides of the walls. The column of platters
would enter the great hall to a fanfare of great effect, so Tudor!
Q.442.Hi Henry.
What’s the difference between a Nook and a Crannie?
Ah! You must be that demon red head, Anne Robinson, a real Tudor that one
trying to live for ever.
Basically used by dry stone wallers to describe a hidden space below or
between which is a Nook, and a hidden space on top or above which is the
Crannie. But as you know I cannot leave it there.
The word Crannie is 25000 years old and is Gaelic in origin, originally
“crannag” and meant a pulpit or perch. Remember the dry stone wallers
called a rood length of wall a perch too. The settlers in 400 BC would build an
artificial island in a lake and use a narrow causeway for safety. They built
their home high off the floor on wooden stilts thus giving them visual warning
of attack, a house on the ground on a lake has little distance on the horizon
to see. The islands were made from huge boulders heaped up from the lake
bed, then logs on top in a criss-cross fashion for a platform, mortared
together with turf and brushwood. Then wooden piles were driven
downwards to hold it all together. Clever stuff eh! This is the origins of
building a moat around a strong castle. Most of the wooden structure would
have long rotted away by now, but the taletale stone and boulders and the
mound itself will still be there. I have seen many a small artificial island in the
end of a lake, so why don’t you keep your eye out for one too, send in the
picture for the website. Here is a compilation of one such island nowadays
called “Crannog”, why do we not put up a sign next to it so the public can find
out how their ancestors lived? Beats me! Oh forgot about the Nook.
A nook is a hollow stone structure for shelter built at the beginning of a job
by the waller. His family would live in it whilst he built the wall around his
customer’s farm. His nook design, much like an oval igloo would have had a
hole in the top for smoke to depart from, it was always the same shape and
size and constituted the amount of stone required to build the final part of
the job, the farm gate posts. Now when wandering in the hills amongst the
old dry stone walled farms, look at the bottom of the farm gate posts for
blackened burnt stones from their nook, real anoraks do this.
Q.443.Hi Henry.
Why was salt so prized when it is so easy to buy today and cheap?
Way back in Roman days when they prized salt so much they paid wages with
it, a “salary collected with a salute from a soldier who was worth his salt!” It
was also a different climate then, sea levels were lower and Mediterranean
tides quite shallow. So natural salt pans, where the sea would evaporate and
leave the salt behind were easy to manage. But wait a minute, how much sea
is needed? First of all 50,000 cubic metres of sea spread thinly over an area of
100,000 square miles of evaporation area makes 1,000 tons of salt per year.
This is poor when you think that the top layer of brine is only about 0.25
inches thick. During the Roman Empire period the climate changed and the
sea level rose wiping out their salt deposits, so off they went looking for
ground salt to mine, following the sandstone trail as it led to the salt deposits.
250 million years ago salt was laid down in Britain when we were a shallow
inland sea near the equator, the salt lay under the earth, Cheshire, until
about 2,000 years ago when our ancestors found brine lakes from sunken
glazier boulders and started to evaporate their own salt. And the story
begins.
The prize of salt was that it was a much needed commodity, because it kept
food fresh, made it taste better, kept the human body more healthy. By
having salt on your table you were considered rich and to be place to sit near
the salt was a great honour. Panning for salt with lead pans made the process
slow as the fire could melt the pans which had to had a lot of brine ion them
to cool the lead down. Times were reduced when Steel pans were used
instead, they could work at a much higher temperature and thus make more
salt. This led to a law preventing too much salt being made to keep its value
high, it also led to the salt slightly changing colour with the rust from the steel
pans, though better than the lead oxide from previous pans. In the country
people would use protein in the form of blood, egg white and gone off ale to
pour into a brine lake. This would cause the salt to foam up and the solids to
be extracted easily by re-boiling the mixture down to the solids. However this
form of salt was with poor flavour and colour. The foamed salt mixture was
put in hazel woven bags called barrows until they had been washed, people
carried the barrows back to their villages until they thought of putting a
wheel on the front, a wheelbarrow!
Q.444.Hi Henry.
How could paper be made out of wood in your day without huge great rolling
mills?
Quite right, we did not have your technology. We would cut the wood down
to small pieces and then soak it is water until it was a pulp. Pulp naturally
floats on water so now we float a thin layer on still water in a tub with a sieve
underneath. By slowly raising the sieve the levelled pulp on the top was taken
off and placed in a warm oven to dry. Now we have a layer of soft dry wood
pulp but which is quite easy to break, so we press it and leave it for a while,
still on the sieve. After a while we now have a good layer of fairly strong
paper which is, sandy coloured and quite thick. Skilled workers now hammer
the paper to the thickness required, this makes the paper more dense and
strong and more expensive. Paper/parchment was considered expensive and
rolled up and tied with ribbon and sealed with wax. A whole hand written
Bible with such hand made pages would have cost huge amounts of money
today. Now you can buy 500 sheets of perfectly white, thin paper for a few
pounds, but at one time one ream of your computer paper would have made
you super rich. You can still buy “hammered” paper but it is now made on
dimpled rollers for effect.
Q.445. Hi Henry.
Did you have tarmac?
No, tarmac is a name derived from the Scottish family of MacAdam who
decided to pour tar over cobbled roads to smooth them out. We did however
have tar which was found naturally from certain places in England, warmer
climes had more tar pits but the strangest one of all to this day was the dead
sea which pukes out tar from under the sea bed in sizes bigger than cars.
Why? Maybe the weight of all that water on a natural tar pit. We used tar to
seal containers and cloth it was too hard to get to use it for roads. If only we
had a chemical industry then, tar contains so many substances such as the
ingredients for plastic and even soap.
Q.446. Hi Henry.
Did Tudor men ever wear the colour pink?
Pink was a mixture of red and white, both expensive colours or it was washed
down before fixing with alum flour again still an expensive colour. Pink would
not be worn on body clothes as it would make the wearer look as if the red
was washing out and reduce his standing in the noble community however to
wear a cap on his head in pink meant he was a “lover” on the look out! There
is a miniature portrait of Sir Thomas Seymour by Holbein who was wearing a
lover’s pink cap. It was reputedly painted for his betrothed Catherine Parr in
1543. It is a modern thing that pink is only for girls.
Q.447. Hi Henry.
Sometimes I read your last wife’s name to be spelt Katherine, whilst mostly it
is Catherine. What was the correct spelling?
Neither. Her name changed early on in her life from Katheryn to become her
own choice of Kateryn Parr with her initial always KP. Here is a rare sample of
her signature. Catherine became a convenient spelling for all to use. See the
date 1534 which may not be the date for the signature but not far in the past.
Q.448. Hi Henry
I know you were nicknamed “The Great Harry”, but I read somewhere the
nickname “Henry, the magnificent”, was that a truism or just made up by
writers?
Both are wrong, I never did like my name to be used in such a close related
manner, so only my greatest of friends would dare to use the name Harry,
maybe Charles Brandon or even Will Somers in one of his quips. The Great
Harry was the name for the masses of my largest battle ship The Grace Adieu.
There was indeed a man nicknamed “Henry, the Magnificent” but he was a
mere Earl of Northumberland and he was called Henry Algernon, but most
important of all, this was before I was ever born in 1489. He got his nickname
for the lavish things he collected and wore but he would never have had such
a nickname nor copied me if he was in my reign. He wouldn’t dare.
Q.449. Hi Henry
Did you have regular tennis opponents and did they always let you win
because you were the King?
I could take offence at the suggestion that my rank made me a great
sportsman, but I shall refrain this time. Yes I had regular opponents who were
not scared of my rank and whom played to win, usually money. Of course you
all know about Charles Brandon but remember he was a lot older than I and
could not play as hard as I wished. The brothers Richard and George Cotton
were my regular opponents and Charles played alongside me as partner. They
won regularly as we did and money changed hands. They went on to serve
my son Edward in his court. Now it all comes back as clear as day, it was then
the month of June 1531, they won by three sets at the courts in Greenwich, a
princely sum of £7 2s changed hands which is about £2130 today. Great
match, great match. They used the fact for many a year, “The Cotton’s who
beat the King”. I regularly had wagers and lost what I call small change which
as about £30,000 of your money per year, about 100 Tudor pounds.
Q.450. Hi Henry
Is there such a word or nickname as “janeolotry”? If so what does it mean?
A modern day made up word by clever authors to describe the jealousy and
doctrine of putting the deceased Queen Jane Seymour on a pedestal whilst
present Queens were still alive. I had Holbein paint the Tudor succession. My
father King Henry VII, my mother Queen Elizabeth, my dear departed wife
Jane Seymour and Edward my son, and me of course. Jane cold never have
posed for the picture as Edwards was only 12 days old when she died, but the
grouping was politically formed as the Tudor succession. Of course my wives,
especially Catherine Parr did not like to be left out, but then she did not give
me a son did she! Modern writers call this pedestal fixation Janeolotry and so
good luck to them.
Q.451. Hi Henry
I am a player of chess. Have the Royals ever altered the rules of chess to suit
their own status?
This sounds like a devious chess player who already knows the answer but
wants to see my next move.
In 1490’s Spain, Queen Isabella, my mother in law, had so much power she
actually out ranked her husband Ferdinand. She had taken the land back from
the Moors before her marriage and was acknowledged as being the driving
force that gave Spain back to its people. The game of chess was altered in her
reign as an emblem of her power, the Queen on the board was given
unparalleled powers which also speeded up the game. This new chess game
reached England by 1530. The cousin of Catherine Parr’s parents, Cuthbert
Tunstall, wrote a book in 1522 about mathematics, arithmetic and the logical
thought of chess. Catherine only about 10 at that time was taught its
contents and she listened to her cousin about his love of collecting rare
coinage. Catherine also became a keen coin collector and expert chess player
and my private partner. So yes is the answer, Queen Isabella influenced the
chess Queen to have much greater powers in the renewed game. Your move.
Q.452. Hi Henry
Was your first wife, Catherine of Aragon a dutiful, loving wife?
Of course we were very much in love during the first ten years of our
marriage, it was the fear of lost babies that caused major differences in our
relationship later on. There is a lovely letter from Catherine, which is now in
the Royal archives, which depicts a worried wife enquiring about the well
being of her darling husband. It was 1513 and I was in France alongside the
Emperor of Rome to fight the French. My wife Catherine was left in England
as Regent General. She wrote to me showing her concern about my health
and whether I had enough clean underwear! The good old days.
Q.453. Hi Henry
Was it true that there was a missing legitimate Royal baby?
After my time my friend.
My widow Queen Catherine Parr married her previous suitor Thomas
Seymour, an ambitious scoundrel whom I quite liked, and the brother of my
dearly departed Jane. They conceived a child but as happens a lot in Tudor
days, poor Catherine died in the giving of life to their daughter, Mary
Seymour. Then the scoundrel Thomas Seymour tried to woo my own
daughters for a prominent position. His own brother and Edwards protector
likened it to a traitorous act but let his off with a caution. Thomas however
then tried to kidnap my son and heir, King Edward VI, still an infant, this
finally took Thomas to the block on Tower Hill, though it lost Edward Seymour
his reputation as he killed his own brother with the law. The baby Mary
Seymour then was in fact born of the dowager Queen of England and was
fostered out to the Suffolks where I believe their daughter Lady Jane Grey
watched over her. Alas the baby disappeared from public view and her
pension was stopped when she was merely two years old, another victim of
the Tudor curse. I believe she is buried with the Suffolks in the parish Church
at Edenham. Her grave has never been found, and should remain that way to
give her peace from a cruel world.
Q.454. Hi Henry
What were the smells like in your palaces?
Damp stone in Winter, the kitchens below my bedchamber cooking the days
food, unwashed servants, smoke from the fires and the rush lighting, the
scalding of chickens to remove their plumage, dogs lazing about, the stables
aroma, the River, ale and sickness. All these are the smells of a Tudor palace.
This is without the latrines and the gong towers. Yuk!
Q.455.Hi Henry
I am a retired Police officer with the met’ and heard a few times that you
used the old Scotland Yard as your meeting place when you were courting
Anne Boleyn whilst still married to Katherine of Aragon. Is that true or a force
rumour?
True, nearly!
Scotland Yard got its name for being the place Kings of Scotland resided when
visiting England, it was attached to York Place the residence of the Roman
Catholic leadership. For instance before the reformation of the church, my
sister Queen Margaret stayed there during 1516 even though she had been
driven out of Scotland by her cousin the little John Stewart, Duke of Albany. I
gave her the status still of Queen of Scotland. Now move on to 1529, much
had happened as my wife and I were having marital problems, my love now
being Anne Boleyn, of whom I courted for six years. I had taken York Place
from Cardinal Wolsey’s possession as he had been stripped of his position as
Lord Chancellor and fled up to York. I liked York place as it was on the Thames
for easy access, smallish and had no place for my wife to stay in, she refusing
to stay in York Place due to the lack of large enough chambers. Anne Boleyn
along with her mother and family would stay there waiting my presence,
again accessing by River for secrecy. So yes Scotland Yard as part of York
Place was a clandestine meeting place for myself and Anne Boleyn, though I
suspect your grapevine had exaggerated the details for more colour.
Q.456. Hi Henry
Why did Mary Tudor, your sister, hate Anne Boleyn so much?
There was much bad feeling between these two warring women. I started in
France, when Mary the dowager Queen had the freedom of the French court.
The Boleyn sisters, Anne and Mary were in the court as daughters of my
ambassador to Paris. Mary a party person was the belle of the King’s court
where Mary Tudor also frolicked, Anne was stationed with the French Queen
Claude and they became great friends with reading, sewing and music. Mary
Tudor did not like Anne because she believed she knew and would use stories
about her behaviour against her one day, which was probably true. Upon my
courtship of Anne Boleyn their antagonism was so strong and negative that
Mary Tudor now married to Charles Brandon would not go in court if Anne
was there. Later on as my wife, Anne banned the Suffolk’s from court,
actually only Charles, because of his betrayal of his own son by having an
affair with his daughter-in-law. I persuaded her to forgive Charles and so let
him into court again, but Mary never came if Anne was there, too many
skeletons in her cupboard. It of course became Anne’s undoing, as my sister
Mary Brandon saw her own son becoming less prevalent to sit on the throne
if I did not produce a son and heir. Mary Brandon the Duchess of Suffolk was
the instigator of much bad feeling against Anne Boleyn without which I
believe she would have survived as a divorced Queen and not an executed
traitor. The Brandon’s were always over ambitious and unscrupulous with a
keen eye on the throne, their granddaughter Jane Grey was a fine example of
Suffolk scheming.
Q.457. Hi Henry
Which of your wives was your favourite?
I must have answered this before, it is the most asked question in my travels
around England so I will have to produce the most accurate all encompassing
answer to cover all possibilities. Anyhow, who says it was one of my wives?
I liked all my wives at one time or another.
For the first 6 years of my marriage to Katherine Of Aragon we were very
close and affectionate. I wanted to marry her, although arranged by my
Father and her Father when Arthur died, I could have said no as I was already
King by the time we married. The loss of our children was the main reason we
fell out of love.
Anne Boleyn was my target of affection, she really did not want to be my
wife. She was very alluring to men, not exactly model-type beautiful, but
attention grabbing to the male species. Eventually after 6 years of coaxing
she agree to marry me. But the hunt was won and she became mine, not as
exciting now. She also took a more political role as my Queen, setting herself
up as the second power in the country, senior councillors would have to go
through her before me, this created many enemies against her. Eventually
she wanted money from the monastery share but \i wanted it to build castles
along the south coast for protection against Papal invasion. We fell out of
love and she became a thorn in my side.
Jane Seymour was a simple woman, not very clever and could not hold a
debate with me at my political level. She was the puppet of her family who
saw her as a way to raise the rank of the Seymour’s, of course it worked. Jane
gave me what I had been searching for, a son and heir to keep the Tudors
name on the throne. Of course I loved her, but don’t think for one moment
that if a son was not forthcoming she would have been divorced from me, if
she had survived past the 12 days from the birth of our son, she would have
been safe. Mother of the next King is the safest position, yet I would probably
have found a girlfriend.
Anna von Kleve was Germanic in style and not very attractive, but she was
good humoured and after our divorce we became good friends, she was even
made my “sister” in the divorce deal and she received lots of money and
property to keep her in England. Well we didn’t want her to return to
Germany spreading gossip did we?
Katherine Howard was the key element in a plot by Thomas Howard, the
Duke of Norfolk and his cronies, to get a Howard onto the throne. A Catholic
and a Plantagenent Queen was the goal and it nearly succeeded except he
picked the wrong Howard to dangle in front of me. Katherine was only young
but from the Dukes impoverished brother. She had been sent to her Aunt to
be schooled and brought up for the Royal court. Before we ever met she had
a boyfriend. This was never mentioned in the plot. I married this young girl
because she was pretty and full of energy, she made me feel young at heart
again after the past debacle of unlucky marriages. However, during our
Honeymoon Progress up the East of England to show her to the Yorkists,
Katherine fell into the arms of Thomas Culpeper and they had an affair.
Katherine had taken many of her past acquaintances as lady’s in Waiting,
many by blackmail because they knew her sordid past, she however missed
one out and this lady told Thomas Cranmer, my chancellor, all about her past.
Thomas Cranmer wrote a letter detailing the girls alleged misconduct before
we had married, he left it on my pew in church. It broke my heart. In the end
Katherine, Thomas Culpeper and the woman whom organised the meetings,
Lady Rochford were all executed as traitors. After this I never trusted close
councillors and women.
The last of my wives was Catherine Parr, she was really my nurse and
companion and yet she made great efforts to bring my children together
again, she had her own court and was very faithful, she was clever and we
could discuss politics together. Problems of power hungry councillors became
nearly her undoing, she escaped arrest by the skin of her teeth and got my
blessing just before the councillor turned up with her arrest warrant, she beat
them with better cunning.
So, the wife who was my favourite is not an easy question to answer.
Politically it would be Jane Seymour as she gave us all a boy for the throne.
Exciting would be Anne Boleyn, equal in status would be Katherine of Aragon,
a great companion would be Anna von Kleve, uplifting would be Katherine
Howard and intellectual would be Catherine Parr.
The one partner missing here could have come from my mistresses, they
were never Queens and they would never be acknowledged unless something
drastic happened.
Mary Boleyn, too many past boyfriends, so not her. Bessie Blount, now
there’s a woman of substance and she gave me a son whom I acknowledged,
Henry Fitzroy. If Edward had not been born, Fitzroy was destined to be the
next King, this would have elevated his mother into near Queen status.
However her died early in his life and I have always suspected foul play in the
ranks of the Howards.
My final word then. Officially my favourite wife was Jane Seymour, that is
why she is buried with me and the baby boy Anne Boleyn and I lost. Now that
seems strange!
Q.458. Hi Henry
I have a few questions about village life in your time.
In a Tudor village, which skill made the richest villager?
A very good question. Obviously the Smithy was a skill much needed for
metalwork and he sold his goods to the manors and even the local gentry. But
he was not always the richest of the skilled villagers. The Miller, now he had a
great building, his mill with very expensive stones and gearing mechanism, he
would also be situated on the river or the top of the hill, waterwheel or wind!
His produce was much needed for the basic food of the village, his flour
would be the staple diet. But there was resentment amongst the villagers, his
wealth and his powers of “starve or eat” were often used against the village
and backed up my the local manor and the church as he also supplied them
too. People would secretly grind their own flour on small stones called Quern
Stones and these were deemed illegal as the miller would complain to the
gentry. The villagers would often hate the miller.
Q.459. Hi Henry
How did they make ale to be acceptable to a village?
Hey! Is this a homework?
Well many made ale, the locals would try to produce their own drink to save
money or even to sell it, they would be called “brewsters” and the good ones
kept the name as their own identification. The standardisation of ale and
beer was caused by so many different qualities and makers that drinkers
were unsure of what they were drinking. The seasons of the harvest would
make alcohol differ greatly, freshly cut crops would make a mild, low strength
drink whilst a stored, fermented crop in which the sugars have enriched
would make a strong drink. Therefore the standard for a community was a
paid ale tester who would go around for the local manor and taste the ale
and beer and pass it or reject it. He would also determine its strength just by
his own opinion. When Brewster had a new batch for testing they would stick
a brush upside down in the ground outside their door, this informed the
tester to come and do his job. Having ale or beer without being certified by
the tester was called “over the brush” which was also living with a woman
when not married to her.
Q.460. Hi Henry
I understand the old marriage law of “…what’s mine is mine and what’s yours
is mine too” for the men, but when did women actually get the right to own
property and keep it after getting married?
1882 when parliament passed the law called “The married woman’s property
act”.
Q.461. Hi Henry
How quick did the great plague of the 14th century spread?
No wonder it scared everybody in its path as it travelled at about 1Km per
day! It killed nearly half the population and 60% of priests who lived in a
walled community so it spread easier. This was the turning point in England,
with a shortage of labour in the fields the workers who were also serfs’, they
revolted against their shackles and demanded wages not chains. So the end
of serfdom in 1381 was thanks to the plague, it also created bad priests who
were recruited in an emergency period from the nobles second and third sons
who would not inherit from their father. This brought in greedy men who
used the church for their own gain and resentment set in against the faith.
These two events were the seeds to the Protestant church.
Q.462. Hi Henry Tudor Drama Company What was the most common first
name in a village?
Probably Jack, this became “Jack of all trades” as a peasant would need to
have lots of average skills to keep his family alive, from farming to house
making.
Q.463. Hi Henry Tudor Drama Company What was the most valuable farm
animal?
The cow. Because it increases in value as it grows older. It provides calves,
milk and eventually meat, it can also pull the plough. The picture of a horse in
the fields is not a true one, it was considered an animal which reduced in
value and for the rich. Driving the horses and making them turn corners was
with the straps called the Goads, therefore they were goaded around the
corner, becoming the word Guide.
Q.464. Hi Henry
How did the villagers deal with villains?
Wrong name! All villagers were called villains which meant Village people. We
use the name wrongly today. When someone broke a law, the manor would
judge them, usually the village stocks or pillory for them to be targeted with
over ripe food and slops. Blaggard is also a name wrongly used today, it
actually means Black guard, a boy who watched over the manor fire to stop it
burning the house down.
Q.465. Hi Henry
I read that the town crier would broadcast the news to the people, where did
the word broadcast come from?
When sowing seeds by hand the worker would carry a bag on their belly with
two pockets, taking the seeds and throwing them one side then the other,
this was a wide sowing area called the broadcast. Nowadays it means to send
out a message to a wide audience.
Q.466. Hi Henry
Love the website.
Why are dances and songs so different the further you travel from London?
Chinese whispers! No videos, TV’s nor written descriptions, so players would
watch and listen in the Courts and then travel on foot to the provinces to
show the people the new steps and songs. They only travelled about 15 miles
per day and would stop for a couple of days at each venue so it could take 12
weeks to get to the outer counties. Changing the words and steps to suit the
dialect and size of venue building would create the local versions. It’s really
that simple.
Q.467. Hi Henry.
Why was Tin an important metal, it seems very soft to me and useless for
building things with.
Yes it is a very soft metal but it mixes well with many other metals and
changes their properties. With copper it makes Bronze which is twice as
strong. With lead it allows it to flow much better when moulding and it
makes it harder. As a small additive to iron it helped it to flow in a mould and
cut better which the structure being tougher. So Tin (Sn) was an important
additive and covering for iron to stop it rusting. Romans used it mixed with
lead to pout in between large stone blocks to seal and make watertight,
without it the lead would set too early. Car batteries have plates made of
lead and tin in 2008! Tin is very easy to mine, just smash up the rocks
containing t6he metal, then wash the dust in water and pan the heavy metal
out by swirling the mixture.
Q.468. Hi Henry
Did England flood easily in your time?
Yes. The lowlands were always flooding, we had removed many trees to build
ships and houses and the old Romano forests used to drink up the watertable. This caused top soil to be eroded and rivers to silt up which in turn
flooded back. We didn’t know about land management then, so why do you
still flood in 2008? Have you not learnt from history? To stop your flooding
you need more forests and don’t build houses in flood plains. Simple!
Q.469. Hi Henry
Where should I look to find a signature of a carpenter in a big wooden house?
Simple really, where they would finish their work. Usually at the back of the
room and at the bottom of the wall on the last piece of carving. Look for
letters embossed outwards not cut into the surface, this was to prove their
skills.
Q.470. Hi Henry,
I am doing a project on Henry VIII and it would be interesting in doing Henry
going to the toilet .
I would just like to ask:
How did Henry VIII go to the toilet?
How many toilets are there in Hampton Court Palace?
What were most of the toilets made of?
Where would the waste go afterwards?
How big were the toilets?
Everybody goes to the toilet, the poor use the ground and bury their waste
which is by far the most hygienic as the microbes destroy harmful bacteria
quickly and the waste becomes Nitrogen rich soil. As people get richer they
tend to improve their own comfort rather than think of the environment,
middle class use a seat which looks like a commode but has soil or sand in it
rather than water, they call it a lambing chair or a thunderbox. The soldiers
have a row of toilets on the castle walls, they have no privacy and would sit
on the holes in a row, their waste fell done the walls of the castle towards the
moat or township. Inside some towers of castles were toilets, these towers
were called Gong towers and would let the waste fall directly into the moat.
I have private chambers for my toilet, called the guardrobe and I was looked
after by three servants called Courtiers of the stool. The stool was in fact a
low wooden stool covered in velvet and it had a hole in the middle with a
chamber pot underneath. The three men would wipe the royal bottom, wash
the royal body and check the waste for excess salt to inform the chef to
reduce the use of the salt if necessary. You work it our how they checked for
salt!
My daughter Elizabeth had a flushing toilet installed, though it only washed
the waste away from the palace and into the moat or river Thames.
The use of the word Loo came from the lee side of a ship where the wind
would not blow the waste back into your face when you emptied a chamber
pot over the side.
Q.471.
From my email intray.
Hi Henry.
What have been the actual durations of all our monarch on the throne of
England.
I always like to throw questions back, especially if they seem easy but are
actually quite difficult.
Here’s a very difficult question to you all out there:
“Who was the very first ruler of all the British Isles?”
Not a King or a Queen, the first man in charge was the governor in charge of
the invading Romans. He was well known as a leader who could feed his
troops and use the land for supplying food. His very name gave us a farming
word!
Julius Agricola, hence Agriculture.
There have been 42 monarchs from King William I, the Conqueror to our
present Queen Elizabeth II of the House of Windsor.
Here are the 42 and their duration of reign.
Normans
1. King William I 21 years
2. King Willian II 13 years
3. King Henry I 35 years
4. King Stephen I 19 years
5. Empress Matilda 13 years
Plantagenets
6. King Henry II 35 years
7. King Richard I 10 years
8. King John I 17 years
9. King Henry III 56 years The longest reign
10. King Edward I 20
11. King Edward II/III 50
12. King Richard II 22
13. King Henry IV 14
14. King Henry V 9
15. King Henry 6 40
York
16. King Edward IV 21
17. King Edward V 2 months
18. King Richard III 2
Tudors
19. King Henry VII 24 years
20. King Henry VIII 38 years Me!
21. King Edward VI 6 years
22. Queen Jane Grey 9 days
23. Queen Mary I 5 years
24. Queen Elizabeth I 45 years
Stuarts
25. King James I 22 years
26. King Charles I 24 years
27. Republic 11 years
28. King Charles II 25 years
29. King James II 3
30. William and Mary 14 + 6
31. Queen Anne 12
Hanovarians
32. King George I 13 years
33. King George II 33 years
34. King George III 50 years
35. King George IV 10 years
36. King William IV 7 years
37. Queen Victoria 70 years
38. King Edward VII 9 years
Windsors
39. King George V 26 years
40. King Edward VIII 5 months
41. King George VI 16 years
42. Queen Elizabeth II 1952 to present
Q.472 Hi Henry
What was your most famous publication?
Just remember who controlled the press, and who could read. I published a
treatise about the Papal control of the Church and the blasphemy of the
teachings of Martin Luther. Basically to keep in with the Roman Catholic
Church as they were the ones still in power throughout Europe whilst
Lutherans were seen as upstarts, two faced you may call me, but politics does
have more than one view.
The most famous of my publications was in 1521 when I published my
treatise. "Assertio Septem Sacramentorum" in Latin.
It translates into "The Defence of the Seven Sacraments" and was in defence
of the centralisation of the Roman Catholic faith in Rome, against the heretic
words of Martin Luther.
To clarify my position regarding the Catholic faith, I was always a Catholic,
never a Protestant. The reformation was to remove the Roman control from
the Catholic Church in England to create the new English Catholic Church.
Go to this webpage for all the works published with their dates
www.luminarium.org/renlit/tudorbib.htm
Q.473. Just what were your inner most personal views about the people of
England?
Who would speak out against the very people who keep me on the throne? It
is a very difficult position for me to be the first inherited Tudor King of
England after many years of cruel Plantagenet rule and a country split by the
Wars of the Roses. We Tudors were seen by many as upstarts and also as a
possible replacement of the harsh rule by past monarchy. I craved the cheer
of the crowds and would notice changes in tone from spontaneous cheer to
forced cheer. My first wife was well thought of by the people and I had to
fight off rebellious crowd jeers when I annulled our marriage, they also hated
Anne Boleyn and this lowered my standing with the people. So you see the
peoples acceptance of my rule was the most important thing in my life, trying
to keep the Tudors in power, building foundations of respect for future
generations.
We are at the top of a triangle, the huge base are the people who keep us up
there.
Q.474. Were you a Fashion Icon?
Fashion Icon
By Henry Tudor
Spend your wealth, rob your kin
Dress for court, powder skin.
Gold and silk, braid and fur
Any less would seem a slur.
Counter claims of Tudor hate
Enter dressed with Royal gate.
The King will guide the court ahead
Different styles from morn’ to bed.
No Royal Red and blue the purple hue
Stay within your accepted few.
Spend to stay in Royal way
But beware to load you all must pay.
Your costs are great, a debt create
So get your workers to donate.
Tax them more to add the score
Then Royal eyes don’t see the bore.
This way you’ll stay ‘till next day
And may become in higher pay.
Then all will turn no Royal spurn
Inner court you may return.
Hopefully before your money’s gone
You get up close to number one,
The Royal throne of Fashion Icon.
Q.475. Hi Henry
It has taken me a long time to read all these questions just to see if the one I
send has not been done before!
I understand from you that The Mary Rose ship has a sister ship called “Peter
Pomegranate”. If is was a sister ship why did it have a male name?
No need to wade through the pages, just send in questions, my memory is
vast, I can tell straight away if it had been asked before.
The two ship’s hulls were laid when I as married fairly happily to Katherine of
Aragon. The Mary Rose I named after my sister Mary Tudor and our emblem
of Tudor, the rose. The other ship was built three quarters the size of the
Mary Rose as it was for a woman, my wife. She named it after her brother
Peter, and her family emblem the Pomegranate. Simple really.
I wrote a poem some time ago about the ship.
Peter Pomegranate
By Henry Tudor
Please don’t laugh at such a name
It’s his sister ship who had the fame.
Mary Rose so tall and proud
Emblem and Princess shouting loud.
But Spanish wife wanted her own same craft
So it was built with three-quarter draft.
Both just alike, until berthed beside
Both the ships identical, even inside.
Her brother and clan gave it a name
We Royal’s launched two boats the same.
Away you go my Mary Rose
Followed by Peter, on tip-toes.
Peter Pomegranate he stayed unknown
For this Queen’s crown was soon gone.
I’d found another wife’s hair lock
So Peter was towed to his dry dock.
Gone forever out of my sight
I decide what is wrong or right.
Banished just like his mistress past
Taken apart, hull to mast.
Used again to build for war
Peter Pomegranate evens the score.
Q.476. Hi Henry. I live near Preston and went to see one of your shows at
Samlesbury Hall. You explained Histrory to me better than anyone has ever
done, and now I must find the Belisama in Walton le Dale just to feel the
Romanic Presence. Can you give me directions to the old fort?
The fort is not there now, but the place is and there is a great feeling of the
old structure.
The path of the Roman explorers was planned before the main body of
invaders ever reached the Northwest of what is now called England. They had
followed a rough map and the geological outcrops of sandstone to build their
road from Londinium to the North where the great sand resource lay waiting
to be exploited. The expectation of finding salt too in Cheshire was also
documented by the previous scouting party. Now reaching the flat lands of
the forests of Red Ash trees they built a large settlement for industrial
manufacturing of glass and metals. They cut down the forest and built a fort
called Coccium, now Wigan, in a place now called Ashton in Makerfield. Not
long then from this fort they found a glorious site for another industrial place
of fortune, under the hill on Priest town, Preston, on the junction of two fast
flowing rivers, the Darwen and the Ribble. The builders only needed two walls
as the rivers were their protection on the other two sides, it now is called
Wall town in the dale, Walton le dale. This fort would become a major
industrial concern, being fed by gold and silver from the Welsh mountains
and copper, lead and tin from Wales, Cumbrian hills and the Pennines right
on their doorstep.
It was bound to get a special name and the use of a Goddess was just what
was needed to bring the locals into the fold. They brought the goddess of fire
and water, Belisama and even had a marriage ceremony to marry the
goddess to the local god. Of course this gave rise to the next invaders using
part of the name when they tagged the valley as Samlesbury, Sam-in-theBorough.
If you want to go and walk into the fort, not there sorry it has been long gone,
but definitely feels like it is still there. Just follow this guide.
Park in the car park in front of the bowling alley in Walton le Dale near
Preston, Don’t bother riding into the park and ride behind it as this is a
charged car park whilst the other one is free. Now walk around the right hand
side of the alley and find a small lane at the rear, turn left and walk towards a
small bridge which spans the River Darwen. At the bridge turn right and do
not cross it. A small path and turnstile will take you onto the mound around
the car park, you will see at first hand what the Romans saw, two great rivers
joining at the corner. The fort is now the park and ride car park. Welcome to
Belisama.
Q.477. Hi Henry, admirer from Gloucester
Love the olde word meanings of some of our sayings, do you have any
connected to hawking?
Not really, except for the way Owl’s talk to each other! Everyone knows that
an Owl’s call is Toowit Toowoo. BUT! This is wrong, because the male is
calling for a female with Toowit and the female reply’s Toowoo. Or in our
language the male is calling “hey wanna go out tonight missy?” and she
replies “Sure do handsome!”
Now for the sayings. If you want to ask a girl out you Woo her!
If she does not want to go out with you she “doesn’t give a hoot”
And this make you look like a “Twit”.
Hehehehe.
I will of course research other birds now that you have sparked another line
of enquiry for me. Larking about, A cuckoo in the nest. Arhgg! this will be
never ending!
Q.478. Bird sayings should be fun and I look forward to your review though
another question came to my head, which came first though when larking
about?
Chicken or the egg?
Good thinking my friend. To lark about is to play around; to frolic.
Watch larks near their nesting holes in the sand walls of river banks, they
seem to be playing in the air, yet they are protecting their eggs from
predators. I saw a flock of larks attack a hawk one day, the hawk was much
bigger but the speed of the larks and the place on its body they attacked
made it fly away injured. The name originated as Middle English 'laik', to play,
and the Old English 'lac', a contest. The scurrying of the Lac beetle is another
connotation.
Q.479. Hey Henry! Do you have any more sayings and their origins?
Of course I do, but I have to be in the mood. As I am in the mood here are a
few:
Hunting boar can be very dangerous, we would send in beaters to scared
them out of the bushes so we could chase them on horseback in our hunt.
Trouble is many beaters were injured because the ferocious animals would
fight back. So a person who avoids direct action and beats about the bush.
We only had calendars from the monasteries, as they were made by hand and
the new printing presses were still in their infancy, especially coloured and
large sizes. The monks would mark all special days in Ochre ink which would
show up from a distance due to its red colour. These became known as Red
Letter days.
Illiterate people would sign their name with a cross, if they put another cross
over the top of the original it would void the first one, this became known as
a double cross, meaning changing one’s allegiance.
The flat back of an old ship would be prone to damage from ferocious seas
and storms. Only curved rear ends could divert the force of a large wave. The
rear of the ship was called the Poop, Poopdeck. When the old ship was tired
and damaged in the rear it was called to be pooped, just like the feeling when
you get home after a hard day at work, you are pooped-out.
Holy Communion had been derived from Latin Hocus, which means “here is
the body”. Travelling players would juggle and shout out “Here is the object,
pay close attention to it” . To pay close attention is to focus and they derived
pocus. So Hocus pocus means a magical fast movement and it will beat your
eyes.
Prisoners could be tied around a barrel for a whipping. Got you over a barrel
means you cannot escape.
Anything on the left was considered in a bad way, evil or sinister. Single beds
were always pushed up to their left sides against the walls so the sleeper
would always get up on the right side. Getting up on the wrong side meant
you started your day in a bad way.
Travelling players would turnh up in special carts tocarry their stages and
props, these carts were called pageants, the name of a show which used
scenery outdoors became the pageant.
Jean Nicot obtained some seeds from some sailors from the America’s. He
planted them in France and they grew into tobacco. The oily sap became
known as Nicotine.
Dogs were welcomed into large houses and palaces, they kept the vermin
down. Hence to smell a rat.
Tying a horse with grass within its reach was the way of feeding them and not
letting them run free. When they had eaten all the grass they had exhausted
their larder. To be at the end of your rope.
The Rack used for torture, gave us Racked with pain, to rack ones brain.
The ribbon used to denote a Knight of the Garter was coloured blue as the
colour was a royal choice. The Blue ribbon now denote the best.
A window opening in a castle which was larger on the inside than the outside
was called a loophole. Nowadays a way of having an advantage over the
norm is called a loophole.
A long expensive rope would break in its long hard life, so to mend them the
sailor would tie tow ropes together thus making ends meet.
A casual informal business deal or purchase with simple credit was recorded
on the sellers shirt end of his sleeve, the cuff. So an impromptu and informal
casual interaction is now “off the cuff”.
Salted pork was stored in ships and eaten over long voyages. The fatty food
gave off lots of fat as a waste product. This was used to protect the ships
timbers and also sold off when they got back to port. The fat was called Slush,
and the money raised from selling it was called the slush fund, usually the
money used to go drinking in port.
I see you wear slippers and that you say the word gave us slip. How did the
word come about first of all? People wore more comfortable shoes indoors as
outdoor shoes scratched the floors and were dangerous to wear on wet
surfaces. The comfortable shoes were sometimes worn outdoors and people
would say your shoes were slipshod, too badly made to wear outside. Hence
Slippers actually means, shoes for indoors.
What was a left-handed compliment? Remember that being left handed was
considered below the average. If a nobleman married a lady below his status
he would hold her with his left hand at the wedding. This meant that she
would not get any inheritance form the husband as it meant”not a real
wedding”.
To sign allegiance to the King the system was called the Ragman’s Roll, which
became known as a system dictated by one who runs the business. Nowadays
it is called rigmarole.
That's it now my brain won't cooperate.
Q.480. Here are some Bird names and sayings
Birds names and sayings derived from such have been occupying my spare
time between gigs this past few days. It all started from the “larking about”
question I answered last week and this struck a new chord in my usual anorak
manner.
Being called an old coot is quite a funny way of saying you walk like a coot.
But coot meant bad on the feet so the name was in fact the other way in
comparison, Greek in origin from Phalarope which means “coot-foot”. Greek
phasianos, bird of the then river Phasis in present-day Armenia.
Ravens having a large body and beak gave rise to one breed being called the
“Sea-Raven” which in Latin is corvus marinus, sea-raven hence the breed
Cormorant.
Pratincole is derived from the Latin prati incola, meadow-dweller. The Cola
being the meadow. Hey! Coca the plant lives in the meadow hence Coca Cola.
As if!
per agrum’ – through the fields, a foreign bird that has wandered into our
territory which has been put together into one word to become Peregrine.
Old French plouvier from the Latin pluvia, rain, so it is the rain bird now the
Plover; linnet from Old French linette, referring to lin, or flax, and the linseed
enjoyed by the bird; lapwing, from hléapan, to leap – “with reference to
manner of flight; redstart – staart is Dutch for tail; dotterel, related to dote
and dotage; the bird’s trusting nature apparently made it easy to catch;
Canaries come from the Canary Islands but the name Canary comes from the
breeding of large dogs and the islands were named in Latin, canis and canine.
Turkeys came from the Turks and introduced to England and America!
Jay birds would wander out of the forest and get confused with the open
spaces, now we have Jaywalkers; Chickens hatched in the spring would bring
higher prices as they were very tender and Winter preserves were being
replaced. So if you are not so tender you are no spring chicken.
Q.481. Hi Henry. Who was “The King of the Bene?”
There was a King of the bean and a Queen of the pea!
Christmas celebrations started on December 25th but this day was also
advent and a Fast so no big banquets. We celebrated the Christmas period for
twelve days and so the New year’s day and the Twelth night were the most
important in the banquet calendar.
We baked a cake called “the twelth cake, a strong fruit cake which had a
silver coin in it for the rich families or a Bean and Pea for the lower orders.
Whomever found the bean became the king and the Pea signified being the
Queen, a cake for both men and women then. Each lucky “royal” would then
sit at the centre position and oversee the evening celebrations.
Q.482. Hi Henry, From a Soldier on leave. I read that your soldiers had Mess
Tents, how did that term come about because we still have Officers mess in
the Army.
Ah! So observant of you sir, yes indeed we had a Messe in our dining halls. It
was actually the layout where a messe was a placing for four people with a
potage dish of their own. Lower orders had a huge communal dish or pot, so
to had one for only four people was seen as upper ranks. A dining room with
four seats at a table instead of a large bench is still seen as posher.
Q.483. Hi Henry. What happened to left-over’s at a large meal?
In poor houses they went straight back into the communal pot. The higher
ranking you became the less this happened until right at the top of the court
the diner would left leftovers on a plate next to their plate, this waste plate
had deeper sides and was called the Voider. Royal waste was burnt and not
used in any other way.
Q.484. Hi Henry. What kind of vegetables were introduced into England in
your reign?
Don’t forget fruit too, we loved our fruit! Apricots were seen as the peach
variety of the Cox’s Apple because they came to fruit earlier that the other
types. “Malum Precox” and then Abricock and eventually Apricot. We
imported Oranges and Lemons from the closest continent with the best
weather to grow them, usually Portugal or Spain. Apart from the common
English fruits of today some have also disappeared, barberries, bullices,
filiberts, medlars, whortleberries, quinces and crab apples. Crab apples being
very acidic were mainly used for preserving food or cooking. Whilst we ate
80% meat, we still decorated our plates with vegetation, we ate salads with
fish, called Sallets and Sauce. Our choice was wide for vegetables:
Sea Holly, skirrets, endives, cucumbers, rocket, citrons, gourds, navewes,
pumpkins, parsnips, runcivall peas, rape turnip, turneps, artichokes, lettuce
and cabbage of differing colour and texture. Most common root vegetables
except for the potato.
The Spanish ate more vegetables that we English and my first wife tried her
best to introduce the vegetable to our banqueting as being of high order
food, but we English had viewed the poor vegetable as poor mans food
alongside the salmon and oyster!
Q.485. Hi Henry. What kind of foundations were used for old Norman
Castles?
Obviously they had no strong concrete technology, nor did they have
mechanical diggers, mechanical removal of soils and stones was by human
endeavour. So realistically the only way to carry such heavy loads as a stone
castle would be to dig down to the stone itself, the rock mantle under the
soil. The castles would have been on the tops of hills or at the edges of river
estuaries so finding the stone edge was fairly easy. I have searched through
my vast collection of pictures to find the join line and here is a very good one.
See how the builders have managed to straighten out the walls from the
natural flow of the rocks, magnificent.
Q.486. Hi Henry. Was your fifth wife, Catherine Howard related in some way
to Thomas Culpepper her lover? How close in relations was Anne Boleyn to
her as well?
Yes. Catherine’s Mother’s maiden name was Culpepper! Joyce Culpepper.
Catherine’s Mother’s sister in law was Anne Boleyn’s Mother! Elizabeth
Boleyn (nee Howard).
Close eh!
Q.487. Hi Henry. Did you place a ring on the same finger for marriage as we
do today, that is the one next to the little finger on the left hand.
Yes. We believed it had a vein which went directly into your heart, romantic
eh!
Q.488. Hi Henry. You mentioned that Anne Boleyn played “Perseverance” in
the play for the King’s emissaries. Who were the other characters and do you
know who played them?
Don’t ask me a hard one! Ok here’s the answer.
First of all there were 8 women playing roles before Myself and the
emissaries for the Holy Roman Emperor Charles, the same play was
performed for King Francis at the end of the Filed of the Cloth of Gold.
Emperor Charles was concerned that we were getting too friendly with
France so he sent over a delegation to check it out.
The cast was as follows:
1. The main part was Beauty played by my sister the Dowager Queen of
France Mary now married to Charles Brandon.
2. Honour was played by the Countess of Devonshire.
3. Bounty by Mistress Browne.
4. Mercy by Mistress Dannet.
5. Kindness was played by Mary Boleyn now married to William Carey.
6. Perseverance was as you know played by Anne Boleyn.
7. Constancy was played by Jane Parker whom married George Boleyn to
become Lady Rochford.
8. Pity, I don’t know who played this character, Pity eh!
Q.489. Hi Henry. I know that you had Oranges because I read about the
marmalade the Tudors made, but where did you get them from.
Yes we had Oranges but they originally came from Spain who had got the
plants from Africa. No where’s where the English changed the name by
translation and metanalysis.
Originally called Naranj by the Africans, then changed to naranja by the
Spanish it clashed with our language use of the word an. We would say “an
naranja” and it soon became “an aranja” which soon became “an Orange”!
Q.490. Hi Henry. Well what about chocolate then?
Yes we had chocolate, not in a block but as a drink which reduced our body
temperature when ill, the name was derived from the Mexican origin.
Mexican word for bitter was Choco, by crushing the choco bean then adding
water changed the word to Choco-atd which then meant bitter water. We
added sugar and changed the Spanish name of chocolato into the present day
chocolate. The content of caffeine in the drink was the chemical which made
is more a medicine than a sweet.
Q.491. Hi Henry. Checkmate in chess is a very old word, where does that
come form?
Am I a dictionary?
Iran or Persia is the origins. The Spanish also had a hand in the word.
Shah is a King. A Matador is a killer. Put them together and the final saying for
the winning of a game of chess is “The King is dead”, Shar-K-Mate,
Checkmate!
Now where’s my dinner?
Q.492. Hi Henry. I read with a wry smile the term “to be buxom in marriage”.
Why on earth would such a vulgar expression be used for wedding vows in
Tudor times?
Buxom did not mean what it does today, although it actual Tudor meaning of
“Obedient” would also raise a few eyebrows today too.
Q.493. Hi Henry. Nicknames were used for friends, but where did the name
nick- name come from.
An extra name. From “an eke-name” Now say it fast and the “n” starts it off.
Another of those metanalysis effects.
Now go and find a dictionary and look up "metanalysis".
Q.494. Hi Henry. Why did Katherine Parr vow to be bonair and buxom in her
wedding vows?
What does it mean?
You must remember that the Tudor era was definitely a man's world.
The wedding vow was the same throughout England
"I Katherine, take thee, Henry to my wedded husband to have and to hold
from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness
and in health, to be bonny and buxom in bed and at board, 'till death us do
part."
The new Queen would then be reminded of her duties towards her new
husband the King.
"...faithful and chaste....amiable to her husband...wise...bashful and grave.
reverential and modest...and fruitful."
To be bonny meant always try to be attractive.
Buxom was not what is seems today, then it meant to be warm and
understanding.
Hope this answers all your questions
HenryR
Q.495. Hi Henry. I know this is not a Tudor question. But how did the Romans
make lead pipes without all the modern-day machinery?
It still counts as a Tudor question because the pipes were made the same way
but maybe with better quality tools.
A crucible of molten lead would be pored over a cold flat surface and the
flowing lead would set into a thin-ish open casting. I say thin-ish because the
casting would not be consistent and change in thickness throughout the area.
The metal workers would then hammer it to the desired thickness, warming it
up now and then to stop it work hardening and cracking. I think they had also
found out that to mix a little Tin with the lead helped to make it pour more
easily and so give a finer thickness overall. Now with the sheet of lead, they
would cut it into strips which were the circumference of the desired pipe,
plus a little overlap. By folding the edges opposite ways before making the
pipe shape it would produce two edges parallel to each other, these edges
were then folded together like a seam. A pipe of any length only needs to be
watertight around the sides and bottom if lamina flow is to be engineered
into the design. The pipes would rely solely upon gravity fed water and no
real high, full pipe pressures were encountered. The top seam would be left
unwelded.
The chemical symbol for Lead is Pb, this came from the Roman name for the
metal of Plumbum, this in turn gave the Plumber their name and we used
Lead for pipes until the last century. Lead was discontinued when it was
discovered the damage to the human body of Lead poisoning, where Lead is
absorbed by Calcium thus softening bones and also damaging nerve ends
whereby brain power is diminished. Lead was used in petrol to raise the
ignition temperature and help lubricate the valve seatings, the exhaust would
spew out Lead into the atmosphere this is why we now use Lead-free petrol.
Plates made out of Pewter should not be used to eat off as Pewter is mainly
Lead plus Tin. Tomato’s cut raw onto a pewter plate can poison the diner as
the acidic juices attack the surface and produce Lead-Oxides which if eaten
are most damaging to your vital organs. So you can see that the lack of
knowledge by past generations has lowered their life-spans. Drinking
alcoholic liquors from a Pewter tankard is most damaging to one’s well being.
Q.496. Hi Henry. Is parchment paper weak and easily damaged?
All paper is easy to rip in a shearing motion, sideways. But paper is quite
strong in a tensile direction, try pulling apart axially. Parchment is one of the
strongest papers in existence as it was made by layering the mulch before
drying and hammering to the desired thickness.
Q.497. Hi Henry. How did skilled people get their employed work without
advertising?
Great question. No point in writing an advertisement as most people could
not read nor write. The skilled person would produce a wooden post with
samples of their work carved in it. The post would be fitted in a nonstructural place where it can be seen easily by the visiting public. This gave us
the word “poster”. I have taken a picture of one such Poster.

Q.498. Hi Henry. I know there is no evidence for the answer to my
question, so just can you give me your opinion. Why did mankind find
Copper and make Bronze before Iron?
I think it is a simple answer. They put stones around their fires, the
stones contained Copper and maybe Tin. The fires released the ore and
left them with a dried up pools of metal. They mixed the metals and
got Bronze. Iron takes much more ore and temperatures to release the
metal, but they had learnt that metals are smelted this way so they
worked up the temperatures.
I consulted with my two mates, F. Flintstone and B. Rubble for their
reasoning.
The biggest missed opportunity in my opinion was that the Romans had
Alum Flour, Aluminium Sulphate for softening leather and fixing colours
into cloth. If only they had re-smelted the powder to a high
temperature they would have discovered Aluminium. Can you imagine
Roman Chariots with Alloy wheels!
Q.499. Hi Henry. Were you more sympathetic to the house of Lancaster
or York?
My father was definitely in the footsteps of his Mother, Margaret
Beaufort in that they were staunch Lancaster and suspected all the
motives of the Yorkists, including my Mother, Elizabeth. I hated my
Father and was scared of my Grandmother, but my Mother was lovely,
she raise me and cared for me so I was more inclined to the White Rose
in my sympathies. I suppose the unrest between the two factions came
to a near end when I became King, both sides saw their rose at the top.
Q.500. Hi Henry. Why did farmers use stone for their walls instead of
fences or hedges?
Basically cost. A dry stone wall will outlive the builder and many are
still standing after 200 years of use. Minimal maintenance is required
whilst a wooden fence will need constant maintenance. A hedge takes
up a lot of land and eventually a ditch forms under it. A stone wall will
outlive 5 fences over the years. The stone is generally taken from the
land itself or nearby outcrops and was seen as a re-use of unwanted
materials. The cost of building the wall was much greater than a fence,
the hedges had to planted and would need time to mature and fill in
the gaps around small plants. The dry stone wall also protected sheep
and shepherds from gale force winds as well as providing a fire break as
the stone was non-combustible. The dry-stone waller would be a
wandering family selling their skills. They would get a length of pole
from the church’s rood end and use it to calculate the cost of a new
wall, this to be paid for at the start of build as it would take weeks to
build. The cost would be charges for one rood length X one and a half
yards tall X 15 inches wide at the top and 30 inches wide at the bottom.
The unit length was called a perch, this is where birds sit! The height
was seen as the height to stop a sheep from jumping over it. The buy it
before it is made was called to “perchase it” ie Purchase! Basically a
wall was two strong walls slanted towards each other with small stone
infill called the hearting. The sectional shape of a wall was by eye or the
use of a wooden pattern called the Batter, cord was tied between
batters to create a line of build, the term batten as a straight piece
between ends came from this. There is provision for sheep to pass from
one field to another whilst cattle are kept back, the wall would have
holes built into it with lintels over the top so only small animals or
hunched humans could pass through. The name of such holes varied
across the country but the most common was creep-holes which
became cripples which was a term for people who were hunchbacked!
Other names were hogg-holes, lunkies and smoots which were mainly
for crossing streams like a bridge.
The family of the Dry-stone-waller would move and "live" next to the
farm in a stone structure much like a pointed igloo. A hole at the top to
let smoke from the fire out and a small doorway at the bottom. When
the job was completed the gate posts would be made out of the igloo,
now go and look for smoke stained stones at the base of the posts. The
structure was dismantled from the top to build the posts so the
chimney would be at the bottom of the post.
Q.501. Hi Henry. Whilst walking in the Cotswolds near Eavesham I noticed
that the old stone walls had sharp topped coping stones and each side had
stones inclined towards the centre. Is that just a Cotswold design?
I wish I hadn’t mentioned dry stone walling now, I’ve had about 50 emails
about the design of walls. Basically I have answered all the emails with the
same starter:
“....Different areas of Britain have different types of stone, ranging from the
mighty Granite to the soft Limestone. But all weather differently from each
other and in the soft stone areas susceptibility to water and frost make for
changes to wall design.”
Now the Cotswolds are well known for the mellow yellow stone which are
always dusty, easy to break and crack with frost. So not very good then eh!
Always at the mercy of what lies nearby, the stone-waller tries to design a
structure that will last the longest, so he would place the stones at an angle
to allow water to run off easily, place the stones along the wall not across it
to stop the shearing action of each leaf of stones moving independently of
each other. Instead of fitting stones with small ones to fill gaps, the Cotswold
builder will use his hammer more to shape the stone to a much better snug
fit, this again reduced the risk of creating a stress point which will determine
the lifespan of the finished wall.
The sharp coping stones were designed to stop animals jumping over as well
as being the strengthening bridges across the two leafs of stones. In the
Cotswold’s they were called the Combers after the Comb which one fashions
the hair on one’s head.
Please can we move on from walls, Boring!
Q.502. Hi Henry. When did you start to learn to play the Lute? Did you learn it
yourself or have a tutor?
My father gave me my first Lute when I was seven years of age, in 1498, I
watched lute players in the small bands of players and tried my best to learn
myself. I think I was a proficient musician but my father eventually obtained
the services of a Frenchman called Giles Duwes from Normandy who from
when I was 12 years old, taught me French and polished my Lute playing.
Duwes previously taught my brother Arthur and so stayed in my household
where I gave him the job of tutor to Mary my eldest daughter. I was very sad
when I heard he had died in 1535, he was a great teacher who could
transpose the technical into easy to understand stories and exercises. A really
great teacher.
Q.503. Hi Henry. Is your Palace of Westminster the same one as the Houses
of Parliament today?
No sorry, My palace was burnt down in 1698 from a fire started by a scullery
maid who put washing over a fire to dry. Only Holbein’s gate survived above
ground and the cellars below. The gate was finally dismantled to make the
Westminster road wider. The Tudor cellars are still under the houses of
Parliament.
Q.504. Hi Henry. Do any of your many hunting lodges still survive today,
2009? I have been trying to find one to visit but have failed so far.
I like a person who never gives up. Alas there is only one of my hunting lodges
left, built of timber it was completed in 1543 in Epping Forest. Find a park
called Fairmead and the house there called “Queen Elizabeth’s hunting
lodge” is my old house which I called the Great Standing. By road it is two
miles Northeast of Chingford. Hope you find it.
Q.505. Hi Henry. Did you own Hyde Park in London?
Manor of Hyde. In true Godfather style, I made him an offer he couldn’t
refuse, the reformation and dissolution of monastery lands. I used the land as
a Royal deer park and now it is Hyde Park.
Q.506. Hi Henry. Is it true that you actually had a house called Camelot?
You obviously know the answer and I smell a test from the pen of an
historian.
Yes I did own a total of 87 hunting parks most with lodges. One of them was a
deer park which was at Enfield Chase where I had built a hunting lodge called
“Camelot” nearby was Enfield manor house in which I had apartments for my
family.
Q.507. Hi Henry. Will Somers was your famous court jester. When did Royals
stop having court jesters?
Will went on to be jester and court actor to all my children, in the courts of
King Edward VI , Queen Mary I and finally in Queen Elizabeth I, then he
retired. No more court jesters were ever used again, so he was in fact the last
one.
Q.508. Hi Henry. I have studied the Mary Rose and other of your ships. No
book mentions the heraldic emblems on the bow of each ship, they all seem
to be the same. Who painted them?
Quite a difficult question this, but I had a painter who worked for my court
for 20 years, he was an Italian called Vincenzo Vulpe from Naples. He painted
all my heraldic images on my ships and barges. He was also famous for
painting a three dimensional representation of the port of Dover to be given
to me from the people of Dover as a gift.
Q.509. Hi Henry. How much wine did your court drink each year?
300 barrels per year. Most wine of the day was not for keeping long as it
turned into vinegar easily. Stronger wines lasted longer if they had high
alcohol contents of about 16%, Osney, Hippocras and Alsace were types of
fortified wines.
Q.510. Hi Henry. In December 1528 the Venetian ambassador was recalled,
why was that so and how long did he stay away?
He never came back, in fact Venice had no ambassador in England for another
60 years. He had insulted me by voicing his opinion when I install Anne
Boleyn in Greenwich Palace whilst I was still married to Katherine.
Q.511. Hi Henry. Knowing that Norfolk is quite flat, yet there is mention of a
Mount Surrey there. Can you explain what it all means as I live in Norfolk, and
it is very flat!
The son of the Duke of Norfolk had the title of Earl of Surrey, he built a large
manor house for himself in 1545 and called it Mount Sussex. In 1549 it was
burnt to the ground during the rebellion led by Robert Kett. Not sure just
where it was situated but will try and find out. Just as a matter of interest
now we are talking about the flatness of Norfolk, lots of people have asked
why are the roads higher that the fields which they run through. This is
because they were the same height when built but over-use of the land has
reduced the topsoil thus leaving the road higher. Every time you take out a
vegetable from the ground, soil goes with it, so reducing the level slightly,
now multiply this erosion over the centuries and the filed sinks down.
Q.512. Hi Henry. What is a dry stamp?
When I am indisposed, say ill or away on business, I had a stamp with my
signature engraved on it. It would be pressed onto paper to leave an
impression without any ink. Approved forgers would then ink in the
impressions to keep royal business going. Only very close and trusted council
were allowed to use the dry stamp.
Q.513. Hi Henry. Where did your Mother, Elizabeth of York live before she
married your father King Henry VII?
Sheriff Hutton Castle in Yorkshire a robust double moat structure. Ironically
her grandson, my illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy was granted this castle for his
own household and Thomas Wolsey paid for the chapel to be refined. This
gave Fitzroy the approval of the church in the eyes of the court. It still exists
in the middle of a private farm. I have some picture of it today.
Q.514. Hi Henry. I know you are tired of stone wall questions, but I do have a
real passion for such walls and wondered why Wales seems to have the most.
Mmmmm. Dry stone walls are boring to everyone but wallers.
Wales however isn’t boring and the reason for so many walls is their
historical method of dividing up inheritance between all sons equally whilst in
England we have Primo-genital where only the eldest son receives all the land
and inheritance. Now work the Welsh system into land division and three
sons get one third of their father’s farms each thus making smaller fields and
producing more walls. If one farm is owned by more than one person, maybe
brothers, then common walls are divided by means of a small gap to show
where one persons ends and the other persons begins. This makes sure one
pays for maintenance and money is not needed from all parties in the
ownership.
See this picture of one such dividing line.
Oh! And remember that old saying “splitting heirs” not hairs!
Q.515. Hi Henry. What breeds of hunting dog did you use?
I would hunt in the morning and after dinner and have packs of dogs waiting
for me. Greyhounds, Buckhounds, Harthounds, Harriers. Most were bred for
my palaces by the Royal Kennels on the Isle of Dogs in the Thames just a short
way past Greenwich Palace.
Q.516. Hi Henry. How did the rich tapestries hanging on your Palace walls get
cleaned?
It is a fact that the tapestries were the most valuable items to hang upon
walls, but they attracted dust and soot from the fires. They must not be
washed or some of the colour dyes could run out so we cleaned them with
dry bread. By rubbing the surface the dry bread naturally scours, absorbs and
starches the woven fabric, when finished the crumbs would be brushed off.
Ever wondered how a wine ring is removed from polished furniture? There
was a Tudor method of setting fire to the discoloured ring with lit wax drips
from a candle and then lifting the solidified wax off with the wine stain
absorbed.
Q.517. Hi Henry. Did your servants have any perks of the job?
All servants had an established right to share downwards the left-over’s,
discarded objects from their masters. This right was called Perquisite which
became the slang Perk.
Q.518. Hi Henry. What happened to Mary Howard after she was widowed at
the death of her husband your illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy?
Mary remained a widow for 21 years and never remarried. She actually loved
my son the Duke of Richmond and continued as Duchess in her own right
from his mysterious death in 1536. Henry was at first buried in secrecy and
then reburied at Thetford Priory until the reformation then he was reburied
for the final time and laid to rest at the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in
Framlingham where he still lies next to Mary his beloved wife. Nearby are the
tombs of the Howards.
Q.519. Hi Henry. This is a hard question. I know that King Richard III was killed
in battle at Bosworth Field by your Father’s army, but do you actually know
the name of the man who actually killed Richard in the hand to hand fight?
Yes.
The man was a Welsh Knight who helped my Father from the minute he
landed on the Welsh coast. His name was Sir Rhys ap Thomas.
Plain Rhys ap Thomas became Sir Rhys ap Thomas just three days after this
battle and under the patronage of both Henry VII and myself, he became the
most powerful man in South Wales. The modern Dynevor peerage can trace
its ancestry directly back to this warrior knight, the most influential native
Welshman in south Wales.
But the great estates, wealth and prestige that Rhys had built up in his
lifetime weren't to last very long after his passing; just six years, in fact, was
all it took for his grandson Rhys ap Gruffudd (1509-1531), to lose the lot.
In 1531 Rhys ap Gruffudd, was beheaded by my court for treason and with his
head went all the family's lands and estates, confiscated by the crown.
My crown.
Below is a picture showing the tomb of Rhys ap Thomas and the view from his
now near ruined Weobley castle over the salt flats of Southwest Wales, a few
miles Northwest of Swansea.
By the way, ap means “son of” in old Welsh.
Q.520. Hi Henry: I hear the phrase “to be at a person’s beck and call” what
does this mean? Also what’s a beeline?
Beck comes from to Beckon meaning to use a hand signal, Call it to speak or
shout. So “Beck and call” means to be subservient and to do whatever they
tell you or indicate with their hands.
When a Bee finds nectar it performs a dance back in the hive. It points to
where the nectar is situated and buzzes a tune, the time it takes for the
dance means how far away the nectar is. Now the foraging bees fly straight
for the nectar, they make a beeline for it.
Q.521. Hi Henry: How were women treated who nagged their men folk?
Are you trying to tell me something?
In my time, women who were considered to be nags and scolds, users of
abusive or strong language, especially against their husbands, were in danger
of being punished in an apparatus called a 'branks' - also known as a 'scold's
bridle' or 'gossip's bridle'. The device was an iron cage with a tongue that
projected into the mouth of the victim to prevent speech. Their nose went
through the slit and the metal tongue went into their mouth, this prevented
them from speaking.
Q.522. Hi Henry: To 'cock a snook' at someone was to make a sniggering hand
jesture. Where does the term come from?
When two cocks are about to fight for hen territory, they spread out their
feathers at the back, stick out their necks and circle each other before diving
in to fight. This gesture is to show how powerful they are and that no other
Cock can beat them. The Cock is the fanned feathers and the snook is the
sticking out of the neck. A snook was a stretch of land sticking out to sea.
Q.523. HI Henry. I’ve noticed whilst visiting old houses, that some basic
carving is not in proportion. Is that normal?
Well you are thinking in modern terms where one side of your car is an exact
mirror image of the other. In Tudor days we only worked to the line of sight,
in other words “by eye” and some people had better sight than others. The
Tudors were also notorious functional designers, they liked it if it worked,
they accepted irregularities as a secondary specification.
Here are some “irregularities” I have found for you.
Q.524. Hi Henry. What is a Sea-girt tower?
Well it really is simple really, a girt is a girth which is a horizontal length of
masonery, and a tower is at the end. So a Sea-girt tower is a stone pier
sticking out to sea with a tower on the end of it. Possibly the forerunner of
the lighthouse.
Q.525. Hi Henry. Why is it widely reported that you had gout whilst you say
you didn’t?
Ah! Modern gout is blood vessel blockage due to lack of exercise and too rich
a food. Gout in the 1500’s was any skeletal aches and pains, such as arthritis,
rheumatism etc. So I did not have your 21st century gout, but more like old
age aches and pains.
Q.526. Hi Henry. Was there really a family called Blackadder as in the comedy
show by Rowan Atkinson?
Yes, up in Scotland near the border with England. They got their name from
the peat-stained river, the black Awedur which is medieval for running water.
The original family was Blackadder of that ilk in Berwickshire, who
distinguished themselves in the Border feuds so early as the minority of
James the Second, towards the middle of the fifteenth century.
Q.527. Hi Henry: What was “the great spoil”?
Rather delicate this question. First of all the appalling death rate of babies
born was about 1:2 births, but also 1:5 women died giving birth ,now let us
not forget the surviving women who were badly hurt and disfigured in the
process, they were left sterile and not capable of further children. This was
called “The Great Spoil”, my Grandmother the Lady Margaret Beaufort was
one of these as she only aver had one child, my father King Henry VII.
Q.528. Hi. Henry: How long had the Parr’s been in the royal circles before you
married Katherine?
Many years before the 6th marriage, Thomas Parr her father was Katherine of
Aragon’s Equerry.
Q.529. Hi Henry: How did Scotland Yard get its name?
It is said the location had been the site of a Palace owned by the Kings of
Scotland and used by visiting Scottish monarchs as their embassy before the
union, the land was “foreign” to England and known as '"Scotland". The
courtyard was later used by Sir Christopher Wren and known as "Scotland
Yard".
Q.530. Hi Henry: When and what was “Evil May day”?
1st May 1517, many apprentices were starving because the fashion for
foreign designed and built houses hit the English skilled working population.
They rioted in the streets and attacked Italian, Dutch, Spanish and Portugese
houses. One of the foreign workers was that highly skilled stained glass
window builder, Galyon Hone who was shunned by English craftsmen.
Q.531. Hi Henry: Did Tudor times have tourists?
We have always had tourists, people to go to see a spectacle as part of a
holiday. When Francis and I held the Field of the cloth of gold at Balinghem
near Calais it attracted many rich tourists from as far as West Flanders,
mainly because we gave away free wine and food to all onlookers.
Tourists can be morbid too, when Thomas Wolsey was under house arrest in
London, a rumour got out that he was on his way to the Tower of London for
trial. A great many, 1,000’s lined the river Thames all the way from
Westminster to the Tower to no avail as he had left for Yorkshire.
Q.532. Hi Henry: Where did “having two strings to your bow” come from?
A back up string in case of an emergency, simple.
Q.534. Hi Henry: It is quite strange that you called your magnificent Palace on
the fields of Ewell, Nonsuch Palace. So were was Nonshere?
Hehehe. Well done to notice that one, not many have in the literary world.
The naming of Nonsuch was with stylish French influence, no such palace is as
fine as this one. But when the Duke of Worcester was in the French court
they could not pronounce it. Many cannot today! Some tourists nowadays
call it Worchester but we say “wuster”. The French actually gavce up trying to
say it correctly by giving it a nickname “Nons Here” or Not here.
Q.535. Hi Henry: I read in many books different amounts for the fine you
imposed on the Brandons for marrying without your permission, what was
the actual amount?
Alison Weir gets it right to the nearest half a million pounds, but Maria Perry
gets it right exactly. The amount was £25,234 6 shillings and 9 pence which at
the historical exchange rate of 300:1 equals £7,570,299. Now you should ask
how the figure was calculated.
Thank Thomas Wolsey for his mathematical brain, he reckoned that the
(dowry lost + the interest gained over a nominal lifetime) – ( the money saved
in providing the wedding and loss of interest from this amount) would equal
this £7.5M. Beats me, personally I think it was the amount to save the head of
Charles Brandon which brought calm to the rage of the sovereign. The debt
was paid in annual installments which impoverished the Brandon’s until Mary
Brandon received again her pension as Dowager Queen of France from
Francis I trying to get friends again.
Oh! and the related issue of why did the Brandon’s daughter marry into the
lower class Greys? Well they were rejected by the Howards because of their
debt to me. And so poor Young Lady Jane was born a Grey.
Q.536. I read with interest your account of the sinking of the ship Mary Rose,
the term clinker as an old design of timbering of ships confuses me. Where
did the system originate and can you explain it deeper.
The system of making a hull out of wood without a main frame came to us
from the Vikings. The overlapping was strong and flexible so the ship could
twist with the rough seas. This also made them incredibly lightweight though
the steps around the sides caused by the overlapping also increased the
resistance surface area and slowed the ships down from their potential top
speed. These steps however added a resistance to sideways rocking as the
water hit the horizontal element of each step.
They were assembled one as a time using wrought-iron nails with barbs on
them, a slightly domed washer was placed over the end as it came through
the two pieces and then riveted over to form a strong joint. I find it most
intriguing when a Viking ship remains are found under the ground, only
rotten wood is found but the nails and washers are intact and in the correct
places around the ships perimeter. Most interesting.
Here is a picture I have made to show the construction.
The Mary Rose still had a frame though her stability relied upon the rolling
resistance and when her timbers were changed for Carvel with smooth sides
she became unstable.
Q.537. Hi Henry. Your magnificent Navy saved us many times from invasion,
but what was your Army like?
Never had one. A military force of land based men would have been called a
“Standing Army” which means just what it says, it stands a long time waiting
for work and the coffers of the English Monarchy are only so deep. I could not
afford to keep an army. What we did however went against our own
philosophy of reducing the power of the Nobles to encourage them to reduce
their retainers (small army of thugs), what we did was to use a system of
“Indenture”. Indenture is a contractual promise that I will pay towards their
men but they must become my army when I need them. The problem of the
conflict between reduction and supply was to employ rough, tough and
usually mercenary thugs are their retainers. They were not to be trusted,
working solely for money cause many to be treacherous, lacking in loyalty
and vicious when overrunning the enemy, which they saw as a way of
supplementing their income.
Q.538. Hi Henry. From England as a Nation, who benefitted and who were
badly affected by the Reformation?
This is a huge question worthy of a book for the answer. But I will try with just
a couple of paragraphs. Take these answers forward to research more deeply.
The Roman Catholic Church was in trouble before I came on the scene caused
by loss of good men in the great plague, replaced by many scoundrels of high
birth with no income. They bled their congregations of their hard to come by
income, only to deliver religious doctrine in a language nobody understood,
not even the new priest. All across Europe this happened not just England
and the effect was to promote questioning of the faith by such men as Martin
Luther. The poor followed him to a new Church Protesting about the old
ways. He poor however lost their only source of good medicine and help in
times of real need, the Monasteries were seen as a place for help, when they
disappeared in England the poor lost their help. The middle class with their
slow promotional life saw the newly freed up monastery land and buildings as
a way to accelerate their position. They quickly signed up in belief to the new
Church of England and soon benefitted from the gain in ownership. However
to stop land devaluing the law was relaxed about rent increases and we
became a notation of a dual system. Old ownerships had their rents fixed,
new ownerships had their rents reviewed every year. This promoted the
older nobles to be richer because the land and the food grown on it became
cheaper whilst their wealth was not devalued, whereas the new rich had to
increased their costs and buy at inflated prices. He land also became a tug of
war between arable land and animal husbandry usually sheep. We lost many
a forest to the larger field for sheep, neighbours fought each other for land
control and what they used it for.
The main people whom benefitted from the reformation were the
shopkeepers, traders, yeomen, tradesmen and farmers. The filed worker saw
only religion at a lower cost and the freedom of go to any church, Godding
about. They also understood the services and even had a book of common
prayer lying next to the English Bible, produced by Thomas Cranmer.
Q.539. Hi Henry. What is a “franklin”
Before the reformation the Monks had to a large extent handed over the
running of the monastery estates to a manager who collected rents and kept
the peace, they reported back to the monastery much like a manager today.
After the reformation the Franklins joined the ranks of the nobles, the
gentlemen who came into possession of the lands. So a Franklin is a land
owning manager of large lands divided into smaller sublet plots. The small
plot holder saw sheep as a larger profit margin and so they tilled the land
from vegetable growth into pasture.
Here is a verse of the day, author unknown.
“How have the abbeys their payment?
A new way they do invent
Letting a dozen farms under one,
Which one or two rich frankins
Occupying a dozen men’s livings
Take all in their own hands alone.........”
Q.540. Hi Henry. Did the reformation change the style of houses in any way?
Wow! Where are these difficult questions coming from? I suspect a project
brief to some eager history student. But alas I will always answer a question if
I know the solution.
The previous question brought up the deforestation of England caused by
reallocation of land from the Monasteries, so there was a shortage of timber
for the usual timber framed house design. Loss of wood also created a need
for coal to burn which in turn created a dirtier smoke in a house without a
chimney. Not all districts are bountiful with stone so the development of
near-mass production of bricks came about. Houses changed gradually from
central fires of timber burning with no chimney where the smoke filtered
through a thatched roof, to a timber framed building clad with bricks and a
latched on brick chimney for a fireplace on the side of a room fed by coal. The
filtering thatch had to change to dry it out without having the escaping hot
smoke, they either fitted a wooden liner or tiled the roof. The brick makers
became a very profitable business as they made both the bricks and the
roofing tiles. Soon the old timber frame disappeared as the movement of the
timber damaged the rigid brickwork. The changes did indeed have a national
progress, as the deforestation was on the flatter lands the house design
changes followed in slow progression. The Eastern counties of Norfolk,
Lincolnshire East Yorkshire leading the way meeting in the middle where the
Western flatlands were approaching with their designs. This natural splitting
thanks to the Pennine hills and Derbyshire hills caused a “difference” in the
construction. Go and see what the houses look like today it is a wonderful
sight to see. Not much deforestation in the South as this was the land of the
Royal courts, they loved their hunting in and around the trees, so the houses
stayed much the same except for end walls with chimneys.
I can see why your tutor asked this question, such a major change in social
history caused by what seems an unlikely influence.
Now go and do that project!
Q.541. Hi Henry. Did you go Fox hunting?
No. Anybody could go hunting foxes as they were seen as the “red thief”
robbing the poor of their chickens and ducks. They were hunted by whole
villages on foot with maybe the lord of the manor or his foreman on
horseback. The Gentlemen of England hunted for pleasure the Red Deer on
the northern Pennines and the Fallow deer in the south. Enclosures of trees
were kept to give the deer a sanctuary, the open fields now being fenced off
for pasture. The poor old hare was the sport of the hunter from the poor to
the rich, using packs of greyhounds because of their great speed to increase
the challenge. Hunting with birds of prey was the pastime of the higher
nobles as the running costs were very high. The hunting of birds “fowling”
with the aid of the hawk was the focus of the bow and crossbow and a device
called the “birding piece” a trap-like system with a net.
The shortage of prey for the sporting hunter caused the poor old fox to
gradually become the sport of the middle class and rich, about the middle of
Elizabeth’s reign this transition was complete.
Q.541. Hi Henry. What was tennis like in your palaces?
Tennis originally came here from France, the game being in a courtyard with
walls all around. No rackets were used and a glove from the Knights armour
was used to propel the leather ball. It was not called Tennis! It was called
“Palme-play” and was seen as a fast knight vs knight conflict play. The use of
the glove hampered the development of skill and relied upon luck of the
straight return. The use of a strung sieve from the bread flour kitchen became
the major change in the game. I had courts built for “Tennis” at most of my
larger palaces, still with walls around the court but with spectator levels.
Q.542. Hi Henry. What kind of deep sea fish did the people of England eat?
Salted, dried or smoked. No freezers in my day so any fish caught some
distance from the middle of England would be opened and hung to dry or
salted for the long tedious journey to their customers. The villagers eat local
river fish much the same as we have today but more in abundance due to lack
of pollution and lower population. There was a mini ice-age during my reign
and the cold air matched the coldest seas we have ever seen, this had a
strange effect on Mother nature, it brought Herring down from the ice of the
Baltic and northern Norway, into our own sea territory. This gave out
fishermen a fantastic living and produced that well known smoked fish the
Kipper. I had a liking for pure white fish, Haddock and Cod.
Q.543. Hi Henry. Did you help to start the slave trade in Africa?
How dare you!
No I did not. You obviously are blinded by the reputation I have gathered by
the route of poor history writers. In 1528 William Hawkins actually opened up
trading with the natives of west Africa and was very friendly with them, cloth,
nuts, spices and ivory from Guinea coastal natural ports. However in the
Reign of my daughter Queen Elizabeth I, William’s son John Hawkins made
the inhabitants of this coast the article to export to the America’s in the
newly founded Triangle of slaves for cotton, tobacco etc then back to
Liverpool to start off again. Elizabeth turned a blind eye to the trade as she
was receiving lots of taxes from the traders.
Q.544, Hi Henry. Wool, how much did we use?
With the increase in arable land for sheep we were the largest/capita for the
rearing of sheep for wool. Thus our industrial output was huge, most being in
the cottage industry system of collecting preparing and weaving in the same
household, new ideas of larger manufacturing were beginning to take place
where there was fast flowing water. Water mills became the power of the
new mini-factories on the Western side of the Pennine chain of hills. The
most famous factory owner was called John Winchcombe whom died in 1520
a very rich man indeed. I actually dined with him at his house in Newbury.
John Winchcombe had hundreds of workers and backed me against the
Pilgrim of Grace, he acquired Abbey lands and sat in the House of Parliament.
Q.545. Hi Henry. How many mistresses did you have?
“Mmmm donuts!”
Don’t think I am swerving away from your deep question, but remember I
married two of them! Here they are in chronological order.
1. Elizabeth Denton
2. Anne Hastings
3. Etionette de la Baume
4. Jane Poppincourt
5. Elizabeth Blount
6. Mary Boleyn
7. Jane Pollard
8. Anne Boleyn
9. Joanna Dingley
10. Margaret Shelton
11. Jane Seymour
12. Anne Bassett
13. Elizabeth Cobham
14. Katherine d’Eresby
Now the rumours:
15. Elizabeth Bryan
16. Elizabeth Brook
17. Lady Wyatt
18. Lady Eleanor Luke
19. Mistress Parker
20. Elizabeth Amadas
So you see, I had enjoyed my mistresses much like Homer Simpson like his
donuts.
Q.546. Hi Henry
What did the houses of the poor look like inside? Why are there no examples
left?
Here’s a picture of the inside of a Tudor house.
Tudor houses were originally made of wooden frames with wattle and daub
panels between. However, the wood cost the most so the panels of poor
houses were larger and so weaker, The wood also warped so it had to be built
opposite the same tree or copse source and this was very expensive.
Therefore the poor houses were built with weak walls and unstable frames so
they were not long lasting. The rich had halved timber, small panels or even
bricks, thick thatches or even tiled roofs, chimneys and windows. They still
exist in many English towns.
Q.547. Hi Henry. How old a family were the Seymour’s, were they high
ranking?
Noble people but until Jane married me, they were in the lower orders of the
nobility. Must say though that they came from a long line of lower order
nobles, they landed with William the Conqueror in 1066 and originally came
from France, St. Maurus which became the town of Saumur, eventually the
name became Seymour. Land on the Isle of Wight was their original home,
still called St. Maur today, eventually moving onto the mainland to Wiltshire
for the marriage of Roger Seymour to the heiress Maud Esturmy of Wolfhall,
Wiltshire which became their home for many generations. They were related
by marriage to the Howards of Norfolk and so Jane was actually second
cousin to Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard.
Q. 548. Hi Henry Indie here.
Several Hackney streets are named after Tudors, how many are there and
what are their names?
Ah Hackney! I enjoyed hunting over Hackney Green with dearest Anne.
The Hackney area was only minute in my day compared to today and because
it was an up and coming place to live we named many streets after family and
friends.
King Henry's Walk
King Henry St
Boleyn rd
Queen Margaret grove
Howard rd
Woodville rd
Wolsey rd
Beresford rd
Kingsbury rd/terrace
Buckingham rd
"Old Henry's"
Montague rd
Balfour rd
Richmond rd
Darnley rd
There you go.
Hi Henry, one of the biggest roads in hackney where in the Tudor times, but
had a different name . What is its name now, and what was its name then?
HOLYWELL ST. BECAME SHOREDITCH ST.
Reformation changed more than the churches!
H
Q.549 Hi Henry,
When Wolsey fell from favour, why did you change the name of his
“Cardinal’s College” Oxford?
I'm not having a University College with a Papist name!
Actually I changed the name twice!
The first time was to “King Henry VIII College” Oxford because I appropriated
all the wealth and trappings from Wolsey whom I believed was plotting with
the Pope. When the Pope excommunicated me and my new wife Anne
Boleyn, I took the College in my name. Then in 1546 in my latter years, I
allowed the University to reorganise the Colleges and change the name to
“Christ Church College”, Oxford. I realised that I took the college name as I
was the King and head of the new reformed church, others who follow me
could do the same. So I changed it to a name to be without a monarch’s title
and thought that nobody would dare change the Son of God’s name.
Q.550 Hi Henry,
What was a Hanaper? I believe it to be a legal item.
Quite right sir, a Hanaper is a wickerwork box with lid in which all legal
documents are kept by the Clerk of the Hanaper. It also became the box in
which a picnic was carried, Hanaper became Hamper!
Talking about strange names. I was watching a man re-thatching an old
cottage, on his van his name was Thomas Thatcher which I thought a clever
advertising ruse. Not so, for after asking the man about his name he also told
me his wife was called Ruth and they had a son called Tyler.
Now that's a clever answer from the comedian/thatcher.
Q.551 Hi Henry,
Were you actually related to Thomas Cromwell?
I sense you already are aware of the answer, as I suspect a trick question.
Well, my third wife Jane Seymour has a sister called Elizabeth Seymour. She
married Sir Anthony Ughtred who later died and she became a rich widow.
Thomas Cromwell, sick of paying out money to get his easily led son Gregory
out of trouble, organised a marriage between his son and the widow. For this
he had to get my permission as it would make his son my brother-in-law.
Because Cromwell was in high favour at the time this permission was granted.
So in answer to your question, yes I was related by marriage to Thomas
Cromwell being the brother-in-law of his son.
Q.552 Hi Henry
Why are poor people referred to as “scratching a living”?
It’s all about Hens and Cocks, which are naturally forest dwelling birds and
are always foraging in the undergrowth for food, insects and seeds for
instance.
Yes! I do have a picture!
Q.553 Hi Henry
I read that suspected witches were put on trial by the ducking stood, how
would that be sufficient evidence to convict them of sinister undertakings?
It is a combination of superstition, fear, suspicion and someone to blame for
a village problem. But, you must consider the times before you judge. People
lived short hard lives, women had a life expectance of about 35 years if they
were married with children, whilst single women could expect to life up to
about 70 years as the effects of dangerous childbirth did not count for them.
A single woman in a village would be very poor, would have to rely upon
foraging for food and begging, or she could make brews for people to help
cure illnesses or even become a Brewster and make an Ale of her own
concoction.
Living twice as long as most women would bring the eye of contempt and
suspicion upon her and if her brew was seen as a possible cause of death or
sickness she could be accused of witchcraft. Her house would have a large pot
for cooking, an open fire under her thatched roof, she would dress in drab
dark clothing and hide her age and facial problems under a hood. Walla! She’s
a witch. Nobody wanted to be the one who declares her guilty so the law
would be to tie her to a wooden contraption, the ducking stool, and duck her
under water with the whole village looking on.
If she survived the ducking she was deemed to be guilty and then would be
burnt as a witch. If she drowned, she was seen as innocent but because she
had lived twice as long as normal women nobody felt bad about her ordeal
and passing.
Q.554 Hi Henry,
How could a food taster get instant results so you could eat your food in
confidence?
A very valid point. Poison had a smell or taste or it showed up in crystals and
texture in the food. A Royal food taster was not just some lay person daft
enough to want to take the risk, he was trained to find the poisons and detact
their trace in food, hence the saying “suck it and see”. He would also inspect
the kitchens and be around when my food was being prepared, after all he
would die with me if he missed any toxic poisons. So my food tasters would
be well paid, well trained and well looked after, with a degree of power over
the preparation of my food.
Q.555. Hi Henry. You were brought up a strong Roman Catholic in faith, how
could you so quickly dump such beliefs for the reformation of the church?
Only control of the church was my ulterior motive. I am high in rank and so
see that only men ran things. The Emperor Charles, the Pope are only men in
reality. I am but a man too, so I saw that these two men were stopping me
producing a legitimate heir to the throne of Tudor by not allowing a divorce
or annulment of my illegal marriage to Katherine, by Brothers widow. Charles
was her nephew and so family was involved in their decision. I decided to rid
England of Papal control, the reformation of the Catholic church was just
what it says, “a reformed Catholic Church” no thoughts of being Protestant
ever crossed my mind. Remember that we were not alone in religious
turmoil, the rest of Europe was in a deeper crisis than England with their
fighting against Martin Luther’s new church of Protestors of Papal doctrines.
Yes we had the same enemy, but we were world apart in delivery. I gave the
task of reforming the church into the Catholic church of England to my
councillor Thomas Cromwell who maybe went a little too far with some of the
things he did, but mainly he kept in the spirit of the reforming process. Until
that is he leant a bit too far towards Protestant values with his executions of
various bishops and the support he had for clerical marriages, of which I had
no liking whatsoever.
In 1539, May I believe I brought in “The Six Articles” legislation to stop the
flow towards Protestantism, the main article was the reintroduction of the
Holy Sacrament from the old Romanised version. Cromwell had to back off his
thrust towards the European growth of the Lutherans and England’s new
Catholic Church settled down into a cohesive religion. The Duke of Norfolk.
Cromwell’s deadliest enemy, took Cromwell’s position to be traitorous and
even his organising of the marriage to Anne of Kleves was deemed in the
Lutheran camp. Cromwell lost the battle and died.
So a quick answer to your question, I never backed away from my beliefs, I
took away foreign control and foreign effigies, as the new church developed
it moved too close to Lutheranism and I pulled in the reigns.
Here’s a little ditty about a group of revellers who accidently became Traitors
due to the effect of drink, but who were forgiven by my generous
intervention.
Drunken Traitors We
By Henry Tudor
A Coventry trick when night covers thick
Was to crawl from Tavern to Inn.
We four friends so true can drink and then spew
With the world about us in spin.
But new to us now was the Church of the King
With laws designed to stay true.
Never destroy, disrespect, mess or employ
A holier than thou attitude.
I’m John Robbins a maker of clothes
My friends Harry, William and Rob.
We drink ‘til we are sick, we dance and act thick
From ale house to ale house we lob.
But one drunken spree, turned dangerous for thee
Roger’s tavern then Pannier’s toll.
We ended up sprawled at the town’s old cross and did fall
Needing desperate toilet and washing facility.
No paper on hand, no wash bowl on stand
So we used the King’s posters to wipe up the grime.
This was a traitorous act, our freedom was sacked
Even though we could not remember our crime.
The village then spoke, “without them we’re broke”
So the King shook his finger and drew a new line.
A wry smile behind his tough face. He said “watch this space”
You four must repent, no ale money spent will be fine.
Become pure and never do drink.
Keep away from the cross, my paper to floss
Keep an eye on each other, don’t blink.
Of course we still drink, what does the King think?
No water is clean to drink neat.
But now we carry a roll, when out on a stroll
And look for a hidden privy seat.
Q.556. Hi Henry. I am fed up of looking for facts about your illegitimate
daughter Audrey Tudor, there is no exact details as if trying to hide her! Can
you give me a true account of her life and whereabouts?
I loved that little girl, blue eyes and always smiling in my world of corruption
and intrigue she gave honesty and innocence to the meaning of my life.
First of all Audrey is her nickname, she was called Etheldreda and only for a
few days did she have the right of the surname Tudor. Her Mother was
Joanna or Jane Dingley, daughter of a Sir John Moore and widow of James
Dingley of Dunkelyn county Worchester. She was a lower noble and was in
and around the Palaces when I first saw her in 1534. She was low enough in
status to not be a political problem when she became pregnant with Audrey,
only if the baby would have been a boy would it matter. At the time the two
tailors who made my incredible suits were constantly in my rooms and we
became friendly. John Malte was my principle cutter and botcher and we
worked closely together to produce never seen before designs. A botcher is a
tailor who sews cut pieces together to make the shapes, so you could say my
clothes were “botched together” hehehe. Anyhow I digress, John Malte was
asked to take in the baby Audrey and to bring her up as his own daughter,
thus being now called Audrey Malte, or Etheldreda Malte. Named after the
daughter of King Anna of East Anglia, Princess Etheldreda went on to found a
monastery and nunnery in Ely.
I made a lifetime pension allowance for the girl and Malte and his wife, lived
well because if it. As you know I died in 1547 and lands were left to the tailor
and Audrey as a sale by the Crown to “....John Malte and his base daughter
Awdrye.....” Only ten days later, I died knowing I had settled my daughter for
life. The land! The Manor of Kelveston, Somerset.
Audrey married by my guidance to the Knight Sir John Harington who was
one of my confidential servants. Audrey also inherited lands from her now
wealthy step-father, the manors of Watchenfield and Offynton in Berkshire.
Queen Elizabeth I became their son’s godmother when she was only 20 years
of age.
As you will be aware from your previous research Kelveston in Somerset is
just north of the Abbey of Glastonbury of pop festival fame today. The Manor
grew into a small village called Kelston situated 4 miles northwest of Bath,
and 8 miles east of Bristol, on the A431 road. It is situated just north of the
River Avon, close to the Kelston and Saltford locks.
It is the site of the Elizabethan Kelston Manor House, built by the Harington
family with wealth created from the rich dowry Audrey inherited, the house
was demolished in the 18th century.
The village of Kelston, courtesy of Flickr.
Cannot stop here as this story crosses over a famous happening!
Nearby and interested in the welfare of Audrey was a certain John Horner of
Clofford Somerset. Horner was married to another of John Malte’s daughters,
Meriola (Audrey’s step sister). John Horner obtained his land from the pie
containing the deeds of the Abbey at Glastonbury, he kept the best property
for himself as payment for the delivery, Mells in Somerset. Little Jack Horner!
Have to finish now, could talk about dear Audrey all night.
Q.557 Hi Henry. Who was your earliest best friend?
From the age of 2 yrs I had a pageboy who was a ward of my Father, King
Henry VII. The pageboy was 11 years old at the time and was called William
Compton. His father had died and left Williams future in the hands of the
King. We were inseparable as companions in arms in the French battle at
Tournai (1512), he was my emissary and a constant partner in hunting
expeditions. I was broken hearted when William died in 1528. I went to stay
at his family home of Compton Wynyates in Warwickshire many times and I
gave him the privilege of displaying the Royal Lion of England in his coat of
arms. There is a bedroom called Henry VIII room and my daughter Queen
Elizabeth I, King James I and King Charles I stayed there too.
Compton Wynyates got its name from the family of Compton and a windmill
overlooking the house. Known early on as the Compton’s windgate.
Q.558. Hi Henry. On a windmill why are there no solid panels on the sails?
Mmm. That's because it is in neutral, the sails need to be pulled over the
frames to create the surface area. The rear fan powers a bevel gear to rotate
the main fan into the wind. The mainshaft then turnes another bevel gear to
direct the rotation vertically and drive the stones. Quite complicated really.
Q.559. Hi Henry. Quite a difficult question for you. Did the Tudors have
Orchids?
Yes.
Orchids are millions of years old and there are 35,000 species so it would
have been their place of growth that would be the problem of accessibility. A
hot and humid climate such as South America or closer to England,
Madagascar would have been the source. It was about 1518 that the vanilla
orchid was discovered from the invasion of the Aztec Empire by the Spaniard
Hernando Cortes. Remember that I was still married to a Spaniard at that
date so I could easily have had the seed pods as flavouring or made into a
widely accepted potion for health. Chocolate from the Cocoa plant was mixed
with vanilla to make a soothing drink to calm the nerves. It was not until
about 1602 when vanilla pods became a sweet flavouring in its own right and
not just for a medicine, this was started by Queen Elizabeth's apothecary,
Hugh Morgan.
The biggest user of the Vanilla Orchid today is the Coca Cola drink company!
Oops have I given away the secret their most guarded ingredient?
The name Orchid comes from the old Greek “testes”, so it was viewed as an
aphrodisiac as well as the old favoured Globe Artichoke. I did use a lot of such
plants whilst trying to father a boy.
Here's a picture of my favourite one.
Q.560. Hi Henry. Why were Tudor Bricks so small in thickness?
It is a misconception that Tudor bricks were thinner to allow a more intricate
pattern to be built. It was because we rushed them into manufacture and set
up many small brickworks who had poor drying and oven facilities.
Tudor bricks are poor quality and had a huge scrap rate thanks to the cores
being wet and firing before they were completely dry. The expansion in the
wet centres would crack and distort the brick causing a low acceptance rate
for Royal building stock. Walls around properties ended up with the worst
acceptable brickwork, even at Hampton Court around the Tiltyards where
today you can see poor examples of brick.
The thickness was small because they air dried quicker and hopefully lowered
the scrap rate. The fashion for brick in-fills to timber framed walls which
superseded the old Wattle and Daub system created a huge demand for kiln
produced bricks. The London borough of Willesden was expanded from a
small river dwelling to a bustling, brick making town on the River Brent, the
way over being Brentford. Nearby a house had two ways over the River and
was named two-fords, Twyfords! About 80 workers were involved with the
brickworks and much of the production went into Hampton Court on Royal
purchases. These 80 workers brought in a further 200 dependents and thus
the town grew.
The pre-Henry Hampton Court built by Cardinal Wolsey used common brick
and painted the different patterns instead of arranging coloured bricks in a
built pattern. I rebuilt over these Wolsey walls to bring them up to my
standard. I also discarded the Timber framing for full brick walls with
structural stanchions and bowed timber roofing spans which was quite a step
forward in building design, again though increasing the need for brick
production to be increased.
Here’s a few pictures of poor Tudor bricks taken in Hampton Court’s Tiltyard,
though it must be said, they are nearly 500 years old and still there! In 500
years time how may modern buildings would have survived?
Q.561. Hi Henry. Without proper maintenance what would a Tudor house
look like after many years of neglect?
Nature takes all back eventually. Windows would break, stone would layer
and fall apart, bricks would fall under their own weight as the mortar breaks
down, wood would rot and fall off leaving roof's on the floor and that
dreaded Ivy would take over.
I had to ride a few miles to find this picture, it is Bank Hall in Bretherton,
Lancashire.
Q.562. Hi Henry. The Knights rode big strong horses as the rider was dressed
in heavy armour, what protected the horses?
Mmm. They wore armour too!
Q.563. Hi Henry. Just what does a wild boar look like, is it big?
Very big and very dangerous.
Q.564. Hi Henry. Why do some stone stairways in round towers go clockwise
up and some anticlockwise up? Is it to stop the running soldiers getting dizzy?
Thank you for the laugh, it cheered up my boring day.
Never think that the leader of any castle gives a hoot about the dizziness in a
soldier, the soldier is a tool to the boss.
The fact is though that 5/6 people are right-handed and the other 1/6 lefthanders were forced to be awkward right-handers. Now put your sword in
your best hand, your right hand, run up a spiralled staircase with that sword
in your hand, which direction makes it impossible to attack the soldiers up
stairs? Clockwise upwards. Now if the defending soldiers are downstairs the
worst rotation for the attacker is clockwise downwards. So this the reason for
the two uses of the spirals. The defender are at the top the stairs spiral
clockwise up to them, this allows the defenders to have their swords in their
right hands and all the space needed to swipe at the incoming attackers. But
is the defenders are under the entrance, in a cellar or dungeon, the staircase
would need to go the other way to keep this advantage.
This is true not a wind-up, or wind-down!
Now I’m on the subject of tower stairways! Did you know that they werew
designed to be as narrow as two people passing even though the castles is
large enough to very wide towers? Why? Because an archer cannot fire an
arrow around a corner but is the corner is wide enough he can kill people on
the tangent of the circle. Clever eh! AND he would have to be a left-handed
archer too!
Now I’m feeling dizzy.
Spirals
By Henry Tudor
With sword in their hand
With fear in their heart.
The foe enter this land
To kill from the start.
But a castle so high
With towers so great.
Spiral up to the sky
A hard task they make.
The hunted defend
From top floor they wait
The foe cannot sword bend
This becomes their end fate.
A genius it was that found
When towers spiralled round.
To make it clockwise quite sound
To the top from the ground.
Keep staircase quite narrow
To stop a stray bows arrow
Make it awkward to fight on
The battle now won.
Q.565. Hi Henry. Fellow follower of Tudor History from Cornwall.
Love the website, view it all the time.
I was hoping you could clear up the mystery of measurements for me. I have
always been confused why the Imperial system is so complicated yet the
Romans always worked in multiples of 10. Please have a go at this mystery for
me.
Well, I won’t insult you by mentioning Cornish miles.
The potential Roman Empire had no real measurements before they invaded
and they had a very clever way of measuring lengths. It was the norm of the
Romans to build a stopover infrastructure every 15 Roman miles which was a
day of marching. Miles came from 1,000 Roman paces, mille. Now I can hear
you say “that’s a big pace” but a pace was actually 2 steps, so the right foot
started again from the same position. A Roman Pace was 58” or 1.62 yards.
So a Roman step was 29” or 0.81 yards. This shows just how short Romans
were! I think I have mentioned it before that too big a pace rubbed the legs
on the ends of their leather thonged kilts.
Now if you multiply 1.62 yards by 1,000 paces then a Roman mile is 1,620
yards long. When the Romans left and the Brit’s were left behind they
multiplied their pace of 1.760 yards to get our mile of 1,760 yards.
In medieval days fractions were used instead of decimals, so ½ mile, ¼ mile
and then 1/8th which is 220 yards and became the length of a furrow for
serfdom land working. The furrow length became the Furlong which is still in
use today in the horse racing world. Now into the equation comes the Roman
Catholic Church, they built churches with a sanctuary end under the cross,
called the Rood end. A barrier was fixed for the hunted to enter the Rood
whilst the hunter could not be allowed in with weapons. The depth of the
Rood was two lengths of the sword tip to the halfway of the swordsman!
Confused eh! This meant nobody could in theory fight in the rood. This length
was 16.5 feet long and became known as the Rood length which became the
Rod Length.
Now because all churches had a rood length it became the standard way to
measure land area, four rood lengths X one furrow length was the old way of
measuring land, the archaic way, the acre!
Now let us calculate the actual acre.
1 rood length X 4 X 220 yards = 16.5 feet/3 yards X 4 X 220 = 4,840 sq.yds or
43,560 sq.ft
Now in comes the guy who builds dry stone walls around fields with the rood
in his hand, he measures the perimeter in rood lengths and multiplies the
basic height of the wall at 4 feet tall. This measurement is called perches.
Of course things go wrong, we sent over with our intrepid explorers lots of
casks of liquids. Measured in gallons at the filling stage, the liquid soaked into
the wood and evaporated and so after many weeks at sea it had lost some
volume. The other end let the liquid out in gallons which are now called US
Gallons, which are smaller than imperial gallons. Still confused? Me too.
Wait before you go, the Roman roads were built to accommodate the width
of a chariot wheel tracking. Our present railway system is the same as well as
any country we or the Romans have been to building infrastructure, so the
track are the same in America too. To transport the rocket boosters for the
space shuttle, NASA had to make sure they fit on their railway system so the
diameter of the booster rockets were dictated by the Romans. Now that’s
progress!
Where did the Yard come from? The dimension from the centre of a body to
the finger tips, this was the way sellers of cloth measured it off the roll in the
yard outside the houses. Big sellers gave more which is a tall order.
Well, maybe I will mention Cornish miles. How come the road signs in
Cornwall show distances which are not true? Example: “Newquay 3 miles.”
Three miles later, “Newquay 1.5 miles”!
Q.566. Hi Henry. If you loved riding your 200 horses, did you suffer from
horse fly bites a lot?
Not the regular type of question I receive, but quite a good one all the same.
it was well known in my day that darker horses attracted more flies. I rode on
white horses and rarely got bitten. If you explore this answer on the internet,
you will find that the eyes of horse flies define movement of swishing tails
and dark bodies stand out whilst white bodies are nearly invisible. We also
cut the tails shorter.
Q.567. Hi Henry. A young student called Taylor asks "How did Tudors clean
their teeth" for a school project.
In Tudor times there was no real product for cleaning your teeth. But as the
poor ate less meat, sweets and more vegetables so they had healthier teeth
that the rich though they still had big problems with their teeth. Hairdressers
used to also pull out teeth and also let blood out as a medication, they had a
red and white pole outside their shops to let people know their skills. Using
cloth and twigs as tooth picks was the general theme. The view of a farmer
walking across a field with a sprig of corn in his mouth comes to mind.
We all knew that bad teeth hurt and also dirty teeth made your breath smell,
so I have my teeth cleaned by my barber who uses his own concoction of soot
and honey. I know that soot is black but it is a good abrasive and leaves my
teeth smooth, the blackness dissapears when I it swill out. The honey makes
the soot into a paste and makes it taste bearable. During a long banquet I
sometimes chew on liquorice sticks which also clean between my teeth like
flossing. Trouble is we loved sugared sweets, and we believed that eating
such things solved the problem of bad breath; we also chewed mint leaves
and aniseed to keep bad breath away. Hey! Nobody can smell their own
breath and if I ask a privy councillor his opinion of my breath smell, he's going
to lie and say it is good whatever it smells like, wouldn't you?
In reality, sugar and honey does rot your teeth but is easily cleaned off with a
cloth or a frayed liquorice stick. The biggest culprit was starch which formed
an acid between teeth and rotted the roots. Starch is present in root
vegetables and sauces. The poor eat them as well as us so we were all not
aware of the real cause of the bad teeth.
My daughter Elizabeth lost a lot of her teeth in later life due to bad hygiene.
I hope this is enough for your project.
Now make sure you clean your teeth after EVERY meal, use floss and go to
the dentist regularly, do not copy the Tudors.
HenryR
Q.568. Not a question, but included as it raises many questions.
Running Water and Cowboy Builders.
by Henry Tudor
Sometime ago I visited Dove Cottage and became intrigued by the running
water to create a cooling room called the Buttery for the Butts of wine. I have
now been searching for good examples of running water for Medieval/Tudor
times. For this I turned to Tony, my brother for his deep knowledge of where
to look. He came up with Haughmond Abbey in Shropshire. This is 80 miles
from my base and so I planned the visit with bro’ Tony well in advance to be
snuggled between Henry gigs. About 4 miles to the East of Shrewsbury, the
Abbey is in ruins but looked after by English Heritage. He took me straight
over to a row of post-stumps and told me about underground rooms called
the Undercoft where food, ale and dishes were kept to be brought up to the
floor above, the dining hall. He showed me the remains of a gulley where
well-water ran through the store. Now intrigued I wanted to see the origin of
the water, he knew where to go. We followed the line of the gulley, bits of it
popping out now and then to show we were on the right trail until went came
to the boundary wall of the Abbey. New we left the Abbey itself, walked up
the main road to another track, along which he paced out the distance equal
to the position where we were stopped by the wall. Turning East we climbed
the hill through the woods, at this point I was rather worried, and only about
100 yards into the woods we came across a small roofed, stone building.
“Here’s the turning point” he said.
This is how his brain works, he knew the water had a head of pressure, it
cannot directly dive down from a lake as it would erode the hill, so it must
gently flow down the hill parallel to the Abbey. Therefore he was looking for
the turning point where the Abbey had dug a new waterway towards their
dining room. The building was a stone, roofed, locked construction to protect
the water, it has a saint to guard it and so it was deemed to be a Holy Well.
Now in top gear, Tony knew there would be more than one as the Abbey had
a fish farm next to it and water would be needed to feed it. Only 10 minutes
later he found the foundations of the second Holy Well. See the pictures of
this days research. Thanks Tony, genius tracker.
It didn’t end there, as we had solved the story of running water he now threw
the question at me “wanna see how the builders used old Roman roof tiles in
their walls?” This was music to my ears, get him whilst he’s on a roll.
It seems that stone not always fits together well, cutting them exact takes
time and skill and each stone needs “fettling”. But if a slice of material is fit
between ill fitting stones then the job is speeded up with less skill needed.
Hence, finding a pile of Roman roof tiles becomes the fettling materials. The
wall was not an obvious viewpoint, he knew that hiding things in the open
needs obscurity, but he knew where to go. Find the wall without features,
where strength and structure is more important than looks. This wall will
have the tiles in it. He looked at the plan, hummed and ah’d a while then
pointed to a wall of double thickness with little feature, “they’ll be there” and
off he ran with me trying to get my camera out at the same time. Lo and
behold he walked right up to the wall with red tiles embedded in to level off
unlevel stones. I was overcome with emotion. “They covered this with lots
with plasterwork to hide the tiles, a sort of cowboy building really”, what!
Unskilled cowboy builders of Abbeys! This was mind blowing.
We had to leave Shrewsbury without visiting the obvious in the Town itself,
but then I learnt more in the forest about buildings and water than I could
have from a tour around a Cathedral which was built without cowboys. On
the way home, he beamed at the day’s events and began to plan further trips
to hidden forts, sewers, wells he knew about. Can’t wait.
Q.569. Hi Henry. How did they make your wonderful hats?
Mad Hatters
By Henry Tudor
Wearing a hat will enhance your features, protect your head for the sun and
weather and also indicate your skills by way of hunting hats, riding hats etc.
But have you ever sat back and wondered how did they make that hat? How
did they get the cloth to be such a complicated shape and even keep the
shape when wet?
First of all not many hats are cloth, they are felted strands of either hair or
wool. Felting is to separate strands then arrange randomly to allow the barbs
to lock together then pressed to the desired shape and thickness. Very basic
is this explanation that I must expand the various details for you.
Rabbits were the preferred hair for hats in Tudor rich circles. Not easy to
extract from the rabbit by chasing it around the pen with a pair of scissors!
But easy after you have eaten the rabbit and have the skin left over, then you
can flay the skin off to leave behind the fur. Not you need to wash it to
remove the grease, this is the Lanolin, then dry it and fluff up the fur to
expose all the hairs. Shearing off the best bits was the job of the trimmer with
a very sharp blade, he was very skilled and so became known as the “cut
above all others”. The hairs were then pressed into a rough mat so triangles
can be cut from it. Why triangles I hear you say! Have you ever made a shape
in paper mache? Then you’ll know that a triangle can be pasted into any
known complicated shape. Not get a wooden former than looks like a bell,
wet it and then paste the triangles onto the former up to two layers press to
get the shape of the bell. This is very weak and needs shrinking and locking by
immersing it into a tank of special liquid.
Special liquid, now I’ll stop messing with you and speak bluntly, a liquid made
of a mixture of Water + Urine + Mercury. Now this liquid was highly
poisonous and lead to harmful conditions of the human brain of the hatmaker, hence “Mad as a Hatter”. The urine acted as a mordent and with
some alum flour (Aluminium Sulphate) would seal in any colour dye.
The wet hat was then pressed into the final shape and left to dry. This
process is nowadays automated and a lot safer to work with, but in Tudor
times a hatter did not live very long because of the chemicals used in this
trade.
Q.570. Hi Henry
Hey, I found your website, and I’m not sure how old it is, or even if you’re still
answering questions, but I was wondering if you could help me out. I have a
question of my own.
What were your motivations and actions behind bringing out religious
changes during the reformation?
Thanks for even considering my question.
Josh D.
Hi, my website is current and ever growing in size.
The reforming of the old Roman Catholic Church in England into a state run
Catholic Church of England came about for many reasons. Not just the
obvious of getting an annulment from my first wife it was a time ready for
change.
Here are the factors in list format:
1. I wanted a divorce from my first wife who was 6 years older than me and
beyond her childbearing years.
2. We had 6 babies born in our marriage but 5 died and only a girl was left,
Mary.
3. Her nephew was the boss of the Pope, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles
and he would not allow a divorce after pleading from his Aunt.
4. The Royal coffers were running out of funds and the church was seen as a
strong source of revenue.
5. I wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, this would destroy any allied pretentions
with the Roman Catholic world.
6. The monasteries were a supply of stones for the building of fortresses
along the south coast of England on the estuary of every invade-able river.
7. The people of England were held down by the old Roman Catholic church
with “pay to pray” policies and “tied to their church” restrictions.
8. The church needed to be overhauled to be more accessible to the people,
by introducing an English version of the bible, by allowing people to moved to
any church.
9. The selling off of old monastery lands and property brought the nobility
into the new reformation and brought in £175M to the coffers (today’s
values).
10. I could change the church rules to suit my own ends.
11. The Lutheran’s were growing in strength in Europe and I could see the old
ways will lose in the end, so I took sides early on.
This is my candid view of the reformation and the creation of the new order
where the Head of state is also the head of the Church, this is still true today
in 2010. The actual change from Catholic beliefs to Protestantism was by the
Council led by Edward Seymour and in the name of my son King Edward VI.
My daughter Queen Mary I, tried to reverse the reformation back to Roman
catholic, but still kept the reigns, with her death my other surviving daughter
Elizabeth I changed it back to Protestant England where it has remained.
HenryR
Q.571.
Hi Henry. What kind of toothbrushes did you use?
1498 the worlds first toothbrush was invented in China being made from
cattle bone and Siberian pig hair.
It was the late 1600's when England got their's, then in 1780 William addis
produced mass made brushes.
In Tudor tines we cleaned teeth with cloth or chewed stick ends to fray them
and use concoctions of abrasives such as pumis stone, cuttlefish, alabaster
and eggshells. Many caused damage to the enamel of teeth and would seem
clean until we ate a dark stained food, then the teeth would soak in the stain.
Cloves herbs and later on tobacco was chewed to clean and lower the pain of
tooth Ache.
We believed that sweet food made our breath smell sweet but nobody was
brave enough to tell me my breath was bad. You cannot smell your own
breath except taste a bad taste.
We had tooth picks made of porcupine quills. Feather ends and long Wooden
thorns
Rubbing with White wine vinegar mixed with honey cleaned the enamel and
we believed that clean teeth squeaked when rubbed which is true as the
surface left is the polished enamel.
Hence "squeaky clean".
Henry
Q.572. Hi Henry. You look so angry in your portraits, are always like that?
Of course I’m not. I can be fun, loving and kind but who wants a King seen as
a push-over?
How many adults out there, remember their school days where you joined a
group just to be cool. Sitting on the wooden chair are the back of the
classroom, “....hard backed chair leaning ‘gainst the wall”... Dolly Parton”.
No matter how fierce a person has got to be seen as, a heart still lingers
underneath.
“.....A man may weep upon his wedding day.” William Shakespeare
We all try to be someone else, only you know the real persona, most people
around you know your outer-self with your inner-self let out in modified
format. Then there are the people you do not know, for them you transform
your outer self to what you really want to be, you wear fashions, apply
makeup and even act out the personality to make people believe it to be
really you. Some people try to convince themselves that they are this made
up person by changing their personality permanently with tattoo’s, piercing
and hair dye.
Just think about how you pose for a photograph, is it you, is it as people know
you, or is it how you want to be seen? Trouble is that you rarely see yourself
as others do because you see yourself in a mirror and they don’t, so when
you see your own picture or video you are shocked and ask “is that how I
really look. Now mix the sound into the equation, you hear your voice from
inside, your ears pick up your voice from outside and inside, mix them up and
that’s your sound. But how do others hear you? They only hear the outside
sound which can be distorted by distance and their own hearing system. Now
for a shock, watch a video of yourself talking and you will shrink into your
inner-self, not believing that you have been portraying yourself differently all
these years.
Now back to the question, “...why do I look so angry in all my portraits?”
I must venture into the world of psychology and the three persona theory.
A photograph is taken instantly and nowadays costs nothing to produce, you
can afford to be whatever you want, all three persona. But in my day
photography did not exist except for the Camera Obscurer. A portrait had to
be painted and took over a month to produce. It would have cost about
£6,000 in 2011 money and only one would be seen and any time.
Now consider you are a King and you want to present yourself to the country
in your portrait, which persona do you want to use? What type of clothing
should you wear? What about the display of wealth, how much should you
wear and of what quality and cost?
Here’s my answer to your questions:
1. I will never wear the clothing again as they are only for the portrait, so I
will spend a lot of money on them.
2. Jewels will be the best in the world, only one piece will be seen again to
show I have respect for some event in my past.
3. I will wear my hat on an angle to emphasise my eyes and portray a feeling
or mood.
4. I will stand with my legs apart to create a stable rectangular look, not a top
heavy look.
5. I must look tall so my clothes will not be too long, balance to my height is
very important.
6. Never smile on a portrait as it make you look to easy to overpower. I will
show my evil eye and portray a man not to be messed with.
7. Colours are important, I will not pick my favourite colours, I will pick
expensive colours that portray danger, Red, Purple. Then I will choose gold as
an accessory colour to display wealth.
8. Warm, width and trim will be accommodated in my choice of fur trim, I will
pick short hair, dark fur from a bear, which symbolises the danger of the bear
and the wealth to afford it.
9. My face is an important feature to my persona, so I will trim my beard in a
square look to hide my neck, double chin and sagging cheeks. This square-cut
look will be easy to recognise and will become my iconic feature.
10. I will wear hose on my legs to hide bruises and old age, they will be as
white as we can make them to be seen as “porcelain-like” as possible, a gold
garter on my stirrup leg and my dagger on the same side. My shoes to be silk,
not for wearing outside but meant to be anti-slip for my private quarters. This
will allow the viewer a little glimpse of my private life.
All of this portrayal is how I want people to see me, the other two Henry’s are
only for my close friends, my wife and myself.
Q.573. Hi Henry
I found your article about boulder rocks forming lakes in Cheshire so
interesting that I went to Beeston castle myself just to see one of them.
Everybody should know about this.
I have been trying to find one of the boulders on the surface, but not been
lucky yet. Could you tell me where to go to find one and stand on it?
Hi. They are all around us, they make the countryside what we see today, it
may be a small hill, a rocky outcrop on a hill or even a small dome sticking out
of the ground. There are literally thousands of them as the glacier moved
slowly it ground them into near spherical forms and virtually rode on them
down the valleys before the great melt. If the land was high enough the
melting glacier would run away to lower ground and form lakes and rivers,
the boulder on high ground would then be exposed and become part of the
seen countryside. Probably near a water source as the boulders cut into the
land to form rivers and valleys. Here I have a picture for you taken at a
famous boulder in Cumbria, the place is called Grange Bridge at the southern
end of Derwent Water. I have superimposed the probable shape at it stopped
before sinking into the bedrock and the shale being heaped on it by the
moving ice-flow.
You can stand on this one.
Cool eh!
Q. 574. Hi Henry. How can a flag wear out? David aged 12 years.
Sometimes it takes a young mind to see such a phenomena as a waving flag
wearing out in the wind. So here’s the process explained.
A long length of flag will whip fiercely with the force expanding like a wave
until it gets to the loose end and whips violently to release the energy. This
whipping unties the sewing and the weaving weft gets pulled out leaving
strands flapping loosely in the air. There seems to be no flag that is resistant
to this slow acting process creeping along the flag.
Here is a flag picture taken from the Tower of Harlech Castle, where it is very
windy. I am told they need a new flag every year!
Look at the loose end to see the fraying process.
Q. 575. Hi Henry. How did they build boats on a river bed?
I thought I would make it pictorial, to explain the process of former making
with Wych Elm poles.
A wide, flat river bed was used where there was a regular spring tide twice
per year. A boat would be built between these spring tides to float it off the
pole formers.
This process went on until about 1800 when dry-docks became the method
generally and these small builders moved to towns.
Q. 576. Hi Henry. What is a Mattock?
Basically it is a multifunctional tool for Stone masons or Ore Miners.
It is like a large Pick with a wedge shape at the other end for prising out rocks
or splitting stone.
Here is a picture of a Mattock and a Castle being built by masons.
Q. 577. Hi Henry. In one of your answers you mentioned the black
stone/fossil found on Norfolk beaches and how it was used to make
permanent ink. What is this process called.
The stone like substance is timber from dead trees, soaked in Iron salts and
pressed under the weight of the Earth to create a new material. Further up
north to East Yorkshire the stone is called Jet, as it was made from Monkeypuzzle trees, the stone in Norfolk was made from Pine and is called “Cuprus”.
The process of iron salts in the water is called “Chalybeate”.
Q. 578. Hi Henry. Why was Silver used so much in the Royal Court when you
could afford Gold to show off with.
There’s more to life than showing off, Gold was used as Plate but it is
intrinsically a soft metal and wear badly. Silver when polished is the brightest
of metals and hard enough to withstand wear and tear. Silver also has a
medical property, in very small amounts (10 parts per Billion) it helps to
sterilise water with anti-bacterial properties. But too much Silver Oxide in the
water is a poison called Argyria which causes blue skin. Just using the vessel
to drink out of produces enough silver to help clean the contents.
Q. 579. Hi Henry. What did Katherine of Aragon think of England when
compared to her native Spain?
She left the most sophisticated city of Alhambra in Granada for a London
festering in muck and sewage. She left a marbled palace for a brick house,
running water for buckets, clean open space for smelly crowded bustling
streets.
I think she thought England was Hell.
Q. 580. Hi Henry When and why was the Rood End sanctuary system
abolished in England?
My Father King Henry VII asked the Pope to allow him to abolish the
sanctuary in churches because of his fear of uprisings against the new royal
family of the Tudors. It was never restored.
Q. 581. Hi Henry. How did the palaces clean the kitchens to remove all the
bacteria?
A mixture of Vinegar + Rosemary + Salt was used every night. But nobody
realised about the mixing of blood and vegetable during preparation, so my
large kitchens always had separate workplaces. Hampton Court Palace had
200 workers (mainly men) in 55 rooms, and 19 departments and we used 6
tons of wood per day, to fire up the ovens and open cooking fires. There was
many people about, lots of food all over the place and smoke. So not that
clean.
The vinegar was a solvent and cut through the grease, with some disinfecting
properties.
The Rosemary was an insect repellent.
The salt was a mild abrasive and took away and moisture left behind.
Q.582. This is before anybody jumps in with the obvious question from the
last one! Why mostly men in the Kitchen?
Because we were showing off. Women were cheaper to employ. So the very
rich had men run their kitchen.
Q.583. Hi Henry. Making bread is a precarious skill and timing is crucial to a
successful batch of bread from the ovens. Without clocks, timers how did the
baker know when the bread was ready?
Simple really, the dough was loaded into the oven and sealed behind a wet
wooden door which would expand and tighten up in the loading hole. A bead
of dough was used to “putty” seal the door and when this was hard and
baked they knew that the bread inside was also baked. Usually black on the
bottom and cracking on the top, the Baker would tap the loaf and see if it had
a hollow sound. The blackened base was for the poor, whilst the “uppercrust” got the rest.
Q. 584. Hi Henry. When did the rich start having food courses?
In the 1830’s, not just for fashion but mainly to save food. We always had all
the courses out at the same time in a Buffet and we sent our servants to
collect our food orders.
Oh by the way, the day had the following meals:
1. Break-the-fast a meal of bread and water with some fruit (breakfast).
2. Dinner, a buffet for up to 500 people in two sittings. This could last up to 3
hours.
3. Supra (A broth made from left over’s with bread), we called it Supper. The
poor had very thin Supra which is now Soup.
We did not have lunch, this was a light meal in the mid 1800’s when Dinner
went to the evening. Lunch was made of pressed meat from left-overs which
was called Luncheon Meat.
Q.585. Hi Henry. Did the Tudors recycle?
Much more than you do today. Everything had a value, even paper that
wrapped food, boxes and even bones. Skin was used by the leather trade,
bones made soup then fed the dogs and extra bones used to make glue. Even
ash was a valuable commodity, it was used to make Alum flour which
softened leather and fixed colours in cloth. Clothes were handed down the
chain of children then cut up eventually and made into something new or
mulched into paper making. All metals had value and would be sold. Men
would travel around buying the rich’s old metals, pots , cloth and bones. The
Rag and Bone men.
I have a little poem about Royal Tudor Kitchens.
The Kitchen
By Henry Tudor
Two years in the rafters over wood smoke from iron hook
The salt beef took its good time to soften, to rot and to cook.
A slice for the Master, the Mistress, the Children, no more
The rest got the leftovers, they’re just the poor.
Clean the tops of the grease, dust and flies
Vinegar with Rosemary and salt, now have sore eyes.
Show off with no women, use male children to clean
hide all the workers behind huge Oak screen.
Black base, crunchy cob brown, fired in oven of bricks and ground clay
Early morning rise, prepare for the day.
Heated by tied faggots of twigs dried near main fire
Break out the embers, the heat flash will inspire.
Dough now to fill chamber, sealed with wet wood and dough
When hardened and browning, remove bread from the glow.
Serve black to the workers, white to the lord
Crust to his family, soup to the hoard.
End of the day just the ashes, filter for cinder and dust
Clean down the worktops, being ready a must.
Prepare the new meat on blocks of thick beech
Hang out over main fire, to seal and to bleach.
Many were fed by these men of the fire
No women amongst then, the rich will not hire.
Dusk falls over the kitchens, smells linger amid smoke
Next day will come before daylight, hard work to invoke.
Q.586. Hi Henry. What was the range of one of your best cannon?
It must be Cast Iron then as the older Bronze ones were very innaccurate as
the bore was cast whilst the newer cast iron ones were machined bores.
Bored!
I have the most accurate method of calculating the actual firing range of a
cannon as used in my defensive forts on the South coastal river estuaries.
The best place to do this calculation/geometry is at the River Fal in Cornwall
where I have two castles facing each other because of the great width of the
river.
Here are my logical thoughts about the parameters for the calculation.
1. Each castle has got to be high above sea level and difficult to hit from a war
ship.
2. Each castle has got to be a certain distance apart to allow full coverage of
the estuary width.
3. Each castle has got to be strategically placed to allow more than one shot
at the passing enemy, so a semi bow shot + a full on side shot + a semi stern
shot.
4. The enemy is expected to enter at the safest place, the middle as the
opposing castle can inflict most damage up close and the ship has difficulty
with the castles height above the sea level.
5. At low tide, the central passageway must still be reachable by cannon with
a medium angle of entry for greater damage.
6. Bigger cannons to face outwards on each side of the weakest cannon to
extend the range sweep.
7. The cannon must be capable of tilting low enough to hit any ship edging up
to the cliffs below the castles.
With all these ideas well in the mind of anybody about to build the most
expensive defensive system England has ever seen, I have plotted the
outcome.
Pendennis castle has a problem of a blind spot below the fort, so a smaller
fort called Little Dennis was constructed. The two castles are 2.5 km apart so I
calculate the range to be 1.8km or just over one mile!
Q.587. Hi Henry. I enjoyed your story about the Cumbrian boulder rock. I
have just visited Grassington in Yorkshire and was bewildered to find a house
which is supposed to have been an old Corn Mill, but I couldn’t understand
how it worked. Can you please help?
Sounds like a trip on the Triumph to investigate your problem.
Ah! It takes a keen eye to spot the placement of the waterwheel, I found a
circular mark on the outside of the supporting wall on the riverside. The
waterwheel was on the other side trapped between the mill and the wall,
water was diverted via a sluice to under-run the wheel so it would have been
rotating clockwise into the mill workings.
Here are some evidential pictures and a sketch of how the wheel would have
been supported.
Now you’ll have to go back and re-look at the mill just to satisfy your
curiosity, mind you they do have a great bakers shop.
Q.588. Hi Henry. Are there any stained glass windows with you in them.
Cheeky! Must say not many, they would have had to be installed after the
Reformation but not in the reign of Mary I. I would say the best examples
would be in a purpose built Protestant Cathedral and much after the Tudor
reign. My favourite is Truro Cathedral. This Cathedral has a unique shape of a
bent cross in the plan view because they did not want to build too close to
existing properties, so they tilted the cross axis, hehehehe. Make it fit eh!
I have made a collage of the stained glass windows.
See if you can find Sir Thomas More, Erasmus, Archbishop Cranmer and then
myself.
Q.589. Hi Henry.Who's Arthur named after? How come King Arthur is more
famous than you are and he was only a fable?
What! Arthur was a real person, maybe not the glorified, Hollywoodised,
glamourised and romanticised King, but he did exist. He was a Roman Briton
soldier employed as a leader at captain level for the defence of the Roman
metal working centres. He was originally from cornwall, supposedly Tintagel
where the Iron and Tin came from, he would have had great knowledge too
of the Pembroke coast where the copper came from as both would have
been shipped as ore to the refining process centres. One of these centres was
Walton Le Dale on the River Ribble in Lancashire, which became known as
Pendragon after the Romans left, leaving the powerful Arthur to be the
leader. He is said to have battled over the reeds of the River Douglas near the
present day town of Chorley, and then made his way home to command the
source of the metal ores. He knew that the one in charge of the metals would
be the most powerful leader. He passed by Pembroke and met the old
teacher, Merlin from Merlin's bridge before embarkation back to Corwall's
safe Haven of Tintagel. Were Camelot was built is not easy to prove, but the
River Camel enters the sea next to Tintagel so it would be a good guess that it
was somewhere inland up the river towards the lode bearing rocks. (A lode is
the gap between two layers containing a rich seam of metal bearing ore).
Now about my brother Arthur Tudor. He was named politically by my Father
and Grandmother to be assumed a related birth to the real Arthur, this to
give the Tudors credence now on the throne. My Father was born in
Pembroke Castle and so the Welsh flag was created with green/white
background of the Tudors and the red Dragon of Pendragon.
Not really a myth, more a huge Chinese Whisper.
Go see the castle, but also call in on "Arthurs Stone" visitors centre just
outside Tintagel.
Q.590. Hi Henry. I have read about villagers sharing a Duckett. What is a
Duckett?
Pigeons were bred for their meat and their droppings in a communal bullet
shaped building called a Duckett. Not joking!
You see the Romans invaded many countries and took their best ideas back
to their Empire satellites such as Britain. From North Africa came the
treatment of leather and cloth with an enzyme from the droppings of pigeons
with softened the leather and fixed colours. We had to use what we had
around us and pigeon poo can only be collected if their nesting place had
easy access. The Duckett was so designed to allow the droppings to be
collected from under the bird shelving. Bird would be fattened and eventually
eaten
I do have a picture of an original Duckett from the 16th century, if you want
to see it for yourself then it is in a field facing Bamburgh Castle.
Q.591. Hi Henry. Why are Tudor beds so short, were people so short in Tudor
times?
It is true that people were shorter in the 1500’s than today but the ones who
could afford a real bed were also afraid of sleeping flat. They would sleep
with lots of pillows under their top half nearly sitting up. It was believed that
the devil would be watching a sleeper who is flat in case they die in their
sleep, they would snatch them before angels can take them up to heaven. So
a bed would be made that was not possible to lie flat down. A storage cabinet
would be made to hold the pillows, they would also tie up their lower jaw to
stop the mouth opening in sleep and look like death.
Q.592. Hi Henry. What were the toilets like for the poor?
Basically a wooden pail and a plank with a hole in it, the soil was taken to the
midden and eventually spread on the fields.
Q.593. Hi Henry. What is a Laying lure?
It is a way of making the hens lay more eggs by putting them in the mood!
We called it Clucky.
hehehe
Q.594. Hi Henry. I already know that the term "broadcasting" came from the
way seeds were sown, but do you have any pictures of the broadcasting
basket?
Sure do.
Q.595. Hi Henry. Steve from Ohio. From the Star Wars series of movies,
where did the term “The Dark Side” originate?
I must say I loved those films too.
The medieval churches of Britain were built with their front doorway facing
south to be in the light, then a back door facing north thus being in the dark.
When a mass was to start the Northern door was opened first to let the Devil
out before the parishioners entered through the Southern door, “Let there be
light”.
Q.596. Hi Henry. Taking on a “persona” is your act, where did that saying
come from?
Do you mean I’m not real!
Seriously, before the Norman conquest of England in 1066, we had a system
of rule where the King was top, then Dukes and Earls, then Thegn’s who were
to become Lords of the Manor (the man in charge of the Larder!). These
Thegn’s were in charge of their villages and were instructed to build
churches. They would then put in a relative male to be the Rector, but
because of their lack of experience and religious knowledge they in turn
appointed an assistant called the Parson. As you know, people took on their
job title as their surname, so the appointment as Parson would also change
your name to Parson, you took on a new Persona!
The Rector funded his living by imposing a Thythe, 10% tax on the
congregation, the Thegn received 25% of this money the remainder paid for
wages of the Parson, bell ringer, grave diggers etc. Basically, the church was a
place to push unproductive relatives of the rich, who in turn used their
position to live well without the hindrance of working. It was a period when
unrest in the communities began and alternative views were being born.
Q.597. Hi Henry. You must have seen many historical buildings in your time,
but can I ask a most difficult question about pre-Christian places of worship?
Why did these old civilisations always build their religious places away from
their communities?
That is a good point, I do know why but never thought of writing it down until
your query.
Let’s call all the pre-Christian people, Heathens, not a derogatory description
but a real historical title. The heathens were scared of their gods, deities.
Their priests would threaten the crowd with untold hardships and
retributions for not following their ruling. So the place of worship was built
away from the living place and built where it would be safe from attack or
natural disasters. Usually on a hill top, an Island or the inside curve of a fast
flowing river (the outside curve would be the side that erodes in a flood).
There is a great church in the Yorkshire dales which has many dates of build
and rebuild but is placed in a Pre-historical safe position, go see St. Michael’s
Church at Linton. There you will see the river Wharfe bending around the
Church with stepping stones for farmers to attend mass.
Q.598. Hi Henry. Where were early schools situated?
The Church was the main provider of schools, to make sure one view of
religion was taught to the children of the manor. It was usually in the
Southern entrance porch of the church and only boys in the class. Girls were
taught at home by their parents. The Southern entrance because of the light
and the Northern door was an exit for the Devil.
Q.599. Hi Henry. Why are there not many, if any, Saxon buildings left in
Britain?
There are more than one answer to this point. The Saxons were foresters and
so they built in wood and filled in the gaps with daub, moving house would
have been “upping sticks”. Wood rots, daub disintegrates and then Normans
invade. Normans would have destroyed the wooden structures and build
stone buildings in their place. If you want to find Saxon structures the best
places are old churches with other era’s built over them, they can still be seen
but are incorporated into the design of the latter builder.
Q.600. Hi Henry. I know that the rich would show off their wealth by the size
of their houses, but did they also “rub in” their wealth towards the poor?
Rubbing ones noses is an old saying, meaning continual reminding of ones
position. A great way of doing this was making the poor line up to enter a rich
domain, a sort of toll gate without money. Stemming from the design of a
stile which kept animals from roaming but allowed people to pass, a people
gate could be added that forced them to line up and squeeze past a wall into
the grounds of the rich or rich funded churches. Here is a picture of one such
“stile” which purposely makes the peasant feel low down in stature as they
pass into their lord of the manors church land.
Q.601. Hi Henry. What is the difference between a Casting and a Forging?
Ah! The Art of the Blacksmith.
When Iron is a pure metal, Wrought Iron, it is very soft. By adding carbon it
becomes steel which is very strong. But shaping the steel is a highly skilled job
which makes the product very expensive. Steel can be shaped in four differing
ways:
1. It can be cast from molten metal into a mould and a lot of carbon is needed
to make it flow, this causes a random structure which is very strong in
compression but weak in tension and bending making the product fairly brittle.
This is the cheapest way to make many copies of Steel products like spear
heads and cannon barrels.
2. It can be worked when hot to change the structure from a random
arrangement into a directional flow to increase its strength and harden its
working edges like swords and long spikes. This is done by a skilled blacksmith
and is very expensive, the products are also not identical.
3. It can be shaped when cold with a hammer, though this ruins the structure
and can cause surface cracking, it is usually the last process to refine the
product such as patterning, beating a fine edge.
Some products can have all three processes involved in the making. It could
start with a rough casting, then be reheated to be shaped on an anvil to a more
complex shape, then finally finished cold to get that final shape and surface
finish desired. Cold working also work hardens the metal so a keener edge
could be obtained.
4. It can be cut away or added to, machined or fabricated, like adding rivetted
joints.
Basically it all depends how much money you want to spend, a lowly pike-man
will be given a cast-steel pike end for his pole. A knight will be able to afford a
pike which has had the spear-end lengthened by forging, whilst the Duke can
afford his armour to be made with embellishments because he will not be
fighting, his metalwork is for show only.
Now locks and hinges are normally only forged to make sure they are strong
enough to secure the contents.
See the picture below to show you what to look for.
Before any metallurgist jumps in, Tudors mainly worked by the rules of
learning the hard way, they did not know about grain structures and
Spheroidal Graphite cast irons. They would find stronger steels by accident
which have been contaminated at some time by carbon from their own
graphite powered forges. Quality of steel would vary considerably from town
to town, forge to forge and even the time of year influenced the product
outcomes. The best steel seemed to come from Northern Europe, countries
liked Sweden and Northern Germany seemed to have more consistent metals
and nominally consistent working conditions. It would have been quite risky to
assume that all cannon barrels made of cast iron were the same and that one
sword was as strong as its stable mate.
Q. 602. Hi Henry. How did the Tudors make soap?
You may not like the answer. Refined pig fat would be mixed with caustic soda
and then it would be scented. If you read the manufacturing declaration on a
modern packet of soap or shampoo, it does contain animal fats today!
Q.603. Hi Henry. What was Tin used for in Tudor days?
Tin is a pretty useless metal in its pure condition, too soft for weapons, too
silver-like for jewels. It does however have a glorious property, it mixes well
with other metals and makes them flow better when molten, it also hardens
other softer metals like Copper to become Bronze and added to Lead makes it
hard wearing to become an alloy called Pewter. So Tin made other metals
more productive.
Q.604. Hi Henry. What did Tudors think was happening when there was a
natural eclipse of the sun?
We were not stupid, we knew the moon was an object which moved around
Earth, but then we also thought the sun did too, which as you know is wrong.
Nobody had worked it out that our system revolved around the sun and also
we rotated on our own axis too. Not knowing when it would happen is all we
are ignorant of, when it did happen that the Moon aligned with the Earth and
the Sun it came as a surprise but not a warning, there would have been
recorded words about eclipses of the past.
Q.605. Hi Henry. I read that you wear three suits per day is that true? Who was
your tailor?
Yes three complete suits per day to suit the activities, so a heavy Surcoat and
inner hunting suit in the morning. A court suit at mid-day and a banqueting and
ball suit for the evening. We had no dry cleaning so the suits would be
dismantled and all jewels removed every three days and the rest burnt. My
tailor was called John Malte of London, he would oversee the maiking of each
set of three new suits and his workers would make them.
Here is a poem about John Malte.
John Malte the Tailor true.
By Henry Tudor
In London, this Citizen and Merchant tailor did excel
His coffers, his reputation, his standing and skill did swell.
He was the finest tailor in our land, artwork from his very hand
Designing the best his sewing never bland, prowess he would expand.
His family so proud of the King’s new Clothes, by father’s hand
Would celebrate the triumph of each one with party grand.
Their wealth grew fast as did their art, no humble tailor anymore
Royal suit after suit to add to the mounting score.
Master Holbein can you paint me well, did so King Henry tell
Of course your Majesty must see your Tailor for silk to sell.
And so it goes, The Tailor worked and produced a suit, no single fault
Down in History he did go, the skills and talent of the said John Malte.
John Malte’s story to further tell, his daughter Meriel, married well
Into the Family Horner of Plum Pie spell, Jack’s son loved her ever so well.
Riches came and grew to land, beginning with this tailor’s skill
Be the best at what you do, then all your dreams you can fulfil.
Q.606. Hi Henry. Love the pictures of Galyon's glass.
How did Galyon Hone paint pictures onto the actual glass?
I had to be metal based and melted into the glass surface. Iron or Copper oxide
was used and mixed with a glue called “gum-arabic” plus a fixing agent (a
mordant) of vinegar or urine will make it insoluble, it would then be painted
onto the glass and then heated to weld it into the surface.
And another.
Q.607. Hi Henry.
How did Galyon Hone get the window to the perfect shape?
First of all he would make a wooden fixture the same shape as the opening,
then he would lay it down upon tressles like a table top. Now he would draw
the window design in chalk with the thickness of the chalk the same as the lead
he was going to use. All the pieces were now the correct size and shape, he
would now ask the client to come and view the mock-up picture, any changes
can now take place before any glass is made. Each piece is now made and then
laid out in the correct place touching the chalk line.
Now here’s where there are two different routes for the actual making, but I
consider the first one as the most obvious to make sure the lead sets correctly
with the help of gravity, and the window can be put into the opening in one
day.
Method 1. (This is the method I believe to have been used)
Build the whole window on the table fixture with cut pieces of Lead Came and
weld with the melt toward the back of the window. Test for water ingress by
pouring water into each quarry and waiting to find a leak. When fully sealed fix
the whole window to the fixture and lift the whole assembly by “A” frame into
the opening. Remove the fixture after the window has been fitted.
Method 2.
Take each piece one by one from the bottom of the picture and weld it into the
window opening by melting the Lead Cames. Build up the picture and seal off
at the top. This method is for small windows as sealing is difficult.
Q.608. Hi Henry
Is it true that you gave your daughters’ the Welsh Leek to wear on St. David’s
day?
I have a hero in my life, Edward the Black Prince who adopted the Leek as a
bravery symbol for his Welsh archers who fought for him in his victory at Crecy
in 1346. I carried on the tradition from my Father who was born in Pembroke
Castle, Pembrokeshire. I gave both my daughter the Leek to wear in 1536 to
celebrate St. David’s day. The Welsh wore the Leek in their hats.
Q.609.Hi Henry. I read somewhere that in your day you had stone louvered
windows, is that stone windows with louvers or stone louvers in the windows?
I was well before my day, the large windows for light to enter a dark room
were constantly under the threat of invasion or penetration by cannon balls.
Also an angle downwards was needed to fire arrows at any approaching
enemy, so louvers were fitted in the strongest material to hand, stone. If an
object were to hit the stone on the edge in an upward direction the louver
could withstand the force, but if an object was fired upwards and it descended
towards the louver hitting it on the flat side, it would shatter. Luckily it was too
difficult to undertake the downward action. Here’s a couple of pictures of
Stone Louvered windows.
Q.610. Hi Henry. I see you like bird watching, as do I. Why are Blackbirds,
Crows, Ravens attracted to the grounds of Castles?
They live where the food is and they nest where it is difficult for birds of prey
to attack them, so in the holes of a stone wall is a good place to be. They are
vulture like scavenger birds and the Castles are generally on the tops of hills,
near the sea overlooking the plains, this is a good place to watch for animals in
distress. The Raven began to be seen as a Bird of the Nobles because they lived
alongside. I took these pictures recently around the walls of The Bishops Palace
and St. David’s Cathedral in Pembrokeshire.
Q.611. Hi Henry. I’m studying Castles and Old houses at school, why are
windows pointed at the top and not flat like in my house?
Mmm, well spotted. They look like they are pointing towards heaven but in
fact they are designed to carry the weight of the house above them better in a
pointed shape. The Romans taught us how to make doorway and windows
with arches and keystones. Two stones leaning on each other transmit the load
from above to each side of the opeing and then to the floor, this is why
windows are placed above each other and not staggered. If they were
staggered the load transmitted from above would add to the loads above itself
causing extra material stress. At least one window apart the lower window
must be placed. It takes a clever mind to notice this, carry on.
See this diagram below to explain the positioning of stone windows as well as
load distribution.
See these pictures of actual windows, see the one with the collapsed frame
and how Physics naturally creates a pointed top! Maybe too deep for this
question, but if a compressive load is applied to a brittle object it usually fails
with a 45 degree angled break. Says a lot eh!
Q.612. Hi Henry. Why did King and Queen of Spain pick the pomegranate as
their emblem?
A sought after fruit of African origins and needing lots of sunshine in an arid
climate with water underground from aquifers, these are the requirements for
nature to allow one to grown them. The Moor’s invaded Spain for 700 years
occupation, the aquifers are under the northern plains and run down to
Granada, the climate is hot and the ground is arid. All the boxes are now ticked
to grow the special fruit. The King and Queen of Spain, Fernando and Isabella
named the fruit for exportation and it means “The Apple of Granada”.
Pomegranates stored well and travelled well but were very expensive so only
the super rich could afford them, they became a showing off fruit, eating them
with gold sticks to take out the fleshy fruit. The Royal ship Mary Rose had a
“brother” ship built at the same time for Katherine of Aragon, she named it
Peter Pomegranate.
Q.613. Hi Henry. What are Encaustic Tiles?
Usually brownish-red background with cream patterning, not very accurately
marked out due to the low tech process. The pattern is painted on the clay
blank with wax colours and heated to fix, the wax often runs and expands
differently to the clay causing swelling of the pattern. But must say they are
still beautiful. Here is a picture of the tiles.
Q.614. Hi Henry. Is there any place where the Tudor declaration of deserving to
be Royals is written in the public domain?
Well, obviously an historical geek like me!
Mmm. Here’s how we work out where to look.
1.First of all we are looking at the time of King Henry VII, not me.
2.Must be within the reign but not at the end, early on to show who’s boss.
3.Lady Margaret a genius at propaganda will have had some hand in the
display of proof.
These are the factors to work out where and what we are looking for, a plaque
on something religious, say a coffin, grave or Tomb. Now who is related to
Henry VII and Margaret Beaufort and has creditable history of Royal
connections?
Answer: Edmund Tudor Margaret’s late husband and Father to Henry Tudor.
Edmund was half brother of King Henry VI who both had the same Mother,
whilst his father was Owen Tudor. He died in 1456 aged 24 and never saw his
son born to his 12 year old wife Margaret, he was buried at Greyfriars in
Camarthen but then moved to St. Davids Cathedral during the dissolution. The
whole tomb was moved and the lid had a bronze plaque mounted added which
stated in “Latin Father of one King, half brother of another.”
Here’s a picture of the tomb and the plaque. (Had this question for weeks
waiting for the trip to St. David’s, so thanks DM for waiting).
Go one then ask me why they moved his remains to St. Davids. Well the first
Protestant Bishop wanted the central Welsh Cathedral to be in Camarthen
because his remains were there. But, Royalty wanted St. David’s to be the
Central Cathedral of Wales so they moved him instead.
And another daring question. Why St.David’s when it so far off the beaten
track?
Not so, you must think of travel by sea as the answer, St. David’s is central to
have a port for Scotland, Northwest England, Cornwall, Normandy and Brittany
and it was called the “Bridge to Ireland”. So St. David’s was in fact a very
central place.
That’s it now, I’ve got a headache.
Q.615. Hi Henry. I love your website, must have taken years to compile.
Here’s my question. I understand the nature of a barrier at the end of a chapel
for sanctuary and it has the name Rood meaning cross, and the barrier is called
a Rood Screen. But, what is a hanging Rood?
Simple really, if the chapel or church is large and cannot be divided easily to
create the Rood-end, then they could hang a wooden effigy over the declared
entrance to the safe area. It is still a Rood-end but has no screen. Here’s one
for you to see.
And, yes it has taken nearly 8 years to produce this website, which is
constantly being added to, changing and redesign modifications. Please notice
that there are no paid advertisements in it, no swearing, no negative
comments and great respect for all religions, non-religion beliefs or in layman’s
terms “open house to anybody.”
Rats! I meant .................or in layperson’s terms “open house to anybody.” Did I
say “rats!” I meant “Oh dear!” See how hard it is to stay on top of it,
hehehehehe.
Q.616. Hi Henry. Have you got a full Tudor Dynastic Chart?
Yep. See the picture below or if you want a larger one load the file. The time
line is there to give you a feel for the dates but as you can see I took up a lot of
space thanks to having six wives.
This picture show the content of the file below, download it for a large clear
picture.
Click here to download this file
Q.617. Hi Henry. Racked with Pain, has this saying come from the torture
chamber?
Yes. It means what it says. Here are the two most used Torture treatments
from Tudor through to the end of Elizabethan days.
Also, did you know that it was illegal to kill anybody in the Torture Chamber,
they would cover up such crimes by executing already dead prisoners!
Q.618. Hi Henry. I’ve read that your servants ate and lived quite well, what
were the conditions like in the smaller manor houses for servants?
They were not treated well, and their home was tied to their positions, poor
wages and left over’s, mainly all cooked in cast iron pots. See this set of
pictures from various visits to different houses, they all have a similar theme.
The large kitchen set is the highest class.
Q.619. Hi Henry. Do you have a picture of your Mother before she married
your Father?
Yes, and my Maternal Grandmother.
If you find a picture of me when I was a cute little boy, see just how I look like
my Mother!
Q.620. Hi Henry.
Everyone has heard of the Spanish Armada which your daughter Queen
Elizabeth I beat. But what were the English Armada and the Portuguese
Armada’s?
Basically the word Armada is not owned by any country and not a Noun. It just
means “Armed Fleet”.
Q.621. Hi Henry.
I went into an old Tudor house in the town of Ludlow next to the Castle, it had
wooden floors made from timber of all different widths and thicknesses. Why
is that?
The builders of the house were buying second hand timber from ship breakers
and the wood is called “Ship’s Timbers”. They seem all to be different sizes but
that is an illusion. They are from different ships so they would be in batches of
different sizes, big ships produce big timbers and so on. So make a list of
widths and count each width to support a column, this method will tell you
how many different ships were being broken up.
By the way, my deceased brother, Prince Arthur, died in that castle as he was
the Prince of Wales and oversaw his Principality across the Welsh Marches
from Ludlow. The Town took on a new role with Arthur as he was the first
Tudor Prince of Wales, the house was probably built in the expansion. The
ships were probably old merchant ships as my Father King Henry VII would not
have destroyed fighting ships without using the timbers again.
Q.622. Hi Henry
I read that Mary Queen of Scots went to Buxton, Derbyshire to take the
waters. Is that true?
Yes. The waters in Derbyshire have always been there since the Ice-age, the
Romans made Buxton as important as Bath for the healing properties of the
waters. Mary Stuart was under house arrest with the Earl of Shrewsbury and
travelled to Buxton with her captor’s family to take the waters. House arrest
was not a jail cell, it was more like a captive house guest who lived a very
comfortable life style with the family.
Q.623. Hi Henry
Were there any commoners amongst King Henry VIII’s court whom he admired
a lot?
A difficult question if you want to find answers from normal History books. But,
consider how he would address them and this will tell you how he admired
them. If he addressed a man as Master and a woman as Mistress, then these
people did a job for him that was very difficult, if he addressed a person by
their first name then this person is high in the King’s opinion. Master Hone
(Galyon Hone), Master Holbein (Hans Holbein), Master Moody (Edmund
Moody) and Mistress Cornwallis (Lucy Cornwallis). All these commoners
impressed the King. Then there was Will (Will Somers) his trusted Jester and
confidant.
Q.624. Hi Henry
In all your portraits that have survived you never seem to wear diamonds, why
is that?
Simple really, we had diamonds but we did not have the technology to polish
them. We could cut them roughly, rough-cut, but to polish and bring out the
clarity it would need very high speed diamond faced discs. Spinning things very
fast without wobbles was impossible in my age. We would use diamonds as a
cutting tool to shape other softer stones. It was my intention to own all the
mines and metal sources, or as many as I could get. So the Welsh gold mines
were the source of my gold unless it was a gift from abroad, I had copper, tin,
lead, iron and silver and the famous black stone we call Jet from the mines in
Whitby on the Yorkshire coast. I used Jet a lot in my chains, here’s a picture. As
you know Jet if formed from fossilised Monkey-Puzzle trees which are usually
grown naturally in a hot rain forest. Well, before the Ice-age we were a tropical
rainforest county and Monkey-Puzzle trees grew only in East Yorkshire. If you
go down the coast to Norfolk, the fossilisation of the rainforests changes to
another type of tree and produces a black softer resource which is mixed with
iron in the ground, this product makes out permanent black ink.
Sorry I diverted, but I love telling folk where we got our riches from. Here’s a
picture of a Monkey-Puzzle tree.
Q.625. Hi Henry.
You wear lots of pearls, where did they come from?
Oysters of course. Most of our wide, fast flowing river inlets have plenty of
Oysters. Bristol, Morecambe Bay and the Wash were virtually farmed for the
Oyster meat and the potential of Pearls. I never ate Oysters, we considered
them poor meat for the poor, though the Romans loved them and farmed
them. We also had fresh water Pearls which were not perfectly spherical as the
river ran only one way, we liked them though as they gave off a pinkish sheen.
Q.626. Hi Henry. How did people find out what was going on in Tudor Days?
What a deep question! No such thing as the internet, no newspapers for the
rural country (we did have a news-sheet published for London with my blessing
and patronage called The Sun), no phones, no television nor radio, no
magazines and no bill boards. The only method of passing along a story was by
mouth. Now we have all heard of Chinese Whispers where a story gets
changed as it is passed around, mainly because of memory, building up a
theme, biased views, and also skulduggery. So when I was in great sorrow after
the death of Jane Seymour, many believed I had died of a broken heart and the
story went around the country that the King was dead with half the country
mourning and the other half plotting. A story which has travelled a great
distance from mouth to mouth would be called a “far-fetched story” and could
harm the subject of the story or build up the character into a myth such as King
Arthur and his Round Table. Flanders-Mare was a cruel manipulation of the
real facts into a story which cast the Lady from Kleve into an ugly laughing
stock.
Q. 627. Hi Henry. I read in your QA section that the Tudors were not that big on
accuracy in the buildings and artefacts they made, do you have any pictures
showing examples?
Functionality was the name of the game with the Tudor era of manufacturing,
also one off products are virtually designed as they progress through their
making. “We’ll add a bit here. Cut that bit off to make it fit”, these would be in
the mind of the maker right from house builder to ship builder down to
treasure chest builder. Here’s a picture I took from the Red House in Bristol,
just check the inaccuracies but see how the overall product does not defer
from its charm.
Don't forget that there are three methods of manufacture, 1. One off which is
developed at it is made. 2. Batch production where jigs are used to keep a
constant shape and then 3. Mass Production where all the manufacturing
operations are isolated and many automations used.
Q.628. Hi Henry. Where did we get the names of the days of the week?
The time was the dark ages after the Romans had either left or integrated into
Briton society, we were left in an exposed time where we could be taken over
by more violent societies like the Picts or the Angles. Then in came the Saxons
who beat the hordes and established a heathen, multi-god society. They had a
God for each day of the week.
Let us start the week on a Sunday.
Sunday....................Sunnan daeg, the day of the Sun God.
Monday...................Monan Daeg, the day of the Moon God.
Tuesday...................Tiwes Daeg, the day of the God of war, Tiw.
Wednesday.............Wodenes Daeg, the day of the chief God, Woden or Odin.
Thursday.................Thunres Daeg, The day of Thor the God of Thunder.
Friday......................Frige Daeg, the Wife of Odin, Frige.
Saturday.................Saeter Daeg, the day of Saturn.
Then of course they changed their religious views and became Christians, they
left the names of the week because everybody was used to them.
Q.629. Hi Henry. Was a man called a Freeman because he was not a slave?
Not really, it actually meant “Free Necked Man” a person who never bows his
head to anybody. A soldier or leader who would lead a small community.