Today In History

[Gauwyn of Bracknell]

Our condolences, your Grace.

How did you escape losing your head - were you not the uncle of Anne and Catherine Howard?  Didn't you play a role in these marriages?

[Norfolk]

Our condolences, your Grace.

How did you escape losing your head - were you not the uncle of Anne and Catherine Howard?  Didn't you play a role in these marriages?

I am indeed the uncle to both Queens, and I did indeed play a role in both marriages.  I escaped death because King Henry died with my death warrant upon his desk.  King Edward decided to imprison me in the Tower rather than take my head.

[Norfolk]

On this date in 1533 Queen Anne Boleyn began her four-day coronation ceremonies.

[Norfolk]

On this date in 1536, Jane Seymour made her first appearance as Queen of England.

[Rowan MacD]

A belated entry:
  On June the 3rd in 1162: Thomas À Becket consecrated Archbishop....

When Henry II appointed his old friend to this powerful post, he thought Becket would continue to support him in the ongoing struggle of state vs. church. Becket would soon prove otherwise.

**one of my favorite historical characters^_^**
Becket gave Henry II nearly as much grief as his Queen did.

[Norfolk]

On this date in 1509 King Henry VIII married Katherine of Aragon at Greenwich palace.

[Norfolk]

On this date in 1509 Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon were crowned King and Queen of England.

[DonaCatalina]

Thomas Legh to Cromwell.
14 Spetember, 1533.
You are advertised by my cousin Sir Jas. Layborne of a cruel murder committed on 18 July, at Furnes, in Lancashire,—of a kinsman of mine named John Bardsey, son and heir to Wm. Bardsey, the bearer, whom I recommend to you. The matter was contrived by the prior of Conygished and Wm. Lanc[aster], brother to Edw. Lanc[aster], and others unknown. The murdered man's head was cut asunder in three places, his legs and arms mutilated. My cousin says he informed Mr. Antony Fitzherbert, justice, of the whole affair, at the last assizes in Lancaster, but no indictment was put in. As the matter is colorably borne by divers gentlemen, I beg you to provide a remedy. The bearer can tell you much of the county, and may be trusted. Camberag, 14 Sept.
Signed Thos. Legh.

[Rowan MacD]

On this date in 1498:  Tomás de Torquemada died (he is presumably still doing time in purgatory).
As the first grand inquisitor of Spain, Torquemada displayed a ruthless efficiency and undying zeal for his work. His name has become synonymous for the fear, bigotry and hatred associated with the Spanish Inquisition.

Lyrics from Mel Brook's History of the World-Part 1

"The Inquisition (what a show)
  The Inquisition (here we go)
We know you're wishin', that we'd go away...
The inquisitions' here, and it's here to staaaay...."

[Rowan MacD]

One this date in 1485:
   Henry VII is crowned King of England.
   Technically he became King on 22 of August of the same year, upon the defeat, and death, of Richard III.   He did not marry Elizabeth of York until after he became king in his own right.

[Rowan MacD]

 Oct 31, 1517:
Martin Luther posts 95 theses (and started a  revolution)      

On this day in 1517, the priest and scholar Martin Luther approaches the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and nails a piece of paper to it containing the 95 revolutionary opinions that would begin the Protestant Reformation.

In his theses, Luther condemned the excesses and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, especially the papal practice of asking payment—called "indulgences"—for the forgiveness of sins. At the time, a Dominican priest named Johann Tetzel, commissioned by the Archbishop of Mainz and Pope Leo X, was in the midst of a major fundraising campaign in Germany to finance the renovation of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Though Prince Frederick III the Wise had banned the sale of indulgences in Wittenberg, many church members traveled to purchase them. When they returned, they showed the pardons they had bought to Luther, claiming they no longer had to repent for their sins.

Luther's frustration with this practice led him to write the 95 Theses, which were quickly snapped up, translated from Latin into German and distributed widely. A copy made its way to Rome, and efforts began to convince Luther to change his tune. He refused to keep silent, however, and in 1521 Pope Leo X formally excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church. That same year, Luther again refused to recant his writings before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Germany, who issued the famous Edict of Worms declaring Luther an outlaw and a heretic and giving permission for anyone to kill him without consequence. Protected by Prince Frederick, Luther began working on a German translation of the Bible, a task that took 10 years to complete.

The term "Protestant" first appeared in 1529, when Charles V revoked a provision that allowed the ruler of each German state to choose whether they would enforce the Edict of Worms. A number of princes and other supporters of Luther issued a protest, declaring that their allegiance to God trumped their allegiance to the emperor. They became known to their opponents as Protestants; gradually this name came to apply to all who believed the Church should be reformed, even those outside Germany. By the time Luther died, of natural causes, in 1546, his revolutionary beliefs had formed the basis for the Protestant Reformation, which would over the next three centuries revolutionize Western civilization.




*Side note: One of my favorite characters that used to attend our Faire was 'The Cardinal' , dressed in sumptuous robes of red velvet, encrusted with bling, handing out tiny rolls of parchment (indulgences) tied with red ribbon and a wax seal. 
  He would give a history lesson with every favor. 

[Rowan MacD]

  November 3rd, 1534 - English parliament accepts Act of Supremacy: Henry VIII becomes Head of Church of England, and the Anglican Church was born.
   
   

[Rowan MacD]

 Belated posts:



1494: Hans Sachs was born:
Sachs was a renowned meistersinger and poet whose popularity and productivity influenced the German cultural scene of his day.

November 5th,   1605: Gunpowder Plot Fails
Catholic convert Guy Fawkes conspired with Robert Catesby and a small band of Catholics to blow up Parliament and the British royal family. The infamous Gunpowder Plot was discovered, however, and Fawkes was arrested on November 4, the night before it was to take place.

Today, "Guy Fawkes Day" is celebrated in England with fireworks and the burning of effigies of the conspirator.

November 6th: 1429: Henry VI crowned King of England
Though he succeeded to the throne at nine months of age, he was not officially crowned until he was eight.

1479: Joan the Mad was born to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain-she was the elder sister of Katherine of Aragon, and eventual heir to the Spanish Throne.

More recent..

November7th...1874-The Republican Party was first symbolized as an elephant in a cartoon drawn by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly magazine.

[Rowan MacD]

In 1483-Martin Luther was born.

   Luther is one of the most significant figures in Christian history. His questioning of Catholic Church practices precipitated the Protestant Reformation, which resulted in a permanent break with Roman Catholicism and established Protestantism as one of the three major theological segments of Christianity (the third being Eastern Orthodoxy).

   There is some controversy over whether or not Luther actually nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church.  What is known is that his Theses were rapidly distributed, first among his peers and not long after among many others in Germany.     
   The role of the printing press in the dissemination of his work and the resulting Reformation is undeniably significant.

[Rowan MacD]

 On this day in 1542, Queen Catherine Howard was executed for treason, presumably for committing adultery while married to King Henry VIII.