Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1 July 1818 – 13 August 1865) was a Hungarian-born German physician who noticed that the doctors in the Vienna General Hospital‘s First Obstetrical Clinic had three times the morality rate for recently delivered mothers compared to the women who gave birth with a midwife in attendance. The women under the doctors’… Read more Semmelweis and Sinning Against the Paradigm
Like most people, I have accepted the ‘given’ definition of Luddite as someone who fears technology. I even, being the word-geek that I am, knew the term originated from machine-breakers in the early ninetieth century. The reasons the Luddites broke new automated looms was because the feared and hated new devilish technology, right? Wrong. The… Read more I’ve been using the word “Luddite” wrong
I am working on my next book, which is requiring me to take a deeper look into Regency Era Britain. As a long-standing Austenite and reader of modern day Regency romances (many of which are VERY well researched in terms of mores, manners, and dress) I have had the tendency to look at 1811-1820 Britain… Read more The Regency Era
Mary I successfully overthrew Jane Grey, Edward VI’s legitimate and legal heir, and was officially declared queen of England on July 19, 1553. This is my article in this month’s Tudor Society Magazine (which you should totally subscribe to) about the historical rewriting of the legitimacy of Jane Grey’s reign. Sometime during the life… Read more Mary I, Usurper and Queen
MadeGlobal’s History in a Nutshell Series aims to give readers a good grounding in a historical topic in a concise, easily digestible and accessible way. In Thomas Cranmer in a Nutshell, Beth von Staats discusses the fascinating life of Thomas Cranmer, from his early education, through his appointment to Archbishop of Canterbury, his growth in… Read more Welcoming Beth von Staats, author of Thomas Cranmer in a Nutshell!
I support the European Union. I think it is a great idea. However, I think that predatory banking is loathsome and should be fought by all means. The Greek vote on Sunday both indicated that Greece was willing to stay in the EU but was not going to put up with any more austerity and… Read more Yay Greece!
Jesus wept. As I am sure most of you know, a 21 year old white man named Dylann Storm Roof attended a prayer service at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina and after an hour he started shooting members of the historically black church, killing nine of them. A survivor reported… Read more On Hate Crimes and Denial of Racism
*SPOILERS for Game of Thrones* Today is Henry Fitzroy’s birthday, and if he were alive he’d be 496 years young. Sadly, the king’s baseborn child with Bessie Blount passed away at the tender age of 17. Fitzroy was actually being eyed as a potential heir to the throne, illegitimate or not. Henry had recently declared… Read more Happy Birthday to Henry Fitzroy
*NB – this was supposed to go out yesterday but Fun With Kids happened instead* On the last week in May of 1553 Lady Jane Grey married Lord Guilford Dudley, the fourth son of the duke of Northumberland (John Dudley), at the urging of the increasingly ill King Edward VI. Contrary to myth, there is… Read more Lady Jane Grey Marries
Amy Licence and I are now inviting proposals for papers to be included in a multidisciplinary edited volume entitled Envisioning the Tudor Woman: Historical and Modern Representations of Women from the Tudor Era. The deadline for submitting a proposal is December 1, 2015. Papers must be between 8000 – 10,000 words in length and focus… Read more Call for Papers on Tudor Women