One of the hardest thing about studying the life of Henry VIII is the enormous amount of infant/child deaths I have had to read about. It is a horrible thing to contemplate. Contrary to what some people believe, people in eras of high child mortality grieved with the same intensity as modern parents. Just as… Read more The Human Continuum
Today is Epiphany, AKA Three King’s Day, AKA Twelfth Night. In the Tudor era this was an important night of feasting, merry-making, and often gift giving. My gift for you all is the gift of accurate historical knowledge, per your request. Thus, here is a truth-telling guest post by Kathryn Warner, author of Edward II:… Read more Isabella of France And Edward II: Reality Is Far More Interesting Than Myth
I’ve never made it a secret I have Asperger’s syndrome. To the contrary, I have been quite up front about it. As an Aspy, one of my biggest bugbears is inaccurate book reviews. I would never try to censor someone’s opinion of any book, but the facts they list as the reason they dislike the… Read more Keeping the Accurate in Accuracy
Edward II was a deeply flawed king. In her book Edward II: The Unconventional King, Kathryn Warner doesn’t attempt to hide that fact. However, she also uses meticulous research to debunk myriad myths about Edward II, including the malarkey that he was killed via a hot poker in the rectum. Edward II had a rough… Read more Review of Edward II: The Unconventional King
(I’d like to give a warm welcome to Kathryn Warner and thank her for the post. I’ll have a review of her excellent book up on Friday!) King Edward II is rightly remembered as one of the most disastrous kings England has ever produced. His reign of nineteen and a half years, July 1307… Read more Guest Post About Edward II from author Kathryn Warner
This post is for the lovely lady who admins the Tudor Fan Page on Facebook, who wanted to give her readers a quick & dirty summation of the theory that Henry VIII’s blood was positive for the Kell antigen and that he subsequently developed McLeod syndrome. Most people don’t know it, but red blood cells… Read more Hello Tudor Fan Page!
I recently stumbled across a historical blog whose post reduced me to tears of mirth. Literally, I laughed out loud and scared my dogs. The post was titled “The Support Group For People Unfairly Maligned In Historical Fiction” and it was one of the most hilarious tongue-in-cheek takedowns of semi-historical fiction I have ever read.… Read more How to make Edward II funny!
Although the general public remembers Henry VIII as a tart-chasing tartar, many modern historians such as Lacey Baldwin Smith have defended the king as a rather “prudish” man with more wives than mistresses. In her new book, The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women’s Stories, Amy Licence disagrees. She argues that… Read more The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women’s Stories
Inequality is bad for societies. When too much money is funneled to the top, there is not enough left circulating at the bottom to create a robust economy. Not very long ago I stumbled across this chart, which indicates modern inequality is beginning to look positively feudal: I don’t think the chart is strictly accurate.… Read more Resistance is Feudal?
It is Guy Fawkes Night in Great Britain tonight! In a nutshell, Guy Fawkes Night, “is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed… Read more Bonfire Night Delight