Lady Elizabeth Howard Boleyn, the Countess of Wiltshire, died on 3 April 1538 … having lived long enough to see two of her three adult children murders by King Henry VIII. The Anne Boleyn Files did an excellent post on the potential cause of her death, and I cannot help but think she was grateful… Read more RIP Elizabeth Boleyn
My baby girl is 13 years old now. I am a so proud of the wonderful teen girl she has become. She is brave, and kind-hearted, and has enough love to fill the world. She loathes injustice and is not shy about vociferously defending that which she thinks is right. She will stand up to… Read more Happy Birthday, Blossom
Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, the only daughter of King George I of Britain, was born on 16 March 1687, a date that was changed to the 26 March after the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750. She was treated dismissively by her father, and loathed by her brother, due to suspicions she was actually the biological… Read more The Admirable Sophia Dorothea of Hanover
The sheela-na-gig, once seen, are hard to forget. These carvings can be found on medieval churches and buildings across Northern Europe, but more frequently in the British Isles and in the greatest numbers in Ireland. A popular hypothesis is that sheela na gigs represent a pagan goddess, but academics believe the situation was more complex,… Read more Sheela-na-gig and Cultural Function
It is fitting that my baby girl, Bubbles, was born on 27 January, the feast day of Angela de Merici. Angela de Merici was the founder of the Company of St. Ursula, which is dedicated to the service of the Church through the education of girls, as well as taking care of the sick and… Read more Happy Birthday Bubbles
Anne of Demark was born the second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark and his wife, Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, on 12 December 1574. In the 1580s, King James VI of Scotland sought the hand of a Danish prince in marriage. Demark was a stable and economically strong country, and Scotland would greatly benefit from… Read more Anne of Denmark
Dear Bloggess, First, it feels a little weird to address you as The Bloggess when your name is really Jenny Lawson, but I cannot call you Jenny because that is too familiar for a gal from Kentucky and I cannot call you Ms. Lawson because that is too formal a way to talk to someone… Read more An Open Letter to The Bloggess About Mental illness
Queen Catherine of Valois gave birth to the future King Henry VI on 6 December 1421 at Windsor Castle. The queen would have given birth like any other woman of her era, with midwives attending and with her ladies to assist them. Medieval midwives were, in spite of modern calumny about them, very good at… Read more Henry VI, Long Reigned and Lost All
Isabella I of Castile, co-ruler of Aragon and queen of most of the Iberian peninsula, passed away on 26 November 1504, causing a major shake-up of European politics — especially in Britain. Queen Isabella’s death was a terrible blow to her daughter, Katherina of Aragon, the widow of King Henry VII’s eldest son, Prince Arthur… Read more Isabella of Castile’s Death
Late in the evening of 9 November 1518, Katherina of Aragon delivered her last child, an unnamed daughter that was either stillborn or did not survive very long past her birth. The ambassador from Venice, Sebastian Giustinian, wrote a letter the next day, reporting that, “In the past night the Queen had been delivered of… Read more Katherina of Aragon’s Last Childbirth