43
votes
Accepted
Why is Lady Jane Grey called Lady instead of Queen?
The claim that she was queen was based on the assertion that Mary and Elizabeth were disinherited, and in particular (from Edward's will) that
the said ladie Mary and ladie Elizabeth, beinge ...
- 1,961
39
votes
Accepted
What is the silver object on the desk and what is 'Elizabeth I' doing with it?
It's a pounce pot, being used to dry the wet ink without having to blot it.
As noted here, the pounce itself could be made from any of powdered gum sandarac; crushed pumice (origin of pounce I ...
- 70.3k
34
votes
Did Henry VIII have his bedroom bricked up every night?
I can't find any academic source to support the story. Given the logistics involved, I reckon the amateur historians have it right. It's probably just one more of the stories concocted to make ...
- 76.9k
23
votes
Was Mary Stuart's execution not accompanied by attainder?
Three points:
Mary was not the subject of a Bill of Attainder. She was convicted of treason by a jury of English noblemen.
The rules about succession rules were still vague in 1600. Succession was ...
- 6,294
17
votes
Accepted
Was Mary Stuart's execution not accompanied by attainder?
Part One: Chronology.
King James VI & I did become king of England and Ireland on 24 March 1603 about 16 years after Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded on 8 February 1587.
But James became King of ...
- 18.4k
11
votes
Where is the sword used to execute Queen Anne Boleyn?
Neither in the Anne Boleyn - Wikipedia account or any other account that I have read has contained the name of the executioner.
William Kingston, the Constable of the Tower, in his writings didn't ...
- 8,402
10
votes
What denomination of Christianity did Anne Boleyn believe in?
Ann Boleyn and her brother, George, were executed in 1536. It appears that her family had taken a great interest in the early writings of Martin Luther, some of which he translated.
Though there ...
- 6,779
9
votes
Did a mob of men dressed in skirts threaten the life of Anne Boleyn?
Perhaps surprisingly, this episode may actually be based events that are reported to have occurred in 1531.
In The life of Anne Boleyn by Philip W Sergeant, published in 1923, we read that:
...
- 76.9k
8
votes
How was the 4th Duke of Norfolk executed?
The 4th Duke of Norfolk was beheaded on Tower Hill on 2 June 1572 for his part in the Ridolfi Plot, a plan to kill Elizabeth I. There's something on what he wore.
a black satin doublet, a long gown ...
- 2,223
7
votes
Why is Lady Jane Grey called Lady instead of Queen?
I think that Jane Grey is called Lady instead of Queen because every monarch of England, Great Britain, or the UK since her has been a member of rival lines of descent to the crown than hers. ...
- 18.4k
7
votes
What legal test, if any, distinguished gentlemen from commoners in Tudor England?
I only have a conjecture, it is derived from one case.
But I suppose it is typical.
George Green was a miller in Nottingham in the first half of 19th century. He owned a mill and worked in it. He was ...
- 38.1k
7
votes
Why is Lady Jane Grey called Lady instead of Queen?
She does not appear to have ever exercised the monarch's powers. She was pretty much a puppet of her father-in-law, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who had been Edward VI's chief minister.
She'd ...
- 30.4k
6
votes
Accepted
How many illegitimate children did King Henry VIII have?
Henry Fitzroy is the only recognized illegitimate child recognized by Henry VIII.
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset (15 June 1519 – 23
July 1536), was the son of King Henry VIII of ...
- 878
5
votes
Accepted
How many people were executed during the reign of Henry VIII?
Looking into this if find two numbers are often repeated concerning this topic, a low estimate of 56,000 and a high range of 72,000 or more. These numbers appear across the web at various history ...
- 36.2k
5
votes
Why was the swordsman of Calais chosen as Anne Boleyn's executioner?
The question breaks down into two parts: Why a swordsman instead of an axeman, and why the swordsman of Calais.
I now believe that the answer I posted earlier was only partially correct. This source ...
- 104k
4
votes
Accepted
Did Catherine Howard use some form of birth control?
Probably not. I'm unaware of any serious historical speculation (or more importantly evidence) along those lines.
At the time having the King's babies was essentially a queen's one and only job. This ...
- 114k
4
votes
What household servants would a Tudor gentleman have had?
Suggest you start here: P.W. FLEMING, Household Servants of the Yorkist and Early Tudor Gentry, in: Daniel WILLIAMS (ed.), Early Tudor England (Harlaxton Medieval Studies, O.S., 4), Woodbridge 1989, ...
- 328
4
votes
Why didn't Anne Boleyn consent to divorce?
I'm not sure if an answer from the community is forthcoming, so I'll take a stab at an answer based on newly-read information including comments to my original post. This answer comes comes with the ...
- 199
4
votes
What was Bess of Hardwick’s net worth?
There does appear to be some calculation of the income her wealth was bringing in, which is one way you often see wealth measured these days (presumably because its easier for the rest of us wage ...
- 114k
3
votes
Accepted
How many 'pubs' (alehouses, inns and taverns) were there in England in 1577?
Here's something that might serve as a reference...
Survey of inns, taverns and alehouses in England and Wales in 1577:
National Archives SP 12/115-19. London, Bristol and Norwich are
excluded and ...
- 204
2
votes
Did Robert Devereux's monopoly on sweet wine encroach upon Sir Christopher Hatton's monopoly on wine?
Haha well, Rex is Lex! The king (or mayhap queen) sold you monopolies. If they then sold an overlapping monopoly to someone else, you couldn't do a thing about it. It was also known for the sovereign ...
- 13.4k
2
votes
Why didn't Anne Boleyn consent to divorce?
There are good answers to this already, but I've got some recently unearthed evidence in mind which is also relevant for this topic. Namely, it turns out that Henry specified the detail of the would-...
- 10.7k
1
vote
Accepted
What was the likely death toll of the Tudor invasion of ireland?
The Desmond Rebellions
According to The Irish History website the Desmond rebellions took an unknown number of lives, but estimated to be "tens of thousands", so I think we can safely say 20,...
- 3,032
1
vote
Why was the swordsman of Calais chosen as Anne Boleyn's executioner?
Cutting off a head in one blow is somewhat harder than it may sound; the main issues are that the vertebrae are hard bones and unless the executioner is skilled he could miss, hitting the head or back ...
- 37.6k
1
vote
Did Catherine Howard use some form of birth control?
At least one modern authority, historian Alison Weir, believes that Catherine Howard used birth control (her book, King Henry VIII, p. 446). What form that might be is hard to say, probably some "...
- 104k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible