Question from Anna - Roses of the Tudor period

This may seem like a silly question, but what roses in the Tudor period look like? I know that many of the roses we see today are hybrids and are genetically modified. But what would a person in the Tudor period see when they saw a rose?

Question from Mary R - Outlawing of serfdom in England

Does anyone know when the practice of holding serfs was outlawed in England? I know that during the Wat Tyler rebellion, Richard II agreed to free them; but I think he reneged on this.

Question from Mary R - Papal dispensations for non-royal marriages

I was wondering about papal dispensations for marriages. Who had to have them? Was it only Royalty or did the nobility need them, too (If so the pope must have been a very busy guy). Did the dispensation cost money, and if so how much? Was there a sliding scale:) What about the peasants? I know the parish priests kept records on who was related to whom; but many of the villages were very small. I also know that a lot of people never traveled more than a couple of miles from home during their entire lives. How did this work?

Question from Alia - Forms of address with no title

In the Tudor period, how would you address a man or woman without a title but still respected? For a woman, could you only use 'mistress', or 'madam' too?

Question from Anna - Mary Tudor and Mary Seymour

The the article about Katherine Parr's daughter, the author writes: "She was christened Mary, after Katherine’s elder stepdaughter, was healthy and pretty and her life with two doting parents seemed set fair."

If little Mary was named after "Bloody" Mary, why didn't the elder Mary take her in? I mean, she didn't have any children of her own and was not yet queen, what was stopping her for caring for her namesake?

Question from Em - Margaret Beaufort and John de la Pole

On Wikipedia, it says that Margaret Beaufort was married to John de la Pole before Edmund Tudor. But I have also read that she was only betrothed to him and that it was broken before her marriage to Edmund Tudor.
Which is the truth?

Question from G. Adarve - Henry VII's stolen crown in Spain

Exist any historical ground in this? :

It seems that a Spanish adventurer called "Juan de Lepe" wound up at the court of Henry VII in London some time around 1500 and became great friends of the king. One day they played a game of chess, with a dare that, if Juan were to win, he would be king for a day. He won. The 'King' promptly emptied as much of the royal loot as he could and, while this sounds unlikely, actually made it back to Lepe (Huelva) and on his death left his possessions to a local Franciscan monastery, the "Nuestra Señora de la Bella". A good story? It gets better.

The Royal Crown of Henry VII of England, part of the "booty", is on display for the first time in 400 years in the monastery. Sounds like it's worth a visit.

Link to the spanish article with photograph of the crown:

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/06/19/andalucia/1276969838.html

Question from Shelley - Tudor-Grey-Seymour descendants

Dynasty - Descendants of Tudor-Grey-Seymour families. If there are legitmate descendants from Mary Tudor living, why isn't this group on the "throne of England" vs. the House of Windsor, which is more Germanic-Greek, etc.?

Question from Gill - Families of peers executed for treason

What would happen to the family of a peer after he has been executed for high treason, and all his property confiscated by the crown?
Would his wife still have her jointure?
What would happen to his children, if all of them are underage? I assume they won't become royal wards since they have nothing to inherit from their father, and their wardship wouldn't be profitable to anyone.
Thanks!

Question from Emma - Whorlton Castle

Does anyone know about Whorlton Castle in North Yorkshire and its connection with Mary Queen of Scots marriage contract to Lord Darnley?

I went there a few weeks ago a gatehouse is really all that is left. There was no information to be found anywhere on this lovely site, the only info was a road sign with the name whorlton.

I came across its connection with Mary QoS in an article on the web but no reference to why there and who was present etc can anyone help with more

Thanks

Question from Fanny - Ideas for presentation on contemporary Elizabethan images

Hello Everyone,
I have a somewhat unusual question. I am supposed to give a presentation on 'Contemporary Elisabethan Images', meaning images of Elisabeth today, in a university seminar on Elisabethan England.

Currently, I am still lacking ideas and information :).

I intend to talk about the BBC Tudor films, maybe about coins (but this was already mentioned in another presentation) and I would realy like some more ideas. Where and in what contexts is Elizabeth's image used today? Also concepts, ideas, etc. of the Elisabethan Age that are still relevant today could be of interest. Is her image used in any advertisements that you know?

Thanks for any suggestions/ideas/links in advance!

Regards, Fanny

Question from Mary - Henry VIII and Oedipus complex

Does anyone besides me think that Henry VIII might have suffered from an Oedipus complex? Incidentally, I always thought Oedipus got a bad rap on that. It's not like he knew that Jocasta was his mother :)

Question from Mary - Elizabeth of York biographies

Can anyone recommend a good biography on Elizabeth of York? I would also be interested in a well-written fictional work as long as the author has done his or her research (I'm not a fan of Phillipa Gregory's books). I would appreciate any help you could give me.

Question from Lauren - Seymour siblings birth order

Strickland names Jane Seymour as the eldest child of her parents, saying all the peerages agree. Wikipedia (John Seymour's article) has Jane as the fifth oldest child. Which is right and how do we know?

Thanks

Question from Lauren - John Skelton's poems

Which of Skelton's poems are meant to be about Anne Boleyn's mum, and which about Jane Seymour's mum, and what's the evidence?

Thanks

Question from Guy - Holinshed's Chronicle

I was looking at Holinshed's Chronicle ([http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16496]), which as recommended to me recently. I found this version hard to read. Does anyone know if there are other versions you can get online? Also, what parts of Tudor history is it useful for? I'm wondering whether to perservere...

Question from Em - Elizabeth of York and Richard III

In Philippa Gregory's novels, The Red Queen, and The White Queen, Elizabeth of York is portrayed as having been in love with her uncle, Richard III, and wishing to marry him rather than Henry VII.
Is this true?

Question from Mary - Henry VIII's gift of Hever to Anne of Cleves

I know that Anne of Cleves got Hever Castle in the 'divorce settlement', but I wondered why Hever was within Henry's gift. I know George Boleyn would have forfeited any property he owned when he was convicted; but his father was still living and was at least nominally in the King's good graces. Also, might this mean that Henry did not believe that either of Mary Boleyn's children belonged to him since he did not secure this inheritance for them?

Question from Lauren - Anabaptist George Wulweber

Who was the Anabaptist "George Wulweber"? Is this the main spelling of his name?

Question from Guy - 1536 pardon of the Duke of Suffolk

On 4th Feb 1536, it says in L&P that the Duke of Suffolk was pardoned. What had he done?

Question from Michelle - Rings of Kings and Queens

I know that there was a ring Henry VIII wore when he was king and then one that Mary wore when Queen that was removed from her when she died and given the Elizabeth when she became queen. Is there a name for this ring or kind of ring? Is it like a ring that says "im king" or "im queen"?

Question from Em - Blount and Boleyn rivalry

Since Mary Boleyn became Henry VIII's mistress after Bessie Blount was discarded, was there ever a rivalry between the two women? What were Bessie's feelings towards Mary?

Question from Guy - Gregory di Casale

According to Catherine of Aragon's Wikipedia article (ref Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII, vol. X, no. 200), "Gregory di Casale" tried to poison Katherine of Aragon. Who is Gregory di Casale?

Question from Anonymous - Bishop of Faenza

Who was the Bishop of Faenza in 1530s? Was he an ambassador?

Question from Guy - Martin Valles

Who was Martin Valles?

Question from Guy - Roland Lee comment

LP, X, no. 129: Roland Lee wrote 'Please send me my lover Mr. Gregory...';

Was lover used in a different way then, or was he openly homosexual?

Question from Merlin - Lady Rochford's motivations

What are your opinions regarding Lady Rochford's motivation in aiding & abetting Kathryn Howard in her relationship with Culpepper? I've never quite bought Julia Fox's suggestion that she was simply following orders and felt unable to refuse Kathryn's requests to facilitate meetings (after all, it wouldn't have been so difficult for Lady Rochford to have gone down with a diplomatic illness and left court for a while)but on the other hand Julia's research seems to demonstrate fairly convincingly that Lady Rochford's sinister reputation was a later invention (which suggests that Lacey Baldwin Smith's take on it- that Lady Rochford was probably always verging on insane- doesn't hold water either). Starkey suggests Lady Rochford's relationship with Kathryn was akin to that of Juliet & her nurse in "Romeo & Juliet" but I find that a bit hard to believe as well. Admittedly, Lady Rochford had no children but I can't really see Kathryn coming to represent the daughter Lady Rochford never had.

What I don't get is how, with her considerable experience of life (and intrigue) at court, not to mention her first-hand knowledge of the consequences of adultery in a queen, Lady Rochford could have behaved in such a suicidally stupid and naive fashion.

I'd be very interested in your opinions.

[There was a similar discussion last year, but on opinion questions it's worth bringing them up again for fresh views. Previous thread linked below. - Lara]

http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2010/04/question-from-helen-lady-rochfords.html

Question from Sara - Richard III biographies

This is only partially Tudor-related, but can anyone recommend some good biographies on Richard III? So far I have only read fiction ("Daughter of Time", Shakespeare's "Richard III") and Alison Weir's "Wars of the Roses", but I do not know where I should go from here. I would like to read about him from different perspectives, both pro-Richard and anti-Richard. Any help you can give me is greatly appreciated!

Question from Anonymous - Kathryn Howard fiction

I know that there are many biographies about or that include Kathryn Howard, but is there any historical fiction books on Kathryn Howard?

Question from Valerie - Literary patronage of Henry VIII's wives

I am currently a doctoral student in the USA, and next year I will beging the dissertation stage of my program.

I know I would like to write my dissertation on the patronage of the wives of Henry VIII, but I am not sure from what aspect I would like to do this.

So far, I have been thinking about writing on the books dedicated to the wives of Henry VIII. Literary patronage of the wives has not been done as a comprehensive study, and print culture is a very current historical trend.

I have already gathered the titles of all of the books dedicated to the wives, but I am not sure where to go from here. Is there even enough information to complete this type of study?

Question from Guy - Charles Brandon's treatment of Mary

Is this true? I read it in Richard Brandon's Wikipedia article, about Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk:

"His treatment of his beautiful royal wife was on a par with his low conception of his moral obligations. He neglected her, spent her money, and lived openly with a notorious woman known as Mrs. Eleanor Brandon, by whom he had an illegitimate son, Charles, who is said to have been the well-known jeweller to Queen Elizabeth."

Did he openly live with someone else? What did the King think?