Question from Sam - Wolsey's desire for the Papacy

I remember reading that Wolsey didn't seriously want to be Pope, that he had it too good in England and was aware that his career would do better in England. This sounds unlike the arrogant and ambitious Wolsey I've read about elsewhere. Do you think there is any truth to this? Thank you for taking the time to look at my question.

Question from Cumbian writer - Familial interment in chest or table tombs

I would like help or information with the nature of familial interment in chest or table tombs, with particular reference to the the Dacre tombs at Lanercost Abbey. I wish to know whether further subsequent burials were carried out, (of unmarried children for exmaple, in the vault beneath tombs of this type, and if so, how the vault beneath (supposing that the coffins were buried beneath and not inside the chest) was accessed.

Question from Annette - Lower gentry and dowries

a question about lower gentry and dowries.

Hi,just a follow up question from the elizabeth seymour and sir anthony Ueghtard question I asked,
what sort of dowry would have been offered? as sir john seymour was lower gentry what could be offered to make their daughter more worth while and what would sir anthony have bought to the table? how long would negotations have gone on for? does anyone know the exact dowry maybe? i have looked but cannot find any sources.this is for a novel as said previously and i would like it to be near historical accuracy as possible.
Thank you

Question from Joyce - Goose fat face cream in Tudor times

Hi
I have a new business Iam trying to grow selling goose fat face cream, sounds wierd but it does actually work! Iam looking for info for my website and I know it was used in Tudor times and am looking for where I could get some info.
Im a British ex pat now in CA
Thanks

Question from Annette - Marriage of Elizabeth Seymour and Sir Anthony Ughtred

Hiya!
I am doing research for a book,looking at elizabeths marriage to sir anthony and looking at birthdates.it seemed since she was born in 1518 and he in 1478, he would have been around 53 to her being 13? is that correct? would they have been married off so young unless i have the maths wrong,they apparently married in 1530/31 and he died 3 years later,can someone clarify this for me?

thank you

Question from Orla - Lands and manors of Arthur, Henry, and Henry Fitzroy

Hi; was wondering what lands and manors were held by Arthur and Henry when they were the Princes of Wales? I'm assuming the land grants were the same; that anything Henry held had once been Arthur's. And also what lands Henry FitzRoy held? Is there a particular county or shire where they held sway or were they scattered around the Kingdom? Does anyone know any paper or book regarding property and lands in Tudor times? Thanks

Question from Stacey - Mary Queen of Scots and her son James

Are there any records anywhere that talk about how Mary, Queen of Scots felt about her son James? I've read/seen information that she refused to kiss him because he was Darnley's son. Is this true?

Question from Karla - Rushes on floors

I am reading the book "The six wives of Henry the VIII" by Alison Weir, and in a chapter she mentions that in court there were carpets only in the royal appartments, and else where in court there were rushes, What does she mean by that? English is my second language and I thought rushes were like grass, is it the same??

Question from Heidi - Books of the Tudor court

What sort of books circulated around the Tudor court? What did the likes of Anne Boleyn read for fun?

Question from KB - Biographies of Richard III

This question is slightly out of the preferred date range but . . .

I am giving a lecture on Richard III in a couple months and am having a dickens of a time finding a biography that I like.

If anyone has suggestions, I would be most grateful. So far I have:

Desmond Seward's "Richard III: England's Black Legend" (Richard is evil)

Annette Carson's "Richard III: The Maligned King" (Richard is misunderstood)

Mike Pitts' "Digging for Richard III: The Search for the Lost King" (great read about the dig)

John Ashdown-Hill's "The Last Days of Richard III and the Fate of his DNA" (haven't started this one yet but he's in the Richard is misunderstood camp)

Paul Murray Kendall's "Richard the Third" (Richard is truly misunderstood and a lovely man - really - I promise)

In some ways this is a balanced list but all the books have blatant agendas with quite as much fiction interjected as any Shakespearean play. At the moment, Josephine Tey's "Daughter of Time" seems the most dispassionate despite the fact that it is pure fiction.

I know this is all secondary mass market work but I am without the time or resources for primary research so I'm skating a bit. This weekend, I will hunt for Thomas More's account and perhaps start skimming the Paston Letters if I find a digital version.

All suggestions welcome.

Thank you.

Question from Julia - Posies during Lent

Posies for medicinal purposes permitted in Lent?

I'm trying to describe a scene in a sickroom in 1545, and had understood that posies and pomanders were commonly held in front of the nose and mouth to keep smells at bay, as they were thought to be a source of infection. I think I read somewhere that a sickroom would have quite a lot of flowers, to try and make it sweet smelling for the same reason.

However, I was wondering whether a household would be permitted to have vases of flowers or posies in a sickroom during Lent. I know that even today churches don't have flowers during Lent, so it seems likely they may have banned all flowers in houses during Lent. If vases of flowers weren't allowed, were posies permitted for medicinal purposes? Or might a visitor to the patient resort to a pomander at this time of year?

Thanks for any pointers!

Question from Rachel - Henry VII's heir before Arthur's birth

Who was the heir of Henry VII the time between the Battle of Bosworth Field and Arthur's birth?