Do you know at least one female artist in Renaissance Europe? Sofonisba Anguissola, Fede Galizia, Artemisia Gentileschi, and so forth. However, so few of the many talented women accomplished a lot in a man-dominated world of the time. One of them is Lavinia Fontana, who was born in Bologna in...
Andrea del Sarto: ‘a faultless painter’ eclipsed by his contemporaries
On the 16th of July 1486, Andrea del Sarto was born in Florence. Sarto’s family name was likely to be Lanfranchi, and his father seems to have been a tailor. Little is known about his childhood perhaps because they were quite uneventful. With two short exceptions, he lived in Florence....
Young Henry FitzRoy’s death: tinged in selfish and painful hues for King Henry VIII
On the 22nd or 23rd of July 1536, Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, died at St James’s Palace in London. Although Henry VIII took enough mistresses in his date, he had only one acknowledged illegitimate son – Henry FitzRoy, whose mother was his mistress, Lady Elizabeth Blount. As...
What of King Edward VI had not died so young?
On the 6th of July 1553, King Edward VI died at Greenwich Palace. The only surviving son of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour, he breathed his last at the age of fifteen, dying from consumption. John Foxe’s account of his death states that Edward’s last words were:...
In honor of Geneviève Bujold on her birthday
Yesterday was Geneviève Bujold’s birthday. This Canadian actress, who was born the 1st of July, 1942, is best known for her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in film 'Anne of the Thousand Days', for which she received a Golden Globe for Best Actress. Geneviève Bujold as Anne Boleyn in the 1969...
Royal eccentricity: the wrestling match of two kings
The history of wrestling stretches into ancient times. It was first described in the Greek literature, including in Homer’s legendary literary works such as the Iliad and the Odyssey. Greek wrestling was a popular form of martial art, and it was featured as a sport since the eighteenth Olympiad in...
A royal speech pulling at your heartstrings
On the 21st of June 1529, Catherine of Aragon spoke her famous speech at the Legatine Court at Blackfriars. After years of Henry VIII’s unsuccessful attempts to annul his union with Catherine, Cardinal Wolsey convened an ecclesiastical court in England with a representative of the Pope presiding – Cardinal Campeggio. ...
A Fabulous, yet Sad, Life: Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio! He is inextricably connected with the Renaissance, just as Petrarch is. Boccaccio was a man of the Renaissance in almost every sense. Born to a Tuscan merchant Boccaccio di Chellino, Giovanni came into the world in the summer of 1313. The exact date and place of Giovanni’s birth...
The Italian Wars: the Truce of Nice of 1538
On this day in history, the 18th of June 1538, the Truce of Nice was signed, ending the Italian War of 1536–38 between King François I of France and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The Italian Wars, which are often referred to as the Habsburg-Valois Wars, were a series of...
Henry FitzRoy: a product of Henry VIII’s lust for Bessie Blount
Henry FitzRoy, the only acknowledged illegitimate son of Henry VIII, was born on the 15th of June 1519. As Cardinal Wolsey sent the boy’s mother, Lady Elizabeth Blount, to live in the prior’s house of the Priory of St Lawrence in Blackmore, Essex, before her pregnancy became visible to court,...
Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon
Today is another anniversary of Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Henry married his brother’s widow nearly six years after they had originally been betrothed, and almost 7 years after Prince Arthur’s death. The wedding took place in a private ceremony in the queen’s closet at Greenwich Palace, and...
“The Field of the Cloth of Gold”
On the 7th of June 1520, the sensational meeting of Kings of England and France occurred near Calais that was to become known to history as “The Field of the Cloth of Gold”. This luxurious meeting became the standards to which international peace treaties were measured in many years to...
Coronation of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn emerged from the Tower of London at 5pm on Saturday the 31st of May 1533. She had spent the previous several days in the queen’s chambers in the Tower. According to contemporary sources, the last day of spring was sunny, bright, and warm, and the sky was an unbroken...
King Henri II of Navarre from the House of Albert
On the 25th of May 1555, King Henri II of Navarre from the House of Albert died at Hagetmau. Nicknamed Sangüesino of his birth at Sangüesa (a city in Navarre 44.5 kilometers from Pamplona), he was born on the 18th of April 1503 to Queen Catherine of Navarre and her...
A hymn of Anne Boleyn’s heart
Hello to everyone! Today is another anniversary of Anne Boleyn's tragic death. As a tribute to the extraordinary Anne Boleyn, here is my poem written in Renaissance style, lyrical and a bit whimsical, about her thoughts in different moments of her life. My poem is a mixture of real and...