Death of Queen Mary I of England

On 17th of November 1558, Queen Mary I of England, the only surviving daughter of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, breathed her last at St James’s Palace, London.   Mary passed away childless at the age of 42, without her husband, Philip of Spain, by her...

Eleanor of Austria: a daughter of illustrious parents, a marriage pawn

It is not enough to have illustrious parents and lineages to be happy.  The life of a queen, a princess, or a royal descendant did not belong to her: from her birth, a royal girl was a valuable commodity in the European marriage market, especially if her parents were the...

The goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini: a turbulent and artistic soul

Born on the 3rd of November 1500 in Florence, Benvenuto Cellini was a son of Giovanni Cellini and Maria Lisabetta Granacci.  As his father and mother were a musician and a creator of musical instruments, Benvenuto’s father wanted his son to become a musician.  At the age of 15, Giovanni...

Coronation of Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII, in France

On the 5th November of 1514, the 18-year-old-year Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII, was crowned Queen of France at the ancient Basilica of Saint-Denis, located in the suburbs of Paris, France.  It was not a felicitous day for the English princess who had become an unwilling French queen,...

Marriage of Catherine de’ Medici and Prince Henri, Duke d’Orléans

Royal weddings were rarely fascinating fairytales of love – they aimed to foster allegiances and cement alliances.  Soon after his return home, Prince Henri, Duke d’Orléans (future King Henri II of France), found himself at the center of his father King François I’s marial plans for him.  Henri and his...

The meeting of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn with François I of France in Calais

Imagine that we are in the city of Calais in Tudor England.  This place had a special meaning for King Henry VIII because it was the last remnant of the once substantial English possessions on the continent.  King Henry and his beloved Anne Boleyn sailed to Calais to meet with...

Renée of France: a Valois princess, a Protestant Duchess of Ferrara

The Valois Princess Renée of France was born on the 25th of October 1510 at Château de Blois, in the town of Blois, in the Loire Valley, France.  The second surviving daughter of King Louis XII of France and Anne de Bretagne (Anne of Brittany), Renée was the first French...

Claude de Lorraine, Duke de Guise: founder of the House of Guise

Claude de Lorraine, who was also known as Claude de Guise, was born the 20th of October 20, 1496 at Château de Condé in Condé (now this place is called Custines in north-eastern France), in Lorraine.  He had an eventful life, having been a favorite of King François I of...

The religious tolerance in France and the Affair of the Placards of 1534

Gradually, after the publication of ‘Ninety-five Theses’ by Martin Luther in 1517, more and people were growing interested in new religious ideas.  However, in the early 1520s, Reformation doctrines were still understood by a small number of educated people, but by the end of this decade, they could already be...

Luca Marenzio: a talented composer of madrigals

Luca Marenzio (died on the 22nd of August 1599) was a far-famed Italian composer and singer of the late Renaissance, who was born on the 18th of October 1553 or 1554.  He was one of the most prominent composers of madrigals.  In total, Marenzio wrote around 500 madrigals.  His works...

Françoise de Foix: the first long-term maîtresse-en-titre of King François I of France

Françoise de Foix, who was the first long-term maîtresse-en-titre of King François I of France, was born about 1495, but we don’t know her date and year of birth for a certainty.  Since her early youth, she served to Queen Anne of France, King Louis XII’s wife and Duchess of...

Claudin de Sermisy: a genius composer of the French Renaissance

Claudin de Sermisy (born circa 1490) passed away on the 13th of October 1562.  Together with Clément Janequin, his friend and also rival for the affections of the art-loving King François I of France and for his popularity, he was one of the most important and famed composers of French...

The chronology of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s visit to Calais in October 1532

King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn sailed to Calais on the 11th of October 1532 after she had been elevated to Marquess of Pembroke in an elaborate ceremony on the 1st of September 1532.  Some time passed before the monarch and the lady of his dreams met with his French...

Thomas Wyatt: an admirer of Anne Boleyn, an English literature genius

To my great grief, Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder passed away on the 11th of October 1542 at Clifton Maybank House, Dorset, England.  He breathed his last at the age of 38-39 – still young, capable of writing more beautiful sonnets which he introduced to the English literature.  He is...

Filippo Lippi: a talented Renaissance painter-rake

Fra Filippo Lippi, also known as Filippo Lippi, died on the 8th of October 1469 in Spoleto, Papal States.  Born in circa 1406 in Florence, he was one of the most important Italian painters of the Quattrocento – a painter in the second generation of Renaissance artists.  Born into a...