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A History of the Tudors in 100 Objects
THIS seminal period of British history is a far-off world in which poverty, violence and superstition went hand-in-hand with opulence, religious virtue and a thriving cultural landscape, at once familiar and alien to the modern reader. John Matusiak sets out to shed new light on the lives and times of the Tudors by exploring the objects they left behind. Among them are a silver-gilt board badge discarded at Bosworth Field when Henry VII won the English crown; a signet ring that may have belonged to Shakespeare; and the infamous Halifax gibbet, on which some 100 people were executed. Scientific advancements range from a prosthetic arm to the first flushing toilet; and curiosities include a ladies’ sun mask, ‘Prince Arthur’s hutch’ and the Danny jewel, which was believed to be made from the horn of a unicorn. The whole vivid panorama of Tudor life is laid bare in this thought-provoking and frequently myth-shattering narrative, which is firmly founded upon contemporary accounts and the most up-to-date results of modern scholarship.
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A History of the Tudors in 100 Objects
THIS seminal period of British history is a far-off world in which poverty, violence and superstition went hand-in-hand with opulence, religious virtue and a thriving cultural landscape, at once familiar and alien to the modern reader. John Matusiak sets out to shed new light on the lives and times of the Tudors by exploring the objects they left behind. Among them are a silver-gilt board badge discarded at Bosworth Field when Henry VII won the English crown; a signet ring that may have belonged to Shakespeare; and the infamous Halifax gibbet, on which some 100 people were executed. Scientific advancements range from a prosthetic arm to the first flushing toilet; and curiosities include a ladies’ sun mask, ‘Prince Arthur’s hutch’ and the Danny jewel, which was believed to be made from the horn of a unicorn. The whole vivid panorama of Tudor life is laid bare in this thought-provoking and frequently myth-shattering narrative, which is firmly founded upon contemporary accounts and the most up-to-date results of modern scholarship.
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A History of the Tudors in 100 Objects

A History of the Tudors in 100 Objects

by John Matusiak
A History of the Tudors in 100 Objects

A History of the Tudors in 100 Objects

by John Matusiak

Overview

THIS seminal period of British history is a far-off world in which poverty, violence and superstition went hand-in-hand with opulence, religious virtue and a thriving cultural landscape, at once familiar and alien to the modern reader. John Matusiak sets out to shed new light on the lives and times of the Tudors by exploring the objects they left behind. Among them are a silver-gilt board badge discarded at Bosworth Field when Henry VII won the English crown; a signet ring that may have belonged to Shakespeare; and the infamous Halifax gibbet, on which some 100 people were executed. Scientific advancements range from a prosthetic arm to the first flushing toilet; and curiosities include a ladies’ sun mask, ‘Prince Arthur’s hutch’ and the Danny jewel, which was believed to be made from the horn of a unicorn. The whole vivid panorama of Tudor life is laid bare in this thought-provoking and frequently myth-shattering narrative, which is firmly founded upon contemporary accounts and the most up-to-date results of modern scholarship.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780750991254
Publisher: The History Press
Publication date: 09/09/2019
Edition description: Second Edition,New edition
Pages: 352
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

John Matusiak studied at the universities of London and Sussex before embarking upon a teaching career that eventually spanned more than thirty years. For over a third of that time, he was Head of the History Department at Colchester Royal Grammar School, founded by Henry VIII in 1539. He is the acclaimed author of Henry VIII (THP, 2012), Wolsey (THP, 2013) and the forthcoming Martyrs of Henry VIII (THP, 2019).

Table of Contents

Dynasty, Politics, Nation

1 Silver-gilt boar badge from Bosworth Field 11

2 The first state bed of Henry VII 13

3 The Winchester round table 17

4 Letter to Pope Clement VII requesting the annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon 21

5 Edward VI, base silver shilling 23

6 Kett's oak 26

7 Lady Jane Grey's prayer book 29

8 Mary Tudor's wedding chair 33

9 Jewelled salamander pendant recovered from the Spanish galleas Girona, 1588 35

10 Lock of Elizabeth I's hair 39

Birth, Childhood, Marriage and Death

11 Birthing chair 45

12 Baby rattle 47

13 Wooden doll 50

14 Hornbook 53

15 Betrothal ring 57

16 Memento mori 61

17 Sir Henry Sidney's heart coffin 63

Women, Work, Craftsmen and Paupers

18 Linen sampler 69

19 Ducking stool 71

20 Agrarian almanac 75

21 Cloth seal 77

22 Miner's jacket 81

23 Apprenticeship register 83

24 Leather bombard 87

25 Glass goblet 89

26 Nonsuch chest 93

27 Alms box 97

Food, Drink and Fashion

28 Pewter plate and spoon 101

29 Chafing dish 105

30 Colander shard 109

31 Apple baker 111

32 Christmas pie 115

33 Ye Olde Mitre pub 117

34 Child's knitted mitten 121

35 Shoe 123

36 Jerkin 127

37 Codpiece 129

38 Effigy corset of Elizabeth I 133

39 Sun mask 137

40 Tablets of Venetian ceruse 139

Home, Hearth and Travel

41 Fuming pot 145

42 Prince Arthur's hutch 147

43 Leaded window 151

44 Oak chest 153

45 Floor watering pot 156

46 Garderobe 159

47 Hot water cistern 163

48 Bee skep 165

49 Chimney 169

50 The bridge at Great Mitton 171

Culture and Pastimes

51 Shakespeare's signet ring 177

52 Thomas Tallis keyboard 179

53 Misericord depicting a chained bear 182

54 Hawking vervel 185

55 Dice and shaker 189

56 Playing cards 191

57 World's oldest football 195

Health and Healing

58 Medicine chest 199

59 Urethral syringe 201

60 Condom 205

61 Apothecary jar 207

62 Arrow remover 211

63 Lithotomy dilator 213

64 Seal matrix from the leper hospital of St Mary Magadalene, Mile End 217

Religion

65 Portable communion set 221

66 Pilgrim's badge 225

67 Reliquary 227

68 Tyndale's New Testament 230

69 Statue of the dead Christ 233

70 The Glastonbury Grace Cup 237

71 Pilgrimage of Grace banner 241

72 Thomas Cranmer's cell door 245

73 Priest hole, Oxburgh Hall 247

Superstition

74 Caul locket 253

75 John Dee's sigillum dei aemaeth 257

76 Elizabethan 'angel' 261

77 The Danny jewel 265

78 Interrogation stool for witches 267

79 Witch bottle 271

Warfare, Weapons and Defence

80 The Flodden helm 275

81 Chanfron 277

82 Rapier 281

83 Bollock dagger 285

84 Elizabeth I's 'pocket pistol' 287

85 Signal station at Culmstock beacon, Devon 290

Crime and Punishment

86 Executioner's axe 295

87 'Scavenger's daughter' 299

88 Rack 301

89 Execution cauldron 305

90 The Halifax gibbet 309

Novelties and New Horizons

91 Printing press 313

92 Spectacles 315

93 Pocket watch 317

94 Prosthetic arm 321

95 Flushing toilet 325

96 Matchlock revolver 327

97 Microscope 331

98 Sebastian Cabot's 'planisphere' 333

99 William Lee's knitting frame 227

100 Gresham's grasshopper 339

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