#OTD in 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed at the Tower of London, having made the unfortunate mistake of not providing Henry VIII with a male heir. Something of course with in her power.

The Great Bible was also known as the Chained Bible (as it was usually chained to the pulpit to prevent anyone absconding with it) and featured in the title of at least one novel about Anne Boleyn -- "The Chained Book" (1879) published, unsurprisingly, by the Sunday School Union!

Anne Boleyn & Jane Seymour had the same great-grandmother. Elizabeth Cheney (d. 1473) was married first to Sir Frederick Tilney and then to Sir John Say. Both marriages produced children, including Elizabeth Tilney, Anne's grandmother & Anne Say, Jane’s grandmother.

#OTD in 1533, #KingHenryVIII married #AnneBoleyn in a secret marriage service that took place on the upper floors of the Holbein Gate at Whitehall Palace. Only a handful of witnesses were present, however, all were sworn to secrecy. #History #Tudors #OnThisDay

People are often unsure about whether Twelfth Night is 5 or 6 January, and that confusion goes back a very long way. Here the 12th-century writer Orm points out to his readers that what they call 'Twelfth Day' (meaning Epiphany) is really the thirteenth day after Christmas...

Christmas as #AnneBoleyn saw it. Illuminations of The Nativity as seen in Anne’s two Books of Hours, housed at her home of @HeverCastle. Merry Christmas, all 🎄

which one of you

'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's, Lucy's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks.' Today is St Lucy's Day, which was once the date of the winter solstice - the saint of light in the darkest days of winter. This luminous medieval St Lucy is from Minster Lovell.

'Sainte Nicholaes godes druð tymbre us faire scone hus...' Today is the feast of St Nicholas. This beautiful hymn to St Nicholas is one of the oldest songs surviving in English, composed by Godric of Finchale in the 12th century https://t.co/K8z4iKQc7W https://t.co/lCM5IPGovQ

Was 'Semper eadem' really Anne Boleyn's motto? Here are the results of my investigation of this fascinating subject. I'm tagging other Boleyn scholars to start a debate & get to the bottom of this - is there any connection between Anne Boleyn & the 'Semper eadem' motto?

The Advent season has many rich and ancient hymns of its own - songs of prophecy, hope, light and life springing up in the dead of winter. Here's one example: some medieval English versions of the beautiful evening hymn, 'Creator of the stars of night' https://t.co/FzkwW16HX4

I don't know what it meant; possibly he was hoping for some last-minute credit before entering the Hereafter, possibly unable to ignore the calendar that would have ruled his entire adult life. But something about it cuts across the centuries and invites sympathy.

This was a priest who had spent decades doing his best to assist the king in pursuing unsavory political goals, who had kept a mistress and had several children, but who in the end could not bring himself to break a much simpler rule on a fasting day.

I always find it oddly affecting that on his last day, Wolsey refused to eat broth made with meat, as it was "a fasting day, and St. Andrew's Eve." On being reminded that illness excused him, his reply was "What, though? I will eat no more."

It's thanks to Cavendish that we know of Anne Boleyn's love affair with Henry Percy, of her anger at Wolsey for separating them, and Wolsey's dying declaration that "if I had served God as diligently as I have done the king, he would not have given me over in my grey hairs."

November 29 1530 saw the death of Cardinal Wolsey. Most of what we know about his last days we owe to George Cavendish, an ordinary gentleman usher in Wolsey's household who later took the very un-ordinary step of writing a memoir of Wolsey.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! Every year I wake up with this song in my head, and this year is no different.

On the anniversary of Mary's death, I was happy to read today's article. It was a privilege to be part of Emma Rutherford's team that reidentified this beautiful miniature as Princess Mary. Displayed at @ComptonVerney.

@DrStephR @CharlieFenton2 @SylviaBSo @OntheTudorTrail this may be relevant to your interests :)

So if you feel like something a little different from novelty songs, try traveling to the sixteenth century with this music. It's eerie enough, in its own way. Happy Halloween!