Tag Archives: Henry VIII

The importance of image: Martin Luther and the 95 Theses

It’s one of the most famous of images: a simply dressed monk takes a hammer and nails, the symbols of the crucifixion of Christ, and fixes a large document to the wooden door of a church. The date was 31 … Continue reading

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Shakespeare and Greenwich

There is something special about the place where important events took place, no matter how long ago. Even where there are no remaining signs on the ground people still visit: perhaps the draw is that these sites make us use … Continue reading

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Hilary Mantel and Shakespeare: fiction versus fact

This year’s Reith lecturer, the award-winning historical novelist Hilary Mantel, is in the middle of her five-lecture series on Radio 4, delivered on Tuesdays and repeated on Saturdays. Her subject is writing historical fiction, though rather than talking about the … Continue reading

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Howard Davies at the Royal Shakespeare Company

  On 25 October 2016 theatre director Howard Davies died at the age of 71. He had a full and successful career working in theatres around the country, but for me he is associated with the Royal Shakespeare Company during … Continue reading

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Following the Shakespeare Trail

The weather now, in mid-December, is as dreary as Shakespeare describes at the end of Love’s Labour’s Lost. Ways are truly foul and there is little incentive to get anywhere on foot, even though that’s always my favourite method of exploring … Continue reading

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“Let me see your archery”: from deadly conflict to courtly leisure

More than one scene in the TV series Wolf Hall has shown gentlemen and ladies of the court of Henry VIII practicing archery as a pastime. And in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost the Princess of France and her ladies take aim … Continue reading

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Shakespeare’s royal babies

Waking up this morning to the news that Kate has been admitted to hospital in the early stages of labour I cursed myself for not having a blog post about royal babies all ready to go. It has been after … Continue reading

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The Mary Rose Museum: open at last

Do you remember what you were doing on 11 October 1982? It’s a day which I remember vividly. There was going to be live coverage on the TV of the raising of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s flagship, which had … Continue reading

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Hilary Mantel and Shakespeare: two tales of Henry VIII

I’ve only just got round to reading Hilary Mantel’s 2009 novel Wolf Hall, the first of a trilogy (the third part still being written) about the life of Thomas Cromwell. Both Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies … Continue reading

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Linking Shakespeare’s Theatre and his Church: Bensonian actor Frank Rodney

When I wrote my piece about the Benson memorial windows in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, I received a comment about the memorial to Bensonian actor Frank Rodney that stands in Holy Trinity Church. Stratford’s Church probably contains more memorials to … Continue reading

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