Katherine Fenkyll

 I found an interesting video about Katherine Fenkyll, a successful Tudor businesswoman. It gives an interesting insight into the lives of Tudor women.

Hanging

 I wrote a brief history of hanging 

End of the Middle Ages Day

 29 May is End of the Middle Ages Day. On 29 May 1453, the Turks captured Constantinople, ending the Eastern Roman Empire. (They renamed it Istanbul). It's often regarded as the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. When I was a boy 1485 was seen as the end of the Middle Ages because England got a new king, the first of the Tudor dynasty. But that was Anglo-centric. A change of dynasty in England made little or no difference to the rest of Europe.

A History of the Guillotine

 I wrote a brief article about the guillotine 

History of Photography

 I wrote a brief history of photography 

History of Trousers

 I wrote a brief history of trousers 

Lambert Simnel

 On 24 May 1487, a boy named Lambert Simnel was crowned king of England in Dublin. (King Henry VII was not impressed!). Simnel claimed to be Edward Plantagenet. Edward disappeared a few years before and he was almost certainly murdered. But he had a claim to the throne.

Simnel's forces invaded England but were easily defeated by the army of King Henry VII. Simnel was captured but he was lucky. King Henry spared his life, making him a royal kitchen servant. Simnel died about 1535.