aka The John Dee Chronicles
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Introduction On a cold February morning in 1542, the Tower of London witnessed one of history’s most tragic executions. Catherine Howard, barely twenty years old, walked to the scaffold where her husband, King Henry VIII, had condemned her to die. Her crime? Concealing previous relationships and allegedly committing adultery after becoming Queen of England. This … Read more
Introduction On 19 May 1536, one of England’s most controversial queens faced her final dawn. Anne Boleyn, the woman who had sparked the English Reformation and forever changed the course of Tudor history, was about to lose her head on charges that many historians believe were entirely fabricated. The accusations that led to her downfall … Read more
Introduction Imagine losing the last piece of your empire in just eight days. On 20 January 1558, this nightmare became reality for England when French forces under Francis, Duke of Guise, captured Calais after a swift siege that shocked Europe. The fall of this strategic port city didn’t just mark the end of a 211-year … Read more
From Speculation: Undercurrents of Treachery: “”Buenos días, Señor Dee,” the man said, his English carrying the distinctive accent of Castile. “A fine day to prepare for a journey, is it not?” Dee maintained a neutral expression. “You have me at a disadvantage, señor.” “Don Diego de Mendoza, at your service.” The Spaniard offered a slight … Read more
Introduction Imagine walking into your local parish church on a Sunday morning in 1549 and hearing the familiar words of worship spoken in English for the first time in over a thousand years. The Latin phrases that had echoed through stone arches since time immemorial were suddenly replaced with the vernacular tongue of ordinary English … Read more
Introduction In the annals of Tudor history, few royal marriages caused as much controversy as the union between England’s first crowned queen regnant and the future king of the world’s most powerful empire. When Mary I of England married Philip II of Spain in 1554, she wasn’t merely choosing a husband – she was making … Read more
Introduction What if the most powerful monarch of the 16th century turned marriage proposals into weapons of diplomacy? Elizabeth I of England did precisely that, receiving over 40 marriage proposals during her 45-year reign whilst never having the slightest intention of walking down the aisle. From kings and emperors to archdukes and princes, Europe’s most … Read more
Introduction In the summer of 1553, a sixteen-year-old girl found herself proclaimed Queen of England for just nine tumultuous days. Lady Jane Grey’s brief reign represents one of the most dramatic episodes in Tudor history, a period when religious tensions, political machinations, and succession disputes collided with devastating consequences. Yet the legal foundation for Jane’s … Read more
From Insurrection: Weddings can be murder: “He crawled a little closer to the edge of the rood loft, intent on concealing himself between the newly replaced statues of Christ on the cross and the Virgin Mary. He cursed as a jagged splinter from the roughly hewn loft floor speared into the palm of his hand. … Read more
Introduction In the annals of Tudor history, few events capture the brutal absurdity of Henry VIII’s reign quite like the execution of Anne Boleyn on 19th May 1536. What makes this tragic episode particularly striking is not merely the questionable charges of adultery and treason that led to her death, but a legal technicality that … Read more