Tudor History with Claire Ridgway

Could You Really Get Away with Murder at Henry VIII's Court? - Tudor True Crime

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In April 1532, Sir William Pennington was cut down on the very edge of Westminster sanctuary—and his killers walked away with a manslaughter verdict, a £1,000 pardon, and glittering careers. In this Tudor true-crime deep dive, I unpack the fight, the politics, and the legal loopholes that made it possible.

What’s inside:
  • The argument and fight, from Westminster Hall to the sanctuary precinct
  • How sanctuary should have worked—and how it was bent
  • The official indictment vs. Carlo Capello’s explosive diplomatic report
  • Cromwell’s intervention and the price of a royal pardon
  • Holbein’s 1537 portrait: the scar carried from the fight
  • What this case tells us about power, patronage, and Tudor justice
    • Sources & further reading:
    • Shannon McSheffrey, “The Slaying of Sir William Pennington: Legal Narrative and the Late Medieval English Archive" - https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/flor/article/view/21566/25053
    • Venetian ambassador Carlo Capello’s report, Calendar of State Papers Relating To English Affairs in the Archives of Venice, Volume 4, 1527-1533, 761 - https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/venice/vol4/pp331-334
    • Hans Holbein: preparatory sketch & portrait of Richard Southwell (1537) - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Hans_Holbein_d._J._060.jpg and https://www.rct.uk/collection/912242/sir-richard-southwell-15023-1564
      • If you enjoy Tudor true crime & deep dives into the records, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell. 
      Tell me in the comments: Was this justice, or a cover for court politics?

      #TudorHistory #TrueCrime #HenryVIII #ThomasCromwell #AnneBoleyn #Westminster #Sanctuary #Holbein #RichardSouthwell #SirWilliamPennington
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      Tudor History with Claire RidgwayBy Claire Ridgway
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