Today marks the death, in 1521 of Josquin des Prez, and while this isn’t directly Tudor related, the music of Josquin greatly influenced our Tudor composers. In the 16th century he was the most famous composer of the age, yet after a century his work drifted away, and was only rediscovered in the 20th century. Because of this, very little is known about him.

Today in 1533 there was a great ceremony held for Anne Boleyn as she went into confinement, pregnant with what everyone hoped would be a boy who would justify the last six years of wrangling that Henry had done so that he could marry her.

Today we mark the death of Thomas Digges. Digges was the first to expound in English on the Copernican system of a sun centered solar system. He was also the first to postulate on an infinite sized universe filled with infinite stars.

Today in 1553 Mary Tudor made Stephen Gardiner her Lord Chancellor. Gardiner born around 1483, and had met with Erasmus, and other humanists. He rose to prominence under Cardinal Wolsey, and he worked for Wolsey trying to secure the divorce of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.

Today is the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, the day when Henry Tudor, after living half his life in exile in Brittany, managed to build an army and defeat Richard III despite Richard outnumbering his army over 2 to 1.

Today in 1588 a special service of thanksgiving for the defeat of the Spanish Armada was held at St. Paul’s.

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Today in 1561 Mary Queen of Scots arrived back in Scotland after having spent over a decade in France. Her husband, Francis II, King of France, had died in December 1560. Mary had nothing holding her to France, and so she made plans to leave.

Today in 1513 the Battle of the Spurs took place.

Henry wanted to make England glorious again after the disastrous 15th century which was filled with civil war, and England losing all the land they had won in France except Calais. Where his father tried to avoid foreign wars, Henry jumped right in.

Today in 1594 Thomas Kyd was buried. He was an early Elizabethan playwright, and it’s postulated that he actually wrote a version of Hamlet before Shakespeare, which is now known as the Ur-Hamlet.

Today in 1473 Margaret Pole was born. She was a Yorkist princess, the daughter of Edward IV’s brother George, the Duke of Clarence.