MY HEARTY COMMENDATIONS: THE TRANSCRIBED LETTERS AND REMEMBRANCES OF THOMAS CROMWELL NEW EDITION 2025

Education during the Tudor era was a privilege and took many forms including schools, colleges and apprenticeships. Those responsible for delivering education came from a variety of backgrounds from the humble parish priest to the most famed poet-laureates of the day. Curriculums varied according to wealth, gender and geography. The wealthy could afford the very best of tutors and could study as much or as little as they chose while the poorer members of society could only grasp at opportunities in the hopes of providing themselves with a better future.

The Tudors were educated during a time when the Renaissance was sweeping across Europe and Henry VIII became known as a Renaissance Prince but what did his education consist of? Who were his tutors? How did his education differ to that of his elder brother, Prince Arthur and how did Henry’s education change upon the death of his brother? There is no doubt Henry was provided with an excellent education, particularly in comparison to his sisters, Margaret and Mary. Henry’s own education would go on to influence his decisions of tutors for his own children. Who had the privilege of teaching Henry’s children and did they dare to use corporal punishment?

Educating the Tudors seeks to answer all of these questions, delving into the education of all classes, the subjects they studied, educational establishment and those who taught them.

Purchase via Pen & Sword here

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It can sometimes feel as if education has always been the way we see it now, with full classrooms of desks, 20-30 kids jammed in together to listen to a teacher sigh at the lack of interest in their students. While the Victorian system of schools designed to churn out good factory workers we are still stuck with today seems ever-lasting, the Tudors got to experience a whole different way of learning. So if you hear the title ‘Educating the Tudors’ and wonder if you have anything to learn, I can assure you that you do.

Education in the Tudor period very much depended on your social class (much like today I hear you saying). In Tudor times, the less money you had, didn’t always mean a smaller worldview. The difference here is that if you rose high even in social ranking, the less educated you needed to be, as you could ride that wave of being a member of the landed gentry and never have a job. By the time the first Tudors were taking their first steps, the printing press was well under way creating a world of new possibilites, along with the re-emergence of classic works, and with the explosion of the Reformation in 1517, the world likely felt bigger than ever for anyone able to get an education.

Theis book takes us though what is was like for a king to be educated, like the opportunities of Henry VIII, who could receive a humanist education with new ideas and secular studies alongside the traditional religious learning. Education was not settled in a clasroom either, as outdoor activities ranked just as highly as anything done in lessons. This is a pattern we see right through all Tudor monarchs.

The book doesn’t just dwell on the nobility, taking a reader through the social hierachy. The author can easily see through how class, gender and wealth changed educational needs and wants, how children were taught, and how practical subjects and apprenticeships  meant everything to a large portion of society. How someone grew up to be considered quaified in the Tudor period is vastly different to today, and the book takes us through both the steps taken by students, and how educated people were considered and recognised in their time.

Naturally with the Reformation and the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s, this changed how people educated their children, what they learned, and what was available when King Henry took Cromwell’s reforming ideas and turned it into a chophouse of lost services. This book covers so much, from the basic first writing of a common-born child, through the trivium and quadrivium, to the books of  kings and queens, and everyone in between, showing readers a totally different world of education.

The shocking and extraordinary story of the most conniving, manipulative Tudor family you’ve never heard of—the dashing and daring House of Dudley.

Each Tudor monarch made their name with a Dudley by their side—or by crushing one beneath their feet.

The Dudleys thrived at the court of Henry VII, but were sacrificed to the popularity of Henry VIII. Rising to prominence in the reign of Edward VI, the Dudleys lost it all by advancing Jane Grey to the throne over Mary I. That was until the reign of Elizabeth I, when the family was once again at the center of power, and would do anything to remain there. . . .

With three generations of felled favorites, what was it that caused this family to keep rising so high and falling so low?

Here, for the first time, is the story of England’s Borgias, a noble house competing in a murderous game for the English throne. Witness cunning, adultery, and sheer audacity from history’s most brilliant, bold, and deceitful family.

Welcome to the House of Dudley.

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Do you love reading about the Tudors, but sometimes feel like every book is much the same (because you have read five hundred of them), even though they all promised a ‘fresh look?’ Here is a book that actually provides a new angle on the Tudors, without having to resort to flimsy claims or controversial ideas.

The Dudley family is known to all who enjoy the Tudor era, but rarely play a starring role, which is unusual given their immense depth and adventure. The names Howard, Seymour, Boleyn, or Grey always get a mention, but the Dudleys were always right there, in plain sight, and would one day make their move for ultimate power in England. Their tale is one of highs and catastrophic lows, and Dr Joanne Paul has wrapped this dramatic family into one precious book. From an author who has already created excellent academic works, this book was guaranteed to succeed from the outset.

The book starts with the funeral of Anne Windsor, Sir Edmund Dudley’s first wife, circa. 1503 after the birth of a daughter, Elizabeth. Edmund Dudley instantly remarried well to Elizabeth Grey, only to become a head shorter one year after King Henry VII died in 1509 when Henry VIII needed someone to blame for his father’s unpopular tax policies. Edmund Dudley left behind his wife Elizabeth and their three sons, John, Jerome, and Andrew. But the loss of Edmund Dudley did not hinder the family for long; John Dudley was reinstated as heir, and his mother Elizabeth married Arthur Plantagenet, the illegitimate son of King Henry IV.

While Jerome Dudley suffered a form of disability, and Andrew Dudley was destined for a life between the navy and financial admin, the eldest John Dudley was destined for a remarkable life, living close to the circles of power. The son of a traitor, Dudley had to be careful, forged quiet friendships and worked in respectful but not extraordinary roles under King Henry VIII, and was still alive to see the great king die in 1547, unlike so many other councillors. By the time young Edward VI took the throne, Dudley was to be the Duke of Warwick, close to the boy king on his regency council. As the Seymour brothers and their associated allies died or fell away, it was Dudley left close to the throne, later made the Duke of Northumberland and the head councillor beside the boy king.

John Dudley’s story could have ended there, until the dying Edward VI named Lady Jane Grey his heir. John had married one of his many sons, Guildford, to Lady Jane. Jane’s father, Henry Grey was John Dudley’s third cousin, and together, through their children, they could control the throne of England and repel Henry VIII’s Catholic daughter, Mary,

The realities of Queen Jane and the volatile aftermath are well-known, though not as often viewed through the lens of the Dudley family. This book takes you through the decades of turmoil of the Dudley family in a way that makes it feel more like a story than a set of historical facts and then goes past John Dudley to his son Robert, and the dramatic life he led with Amy Robsart and Queen Elizabeth I.

This book takes well-worn stories and shows them from an unfamiliar perspective you won’t get elsewhere. I personally have always preferred the people close to power rather than the rulers themselves, making the Dudleys (and Greys) a fantastic subject. Toss in the fact the hardback edition is absolutely gorgeous, and you have a book you will refer back to again and again. Perfect.

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This review was not given in return for a free book – buy books (or visit libraries) and make sure authors are fairly paid