I consider myself lucky to have stood before The Royal Collection’s sketch labeled ‘Anna Bollein Queen’ and attributed to Hans Holbein the Younger, (1) twice in the last couple of years— once in New York City and again in Cleveland during the fantastic traveling museum exhibition, The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England. It…
Category: Historical musings
Who was ‘The Witch of Plum Hollow’?
The history of “witches” is plagued with terrible tales of torture and unjust death sentences. These cases are tragic indeed. However, I came across a historical ‘witch’ whose life happily does not end with a gruesome execution. My day of folding laundry, cleaning, and attempting to tweak a cookie recipe to be healthier, took an…
It’s maple syrup season!
Yes, maple syrup has a season. If you live around maple trees, you may spot some buckets hanging from trees during late winter to early spring. Ideal temperatures for producing the sweet, amber treat are when the temperatures fall below freezing at night, but the days are above zero degrees. The sap from the trees…
What device did Henry VIII give Anne Boleyn?
If you enjoy the gossip of Lady Whistledown in Netflix’s series Bridgerton, you may also enjoy reading the private love letters Henry VIII wrote to Anne Boleyn. They make for fascinating reading, though, I can’t help feeling a tad nosey whenever I read them. What device? I became exceptionally curious reading a specific line in…
New historical musing: Does the Holy Maid of Kent’s downfall provide evidence of Anne Boleyn’s innocence?
Have you heard this story before? The one where a woman captures the attention of King Henry VIII and finds herself raised high into a life she never expected. Turning more than a few heads, she continues to rise until she is put down on the king’s orders. Arrested, she is publicly humiliated and has…
New Article: The Rainbow in Elizabeth I’s Rainbow Portrait
While Elizabeth looks like she is holding clear plastic tubing, possibly to water the garden of flowers on her gown, it is widely acknowledged this item would have been painted with all the colours of the rainbow. So she is holding a rainbow in her hand, which I believe is actually quite a powerful statement….