Tudor England: A History

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This was an interesting, thorough-going view of not only the Tudors themselves, but the world they lived in and changed. As interesting as the monarchs are (and by God they are) the totality of this story is much more engrossing.

Tudor England: A History by Lucy Wooding - review by Mathew Lyons Tudor England: A History by Lucy Wooding - review by Mathew Lyons

BOGAEV: Well, in terms of our royals, at least we’ve arrived at the Early Reformation. And this is where we get into another of what you describe as the “great myths of the Tudor period”: that it’s all about the Reformation, not, as you put it, the richness of religious life at this time. Tell us what we’re getting wrong in focusing so much on the Reformation. BOGAEV: Hmm. Well, is this why you think, Henry VII didn’t get his own Shakespeare play? I mean, he does appear just at the end of Richard III as Richard’s successor after the Battle of Bosworth Field. But that’s it. Shakespeare didn’t take him on. WOODING: I’m not entirely sure. That’s a very good question, and I ask myself that question quite often. I mean, obviously I think this period is utterly fascinating. But you know, this is what I do for a living, so I would say that.Dive deep into the world’s largest Shakespeare collection and access primary sources from the early modern period. Now that we are questioning whether in fact there was that much Protestant commitment when she comes to the throne in 1553, we can look at her in a slightly different light and think, “Ah, okay. Well…” I mean, she herself always said that she was ruling over a largely Catholic population with a small vocal minority of Protestant troublemakers. My research revolves around different aspects of the English Reformation, including both its political resonance and its cultural impact. I am fascinated by the disjunction and interaction between theological and political formulations of faith and the social reality of religious belief and practice. At the moment I am particularly interested in the relationship between different forms of religious media, how they were shaped by both political intervention and popular reception, and how they were framed by the cultural continuities between the late medieval and early modern periods. I am especially in thrall to the increasingly creative encounters between the study of history and the study of literature, and beguiled by the ways in which works of fiction could serve as a conduit for late medieval and early modern thought about religion, politics, and society. Select publications

Lucy Wooding (1558) | Travels Through Time Mary and Elizabeth: Lucy Wooding (1558) | Travels Through Time

So sholde lewde men lerne by ymages”: Religious Imagery and Bible Learning’, in The English Bible in the Early Modern World, ed. R. Armstrong and T. Ó hAnnracháin (Brill, 2018) Now, within a church that might be within a statue, within a holy relic, something like that, but out in the countryside, you also see holy wells and holy trees and sights associated with saints and pilgrimage ways. So, the landscape is overlaid with a sort of network of spiritual, you know, indicators. LUCY WOODING: It’s great that people are fascinated by the Tudors. It’s lovely that there are all these films and novels and so on. And, you know, anything that promotes enthusiasm for history, I’m totally behind. Felicity Heal, ‘Food gifts, the household and the politics of exchange in early modern England’, P&P 199 (2008), 41–70. The official blog of Yale University Press London. We publish history, politics, current affairs, art, architecture, biography and pretty much everything else...There are good grammar schools, many of which were founded in the late medieval period, and a great many more are founded in the 16th century. They do say that the proportion of grammar schools per head of population is not equaled again until, I think, the 19th century. BOGAEV: Well, Henry VIII of course had plenty of drama, and he is such a towering figure in popular culture even now. What’s most misunderstood or misrepresented about him? You write, he wasn’t a libidinous predator.

Lucy Wooding - Tudor England: A History (Yale University

BOGAEV: One major point that you make that has so much resonance with Shakespeare is, you say you can’t understand Tudor England without knowing about the land and the woods and the towns and the cities. That the landscape around Tudor men and women was full of meaning. What did Tudors believe about the landscape of their country that makes it so ripe with significance? But yes, London is extraordinary by European standards, generally. London is quite extraordinary. It is of course a capital and it’s a port. But it does have a kind of unique identity, I think.

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BOGAEV: Well, this brings us to the nobility and to kings and queens, and you have a lot to say about all five of them in this period. But maybe we could do a little bit of a romp through royalty, because your book is so compelling in its myth busting. Lucy Wooding’s Tudor England: A History is a beautifully written account of the society, culture, and beliefs of the Tudor period. Along the way, she punctures many of the stubborn myths that clinging to the period and its headlining figures. The Times of London called it, “A classic in the making.”

Tudor England? Think again - The Telegraph Think you know Tudor England? Think again - The Telegraph

WITMORE: Lucy Wooding is a Langford fellow and tutor in history at Lincoln College, Oxford University. Her book, Tudor England: A History is out now from Yale University Press. A brilliant sketch of political, religious and social change under the Tudor Monarchs. Wooding weaves many a striking detail into a compelling account of complex events and developments.”—George Bernard, author of Who Ruled Tudor England? This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Ben Lauer is the web producer, with help from Leonor Fernandez. We had technical help from Tiffany Cassidy at Oxford, and Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc. BOGAEV: Does it shed light on a play like the Taming of the Shrew? I mean, how did audiences of the day interpret the ending of the play? For instance, Kate’s big marriage speech.

Our learned guide on this journey is Lucy Wooding. Wooding is Langford fellow and Tutor in History at Lincoln College, Oxford. She is an expert on Reformation England, its politics, religion and culture and the author of a study of King Henry VIII. I think that they did live through times of trial, and I think we’re experiencing times of trial. I think some of the resourcefulness with which they responded to that is perhaps an inspiration for a modern audience. But we do tend to talk about the Tudors as though it’s all about this one dysfunctional royal family, and that it’s five people and their closest adherents. You know, we are looking at a country where there are thousands and thousands of people who just don’t figure in a lot of the kind of popular culture that revolves around the Tudors.