Here comes the sun.
It's just not where it used to be.
(Feature Photo: 1872 painting of Nicolaus Copernicus entitled Conversations with God by Jan Matejko; Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
1500
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VII is king of England, Elizabeth of York is queen consort – No Holy Roman/German Emperor – Maximilian I is king of Germany/Romans (House of Habsburg) – Isabella I is queen of Castile and León, Spain – Ferdinand II is king of Aragon, Spain – Louis XII is king of France (House of Valois-Orléans) – Alexander VI is pope/bishop of Rome – Sikander Khan Lodi (Lodi Dynasty) is ruler of the Dehli Sultanate (Islamic India)
Others in Power:
Fredrick of Saxony is Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, Poland, the land of the Teutonic Order
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Road Tripping in the Sixteenth Century
“Around 1500, travelers still used itineraries, not maps, to plan trips and in order to orient themselves. Often rolled up in copper canisters, they listed places in sequence and were written, not drawn...The number of printed maps in the core countries of Europe posit one map per every 720 persons in 1500, and one for every 4 persons a century later, with most maps, roughly two-thirds of the total, portraying the countries and regions of the continent. These maps reshaped people’s sense of space as surely as the proliferation of texts altered the practice of reading.”
(Germany, A Nation in its Time, Pg. 6, 53)
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In Nuremberg, the first genuinely accurate, scaled map of Germany is made by Erhard Etzlaub, the map is called “Rome-Way Map” (Germany, A Nation in its Time, Pg. 20-21)
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 28 years old, he is living in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 25
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 47
April 22, Queen Isabella I of Castile and León, Spain turns 49; She is married to King Ferdinand II of Aragon, Spain, and has a 19 year-old daughter, Joanna, a 16 year-old daughter, Maria, and a 13 year-old daughter, Catherine of Aragon
June 28, Future King Henry VIII of England turns 8
August 25 (approx.), Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, navigator, and 1st governor of the Indies, turns 49
November 10, Martin Luther, the future German priest, author and theologian, turns 17
In Lithuania, "To get good crops, even in the sixteenth century, they sometimes 'sacrificed' an oak by ritual burnings. Estonians smeared the blood of animals on oaks, sacred to the god Taara, to be assured of rain and a good harvest." (The Druids, pg. 40)
1501
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VII is king of England, Elizabeth of York is queen consort – No Holy Roman/German Emperor – Maximilian I is king of Germany/Romans (House of Habsburg) – Isabella I is queen of Castile and León, Spain – Ferdinand II is king of Aragon, Spain – Louis XII is king of France (House of Valois-Orléans) – Alexander VI is pope/bishop of Rome – Sikander Khan Lodi (Lodi Dynasty) is ruler of the Dehli Sultanate (Islamic India)
Others in Power:
Fredrick of Saxony is Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, Poland, the land of the Teutonic Order
Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536), the Dutch philosopher and Catholic theologian, writes his book The Handbook for the Christian Knight (which is published in 1533 by William Tyndale)
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 29; he is living in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 26
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 48
April 22, Queen Isabella I of Castile and León, Spain, turns 50; She is married to King Ferdinand II of Aragon, Spain, and has a 20 year-old daughter, Joanna, a 17 year-old daughter, Maria, and a 14 year-old daughter, Catherine of Aragon
June 11, Catherine of Aragon (Queen Isabella's daughter), who is about to marry Prince Arthur of England this year, turns 15
June 28, Henry VIII, future king of England (and Prince Arthur's brother) turns 9
Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII of England is born in Blickling Hall, Norfolk England (reports vary, she may have been born anywhere between 1501-1505, but for the purposes of this timeline, we’re going with 1501)
August 17, Catherine of Aragon, princess of Spain, sets sail for England to marry the English prince Arthur at 15 years old
November 4, Catherine of Aragon meets Prince Arthur at Dogmersfield in Hampshire, England
August 25 (approx.), Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, navigator, and 1st governor of the Indies, turns 50
November 10, Martin Luther, the future German priest, author and theologian, turns 18
November 14, 15 year-old Catherine of Aragon, princess of Spain marries 15 year-old Arthur, prince of England, in Old Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London (his brother, 9 year-old Henry, is in the audience, he will become Catherine’s second husband, King Henry VIII) (Photo: Portrait of a woman thought to be a young Catherine of Aragon painted sometime between 1500-1505, Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
After marrying Catherine of Aragon, Prince Arthur is sent to Ludlow Castle in Wales to preside over the Council of Wales and the Marches, as is his duty as Prince of Wales; Catherine goes with him, a few months later, they both become ill, possibly with the sweating sickness, which is sweeping the area
1502
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VII is king of England, Elizabeth of York is queen consort – No Holy Roman/German Emperor – Maximilian I is king of Germany/Romans (House of Habsburg) – Isabella I is queen of Castile and León, Spain – Ferdinand II is king of Aragon, Spain – Louis XII is king of France (House of Valois-Orléans) – Alexander VI is pope/bishop of Rome – Sikander Khan Lodi (Lodi Dynasty) is ruler of the Dehli Sultanate (Islamic India) – Moctezuma II becomes the Aztec Emperor in Mexico (rules 1502-1520)
Others in Power:
Fredrick of Saxony is Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, Poland, the land of the Teutonic Order
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 30; He is living in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 27
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Catherine Becomes a Widow at 15
April 2, Prince Arthur of England dies, leaving 15 year-old Princess Catherine of Aragon a widow; Catherine has been engaged to Arthur since she was 3 years-old; Now after marrying him five months ago, he dies and leaves her in quite the predicament; She was going to be queen of England one day...now what?
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April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 49
April 22, Queen Isabella I of Castile and León, Spain turns 51; She is married to King Ferdinand II of Aragon, Spain, and has an 21 year-old daughter, Joanna, an 18 year-old daughter, Maria, and a 15 year-old daughter, Catherine of Aragon (recently widowed)
June 11, Catherine of Aragon (Queen Isabella's daughter and the widow of Prince Arthur of England) turns 16
June 28, Henry VIII, future king of England (especially since his older brother just died) turns 10
Anne Boleyn, Future wife of King Henry VIII of England (after he divorces Catherine of Aragon) turns 1
August 25 (approx.), Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, navigator, and 1st governor of the Indies, turns 51
November 10, Martin Luther, the future German priest, author and theologian, turns 19
1503
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VII is king of England, Elizabeth of York is queen consort – No Holy Roman/German Emperor – Maximilian I is king of Germany/Romans (House of Habsburg) – Isabella I is queen of Castile and León, Spain – Ferdinand II is king of Aragon, Spain – Louis XII is king of France (House of Valois-Orléans) – Alexander VI is pope/bishop of Rome until August, when he dies, and Pius III succeeds him, then Pius dies and Julius II succeeds him – Sikander Khan Lodi (Lodi Dynasty) is ruler of the Dehli Sultanate (Islamic India) – Moctezuma II becomes the Aztec Emperor in Mexico (rules 1502-1520)
Others in Power:
Fredrick of Saxony is Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, Poland, the land of the Teutonic Order
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The Mona Lisa Enters History
Leonardo da Vinci completes his painting of the Mona Lisa; It is now housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris
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February 11, Elizabeth of York, Queen of England, dies at the Tower of London, aged 37 (b. 1466) (Photo: 1665 etching of the tomb of King Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth of York in Westminster Abbey; Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
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Nick Goes to College
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 31; His hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights, but this year he leaves to go to the University of Padua in Italy
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March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 28
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 50
April 22, Queen Isabella I of Castile and León, Spain, turns 52; She is married to King Ferdinand II of Aragon, Spain, and has a 22 year-old daughter, Joanna, a 19 year-old daughter, Maria, and a 16 year-old daughter, Catherine of Aragon
June 11, Catherine of Aragon (Queen Isabella's daughter and Prince Arthur of England's widow) turns 17
June 28, Henry VIII, the future king of England, turns 11
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Coming and Going
August 18, Pope Alexander VI dies, aged 72
September 22, Pius III becomes pope/bishop of Rome
October 18, Pope Pius III dies, aged 64
November 1, Julius II becomes pope/Bishop of Rome
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Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII of England, turns 2
August 25 (approx.), Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, navigator, and 1st governor of the Indies, turns 52
November 10, Martin Luther, the future German priest, author and theologian, turns 20
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, is born in Saint-Remy-de-Provence
1504
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VII is king of England – No Holy Roman/German Emperor – Maximilian I is king of Germany/Romans (House of Habsburg) – Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León, Spain, dies and her daughter, Joanna I, succeeds her – Ferdinand II is king of Aragon, Spain – Louis XII is king of France (House of Valois-Orléans) – Julius II is pope/bishop of Rome – Sikander Khan Lodi (Lodi Dynasty) is ruler of the Dehli Sultanate (Islamic India) – Moctezuma II becomes the Aztec Emperor in Mexico (rules 1502-1520)
Others in Power:
Fredrick of Saxony is Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, Poland, the land of the Teutonic Order
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 32 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights, right now he is at the University of Padua in Italy
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 29
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 51
April 22, Queen Isabella I of Castile and León, Spain turns 53; She is married to King Ferdinand II of Aragon, Spain, and has an 23 year-old daughter, Joanna, a 20 year-old daughter, Maria, and a 17 year-old daughter, Catherine of Aragon
June 11, Catherine of Aragon (Queen Isabella's daughter and Prince Arthur of England's widow) turns 18
June 28, Future King Henry VIII of England turns 12
Anne Boleyn, Future wife of King Henry VIII of England turns 3
August 25 (approx.), Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, navigator, and 1st governor of the Indies, turns 53
Sikander Kahn Lodi, ruler of the Delhi Sultanate--an Islamic Empire that stretches over large swaths of present day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and some southern parts of Nepal--moves the capital from Delhi to Agra where he builds several mosques
Zahir-ud-din, otherwise known as Babur or "the Tiger", crosses the Oxus River (now known as the Amu Darya River) in the Hindu Kush, and seizes Kabul (now in present-day Afghanistan)
September 4, Michelangelo's David statue is unveiled in the public square outside the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of civic government in Florence, in the Piazza della Signoria
November 10, Martin Luther, the future German priest, author and theologian, turns 21
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Isabella Dies, Changing Her Daughters' Lives
November 26, Isabella I, Queen of Castile in Spain, dies, aged 53 (b.1451)
This means...
Her daughter, Catherine of Aragon’s “value” on the marriage market has become less favorable; While her mother was alive, Catherine stood to potentially become queen of both the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Aragon in Spain, but now...
Catherine’s older sister, Joanna I, becomes the Queen of Castile, and since their father’s kingdom--the Kingdom of Aragon--is much smaller, Catherine's inheritance has been cut down to less than half what it was before, however...
It is arranged that she will marry her late husband's (Prince Arthur's) younger brother, Henry, when he comes of age; Henry will become king of England upon the death of his father, which will make Catherine queen of England; But until then, she is kept like a prisoner in Durham House in London, waiting for the day he comes of age
Joanna I, Catherine's sister, and the new queen of Castile, is also known by another name: Juana I "The Mad"; She is quickly declared unfit to rule, and her father, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, rules as king of Castile, though he technically has no right to rule Castile since his wife, Isabella, has passed away
(Photo: Portrait of Joanna I "the mad," painted some time between 1496-1500, Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 1
1505
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VII is king of England – No Holy Roman/German Emperor – Maximilian I is king of Germany/Romans (House of Habsburg) – Joanna I “the mad” is queen of Castile, Spain (though her father, Ferdinand II, is ruling) – Ferdinand II is king of Aragon, Spain – Louis XII is king of France (House of Valois-Orléans) – Julius II is pope/bishop of Rome – Sikander Khan Lodi (Lodi Dynasty) is ruler of the Dehli Sultanate (Islamic India) – Moctezuma II becomes the Aztec Emperor in Mexico (rules 1502-1520)
Others in Power:
Fredrick of Saxony is Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, Poland, the land of the Teutonic Order
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 33 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights, right now he is at the University of Padua in Italy
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 30
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 52
June 11, Catherine of Aragon (Queen Isabella's daughter and Prince Arthur of England's widow) turns 19
June 28, Future King Henry VIII of England turns 13
July 5, A violent earthquake hits the city of Agra, India; According to Ferishta, 'so severe an earthquake was never experienced in India before or since...Lofty buildings were leveled with the ground [and] several thousand inhabitants were buried under the ruins.' (India, A History, Pg. 289)
Zahir-ud-din, amir [king] of Kabul, otherwise known as Babur or "the Tiger", makes his first foray across the northwest frontier of the Punjab province in India, which is ruled by Sultan Sikander Lodi
Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII of England turns 4
August 25 (approx.), Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, navigator, and 1st governor of the Indies, turns 54
October 29, A portrait is painted of King Henry VII of England, the inscription at the bottom says that it was ordered by an agent of Maximilian I, King of the Romans and soon to be Holy Roman Emperor in 1508; It is thought that this portrait was part of an unsuccessful attempt at a marriage proposal, as Henry was hoping to take Maximilian's daughter, Margaret of Savoy, as his second wife; This portrait now hang's in the National Portrait Gallery in London (Photo Credit: National Portrait Gallery)
November 10, Martin Luther, the future German priest, author and theologian, turns 22
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 2
1506
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VII is king of England – No Holy Roman/German Emperor – Joanna I “the mad” is queen of Castile (though her father, Ferdinand II, is ruling) – Ferdinand II is king of Aragon, Spain – Julius II is pope/bishop of Rome – Moctezuma II is the Aztec Emperor in Mexico
Others in Power:
Fredrick of Saxony is Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, Poland, the land of the Teutonic Order
Construction on St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome begins (it is now part of the Vatican City buildings) on the orders of Pope Julius II; It will be completed by Paul V in 1615
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 34; His hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 31
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 53
May 20, Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, navigator and 1st governor of the Indies, dies in Valladolid, Castile, Spain
June 11, Catherine of Aragon (the late Queen Isabella's daughter) turns 20; She is currently in England, waiting for Prince Henry--who will eventually become King Henry VIII of England--to come of age so she can be married to him
June 28, Henry VIII, future king of England, turns 14
July 12, Philip II "The Handsome," the husband of Queen Juana "The Mad" of Castile in Spain, is proclaimed "King of Castile,"...though he suspiciously dies in a couple of months
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Poisoned?
September 25, Philip II "The Handsome," who was recently proclaimed "King of Castile" in Spain just a couple of moths ago, dies suddenly of a fever in Burgos, Spain; However, assassination by poisoning is rumored to be the true cause; His wife, Queen Juana "The Mad," believes that this is what really happened; Philip was 28 years old; He and Juana were married back in '96, and they already had six kids together--one of them, Charles V, will become one of the most powerful men in Europe, becoming the head of the Habsburg Dynasty, emperor of the Spanish Empire, and emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire
Philip was also the son of Maximillian I, king of the Romans and king in Germany, and who is also about to become the Holy Roman/German emperor in a couple years
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Anne Boleyn, Future wife of King Henry VIII of England turns 5
November 10, Martin Luther, the German priest, author and theologian, turns 23
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 3
1507
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VII is king of England/no queen – No Holy Roman / German Emperor – Joanna I “the mad” is queen of Castile (though her father, Ferdinand II, is ruling) – Ferdinand II is king of Aragon, Spain – Moctezuma II is the Aztec Emperor in Mexico
Others in Power:
Fredrick of Saxony is Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, Poland, the land of the Teutonic Order
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 35 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights, right now he is at the University of Padua in Italy
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 32
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 54
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Twenty-one year-old Catherine
June 11, Catherine of Aragon turns 21; During this year, she holds the position of Ambassador of the Aragonese crown to England, becoming the first female ambassador in European history
Catherine's sister, Juana, Queen of Castile, lost her husband last year to a fever, though it is suspected he was poisoned; So while Catherine is in England, her sister is in Spain, grieving the loss of her husband, Philip II; Catherine lost her own husband only months after they married back in 1502 at the age of 15
Catherine will become the Queen of England after she marries Henry VIII in a couple of years in 1509; However, he will divorce her in 1533
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June 28, Henry VIII, future king of England turns 15
Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII of England turns 6
September 3, Thomas Savage, the Archbishop of York from 1501-1507, dies and is buried in York Minster, York, England (b. 1449) (Photo: Tomb of Thomas Savage in York Minster, Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
November 10, Martin Luther, the German priest, author and theologian, turns 24
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 4
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America Gets Put on the Map
The Waldseemüller Map is created by Martin Waldseemüller for the book Introduction to Cosmography which is published this year; The book not only included a map, but it also included a globe; This map is famously known for being the first one to have the word "America" written on it; This map becomes lost at some point and isn't found again until 1901 in the tower of Wolfegg Castle in Germany; (Photo: Composite of the Waldseemüller Map, it was originally made of twelve separate sheets; Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
1508
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VII is king of England/no queen – Maximilian I becomes the Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans (Italy) and King of Germany until 1519 (note: he is the second Holy Roman Emperor from the House of Habsburg) – Joanna I “the mad” is queen of Castile (though her father, Ferdinand II, is ruling) – Ferdinand II is king of Aragon, Spain – Moctezuma II is the Aztec Emperor in Mexico
Others in Power:
Fredrick of Saxony is Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, Poland, the land of the Teutonic Order
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Maximillian I: Alchemist & Holy Roman Emperor
February 4, A proclamation is made that Maximillian I, king of the Romans and king in Germany, is now the Holy Roman/German Emperor
Like his father, Maximillian I is an alchemist, and is interested in both humanist and esoteric literature (Wikipedia)
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February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 36 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights, right now he is at the University of Padua in Italy
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Painting the Ceiling
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 33; This year, he begins painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, under the patronage of Pope Julius II (it takes him almost five years to finish)
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April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 55
June 11, Catherine of Aragon (Queen Isabella's daughter and Prince Arthur of England's widow) turns 22
June 28, the future King Henry VIII of England turns 16
Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII of England, turns 7
November 10, Martin Luther, the German priest, author and theologian, turns 25
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 5
“As the sojourns (1486 - 1519) of Emperor Maximilian I reveal, his empire was a riverine realm, centered in the south and west, in which retreat to the safeguards of the high elevations remained a strategic necessity. Far from controlling the peripheries of the Empire, the Emperor never even saw them. Especially the north and east remained out of his reach and beyond his grasp. Within the area conventionally considered Germany, there were some four thousand towns, most of them small, with populations barely reaching beyond 2000 people. There were also cities, like Prague, Cologne, Nuremberg, Augsburg, Strasburg, Lübeck, and Vienna, all of which boasted populations over 25,000.” (Germany, A Nation in its Time, Pg. 14)
1509
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VII, king of England dies and Henry VIII ascends the English throne – Maximilian I is Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans (Italy) and King of Germany
Fredrick of Saxony is Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, Poland, the land of the Teutonic Order
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 37 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights, right now he is at the University of Padua in Italy
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 34
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 56
April 21, Henry VII dies and is buried in Westminster Abbey
June 11, Henry VIII (almost 17 years old) marries Catherine of Aragon (whose birthday is today, she turns 23 years old), daughter of Queen Isabella I (who died five years ago) and King Ferdinand V of Spain; Catherine had been married to Henry’s younger brother Arthur in 1501, but he died five months after they were married; Catherine and Henry will have five children together, four of which will die, and the one that survives will be Mary, who will later become Queen Mary I; Henry and Catherine will divorce in 1533
June 24, Henry VIII is crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey
June 28, King Henry VIII of England turns 17
July 15, John Calvin, who becomes a French theologian, and one of the founders of the system of Christian theology known as Calvinism, is born in Noyon, Picardi, France; He will also be a reformer in the Protestant Reformation in Geneva, Romandy (the mostly french-speaking part of Switzerland)
A portrait is painted of Henry VIII (Photo: Henry in the year 1509, Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Anne Boleyn, The future wife of King Henry VIII of England (after he divorces Catherine) turns 8
November 10, Martin Luther, the German priest, author and theologian, turns 26
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 6
1510
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is king of England, Catharine of Aragon is queen – Maximilian I is Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans (Italy) and King of Germany
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 38 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights, right now he is at the University of Padua in Italy
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 35
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 57
June 11, Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England and Henry VIII's wife, turns 24
June 28, King Henry VIII of England turns 18
Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII of England turns 9
November 10, Martin Luther, the German priest, author and theologian, turns 27
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 7
December 14, Fredrick of Saxony, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, dies, aged 37, and Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, becomes Grand Master of the Teutonic knights whose lands are in Prussia (will become first Duke of Prussia in 1525), Prussia is part of Poland right now
Albert of Prussia (1490-1568) becomes the Grand Master of the Teutonic knights (reign ends in 1525 (Note: the epithet “of Prussia” came later, right now he is only Albert of the House of Hohenzollern); As Albert takes over the Order of the Teutonic Knights, the House of Hohenzollern will now have access to the secrets and militant methods of the Order, “So impressed by the brutal ways the Teutonic Knights ruled and controlled its ‘deplorable’ pagan peoples, the Hohenzollern decided to name their growing empire after the lands the knights conquered. Not Zollern (where they had originated), Nuremberg, Brandenburg, or even ‘Teutonia.’ They chose the name Prussia; the land that was conquered. This is an important part of the history of the Kingdom of Prussia because it lays out the ‘ideology’ that was adopted by the Hohenzollern dynasty. In turn, this established their methods of rule, right up to the end of WWI. In the spirit of the Teutonic Knights, they placed themselves on a permanent war footing.” (Wikipedia and prussiagate.substack.com)
Hebraist Johannes Reuchlin in Germany defends Jewish books against imperial [Holy Roman Empire's] efforts to confiscate them on the grounds that they impeded the conversion of Jews to Christianity (Germany, A Nation in its Time, Pg. 38)
Erasmus, a Catholic priest and Dutch philosopher who is considered one of the greatest scholars of the northern Renaissance, writes a letter to Hebraist Johannes Reuchlin, using the phrase “our Germany,” so people in the German lands around this time are starting to feel more nationalistic; Erasmus’ letter also had anti-Jewish sentiments, like many humanists, Erasmus conceived of Judaism as hostile to a Christianity that emphasized the New Testament over the Old, and good works over ritual and law, “he also had little empathy for the plight of the Jews” (Germany, A Nation in its Time, Pg. 28)
Jewish people are being expelled from many cities across Germany or, as in Frankfurt am Main, they are packed into ghettos with their rights curtailed (Germany, A Nation in its Time, Pg. 38)
The first slaves arrive on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (present day Hispaniola, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic); The 250 slaves are black Ladinos, meaning they have spent time in Spain and are Hispanicized (Wikipedia)
1511
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is king of England – Maximilian I is Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans (Italy) and King of Germany
Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Grand Master of the Teutonic knights whose lands are in Prussia (will become first Duke of Prussia in 1525), Prussia is part of Poland right now
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 39 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 36; He's currently painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 58
June 11, Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England and Henry VIII's wife, turns 25
June 28, King Henry VIII of England turns 19
Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII of England turns 10
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 8
1512
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is king of England / Catherine of Aragon is queen – Maximilian I is Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans (Italy) and King of Germany, and beginning this year, his Empire will also include the Burgundian State (Netherlands)
Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Grand Master of the Teutonic knights whose lands are in Prussia (he'll become the first Duke of Prussia in 1525); Prussia is part of Poland right now
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 40 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights
March 5, Gerardus Mercator is born in Rupelmonde, County of Flanders (modern day Belgium) a fiefdom of the Habsburg (Spanish Royalty) Netherlands, he becomes a great geographer, cartographer and cosmographer, and is best known for his 1569 world map that used “rhumb lines” which allow sailors to sail in straight lines (these lines are still used in today’s nautical charts), his family moves almost immediately after his birth to Gangelt in the Holy Roman Duchy of Jülich (modern day Germany), (d. 1594) (read Mercator, by Nicholas Crane)
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The Ceiling's Finished!
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 37, and finishes painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome
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April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 59
June 11, Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England and Henry VIII's wife, turns 26
June 28, King Henry VIII of England turns 20
Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII of England turns 11
November 10, Martin Luther, the German priest, author and theologian, turns 28
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 9
The Imperial Diet of Cologne takes place in which for the first time, the area of Germania is referred to as “the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation,” thereafter, “in the course of the sixteenth century, ‘Germany’ was often heard in political parlance, In its nominative form, according to the German Dictionary of the Brothers Grimm, it denoted the area where German-speaking people lived.” (Germany, A Nation in its Time, Pg. 13)
Burgundy (now the Netherlands), from which many of the Kings of France have come, becomes part of the Holy Roman Empire (Wikipedia, The Burgundian State)
1513
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is king of England / Catherine of Aragon is queen – James IV, king of Scotland dies at Flodden Field on September 9, it’s possible that he is buried at Sheen Abbey, though his exact resting place is not known, James V is crowned king of Scotland at Stirling castle on September 21 – Maximilian I is Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans (Italy) and King of Germany
Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Grand Master of the Teutonic knights whose lands are in Prussia (will become first Duke of Prussia in 1525), Prussia is part of Poland right now
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 41 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights
March 5, Mercator, who becomes the great mapmaker and cosmographer, turns 1 year old, he’s living in Gangelt in the Holy Roman Duchy of Jülich (modern day Germany)
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 38
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 60
June 11, Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England and Henry VIII's wife, turns 27
June 28, King Henry VIII of England turns 21
Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII of England, turns 12
November 10, Martin Luther, the German priest, author and theologian, turns 29
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 10
1514
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is king of England – King James V is king of Scotland – Maximilian I is Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans (Italy) and King of Germany –
Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Grand Master of the Teutonic knights whose lands are in Prussia (will become first Duke of Prussia in 1525), Prussia is part of Poland right now
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The Sun in the Middle
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 42; His hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights, this year he proposes a model of the solar system where the sun is stationary and the planets rotate around it
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March 5, Mercator, who becomes the great mapmaker and cosmographer, turns 2 years old, he’s living in Gangelt in the Holy Roman Duchy of Jülich (modern day Germany) (Mercator)
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 39
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 61
June 28, King Henry VIII of England turns 22
Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII of England turns 13
November 10, Martin Luther, the German priest, author and theologian, turns 30
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 11
1515
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is king of England – King James V is king of Scotland – Maximilian I is Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans (Italy) and King of Germany – Louis XII dies and his first cousin, Francis I, becomes king of France
Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Grand Master of the Teutonic knights whose lands are in Prussia (he'll become the first Duke of Prussia in 1525), Prussia is part of Poland right now; Hohenzollern Castle in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built, habitable, and held by Hohenzollern Family
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 43 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights; Just last year, he proposed the sun is stationary and the planets orbit around it
March 5, Mercator, who becomes the great German mapmaker and cosmographer, turns 3; He’s living in Gangelt in the Holy Roman/German Empire's Duchy of Jülich (modern day Germany)
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 40
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 62
June 28 (or possibly September 22), Anne of Cleves (future wife of King Henry VIII, but only for 6 months in 1540) is born in Düsseldorf, Duchy of Berg, Kingdom of Germany, Holy Roman Empire
June 28, King Henry VIII of England turns 23
Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII of England, turns 15
November 10, Martin Luther, the German priest, author and theologian, turns 31
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 12
1516
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is king of England, Catharine of Aragon (her nephew, Charles V becomes king of Spain this year) is queen consort – King James V is king of Scotland – Charles V becomes king of Spain (Aragon and Castile), he’s a Habsburg (he will later become Holy Roman Emperor, his grandfather, Max, is Holy Roman Emperor right now) – Maximilian I is Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans (Italy) and King of Germany – Francis I is king of France
Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Grand Master of the Teutonic knights whose lands are in Prussia (he'll become the first Duke of Prussia in 1525); Prussia is part of Poland right now; Hohenzollern Castle in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built, habitable, and held by Hohenzollern Family
February 18, the future Queen Mary I is born to Henry VIII of England and Queen Catharine of Aragon, it is of note that Charles V, king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) is her cousin, and he will become Holy Roman Emperor when she is 3 years old
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 44 years old; His hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights; He has already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514
March 5, Mercator, who becomes the great mapmaker and cosmographer, turns 4; He’s living Gangelt in the Holy Roman Duchy of Jülich (modern day Germany)
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 41
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 63
June 28 (or possibly September 22), Anne of Cleves (future wife of King Henry VIII, but only for 6 months in 1540) turns 1
June 28, King Henry VIII of England turns 24
Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII of England turns 16
November 10, Martin Luther, the German priest, author and theologian, turns 32
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 13
Ottoman period in Babylon (modern day Iraq) begins
Man Sing Tomar, the Tomar Rajput ruler of Gwanior in India, dies; He leaves behind the palace-fortress he built there, now called the Gwanior Fort (Photo: Man Singh Palace at the Gwanior Fort, Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Sikander Kahn Lodi, the Islamic ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, builds the Rajon ki Baoli, or stepwell in Mehrauli, India; It is the largest and most ornamented of all three baolis built in Mehrauli; Baolis are a series of steps and platforms that descend into groundwater level and are built near shrines (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
1517
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is on the English throne – King James V is on the Scottish throne – Charles V is king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – Maximilian I is Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans (Italy) and King of Germany – Francis I is king of France
Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Grand Master of the Teutonic knights whose lands are in Prussia (he'll become the first Duke of Prussia in 1525); Prussia is part of Poland right now; Hohenzollern Castle in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built, habitable, and held by Hohenzollern Family
February 18, Future Queen Mary I of England turns 1
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 45 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights, he has already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514
March 5, Mercator, who becomes the great mapmaker and cosmographer, turns 5 years old, he’s living in Gangelt in the Holy Roman Duchy of Jülich (modern day Germany)
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 42
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 64
June 28 (or possibly September 22), Anne of Cleves (future wife of King Henry VIII, but only for 6 months in 1540) turns 2 years old
June 28, King Henry VIII of England turns 25; He has only one child, Mary I, and is married to Catherine of Aragon; He is still hoping for a son
Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII of England turns 17
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I've Got 95 Problems
October 31, the Protestant Reformation begins when 32 year-old Martin Luther, a German priest, nails his 95 Theses to the doors of churches in Wittenberg, Germany (remember still no Bible translated into a common tongue yet)
“On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther sent a letter to Albrecht of Brandenburg, the Archbishop of Mainz. In this letter, which contained the famous 95 theses, Luther railed against indulgences, purchasable single-sheet documents that supposedly remitted sins. Whether Luther also nailed the theses to the door of the Court Church at Wittenberg remains a subject of historical debate. What we are certain of is that Luther’s criticisms centered fundamentally on the idea that God’s grace is granted and received through faith alone, not good works or the intercession of priests.”
(Germany, A Nation in its Time, Pg. 31)
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November 10, Martin Luther, the German priest, author and theologian, turns 33
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 14
End of the Islamic Mamluk Empire as they are incorporated into the Ottoman empire
1518
RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is on the English throne, Catharine of Aragon is queen – King James V is on the Scottish throne – Charles V is king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – Maximilian I is Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans (Italy) and King of Germany – Francis I is king of France
Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Grand Master of the Teutonic knights whose lands are in Prussia (he'll the become first Duke of Prussia in 1525), Prussia is part of Poland right now; Hohenzollern Castle in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built, habitable, and held by Hohenzollern Family
February 18, Future Queen Mary I of England turns 2
February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 46; His hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights, he has already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514
March 5, Mercator, who becomes the great mapmaker and cosmographer, turns 6 years old, his family moves from Gangelt in the Holy Roman Duchy of Jülich (modern day Germany), back to the County of Flounders (Belgium)
March 6, Michelangelo, the Italian artist, turns 43
April 15, Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist, turns 65
November 10, Martin Luther, the German priest, author and theologian, turns 34
December 14, Nostradamus, the French astrologer, turns 15
The Protestant Reformation in Germany/Holy Roman Empire continues
The choir stall in the Barcelona Cathedral in Spain is completed in preparation for the arrival of Charles V, who will become the new Holy Roman Emperor next year (Photo: The interior of the choir stall, Credit: Deborah Marino 2022)