1530 - 1549 A.D. - Breaking and Entering

Henry VIII divorces his first wife.

Not only did he divorce her, but he broke with the Catholic Church to do so. He's the head of the Church of England now, so he begins the "dissolution of the monasteries." In other words, he enters them one by one and claims their treasures as his own.

(Feature Photo: An 1880 painting depicting Catherine of Aragon being denounced by King Henry VIII and his council; Artist, Laslett John Pott; Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

 

1530

RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is king of England, Catherine of Aragon is queen – James V is king of Scotland – Charles V (House of Habsburg) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy (crowned this year), Archduke of Austria, and emperor of the Spanish Empire (Aragon and Castile, the Spanish Americas) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

February 18, Future queen of England, Queen Mary I, turns 14

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 58 years old; His hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which had been under the control of the Teutonic Knights until April 8 of 1525, now his hometown is ruled by Albert, duke of Prussia, Nicolaus already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514

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The Next Prince of Orange

 

August 3, Philibert of Chalon, Prince of Orange, dies, aged 28, outside Florence Italy, after fighting for Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Germany and Spain, in the War of the League of Cognac; He is succeeded by his sister's son, 11-year-old René of Chalon, who becomes the next Prince of Orange; Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day)

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The Spanish Conquest of the Maya continues (1527-1697), (A History of the World, Map by Map, Pg. 156-157)

  

1531

RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is king of England, Catherine of Aragon is queen – King James V is king of Scotland – Charles V (House of Habsburg) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and emperor of the Spanish Empire (Aragon and Castile, and the Spanish Americas) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

René of Chalon, is the Prince of Orange, Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 12 this year

February 18, Mary I, King Henry VIII's daughter and future queen of England, turns 15

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 59 years old; His hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which had been under the control of the Teutonic Knights until April 8 of 1525; Now his hometown is ruled by Albert, duke of Prussia; Nicolaus already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514

The Spanish Conquest of the Maya continues (1527-1697)

 

1532

KINGS & RULERS: Henry VIII is king of England, Catherine of Aragon is queen – King James V is king of Scotland – Charles V (House of Habsburg) is the Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

René of Chalon, is the Prince of Orange, Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 13 this year

February 18, Mary I, future queen of England, turns 16

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 60; His hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which was under the control of the Teutonic Knights until April 8, 1525; Now his hometown is ruled by Albert, duke of Prussia, Nicolaus already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514

Niccoló Machiavelli's book The Prince is published (this book will be banned in England); Niccoló is an Italian philosopher, author and diplomat who was born in Florence, in the Republic of Florence in 1469

The Spanish Conquest of the Maya continues (1527-1697)

 

1533

KINGS & RULERS: Henry VIII is king of England, Catherine of Aragon is queen until May 23 when Henry divorces her, Anne Boleyn, becomes queen (for only three years) – King James V is king of Scotland – Charles V (House of Habsburg) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

René of Chalon, is the Prince of Orange, Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 14 this year

February 18, Mary I, future queen of England, turns 17

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 61 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights until April 8 of 1525, now his hometown is ruled by Albert, duke of Prussia, Nicolaus already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514

June 1, King Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn (she’s six months pregnant with Elizabeth I)

September 7, Elizabeth I is born at Greenwich palace to King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

William Tyndale publishes The Handbook of a Christian Knight by Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536), the Dutch philosopher and Catholic priest

The Spanish Conquest of the Maya continues (1527-1697), (A History of the World, Map by Map, Pg. 156-157)

 

1534

RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is king of England, Anne Boleyn is queen consort – King James V is king of Scotland – Charles V (House of Habsburg) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and emperor of the Spanish Empire (Aragon and Castile, and the Spanish Americas) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, the Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

René of Chalon, is the Prince of Orange, Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 15 this year

February 18, Mary I, future queen of England, turns 18

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 62 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights until April 8 of 1525, now his hometown is ruled by Albert, duke of Prussia, Nicolaus already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514

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A Former Queen Writes to Her Daughter

In April, the former queen of England, Catherine of Aragon, writes a letter to her only child, Mary; King Henry VIII had divorced Catherine after falling in-love with another woman, Anne Boleyn; But the only way he could accomplish divorcing Catherine and marrying Anne was by saying he should never have married Catherine in the first place, as she had been married to his brother, Arthur, before him (albeit only for only 5 months before Arthur died at the age of 15); Henry made the case that the marriage had been unlawful and unholy; This made Mary, his daughter by Catherine, illegitimate

Catherine writes to Mary saying...    

"Daughter, I hear such tidings today that I do perceive if it be true, the time is come that Almighty God will prove you; and I am very glad of it, for I trust He doth handle you with good love. I beseech you agree of His pleasure with a merry heart...

...If any pangs come to you, shrive yourself; first make yourself clean; take heed of His commandments, and keep them as near as He will give you grace to do, for then you are sure armed."

(Letters of the Queens of England, Pg. 177)

Catherine is writing to Mary as she is about to be tested by her circumstances, so she's giving her daughter advice on how to keep a cool head, and "shrive" (go to confession) herself from anything that gives her "pangs;" It's basically the sixteenth-century way of saying,

"Hater's gonna hate, so trust God and shake it off."

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September 7, Elizabeth I, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, and future queen of England, turns 1; Right now, Elizabeth is a legitimate heir to the throne, while her half-sister is now declared "illegitimate"; However, the roles will be reversed later when Mary actually does become queen in 1553

  

1535

KINGS & RULERS: Henry VIII is king of England, Anne Boleyn is queen consort – King James V is king of Scotland – Charles V (House of Habsburg 3) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

René of Chalon, is the Prince of Orange, Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 16 this year

February 18, Mary I, future queen of England, turns 19

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 63 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights until April 8 of 1525, now his hometown is ruled by Albert, duke of Prussia, Nicolaus already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514

September 7, Elizabeth I, future queen of England, turns 2

November 3, the English Parliament passes the Supremacy Act, making King Henry VIII, and all subsequent monarchs, the head of the Church of England, having legal sovereignty of the civil laws over the laws of the Church of England

Myles Coverdale prints the first full Bible, Old Testament & New Testament, plus the Apocrypha, in the English Language (the King James Bible won't be published until 1611; The King James Bible will be published at the initiation of King James I of England, who proposed it should be written in an easier to understand English)

 

1536

KINGS & RULERS: Henry VIII is king of England, Anne Boleyn is queen until May 17 (beheaded on May 19), Henry then marries Jane Seymour on May 30 – King James V is king of Scotland – Charles V (House of Habsburg) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

René of Chalon, is the Prince of Orange, Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 17 this year

February 18, Mary I, future queen of England, turns 20

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 64 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is under the control of the Teutonic Knights until April 8 of 1525, now his hometown is ruled by Albert, duke of Prussia, Nicolaus already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514

May 19, Queen Anne Boleyn of England is beheaded on the order of her husband at the Tower of London; She is buried in the chapel there

May 30, King Henry VIII of England, marries his next bride, Jane Seymour

July 12, Erasmus of Rotterdam, the Dutch philosopher and Catholic priest who is considered to be the greatest scholar of the northern Renaissance, dies at Basal, Old Swiss Confederacy

September 7, Elizabeth I, future queen of England (currently considered illegitimate with no right to the throne as her mom was just beheaded a few months ago by her father, the king) turns 3

Henry VIII, King of England, begins the Dissolution of the Monasteries now that he has broken away from the Catholic Church and has become head of the Church of England, he begins confiscating lands and property from the monasteries, this lasts until 1541 

 

1537

KINGS & RULERS: Henry VIII is king of England, Jane Seymour is queen –King James V is king of Scotland/Madeleine of Valois is queen for six months – Francis I is king of France – Charles V (House of Habsburg) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

René of Chalon, is the Prince of Orange, Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 18 this year

January 1, Madeleine of Valois, daughter of King Francis I of France, marries King James V of Scotland in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, she is 16 years old; A banquet is held that night in the Louvre Palace (she dies 6 months later in Scotland)

February, Jane Seymour, Queen Consort of England, becomes pregnant with the future King Edward VI

February 18, Mary I, future queen of England, turns 21

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 65 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which was under the control of the Teutonic Knights until April 8 of 1525, now his hometown is ruled by Albert, duke of Prussia, Nicolaus already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514

July 7, Queen Madeleine of Valois, wife of King James V of Scotland, dies in James’ arms at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland, aged 16 (b. 1520), she is interred at Holyrood abbey next to King James II of Scotland; Madeleine’s short tenure has earned her the sobriquet, “The Summer Queen,” King James V is now a widower and is looking for a queen  

September 7, Elizabeth I, future queen of England (currently considered illegitimate, with no right to the throne), turns 4

October 12, Edward VI is born (d. 1553) to King Henry VIII and Queen Jane Seymour at Hampton Court Palace, Middlesex, England

October 24, Jane Seymour, Queen Consort of England, dies at Hampton Court Palace, aged 29 (b. 1508) a little over a week after her son’s birth; She’s buried in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Henry VIII is now a widower and is looking for another queen

King Henry VIII of England’s Dissolution of the Monasteries continues (1536-1541), taking land and property from all Catholic monasteries now that he has broken with the Catholic Church and is head of the Church of England  

Both King Henry of VIII of England and James V of Scotland are widowers looking for a suitable wife to be their new queen; They both seek out the same woman, Mary of Guise, a French noblewoman from one of the most powerful houses in France; Mary rebuffs Henry’s advances and chooses James V—this may have had something to do with the fact that so far, Henry had already banished one wife and beheaded another; Mary marries James V next year, and becomes the mother of Mary Queen of Scots (Photo: Portrait of Mary of Guise in 1537, Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

 

1538

KINGS & RULERS: Henry VIII is king of England – King James V is king of Scotland – Charles V (House of Habsburg 3) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

René of Chalon, is the Prince of Orange, Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 19 this year

February 18, Mary I, future queen of England, turns 22

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 66 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which was under the control of the Teutonic Knights until April 8 of 1525, now his hometown is ruled by Albert, duke of Prussia, Nicolaus already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514

May 9, Mary of Guise marries King James V of Scotland

September 7, Elizabeth I, future queen of England (currently considered illegitimate with no right to the throne) turns 5

King Henry VIII of England’s Dissolution of the Monasteries continues (1536-1541), taking land and property from all Catholic monasteries now that he has broken with the Catholic Church and is head of the Church of England 

 

1539

KINGS & RULERS: Henry VIII is king of England – King James V is king of Scotland/Mary of Guise is queen – Charles V (House of Habsburg 3) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

René of Chalon, is the Prince of Orange, Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 20 this year

February 18, the future Queen Mary I of England turns 23

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 67 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which was under the control of the Teutonic Knights until April 8 of 1525, now his hometown is ruled by Albert, duke of Prussia, Nicolaus already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514

A portrait is painted by Hans Holbein the Younger of Anne of Cleves (it now hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris) (Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

September 7, Elizabeth I turns 6 years old

King Henry VIII of England’s Dissolution of the Monasteries continues (1536-1541), taking land and property from all Catholic monasteries now that he has broken with the Catholic Church and is head of the Church of England

Irish students who have been forbidden from attending school in Ireland by the English, are now flocking to the continent for their education in Irish Colleges that have been set up in Paris, Louvain, Rome and elsewhere (The Druids, pg. 160) 

  

1540

RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is king of England, Anne of Cleves is queen (for a brief moment) – King James V is king of Scotland / Mary of Guise is queen – Charles V (House of Habsburg) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

René of Chalon, is the Prince of Orange, Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 21 this year

January 6, King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London

February 18, The future Queen Mary I of England turns 23

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 68 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which had been under the control of the Teutonic Knights until April 8 of 1525; Now his hometown is ruled by Albert, duke of Prussia; Nicolaus already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514

February 22, Mary of Guise, a French noblewoman from one of the most powerful families of France, is crowned Queen consort of Scotland, though she’s been married to James V, king of Scotland since 1538 

June 24, Anne of Cleves, Queen Consort of England, is asked to leave court

July 6, Anne of Cleves is informed of Henry VIII’s decision to reconsider the marriage 

July 9, Anne of Cleves agrees to the annulment of her marriage to King Henry VIII, she receives a generous settlement, including Richmond Palace and Hever Castle, houses that had belonged to the Boleyns

July 28, King Henry VIII of England marries Katherine Howard at Oatland Palace, the same day Cromwell is executed, and only days after he divorced Anne of Cleves (Photo: Portrait of a lady by Hans Holbein thought to be Katherine Howard; Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

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How Benjamin Franklin Got His Last Name

The earliest documented use of the name Franklin by an ancestor one of America's Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, is by his great-great-grandfather Thomas Frank, who was born in 1540 in the Northamptonshire village of Ecton, England  

"During the Middle Ages, a new class emerged in the villages of rural England: men who possessed property and wealth but were not members of the titled aristocracy. proud but without great pretension, assertive of their rights as members of an independent middle class, these freeholders came to be known as franklins, from the Middle English word "frankeleyn," meaning freeman.

When surnames gained currency, families of upper classes tended to take on the titles of their domains, such as Lancaster or Salisbury. Their tenants sometimes resorted to invocations of their own little turf, such as Hill or Meadows. Artisans tended to take their name from their labor, be it Smith, Taylor or Weaver. And for some families... 

...the descriptor that seemed most appropriate was Franklin."

(Benjamin Franklin, An American Life, Pg. 5) 

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Sir John Thynne buys the Augustinian Priory at Longleat (England) for 55 pounds and begins building there in 1546, Thynne was born in 1512 and made his name and fortune during the reigns of king Henry VIII and Edward VI, and was knighted by the Duke of Somerset on the battlefield of Pinkie, where the Duke’s army routed a Scots army, Queen Elizabeth stays at this house in 1575 during her summer progress (Castles, Palaces and Stately Homes, Pg. 120)

September 7, Future queen of England, Elizabeth I, turns 7

Sir Francis Drake is born (unknown date) in Devonshire, England (approx.); He will become the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe, as well as a royal-commissioned pirate (by future Queen Elizabeth I) against Spanish ships and possessions

King Henry VIII of England’s Dissolution of the Monasteries continues (1536-1541), taking land and property from all Catholic monasteries now that he has broken with the Catholic Church and is head of the Church of England 

The Kremlin, a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia, is inhabited by the Rurikid dynasty of rulers (not tsars)

Jewish expulsions from German cities come to a close (they had begun back in 1420, so there was 80 years of this)

 

1541

RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is king of England, Catherine Howard is queen – King James V is king of Scotland / Mary of Guise is queen – Charles V (House of Habsburg 3) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

René of Chalon, is the Prince of Orange, Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 22 this year

February 18, Future Queen of England, Mary I, turns 24

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 69 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which had been under the control of the Teutonic Knights until April 8 of 1525; Now his hometown is ruled by Albert, duke of Prussia; Nicolaus already proposed that the planets go around the sun back in 1514

In the spring, it is alleged that Catherine Howard, Queen Consort of England, is meeting secretly with an old flame, Thomas Culpepper; It is said that those who knew about it started blackmailing the queen

September 7, Future queen of England, Elizabeth I, turns 8

November 1, On All Saints Day, King Henry VIII of England is given a letter telling him that his queen is meeting secretly with his favorite courtier, Thomas Culpepper

Sir Francis Drake, the future British explorer and royal-commissioned pirate, turns 1 year old (approx.)

King Henry VIII of England’s Dissolution of the Monasteries comes to an end (1536-1541); he has now taken the land and property from all Catholic monasteries as head of the Church of England 

The Kremlin, a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia, is inhabited by the Rurikid dynasty of rulers (not tsars)

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An Act Against Bad Witches

King Henry VIII and the English parliament passes the "Act Against Conjurations, Witchcrafts, Sorcery and Inchantments"

"In this period, the issue was not with all types of magic, just the spiteful, disruptive and damaging sort. 'Cunning folk' were part of, especially rural, communities--helping people find lost items, remedy marital issues, or healing common ailments affecting people and animals, these people played an important role in the absence of police, doctors, and councillors of today, but utilizing somewhat more 'magical' methods, such as spoken charms, herbal remedies or talismans. It was not this kind of magic authorities sought to control, but the sort of ill-intended charms that harmed neighbors or their animals, stealing money with help from the spirits or any other forms of supernatural spite."

(Parliamentary Archives, excerpt from an article by Nicole Hartland   

King Henry VIII's son, Edward VI, will repeal this act in 1547, but it will be restored in 1562, during his daughter Elizabeth I's reign (Photo: The "Act Against Conjurations, Witchcrafts, Sorcery and Inchantments" signed in 1541)

 

1542

RULERS & ROYALTY: Henry VIII is king of England, Catherine is queen until February 13 – King James V of Scotland dies and his daughter, Mary Queen of Scots, succeeds her father James V to the Scottish throne on December 14 at only 6 days old – Charles V (House of Habsburg 3) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – Francis I is on the French throne (since 1515)  – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

René of Chalon, is the Prince of Orange, Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 23 this year

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Another English Queen Beheaded

February 13, Catherine Howard, Queen Consort of England is beheaded at the Tower of London on King Henry VIII’s orders because of the rumors circulating that of her flirtations with Thomas Culpepper; She is buried in the Church of St. Peter in the Tower of London alongside Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife which he also had beheaded

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February 18, The future Queen Mary I of England turns 25 years old, her mom is Katherine of Aragon (Spain), who Henry VIII divorced

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 70 years old, his hometown is in Prussia, Poland, which is now ruled by Albert, duke of Prussia (Nicolaus already proposed that the planets go around the sun way back in 1514)

During his expedition, Ruy López de Villalobos names the islands of Leyte and Samar “Felipinas” (or as we know them today, the Philippines)

Heinrich Zell, a German cartographer, produces the first rendered map of ducal Prussia (a hereditary duchy since 1525, before that it was under the rule of the Teutonic Knights), Zell’s map is probably based on maps drawn up by Nicolaus Copernicus, the Polish Astronomer

September 7, Elizabeth I turns 9

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Six-day-old Mary Queen of Scots

December 8, Mary Queen of Scots is born at Linlithgow Palace, Linlithgow Scotland

December 14, King James V of Scotland dies at Falkland Palace and is buried in Holyrood Abbey (the abbey is a ruin in the present day) and the newborn Mary (Queen of Scots) becomes queen of Scotland; Her mother, Mary of Guise is remains Queen Consort since Mary is so young

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Sir Francis Drake turns 2 years old (approx.), future British explorer and royal-commissioned pirate

The Kremlin, a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia, is inhabited by the Rurikid dynasty of rulers (not tsars)

  

1543

Henry VIII is king of England, Catherine Parr is queen – Mary (Queen of Scots) is queen of Scotland – Charles V (House of Habsburg 3) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – Francis I is on the French throne (since 1515) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China 

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

René of Chalon, is the Prince of Orange, Orange is a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 24 this year

February 18, Queen Mary I, future queen of England turns 26

February 19, Nicolaus Copernicus turns 71

May 24, Nicolaus Copernicus dies in Frombork, Royal Prussia (Albert, duke of Prussia’s land), in Poland (Copernicus was born in 1473, when Prussia was still ruled by the Teutonic Knights)

Martin Luther publishes his book The Jews and their Lies, in which he urges Christians “to set fire to the [Jews’] synagogues or schools and to cover over with dirt whatever will not burn.”

July 1, The Treaty of Greenwich is signed, in which Mary Queen of Scots (only 6 months old) is betrothed to King Henry VIII of England’s son, Edward VI; the Treaty says that at the age of 10, she is to marry Edward and be brought to England where Henry can oversee her upbringing; Henry is hoping to unite England and Scotland through their marriage

July 12, King Henry VIII of England marries Catherine Parr at Hampton Court Palace

July 27, Mary Queen of Scots (near 7 months old) is brought to Stirling Castle under the protection of 3,500 armed men (Wikipedia)

September 7, Elizabeth I, future queen of England, turns 10

September 9, Mary Queen of Scots, still an infant, is crowned Queen of Scotland in Stirling Castle’s chapel

Shortly after Mary Queen of Scots’ coronation, Henry VIII arrests Scottish merchants headed for France (Henry hated France) and impounds their goods; This causes anger in Scotland

December 8, Mary Queen of Scots turns 1

In December, the Scottish Parliament rejects the Treaty of Greenwich; The rejection of the treaty, plus the renewing of Scotland’s alliance with France, prompts Henry’s “Rough Wooing,” a military campaign designed to impose the marriage between his son and Mary that will last until 1547 when Henry VIII dies 

During the 1540s both Holyrood House and its abbey suffered badly from attacks by English troops during the Rough Wooing, when Henry VIII tried to force the Scots to accept a marriage between his son Prince Edward and the infant Mary

Sir Francis Drake turns 3 years old (approx.); He’s a future British explorer and royal-commissioned pirate (by Elizabeth I)

Macarius is installed as the Metropolitan of Moscow, the title means he is a church cleric in the Russian Orthodox church (in 1917, this title changes to “Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia”; Currently, Vladimir Gundyayev or “Kirill” has held the title since 2009), Macarius is also a famous icon painter and writer

The Kremlin, a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia, is inhabited by the Rurikid dynasty of rulers (not tsars)

  

1544

KINGS & RULERS: Henry VIII is king of England, Catherine Parr is queen –Mary (Queen of Scots) is queen of Scotland – Charles V (House of Habsburg 3) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – Francis I is on the French throne (since 1515) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

During the summer, Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, king of Spain, king of Italy and king of Germany, lays siege to the French city of Saint-Dizier at the beginning of his advance into Champaign; This siege is a part of the Italian War 1542-1546 

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The Next Prince of Orange

July 15, René of Chalon, Prince of Orange, dies, aged 25, after taking part in the siege of Saint-Dizier in the service of Emperor Charles V who attended his deathbed; In René's last will and testament, he leaves all his landed possessions, including the principality of Orange, to his father's brother's son...

...the 11-year-old William of Nassau-Dillenburg

Thereby giving all of his Mother's brother's possessions and the title of Prince of Orange from his mother's side to his father's side, despite his father's side of the family having no connection to the original princes of Orange; The only condition René placed on the heir, William, was that he should receive a Catholic education; William then became the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau; William will eventually be known by the epithet...

William the Silent

William the Silent will be declared an outlaw by the Spanish king in 1580 and assassinated in 1584

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After 20 years of gathering maps, manuscripts and measurements from all over Europe, Sebastian Münster’s (1488-1552) book Cosmographia is published in Germany; It is a huge success, as it shows in detail the layers of Europe as never before

February 18, The future Queen Mary I of England turns 27 and a portrait is painted of her this year; She is the daughter of King Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon (Aragon is in Spain) and granddaughter of Isabella of Castile (also in Spain) (Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

In May, the English Earl of Hertford (later the Duke of Somerset) raids Edinburgh, and the Scots take Mary to the town of Dunkeld for safety (Wikipedia)

September 7, Elizabeth I, future queen of England, (Mary's half-sister) turns 11

December 8, Mary Queen of Scots turns 2

Sir Francis Drake, future British explorer and royal-commissioned pirate, turns 4 years old (approx.)

The Kremlin, a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia, is inhabited by the Rurikid dynasty of rulers (not tsars)

 

1545

KINGS & RULERS: Henry VIII is king of England, Catherine Parr is queen –Mary (Queen of Scots) is queen of Scotland – Charles V (House of Habsburg) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – Francis I is on the French throne (since 1515) – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

William the Silent, the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau, is the Prince of Orange, a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 12 this year

September 7, Elizabeth I, future queen of England, turns 12

December 8, Mary Queen of Scots turns 3

Sir Francis Drake, future British explorer and royal-commissioned pirate, turns 5 (approx.)

Thomas Bodley (founder of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England) is born  

In December, the Council of Trent begins in Trent, northern Italy, prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it is seen as the embodiment of the counter-reformation, it “affirmed the church’s interpretative monopoly over scripture, the authority of tradition, the full range of sacraments, and the veneration of the saints; it even justified a reformed version of indulgences. Yet the prelates at Trent also acknowledged corruption and developed strategies to win back the faithful, inaugurating a far-reaching Catholic Reformation.” (Germany, A Nation in its Time Pg. 48)  

Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

The Kremlin, a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia, is inhabited by the Rurikid dynasty of rulers (not tsars)

 

1546

KINGS & RULERS: Henry VIII is king of England, Catherine Parr is queen –Mary (Queen of Scots) is queen of Scotland – Charles V (House of Habsburg) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – Francis I is on the French throne (since 1515)  – The Russian monarchy has not been established, Rurikid Dynasty of Grand Princes are ruling from Moscow – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

William the Silent, the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau, is the Prince of Orange, a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 13 this year

February 18, Martin Luther, German monk and responsible for Protestant Reformation dies in Eisleben, Germany, aged 62 (b. 1483)

June 28, Anne of Cleves, who had been married to King Henry VIII for only 6 months back in 1540, turns 31

September 7, Elizabeth I turns 13

December 8, Mary Queen of Scots turns 4

December 14, Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer, is born, he goes on to create a solar system model where the sun goes around the earth, and the planets go around the sun

Sir Francis Drake turns 6 years old (approx.), future British explorer and royal-commissioned pirate

Sir John Thynne begins building his house at Longleat in England (Castles Palaces and Stately Homes of Britain and Ireland Pg. 120)

The Kremlin, a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia, is inhabited by the Rurikid dynasty of rulers (not tsars)

The Council of Trent, held in Trent, northern Italy continues in response to the Protestant Revolution (1545-1563)

  

1547

KINGS & RULERS: Henry VIII dies and his ten year old son, Edward VI ascends the English throne – Mary (Queen of Scots) is queen of Scotland – Charles V (House of Habsburg) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – Francis I king of France (since 1515), dies on March 31, and his son Henry II ascends the throne – The Russian monarchy is established with the coronation of Ivan IV, the first tsar – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

William the Silent, the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau, is the Prince of Orange, a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 14 this year

January 16, the first tsar of Russia, Ivan IV, of the Rurikid dynasty, is crowned at the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Moscow Kremlin; He is 16 years old (b. 1530); So the Kremlin, a fortified complex in Moscow, is inhabited for the first time by a tsar of all Russia; Ivan III (Ivan IV’s grandfather) was the one to throw off the control of the Golden Horde (which had been the northwest sector of the Mongol Empire), and finally create the Russian state; Now, with Ivan IV, the Tsardom of Russia begins (before this, the rulers were all called the “Grand Prince of Russia)

January 28, Henry VIII, king of England dies at Whitehall Palace in London, aged 55

February 3, The 16 year-old tsar of Russia, Ivan IV, marries Anastasia Romanovna at the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia 

February 20, Edward VI, Henry VIII’s son, is crowned King of England

The Council of Trent, held in Trent, northern Italy continues in response to the Protestant Revolution (1545-1563)  

June 24, The Great Fire of 1547, burns sections of Moscow that are made entirely of wood, the fire also sweeps into the Kremlin and blows up powder stores that are being kept in its towers; the fire displaced about 80,000 people and killed about 3,000, and led to widespread poverty among the survivors 

June 28, Anne of Cleves, who had been married to King Henry VIII for only 6 months back in 1540, turns 32 years old

August 20, Elizabeth “Bess” Hardwick marries Sir William Cavendish (he owns Chatsworth House)

August 25, Ivan IV, tsar of Russia, turns 17 

September 7, Elizabeth I, future queen of England, turns 14 

December 8, Mary Queen of Scots turns 5

Sir Francis Drake turns 7 years old (approx.), future British explorer and royal-commissioned pirate

Edward Seymour, the brother of Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour, and uncle to the now King Edward VI, becomes Lord Protector and de facto ruler of England; He is also the 1st Duke of Somerset, and he begins building a house worthy of all his titles on the Strand in Central London, called Somerset Place (now known as Somerset House), construction begins this year with materials from former monasteries (Devices and Desires, Pg. 23)

 

1548

KINGS & RULERS: Edward VI is king of England (11 years old) – Mary Queen of Scots is queen of Scotland – Henry II is king of France – Charles V (House of Habsburg) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – Ivan IV is tsar of Russia (first tsar)/Anastasia Romanovna is tsarina – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

William the Silent, the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau, is the Prince of Orange, a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 15 this year

June 28, Anne of Cleves, who had been married to King Henry VIII for only 6 months back in 1540, turns 33

July 7, A Scottish Parliament is held at a nunnery in the town of Haddington in East Lothian, Scotland, with the French; Here, the French Marriage Treaty is signed, promising Mary Queen of Scots to marry the Dauphin (prince) of France, Francis II

The Council of Trent, held in Trent, northern Italy continues in response to the Protestant Revolution (1545-1563)

September 5, Catherine Parr, who had been King Henry VIII’s last queen since 1543 until he died last year, dies during childbirth, aged 36, at Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire, England; Many believed her husband, Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, now has designs to marry the Princess Elizabeth, who is turning 15 in two days; He is, however, plotting to overthrow his brother; And in January of next year, he will be arrested for having been caught with a loaded pistol outside the young King Edward's bedroom; He is charged with Treason and will be executed on Tower Hill in April of 1549

September 7, Elizabeth I, future queen of England, turns 15

August 7, Mary Queen of Scots, at 5, sails for France to be brought up at the French court and to marry the Dauphin of France when she comes of age, leaving France in the care of a French noble woman, Mary of the House of Guise, who has been crowned Queen Consort of Scotland since 1540 

December 8, Mary Queen of Scots turns 6

Sir Francis Drake turns 8 (approx.), future British explorer and royal-commissioned pirate

A portrait is painted of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, king of Spain, king of Italy, and more (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

 

1549

RULERS & ROYALTY: Edward VI is king of England (12 years old) – Mary Queen of Scots is being brought up at the French Court, Scotland is in the care of her mother, Mary of Guise – Charles V (House of Habsburg) is Holy Roman Emperor, king of Germany, king of Italy, Archduke of Austria, and king of Spain (Aragon and Castile) – Henry II is king of France – Ivan IV is tsar of Russia (first tsar)/Anastasia Romanovna is tsarina – Jiajing is emperor of the Ming dynasty in China

Others in Power:

Albert, of the House of Hohenzollern, is Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps in Germany, is fully built and habitable, and held by the Hohenzollern Family

William the Silent, the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau, is the Prince of Orange, a principality in southern France (now located in the Netherlands in the present day); He turns 16 this year

The Council of Trent, held in Trent, northern Italy continues in response to the Protestant Revolution (1545-1563)

______________________________

Should Have Thought That Through

January 16, Thomas Seymour, the husband of Catherine Parr (widow of King Henry VIII of England) has had designs on furthering his fortune in the kingdom for some time; He has fortified his dwelling, Holt Castle in Worcestershire, and stocked it with beef, beer and wheat;

"By some means or other he obtained the 'double key' that would grant him access to the privy garden and the king's lodging. He made the journey from Holt Castle to Whitehall many times with a company of his followers. He said that 'a man might steal away the king now for there came more with me than is in all the house besides'. Then, on 16 January 1549, he was surprised by Edward's dog just outside the royal bedchamber; he shot the dog and, as cries of 'Help! Murder!' rang out, he was apprehended by the king's guard.

"It seems likely that he intended to kidnap the king and raise a civil war in his name" 

(Tudors, by Peter Ackroyd, Pg. 203)

March 20, Thomas Seymour is taken to Tower Hill in London and beheaded for treason (he had been found outside the young king's bedroom with a loaded pistol); He was the 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, husband to King Henry VIII's widow, Catherine Parr; He is buried in the Chapel Royal of Saint Peter ad Vincula (Left Photo: Thomas Seymour in 1547; Right Photo: Thomas Seymour's burial place, the Chapel Royal, in the Tower of London)

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April 1, 16 year-old Prince Philip II, heir to the throne of Spain, meets his father, Charles V, both king of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, for the first time since he was 9; He arrives in Brussels amid much pageantry, then proceeds to the Imperial Chamber where an eyewitness records that, 

"His Imperial Majesty was standing by the wall and he received his highness's courtiers with much affection as they kissed his hands. His highness came in, took off his hat and went towards the middle of the room; His Majesty then took three or four steps toward him, the Prince knelt; His Majesty took off his hat, bowed and kissed His Highness and gazed at [his son] a while and then turned to those present and said: 'These gentlemen will let us retire, for I have not yet welcomed you properly.'"

(Spain, The Center of the World 1519-1682, Pg. 116)

September 7, Elizabeth I, future queen of England, turns 16 (Prince Philip, mentioned above, will briefly be her brother-in-law)

December 8, Mary Queen of Scots turns 7

Sir Francis Drake, future British explorer and royal-commissioned pirate, turns 9 years old (approx.) 

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, joins Flanders and Artois to the Dutch- and German-speaking provinces that had formerly been part of the Empire and assumes the title for himself of Lord of the Netherlands (Spain, The Center of the World 1519-1682, Pg. 172)