Category: 16th Century history

Tudor, 16th Century history, Henry VIII, Religious history

‘The Story of Parliament’: Thomas Cromwell

Earlier this year the History published ‘The Story of Parliament: Celebrating 750 years of parliament in Britain’ to mark the anniversary of Simon de Montfort’s parliament in 1265. The book is a brief introduction to the full 750 years of parliamentary history, aimed at the general reader, and available to purchase from the Houses of Parliament bookshop. Over the next few months we’ll be publishing … Continue reading ‘The Story of Parliament’: Thomas Cromwell

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Tudor, 16th Century history, Elections, Social history

Electoral Independence in Tudor England

As the election campaign continues, so does our series of blogposts on historic campaigning. Today, all constituencies are contested and the electorate freely cast their votes. In Tudor England the concept of electoral freedom was honoured more in principle than in practice, as Dr Simon Payling, Senior Fellow of the Commons 1422-1504 section, explains… Tudor elections were functional rather than competitive, in other words, they … Continue reading Electoral Independence in Tudor England

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Conferences, Seminars and Events, 16th Century history, Edward VI, Religious history, Social history, Tudor

The History of Parliament’s Annual Lecture 2014: Professor Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch

On 5th November our annual lecture was delivered in Portcullis House by Professor Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch. Professor MacCulloch has published widely on the Reformation, including a recent biography of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and Reformation: Europe’s House Divided, not to mention featuring in many television and radio programmes. He lectured on ‘Parliament and the Reformation of Edward VI.’ Professor MacCulloch began with a letter written to … Continue reading The History of Parliament’s Annual Lecture 2014: Professor Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch

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Tudor, 16th Century history, Henry VIII, Military history, Scottish History

MPs at the Battle of Flodden

In the run-up to September’s Scottish Independence referendum, we are publishing a series on the relationship between England and Scotland through the centuries. Our second blog takes a look at the parliamentarians who fought in another major battle: Flodden… Between Robert the Bruce’s victory at Bannockburn and the union of the crowns under James VI & I there were a series of border confrontations between … Continue reading MPs at the Battle of Flodden

Emma Peplow7 Comments
Tudor, 16th Century history, Diplomacy and International Relations, Military history, Religious history

Fighting in foreign wars: fears over English Catholics in the Netherlands’ war with Spain

Events in Iraq and Syria have led Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of the Lords 1603-1660 section, to reflect on a similar situation at the turn of the 17th century… The recent news that several hundred British nationals are fighting alongside Islamic extremists in Syria and Iraq has given rise to fears for British domestic security, and that the ISIS fighters of today might become the … Continue reading Fighting in foreign wars: fears over English Catholics in the Netherlands’ war with Spain

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Conferences, Seminars and Events, 16th Century history, Parliamentary Life

Parliaments, Politics and People Seminar: The 16th Century ‘Parliamentary Mind’

Dr Kathryn Rix of the Victorian Commons reports back from our first ‘Parliaments, Politics and People’ seminar of 2014… This term’s programme for the ‘Parliaments, Politics and People’ seminar opened with a paper from Catherine Chou, of Stanford University, on ‘The Parliamentary Mind and the Mutable Constitution’. The starting point for Catherine’s paper was the problem posed in 1558 by the accession to the throne … Continue reading Parliaments, Politics and People Seminar: The 16th Century ‘Parliamentary Mind’

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Social history, 16th Century history, 19th Century history, Medieval

Poetry in Parliament

Today is National Poetry Day, a chance to celebrate poetry across the country (for more, visit http://www.forwardartsfoundation.org/national-poetry-day/). You may not know that over the centuries many poets also sat in the House of Commons. Some were the greats, such as Geoffrey Chaucer  (MP for Kent  in the ‘Wonderful Parliament’ of 1386) or the metaphysical poet John Donne (elected in 1601 and 1614). Others history has … Continue reading Poetry in Parliament

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Tudor, 14th Century history, 15th Century History, 16th Century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Medieval, Parliamentary Life

The ‘transformation’ of representation, 1386-1558

Last month, Dr Simon Payling spoke at the final ‘Parliaments, politics and people’ seminar on the ‘Transformation of the Commons, 1386-1588’. Here is Simon’s summary of his paper… The paper described the changing composition of the Commons between the majority of Richard II and the death of Mary I, a significant period in its evolution. The most apparent change was the reversal of an earlier … Continue reading The ‘transformation’ of representation, 1386-1558

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Stuart, 16th Century history, 17th Century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, History of Parliament Trust, Tudor

Writing the History of Parliament in Early Modern England – colloquium report

Dr Paul Cavill, lecturer in early modern history at the University of Leeds, reports back from last weekend’s colloquium ‘Writing the History of Parliament in Early Modern England’… The History of Parliament Trust and the Centre for Early Modern British and Irish History at Oxford University joined forces last Saturday to host a colloquium at Jesus College. The title was ‘Writing the History of Parliament … Continue reading Writing the History of Parliament in Early Modern England – colloquium report

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