History is full of what-ifs. What if Hitler had been killed in the First World War? What if the weather had been in Spain’s favour when their armada sailed towards England? What-if, what if?

For Tudor England, one of the biggest what-ifs, is… What if Arthur, Prince of Wales, eldest son of Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York, had not died at Ludlow Castle in 1502? Arthur, so named after that most legendary of English kings, and named to herald in a new golden age of anointed Tudor kings. Arthur, that poor half-forgotten boy-husband of early 16th century politics. His marriage and untimely death in 1502 indirectly leading to his younger brother’s break with Catholic Rome and aiding the fuel in the fire of the English Reformation.

On 14 November 1501, Arthur, Prince of Wales and heir to the English throne, married Catherine of Aragon at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Less than five months later, Arthur was dead having (allegedly) never consummated his marriage to Catherine. In 1509, the newly crowned King Henry VIII, married his brother’s widow and thus cast the seeds of England’s quarrel with the Pope. In the eyes of God, could a man marry his brother’s widow? This was the essence of Henry VIII’s Great Matter – which only troubled his conscience years after his marriage, after he had cast his eyes on the comely Anne Boleyn.

What if Arthur had survived and, with Catherine of Aragon, fathered his own Tudor dynasty?

Arthur, Prince of Wales in c1501; and the young widow, Catharine of Aragon c1502 (by Michael Sittow).

The images below are from the Book of Hours (i.e. prayer book) of Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII and grandmother of Arthur and his brother, Henry VIII. Each page has additional text inserted relating to Prince Arthur.

Calendar page for April with Prince Arthur’s obit (prayers for the dead) added after his death, from Book of Hours (The ‘Beaufort/Beauchamp Hours’) (South East England, after 1401, before 1415) shelfmark Royal 2 A XVIII f29v, © British Library Board.

Calendar page for September with additions of the dates of Prince Arthur’s birth and Catherine’s of Aragon 1501 journey to England, from Book of Hours (The ‘Beaufort/Beauchamp Hours’) (South East England, after 1401, before 1415) shelfmark Royal 2 A XVIII f32, © British Library Board.
Calendar page for November with the addition of the date of the marriage of Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon, from Book of Hours (The ‘Beaufort/Beauchamp Hours’) (South East England, after 1401, before 1415) shelfmark Royal 2 A XVIII f33, © British Library Board.

One of my most viewed blog posts has been Images of Medieval Cats from the British Library’s collection of exquisite illuminated manuscripts. So here to brighten up your day  are some more Medieval Cats, doing what cats do best – being magnificent.

Detail of a miniature of a rat and a cat from Herbal (Lombardy c. 1440),
shelfmark Sloane 4016 f. 62,  © British Library Board.

Detail of a miniature of a mouse and a cat from Herbal (Lombardy c. 1440),
shelfmark Sloane 4016 f. 40,  © British Library Board.

Cats and rats from Bestiary (England, 2nd or 3rd quarter of the 13th century),
shelfmark Sloane 3544 f. 20v,  © British Library Board. 

Cat and dog from Collection of halakhical works (France, 1392)
shelfmark Additional 18684 f. 53v,  © British Library Board.

Cat and mouse from Codex Justiniani in 9 books,  (England, Central (possibly Oxford), c.1250) shelfmark Harley 3753 f. 28v,  © British Library Board.

Cat from Bestiary (England, S. E. (possibly Rochester), 2nd quarter of the 13th century)
shelfmark Royal 12 F XIII f. 43,  © British Library Board.

Detail of decorated initial ‘Q'(ui) with foliate motifs, clasps, a cock, a dog biting a cat and a cat carrying mice from Moralia in Job, (Germany, W. (Arnstein), 2nd half of the 12th century) shelfmark Harley 3053 f. 56v,  © British Library Board.

Miniature of a gray cat and a white cat, hunting mice from Bestiary, and various theological texts, (England, 1st quarter of the 13th century),
shelfmark Royal 12 C XIX f. 36v,  © British Library Board.

All digital images from the British Library’s Online Images archive appear by courtesy of the British Library Board and may not be reproduced © British Library Board.

Further reading
Katherine Meikle Walker, Medieval Cats, (London, 2011).
Katherine Meikle Walker, Medieval Pets, (London, 2012).

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This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following
– Early-modern images
– Images of Medieval animals
– Images of Medieval music
– Images of Tudors
– Images of Medieval devils
– Images of Medieval funerals
– Images of Medieval cats

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

The British Library has in its care many delightful illuminated manuscripts.  One of my all time favourites in their collection is the Smithfield Decretals with its wonderful caricatures of medieval life.  Today’s selection are all about The Sinful Hermit.

 A hermit sitting outside a tavern drinking ale; the alewife approaches him with a flagon

The drunk hermit fornicates with the miller’s wife. The miller emerges carrying a mallet.

The hermit seizes the mallet from the miller

The hermit attacks and murders the miller

The hermit goes crazy with remorse

The hermit confesses to the bishop

The sinful hermit becomes a hairy wildman and goes to live in a cave

The sinful hermit, transformed into a naked wild man, lives with wild animals

The sinful hermit is redeemed by the monk

All pictures above are from Raymund of Peñafort’s Decretals of Gregory IX with glossa ordinaria (the ‘Smithfield Decretals’) (France, Last quarter of the 13th century or 1st quarter of the 14th century), © British Library Board.

You may also be interested in the following books

If you liked this post, you may also like this
– The Medieval Spinsters

1st July is my birthday.  So, to celebrate my birthday, below are images for July from Medieval England.

Calendar page for July from Shaftesbury Psalter (England, 2nd quarter of the 12th century), shelfmark Lansdowne 383 f.6, © British Library Board.

Close up of Calendar page for July from Shaftesbury Psalter (England, 2nd quarter of the 12th century), shelfmark Lansdowne 383 f.6, © British Library Board.

Miniature of July with a man with a scythe from Folding almanac (England, 1st half of the 15th centur), shelfmark Egerton 2724, © British Library Board.

Miniature of Cancer from Shaftesbury Psalter (England, 2nd quarter of the 12th century), shelfmark Lansdowne 383 f.5v, © British Library Board.

Detail of Cancer from Psalter (England, 3rd quarter of the 11th century, probably after 1073), shelfmark Arundel 60 f.4v, © British Library Board.

Miniature of Aries (the ram), Gemini (the twins), Taurus (the bull), and Cancer (the crab) from Treatises on the Compotus (England, c1244), shelfmark Egerton 3088 f.16v,
© British Library Board.

Detail of a miniature of two men in a boat pulling in a crab from the sea (for the zodiac sign Cancer) from The Queen Mary Psalter (England, c1244),
shelfmark Royal 2 B VII f.77, © British Library Board.

Calendar page with a medallion of Cancer from Westminster Psalter (England, c1200), shelfmark Royal 2 A XXII f.7v, © British Library Board.

Calendar page with a medallion of Cancer from Book of Hours, Use of Sarum (‘The Taymouth Hours’) (England, 2nd quarter of the 14th century),
shelfmark Yates Thompson 13 f.3v, © British Library Board.

It has often been said that women are hidden from history because it is, in the main, only men who figure prominently in historical narratives.  So my post today contains images of Medieval women at their daily work – spinning wool.   The modern term ‘spinster’ comes from this medieval  female occupation but it is now used when referring to an unmarried woman.

The pictures below are all from Raymund of Peñafort’s Decretals of Gregory IX with glossa ordinaria (the ‘Smithfield Decretals’) (France, Last quarter of the 13th century or 1st quarter of the 14th century), © British Library Board.

Royal 10 E IV f. 146 Woman at a spinning wheel

Royal 10 E IV f. 139 An amorous encounter – Woman spinning

Royal 10 E IV f. 142 Woman with spinning wheel

Royal 10 E IV f. 147 Woman at a spinning wheel

Royal 10 E IV f. 147v Man and woman by a spinning wheel

You may also be interested in the following books

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This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following
– Early-modern images
– Medieval Manuscripts

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

My post Images of Medieval Cats has proved to be a very popular read for many of my followers. So, to provide a balance, here are some medieval dogs for you.  These images have all been taken from Peraldus’s Theological miscellany, including the Summa de vitiis (England, 2nd or 3rd quarter of the 13th century, after c. 1236), shelfmark Harley 3244,  © British Library Board.

You may also be interested in the following posts
Medieval and early modern images from the British Library

Apothecaries
 ‘Full-page miniatures of an apothecary shop, on the left, and medical consultations, on the right’ from Circa instans (France, 1st quarter 14th century),
shelfmark Sloane 1977 ff. 49v-50, © British Library Board.

Armourers
(I couldn’t find a British Library image of armourer making a suit of armour, so this beautiful image represents the armourers of Medieval & Tudor England)
 ‘Combatant mounted knights in armour and tabard’ from Military Roll of Arms (manuscript also known as Sir Thomas Holme’s Book of Arms), (England, S. E., probably London, before 1448, c. 1446), Harley 4205 ff. 15v-16, , © British Library Board.

Bakers
 ‘Baker putting loaves in oven’ from Decretals of Gregory IX with glossa ordinaria (the ‘Smithfield Decretals’) (France, last quarter of the 13th century or 1st quarter of the 14th century), shelfmark Royal 10 E IV f. 145v, © British Library Board.

Barbers (including surgeons & dentists)
 ‘Dentist extracting teeth’ from Omne Bonum (Circumcisio-Dona Spiritui Sancti) (London, England, c1360-c1375), shelfmark Royal 6 E VI f. 503v, © British Library Board.

Basket-makers
(I couldn’t find an image of someone making a basket, so this beautiful image of The Feeding of the Five Thousand represents the basket-makers of Medieval times)
 ‘Five large baskets of bread and an apostle placing bread in a man’s cloak’ from Book of Hours, Use of Sarum (‘The Taymouth Hours’) (London, England, 2nd quarter of the 14th century), shelfmark Yates Thompson 13 f. 102, © British Library Board.

Blacksmith
 ‘Blacksmith at work’ from Book of Hours (London, c1320-c1330),
shelfmark Harley 6563 f.68v, © British Library Board.

All digital images on this blog are from the British Library’s Online Images archive and appear by courtesy of the British Library Board and may not be reproduced (© British Library Board).

‘Cry ‘God for Harry! England and Saint George!’,
Shakespeare, Henry V.

Today is St George’s Day.  St George is the patron saint of England.  Below are some images of the medieval St George and his dragon.

‘St George and the dragon’ from Prayers to Saints (England, S. E. (London) and Netherlands, S. (Bruges), after 1401, before 1415),
shelfmark Royal 2 A XVIII ff. 5v-6, © British Library Board.

 ‘George, patron saint of England’ from Speculum humanae salvationis (England, S. E. (London), between 1485 and 1509),
shelfmark Harley 2838 f.44v, © British Library Board.

 ‘Calendar page for April with tinted drawings of saints Tiburtius and Valerianus, George, Wilfrid, and Mark.’ from Almanac with an astrological miscellany (England, 1st quarter of the 14th century (before 1412)), shelfmark Harley 2332 f. 5v, © British Library Board.

 ‘Adoration of the Shepherds and George and the dragon’ from Lovell Lectionary (England, S. (probably Glastonbury), between c. 1400 and c. 1410),
shelfmark Harley 7026 f. 6, © British Library Board.

‘Miniature of William Bruges kneeling before George’ from Pictorial book of arms of the Order of the Garter (‘William Bruges’s Garter Book’), (England, S. E. (probably London),
c.1430-c.1440 (before 1450)), shelfmark Stowe 594 f. 5v , © British Library Board.

William Shakespeare (bapt 26 Apri 1564, died 23 April 1616
Today is also the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death.  Below are the words of the great man on England:

‘Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour’d rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let it pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o’erwhelm it
As fearfully as does a galled rock
O’erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill’d with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath, and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English,
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought,
And sheath’d their swords for lack of argument.
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call’d fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeomen,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding, which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot!
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry, “God for Harry! England and Saint George!”‘

William Shakespeare, Henry V, Act III, Scene 1.

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, 
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, 
This other Eden, demi-paradise, 
This fortress built by Nature for herself 
Against infection and the hand of war, 
This happy breed of men, this little world, 
This precious stone set in the silver sea, 
Which serves it in the office of a wall 
Or as a moat defensive to a house, 
Against the envy of less happier lands,– 
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

William Shakespeare, Richard II, Act II, Scene 1.

Further information
– Saint George.
– Paolo Uccello, Saint George and the dragon, (about 1470).
– Jacopo Tintoretto, Saint George and the Dragon, (about 1555).
– Patron Saints, National Gallery, London.
– Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Once more unto the breach’ from Shakespeare’s Henry V.
– TV programmes on the bard The king and the playwright: A Jacobean history, first episode to be shown on BBC4 on 23 April 2012.

All digital images pn this blog are from the British Library’s Online Images archive and appear by courtesy of the British Library Board and may not be reproduced (© British Library Board).

You may also be interested in the following posts
– Medieval and early modern images from the British Library

 ‘Cat playing a rebec’ from Book of Hours (S.E. England, c1320-c1330),
shelfmark Harley 6563 f. 40, © British Library Board.

 ‘Cat in a tower, throwing stones down at attacking mice’ from Book of Hours
(S.E. England, c1320-c1330), shelfmark Harley 6563 f. 72, © British Library Board.

 ‘Marginal grotesques, arms, and marginal paintings of a cat playing an instrument, and a rabbit beating a drum’ from Book of Hours (S.E. England, c1320-c1330),
shelfmark Harley 6563 ff. 43v-44, © British Library Board.

 ‘A cat with a mouse’ from Book of Hours (the ‘Harley Hours’) (England, Last quarter of the 13th century), shelfmark Harley 928 f. 44v, © British Library Board.

 ‘A cat and a mouse’ from Theological miscellany, including the Summa de vitiis, (England, 2nd or 3rd quarter of the 13th century, after c. 1236),
shelfmark Harley 3244 f. 49v, © British Library Board.

 ‘Cats and mouse’ from Bestiary, with extracts from Giraldus Cambrensis on Irish birds, (South England, 2nd quarter of 13th Century), shelfmark Harley 4751 f.30v, © British Library Board.

All digital images from the British Library’s Online Images archive appear by courtesy of the British Library Board and may not be reproduced (© British Library Board).

Further reading
Katherine Meikle Walker, Medieval Cats, (London, 2011).
Katherine Meikle Walker, Medieval Pets, (London, 2012).

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This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following
– Early-modern images
– Medieval Manuscripts
– Images of Medieval animals
– Images of Medieval music
– Images of Tudors
– Images of Medieval devils
– Images of Medieval funerals

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

‘Miniature of a funeral mass’, from Book of Hours, Use of Sarum
(England, S. E. (London), c.1440-c.1450),
Shelfmark: Harley 2915 f. 55v, © British Library Board.

‘Clerics and mourners surrounding a black-draped coffin’ from Book of Hours, Use of Sarum (‘The Hours of the Earls of Ormond’) (England, c.1460 (before 1467)),
Shelfmark: Harley 2887 f. 80, © British Library Board.

‘Office of the Dead (funeral service)’ from Book of Hours, Use of Sarum, (England, S. E. (Suffolk, Bury St Edmunds?), 2nd or 3rd quarter of the 15th century),
Shelfmark: Arundel 302 f. 77v, © British Library Board.

‘Office of the Dead (funeral service)’ from Book of Hours, including Hours of the Holy Spirit and of the Passion, (England, 3rd quarter of the 13th century),
shelfmark: Egerton 1151 f. 118, © British Library Board.

John Lydgate, ‘Offa’s funeral’ from Metrical lives of Saints Edmund and Fremund, in the presentation copy for Henry VI’, (England, between 1434 and 1439),
shelfmark: Harley 2278  f. 22, © British Library Board.

John Lydgate, ‘Offa’s funeral’ from Metrical lives of Saints Edmund and Fremund, in the presentation copy for Henry VI’, (England, between 1434 and 1439),
shelfmark: Harley 2278  f. 22v, © British Library Board.

All digital images from the British Library’s Online Images archive appear by courtesy of the British Library Board and may not be reproduced (© British Library Board).

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This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following
– Early-modern images
– Images of Medieval animals
– Images of Medieval music
– Images of Tudors
– Images of Medieval devils
– Images of Medieval funerals

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.