How well do you know Henry VIII?

Someone recently commented that they had not heard of many of the people on this blog. Obviously, this is great and I hope that they have learnt something which they knew nothing about before. However, it got me thinking about how well we know historical characters. Sometimes, the most interesting history makes you see a new side of something which you thought you knew quite well.

There are many examples of this but Henry VIII makes a good one. He is one of the most famous characters in History and you'd be hard pushed to find someone who didn't know anything about him. 
When I asked my year 8s what they thought of him they came up with words like fat, mean and greedy; summed up well in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fadCAHjN-s



Whilst Henry was probably all of these things at some point in his life, once you dig beneath the surface, it's possible to get a more complex idea about his character. 

The persecuted Jews of the Middle Ages

Sometimes a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. For example, it would be entirely possible to go through school thinking that Hitler was the only person to ever persecute the Jewish people. Indeed it's sometimes easier to believe that antisemitism is limited to a handful of insane Nazis in the 1940s. However, history at its best can make you feel uncomfortable and question many of your underlying assumptions about such issues.

Take a look at the picture above. It's taken from a medieval tax record of all the Jews paying tax in Norwich in 1233. Most tax records have very little that's interesting about them (as any accountant will no doubt tell you) but this is definitely an exception. For me, the most engaging aspect of this Middle Ages doddle is that we know who many of the characters in the picture are meant to be and once you have figured out the characters there's a sinister message lying underneath. Before you read on perhaps look at the picture and try and figure it out.

The mysterious death of William Rufus

"The sun was now declining, when the king, drawing his bow and letting fly an arrow, slightly wounded a stag which passed before him... At this instant Walter decided to kill another stag. Oh, gracious God! the arrow pierced the king's breast."

This quote from a medieval monk (William of Malmesbury) describes a hunting trip in the New Forest in 1100. According to him, William II (nicknamed Rufus for his reddish hair or ruddy complexion) was happily chasing down a stag when Walter Tirrel, one of his associates, seems to have "missed" the stag he was aiming for and killed the king (woops really doesn't seem to do it justice). As if this weren't dodgy enough, the entire hunting party then ran away fearing that the death of the king would bring chaos to their estates. 

So, if you thought that the Middle Ages were the more chivalrous times of Robin Hood think of William II's body being flung on the back of a cart by an unsuspecting peasant called Purkis: one of the few people who can say that they have stumbled upon a king's corpse whilst out walking in the forest. Most of those present at the death later received promotions under the new king; Henry I. Suspicious.

You can relive the whole thing in a Horrible Histories style here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9nxOgPuj_w

Was Lady Jane really worse than the Taliban?

Who was the Queen of England for only nine days?

Lady Jane Grey has been an answer to many obscure pub quizzes since she seized power for a mere nine days in 1553. However, beyond pub quiz success, there are many reasons for this being amazing school history.

Lady Jane fills the short gap between the death of Edward VI (the son Henry VIII tried so hard to get) and (Bloody) Mary I. She was never really destined for power but in a last minute change of heart, Edward named her as heir to his throne: though that story deserves another blog post entirely. In short, the Protestant Jane seized power for a mere 9 days but was swiftly removed by Catholic Mary after little over a week. Indeed, this is such a short period of time, that you won't find her on many kings and queens diagrams in school.