Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2015 i History Extra

“In late December 1546, Henry VIII amended his will for the last time. Just a month later he was dead. This final will was a document of great importance because it set out the Tudor king’s plans for the succession of the crown and for how England should be ruled while Edward VI was still a boy. Yet did it really represent Henry’s wishes? For years historians have claimed that the document was amended by a group of conspirators at court, who subverted the will for their own benefit. In this month’s edition Suzannah Lipscomb analyses the evidence to see whether this theory really holds water. Discover the fruits of her investigation on page 22. When James VI and I died in 1625 it was not his will but the…

“To this day, the Great Seal is the device that confirms new laws, state honours and important crown appointments. If James did in fact attempt to destroy the seal in a bid to derail the operation of government, he was unsuccessful. The seal was reputedly later recovered from a fisherman’s net. Its discovery was taken as a sign of God’s providential favour to the nation, showing that the English constitution was not dependent, as one commentator put it, “on the frailty of man”. Whether the story of its recovery is true, James’s seal did survive – the reverse half of the Great Seal created for the new monarchs, William and Mary, was essentially copied from its predecessor. It’s unlikely, though, that deliberately destroying the Great Seal would have benefited James’s…

“The TV version of Bernard Cornwell’s Last Kingdom has been great fun: Alfred and Asser, Ubba and Guthrum, plus our hero, Uhtred. All the old favourites! But, apart from the wonderful but fictional Brida, they are all boys. It again raises the issue of women’s history, and not least because this is the time of one of the most interesting women in our history: Alfred’s daughter Æthelflaed, Lady of the Mercians. Born around 870, she was not yet 50 when she died in 918. Very little has been written about her (though see Alex Burghart in this magazine in August 2011). But with her 1,100th anniversary coming up, I’m hoping for an exhibition to finally do her justice – maybe in Gloucester, where she is buried? Unusually for a woman…

1864-66 French alarm at Berlin’s growing power soars following Prussian victories over Austria and Denmark June 1870 Tensions intensify when a Prussian-endorsed candidate accepts the Spanish throne 14 July Bismarck (left) publishes the Ems telegram, with the aim of provoking the French 19 July Napoleon III declares war on Prussia 2 August After rapid Prussian mobilisation, 380,000 troops are massed on the French border 16-18 August The French fail to break through the advancing Germans at Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte. They are forced into retreat 1 September Napoleon III (right) surrenders following defeat at the battle of Sedan, but French forces fight on 4 September A new government of National Defence takes power in Paris, proclaiming the birth of the Third Republic 27 October Following a two-month siege, 140,000 French troops…

Sir Douglas Haig General Sir Douglas Haig was commander of the British 1st Army. That already made him one of Britain’s most senior soldiers, yet in December 1915 he was about to get a promotion. On 3 December, Haig had a meeting with Earl Kitchener, the secretary of state for war, in London. “As regards myself, nothing had been definitely settled but today he had written to the prime minister recommending that I should be appointed to succeed Sir J French. If the PM did not settle the matter today, he would again press for a settlement tomorrow, but in any case he had taken the matter in hand and I must not trouble my head over it. As soon as I was in the saddle he would see me…

Richard III has been damned as a monster and acclaimed a hero, decried as a murderous tyrant and feted as a perfect knight. But while the king’s critics and advocates have crossed swords repeatedly down the centuries, there is one aspect of his life that they have tended to agree upon: that he was in total command of his own fate. Shakespeare put the case most eloquently in a dazzling soliloquy in Henry VI Part Three. It was so memorable that Laurence Olivier took it out of that play and put it in his film version of Richard III. Richard confides his audacious scheme to the audience: “To account this world but hell, Until my mis-shaped trunk that bears this head, Be round impaled with a glorious crown.” Yes, various…

The Invention of Science by David Wootton Allen Lane, 784 pages, £30 “Oh yes there was.” “Oh no there wasn’t.” As pantomime season approaches, it’s fitting that a debate of which historians of science never seem to tire – whether or not there was such a thing as the scientific revolution – is again reignited. Steven Shapin famously had it both ways in his 1996 book The Scientific Revolution, which opened with the memorable line: “There was no such thing as the scientific revolution, and this is a book about it.” His ambivalent argument followed in the tradition of physicist and philosopher Thomas Kuhn, who didn’t coin the term ‘scientific revolution’ but brought it into the public consciousness. Kuhn argued that there was a scientific revolution, but that the new…

1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear by James Shapiro Faber and Faber, 448 pages, £20 Although James VI and I united Scotland and England, for many years into his reign the unity of his kingdom was troubled with numerous problems. One thing was certain: neither country could be relied on for good weather. A week before parliament met to advance the nascent union in 1605, Anthony Munday’s pageant, the Triumphs of Reunited Britannia, was due to be lavishly staged before the lord mayor of London. Its message was simple: Britain is “knit again in blessed unity” by James VI of Scotland and I of England. But the show was rained off: 29 October 1605 presented only “great rain and foul weather”. The organisers, the Merchant Taylors, waited for…

Macbeth the King Nigel Tranter (1978) Tranter, who died at the age of 90 in 2000, was the doyen of Scottish historical novelists; he, too, wrote a novel (1983’s Lord of the Isles) about Somerled. His version of Macbeth’s story turns away from Shakespeare’s portrayal to look at the real history of 11th-century Scotland, revealing a king very different from the blood-soaked murderer of the play. Tranter used his imagination and the few scattered facts about Macbeth’s reign to shape a gripping narrative. Insurrection Robyn Young (2010) In a divided Scotland, a boy from a powerful family grows to manhood. His name is Robert the Bruce. In 1286, the death of King Alexander III triggers a scramble for the throne in which an assortment of claimants, including Robert the Bruce’s…

Sitting on the north-eastern edge of the south Wales coalfield – an area of about 1,000 square miles, stretching from Pontypool in Torfaen, to St Brides Bay in Pembrokeshire – the huge, red winding tower of Big Pit is an impressive and unmissable sight for visitors as they pull into the museum car park. Once the heart of mining operations at the site, its powerful engine still winds people up and down the 90-metre mineshaft, although these days the only passengers are visitors who have chosen to embark on a 50-minute guided tour of the former mine. The shrieks and groans of the winder – introduced in 1952 as a replacement for the steam-powered original – echo constantly across the site. Those wishing to take the underground tour are provided…

I still remember arriving in Venice for the first time. It was late (I had made the most of the many budget flights on offer), and there was an eerie stillness as I stood, somewhat disorientated, outside the Piazzale Roma – the city’s tenuous link to the mainland and the last place you will see any cars. Travelling everywhere either by boat or on foot seemed an alien concept, particularly for one whose sea legs are none too steady, but I made my way to the nearest vaporetto stop and caught a water-borne bus that seemed to be heading in vaguely the right direction. It was then the magic began. As the boat slowly wound its way around the gentle twists and turns of the Grand Canal, the 21st century…

1. Who is the youngest British monarch to have ascended the throne? 2. Who died at 8 College Street, Winchester? 3. Who or what links Lincoln, Pembroke Castle (pictured below) and the Temple Church in London? 4. In the Second World War, what was known as a Jericho Trumpet? 5. What difficult job was given to John Bradmore in 1403? 6. Why is this building triangular? QUIZ ANSWERS 1. Mary, Queen of Scots, who was just 6 days old when she became queen in 1542. 2. Jane Austen, in July 1817. 3. William Marshal (d1219), who owned Pembroke, won the battle of Lincoln and is buried in the Temple Church. 4. The wailing siren of a German Ju 87 Stuka (dive bomber). 5. Removing an arrow from the face of…

A delicate chewit Britain loves pies, and recipes for them can be found in cookbooks going back centuries. This month I’ve chosen a 16th-century pie called a chewit that mixes sweet and savoury flavours – a combination that was popular in the Tudor era. Recipes from that time often refer to coffins – robust pastry designed more to contain the filling than to be eaten. My version, including measurements, is based on this 16th-century recipe: A delicate chewit Parboyle a piece of a Legge of Veal, and being cold, mince it with Beefe Suit, and Marrow, and an Apple or a couple of Wardens: when you haue minst it fine, put to a few parboyld Currins, sixe Dates minst, a piece of a preserued Orenge pill minst, Marrow cut in…

David Horspool When Richard III’s remains were discovered, the huge public reaction probably took even the most passionate Ricardians by surprise. I have always been fascinated by how myths and facts combine in the way we view our most celebrated historical figures. • David writes about Richard III on page 54 Gareth Williams This is far from my own comfort zone in academic medicine, but it’s a gripping story that speaks volumes about the conduct of science, both good and bad. And a scientific mystery that I’ve always wanted to dig into. • Gareth Williams charts the hunt for the Loch Ness monster on page 50 Mary Beard When you’ve taught Roman history for 40 years, you gain a huge background of things you want to say. I thought, okay,…

The end of the Cold War has reduced the salience of nuclear weapons in politics significantly. There is no nuclear arms race any more and, until recently, the only time mainstream commentators mentioned the bomb was when reporting on distant lands such as North Korea and Iran. What’s been lost is a sense of the imminent destructiveness of nuclear weapons. To be sure, CND – the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament – is still around. CND was founded by public intellectuals like Canon Collins and Bertrand Russell in 1958 as an extra-parliamentary pressure group in order to lobby the Labour party to adopt unilateral nuclear disarmament as a policy. But CND is now a campaign among many others populating politics outside parliament. It’s less visible than it was during the key…

The query about medieval travel times (Miscellany, October) reminded me of a tale told by my history master. He said that when Caesar was called back to Rome while campaigning in Britain, the journey took two weeks (crossing the Rubicon en route). In the 19th century, just before the railways spread across Europe, Sir Robert Peel was in Rome when he received a message that he was needed in London. Guess how long it took him to get back? Two weeks! Martin Underwood, Birmingham • We reward the letter of the month writer with our ‘History Choice’ book of the month. This issue it is 1916: A Global History by Keith Jeffery. Read the review on page 69…

The Act passed in parliament some 13 years earlier had made it treason to speak of the king’s death, but as the 55-year-old, grossly overweight monarch lay dying, one of his courtiers had to pluck up the courage to tell Henry VIII that the end was nigh. It was Sir Anthony Denny, chief gentleman of the Privy Chamber, who was brave. He urged Henry to prepare himself for death and asked if he wanted to see a priest. Henry said he would have Dr Cranmer, his archbishop of Canterbury, but first would “take a little sleep; and then, as I feel myself, I will advise upon the matter”. When he awoke, Henry commanded Cranmer be sent for but, delayed on the frozen roads, it took the archbishop too long to…

1 The rise of the Middle Land A Qin strongman unites China’s warring states (c3000–221 BC) The Chinese call their country Zhongguo, the Middle Land. Originally that meant the Yellow river plain, and our journey – filming my forthcoming series on Chinese history – began there at a Henan temple fair with a million people celebrating Nu Wa, the prehistoric mother goddess who made the Chinese people out of the yellow mud. “We are all brothers and sisters,” one pilgrim told us, echoing DNA discoveries that claim that over a third of all Han Chinese males share just three ancestors only 5,000 years ago (if so, they really are the world’s biggest tribe!) We also visited the great archaeological discoveries at Erlitou and Anyang, capital of the first great dynasty,…

Rebellion: Britain’s First Stuart Kings by Tim Harris OUP 608 pages, £14.99 This book is a scholarly tour de force. Not only does it provide a thorough reappraisal of the personalities and policies of James VI and I and of Charles I, it also supplies a fascinating reassessment of the effects that those two kings’ personalities and policies had on the inhabitants of the three British kingdoms over which they successively ruled. Tim Harris’s discussion is measured, controlled and formidably well informed, and he succeeds triumphantly in weaving the complex stories of England, Scotland and Ireland between 1603 and 1642 into a clear and coherent whole. Material is deployed from almost every corner of the British Isles, and we are introduced to a vivid cast of characters: from the Catholic…

So near yet so far Simon Reeve tells us about his journey around a country that feels “different in many ways” “My feeling was, and is actually, that it’s quite an exotic place that feels different in many ways” Ireland with Simon Reeve TV BBC Two, scheduled for late November He’s travelled extensively in parts of the developing world where most of us would hesitate to follow. Nevertheless, as “an English bloke”, writer and broadcaster Simon Reeve still had some misgivings about visiting somewhere that, in terms of its location, is next door for anyone living in England, Scotland or Wales. “Ireland is geographically close to us, but my feeling was, and is actually, that it’s quite an exotic place that feels different in many ways,” he says. The reasons…

1 National Mining Museum Scotland, Newtongrange, Midlothian Where mining history is on show This four-acre site – located at the former Lady Victoria Colliery – captures the developments in mining over generations. Highlights include the most powerful steam winding engine in Scotland and an extensive collection of mining-related artefacts and equipment. nationalminingmuseum.com 2 Woodhorn Museum, Ashington, Northumberland Where you can view miners’ art Woodhorn is sited in original colliery buildings, along with a new building, inspired by the huge coal-cutting machines once used underground. Displays paint a picture of life in this former mining community, which is also home to the Ashington Group Collection – a series of paintings by artists known as the ‘Pitmen Painters’. experiencewoodhorn.com 3 Welsh National Mining Memorial, Senghenydd, Caerphilly Where victims are remembered This monument…

BEST TIME TO GO Unless you want to take part in February’s world-famous carnival, the best time to visit Venice is either late spring, before the heat of the summer makes the canals somewhat malodorous, or autumn, before the streets disappear under aqua alta (high water). GETTING THERE Most flights to Venice land at Marco Polo airport – from there a coach, taxi or car can be taken to Piazzale Roma. For a more scenic approach take a vaporetto (water taxi) from the airport. Train services operate to the city’s Santa Lucia railway station. WHAT TO TAKE If you have a large suitcase, then John Julius Norwich’s seminal work, A History of Venice, will be your best companion. If not, make sure you read it before you go in order…

25 December 1991 The Soviet Union takes its dying breath The red, white and blue of tsarist Russia replaces the red of the Soviet flag as Gorbachev exits stage right It’s 25 December 1991. In Moscow, where there are two weeks to go until the Orthodox Christmas, it ought to be just another day. But this is a date that will go down in history: the last day of the Soviet Union. Historians still argue about when the Soviet state began to fall apart. But the death-blow came in August 1991, when communist hardliners, alarmed at the pace of change, staged a coup. Although the coup failed, it ripped the heart out of the communist regime. At the beginning of December, leaders of the Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian republics met…

Another ancient Syrian site has been destroyed An archway in the northern Syrian city of Palmyra is the latest ancient monument to be demolished by Islamic State (IS) militants who have taken control of the region. The destruction of the Arch of Triumph, which is thought to have been about 2,000 years old, marks the third part of the Unesco World Heritage site to be reduced to rubble. It is believed that IS destroys such sites to restrict worship of other religions and to curb nationalist (anti-IS) sentiment. The British Museum has appointed a new chief A German art historian will take over as director of the British Museum in 2016 – the first time that the institution has appointed a non-British chief since 1856. Hartwig Fischer, currently director general…

Waiting in the dock of Birmingham police court, a number of prisoners were thrown in disarray by the arrival of a bear. ‘Bruin’ made his way into the dock from the stairs below, which joined to the cells, and appeared headfirst among the ordinary criminals, whose first reaction was to attempt to escape over the dock into the court room surrounding them. The court room itself was about to react in a similar fashion, but horror soon gave way to hilarity as Bruin’s appearance was explained. An overzealous constable had come across the bear early that day, as he was being forced to perform by two Frenchmen. The constable had immediately taken all three into custody, arresting the men for causing an obstruction in the streets and marching them straight…

@HistoryExtra: Which historical period would you most like to have lived through, and why? Patrick Harlow Elizabethan England. If you could avoid the plague, smallpox or any other illness that could easily kill you, you could experience an amazingly vibrant and new society. The world was limitless to an ambitious Elizabethan Sue L Kent Post-Civil War US. Slave freedom would be something wonderful to see, and I would have helped fleeing slaves hide and reach Canada @EmmaKat Tudor or late Plantagenet England. But preferably as a peasant with a very distant view of the court (and the scaffold) Xenophon Kalogeropoulos The Age of Discovery. How amazing would it be to sail aboard a Spanish ship and set eyes on the New World, so pure and beautiful Veronica Murphy Definitely the…

Now housed at the National Archives, the 28 parchment folios of Henry VIII’s last will and testament are written in a clear and gorgeous calligraphic hand by Sir William Paget. The will is inscribed top and bottom by the king (using the ‘dry stamp’), signed by 10 witnesses, and dated 30 December 1546. It opens with the words, “In the name of God and of the glorious blessed Virgin Our Lady Saint Mary”, before outlining plans for Henry’s burial, tomb and funeral. It then details the money he wanted to be given as alms to the poor and needy (though “avoiding common beggars” – Henry VIII was discriminating in his generosity) and the £1,266 to be donated to the dean and chapter of Windsor in exchange for daily masses to…

Roman Britain Day Saturday 27 February 2016, 10am–5.30pm Venue: M Shed, Princes Wharf, Bristol BS1 4RN With Barry Cunliffe, Richard Hobbs, David Mattingly, Bronwen Riley and Miles Russell Find out how Britain was incorporated into the Roman empire and what life was like for those living under occupation. This event includes a buffet lunch and regular teas and coffees “Country Life in Roman Wessex” Barry Cunliffe is emeritus professor of European archaeology at the University of Oxford and the author of several books on ancient Britain, including Britain Begins. “The Richness of Britain” Richard Hobbs is a curator of Romano-British collections at the British Museum and the co-author of Roman Britain: Life at the Edge of Empire. “The ‘Face’ of Roman Britain” Miles Russell is senior lecturer in archaeology at…

28 April 1933 John and Aldie Mackay report a large whale-like animal near Abriachan Pier 17 October 1933 Philip Stalker writes an article about the Loch Ness monster for The Scotsman , entitled ‘The Plesiosaurus Theory’ 19 April 1934 RK Wilson takes the iconic ‘Surgeon’s Photograph’ at Loch Ness 29 July 1955 Peter Macnab photographs a 50ft, two-humped animal in Urquhart Bay 13 June 1960 Tim Dinsdale’s film of a single-humped object is shown on BBC TV’s Panorama 31 July 1960 Denys Tucker (right) is sacked by the Natural History Museum for refusing to retract his belief in the Loch Ness monster October 1962 The first Loch Ness Phenomenon Investigation Bureau expedition 8 August 1972 The underwater ‘flipper’ photograph is taken in Urquhart Bay by Robert Rines and the Academy…

Maxwell Knight The brilliant MI5 spy-hunter Knight (1900–68) was a superficially avuncular man with an eccentric range of interests: natural history, keeping exotic animals and playing jazz. He relished telling the story of how he used to take his pet bear cub for a walk around the streets of Chelsea. By the late 1930s, he had established himself as a brilliant MI5 spy-hunter who arranged for his agents to infiltrate target groups. After the Second World War, by which time he had earned an OBE, he enjoyed an equally successful career writing books and presenting TV and radio programmes about natural history. Captain AHM Ramsay The pro-Nazi MP Hailing from an aristocratic family, Ramsay (1894–1955) was a close friend of Queen Mary. While serving as a backbench Scottish Unionist MP,…

Lost Voices of the Nile: Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt by Charlotte Booth Amberley, 304 pages, £20 In about 3100 BC, the warrior Narmer advanced northwards, subduing and uniting the disparate communities of the Nile valley and delta. In so doing he created what we now know as ancient Egypt. Subsequently ruled by more than 300 pharaohs, it survived as a powerful independent entity till 30 BC, when the suicide of Cleopatra VII led to its absorption into the Roman empire. Traditional Egyptian histories have concentrated on the glittering achievements of Narmer and his successors, exploring such large themes as war, building works and royal cemeteries. Charlotte Booth has joined a growing band of modern Egyptologists in seeking to escape the confines of the royal court and introduce readers to…

by Brett Westwood and Stephen Moss John Murray, 448 pages, £25 Natural Histories: 25 Extraordinary Species That Have Changed our World What is bear bile used for? Why did the Russians send a cockroach named Nadezhda into space? You’ll find the answers to these questions – and many more – in this book, which traces humanity’s changing relationship with the natural world. Based on BBC Radio 4’s popular Natural Histories series, the authors offer intriguing insights into 25 animal and plant species, from the tiny flea to the majestic oak tree. In each short chapter they explore the different ways in which these species have penetrated human culture, detailing their roles in mythology, medicine, literature and film. The book is packed with fascinating facts. We learn about ‘Happy Jerry’, the…

EXHIBITION Masters of the Everyday: Dutch Artists in the Age of Vermeer The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London 13 November–14 February 2016 - 020 7766 7300 • royalcollection.org.uk Twenty seven of the Royal Collection’s finest pieces of Dutch art, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, will be on display at Buckingham Palace this month. Produced during the so-called ‘Golden Age’, when the Netherlands was a leading force in art, science and commerce, the works on show depict everyday Dutch life in great detail. They also offer moralising, and sometimes humorous, messages, aimed at contemporary patrons and viewers. Artists on display include Johannes Vermeer, one of the most highly regarded genre painters of his time, as well as Jan Steen, Pieter de Hooch, Adriaen van Ostade and Gabriel Metsu, while…

1 BYGONE NEWS ORIGINAL UK NEWSPAPERS We hold a vast collection of authentic UK national newspapers from 1847 to the present day. All in great condition and sent out to you in a range of packages to best suit the pocket and recipient. We can help them relive those fond memories with gifts that bring that period back to life, either in the form of a newspaper, a music CD or movies. 01934 412844 www.bygonenews.com 2 CRAIG Y NOS CASTLE Craig Y Nos Castle based in the Brecon Beacons is an ideal base for accommodation, especially for walkers, explorers and dog walkers. With great cooked breakfasts, a well stocked bar with great open fires and evening meals served in our function room or bar. Why not stay for…

John F Kennedy – also known as Jack or JFK – was the 35th president of the United States. Elected in 1960, he was assassinated in 1963 in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the murder but was himself killed before he could stand trial. JFK’s presidency witnessed serious confrontations with the USSR, leading to the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban missile crisis. Kennedy served in the US navy in the Second World War. He was married to Jacqueline Bouvier. When did you first hear about JFK? The day he was shot. I was seven years old, and sitting at home on the sofa with my parents. We were about to watch a comedy show with Harry Worth – when there was a newsflash and a…