[MR] BBC: Tudor Era a Myth and a Tudor Shipwreck

[Garth Groff]

Noble Friends,

Today the BBC has a short piece on the ravings of an Oxford don who says 
the whole idea of the "Tudor era" is a myth. While he makes some 
interesting points about history, what he overlooks is that the term is 
a useful marker for historians (and re-enactors like us!). After all, 
while it was happening nobody used the terms "Neolithic" or "New Stone 
Age", yet most historians are happy with these names today. So here's 
the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18240901 .

And by the way, the photo comes from the BBC/Masterpiece Theater series 
THE SHADOW OF THE TOWER, with the late James Maxwell as Henry VII. While 
the series was a dramatization, it was excellently done, and is still 
available on DVD. See this Wikipedia photo: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:King_Henry_VII.jpg . I was struck by 
how closely Maxwell matched this painting.

Also note the related stories linked at the bottom of the article. One 
features a gallery of the costumes used in "The Tudors" television program:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hampshire/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_9366000/9366740.stm 
. Nice clothes. Accurate? I don't know.

Another interesting Tudor story also popped up today: 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18232752 . The Tudor-era (yes, I 
stubbornly will continue to use the term) shipwreck known as the 
"Gresham Ship" will be re-sunk in a lake to use as a training site for 
underwater archaeologists. Apparently the wreck has long been cleared of 
any artifacts.

Kind regards,


Lord Mungo Napier, That Crazy Scot