Some Grey Matter
Links:
Some of my favorite sites related to Lady Jane Grey and Tudor History
Lady Jane Grey Internet Museum
Sonja Marie's wonderful site full of every image and depiction of Jane Grey that you can imagine, lovingly assembeld together and maintained in one well designed site!
Lady Jane Grey Reference Guide
An AOL member's nicely sub-divided listing of various references, both reliable and unreliable, related to Jane Grey and those around her. Also contains a nice "blog" that tracks news eminating from the UK that is not often picked up by the US press.
Tudor History.org
This site is devoted to the broader sweep of Tudor history and culture and contains a plethora of categories and sub-categories. An excellent place for the beginner to begin learning about the Tudor period. There is also a Question and Answer "blog " for submitting all kinds of inquiries on Tudor history. The blog is very efficiently maintained by Lara Eakins, so if your question has an answer, you will find it within 24 hours, generally.
Tudor Genealogies
Without question the best resource for discovering who is related to whom and how. The site creator lives in Argentina, and has proven to be amazingly thorough and accurate in his assemblage of genealogies for a significant number fo Tudor-era personages.
Tudor Portrait Gallery
Displays a fine collection of period portraits of a variety of Tudor-era figures, principally royalty but including non-royals as well.
John Foxe's Actes and Monuments, or Book of Martyrs
Part of the University of Sheffield's ongoing research efforts on the famous text, this site makes Actes and Monuments available in its entirety in transcription. Under "Critical Apparatus" can be found the means for side-by-side comparison between the various sixteenth-century editions, searching by a variety of categories including personal names, places, dates, periods, and officeholders, as well as editorial commentary.
Polydore Vergil's Anglica Historia of 1555
This site (The Philological Museum) is maintained by the University of Birmingham (UK) and the Shakespeare Institute. Under the "Library of Humanist Texts" section can be found an invaluable and extensive selection of sixteenth-century books that have been transcribed and, when necessary, translated into English. The most significant of these for those interested in Tudor history is Polydore Vergil's English History.
English Monarchs
A comprehensive listing of all of the monarchs of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, with biographical descriptions, plus information on
royalty-related topics such as the Tower of London, the Crown Jewels, and the various Royal Residences.
National History Day
National History Day is not, strictly speaking, connected to Lady Jane Grey or Tudor /British history, but it is a program about which I have unbridled enthusiasm. It involves middle and high school students at every level from the local school to the state to national level in researching a chosen topic in history. The students then present their results in a format similar to the science fairs of some years ago. Entries are judged by panels of volunteer judges, and winners are eligible to advance to the next level. Each year a new theme is assigned for all competitors. In 2007, the theme was "Triumph and Tragedy." In 2008, the theme will be "Conflict and Compromise." I have been a judge at every level from single local schools to state competition, and I am amazed anew each year at the quality of the work produced by the students. I have also assisted students, via the Internet, in researching Lady Jane Grey as a research topic specifically for History Day. This is a program that is well worth "checking out."
Alison Weir, Historian and Novelist
Ms Weir writes both histories for the general reading public and historical novels. Among "popular," i.e., non-academic, historians, she is one of the best writing on Tudor-era women. Though she has not yet published a biography of Jane Grey, she has recently released a novel about her entitled Innocent Traitor, which has met with very positive reviews. The book must of course be read as fiction and not as a factual account, despite its dealing with real historical figures and events.
The Tudors on Showtime
This promises to be a very entertaining series focusing on Henry VIII in his private life rather than his public one. The previews display high production values, with lots of very visual sets and ornate costumes. Some of the casting is problematic, not least of which is dark-haired and small Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as the tall and fair Henry Tudor. The level of historical accuracy remains to be seen, but I have high hopes that The Tudors will repeat the more successful aspects of HBO's Rome. Starts Sunday, April 1 on Showtime Cable Channel.
Updated 20 March 2007