Tudor Times is the online repository for all things Tudor and Stewart (1485–1625)

On 19th July 1545, Henry VIII’s flagship, the Mary Rose, sank in the Solent. The whole fleet were in the Solent, waiting to repulse a French attack. The reasons for the sinking are still uncertain – she turned in a gust of wind, which may have destabilised her; water may have entered the open gun ports; human error may have been a factor, or as claimed by the French, one of their cannon balls. She may also have been overloaded. Almost all of the crew went down with her, including the Vice-Admiral, George Carew. In one of the very few instances we have of simple human kindness at the Tudor court, Henry VIII, who had witnessed the whole scene, limped on his bad leg to Carew’s wife to embrace and comfort her. The remains of the ship were rediscovered in 1971, and she was lifted in 1982. Since then an enormous amount of archaeological and conservation work have been done on her. As a side note, Lady Carew was Mary Norris, daughter of Sir Henry Norris, executed in 1536.

On 18th July 1496, Henry VII entered the 'Holy League', or League of Venice with the Emperor Maximilian, the Sovereigns of Spain, Venice and the Pope, against France. The Holy League was one of a series of alliances that characterised the Italian Wars – an on-off conflict between the Valois and the Hapsburgs for domination of Italy. This particular league was instituted by Pope Alexander VI, who had his own reasons, which were definitely not spiritual, for defeating the armies of Charles VIII of France (shown entering Naples in the picture to the left). Henry VII was not generally in favour of wars abroad, but it was important to his policy to be on good terms with Maximilian and Spain. Read more about the alliances of the 1490s here

On 17th July 1505 Martin Luther, a budding lawyer at the University of Erfurt, took vows as an Augustinian canon, to the fury of his father. Luther had apparently made a vow to St Anne that he would dedicate himself as a monk, if he were saved from a violent storm he was caught in. Luther spent his first years in the monastery searching for salvation. He came close to despair, believing he could not please God by ‘good works’ of prayer and fasting. He was also disillusioned with the corruption of the Catholic Church. He entered the University of Wittenburg, and graduated as a Doctor in Theology. In accordance with academic practice, he published a list of theses for argument. The new technology of printing, and the increasing dissatisfaction with established religion meant that his arguments took Christendom by storm. He was proclaimed a heretic, and banished from the lands of the Holy Roman Empire, although he never actually left. Luther translated the Bible into German in 1534 and continued to publish works of theology and polemic against the Pope, the Anabaptists and Jews. He had lit a fire that could not be extinguished.