Katharine of Aragon Festival Lecture

This talk is part of a series of events over the Katharine of Aragon Festival weekend from 29th – 31st January 2016. The Festival includes a service of commemoration at 10.30am on Friday 29th January, and Tudor themed events at Peterborough Museum on Saturday and Sunday. Katharine of Aragon was buried at Peterborough Cathedral (in those days an abbey) on 29th January 1536.

“As the bride of the first-born Tudor prince (Arthur) and the first queen of Henry VIII, Katharine of Aragon was central to the promotion of royal imagery in the early sixteenth century. The talk will show several examples of symbolic messages in her arts,” says Jonathan.

This talk distils three years of original research on a much-overlooked aspect of royal iconography: the use of flowers as symbols in the late middle ages. The 'Tudor rose' has been one of Britain's foremost emblems for half a millennium. But does the later name 'Wars of the Roses' truly reflect York and Lancaster's heraldry as white and red roses? And was the 'Tudor rose' really a combination of these two heraldic devices to symbolize the united bloodlines of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York from 1486?

This talk answers those questions to completely revise the origin and primary meaning of the 'Tudor rose'. An understanding of how daisies, marigolds, red and white roses were used to convey the qualities of Christ and the Virgin Mary in the fifteenth century challenges our centuries-old assumptions and throws unexpected new light on the self-identity of the first 'Tudors'.

Dr Jonathan Foyle is an author, broadcaster, writer and historic buildings consultant. He was a Curator at Hampton Court for eight years, and former CEO of World Monuments Fund Britain. He was also the presenter of the BBC's 'Climbing Great Buildings' features, appearing in BBC2's 'The Great History Quiz' with Kirsty Young, at Christmas.

Tickets for the talk are now on sale. To book phone Oundle Box Office on 01832 274734 or book online via Peterborough Cathedral's page at Oundle Box Office or visit the Information Centre on Bridge Street, Peterborough.