The Tudors Re-Write History - Season One Quiz

Answer: Yes: medical science is unsure exactly what it was

The sweating sickness, as it was called, apparently originated in France. The disease apparently struck wealthy victims more often than the low-born, making it particularly frightening to the upper classes. It vanished within a few decades. Modern medicine is uncertain of what it really was: hanta virus has been suggested.

Answer: No: completely impossible

Thomas Tallis was the leading composer of the early Anglican Church. He never met Sir William Compton, who died (of the sweating sickness) in 1528, at least 15 years before Tallis came to London. Tallis was happily married; Sir William less so; both were apparently "straight." In 1528, the year of Compton's death, Compton was 53 years old and Tallis would have been about 25.

Answer: No: Compton left a family and lots of property

Sir William Compton died a wealthy man in his fifties. His vast estates and fabled Tudor mansion at Compton Wyngate (the exterior of which is seen in the series) were left to his son Peter. The Compton family had lived on the site since at least 1204.

They have lived there ever since (except for brief spells when the family chose to live another of its mansions). Sir William allegedly had an affair with a noblewoman, though this may have been a rumor started by jealous opponents. There is no historical indication of the commoner mistress.

Answer: No: she was single when the child was born

Elizabeth Blount was unmarried during her affair with Henry. She was also significantly younger than the actress who portrayed her. After the birth of Henry Fitzroy, the king arranged a marriage for her by rewarding the prospective husband, as a way of taking care of mother and child. Later, Henry bestowed further wealth and favor upon his son.

Answer: No: it never happened

Margaret Tudor was the oldest of Henry VII's surviving children. Neither she nor her sister Mary were ever married to the King of Portugal. Margaret Tudor married James IV of Scotland, and became the mother of James V and grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Answer: No: they never met

Margaret Tudor never met, let alone married or murdered, the King of Portugal. There is no record of her ever setting foot (or pillow?) in Lisbon. Likewise, her amorous shipboard encounter with Charles Brandon is bogus. Mary Tudor - Margaret's sister - married Charles Brandon after the death of her first husband, the King of France.

Answer: Sort of: the bride was Henry's other sister Mary

Henry's younger sister Mary Tudor does not appear in the series. Mary married Louis XII of France in 1514, when she was 18 and Louis was 52. Louis died soon thereafter, of natural causes. Henry sent his friend Brandon to fetch Mary back to England.

Henry intended to marry her off to another foreign royal family, and exacted Brandon's promise that he would not propose to her. Breaking his promise, Brandon married her in secret in France in March 1515, and then "officially" in Greenwich in May 1515.

Henry was livid, but rejected advice to imprison Brandon. The couple eventually reconciled with Henry.

Answer: No: Henry had nieces and nephews

The series has only one sister (Margaret), who marries Charles Brandon and dies without issue. The real Henry VIII had two sisters, and both had surviving children. Henry's real sister Mary, who was married to Charles Brandon, had three children of their marriage. Of major historical significance, their daughter Lady Frances Brandon married Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset.

Their daughter was the tragic Queen, Lady Jane Grey -- who presumably will never be born on the series.

Answer: No: he married and lived to age 17

Henry Fitzroy (1519-1536) was the only illegitimate offspring that Henry officially acknowledged. Created 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, he also held other important positions. The young man married Lady Mary Howard, only daughter of the Duke of Norfolk, in 1533.

He apparently succumbed to tuberculosis, though modern researchers have questioned that conclusion. In any event, he definitely did not die of the sweating sickness as portrayed in the series.

Answer: Probably: a butcher or a cloth merchant

Cardinal Wolsey rose from modest origins to become for a time one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in England. His father was Robert Wolsey of Ipswich (1438-96). Later accounts indicate that Robert was a butcher, though some historians think this was intended to demean the Cardinal after his death.

Other sources say Robert Wolsey was a prosperous merchant, possibly a cloth dealer, who was killed at the battle of Bosworth Field. Young Thomas attended Ipswich School, Magdalen College School and Magdalen College, Oxford, which suggests that his family had some money.

Answer: No: total nonsense

Richard Pace was a learned and well-respected diplomat, who had no particular problem with Cardinal Wolsey or anyone else at court. Indeed, Wolsey entrusted Pace with several important missions. Pace was never incarcerated in the Tower (or anywhere else), and there's no proof he was ever arrested for anything.

He lived into his fifties (a ripe age in those days), spending his last 10 years in comfortable retirement and scholarly pursuits -- using his keen and unimpaired mind.

Answer: No: she was plump, with light-colored hair and fair skin

Catherine was about four years older than Henry. Portraits and verbal descriptions agree that she was on the heavier side though not obese, and had reddish or chestnut-colored hair and blue eyes -- due to her partly English ancestry. Befitting her station and given the style of the time, Catherine would have protected her skin from the sun and used cosmetics (often toxic) to further lighten her complexion.

Answer: Close: the treaty was signed

The Treaty of London was signed beginning in 1518, by France, England, the Holy Roman Empire, the Papacy, Burgundy, Spain, the Netherlands and others. It was directed against the Ottoman empire, which was attempting to expand into the Balkans. Considered a diplomatic triumph for Wolsey and Henry, it lasted only a few years.

Answer: Probably: French accounts describe the match and its aftermath

The Field of the Cloth of Gold was the site of Henry's meeting with Francis in June 1520. The series' depiction of the affair appears fairly accurate, including the temporary "castle" and the wine-dispensing fountains. Henry also met with Holy Roman Emperor Charles V before and afterward, but those occasions were far more modest.

Answer: No: never happened

Henry had no uncle in diplomatic service. There was a real historical figure named Sir William Courtenay, who was married to Henry's aunt -- but he died of of natural causes in 1511.

Answer: No: flintlocks weren't invented for another hundred years

This is one of several physical anachronisms in the series. The ladies' court dress is too revealing -- more typical of the 17th century. Watch carefully for the asphalt driveways in some scenes, and note the metal leaf springs on the too-modern carriages.

Answer: No: Henry seized Whitehall after Wolsey fell from power

In 1530, Henry moved into the palace, then known as "York Place," to live with Anne Boleyn. It was first called "Whitehall" about ten years thereafter. The exterior of the palace as shown in the series is fairly accurate, but probably from a later date.

The Palace of Whitehall was expanded over the years, until it was destroyed by fire in 1698. The only surviving portion of the palace is the Banqueting House, built in the early 17th century -- and famous as the site of the execution of Charles I. Today, the name Whitehall survives as a street lined with government offices.

Answer: No: the names and dates are wrong

The series has a real problem with Papal succession. Wolsey sought the Papacy, but . . . the Pope at the time the series begins was Leo X. Leo died, suddenly and unexpectedly, in 1521, a year after Henry's meeting with Francis I at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Leo was succeeded by Adrian of Utrecht, who was -- significantly -- the former tutor of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

When Adrian died a year later, Cardinal Medici was elected Pope Clement VII. Pope Clement blocked Henry's annulment, arguably because he was in Charles V's control.

This is portrayed in the series, but the Pope's name is wrong. Had Leo X lived, he would undoubtedly have rejected the annulment, since he was far closer to Charles V.

Answer: Yes: got that right

Mary Boleyn was sent to France in 1514, as maid of honor to Henry's sister Mary Tudor, who married King Louis XII. Since Mary Tudor doesn't exist in the series, the reason for Mary Boleyn's sojourn in France is fudged a bit. When Louis died in 1515 -- another omission -- Mary Boleyn stayed on because her father Thomas Boleyn was the English ambassador. While in France, Mary Boleyn probably had several affairs, as suggested in the series. In 1519, she returned to England and in 1520 married Sir William Carey, a court official. At some point between 1520 and 1526, Mary had her affair with Henry, although they were fairly discreet. Either one or both of Mary's children may have been fathered by Henry. Mary Boleyn is a distant ancestor of several famous figures including Winston Churchill, P. G. Wodehouse, Diana, Princess of Wales, and Charles Darwin.

Answer: No: nearly black eyes and olive skin; not a great beauty

Anne Boleyn impressed most contemporaries as vivacious, clever, graceful and bewitching, although she was not considered a beauty. Those who called her ugly were probably politically motivated. Anne's personality and education seemed to be her chief attractions. Her dark eyes provoked favorable comment. She probably had a French accent.

Answer: Yes: by that time, Wolsey had two children

Cardinal Wolsey was appointed Archbishop of York in 1514, but never set foot in the city until Henry dismissed him in 1530. The living conditions in the series appear to be accurate. Wolsey and his mistress, Joan Larke, had two children: Dorothy (born about 1512) and Thomas (born about 1528). The children did not live with the Cardinal.

Answer: No: he died of natural causes

Wolsey was arrested but not taken into physical custody. He was accused of treason and ordered to travel to London where he would be imprisoned in the Tower. He fell ill and died on November 29, 1530, before reaching London. He was believed to be in his mid-50s.

There is absolutely no historical evidence suggesting suicide, which would have been an unthinkable sin even for the Cardinal.

Answer: Yes: it was an hereditary condition

Charles V's lower jaw interfered with chewing, leading to life-long indigestion. He hated banquets because of the embarassment. Charles also suffered from gout and epilepsy, though the latter diagnosis may not have been medically accurate. His deteriorating physical condition probably led to his retirement from power in 1556 -- well after the time period of the first series.

Answer: No: More burned Protestants but not Fish

Simon Fish was an early Protestant pamphleteer, who also promoted William Tyndale's English translation of the New Testament. For these "crimes," More had Fish arrested for heresy. Fish died of plague in 1531 before the death sentence could be carried out.

In all, More was responsible for the burning of six Protestant martyrs (as the series mentions), including one James Bainham. Bainham married Fish's widow, and was burned at the stake in 1532. The unfortunate lady does not appear in the series.

Answer: No: many errors here

The scene in Episode 7 was rife with inaccuracies. A Tudor-era pipe organ required at least two people to play: one at the keyboard and another to work the bellows. Given the size of the instrument in the scene, it likely required multiple assistants. Pedals were introduced to England around 1700.

The organ stops in the scene are closed, so the instrument could not have made a sound. Incidentally, the trumpet fanfares aren't right either. Tudor cornets had no valves; the note intervals are too small (and accurate); the music sounds like Purcell . . . And the tune the series passes off as "Greensleeves"?