The Tudor Revolution

Anne Boleyn from Wolf Hall. Photo from bbc.com After months of waiting, Tudor history fans in the USA finally got access to the series Wolf Hall. Many costume bloggers have been gushing or ranting about the costumes since the first press release photos hit the internet last year. Personally, I was skeptical the drama would live up to the dream many of us have of a period correct drama for this time period. Now that I have taken the time to watch the first episode on pbs.org I am hooked. No huge farthingales in the 1520's. All the ladies and gentlemen are wearing hats. One of the details I was most impressed with was the period correct table manners during a banquet scene. Notice what Cromwell and other are doing with their napkins and how large they are compared to modern napkins. The entire production team's work, love, and research shows in each frame. I hope all of you will take advantage of this airing for free on PBS. If you are like me and can not always commit to b...

Have you ever tried food from back in the 16th century? There are lots of manuscripts and cook books that have survived from this time period (relative to earlier periods). Hampton Court, the center of Henry VIII's court, today has period cooking demonstrations about once a month. Many of us in the States can't go and watch these demonstrations, but we can watch the videos posted by Royal Historic Places. I plan to try their recipe for a "Tarte owte of Lent." It seems to be a savory cheese pie made of things you are not allowed to eat, in the 16th century, during Lent. http://www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace/stories/thetudorkitchens/Tudorcook-alongvideos/TarteowteofLent Please check them out, buy tickets for a demo, or just download pdf's of their period recipes for free! You can also follow them on Facebook and Youtube for more updates and videos. Tudorcookery.com