Project 69: The Tudors

This week's project was initiated by the Katherine of Aragon festival that was taking place at Peterborough Cathedral, where she is buried.

The week started with lots of reading and videos about life in Tudor times, the kings and queens (especially Henry VIII), the reformation, and the dissolution of the monasteries. We also looked at the impact of Shakespeare at the end of the Tudor period, and some of the idioms he introduced to our language. Solomon and Monica chose to watch the animated Richard III twice!

There was a school's day at the cathedral as part of the Katherine of Aragon festival and a group of home educated children took part. They wore monks' scapulas, tried singing in plainsong, learned about the history of the cathedral, Katherine of Aragon, monk's manuscripts, and had a go at using a quill and ink to write their name.

Solomon and Monica's manuscripts

The day finished with a talk on arms and armoury, and whilst Monica wanted to try on a gauntlet, Solomon was more interested in asking questions on the suitability of using arrows to scale walls and hitting people on the head with hammers.

The Armoury

Finally they finished off the week by designing their own ruffs at home.

Ruffs

Next week: Fabric crafts
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