Yet another celebration of Henry VIII’s 500th!
From the British Library website:
Henry VIII: Man and Monarch
22 April – 6 September 2009
2009 marks the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession to the throne.
In celebration of this landmark, the historian and broadcaster Dr David Starkey will guest-curate the major new exhibition at the British Library Henry VIII: Man and Monarch.
This unique exhibition looks beyond the myths and stereotypes surrounding Henry VIII, to address the inner intellectual journey of Henry’s monarchy and re-examine the perceptions of the great Tudor monarch.
Through fresh interpretation of rich source material the exhibition will examine the extraordinary transformations – personal and political, intellectual and religious, literary, aesthetic, linguistic – of Henry’s reign.
Books, manuscripts and letters written or annotated by Henry will offer an unprecedented insight into the mind of the king, revealing the driving forces behind his actions, and telling the story of his reign from his own perspective.
And Nikki sent in a link about the exhibition from The Guardian:
An exhibition that seeks to blow away the preconceptions surrounding arguably England’s most important monarch was yesterday announced by the British Library to mark the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession to the throne.
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The exhibition next April will include rarely displayed treasures drawn from the British Library’s collections, including important documents, maps and books, and loans from other collections including portraits, tapestry, armour and jewellery. The aim is to build a fuller picture of Henry the man and Henry the monarch.A key feature will be a 1513 portrait of the king, the earliest surviving painting in which he appears as a good-looking, fanciable youth rather than the fat, bearded monster he became. This is on loan from Denver in the US and goes on display for the first time in the UK.
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Of course, the six wives have their place in the exhibition. On display will be the marriage contract between the king and his first wife, Katherine. She had been married to Henry’s brother, Prince Arthur, who died of sweating sickness and so paved the way for a young Henry to become England’s king. Katherine was offered as a bride to Henry by Spain in an attempt to maintain the Anglo-Spanish alliance. The marriage treaty appears for the first time in a UK exhibition, sent from Archivo General de Simancas, at Valladolid in Spain.
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There’s a companion book due to be published later in the year. Available for pre-order at Amazon, “Henry: Man and Monarch” is edited by Starkey and Susan Doran:
“This book is co-edited and with contributions from David Starkey, the highly-regarded historian and author of many books on Tudor history, most recently “Henry: Virtuous Prince” (HarperPress 2008) and Dr Susan Doran (the same team that produced the bestselling ‘Elizabeth I’ exhibition catalogue in 2003). The catalogue will be very handsomely produced. It will include colour illustrations of all 250 exhibits, together with related material. More than a dozen notable scholars have contributed to it, including Eamon Duffy, James Carley, John Guy, Diarmaid McCulloch and Eric Ives.”
Inevitably, “A related 4-part series by David Starkey will be broadcast simultaneously on Channel 4.”
Thanks, Foose, for the information. Coming out in April 2009, that’s another book which is going to appear on my wish list. Any idea of the cost? I will admit to having so many about the house focusing on Hal 8 that I should probably dig to the bottom of stacks and see if this latest book is really needed. I may have pictures of a lot of stuff, just spread around the room.
What with 2009 coming closer and closer, more venues are turning up to explore Henry. Some, however, haven’t been heard from…such as “The Tower”. If any palace was made famous by Henry, that has to be at the top of the list. However, isn’t it going through a major restoration right now? I remember reading about the timing for this work and asking “Why, oh why is this taking place during “Henry’s Year”
As for Katherine and Henry’s marriage contract…any word on the actual dispensation given by The Pope for them to marry? That document which caused so much discussion during the time of the ‘divorce’? It’d be a hoot to have it appear in England as well, seeing how desperately Henry wanted to get his hands on it. He’d be rolling in his grave…and probably squashing poor Jane!!!
More bloody books that I want! Grrrr! The Elizabeth I exhibition book they did was very nice, so I expect this one to be too.
The Elizabeth l was expensive, but beautiful. Was a lovey Xmas gift from my husband.
when i was at the tower in october, they were doing renovations on the white tower only. they had scaffolding up, which was a disappointment but i know it’s necessary. i got a really good picture of the white tower, but had to get it from the opposite side!
does anyone know how long the exhibit will be up?
The dates are at the top of the post.
22 April – 6 September 2009
It looks like it’s 25 pounds at the U.K. Amazon. The pound-dollar exchange may improve in the next couple of months depending on the economic turmoil. At the U.S. Amazon, you can’t order it yet but you can sign up for the book.
2009 will be an expensive year for committed Tudorphiles. There are all sorts of books coming out on the Tudors and their associates: another Anne Boleyn book, Henry’s mistresses, Cardinal Wolsey, several books on Mary Tudor and Jane Grey books, a book on the Howards, etc. Antonia Fraser is tackling Elizabeth I, which should be a great read.
I am going to rewrite the budget right this very minute! Two months of peanut butter and jelly won’t harm a body, will it????