* To see or not to see? Shakespeare’s death mask on display for the first time in macabre exhibition of medical artefacts – Anyone know anything about the authenticity of the Shakespeare death mask?

* Henry VIII as King David – From the British Library’s Manuscripts blog

And a neat trailer for Nancy Bilyeau’s The Crown:

* A Tudor Herbal c. 1520 – I think How to Be a Retronaut is embarking on a campaign to get on to this round-up every week by continuing to post cool things like this!

* Market news: Elizabethan costume piece tops Cowdray sale – A portrait once thought to have been of Elizabeth I by Marcus Gheeraerdts, sold above the estimate for £325,250

* The Fallstaff Experience in Stratford-upon-Avon is launching a new tour of the town – NO HOLDS BARD: a tour with William Shakespeare in person!

* English Historical Fiction Authors – a new group blog by authors of, you guessed it, English historical fiction

And finally, two articles from History Today:

* From the newest issue: Learning to be a Tudor – Thomas Penn examines M.J. Tucker’s article on the court of Henry VII, first published in History Today in 1969.

* And from the archives: Who was Henry VIII? – Suzannah Lipscomb looks beyond the stereotypes that surround our most infamous monarch to ask: who was Henry VIII and when did it all go wrong?

A couple of upcoming National Portrait Gallery talks of interest: September 1 – Alison Weir “Images of Tudor Queens” and October 6 – John Cooper “The Queen’s Agent” (about Francis Walsingham, Secretary to Elizabeth I)

This fall’s Adult Learning events at Hampton Court Palace from Historic Royal Palaces focuses on Elizabeth I. See the website for full details.

And Thereby Hangs a Tale – A new exhibition exploring the mysteries surrounding Anne and William’s marriage. From September 15, 2011 to January 29, 2012 at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon

Mary I finally joins the Yale English Monarchs Series this month in the UK and next month in the US. More information from Yale University Press and Amazon US and UK affiliate links below:

* Mary Rose £2 coin floated on the Solent – A giant, inflatable replica of the coin I mentioned previously here

* Armada wreck discovered off Donegal – The wreckage of a sunken vessel believed to be from the Spanish Armada has been discovered off the Donegal coast.

* Plan to sail Golden Hinde down Thames – The Golden Hinde could join in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee River Pageant next year.

* Lanterns! Candles! Shakespeare for Jacobeans – A little past the Tudor/Elizabethan period, but a really neat project. More info here from the Shakespeare’s Globe site, including a video and how you can help make this happen!

* New Battle of Bosworth trail reveals the true location of the historic English battlefield

* BBC History Magazine’s August 2011 Tudor Special

* BBC – Your Paintings – From the “About” page: Your Paintings is a website which aims to show the entire UK national collection of oil paintings, the stories behind the paintings, and where to see them for real. It is made up of paintings from thousands of museums and other public institutions around the country.

* Mary Arden’s Farm blog – If you’re interested in Tudor and Elizabethan daily life topics, check out this new blog from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

* English Heritage Free Sites Audio Tours – English Heritage has put up mp3 versions of audio tours for their free sites that you can download. Be sure to check out some of the other goodies in their multimedia library!

* Damon Albarn and the Elizabethan magical mystery man and The Mystical Artefacts Of John Dee At The British Museum – I don’t get a whole lot of hits on my “John Dee” news alert, so it was particularly surprising to get two in one week (even though they are related, prompted by a new opera)

* Gunpowder Plot documents among millions of papers put online by National Archives and Fourth and final part of State Papers Online – I’ve linked to related stories on this topic in the past and it’s nice to see that it is finally complete. Unfortunately there still doesn’t appear to be a way for individuals to access it without an institutional affiliation (which I’m lucky to have through work!).

* And finally, Mullions XP – Operating System For The Tudor Times, a fun video sent to me by Stephanie through twitter. Enjoy!

* Dig For Shakespeare is back and starting their new field season tomorrow (April 11). If you happen to be in the Stratford-upon-Avon area in the next few months, you can see the dig live.

* Margaret George has ventured back in to Tudor fiction with her new book Elizabeth I. I read The Autobiography of Henry VIII in high school and loved it, but I haven’t read any of her books since (although I have Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles on my shelf). I might have to pick this one up though since I haven’t read as much fiction on the later part of Elizabeth I’s life.

Amazon affiliate links below:

* Mary Rose treasures to go on show – Video story from the BBC. They talk longbows with Robert Hardy, whom some will recognize as Robert Dudley from “Elizabeth R” with Glenda Jackson, and others will recognize as Cornelius Fudge from the Harry Potter movies (and of course, many, many other things). I always forget that he is an expert on longbows until something like this comes along to remind me!

* David Starkey and Jennifer Scott discuss the Royal Portrait

* Video: History comes alive at Katharine of Aragon festival – Some of the events from Peterborough Cathedral‘s Katharine of Aragon Festival

* Historic ‘graffiti’ etching found in church window pane – This caught my eye because it reminded me of the poem that Elizabeth is said to have scratched into a window in Woodstock while she was under house arrest in her sister’s reign

Many art-related things:

* The Changing Face of William Shakespeare – Exhibition at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York (with several related events scheduled during the run of the exhibition). And a related article from the BBC: Shakespeare portrait in New York

* Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco – Amazing historical fashions recreated in paper

* Henry’s 88 faces: Bridgewater State University art professor paints series of portraits transporting Britain’s infamous 16th-century monarch into the present – From Boston.com. More info from the Diehl Art Gallery blog

Some upcoming talks of interest:

* Twilight Talks at the Mary Rose Museum – Dr Suzannah Lipscomb discusses Henry VIII in March and writer Elizabeth Norton speaks on Catherine Parr in April

* The Whore and the Virgin: Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I by Alison Weir and Tracy Borman at Kensington Central Library

And to combine both of the categories above, some talks about art:

‘Lambert Barnard and his World’ – Talks and information on Barnard’s art in Chichester Cathedral (which is raising funds to conserve and study the works). The first talk has already occurred and you can download the text of the lecture at the link above.

And last, but certainly not least, video of Hope Walker’s talk “Exploring the London Stranger-Painters: Hans Eworth and His Contemporaries” at the National Portrait Gallery last December. Some of you might recognize Hope’s name as an occasional commenter on the blogs here at this site. Also, be sure to check out her site on Hans Eworth & The London Stranger Painters, which is the web aspect of her dissertation research.

* Shakespeare’s face recreated for UK HIstory Channel program called “Death Masks”

* Reformation documents go on show – New exhibition from the National Library of Scotland. Additional article here.

* Hilary Mantel’s award-winning “Wolf Hall” is now available in paperback in the US (Amazon links below, of course). Macmillan has a nice page up for the book that includes links to a book club discussion guide, videos and more.