On 11 December 1581, Maria of Austria, Duchess of Jülich-Kleve-Berg, passed away at Hambach Castle. Maria began her life on 15 May 1531 in Prague, where she was welcomed as the third daughter and fifth of what would be fifteen children from the marriage of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Anna Jagiello of Bohemia and Hungary. Ferdinand was a younger brother to Charles V, … Continue reading Maria of Austria, Duchess of Jülich-Kleve-Berg
By Juan de Jauregui y Aguilar (circa 1583 – 1641) (The Bridgeman Art Library, Object 108073) Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, author of Don Quixote, died on 22 or 23 April 1616 in Madrid. Born in about 1547 to a deaf surgeon, Cervantes spent his childhood in poverty. The profession of surgeon was not at all high-paying. Cervantes’ exact date of birth is unknown, but … Continue reading Quixotic Musings: the Adventurous Life of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Around 23 April 1564, a great mind was born in a small English market town. Such an immortal mind was baptised 26 April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. With inauspicious beginnings as the third of six children born, first to survive infancy, to a leather merchant and landed heiress, William Shakespeare would go on to lead the life of an intellectual lion, whose roar can … Continue reading It is Not in the Stars to Hold Our Destiny, but in Ourselves
On Wednesday 9 August 1516, a funeral mass was sung for the soul of Jeroen von Aeken. Better known by his artistic name of Hieronymus Bosch, he was 58 to 66 years old at death. Dying in the city of ’s-Hertogenbosch, located in the Brabant, Bosch may have passed on from pleurisy which was plaguing the city around that time and claimed the lives of … Continue reading Remembering Hieronymus Bosch, 500 Years Later
by Heather R. Darsie Anne of Cleves by Hans Holbein, 1539 Anna von Kleve, known to English speakers as Anne of Cleves, left her homeland in December 1539 to join her new husband, Henry VIII of England. The two had been married by proxy a couple months earlier, in October. After Henry successfully negotiated the marriage alliance with Anna’s younger brother Wilhelm, Duke of Cleves … Continue reading If by Land or by Sea
by Heather R. Darsie Unknown Woman by Hans Holbein, c. 1539 After just over six months of marriage, on 9 July 1540, Anna von der Mark, more commonly known as Anne of Cleves, was divorced from Henry VIII of England. As part of her reward for acquiescing so easily to Henry’s request, she would forever after be known in England as the Daughter of Cleves … Continue reading Amalia of Cleves, Sister of Anna of Cleves
by Heather R. Darsie Unknown Woman, previously identified as Amalia of Cleves by Hans Holbein, c. 1539 After just over six months of marriage, on 9 July 1540, Anna von Kleve, more commonly known as Anne of Cleves, was divorced from Henry VIII of England. As part of her reward for acquiescing so easily to Henry’s request, she would forever after be known in England … Continue reading Amalia of Cleves, Sister of Anne of Cleves
by Heather R. Darsie Sibylle von der Mark, simply known as “Sybylla of Cleves” during her lifetime, was born on 17 July 1512. Sybylla eventually became older sister to Anna von von der Mark, more commonly known as Anne of Cleves or Henry VIII’s fourth wife, in 1515. Sybylla, the eldest of Maria von Julich-Berg’s children with Duke Johann III of Cleves, was elevated to … Continue reading Sybylla, the Other Daughter of Cleves
by Heather R. Darsie Sibylle von Kleve, who signed her name as “Sybylla,” was born on 17 July 1512. Sybylla eventually became older sister to Anna von Kleve, more commonly known as Anne of Cleves or Henry VIII’s fourth wife, in 1515. Sybylla, the eldest of Maria von Julich-Berg’s children with Duke Johann von Kleve, was elevated to the station of Electress Consort through her … Continue reading Sibylle, the Other Daughter of Cleves
by Heather R. Darsie Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum 500ten Geburtstag, Anna! Anna von Kleve, most widely known as Anne of Cleves or Henry VIII’s fourth wife, was born on either 20* or 22 September 1515. Anna was born in Düsseldorf, the second daughter out of four children. She lived at her father’s court until late 1539, when Anna moved to England to become Henry VIII’s fourth … Continue reading Happy 500th Birthday, Anna!
Maidens and Manuscripts: Taking a fresh look at people and events from 1347 to 1625, with a focus on women and illuminated manuscripts 