Portrait of Mary Tudor: Explore Collections: Windows to the World: Digital Artifacts for Global Educators: Indiana University Bloomington

Home
Explore Collections
Portrait of Mary Tudor

Portrait of Mary Tudor

This painting, by Flemish painter Hans Eworth, is of Queen Mary I of England, also known as Mary Tudor. Mary was the only child of Henry VIII and his first wife, the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon. She was the first woman to rule England as a queen in her own right without gaining her title through marriage to an English prince. Mary I was devoutly Catholic, and she spent her five-year reign (1553-1558) attempting to reverse the Protestant Reformation that her father had started. These efforts were unsuccessful, but in the process, she burned more than 280 religious dissenters at the stake. This earned her the nickname “Bloody Mary.”

A portrait of a woman in black against a blue background. She wears an ornate pearl necklace beneath a ruffled white collar. Her red hair is tucked into a headpiece with pearls.

Ironically, Hans Eworth lived and painted in London because he had been expelled from his homeland of Flanders for heresy. Western Europe experienced heavy revolt as a result of the Protestant Reformation. In Flanders, these revolts were met with strict punishments and expulsion from the country. When Eworth was exiled for his Protestant views in 1544, he sought sanctuary in now-Anglican London. Even more ironically, these rules were enforced by the Spanish king Philip II, who would later marry Mary I in 1554, ten years after Eworth left Flanders.

Mary Tudor is one of five Tudors to sit on the throne of England, and one of two Tudor women. The Tudors were known for sparking major change in the country, both popular and unpopular. Many of their decisions continue to effect England and the world today. Queen Elizabeth II is a direct descendant of the Tudors.

Portrait of Mary Tudor Activity Guide

Resources

Resource 1

Tudor Timeline- Primary Homework Help

This is a relatively quick look at the entire Tudor timeline, which lasted from 1485-1603. The moments of succession are highlighted in red on this chart. Hans Eworth’s painting of Mary I fits into this timeline sometime between her coronation in 1553 and her death in 1558.

Resource 2

Meet a Tudor Cook- English Heritage

The Tudor reign was a good time for culture and economy in England. The Tudors reigned during the time of global exploration and the Renaissance, which gave them access to a greater variety of resources, including food. Sugar became incredibly popular across Europe. As the video explains, English nobility developed a massive sweet tooth and ate lots of desserts including cookies and marzipan. The Tudors also ate lots of food in general. Cooks would rise before dawn to prepare breakfast and not go to sleep until after the house upstairs did. Chefs cooked not only for the noble family, but also for all the servants and visitors living in the manor. Meals were a representation of the success and affluence of the Tudor reign.

Resource 3

A Brief History of the Tudor Rose- Royal Central

The Tudor line was kicked off by the War of the Roses- a conflict between the York and Lancaster families for the unstable throne of England. The name became popularized because both families used roses as their heraldic symbols (Lancaster red and York white). The War(s) of the Roses took place from 1455-1487, and concluded when Henry Tudor of the Lancasters defeated Richard III of the Yorks.

Henry Tudor took the throne as Henry VII in 1485, but fighting over the title continued. To put an end to the conflict, Henry married Elizabeth of York in 1486. This effectively united the Lancaster and York lines. The red and white roses began to be displayed alongside each other. Upon the birth of Henry and Elizabeth’s first child, Arthur, the roses were combined into one bicolor flower, with Lancaster red on the outside and York white inside. Initially, some York members attempted to promote the flower with white outer petals, but that secondary design didn’t stick. Today, the Tudor rose is one of England’s most iconic symbols.

Resource 4

History vs Henry VIII- TedEd

Henry VIII remains one of England’s most controversial rulers of all time. Most known for his six wives, he also led the Anglican break from the Catholic Church, made polarizing economic reforms, and embarked on unsuccessful military conquests. This video lays out both his successes and failings to emphasize how scholars have struggled to classify this king.