It's a Man's Man's Man's World

But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl.

House of Tudor Party. part 2

The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry VII, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised branch of the English royal House of Lancaster. The Tudor family rose to power in the wake of the Wars of the Roses, which left the House of Lancaster, to which the Tudors were aligned, extinct.

Henry Tudor was able to establish himself as a candidate not only of the traditional Lancastrian supporters, but of discontented supporters of the rival House of York, and rose to capture the throne in battle, becoming Henry VII. His victory was reinforced by his marriage to Elizabeth of York, symbolically uniting the former warring factions under a new dynasty. The Tudors extended their power beyond modern England, achieving the full union of England and the Principality of Wales in 1542, (Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542); and successfully asserting English authority over the Kingdom of Ireland. They also maintained the traditional (i.e. nominal) claims to the Kingdom of France, but none of them tried to make substance of it, though Henry VIII fought wars with France to try to reclaim that title. After him, his daughter Mary I lost the claim on France forever with the Fall of Calais. 

In total, five Tudor monarchs ruled their domains for just over a century. Henry VIII of England was the only male-line male heir of Henry VII to live to the age of maturity. Issues around the Royal succession (including marriage and the succession rights of women) became major political themes during the Tudor era. The House of Stuart came to power in 1603 when the Tudor line failed, as Elizabeth I died without issue. The Tudor rulers disliked the term "Tudor" (because the first Tudor was low-born), and it was not much used before the late 18th century.

How did the Tudors dress?

Tudor England is famous for its beautiful and ornate clothing, particularly during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Clothes were a means of displaying how wealthy a person was. Rich people could afford clothing made of fine wool, linen or silk. Their clothes were decorated with jewels and embroidered with gold thread. No rich person felt properly dressed to impress unless he or she was wearing a ruff. Like so many Tudor clothes, it gave a strong signal about the wealth and importance of the person wearing it.

 

Rich ladies wore padded skirts held up with loops. Over these went bodices and colourful floor-length gowns. Rich men wore white silk shirts, frilled at the neck and wrists. Over this they wore a doublet (a bit like a tight-fitting jacket), and close-fitting striped trousers (called hose). Everyone wore their hair shoulder length.

Men

Men's clothing gave them a square shape. they wore short doublets over their hose and the shoulders of their coat were cut wide. It was fashionable for their sleeves to be slashed and their flat hats were often decorated with feathers.

Women

Women's clothing gave them a triangular shape. Their corsets were tight fitting while their kirtles and gowns were very full. Their head-dress consisted of a coif that fitted closely round the face, to which was attached the cornet - a long piece of black material that often hung down the back.

Tudor Houses - Architecture

You can see many Tudor houses in England today. 
Some of them are over 500 years old!

Most ordinary homes in Tudor times were half timbered - they had wooden frames and the spaces between were filled with small sticks and wet clay called wattle and daub.

Tudor houses are known for their 'black-and-white' effect.

Source: Wikipedia, The Tudors by Mandy Barrow,

House of Tudor Party. part 1

As most of our guest at T.R.A.C.S know, is that I try to be original in the party themes. That is not always easy and also it is not always easy for our guest to find an outfit that suit in theme. Although I am often surprised how creative our guest are and astonished with how much care they got things together, to be in theme. For our deejay's it is sometimes even harder to get some songs in theme, although that is not necessary.   

I cannot imagine that I would like to listen two hours of just Baroque music when that was the theme.

This Saturday, May 19th, the theme is: House of Tudor. Yes, a difficult theme!

How I got the silly idea to pick that theme?

Now that is easy, it is the date. Because:

On May 19th 1536, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded and on May 19th 1568, Queen Elizabeth I of England orders the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots. Google and Wikipedia love me and I love them.

This is all about four members of the Tudor dynasty. See picture of the family tree.

Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was queen regnant of Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567 and queen consort of France from 10 July 1559 to 5 December 1560.

Mary was the only surviving legitimate child of King James V of Scotland. She was 6 days old when her father died and she was crowned nine months later. In 1558, she married Francis, Dauphin of France. He ascended the French throne as King Francis II in 1559, and Mary became queen consort of France until she was widowed on 5 December 1560. Mary then returned to Scotland, arriving in Leith on 19 August 1561. Four years later, she married her first cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, but their union was unhappy. In February 1567, his residence was destroyed by an explosion, and Darnley was found murdered in the garden.

Mike Oldfield

Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature. He is best known for his hit 1973 album Tubular Bells, which launched Virgin Records, and for his 1983 hit single "Moonlight Shadow". He is also well known for his hit rendition of the Christmas piece, "In Dulci Jubilo".

Discovery is the ninth album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1984. It was recorded at Oldfield's then-home in Villars-sur-Ollon in the Swiss Alps where he was living for tax reasons.

The first track of the album "To France" features Maggie Reilly on vocals and references Mary Stuart in its chorus.

"To France" is about Mary Queen of Scots' exodus to France in the mid-1500s."

 All of the instruments are played by Oldfield, and Discovery marked the first time he recorded an album outside of England."To France"'s sparkling chorus and pristine keyboard parts fall just outside the song's moderate gallop, with Reilly and the accompanying instruments adding some mild Celtic overtones to its melody. 

To France Lyrics

Taking on water,

Sailing a restless sea

From a memory,

A fantasy.

The wind carries

Into white water,

Far from the islands.

Don't you know you're

[ Chorus ]

Never going to get to France.

Mary, Queen of Chance, will they find you?

Never going to get to France.

Could a new romance ever bind you?

Walking on foreign ground,

Like a shadow,

Roaming in far off

Territory.

Over your shoulder,

Stories unfold, you're

Searching for sanctuary.

You know you're

[ Repeat Chorus ]

I see a picture

By the lamp's flicker.

Isn't it strange how

Dreams fade and shimmer?

[ Repeat Chorus ]

I see a picture

By the lamp's flicker.

Isn't it strange how

Dreams fade and shimmer?

[ Repeat Chorus ]

Never going to get to France.

Never going to....

Never going to get to France.

Never going to....

Never going to get to France.

Never going to....

Source:Wikipedia