The History Jar  is pleased to offer the following day schools at the Whitworth Centre, Station Road, Darley Dale, Derbyshire, DE4 2EQ

Day schools begin at 10.00 am and finish at 3.30 pm.  Handouts are provided.  Each course costs £26.50 which is inclusive of a buffet lunch.  For this reason courses must be booked and paid for at least a fortnight before the date of the course.

If you do not use Paypal please contact me at thehistoryjar@gmail.com for alternative methods of payment.

 

1. Monday 24 September 2018

Holbein – an artist’s view of Henry VIII and his court 

Find out about the artist, the symbolism of his portraits and the people who sat for him from German merchants to the monarch.  Meet Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell as seen through the eyes of Holbein.  Explore the political messages behind Henry VIII’s portraits as well as the story of his search for a new bride following the death of Jane Seymour.

 

2)   Monday 22 October 2018:

Gloriana – a life in ten pictures

An overview of Elizabeth I’s life and reign using a few of the two hundred pictures associated with the monarch from the Clopton Portrait to the Ditchley Portrait.  Find out more about the iconography behind Elizabeth’s portraits, the so-called “mask of youth” and the cult of Gloriana.

We will explore Elizabeth’s early years; the scandals of Thomas Seymour and Robert Dudley; Wyatt’s Rebellion; the marriage proposals; an overview of foreign policy; some of the key plots against her; religion and the question of succession.

3) Monday 26 November 2018

Christmas from the Romans to the Victorians

F

rom Pagan traditions to puritans, the Plum Pudding Riots and Charles Dickens. This day school offers a brief biography of Christmas covering everything from cake to Saturnalia.

4) Monday 21 January 2019

Isabella of France- the she-wolf, her husband and their lovers. 

The only queen of England to order the execution of a king. Find out about Isabella’s arranged marriage to the most handsome man in Europe and the consequences of his disastrous infatuations with his favourites.

Follow Isabella’s progress she turned from a loyal wife, a political mediator and mother to four children into ‘she-wolf’ leading the most successful invasion of England since the Conquest. We will also explore how she came to have possession of her husband’s heart – in a silver casket.

We will explore the role of Roger Mortimer, the queen’s lover and the impact of the Earl of Kent’s rebellion. We will also consider her punishment and rehabilitation at the court of her son, King Edward III.

 

5) Monday 18 February 2019

 Joan of Kent- Princess of Controversy

Find out about Joan’s childhood in the aftermath of her father’s execution for treason including her life at the court of Philippa of Hainault.

The marital escapades of the Fair Maid of Kent are documented in Froissart. We will explore medieval marriage through Joan’s clandestine relationship with Thomas Holland; her bigamous but politically strategic marriage to William Montacute and her third marriage to the Black Prince – making her the very First Princess of Wales.

We will also consider Joan’s importance as the mother of the child king Richard II despite her lack of  official status, her reputation for piety and her popularity with the peasants.

 

6) Monday 18 March 2019

The Hollow Crown – the life and death of Richard II

Meet the boy king whose face is the first realistic portrait of a monarch. Learn about his coronation, and his regency council as well as the way in which he faced the Peasants Revolt.  Explore how his nobles, the so-called Lords Appellant, rose in revolt and the ways in which Richard took his revenge before being toppled from power and starved to death in Pontefract Castle.

 

 

7) Monday 22 April 2019

Tudor Blood – the taint of royalty

Trace the Tudor family tree to meet the less well-known men and women with a claim to England’s crown and find out how their blood condemned them to tragic ends.  From Lady Jane Grey, her sisters and her nephews to Arbella Stuart and the Lady Margaret Clifford who was condemned for using astrology to predict Elizabeth I’s death.  Find out what happened to the fifth Earl of Derby when he refused to plot against Elizabeth I.

 

8)  Monday 20 May 2019

William Marshall

Explore the life of a real knight errant beginning with his rise from penniless younger son to tournament champion, hero and astute politician who played a role in the  Magna Carta.  Find out about his relationship with King Henry II and all of his sons concluding with his role as regent during the early years of King Henry III. Religious, chivalrous, honourable and fiercely ambitious – the stuff from which legends are made.

 

9) Monday 17 June 2019

 The Vikings

Pillage, conquest and extortion.  The Vikings’ reputation may be deserved but chronicles, sagas and archeological record reveal some unexpected truthes.  Their legacy can be seen in the people, places and kingdoms of the north.  Meet Ragnar Hairy-breeks, Ivor the Boneless, Harold Bluetooth, Eric Bloodaxe, the Repton Warrior and Emma of Normandy.

Explore the history of the Vikings in Great Britain from the first raiders on England’s eastern shores in the late eighth century; their impact on the monasteries, the forging of Viking Kingdoms in Ireland and Yorkshire, conflict with the Anglo-Saxons and the practicalities of inheriting a kingdom in the tenth century.

Please contact me if you have any queries.