Touching The Tudors

Touching The Tudors Touching The Tudors - a group wishing to share their passion for the sites of Tudor England, places in the real world you can see and touch.

Join us on one of our romps through history, where around every corner you get to experience the unexpected.

22/05/2026
23/02/2026

The Casket That Could Hold a Kingdom

When Henry VIII died in January 1547, Edward Seymour kept a copy of the king’s will locked inside his casket.

Think about that for a moment.

Inside a small, locked box sat the document that determined the future of the English throne - the regency council, the succession, the balance of power. In an age when paper could topple governments, the container mattered almost as much as what was inside it.

Caskets like this were surprisingly common across medieval and Renaissance Europe. Ornately carved ivory boxes - often fitted with locks and gilded mounts - were used to store jewels, marriage contracts, private correspondence, wills, and other documents of enormous consequence.

This particular example dates to the 12th century and was likely made in Sicily, a vibrant crossroads of Mediterranean trade where Islamic, Byzantine, and Western artistic traditions met. Traces of an Arabic inscription remain along the rim: “May glory endure.”

Originally, many boxes like this were probably secular - wedding gifts or luxury containers for personal treasures. Later, some were repurposed in church treasuries as reliquaries.

But whether holding jewels, relics, or royal wills, the function was the same: protection.

Authority was physical. Legitimacy was guarded. Power could be locked.

And I can’t help but think about Seymour - standing at the edge of political transformation - with Henry’s will secured inside a box much like this.

“May glory endure.”

In Tudor England, glory depended on what survived… and who controlled it.ments of control. Containers of legitimacy. Physical guardians of power.

19/01/2026
Such a great show
03/12/2025

Such a great show

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22/10/2025

Please donate

The pendant offers a glimpse into Henry VIII's early court. Help us raise £3.5 million by April 2026 to secure this treasure for the nation.

20/10/2025

It's time for me to begin revealing my research on Thomas Seymour! I've decided to begin releasing nearly 10 years worth of research and I'll be doing on Patreon and Substack. My substack is called "Rebecca Larson's History Corner" and you can find me on Patreon as well.

https://rebeccalarson.substack.com

https://patreon.com/tudorsdynasty

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