About

Ready to take your next journey of Discovery? The Renaissance: Journeys of Discovery at BRLSI is a yearlong programme of talks and events exploring the many joys, discoveries and something of the broader cultural legacy of a movement still making waves in the 21st century.  Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Martin Luther, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Machiavelli, Hieronymus Bosch, if you love culture then you’ll love our new talks series!

But what of a Renaissance Christmas? We’re often told that Christmas was invented by the Victorians. In fact, many of our favourite Christmas traditions date back much further.

Carol singing, present giving, mulled wine and mince pies were all just as popular in Tudor times, and even Father Christmas and roast turkey dinners have their origins in this period. Throughout the festive season all ranks of society were freed for a short time from everyday cares to indulge in feasting, revelry and merrymaking. A carnival atmosphere presided at the royal court, with a twelve day long festival of entertainments, pageants, theatre productions and ‘disguisings’, when even the King might dress up in costume to fool his courtiers.

Alison Weir & Siobhan Clarke, authors of A Tudor Christmas will take us on a journey through time to see what the Yuletide season was really like in Tudor England.

To learn more about the Renaissance and our exciting year long programme, don’t forget to follow our Renaissance: Journeys of Discovery webpage: https://www.brlsi.org/renaissance/

Alison Weir & Siobhan Clarke are historians among whose works are books focusing on the Tudor period. Alison’s other history titles include (among many): Six Tudor Queens, Mary Queen of Sorrows, and Queens at War (2025). She has also published several historical novels. Siobhan’s works include: Gloriana: Elizabeth I & the Art of Queenship and The Tudors: The Crown, the Dynasty and the Golden Age.