#24 "Jokes and the Tudor Monarchy, Tudor Tennis, Henry VIII's First Wives"

Jokes and the Tudor Monarchy
By Greg Giaccio
Unlike earlier monarchs who were portrayed as devout, dour and dull, King Alphonso was a ruler who was wise enough to play the fool. The enormous popularity of his jokes demonstrates that during the Renaissance, humor was a large part of everyday life, both at court and in the country.

The Tangled Stories of Henry VIII's First Wives
By Anjuli MacDonald of Clanranald
Henry VIII remains one of the greatest enigmas amidst the royal history of England. But probably the greatest public interest in the life of this intriguing monarch lies in the triangle relationship between Henry and his first and second wives, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn.

Tennis in the Times of the Tudors
By Judith Tabler
What most people today think of as the popular sport of tennis is thought to have been developed in the 1870s as lawn tennis. But the sport that the Tudors called tennis-a game that is dramatically different than the sport we are familiar with today-is now enjoying a small Renaissance of interest as Court Tennis in the United States.