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Dr Melita Thomas

@melitat.bsky.social
1.8K followers 623 following 698 posts

I'm an author and historian, and editor of Tudor Times. I love history, books, gardens, walking in the countryside, the sea, and interacting with interesting people on social media. Not forgetting art and cats, of course!

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Dr Melita Thomas @melitat.bsky.social · 7h
The connections between Henry VIII and the ducal family of Cleves will be explored by Dr Valerie Schutte in the fifth talk at the Tudor Times Summit Henry VIII and his in-laws.
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For the Love of Missy @missybbbobtail.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Having a cat means hearing things crash in the middle of the night and deciding it's a problem for tomorrow.
Jinx the green eyed bobtail cat looking snarkily at the camera.
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Dr Melita Thomas @melitat.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Looking forward to my new books coming out based on #1000TudorPeople . Here is some info about Kings, Queens, Nobles, and Courtiers. They can be pre-ordered here bit.ly/4xki2j5
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Tudor Times @thetudortimes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
#OTD 1599 b. Frances Devereux d. of the earl of Essex, later executed bit.ly/1dC6DmS Frances m. William Seymour, Duke of Somerset, grandson of Lady Katherine Grey (once m. to Lady Arbella Stuart) Frances lived through the Civil War & l into the reign of Charles II. Her descendants inc. HM The King.
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Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The ramparts of Hod Hill Hillfort, near Blandford Forum in Dorset. The fort is one of the largest Iron Age hillforts in the county. 📸 My own. #HillfortsWednesday #HodHill #IronAge #Archaeology #Dorset
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The Society of Antiquaries of London @antiquaries.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is one of 26 leaves of fragments of a 10th century Gregorian sacramentary, removed between 1773-1790 from the original binding of another manuscript, the Winton Domesday, where they formed the packing of the boards.
Fragment of a 10th century sacramentary, removed between 1773-90 from the original binding of MSS/0154 (where they formed the packing of the boards).
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North Ages @northages.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Viking-Age gold hoard discovered in the Hebrides in the 1860s. Local landowner and respected antiquarian Erskine Beveridge narrowed its provenance to Oronsay, off North Uist, which seems to be confirmed by local memories. 📸National Museums Scotland
The hoard comprises gold finger-rings, most of which are plaited, and gold ingots.
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Meg @roaringmeg.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
#adoorable Winchester Cathedral
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Rosemary Griggs @ragriggsauthor.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
There’s still time to snap up a bargain today! Ebooks of all Daughters of Devon novels on special offer worldwide. amzn.to/48poo7M amzn.to/3z48uAK #kindle #ebooks #historicalfiction
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Dr Elizabeth Norton @enortonhistory.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Thanks to @melitat.bsky.social for fabulous review of Jane Seymour: Patronage, Material Culture and Image Crafting www.tudortimes.co.uk/books/book-r... #janeseymour #queenjaneseymour
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Massimo (mirror) @rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Meet the Siberian long tailed tit, a tiny adorable fluffball with double eyelids. Original post
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Tudor Times @thetudortimes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
What influence did the Parr family have at the Tudor court and how did becoming Henry VIII’s family by marriage affect them? bit.ly/4wOdTnn Find out more from expert @drlindaporter.bsky.social in her presentation at the Tudor Times Summit Henry VIII and his In-laws. @enortonhistory.bsky.social
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Dr Melita Thomas @melitat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
My latest review for @thetudortimes.bsky.social is of @enortonhistory.bsky.social 's new biography of Jane Seymour which contains some fascinating new research. Read it here. bit.ly/4hklPbF
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Tony Riches @tonyriches.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
US Book Launch: Anne Boleyn's First Love: The Life of Henry Percy, by Jan-Marie Knights tonyriches.blogspot.com/2026/05/book... #Tudors
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Lady Jane Grey Info @janegreyinfo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Latest podcasts that mention Jane. ladyjanegrey.info?p=20310
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The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The cone-shaped #flowers of Panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) in the front #garden have dramatically changed colour from white and lime-green to deep pink and red as the summer progressed, and now they're donning their autumn coppery pinks #BloomScrolling #Autumn #Gardening #EnglishGarden
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Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The BBC news summary this morning went seamlessly from "critics warn PM scrapping triple lock would be electoral suicide" to "critics ask if PM has nerve to make tough decisions" and I don't think it's a particularly pro Burnham stance to suggest he might not be the entire problem here.
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Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Medieval floor tile from Shaftesbury Abbey in Dorset. The tile is on display in the abbey museum. 📸 My own. #TilesOnTuesday #ShaftesburyAbbey #Dorset
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Kate North @curatorkate.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The stunning 15th century roof structure of the Church of All Saints, Saltfleetby, Lincolnshire 🤩
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Skog @skog100.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
" Orange Peel " Fungi i spotted on the dog walk today ..you cant miss it being that colour 😁
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North Ages @northages.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Æthelred I, king of the Northumbrians, wed Ælfflæd, daughter of Offa of Mercia, #OTD in 792, reportedly after putting away his first wife. In 796, he was slain at Et Corabrige (Corbridge) by a group of conspirators including ealdormen Ealdred and Wada. 📸North Lincolnshire Museum
Coin of Æthelred I.
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Tony Riches @tonyriches.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The More Specific Your Characters, The More Universal They Become, by Tiffany Yates Martin janefriedman.com/the-more-spe... @janefriedman.com #Writing #Publishing #WritingCommunity
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The More Specific Your Characters, The More Universal They Become | Jane Friedman
Specific context about your characters helps readers understand them within the backdrop of their lives, bringing your stories fully to life.
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Tudor Times @thetudortimes.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
#OTD 1564 Lord Robert Dudley bit.ly/2BXpmGn was granted the title of earl of Leicester and a great swathe of lands in the Midlands of England. The new earl was a close friend of Queen Elizabeth I who had appointed him as her Master of Horse within a few days of her accession.
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Dr Melita Thomas @melitat.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I went to see the Bayeux Tapestry last week @britishmuseum.bsky.social It was amazing to see it in the flesh, so to speak. The intricate detail, the bright colours, the coherent unfolding of the story. Unfortunately the queue was utterly appalling, so prepare yourself!
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Hollow Crown Fans @hollowcrownfans.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
" Your hands than mine are quicker for a fray, My legs are longer though, to run away." - Midsummer Night's Dream (A3,S2) #ShakespeareSunday
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Natalie Haynes @nataliehaynes.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
And today, pick your Roman bed decoration: ornately accusatory (left), starkly melancholy (right)
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Kate North @curatorkate.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The stunning 12th century chancel arch, surrounded by a gorgeous backdrop of warm-toned limewash and lime plaster, in the Church of St. Margaret of Antioch, Knotting, Bedfordshire 💕
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Hexagonal @hexagonal.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Some nice waxy caps
A bunch of tiny bright red mushrooms in grass
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Tudor Times @thetudortimes.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
#OTD 1582 d. George Buchanan, humanist scholar. Initially a supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots, reading Latin with her, he turned against her, believing she had murdered her husband, Darnley. He was an academically brilliant but emotionally and physically harsh tutor to James VI bit.ly/1rtwOCT
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morganite 💖 @morganite.io · 27/09/2026
We Have Enough Dead Friends
BY LENA OLEANDERSON

Come over. The doors are open,
my flat's a mess and
so is my heart
but the doors are always open.
Come over. I will make soup,
probably from frozen but 
the important thing is
we will both eat.

You don't have to be dying,
but if you are,
or you feel like you are,
or if living's been hard,
call me, and I will show up.
It doesn't have to be that bad,
it doesn't have to be bad at all,
but if it is, please call.

Do you want me to do the groceries?
Do you want me to mop the floors?
Do you need to be held;
you don't have to be dying to be held.
If you want me to be there, I want to.

I'm on the bathroom floor again,
and breathing is hard,
and eating's been hard, and sleeping,
the world is a laden thing
rolling around on my chest lately.
Just being alive is heavy tonight,
but we have enough dead friends.
Come over.
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dawn of the debb @debbshock.blue · 28/09/2026
Monday is scary here, take this teeny tiny owl
a pygmy owl resting on a branch.
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Anne O'Brien @anneobrienauthor.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
On this day 28th September 1399 a delegation of earls, clergy and lords went to the Tower of London, where he was kept in confinement, to petition King Richard II to resign the throne in favour of his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster.
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Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The half-timbered early 16th century ‘Pitchmarket’ at Cerne Abbas in Dorset. The name derives from the market which was once held outside the house, where millers would ‘pitch’ for corn. 📸 My own. #MedievalMonday #CerneAbbey #Dorset
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Chris Dale @chrisdaleoxford.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
In Iona Abbey OTD in 2023
Carved stone head with a drinking cup on a column in an old abbey.
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Acid Rain @bearysweet.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'm in 💘. Isn't she a beauty? 🐱🐈😻🥰 A long-haired calico cat with striking heterochromia. - from the Japanese account @xbugtool #cat #beauty
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Sunderland Lollipops @sunderlandlolly.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Did you know that a Farage Reform govt intends to scrap the NHS? The private health care system he wants to introduce would cost you £10,000s, like the US, where getting ill can bankrupt you. #ReformUK #Labour #GreenParty #Newcastle #SAFC� #NUFC
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Caroleeena @caroleeena.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Excerpt from the poem "Fire" by Nikita Gill, published in her collection Wild Embers: Poems of Rebellion, Fire and Beauty.
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Tony Riches @tonyriches.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“Power, ambition, and dynastic struggle collide as Henry’s story unfolds—where every decision shapes a kingdom and every alliance comes at a cost.” mybook.to/HENRY-Book-T... #Tudors #HistoricalFiction #KindleUnlimited #audiobook
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Tudor Times @thetudortimes.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Sharing his extensive knowledge about the Boleyn family & their kin in the Tudor Times Summit Henry VIII & his in-laws bit.ly/4wOdTnn we have Gareth Russell author of The Palace, a biography of Hampton Court, where so many Tudor dramas took place. @catherinefletcher.info @enortonhistory.bsky.social
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Dr Melita Thomas @melitat.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The cover of one of my two 'compact' books taken from 1000 Tudor People. The second is called Rebels, Rogues, Villains, and Victims. They will be published in late October, but can be pre-ordered from publisher, Graffeg now.
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Dr Melita Thomas @melitat.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
#TudorPeople M is for Thomas Moigne, a victim of the Lincolnshire Rising, that was a forerunner of the Pilgrimage of Grace. A lawyer and MP for Lincoln, Moigne was captured by the rebels, forced to swear the rebel oath and serve as a captain in their army. amzn.to/3X5KVBp
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Emily K Michael, Writer @emilythepoet.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
“Those who speak ill of women do more harm to themselves than they do to the women they actually slander.” - Christine de Pizan, 14th c. writer
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4fuxake @blueheartedly1.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
👏😂👇
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🇨🇦JOY 🇨🇦 @joycomes.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Western screech owl 16-25cm Gray morph screech Pacific Coast down thru West US into Mexico
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One Hashtag Birds @one-hashtag-birds.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
White-tailed Kite #birds
White-tailed Kite
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Sr. Carolyn Morrison ra @srcarolyn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
O Lord, grant us a quiet night and a peaceful end. #Compline
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Jill Hasday @jillhasday.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
On this day in 1825, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was born. She became an abolitionist, suffragist, and the first African American woman to publish a short story. #WeTheMen
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
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Pip Wren @lollibeepop.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
A joyous fat bear week to all 🐻
A painting of fat blobby bears
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eyeconic.me @eyeconicme.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Wanna see the beauty that humans are capable of creating? Aachen Cathedral in Germany. Built by Emperor Charlemagne in 796 AD. The ceiling is made of mosaic tiles. #Germany #ArtYear #ArtShow #Photography #iPhonePhotography #EastCoastKin #PhotographersUnited #PhotographersofBluesky #Aachen
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Durotriges Dig @durotrigesdig.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Early #HillfortsWednesday 😊
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