The First State Bed of Henry VII & Elizabeth of York
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 มี.ค. 2019
- An investigation into the fascinating discovery of the marriage bed of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.
We recently completed production on this long-form documentary, presented by historian, author and TV personality Dr Jonathan Foyle.
Acquired online by the current owner Ian Coulson in 2010, this finely carved but incomplete bed was believed to be Victorian, but upon delivery appeared much older, and with solely royal arms.
The film represents the culmination of many years of in-depth research where a team of experts, including Jonathan and Ian Coulson, have ascertained the object's story through a multi-disciplinary approach.
This combined a thorough physical inspection; forensic, biological and statistical sciences; art-historical analysis; tracing its provenance; and the remarkable chance discovery of further examples by the same fifteenth-century workshop. One of the scientific methods - dendrochronology - required an independent second opinion, both being checked by DNA identification of the timber. The weight of evidence demonstrates it to be an extremely important relic from Westminster Palace made in 1485 for a royal marriage uniting a couple cast as saviours of the nation in the wake of war.
It is surely the most significant surviving example of late medieval English royal furniture, its iconography transforming our understating of the Tudor monarchy at its outset. This film explains evidence about the bed to academics, historians and anyone with an interest in the Tudor period and English history.
If my teenage self would have told me I'd be watching a 39 min video about a historical bed and actually enjoying it, I'd never have believed it!
I am a teenager and I would believe you haha
SJ N Curiousness leads to knowledge, see new is not always the best ! We learn something every day.
gail handschuh curiousity is it!
Funny what 40 years have done to me. Remarkable in itself.
True dat
I watched this because I couldn't understand how you could talk about a bed for 40 mins - and it is utterly fascinating - loved it
I'm with you. A wonderful talk about beds.
Me too
Guilty
I read your comment and laughed out loud. So true! haha
Me too
Nerd #2 reporting. This was incredible. The knowledge of history, diaries, tree rings, color analysis--the analysis of this bed was unbelievable. The presentation was fantastic.
Thank you for watching and your kind words... it’s an incredible discovery!
On this day, I declare: I am officially a nerd. And I'm proud of it, cuz this was so interesting!
I absolutely feel the same way about myself! lol I'm the geekiest Canadian Anglophile you'll ever know~
@@Luna.3.3.3 NICE!! Be proud! It's just such juicy information. I suppose I'm an all around europhile. I love all of the crazy and fascinating intricacies of European history! Asian history is much fun too!
@@MammaKush88 Well Mamma, I am proud (in a self deprecating way, lol) If I may suggest, if you're interested: ANY and ALL docs with Lucy Worsley. David Starkey. I have several other Brit favourites if you'd like more, let me know :) Happy geeking!
@@Luna.3.3.3 oh thank u so much!! And yes I know starkey very well. Worlsey sounds familiar too! But I dont recognize her face. There is also a gentleman with dark hair on timeline I really like! Please, if u care to share more I would LOVE IT.
@@MammaKush88 You will love *Lucy!* th-cam.com/play/PLOyld5o9j8f1tk4pGiV_GzB8V5uFbbHRU.html
Helen Castor:
She-Wolves England's Earliest Queens (3 parts)
Anything with *Dan Jones* you can find almost all on TH-cam, ref: www.imdb.com/name/nm7712523/
*Suzannah Lipscomb* great doc on witches - there's so many more I could gush about but I think I'm taking up too much room here :)
I honestly thought a video about a bed would help me fall asleep but it had the opposite effect. This video was absolutely amazing and so fascinating that I am wide awake wanting to know more. The bed is an absolute work of art and the history behind is just wow. Thank you for sharing Henry VII and his beloved wife Elizabeth of York’s bed with us.
Awesome! Thank you!
Love the referral to the 'flame scorch' to ward off the fire sprites which was found on one of the four matching bed posts. Proof of a very different world view we no longer know anything of.
Helen Bennett Oh, I found that fascinating as well. Now we’re much more concerned with what type of mattress we have and the thread count on the sheets!
Omg...I am obsessed with history...historic items like this should be in museums or restored castles of the period...this is glorious!!!
Who knew watching a documentary of a bed could be so interesting
Why am I watching a doc about a Tudor bed? Oh. It’s 2 AM, isn’t it?
As good a time as any!
What's my excuse it 930am here in New Zealand lol
It's 2am now and I am watching this...something about that time frame...
Hahahaha 😂 my thoughts exactly as it is 2 am while I watch this!
This is my situation, too.
Wonderful. I would love to see a photoshopped picture of this bed painted. Or an approximation of what it would have looked like. I can’t picture it with color!
Jonathan himself has painted a beautiful representation of what the bed would have looked like... it might be on his Twitter page if you take a look :)
Me too.
Yes that would have been even more interesting!
I kept waiting to see a representation of it colored. too.
Thats what I was hoping for as well.
It’s bedtime and I clicked this video to help me fall asleep quickly. But end up wide awake as it became interesting. Never been so fascinated with a bed before. What a piece of history.
Thank you - glad you enjoyed watching it :)
4 in the morning, need to be up for work in 2 and a half hours, yet here I am... delving into the world of centuries old beds
I would love to see an artistic rendering of how it might have been painted. So interesting.
Around 32:51 when he is talking about the curtains for the bed, you can kind of see what it might've been painted like. It is an artist's rendition but it is from a perspective from a far corner of a room, however it is still lovely.
I love listening to his erudition and I am also impressed when someone can admit so publically that they were wrong.
Theodisc ßwswßw
Well said!! My thoughts exactly ❤
"Specialist and Connoisseur of Historic Beds" is an incredible title.
Oh my, it's one thing to see an object in a museum and be told it belonged to so and so, but to be taken through the steps to identify who owned this bed, wow, absolutely fascinating.
Omg -- this is the most fascinating & scholarly presentation of the most extraordinary piece of furniture I've ever seen. SO well done -- thank you!!!
Thank you for your kind comments and glad to hear you enjoyed the film so much.
inhousefilms I emphatically second all that EC Whittemore has written. I’m a history tragic and this doco stands out for it’s amazing variety of fascinating techniques, scientific and historical, and it’s wonderfully straightforward, unpatronising presentation. I loved that it eschewed the current fashion for portentous music and lengthy teasing announcements of what the presenter is going to show us. Thank you so much. I look forward to seeing your future documentaries.
Being stoned, I thought this would be 9 minutes. I just finished the video confused, but oddly satisfied.
I bet that was great.
Hey I tried to watch the Royal wedding on videotape in 1985 of Diana and Charles and I swore being stoned that the thing was running backwards although all indications said it was on play. It seemed that wedding was hours and hours and hours.
Brilliant. This documentary works like my brain used to, picking up clues from all around and then bringing them to an "obvious" conclusion. Very satisfying.
Now that’s a detective story!
Indeed. And one that spans many centuries!
That’s what I call dogged determination!
It’s wonderful to see the important and respect given to marriage by the artisans who made that beautiful bed. Love from Australia 🇦🇺
Margy Rowland thought I was the only one here. Fascinating isn’t it. Love the Tudors🧐🇦🇺
Yes, there is that angle. There is also the uncomfortable fact of dynastic marriages "for the good of the realm" , and the fact that Elizabeth of York had to go to her marriage bed, adorned with hopes of her fertility, with a man she barely knew, who was nine years older than her. Fortunately it appears that mutual love and respect did develop. But it was never guaranteed.
Absolutely fascinating. The discussion and explanation of the iconography married with the history is superb.
Well done! I could have listened to many more hours of this.
Hi, thanks for watching and glad to hear you enjoyed the film.
That is how to make and present a documentary
It is exemplary.
I am spellbound ! I am really interested in Tudor era and I just happen to see this video after my search on Elizabeth of York. What brilliant scientists and how interesting details !
I am so blown away by the artifacts that still exists. My heart will always belong to the UK.❤️🙏
Remarkable forensics by truly gifted folk! Simply stunning. Thank you for contributing your expertise to recreate royal life and symbolism of a dynasty!
Extremely well presented. I wish he had explained the original mistake for the determination of "American white oak." Ordinarily, species of wood in early furniture are differentiated through cell anatomy analysis. This is common in furniture research and I utilize it frequently. Although red oak (essentially American) is distinguishable by cell analysis from white oak, the white oaks of Europe and America are not distinguishable. It would seem that the proclamation of its being "American" was based in the dendrochronology that saw an American climatic pattern reflected. Obviously not American but I would like to know what caused the mistake. My concern does not take away from the integrated and complex analysis presented here. Brilliant and exemplary work. Kudos.
Many thanks for watching and your comments.
The note pinned to the sample was written in German.
I am 3rd year anthropology major and a huge real history and time travel si-fi nerd. I accidentally I stumbled upon this video and I actually almost cried by how incredible this bed is.
Thank you for uploading this documentary
I watched a late night BBC discussion once between two specialists on ancient concrete and one expert on ancient dust. It was actually really interesting. These niche programmes are definitely a good thing
How marvellous I am living in a time when one has access to this kind of knowledge,hooray!
That was amazing and exciting and so interesting - and somehow during these disturbing times of COVID, Brexit, troubles in America, in Hong Kong - this film, this talk was so calming and reassuring. More please Dr Foyle...
Would I have ever believed there would be three or four genuinely jaw-dropping moments in a documentary about a BED ?!?! Heck, no !
Truly gripping. I was fascinated throughout. Great production value too.
Very interesting....Henry & Lizzie are my favorite couple and love hearing anything about them, beautiful couple and beautiful bed, thanks for posting:-)
I think Elizabeth of York was beautiful. She had beautiful parents too. Henry was ugly as sin as far as I can see.
Thank you, Dr. Foyle. It's obvious that you enjoyed your investigation, and that, in turn, made the presentation to us more personal - not just some mechanical voice droning on ...
Watching this on Jan 18. Which is mentioned as Henry and Elizabeth's wedding day...
Oh...wow~🤭👍🐈
I cannot understand YT's ad policy. Do you honestly think that anyone watching this superb film is going to take the slightest notice of the shit you force us to skip every few minutes?
We've adjusted the default ad settings. Thanks for watching.
Quite incredible that such an important royal object has survived to this day. I think this documentary well illustrates how important all of the research is in substantiating the bed’s true identity. It might seem like a dry subject but Jonathan Foyle has the knack of making this sort of stuff very interesting. I wonder what it would sell for at auction.
I could listen to this guy for ever. Very interesting.
Very captivatingly fascinating!! I learned a lot about dating woodwork, the medieval mindset/symbolism, as well as historical events. Love more educational videos such as this!
Thank you… glad you enjoyed it :)
This is one of the best videos on TH-cam. Seriously.
This was much more interesting than I expected and more than I hoped. Fascinated with the Tudors and those who keep track of them. Pax et lux.
Great detective work , it’s wonderful that we have the technology now to identify the age and background of the bed . It must have been much harder for George Shaw to figure out the history in his day .
Wonderful ,I really enjoyed watching this piece
Johnathan Foyle and Appropriate music, at just the right time....glorious
Omg I am a history buff and this documentary is amazing. It’s well done 👍 it is so interesting. Never thought I would say that about a documentary on a bed
If the basilisk be a rocking' don't come knocking.
bet ole Henry's dong looked like a cockatrice with an apple in its mouth LOL
I found this fascinating. It does make me even more angry with the destruction of the English Civil War era. I am sitting on a 20th Century American Four Poster Bed from Ethan Allen’s Royal Charter Collection from the 1970s. It has Linen Fold and Rope Twist elements. I love carved English Oak furniture and this modern likeness was as close as I could come. Such a wonder that the bed in this video survived for us to enjoy seeing!
I agree with your comment 100%!!! The civil war especially Cromwell and Henry VIII suppression destroyed so many historical artifacts such Royal garments, furniture, crowns, jewels, historical texts and manuscripts, the list is endless. Is beyond reprehensible. Beyond psyical artifacts, the number of humans whom died at the hands of these two is also a beyond belief.
This presentation is fascinating!
Fascinating story! It would be amazing if this bed was someday on display to the public! I’d love to see what it looked like with the original paint !
Amazing Artifact. Very much enjoyed this video. What a find. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching 😊
@@inhousefilms_ My pleasure.
We were so impressed with the story and the manner and knowledge of the presenter. Many thanks
......and this is why I was a history major, love this stuff!!
This is the best historical presentation I've seen on YT. Thank you. I learned so much.
What an Amazing find and sharp eyed detective work. Thank you for sharing this historic piece of Royal English History.
Loved it 😍 what a excellent history lesson in so many ways. The fact that this “bed” is still around today is amazing. Like so many of you what has said “40 mins about a BED” I also thought the EXACT SAME THING!!! so it was purely curiosity that got me watching it 😀 glad I did. Fabulous 🛌 👍
Amazing piece of yesteryear's furniture, now they would restore it! Congrats and how fascinating is that. The fact that it was made by strong woods make it lasts, although partially there is no doubt that this relic is phenomenal ⭐⭐⭐ Those artisans were amazing, adore the details
Perfectly presented. Factual, nothing gimmicky, direct... sigh...
Jesus wept. Watching a video about….a bed. And enjoying it. Next I’ll be binging antique roadshow.
Incredible! An expert in antique beds. Great informative video. Thank you!
Fascinating!! I love it when stuff from the late 1400's is found. Loved this video
I’m joining the list of history nerds here - what a wonderful video!!! Oh and I think I have a crush on Ian.
What an incredible piece of detective work. I am amazed at the detail in the carvings, the panels must have taken months to carve. Do we have any idea what sort of mattress suspension system would have been used? Would it have been ropes, or perhaps wooden slats? I was also fascinated by the size of the gap below the carved headboard. Would there have been more paneling in the gap, (now lost), or did Henry sleep on a very thick mattress? Thanks for a great video.
Thank you for watching Sue. We’ll forward your questions to Ian and Jonathan and report back. Thanks
I think it would have been rope suspension with several mattresses filling the gap.
M Scott
But that gap ends at elbow height. That is a lot of mattress.
Brits are the best in almost all in-depth and comprehensive documentary presentations.
Amazing ....what a story and very well told.
Many thanks... glad you enjoyed it :)
Completely wonderful. A fascinating and satisfying presentation of an artistic masterpiece with staggering historic importance.
I do wish they had showed us a computer simulation (or more simply, a drawing) of what the bed might have looked like when originally painted. It's tough to imagine anyone painting it, when the carving is so arresting.
twitter.com/IANCOULSON2/status/1346593483533021195?s=19
@@iancoulson5637 Thank you, IAN! That's tremendous!
This is incredible! It is amazing thinking about Henry VII having this made for Queen Elizabeth. I would also want to know if she first had to produce an male heir. Which she did by giving birth to Prince Arthur eight months after their marriage. History says Henry VII wanted to ensure Elizabeth was fertile before he would marry her. Unfortunately, very difficult topic to think about in modern age since there are so many out of wedlock children. Regardless, this is a priceless artifact!!!
Fascinating documentary about the bed of Henry V11 , I have always loved trees and the craft of carving . When I touch my collection of old furniture it really inspires me and triggers so many wonderful memories of my grandpa who made a dolls house and a rocking cradle from one huge piece of oak which he had ( don't know the word ) ' laid down for several years . Sadly my brother's used and abused my beloved hand carved toys , I am almost 70yrs old and I still tell them off about their naughty wrecking and other wickedness . Thank you for the knowledge you have shared , I had to sell my antique carved French bed because it was too small for my husband. ..but I still have my beautiful carved oak chest and I'm wondering who could give me information about it ..Bonhams , Sothebys perhaps . Any suggestions please ?
Have you tried sending photographs to the V&A or perhaps your nearest museum that has a furniture collection or maybe the National Trust might be able to help you.
Watching this video on a Saturday night is as wild as you get in our 30s
Making it was as wild as I got in my 40s.
Amazing stuff. I loved this. Thank you xx
You know, the original sin was NOT sex, but disobedience of God?? Think about it, God told them NOT to eat of the tree of knowledge, and that is exactly what they did, ergo, disobedience is the original sin.
Right, and the other sins are just the consequence.
Karen knicely that is such a load of bull!
- sin is a man made concept, so it stands the reason it would be a man made action that would be called a sin.
Not on the topic of the history of this bed, but since you raise this: I find it astounding that an all-powerful, all-seeing and all-knowing creator did not foresee what Adam and Eve would do - unless an omnipresent God set it up to fail from the start. And then to punish them (and by extension all of humanity). Which is perverse and cruel, that's love, is it? Not to me. Now back to the show ...
@@peternakitch4167 How can our human mind begin understand those things. It's too much for my puny little mind to fathom when I look around at the marvel of mankind, the earth, universe. Wow. Could it be possible that the free will He gave us have anything to do with it? He didn't want robots, I kinda get that. So, do we love Him conditionally? Only IF we understand, only when things are going good. And most of the time, they're not so great! That makes me rely more and more on Him, and He always shows up, it cannot be a constant coincidence. We do find what we're looking for, it's a fact.
I think His plan is bigger than what we see and that someday, all will be known, in His time, on His terms. If not, well, OK. I see His love in so much around us; just the fact we get to live in this time in history, in this great country, shows me how much we are loved.
He says "My ways are higher than your ways" that's a bit of a FYI statement if ever I heard one.
Yep, He knew...
Thank you for such a great video. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
OMG! It is 2 AM! But then, just when I think I've kicked my obsession for all things Tudor, they pull me back in!
Incredible presentation !
so well executed and enjoyable to watch from a very well educated and magnificent gentleman !
Really fascinating!!!
A Fantastical Story of a true Survivor~!
Loved this so much. Thank you for all the work this required,
You're very welcome... glad you enjoyed it :)
Love anything to do with the tudors, so fascinating.
Thankful for the upload!
Most welcome :)
Just imagine if that bed would speak
Oh, what a fascinating tale wonderfully told by the eloquent and handsome Jonathan. One wonders that if in five hundred years Jonathans' equal will be posting a thirty-nine-minute long video about a piece of Ikea tat.
This is superb - you should be on TV! Absolutely fascinating.
We'd love to make a feature length documentary for TV.
Love history especially tudor would love to go back for a day to see it for myself thank you for this upload
A scholarly piece of detection work and brilliantly related! Thanks for posting 👏👏👏👏
Jonathan is an expert detective and along with Ian's knowledge they have unravelled a great mystery :)
I have watched this more than once.
Very well presented. Amazing history.
Absolutely fascinating really enjoyed this.Thank you.
Truly an enjoyable no nonsense documentary with pertinent investigating!
Glad you like the format, Jonathan was very easy to work with, thanks for watching!
This was amazing! Being a classical musician I love layers of meaning.
His Majesty, my Grandfather and Grandmothers bed, 13 x removed - Thank you so very interesting and enlightening
Thanks for watching... glad you enjoyed it :)
If "everything [furniture] from the Tudor period was lost in the [English 1642-1649] Civil War," likely some items, as this bed, were preserved by captors who did not destroy them. It may have come down into Victorian possession, and so likely at a later Victorian estate sale in bulk, become confused as Victorian.
A point worth keeping in mind - the Victorians were not above 'manufacturing' furniture from pieces of damaged items.
A favourite 'trick' was to carve designs into otherwise plain chests etc. The initial suspicion was very understandable.
@@gordonsmith8899 The damm Victorians messed with everything. "Oh look, an untouched medieval chapel. Let's fix it up and make it look more medieval"
@@kevinking7991
Can't deny that Kevin, however many medieval buildings were in a pretty poor state by the 19th century.
Every current historic 'treasure' has been through a period when it was just another old building - this is particularly true of seventeenth and eighteenth century town houses that went down the social scale and in many cases became slums when our town populations mushroomed in the nineteenth century.
Had the Victorians not fallen in love with the Middle Ages it's highly likely we would have even fewer ancient buildings today.
Fortunately (hopefully) the days when the owners of ancient buildings were allowed to monkey around with them are over and current conservation, conversions and/or adaptations are strictly controlled.
Beautiful. Thank you❤️
At the late 18th century there was a great Welsh culture revival, brought largely by Iolo Morganwg (b.1747 - d.1826), he was quite a character during his hay-day, who was responsible for re-creating the national Eisteddfod, many rich landowners contributed greatly to this event annually..
Through the Eisteddfod, Welsh history was even more important than ever, so you can imagine how many people jumped on the bandwaggon, to show off that they had royal blood flowing through them, one good example is Gwrych Castle, at the beginning of the 19th century, Lloyd Hesketh created a ridiculously large castle to show off Welsh royal lineage.
This castle contained precious goods, a vast library full of European antiquity, the walls were covered in paintings by all the greatest artist at the time, so it's not that far-fetched to believe that Tudor furniture ended up in a similar building in Wales (especially that Henry originated from Penmynydd)
The fact that it emerged on the Welsh border would be no coincidence..
This is so well presented
Enjoyed this very much. Love to read or see videos about Henry Vii and Viii.
amazingly beautiful such a good documentary
Outstanding work!
The best provenance search ever. What a terrific video !!!!! 🌐🌿🌐
So beautiful thank you for sharing.
Brilliant and informative video. What a beautiful bed.
It is stunning... to see it in real life is quite something.
Never knew that I could be this drawn in to the provenance of a bed. Even if it was for these two people
Glad to hear you were captivated by the bed's story :)
I've watch this video twice now; love it, utterly fascinating. Now, would some technical genius please meet with this gentleman in order to do a video simulation of what the bed could have look like at the time? Yes, I saw the picture with the outer post included in this video, but I would LOVE to see this bed in full color, dressed the way it would have been deck out back then PLEASE?!
So fascinating! I love the story of this bed!