I thought that I could mention a couple of recent books that are of particular interest when studying John and Robert Dudley. One such, and it is hot off the press, is Steven Gunn’s academic study about the “new men” at the court of Henry VII, titled appropriately Henry VII’s New Men and the Making of Tudor England. I wondered whether it would feature Edmund Dudley, the father of John Dudley and grandfather of Robert Dudley who grew rich under Henry VII and lost everything, his life included, under Henry VIII. And of course, it’s full of interesting glimpses of Edmund. This might give some tantalizing further insights into the world of John Dudley’s infancy, but it will also be useful in trying to build a picture of Robert’s view of his own family. Serving a “Lancastrian” king, Edmund Dudley used glass cups with red roses and portcullises, although he preferred to put the Dudley arms as well as those of his noble wife on his pots, cups, and tapestries. Little John Dudley would have sat on purple velvet cushions and seen his father wear doublets of velvet, including purple velvet. Steven Gunn writes even more about a colleague of Edmund’s, Sir Thomas Lovell. Now, Richard III’s best friend was called Francis Lovell and I’m wondering if they were somehow related …
All Things Robert Dudley 