On 11 Pope Clement VII declared that Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn was null, as was the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and threatened the King with excommunication if he did not abandon the pregnant Anne and return to Catherine.
Also on this day in history…
- 1536 – Death of Desiderius Erasmus, the famous Humanist scholar, from dysentery at Basel during the night of the 11th/12th July. He was buried in the cathedral at Basel on 18th July. His works included Novum Instrumentum omne (a Latin translation of the epistles and gospel), The Praise of Folly, De Copia, Adagia and The Education of a Christian Prince.
- 1564 – The plague hit Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. The epidemic lasted six months and killed over 200 people, around a fifth of the population. William Shakespeare was born in April of that year, and his family were fortunate in escaping the plague.
