The Christian Science Monitor

'Black Tudors' reveals a surprising and overlooked chapter of history

The England of the Tudor era captures our imaginations like almost no other time in history. The king with his six wives, the queen with her zero husbands, the beheadings, conspiracies, and romance. And oh, yes, the bearded Bard with his mighty pen.

But there’s something missing: black people. They seem to not exist outside of a stagebound character named Othello.

But look closer – specifically at a spectacular almost-60-foot-long illustrated manuscript. It depicts the 1511 royal jousting tournament

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