1554

"We write to you as friends, neighbours and Englishmen, concerning Queen Mary’s declared intention to marry a foreigner, and request you to join us to prevent this. We swear to you before God that we seek no harm to the Queen, but merely wish her better advice. Our wealth and health depend on it. A hundred armed Spaniards have already arrived at Dover and travelled through Kent on their way to London. We require you to assemble with as much support as possible, to help us protect liberty and the commonwealth "

- Proclamation published by Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger,
January 25, 1554, thereby launching Wyatt's Rebellion.

"Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same. The fact, indeed, against the Queen's highness was unlawful, and the consenting thereunto by me: but touching the procurement and desire thereof by me or on my behalf, I do wash my hands thereof in innocency, before God, and the face of you, good Christian people, this day."

- Speech by Lady Jane Grey to the gathered crowd,
upon ascending the gallows to be executed for treason,
February 12, 1554.

Much suspected by me
Nothing proved can be
Quoth Elizabeth, prisoner

- Poem scratched into a window pane at Woodstock Palace
with a diamond ring by future queen of England Elizabeth I,
who had been placed under house arrest due to
suspicions she had secretly aided Wyatt's Rebellion.

In the year AD 1554...

• Having witnessed the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition in his youth, English nobelman Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger launches Wyatt's Rebellion in opposition to Catholic Queen of England Mary I's plans to marry Prince Philip of Spain, which he feared would turn England into a mere province of the Spanish-Hapsburg Empire.
• After proclaiming his rebellion on January 25, Wyatt quickly gathers a force of 15,000 men, mostly anti-Catholic Protestants, to march on London, but other co-conspirators are unable to join forces with him before being intercepted and defeated piecemeal by troops loyal to Mary.
• Facing an army of 25,000 loyalists assembled to protect the capital, Wyatt is beaten back to Westminster, where he surrenders, bringing an end to the rebellion.
• Princess Elizabeth is briefly imprisoned in the Tower of London on suspicions of aiding and abetting the rebellion and narrowly escapes execution. She is later released, but suspicions remain so she is kept under indefinite house arrest.
• One of the co-conspirators had been the father of Lady Jane Grey, who had briefly claimed the throne the year before. Although Grey had been largely forgiven by Mary, now that her father had become involved in a rebellion against the crown, she is quickly tried and beheaded for treason, along with her father and husband.
• The last of the numerous Italian Wars continues between France and Spain for control of Italy.
• Duke of Florence Cosimo I de' Medici, with the support of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, launches a grand campaign to conquer Florence's last remaining rival in Tuscany, the Republic of Siena. A Spanish-Florentine victory over the Sienese and their French allies at the Battle of Marciano in August clears the way for the Siege of Siena. The city will surrender to the Spanish the following year, marking a final end of more than 400 years as an independent republic.
• Things are going better for France in the northern theatre, however, as French forces led by Francis, Duke of Guise deal Charles V a defeat at the Battle of Renty, forcing the Emperor to flee the field for his life and thereby securing lasting French control over the Three Bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun.
• Twelve Jesuit priests establish a mission called "Colégio de São Paulo de Piratininga" on top of a steep hill between the Anhangabaú and Tamanduateí rivers in what is now Brazil. This site will eventually grow to become what is now the city of São Paulo.
• The Spanish-language satirical novella The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and of His Fortunes and Adversities is anonymously published simultaneously in three different European cities, and becomes famous as the first picaresque novel.
• The words castrate, drizzle, gibberish, and makeshift appear in the English language for the first time.

These people were born in 1554:

• English poet Sir Philip Sidney.
• King Sebastian of Portugal.
• Pope Gregory XV.
• Future Queen of France Elizabeth of Austria.
• Future paramount chief of the Powhatan Opechancanough.
• French Huguenot French noblewoman, mathematician, philosopher, poet, playwright, translator, and spy Catherine de Parthenay.
• English Anglican theologian Richard Hooker.
• Japanese Buddhist priest and humorist Anrakuan Sakuden, considered the founder of rakugo.
• Kashmiri Muslim poet Habba Khatoon, remembered as the "Nightingale of Kashmir."

These people died in 1554:

• English noblewoman Lady Jane Grey, aged 16, beheaded for treason after having briefly claimed the throne of England the year before.
• Spanish conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, who lead an expedition northward from Mexico as far as Kansas in search of the mythical Seven Cities of Gold.
• English nobleman Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger, executed for treason for leading the eponymous Wyatt's Rebellion.
• Sultan of Gujurat Mahmud Shah III, assassinated by one of his servants.
• Japanese samurai warlord Wakizaka Yasuharu, remembered as one of the "Seven Spears of Shizugatake."
• Chinese Empress Consort Xiaoke.
• German botanist Hieronymus Bock.
• Italian preacher and prophet Brandano.
• Hungarian poet Bálint Balassi.
• Italian-born English painter and architect Anthony Toto.
• Chinese female physician Tan Yunxian.
• Danish man of letters Christiern Pedersen.

1553 - 1554 - 1555

16th century

How they were made

A Light History of a Black Beer

"Enlightened Black Ale…a highly quaffable dark beer" - New Belgium Brewing

Many great things happened in 1554. The city of São Paulo was founded, Lady Jane Grey was executed, pirate-adventurer Walter Raleigh was born, the herbalist Hieronymus Bock died. Well, not all these things were great, but they are important historical facts.

Whilst these matters have some bearing on our modern world (especially if you live in São Paulo), there were even more momentous moves afoot in a monastery somewhere in Belgium during these Dark Ages. There, a group of enlightened monks worked day and night to develop a new style of beer, one that took dark-roasted malts and turned them into a beer worthy of Heaven, but that was dark as the very gates of Hell.

Of course, that’s just a flight of fancy, but what is true is that more recently, a couple of chaps from the New Belgium brewery did some research into early black beers brewed in Belgium, discovered various recipes dating back to 1554 for black ales. Inspired and impelled, they hied back to Colorado to develop this recipe, which by all accounts, was an instant hit. According to NB’s website and BeerNotes they had to decipher many ancient manuscripts, convert from obscure ancient measurements (and in my imagination, evade Indiana Jones-style traps!). What they came up with was a modern brew that emulated the ancient zwartbier, avoiding a style that had anything to do with the later porter style (to which they are not related).

Tasting a Blast from the Past

Finally, to the main event, and what an event it is. Put really simply, this is a yummy beer. In brief, it’s the dark beer lover’s dream – scrumptious, versatile and generally a pleasure to drink.

Christine and I sat in the garden and watched as I poured it from the bottle into a fluted glass and watched it settle. It’s a rich dark chestnut brown, almost black. The head was a fingers-depth and whilst it fell quickly away into the brew, it’s a good colour – pale tan and creamy. I always feel that I should lick the head off a beer, but that's another story.

The nose is wonderful – there’s the chocolatey aroma you’d expect from a beer of this darkness. There's a little espresso and malt, with a very faint hint of banana fruitiness and a whiff of spice, and it really whets the appetite for the palate, which is a roasty-toasty malt-and-cocoa extravaganza, which fills the mouth with flavour.

Now take a good mouthful - it’s quite sweet and warming, there’s a pretty little spiciness to balance the sweetness, and just enough hop to make it interesting, but this is a robust beer that is all about delighting the palate without being overly complex. It’s a great beer to enjoy either by itself or with food. I’ve drunk it with winter stews, strong cheese and also with lighter dishes. Just one thing to note though – for goodness’ sake, let it warm up a little when you take it out of the fridge; it unleashes a full range of flavours when you do, and will delight even more than served well chilled. Think of it as akin to a robust red wine, that you’d serve at close to room temperature.

Getting to the end of the glass, the rich reddish-brown colour looks warm and inviting and that last swallow stays with you for quite a while. The mouthfeel is gorgeous, round and pleasant without being overwhelmingly heavy; in fact the carbonation again balances the robustness quite nicely.

It’s just 5.5% alcohol, which means you can enjoy two or three bottles without falling over. I’m not sure I’d call it a session beer, but it’s dangerously drinkable; all in all, it’s a wonderful brew, one that I could well imagine supping for a long time as a winter beer, but equally refreshing in our early California autumn. It’s hard to say what would improve this blackest of brews, except another one just like it.

Originally posted at http://realbeer.wordpress.com/2009/09/18/1554/
http://www.beernotes.com/northwest/articles/000367.html
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