The new year

I couldn’t find any medieval events of interest for January 1st. But I did find some non-medieval happenings to mention. IN 1431, Rodrigo Borgia, who would later become the controversial “Borgia Pope,” Alexander VI, was born; I suppose that might be considered medieval. He is probably luckier than he deserves, for he has been portrayed in the past few seasons on Showtime by the incomparable Jeremy Irons. And on January 1st, 1511, a son was born to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, but sadly, he lived only a few weeks. This is a good example of one person’s death truly changing history. Imagine if Henry VIII had not been so desperate to sire a son. If this boy had lived, Henry might not have morphed into the Tudor Bluebeard. And two definitely non-medieval birthdays on this date, but both of interest to Americans. Paul Revere was born on January 1st, 1735 and Betsy Ross born seventeen years later, in 1752.
I hope you all are enjoying the first day of 2013. I expect to have a new blog up later today, too.