Who is John Strangewayes?
I am a physician and surgeon. I was born in July 1520 in the prosperous town of Reading in Berkshire. I qualified with an MA from the University of Oxford in 1541 and then moved to Padua, near Venice, to study for my MD, which I gained in 1546. At that time, Padua was the only university in Europe that permitted human dissection, and so I learned far more about anatomy that my fellows who remained in England.
This means I possess certain medical skills that are both rare and forbidden in England. Unfortunately, this means I am called upon from time to time by those with power and money in order to render special services.
By the way, although I live in the mid 16th century, thanks to a wormhole in time, which I do not understand at all, and which may be sacrilegious, I find I have some sort of strange link to the 21st century. If you would like to have a spoken conversation with me and you own something which I think is called an Amazon Alexa device (I hope I’ve got that right), then we can communicate across time. Try it if you like!
About my times
I live in London, England. The king of England is Edward VI, the only son of Henry VIII and born of Jane Seymour. He came to the throne as but a boy in 1547.
The mid 16th century is a time of much unrest. The king’s uncle, the Duke of Somerset, is Lord Protector (in effect, the regent). He has to contend with mighty nobles on Privy Council, each jostling for power.
My expertise
After graduating from Oxford, I practised anatomical dissection as part of my studies for an MD in Padua. Dissection of corpses is banned in English universities due to the influence of the church. At Padua, I was a colleague and friend of the great Andreas Vesalius. Upon my return to England, my skills in this area, although severely frowned upon by the authorities and almost certainly illegal, have established my underground reputation in post-mortem medicine and, I blush to say, have earned me the pseudonym of Master of the Science of Death.
Reynard preaches to the geese
The fox preaching to geese is a common church stained-glass decoration these days, expressing the foolishness of listening to false doctrines. It can either be read as a warning against the religious reformers, who are seeking to keep the Catholic Church out of England, or a warning against corrupt priests of the Catholic Church, who keep themselves in relative luxury while ignoring the common weal.
Privy Council
Privy Council is chaired by Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, who is the uncle of the boy king, Edward VI. He is Lord Protector, the de facto regent. But fellow nobles consider him indecisive and weak, and those hungry for power are snapping at his heels. These include John Dudley, the Earl of Warwick, and Richard Rich, the Lord Chancellor.
Earl of Warwick
John Dudley, Earl of Warwick is powerful man (many say a bully) within the Privy Council of Edward VI, second only to the Duke of Somerset. He is said to think very highly of himself and is ever seeking more power. He has proved himself on the field of battle and in the councils of state. He boasts of his sexual prowess and is a dangerous man to displease.
Richard Rich
Richard Rich, first Baron of Leez, is Lord Chancellor at the time of Edward VI. Widely regarded as a man whose ambition exceeds his abilities, he is nevertheless a very powerful member of Privy Council.