TudorCon 2023!

For the last several years I have been itching to go to TudorCon. Finally this year (and currently while writing this) I am attending. Thank you to those who agreed to keep this going online as well as in person otherwise I would not have been able to sit through these lectures and demonstrations.

From trivia to lectures I have spent the last two days fully immersed in Tudor history. Considering my masters degree is focused on Tudor History this has been a blessing. Not just from the amount of knowledge they have been sharing with me but the wonderful men and women who I have been able to network with even remotely.

I did sit through a lecture of a women whose focus is on the Art of Letter Writing. While Patricia Paolella did not concentrate on the content or structure it was nice to see the background behind the shapes of letters and the symbols of signatures. I was enthralled by her passion and her complete love with everything she was sharing. Her love for sharing her knowledge with people was so infectious she was igniting a new love with the entire audience in person and online. It did leave me with three main thoughts I never did not believe I would ever have.

1. I want to lead a transcription workshop for this Con. Everyone was talking about learning how to transcribe and how can we read these letters and why do we know what we know when reading. I wanted to jump in and share all the information I have learned through my transcription work over the summer. I wanted to explain countless hours spent transcribing so many letters from men and women over time.

2. I want to introduce this collections of people to the PRINT project. Their excitement looking at letters and written correspondence inspired me to talk about the project to anyone who would listen. Everyone seemed very excited (even if it wasn't Tudor History). Their fear was not know how to transcribe and fear of making a mistake - something I think everyone in this project has felt before.

3. I can do this. I can present my research. I can apply for conferences. I have reached that moment where I may actually be something of an authority on all this research I have been working on for the last year (and my whole life).

TudorCon has been a success from day one and even now while I listen to another MA student present her research and write this blog (I'm really sorry Adrienne Dillard I swear I am listening and you are doing great) I realize just how far I have come from the beginning of this MA Program at University of Central Florida.

For so long I was afraid to share my research and my knowledge. Fear has held me back from speaking in class, working on projects, reaching out to peers, and speaking in public. I have kept so much to myself for fear that my research may not be perfect. (FYI research is never perfect) My goal for the rest of this year is to put myself out there. I will be wrong at times but I will also be right. I will make mistakes but I will also make big connections. I will start believing in myself and my work. I can not promise big things will change outwardly but for the first time. I'm ready to share things I have been working on. It all starts with reaching out which is exactly what I am happy to say I have done for next year.

I have reached out to present next year at TudorCon and I plan on pushing myself to submit papers and attend more conferences. Who knew surrounding yourself with like minded people would be so helpful in gaining the confidence I was so desperately needing.

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Last blog I left a question and I am so glad to have gotten so many messages with people trying to guess my most difficult letter. Most of you were close. It was not a Y but a P. This letter more often than not gives me the most difficulty but now that I have noted it I find I can identify it more quickly.

My new transcription issue has been the difference between R's an C's. I know I talked about it last blog but I have noticed it never gets easier. As i have been moving forward with transcribing letters from new people I can no longer rely on using several letters to see the patterns. Often I get one letter in one hand and the next is someone new. This makes seeing the patterns and similarities impossible. This is were we turn to context.

So that is what we will talk about next blog. Using context to help us push forward and figure out what we are reading when words just get blocked!

Until next time....

Thank you to Carol Ann Lloyd, Adrienne Dillard, Becky Stockton, Janet Wertman and Tracy Borman. You truly brought Tudor History to life and I can not wait to connect again.

A massive should out to Heather Teysko for all she does for this Convention. This whole gathering began with your amazing podcast (Renaissance English History Podcast) and has grown into something so wonderful and engaging!

Here's a link to TudorCon to see the other speakers and for all who want to join me next year!