16th century

The  was a time of significant religious strife in Europe. The Catholic Church sought control of the institutions of government so as to control the populations of countries such as France and England. Throughout the century, the fortunes of the average Protestant and Catholic changed, depending upon which religion had the ear of the government of the day. (DW: The Massacre; BFA: The Marian Conspiracy)

It was a century that drew the particular interest to the Doctor. Not only was he keenly interested in what was happening in France during this period, (DW: The Massacre) he was particularly fascinated by reign of the House of Tudor, which was regnant in England throughout the century. He made several trips to the various Tudor courts. He was known to have met with Henry VIII, Lady Jane Grey and Mary I. But he was particularly interested in the last of the Tudor monarchs, Elizabeth I, and returned to her court at several times during her reign, both in this century and the next. At some point before 1599, he even married and had sex with that so-called "virgin queen". (DW: The Shakespeare Code, The End of Time, The Beast Below) He also had several encounters with John Dee, one of Elizabeth's closest advisers. (ST: Mortlake; MA: Managra)

The Doctor also met with some of the century's keenest minds. He befriended Leonardo da Vinci during either the first decade of this century, or the last decade of the previous century. (DW: The Masque of Mandragora, City of Death) And he was also intensely interested in the life and career of William Shakespeare, whom he ran into at several points, both at the end of this century and the beginning of the next. (DW: The Shakespeare Code, BFA: The Kingmaker)

Amongst the most notable 16th century years were: