First of all, please don't judge me. My fiancée and I are addicted to The Tudors on Netflix. I know it's historical accuracy is questionable, but my degree is in history and hers in chemistry, so I enjoy seeing her so interested in my favorite subject. During that time period, how fast could communication travel? If Henry VIII sent a message to Rome or Paris, what was the turnaround like to hear word back? Are there commonly agreed upon benchmarks, like time from London to Paris or to cross the English Channel?
This map from Volume I of Braudel's Civilization and Capitalism shows how much time it took for letters to reach Venice. Each line further from Venice indicates one more week. So, for example, letter from Rome or Milan reached Venice in one week, from Paris - in less than two weeks, and so on.
Not the same time period, but Stanford built a website for travel times in the Roman empire if you're interested in playing around: http://orbis.stanford.edu/
Might come in handy if you watch Rome next.
