UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

Please be patient for new content as this blog is converted to a new style, host and topic!

Best,

Tanya

“Well behaved women seldom make history.”

Horrible Histories....are actually awesome?

Horrible Histories are satirical looks at serious historical events. It is an attempt to help modern people connect with history through humor. The episode embedded is on Anne's execution. What do you think? Is the approach effective for engaging an audience?

E-Book Recommendation!

For all of you Tudor history lovers out there, you have undoubtedly wondered about the clothing worn by our favorite historical characters, especially Anne who was famous for her beautiful clothes. Now all of your questions can be answered; Amazon is offering the e-book Inside The Wardrobe of Anne Boleyn! It is a steal at only $2.99! Check it out here. I can't wait to read what you all think about it!

The Death of Catherine of Aragon

On January 7, 1536 Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII and mother to Mary I, died at Kimbolton Castle. Catherine was the Queen of England from 1509-1533, when she was deposed by Anne Boleyn. Prior to her marriage to Henry, Catherine was styled Princes off Wales, as she was the wife of Prince Arthur, heir to the throne. 

Catherine was the daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, she was betrothed at age three to Arthur. In 1501 she was sent to England to marry the heir, he died less than six months later. Henry was elevated to the position of heir and Catherine's parents quickly began negotiations to have Catherine married to him. The two married in 1509 and remained together for many years, despite having no surviving sons. In 1516 Mary, their sole living child and heir, was born. 

In the 1520s Henry's interest in his once beautiful wife declined drastically and he began taking mistresses. In June 1519, Henry's acknowledged bastard son, Henry Fitzroy, was born. He carried on a known liaison with Mary Carey, sister to Anne Boleyn, as well. By 1527 Henry was actively seeking an annulment of his marriage on religious grounds with Wolsey and his other advisers pleaing with the Vatican for an intervention.

When the Pope, intimidated by Catherine's vast, powerful family, declined to give him an annulment despite years of negotiations Henry set into motion a break from Papal authority that would have enormous religious implications. Henry declared himself head of the Church in England and with the help of Thomas Cromwell, granted himself a divorce. The actions broke Catherine's heart and she spent the remainder of her life continuing to insist that she was Henry's true wife. She endured a great amount of suffering including being kept from her daughter and being stripped of her many titles. She was banished from court and lived out her life at Kimbolton. Her situation garnered a lot of sympathy from her supporters around the kingdom. Even her enemies admired her; Thomas Cromwell himself said "If not for her sex, she could have defied all the heroes of history. She was a scholar, a friend and patron of famous humanists. She was loved by her people for her programs to help eradicate poverty and educate women. Catherine died alone. claiming her right to the queenship until the very end. It was a sad end to her great life.

Was 11/14 Henry and Anne's Wedding Day?

There is much speculation regarding the date of Henry and Anne's wedding; some historians argue that it is November 14, 2014 which is St. Erkenwald's Day and ironically, the day that Arthur, prince of Wales and Catherine of Aragon were married. Read about this possibility here!

Read of the Week

I have been doing quite a bit of reading since the last time I shared my thoughts with you. I'll start with one of the best books I have read lately: The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens who Made England by Dan Jones is a great addition to any British historian's library. I have been trying to expand my general knowledge about high medieval England and this book gave great insights into the rise of the Plantagenet family including the root of their name, family trees and vignettes that gave you very detailed looks into the life of these spectacular rulers. It is a great survey book of the Plantagenet reign. That being said, it would have been nice if the author had included some social history. After all, he claims, the Plantagenets 'made England' but failed to show how their actions affected every day common English people. As far as gender emphasis is concerned, Jones was careful to weigh in on how women impacted the rise of the English nation state including Eleanor of Aquitaine and Matilda, some of the most fascinating, powerful females in English history.


The book covered nearly 400 years of history and so was understandably sparse in some areas, but I had a bit of a problem with the author ending his narrative with the deposition of Richard II when in fact that Plantagenet line continued until the brutal death of Richard III as Bosworth and the rise of the Tudors.


In addition to being incredibly informational, the book was very well written. It engaged the reader the entire length of the narrative and was well cited. The books mixes hard facts with engaging stories and makes for a fun, rather quick read. I suggest grabbing this affordable volume from your local book store today!

Le Temps Viendra

Confession: My life is crazy and my blog has not remained a priority...


I have been largely absent from blogging for a few months. In that time I: completed my first year of my M.A. in history, chose my thesis topic and committee and scheduled a trip to England to relax and research. I am planning for this blog to expand to include my personal stories of research struggles and keep you all up to date on my degree progress. Thank you for continuing to support Confessions as my life gets busy and my blogging time decreases.

The Trial of Anne Boleyn

Today marks the 478th anniversary of the trial of Anne Boleyn. I have written quite extensively about today's nuanced, obviously pre-decided outcome and Anne's spectacular defense of herself. Read all about it here!

On This Day in Tudor History

On this day in Tudor History 1536 Cromwell continued his propaganda campaign against Anne Boleyn when he wrote to Bishop Stephen Gardiner saying:
"The Queen's incontinent living was so rank and common that the ladies of her privy chamber could not conceal it. It came to the ears of some of the Council, who told his majesty, although with great fear, as the case enforced. Certain persons of the privy chamber and other of her side were examined, and the matter appeared so evident that, besides that crime, "there brake out a certain conspiracy of the King's death, which extended so far that all we that had the examination of it quaked as the danger his Grace was in, and on our knees gave him laid and praise that he had preserved him so long from it" Certain men were committed to the tower, viz., Marks and Norris and the Queen's brother; then she herself was apprehended and committed to the same place; after her Sir Fras. Weston and Wm. Brereton. Norris, Weston, Brereton, and Marks are already condemned to death, having been arraigned at Westminster on Friday last. The Queen and her brother are to be arraigned tomorrow, and will undoubtedly go the same way...

I write no particularities, the things be so abominable that I think the like was never heard...."

Cromwell had already crafted opinion against Anne in England and his aim in writing to Gardiner was to spread these vile tales to France where the Bishop was serving as an ambassador. Notice how he essentially assures Gardiner that Anne and George will be condemned to death; not exactly a fair trial by peers eh? Stay tuned this week as we continue to count down the events leading up to Anne's execution.


**You can also read about the lives of Anne's accused lovers here!

John Skip's Passion Sunday Sermon

Happy (very belated, as I forgot to post this) Passion Sunday to all of my fellow Christians! Today marks a very important day in the fall of Anne Boleyn. On Passion Sunday 1536 Anne's personal almoner, John Skip, preached a controversial sermon on the stories of the Old Testament of Esther, Nebuchadnezzar and Solomon. Skip's sermon portrayed Henry VIII as both Ahasuerus who was being led astray by his wicked and scheming advisor Haman, and as Solomon who lost his righteousness by choosing whores over his legitimate wife Naamah.
The Letters and Papers contain a primary source account of the sermon, one that shocked all of those listening:


"A sermon preached by My. Skyppe<sic>, in the King's chapel, upon Passion Sunday, in the year of Our Lord 1536, on the text Quis ex vobis arguet me de peccato [which of you convinceth me of sin?] defending the clergy from the defamers and from the immoderate zeal of men in holding up to public reprobation the faults of any single clergyman as if it were the fault of all. He insisted upon the example of Ahasuerus, who was moved by a wicked minister to destroy the Jews. He urged that a King's councillor ought to take good heed what advice he gave in altering ancient things, and that no people wished to take away the ceremonies of the Church, such as holy water, holy bread etc. That alternations ought not to be made except in cases of necessity....


The preacher insisted on the strict following of God's Word: That Christ chose ignorant followers, to teach men that nobility standeth not in worth but grace; and he cited the example of Solomon to show that he lost his true nobility towards the end of his life by taking new wives and concubines. He insisted on the need of a King being wise in himself, and resisting evil councillors who tempted him to ignoble actions, by the history of Rehoboam; observing that if a stranger visited this realm, and saw those who were called noble, he would conceive that all true nobility was banished from England. He warned them against rebuking the clergy, even if they were sinful, as rebukers were often rebuked, like Nebuchadnezzar, who was God's instrument to punish the Jews, but was damned for his labour. Against evil councilors who suggested alternation in established customer, he instanced the history of Haman and Ahasuerus. He then explained and defended the ancient ceremonies of the Church...."


The sermon, obviously approved by Anne, served to solidify her reformist views and to further break down her tenuous relationship with Thomas Cromwell. It was a thinly veiled threat, that assured all listening that she would prevail and condemned Jane Seymour, whom the King was known to be courting, as a whore. Skip was fined for his actions and was accused of "...preaching seditious doctrines on these words, and slandering the King's highness, his counselors, his lords and nobles, and his whole parliament."


**Excerpts taken from the Letters and Papers of Henry VIII and The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives.

The Death of Elizabeth I

On this day in Tudor history 1603, Elizabeth I, daughter of King Henry VIII and his infamous second wife Anne Boleyn, died at Richmond Palace. Elizabeth was sixty-nine years old and had been suffering from what Tudor expert David Starkey believes was severe depression. Elizabeth lost many of her closest advisers and friends over the course of three or four years and had fallen into a  "...settled and unremovable <sic> melancholy"* Elizabeth's 3rd cousin Robert Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, visited Elizabeth in her last days and wrote of her condition saying:

"When I came to court, I found the Queen ill disposed and she kept her inner lodging; yet she, hearing of my arrival sent for me. I found her in of her withdrawing chambers sitting low upon her cushions. She called me to her, I kissed her hand, and told her it was by chiefest happiness to see her in safety and in health, which I wished might long continue. She took me by the hand, and wrung it hard and said, 'No Robin, I am not well,' and then discoursed with me of her indisposition, and that her heart had been sad and heavy for ten or twelve days and in her discourse, she fetched not so few as forty or fifty great sighs. I was grieved at the first to see her in this plight, for in all my lifetime before I never knew her fetch a sigh..."**

On the 23rd of March Elizabeth counselors gathered round her bedside to determine who she would name as her successor. Elizabeth's decision to never marry and thus produce a Tudor heir to the throne meant that at her death, the direct Tudor line died out. Elizabeth was so ill that she could not speak; her adviser, Robert Cecil, asked if she wanted James VI of Scotland to ascend the throne following her death. Elizabeth gestured with her hands to assert that it was her wish that Mary Queen of Scots' son would become the next king of England. James had the most legitimate claim to the throne (He was the grandson of Margaret Tudor) and had been communicating with both Elizabeth and Cecil in the year before her death. Elizabeth died early the next morning from an unknown cause of death. Historian GJ Meyer believes it would have been one of the following illnesses: pneumonia, streptococcus, organ failure or lead poisoning from her make-up.Elizabeth's body was prepared for burial and laid in state for several weeks. Her funeral would take place on April 28th at Westminster Abbey.

Portrait of the aging Elizabeth I by Marcus Gheeraerts c 1595

 
Sources: Elizabeth I by David Starkey, The Tudors: The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty by GJ Meyer, The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir.

*Weir
**Starkey 

The Boleyns' Irish Connection

In honor of Saint Patrick's Day being this week I wanted to write about Anne and her connections to Ireland. Anne herself was not ethnically Irish and it is unlikely that she ever visited the country but she certainly had familial connections to the island. Anne's grandmother Margaret Butler, wife to Sir William Boleyn, was an Irish noblewoman. Margaret was born in Ireland circa 1460 to Thomas Butler the 7th Earl of Ormond and his wife Anne. Thomas Butler was a friend and supporter of Henry VII and had dual seats in the English and Irish governments. He passed away in 1515 and left his estate to his daughters, Anne and Margaret. Sometime in the interim, Margaret had married William Boleyn, the fabulously wealthy son of Geoffrey Boleyn, Lord Mayor of London. Thomas' death gave the Boleyns a claim to the earldom of Ormond, one of the most powerful and wealthy aristocracies in Ireland (located in the productive region of Leinster) Ownership of this hereditary title had been in dispute for quite some time but matrilineal claims to property were not honored in early modern England. In order to solidify their claim, the Boleyns had attempted to marry Anne to Jamie, the Butler heir apparent, in the early 1520s but those negotiations fell through. Uncertainty about the earldom continued until December 8, 1529 when Henry VIII pressured Piers Butler (a distant cousin to the 7th Earl of Ormond) to renounce his claims to the earldom. Henry then recognized the Boleyn family's claim and styled Thomas Boleyn, Anne's father, Earl of Ormond and Whiltshire. The Boleyns would hold an estate in Ireland for nine years; in 1538 Henry revoked Thomas' title and recognized Piers Butler, an Irish lord and relative of the Boleyns, as the Earl of Ormond and the title once again reverted to the Irish aristocracy.

Further Musings....

The first law for the historian is that he shall never dare utter an untruth. The second is that he shall suppress nothing that is true. Moreover, there shall be no suspicion of partiality in his writing, or of malice.”

-Cicero

Celebrating Women in History!

In 1987, in an effort promoted by the National Women's History Project, Congress declared March Women's History Month. Since that time the US Congress and our Presidents have recognized the importance of women's contributions both as subjects of history and as historians. This month we celebrate the achievements of women in our country and across the world! In recognition of the women who have shaped our world I will be hosting a give-away! On March 31 I will randomly draw a commenter from all of my March posts to receive a copy of The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives! Happy Commenting!

 

Check out the National Women's History Month website to learn more:

http://womenshistorymonth.gov/about.html

Musings of a Historian

"It has been said that the historian is the avenger, and that standing as a judge between the parties and rivalries and causes of bygone generations he can lift up the fallen and beat down the proud, and by his exposures and his verdicts, his satire and his moral indignation can punish unrighteousness, avenge the injured or reward the innocent."

-Herbert Butterfield

 

 

The Meet Cute of Henry and Anne

In the midst a very terrible cold I missed the anniversary of the Chateau Vert production. On March 1, 1522 Anne appeared in a court masque in which she portrayed the feminine virtue Perseverance  and Henry was cast as Ardent (oh the historical irony) It was Anne's first recorded appearance at Henry's court and recorded by the Tudor chronicler Edward Hall, he wrote:

On shrouetewesdaie [Shrove Tuesday] at night, the said Cardinall to the  to the Kyng and ambassadors made another supper and after the supper their came into a great chamber hanged with Arras, and there was a cothe of estate, and many braunches, and on every braunch xxxii torchettes of waxe, and in the nether ende of thesame chamber was a castle, in which was a principall Tower, in which was a Cresset burning: and two other lesse Towers stode on every side, warded and embattailed, and on every tower was a banner.... Hall continues describing the scene and goes on to say "...this castle was kept with ladies of straunge names, the first Beautie, the second Honor, the thirs Perseueraunce, the fourth Kyndne, the fifth Constance, the sixth Bountie, the seueenth Mercie and eigt Pitie: these eight ladies had Millian gounes of white satting, euery Lady had her name embraudered with golde, on their heddes calles....Vnder nethe the basse fortresse of the castle were other eight ladies who names were, Dangier, Disdain, Gelousie, Vykydenes [unkindness] Scorne, Malebouche [sharp tongued] Straungenes, these ladies tired like to women of Inde.

 

Then entered eight Lordes in clothe of golde capes and all, and great mantel clokes of blewe sattin, thse lords were names Amorous, Noblenes, Youth, Attendance, Loyalties, Pleasure, Gentlenes, and Libertie, the kyng was chief of this compainie, this compainie was led by one all in crimosin sattin with burning flames of gold, called Ardent.

 

Hall continues describing a play fight where the men rescue the desirable womanly virtues from their wicked detainers. While there is no evidence that this is when Henry's relationship with Anne began, it is certainly their first interaction. Most historians, myself included, would agree that it was more likely that Henry was pursuing Mary Boleyn at this point and would alter his affections to Anne in 1526/7.** The scene was altered slightly and brought to life on The Tudors in 2005. Check out the video here!

 

 

 

*The Chronicle of Edward Hall www.archive.org/stream/hallschronicle

**The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn, by Eric Ives

Reader Questions

Q: I recently finished reading a book on Henry VII. Did he and Elizabeth of York have a poor marriage?
A: Good question, it was definitely not a love match but a marriage of political expedience. Their marriage attempted to unite the warring houses of York and Lancaster. We do not know a lot about their marriage but they produced children and seemed to live in relative peace. When Elizabeth died on her 37th birthday Henry VII was deeply saddened. I think it is safe to assume that despite their arranged marriage Henry and Elizabeth grew to love each other.

Q: Was Thomas Cromwell related to Oliver Cromwell?
A: Yes, though not directly. Oliver was the great-great grandson of Thomas' sister Katherine. When Katherine married Morgan Williams they took the surname Cromwell because of it's prominence.

Q: Is there any evidence that Elizabeth I was hermaphrodite?
A: Absolutely not, the theory comes from a scientist Robert Bakan in the 1980s when he asserted that Elizabeth had testicular feminization. He used evidence such as her long hands, height and slimness to support his theory. A simple examination of the descriptions of Anne Boleyn gives us evidence that long hands and slimness were probably maternally genetic and Henry VIII was a very tall man at over 6ft tall when most men were only about 5'8 so Elizabeth undoubtedly inherited her height from the Tudors. The defect he believes she had is genetic and passed on from the mother. An examination of the women in Elizabeth's family show no evidence of this mutation. It is, in my opinion, an attempt to undermine Elizabeth's reputation as a strong female leader who was many years ahead of her court and their established gender norms.

Q: Can you recommend a good Mary I biography?
A: Mary I: England's Catholic Queen by John Edwards is good as is The Myth of Bloody Mary by Linda Porter.

Q: What happened to Perkin Warbeck?
A: He was hanged in 1499 after an attempted escape from the Tower with Edward, Earl of Warwick. For more information on Perkin's life and death check out the book The Perkin Warbeck Conspiracy by Ian Arthurson.

The Excommunication of Elizabeth I

On this day in Tudor History 1570, Pope Pius V issued his papal bull, Regnans in Excelsis. The document excommunicated Elizabeth and all those who remained loyal to her. Additionally, the document called for a Catholic uprising to depose Elizabeth in favor of her cousin and devout Catholic, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots.The bull was issued after it became clear that Elizabeth had no intention of marrying into the powerful Catholic Hapsburg family and she began to assert her power as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Despite being an attempt to return England and her Queen to Catholicism, the bull actually had the unintended consequences of increasing the harshness of recusancy laws against those still practicing Catholicism in England. These consequences included the trial, and even execution, of some Catholic priests, the issuance of deep fines against those who refused to attend services in the Church of England and the withholding of public office from Catholics. This backlash created a deeply marginalization of Catholics that would continue into the reign of the Hanoverians.

Read of the Week

I'll confess, I did not read this book this week. Nor even this month...I have whittling away at the mass amount of content in GW Bernard's The King's Reformation: Henry VIII and the Remaking of the English Church for a few months. The book is monumental; it is over 800 pages and has hundreds of footnotes. Unfortunately, besides it's stature its not an impressive book. The author charges straight into Henry VIII's divorce assuming that the reader knows all of the major players and background information leading up to the break from Papal authority. Bernard tears apart other historians and their theories in a way that reeks of historical unprofessionalism. His writing is pretentious and wordy; Bernard assumes that he is the most knowledgeable person on the subject of Henry's reforms. He attempts to dispel the widely accepted historical ideals that Anglican reforms were a product of Henry and his advisors' belief systems, that there were court factions attempting to control religious policy and that Anne Boleyn influenced Henry's ideas about religion. Bernard attempts to do this by exploring primary source documents and reading 'what they actually say' His mistake with this methodology is that he fails to take into account sarcasm, duress, self preservation or any other normal human emotion/reaction. He interprets primary sources at face value without considering contextual evidence such as location, place in the power structure and most importantly the position of Henry's opinion at that particular moment. The King's Reformation is a tough read, but it is admirable that the author attempted such a huge undertaking. I would not recommend this book for anyone who is not deeply familiar with Tudor history and has formulated their own opinions regarding the events of Henry's reformation as the author scarcely tries to hide his objective view points and biases, allowing them to color every page.

On This Day in Tudor History

On this day in Tudor history 1516 the future Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, was born at Greenwich. By this point Henry and Katherine had been married for nearly seven years and he was disappointed at the birth of a daughter after the stillbirths and neonatal deaths of Katherine's elder children including two sons. Despite this disappointment he expressed hope when he said, "We are both young; if it was a daughter this time by the grace of God sons will soon follow..."* Mary would be declared a bastard upon the divorce of her parents and would suffer a great deal under the pressure to conform to the Church of England and accept her father's every changing opinions and doctrines. Mary would ascend the throne upon the death of her brother, Edward VI, and be remember in history as Mary, Bloody Mary.

 

 

*This tract taken from Henry VIII: A King and His Court by Alison Weir