Read of the Week

This week I gladly dove into Blood and Roses by Helen Castor, the second of her books I have loved. First of all let me say that Helen Castor truly is a master historian, bringing facts and people of the time to the forefront and presenting their stories in an incredible way. In her writing the most ordinary of days in Pre-Tudor England seem fascinating. Blood and Roses presents the life of the Paston family who lived during the tenuous, often violent period of the War of Roses. The time was highlighted by the largest mass slaughter of English nobility in history. This killing was at the hands of brothers, cousins and often former friends as the country divided over the question of who had a legitimate claim to the throne of England. Unlike many authors specializing in this time period, Castor focuses on the contributions of women. She follow Margaret Pastor as she outfits her family's tenants with armor and weaponry and oversees their brief training before marching out to take on a rival landowner who plans to lay siege to Margaret's family home at Gresham in the absence of her father-in law, husband and brothers. Outside of the every day lives of women during this time, Castor pays homage to the men who died defending the York or Lancaster claimants citing one battle where the snow was dyed red from the blood of thousands of dead on both sides. The author uses more primary source material than the reader can comprehend, relying on first-hand accounts of battles, property records, letters and other material to build a foundation for a not only incredibly well-written book, but one that is the pinnacle of historical integrity. This book is one I would happily recommend to you all.

Anne's Royal Rooms at the Tower

The following video shows the "royal apartments" where Anne would have stayed prior to her coronation and explores the quarters where she probably stayed in the days before her execution. Enjoy!

Reader Questions

"Though God cannot alter the past, Historians can"  -Samuel Butler

First of all I want to thank you all for the incredible questions I received from you this week via our new Contact Form. After reading your questions I was reminded of the Samuel Butler quote above. Most of the questions sent were about confusion and mistruths regarding the historical period, I hope I can answer them all sufficiently here:

Q: I [the sender] read that Jane Seymour was called the Protestant Queen, why? I was under the impression she was Catholic.

A: During the Edwardian period Jane Seymour was called the Protestant Queen because she was the mother of the King, who was pushing reform, and much movement towards Evangelism was made during the time she was Queen Consort. However, to assume that she herself was Protestant is wrong. She often met with the imperial ambassador and pushed Henry to renew his friendship with the Emperor. She also tried dutifully to preserve many of the religious houses that were being suppressed. There were also rumors abroad that she "favoured the old faith" We may never know the exact details of Jane's religious life but it is safe to say that she leaned towards traditional Catholicism.

Q: What happened to Mary Seymour, daughter of Queen Catherine Parr and Thomas Seymour?

A: Sadly, we do not know. Following the deaths of Kateryn and Thomas, she was left in the safe keeping of Katherine, duchess of Suffolk who found the monetary burden of caring for her an inconvenience. We know that she lived as of January 21, 1550 when Parliament removed that act of attainder from her name allowing her to inherit any surviving wealth of her parents but after that there is no record of the child. It is commonly believed that she died of some unknown childhood disease, although that lack of notation regarding the death of the "Queen's daughter" is interesting as noble, and most certainly quasi-royal, deaths were always recorded.

Q: Did the Pope really try to have Anne Boleyn murdered?

A: Interesting question, as far as we know, no. That does not mean there might not have been a secret plot though as the Papacy wielded great power and influence during this period. I believe what you are referencing are the scenes in The Tudors where William Brereton is commissioned directly by the Holy Father to assassinate Anne, this is a creative liberty taken by the screenwriters. William Brereton was never part of the clergy, in fact he was accused and convicted of having a sexual relationship with Anne and was beheaded with the other men (For more information see my post on Anne's Lovers here)

Read of the Week

Over the past couple of weeks I have been trudging through several Tudor books and recently finished Mistress Anne: The Exceptional Life of Anne Boleyn by Carolly Erickson. This is an older book written about Anne's life. It opens with her journey accompanying Mary Tudor on her voyage to become Queen of France. The book completely omits Anne's early life and implies that this is her first time abroad which is completely inaccurate. There are more inaccuracies that made this book almost unbearable for me to read. Ms. Erickson relies heavily on rumor in her writing, something a seasoned Anne historian will find frustrating. She asserts the rumors of Anne having a sixth finger and a large, disfiguring mole on her neck. We know from the Victorian excavation of St. Peter Ad Vincula that none of the women buried there had an extra finger. In fact, these myths were not perpetuated until the reign of Elizabeth I in an effort to undermine her claim to the throne by slandering her mother and accusing her of witchcraft. Erickson also takes extreme liberties in describing how Anne would have  felt and what she thought during certain events. As no autobiographical information exists to confirm her statements, I find them not only unnecessary but also misleading to the reader.This is not a book I would recommend for serious Anne enthusiasts as the inaccuracies overshadow any positive contributions Erickson might have made to the study and scholarship of Anne Boleyn.

This Day in Tudor History

On this day in history in 1486 Henry VII, father to Henry VIII wed Elizabeth of York. The marriage was one of convenience; Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. She was tremendously popular amongst the Yorkist supporters who might try to undermine the rule of Henry by reigniting the dynastic War of Roses. By uniting the former Yorkist princess and the Tudor King who was the leading male heir to the Lancastrian line it ensured a tenuous peace as their children would be the heirs of both houses. The union would produce Arthur, Prince of Wales and first husband of Catherine of Aragon, Margaret, Queen of Scots, Henry VIII, Elizabeth Tudor (died in infancy), Mary, Queen of France, Edmund Duke of Somerset (died at 15months), Edward Tudor (debated) and Katherine Tudor. Elizabeth died in 1503 as a result of post-partum complications as did her baby daughter Katherine. Henry would rule for six more years before taking ill and dying in the spring of 1509.