Elizabeth of York was a daughter of Elizabeth Woodville, the first-born English queen consort. While her mother was perceived as a social-climber and was unpopular among her contemporaries, Elizabeth of York was less controversial. She was humble and beloved by people because she endured many tribulations during her life. She was born a royal princess but when her father died she was deemed a bastard. As a teenager she fled to sanctuary with her mother and sisters and when she finally emerged from seclusion in 1484, she found herself being admired by her own uncle, Richard III (or at least this is what the contemporary rumours were saying). She was also the sister of two Princes in the Tower whose fate remains unknown. When Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth, Elizabeth married Henry Tudor and became a mother of the new dynasty.

This book is a fascinating glimpse into the life of Elizabeth of York. Amy Licence combed obscure sources for hitherto unknown insights and has written them into a cohesive history. The daily reality of Elizabeth of York is portrayed very well: everything is described so vividly that I could almost see what Elizabeth saw and heard, tasted, smelt. I learned a great deal of interesting details from this queen’s life. Who knew that she was involved in designing the royal gardens or that she gave money in return for presents of apples and oranges? My favourite part of the book was chapter entitled ‘A Year in the Life, 1502-3′ where Elizabeth’s expenses are outlined and discussed. What a great insight into her life! Plus I really loved the selection of pictures for this book.

Amy Licence is an historian of women’s lives in the medieval and early modern period and it really shows in the way she has dealt with her subject. She was very enthusiastic and sympathetic towards Elizabeth of York and managed to bring Elizabeth back to life, showing us the world the first Tudor queen consort lived in. What I really enjoyed about this book is that it tells you the story of a Elizabeth from a completely different angle: there are so many interesting details from every-day life at court and from the history of women, that it is really hard to put this book down. Amy Licence’s books are like a breath of fresh air, and I am definitely going to read everything and anything from this author. I highly recommended this book for all Tudor enthusiasts.

Thank you for a great read, Amberley Publishing!

“JANE SEYMOUR”

Jane Seymour is an interesting character because she is remembered chiefly as Henry VIII’s most beloved wife who gave him a son. Considering that Henry’s two previous wives were abandoned due to the inability of having a male child, Jane is the one who succeeded where her predecessors (and successors) have failed. Unfortunately, Jane Seymour died shortly after the birth and we don’t know if she would have become more powerful or decisive had she survived.

There is not much known about the short life of Jane Seymour, but David Loades did a great job sketching Jane’s life at court, her relationship with her family and royal husband. I especially enjoyed the section where author discusses Jane’s relations with her predecessor, Anne Boleyn. Because Jane was Anne’s maid-of-honour (just as Anne was Catherine of Aragon’s maid), there was a lot of tension between the two women, especially when it became obvious that Henry VIII fell in love with Jane.

David Loades puts emphasis on Jane Seymour’s origins, family (especially two famous brothers and a son who became Edward VI) and career at court.  It is a good book about a woman who is largely overlooked and often dismissed as dull.

“HENRY VIII”

The book starts with discussing Henry VIII’s family and background, his father’s claim to the throne and victory at the battle of Bosworth, Henry’s education and interesting details about his early life. The young Henry’s character is extensively covered as well so we learn about his love for all kinds of sports, his intellectual pursuits and his passion for the tradition of courtly love. There are several chapters covering the wars during Henry VIII’s reign so if you are looking for a political/military biography this most likely will be your cup of tea. If, from the other hand, you would like to learn more about Henry VIII as a person, you will find interesting chapters as well. Loades details Henry’s relationship with his subsequent wives and discusses their impact on his character and politics.

Anne Boleyn's resting place

Anne Boleyn was executed on 19 May 1536. Although the executioner from Calais was ordered even before she was tried and found guilty, no one took care of a proper burial for Anne Boleyn. After she was decapitated with a French sword, her distressed ladies wrapped the late queen’s head and body into a cloth and buried her in an arrow chest within the walls of St. Peter Ad Vincula chapel.

But why was Anne Boleyn buried in an arrow chest?

During her time as Henry VIII fiancée, Anne Boleyn was showered with magnificent gifts. As Retha M. Warnicke wrote in her book:

“Throughout 1530 Henry continued to purchase gifts for her, often for her amusement, as, for example, a shaft, bows, arrows and a shooting glove in May. Archery was a sport she seems to have especially enjoyed, since additional bows were obtained for her. “(p. 96)

Henry VIII loved hunting and Anne Boleyn shared his passion. But Henry loved hunting also in a symbolic meaning – he loved to chase the ladies of the court. And he chased Anne Boleyn for almost a year before she finally surrendered, and agreed to become his wife. For the whole year the king was “stricken with the dart of love”.

Henry’s love for Anne Boleyn caused him many frustrations.  He was consumed with passion that was fuelled with Anne’s refusal.  He wanted her and no other woman. But she was playing him to her own advantage, or perhaps she hoped that the king will soon forget about her and find a new mistress. In any case, even when Anne withdrew herself from the court life, the king was eager to have her. In one of his letters he wrote:

“(…) and, that you may the oftener remember me, I send you by this bearer, a buck killed late last night by my hand, hoping, when you eat of it, you will think on the hunter (…)”

The symbolic meaning of hunt played a huge part in Henry’s courtship. When Anne’s ardent admirer, love-struck poet Thomas Wyatt had to back off when he realized that his rival was Henry VIII himself, he wrote a poem comparing his beloved Anne Boleyn to a hunted deer.

Henry VIII was a hunter literally and symbolically. Did he want to play one last cruel joke on his once beloved Anne Boleyn? It is really sad that such a remarkable woman ended buried in unmarked grave, inside the arrow chest that once contained bow-staves for Ireland.

Author of the book “The Arrow Chest”, Robert Parry made a great point about Henry VIII and his association with archer-god Apollo. In his novel, Robert Parry relates to Anne Boleyn’s tragic death – but he moves the story from Tudor to Victorian England. The description from Amazon says:

“London, 1876. The painter Amos Roselli is in love with his life-long friend and model, the beautiful Daphne – and she with him – until one day she is discovered by another man, a powerful and wealthy industrialist. What will happen when Daphne realises she has sacrificed her happiness to a loveless marriage? What will happen when the artist realises he has lost his most cherished source of inspiration? And how will they negotiate the ever-increasing frequency of strange and bizarre events that seem to be driving them inexorably towards self-destruction. Here, amid the extravagant Neo-Gothic culture of Victorian England, the iconic poem ‘The Lady of Shalott’ blends with mysterious and ghostly glimpses of Tudor history. Romantic, atmospheric and deeply dark.”

This book seems like a very interesting read and perhaps it offers a further explanation of the meaning of arrow chest. I have not yet had the pleasure of reading it, but I certainly will do it in the near future. If you have read “The Arrow Chest”  please let me know what do you think.

 Sources: 

Retha M. Warnicke, The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn

Peeking Between the Pages: Guest post by Robert Parry

]]> http://www.anne-boleyn.com/eng/why-was-anne-boleyn-buried-in-an-arrow-chest/feed/ 8 http://www.anne-boleyn.com/eng/anne-boleyn-the-glass-of-fashion/ http://www.anne-boleyn.com/eng/anne-boleyn-the-glass-of-fashion/#comments Fri, 02 Mar 2012 18:43:33 +0000 Sylwia http://www.anne-boleyn.com/eng/?p=127 “She was unrivalled in the gracefulness of her attire, and the fertility of her invention in devising new patterns, which were imitated by all the court belles, by whom she was regarded as the glass of fashion” / Nicolas Sander “The Rise and Growth of Anglican Schism”/

Although Nicolas Sander is the author of many myths about Anne Boleyn, he certainly was right when he described Anne Boleyn’s immaculate taste for fashion. Anne Boleyn  had olive skin and ‘black eyes’ – features not so popular in 16^th century England where pale skin, blonde hair and blue eyes were the most desirable traits in a woman.

Nicolas Sander, who was no contemporary witness of Anne’s life at court, wrote that she had many deformations like projecting tooth, six fingers on right hand and a large wen under her chin. But the next sentences are describing Anne as;

“(…) handsome to look at, with a pretty mouth, amusing in her ways, playing well on the lute, and was a good dancer. She was the model and the mirror of those who were at court, for she was always -well dressed, and every day made some change in the fashion of her garments.” (Nicolas Sander “The Rise and Growth of Anglican Schism” p. 25).

Although for centuries historians are echoing the statement of Agnes Strickland that:

“In Anne, the more powerful charms of genius, wit, and fascination triumphed over every defect which prevented her from being considered a perfect beauty, and rendered her the leading star of the English court” (“The Lives of the Queens of England”, p. 578)

I believe that Anne was a beautiful and charismatic young woman but her unconventional beauty did not make her the perfect courtly beauty. However she attracted attention with her intelligence, temper and something that today we call “sex appeal”.

French influence

There is no exaggeration in Sander’s words that ‘every day Anne made change in the fashion of her garments’. Agnes Strickland described Anne’s dress:

“While at the French court her costume was a cap of velvet, trimmed in points, a little gold bell hanging from each point; a vest of the same material with silver stars, a jacket of watered silk with large hanging sleeves that almost concealed her hands, and a skirt to match. Her feet were encased in blue velvet slippers, with a strap across the instep, fastened with a diamond star. Her hair fell in ringlets about her shoulders.” (p. 381)

Josephine Wilkinson in “Anne Boleyn: a young Queen to be” states that such a gown was probably designed for a special occasion, perhaps a pageant but it is also possible that Anne liked to experiment with her fashion.

Anne Boleyn was sent to France in 1515 and there she was observing how the fashion developed. When she returned from France in 1521/1522 she was considered to be more like a Frenchwoman than an Englishwoman. Anne was fond of French fashion and she manifested it almost all the time – she favoured French hoods rather than heavy and unflattering English gable hoods.

Before she became Queen

Before Anne Boleyn became Queen of England, she was Henry VIII’s fiancée and he often showered her with magnificent gifts. Henry’s Privy Purse accounts have survived for the years 1529-32 and they reveal what Henry was buying for Anne. Professor Eric Ives writes that “much of the expenditure went on clothes” (p. 156).

Those are only some of the expenses from king’s Privy Purse:

Holbein's 'Unknown Lady' with inscription 'Anna Bollein Queen'

December 1530 : ‘Itm the same day paid to Adington the skynner for furres & furrying of my Lady Anne’s gownes’

May 1531 : ‘Crymsin clothe of golde for my Lady Anne Rocheford’

June 1532 : ‘twelve yards of black satin for a night gowne for my Lady Anne’

Anne Boleyn and Henry enjoyed hunting and this activity required a special costume and accessories. Henry presented Anne with hunting gloves, dress and her own set of arrows.

In September 1532 Anne Boleyn was made Marquis of Pembroke in her own right. This was a magnificent ceremony and an occasion for Anne to shine:

“There, her hair about her shoulders and her ermine-trimmed crimson velvet hardly visible under the jewels” (Eric Ives, “The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn”, p. 158)

In 1532 Henry VIII purchased a beautiful black satin nightgown for Anne. Back then nightgowns had the role of modern day dressing gown and it was a common practice to receive guests in one’s nightgown. What is very interesting, one of Holbein’s drawings inscribed as “Anna Bollein Queen” shows a sitter in a nightgown, undercap and chemise. Although many historians dismissed the possibility that the sitter is indeed Anne Boleyn, there is still a little room for speculation.

Anne the Queen

Merle Oberon as Anne Boleyn

On her coronation day in June 1533 Anne Boleyn looked very beautiful:

“going under a rich canopy of cloth of gold, dressed in a kirtle of crimson velvet decorated with ermine, and a robe of purple velvet decorated with ermine over that, and a rich coronet with a cap of pearls and stones on her head; and the old duchess of Norfolk carrying her train in a robe of scarlet with a coronet of gold on her cap, and Lord Burgh, the queen’s Chamberlain, supporting the train in the middle.”

Although many documents from Anne’s time as Queen were destroyed, luckily there is an account of Anne Boleyn’s expenditure for clothes in period from January to April 1536. Professor Ives describes:

“This tells of Anne buying gowns in tawny velvet with black lambs’ fur, in velvet without fur, in damask, and in satin furred with miniver; a russet gown in caffa (heavy silk), two in black velvet, one in black damask, one in white satin and a second with crimson sleeves; a gown in purple cloth of gold lined with silver, and new carnation satin from Bruges to insert into the sleeves of a gown of tissue. There were eight nightgowns, two embroidered and another in russet trimmed with miniver; and three cloaks – of black Bruges satin, of embroidered tawny satin and of black cloth lined with black sarcenet – while Arnold the shoemaker had eight lots of black velvet to make shoes and slippers. Thirteen kirtles included white satin and white damask, black velvet embroidered and crimson satin ‘printed’, with matching sleeves.” (p. 252)

In Henry VIII’s inventory there were at least two pairs of sleeves for women (very important part of the gown) identified as belonging to Anne:

‘one of white satin embroidered over with purled gold acorns and honeysuckles tied with ten pairs of aiguilettes of gold’ and the other ‘of cloth of gold embroidered with a great trail of purled gold with honeysuckles tied with ten pairs of aiguilettes of gold’. (p. 253)

Anne’s gowns very often adorned with jewels:

“such as the nineteen diamonds set in trueloves of gold which Hayes supplied in January 1532, along with twenty-one rubies and twenty-one diamonds set in gold roses and hearts. Anne’s liking for French hoods was costly too, at £9 for the jewelled billament.” (p. 253)

Can you imagine Anne Boleyn in such sophisticated dresses?

Anne cared not only for her own fashionable look, but she also supplied her almost three year daughter Elizabeth with elaborate gowns. Professor Ives described how in three months period Anne supplied her daughter with:

“a gown of orange velvet, kirtles of russet velvet, of yellow satin, of white damask and of green satin, embroidered purple satin sleeves, a black muffler, white ribbon, Venice ribbon, a russet damask bedspread, a taffeta cap covered with a caul of gold. Anne, apparently, was especially fussy about her daughter’s caps: one made of purple satin required at least three journeys to Greenwich to get it right.” (p. 253)

Upon her death Elizabeth had a wardrobe of 2.000 gowns and she certainly shared her mother’s taste for fashion. Some sources claim that Elizabeth felt the need to buy herself new dresses because after her mother’s death, Elizabeth had to wear her old clothes – often the ones that she already grown up from.

Arrest, trial and execution: the meaning of Anne Boleyn’s attire

Anne's execution in "The Other Boleyn Girl"

Anne Boleyn certainly knew the rule ‘dress to impress’. Fashion was a part of demonstration of power and wealth. Anne knew that perfectly well. When on 2 May 1536 three men came to tell Anne that she was accused of adultery, she was allowed to return to her chambers for lunch. But the first thing she did after returning to her rooms was to get changed into a new dress. She was probably aware that she will be arrested and she wanted to look every inch a Queen. She chose a splendid gown of crimson velvet with a cloth of gold kirtle. 

On her trial Anne Boleyn wore “a gown of black velvet over a petticoat of scarlet damask and a small cap sporting a black-and-white feather” (Alison Weir, “The Lady in the Tower”, p. 270)

Even on the day of her execution Anne Boleyn looked immaculate in her black damask gown lined with fur, mantle trimmed with ermine and English gable hood. She wore also a crimson kirtle.

Every part of Anne’s gown had its meaning:

-          Although through her life Anne favoured French hoods, on 19^th of May she wore English gable hood; although many described her a “Frenchwoman rather than an Englishwoman” and she was famous for her pro-French views, on the last day of her earthly life she wanted to accent that after all she was wholly English, and the Queen till the end;

-          Ermine fur was reserved for the Royal family: Anne emphasized the fact that she was dying every inch a Queen;

-          Crimson kirtle probably had a meaning as well – crimson was associated with Christian martyrs and thus Anne used it to emphasize her innocence. Years later Mary Queen of Scots will do exactly the same thing by wearing a scarlet bodice and petticoat on the day of her execution.

We can certainly say that Anne Boleyn was ‘the glass of fashion’ and that she made a great impact on the whole English court.