Queen Anne Boleyn » Anne Boleyn

Myths surrounding Anne Boleyn : Immoral temptress?

Sylwia — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 19:38:09 +0000

Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn by Arthur Hopkins c. 1860's-1870

When Henry VIII noticed Anne Boleyn in 1526, he didn’t wanted her to become his wife and queen. He simply desired Anne as his mistress. The king offered her a title of Maîtresse-en-titre, this title was very famous in France and meant that woman who had such a title was a chief mistress of a sovereign, and she had her own privileges like her own apartments, servants, etc. Although Henry VIII had many mistresses, he never actually had a maîtresse-en-titre and this title was offered only to Anne Boleyn. But Anne refused. Why would any woman refuse the king of England? Well perhaps Anne thought that if she refuse, then Henry will give up and find a new mistress. But perhaps, which is more likely, Anne learned from her sister’s example ; Mary Boleyn was Henry VIII’s mistress for few years, she gave birth to two children during affair with the king but in the end Henry casted her aside.

Anne’s refusal really made Henry VIII want her even more. What was so special about Anne Boleyn? When she came back from France in 1522, she was considered a Frenchwoman – she was elegant, well-spoken and gracious. Although she was not a typical blue-eyed ‘English Rose’ with pale skin and blonde hair, she caught the attention of male courtiers and soon became very popular. She was a dramatic brunette with olive skin and enchanting black eyes, even French King called her a ‘Venus’ and Venus was synonym of beauty.

So Anne refused to have sexual relationship with Henry VIII until they were married. She was determined to preserve her virginity, but some people didn’t believe that she was as chaste as she wanted to be seen. She was seen by her enemies as a sexual predator, a lady with low moral standards, a harpy who entraped a great king. But was she really the one who entarped Henry?

Henry VIII c. 1536 by Hans Holbein

“Today, Henry’s approach to Anne would be instantly identifiable as sexual harassment. (…) Could she really tell the king to his face that she had no interest in him? She could reiterate her desire to keep her chastity and her honor, but clearly he didn’t respect that. She could ignore his letters and stay away from court, but he refused to take the hint. To offer him the outright insult he asked for would be to risk not only her own but her father’s and brother’s careers at court. She undoubtedly kept hoping he would tire of the chase and transfer his attentions to some newer lady-in-waiting. But he didn’t and she was trapped: there was no chance of her making a good marriage when every eligible nobleman knew the king wanted her. She began to realize she would have to give in. [as Wyatt wrote in his poem 'Whoso list to hunt'] ‘Nole me tangere, for Caesar’s I am’’.[1]

So Anne made her own conditions – she would became Henry’s wife and Queen, and not a mistress. But why Anne was slandered if she insisted so much to preserve her virginity?

Le Chateau d Amboise, France, where Anne Boleyn served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude of France

Perhaps because she spent her youth in France. Since c. 1515 to 1522 Anne Boleyn served as a lady-in-waiting to Francis I’s wife, Queen Claude de Valois. French court was infamous for it’s immorality and Francis himself cheated on his wife (who was constantly pregnant) with many mistresses. Brantome wrote that ‘rarely, or never, did any maid or wife leave that court chaste’[2] How about Anne? Queen Claude, whom Anne served, was only 15 years old and she ‘insisted upon high morality and restraint and showed a strict regard for etiquette.‘[3] Because she was so religious and because of her almost annual pregnancies, she spent her time mainly at the Chateau of Amboise and Blois, while ‘her philandering husband entertained scores of mistresses and set the tone for one of the most licentious courts of the period’.[4] It seems that Anne Boleyn accompanied her royal mistress and learned from her. Although we don’t know the exatc date of Anne’s birth, we might assume, that she and Claude were the same age[5], so they understood each other perfectly well. Some historians claim, that Claude’s court was too boring for vivacious Anne, however she entertainded herself and her royal mistress by singing and playing on the instruments.

Anne’s attitude towards her duties is also expressed in a letter she wrote to her father in 1514. Although she was writing this letter from Margaret of Austria’s court, we can be sure that her sense of resposibility did not change when she was in France ;

‘Sir,

I understand by your letter that you wish that I shall be of all virtuous repute when I come to Court and you inform me that the Queen will take the trouble to converse with me, which rejoices me greatly to think of talking with a person so wise and virtuous. This will make me have greater desire to continue to speak French well and also spell, especially because you have so recommended me to do so, and with my own hand I inform you that I will observe it the best I can.’[6]

It was in 1585, 49 years after Anne Boleyn’s death, when a staunch Catholic on exile, Nicolas Sander, wrote about her that ;

“At fifteen she sinned first with her father’s butler, and then with his chaplain, and forthwith was sent to France, and placed at the expense of the King, under the care of a certain nobleman not far from Brie. Soon afterwards she appeared at the French court where she was called the English mare, because of her shameless behaviour; and then the royal mule, when she became acquainted with the King of France.”[7]

Anne's sister Mary Boleyn, who was French king's mistress and later went on to be Henry VIII's mistress

It is Sander who started rumours about Anne’s alleged six fingers, moles, projecting tooth and wen under her chin. So his writing is not reliable at all. He does not even get the right dates ; Sander wrote that Anne ‘sinned’ when she was 15, and then she was sent to France as a punishment. However, Anne was sent to Margaret of Austria’s court first in 1514 when she about 14 years old (if we assume she was born in 1501 and not in 1507, which would make her even younger at the time) and then, in 1515 she was sent to France as a lady-in-waiting to King’s sister, Mary Tudor. Sander also states that Anne Boleyn was called an ‘English Mare’ and she was Francis I’s mistress.

Informations about Anne Boleyn’s misconducts are also described in the Spanish Cronica del Rey Enrico ; for example there is a description of Anne’s escapades with Mark Smeaton or Thomas Wyatt. But this Spanish Cronicle is not a reliable source of information – Anne Boleyn was enemy of Spanish Queen Cathrine of Aragon, and it is obvious that Anne was maligned. Also Eustace Chapuys who was imperial ambassador, hated Anne and called her ‘the whore’, ‘the concubine’ or ‘the English Messalina or Agrippina’.

During their long courtship, there were rumours that Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII had few children together, but there is no evidence. We can assume that Anne Boleyn knew that if she surrender to Henry and get pregnant too soon, her child will be no more than another royal bastard. And she was clever enough to wait with the consummation of this relationship.

In his letters to Anne, Henry often described his feelings about her.

‘There is a strong sexual tone to this letters. The king spoke often of his need to be ‘private’ with Anne, and wished he was, ‘specially an evening, in my sweetheart’s arms, whose pretty dugs (breasts) I trust shortly to kiss’.’[8]

There are strong inclination that Anne Boleyn remained virgin until 1532. Alison Weir states that ;

‘Some intimacies she may have permitted, but never full intercourse. This is substantiated not only by King’s repeated denials that she was his mistress in the sexual sense, but also by the fact that, once the affair was consummated, Anne became pregnant immediately and conceived regularly thereafter’.[9]

So what had convinced Henry VIII in 1536, that a woman, who refused to sleep with him for almost 7 years, was guilty of multiple adultery?

In the same book, Alison Weir stated that Henry VIII confided to imperial ambassador that Anne was ‘corrupted’ in France and that French King told Duke of Norfolk that Anne was not a virtuous person during her youth spent in France. However I did not found such informations in primary sources so I think that this is Alison Weir’s pure imagination.

Anne Boleyn

We can easily say that Anne Boleyn changed everything ; she was the second commoner to become English Queen (first one was Elizabeth Woodville) . She took Catherine of Aragon’s place and she set up an example for other ladies at court . Who could ever imagine that a ‘foolish girl’ as Wolsey described Anne once, could dare to replace the Queen? Anne Boleyn did it – for her Henry VIII broke up with the Catholic Church, risking everything. People had to find a scape goat – someone they could blame for all the evil that fallen on England – and Anne was such a scape goat. Henry could do a little to stop the malicious rumours about his future bride, but little did she cared about them. ‘Let them grumble’ was her motto in 1530. Anne Boleyn had her flaws. She was not afraid to express her own opinions, even if others did not approve of them. In the end Henry VIII felt tired of such an outspoken wife and he cheated on her with new mistresses. But Anne was not afraid to show how jelous she was although the queen’s role was to ‘shut her eyes and endure’.

Was Anne an immoral temptress? I think not. She was Henry’s victim. Anne Boleyn payed the ultimate price for her relationship with the king. She died accused of adultery, incest and witchcraft, and yet she said nothing at the scaffold, when she prayed ‘God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never’. [10] Even her enemies, like Chapuys, did not believe in her guilt ;

‘You never saw a prince or husband show or wear his horns more patiently and lightly than this one does.’[11]

Anne Boleyn died innocent. For many years to come her name was slandered and malicious rumours were spread about her. She was a brave woman who lived in a very difficult times. She proved that woman can be equal to a man. Today she is remembered and celebrated not only in England, but also in the whole world.

[1] Karen Lindsey, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived : Feminist Reinterpretation of the wives of Henry VIII

[2] Alison Weir, Six Wives of Henry VIII, p. 154

[3] Josephine Wilkinson, Anne Boleyn : A young Queen to be, p. 35

[4] Alison Weir, Six Wives of Henry VIII, p. 150

[5] Queen Claude was born in 1499, while Anne’s birth date is unknown; the most probable date of Anne’s birth is between 1500 and 1502.

[6] Anne Boleyn to her father, Le Veure, 1514

[7] Nicolas Sander, The Rise and Growth of Anglican Schism

[8] Alison Weir, Six Wives of Henry VIII, p. 173

[9] IBID

[10] Anne Boleyn’s execution speech

[11] Eustace Chapuys, 18 May 1536

“Le temps viendra” by Emily Pooley, the creator of Anne Boleyn’s waxwork

Sylwia — Sun, 06 May 2012 08:57:16 +0000

Today we have a guest post by Emily Pooley, creator of Anne Boleyn’s beautiful wax work that is currently on display at Hever Castle. Emily kindly agreed to write an article about her interest in Anne Boleyn and how this wonderful wax figure was made. Enjoy!

Le temps viendra.

– by Emily Pooley, technical and special effects artist for television, film and live events.

At this moment, I am sipping a cup of tea looking out of my parent’s office window to the bottom of garden where I would sit for hours with my best friend Holly, patiently carving sticks into stakes -ready for our first encounter with vampires on our next trip to the woods down the road. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was an idol of ours you see – 6:30pm, BBC2, telly on full volume for the intro music. We would train for hours, using the swing as an assault course, passing levels that we would invent.. preparing ourselves. When we created a sufficiently sharp point.. off we went. Deep into the woods.

What, I hear you cry, has this got to do with Anne Boleyn? Buffy was my first encounter with a strong and independent female role model. We were inspired and empowered enough to come face-to-face with a pointy-toothed demon and fight to the death. Of course, there was never any real threat and I have since been dragged kicking and screaming into the serious world of adulthood.. and I found myself looking to a real lady for inspiration, with an incredibly powerful story.

When our GCSE exams were over (finding that miraculously my method of cramming in as much research into the night before actually worked) it was time to plan ahead – what on earth was I going to do!? Like a large number of girls my age, my first port of call was: Vet. But after spending a long week of work experience at a veterinary clinic, clearing up ‘presents’ from the animals as they called it, the reality of work really set in. Don’t worry, Anne is near – ‘le temps viendra’ people!

I sat at home flicking through prospectuses for colleges deflated and racking my brains. This was interrupted by my weekly unmissable dose of Doctor Who. Again, full volume for the intro. Next came Doctor Who confidential on BBC Three courtesy of our brand new digibox, where Neill Gorton talked through the creation of one of his prosthetic monster make-ups. It suddenly dawned on me that people actually made a living out of making these things! This would be the programme that would set me on a path to a career in special effects in television and film.

So off I trotted to Art College and then on to Wimbledon University of Art for my degree in Technical Arts and Special effects.

In cometh Anne Boleyn.

It was shortly after I had completed my second year that Anne Boleyn and I became good friends. We had been acquaintances for a number of years as Hever was my place of choice to visit when my parents were looking for a way to entertain my brother and I without covering the house with PVA glue and tissue paper – as was the norm. We had also met briefly through the pages of the Horrible History books (the new CBBC series is a hilarious watch may I add!) History has also fascinated me, the clothing, the rituals, the drama. Third year rolled around and we were finally permitted to create a project of our own choice. Without a doubt, there was only one person who would be joining me.

I looked for yet more inspiration with another great historical female figure. Marie Tussaud had a mix of rich history with breathtakingly detailed technical and special effects – just the thing I was after. My ambitious aim, albeit it made naively when considering the technicalities, was now to create my own life sized waxwork of my beloved Anne Boleyn.

As with any model, before you can touch any clay you must know and more importantly understand your subject. Especially when a well-known personality or historical figure is concerned. This meant living with my old friend Anne Boleyn for the summer, making her a new outfit to keep her on side. I read as many books as I could but having always struggled with reading (I can read a page without taking any of it in) I only focused on Anne’s coronation with most books.. not due to lack of interest, but rather a complete fascination with the beginning of her story. This is what I knew I wanted to portray with my model. I watched every movie and television adaptation or documentary on Anne that I could find – Degree’s can be such hard work – and used this research to begin my 5000 word dissertation describing the positive and negative portrayals of her throughout the decades.

Next, I had to decide my own take on her. Although I have always been an avid Boleynian I wanted to stay quite neutral in my representation of her, and instead use my figure to tell her story through symbols and props a technique that old Tudor portrait artists had mastered. Once a design and maquette was created, I was to look for a life model to work from. My friend Laura worked next to me at university and bared an uncanny resemblance to my absolute favourite depiction of Anne’s image – Holbien’s sketch. Once I had cornered her and badgered her into sitting for me, I began recording her details.

This process involves drawing a large number dots on the face at keys points like the tip of the nose and tragus (the little sticky out bit above your earlobe.) Photographs are taken of the model from 360 degrees and the points on the face are measured and recorded using calipers. These are all extremely useful reference materials when sculpting and ensure that you can get an accurate a likeness as possible, especially when you don’t have the model to work from.

When sculpting, you need a strong and sturdy armature frame to support your clay. This meant welding – my nemesis. Once the armature is bent into position, finally, the sculpting can begin. This is the process I love the most. Since a kid, I have always had the desire to shape clay into objects and creatures. Luckily enough, I came across a natural clay pit whilst out staking vampires. This meant an endless supply of creatures, props and pots turned up in the house of my poor unsuspecting parents. Much to their delight of course.

Over a number of weeks, the body is built up – constantly referring to the reference material and measurements. Measuring has always been my weakness, so at one point – I had to operate on Anne and give her a leg extension, cutting them off and hoisting the armature up. The ruler changes length every time I swear! The body and head are roughly built up together, until the stage where the head needs to be refined.

This meant the amusing task of removing Anne’s head – a process that caused a number of opportunistic comical photos with myself and my classmates. I apologized to Anne, and lopped through her neck with a cheese cutter (clay wire to the pro’s.) I shuddered, thinking of the actual day of Anne’s execution, and that night watched a docudrama by the BBC called ‘The Execution of Anne Boleyn’. The horror of her final days struck right through me as I remembered my reasoning for the creation of my model: to tell her incredible story and to somehow do her justice by bringing her back to life. I became a lot more serious about her after this day. I worked on her head at home, spending whole days locked in my room, often forgetting to eat. As payback for making fun of her – she made my life very difficult. At this point I was juggling my dissertation with a few days until the deadline, with the impending day of finishing and moulding her head. She also decided to fall over a week after I got her body out of the mould – splitting the resin cast along the seams and causing a number of repairs. We didn’t talk for days.

But alas, the sculpt had been finished and moulding was complete – the hands were the only section of the model that I had life cast, a technique that Madame Tussaud’s also follow. A plaster waste mould was used for the body and a fiberglass resin cast was pulled out. For the head, I used a flexible silicone jacket mould, which meant pulling a delicate wax cast out would be a lot easier.

I decided to give Anne her infamous 6th finger.. not to make fun or to create a monster (I didn’t want to fall out with her again) but to describe the attacks on her image shortly after her death. Of course, the extra finger most likely did not exist, but I wanted to stir up a bit of debate amongst people who saw her – get people talking about her story again. It was great to hear a conversation at my show on this exact subject: ‘Look she has an extra finger!’ ‘Yes, but she didn’t actually have an extra finger.. it was made up by the Catholics’… ‘But I heard it was a friend that gave a description of it?’… bingo. Of course, Hever had me remove it – much to my pleasure.

Finally, Anne and I had made it to the final hurdle. Once the eyes had been burned into the wax, and the eyebrow hair punched in – I repositioned her head. She looked at me approvingly. All had been forgiven.

Painting her was more of a relaxation process than anything… all of the hard work was completed, now it was time to make her pretty and get her ready for her first party. Finally, I popped her new shift and corset on that I had won her over with the previous summer and fitted her wig. I left her hair down, as she did – a fashionable one was our Anne!

Success! After a year long friendship, with ups and downs and a hell of a lot of hard graft, patience and may I add £1000 in material – I finally stood next to the infamous Anne Boleyn. I had placed her in front of a mirror so that her reflection mimicked many of her alleged portraits – Holbein’s sketch included. I stood beside her and read the words surrounding the frame: ‘Le Temps Viendra’ – the time will come. The infamous words written by Anne in her copy of the Book of Hours that I had read on tip-toes through a pain of glass at Hever as a girl. These words had stuck with me constantly throughout the project. The time will come when all my hard work would pay off and I could relax and show her off to industry professionals and my long suffering friends and family at the show…. The time would come also when I had to say goodbye, and let her go home.

I had been so wrapped up in her story and so concerned with actually finishing her for the show, that I hadn’t given a second thought to what I would do with her once she was here! She spent many weeks in my bed at my family home.. she always won when I came to visit – I got the couch. I began contacting castles to see if she could come and live with them, not once thinking that Hever would be remotely interested. Chance would have it though, that my mum had a close friend who worked at Hever and passed on my details. Next thing I knew it, I was walking with Anne’s head tucked neatly in a box under my arm, walking through the back corridors of the offices at Hever. I whispered to her so that the Lady I was following didn’t here.. ‘welcome home.’

It feels very strange to talk about her again after so long. So much has happened since I parted with her last year. I have been very lucky to land a full time job doing what I love, two days after I took my degree show down and recently worked on the Churchill dog for the insurance commercials. I have a lot to owe her.

I would like to thank the people who have taken the time out of their busy lives to contact me about my waxwork and indeed to read my mad babblings – congratulations if you made it this far! It is such a joy to talk to people about the stuff you love, and for an artist it is the best feeling in the world to know that someone else enjoys your work. It is also great to keep tabs on how Anne is getting on on her own. We were reunited when the exhibition opened – it was such a strange feeling to stand in front of her, wearing an absolutely stunning outfit that someone has made for her (feeling slightly jealous of their relationship). But it is great to see her living her own life.

I feel so privileged to have had the time with her and be able to bring Anne Boleyn home. Please say hello from me if you get a chance to meet her!

Review of “The Arrow Chest” by Robert Parry

Sylwia — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:27:17 +0000

“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.”

Captivating. Mysterious. Delightful.

I was lucky to receive my copy of “The Arrow Chest” from Robert Parry himself (signed!) and I was not disappointed. I started reading immediately when I received it and – it was a magnificent read! The whole story is set in Victorian England, but there are glimpses on Tudor era – and that was what caught my attention.

The main character is handsome painter, Amos Roselli who comes to the Tower of London to sketch the remains of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s ill-fated wife who was beheaded back in 1536. There, sketching the remains of a woman who was a legend in her own times, Amos finds out about her story and from now on he will be seeing Anne Boleyn in many different places…or will he?

Amos, a struggling artist is a very talented man and soon he gets a commission that can open many doors for him. Wealthy industrialist, Oliver Ramsey, has hired Amos Roselli to paint his own portrait. Oliver’s wife is Amos’s former sweetheart and muse – Daphne is beautiful, enigmatic and she adores Amos. Amos soon learns from Daphne, that her marriage is far from being happy. Oliver Ramsey is a tyrant of a man who does not cherish his beautiful wife. He desires a son – male heir who would inherit all his wealth. Oliver watches Daphne and Amos closely, because he knows that they used to be good friends – after all Oliver met Daphne in Amos’s studio.

Many strange and rather mysterious events occur during Amos’s stay at Oliver Ramsey’s house. A mysterious lady keeps appearing and disappearing leaving Amos puzzled and even frightened. Who is she? Why does she look just like his beloved Daphne?

The story is paralleled with the story of Anne Boleyn. Do you see how? Amos Roselli is a love-struck poet Thomas Wyatt, a childhood friend of Anne Boleyn. Oliver Ramsey is no one else but Henry VIII. And Anne Boleyn? Well, Daphne is Anne Boleyn.

I found the book to be fascinating and mysterious. Robert Parry’s style of writing is incredible, almost like a poetry – the settings are very richly detailed and simply amazing. As the story progresses there are more and more parallels to Anne Boleyn and as a Tudor-maniac I smiled each time when I read something that reminded me of her.

Robert Parry took great care of details – I loved how Oliver Ramsey was the Lord Bowlend. When you read ‘Bowlend’ it sounds almost like ‘Boleyn’ and thus Daphne is Lady Bowlend (Lady Boleyn). There is a variety of characters in the novel, and they are all exquisite. Although the novel uses the Tudor parallel, it is not predictable – the question that haunted me when I was reading this breath-taking novel was; what will happen to Daphne? The conclusion was really great but I will not give it away – you will have to see for yourself.

Robert Parry’s “The Arrow Chest” is creative Gothic mystery full of suspense, with a Tudor twist. I heartily recommend it! I would like to thank Robert Parry for giving me a chance to read and review his beautiful novel – it was a pleasure.

Anne Boleyn and witchcraft

Sylwia — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:30:07 +0000

Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn

The anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s death is approaching so I’ve decided to take a closer look on events that occurred before Anne’s death. One of the most popular myths about Henry VIII’s second wife is her alleged involvement with witchcraft.

It all started with Imperial ambassador’s report. Eustace Chapuys, always ready to report anything that about Anne Boleyn, wrote that Henry VIII told one of his courtiers that he;

‘made this marriage seduced and constrained by sortileges and for this reason he held the said marriage void and that God had demonstrated this in not allowing them to have male heirs and that he considered that he could take another.’

How Chapuys did come to such knowledge? Henry VIII’s first cousin, Marquis of Exeter who was in touch with ambassador, reported that the king confided this information in one of his courtiers. What was the meaning of the king’s words? It is all dependant if we are reading it in original language in which Chapuys reported them. Eric Ives wonders;

“Thus, did Henry use the term ‘sortilege’, or was the word provided en route? Even if Henry did use the noun, since its primary English meaning was ‘divination’ and since Henry spoke in the same breath of male heirs, the simple construction is that he was referring to the premarital predictions that union with Anne would produce sons”. (p. 298)

Professor Ives also adds that the word ‘sortilege’ could meant also occult practices, but ;

“in usual parlance ‘bewitched’ meant no more than ‘deceived’ – as in Tyndale’s 1526 New Testament: ‘Oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?” (p. 298)

But did the word ‘bewitched’ indicate that Anne Boleyn dabbled into witchcraft? The word ‘bewitched’ could offer two possible meanings; ‘fascinated’ or ‘enchanted’ in a supernatural way. Back in Anne Boleyn’s days, Eustace Chapuys used the word ‘enchanted’ to reflect how huge influence Anne had over Henry;

‘This accursed lady has so enchanted and bewitched him that he will not dare to do anything against her will.’

It is highly unlikely that Chapuys meant that Anne ‘bewitched’ Henry VIII in a supernatural way. He believed that she used her womanly charms to influence the king.

During Anne’s trial no accusations about her dabbling in witchcraft had been made. 50 years after her death, Nicolas Sander in his book “The Rise and Growth of Anglican Schism” wrote about Anne’s abnormalities like sixth finger, moles, huge wen under her chin and projecting tooth. But he wrote also that back in January 1536 Anne miscarried a deformed foetus.

Of course those are words of a recusant Catholic who blamed Anne Boleyn for the spread of reformation in England, but it were Sander’s untrue remarks that later spread across the world forming ‘the black legend of Anne Boleyn’ as I call it. Even today many people believe that Anne Boleyn really had six fingers, or that the child she lost in January 1536 was deformed. And people link those myths with witchcraft. Abnormalities and deformed children were associated with God’s displeasure over certain person, or – that this person was dabbling into black arts. Witches were associated with deformities of their bodies, unnatural lustful behaviour, abominable sexual practices, or hurting other people by using evil ‘spells’. They could cause death, weather change or even impotence in males. But there is no evidence that Anne Boleyn was deformed in any way, or that she gave birth to a deformed baby. No such thing was mentioned during her trial or the trial of 5 men that were accused along her.

So, Anne Boleyn was never accused of witchcraft. When Henry VIII made a remark that he ‘made this marriage seduced and constrained by sortileges’ he probably exaggerated or merely meant that Anne promised him male heir and failed at this task. Whatever the king said or meant – Anne Boleyn certainly was no witch and witchcraft was not used against her during her trial.

Why was Anne Boleyn buried in an arrow chest?

Sylwia — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:18:48 +0000

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:

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

January 1535 : Banquet with French Admiral

Sylwia — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:07:37 +0000

While researching the events of 1535, I found a very interesting account. If you watched “The Tudors” you probably remember the scene from season 2 episode 6 when Anne Boleyn laughed hysterically as she saw how Henry pays attention to one of the court’s ladies. This incident really happened. Anne’s behavior almost caused a scandal when:

“The Admiral frowned, and said, “What, madam, do you laugh at me?” On which she excused herself by saying it was because the King had told her he was going to ask for the Admiral’s secretary to amuse her, and that the King had met on the way a lady who made him forget the matter. I don’t know if the excuse was accepted as satisfactory. The King, on the other hand, and the Lady were much disappointed that the Admiral showed no pleasure at any attention that was shown to him, even at the Tower of London and the Ordnance.”

In his book “The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn” Eric Ives dates this incident as early as 1 December 1533 (p. 196). In primary sources provided for this chapter, Professor Ives gave Cal. S. P. Span., 1534-35, p. 338 (LP, vii. 1507; ibid. p. 376 (LP, viii. 48).

I checked the primary sources and found the description the memorable banquet in Eustace Chapuys’ in despatch to Charles V from 14 January 1535. So professor Ives was not right when he gave the banquet’s date as 1 December 1533.

Furthermore, Elizabeth Norton in her book “Jane Seymour: Henry VIII’s True Love” stated that the lady who distracted Henry could have been Jane Seymour, although there is no evidence to back up this theory.

I feel sorry for Anne Boleyn – she knew how important it was to retain Henry VIII’s love and she was helpless when it came to king’s extramarital affairs.

Sources:

“The Life And Death of Anne Boleyn”, Eric Ives

“Jane Seymour: Henry VIII’s True Love”, Elizabeth Norton

Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 8: January-July 1535:

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75521

“To the King from the Lady in the Tower”

Sylwia — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:21:39 +0000

Today I will answer a question asked by Areti from my Facebook Fanpage :

“I have a question about the letter that Anne is supposed to have written in the tower! Why can we not be sure if she really wrote it..? Can’t we recognise her style of writing?”

This letter was found among Thomas Cromwell’s papers and endorsed with the words:

“To the King from the Lady in the Tower”

“To the King from the Lady in the Tower”

The letter is not in Anne Boleyn’s handwriting, it was suggested that it is a copy of a lost original, or it was dictated by Anne. The letter was allegedly written on 6 May 1536.

Why this letter is considered by many as a forgery?

1. Anne Boleyn would never have written such a letter. She was blaming Henry VIII and his bad council as well as Jane Seymour for her imprisonment. Elizabeth Norton states that ;

“On 6 May Anne still entertained some hopes that she would be allowed to retire to a nunnery and she would not have wished to jeopardise this”. (Elizabeth Norton, “Anne Boleyn in her own words &words of those who knew her”, p. 255)

Would Anne Boleyn have risked the king’s wrath by writing a letter is such a reproving tone? She still had to consider her family’s wellbeing.

2. Why would Cromwell keep this letter rather than destroying it? Everything considering Anne Boleyn’s trial was consistently destroyed, and the letter would probably be destroyed as well.

3. Signature : “Anne Bullen”. Anne was always signing her letter as “Anne the Queene”

4. The letter was not in Anne’s handwriting.

Why this letter could be really Anne’s last letter to Henry VIII?

While there are many reasons to believe that this letter is a forgery, there are some hints that may suggest that Anne really was the author:

Anne could have dictated the content of the letter.
The letter was first published in 1649 by Lord Herbert, and then again in 1679 by Bishop Burnet. According to Burnet, he found this letter among papers that belonged to Thomas Cromwell together with letters from William Kingston (a constable of the Tower who was reporting what was going on with Anne while she was in the Tower).
Elizabeth Norton wrote that:

“The early historian John Strype mentioned a possible second letter written by Anne to Henry from the Tower, written in response to a message from the King urging her to confess” (p. 256).

Perhaps Anne Boleyn was determined to inform the king that she was truly innocent and wanted to make sure that he knows what she thinks about her unjust imprisonment.

I don’t know what to think about this letter – Anne Boleyn was outspoken and she often expressed her opinions, even if they angered the king. Perhaps, knowing that she will be executed, she wrote this letter to inform the king what she really thought. I wish to believe that she really did.

The content of the letter:

“Sir,

Your Grace’s displeasure and my imprisonment are things so strange unto me, that what to write, or what to excuse, I am altogether ignorant. Whereas you send unto me (willing me to confess a truth and so obtain your favour), by such a one, whom you know to be mine ancient professed enemy, I no sooner received this message by him, than I rightly conceived your meaning; and if, as you say, confessing a truth indeed may procure my safety, I shall with all willingness and duty, perform your duty. But let not Your Grace ever imagine that your poor wife will be brought to acknowledge a fault, where not so much as a thought ever proceeded. And to speak a truth, never a prince had wife more loyal in all duty, and in all true affection, than you have ever found in Anne Bulen – with which name and place I could willingly have contented myself, if God and your grace’s pleasure had been so pleased. Neither did I at any time so far forget myself in my exaltation or received queenship, but that I always looked for such alteration as I now find; for the ground of my preferment being on no surer foundation than your Grace’s fancy, the least alteration was fit and sufficient (I knew) to draw that fancy to some other subject.

You have chosen me from low estate to be your queen and companion, far beyond my desert or desire; if, then, you found me worthy of such honour, good your Grace, let not any light fancy or bad counsel of my enemies withdraw your princely favour from me; neither let that stain – that unworthy stain – of a disloyal heart towards your good grace ever cast so foul a blot on me, and on the infant princess your daughter.

Try me, good King, but let me have a lawful trial, and let not my sworn enemies sit as my accusers and as my judges; yea, let me receive an open trial, for my truth shall fear no open shame. Then you shall see either my innocency cleared, your suspicions and conscience satisfied, the ignominy and slander of the world stopped, or my guilt openly declared. So that, whatever God and you may determine of, your Grace may be freed from an open censure; and my offense being so lawfully proved, your Grace may be at liberty, both before God and man, not only to execute worthy punishment on me as an unfaithful wife but to follow your affection already settled on that party for whose sake I am now as I am, whose name I could some while since have pointed unto – your Grace being not ignorant of my suspicions therein.

But if you have already determined of me, and that not only my death, but an infamous slander must bring your the joying of your desired happiness, then I desire of God that He will pardon your great sin herein, and likewise my enemies, the instruments thereof; and that He will not call you to a strait account for your unprincely and cruel usage of me at His general judgment seat, where both you and myself must shortly appear; and in whose just judgment, I doubt not (whatsoever the world may think of me), mine innocency shall be openly known and sufficiently cleared.

My last and only request shall be, that myself only bear the burden of your Grace’s displeasure, and that it may not touch the innocent souls of those poor gentlemen, whom, as I understand, are likewise in strait imprisonment for my sake. If ever I have found favour in your sight – if ever the name of Anne Bulen have been pleasing in your ears – then let me obtain this request; and so I will leave to trouble your grace any further, with mine earnest prayer to the Trinity to have your grace in his good keeping, and to direct you in all your actions.

From my doleful prison in the Tower, the 6th May.

Your most loyal and ever-faithful wife,

Anne Bulen”

Anne Boleyn’s reaction on Catherine of Aragon’s death

Sylwia — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:21:58 +0000

Catherine of Aragon in 1530s, artist unknown

On 7 January 1536 Katherine of Aragon – first wife of Henry VIII and former queen of England – died on Kimbolton Castle. Some historians claim that Katherine’s death was the beggining of the end of Anne Boleyn – since she became one and only Queen of England and couldn’t bear male heir. But professor Eric Ives states that ;

”She had (Katherine) suddenly and somewhat unexpectedly gone downhill at the end of December, and her death was greeted at court by an outburst of relief and enthusiasm for the Boleyn marriage, which gives the lie to later historians who suggest that Anne was already living on borrowed time.” / p. 295 /

As long as Katherine of Aragon lived, Henry and Anne couldn’t enjoy their marriage in a proper way. There was still a reminder of the fact, that Henry had to sacrifice his kingdom for Anne Boleyn. With Katherine death new hopes arrived and both Henry and Anne were aware of it.

So how did Anne Boleyn react on her rival’s death? She received the news at Greenwich and she gave the messenger a ‘handsome present’. And what about Henry VIII? He said :

‘God be praised that we are free from all suspicion of war!’

He called Katherine ‘a cause of our enmity’ (in his relations with Katherine’s nephew, Charles V) and was relieved that she died. If Henry had any feelings left for his late ex-wife he did not showed them in public.

The next day Henry and Anne ”appeared in joyful yellow from top to toe, and Elizabeth was triumphantly paraded to church. After dinner Henry went down into the Great Hall, where the ladies of the court were dancing, with his sixteen-month-old daughter in his arms, showing her off to one and another”. /p. 295/

Scene from 'The Tudors' ; only Anne appeared in 'joyfull yellow' , Henry appeared in black - the official color of mourning

The ‘joyfull yellow’ was for many years a subject of speculations – some historians claimed that yellow was a Spanish mourning colour. Thus Henry and Anne appeared in Spanish mouring colour to show respect for Katherine. However this is not the case – yellow was not the mouring colour in Spain. It is rather a colour that indicates Henry and Anne’s real feelings towards Katherine’s death – they were actually overjoyed! In her book ‘The Lady in the Tower’ Alison Weir states that :

‘It is a misconception that yellow was the colour of Spanish Royal mourning: Anne’s choice of garb was no less than a calculated insult to the memory of the woman she had supplanted.’ / p. 18/

David Starkey described ‘the carnival-like celebration of Catherine’s death’ / p. 549/ pointing out on Henry’s flamboyant dress. So was 8 of January 1536 really a celebration of Catherine’s death? It appears to look so, yes. We should not forget that at the time of Catherine’s death Anne Boleyn was pregnant and thus she hopefully looked what future holds for her. Henry was overjoyed because of the political aspect of this death – now he could built a better relationship with Charles V.

And how did Eustace Chapuys react on Catherine of Aragon’s death? He was the Imperial Ambassador (1525-1549) and staunch supporter of Catherine of Aragon and her daughter Lady Mary Tudor. His reports states (please note – Chapuys reffers to Catherine of Aragon as ‘Queen’, Anne Boleyn is a ‘Concubine’ and Elizabeth ‘a Little Bastard’) ;

”You could not conceive the joy that the King and those who favor this concubinage have shown at the death of the good Queen, especially the earl of Wiltshire and his son, who said it was a pity the Princess did not keep company with her. The King, on the Saturday he heard the news, exclaimed “God be praised that we are free from all suspicion of war”; and that the time had come that he would manage the French better than he had done hitherto, because they would do now whatever he wanted from a fear lest he should ally himself again with your Majesty, seeing that the cause which disturbed your friendship was gone. On the following day, Sunday, the King was clad all over in yellow, from top to toe, except the white feather he had in his bonnet, and the Little Bastard was conducted to mass with trumpets and other great triumphs. After dinner the King entered the room in which the ladies danced, and there did several things like one transported with joy. At last he sent for his Little Bastard, and carrying her in his arms he showed her first to one and then to another. He has done the like on other days since, and has run some courses (couru quelques lances) at Greenwich. ”

In his later dispatch Chapuys wrote also that Anne Boleyn wept and feared that Henry would have no scruples to dispose of her as he did with Catherine of Aragon. Chapuys is definitely a source of many informations about life at court and Anne Boleyn herself however we must remember that he was Catherine of Aragon’s staunch supporter and thus he was hostile to Anne Boleyn. There must be some truth in Chapuys’ dispatches but many of them could be exagerated or even come from courtly gossips.

And what about other sources? Chronicler Edward Hall, a contemporary to Anne Boleyn wrote that ;

“And the viii. day of January folowyng dyed the princes dowager at Kymbalton and was buried at Peterborough. Quene Anne ware yelowe for the mournyng.”

Hall mentiones Anne wearing ‘yellow for mourning’ and does not mention about Henry VIII’s dress. Perhaps Hall did not wanted to comment on the subject so he diplomatically wrote about Anne’s yellow dress. Retha M. Warnicke states that ;

‘This intriguing statement may have been a reference to her pregnancy, for the chamber at Eltham, which had been prepared for her confinement in 1534, had been redecorated in yellow ochre.’ (p. 294)

Another source is Nicolas Sander (author of rumours that Anne Boleyn had 6 fingers, many moles and projecting tooth, etc.) wrote that ;

‘‘The King could not refrain from tears when he read the letter; but Anne Boleyn instead of putting on mourning on the day of Catherine’s funeral put on a yellow dress; and on being congratulated on the removal of her rival, replied, “No, I am sorry, not indeed because she is dead, but because her death has been so honourable.” (131)

The phrase ‘being congratulated on removal of her rival’ may indicate that Sander wanted his readers to believe that Anne had something to do with Catherine’s death.

Sander wanted also to portray Henry stricken by grief after death of his ex-wife and Anne appeared (again) as a villain. Whatever Henry felt for Catherine – in the public eye he appeared as overjoyed king standing on the edge of the new world.

Sources :

Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn

David Starkey, 6 wives of Henry VIII

Alison Weir ‘The Lady in the Tower’

Nicolas Sander ‘The Rise and Growth of Anglican Schism’

Letters and Papers

3D reconstruction of Anne Boleyn’s face

Sylwia — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:17:44 +0000

This is a 3D reconstruction of Anne Boleyn's face, based on National Portrait Gallery

I’ve always wanted someone to do a 3D reconstruction of Anne Boleyn’s face, based on her famous NPG portrait. it never happened so I decided to become this ‘someone’. I learned how to use a program for 3D face reconstruction. This program gives a chance to make a 3D face reconstruction based on photographs. Well, obviously we do not have Anne Boleyn’s photographs so I used her portrait. It was quite hard to do such reconstruction. At my first reconstruction, many of you commented that Anne looked like Cher. I admit – I got too creative with first work. But my second reconstruction is successful – I worked on it for few days, and here it is!

I based Anne Boleyn’s 3D face reconstruction entirely on NPG portrait. It came out very realistic and reconstructed Anne looks a lot like on her portrait. What is even more interesting – I noticed that after reconstruction, Anne looks similar also to John Hoskins’ miniature, and this miniature is the most authentic likeness of Anne Boleyn.

For this montage I used Milara’s photograph based on NPG portrait of Anne Boleyn (I had to paste the reconstructed face). It wasn’t easy to find a real-life photograph based on Anne’s portrait, and I didn’t wanted to use any actresses pictures.

I think that Venetian ambassador’s comment about Anne Boleyn is entirely accurate ;

“Madame Anne is not the handsomest women in the world (…) her eyes, (…) are black and beautiful” /Francesco Sanuto, 1532/

Affair of the necklace

Sylwia — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 20:15:35 +0000

Miniature of Anne Boleyn by John Hoskins

Thanks to my friend, Maria who runs her own blog about Anne Boleyn, she shared with me an article that states that the ‘B’ necklace on Anne’s portraits stands for ‘Brandon’ and not ‘Boleyn’. Quite an interesting theory, isn’t it? I’ve decided to research this theory and I found few informations.

In her book ”The Feminine Dynamic in English Art, 1485-1603” Susan James states that famous portrait of Anne Boleyn showing her with ‘B’ pendant is Mary Tudor Brandon. Susan James writes ,;

“Although there were no firmly authenticated portraits of Jane Grey or Anne Boleyn known to copyists, a pool of portraits of unidentified women dating from the reign of Henry VIII still existed. As was common, these original paintings were not labelled and … the identities of the sitters were generally problematic. Yet for copyists in need of an image, clues within and without seem to have encouraged them to arrive at speculative identifications. The face pattern generally chosen for Jane Grey was Kateryn Parr and the face pattern chosen for Anne Boleyn was Mary Rose Tudor…”

What do we know about Mary Tudor Brandon’s appearance? Is there a chance she could be confused with Anne Boleyn? Well – if we will take only contemporary descriptions of both Anne and Mary, there is no chance that they were similar to each other. Mary Tudor Brandon was :

”Petite, poised and beautiful, with red-gold hair and the pale translucent complexion that usually accompanies it. She was the ideal picture of womanhood, certainly and the quintessence of Tudor beauty”. / Mary Boleyn: The True Story of Henry VIII’s Favourite Mistress /

According to contemporary sources, Anne Boleyn was quite the opposite ;

‘Madame Anne is not the handsomest women in the world , she is of middling statue, swarthy complexion, long neck, wide mouth, bosom not much raised, and (…) her eyes, which are black and beautiful’ /Venetian ambassador, 1532/

Sketch of Mary Tudor when she was Queen of France

She was also reffered by poet Sir Thomas Wyatt as a ‘Brunette’.

Susan James states that well known miniature by John Hoskins depicting Anne Boleyn is in fact, Mary Tudor Brandon and ”jewelled “B” stood not for Boleyn but for Brandon and tha the portrait was not Henry VIII’s wife but his sister”. Susan James points out that ” It is the only picture in Charles I’s collection with Anne Boleyn’s name attached to it.”

In his book ‘The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn’ Eric Ives writes about Hoskins’ miniature ;

”Fortunately, the sequence also has the effect of corroborating a seventeenth-century miniature in thecollection of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. Charles I had this copied as ‘Anne Boleyn’ by John Hoskins the elder (c.1590–1664/5), and it is endorsed ‘from an ancient original’ . How ‘ancient’ it is impossible to say. Although the relationship to examples in the NPG pattern is evident, these were only thirty years old or perhaps less. It is more likely that Hoskins had access to an earlier image of the kind from which the NPG image originated. A full-length portrait of Anne was owned by Lord Lumley in 1590 and existed as late as 1773. Could it even be that Hoskins’ source was or was derived from a Holbein paintingnow lost?” /Eric Ives , ‘The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn’ /

Mary Tudor Brandon (left) and Anne Boleyn (right)

Hoskins’ miniature of Anne Boleyn depicts a woman with pointed chin, dark eyes, oval face, reddish hair and typical ‘B’ pendant on double strand of pearls. She may bear a certain resemblance to wedding portrait of Mary Tudor Brandon and Charles Brandon.

I think that there is no chance that ‘B’ on Anne’s portraits stands for ‘Brandon’ and not ‘Boleyn’. Here are the arguments :

- Hoskins’ miniature was said to be ‘don by Hoskins after an oweld pictur’ which means that this miniature was labelled as ‘Anne Boleyn’ from the very beggining ;

- As professor Eric Ives pointed out, the miniature was endorsed ‘from an ancient original’ which means that it was probably copied from exisiting orginal portrait of Anne Boleyn, or copy of such portrait ;

- There is plenty of portraits of Anne Boleyn, painted during Elizabeth Tudor’s reign, depicting Anne wearing a famous ‘B’ necklace ; and they are all labelled as ‘Anne Boleyn’ and not ‘Mary Tudor Brandon’

- Mary Tudor Brandon had no reason to wear a ‘B’ pendant because in Tudor period noble men and women were known widely not by their surnames but titles ; so Charles Brandon was famous as Charles Suffolk, Duke of Suffolk, so it makes no sense why Mary Tudor Brandon would want to be portrayed with ‘B’ pendant ;

- The similarity between portraits of Anne Boleyn and her daughter Elizabeth are astounding so it is hard to believe that the sitters is not Anne Boleyn ;

Sources :

”The Feminine Dynamic in English Art, 1485-1603”, Susan James

“The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn”, Eric Ives

”Mary Boleyn: The True Story of Henry VIII’s Favourite Mistress “, Josephine Wilkinson