Lesson 3: Without Male Heir. Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
The Fresh Young Damsel.
This part provides students with a better understanding of the woman who was Anne Boleyn.
Anne Boleyn, a niece of the duke of Norfolk, was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn and Lady Elizabeth Howard. Her true birth date is unknown, and even her birth year is open to debate – some historians have suggested as early as 1499, while I sway towards the more generally put forward year of 1507.
Later Earl of Ormonde and Wiltshire, Thomas Boleyn- or Bullen as the family was known then - was but a knight at the time of Anne's birth. Thomas's grandfather, Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, had stood even lower on the rungs of English society- a self made man who became a Mayor of London and gained an heiress, the daughter of Lord Hoo and Hastings, as his wife.(i)
Thomas Boleyn, the ambitious father of Anne Boleyn, continued building upon what his grandfather first built and rarely- that is, until his daughter Anne had the misfortune to miscarry the King's son in 1536 - missed a step to raise his family higher in the Tudor hierarchy. Indeed, Thomas Boleyn had done well enough for himself when he married Lady Elizabeth Howard, a daughter of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, head of a prolific family, with bloodlines stretching back to Edward I, through his second marriage to Margaret of France.
Anne may have first caught the king’s eye as early as the year 1522, the time of her doomed romance with Henry Percy, the heir to Northumberland. Their relationship, documented by George Cavendish as well as later brought up during the trial for Anne's life, possessed all the hallmarks of 'first love,' both of them entering into this relationship as if naive of how their lives were controlled by their place in Tudor society. Moreover, there are potent hints suggesting that Anne and Percy may have pre-contracted themselves to one another, which would have put into question the legality of any future marriage entered into by Anne and Percy. (2)
Disregarding Percy's loud protests that he had already committed himself to Anne Boleyn, Wolsey broke up their relationship. Percy was married in quick haste to Mary Talbot. It was a marriage doomed to failure from the start. As for Anne and Percy? Because of their youth, this break-up apparently hit them both hard, and they never forgot what had happened. Anne said later that she rather had been Henry's Countess (meaning, Percy's wife) than Henry's Queen. When the verdict of Anne's execution was delivered, Percy, a judge at her trial, fainted.
Very slender, with beautiful black hair and bewitching dark eyes, Anne did not fit the usual ‘Tudor’ idea of feminine beauty. Her sister Mary Boleyn – not olive skinned like Anne, but pretty, blonde, plump and blue-eyed – was more the ideal, and it wasn’t surprising that Henry sought her out as a bedmate for a time.
But Anne was a different personality entirely from her sister. Very intelligent, with a quick wit, which one day would turn sharp enough to cut herself, musically gifted – not only could she play the lute, dance like an angel but she also possessed a lovely singing voice – she was the one woman who could really share Henry VIII's varied interests. Anne led Henry a dance that was to last for at least six years, and the King turned his kingdom upside down to have her as his Queen.
(1)Retha W. Warnicke; The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn; Cambridge; page 8
Antonia Fraser, Henry VIII and his wives, page 126
References:
Retha W. Warnicke; The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn; Cambridge
Antonia Fraser, Henry VIII and his wives
Resources:
Dear Heart, How Like You This? (Metropolis Ink, 2002) tells the story of Sir Thomas Wyatt and his lifelong-love for his cousin Anne Boleyn, the tragic second wife of Henry VIII of England.
Henry VIII and Wives, by Antonia Fraser. Although many books will be referred to during this course, Henry VIII and Wives will be used as the main 'text.' Written in a very readable manner, this book is a very sensitive account of the six women who became the consorts of Bluff King Hal. Antonia Fraser's research is always excellent.
Questions:
How old do you think Anne was when she first caught Henry's eye?
Do you think it just a coincidence that the man leading the party to arrest Wolsey for treason was none other than Percy?
FOR FURTHER READING
