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Be My Guest, Claire Ridgway! Part 2
I hope you all enjoyed Part 1 of Claire Ridgway’s guest post on Alison Weir’s “Tudor women” talk (click here if you missed it). Let’s go to Part 2!
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Henry’s Queens:
Obviously King’s wives were not like the average Tudor woman, but even though they were in charge of large households and budgets, Alison pointed out that the decisions were still made by the King. The queen’s role was to produce heirs and be the perfect model wife for the court.
But, what was the model wife? Here, Alison used Catherine of Aragon’s words when she pleaded with Henry VIII at the divorce hearing, saying that she was his “true, humble, obedient wife.” This summed up what a wife should be and her accepted role in the divine order. Even Catherine Parr applauded this ideal in her book Lamentations of a Sinner, writing that young women should be “sober-minded.” Alison pointed out the mottoes of Jane Seymour and Catherine Howard – “Bound to Obey and Serve” and “No Other Will but His” – these women accepted their role!
Adultery:
Alison emphasised that on marriage a woman became a man’s property and that it was even a man’s legal right to kill his wife on the spot if he caught her in the act of adultery. An adulterous woman brought shame on her family. Here, Alison mentioned Catherine Parr’s brother, William Parr, and his call for his unfaithful wife to be put to death. Fortunately, a divorce was granted instead! But look at Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both accused of adultery and both executed. The man’s word was law and although Weir stated that Anne was the “victim of a bitter court struggle” and was “framed by her enemies,” the adultery charge stood and Anne lost her life. After Catherine Howard was executed, a law was passed that it was high treason for a woman of dubious past to marry the king.
Education
In Medieval times, people believed that women should not be taught to write unless they were nuns and that the only education they needed was in home-making, to make them fit to be a good wife. However, the Renaissance made education for women more acceptable and Alison gave the examples of Margaret Roper (Sir Thomas More’s daughter), Catherine of Aragon, and Catherine Parr as models of educated and virtuous women. Too much learning could get a woman into trouble though–take the example of Catherine Parr, who was plotted against.
Mary and Elizabeth:
Alison pointed out that the only experience England had had of a female ruler was Empress Matilda in the 12th century and she didn’t last long. Mary I was England’s first real female monarch and she had many difficulties to contend with. For example, she couldn’t even do the ceremony of the Knights of the Bath because she couldn’t get into a bath with a bunch of men! Then, there was the question of marriage because of the traditional roles of husband and wife, with the woman being submissive to the man, yet she was Queen of England!
Alison spoke of how it was Elizabeth I who proved that a woman could rule successfully, but she wasn’t afraid of using her femininity to her advantage and using her feminine wiles to get her own way. The marriage issue was still a problem for Elizabeth though, but she solved it by remaining single while encouraging suitors to gain political advantage. Alison quite rightly noted that Elizabeth paved the way for future queens and that she was “one of the most important women to wield power.”
Final Words:
Alison Weir concluded her talk by stating that although 16th century women were seen as second to men, they still managed to rule countries and run businesses and estates. Life certainly was not easy for Tudor women, but, according to Alison, it did have its compensations and many marriages were loving relationships.
It really was a joy to hear Alison speak and to talk to her afterwards. She has so much knowledge and is happy to share this and answer questions. It was a great night and it raised £600 for the Mary Rose Appeal too.
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Claire Ridgway writes The Anne Boleyn Files (blog here, Facebook page here) and the Elizabeth Files (blog here, Facebook page here). Thanks again, Claire, for your fantastic article!
Famous Last Words
Well, Showtime did it! They kept alive the myth that Katherine Howard ”would rather die the wife of Culpepper” just before her beheading. That is untrue, and that rumor needs to die (so to speak). Last night’s episode of “The Tudors” didn’t help matters any, but there are also scores of websites and other sources which continue to perpetuate this falsehood.
On that cold and still day, 13 February 1542, Kitty’s actual last words were that she deserved a thousand deaths for so offending the king who treated her so well. She prayed for Henry, asked the crowd to follow suit, and called upon God to take her soul. Then –whack! — with one stroke. Next up on the wet, bloody block: royal meddler Lady Rochford. Come on down, you drama-loving nitwit!
♪ I Enjoy Be-ing A Girl! ♫
Image via Wikipedia
If you are watching Showtime’s history lesson, you may be getting sick of seeing Katherine Howard gush and coo over every gift and display of royal hoopla by now. She does tend to act like a six-year-old who has just been prettied up and sprinkled with glitter at Disney World’s Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, doesn’t she?
And yet, Kitty really did revel in this stuff! She was thrilled each time she was lavished with some bezaddled whoozit or whatzit, and lit up when she was treated like a pretty, pretty princess. But I can’t blame her, because the poor girl came from nothing and could have never imagined a life such as this.
Her father, Edmund, was one of 23 children in a noble family. He lost everything, but kept his hand out for, well, a hand-out. In his final years, he was reduced to an incontinent. His third wife hit him when he’d helplessly wet their bed, and humiliated him with taunts that only children did such things.
Motherless Kitty had meanwhile been growing up in the home run by her step-grandmother. She was poor, uneducated, and lost in the shuffle. So when she eventually came to live in palaces and receive horses and jewels and such ( as a teenager, no less), she could hardly believe her luck! Go easy on her; she simply reached her I-enjoy-being-a-girl stage a bit late.
A Not-So-Sweet Spot
Image via Wikipedia
Nestled on the inner grounds of the Tower of London is a darling little stretch of grass called the Tower Green. Today it may strike you as a cozy place to get a fresh air break during your tour of the Tower, but in the Tudor period it played host to a handful of beheadings.
Most of the poor souls who were beheaded at that time met their fate on Tower Hill, just northwest of the Tower of London and a place that today is…well, the Tower Hill tube station. But a few very special prisoners were given the gift of a private execution on the secluded spot within the Tower walls. “Private” was a relative concept, as there could have been a hundred or so people present. The seven “priviledged” victims of a private Tower Green beheading were:
- William, Lord Hastings in 1483 (two years before the Tudor dynasty began)
- Anne Boleyn in 1536
- Margaret, Countess of Salisbury in 1541
- Katherine Howard in 1542
- Jane, Viscountess Rochford (Anne Boleyn’s brother’s wife, and royal busybody who arranged for Kitty Howard to get a bit on the side) in 1542
- Lady Jane Grey in 1554
- Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex (a former Liz I fave who became too big for his britches) in 1601
Today a plaque marks the spot where the Famous Seven lost their heads, the only grisly reminder in an otherwise sweet and seemingly-peaceful spot.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Wedding Band
Image by cliff1066™ via Flickr
The Six Ladies of Henry VIII were part of a fraternity that fascinates history buffs as well as those who just plain love a good, juicy soap opera. While it may have seemed the Massive Monarch blew through the line quickly, the amount of time he was married to each may surprise you. Here’s how long each gal wore that traveling wedding band:
1. Catherine of Aragon About 24 years, not together for the last few (June 1509 – May 1533)
2. Anne Boleyn 3 1/2 years(January 1533 – May 1536)
3. Jane Seymour 1 1/2 years (May 1536 – October 1537)
4. Anne of Cleves A measley six months (January 1540 – June 1540)
5. Katherine Howard 1 1/2 years (July 1540 – February 1542)
6. Catherine Parr 3 1/2 years (July 1543 – January 1547)
♥ A Very Tudor Valentine’s Day ♥
Out of Henry VIII’s six wives, who do you think was his true love? Get a quick rundown of all the Real Housewives of Tudor Court here, and cast your vote below!
There Will Be Blood!
Image by Clover_1 via Flickr
Get ready, because this is a particularly dark week in Tudor history. Today is the anniversary of Mary, Queen of Scots’ execution in 1587. It was a grisly affair, as it took more than one whack to do away with the poor girl.
On Wednesday the 10th, we have the murder anniversary of her husband (also her first cousin), Lord Darnley, in 1567. That same date marks the 1542 imprisonment of pathetic and misunderstood Kitty Howard.
Thursday the 11th marks the day Elizabeth of York died in 1503. The woman who gave birth to our tubby, turkey-leg eating womanizer fell victim to infection after having Henry’s little sister and died on her own birthday.
On Friday 12th we have the 1554 execution anniversary of poor nine-days-queen Lady Jane Grey, and her husband, Lord Guilford Dudley. And we continue the Headless Chronicles on Saturday the 13th, as we remember that day in 1542 when Kitty Howard and Jane Boleyn (Anne’s sister-in-law) were sent to the chopping block.
Whew! It’s getting bloodier than a Martin Scorcese movie. Stick around if you’re not the squeamish type.
A Friday Quickie with Kitty
Image via Wikipedia
Another quickie about Katherine Howard today, this one to establish how the dear girl got mixed up with the royal family to begin with:
Flashback to the Wars of the Roses, which were basically a military expression of a family feud between two sides of the royal family, the Yorks and the Lancasters. The Howard family was on Team York, and their guy became Richard III (the one described as a murderous hunchback by Shakespeare) in 1483. The king rewarded one of the Howard men, John (above), with the fancy title of Duke of Norfolk.
John was so loyal he stuck with the king as he went up against a certain Welshman named Henry Tudor in 1485. Richard III and John Howard were killed, and Mr. Tudor became Henry VII. However, Howard’s son Thomas became the 2nd Duke of Norfolk (in fact, all the Dukes of Norfolk have been descended from Richard III’s buddy).
Thomas married and had a slew of kids, including an Elizabeth and an Edmund. Elizabeth eventually had a little girl named Anne (Boleyn) and Edmund’s little girl was Katherine (Howard).
So, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard were first cousins, and had the great misfortune to be close to the royals because their great-grandfather was a close friend of the defeated Yorkist king, Richard III. And you thought your family had problems!
A Quickie with Katherine Howard
Image via Wikipedia
How does Henry VIII’s fifth wife fit in among the rest? Katherine Howard has the reputation of having been a young and pretty hussy, and dumb as a box of rocks. But he was smitten with her right away, the old scamp, and married her in July of 1540.
There were loads of activities that summer to celebrate the new girl on the block (who seemed to have already been around the block a few times, but that’s another quickie). Every day she was lavished with sumptuous dresses and jewelry, and spent lots of time dancing around. Paris Hilton for the 16th century, if you will.
All her dancing and prancing and coquettish ways eventually did her in, as she was accused of adultery (probably true) and lost that pretty head a year and a half after all those grand wedding celebrations. But because I love to root for the underdog, I have to give Queen Vixen a break:
Although she came from a noble family, her wing of the clan fell on hard times, She grew up poor and was raised by her step-grandmother in a kind of group home for poor little noble kids. So her lack of education and refinement can be forgiven, and it wasn’t her fault that Henry zeroed in on her attractiveness and youth (did I mention she was just a teenager at the time?).
She also had a joyful disposition and was sweet to others. She felt for the prisoners her husband had locked away in the Tower of London, and even managed to get two of them released. A third prisoner, Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, was not so lucky, though Catherine herself paid for the elderly woman to be warmly and appropriately dressed in her damp, cold cell.
There’s more to this floozy than meets the eye, so I’ll be posting several more quickies with Kitty in the next week or so. If you have not already, please stop by the Tudor Tutor fanpage on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter, to get the ”latest” from the Tudor period as it is posted.
Eenie Meenie Miney Mo
With six wives to choose from, surely Henry VIII had a favorite, no? The demure and tactful Jane Seymour usually gets credit for being the favorite, but that sounds too easy to me. Sure, compared to his previous wife (Anne Boleyn, that cheeky and marvellous icon of girl power), Jane knew when to keep her trap shut and didn’t stir the pot. And her uterus nurtured the elusive XY chromosome that Henry was obsessed with.
And then she dropped dead, and really could do no wrong after that, could she? It’s called “bowing out at the top of your game,” and an unwittingly wise move on her part, as history paints her as the Golden Wife. She didn’t live long enough to have miscarriages or dreaded baby girls, or to enter middle age, or to be grossed out by his oozing leg sore or mid-life obesity.
Let’s take a look at Henry’s other girls. Catherine of Aragon was a thorn in his side toward the end of their marriage, for sure, and only gave him one daughter. But she was a dutiful and loving wife for nearly 20 years, not to mention a popular Spanish princess and a devout Catholic (he was too, for the most part). Wife #2, the sassy (to put it mildly) Anne Boleyn was such an effective flirt that the king was convinced she was flitting around with others, although it’s never been proven. She certainly tapped into his saucy side and I think he definitely admired her moxie and intelligence.
After the dearly-departed Jane, Anne of Cleves (we’re at number 4, now) was a bit of a dull dishrag, but the poor girl couldn’t speak a lick of English and communication is so important, isn’t it? Plus, there was her not-quite-supermodel appearance and the fact that she was surely repulsed by this jiggling mass of conceit and rage. Just assuming. After their divorce, Henry viewed Anne of Cleves as a sister, gave her a lovely settlement, and invited her to court quite a bit. The favorite, no, but not the outcast, either.
In sashays Wife #5, Katherine Howard. Katherine seemed to be low on brain cells but high on the vixen-factor. Henry appreciated the coquette angle, sure, but I really feel he wanted more than just glossy paintwork. And her cheating on him didn’t help matters any. Finally we have Wife #6, Catherine Parr, who was really just the king’s companion and caregiver during his last years.
Out of that cast of characters, do you think Henry VIII really had a favorite? Who do you think he held most near and dear? Or do you feel that his greatest love was actually the one he saw in the looking glass, the whole time?
