The tomb of Sir Thomas Boleyn

I've visited Hever Castle, the ancestral home of the Boleyn family, several times, but I've never had the

time to visit the family church, St Peter's.   It's here the Boleyn family would have worshipped, including of course, Anne Boleyn, future Queen of England and mother of Elizabeth 1st.  Finally managed to make time to visit it this summer.  What a beautiful church it is, and walking through the entrance, it gave me a real feeling of walking in the footsteps of the young Anne Boleyn.  Inside is the tomb of Anne's father, Sir Thomas Boleyn.  Sir Thomas, who has, in my opinion, often been unfairly portrayed in books and certain television series, one in particular, survived the fall of his brilliant children, Anne and George.  I don't subscribe to the view that he engineered the rise of both his daughters, putting Mary in Henry VIII's bed and Anne on the throne.  He undoubtedly was ambitious - as were many Tudor courtiers, but he could not have known that Henry would become so infatuated with Anne he would break with Rome, destroy his first wife, and marry her.  As for Mary, Thomas did not need to rely on Mary to elevate his status.  He was a brilliant linguist and superb ambassador to Henry VIII.  He had secured places at various courts for all his children, and Henry was known to discard his mistresses without sentiment or rewards.  Mary hardly made a fine match.  As for Anne, I firmly believe she was in charge of her own destiny.  What I do find hard is Thomas, despite the loss of his children and being stripped of his title Earl of Wiltshire, continued to serve Henry as best he could, even attending the christening of Henry's son Edward.  He must have been a broken man, although he had his daughter Mary, whom he considered a disgrace after her second marriage, and grandchildren.  Surely best to just stay on his estate at Hever and avoid court, and attempt some sort of reconciliation with Mary.  We'll never know how he felt, or see into the mind of a Tudor statesman.   What is telling is that when his wife, Elizabeth Boleyn, died, she chose to be buried at Lambeth, with her Howard family.  So Sir Thomas has no family resting with him at St Peter's (although there is some evidence the Boleyns had more children who did not survive infancy and may be buried in the church).  Anne and George of course had no choice - they are buried within the walls of St Peter ad Vincula, the chapel in the Tower of London.  The resting place of Mary Boleyn is unknown.

The inscription and brass of the tomb of Sir Thomas Boleyn.

The entrance to St Peter's Church.

The sign outside the church, announcing the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth 1st rests within.

 

More from the Six Lives exhibition

The Anne Boleyn Psalter - this passage was written by Anne Boleyn.  Her signature was later cut from the book.

Portrait of Katherine Parr, from a private collector.

Miniature of Anne of Cleves, painted by Hans Holbein.

Miniature of Catherine Howard.

Letter written by CatherHoward to Thomas Culpepper.

 

Tudors, Tudors, everywhere.

 I think everyone with an interest in history knows the Tudors are top of the tree.  So many books, articles and tv dramas or documentaries.  This year there has been an exhibition of the work of the artist Hans Holbein, Henry VIII’s painter.  At the present time, the National Portrait Gallery has an exhibition called Six Lives - the stories of the six wives.  I’ve been to both.  The Holbein exhibition was outstanding, to see the originals of Holbein’s sketches was amazing.  However, I don’t feel quite the same about Six Lives.

Six Lives costs £21 plus a donation to the NPG.   Highlights for me were the small charm whistle and cosmetic attachments that Henry VIII was said to have given Anne Boleyn, the original bronze medal of Anne Boleyn from 1534, and documents from the National Archives.   These had been borrowed from other museums, and there were other items borrowed from colleges and a few from private collectors.  The vast majority of the portraits, however, were from the NPG’s own collection, which you can usually see for free whenever you want.   That’s the issue for me - £21 is an awful lot of money to pay for most of the exhibition you can see for free.   The exhibition runs until September 8th.  If you can’t visit then, or are put off by the price, just remember you can see most of the portraits for free at the NPG.

Below, miniature charm given to Anne Boleyn

 

Medal of Anne Boleyn 1534

Edward II’s re-action to the death of Piers Gaveston

 When Edward II heard about Piers being kidnapped by Guy, Earl of Warwick, he must have truly feared what would happen.  Having been relieved that Piers had surrendered to The Earl of Pembroke on very favourable terms at Scarborough Castle, Edward knew Pembroke to be a man of honour and would keep Piers safe.  But his kidnap by Guy of Warwick struck fear into Edward.  Warwick didn’t act alone.  Edward’s cousin, Thomas of Lancaster, was waiting at Warwick Castle for Piers, and both were united in their hatred of Piers.  There could only be one outcome.  Both men were obviously fearful at what they were about to do.  Warwick stayed in his castle, refusing to attend the ’ execution’ of Piers or even allowing it to take place on his land.  He handed him over to Lancaster, who took him to Blacklow Hill, which was part of his lands.  Even Lancaster didn’t have the stomach to watch Piers being run through with a sword and then his head cut off.

It seems Edward didn’t learn what had happened until days later.  According to the Vita Edwardi Secundi, Edward exploded with rage - at Piers!

“By God’s soul, he acted as a fool.  If he had taken my advice he would never have fallen into the hands of the earls.  This is what I always told him not to do. For I guessed that what has now happened would occur.  What was he doing with the Earl of Warwick, who was known never to have liked him? I knew for certain that if the Earl caught him , Piers would never escape from his hands.”

It seems an extraordinary outburst from Edward.  After all, it wasn’t Piers fault that he was kidnapped by Warwick.  I’m sure Piers must have known disaster awaited him after Warwick seized him when Pembroke left him at Deddington so he could visit his wife.  He knew how Warwick and Lancaster loathed him.  He didn’t need Edward’s advice for that.   Calling Piers a fool, almost blaming him, for what happened, seems totally out of character for Edward, who clearly loved Piers.   One can only put it down to shock before the grief kicked in.  Edward’s actions afterwards demonstrate his deep love for Piers and his determination to get his revenge upon Warwick and Lancaster.

June 19th - death of Piers Gaveston

 Today marks the anniversary of the death - supposedly execution but more like murder -  of Piers Gaveston, 1312.  After surrendering to Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke on May 19th at Scarborough Castle, neither Piers or Edward II could have guessed that Piers would be dead a month later.  Whilst in the custody of Pembroke, Piers was left at Deddington Priory whilst Pembroke went to visit his wife at Bampton.   Piers' enemy, the 'Black dog of Arden', Guy of Warwick, must have had some knowledge of what was happening, as he struck when Pembroke left and took Piers prisoner.   He rushed to his fortress at Warwick, attempted a show of a trial - where Piers was not allowed to speak, and sentenced him to death.  Handing him over to Edward II's cousin Thomas of Lancaster, he was taken to Blacklow Hill on Lancaster's land and run through with a sword by two of Lancaster's men.  Only then was his head cut off.  A shameful and violent episode of Edward II's reign.  The murder of Piers achieved nothing except to bring down the wrath of Edward II on his cousin.  Lancaster would face the same fate himself in 1322.

Monument to Piers Gaveston at Blacklow Hill.  The inscription at the base of the monument below.

May 19th - beginning of the end for Piers Gaveston and execution of Anne Boleyn

 May 19th has come round again.  May 19th 1312 is the day Piers Gaveston, having returned from his third exile, to meet once again with Edward II at the beginning of the year and to his wife and their newly born daughter Joan,  was delivered into the custody of Amyer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke.  Piers had gone to Scarborough Castle to prepare for a siege, but evidently wasn't that prepared, and surrendered on very good term to Pembroke.  If no decision between the barons and Piers was reached, he was to be allowed back to Scarborough Castle.  Pembroke was a man of honour, and Piers must have felt confident he would once again 'escape' destruction.

Anne Boleyn had been due to be beheaded on May 18th, 1536,  but had to wait 24 hours due to the swordsman from Calais  being delayed.  Anne must have suffered agonies awaiting her fate.  The delay was undoubtedly cruel.  Nevertheless, Anne was ready the next day to meet her fate, which she did with great dignity.  No doubt there will be flowers delivered/taken to the Tower of London, as is the tradition every May 19th. 

 For once, my Anne Boleyn rose has started to bud ready for May 19th.

This year I was fortunate to visit Hever Castle, which is undergoing alterations to develop the Boleyn Apartments.  Two of Anne's prayer books are on display, with the one on the right believed to have been carried by Anne to the scaffold.

Review of Edward II: His Sexuality and Relationships by Kathryn Warner

 Having known Kathryn Warner a number of years, this is the book I always thought she needed to write.  Kathryn's research is always meticulous.  She has read almost every work of non-fiction and fiction on Edward II, as well as ploughing through various chronicles and Edward's chamber accounts.   What is noticeable from her latest book is the sheer number of novels and some non-fiction book that focus on the sexuality of Edward II.  This is in part no doubt due to the collapse of his marriage to Isabella of France, his deposition and his subsequent death - and the infamous red hot poker story which held sway for so many years.  The story is an invention from many years after Edward's death and there is even evidence that Edward did not die at Berkely Castle.  The story has often been repeated in an almost salacious way, even as recently in an episode of Secrets of the Royal Palaces a couple of years ago, and presented as fact. The sheer number of novels that present Edward in a homophobic way is shocking, and Kathryn Warner presents some dreadful examples.  The homophobia often seeps into non-fiction, particularly those written well in the last century.   All this is contrasted with the 'romantic' relationship of Isabella, the estranged wife of Edward II, and Roger Mortimer, who helped Isabella overthrow her husband.  And yet, is there any evidence of this from the chronicles of the time?  Absolutely not.  There is no evidence of Isabella and Roger Mortimer having having a sexual relationship.  There is also no evidence of Edward II having a sexual relationship with Piers Gaveston or Hugh Despencer in the chronicles.  But there is evidence of Edward's devotion to both these men and their influence.  Kathryn Warner also delves into Edward's relationships with women - he had an illegitimate son and there is evidence of his meeting a woman in secret.   This book is an excellent history of the reputation of Edward and Isabella as told over the years, and what the actual evidence tells us.