Was Anne Boleyn blindfolded or not? And did the executioner really try and distract her by saying ” Boy! where is my sword?”
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It was traditional for people to be blindfolded at executions and it is reported that Anne was blindfolded by one of her ladies - "A young lady presented her with a linen cap, with which she covered her hair, and she knelt down, fastening her clothes about her feet, and one of the said ladies bandaged her eyes." - LP x. 911 .
The Spanish Chronicle (p71) gives the story of the executioner distracting Anne by calling out down the steps to his assistant "Bring me the sword" and then signalling someone else to give him his sword, which was hidden under some straw on the platform, and striking the blow while Anne was looking towards the steps.
3 Responses to “Was Anne Boleyn blindfolded or not? And did the executioner really try and distract her by saying ” Boy! where is my sword?””
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In recent years, Egypt has started to collect DNA from mummies in order to trace families and identify mummies; they have also started to re-create facial features through forensic imaging software with the same methods used by police in investigating unidentified skeltal remains. Knowing the location of many royal skeltons and their relatives, I believe much could be learned in a smiliar project throughout Europe if DNA samples were allowed to be taken and the skulls photographed for reconstructive images. A family that can be traced through multiple generations via DNA could teach us much in the evolution of disease and aging for instance, and being able to “see” what these famous people looked like would be awesome. How do you feel about a project such as this? Do you believe that prehaps William will allow this type of research once the reigning Queen and his father pass the throne to him? I certainly hope so although I doubt if I will live to see it!; Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know what Anne really looked like? Whether Henry 8 had a congential bone defect or just an infected abcess? What amaing things we could learn if we could complete this type of research and think of all the questions we could answer! Such as – Was Henry 8′s son, Edward VI, body replaced with a doppleganger to hide the fact he was administered arsnic in the last weeks of his life to prolong it?
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I like the story that the executionar distracted Anne before slicing her head off, but if she was blindfolded why would he need to distract her??
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Claire Reply:
February 16th, 2012 at 10:30 am
To keep her head where he wanted it so that he could decapitate her quickly and easily. It must have been natural for her, when she was blindfolded and couldn’t see what was going on, to try and figure out what was going on and when the executioner would strike. Poor woman.
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