I don't think the downfall of Anne is too basic for 5-6 pages. Alison Weir devoted a whole book to it! You could discuss the various theories about the cause of her downfall and then wrap up with which theory you find most believable to you and why. Was it all Cromwell? Was it all Henry? Was it entirely the Seymours? Was it for political, religious, or dynastic reasons? Was it some combination of any of the above? What differences are there in a trial of law now vs then? Did Anne have a fair trial? How much influence over Henry, religiously, did Anne really wield? Would she have considered herself a Protestant (even if the term didn't exist, then), or was she a Catholic trying to reform the Church from within?

You might have trouble confining it to just 5-6 pages! Good luck! And have fun.

Paperplane93 said:

In your opinion, do you think Annes beliefs play any part in her downfall ?

From what I understand, the Anne Boleyn play at The Globe has Anne saying “this is what got me killed” while holding up an English Bible.  Henry's beliefs prevaricated and fluctuated.  According to the book I happen to be reading right now. Royal Affairs, subtitled A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures That Rocked the British Monarchy, “The chronological catalogue of Henry's six wives also mirrors the tenor of his time, and the shifting sands of religious upheaval and the swinging pendulum of his court's political factions.  Catholic, Reformer, Catholic, Lutheran, Catholic, Reformer.”  I do have some issues with this assessment- Anne of Cleves was technically a  Catholic and Catherine Parr would've probably considered herself a Lutheran.  Also, it says that Anne Boleyn's indictment had a choice of “burning or execution”, which doesn't make sense at all.   Anyhow, my point is that yes, you can make a case that Anne's beliefs contributed to her downfall.

They had argued quite heatedly, but had seemed to make up before Anne's fall. From what I remember, Anne thought the monies and properties gained from the dissolution of the monasteries should go toward schools, hospitals, etc. Cromwell agreed, but Henry was keen on putting everything into his own pocket, and Cromwell was a yes-man. Anne had threatened him, which must have alarmed him, but he was more afraid of Henry than Anne.

Bringing Anne down would have solved Cromwell's problem neatly; he makes Henry happy on two fronts (by helping him pocket the proceeds from the monasteries, and getting him out of a marriage he seems to have no longer wanted), and he defangs the person who had threatened him in the past, and might again in the future, Anne.

Well, first of all, welcome to the AB Files!! Sorry for replying so late but I agree that the fall of Anne is a great topic. Another topic would be the courtship of Anne by Henry? That has tons of material, but perhaps it's too long for 5-6 pages (depends how small the font is…). Or you could even develop an interesting theory/thesis and expand off that, about the Reformation or her relationship with others (such as Mary Tudor or her family), etc. Hope this helps 🙂

I agree with Melissa, you should definitely pick up Eric Ives' biography!! Also, if you're going to do a paper on the fall of Anne Boleyn, you could try Alison Weir's The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn. I like it and it reads like a novel but I have to say I think Ives' is probably more informative. However his is about Anne's entire life, while Weir's is speficic for Anne's fall.

Paperplane93 said:

Also  I wanted to write a little bit about why Anne was executed and not divorced. Would I be right in saying that it was because if Henry divorced Anne then his marriage to Catherine would have been valid and Mary would have inherited the throne? I read something like that but I'm not sure it's right.

 

Thanks for you help I really appreciate it, I'll try to keep my post shorter next time.

Your posts aren't long! Not for this place, anyway. I think that was the basic idea for Anne's death. Henry didn't want his children by Jane (or someone else) having to give way to Mary or even Elizabeth. He wanted a son to succeed him. Before Katharine's death, he had inquired about the possibility of ending his marriage to Anne without having to go back to Katharine. Had Katharine lived longer, I think there could have been the possibility of Anne being 'merely' one more wife he'd put aside.

But with Katharine dead, those who had refused to recognize his marriage to Anne now considered him to be a widower, albeit with the 'impediment' of a woman he'd publicly proclaimed to be his wife and queen, and with whom he'd fathered a child. With Anne dead also, he's free to remarry by anyone's standards. He gets to wipe the slate clean and start all over again. And it would be no big deal to bastardize Mary and Elizabeth, as they were 'merely' daughters, and he was going to have sons by Jane.