May 21 – Anne Boleyn’s grandfather, and William Tyndale

I couldn’t post yesterday on Henry V111 so I will have to mention it today, it does indeed leave a bitter taste in the mouth as Claire says, to know that the king became engaged to Jane Seymour just the day after he had just had his previous wife executed, her body was still warm in her grave when the merry couple toasted their future together, it renders one speechless by this kings complete lack of empathy, sympathy and common decency let alone royal protocol by belong engaged to another woman as Agnes Strickland put it, while the life blood was still running warm in the veins of his victim, Jane Seymour Miss Strickland had no time for, but she was Victorian with the morals ideals and beliefs of that rigid era, she declared her conduct was shameless in encouraging the king whilst he was still married to her mistress, but I think really that assumption is unfair, Jane was no doubt controlled by her ambitious family and probably would have found it impossible not to accede to their demands, she had not the courage of Anne Boleyn to refuse him and we have to remember she thought Anne was a wicked woman who had ruined the life of Katherine of Aragon and Mary, she was also Catholic and wanted a return to Catholicism she like many of the old religion, saw the reform as the ruination of the country, we also have to remember that it was Henry V111’s idea to get engaged the day after not Jane’s, and their wedding two weeks later was obviously his idea to, because she was the woman he had lined up when his second queen went to her death does not mean she should be the victim of heavy criticism, if it were not Jane it would be another, still she appears motionless and rather cold because we have no idea of her feelings on this matter, she really compared to the enigmatic fiery Anne and the noble and educated Katherine a shadow queen, but her early death was responsible for that, she was married and a queen in so little a time she made no impact on history, Henry V111 during the arrest and trial and execution of Anne Boleyn behaved cheerful which many noted and which looked suspicious, he did not act like the outraged betrayed husband unlike when Catherine Howard’s nocturnal outings and her past life was discovered, he merely acted like he had one problem out of the way, and dealt with, many grumbled, Chapyus did not believe Anne was guilty as he wrote to his master, it appears ill in the ears of the people, it was a violent age but people did not like to see an innocent woman murdered and there were the courtiers who died also, did not the king ever think of those friends whom he had also put to death? His old friend Henry Norris Francis Weston who had played bowls with him and tennis so gaily, William Brereton ? Did not Henry V111 think Breretons death was rather too expedient for his chief minister, and the young musician Mark Smeaton he had employed him when he first arrived at court because he delighted in his skill, did this king ever feel the pangs of conscious, when Sir Francis Weston was condemned his family put up a huge ransom, he was his parents only child and his death must have left a gaping hole in their hearts, his widow eventually married again and had two daughters so she found some happiness, her son Henry became his grandfathers heir at the age of six, Sir Henry Norris left three sons and daughter, his eldest also Henry became 1st Baron Norris and did well at the court of Queen Elizabeth, it was said the queen held him in high esteem for his fathers acknowledgment of her mother’s innocence, he has a most beautiful tomb in Westminster Abbey unlike his unfortunate father, who was buried in a traitors grave, the kings once father in law Sir Thomas Boleyn grieved in private with his wife and Mary, now their only remaining child, his brother James had been comptroller of Anne’s household and his wife one of Anne’s ladies, there was Anne Lady Shelton his sister who had served Anne also, and been in the Tower with her, they had not gone on for the last year or so of the queens life, but they were blood kin and must have found witnessing her death horrific, Henry V111 if he ever thought of these people whose lives he had ruined never publicly spoke of it, but maybe alone with his own thoughts he told his ‘conscience’ that it was expedient for the safety of his realm, he had to safeguard his country he had to have a son, and Anne and the others had been found guilty by the law of the land, but he must have been troubled till the end of his days, and in fact there is one source that does tell us, that this much debated king did indeed express regret for sending his queen to her shocking and bloody death.