Miniature Whistle Pendant - possibly a gift from Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn

By family tradition, Henry VIII’s first gift to Anne Boleyn was a gold and enamel ‘pendant in the form of a pistol, chased with scrolling foliage’ (Starkey, 1991, p. 115).

A snake is entwined around the barrel and it contains ‘a set of tooth and ear picks, with spear, scythe and spatula shaped blades’ (Starkey, 2003, p.11).

The whistles were designed like pieces of jewellery and used to summon servants and hounds (Starkey, 2003, p.11). In this portrait of Nicholas Bacon we see him wearing one shaped like a dragon.

Sir Nicholas Bacon, 1579.

These devices were sewn onto the King’s masque costumes in large quantities. In September 1510, Robert Amadas was paid £266 for ‘wreaths, hearts and roses of fine gold’; of which many were ‘lost off the King’s back’, stolen or ‘given away at his pleasure.’ (Starkey, 1991, p. 115)

A separate tradition has Anne Boleyn giving this pendant to a Captain Gwyn, officer of the guard, who supposedly escorted her to the scaffold on the morning of her execution. She is said to have given this to him in acknowledgement of his ‘respectful conduct’ and told him that it had been the King’s first gift to her and ‘that a serpent formed part of the device, and a serpent the giver had proved to her.’ (Weir, p. 265)

According to Weir, Agnes Strickland discovered that the Gwyn family still owned the trinket in the 1840s, however Weir doubts the authenticity of the tale.

Professor Ives in The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn echoes these sentiments,

‘There is no contemporary record of Anne giving gifts on the scaffold, which must cast doubt on the pendant supposedly given to a Captain Gwyn’ (p. 407).

Apart from there being no contemporary record, one must seriously question whether Anne would have so publicly criticised the King knowing that this would seriously jeopardise the safety of those that would be left behind – most importantly, her two year old daughter Elizabeth.

Furthermore, it was simply not in keeping with Tudor scaffold etiquette. When considering how Anne could have gone to her death without protesting her innocence, instead acquiescing in such injustice, Ives points out,

‘Convention demanded it; religion demanded it, and it would be Elizabeth who would suffer from the luxury of defying the king and his supposed justice.’ (p. 358).

Anne Boleyn’s scaffold speech makes the pendant tale all the more unlikely,

Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, according to the law, for by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I come here only to die, and thus to yield myself humbly to the will of the King, my lord. And if, in my life, I did ever offend the King’s Grace, surely with my death I do now atone. I come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that whereof I am accused, as I know full well that aught I say in my defence doth not appertain to you. I pray and beseech you all, good friends, to pray for the life of the King, my sovereign lord and yours, who is one of the best princes on the face of the earth, who has always treated me so well that better could not be, whereof I submit to death with good will, humbly asking pardon of all the world. If any person will meddle with my cause, I require them to judge the best. Thus I take my leave of the world, and of you, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. Oh Lord, have mercy on me! To God I commend my soul.

The pendant is now housed in the British Galleries in room 58E of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Queen Anne Boleyn

What a great year for Tudor enthusiasts living in England! The Boleyn Blickling Festival will run from the 17th-20th May 2012 and promises to be ‘a feast of all things Anne Boleyn’.

Historians, novelists, costumiers and musicians will all come together to celebrate the life of Queen Anne Boleyn, who most of today’s historians (the debate about her year of birth has raged for centuries!) believe was born at Blickling.

Confirmed speakers include Eric Ives, Alison Weir, Suzannah Dunn, Sarah Gristwood, David Loades, George Bernard, Neil Storey, Suzannah Lipscomb and Harriet Castor.

I don’t think this is an event I can miss, so I am working very hard to get there… More on this to follow soon.

Visit the Boleyn Festival Blickling for more information.

Queen Katherine Parr Quincentenary, Sudeley Castle

2012 is also 500 years since the birth of Katherine Parr and Sudeley Castle is celebrating the life of this Tudor queen – who lived, died and is entombed on their grounds – by hosting a range of historical, literary and musical events throughout the year.

Highlights include Tudor family fun days, guest lectures, a champagne reception with Dr David Starkey, a Tudor banquet and the grand finale – a recreation of Katherine Parr’s funeral.

For information on dates, times and events please visit Sudeley Caste.

Sudeley Castle in one my favourite places in the world and I would love to be a part of these celebrations.

Be sure to let me know if you’ll be attending any of these wonderful events.

Anne Boleyn, attributed to John Hoskins

On the 29 January 1536, Anne Boleyn miscarried.

The details appear in Chapuys’ dispatch to Charles V dated February 10:

‘On the day of the interment the Concubine had an abortion which seemed to be a male child which she had not borne 3½ months, at which the King has shown great distress. The said concubine wished to lay the blame on the duke of Norfolk, whom she hates, saying he frightened her by bringing the news of the fall the King had six days before. But it is well known that is not the cause, for it was told her in a way that she should not be alarmed or attach much importance to it. Some think it was owing to her own incapacity to bear children, others to a fear that the King would treat her like the late Queen, especially considering the treatment shown to a lady of the Court, named Mistress Semel, to whom, as many say, he has lately made great presents. The Princess’s gouvernante, her daughters, and a niece, have been in great sorrow for the said abortion, and have been continually questioning a lady who is very intimate with the Princess whether the said Princess did not know the said news of the abortion, and that she might know that, but they would not for the world that she knew the rest, meaning that there was some fear the King might take another wife. The Princess is well. She changed her lodging on Saturday last, and was better accompanied on her removal and provided with what was necessary to her than she had been before. She had an opportunity of distributing alms on the way, because her father had placed about 100,000 crowns at her disposal. It is rumoured that the King, as Cromwell sent to inform me immediately after the Queen’s death, means to increase her train and exalt her position. I hope it may be so, and that no scorpion lurks under the honey. I think the King only waited to summon the said Princess to swear to the statutes in expectation that the concubine would have had a male child, of which they both felt assured. I know not what he will do now. I have suggested to the Princess to consider if it be not expedient, when she is pressed to take the oath, if she be reduced to extremity, to offer that if the King her father have a son she will condescend to his will, and that she might at once begin throwing out some such hint to her gouvernante. I will inform you of her reply.’

Continue reading here.

Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel is the sequel to the Man Booker Prize winning Wolf Hall. I am really looking forward to reading this but unfortunately we all have to wait a little longer.

Australian release date: 01 May 2012

UK release date:10 May 2012

For now you can enjoy the synopsis!

‘My boy Thomas, give him a dirty look and he’ll gouge your eye out. Trip him, and he’ll cut off your leg,’ says Walter Cromwell in the year 1500. ‘But if you don’t cut across him he’s a very gentleman. And he’ll stand anyone a drink.’

By 1535 Thomas Cromwell, the blacksmith’s son, is far from his humble origins. Chief Minister to Henry VIII, his fortunes have risen with those of Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second wife, for whose sake Henry has broken with Rome and created his own church. But Henry’s actions have forced England into dangerous isolation, and Anne has failed to do what she promised: bear a son to secure the Tudor line. When Henry visits Wolf Hall, Cromwell watches as Henry falls in love with the silent, plain Jane Seymour. The minister sees what is at stake: not just the king’s pleasure, but the safety of the nation. As he eases a way through the sexual politics of the court, its miasma of gossip, he must negotiate a ‘truth’ that will satisfy Henry and secure his own career. But neither minister nor king will emerge undamaged from the bloody theatre of Anne’s final days.

In ‘Bring up the Bodies’, sequel to the Man Booker Prize-winning ‘Wolf Hall’, Hilary Mantel explores one of the most mystifying and frightening episodes in English history: the destruction of Anne Boleyn. This new novel is a speaking picture, an audacious vision of Tudor England that sheds its light on the modern world. It is the work of one of our great writers at the height of her powers.

Anne Barnhill in her Tudor shift, stomacher and red petticoat

I am delighted to welcome Anne Clinard Barnhill, author of At the Mercy of the Queen: A Novel of Anne Boleyn, back to On the Tudor Trail and excited to share, not only our interview but also details of a book giveaway made possible by Anne’s generosity!

You can read my interview with Anne here and an entertaining guest post by this author entitled ‘Playing Dress-Up’ here.

All you need to do to be in the running to win an autographed copy of At the Mercy of the Queen, is leave a comment after our interview detailing why you would like to win this book before January 19, 2012.

Once all entries are in, Anne will select one lucky winner! It’s as easy as that.

Now, enjoy our interview and don’t forget to leave a comment!

Wicked Women of Tudor England: Queens, Aristocrats, Commoners (Queenship and Power)

Just a quick post to bring to your attention a new book that will be released on April 10, 2012 called ‘Wicked women of Tudor England : Queens, Aristocrats, Commoners (Queenship and Power)’ by Retha M. Warnicke.

Contents

I have not been able to find a synopsis but did find mention of a project that Warnicke worked on entitled ‘Re-Inventing the Wicked Women of Tudor England’ described here as revealing:

‘how historians have validated negative gossip about Alice More, Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard, the Duchess of Somerset and the Countess of Leicester. This gossip, mostly mined from diplomatic dispatches or Catholic polemical literature, was spread by individuals who had little or no personal contact with the women they slandered. The context for her research is the gender and cultural hierarchy that privileged men.’

Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (née Stanhope)

For those of you interested in reading Warnicke’s article ‘Inventing the Wicked Women of Tudor England: Alice More, Anne Boleyn, and Anne Stanhope’, originally published in Quidditas: Journal of the Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association, Vol. 20 (1999), click here.

I will endeavour to keep you updated as more information on this title arises.

Finding Anne

Three years ago I had an emotional encounter with a Tudor object. On a visit to Compton Verney in Warwickshire, I saw an exhibition of some of the treasures – paintings and artefacts – that are usually hidden away at Chequers, the country house of the Prime Minister.

In one of the exhibition’s rooms stood a glass case, and inside it lay a ring. A ring I had thought never to see, other than in photographs, in my life.

This ring once graced the finger of Elizabeth I, and was sufficiently dear to her that it was the item taken from her body and carried to James VI of Scotland as proof of her death – clearly, she would never have considered giving it away as a gift.

Miniature enamel portraits of Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn

On the ring’s top an ‘E’ is picked out in diamonds, but the most precious items are hidden beneath: like a locket, it opens to display two portraits in minutely sculpted and enamelled relief – one of Elizabeth herself and the other of her mother, Anne Boleyn. (You can read more about the ring in Natalie’s article about it here).

Anne was, of course, the mother Elizabeth had hardly known (Anne was executed when Elizabeth was just two and a half). Elizabeth never spoke of Anne publicly, and did not have her body moved to a grander tomb (as James VI and I did for his executed mother, Mary Queen of Scots). This ring is one of the few indications – and certainly the most personal, intimate one – that Anne mattered to Elizabeth. And for me, the most heart-wrenching detail about it is something that is hard to see from photographs but is very clear in real life:

Anne is smiling.

Something that no one did in Tudor portraits. But something that her daughter would want to picture her doing – perhaps even (a long shot, but just maybe) could remember her doing. I find this almost unbearably moving.

No wonder then that, at Compton Verney that day, I bent over the ring for ages, trying (and probably failing) not to annoy other visitors who wanted a look. It was all I could do to stop myself trying to climb into the display case: the magnifying glass provided just did not get me close enough!

What lay behind my enthusiasm? My life-long obsession with Tudor history, yes – but something more specific, too. You see, Anne Boleyn was at the heart of what was then propelling me – urgently, obsessively – to write VIII, my new YA novel about Henry VIII.

The urgency and the obsession came from the fact that I was – I am – convinced that I had something new to say about Henry. Which might sound extraordinary. He is, after all, one of the most familiar figures in British history. But for me, there has always been a gaping hole in his story. Despite all I have read about him, despite all the films and documentaries I have seen, I feel that no one has ever given me a satisfactory explanation of why he did what he did. Yes, he needed a son, yes he was tired of his wife… but other kings of the time found themselves in that position and didn’t react so devastatingly.

Most puzzlingly of all: why did he pursue Anne so passionately for seven years, only to have her executed just three short years later? Even the weeks leading up to her death seem filled with confusing behaviour on his part. Explanations have been offered, of course, but none of them ring entirely true for me; none of them make me identify with Henry. I wanted to put myself right inside his mind, and see those events from his point of view.

So I set out to write VIII, which tells Henry’s story in the first person, following his psychological journey from idealistic, loving, insecure boy to paranoid tyrant – and joining up dots that I haven’t seen joined up before. Henry’s mother, for example, was the sister of the Princes in the Tower – how did that traumatic past affect her relationship with her son? Henry’s father had spent years on the run before he became king – what kind of father did that make him?

I spent many months researching, and many hours talking with psychoanalysts about Henry’s psychological journey – and what an intense, exhilarating and terrifying journey it was! But when at last I felt that I had cracked the conundrum – when I felt I knew how and why Henry acted as he did towards Anne – that was the most exciting eureka moment of my writing career so far. It remains one of the elements of VIII of which I am most proud.

Meanwhile the locket ring is, I assume, back at Chequers (does David Cameron appreciate it sufficiently? Hm? Hm? I think we should be told!). My memories of that day at Compton Verney, however, have certainly not left me. I am currently writing a novel that is, in many ways, the sequel to VIII: it is about the sister-relationship between Henry VIII’s daughters, Mary I and Elizabeth. I know that memories of (and ideas about) Anne Boleyn will loom large for both my protagonists. And as I write, Elizabeth’s locket ring lingers in my mind, as a talisman. I hope that one day I will see it again.

VIII is published in the UK on October 1^st by Templar Publishing and in Australia later this autumn by Penguin.

You can see a trailer for VIII and an interview with H.M. Castor about the book here: www.hmcastor.com

Twitter: @HMCastor

Ruins of Whitehall Palace

Today’s post is a guest article written by Annis Castellina, a qualified teacher, writer and researcher. Annis designs and leads historical walking tours aimed at rediscovering ‘lost palaces’, including a tour of the royal palace of Whitehall.

Annis brings Whitehall Palace to life through the use of old illustrations, maps and paintings. She guides you to important sites and identifies its remains.

This sounds like a wonderful tour and one that I hope to go on during my next visit to London. For more information please visit Annis Tours.

Annis has shared some of her expertise with us in a wonderful article written for On the Tudor Trail, entitled ‘Is the metonymy “Whitehall” part of Anne Boleyn’s legacy?’.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

by Annis Castellina, Whitehall Palace Tour Guide

Largely vanished now, Whitehall Palace, in the heart of London, was the largest and, in the age of Elizabeth 1st, the most dazzling Renaissance Court of Europe. Some of its foundations and fireplaces, still remain under the road. From these, from contemporary plans, descriptions and paintings, archeologists and historians of the Royal Palaces can now reconstruct it.

Queen Elizabeth 1st walked in its formal gardens in impressive dresses, danced La Volta here in the Presence Chamber or Great Chamber, watched plays at Twelfth Night, held elaborate court ceremonies in the Privy Garden, and received shields from her nobles at Whitehall.  This was also where The Lord Chamberlain’s Men and the King’s Men, Shakespeare’s acting troupe performed his plays, to visiting ambassadors, two Monarchs and to the nobility.

At Whitehall Palace, the Court and its support staff, lodged in over a thousand rooms, heated by fireplaces and blue ceramic stoves using sea-coal.  The building was Tudor in architecture, using local materials, in low Gothic style. Its key features were oriel windows and gatehouses.  Whitehall was not unlike Tudor parts of Hampton Court which has survived.

Continue reading here.

Sandra Byrd, author of 'To Die For' a novel about Anne Boleyn

I recently posted my review of ‘To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn‘ and today I would like to share with you an interview with the author, Sandra Byrd.

In our interview Sandra shares the inspiration behind her book, she talks about why she believes Anne is such a fascinating subject for novelists and even gives us a taste of the next novel in the Ladies in Waiting series, The Secret Keeper.

Unfortunately, we have to wait until June 2012 for the next installment of this wonderful Tudor series.

Read the full interview here.

Enjoy!

I hope that you will join me in thanking him for taking the time to write in such detail about each of the fascinating locations he visited and I would appreciate it very much if you left a comment of thanks if you too have enjoyed his posts as much as I have.

If you would like to join me on a Tudor progress with a difference next year, please click here.

Without further ado…

Tower of London, St. Dunstan’s, St. John’s, St. Bartholomew’s

Day 6: The Finale!

By Mike Glaeser

Tower of London

Nothing fires the imagination more than a visit to the infamous Tower of London. Since I first saw it in 2006, it has always been one of my favorites. In fact, I used the Tower as the subject for my final art history paper at university. It offers a piece of history for everyone and is not just focused on dungeons and executions as much as public advertising would like you to think. Besides a prison, it was a medieval palace, zoo, mint, armory and a space observatory. The current exhibition is on the royal menagerie. The story of all the beasts at the Tower is half the excitement. They opened up two further towers to view, which were not usually open to the public. These are the Brick and Bowyer towers. In the latter, a famous prisoner was executed by being drowned in a barrel of malmsey wine. But we’re not concerned about medieval drama…no, we are looking for the last vestiges tied to the Tudors. Thankfully, there’s plenty to see…

Continue reading here.