I was doing some research on Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the reign of Henry VIII and found an interesting entry. Since today is the first Sunday of July, the date when this letter was written, I thought it was appropriate to share it.
Hever Castle
It is a letter written by Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire, to Cromwell:
I received a letter from the King, with another from you concerning an augmentation of living to my daughter of Rochford; and although my living of late is much decayed, I am content, whereas she now has 100 marks a year, and 200 marks a year after my decease, to give her 50 marks a year more in hand. From Lady day last past she shall have 100/. a year to live on, where she should have had only 100 marks as long as I live, and after my death 300 marks a year. Beseeching you to inform the King that I do this alonely for his pleasure. When I married I had only 50/. a year to live on for me and my wife as long as my father lived, and yet she brought me every year a child. I thank you for your goodness to me when I am far off, and cannot always be present to answer for myself. Hever, this first Sunday of July.
I know these were very different times but I find it so hard to imagine writing such a letter to the very people that had – less than two months before – orchestrated the murder of your children.
On a side note, over the years, many historians have used this letter, as evidence to support a birthdate of c. 1501 for Anne Boleyn. Thomas became a wealthy man after the death of his father in 1505 and so Eric Ives believes that all the Boleyn children – Mary, Anne and George – were born by 1504. Read a full summary of the arguments supporting a birthdate of 1501 here.
Reference
‘Henry VIII: July 1536, 1-5’, Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 11: July-December 1536 (1888), pp. 2-19. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75462 Date accessed: 30 June 2012.
I have only a little bit,of knowledge of the times and court of Henry but I have developed an opinion using a modern analogy to explain much of what happened and why in those times. I view Henry and his court as being much like a Mafia family. Henry is Tony Soprano and the most important members of his circle are analogous to “made men”. Every one of them is a treacherous snake out to gain as much power and wealth as they can while still keeping their heads. If you keep this in mind it is not hard to understand why Thomas Boelyn would write a letter like this to Cromwell, Henry’s “consigliere”. Boelyn was as morally bankrupt as all the rest of them and the letter proves his main interests like every Madia made man were money and keeping the boss happy. The fact the boss had just whacked his two kids was just the cost of doing business.