Question from Jan - Bathroom use at court

How and where did people at court go to the bathroom in Tudor England? There were apparently large crowds of people at court with very complicated clothes. What were the sanitation facilities?

Question from Fr Elijah - Monastic involvement in the establishment of the Anglican Church

I am a Roman Catholic Benedictine monk and priest. I am researching very specific questions for which I have not been able to locate materials. Any citations,source documents, or general direction would be greatly appreciated:

1-During the time of Henry VIII before his break with Rome, were there any Bishops serving who had been monks (Benedictine or Cistercian)? I realize (a) not all monks or Abbots were priests, and (b) most bishops were previously secular priests. So, I am inquiring if you know of any monastic priests who had become or were serving as Bishops under Henry VIII?

2-Based on the answer to #1, did any of those previously monastic Bishops become Anglican in support of Henry VIII?

3-Were there any previous monastics who served Thomas Cramner during the early development of the Anglican Church?

4-I know that under the reign of Mary that many monks returned from the Continent who had previously faced the dissolution. Did she appoint any monks as Bishops?

5-Based on the answer to #4, did any remain and support Elizabeth?

So, in a nut shell, I am looking to see if there was any direct monastic involvement in the establishment of the Anglican Church, its hierarchy, or the development of its Book of Common Prayer.

Thanks!
Elijah

Question from Kris - Abeyance and inheritance in Elizabeth's reign

Hi!

I have a couple questions about abeyance and inheritance of titles/lands in Elizabeth's reign.

The short story is, I need a female to be holding land, but not the title that goes with the land. I've been operating as if the title has been in abeyance for hundreds of years, but I could be wrong, & want to check what I'm doing.

If a title went into abeyance because there were no male heirs, the property would have been passed down to the female(s) heirs, correct? Issue/heirs of that female line would continue to inherit the land, but not the title? How would those land-holders have be referred to? Lord/Lady? If so, of what were they lord/lady? Were they still considered noble? Allowed "honorary" titles?

What if there were NO heirs? How would the land get distributed/held in that case? Was it still "in abeyance"? Something else, w/ diff legal connotations? Or was the title (and land?) just subsumed back to the Crown, to be redistributed at will?

Thank-you so much!!

Kris

Question from Jackie - Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell

My questions concern Anne Boleyn/Henry VIII/Thomas Cromwell. Researching this time period has become a hobby of sorts for me. There is a lot of contradictory info out there so I figured it would be interesting to ask questions here to hear different points of view. The questions are really more of learned opinion than fact-based in nature...

1) Did Henry VIII have a hand in not allowing the marriage between Anne and Harry Percy?

2) Is it your opinion that Anne truly loved Henry or was she more so seduced by the power and glory of being a Queen? I know there is also the factor of her family's drive for power and wealth as well, but I often wonder if she truly loved the King apart from all the benefits associated with him.

3) If not for the strong influence of Cromwell, would the Reformation have occurred as it did in England? The winds of reform had already reached England, but prior to Anne and Cromwell those who spoke against the Church were charged with heresy. Cromwell appeared to not only want to serve his King but also further his own religious agenda. But back to my first question here...Do you think Henry would have thought to declare himself Head of the Church and break from Rome on his own?