Question from Aoife - Other queens suspected of witchcraft

I've read that Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth Woodville were suspected of witchcraft. Were any other queens of England suspected of this? Or was this just Tudor queens?

Blog design update coming soon

I just wanted to give everyone a heads-up that I'm going to be changing the blog design soon, probably tomorrow. I want to be able to take advantage of some new features at Blogger and to do it I have to upgrade to the new templates. The blog has basically looked the same for nearly five years, so an update is due anyway (even though the new design is going to look more like everything else on the site, so it's not like it's going to be all that "new" to regular readers). Hopefully I won't muck things up too badly. :)

Question from Monica - Wolsey and syphilis

Did Wolsey have syphilis? I read that he was accused of trying to infect Henry.

Question from Monica - Elizabeth Boleyn's reputation

Elizabeth Boleyn had a 'suspect reputation' according to Weir in The Lady in the Tower. What is she basing this on? She gives no references.

Question from Lewis - Spanish Chronicle

Can you get The Spanish Chronicle online?

Question from Orla - Jasper Tudor

Hi

Very interested about Jasper Tudor and with a lack of biography on him, except being mentioned in Alison Weir's Lancaster and York. I was just wondering if there were articles on him and how to access them? Would they be accessible through any electronic journals?

thanks

Question from EborWin - Sources for rules governing women entering a religious house

Question from EborWin

[Sorry for the length of this question, but the submitter had several good related questions so I've combined them in to a single post. - Lara]


My first questions to this forum, although I’ve been a reader for a while. Getting up the guts….

I was driving this afternoon and it occurred to me that I didn’t know much about the requirements of procedures for the admission of girls or women into pre-Dissolution religious houses in England, say from 1500. (And they think texting while driving is bad?)

Each order, of course, would have their own specific admission rules and, probably, there were many intra-order variations and traditions as well. That’s interesting in itself, but I also would like to know what the official canonical requirements were at the top level. I’ve been running through the decrees for the various Western councils for another question, and but haven’t seen anything relevant yet on women in religion. I’d be surprised if there is anything there at all, really. I do have access to briefs and decretals, but my Latin is lackin’ some if its ve-ve-verve these days, and I am reluctant to commit several days to an exercise which will yield, I know, a lot of interesting information that I wasn’t looking for, and nothing of what I wanted. That is unless some kind fellow Tudor traveler gives me hope and then I will go off happily with shovel and pick.

Likewise, I’d like to understand the position of the candidate for admission under English law. I’m guessing that under normal conditions the head of house, abbess, prioress, would assume the role of the father, in locum parentis, but that’s just a guess. And how was the transfer done? This is a lazy question on my part, because I have read about this somewhere. I have a personal memory from when I read about this -- the postulant was put on a sort of revolving door and, whoosh!, a Nun! Strains from Sound of Music. End.

What I guess I’m really interested in is what people think about how Henry's peeps might have structured her settlement. What would Catherine of Aragon’s legal position be, should she have chosen to enter a religious house (which I don’t think was ever on her radar). She must have been offered, at the very least, an ‘anything you want’ deal, but how might that deal have worked? Would she be subject to an abbess? Might she just be a wealthy paying guest who prays, gets to travel to other convents (like a timeshare package with Ritz-Carleton)? [Unlikely, I think. Henry, even post an agreement, would not want Catherine wandering around, having people shout ‘God save the Queen’ to her.] Or, might she really be a prisoner like Queen Elizabeth (Woodville) at Bermondsey Abbey?

Has there been any work done on what actual canonical settlements might have looked at?

[It's a very technical question and so I'm really looking for a source that I can trust. The arcanity of it all is one thing, and so there could many plausible approaches the curia might have taken. I'd rather not fiddle with arcanity that is just plain wrong.]

Finally, is there a resource to get an idea of how the process might have worked in case, say, the Queen did decide to take the offer? Presumably, a papal dispensation or a 10-pack (charge by the bull, singles at full price, discounts for numbers greater?) would have been required to dissolve (or set aside, or annul (unlikely)) or some other magic word that escapes me at the moment regarding the marriage of Henry and Catherine of Aragon, complicated to the nth to begin with. [The interest here I think would be in the complexity of enterprise.] Or, are the examples of type of transaction so rare that it really was one case at a time? I will to go back to my L&P to see the proposal that Catherine consider a convent was ever fleshed out in letters to and from Rome – how it might work – what the pretenses (reasons) necessary to be given to make the separation valid canonically (because it couldn’t just be “because”, could it?). I don’t remember it, but that’s because I have memory issues.

What kind of frequency are we talking about regarding the 'get thee hither to a nunnery, wife'; was this kind of thing used as an alternative when an annulment was just not possible, and divorce, was a last resort, with terrrible consequences for everyone?

When the convent option was offered to Catherine, would she have had a general understanding of what such an offer would entail (standard procedure)? Might Wolsey have had a draft plan of what that exit might look like. [Or, did he have such a plan and Catherine stopped him after the first sentence because it was all a non-starter. I think the last is at least plausible. I’m certain that Catherine didn’t agree on principle so would have been entirely uninterested in useless details. Catherine was the daughter of Isabella, one of most renowned rulers of the age, and a woman. I believe Catherine saw Mary as the future “Isabella” of England. After that, there was Henry, and his issues (I’m over marginalizing here, pray), and her belief that God works his own ways and he worked it to be Mary. End of story. Don’t need to mention Anne Boleyn because it wasn’t about Anne; it was about no any 2nd wife. The heir, in her mind, was to be Mary. You can certainly see her point, I think. She traveled with her parents – saw some of the Re-conquest at near hand. [And, incidentally, I believe Henry knew that he could not allow Catherine to be reunited with her daughter because the combination of the two of them, even as a peaceful grouping at or near court, would be a permanent, in his face, reminder of not getting is own way.] There is nothing so daunting to a monarch as an heir with an eager following. His decision to separate them was fundamentally cruel, of course, and as time went on, increasingly and deliberately meant to be so; however, at bottom it was a sound political calculation from his perspective, at any rate.]]

That’s a lot. I must say asking the questions helped to shape my thoughts a bit better than they did this afternoon sitting in traffic. I promise any future submissions will be shorter.

I’m grateful for any feedback.

Question from Stacey - Grave markers in St. Peter ad Vincula

If these questions may have already been answered, I apologize. Does Kathryn Howard have a grave marker? And the others that were executed-Thomas More, George Boleyn, etc-are they in the chapel & do they have markers?


[Some of these have already been addressed, but I'm going to piggy-back a broader question on. Does anyone know if there is a "master list" of all the markers and memorials in the chapel? - Lara]

Question from Lewis - Rutland Papers

I see you can buy the Rutland Papers cheaply, but I can't find any information on what they contain and how useful they are. Can anybody help?

Question from Leslie - Queens dying in childbirth

I read that the only queens of England to die in childbirth were Elizabeth of York, Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr. Were the doctors doing something especially wrong at this time or were the Tudors just unlucky?

Question from Kate - Attractiveness of Anne of Cleves

Holbeins portrait of Anne of Cleves shows a sweet faced girl, in my estimation the most attractive of all of Henry's wives, however as we all know Henry rejected her citing among other things that she was horse faced and smelled badly and did not have a maidens body. Do we have any actual proof that she was unattractive,and wouldn't Holbein have been punished for depicting her as something she was not? Is it more likely that at his first surprise visit Anne offended his vanity in some way?

[This is one of those questions that I could swear we had before but I couldn't find it in the archives. If I missed something, please post it in the comments! - Lara]

Question from Marilyn R - Form of address for Kathryn Howard before queen

I am doing research on the old Dowager Duchess of Norfolk’s household in Lambeth. As the daughter of a younger son of the late Duke of Norfolk, what would have been the correct form of address for Kathryn Howard when she lived with her step-grandmother, before her marriage to Henry VIII? She seems always to be referred to as ‘Mistress Kathryn’ in the documentation relating to her relationship with Henry Manox etc.

Question from Lewis - Places associated with Katherine Parr

I want to visit every place associated with Katherine Parr. Where should I go?

Question from Lewis - Pronunciation of Blount

Was Bessie Blount's name pronounced Blount or Blunt?

Question from Sarah - Romeland Castle

I read on here that Henry VIII had a castle called 'Romeland'. Is this right, and if so, how can I find out more about it?

Previous thread listed below:
http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2009/05/question-from-jacquie-list-of-henry.html

Question from Robin - Books authored by Henry VIII's courtiers

Which Henry VIII courtiers wrote books and where can you get them? I've heard Gardiner wrote 1 and Catherine Parr wrote 2.

Question from Tyler - Anne's path to barge after arrest

I've gotten the book on Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives. I ve noticed however, he only mentions that they took her to the barge awaiting her. After Anne's arrest, was she taken to the barge "publicly" I.E. through the court rooms such through the Throne room. Basically, was Anne taken to the barge through a crowd of courtiers or through a passage of some sort.

Question from Sarah - Other Tudor figures needing biographies

This is inspired by the Margaret Douglas question. Which Tudor people do you think most deserves a biography and doesn't have one?

Question from Elizabeth - Other ladies in the Shrove Tuesday entertainment of 1522

The Chateau Vert Entertainment of 1522

If Mary Boleyn was "kindness" and Anne Boleyn was "perseverance", which rolls were played by the other ladies? I am thinking mainly of Jane Parker and possibly Jane Seymour or anyone else for that matter?

I have always wondered how much contact Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour would have had during the time they were both single ladies.

Many thanks

Elizabeth

Question from Jacqueline - Handling of Anne Boleyn's body after execution

I have always been intensely interested in Henry viii and his 6 wives, since visiting Hampton Court as a child. I was wondering if anyone knows why Anne Boleyn's parents didn't pick up her body after her execution and bury her properly. I've read that her ladies in waiting put her in an arrow box and buried her, i've also heard that a man working within the tower was the one who placed her body in the arrow box, after she was left there for quite some time.
I'd also like to know if there is any evidence to suggest the Henry regretted his decision to have her executed.
Thank you.

Related previous thread below:
http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2009/03/question-from-elizabeth-m-henry-viii.html

Question from Kate R. - Source material on George Boleyn

In general, I am interested in sources on George Boleyn. I am familiar with the occasional mention of him here and there in the LP and so forth, but is there a chunk of material on him somewhere that I am missing? Any pointers would be much appreciated :)

Question from QA - Anne Boleyn's portraits

Hello, I was wondering which portrait of Anne Boleyn is the most authentic?

[This question has basically already been addressed in the threads below, but I didn't have an email address for the submitter so I'm going to go ahead and post it. - Lara]

http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2008/08/question-from-faith-best-likenesses-of.html

http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2009/04/question-from-nasim-authenticity-of.html

Question from Jorge - Anne Parr

I saw the name 'Anne Parr' in a book about Katherine Parr mentioned once or twice. The only info I could find on her was that she was Katherine's sister and that she served all six of Henry VIII's queens. Does anyone know anything else?

Question from Sarah - Elizabeth's eye color

What colour were Elizabeth I's eyes? I've read different answers from Googling.

Question from Robin - Cleanliness of the palaces

How clean were the palaces? I've read that Henry VIII ordered Prince Edward's rooms to be scrubbed three times a day, yet I also read that there were rushes all over the floors in the palaces and that people would urinate on them, the rushes not being changed often but simply more put on top. What is the truth?