Question from Elizabeth M - Proxy marriages v. pre-contracts

I am not sure if this question has been answered before--if so, please forgive the repeat. I am confused about the difference between pre-contracts and proxy marriages made through alliances and how subsequent marriages are effected. I am currently reading John Ashdown-Hills biography of Eleanor Talbot Butler, in which he argues basically for Titulus Regulus--saying that Edward IV either married Eleanor in secret, or at the least, made a promise and then they had sexual relations, which according to the laws then, amounted to an actual marriage. As a result, his subsequent marriage to Elizabeth Wydeville was bigamous and its issue bastards. This was the argument Richard III used to "claim" the throne for himself when he imprisoned Edward's young sons, Edward V and Richard, Duke of York. Anne Boleyn may have had a pre-contract with Henry Percy, but it is unknown i she consummated the relationship. In marriage contracts which were arranged by alliance, say for example, Princess Mary Tudor's to the future Emperor Charles V, or her niece Mary's contracts to the same Charles and later the Dauphin of France--were there similarities to a pre-contract and was the only difference a lack of physical consummation? In the elder Mary Tudor's case with Charles, and in her niece's case with the Dauphin, were not proxies used to exchange rings? The elder Mary Tudor was considered to be, or at least thought of herself, as Charles's "wife." How did the church deal with these "marriages"?

Question from David - Studies of intellect and metal stability of the Tudors

According to my grandmother (who died in 1979) she was told as a child that our family is descended from a daughter of the 'Duke of Bedford' who lived "over 400 years ago". This ancestor was said to be the source of the "family curse" ... a "mental instability" with associated very high intelligence that resulted in many family members "ending their lives in institutions" (as my grandmother did).

Helen Tudor seems to be a possibility as the family came from a locality close to Bury St Edmunds ... where some sources say she married a local merchant ... and her son, Stephen Gardiner's intellect fits the pattern. My opinion is that this presumably genetically driven trait is a form of Autism (Asperger's?). I think I remember reading a book a while back in which the author (a woman?) claimed that Henry VIII was "schizophrenic". Does anyone know of any studies of the Tudors' that examines their intellect/mental stability?

Question from Lindsey - TV Renaissance documentary from the 80s or 90s

I have a question regarding a television documentary on the Renaissance which I saw back in the 90s (possibly the late 80s). I distinctly remember a segment on Elizabeth I as a Renaissance queen: there is a re-creation scene in which she is being carried in a litter and greeting her subjects in the good ole Elizabeth I fashion. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

I also believe that a companion book was published at the same time the series was broadcast here in the U.S. I am trying to find out if the series was ever available on VHS or dvd because I would very much like to see this well-done documentary again.

Question from Julia - Servants in wealthy Tudor households

I am writing a children's book set in Tudor times and this blog has already been a great source of information, so thanks!

I have a couple of questions about servants in wealthy Tudor households:

Would there have been a head servant in charge of the others? Something like a butler? This is for a character in the book, so it would be really helpful if you could also describe the way they would dress.

Could you tell me where the servants would sleep. Would their rooms be at the top of the house as in Victorian times?

Also, I'd really like look at a floorplan of a large Tudor house, do you know of any sites on the internet where I could see one?

Your help will be very much appreciated.

Question from Alexandra - Sources for medieval and early modern ideas of kingship

I've been keeping an eye on this excellent blog for a couple of years now (I usually pop up in the comments when there is a question about Latin), but now I have a question of my own.

I'm planning a paper for my Honours History of Medicine course in university about how attitudes towards kingship in medieval/early modern times made the king touching the neck of an afflicted person an acceptable cure for scrofula.

There are several primary source documents online that have to do with treating and curing scrofula, so I'm pretty much covered there. However, I have no idea where to start searching for primary sources on medieval/early modern ideas of kingship. I've found a lot of websites with a lot of primary sources; I just don't know what kind of documents I should concentrate on. Does anybody have any suggestions for sources I could use?

Question from Rachel - Opinions of Jane Boleyn

I just started reading the only book I could find about Jane Boleyn. It is by Julia Fox. I have never been a fan of The Lady Rochford, yet I try to see all the members of the Tudor Court as individuals. True people who actually lived through it and how they dealt with it on that individual basis. I would like to know what others here think of Lady Jane Boleyn Rochford.

[There have been various discussions on aspects of Jane before. Just search on "Jane Boleyn", Jane Rochford" and "Jane Parker" in the archives for the previous threads. - Lara]

Question from Hazel - Advice on Tudor History PhD dissertation proposal

I am beginning to think about a PhD proposal for an area of Tudor history. However, I am having problems narrowing down a research area as the topic is so vast and there is so much research already carried out on the Tudor era that a new contribution or addition to the field may be difficult. I a lucky enough to have a UK passport so I am of course going apply to UK universities. I am leaning towards Warwick and checking programs in Scotland.

I am increasingly interested in the pregnancies of Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn as well as midwifery at the Tudor court. I am wondering if there is a connection between their numerous miscarriages and stillborns and the lying in period and birthing chamber environment and if anything changed in midwifery practices by Jane Seymour's reign - although Jane did die of infection brought on by childbirth so there may be another connection between all three's pregnancies and deliveries. Although Henry is often said to have been impotent, he was able to impregnate all of these women as well as Bessie Blount and possibly Mary Boleyn. Even if Henry and Catherine Carey were not King Henry's children, Mary Boleyn was obvously very fertile having four children in total so I think it may be possible to rule out a genetic problem or the possibility of Anne being RH-. Mary Boleyn was also not in the court's birthing chamber and I wonder if this had an influence on the survival of her!
children and lack of stillborn delivery.

Another track would be a comparison of these two Queens, as both had their hands in politics and diplomacy, a definite influence on religious activity, were intelligent and educated and both were stripped of their titles in the end as the only means of getting them out of court. They were both women ahead of their time and I would be interested in showing a similarity between the two rather than the contrasts which are the norm when writing/researching these two Queens. In many ways, Henry essentially married a woman similar to Queen Catherine when he wed Anne (apart from her class)and he gained power and influence in Europe and England due to his marriage to both - a twist on the idea that it was only Catherine and Anne who gained from the marriages, although on the surface this is definitely the case.

If anyone has any suggestions on research areas that have not been really explored surrounding these topics or other areas involving the period between 1485 - 1540 I would be most grateful. Or if you think I am way off base, let me know as well. I just need some help narrowing it down.

Thanks in advance.

Question from Emilia - Cold baptismal water and childhood illness

Hi!
This summer i visited Torpa Stenhus, the home of Gustav Wasas third wife Katarina Stenbock. It´s from the 15th century and located in the south-west of Sweden. At Torpa there´s a very old baptismal font, made of stone.
The guide there told us something I find very hard to believe. She claimed that when children were baptised in this font, they didn´t bother to heat up the water, not even during the cold (very, very cold in sweden!) winter. The font was placed in the chapel wich was never heated so sometimes the baptism-water was frozen so they had to remove the ice covering the water. She said that on very rare occasions, and only for boys, they could place a heated stone on the bottom to warm it up, but that hardly ever happened. The guide said that this could be part of the explenation to why so many children died in infancy.
Now to my question: Could this possibly be true? Has anyone heard of anything about this custom, or is it maybe something that only took place in Sweden? I find it hard to believe because even though people didn´t now as much about causes behind deseases, it should still have been well known how dangerous icecold water is for anyone, especially an infant.
Sorry for the long text, but the question needed som background explenation!
Sincerly / Emilia

Question from Maria - Mother of Henry VIII's son Edward who died young

With whom did Henry VIII have the child Edward who died young ie was it Mary Boleyn or Catherine of Aragon's lady in waiting

Question from Eva - Online resources

I have just finished reading Alison Weir's "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" and decided to look in the bibliography to see where she got her information on Anne Boleyn. I searched "Calendar of Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII" on the internet and also anything by George Wyatt, but I could not find much. Is there anywhere (online) where I could find these things?

[There has already been some discussion on the State Papers online (see the links below) but not the availability of the George Wyatt papers. - Lara]

Previous State Papers threads/posts:

http://tudorhistory.org/blog/2009/01/19/200-volumes-of-state-papers-now-online/

http://tudorhistory.org/queryblog/2007/11/question-from-monica-online-versions-of.html

I think there are some volumes available through Google Books and the Internet Archive as well.

And there is the Gale Cengage State Papers Online project that some might have access to through university or other library subscriptions.

Catching up with this week's questions

I'm finally catching up from the busy end of a busy month - new posts coming momentarily!

Question from Lee - Northwick Park portrait of Jane Grey

Hello, does anyone know anything about the "Northwick Park Portrait" thought to be of Lady Jane Grey? Eric Ives has just printed a picture of it in his new book. Does this have any connection with her?

Question from Jacque - Drinking water in Tudor England

I understand that in Tudor England people mainly drank wine and ale, usually diluted with water, but did anyone ever drink just straight water? Or was it so bad that they couldn't, even if they were wealthy people? (I read somewhere that the wealthy did sometimes drink water, but I think it was an unreliable source, so I thought I'd check.) I know that Margaret Beaufort said Catherine of Aragon should get used to drinking wine since the water in England wasn't good for drinking, but I've also heard that Prince Arthur called for water the morning after his wedding night.

Question from Diane - Poetry of Mary Queen of Scots

I've got a question about the poetry of Mary Queen of Scots. In the 1971 movie, "Mary Queen of Scots," Vanessa Redgrave sings a song during the opening credits as Mary and Francois are running from the castle to the river. The song is called "Vivre et Mourir" and the lyrics are from a poem by Mary herself. Does anyone know what specific poem this is and where I can find it? The English title would be "To live and to die."

Question from joycem - Monuments to and writings of Jane Grey

Have any statues, or monuments etc ever been erected to commemorate Lady Jane Gray ? afeter all she did pretty much die a mayter to the Protestant faith. I also lived for a while in Leicester and apart from visting the remains of Bradgate Hall in Bradgate park I dont recall seeing anything their either. Also why is she not commemorated as a Queen at the Tower displays? one of the Beefeaters told me it is because she was never officially crowned , but Catherine Howard wasnt either and she is refered to as a Queen there.
I think Jane gray never received the recognition she deserved.
Also raed somewhere , dont know if fact or fiction that after Janes execution Frances Brandon took some of Janes writings and they were published what happened to those? if they existed

New posts coming shortly

Sorry to the people who submitted questions this week - I had one of the busiest work weeks possible, and I get to do it all again next week! So I took today off to give me a long weekend to catch up on a lot of stuff, including Tudory things. :)

Question from Brittany - Three Blind Mice

I was recently told by one of my teachers that the rhyme "The Three Blind Mice" had a reference to Queen Mary as the farmer's wife and that three protestant nobles were the three blind mice. Is this actually true or just a story believed to be true? And if true, then would the tone be more positive or negative to Mary? I think that the line "they all went after the farmer's wife" could be that the nobles might've wished to marry her or could be that the nobles "went after" her in a plot to put Elizabeth on the throne. Any help to clear my confusion would be helpful.

Question from Sarah - Executions in Edward VI's reign

Hi,
I was wondering mainly if Edward VI executed any people during his reign and if so under what orders and sentences were they punished for.

Thanks

Sarah

Question from Merlin - Hoods and fabrics

I have a few questions about dress.

Firstly, hoods- I've read several times that Anne Boleyn was responsible for introducing the French hood to the English court. I'd be interested to know when the French hood started to replace the English gable hood and what role Anne really played in popularising it.

Secondly, all those heavy fabrics (brocade and velvet, cloth of gold, etc) worn over petticoats, stomachers, etc...whilst England isn't renowned for its hot summers and whilst I'm sure most palaces and large houses were pretty drafty, there must have been times in fine weather when court ladies were absolutely sweltering. Was there an equivalent of light-weight, summer clothes?

Question from Faith - Rapidity of Anne's fall

I have read a good bit about Henry VIII and his court, his wives & advisors, etc., butI've never understood the reasons for Anne Boleyn's swift fall and why Henry had her executed. I know that Cromwell turned against her,which also gave the enemies she had always had more of an opportunity to do her harm. But I don't understand why that was enough for Henry to end the marriage after so short a time, after courting Anne devotedly for 7-8 years, breaking with the Catholic Church and basically turning his kingdom upside down to marry her.

And even if he was willing to end the marriage, why not allow her to retire to a convent, or agree to the divorce (on the basis of her pre-contract with Thomas Wyatt or whatever)and live quietly in the country, like Anne of Cleves did.

What do others think? Thank you.

[Related thread linked below. - Lara]

http://tudorhistory.org/queryblog/2008/08/question-from-faith-why-did-anne-boleyn.html

Question from Lisa - Tudor understanding of the world

My daughter aged 12 had to catch up on a missed lesson - she has to draw the 'tree' that represents the Tudors understanding of the world - like a ladder apparently going from top - God in Heaven, Angels, People, Birds, Sea/Fish, Animals, Land, Planets, Devil in Hell
We have been unable to find any info/pics could anyone point us in the right direction
Thanks so much, Lisa

Question from Diane - News on the Bothwell re-burial effort

Three years ago there was a effort by the Hepburn family and various members of the Scottish government to have the body of Mary, Queen of Scots' third husband. James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, brought back to Scotland from Denmark.
Apparently, Queen Margrethe II was not opposed to the idea. Has Bothwell been returned to Scotland? If he hasn't, what happened?

Question from Kaity - Tudor constitutional documents and heresy laws

Hi,
I am doing a project and was wondering if anyone knew anything about the Tudor Constitutional Documents.
I was really wondering about the medieval heresy laws that were re- introduced during Mary's reign and what exactly they were. I know about what they were but I am more interested if anyone knows anything about the wording or what the laws actually stated.

Thanks!

Question from tudor fan - Freedom of travel for Mary, etc.

If this question has already answered, I aplogize, please just direct me into the correct archives.

When Cathrine of Aragon was dying, Henry VIII would not let their daughter Mary visit her.
Why could she not just take a few trustworthy friends and go for a little trip? Henry VIII would, I'm sure find out, but so what, he would have been upset but would have forgiven her later.
Why were they not allowed to travel freely? Also, same for Anne Boleyn, when the noose was getting tight why not sneak off and start a new life elswhere?

Thank you for any comments that will help me understand tudor times.

Question from Helen - Catherine's first pregnancy

Was Catherine of Aragon's marriage to Arthur Tudor ever consummated? Alison Weir's book 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII" implies that the marriage between Catherine and Arthur had not been consummated: "she was a religious woman of sound principles; it is far likely therefore that she was guilty of deception than she was telling the truth". However, Joanne Denny provides some evidence that the marriage was consummated "for clearly somebody [Arthur] had been worried enough about the fact that the bride was not yet pregnant to write to Rome" about her excessive "religious" practices that might have prevented pregnancy ('Anne Boleyn: A new Life of England's Tragic Queen'). Denny also mentions that Catherine might have lied to Henry VII and the court about her first pregnancy - is it possible that Catherine was not truthful?

[The majority of this question was answered in previous threads (see below), but I wasn't sure about the last part on Catherine's first pregnancy. - Lara]

http://tudorhistory.org/queryblog/2008/12/question-from-melisondre-catherine-of.html

http://tudorhistory.org/queryblog/2009/03/question-from-michelle-more-on-great.html

http://tudorhistory.org/queryblog/2007/06/question-from-mike-bloody-wedding.html