I've been following my new favorite website, "The Anne Boleyn Files" and reading about the weeks and days leading up to the execution of Anne Boleyn by her husband, Henry VIII. Surprisingly, I catch myself thinking about her during quiet moments. I think about how terrified she must have been, how confused she must have felt, the concern and fear she experienced for her imprisoned brother, the sense of panic a mother would feel at the thought of leaving a child behind motherless. The anniversary of Anne's beheading is May 19. When Anne died she had no way of knowing what a great and historically important woman her daughter would become. So to honor Anne, I decided to make a keepsake box of her daughter, Queen Elizabeth I. I've posted a few pictures here. If you are interested in learning more about the box, visit my website MortimerInc.Artfire.com. What are your impressions of Anne Boleyn? Was she hero or whore?
Hi there, from a brand new follower who just popped in from ArtFire Boot Camp and have to say I love your blog!
ReplyDeleteI'm no historian so may be totally wrong here, but based on what I've read, I see Anne as a lady in waiting, perhaps a bit ambitious, who was either "swept off her feet" or hounded to distraction by Henry. I think the king saw in her a good candidate for bearing the male heir whom Catherine of Aragon had failed to produce. And when Anne didn't live up to his expectations, Henry looked elsewhere and disposed of her as expendable. Perhaps today we'd call her "a deer caught in the headlights" ... another sad casualty of history.
Hi. Thank you for your kind words. I agree with everything you suggested by I don't think of Anne as a casualty of history. She was too intelligent and ambitious to be a victim. Unfortunately, her emotions and ambitions (and those of her family) got in the way of her intellect at times and she made enemies on her way to being Queen. That doesn't mean she didn't love Henry and I'm sure Henry loved her but theirs was a complicated relationship during a very complicated period in history. I think Henry painted himself in a corner when he divorced Katherine. How could he divorce a second wife. Getting rid of Anne by convicting her of treason was his way out. It is a very sad love story. Too bad Henry could not have known what a great ruler his daughter by Anne would become. It could have saved him a great deal of turmoil and Anne's life but if things hadn't happened as they did, would Elizabeth have had the ability to be a great to ruler. These are the questions that cause me love history.
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