Dr Kat and the Traces of Anne Boleyn

hello and welcome back to the channel if you're new here hi you're very welcome this is reading the past and I'm dr. cat and no doubt the title of this video has given you a clue as to what I want to talk about today I want to go in search of the remaining traces of an Berlin Henry the eighth's second wife and queen is arguably one of the most famous women in English if not world history but her legacy is a complicated and contradictory one some view her as an unquestionable vixen somebody who as an other woman manages to break up a perfectly good marriage brothers she is a total victim sacrificed to the whims of her tyrant husband what is certain is that the likeness of amberlynn or at least the likeness that has been attributed to her is something that sells and it's been used to sell a variety of things from rubber ducks like the one I have here charming as it is to items of clothing t-shirts even underwear it's also used to sell costume jewelry perhaps you have an item just like this so within all of this commodification of her image or at least her supposed image where is the space for the reality of her of the woman that she was and so that's why I wanted to make today's video to look for these traces the items and images that are said to have a connection to the woman herself the things that managed to survive after her fall and execution let's look at them [Music] [Music] three videos ago the topic for discussion was just how filthy and unhygenic our ancestors really were and I will of course leave that video linked in a cart in that video I showed this object it's a golden and engraved whistle in the shape of a pistol this object additionally contains cosmetic implements an ear scoop a toothpick and something to clean your nails with it's kept in the collection of the Victorian Albert Museum in London they assert that quote by family tradition this trinket was Henry the eighth's first gift to anvil in it's the earliest of many tokens of love a later example of jewels exchanged between them is detailed in their letters during their courtship Henry wrote to Anne that seeing I cannot be present in person with you I send you the nearest thing to that possible that is my picture set in bracelets with the whole device which you know already wishing myself in their place when it shall please you in reply and sent a jewel symbolic of her own difficult situation representing a ship tossed about on a stormy sea with a lonely damsel on board the bracelets and the ship have been lost to history but what other traces of Anne Boleyn potential or otherwise are still extant probably the most recognizable object to be linked to Anne Boleyn is this portrait which is believed to depict her it's from the late 16th century but is based on a work from around 1533 to 1536 so during her reign as Henry's Queen that earlier work no longer survives this painting is currently in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London other paintings have been attributed to Anne Boleyn but in every case including this one that attribution is in question it is understood that all painted images of that could be rounded up were destroyed after her fall in her daughter's reign recreations and imaginations or form images became fashionable once more this portrait is believed to show woman whose appearance conforms to that attributed to an Amber Lynn was describes having a long neck a wide mouth and having eyes which were black and beautiful however some would say that this description is not what is featured in the portrait they also remind us that Anne was said to have had very dark hair does this portrait children with very dark hair as far as you're concerned so if this portrait doesn't depict Anne Boleyn who does it show one candidate is her own sister-in-law Mary Tudor wife of Charles Brandon indeed comparisons between the joint portrait of Mary and her second husband Henry's best friend is offered as evidence perhaps this is a memorial portrait commissioned by the widowed Charles Brandon Mary had died at just 37 years old on the 25th of June 15:33 is that iconic bee necklace intended to stand for Brandon rather than Berlin this beautifully illuminated devotional manuscript is believed to have been created in around 1500 and is now held by the British Library it once belonged to Anne Boleyn and was intended to structure and guide her private worship schedule books of ours were designed to enable laypeople to access the divine office more common in monastic communities however in this book of ours there is also evidence that it played a vital role in the courtship of Anne and Henry the eighth beneath an image of the wounded Christ Henry writes in French if you remember my love in your prayers as strongly as I adore you I shall hardly be forgotten for I am yours Henry are forever in choosing to write this message beneath this particular image he seems to be equates in his suffering for want of an - The Passion of Christ likewise and chose an illustration that would be significant to their relationship she chooses the Annunciation where the angel Gabriel visits Mary to tell her that she would have a son beneath this image she asserts by daily proof you shall me find to be to you both loving and kind in message and image Ann is promising Henry the son he craves also to be found in the collection of the British Library is another devotional item with links to amberle in this tiny volume of psalms in english is bound in gold and intended to be worn decoratively on a belt for this reason it is known as a girdle book at the end of the sixteenth century George Wyatt is supposed to have made reference to this item being by tradition given to a lady of his family namely Thomas Wyatt's sister Lady Margaret Lee and it is said to have been given to her by Anne Boleyn when she was on the scaffold however this wyatt claim was first published in 1817 Eric eyes points out that there is no record of an giving away trinkets on the scaffold nor is there evidence that lady Lee was attending and at this time at Hever Castle in Kent which once belonged to the Boleyn family there is a wooden headboard bearing an inscription of amber Lynn's name in a room remade as her bedroom this vitam was bought by another later owner of the home one william waldorf astor apparently on the base of the inscription the provenance is however questioned by many some assert that it's a much later Victorian mock-up formed out of panels that come from the correct period this item is known as the Boleyn cup it is believed to have been made for an the year before her fall in 1535 it's made of silver gilt the cover appears to be topped with a bird many have suggested this is Anne's badge the Falcon the cup is now kept at some John the Baptist Church in Cirencester in a small recess at the east end of the South aisle it was given to the church in 1561 by dr. Richard masters a physician who cared for Queen Elizabeth the first it is believed that he got the cup from the Queen herself as a mark of gratitude for his treatment offer so if indeed this Cup was made for Anne Boleyn in 1535 it ends up in the hands of her daughter is this evidence of an item being passed from her deceased disgraced mother into her own hands was Elizabeth therefore allowed at least something to remember her mother by stored in the Vatican Library in Rome are letters sent by Henry the 8th to Anne Boleyn during their courtship it is presumed that these letters were intercepted or stolen from their intended recipient 17 unknown to survive and they are believed to date from 1520 7 to 15 28 I'm going to read a couple of these letters now but I will leave a link to a website where you can read all 17 in modern typeface and I'll pop that link in the description box down below the letter known as letter 14 believed have been written sometime in August 15:28 mine own sweetheart this shall be to advertise you of the great Ellen genus that I find here since you're departing for I ensure you we think if the time longer since you're departing now last when I was want to do a whole fortnight I think your kindness and my fervency of love caused it for otherwise I would not have thought it possible that for so little a while it should have grieved me but now that I am coming towards you me think if my pains be half removed and also I am right well comforted in so much that my book maketh substantially for my matter in looking where off I have spent above for hours this day which causes me now to write the shorter letter to you at this time because of some pain in my head wishing myself especially an evening in my sweethearts arms who's pretty duckies I shortly to kiss written by the hand of him that was is and shall be yours by his own will HR the letter numbered seventeen believed to have been written and sent in late October 15:28 darling though I have scant leisure yet remembering my promise I thought it convenient to certify you briefly in what case our affair stand as touching a lodging for you we have got one by my lord Cardinals means the like whereof could not have been found hereabouts for all causes as the bearer shall more show you as touching our other Affairs I assure you there can be no more done nor more diligence use nor all manner of dangers better both foreseen and provided for so that I trust it shall be hereafter to both our comforts the specialities where of were both too long to be written and hardly by messenger to be declared wherefore till erepair hither I keep something in store trusting it shall not be long - for I have caused my lord your father to make his provisions with speed and thus for lack of time darling I make an end of my letter written with the hand of him which would I were yours H are all of Ann Berlin's replies which we assume must have been written in some if not many cases no longer survive or at least have yet to be rediscovered known as the ambolyn clock this item is reputed to have been given by King Henry the eighth's to Anne Boleyn on the morning of their marriage in 1532 the date of this marriage was secret at the time and in fact remains so even now the clock is now held by the Royal Collection trust the provenance and authenticity for this object are hotly debated because lots of alterations have occurred to this object over time in deeds the pieces and elements contained within this object have an enormous date range from 1532 perhaps as late as 1817 and this time span comes from the Royal Collection Trust website description of the object itself this item is believed to have been produced at some point in the 16th century it is a drawstring purse in crimson velvet with a silver braided edging it was acquired by the British Museum in 1878 at the time of the acquisition this object was labeled quote given by Henry the eighth's to Anne Boleyn there is a curatorial note for this object that explains quotes this is an unusual construction and its purpose is not clear also in the collection of the British Museum is this lead medal featuring a bust of Anne Boleyn around the edge of this medal is her queenly motto the most happy it is known as the coronation medal and it is dated to 1534 so the year after Anne was actually crowned an explanation for the delay in striking this celebratory medal is provided in the curators comments quote the medal may have been devised to celebrate the birth of Anne and Henry second child for record show that Anne was pregnant in 1534 but she either miscarried or gave birth to a stillborn baby nevertheless the image from this medal is the only undisputed representation of Anne Boleyn from her own lifetime next up I would like to show some examples of hands whole bones drawn plans for items that Anne commissioned him to design first up we have the Basel Cup it features four satyrs a crown cover and it is engraved with Anne's back the crowned falcon holding a scepter standing on a tree stump from which roses now spring there is also his design for a silver gilt table fountain that was a New Year's gift from Anne to Henry the eighth in January 15 34 according to Eric Ives it was designed to be quote a pump device which circulated rose water in a basin so that diners could rinse their hands these images are the only known traces that survived of these beautifully crafted objects famously Henry eight rebuilt and decorated the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace to the honor of his second wife and queen amberle in her initials and symbols sat alongside his own throughout the place her fall in 1536 was sudden as was the speed with which she was replaced by her successor Jane Seymour who in her turn would be coming to Hampton Court to sit as Queen it is unsurprising that it was therefore deemed necessary to strip all references to the Fallen Queen from the fabric and furnishings in their haste the craftsman evidently missed one the entwined initials of Henry and Anne are still visible in the carving on the screen in the Great Hall nearly 500 years later in the beach from tower at the Tower of London visitors even today can find this rather rough and perhaps hurried piece of graffiti on the wall it appears to be amber Lynn's Falcon batch now stripped of its crown and sceptre the tree stump on which it is perched is no longer sprouting those roses the assumption is that this was carved by one of the men that was accused imprisoned and ultimately executed alongside Anne in May 1536 many state that her brother George Boleyn is the best candidate to be named as the graffiti artist in question after her execution Anne Boleyn was buried on to the floor of the Chapel of San Pete Road vinculum in the Tower of London by the 1870s the chapel had fallen to disrepair and work was being done to restore it during this time a number of skeletons were uncovered they were identified albeit using Victorian techniques one was named as Anne Boleyn the remains identified as hers were reinterred and marked with this marble slab as a side note since at least 1960 on the anniversary of her execution the 19th of May a bunch of roses is delivered anonymously to the Tower of London to be placed on this marker apparently this delivery is arranged by an undisclosed firm of Trustees last but by no means least I want to look at the so called checkers ring the name comes from the fact that this item is held at the country residence of Britain's Prime Minister checkers it has been dated to the mid 15 70s so during Elizabeth the first reign what we have here is a mother-of-pearl ring with a gold outlay table cut rubies and diamonds are inlaid into the gold and e4 Elizabeth is set in diamonds and are signifying Regina sits beneath the E in blue enamel this is a locket ring that opens to show the miniature busts of two females one is clearly Elizabeth herself ornamented with an inlaid ruby it is the identity of the other lady however that is questioned and continuously debated her dress has been identified to be in the style of English fashion from the mid 1530s to early 1540s perhaps for this reason the young Elizabeth herself has been named as a potential candidate so has her stepmother catherine parr but for me and many others the favored candidate and perhaps that's just for sentimental reasons is amber lynn we perhaps enjoy thinking of Elizabeth privately wearing this memory of the mother she never publicly spoke of so I'd love to know what you make of these traces of amber lynn which if any of the connections ring truest for you let me know which ones and why in the comment section or you can come and find me over on my social media as always I'll be leaving links to my Instagram and Twitter in the description box you can follow me there and we can continue this conversation I do hope you enjoyed this video and found it useful if you did then please let me know by hitting the thumbs up please also subscribe to this channel and while you're there why not hit a little notification bill next subscribe button so that YouTube tells you and have next uploaded I hope you're gonna have a great day whatever you're doing and I look forward to speaking to in my next video do take care of yourselves goodbye for now [Music] [Music]

Channel: undefined

Views: 118,405

Rating: 4.9467602 out of 5

Keywords: Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII, Material History, Education, Literature, Culture, History, Early Modern, Renaissance, History Detective

Id: n9YPgQY0-S4

Length: 19min 54sec (1194 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 10 2020