Jane Boleyn: The Most Toxic In-Law in History?

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. Kat and today I want to talk about Jane Berlin lady Rochford because when we think about historical biographies whether they are fictional or factual in nature I think history remembers Jane Berlin as one of its villains I think she gets a pretty unfair deal if I'm completely honest if we think about the way she remembered particularly in historical fiction it's as a liar a jealous woman who helps to construct a narrative that her husband George Boleyn and his sister Queen Anne Boleyn were involved an incestuous relationship with each other but I'm not sure that ever happened and that's what I want to look at today I hope that one thing that comes across on this channel is that history is always more complicated than we might first believed and essentially many other things we know are just one person or a group of people's interpretation of events however this is my interpretation and I would be remiss if I didn't say and acknowledge that I may have some bias and that comes from the fact that I was fortunate enough to portray Jane Berlin to interpreter and I will include a picture of me doing that here to interpret a historical figure what you do is you research their life you sit down and think about how you wish to present them frequently you will also talk to your colleagues about how they think the narrative should be told so that you can bring something new and interesting make your audience members the public think a little bit about the stories they've heard and what the effect of that is when you are also a historian who is attempting to create biographies of these people is that you become intimately connected to them I have learned about her dressed as her thought about how to portray her and then I've gone out met with members of the public and answered questions as if I were in first person and no matter how hard you might try to maintain perspective and avoid bias I have to acknowledge that doing that is going to have an effect on the way you think about this person and their history so I'm going to bear in mind and consistently remind myself for making this video that I may have some bias at play and I encourage you to do the same as you're watching this but I still think she's very worth talking about and that's what I want to do so that's not her the so-called board Chamberlain we think she was probably born in the first decade at fifteen hundred's however at her birth she was Jane Parker her father was Henry Parker 10th Baron morning and her mother was Alice she had been born Alice and John J would have been in her teens when she first went to the World Court she was there to serve Henry's first wife and Queen Katherine Aragon at court Jane would have found herself immersed in a world of glittering excitement her biographer Julia Fox suggests that Jane was the mistress Parker who was listed as having attended the field of cloth of gold in 15-20 as part of the English delegation but even if she wasn't in the mistress Parker who was at third a pot of gold two years later she would certainly find herself at the center of court life and excitement in 1522 she was one of eight of Katherine's ladies to be selected to take part in the mask of Chateau there which was to take place at Cardinal Wolsey's York place on trove Tuesday and she was in fine company Mary Tudor Henry's sister and the Dowager Queen of France was given the role of beauty Jane was also accompanied by her two future sister-in-laws Mary Boleyn as she once had been she was now Mary Kerry by marriage took the role of kindness while her other future sister-in-law Anne Boleyn played the role of perseverance Jane herself played constancy we aren't sure of the exact date but we think it was an around 1525 that Jane Parker married George Berlin it is also rumored that the marriage was an unhappy one why might this have been some assert that Jane was the unfortunate wife of a husband who preferred the company the intimate company particularly of other men others say that Jane's own inveterate jealousy pushed her husband away perhaps of course these were two people who were ill matched in terms of temperament both mutually dissatisfied in the other but before we give these rumors any weights I think it's important to think about why we assume the marriage was unhappy perhaps it's a case that in the 10 years they were married there seems to be no record that Jane NFL pregnant or gave birth although some suggest that another George Boleyn who became Dean of Litchfield may have been their natural son but this is hotly contested nevertheless even if they had no children that to me is not proof that their marriage was a failure in terms of how they felt about each other plenty of couples for one reason or another are unable to have children it doesn't mean that they don't like each other that they've fallen out what they can't be happily married perhaps the lack of children was a source of sadness them doesn't necessarily mean that it drove them apart I think perhaps the reason why this rumor of unhappy marriage has gained so much traction is because it's integral if we're going to believe that Jane Boleyn was a key motivating force in her husband's fall if we believe that they had a miserable marriage it therefore makes sense it gives her the motivation to make up the incest lie about George and his sister Ann that from the start she was miserable with him and she was looking for a way to punish him by 1529 it was evident that amberlynn was front and center in King Henry's affections and attentions and the rewards would not just come to her they would also be given to her family her brother George took his father's former title of Viscount Rochford making Jane a vie countess from this point she is known as Lady Rochford their father Thomas Boleyn did not feel the lack of this title however because he was elevated to earn of wiltjer and early almond I believe that following her marriage with her sister in law's Rhys Jane became an integral part of the bowling faction I think she was trusted and we can see evidence of this I believe in the fact that when Henry and Anne went to France in 1532 with an English delegation in the attempt to win the King of France Francois the first to the cause of their marriage Jane was there she was by and side she was also there when France for the first was entertained by a masked dance of English ladies amberlynn might have been leading the charge but her sister-in-law Jane Lady Rochford was by her side at this moment of vital and integral diplomacy it was deemed valuable and necessary for Jane to be by Anne's site the people who had danced together in that mask at woozi's house the mask of Chateau ver had been reunited but now the stakes were even higher Henry and Anne had gone to France to win support for their Union and by 1533 it had certainly taken place Jane was there to revel in the celebrations as her sister-in-law was crowned as Queen of England the next year would be perhaps a little bit less auspicious for Jane in 1534 Jane was banished from court she and Anne it seems had been scheming to remove a lady from their household somebody who King Henry the Eighth had taken too strong an interesting 15:34 was also the year that Anne's sister Mary was banished from court albeit for a very different reason Mary Carey if she had been known was now a widow her husband William had died at the sweating sickness so two intents and purposes she was free to marry again what she was not free to do is what she did do which was marry in secret without permission or consent to make matters worse the man she married William Stafford was from the minor gentry he was far beneath her in terms of status Mary was the sister of the Queen of England and aren't to the heir to the throne and so here we have two management's within the same family but for very different causes Mary a Boleyn by blood sits in the Queen acts out of folly and is punished for it Jane married into the family is punished by the king for her loyalty to the Bowdoin faction and I think that's pretty telling I tend to see it's evidence that Jane was firmly ensconced in the Boleyn faction they saw her as one of their own a loyal soldier for the cause if you will and equally she was aware that her fortunes and their fortunes were inextricably bound up she was on the team some have argued that in 1535 jane berlin lady Rochford took part in a protest in london the cause was that of the Lady Mary Henry the eighth's daughter by Catherine Aragon it seems that a group of London women were displeased by Mary's treatment by the fact that she had been removed from another succession and was no longer recognized as a princess or Henry's heir they also claimed that as a result of this action Jane Berlin was sent to the Tower of London is it possible that Jane was displeased that she felt that Mary had been poorly treated by her father and stepmother absolutely was Jane conservative in massive religion did she find herself horrified by the changes taking place in her nation well it has been suggested in some quarters could her jealousy for Anne her hatred for her husband George have driven her to this perhaps nevertheless I think that if she had been looking for ways to spite her in-laws there are better more securities and therefore safer ways to have done so I also think that Jane was politically astute enough to recognize that Mary's cause at least the time-being was a sunk one to defend her publicly in this way would have been think but career suicide the year after this alleged protest in favor of the Lady Mary was another disastrous year for the Boleyn's it was 1536 and the faction was going to fall their golden girl and berlin was going to be beheaded as was the heir to the Boleyn house George Jane was going to be a widow and the widow of a traitor perhaps the most famous allegation that it leveled against Jane is that she is the one who provided the explosive evidence that saw these two people brought solo and eventually executed that she manufactured a tale of incest to bring them both down indeed this interpretation these allegations surrounding her appear to have begun within decades of her death George wired described Jane as a wicked wife accuser of her own husband even to the seeking of his own blood similarly a marginal note which features in both the 1576 and 1578 edition of John Fox's acts and monuments better known as the Book of Martyrs asserts quote it is reported of some that this lady Rochford forged a false letter against her husband and Queen and her sister by which they were both cast away her own later explanation was then explained the annotation with quote which if it be so ie she had forged letters the judgment of God is here to be marked some state that George himself blamed Jane for his fall at his trial he is said to have claimed on the evidence of only one woman you are prepared to believe this great evil of me that woman for some reason is assumed to be Jane however Sir William Kingston the console of the tower reported that Jane sent him a message for her husband it was supportive she promised to try to intercede with Henry on George's behalf George it had reported expressed his gratitude for this missive if their marriage had been so unhappy that she would seek to engineer his death surely he would have known about it would she have written him this message would he have been grateful for it if we look at this event reported by Sir William Kingston who to my mind has no reason to fabricate it does it support an unhappy marriage the notion of a wife scheming to see her husband executed even a pre-existing distrust of the wife by the husband I have my doubts I think that Julia Fox offers an interesting suggestion a hat Jane was the source for the evidence of and complaints about Henry's impotence which George is then said to have foolishly read aloud at his trial despite the fact that he was warned not to if this is the case why might Jane have offered this piece of evidence perhaps Thomas cromwell's questioning coupled with the climate of fear at court made her desperate she would have said anything to get out of the room and to save herself and get out of trouble also I think it changes things if we think that what she said if she is the person the reporter's information was true and it could well have been and had taken Jane into her confidence before the two had schemed together to remove that lady who had caught Henry the eighth's I in previous years is it possible that an concerned about the state of her marriage fearing that she may not produce that son and heir that Henry so wanted had confide in her friend and sister-in-law about Henry's sexual dysfunction and if Jane and George actually had a happy marriage one where they both collaborated and worked together to further the interests of the Bonin family that is perhaps just the sort of information that a loving wife might share with her husband as it concerned both of their futures if it was a very real possibility that Ann may be unable to bear the king a son that is something that the Boleyn family needed you to know so if Jane was told this by Anne Boleyn in confidence and she then shared it with and brother George Jane's own husband this to me is evidence that she had a trusted position within the Boland family her failure if there was one is ugly the fact that she shared this information with Thomas Cromwell but this potentially happened while she was under extreme emotional duress nevertheless I'll acknowledge that it's certainly damning that Jane seems to have been able to return to court to place and prominence very rapidly after the fall of the bowling faction her sister-in-law and most importantly her husband have gone down in a blaze of treason but it seems that that mud hasn't stopped Jane and that's pretty uncommon for the family of convicted and executed traitors some argue that she's able to do this because Cromwell intercedes on her behalf was Thomas Cromwell rewarding a woman who had knowingly provided false testimony to do away with one of his enemies additionally once she was back at court somebody encouraged Jane's former father-in-law Thomas Boleyn to increase her allowance this is also rare as Jane had not born George any children perhaps Thomas thought he would not have to give her so much for an allowance as he was now being asked to do nevertheless he complied Jane was back at court she was in service once again to Henry's Queen this time Jane Seymour and now with the increase of her allowance she was at least for certain degree Almond of independent means still known as Lady Rochford in her time at court Jane had served Kath avaricum and amber lynn now she was returned and she would be lady the bedchamber to Jane Seymour and of Cleves and Catherine Howard she would be present at Prince Edward's christening and Jane's funeral in 1537 she became a confidante to Anne of Cleves and in 1540 James one of the ladies to report that she thought as marriage had not been consummated and that she remained a virgin she told of a conversation where Anne explained that she thought her might have been con mated because henry kissed her at night and in the morning Jane remained a court to serve Katherine Hammack her late husband and sister-in-laws own cousin and it would seem that these two women became very close the way in which you view the relationship between Jane Berlin and Katherine Howard I think is most informed by the character you think that Jane Berlin actually has was this close relationship Jane living out an unfulfilled maternal fantasy with her teenage Queen did she want to be a mother figure to her or is this yet more scheming from an arch pragmatist Jane is believed and indeed later confesses to assisting her queen to send loving messages to one Thomas Culpepper and to arrange meetings for them while she was married to the king in fact when Katherine Howard and King Henry the eighth were on progress to the north in 1541 it seems that Jane in particular was industrious in finding ways little nooks and crannies secret rooms for these two young people to meet without the king or court ever finding out if we look at this entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography on Jane Berlin it asserts the following Culpepper blamed her Jane for having provoked too much to love the Queen further Catherine Howard entreated Culpepper to come and see her specifically when Lady Rochford was present quote for then I shall be latest at leisure to be at your commandment the risk of taking part in his action which I believe she absolutely did was spectacular and from everything I've read about Jane Berlin Lady Rochford she was no fool so my question is why on earth does she involve herself in this scheme was she a secret romantic who enjoyed seeing these two lovers meet and find joy in each other was she concerned only with the happiness of her young friend and queen or was this a scheme a way to create explosive intelligence so if Catherine Howard never tried to dismiss her or send her away she would have just the sort of information that would mean that she always had a place with her perhaps we also considered the idea that Jane was inspired by an external force perhaps somebody who was very powerful encouraging her the person who springs to mind for me is Thomas Howard 3rd Duke of Norfolk he had been her uncle by marriage uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard did the Duke of Norfolk good old uncle Howard look at his knees Catherine and then at her distant relative on her mother's side Thomas Culpepper and think well here we have the bonds of family loyalty to exploit perhaps young Culpepper might be an ideal candidate to father an impostor Prince for Henry did Norfolk think he could win either way perhaps the child would be legitimately Henry's no harm no foul or maybe it would be culpeper's but could be passed off as Henry's and then uncle Howard would have a boy of his own bloodline in the cradle of England if this was something that Norfolk and lady watch should plan together what would she had been offered well I think she was no doubt offered great rewards if a prince was born or at least a fortunate prince was born and I also think that she certainly would have been promised protection by this powerful man whether or not this was part of a large overreaching scheme to put a fake prince in the cradle of England perhaps orchestrated by Jane Lady Rochford and the Duke of Norfolk or another it would all come to nothing because in October 15:41 Catherine Howard's premotor behavior came to light and it would bring her down the next month November 1541 Jane was being questioned I could only imagine that it would have brought back really unpleasant memories of her interrogation in 1536 about the dealings of her husband and sister-in-law now the topic of discussion was the new queen Catherine Howard and eventually Jane would confess that she had taken part and indeed orchestra it elicits meetings between the Queen and Thomas Culpepper around this time it appears that Chamberlain lady Rochford seems to have suffered a mental collapse perhaps we might call today and nervous breakdown in any case she was allowed to recuperate in the care of Admiral Lord Russell we think at Russell House in London and Henry the eighth sent his own physicians to care for her for those who do not have a favorable impression of Chamberlain they say that this madness was faint an attempt to get out of her punishment and execution a way to gain sympathy perhaps mercy and pardon from her King however I tend to think that it's entirely likely that somebody may suffer a nervous breakdown when faced with these events particularly if they have already been through the trauma that she had been through in 1536 where she was widowed her husband executed as a traitor and her sister-in-law a woman who may very well have been a close friend of hers was also executed on the orders of her own husband equally in May 15:41 so just a few months before her own arrest she must have heard word about the execution of Margaret pol and its brutality how many strokes of the axe it took dispatch this older woman I don't think it's too much of a stretch for us to assert that displaying symptoms of mental distress even mental collapse is potentially completely understandable certainly justifiable when we think about the trauma and terror that Jane Berlin Lady Rochford must have been struggling with whether Jane was feigning her in quote symptoms of madness or not if she thought that Henry allowing her to convalesce with Admiral Russell and him sending his own physicians with a sign of impending mercy and pardon she would soon be disabused it had once been illegal to execute the insane in England Henry was going to change that law unlike Ann and George villain Jane and her new mistress Catherine would not get the chance to defend themselves in open court they were denied a trial the pair would die under act of attainder in the document of the act Jane is described as that board the Lady Jane Rockford on the morning of the 13th of February 1542 Jane Boleyn lady Rochford and her young mistress Catherine Howard who had once been queen of England were escorted from their rooms in the tower they walked to the purpose-built scaffold and went up the stairs catherine was to suffer first she gave her last words laid herself down on the block and allowed the executioner to do his work her end when it came was apparently swift Jane was to be next perhaps they were wiping down the block clearing away the blood-soaked rushes and putting down fresh ones as she spoke her final words we do not have the verbatim words spoken by either Catherine Howard or Jane Boleyn lady Rochford however we do have this account from the London merchant opera Johnson who claims have witnessed both the executions and the final speeches he says the following they made the most godly and Christian end that ever was heard tell of I think since the world's creation uttering their lively faith in the blood of Christ only and with goodly words and steadfast countenances they desired all Christian people to take regard unto their worthy and just punishment with death for their offenses and against God heinous ly from their youth upward in breaking all his Commandments and also against the Kings royal majesty very dangerously wherefore they being justly condemned as they said by the laws of the realm and Parliament to die require the people I say to take example at them for Amendment of their ungodly lives and gladly to obey the king in all things for whose preservation they did hardly pray and willed all people so to do commending their souls to God and earnestly calling for mercy upon him the customer execution that no doubt both catherine and jane followed would have been to pardon and pay the executioner after having spoken her last words jane would have knelt before the block blindfolded she would have taken her position with her neck resting on it while she waited for the executioner to do his work when she was prepared perhaps still praying she would have thrown open her arms in a sense and he would have been expected to strike it is said that like catherine jane's execution was also mercifully quick and clean both women were taken from the scaffold their place of execution to the chapel within the Tower of London some Peter avuncular and buried there in this final act the burial that some Peter vinculum Jane Berlin Lady Rochford rejoined her former family well at least a couple of them because she was buried nearby - her husband George and her former sister-in-law Anne Boleyn I'd love to see your thoughts on this video and indeed on jane muhrlin more generally perhaps you're willing to share what you thought of her before watching this video and if you had a negative impression do you think that might have been inspired by the way she's been portrayed in fiction perhaps you think I've been too kind maybe my bias is showing either way please do pop any comments beneath the video or you can find me over on my social media as always I'll be leaving links to my Twitter and Instagram in the description box 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 this channel and while you're there hit the notification bell next subscribe button so that YouTube told him and I've next uploaded I hope you're going to have a great day whatever you're doing and I look forward to speaking to all in my next video take care of yourselves bye bye for now [Music]

Channel: undefined

Views: 118,872

Rating: 4.942565 out of 5

Keywords: Jane Boleyn, Anne Boleyn, George Boleyn, Katherine Howard, Henry VIII, Tudor, Education, Literature, Culture, History, Early Modern, Renaissance

Id: lUfwOYZek9k

Length: 28min 52sec (1732 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 05 2020