Henry VIII (86 page)

John Foxe.

For the Admiral's visit, see CSP: Spanish; Charles Wriothesley; Edward Hall.

B.L. Additional MSS.; Rawlinson MSS., Bodleian Library.

L&P.

Rawlinson MSS., Bodleian Library.

Loseley MSS.

CSP: Spanish; L&P.

L&P.

Ibid.

Acts of the Privy Council.

CSP: Spanish.

L&P.

Stephen Gardiner;
Letters
.

L&P.

L&P.

63 “The Rarest Man That Lived in His Time”

L&P.

Ibid.; CSP: Spanish.

State Papers; L&P.

CSP: Spanish.

L&P; State Papers.

L&P; Chronica del Rey Enrico.

L&P.

Ibid.; B.L. Stowe MSS.; B.L. Harleian MSS.; CSP: Spanish.

CSP: Spanish;
Chronica del Rey Enrico.

L&P.

CSP: Spanish.

PRO.

L&P.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.; CSP: Spanish.

CPS: Spanish.

Edward Hall; John Foxe.

The original Will is in the Public Record Office, and is printed in Rymer's Foedera. See CSP: Spanish; John Foxe; B.L. Harleian MSS.; B.L. Additional MSS.; Gilbert Burnet.

L&P.

Cf Starkey, Reign of Henry VIII; Elton; Scarisbrick; L. B. Smith, Henry VIII:
The Mask of Royalty
.

L&P.

Ibid.

Correspondance politique de Odet de Selve.

CSP: Spanish.

Henry VIII's Will.

State Papers.

Chronica del Rey Enrico;
Charles Wriothesley;
Chronicle of the Grey Friars.

L&P.

Ibid.

Correspondance politique de Odet de Selve
;
Chronicle and Political Papers of King Edward VI.

Acts of the Privy Council;
CSP: Spanish.

Chronica del Rey Enrico.

He was buried in Framlingham Church, where his remains were found in 1835.

CSP: Spanish.

CSP: Spanish.

William Thomas;
Chronica del Rey Enrico.

CSP: Spanish.

Journals of the House of Lords.

William Thomas;
Chronica del Rey Enrico
;
Correspondance politique de Odet de selve
. Norfolk remained in the Tower throughout the six years of Edward VI's reign, and was released and restored in blood on the accession of Mary I in 1553. He died in 1554.

John Foxe.

Ibid.

B.L. Cotton MSS.: Titus.

CSP: Spanish.

Tytler.

Strype; Tighe; Henry VIII's Will; Charles Wriothesley.

Henry VIII's Will.

William Thomas.

John Stow claims that 72,000 persons were executed in Henry VIII's reign, but this is a gross exaggeration.

Henry VIII

ALISON WEIR

A Reader's Guide

A Conversation with Alison Weir

When did you first become interested in history?

Alison Weir: In 1965, when I was fourteen, I read my first adult novel; it was a historical novel about Katherine of Aragon, and I could not put it down. When I finished it, I had to find out the true facts behind the story and if people really carried on like that in those days. So I began to read proper history books, and found that they did! It was a short step from doing research to writing my own books, and by the age of fifteen I had completed a three-volume compendium of facts on the Tudors as well as a biography of Anne Boleyn, and had begun to compile genealogical information for a dictionary of kings and queens, which would, more than two decades later, be the basis of my first published book,
Britain's Royal Families
.

At school, up to the age of sixteen, I found history boring, for we were studying the Industrial Revolution, which was all about acts, trade unions and the factory system, and I wanted to know about people, because it is people who make history. My teachers were unaware that I was spending all my free periods and lunch breaks researching my own history projects in the school library. I did pass my GCE exam, but was told my grade was not good enough to study history at an advanced level. This was a great disappointment, as the subject for the advanced course was the Tudors and Stuarts, something about which I already knew a great deal. I would love to think that the teachers who excluded me have seen my published work.

When did you begin to write professionally?

AW: During the early 1970s, after attending teacher training college with a view to teaching history, I spent four years researching and writing a book about Henry VIII's wives, but this was rejected by publishers on the grounds that it was too long—something of an understatement, since it filled 1,024 manuscript pages typed on both sides and without double spacing. In 1991, a much revised and edited version of this manuscript was published as my second book,
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
.

In 1981, I wrote a biography of Jane Seymour, which was rejected by Weidenfeld and Nicholson as being—wait for it—too short. The publishers, however, put me in touch with my present firm of literary agents who, in the course of a conversation about which subject I should write about, rejected my suggestion of a book about Lady Diana Spencer (who became Princess of Wales that year) on the grounds that people would soon lose interest in her! Instead, it was agreed that I should write a biography of Isabella of France, wife of Edward II, but this was never finished because the births, very close together, of my children intervened in 1982 and 1984, and I had very little time for writing.

In 1987, it occurred to me that my dictionary of genealogical details of British royalty—which I had revised eight times over twenty-two years—might be of interest to others, so I rearranged the contents once more, into chronological order.
Britain's Royal Families
became my first published book, in 1989, from The Bodley Head, and the rest of the story is—dare I say it?—history!

How do you go about writing your books?

AW: I research from contemporary sources as far as possible; fortunately, most of those for the periods I have written about are in print. I use secondary sources to see what views historians take on my chosen subjects, but in the end I make up my own mind, basing my conclusions as far as possible on contemporary evidence.

I transcribe my information into chronological order, under date headings, so that when I have finished my research, I have a very rough draft of the book. This method has the curious advantage of highlighting discrepancies and often new interpretations of events, chronological patterns, and unexpected facts emerge. Anyone who has read
The Princes in the Tower
will know how startlingly well this method of research worked for that particular book.

How would you describe your role as a historian?

AW: I am not a revisionist historian. I do not start with a theory and then try to fit the facts around it. I draw my conclusions from the known facts. As my research progresses, I gain some idea of the viewpoint I will take, but I am always ready to alter it if need be.

You have to consider the known facts in detail and avoid supposition in order to get as near to the truth as possible. You must not only take into account what is written about someone or something, but who wrote it, since many sources are biased, prejudiced, or unreliable. Where possible, I verify my facts from reliable sources only, and if the only source is suspect, I say so.

What is your aim in writing history?

AW: I want to bring history and its characters to life by including as much personal detail as possible, by inferring new ideas from the known facts, and by researching the political and social background so thoroughly that my subjects are set in an authentic context. Many people have told me that my books read like novels. Perhaps this is because, when I write, I feel I am really there, so strong is my feeling for my subject. On occasion, I have been so moved by the events I have been describing that I have felt like crying. The old adage that truth is stranger than fiction is more than true for me, and if (as a couple of recent reviewers have complained) it is old-fashioned to recount history as a rattling good story—which in many ways it is—then I am happy to be thought outdated.

When you were researching and writing about Henry VIII,
did you come to like him?

AW: Surprisingly enough, yes! Actually, I've liked him for a long time. I've always felt that he has been greatly misjudged and perceived as a caricature of his real self. Therefore, this book is a sympathetic study that looks at events from the King's viewpoint. For example, most historians have focused on Anne Boleyn during the days leading up to her execution. I've focused on Henry. Few people have taken into account the fact that his only son was dying a lingering death from tuberculosis at this time.

I think, when it comes to historical characters, you have to judge them by the values of their own time, not by ours. Henry was no tyrant, as Richard III was; only in his last years did he become the fat, diseased autocrat of popular perception. In fact, I wanted to use a little-known portrait of the young Henry, painted when he was eighteen, slim and long haired, on the jacket, but my publishers felt—probably quite correctly—that no one would know who it was! Yet my aim was to present to my readers a different view of Henry: the real Henry, whom I had come to know very well through my research.

What is your opinion of screen portrayals of Henry VIII?

AW: I suppose the enduring image is that created by Charles Laughton in Alexander Korda's
The Private Life of Henry VIII
(1933), but it's the classic caricature, and very far removed from the real Henry. A far better portrayal is that by Keith Michell in the BBC drama series
The
Six Wives of Henry VIII
(1969), followed by a film of the same name. Here is a pretty authentic Henry: an acting tour de force and a delight to watch! Robert Shaw's portrayal in
A Man for All Seasons
(1966) was very different but equally convincing.

Did you uncover anything new while you were researching the
book?

AW: Yes, quite unexpectedly. I certainly didn't set out to be controversial, but I discovered a letter written by Henry VIII containing evidence that places a whole new construction on the reasons for Anne Boleyn's fall. This evidence makes sense of something that historians have puzzled over for centuries: why Henry could have consented to the destruction of a woman he had so greatly desired and loved.

Was Henry VIII the lecher of legend?

AW: Possibly, although if he was, he was very discreet about it. For this reason, we have only fragments of information about his sex life, but I've uncovered enough of them to make me revise the opinion I arrived at in my earlier book,
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
.

One historian has famously described Henry VIII as “that
great puppet.” Do you agree with this assessment?

AW: Not at all. Henry was certainly suggestible and sometimes swayed by the opinions of others, but the evidence overwhelmingly suggests that for the most part he remained firmly in control. In fact, he was the one usually doing the manipulating. Given his grasp of affairs, his powerful intellect, encyclopaedic memory, and efficient communications network, it was not easy for any man to rule him. He was the King, and he never let anyone forget it.

HENRY VIII:

A Wonderful Subject for a Biography

By Alison Weir

People ask me—as I often ask myself—why I am so fascinated by Henry VIII, and no doubt there will be those who want to know why I have written another book about him. There's no doubt that Henry is a perennially charismatic figure—he was larger than life in every sense, he married six times, he led England through a religious revolution, and he elevated kingship to a high art—but I have always felt that there was more to him than this. All too often, Henry VIII is portrayed as a caricature: a fat, overindulgent tyrant who cut off heads at will and chased women with equal fervor.

In writing this new book, I wanted to get as close to the real Henry as possible and to strip away all the myths about him that have built up over the centuries. All too often his story is told from the perspective of his wives or his ministers, but I wished to see events from Henry's perspective. As a result, I have perhaps arrived at a more sympathetic view of him than most historians, yet if this helps my readers to see Henry as a realistic figure rather than as the popular caricature of legend, then I will consider my work well done.

My new book,
Henry VIII: The King and His Court
, is not just a biography of the King. During the last two decades, a great deal of research has been done on his court, which was the most magnificent ever seen in England; and through this research, which has made available to the general historian a wealth of unpublished sources, new perspectives on Henry VIII have been gained. Until now, most biographies of him have been political, and those few that were rather more personal focused chiefly on the King himself. My brief has been to set the personal life of Henry against the background of his court, drawing on the recent research and embellishing it in every direction. What interests me—and, I suspect, many of my readers— are the fascinating details of everyday life, both descriptive and anecdotal, that bring into sharp focus a world long gone. This book is packed with them. Woven into a cohesive whole, these details reveal a startlingly clear picture of what life must have been like at court in Henry VIII's day.

The book I set out to write was to have descriptive, analytical, and narrative elements, and was to be a new portrayal of a subject about which many people no doubt felt there was little more to be said. It was never my intention to be controversial. Yet during the course of my research, I came across one of Henry's own letters in which I discovered startling information that sheds new light on the fate of Anne Boleyn and demolishes one of the most accepted theories as to why she was executed. It also explains why Henry was able to put to death the woman he had, almost literally, moved Heaven and Earth to marry. Such a discovery was exciting and challenging, and provided answers to many of the questions surrounding Anne's fall. I realize, however, that some readers may find my conclusions provocative.

What is most interesting to me is that no other writer seems to have picked up on this information. I first read Henry's letter in a recent biography of Anne Boleyn, and was amazed to find that the author, a respected historian, did not comment on it. But there is no doubt in my mind as to its significance.

Writing this book about Henry VIII, therefore, has involved using newly available material and reinterpreting known sources. Yet how far can we rely on these sources? Every historian knows that some sources are untrustworthy, and those for the reign of Henry VIII are frequently informed by religious bias. Some were written as propaganda, some with an ulterior motive, some were based on misinformation, and some were either attempts at character assassination or plain whitewash jobs! It is always important to look for corroborating evidence and to assess the prejudices of the writer and his/her nearness to events. I have been dealing with Tudor sources for thirty-six years now, and am very familiar with many of them, but one can never afford to be too complacent. The important thing is to read the sources properly and to think seriously about their meaning. Misinterpretation is all too easy. That said, it is important to remember that these events occurred over four centuries ago: two historians, given the same facts, might come up with completely different interpretations and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, both would be valid. I usually base my conclusions on a balance of probabilities, after having examined as many facts as I can discover.

Researching
Henry VIII: The King and His Court
was a mammoth task. There is so much information available that it would be impossible to include it all. I have, in fact, used just a quarter of my research for the book. Deciding what is to be included and what is not is often very difficult, but with a subject like this it is all too easy—and pleasurable—to follow lines of research that are not strictly part of the brief. Yet I never feel that my research is wasted, because the advantage of having knowledge of so much background material lends added authority to what I finally write in the text.

I might not sound very disciplined with research, but I am very strict with myself when it comes to planning a book like this. It took me two months to prepare a written plan that extended to every last detail, and in each instance I asked myself if, firstly, each piece of information was relevant to the subject and, secondly, whether it would enrich the book as a whole. As to length, I have to confess that the book is nearly twice as long as it was meant to be, and I can only express my heartfelt gratitude to my publishers for agreeing with me that I could not have done justice to the subject in a shorter work.

It is no easy task to write a personal biography of a Tudor King, or an account of his court, because in the sixteenth century a monarch ruled as well as reigned, and politics was an essential part of the life of the King and the court. Whilst making this clear, I have touched on politics only where necessary. What I have done is to focus on the lives and personalities of Henry's courtiers, from his queens down to the lowliest scullion, and interwoven them into the narrative. I have also described many of the dramatic events of the reign, emphasizing how they affected the King and the life of the court.

When it came to writing about Henry VIII's six wives, I constantly bore in mind the fact that I had already written a book about them, and tried to avoid repetition. The details that were repeated were those that were relevant to the new text. I have also had occasion to revise some of my conclusions in the earlier book, in the light of new research, although I hasten to assure those who have read and enjoyed
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
that I still stand by most of what I have written in it; if you read this new book, you will see where my views have been revised, and why.

In the current climate, in which the monarchy is no longer very fashionable, I am pleased to see that there remains an abiding interest in the kings and queens of the past. Perhaps it is because their lives were in such contrast to ours: they lived by rigid social and religious rules and mores, whereas we perceive morality as being relative, and being true to ourselves as being more important than social conformity. They dressed according to a strict code governed by status and modesty, whereas for us dress is a matter of self-expression. They lived in an age when class and rank were all-important, while in our egalitarian age we like to think of these things as anachronisms. And lastly, to the Tudors the concept of sexual equality was unknown and against divine and natural law; to us, it is virtually an article of faith. It is therefore fascinating to us, from our modern vantage point, to look back across the centuries and discover how people behaved within constraints that would be utterly alien to most of us.

Furthermore, if power is sexy, then the near-absolute power wielded by a king such as Henry VIII is utterly irresistible, especially when we see beyond the obese, aggressive despot of Holbein's portraits to the golden, muscular youth who exuded charm and sex appeal, and who excelled at everything he did. That charisma is still perceptible today, even across the lapse of centuries. We are also compellingly fascinated by the fact that, until he became obsessed with privacy, a king like Henry lived his life largely in the public eye—he was never alone or unattended, even when performing his most intimate functions. Yet this diminished him in no way: such was the mystique of royalty that he remained a figure of awe and ever-increasing majesty to all around him. No sovereign before or since has ever held such authority in England, neither has any had such a larger-than-life personality. For these things alone, Henry VIII makes a wonderful subject for a biography, but the real man—as I hope you will discover through reading this book—is even more fascinating.