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| 8 | <title>Contemporary Descriptions of Anne Boleyn</title>
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| 20 | <p align="center"> <br>
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| 21 | <p align="center">
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| 22 | <img border="0" src="annedesc.gif" alt="Contemporary Descriptions of Anne Boleyn" width="374" height="171"><p align="center"> </td>
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| 30 | <td valign="top" width="48%" bgcolor="#FFFFE8"><p>
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| 31 | <font size="2">
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| 32 | <img border="0" src="anne2.jpg" alt="portrait of Anne Boleyn" align="left" width="139" height="194">Contemporary descriptions of
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| 33 | Henry VIII's infamous second wife vary widely. Even her
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| 34 | admirers and supporters found it difficult to praise her physical
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| 35 | appearance. She was striking but not beautiful; her sister Mary was
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| 36 | considered the beauty of the Boleyn family.</font><p><font size="2">There were occasional comments from hostile sources
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| 37 | that Anne had the attributes of a witch - a large mole on her neck, possibly
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| 38 | an extra finger. The latter is probably true.</font><p><font size="2">When reading the following comments,
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| 39 | remember
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| 40 | that most observers at Henry's court were not friendly with Anne.
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| 41 | Naturally, their descriptions of her were colored by their dislike. </font>
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| 42 |
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| 43 | <p><font size="2">Also, contemporary views about her lifestyle were
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| 44 | influenced by one overriding fact: most people believed she was the sole
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| 45 | force behind the Henrician reformation. Katharine of Aragon was popular
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| 46 | and respected. Cast as the interloper, Anne was suitably despised.</font></td>
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| 47 | <td width="4%"></td>
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| 48 | <td valign="top" width="48%">
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| 49 | <p><b><font color="#990000">In the early 1530s, the Venetian ambassador
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| 50 | Savorgnano wrote:</font>
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| 51 | <br></b>Anne was 'a young woman of noble birth, though many say of bad character,
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| 52 | whose will is law to him, and he is expected to marry her should the divorce
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| 53 | take place, which it is supposed will not be effected, as the peers of
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| 54 | the realm.... and the people are opposed to it.'
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| 55 | <br> </p>
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| 56 |
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| 57 | <p><b><font color="#990000">The Abbot of Whitby describes the
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| 58 | political situation in 1530:</font>
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| 59 | <br></b>'The King's Grace is ruled by one common stewed whore, Anne Boleyn,
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| 60 | who makes all the spirituality to be beggared, and the temporality also.'
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| 61 | <br>
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| 62 | <p><b><font color="#990000">Henry VIII ordered Katharine of
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| 63 | Aragon to relinquish certain jewels (property of the crown) to Anne Boleyn;
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| 64 | Katharine replied:</font>
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| 65 | <br></b>'I will not give them up to a person who is the scandal of Christendom
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| 66 | and a disgrace to you.'
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| 67 | <br>
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| 68 | <p><b><font color="#990000">In 1532, a new Venetian ambassador described Anne
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| 69 | thusly:</font>
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| 70 | <br></b>'not one of the handsomest women in the world. She is of middling
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| 71 | stature, with a swarthy complexion, long neck, wide mouth, bosom not much
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| 72 | raised, and in fact has nothing but the King's great appetite, and her
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| 73 | eyes, which are black and beautiful - and take great effect on those who
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| 74 | served the Queen when she was on the throne. She lives like a queen,
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| 75 | and the King accompanies her to Mass - and everywhere.'
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| 76 | <br>
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| 77 | <p><b><font color="#990000">And the French ambassador contradicts Anne's
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| 78 | enemies; he reports that she is controlled by the king:</font>
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| 79 | <br></b>'....all that the Lady does is by the king's order.'
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| 80 | <br>
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| 81 | <p><b><font color="#990000">The Imperial ambassador, Eustace Chapuys, described circumstances in early 1533 to his master, Charles V:</font>
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| 82 | <br></b>'Your Majesty must root out the Lady and her adherents.... This accursed
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| 83 | Anne has her foot in the stirrup, and will do the Queen and the Princess
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| 84 | all the harm she can. She has boasted that she will make the Princess
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| 85 | her lady-in-waiting, or marry her to some varlet.'
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| 86 | <br>
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| 87 | <p><b><font color="#990000">Chapuys describes Anne's attendance
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| 88 | at Mass on 14 April 1533:</font>
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| 89 | <br></b>'It looks like a dream, and even those who take her part know not whether
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| 90 | to laugh or to cry.'
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| 91 | <br>
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| 92 | <p><b><font color="#990000">Henry and Anne's conversation at
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| 93 | her coronation procession was reported by Chapuys:</font>
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| 94 | <br></b>'How liked you the look of the City?' Henry asked.
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| 95 | <br>Anne replied, 'Sir, I liked the City well enough - but I saw a great
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| 96 | many caps on heads, and heard but few tongues.'
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| 97 | <br>
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| 98 | <p><b><font color="#990000">Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury,
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| 99 | was Anne's friend and champion. When news reached him of her arrest,
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| 100 | he bravely wrote to Henry VIII protesting - only to think better of offending
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| 101 | Henry. Cranmer added a suitably apologetic postscript to the letter.
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| 102 | Here are excerpts in which he describes Anne:</font>
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| 103 | <br></b>'If it be true that is openly reported of the Queen's Grace... I am
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| 104 | in such perplexity that my mind is clean amazed; for I never had better
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| 105 | opinion in woman than I had in her; which maketh me to think that she should
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| 106 | not be culpable... Next to Your Grace, I was most bound to her of
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| 107 | all creatures living... I wish and pray for her that she may declare herself
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| 108 | inculpable and innocent... I loved her not a little for the love which
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| 109 | I judged her to bear towards God and His Gospel.'
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| 110 |
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| 111 | <p align="center"> </p>
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| 112 | <p align="center">
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| 113 | <a href="monarchs/boleyn.html">
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| 114 | <font size="2">to the Anne
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| 115 | Boleyn website</font></a></p>
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| 116 | <p align="center"><a href="primary.html">
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| 117 | <font size="2">to Primary Sources</font></a></td>
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| 118 | </tr>
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