| 1 | <html>
|
|---|
| 2 |
|
|---|
| 3 | <head>
|
|---|
| 4 | <meta name="content" content="Primary Sources - Letter of Katharine of Aragon to her daughter, Princess Mary, April 1534">
|
|---|
| 5 | <meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 5.0">
|
|---|
| 6 | <meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document">
|
|---|
| 7 | <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
|
|---|
| 8 | <meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-us">
|
|---|
| 9 | <title>Primary Sources - Letter of Katharine of Aragon to her daughter, Princess
|
|---|
| 10 | Mary, April 1534</title>
|
|---|
| 11 | <style fprolloverstyle>A:hover {color: #0000FF; font-weight: bold}
|
|---|
| 12 | </style>
|
|---|
| 13 | </head>
|
|---|
| 14 |
|
|---|
| 15 | <body link="#000000" vlink="#000000" alink="#0000FF" background="http://englishhistory.net/goldback.jpg">
|
|---|
| 16 |
|
|---|
| 17 | <table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="667">
|
|---|
| 18 | <tr>
|
|---|
| 19 | <td width="15%" height="29"></td>
|
|---|
| 20 | <td valign="top" width="70%" height="29"> </td>
|
|---|
| 21 | <td width="15%" height="29"></td>
|
|---|
| 22 | </tr>
|
|---|
| 23 | <tr>
|
|---|
| 24 | <td width="15%" height="3"></td>
|
|---|
| 25 | <td width="70%" height="3"></td>
|
|---|
| 26 | <td width="15%" height="3"></td>
|
|---|
| 27 | </tr>
|
|---|
| 28 | <tr>
|
|---|
| 29 | <td width="15%" height="610"></td>
|
|---|
| 30 | <td valign="top" width="70%" height="610" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
|
|---|
| 31 | <p align="center"><b>
|
|---|
| 32 | <FONT size=+1>Letter of Katharine of Aragon to her daughter,
|
|---|
| 33 | Princess Mary<br> April 1534</FONT></b></p>
|
|---|
| 34 | <p><FONT size=-1><b>Background </b> <br>This letter was written by Katharine about seven
|
|---|
| 35 | months after the birth of Henry VIII's daughter with Anne Boleyn. Henry
|
|---|
| 36 | had demanded that Mary take the oath to the Act of Succession, thus
|
|---|
| 37 | acknowledging the invalidity of her parents' marriage as well as her own
|
|---|
| 38 | illegitimacy. Mary understandably refused, but her resolve was
|
|---|
| 39 | faltering. Henry would not allow her to visit her mother; he also
|
|---|
| 40 | dismissed her household and placed her in the care of Lady Anne Shelton, the
|
|---|
| 41 | aunt of Anne Boleyn. Mary was miserable and quickly fell ill. She
|
|---|
| 42 | had never been robust and the constant emotional turmoil of her life affected
|
|---|
| 43 | her physical health. She understandably looked to her mother for advice
|
|---|
| 44 | and support. In this letter, Katharine tells Mary to follow her own
|
|---|
| 45 | strategy - obey Henry in all things except those which would offend
|
|---|
| 46 | God.</FONT> </p>
|
|---|
| 47 | <P><FONT size=-1>As the letter indicates, Katharine herself genuinely feared
|
|---|
| 48 | for Mary's life, as well as her own. But she was determined to remain
|
|---|
| 49 | true to her conscience, and none of Henry VIII's threats would persuade her
|
|---|
| 50 | otherwise. Mary would eventually betray her mother's wishes and accede
|
|---|
| 51 | to the Act of Succession; her letter to Henry VIII is included in the <A
|
|---|
| 52 | href="primary.html">Primary Sources</A>
|
|---|
| 53 | section and is a remarkable document.</FONT>
|
|---|
| 54 | <P><FONT size=-1>In this letter,
|
|---|
| 55 | Katharine mentions Lady Salisbury. This was Margaret de la Pole,
|
|---|
| 56 | countess of Salisbury; she was also a Plantagenet heir and cousin of Henry
|
|---|
| 57 | VIII's. She had been Mary's governess for many years and was very close
|
|---|
| 58 | to both Katharine and Mary. Upon Mary's disobedience, Henry dismissed
|
|---|
| 59 | her from Mary's service; Margaret was eventually executed on trumped-up
|
|---|
| 60 | charges of treason in 1541. Her death was perhaps the most blatant act
|
|---|
| 61 | of judicial murder in Henry's bloody reign.</FONT>
|
|---|
| 62 | <P><FONT size=-1>I find this letter psychologically interesting.
|
|---|
| 63 | Katharine became increasingly pious as her marriage to Henry dissolved into
|
|---|
| 64 | ceaseless acrimony and misery. Religious fervor became her only
|
|---|
| 65 | comfort. In this, she perhaps inadvertently over-stressed its importance
|
|---|
| 66 | to her daughter. She placed Mary in an untenable and dangerous position,
|
|---|
| 67 | essentially telling her that it was God's will to disobey her father, even as
|
|---|
| 68 | she assumed God was on her side in the annulment proceedings. But Henry
|
|---|
| 69 | was equally convinced of the religious righteousness of his cause. Poor
|
|---|
| 70 | Mary, torn between two bullying parents, inevitably turned to her
|
|---|
| 71 | mother. After all, Katharine's situation was far more sympathetic and
|
|---|
| 72 | she was badly treated (after she refused many generous offers to accept
|
|---|
| 73 | Henry's wishes.) But the effect on Mary's personality was
|
|---|
| 74 | devastating. She remained emotionally insecure for the rest of her
|
|---|
| 75 | life.<br></FONT><hr>
|
|---|
| 76 | <P>
|
|---|
| 77 | <p>Daughter, I heard such tidings today that I do perceive if it be
|
|---|
| 78 | true, the time is come that Almighty God will prove you; and I am very glad
|
|---|
| 79 | of it, for I trust He doth handle you with a good love. I beseech you
|
|---|
| 80 | agree of His pleasure with a merry heart; and be sure that, without fail, He
|
|---|
| 81 | will not suffer you to perish if you beware to offend Him. I pray you,
|
|---|
| 82 | good daughter, to offer yourself to Him. If any pangs come to you,
|
|---|
| 83 | shrive yourself; first make you clean; take heed of His commandments, and
|
|---|
| 84 | keep them as near as He will give you grace to do, for then you are sure
|
|---|
| 85 | armed. And if this lady [Anne Shelton] do come to you as it is spoken,
|
|---|
| 86 | if she do bring you a letter from the King, I am sure in the self same
|
|---|
| 87 | letter you shall be commanded what you shall do. Answer with few
|
|---|
| 88 | words, obeying the King, your father, in everything, save only that you will
|
|---|
| 89 | not offend God and lose your own soul; and go no further with learning and
|
|---|
| 90 | disputation in the matter. And wheresoever, and in whatsoever company
|
|---|
| 91 | you shall come, observe the King's commandments. Speak you few words
|
|---|
| 92 | and meddle nothing. I will send you two books in Latin; the one shall
|
|---|
| 93 | be De Vita Christi with a declaration of the Gospels, and the other the
|
|---|
| 94 | Epistles of St Jerome that he did write to Paul and Eustochium, and in them
|
|---|
| 95 | I trust you shall see good things. And sometimes for your recreation
|
|---|
| 96 | use your virginals or lute if you have any. <BR>But one thing I especially
|
|---|
| 97 | desire you, for the love that you do owe unto God and unto me, to keep your
|
|---|
| 98 | heart with a chaste mind, and your body from all ill and wanton company, not
|
|---|
| 99 | thinking or desiring any husband for Christ's passion; neither determine
|
|---|
| 100 | yourself to any manner of living till this troublesome time be past.
|
|---|
| 101 | For I dare make sure that you shall see a very good end, and better than you
|
|---|
| 102 | can desire. I would God, good daughter, that you did know with how
|
|---|
| 103 | good a heart I do write this letter unto you. I never did one with a
|
|---|
| 104 | better, for I perceive very well that God loveth you. I beseech Him of
|
|---|
| 105 | His goodness to continue it; and if it fortune that you shall have nobody
|
|---|
| 106 | with you of your acquaintance, I think it best you keep your keys yourself,
|
|---|
| 107 | for howsoever it is, so shall be done as shall please them. <BR>And now you
|
|---|
| 108 | shall begin, and by likelihood I shall follow. I set not a rush by it;
|
|---|
| 109 | for when they have done the uttermost they can, than I am sure of the
|
|---|
| 110 | amendment. I pray you, recommend me unto my good lady of Salisbury,
|
|---|
| 111 | and pray her to have a good heart, for we never come to the kingdom of
|
|---|
| 112 | Heaven but by troubles. <BR>Daughter, whatsoever you come, take no pain to
|
|---|
| 113 | send unto me, for if I may, I will send to you. <BR>Your loving mother,
|
|---|
| 114 | <BR>Katharine the Queen.</p>
|
|---|
| 115 | <BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|---|
| 116 |
|
|---|
| 117 | <BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|---|
| 118 | <p> </p>
|
|---|
| 119 | </BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|---|
| 120 | </BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|---|
| 121 |
|
|---|
| 122 | <BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|---|
| 123 | <P>
|
|---|
| 124 | <HR width="100%">
|
|---|
| 125 | </BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|---|
| 126 | <p align="center"><FONT size=-1><A
|
|---|
| 127 | href="letters.html">to Letters of the Six Wives
|
|---|
| 128 | of Henry VIII</A></FONT></p>
|
|---|
| 129 | <p align="center"><FONT size=-1><A href="primary.html">to
|
|---|
| 130 | Primary Sources</A></FONT><BR><FONT size=-1><A
|
|---|
| 131 | href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor.html">to Tudor England</A></FONT><BR><FONT size=-1><A
|
|---|
| 132 | href="monarchs/aragon.html">to Katharine of
|
|---|
| 133 | Aragon website</A><a href="monarchs/mary1.html"><br>
|
|---|
| 134 | to Queen Mary I website</a></FONT></p>
|
|---|
| 135 | </td>
|
|---|
| 136 | <td width="15%" height="610"></td>
|
|---|
| 137 | </tr>
|
|---|
| 138 | </table>
|
|---|
| 139 |
|
|---|
| 140 | </body>
|
|---|
| 141 |
|
|---|
| 142 | </html><!-- text below generated by server. PLEASE REMOVE --><!-- Counter/Statistics data collection code --><script language="JavaScript" src="http://hostingprod.com/js_source/geov2.js"></script><script language="javascript">geovisit();</script><noscript><img src="http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1108082700" alt="setstats" border="0" width="1" height="1"></noscript>
|
|---|
| 143 | <IMG SRC="http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=76001524&t=1108082700" ALT=1 WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=1>
|
|---|
