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