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11:20 am
January 3, 2012
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Each person that day would have given their own interpretation of what they saw, so no 2 accounts will be verbatim, the only fact that will be the same is that Anne had had her head chopped off.
You also have to look at the person who is giving the account of Anne’s death that day.
If they are pro Catholic they will say something like “She got what she deserved the wh*re, blah blah blah, glad she’s dead, I hope she burns in hell.”
If they are con Catholic they will say “She was a lovely woman she will be missed, but she died bravely and honourably, God bless her.”
Much the same way as the odd video’s that I have seen about Anne’s death. I think it was Simon Schuma’s programme about Anne, which showed Anne being dragged to the Scaffold and then being forced to put her head on the block.
Dr Dave said Anne walked calmly to the block and gave her final speech, and knelt down facing the people and after making sure that her feet were covered by her dress she was basically cut off in midspeech, saying “To Jesus I commend my soul”.
Her lips and eyes were said to be still moving after the executioner held her head up. I don’t think this was anything new to anyone, as it probably happened on quite a few executions. Mary Queen of Scots lips and eyes were said to be still moving an hour after her death, but I think this was just Catholic Properganda against Elizabeth who was seen as the wicked witch/wh*re/bastard and usurper.
I feel the reason for the lips and eyes movement is down to the sheer quickness(If the poor victim was lucky enough to be beheaded in one stroke. Mary QoS unfortuately didn’t have the mercy of a quick death, and it took 3 chops of the axe, to chop her head off. The Duke of Monmouth bastard Son of C2 and Lucy Walter took 5 chops and even then the executioner had to finish off the last bits with a knife.) of the separation of the head from the shoulders, bear in mind the victim heart rate would be up, and although they may look calm they must have been terrirfied, so of course everything would be on overload nerves wise. So when the head was held up the movement was just the last of the neurons firing off before dying off. (I hope that make sence)
I personally feel that she did go calmly to her death. It would have done no good to kick and scream and protest against the injustice of her fate, and to do so would be seen as an admission of guilt. She sacrificed her own life so that Elizabeth, would one day rule. Remember his Royal faceache had named Elizabeth a bastard, and tried to say that Elizabeth wasn’t even his daughter anyway.
But again if Anne had done anything on the scaffold such as calling his royal faceache an A***hole etc (and he deserved to be called just that and few other names too) that may have well be constued that his Royal Faceache was telling the truth about Elizabeth not being his.
Semper Fidelis, quod sum quod
12:38 am
November 18, 2010
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Generally executions followed a formula
1. the prisoner was lead out to the place of execution
2. the prisoner got to say some words about how the sentance was deserved and “God save the King”
3. The priest did his prayers
4. The final act Prisoner paid executioner and the headsman did his work.
5. Tidy up.
For me..Anne would have followed the same formula.
She was lead out and yes, she spoke about how she was a sinner who deserved to die though she never explained what she was guilty of apart from when she spoke of Henry . Then it was praise for the king as not only the king but as a husband and her failure to be the wife he deserved.
We know that there was a priest present and that he would have been there to comfort Anne. As well as lead the on-lookers in prayers for the dead.
Anne would have paid with the money Kingston had given her and forgiven the swordsman for what he was about to do, removed her head-dress but not the coif since it would have served 2 purposes…Keep Anne’s modesty since as a married woman her hair should be covered and also to keep it out of the way of the sword stroke.
It’s amusing to thnk of Anne fussing around to ensure her dress was tight round her ankles and not able to slide up and give every-one present a post-homous flash of her legs.
I can see Anne poised as ever, kneeling and waiting, saying her last prayers ensuring she was as circumspect in death as she tried to be in life. and her sense of drama in playing to a crowd would have made sure that her death was well calculated by Anne to have te greatest impact to a select audience.
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1:37 pm
January 3, 2012
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Thank you Anyanka.
Considering how the victim was usually very un-nerved at what was about to happen to them, Anne’s calm attitude, towards death by such a barbaric manner must have made a lot of people nervous. Thomas More did the same sort as things as Anne, calmly approached the block, and simply said “I die the King’s good servant, but God’s first”. and that was it.
Generally speaking everyone (and executions were big entertainment, and business oppotunities for the common riff raff in those days) would be excited at witnessing such a spectacle.
After all it was the first of it’s kind too a crowned and annoited Queen being executed, everyone would have wanted to see what they hoped would be a once in a life time oppotunity.
I daresay that a lot of business was done that day more so then perhaps it would have been done if it had just been Joe Bloggs the one time royal Gong farmer to the King of England.
I think the term “A good Death” is applicable here, as Anne did make a good death. It was quick, and therefore merciful, and her scaffold speech, was all about his royal faceache, and how good he had been to her. She asked the people to pray for her, and then simply knelt down and submitted to what had been ruled by her nobles in a mock/sham trial.
Perhaps her calm demenour was part of the reason to why what happened after was so chaotic. No coffin it seems was provided for her and poor old Kingston had to quickly find something suitable, An old arrow chest seems to have been found, some say the chest was too small to place her head in the coffin where it should have been and it was tucked down under her arm. But If I have remembered rightly when the Victorians did their sticky beaking down in the vault they didn’t not anything like that. The Victorians were a macarbre and funny lot so anything like that would have been noted I think if it had been true.
However I have read somewhere recently that when a person was executed, save for those who had their heads tarred and spiked on the Tower, there was always an attempt of some sort to place the heads back where they would have been if they had died naturally. The heads were usually wrapped up in Buckram cloth or in the case of royalty Damask cloth.
Although we know that K.H was executed before J.B in real life, I believe J.B was made to kneel in K.H’s blood when she was executed.
In the Tudors when K.H’s execution scene was as seen J.B executed first, and K.H wet herself in fright, I could well imagine that actually happening in real life.
Am I right in thinking however that prisoners for the block or the ultimate big 3, were not brought out in a job lot, rather that they were kept in the cart that had brought them to the scaffold, and brought up one by one, after watching their freinds die?
Semper Fidelis, quod sum quod
12:22 pm
January 3, 2012
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She did indeed Bardess. I’m glad you watched Claire’s video, it’s brilliantly put together and informative. Claire has done extensive work concerning Anne’s life.
Old Royal faceache tried to condemn Anne as a witch, well in many ways he’s probably right, as she has held everyone spell bound for over 500 years. A woman of great strength and determination. Brave and fearless, who spoke her mind and what’s more took on a King who thought he was a Golden SOD I mean God and exposed him for what he truly was, a coward, lair, a hypocrite, etc. In short Anne was simply an amazing woman a trend setter and extremely forward thinking free spririt. I reckon if time travel was possible and we could bring Anne forward to our time she would fit in extremely well with all that we have modern technology wise, and be someone of great strength, which people would want to follow. A superstar, but one that had her feet firmly planted on the ground.
Semper Fidelis, quod sum quod
11:12 pm
November 18, 2010
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Boleyn said
Generally speaking everyone (and executions were big entertainment, and business oppotunities for the common riff raff in those days) would be excited at witnessing such a spectacle.
After all it was the first of it’s kind too a crowned and annoited Queen being executed, everyone would have wanted to see what they hoped would be a once in a life time oppotunity.
IIRC, the Tower was stripped of strangers, ie foreigners and Anne’s execution was open only to members of the Privy Councel, MPs, lords and high ranking London officials. I don;’t thnk there were anywomen present apart from the ones who attended Anne on her final trip and who were then responsible for removing her clohes and washng her body before internment.
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11:18 pm
November 18, 2010
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Boleyn said
However I have read somewhere recently that when a person was executed, save for those who had their heads tarred and spiked on the Tower, there was always an attempt of some sort to place the heads back where they would have been if they had died naturally. The heads were usually wrapped up in Buckram cloth or in the case of royalty Damask cloth.
Sir Thomas More’s head was supposed to have been displayed on Tower Bridge but I think his daughter Meg Roper managed to remove it with some help.
None of Anne’s co-accused heads were displayed.
But both Culpepper and Dereham’s heads were displayed. KH and JB would have passed bythem no thier way to the Tower reminding them of thier eventual fate.
It's always bunnies.
11:34 pm
November 18, 2010
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Boleyn said
Although we know that K.H was executed before J.B in real life, I believe J.B was made to kneel in K.H’s blood when she was executed.
In the Tudors when K.H’s execution scene was as seen J.B executed first, and K.H wet herself in fright, I could well imagine that actually happening in real life.
Am I right in thinking however that prisoners for the block or the ultimate big 3, were not brought out in a job lot, rather that they were kept in the cart that had brought them to the scaffold, and brought up one by one, after watching their freinds die?
There was straw strewn around to mop up the blood but how useful that would hve been on a cold February morning, I don’t know.
Yes, I beleieve they were kept in together before execution and were executed highest to lowest in rank. Smeaton would have seen 4 other men go to thier deaths and must have hoped that the axe was still sharp for him. Dereham would have seen the quick death of Culpepper before his own more barbaric end.
TMI alert…
Following death, even a peaceful one, it’s not uncommon for the bladder and/or bowels to void . Also in the case of men…hanging can cause an erection…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D…..h_erection.
It's always bunnies.
11:28 am
January 3, 2012
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Thank you Anyanka.
I doubt the straw would have helped much to be honest. I suppose the more people were to be chopped up that day the more messy and slippery the scaffold would get, especially if the bladder and bowels decided to join in with the blood lust. So I guess the reason for the straw was to prevent the poor victim from slipping off the scaffold and breaking his neck, before the headsman could do it for him.
However Guido Fawkes managed to evade the full horror well enough. Although his legs were useless after being having a relationship with the Duke of Exeter’s daughter (The Rack) he somehow manged to jump off the ladder and break his neck, He still went through the full horror, but was dead.
I do think there was a attempt to perhaps clean up the blood and whatever else was on the scaffold. Am I right in thinking that once the scaffold had done it’s bit it was chopped up and burnt anyway?
Semper Fidelis, quod sum quod
12:15 am
November 18, 2010
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AFAIK, the scaffolds build inside the Tower grounds were for one-off occassions and were destroyed or recycled afer use since very few people were ever executed there.
The one on Tower Hill may well have been a permanent fixture like the gallows at Tyburn and other such sites around the major cities of the era.
It's always bunnies.
