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6:12 am
March 30, 2010
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Why did he behead them, and not listen to the prophocy? I mean those were KH and AB's fears……
8:27 am
July 9, 2009
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Beheading them was certainly seen as an act of mercy-as you say, Anne and Katherine were terrified of being burned. But if you think about it, burning was used as a religious religious “purging” at the time. I just did a course on medieval religious practices (another one of those TMS/TTC study courses) and the professor said that heretics had to be burned so that, symbolically, there was nothing left of their heresy in the town. We know Thomas More had people burned who would not recant their religious beliefs because he believed that they might still have a chance at salvation “through the flame.” When you look at it that way, it's entirely possible that Henry didn't have them burned in order to deny them a final chance at salvation.
Ainsi sera, groigne qui groigne.
1:48 pm
February 24, 2010
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I think Henry wanted Anne and Catherine to be horrified while contemplating their deaths; but I don't think he ever meant to burn them. He was playing with their fears. In Anne's case he had sent for the French Executioner before she was sentenced.
Who knows why Henry did what he did? As far as the prophesy is concerned, I don't think Henry put much stock in prophesies unless they were in line with what he wanted to do. Apparently, this was one prophesy he didn't agree with. The psychopath! Sorry that just slipped out.
8:24 pm
June 20, 2009
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Anne and Catherine were charged as traitors, and I don't think burning was a punishment for traitors. I know that they were sentenced to be “burned or beheaded at the King's pleasure”, but I think burning was for heretics, so they could feel the “fires of hell” for not recanting. Either way, it is a terrible way to die.
As for the prophecy, “burned” could mean that she was betrayed… I don't think it was a literal translation, but then again, I don't take things at face value.. 
Henry was not the most sane man, and I really hope that all of his wives are nagging him in heaven. LOL
Let not my enemies sit as my jury
7:55 am
October 11, 2009
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As you say, Sabrina, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were charged as traitors,and the stake was for heretics and witches. charging them with treason/adultery meant that they had slept with other men, possibly created a risk for the succession and the king was the victim of it. If they had been burned, it would have meant that they were witches ( heresy was not a problem with them since none of themq questioned the religious politic of Henry) and that the king had slept, wed and, in Anne' s case, crowned a worshipper of the Devil. It would have been a terribler stain for Henry, admitting that he had succumbed to devilish seduction. If you had read the entire infamous prophecy, it mentions bishops and a queen ending at the stake; I think that it have more to do with witches and cult of satan, and mean that even the great people of the country will succumb to the devil, perhaps announcing the Doomsday. The only queen that risked ending on burning fa*gots was in my opinion Katherine Parr, since she opposed the King's views on religion and didn't present a risk of making him look like a witch's lover.
11:29 am
June 20, 2009
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LOL.. I know it's bad, but I really hope they are all just following him around, nagging him incessantly. His wives were not perfect by any means, but they deserved better than how he treated them…
Let not my enemies sit as my jury
2:58 am
February 16, 2009
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Although burning was the punishment for heretics, it was also the punishment for female traitors, men were hanged, drawn and quartered. I think Henry probably wanted to be seen a merciful (laugh, laugh) by commuting their sentences to beheading which was definitely a more merciful death in that it was generally very quick – burning could take hours. I think he was sending the message that even though Anne and Catherine had betrayed him (supposedly), he could still be merciful.
Debunking the myths about Anne Boleyn
12:31 pm
January 9, 2010
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Ah, I always wondered about that, how Henry had the option of having Anne burned as I thought burning was solely for heretics. Thanks Claire!
2:23 pm
March 12, 2010
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Yeah thanks for clarifying Claire! (No pun intended!)
And Sabrina, that's an interesting point about the burning prophecy being more metaphorical. I've never thought of it that way but I think it could very possibly be true.
11:33 pm
April 6, 2010
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One reason I read about, years ago, was that burning was used as a method for executing women because it meant they did not have their clothes removed.
“Oh, thanks, I keep my modesty, but not my life?” would have been my reaction.
The idea that Henry toyed with Anne and Kathryn regarding the means of their execution? I would not put it past him in the slightest.
I am with Sabrina – I hope all 6 wives follow him around for eternity with PMS and no Midol in sight.
