Today, I have some fascinating facts to share about the Boleyn family, a family close to my heart. These tidbits might surprise you and give you a deeper insight into their intriguing history.
Did you know that Anne Boleyn’s father inherited a unique family heirloom? Or that her mother was praised by a famous poet? There are also some mysteries about Mary Boleyn’s later years. Anne herself might have met a legendary figure during her time in France, and her brother George was celebrated for his talents. Jane Boleyn played a significant role in the lives of others, and Elizabeth I honoured her mother in some special ways…
Transcript:
I thought for a bit of fun this week I’d share some interesting facts about the Boleyn family, a family, as you know, who are close to my heart…
Did you know that Anne Boleyn’s father Thomas Boleyn inherited a special item from his maternal grandfather, Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormonde, the Ormonde ancestral horn, which was a gold tipped ivory horn with a gold-decorated white silk ribbon to support it. Historian Julia Fox explains that this horn was passed from father to son “to the honour of the same blood” through the generations. Thomas had inherited as his grandfather had only daughters, but then because George was executed in 1536, Thomas had to pass it on to his maternal cousin, George St Leger.
Did you know that Anne Boleyn’s mother Elizabeth Boleyn née Howard was praised before her marriage by poet John Skelton?. In a poem, “The Garland of Laurel”, which was addressed to various Howard women, he wrote in his verse to Elizabeth:
To be your remembrancer, madam, I am bound,
Like to Aryna, maidenly of port,
Of virtue and conning the well and perfect ground;
Whom dame Nature, as well I may report,
Hath freshly embeautied with many a goodly sort
Of womanly features, whose flourishing tender age
Is lusty to look on, pleasant, demure, and sage.
Good Creisseid, fairer than Polexene
For to envive Pandarus’ appetite;
Troilus, I trow, if that he had you seen,
In you he would have set his whole delight:
Of all your beauty I suffice not to write;
But, as I said, your flourishing tender age
Is lusty to look on, pleasant, demure, and sage.
Did you know that Mary Boleyn turned up at court in September 1534 visibly pregnant, following her secret marriage to William Stafford, but that we have no idea what happened to that baby? Although there are odd claims on some ancestry-type websites, the only children mentioned in the records are Catherine Carey, born in around 1524, and Henry Carey, born in 1526. We can only assume that Mary had a stillbirth or the baby died in early infancy.
Did you know that Anne Boleyn may well have met Leonardo da Vinci during her time in France? He resided at the Château Clos de Lucé in Amboise in the Loire family of France from 1516-1519, a stone’s throw from the Château d’Amboise where Queen Claude, who, was of course served by Anne Boleyn from 1515 to 1521, spent a lot of her time. Anne Boleyn must have at least seen da Vinci, mustn’t she?
Did you know that George Boleyn was a renowned poet. Cardinal Wolsey’s gentleman usher, George Cavendish, praised his skills and in 1575, Richard Smith listed him alongside poets such as Chaucer, Gower, Surrey, Gascoigne and Wyatt. Unfortunately, nothing attributed to him has survived, although Sir John Harington, later in the 16th century, believed that a poem called “The Lover complaineth the Unkindness of his Love” was written by George.
Did you know that Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, and her husband George Boleyn were granted the wardship of Edmund Sheffield, son of Sir Robert Sheffield, in 1533, and that Jane acted as a patron to scholar William Foster who was studying at King’s College, Cambridge?
Did you know that Elizabeth I, far from distancing herself from her mother, Anne Boleyn, made use of her mother’s falcon device? It appeared on virginals made in 1571 owned by Elizabeth, along with Elizabeth’s royal coat of arms, as well as on a fine linen damask napkin which also featured portraits of Elizabeth, an inscription Quene Elizabeth, a Tudor rose, and the words God save the Quene. Portraits of Anne were also painted during her reign and biographies or treatises praising her.
So there are a few Boleyn facts for you!
If you’re hungry to know more about the Boleyn family, I’m doing an 8-day online event in November on them. I’ll be covering:
- Thomas and Elizabeth Boleyn, an ambitious and talented courtier and his noble lady
- Anne Boleyn, From a King’s Obsession to a Queen’s Downfall
- Mary Boleyn, The King’s Mistress and Her Legacy
- George Boleyn, Poet, Courtier, Diplomat, and the Price of Serving a King
- Jane Boleyn, The Controversial Life of Lady Rochford
- Elizabeth I, The Boleyn Queen
- The Legacy of the Boleyns and Our Enduring Fascination with This 16th Century Family
There’ll be 7 talks and eight zoom video Q&A sessions with me, so plenty of opportunity to talk Tudor to me and with other like-minded people, plus zoom chats leading up to the events. These events are always fun and we always go down some interesting rabbit holes with the questions people ask. I love every single minute of them and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the Boleyns.
If you’d like to join me, go to claireridgway.com and you’ll see a link to the event on the home page there. If you register before 31st July, it’s $65, a saving of $15.
I do hope you’ll consider joining us. I’m already counting the days to it!
