As you may remember, I posted here a couple of weeks ago about how I was going to be researching and writing a series of posts on the myths, lies, inaccuracies, legends and assumptions surrounding Anne Boleyn. I asked you for ideas on what you wanted to see covered and you came up with some wonderful ideas. Thank you so much for your input – I received lots of comments and emails, so a big thank you.
The first article should be ready to publish on Friday and I hope you will enjoy it.
One person asked me how I was going to go about debunking myths and assumptions when there is no enough evidence one way or another, and also how the myths can be answered without bias. Well, I will do what I always do here on The Anne Boleyn Files and in my writing, I will:
- Explain the myth/assumption/legend, its roots and who (historian, chronicler, author etc.) has put forward the theory.
- Examine and present what primary, contemporary source evidence there is for the myth/assumption/theory and what evidence there is to the contrary – I will give full references so that readers can check these for themselves.
- I will draw my conclusion and let others draw theirs – I’m always careful to state that my conclusion is my own opinion, explaining what it is based on, and to let others draw their own conclusion. The thing with history is that people can read the same piece of evidence and interpret it completely differently. Another problem is that the Tudors lived 500 years ago so there isn’t always the evidence one way or another.
- Welcome comments, discussion and debate at the bottom of each article – Whatever your opinion, you are welcome to share it. Debate is good!
