Welcome back to Court and to episode 3 of “Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light”.
This week’s post will be like my last two since it seems my useless Tudor knowledge of Fun Facts has been quite popular.
A good portion of this episode had to do with the rebellion in the North. That rebellion was called the Pilgrimage of Grace, which began in October 1536. And although the break from the Catholic Church was a main grievance, there were many other reasons as well. There was also a long-standing distrust in the North of the Tudor monarchs, starting with Henry VII. Henry Tudor was seen by many as an usurper when he beat Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. Henry Tudor was a Lancastrian, while Richard was the last King of the House of York; the North were never fans of the Tudors. And as you can see from Henry’s distain for the Northerners, the feeling was mutual. It also did not help that in the 27 years Henry had reigned, not once had he visited the North on progress. (He eventually travels to York in 1541 with his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.)
As Cromwell and Henry dissolved the monasteries, this not only deprived the population of places to worship, but the Churches and monasteries were places where people would go for food and shelter. A poor harvest of 1536 caused a food shortage, and the communities no longer had the abbeys to help supplement their needs.
Take away people’s food and their religion and there are going to be issues, to say the least.
Northerners believed that with Anne Boleyn set aside, the King would return to the Catholic religion and back to the Pope. They were very willing to have Henry be their King but also wanted the Pope as the spiritual leader. Henry was not having that.
When Henry did not restore Catholicism, Northerners began to blame Cromwell. They believed it was Cromwell who was the one seizing the land, jewels, and gold from the monasteries and lining his pockets. They saw him as a devil who used sorcery to seduce the King to make these changes. (Anne was also accused of using sorcery to seduced Henry – I think this doesn’t say much about how easily they feel Henry can be lead.)
Henry sends the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Howard and the Duke of Suffolk, Charles Brandon, to the North to suppress the rebellion. (Just a note: Charles Brandon was a very close friend and advisor to Henry. They were friends from childhood and fought in France twice together and Brandon was married to Henry’s sister Mary. I don’t understand why Brandon plays such a non-existent role in this series.)
Along with brutally containing the rebellion, Norfolk promises the rebel leaders, including Robert Aske all the things Cromwell mentions – a general pardon, make Mary legitimate, etc. However, it was all a rouse. Aske traveled to London to meet with Henry during the Christmas holiday. On his way back North, Aske was arrested and later hung in chains as a traitor at York.
Henry believes the Poles and Courtenays are behind the rebellion. He is not entirely wrong; they did give support to the rebels and an embroidered tunic bearing the Five Wounds of Christ, the Pilgrimage of Grace symbol, was found in Margaret Poles’ home. This evidence was used to find her guilty of treason. In 1541 Pole was killed in a very botched execution in which it took eleven strokes of the axe for the executioner to remove her head.
I often wonder why Henry had such contempt for the people of the North, and York in particular. His mother was Elizabeth of York who he loved dearly. Also, he tried to emulate his grandfather, Edward IV who was the head of the House of York. He had Yorkists blood running through his veins, and in many ways behaved more like a Plantagenet than a Tudor.
We see at the Privy Council just how much the nobles distrust Cromwell. I have read that in Tudor England especially, life was seen more like a chain with links than a ladder. You can climb a ladder to elevate yourself, but if you are a link in a chain, you are stationary. The likes of FitzWilliam and Norfolk don’t like to see a “commoner” raised to high by the King. In their minds, if this man can be on our level, where will it stop? Family lineage and titles were all so important at Court.
I don’t say this too much, but poor Jane! Henry totally embarrassed her in front of everyone. Asking for Mary to be brought to Court was fine, but pleading for the rebels? That was a step too far. I have read in several books that when Jane made this plea, Henry told her she should keep in mind what happened to the lady before her who tried to get involved in the King’s affairs. Yikes!
At the feast Henry throws to show he is not bothered by the rising in the North, Cromwell is teased by the jester Sexton. In reality Henry’s fool was Will Sommers who was in Henry’s service from 1525 until Henry’s death in 1547. The Tyndale that the jester is alluding to is William Tyndale, who was a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation and someone that Cromwell would have been very familiar with.
Jane Boleyn is the one who arranges for Cromwell to secretly meet with Lady Mary in her chamber. This is good foreshadowing, as Lady Jane will be accused of helping Henry’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard, meet with her supposed lover, Thomas Culpepper in 1542. No spoilers, but it doesn’t end well for any of them.
Mary is quick to point out that even though the rebels use her name, she gave them no permission and is not a part of the rebellion. However, this is exactly what she accused her sister Elizabeth of during Wyatt’s Rebellion in 1554 while Mary was Queen. She proceeded to put Elizabeth in the Tower in 1554, then keep her under house arrest at Woodstock Palace until 1555.
Cromwell is correct when he says Mary would like to marry a Spaniard. She does just that in 1554 when she married Philip of Spain. It was very unpopular with the English nobles as they did not want England to be a province of Spain.
Jane is in a much better place when it is known she is finally pregnant. She is downing quails morning and night. Henry’s Queens seem to have very specific craving when pregnant – with Jane it quails, with Anne it was apples.
Cromwell walks with Jane to Holbein so she can stand for her portrait. This image of Jane will be used in 1545 when Henry has a family portrait made featuring himself, Jane, Mary, Elizabeth and Edward. It’s pretty awkward at the time since Henry is on his sixth wife, Katherine Parr, who is not in the painting!
The Family of Henry VIII, c. 1545. Royal Collection Trust / copyright Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2015.
The confusion about which Cromwell was marrying Queen Jane’s sister Bess was something right out of a Shakespeare comedy. Thomas Cromwell had no idea he was the most eligible bachelor at Court. And Bess was going to show up no matter which Cromwell was the groom.
It is sad that for nobles, marriages were made for connections and not for love. Women were seen as property and were made to marry who their fathers or guardians told them to marry. I don’t think even Henry ever married for love. He is too much of a narcissist to love anyone but himself.
Henry is very angry in this episode and the rebels in the North are not the only reason. By 1536-37 Henry would have been very overweight, most like diabetic, had gout and the pain from the ulcerated wound on his leg would be unbearable at times. The smell coming from this wound would be quite overpowering as well. This would definitely make for a cranky King.
I’m a man of honor; I mean I’m a man of my word.
I’m so glad Cromwell corrected himself. It’s nice to see him so self-aware.
I hope you continue to enjoy the background and fun facts in my posts. To be honest, I could talk/write about this topic for hours!
See you at Court next week!
