Tolerant, Ruthless, Hesitating, Bold, Intensely Aware, And Talented To The Point Of Genius, He Was Always

“Tolerant, ruthless, hesitating, bold, intensely aware, and talented to the point of genius, he was always looking for the new and the original– and he found both in Anne Boleyn.”

— The challenge of Anne Boleyn (Hester W. Chapman), [ 1974 ]

Portrait of Catherine of Aragon, Juan de Flandes, ca. 1496.

“[Elizabeth] was one of the most intelligent young women in the kingdom, and she had been privileged to be taught by some of the finest minds the country, including, William Grindal and the accomplished scholar Roger Ascham. Under Ascham’s tutelage Elizabeth excelled, and her brilliant mind impressed many of her contemporaries, including her tutors. Ascham later enthusiastically praised ‘my illustrious mistress the Lady Elizabeth’ who ‘shines like a star’. John Foxe also wrote about her in complementary terms, relating that she did 'rather excel in all manner of languages, manner of virtue and knowledge’. She was particularly skilled at languages, and wrote and spoke several fluently. These included Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, and Greek.”

— Elizabeth’s Rival: The Tumultuous life of the Countess of Leicester, Nicola Tallis

One thing about the Tudors that always fascinates me is what they were actually like as individuals, how they were as people - What did Henry VIII sound like? How tall exactly were his wives? Did Anne Boleyn have a slight French accent? One Tudor monarch we have a significant description of is Queen Mary I. A Venetian ambassador had this to say about her:

“She is of low rather than of middling stature. She is of a spare and delicate frame, quite unlike her father, who was tall and stout; nor does she resemble her mother, who, if not tall, was nevertheless bulky. Her face is well formed, as shown by her features and lineaments, and as seen by her portraits. When younger she was considered, not merely tolerably handsome, but of beauty exceeding mediocrity. At present, with the exception of some wrinkles, caused more by anxieties than by age, which makes her appear some years older, her aspect, for the rest, is very grave. Her eyes are so piercing that they inspire not only respect, but fear in those on whom she fixes them, although she is very shortsighted, being unable to read or do anything else unless she has her sight quite close to what she wishes to peruse or to see distinctly. Her voice is rough and loud, almost like a man’s, so that when she speaks she is always heard a long way off.”

Merle Oberon as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII, 1933.

(Check this film out: gorgeous costumes, hilarious and touching scenes, and an all-around great early film, especially since you can catch the whole thing on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX3i1SREp0A)

This letter snippet is “Ma Maitress etc Amy” — My Mistress and Friend.

It is the first letter in the bound book of love letters at the Library.

(Courtesy of the Vatican Library)