their own wills, to the pleasure of Almighty God, and to the honour and profit of this realm."
Historians are divided over the motives of Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII in devising this statute. Some see its purpose as reform and a straightforward solution to the "incurable depravity" 4 in the smaller monasteries. Others see it as an excuse for the Crown to benefit from their wealth and lands 5 under the guise of reform. With hindsight, knowing about the later widespread dissolution of the monasteries, we can view this Act as nothing more than a first step in a money-making exercise. It could also be seen as a way of ridding the realm of the abuses and superstition that reformers associated with Rome.
6th March 1536
In a letter to the Empress, written on 6th March 1536, Dr Pedro Ortiz reported:
"Anne Bolans is now in fear of the King deserting her one of these days, in order to marry another lady." 1
The sentence comes after his report of Catherine of Aragon's burial and he does not elaborate in any way, apart from saying at the end of the letter that "At any rate, it must be owned that though the King himself was not converted like St. Paul after his fall, at least his adulterous wife has miscarried of a son."
It is safe to assume that Ortiz believed that Anne's miscarriage made Anne vulnerable, but any information he may have had regarding Anne's state of mind would be second-hand because Ortiz was in Rome at the time! It really cannot be used as evidence of a breakdown in Anne and Henry's relationship.
18th March 1536 – Jane in Favour
On the 18th March 1536, Chapuys reported:
"The new amours of this King with the young lady of whom I have before written still go on, to the intense rage of the concubine; and the King 15 days ago put into his chamber the young lady's brother."
Jane Seymour, and her brother Edward Seymour, who had been appointed to the privy chamber, were obviously rising in favour, and Anne Boleyn didn't like it one bit. Henry would have expected Anne to ignore his flirtation, as Catherine had done before her, but it would have been natural for Anne to have been jealous and to feel vulnerable. After all, her marriage depended on her keeping the King's love. Anne had set a dangerous precedent in rising from lady-in-waiting to Queen.
1st April 1536 - Chapuys, Cromwell, Jane Seymour and the Conservatives
On the 1st April 1536, Chapuys reported a meeting between himself, "the young marquis[Exeter], the widowed countess of Kildare, lord Montagu, and other gentlemen" where he was informed that Anne Boleyn and Cromwell were "on bad terms" and that there was talk of the King marrying another, "the daughter of France". 1 In the same report, Chapuys wrote of his concern for Cromwell regarding what Cromwell had told him of Anne's threat, namely "that she (Anne Boleyn) would like to see his head off his shoulders." Chapuys noted that his advice to Cromwell was that "He ought to take care not to offend or over-irritate her, or else he must renounce all hope of that perfect reconciliation we both were trying to bring about. I therefore begged and entreated him, in such an event, to guard against her attacks more effectually than the cardinal (Wolsey) had done, which I hoped his dexterity and prudence would be able to accomplish". Chapuys added that he hoped that Cromwell would soon have another royal mistress.
Later in the letter to Charles V, Chapuys described how he heard that the King had sent Jane Seymour a letter and "a purse full of sovereigns". According to Chapuys, Jane kissed the letter and begged the messenger to tell the King "that she was a gentlewoman of good and honorable parents, without reproach, and that she had no greater riches in the world than her honor, which she would not injure for a thousand deaths, and that if he wished to make her some present in money she begged it might be when God enabled her to make some honorable match." She had been coached well and there were definite echoes
Historians are divided over the motives of Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII in devising this statute. Some see its purpose as reform and a straightforward solution to the "incurable depravity" 4 in the smaller monasteries. Others see it as an excuse for the Crown to benefit from their wealth and lands 5 under the guise of reform. With hindsight, knowing about the later widespread dissolution of the monasteries, we can view this Act as nothing more than a first step in a money-making exercise. It could also be seen as a way of ridding the realm of the abuses and superstition that reformers associated with Rome.
6th March 1536
In a letter to the Empress, written on 6th March 1536, Dr Pedro Ortiz reported:
"Anne Bolans is now in fear of the King deserting her one of these days, in order to marry another lady." 1
The sentence comes after his report of Catherine of Aragon's burial and he does not elaborate in any way, apart from saying at the end of the letter that "At any rate, it must be owned that though the King himself was not converted like St. Paul after his fall, at least his adulterous wife has miscarried of a son."
It is safe to assume that Ortiz believed that Anne's miscarriage made Anne vulnerable, but any information he may have had regarding Anne's state of mind would be second-hand because Ortiz was in Rome at the time! It really cannot be used as evidence of a breakdown in Anne and Henry's relationship.
18th March 1536 – Jane in Favour
On the 18th March 1536, Chapuys reported:
"The new amours of this King with the young lady of whom I have before written still go on, to the intense rage of the concubine; and the King 15 days ago put into his chamber the young lady's brother."
Jane Seymour, and her brother Edward Seymour, who had been appointed to the privy chamber, were obviously rising in favour, and Anne Boleyn didn't like it one bit. Henry would have expected Anne to ignore his flirtation, as Catherine had done before her, but it would have been natural for Anne to have been jealous and to feel vulnerable. After all, her marriage depended on her keeping the King's love. Anne had set a dangerous precedent in rising from lady-in-waiting to Queen.
1st April 1536 - Chapuys, Cromwell, Jane Seymour and the Conservatives
On the 1st April 1536, Chapuys reported a meeting between himself, "the young marquis[Exeter], the widowed countess of Kildare, lord Montagu, and other gentlemen" where he was informed that Anne Boleyn and Cromwell were "on bad terms" and that there was talk of the King marrying another, "the daughter of France". 1 In the same report, Chapuys wrote of his concern for Cromwell regarding what Cromwell had told him of Anne's threat, namely "that she (Anne Boleyn) would like to see his head off his shoulders." Chapuys noted that his advice to Cromwell was that "He ought to take care not to offend or over-irritate her, or else he must renounce all hope of that perfect reconciliation we both were trying to bring about. I therefore begged and entreated him, in such an event, to guard against her attacks more effectually than the cardinal (Wolsey) had done, which I hoped his dexterity and prudence would be able to accomplish". Chapuys added that he hoped that Cromwell would soon have another royal mistress.
Later in the letter to Charles V, Chapuys described how he heard that the King had sent Jane Seymour a letter and "a purse full of sovereigns". According to Chapuys, Jane kissed the letter and begged the messenger to tell the King "that she was a gentlewoman of good and honorable parents, without reproach, and that she had no greater riches in the world than her honor, which she would not injure for a thousand deaths, and that if he wished to make her some present in money she begged it might be when God enabled her to make some honorable match." She had been coached well and there were definite echoes
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