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The Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough, a canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: "In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed." Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.
Execution of Anne Boleyn is in May 1536 Fall of Anne Boleyn.
On 19th May 1536 Queen Anne Boleyn of England (age 35) was beheaded at Tower Green, Tower of London [Map]. Unusually a sword was used. Her execution was witnessed by Charles Brandon 1st Duke of Suffolk (age 52), Catherine Carey (age 12) and Henry Fitzroy 1st Duke Richmond and Somerset (age 16). Marquess Pembroke extinct.
She was buried at St Peter ad Vincula Church, Tower of London [Map]. There is myth that her corpse was subsequently removed for burial at the Boleyn family church Church of St Peter and St Paul, Salle [Map] as described in Agnes Strickland's 1852 Lives of the Queens of England Volume 4. Page 212.
Ellis' Letters. Sir William Kingston (age 60) to Lord Cromwell (age 51), apparently May 18th 1536
[MS. COTTON. OTHO c. x. foL 223. Orig.]
Syr thys shalbe to advertyse you I have resayved your Lett' wherin yo ...aa have strangerys conveyed yowt of the Towre and so thay be by the ... of Richard Gressum (age 51), & Will-m Loke, & Wythepoll, bot the umbrb of stra ... not xxx. and not mony; Hothe and the inbassit'of the emperor had a ... ther and honestly put yowt. Sr yf we have not anowrec serten ... d be knowen in London, I thynke hee wilbe bot few and I thynk ...f humburg ware bes: for I suppose she wyll declare hyr self to b ... h woman for all men bot for the Kyng at the or of hyr dei ... mornyngk she sent for me that I myght be with hyr at ... asshe reysayved the gud lord to the in tent I shuld here hy ... towchyng hyr innosensy alway to be clere & in the writy ... she sent for me, and at my commyng she sayd M. Kyngston I he ... l not dy affore none, & I am very sory ther fore; for I thowth ... be dede ... d past my payne. I told hyr it shuld be now payne it w ... m hard say the executr was very gud and I have a lyt ... rn hand abowt it lawyng hartely.
I have sen also wemen executed and atp they have bene in gre ... ige. Thys Lady hasse meche joy and plesur in dethe ... newaly with hyr and hasse bene syns ij of the co ... the effect of hony thyng that ys here at t ... well.
Your ....
Willm Ky
To Mastr. Secretory.
Note a. f. you would have. b. number. c. an hour. d. as it may be. L. Herb. e. here. f. a reasonable. g. L. Herb. h. be a. L. Herb. i. death. k. for this morning. L. Herb. l. I heard say I shall not. L. Herb. m. was so sotell. Herb. n. a lyttel neck and put her hand. Herb. p. that,
The names of those who were called Anne Boleyn's accusers have occurred in the preceding Letters.
The close of her catastrophe shall be detailed in the words of Burnet:
"A little before noon, being the 19th. of May, she was brought to the Scaffold, where she made a short speech to a great company that came to look on the last scene of this fatal Tragedy: the chief of whom were the Dukes of Suffolk (age 52) and Richmond (age 16), the Lord Chancellor, and Secretary Cromwell, with the Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs, and Aldermen of London. She said she was come to die, as she was judged by the Law; she would accuse none, nor say any thing of the ground upon which she was judged. She prayed heartily for the King; and called him a most merciful and gentle Prince, and that he had been always to her a good, gentle, sovereign lord: and if any would meddle with her cause, she required them to judge the best. And so she took her leave of them and of the world; and heartily desired they would pray for her. After she had been some time in her devotions, being her last words 'to Christ I commend my Soul,' her head was cut off by the hangman of Calais, who was brought over as more expert at beheading than any in England: her eyes and lips were observed to move after her head was cut off, as Spelman writes; but her body was thrown into a common chest of elm tree, that was made to put arrows in, and was buried in the chapel within the Tower [Map] before twelve o'clock.
"Her brother (deceased) with the other four did also suffer. None of them were quartered, but they were all beheaded, except Smeton, who was hanged. It was generally said, that he was corrupted into that confession, and had his life promised him; but it was not fit to let him live to tell tales. Norris had been much in the King's favour, and an offer was made him of his life, if he would confess his guilt, and accuse the Queen. But he generously rejected that unhandsome proposition, and said that in his consciiaice he thought her innocent of these things laid to her charge; but whether she was or not, he would not accuse her of any thing, and he would die a thousand times rather than ruin an innocent person."a
On the day of the execution, Henry the Eighth put on white for mourning, as though he would have said, "I am innocent of this deed:" and the next day was married to Jane Seymour (age 27).
The good Melanchton, whose visit to England was prevented by the afflicting news of the Queen's execution, has elegantly expressed his opinion of her innocence, in a letter to Joachim Camerarius, dated on the fifth of the ides of June 1536:
"Anglicas profectionis cura prorsus liberatus sum. Postquam enim tarn tragic! casus in Anglia acciderunt, magna consiliorum mutatio secuta est. Posterior Regina, Magis Accusata quam Convicta Adulterii, ultimo supplicio affecta est. Quam mirabiles sunt rerum vices, mi Joachime, quantam Dei iram omnibus hominibus denunciant, in quantas calamitates etiam ex summo fastigio potentissimi homines hoc tempore decidunt Haec cum cogito, etiam nobis aerumnas nostras et nostra pericula asquiore animo ferenda esse dispute."b
To some it has been a cause of surprize, that Anne Boleyn should have passed an encomium upon Henry the Eighth at her death. Indeed it is remarkable that at almost every execution hi that sanguinary period, the praise of the Sovereign was pronounced by those who fell upon the scaffold. It seems to have been so directed by the Government. Tyndale, from whose "Practice of Prelates" we have already made an extract respecting the disclosure of Confessions, has another passage upon this point, too important not to be given here:
"When any Great Man is put to death, how his Confessore entreateth him; and what penance is enjoyned him concerning what he shall say when he cometh unto the place of execution. I coude gesse at a practyse that might make mennes eares glowe."e
In Anne Boleyn's case, however, it may be in part ascribed to anxiety for the safety of her daughter.
Anne Boleyn's execution was a fatal precedent for succeeding times. Henry having beheaded one Queen, proceeded fearlessly to the beheading of another. Elizabeth familiarized the application of the axe to royalty one step farther; for she beheaded a foreign Queen who had taken shelter in her dominions. Half a Century later, and the people beheaded their Sovereign.
Note a. Burnet, Hist. Reform, vol. i. p. 205.
Note b. Melancht. Epist. 8 Lips. 1569.
Note c. Pract. of Prelates, 12" Marborch, 1530.
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Chronicle of Edward Hall [1496-1548]. 19th May 1536. But the Queen (age 35) was with a sword beheaded within the Tower. And these following were the words that she spoke the day of her death which was the nineteenth day of May, 1536.
Good Christen people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the King and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and Sovereign Lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul. And then she kneeled down saying: To Christ I commend my soul, Jesu receive my soul diverse times, till that her head was stricken of with the sword. And on the Ascencion day following, the King wore white for mourning.
Letters and Papers. 19th May 1536. 918. Today the Queen (age 35) was put to death within the Tower in the presence of a thousand people. London, 19 May.
Letters and Papers. 19th May 1536. 919. The Queen (age 35) suffered with sword this day within the Tower, upon a new scaffold, and died boldly.
Letters and Papers. 19th May 1536. The said Queen (unjustly called) finally was beheaded upon a scaffold within the Tower with open gates. She was brought by the captain upon the said scaffold, and four young ladies followed her. She looked frequently behind her, and when she got upon the scaffold was very much exhausted and amazed. She begged leave to speak to the people, promising to say nothing but what was good. The captain gave her leave, and she began to raise her eyes to Heaven, and cry mercy to God and to the King for the offence she had done, desiring the people always to pray to God for the King, for he was a good, gentle, gracious, and amiable prince. She was then stripped of her short mantle furred with ermines, and afterwards took off her hood, which was of English make, herself. A young lady presented her with a linen cap, with which she covered her hair, and she knelt down, fastening her clothes about her feet, and one of the said ladies bandaged her eyes.
Immediately the executioner did his office; and when her head was off it was taken by a young lady and covered with a white cloth. Afterwards the body was taken by the other ladies, and the whole carried into the church nearest to the Tower of London. It is said that she was condemned to be burned alive, but that the King commuted her sentence to decapitation. Thus, he who wrote this billet says that, according to old writings, he has seen the prophecy of Marlin fulfilled.
Sp., from a modern copy, pp. 2.
Ib. 2. French translation of the preceding, pp. 2 (modern copy).
A copy of this will be found in the Rymer Transcripts in the Record Office (145, No. 7); and the part relating to Anne Boleyn's execution has been printed by, Gachard in his "Analectes Historiques," I., 17, note. An English translation of the whole, except the heading, will be found in Froude's "The Pilgrim," 116.
Note 1. The date is wrong. Anne Boleyn was executed on the 19th, the others on the 17th.
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Letters and Papers. La Ana (age 35) was beheaded before many people. She took the Sacrament in prison before her execution, and complained that she had not been executed on Wednesday with her brother, saying that she hoped to have gone to Paradise with him, and that she died by the laws of the kingdom. Two of the five confessed their guilt. One, who was the principal gentleman of the King's chamber, said a great deal about the justice of his death, and that a favoured servant ought not to flatter his prince and consent to his desires as he had done. Rome, 11 June 1536.
Sp., pp. 3. Modern copy.
Letters and Papers. 19th May 1536. 920. "The late Queen (age 35) suffered this day in the Tower, who died boldly; and also her brother (deceased), Mr. Noreys (deceased), Bruirton, Weston (deceased), and Markes (deceased) suffered the 17th day of this instant upon Tower Hill; all which died charitably. God take them to his mercy if it be his pleasure. Mr. Paige and young Wyat (age 15) are in the Tower. What shall become of them God best knoweth."
Letters and Papers. [19] May [1536]. Otho, C. x. 223. B. M. Burnet, i. 327. Ellis, 1 Ser. ii. 64. 910. Sir William Kingston (age 60) to Cromwell.
"Syr, thys shalbe to advertyse you I have reysayved your letter, wherin yo[u would] have strangerys conveyed yowt of the Towre, and so thay be by the [means] of Richard Gressum and William Loke and Wythepolle, bot the numbre of stra[ngers passed] not xxx., and not mony hothe (sic), and the imbassitor of the Emperor had a ser[vant] ther, and honestly put yowt. Sir, yf we have not anowre serten [as it may] be knowen in London, I thynke he (sic) wilbe bot few, and I thynke [a reasonable] humbure ware best, for I suppose she wylle declare hyr self to b[e a good] woman for alle men, bot for the Kynge, at the our of hyr de[ath, for this] mornynge she sent for me that I myght be with hyr at [such time] as she reysayved the gud Lord, to the intent I shuld here hy[r] s[peak as] towchyng hyr innosensy alway to be clere; and in the writ[ing of this] she sent for me. And at my comynge she sayd, 'Mr. Kyngston, I h[ear say I shall] not dy affore none, and I am very sory therfore, for I thowt[h to] be dede [by this time], and past my payne.' I told hyr it shuld be now payne, it [was so sotell. And then she said, 'I] heard say the executor was very gud, and I have a lyt[el neck,' and put he]r hand abowt it, lawynge hartely. I have sene [many men and a]lso wemen executed, and al thay have bene in gre[at sorrow, and to my knowle]ge thys lady hasse mech joy and plesure in dethe. Sir, [her almoner is contin]ewaly with hyr, and hasse bene syns ii. of the cl[ock after midnight. This is] the affecte of hony thynge that ys here at t[his time. And thus fare you] welle. Your Willm. Ky[ngston]." Hol. Add.: To Master Secretory.
Letters and Papers. 19th May 1536. Having written the above the day before yesterday, thought it well to delay the despatch to inform the Emperor of the execution of the Concubine (age 35), which was done at 9 o'clock this morning within the Tower, in presence of the Chancellor, Cromwell, and others of the Council, and a great number of the King's subjects, but foreigners were not admitted. It is said that although the bodies and heads of those executed the day before yesterday have been buried, her head will be put upon the bridge, at least for some time. She confessed herself yesterday, and communicated, expecting to be executed, and no person ever showed greater willingness to die. She requested it of those who were to have charge of it, and when the command came to put off the execution till today she appeared very sorry, praying the Captain of the Tower that for the honor of God he would beg the King that, since she was in good state and disposed for death, she might be dispatched immediately. The lady who had charge of her has sent to tell me in great secresy that the Concubine, before and after receiving the sacrament, affirmed to her, on the damnation of her soul, that she had never been unfaithful to the King. London, 19 May 1536. Fr., from a modern copy, pp. 10. The original endorsed: A Lempereur —De lambassadeur en angleterre du xixe de May, receues a Asti le ve de Juing.
Letters and Papers. 19th May 1536. 908. Chapuys (age 46) to Charles V.
The joy shown by this people every day not only at the ruin of the Concubine (age 35) but at the hope of the Princess' restoration, is inconceivable, but as yet the King shows no great disposition towards the latter; indeed he has twice shown himself obstinate when spoken to on the subject by his Council. I hear that, even before the arrest of the Concubine, the King, speaking with Mistress Jane Semel (age 27) of their future marriage, the latter suggested that the Princess should be replaced in her former position; and the King told her she was a fool, and ought to solicit the advancement of the children they would have between them, and not any others. She replied that in asking for the restoration of the Princess she conceived she was seeking the rest and tranquillity of the King, herself, her future children, and the whole realm; for, without that, neither your Majesty nor this people would ever be content. Will endeavour by all means to make her continue in this vein. Hopes also to go and speak with the King within three days, and with those of the Council in general and particular. Will also get some of the lords spoken with who have been called hither for the Parliament to commence on the 8th proximo. Thinks the Concubine's little bastard will be excluded from the succession, and that the King will get himself requested by Parliament to marry. To cover the affection he has for the said Semel he has lodged her seven miles hence in the house of the grand esquire, and says publicly that he has no desire in the world to get married again unless he is constrained by his subjects to do so. Several have already told me, and sent to say that, if it cost them their lives, when Parliament meets they will urge the cause of the Princess to the utmost (il pourteront jusques au boult laffaire de lad. princesse).
The very evening the Concubine was brought to the Tower, when the Duke of Richmond (age 16) went to say Good night to his father, and ask his blessing after the English custom, the King began to weep, saying that he and his sister, meaning the Princess, were greatly bound to God for having escaped the hands of that accursed whore, who had determined to poison them; from which it is clear that the King knew something about it.
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Calendar of State Papers Foreign Series Elizabeth I 1558-1559 Volume 1. [19th May 1536] 20. I take to witness Christ, Who shall judge the quick ahd the dead, that I am about to speak the truth. On the day upon which the Queen was beheaded, at sunrise, between two and three o'clock, there was revealed to me (whether I was asleep or awake I know not) the Queen's neck, after her head had been cut off, and this so plainly that I could count the nerves, the veins, and the arteries.
21. Terrified by this dream, or vision, I immediately arose, and crossing the river Thames I came to Lambeth, (this is the name of the Archbishop of Canterbury's palace,) and I entered the garden in which he was walking.
22. When the Archbishop saw me he inquired why I had come so early, for the clock had not yet struck four. I answered that I had been horrified in my sleep, and I told him the whole occurrence. He continued in silent wonder for awhile, and at length broke out into these words, 'Do not you know what is to happen to-day?' and when I answered that I had remained at home since the date of the Queen's imprisonment and knew nothing of what was going on, the Archbishop then raised his eyes to heaven and said, 'She who has been the Queen of England upon earth will to-day become a Queen in heaven.' So great was his grief that he could say nothing more, and then he burst into tears.
23. Terrified at this announcement I return to London sorrowing. Although my lodging was not far distant from the place of execution, yet I could not become an eye witness of the butchery of such an illustrious lady, and of the exalted personages who were beheaded along with her.
24. Those persons, however, who were present, (one of whom was my landlord,) and others, told me at noon, that the Earl of Wiltshire (the Queen's father) had been commanded to be an assessor along with the judges, in order that his daughter might be the more confounded, and that her grief might be the deeper. Yet she stood undismayed; nor did she ever exhibit any token of impatience, or grief, or cowardice.
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Calendar of State Papers Foreign Series Elizabeth I 1558-1559 Volume 1. [19th May 1536] 35. In the meantime, while the food was being got ready, the other guests asked him what were his news? Where was the King? What was he doing? Was he sorry for the Queen? He answered by asking why should he be sorry for her? As she had already betrayed him in secresy, so now was he openly insulting her. For just as she, while the King was oppressed with the heavy cares of state, was enjoying herself with others, so he, when the Queen was being beheaded, was enjoying himself with another woman.
36. While all were astonished and ordered him to hold his tongue, for he was saying what no one would believe, and that he would bring himself into peril if others heard him talking thus, he answered, 'You yourselves will speedily learn from other persons the truth of what I have been saying.'
37. The landlord, who was a servant of Crumwell's, hearing this, said, 'It is not fitting for us to dispute about such affairs. If they are true they will be no secret. And when I go to Court I will inquire carefully into these matters.'
38. The person, however, who had first spoken, answered that he had the King's orders that none but the Councillors and secretaries should be admitted, and that the gate of the country house should be kept shut in which the King had secluded himself.
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The Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.
Spanish Chronicle Chapter 32. 19th May 1536. How Anne was beheaded, and what took place five days after the execution of the Duke and the others1.
Extracts from The Life of Anne Boleyn. [19th May 1536] The woeful sentence was given; burning or heading at the king's pleasure, leaving open some small place to pity for the kind of death, which the king's conscience (no doubt) moved him to take in appointing the more honourable death. Within those walls this execution was to be done. What needed that? The love known indeed to her by the people was not to be feared of the king, her [Queen Anne Boleyn of England (age 35)] love being such to him as to her last breath she stood to acquit and defend him by her words at her death, carrying a very true image of her former love and life. "Christian people!" said she, "I am come to die, and according to law, and by law I am judged to death, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak any thing of that whereof I am accused and condemned to die. But I pray God save the king, and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler and more merciful prince was there never, and to me he was ever a good, a gentle, and sovereign lord. If any person will meddle of my cause, I require him to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord, have mercy on me! To God I commend my soul." And so she kneeling down said, "To Christ I commend my soul. Jesu, receive my soul!" The bloody blow came down from his trembling hand that gave it, when those about her could not but seem to themselves to have received it upon their own necks, she not so much as shrieking at it. God provided for her corpse sacred burial, even in place as it were consecrate to innocents.
Calais in the Hands of the English. 19th May 1536. The nineteenth of May Queen Ann Boleyn (age 35) was behedyd in the Towre of London, by the hands of the hangman of Calais, withe the swerde of Calais.
The History of the Reformation Volume 1 Book III. A little before noon, being the nineteenth of May [1536], she was brought to the scaffold, where she made a short speech to a great company that came to look on the last scene of this fatal tragedy: the chief of whom were, the dukes of Suffolk and Richmond, the lord chancellor, and secretary Cromwell, with the lord mayor, the sheriffs, and aldermen of London. "She said, she was come to die, as she was judged by the law; she would accuse none, nor say any thing of the ground upon which she was judged. She prayed heartily for the king, and called him a most merciful and gentle prince, and that he had been always to her a good, gentle, sovereign lord; and if any would meddle with her cause, she required them to judge the best. And so she took her leave of them, and of the world, and heartily desired they would pray for her." After she had been some time in her devotions, her last words being, To Christ I commend my soul, her head was cut off by the hangman of Calais, who was brought over as more expert at beheading than any in England: her eyes and lips were observed to move after her head was cut off, as Spelman writes; but her body was thrown into a common chest of elmtree, that was made to put arrows in, and was buried in the chapel within the Tower, before twelve o'clock.
Life of Anne Boleyn by Lancelot du Carle. Hall's Chronicle describes the execution: ‘But the Queen (age 35) was with a sword beheaded within the Tower. And these following were the words that she spoke the day of her death which was the nineteenth day of May, 1536: "Good Christen people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the King and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and Sovereign Lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul. And then she kneeled down saying: To Christ I commend my soul, Jesu receive my soul diverse times, till that her head was stricken of with the sword. And on the Ascencion day following, the King wore white for mourning."'
| Le jour suivant, Et quand le capitaine | The next day when the captain |
| Dire lui vint que l'heure estoit prochaine | came to tell her the time was near |
| Et qu'il estoit temps que si disposast | and that it was time to prepare herself |
| Elle luy dist que lui mesmes advisast | she told him that she herself advised him |
| De s'aquitter de sa charge et vouloir | to discharge his duty and desire |
| Car des long temps Dieu a voulu pourveoir | because for a long time God has wanted to provide |
| A lui donner courage et fermeté | her courage and steadfastness |
| Pour resister a plus grand cruaulté | to resist greater cruelty. |
| Ainsi s'en va au lieu de son suplice | So, she went to the place of her punishment |
| Pour obeyr au vouloir de justice | to obey the will of justice |
| Tousjours monstrant un visage constant | always showing a constant face |
| Comme le monde en rien ne regretant | not regretting anything in the world |
| Car sa couleur, et sa face estoit telle | for her complexion and face were such |
| Que ne fut oncques de tout veuë si belle | never before was a sight so beautiful. |
| Par grand douleur que de ses yeulx rendoit | despite the great sadness that her eyes showed. |
| En soubzriant le peuple regardoit | As she sighed, the people looked at her, |
| Auquel soubdain qu'elle fut arrive | and when suddenly she arrived |
| Sur l'eschaffault d'une grace privée | at the scaffold with a private grace |
| Sans s'effrayer a sa voix addressee | without being frightened, in a strained voice she addressed them |
| Que toutesfois trouve un peu pressée | which, however, she found difficult |
| De la foiblesse en elle dominant | from the weakness dominating her. |
| Mais peu a peu sa force reprenant | But little by little, she regained her strength |
| Et asseurant sa debile façon | and asserting her feeble manner |
| Feist de sa voix sortir de piteux son. | she made a pitiful sound with her voice: |
| O mes amis, amis et plus que freres | O my friends, friends and more than brothers, |
| Puis qu'avec vous je ne puis estre guieres | since I cannot be with you much longer |
| Et que fini est le cours de mes parens | and the course of my life among my family has ended. |
| Je vous suppli que ne soyez desplaisans | I beg you not to be unpleasant |
| Et me vueillez pardonner de bon coeur | and please forgive me with all your heart |
| Si je n'ay point usé de la doulceur | if I did not use kindness |
| Envers vous tous selon que je debvois | to all of you as I should have |
| Veu le pouvoir, et moyen qu'en avois, | considering the power and means that I had. |
| Et vous prie tous que par fraternité | And pray all of you out of fraternity |
| De chrestienne, et vraye charité | Christian, and true charity |
| Me departez vos prieres devotes | share your devout prayers with me |
| Envers Jesus, affin que par les notes | towards Jesus, only by the notes |
| De mes pechez n'en soit point maculée | of my sins my soul will not be stained |
| Mon ame apres que m'en seray allée. | by my sins after I am gone. |
| De vous narrer pourquoy je suis ici | To tell you why I am here |
| Ne serviroit pour vous, ne moy aussi | would not be serve for you, or me either |
| Parquoy me taiz, mais le juge du monde | therefore, I remain silent, but the judge of the world |
| En qui justice et verité abunde | in whom justice and truth abound |
| Congnoist le tout, lequel d'affection | knows everything, without prejudice, |
| Je prie qu'il vuelle avoir compassion | I pray that He has compassion |
| De ceulx qui m'ont a ceste mort jugée | for those who judged me to die |
| Et quand d'ici je seray deslogée | and when from here I am departed |
| Souviennne vous que je vous recommande | remember that I recommend to you |
| Vostre bon Roy, en qui j'ay veu si grande | your good King, in whom I have seen such great |
| Humanité et comble de tous biens | humanity and an abundance of all blessings, |
| Craincte envers Dieu, amour envers les siens | fear of God, love of his own, |
| Et grans vertuz lesquelles je referee | and great virtues, of which I bear witness, |
| Qu'estes heureux, si Dieu le vous conserve | you are fortunate if God preserves him. |
| Priez doncq Dieu que longuement le tienne | So pray to God that He may for a long time |
| Avec vous, et aussi que m'advienne | be with you, and also, that on me |
| Sa grace pour me tirer avec luy | his grace pulls me to him |
| Et recepvoir mon ame ce jourdhuy | and receives my soul this day. |
| Ce fut la fin de sa foible parole | This was the end of her feeble speech |
| Qui toutesfoys le peuple ainsi console | which nevertheless consoled the people |
| Fort desollé de veoir la paouvre Royne | greatly saddened to see the poor Royne |
| En tel estat meneé en ceste peine | led into so much pain |
| Car n'est aulcun qui n'ait ferme sperance | for there is no one who does not have firm hope |
| Que ne sera son esprit en souffrance | that her spirit will not suffer |
| Veu sa grand Foy et patience saige | given her great Faith and wise patience |
| Qui surmontoit de femme le couraige: | that overcame the courage of a woman. |
| Ce neantmoins, qui la veult regarder | Nevertheless, whoever looked at her |
| Par grand pitié ne se sçauroit garder | cannot help but feel pity |
| De se douloir, et tant plus que croissoit | at her suffering, and the more grew |
| Son ferme cæur, tant plus amoindrissoit | her steadfast heart, all the more diminished |
| Aux assistans, qui ne pouvoyent tenir | in those present, who could not hold back |
| Les pleurs, que bien elle a sceu contenir. | the tears, which she was able to contain. |
| Quand la Royne eut elle mesme bessé | When the Queen herself had lowered |
| Son blanc collet, et chapperon laisse | her white collar and hood, left |
| Pour ne donner au coup empeschement | to not hinder or obstruct the blow |
| Se vint jecter a genoulx humblement | she knelt down humbly |
| En prononçant ceste voix plusieurs foys | and uttering these words several times, |
| Christ, je te prie mon esperit reçoys: | Christ, I pray to you, receive my spirit. |
| O grand pitié l'une des damoyselles | O great pity, one of the maids |
| L'ectans sans fin larmes continuelles | The endless flow of continuous tears |
| Vint au davant pour faire le service | came forward to do the service |
| De son dernier et pitoyable office | of her last and pitiful office |
| Et son visaige a d'ung linge voilê | and her face was veiled with a cloth. |
| Le maistre alors luy mesme desolé | The executioner himself then sorry |
| Et perturbé de l'exécution | and disturbed by the execution |
| Se contraignant pour satisfaction | gathering himself for completion |
| Le dernier coup d'une espée visa | aimed the final blow of a sword |
| Dessus son col, que soubdain divisa | at her neck, which suddenly divided. |
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Excerpta Historica Page 260. [19th May 1536]. After this, on the next Friday, which was the 19th of the same month, the Queen was beheaded according to the manner and custom of Paris, that is to say, with a sword, which thing had not before been seen in this land of England.1 And a scaffold, having four or five steps, was then and there set up. And the unhappy Queen, assisted by the Captain of the Tower, came forth, together with the four ladies who accompanied her; and she was wholly habited in a robe of black damask, made in such guise that the cape, which was white, did fall on the outer side thereof. And she then besought the Captain of the Tower that he would in no wise hasten the minute of her death, until she should have spoken that which she had in mind to say: which he consenting to, she said as followeth:
"Good friends, I am not come here to excuse or to justify myself, forasmuch as I know full well that aught that I could say in my defence doth not appertain unto you, and that I could draw no hope of life from the same. But I come here only to die, and thus to yield myself humbly to the will of the King my Lord. And if in my life I did ever offend the King's Grace, surely with my death I do now atone for the same. And I blame not my judges, nor any other manner of person, nor any thing save the cruel law of the land by which I die. But be this, and be my faults as they may, I beseech you all, good friends, to pray for the life of the King my Sovereign Lord and yours, who is one of the best princes on the face of the earth, and who hath always treated me so well that better could not be: wherefore I submit to death with a good will, humbly asking pardon of all the world."
Then, with her own hands, she took her coifs2 from her head, and delivered them to one of her ladies, and then putting on a little cap of linen to cover her hair withal, she said, "Alas, poor head! in a very brief space thou wilt roll in the dust on this scaffold; and as in life thou didst not merit to wear the crown of a queen, so in death, thou deservest not a better doom than this. And ye, my damsels, who, whilst I lived, ever shewed yourselves so diligent in my service, and who are now to be present at my last hour and mortal agony, as in good fortune ye were faithful to me, so even at this my miserable death ye do not forsake me. And as I cannot reward you for your true service to me, I pray you take comfort for my loss; howbeit, forget me not; and be always faithful to the King's Grace, and to her whom with happier fortune ye may have as your Queen and Mistress. And esteem your honour far beyond your life; and in your prayers to the Lord Jesu, forget not to pray for my soul."
And being minded to say no more, she knelt down upon both knees, and one of her ladies covered her eyes with a bandage, and then they withdrew themselves some little space, and knelt down over against the scaffold, bewailing bitterly and shedding many tears. And thus, and without more to say or do, was her head stricken off; she making no confession of her fault, and only saying, "O Lord God, have pity on my soul;" and one of her ladies then took up the head, and the others the body, and covering them with a sheet, did put them into a chest which there stood ready, and carried them to the church which is within the Tower, where, they say, she lieth buried with the others.
Note 1. Segundo ho modo e costume de Pariz, com espada; q' nom hera aynda uzado fazer-se em aquela terra de Ingraterra.
Note 2. Tyrou hos toucados de ha cabeça.
Letters and Papers. 25 May [1536]. R. T. 145, No. 8. Gachard's Analectes Historiques, 1 S. 17. 965. Mary of Hungary to Ferdinand King of the Romans.
I hope the English will not do much against us now, as we are free from his lady (deceased), who was a good Frenchwoman. That the vengeance might be executed by the Emperor's subjects, he sent for the executioner of St. Omer, as there were none in England good enough.
Letters and Papers. 26th May 1536. Add. MS. 28,588, f. 281. B. M. 973. [Hannaert] to Charles V.
There is news from England that the so-called Queen (deceased) was found in bed with her organist (deceased), and taken to prison. It is proved that she had criminal intercourse (hazia el maleficio a si mismo) with her brother (deceased) and others, and that the daughter (age 2) supposed to be hers was taken from a poor man. The English ambassador says that she and her brother are condemned to be burnt, and a valet (camarero) of the King's, who was very intimate with him, and three others, to be beheaded, for conspiring the death of the King. The King has sent for the Princess, made much of her, and given her many jewels belonging to the unjust Queen. De Leon Solarrona (Lyon sur le Rhone), 26 May 1536.
Sp., pp. 5. Modern copy.
Letters and Papers. 2nd June 1536. 2 June. Add. MS. 28,588, f. 286. B.M. 1044. [Hannart] to the Empress.
Wrote last on the 27th ult. * * * Supposes the Empress has heard how Ana de Bolan (deceased) has been sent to the Tower with her brother "el conde de Sefort" (Rochford), and three other gentlemen of the King's chamber, named Norris (deceased), Wasten (deceased), and Brecton, and an organist (deceased). On the 16th they were publicly beheaded for adultery with the Queen and conspiracy against the King. The Queen's head and body were taken to a church in the Tower, accompanied by four ladies. The other bodies were quartered. It is now said that her pretended daughter was taken from poor parents.
The king of Scotland seems to be putting off his marriage with the daughter of the duke of Vendome. De Leon Solarrona (Lyons), 2 June 1536.
Sp., pp. 5. Modern copy.
Letters and Papers. 2nd June 1536. Add. MS. 28,588, f. 284. B. M. 1043. Dr. Ortiz to the Empress.
The prayers of the late Queen of England and the Holy Martyrs have prevailed. The King's mistress (deceased) had six lovers, one being her own brother (deceased). Another, a musician [Mark Smeaton (deceased)], seeing that he was less favoured, discovered the fact to the King, first asking for pardon and his life. Now they are all taken it is found to be true. Her father (age 59), who was innocent, approved her condemnation. She was sentenced, first to be degraded from being Queen, then beheaded and burnt, seeing the others suffer the same death, with the exception of the one who revealed the crime. It was proved at the trial that she had behaved in this way before the conception of the child which the King thought to be his. It is intended to declare the child not to be the King's. Images have been restored and purgatory is preached again.
The cardinal of Burgos told him that a saint, who was martyred at the beginning of her tyrannical exaltation, prophesied that Anne would be burnt to death.
It is said that the process against her states that she poisoned the Queen. The King is enamoured of another lady [Jane Seymour (age 27)]. Rome, 2 June 1536.
Sp., pp. 3. Modern copy.
Letters and Papers. 2nd June 1536. 1036. A Lord of the Privy Council seeing clear evidence that his sister loved certain persons with a dishonorable love, admonished her fraternally. She acknowledged her offence, but said it was little in her case in comparison with that of the Queen, as he might ascertain from Mark (deceased), declaring that she was guilty of incest with her own brother. The brother did not know what to do on this intelligence, and took counsel with two friends of the King, with whom he went to the King himself and one reported it in the name of all three. The King was astonished, and his color changed at the revelation, but he thanked the gentlemen. The Queen, meanwhile, took her pleasure unconscious of the discovery, seeing dogs and animals that day fight in a park. In the evening there was a ball, and the King treated her as if he knew no cause of displeasure. But Mark was then in prison and was forced to answer the accusation against him. Without being tortured he deliberately said that the Queen had three times yielded to his passion. The King was thus convinced, but made no show of it, and gave himself up to enjoyment. Especially on the 1 May, he got up a tournay with several combatants; among others, my Lord of Rocheford (deceased), the Queen's (deceased) brother, showed his skill in breaking lances and vaulting on horseback. Norris (deceased), also, best loved of the King, presented himself well armed, but his horse refused the lists and turned away as if conscious of the impending calamity to his master. The King seeing this, presented Norris with his own horse; who, however, knew that he could not keep it long. He, Weston (deceased), and Brereton did great feats of arms, and the King showed them great kindness "dissimulant leur ruyne prochaine." The Queen looked on from a high place, "et souvent envoioit les doulz regards," to encourage the combatants, who knew nothing of their danger. Immediately after the tournay archers were ordered to arrest Norris, and were much astonished and grieved, considering his virtue and intimacy with the King, that he should have committed disloyalty. Before he went to prison the King desired to speak to him, offering to spare his life and goods, although he was guilty, if he would tell him the truth. But being told the accusation, Norris offered to maintain the contrary with his body in any place. He was accordingly sent to the Tower. The Queen was conducted thither next day by the Duke of Norfolk (age 63), and her brother also, who said he had well merited his fate. Waston and Barton followed, and pages also. The city rejoiced on hearing the report, hoping that the Princess would be restored. The whole town awaited her coming with delight.
"Et n'eussiez veu jusque aux petis enfans
Que tous chantans et d'aise triumphans.
11 n'y a cueur si triste qui ne rye
En attendant la princesse Marie."
But she did not remove from her lodging, and did not avenge herself by blaming the Queen when she heard that she was a prisoner; but only wished she had behaved better to the King, and hoped God would help her, adding:—
"Et si sa fille est au Roy, je promectz
Qu'a mon pouvoir ne luy fauldray jamais."
Here follows a eulogy of the Princess, describing her education in astronomy, mathematics, logic, morals, politics, Latin, Greek, &c. The expectation that she would be restored made the King apprehensive of some commotion; to appease which he caused his thanks to be conveyed to the people for their good will to him and his daughter, but told them they need not be anxious about her return, for they would shortly be satisfied. The joy of the people on this was converted into sorrow and they dispersed (et confuz s'en partit).
The Queen, meanwhile, having no further hope in this world, would confess nothing.
"Riens ne confesse, et ne resiste fort Comme voulant presque estre délivre De vivre icy, pour aulz cieulz aller vivre; Et l'espoir tant en icelle surmonte, Que de la mort ne tient plus aucun compte."
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Letters and Papers. 6th June 1536. Vienna Archives. 1070. Chapuys (age 46) to [Granvelle].
The night before Anne (deceased) was beheaded she talked and jested, saying, among other things, that those bragging, clever persons who had invented an unheard-of name for the good Queen would not find it hard to invent one for her, for they would call her "la Royne Anne sans teste" i.e. "the Queen without a head", and then she laughed heartily, though she knew she must die the next day. She said, the day before she was executed, and when they came to lead her to the scaffold, that she did not consider that she was condemned by Divine judgment, except for having been the cause of the ill-treatment of the Princess, and for having conspired her death.
Letters and Papers. 11th June 1536. Add. MS. 28,588 f. 289. B. M. 1122. Dr. Ortiz to the Empress.
On the first day of Whitsuntide the convocation of the Council at Mantua was promulgated.
Chapuys writes that "La Ana (deceased)" and her five lovers, one of them being her brother, were imprisoned in the Tower on May 2. They were beheaded on May 17, and she on the following Friday. The King has ordered Parliament to be summoned after Whitsuntide. It is hoped that many good things will be done. The Princess has been suffering in her head and molar teeth, but it is not of much consequence.