#chapuys didn't attend court events with anne. he was personal witness to her demeanour literally only once when she was queen | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

fideidefenswhore · 1 year ago

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#AnneBoleynWeek, Day 2: Monday, 25 September — favorite historical Anne quote (either by Anne herself or about Anne)

"Once she was a wise woman, [endowed] with [many] outward good qualities […] and such [...] courtly graces […] as few women were of her time; with such an outward profession of gravity as was to be marvelled at [...]" William Thomas (1524(c.)-1554)

"Had audience of the King this morning and thanked him for the love he bears the State, and did the like by the Queen, who said she knew that God had inspired his Majesty to marry her, and that he could have found a greater personage than herself, but not one more anxious and ready to demonstrate her love towards the Signory." Carlo Capello, 1533

"As supper prevented further conservation I returned to my inn, and went next day to Court to pay my respects to the Queen, who, after keeping me a long time, being reminded by her attendants, sent for me, and received me very kindly, saying to me, “I am aware, my dear Winter (Vintere carissime) that you are beloved by the King and have many friends who wish you well. Reckon me among the number.” And then she added that she would not fail to serve me wherever she could." Thomas Wynter, (1510(c.)-1564)

"Considering the Word of God, to do good to one's enemy, I wished to warn her before hand, because I have daily experience that the King's wisdom is such as not to esteem her repentance of her rudeness and unnatural obstinacy when she has no choice." Anne Boleyn, (1501-7(c.)-1536

"[...]Given her great faith and wise patience, which rose above womanly courage. [...] Such that everyone [...] judges her life to have been prudent, and believes that they have committed a great offense in having thought so ill of her." Lancelot De Carle (1508(c.)-1568)

#chose some quotes that really counter the more popular narrative that she was; idk...volatile and frivolous?#anneboleynweek #she was a bon vivant but it seems she also had this depth #they need not be seen as mutually exclusive #as for the quote from anne's letter that's probably a controversial choice #since paul friedmann it's been termed 'pathetic' which is like...why?#she was right? that is quite literally what happened #i chose it bcus although it seems harsh to our standards it does seem also demonstrative of that 'prudence'#there also seems to be this tacit misunderstanding of what contemporaries meant when they referred to her 'grace'#it wasn't usually about skill at dance unless it was explicitly connected to this (although they praised that too)#grace was a manner #a way of being #a sense of composure #AB is not typically thought of someone with composure because her biggest detractor wrote with unsparing detail of all the times in which #she lost it #to the extent that i think we're losing the forest for the trees even to focus so much about the extent to which dispatches about incidents #concerning AB were 'accurate'#even if they all were which seems unlikely. they're not the sum of her life or character #they are just these snapshots #chapuys didn't attend court events with anne. he was personal witness to her demeanour literally only once when she was queen #(by which he remarked she was 'gracious enough'. so. there's that word again)#and once before (if he could have been a great judge of it from that one moment in which she's watching his conversation with henry above #from a hanging gallery of sorts)#the images chosen are more the vibe for the quotes but the one from BSR is very specific #it's a great scene and it's so well-acted bcus she feels BAD for him here. she pities him.#she feels bad for him because he's losing her bcs she's not going to settle for these terms #because she knows she's amazing and she's so self-posessed in the scene #and he cannot handle this and so it manifests in the reaction #(you're making a big mistake; except that is his own big projection)#she's willful and knows her worth and won't diminish herself for anyone

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