Posted on 01/28/2018 9:43:51 AM PST by beaversmom
1
Henry VIII was slim and athletic for most of his life
At six feet two inches tall, Henry VIII stood head and shoulders above most of his court. He had an athletic physique and excelled at sports, regularly showing off his prowess in the jousting arena.
Having inherited the good looks of his grandfather, Edward IV, in 1515 Henry was described as “the handsomest potentate I have ever set eyes on…” and later an “Adonis”, “with an extremely fine calf to his leg, his complexion very fair…and a round face so very beautiful, that it would become a pretty woman”.
All this changed in 1536 when the king – then in his mid-forties – suffered a serious wound to his leg while jousting. This never properly healed, and instead turned ulcerous, which left Henry increasingly incapacitated.
Four years later, the king’s waist had grown from a trim 32 inches to an enormous 52 inches. By the time of his death, he had to be winched onto his horse. It is this image of the corpulent Henry VIII that has obscured the impressive figure that he cut for most of his life.
2
Henry VIII was a tidy eater
Despite the popular image of Henry VIII throwing a chicken leg over his shoulder as he devoured one of his many feasts, he was in fact a fastidious eater. Only on special occasions, such as a visit from a foreign dignitary, did he stage banquets.
Most of the time, Henry preferred to dine in his private apartments. He would take care to wash his hands before, during and after each meal, and would follow a strict order of ceremony.
Seated beneath a canopy and surrounded by senior court officers, he was served on bended knee and presented with several different dishes to choose from at each course.
3
Henry was a bit of a prude
England’s most-married monarch has a reputation as a ladies’ man – for obvious reasons. As well as his six wives, he kept several mistresses and fathered at least one child by them.
But the evidence suggests that, behind closed doors, he was no lothario. When he finally persuaded Anne Boleyn to become his mistress in body as well as in name, he was shocked by the sexual knowledge that she seemed to possess, and later confided that he believed she had been no virgin.
When she failed to give him a son, he plumped for the innocent and unsullied Jane Seymour instead.
4
Henry’s chief minister liked to party
Although often represented as a ruthless henchman, Thomas Cromwell was in fact one of the most fun-loving members of the court. His parties were legendary, and he would spend lavish sums on entertaining his guests – he once paid a tailor £4,000 to make an elaborate costume that he could wear in a masque to amuse the king.
Cromwell also kept a cage of canary birds at his house, as well as an animal described as a “strange beast”, which he gave to the king as a present.
5
Henry VIII sent more men and women to their deaths than any other monarch
During the later years of Henry’s reign, as he grew ever more paranoid and bad-tempered, the Tower of London was crowded with the terrified subjects who had been imprisoned at his orders.
One of the most brutal executions was that of the aged Margaret de la Pole, Countess of Salisbury. The 67-year-old countess was woken early on the morning of 27 May 1541 and told to prepare for death.
Although initially composed, when Margaret was told to place her head on the block, her self-control deserted her and she tried to escape. Her captors were forced to pinion her to the block, where the amateur executioner hacked at the poor woman’s head and neck, eventually severing them after the eleventh blow.
Admitting that YOU are an uneducated, uncultured boob, are you? ;^)
It has been rumored that Thomas More tortured heretics on his property - sometimes tying them to trees. It has not been proven, though. Henry allowed Anne to have an expert executioner who appeared to be one of many other people on the platform so she wouldn’t be unduly alarmed by the sight of a masked man. As shown in Wolf Hall, he distracted her as well. That scene was beautifully done and Claire Foy was excellent as always.
And outside of school, the general public, here, in America, used to know all about Brit history and Henry VII, from books and movies; it was part of general knowledge, no matter what religion one practiced.
And outside of school, the general public, here, in America, used to know all about Brit history and Henry VII, from books and movies; it was part of general knowledge, no matter what religion one practiced.
Interesting choice of words in context. I apparently have some ancestors who were literally thus, up in Co. Wicklow. So, guilty as charged, lol.
Yes, it was and they also used to have adds in subway cars, as well. :-)
No, I just play one to get you cranked up for amusement.
Wolf Hall is interesting precisely because it from a Protestant point of view. It is a bit of a fun house mirror to A Man for All Seasons. The usually hated Cardinal Wolsey is played by a very sympathetic Jonathan Pryce. The usually pious man of deep integrity, Thomas More, is suddenly a bitchy Anton Lesser. Very, very well done and you should finish up the series before the second season is released!
Anglican church services in some parts of the world ( the UK, Bermuda, and America ), as far late as the 1960s, were more “HIGH CHURCH”, than Catholic services, here were. They were probably closer to what both Catholic and Henry’s church services were like, when he was alive.
I am an observant American Roman Catholic, converted to Catholicism for 25 years. In all this time, I have never read/heard any Catholics in my parish or officially through my church (priests’ writings and homilies etc.) say one bad word about Henry the 8th. Not one word.
I stay away from the religious threads here at FR, they usually become very ugly. I also don’t like it when a well-meaning religious Freeper posts a 35 screen rant trying to score points on his/her interpretations of the Bible.
Before I was Roman Catholic I was non-denominational “born again” Christian. Then, it was routine for whoever the pastor was to regularly denounce Catholics and Mormons in particular. These pastors were VERY concerned about pronouncing who was and wasn’t going to go to hell (and of course, they assumed they weren’t LOL).
I’m acquainted, although they’re known as Episcopal here.
I thought the BBC’s Wolf Hall was very well done and I thought Claire Foy was a very good Anne Boleyn.
I didn’t say a word about anyone but lay Catholics who comment on FR threads pertaining specifically to Henry VIII or to England/UK in general. They’re practically uniformly negative. They’re also uniformly mistaken in the belief that he was Protestant.
It was obviously a meticulous production with high production values and very fine actors.
I have to disagree with you on that. If that was their intent, they failed miserably as it to me looked and felt more like an interpretation of history as seen through a director who makes soft porno movies or MTV videos and has not read anything of the historical period.
FWIW, I watched the movie Marie Antoinette written and directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Kirsten Dunst. And as bad as it was in some parts, with its use of modern music in some sequences and use of some, if not many story telling liberties, it was still more faithful to history than The Tudors.
Just as the the word ghetto is Italian and the name given to the area where Italian Jews were forced to live, during an even earlier time period.
I'm not "cranked up" at all; just glad to see that you're finally admitting, in public, just what and who you are.
Can you tell us exactly what good Henry VIII did? I’m sure we’re all willing to listen. I mean outside of (maybe) writing Greensleeves and having a dancer’s leg.
This is where I always thought the Pale was, lol. Recently, I heard some Brit saying it was in Soho or something. I’m barely joking!
I plan to watch the entire series as soon as I catch up with all the GOT episodes I’ve missed. Jonathan Pryce alone makes nearly everything worth watching. : )
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