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.
Well, nicely done...and interesting; however, it is NOT the usual nor accept origin of the once commonly used phrase.
Your constant misuse of the word “culture” is silly and adds nothing to the thread.
A tenant is someone who rents a house, apartment or property from someone else.
Please correct me regarding my misuse of the word “culture,” NP. What is proper usage of such term in this context? I welcome your kind reply.
I’m not usually a fan of Pryce having seen him ruin My Fair Lady and hump a Cadillac in Miss Saigon but he’s really excellent in Wolf Hall.
In Youtube there are some videos of Pryce playing Fagin in a staged version of Oliver! He was actually good—different than Ron Moody’s interpretation, but I liked it.
Yeah, he waxes hot and cold.
Phew. You sound like a pimply boy in Junior High baiting the smart girl because she wears glasses and reads books. You still haven’t told me about the glories of Henry 8’s reign. I’m all ears.
Dusting off lame rationalizations from your own obviously unpleasant school years doesn’t really add anything here. You clearly are not following my replies if you believe me to be purely a fan of Henry VIII. I owe you no dissertation. You’re all something but ears nor eyes ain’t it.
Geez, you’re a schmuck.
I’ve stated my opinion of you some time ago.
Which movie are you talking about?
It has been rumored that Henry VIII wrote Greensleeves for Anne Boleyn however it is believed to have been written during the Elizabethan era.
No matter who wrote it, but my favorite interpretation of the song is that of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Oh, you did? In between reruns of Hee Haw and playing the banjo for Burt Reynolds?
I love Vaughn Williams. Have you heard his rendition of Gloucestershire Wassail Song? So pretty.
In the hilarious movie, The Lady in the Van, Frances De La Tour, playing the composer’s wife, walks around her neighborhood introducing herself to complete strangers by saying “I’m Mrs. Vaughn Williams.”
I love him too. No, I hadn’t but thank you for telling me about his arrangement. It is beautiful.
My first introduction to Vaughn Williams was as a kid when my parents in the late 60’s were lapsed Catholics for a while and we were attending a Lutheran church and they held a performance of parts of his Hodie, Christmas Cantata with a small local orchestra and choir.
My favorite Vaughn Williams pieces are Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and The Lark Ascending and while darker and more modernist, even his Sixth Symphony which was much different from his previous and more pastoral works.
Have you seen this video of Fantaisia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis? While it captures time lapsed video of the Rocky Mountains rather than of pastoral England, I think it captures it perfectly.
R. Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a (Time-Lapse) Theme of Thomas Tallis
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