The Anne Boleyn Collection II: Anne Boleyn & the Boleyn Family (16 page)

Tudor Childbirth

While we don't know the details of Elizabeth's birth, we do know what traditionally happened at Tudor births. When her time was near, the woman was encouraged to confess her sins and to celebrate the mass. The 1549 Book of Common Prayer included masses on behalf of woman in labour, showing that religion was a big part of the birth process. As well as using herbal remedies and ointments to ease labour, the midwife would use certain phrases and charms. David Cressy
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writes of how one phrase used during labour was "O infans sive vivus, sive mortuus, exi foras, quia Christus te vocat ad lucem", or "Oh, a child whether living, or dead, come forth, because Christ calls you to the light". Holy relics from monasteries were also loaned to pregnant women to help them through labour. Pregnancy and labour were a strange mixture of religion and superstition.

After delivery, the midwife would use further remedies to deliver the afterbirth, deal with any tearing or problems, promote milk production and make the woman comfortable. Hellebore powder could be given to the mother as snuff to make her sneeze and thereby loosen the afterbirth; alternatively, herbal draughts could be given. The afterbirth was buried later. The cutting of the umbilical cord, or "navel string" as it was known, was thought to be important because it kept "the blood and spirits in, after the child was born."
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Midwife Jane Sharp advised that it be cut straight after birth and that it be left longer for a boy, so that his penis would be bigger, and shorter for a girl so that she would be modest and bear children more easily. A powder of aloes and frankincense was applied to the navel as an astringent and then the baby was bathed, after which s/he was swaddled to protect the limbs and to keep them straight. The Catholic tradition was to cross the child after swaddling, to sprinkle it with salt and to place a coin in the cradle or baby's hand, for protection.

If there were complications, then things could go very wrong. There were no forceps in Tudor England, only metal hooks which could kill the child and tear the woman. Moreover, there were no caesareans to help mother and baby if the baby got stuck. Puerperal fever was common, and infections could be caused by dirty cloths and unwashed hands. There were, obviously, no antibiotics, so an infection could lead to the death of the mother or baby. Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr both died of infections following childbirth.

After the birth, it was recommended that a woman should be kept from sleeping for the first few hours, so her friends would entertain her and keep her merry. This post-natal gossiping was a real bonding experience for women. The new mother was then confined to her bed for three days in a darkened room, because it was believed that labour weakened the eyes. Instructions for "child bed women" included praising God for the safe delivery of a child, bathing her womb and "privies" in "a decoction of chervil", tailoring her diet according to whether she was tender or strong stomached, and the drinking of certain draughts to close and fortify her womb, help her with any fevers, ease afterpains and deal with any other problems.

A woman was generally "confined" for a month, but the exact length of time depended upon her recovery and also upon her domestic circumstances. Two to three weeks after the birth, there would be the "upsitting". This involved the family potentially holding a feast to celebrate the woman's recovery and neighbours bringing gifts. The woman could now bathe and change, but was confined to her chamber, although no longer to her bed. Sometimes there would also be a second gossips' supper.

Christening

The next ritual after the birth of the child and the upsitting was the baptism or christening. Baptism was the foundation of Christian life and it opened the doors to eternal life. The Elizabethan prayer book instructed pastors and curates to tell people to make sure that baptism took place no later than the Sunday or first holy day after the birth, but obviously weaker babies were baptised by the midwife at birth. Tudor people believed that man was born in sin, because of original sin, but that he could be born anew of the water and the Holy Spirit.

In baptism, the priest named the child, dipped it in water or poured water on it, then marked a cross on its forehead as the baby was received into "the congregation of Christ's flock". During Elizabeth I's reign, 2% of babies died on their first day of life, 5% within the first week, 8-9% within a month and 12-13% within a year, so baptism was an important rite of passage.
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It saved the child from God's wrath. If a priest was not available, any Christian male or female was permitted to conduct a baptism; the 1549 prayer book had instructions for a private baptism. In 1537, Bishop Rowland Lee instructed his clergy to "teach and instruct your parishioners, at the least twelve times in the year, the spiritual manner and form of christenings in English; and that the midwife may use it in time of necessity; commanding the woman when the time of birth draweth near, to have at all seasons a vessel of clean water for the same purpose."
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At the baptism (or christening) service, the baby was wrapped in the "chrisom cloth", a white cloth which symbolised the child's innocence. The midwife would present the baby at the font. A baby boy would generally have two godfathers and one godmother, and a baby girl would have two godmothers and one godfather. The godparents would name the baby, although this was purely symbolic as the name would have already been chosen by the parents in advance of the service. The godparents would also give the baby gifts; in the upper classes, this tended to be silverware. Edward VI's christening gifts included a gold cup from his half-sister Mary, three bowls and two pots of silver and gilt from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the same from the Duke of Norfolk, and two flagons and two pots of silver and gilt from the Duke of Suffolk. A christening was usually followed by a christening supper, where the men enjoyed drinking copious amounts of alcohol and the women enjoyed gossiping. Gifts were put on display at the christening supper.

David Cressy writes that "The Orders and Regulations for an Earl's House" (1525) specified how the church should be decorated for a noble child's christening. It also specified the processional order for the guests and what gifts were appropriate. At the 1589 christening of the Earl of Huntingdon's baby, the church was decorated with arras and cloth of gold and silk, the font was draped with cloth of gold and silk, and the baby was wrapped in silk, lawn and wool. This was obviously a wealthy child's christening, but it gives us an idea of just how important this rite of passage was.

Mothers did not attend their baby's christening because they had not yet been churched, so guests would visit the mother and baby after the service. They would also make sure that food and drink was taken up to the mother so that she too could enjoy a part of the celebrations.

Princess Elizabeth's christening

On 10th September 1533, when Elizabeth was three days old, she was christened at the Church of Observant Friars in Greenwich. She was processed along a carpet of green rushes from the Great Hall at Greenwich to the church. A contemporary record give us details of the christening:

"The mayor, Sir Stephen Pecock, with his brethren and 40 of the chief citizens, were ordered to be at the christening on the Wednesday following; on which day the mayor and council, in scarlet, with their collars, rowed to Greenwich, and the citizens went in another barge.

All the walls between the King's place and the Friars were hanged with arras, and the way strewed with rushes. The Friars' church was also hanged with arras. The font, of silver, stood in the midst of the church three steps high, covered with a fine cloth, and surrounded by gentlewomen with aprons and towels about their necks, that no filth should come into it. Over it hung a crimson satin canopy fringed with gold, and round it was a rail covered with red say.

Between the choir and the body of the church was a close place with a pan of fire, to make the child ready in. When the child was brought to the hall every man set forward. The citizens of London, two and two ; then gentlemen, squires, and chaplains, the aldermen, the mayor alone, the King's council, his chapel, in copes ; barons, bishops, earls ; the earl of Essex bearing the covered gilt basons ; the marquis of Exeter with a taper of virgin wax. The marquis of Dorset bare the salt. The lady Mary of Norfolk bare the chrisom, of pearl and stone. The officers of arms. The old duchess of Norfolk bare the child in a mantle of purple velvet, with a long train held by the earl of Wiltshire, the countess of Kent, and the earl of Derby. The dukes of Suffolk and Norfolk were on each side of the Duchess. A canopy was borne over the child by lord Rochford, lord Hussy, lord William Howard, and lord Thomas Howard the elder. Then ladies and gentlewomen.

The bishop of London and other bishops and abbots met the child at the church door, and christened it. The archbishop of Canterbury was godfather, and the old duchess of Norfolk and the old marchioness of Dorset godmothers. This done, Garter, with a loud voice, bid God send her long life. The archbishop of Canterbury then confirmed her, the marchioness of Exeter being godmother. Then the trumpets blew, and the gifts were given ; after which wafers, comfits, and hypocras were brought in. In going out the gifts were borne before the child, to the Queen's chamber, by Sir John Dudley, lord Thos. Howard, the younger, lord Fitzwater, and the earl of Worcester. One side was full of the Guard and King's servants holding 500 staff torches, and many other torches were borne beside the child by gentlemen. The mayor and aldermen were thanked in the King's name by the dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, and after drinking in the cellar went to their barge."
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In his chronicle, Windsor Herald Charles Wriothesley writes that "and the morrowe after their was fiers[bonfires] made in London, and at everie fire a vessell of wyne[wine] for people to drinke for the said solempnitie."
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However, the imperial ambassador, Eustace Chapuys, contradicts this in his report to Charles V on the 15th September, saying "the christening has been like her mother's coronation, very cold and disagreeable, both to the Court and to the city, and there has been no thought of having the bonfires and rejoicings usual in such cases."
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We know that Anne Boleyn's coronation was lavish, so I'm not sure that we can believe Chapuys.

Anne and Breastfeeding

There were some rather strange ideas about breastfeeding in Tudor England, one of them being that the milk was actually menstrual blood turned white. Some also believed that colostrum, the highly nutritious milk produced in the first few days after birth, was harmful, so the baby was sometimes given to a wet nurse for a few days.

Breastfeeding was recommended in Richard Jonas' 1540 book
The Byrth of Mankynde
, a translation of an earlier manual, recommended breastfeeding, but noblewomen ignored this advice and hired wet nurses because it was important for the new mothers to conceive again quickly. Wet nurses were chosen carefully because it was believed that the mother could pass on her characteristics via breast milk. In the early days, when feeding was frequent, babies would often live with the wet nurse to make things easier.

As a queen, Anne would have been expected to hand over Elizabeth to a wet nurse. The wet nurse would have been well vetted to make sure that she had the right temperament and plenty of milk for the royal princess. In her book on Elizabeth, historian Tracy Borman writes of how Anne wanted to breast-feed Elizabeth. However, David Starkey states that the story that Anne wanted to breastfeed, and was prevented from doing so by Henry VIII, is just a "tale... derived from Leti's fictionalised account and is without foundation."
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Gregorio Leti was an historian, but he was known for mixing facts with fiction; other than Leti, there is no source for Anne wanting to feed Elizabeth herself. Perhaps she did want to breastfeed, but it was not the done thing and she would have had to have followed royal protocol.

The advice of the time was that babies should be breastfed for two years, but in reality it tended to be one year. The Tudor equivalents of baby rice and rusks as weaning foods were gruel, bread and sugar, or bread dipped in water or milk to make it soft. Finger food for older babies included chicken legs, if the family could afford the meat. In poorer families, the baby would eat the same food as the rest of the family: gruel.

Instructions were given to Lady Bryan, Princess Elizabeth's nurse, to wean the little princess at twenty-five months of age. The instructions were from the King, "with the assent of the queen's grace", and records show that with this order was included a letter from Anne Boleyn. We do not know what the letter said, but perhaps Anne was giving Lady Bryan instructions regarding weaning.
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Churching

Although churching is often seen as a purification ceremony, cleansing the woman after the unclean business of childbirth, it was more a celebration of her survival, a thanksgiving service, and a rite of passage marking her return to normal life after her confinement. It also marked the woman's survival and her return to everyday life. It was celebrated with more drinking, feasting and gossiping, and the actual ritual involved the woman dressing in fresh, clean clothes, leaving her chamber and attending her local church. The priest would meet her at the church door, where he would sprinkle her with holy water. The woman would then enter the church, accompanied by two married female friends and wearing a white veil and carrying a candle. The priest would then recite psalms – such as Psalm 121, a psalm of thanksgiving for God's protection – and talk about how the woman had been delivered from the dangers associated with childbirth. He would finish with the Lord's Prayer and a prayer of thanks. As an offering, the woman would then give the church either the chrisom cloth which had been used for her baby's christening, or a cash equivalent.