The Anne Boleyn Collection II: Anne Boleyn & the Boleyn Family (5 page)

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Elizabeth de Bohun was the daughter of
William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton
(d. 1360), and of Elizabeth de Badlesmere (1313 – 1356)

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William de Bohun was son of
Elizabeth Plantagenet
, also known as Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (1282 – 1316), and of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford (1276 – 1322)

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Elizabeth Plantagenet was the daughter of
Edward I
(1239 – 1307) and of his first wife, Eleanor of Castile (1241 – 1290).

3rd Line

Anne Boleyn's father, Thomas Boleyn, was the son of Sir William Boleyn (1451 – 1505) and of
Lady Margaret Butler
(1454 – 1539).

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Lady Margaret Butler was the daughter of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond (1426 – 1515), and of
Anne Hankford
(c. 1431 - 1485).

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Anne Hankford was the daughter of Sir Richard Hankford and of
Anne Montagu, or Montacute
, (d. 1457).

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Anne Montagu was the daughter of
John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury
(c. 1350 – 1400), and of Maud Francis.

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John Montacute was the son of Sir John de Montacute, 1st Baron Montacute (d. 1390) and of
Margaret de Monthermer
.

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Margaret de Monthermer was the daughter of
Thomas de Monthermer, 2nd Baron de Monthermer
(1301 - 1340), and of Margaret Teyes.

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Thomas de Monthermer was the son of Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer (c. 1270 – 1325), and of
Joan of Acre, Countess of Hertford and Countess of Gloucester
(1272 – 1307).

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Joan of Acre was a daughter of
Edward I
(1239 – 1307) and of his first wife, Eleanor of Castile (1241 – 1290).

Notes and Sources

1 Burke, A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, 2:231.

2 Ibid., 2:232.

3 Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn, 17.

4 Brenan and Philips Statham, The House of Howard, 73.

5 Ibid.

6 Debrett, Debrett's Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Revised, Corrected and Continued by G. W. Collen, II, Scotland and Ireland:871.

7 Frame, "Butler, James, First Earl of Ormond (c. 1305 - 1338)."

4.
Anne Boleyn, the Court of Margaret of Austria and the French Court

The majority of historians and authors believe that Anne Boleyn spent her formative years on the continent, first at Margaret of Austria's court in Mechelen and then in France serving Queen Claude, wife of Francis I. Thomas Boleyn was an ambitious man who believed in educating his daughters. Through his close relationship with Margaret of Austria, he was able to secure a place for his daughter, Anne, at Margaret's court, known as "the Mecca of aristocratic and princely behaviour".
¹
It was the ideal place to send his highly intelligent and precocious daughter; Thomas had plans for Anne to serve Margaret's sister-in-law, Catherine of Aragon, and for that she would require good French and continental manners. Eric Ives describes Margaret's court as "Europe's premier finishing school" and the cultural heart of Europe, a place where Anne Boleyn could finish her education with Margaret's Hapsburg nephews and nieces and the children of "the elite of Europe". If Margaret agreed to accept Anne, then Anne would be mixing with the future rulers of Europe in a true Renaissance Court; an amazing opportunity for a twelve year-old girl.

The Court of Margaret of Austria

Margaret of Austria was born in 1480 and was the daughter of Maximilian of Austria (Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor) and of Mary of Burgundy. In 1482, when she was just two, Margaret's father made the Treaty of Arras with France, and Margaret, his only daughter, was promised in marriage to the Dauphin, Louis XI's son Charles. To prepare her for being the Queen Consort of France, Margaret was sent to be educated in France. The marriage never took place, with Charles choosing to marry Anne of Brittany instead. In 1497, Margaret went on to marry John, Prince of Asturias, the only son of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. John died after just six months of marriage and the pregnant Margaret gave birth to a stillborn daughter two months after his death. In 1501, Margaret married Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, but he died three years later. Margaret vowed never to marry again and spent the rest of her life in mourning, wearing black.

In 1507, Margaret's father appointed her as Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, the regent for her six year-old nephew, Charles, the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Although Charles did rebel against her when he came of age in 1515, and removed her title of governor for four years, he reappointed her as governor in 1519 when he realised what an asset she was. In this position, Margaret was one of the most powerful women in Europe.

Spending the formative years of her life in France had not only made Margaret fluent in the language but also very French in her ways. She was also highly educated and accomplished at music and poetry. Belgian historian Ghislain de Boom, described her palace at Mechelen ("Malines" in French) as "un école d'éducation princière et un centre de haute civilisation"; "a princely school and a centre of high culture/advanced civilisation", and so it was.
²
Her court was visited by the likes of Erasmus, and other well-known Humanists, and was known for its superb library which contained poetry, missals and historical work. It also held work by authors such as Christine de Pizan, who was known for challenging misogyny and the stereotypical views of women. In addition, the library contained the works of Boccaccio, Aesop, Ovid, Boethius and Aristotle. Margaret was a patron of the arts and her court was also known for her collections of illuminated manuscripts, music books and paintings by masters such as Jan van Eyck. She surrounded herself with men of letters, poets and painters. Margaret also enjoyed the tradition of courtly love, which was "an integral element in chivalry, the complex of attitudes and institutions which was central to the life of the Tudor court and elite".
³

What better place to send your daughter to finish her education than the court of the most powerful and influential women of Europe, a court known for its culture? Thomas Boleyn took advantage of his close relationship with Margaret and asked if it was possible to send his daughter to her. Although places at Margaret's court were highly sought after, and Anne was no European princess, Margaret agreed, and Anne Boleyn was dispatched to the Low Countries in the summer of 1513. At the time, as Hugh Paget points out, it appeared that Thomas Boleyn would be sent back to the Habsburg Court, but this did not happen. Margaret assigned Anne a tutor, Symonnet, to help her improve her French and Anne would also have learned many other skills, such as deportment, conversation, dance and music. Hugh Paget quotes Jane de Longh (author of Margaret of Austria,
Regent of the Netherlands
), as saying of Margaret's court:

"The nobles and ladies of her court reflected the influence of the taste and preferences of their mistress. They made music, wrote poetry, composed and recited at this little court in the quiet and seclusion of Malines."
⁴

1. Figure 4
   - Statue of Margaret of Austria in Mechelen
   

Margaret of Austria's Influence on Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn's love of fine art, music, poetry and her love of illuminated manuscripts obviously had its beginning at Margaret's court. Margaret had many examples of the new style of Flemish illumination, as well as older masterpieces. She also had a vast collection of chanson, masses and motets by composers who Anne was later known to have loved. In addition, Margaret's palace was full of colourful tapestries and beautiful fabric. Eric Ives writes of how "in later life Anne was excited by fabric and colour";
⁵
this love surely started in the Netherlands. Furthermore, Anne became the patron of artist Hans Holbein the Younger, just as Margaret was patron to top artists on the continent.

Margaret of Austria's palace at Mechelen also affected Anne Boleyn's taste in architecture. Whitehall Palace, the palace that Anne and Henry rebuilt, was a recreation of what Anne had seen in Mechelen.
⁶

Anne Boleyn's time at Margaret of Austria's court had a number of "important consequences":
⁷

• • It was the foundation of her knowledge in French and "other courtly accomplishments" which influenced Mary Tudor to pick Anne to serve her in 1514.
  
• • The skills she learned in Mechelen, which were then developed in France, probably made her "a not unworthy consort" for Henry VIII.
  
• • Her time in Mechelen may have had an effect on the development of music and art in England. The Flemish style of music became popular and Hugh Paget points out that the Boleyns were patrons of Gerard and Lucas Hornebolt, "to whom we are indebted for the founding of the art of the miniature portrait in this country."
  

It is clear that this climate of culture rubbed off on Anne Boleyn and it is no wonder that Henry VIII saw Anne as a fitting queen consort and mother of his children. She had been educated with princes and princesses, she had style and culture, she was highly intelligent, and she could talk to him on his level and discuss the things he loved. She was a Renaissance woman and he saw himself as a Renaissance prince. There is no way, however, that Thomas Boleyn had any inkling in 1512 that his daughter would one day be queen, or that Margaret of Austria groomed Anne to be Henry VIII's consort. In 1512, Henry VIII had only been married to Catherine of Aragon for three years and was perfectly happy, anticipating that he would be married to Catherine for the rest of his life and that they would, in time, have a son and heir. But what Thomas Boleyn did do was to give his daughter the best chance of obtaining an appointment as a queen's lady, and in this he was successful. Anne was chosen in 1514 to serve Mary Tudor, Henry VIII's sister and Queen of France, and then in 1515 to serve Queen Claude, Francis I's wife. Anne had spent only a year at Mechelen, but that year had a dramatic impact on her and what she learned at Margaret's court was built on during her time in France.

Anne's Move to the French Court

On the 14th August 1514, Thomas Boleyn wrote to his great friend, Margaret of Austria, asking her to release Anne and return her to England under the care of a chaperone sent by him.
⁸
It seems that Anne had been chosen to serve the new Queen of France due to her fluency in French and, as Thomas Boleyn wrote to Margaret, it was a request that "I could not, nor did I know how to refuse." Although it is clear from Thomas Boleyn's letter that Anne had been chosen to attend the new Queen of France, the records are not exactly clear as to which Boleyn girl travelled to France with Mary Tudor and where Anne joined her new mistress. The list of ladies paid for the period October to December 1514 shows the name "Marie Boulonne", but not Anne, so it may be that Mary Boleyn attended Mary Tudor on her crossing to France and for the wedding which took place on the 9th October 1514 at Abbeville, and that Anne caught up with the royal party in Paris on 9th November, when Mary was crowned queen. Eric Ives hypothesises that Margaret of Austria, who was visiting the islands of Zeeland at that juncture, may not have got Thomas Boleyn's letter in time to send Anne home to England, so instead Anne travelled directly to France.
⁹

We don't know for sure whether the "Madamoyselle Boleyne" mentioned by King Louis XII in his "Names of the gentlemen and ladies retained by the King (Louis XII.) to do service to the Queen"
¹⁰
refers to Mary or Anne, but what we do know is that Anne Boleyn did, at some time, arrive in France to serve the new queen.

On 1st January 1515, less than three months after his marriage to his eighteen year-old bride, the fifty-two year-old Louis XII died. It was said that he had been worn out by sexual relations with his younger wife. Louis had no son and Salic law prevented his daughter, Claude, from becoming queen. Therefore, when it was clear that Mary Tudor was not pregnant, Claude's husband, who was also Louis' first cousin's son, inherited the throne and became Francis I of France. Mary Tudor had never wanted to marry the ageing Louis XII as she had already set her heart on Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk. So when her brother, Henry VIII, sent Brandon to France to bring her back home to England, Mary followed her heart and married Brandon in secret on the 3rd March 1515. This was an act of treason and Henry VIII was furious, fining the couple for their disobedience. However, he eventually forgave them and they were officially married on the 13th May 1515 at Greenwich Palace.