r/Tudorhistory

Shhhh....it was a secret!

E.g. Frances Brandon was Francis Brandon. That would be a close enough male relative that would have been an English subject. It could be made even nicer by marrying Mary off to him.

Or was he specifically hung up on having a male child of his own?

Just curious. The Tudor family was notably lacking in heirs male.

He worried people would never accept mary as heir but as we see from the divorce and her eventual accession she was very popular and even beloved. Maybe it could be garden variety chauvinism but from his various regencies to queen's like KoA leaving her in charge he seemed like he believed women could rule capably in his absence?

This has been discussed much, so apologies, but she particularly fascinates me. Mary took several steps wrong throughout her reign, no doubt, though i will contend that she was kind of doomed from the get go, with growing up in France which ultimately isolated her people. anyway i think her biggest miscalculation was being so hungry for the English throne in the first place, which likely influenced her decision to marry Darnley. i’d like to think that if she didn’t feed into the propaganda of her being the rightful heir (which she absolutely was not), instead of Elizabeth, focused on gaining more support amongst her Scottish people, then she would’ve kept her head? or maybe either way, one of them was always going to the execution block because the nobles on both sides wouldn’t let it rest until one was completely anihaliated. i say so because of Elizabeth’s alleged shock after it was done, and her regret till the end (allegedly). it makes me think they held the crown yes, but were surrounded by men with their own political agendas to fulfill so was a losing game. or am i naive and underestimating their agency? this is not me denying that Mary dug her own grave, she absolutely did lol

While we focus so much on the annulment and the Great Matter, I often feel as if the misogyny directed at Katherine is passed over. Whether it's people insisting she slept with Arthur and is therefore a liar, or that Henry would have left Katherine in the first place, we don't take a prolonged pause to focus on how misogyny plays a role in this.

And all are very fair points, but the framing of the arguments as well as the crass often directed towards her seems to overlook the fact that her problem are 100% because she's a woman.

I see how figures like Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard are rightfully centered in modern conversations about misogyny and feminism, but often Katherine isn't. At least not with the same ferocity these two are.

Katherine was the first of Henry's six wives to be brought down by men because of her gender. She was the first to experience misogyny.

Her sexual history was placed before the entire country against her will, and English men were determined to prove she was lying about her sexual history. She was replaced because she could no longer have children, etc.,

She lost everything she had because she was a woman who wouldn't back down. Sometimes I feel as if her gender gets lost in the sauce.

Hello dear readers,

So, Rule 8 has been expanded. This sub-reddit will no longer allow any type of post where merchandise is mentioned. We no longer care if you are simply showing off the Tudor-era coin you bought, a fun t-shirt, an Anne Boleyn B necklace you got, anything. All of it is officially banned for posting.

We have tried to give users a little leeway when it comes to showing off cool things you purchased but every time we get bots. Our automod features catch most of them but we still see some slip through. One of my team just had to take down 7 bot posts. 7. That's too many.

So, going forward, if we catch you posting anything to do with having bought any kind purchased item it will be removed and you will face either a temp or perma-ban depending on how many times you offend.

If our users want this sub to stay bot-free then this is a change we have to make.

As usual feel free to reach out via this post or mod-mail (never reach out to individual mods, we will post screengrabs of individual contact in our mod chat) if you have questions or concerns.

Love, The Tudor Mod Squad !

EDIT: So, a good discussion so far! I see a lot of people are not super-fond of this new enforcement and I can understand why. I also apologize if my tone offends anyone in the post above. I promise that's just my usual workday voice, I have resting bitch voice, there's no cure. Someone suggested perhaps getting mod approval for merch posts and that was actually a pretty good idea I hadn't thought of. Its worth a discussion with the other mods.

EDIT EDIT: If everyone is okay with it, we're gonna lock this post for now, we're discussing some modifications to the existing rules, possible solutions to the issue raised above, etc. In the meantime, feel free to DM us without thoughts/feelings/opinions, etc, we will see them and try to respond quickly. I want to thank everyone who responded to me. I know that there was a lot of disagreement. I know my initial tone was really, really offensive and I offer a final apology to anyone who read the original and got offended, please accept my acknowledgement and apology, that's not what I wish to promote amongst the mods. We are human but so are our users. So, again, a hearty thanks, please keep checking the feed for updates, we are in active discussion right now, and we hope to be back with you all real soon with some updates! Happy Tuesday!

Wow, it's been 490 years today since Anne Boleyn was beheaded.

I've always had mixed feelings about her. On one hand, I understand she was probably innocent of the charges and more than likely the victim of Thomas Cromwell's famous machinations, but it seems like, at the very least, she manipulated Henry- a married man- into dumping his wife and triggered the break from the Catholic church, which resulted in the deaths and ruination of thousands of people.

I wish there was a way to know what she was really like.... was she good, bad, or somewhere in the middle? Was she kind to stray dogs and the poor? I try to take into account the misogyny and control young women were subjected to in that era and try to show her a little grace.

Rest in peace, Anne Boleyn.

I am constantly torn between these two, because I think they both embody who Cromwell was as a person. I know it's unpopular, but with the exception of a few dramatizations, I believe Frain does a great job at balancing the ruthlessness and the kindness that Cromwell had initially, but disappeared due to proximity to Henry VIII.

I think Rylance does a great job at the above too, though I think he's slightly more sympathetic.

Also, Tudors was my gateway into Cromwell, and it's been my favorite portrayal ever since.