Guest
Article and Give Away!
I am very
excited to once again be part of Claire Ridgway’s Virtual Blog Tour! Claire has
recently released her second book on Anne Boleyn entitled The Fall of Anne Boleyn A Countdown. I have had the great pleasure to read this book and have to
say it is utterly fantastic. Claire does a wonderful job of detailing all the
events leading up to Anne’s arrest, imprisonment and execution. She looks not
only at Anne but all of the other players in Anne’s fall including Henry VIII,
Thomas Cromwell, the men tragically executed as part of Anne’s fall and also at
the death of Anne Boleyn herself. This is an absolutely brilliant book and one
I would strongly recommend to anyone who is interested in Anne Boleyn and the
multitude of events that led up to her fall and death.
During the spring of 1536 in Tudor England, events conspire to bring
down Anne Boleyn, the Queen of England. The coup against the Queen
results in the brutal executions of six innocent people - Anne Boleyn
herself, her brother, and four courtiers - and the rise of a new Queen.
Drawing on sixteenth century letters, eye witness accounts and chronicles, Claire Ridgway leads the reader through the sequence of chilling events one day at a time, telling the true story of Anne Boleyn's fall. The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown is presented in a diary format, allowing readers to dip in, look up a particular date, or read from start to finish. Special features include mini biographies of those involved, a timeline of events and full referencing.
Drawing on sixteenth century letters, eye witness accounts and chronicles, Claire Ridgway leads the reader through the sequence of chilling events one day at a time, telling the true story of Anne Boleyn's fall. The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown is presented in a diary format, allowing readers to dip in, look up a particular date, or read from start to finish. Special features include mini biographies of those involved, a timeline of events and full referencing.
Claire
has kindly written a fascinating article for this blog looking at common myth
that Anne Boleyn had six fingers! She is also kindly giving away a 23 ct gold-plated
B brooch with freshwater pearls! But more about the giveaway after Claire’s
brilliant article…
Anne Boleyn and the Extra Finger
Anne Boleyn
One thing I am often asked is whether
Anne Boleyn had a sixth finger on one hand. You only have to google “Anne
Boleyn six fingers” to find websites mentioning the legend, people asking the question
on Yahoo Answers and forums, and articles about it. It has been used, along
with the moles she was said to have, to back up the idea that Tudor people
thought that Anne was a witch or that she was charged with witchcraft.
The legend of the sixth finger is quite
prevalent in fiction, with it being mentioned in at least four Anne Boleyn
novels I can think of. Karen Harper in her novel, “The Last Boleyn”, writes of
Anne complaining about her “foolish hand” and about how she used her “tapered
sleeves” to hide “the tiny stub of the sixth unwanted finger which sprang from
her slender small finger of her left hand.” However, it's not just in fiction,
where it can be forgiven, that we hear about this deformity. I've heard a
Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London tell tourists that an extra finger was
found when the Victorians exhumed Anne Boleyn's remains, and one Tudor history
website, which is usually very accurate, goes as far as to say that Anne Boleyn
disguised her deformities by “creating new fashions at the Tudor court”.
Apparently, she wore a black velvet ribbon around her neck to cover up an
“unsightly mole” and used long sleeves to hide her extra finger. Alison Weir,
in her book “The Six Wives of Henry VIII”, writes that Anne “took pains to hide
it with long hanging oversleeves, another of her fashionable inventions.”
When we were discussing the six finger
legend over at The Anne Boleyn Files, costume expert Molly Housego tackled the
long sleeve theory:
“Rubbish about the extra material in the
sleeves being invented by Anne to hide her hands. The large cuffed turnback
sleeves were already known and continued to grow in size due to fashion from
the 1510's onwards. Check out the National Portrait Gallery (London) 1520's
painting of Catherine of Aragon to see her wearing large turn back cuffs as
well.”
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine would have been very unlikely
to have taken fashion advice from Anne Boleyn.
This Holbein portrait of Lady Mary
Guildford shows Mary with turned back sleeves years before Anne was prominent
at court. Long sleeves, therefore, just cannot be attributed solely to Anne
Boleyn and her desire to hide her fingers, they were simply the fashion of that
time.
Lady Mary Guildford
The legend is rooted in the work of
Nicholas Sander, a Catholic recusant in exile during the reign of Elizabeth I.
In his book, Rise and Growth of the Anglican Schism (1585), Sander gives a
rather unflattering description of Anne Boleyn:
“Anne Boleyn was rather tall of stature,
with black hair, and an oval face of a sallow complexion, as if troubled with jaundice. She had a
projecting tooth under the upper lip, and on her right hand six fingers. There
was a large wen under her chin, and therefore to hide its ugliness she wore a
high dress covering her throat... She was handsome to look at, with a pretty
mouth, amusing in her ways, playing well on the lute, and was a good dancer.”
It makes you wonder what on earth Henry
VIII saw in Anne and why he struggled for so long to have her as his wife!
What we have to take into account with
Sander's book is that he had been forced into exile by the religious policies
of Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn's daughter, so he was not exactly going to praise
either woman. He also never met Anne and was not a contemporary of hers, having
been born in 1530. He also states that Anne was banished to France when she was
fifteen years old because she had slept with her father's butler and the family
chaplain. What is more, he claims that Anne was actually Henry VIII's illegitimate
daughter! It is pretty clear that Sander's aim was to deride Elizabeth I by
blackening her mother's name.
But he is not the only Elizabethan writer
to mention Anne's deformity. George Wyatt, grandson of Thomas Wyatt the Elder,
wrote in his “Life of Queen Anne Boleigne” (1605):
“There was found, indeed, upon the side
of her nail upon one of her fingers, some little show of a nail, which yet was
so small, by the report of those that have seen her, as the workmaster seemed
to leave it an occasion of greater grace to her hand, which, with the tip of
one of her other fingers, might be and was usually by her hidden without any
least blemish to it. Likewise there were said to be upon some parts of her body
certain small moles incident to the clearest complexions.”
Now Wyatt had nothing to gain by
blackening Anne's name and his book is actually a treatise in defence of her,
so perhaps there was some kind of blemish on Anne's hand. Wyatt was born in
1553 and never knew Anne Boleyn or his grandfather, who was a close friend of
Anne's, but perhaps this information had been handed down the family. It is
impossible to know, but “some little show of a nail” is far from an extra
finger.
I agree with historian Retha Warnicke
when she points out that Sander's description of Anne Boleyn “cannot be
logically reconciled” with that of the Venetian ambassador who saw Anne in
Calais in 1532. He wrote:
“Madam Boleyn is not one of the
handsomest women in the world; she is of middling stature, swarthy complexion,
long neck, wide mouth, a bosom not much raised, and in fact has nothing but the
English king's great appetite and her eyes, which are black and beautiful.”
It's not the most flattering description,
but does not mention a wen, goitre or mole on her neck, or an extra finger.
Not one ambassador hints at an extra
finger in their reports, not even Chapuys, a man who hated Anne and would only
refer to her as “the concubine” or “the putain”. These are men who would have
seen Anne at court and who also had dealings with her diplomat father and
brother. An extra finger would surely have caused some contemporary gossip and
it is hard to believe that Henry VIII, a man to whom looks were important and
who was paranoid about illness and disease, would have accepted such a deformity
in a woman who was going to be his wife, Queen and mother to the heir to the
throne. I'm sure that he would have worried about this deformity being passed
on to their child.
As far as Anne's remains being proof that
she had a extra finger, Dr Mouat, who examined all the remains exhumed from the
chancel of the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in 1876, recorded that the remains
belonged to “a female of between twenty-five and thirty years of age, of a
delicate frame of body, and who had been of slender and perfect proportions;
the forehead and lower jaw were small and especially well formed. The vertebrae
were particularly small, especially one joint (the atlas), which was that next
to the skull, and they bore witness to the Queen’s ‘lyttel neck’.” He also commented
that “the hands and feet bones indicate delicate and well-shaped hands and
feet, with tapering fingers and a narrow foot.” He had found nothing unusual on
the hand bones and certainly no extra finger bones. Of course, there is
speculation that these remains were not those of Anne Boleyn, but no extra
finger bones were found in any of the remains.
The extra finger makes a good story for
Yeoman Warders to tell tourists, but it's just that: a story. Ye another myth
that surrounds this fascinating historical woman.
Notes and Sources
ñ Rise and Growth of the Anglican Schism (1585), Nicholas Sander, p25
ñ Life of Queen Anne Boleigne, George Wyatt, in George Cavendish's
“The Life of Cardinal Wolsey” Volume II (1825), p188
ñ The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn, Retha Warnicke, p58-59
ñ Notices of the Historic Persons Buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad
Vincula in the Tower of London, With an Account of the Discovery of the
Supposed Remains of Anne Boleyn, Doyne C. Bell (1877), p19-21, p26
A BIG thank you to Claire for choosing my little
blog to be part of her Virtual Blog Tour and an even bigger thank you for the
wonderful give away! For your chance to win away a 23
ct gold-plated B brooch with freshwater pearls please leave a comment and your
e-mail address below! Simple as that! The winner will be announced on SUNDAY
JUNE 10th!!
92 comments:
It always cracks me up that anyone thinks Henry would have pursued a woman with such defects as the large wen on the neck, the "witch's teat" mole, the protuding tooth under her lip, and, of course, the sixth finger.
He might overlook the other flaws, in his great passion, but I would think the protuding tooth might make it impossible to kiss her without being painfully scratched.
Anyway, I can be reached at miladyblue at gmail dot com
I think that thoughout the time that's passed since Anne's execution, people have created rumours in order to bring more interest to the claims of witchcraft laid against her, and also to add onto Chapuys comment of her being a goggle-eyed whore (after all he detested her). His views could be bigoted, and Anne might not necessarily have been goggle-eyed! It would be interesting to know her true appearance.
Rachel
peardrops12@hotmail.co.uk
Great Article, this is always an interesting subject. bridgett.trejo@yahoo.com
I think this legend survives mostly because people like those little unusual facts,even though they're not true . Yes,Anne Boleyn was an unconventional beauty but certainly not to the point of having what could be called deformities . To be honest,I think that Thomas Boleyn wouldn't have even thought of sending his daughter to have a great education in the Netherlands and France,had she had an extra finger...I personally think that Anne looked just like she does in the Hever Castle Rose Portait :)
Yann ( byby_breizh@hotmail.fr)
It fascinates me the way even contemporary writers tried to play down Anne's attractions, which must have been considerable, not only to have attracted Henry but to have inspired Wyatt's beautiful poetry. Thank you for exposing this myth for what it was - propaganda, which is the same then, today, and no doubt tomorrow.
Oh! My email address is drakecynthia2000@yahoo.com
Can't pretend I wouldn't just love to win this!
Very interesting article. I am never surprised at how nasty, vindictive people can create such nonsense about someone they fear. I am sure that Anne was a stunning, intelligent and beautiful woman that men either adored or feared. Her death was a true tragedy. Elizabeth being Anne's ultimate 'revenge' (although revenge seems to be the wrong word - justice perhaps?)
Thank you
Jo. jobainbridge1210@gmail.com
A lovely article once again...
Also, as a little addition: biologists think at this point (though it does not seem to be fully proven), that the trait of having six fingers is inherited autosomal dominant, which means, that at least one of Anne's parents would have had an extra finger too AND all of her siblings as well. I guess, we would know of that from more, and trustworthier sources. ;)
(alina-s [at] wtnet [dot] de)
Anne is blessed to have someone defending her. Thanks for clearing up the "deformities" issue.
Henry was not only a vain man, he was also deeply religious. If his brother had not died, his life would have been that of a dedicated priest.
His natural superstition would preclude him from taking up with a woman who had such an obvious deformity and especially one which was steeped deep in witchcraft lore.
Let us not forget all those sycophants hanging around the court. It wouldn’t have taken much for one of those opposed to the relationship to drop a few ‘witch’ related remarks for Henry to hurriedly back-peddle into his bible.
No, Anne certainly wouldn’t have had an obvious sixth finger.
Lesley
lesleymm48@bigpond.com
It is funny how some myths start! This is a fascinating article.
Jan
janet_kerr(at)msn.com
It's amazing that people want to believe things like this. Thank goodness there are people like Claire that want the truth to be known.
I agree that it is highly unlikely that Henry VIII would do all he did for a woman having a deformity. It's funny how "legends" grow and change as time goes on. Another great article giving us something to think about. Thank you Claire and loving the blog here too!
SuzieQX2@neo.rr.com
Love the article and can't wait to read the book. I enjoy reading about Anne Boleyn and of the Tudors. Thanks for slamming all the rumors of a sixth finger and moles on her body. She is one of my favorite females to read about and it's a shame that her life came to a tragic end, but she will always be remembered and admired.
I'm sorry my email address is LMARIE1982@LIVE.COM. Thanks. -Laura
Interesting ... my first thought was, 'How on earth could you hope to arrive at truth this far after Anne died?' But upon reading your analysis, I think you've made a pretty strong case that the sixth finger is most likely a fallacy.
sjbraun at hotmail dot com
I have always been fascinated by Anne Boleyn ever since reading Nora Lofts book "Anne Bolyen" in 1980. I still have my copy. I think Anne was an intelligent woman who finally succumbed to Henry the VIII which unfortunately led to her downfall.I do not believe she was wicked or had any physical deformitieswhich were talked about after her death in order to discredit her.
The tall tales of Anne having an extra finger, as well as her supposedly being Henry VIIIth's 'illegitimate daughter' have been going on for so long, it's ridiculous.
Personally, I admired Anne for her spunk, her wit, and her bluntness in saying what she thought.
---
Sorry for the 'anonymous' profile.. could not get it to accept my name on the Anne Boleyn forum, which is Anne-fan.
Thank you Claire and Sarah for another great stop on the tour! It's amazing how 'creative' men could be to a woman who carved her own path and lived ahead of her times. Witchcraft, incest, and physical deformities- quite the list! I hope that Anne,wherever she is, will feel vindicated and her reputation corrected. rjhaigh@yahoo.com
I'm just so happy to have found a group that is as fascinated as I am with the Tudors! I can see my husband's eyes glaze over when I try to discuss it with him.
I have to agree that Chapuys, of all people, would have pointed out any deformity which would discredit Anne and mark her as the heretical witch he believed her to be. And most certainly, Henry would not have pursued her for years based on her intellect and charms alone.
margaret.ward@jacobs.com
A great article! I guess even years after her death people still tried to besmirch her name. It seems the rumors of the 6th finger and goiter were mentioned by those who never saw her years after her death. And like others, I do not believe Henry would have pursued Anne if she had such deformities.
~Melissa
Calypsobard @ gmail.com
Wonderful article Claire. I've enjoyed reading all your posts on this book tour and on your website. I've learned so much. It's wonderful to read about Anne Boleyn and have a myth debunked about her extra finger. It's impossible to think Henry VIII would have pursued Anne for so long had she been deformed in any way. He wanted the best and appearance was important to him. Thank you for your wonderful article Claire! -Kathy (kandebonilla@gmail.com)
Personally,I never believed all the "court gossip"! I find it amusing that there is no account of anyone crazy enough to have said this while Anne was alive and very much adored by Henry! I just chalk it up to some people building themselves a better case by maligning Anne's name! Back then,the big paranoia was "witches",so that's what the "embellishments" eluded to! I choose to have mind's picture of Anne Boleyn as the lovely Hever portrait depicts. Why else would Henry VIII have practically "gone insane" moving heaven & earth to possess her???? Pamela Kapustka nursepamelajoy@aol.com
I love your continuing crusade to undo the ridiculous myths surrounding this fascinating and intelligent woman! Thanks Claire
bonniewcarlson@gmail.com
Good article. I have always been fasinated with the Tudor period and Anne Boleyn. I think she got a bad rap and was a witty, intelligent and beautiful woman in a man's world. tschillage@selu.edu
Claire:
I am so glad there is someone out there that continues to debunk these ridiculous myths that have been accepted as fact for years and perpetuated by movies like The Other Boleyn Girl.
I have often thought of what I would discuss with Anne if I were fortunate enough to travel back in time to the 1520s-1530s. One thing I would tell her is of her daughter's great destiny and how she is revered as the greatest British monarch in history. If I could not change history and allow her to escape her fate, at least she would be comforted in knowing the achievement her daughter would make.
Mary Ann Cade
cadesmall@sbcglobal.net
What a wonderful article!
Thank you so much for your untiring efforts to set the record straight!
I am amazed that it still has to be pointed out that this "extra finger" thing is nothing but malicious gossip... I very much doubt that the King would have chosen a deformed woman to be the mother of his much needed heir! :)
Poor Anne, having all these horrible things said about her.
Thank you again, Claire, for a great article!
spinndiva@gmail.com
Amazing article Claire. I agree with all your statements. I also think that perhaps in today's society Anne may be considered an attractive woman.
Great job again and lovely blog!
Thanks,
Niki
nicoleinc3@gmail.com
Loved the article! It's hard to belive sometimes some of the rumers people will belive. Thnk you! childishwhims@yahoo.com
Another great article Claire!!
Kim
kim_cree@yahoo.com
Fantastic article! I can't believe a Yeoman at the Tower is actually repeating a lie! I hope when I eventually go to London (I'm from the states) that they don't repeat other rumors. I find it fascinating that only one person mentioned a sixth finger and somehow we're talking about it almost 500 years later!
lanza.liz@gmail.com
I believed it for a while when I first became interested in her! It does make for an interesting story, I must admit.
ladyjanegreyndq (at) yahoo (dot) com
(guess who my favorite Tudor is? :P )
~Brittany
It would seem that Henry would of noticed the extra finger and would of not been so relentless in his pursuit of anne..... annaesummers@yahoo.com
Claire, thank you for another fantastic and enlightening article! I find that I nearly always agree with your arguments, because they seem to possess common sense and a knowledge of Tudor history many well-respected do not!
As I have long wondered about the supposed moles and sixth finger, I truly appreciate this article, which has swayed me utterly in favor of the deformities being mere myths. Cannot wait for your new book!
I can be reached at boleynfan1 at gmail dot com. Once again, thank you so much.
An excellent rebuttal of the old myth by Claire. Alas, some myths die extremely hard. I don't know if any of you have ever seen the film "Steel Magnolias," but in one scene, Dolly Parton's character is reading a newspaper (or tabloid) article on Anne's "sixth finger" aloud. I believe she calls Anne "Anne Berlin!" LOL I had to laugh when I saw that! :)
Morgan
morgan_313@yahoo.com
Once again Claire a wonderful article de-bunking history's myths! Keep up the good work.
Michelle
historywiz1@cox.net
Hi Claire,
It's hard to comprehend that people would be taken in by the malicious accusations against Anne by her enemies and that they would believe such "rubbish". The sad thing is ...they did!!!
Thanks for your great articles!
Alan Wybrow
alan_r_wybrow@hotmail.com
It's through Claire's tours that I've found so many other sites interested in historical figures such as Anne; there's so many out there, it's brilliant!
I, wrongly, have believed such myths about Anne and it's nice to have them cleared up, especially since so many modern, and supposedly reliable, sources still mention these myths today!
Thanks again Claire! :)
Chloe
cloe_h@fsmail.net
Great article as always. I have a sort of split toenail on my little piggy and have always thought this might have been similar to Anne's 'finger'. You wouldn't notice my toe unless you really examined it carefully and, obviously, the same with whatever small imperfection Anne had. I do think George Wyatt is closer to the truth and his grandfather may have told him something or his father. But it was hardly an extra finger! Best of luck with the tour, Claire--your book is wonderful! THis is Anne Barnhill at acbarnhill@yahoo.com
Another great article! As anyone who read (and remembers) my article on my stay at Thornbury Castle in October will know, when I was riding the bus from Bristol to Thornbury I was talking to an elderly gentleman who asked me if I knew why Henry was so fascinated by Anne. When I said that I didn't, he told me (in all seriousness and if he knew it for a fact) that it was because Anne had 5 fingers and a thumb on each hand, as well as 3 fully developed breasts! Her deformities seemed to increase with each passing century!
Nancy Smith
nlsmith2@nscorp.com
I've never believed in those things, since we know how obsessive Henry was, he wouldn't have done all Henry did to marry a deformed woman. I think that the remains found and which were recorded as being Anne's is indeed her, mostly because I actually think she was born after George and was the youngest sibling of all (maybe she wasn't born in 1507 as her father said that Elizabeth bore one children per year since they married, but maybe in 1505 or something like that, which indeed would have made her a woman in her early 30s at the time of her death).
Raisa
camy_r89@hotmail.com
More than once when I've mentioned Anne to a non-Tudorhile, their eyes light up a bit and they blurt, "Oh, she's the one with six fingers!" Along with the incest charge, it seems to be one of the most popular myths that have filtered into pop culture. I feel like someone should make a T-shirt debunking the most popular misconceptions about Anne!
Such a beautiful brooch!
libby.maire@gmail.com
I read this and the part in Claire's first book on this very thing. In addition to Dr. Wourat and his findngs I find the actual third thing that suprises once again, that Claire, (and I know that she must have read hundreds or even more pages of primary documentation as well as reading, and from her sources) that CHAPUYS never said anything about it!!! One thing is for sure to me, and that is if Chapuys never noted it with his continued and vehement hate for Queen Anne, that between all this, especially that between these two things that Queen Anne may have had a small blemish on her hand, and that's it!
In addition, I also agree that Phillipa poisoned hundreds of thousands with her book "The Other Boleyn Girl" and the subsequent movie. Philipa is the goddess of not even historical fiction, but just plain fiction, as I read all the articles that Sarah has written, the Ms. P, didn't have any evidence whatsoever about any information which pertains to Mary Bolyen. Thank you, Sarah!
Henry VII in an age of superstion would NEVER have had Queen Anne if this were true, and I agree with what the other comments about her father and sending her to France with such a derformity would never have happened either.
Claire's mention of Chapuys, Dr. Wourat, and the superstitions of the time make, to me, the conclusion of that she may have had a mild blemish on her hand. The costume designs along with this article also proved a lot to me as well, and thank you so very much for bringing them in as evidence as well; they were a lot of help with rumors as well! Thank you! WilesWales!
I will defend Queen Anne for as long as I'm around! She was innocent of all charges brought against her. She did give England a gift, Queen Elizabeth I, as she was the greatest absolute monarch the country ever had!
"This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes:.." ~ Psalms 118:23
Please forgive me for the typo, as I meant Henry VIII, and not Henry VII. I was so angry and emotional and keying so fast as I only saw it after this was published. My most heart felt apologies! Thank you! WilesWales!
I will defend Queen Anne for as long as I'm around! She was innocent of all charges brought against her. She did give England a gift, Queen Elizabeth I, as she was the greatest absolute monarch the country ever had!
"This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes:.." ~ Psalms 118:23
As we Anne Boleyn lovers/historians know, Anne had quit a few who did not like her for one reason or another and would claim anything to be able to destroy her. Another thing that is thought of Anne is poison. It is thought that Anne had poisoned a few different people who were against her and causing trouble for her, Katherine of Aragon is one thought to have been poisoned by Anne, because of the story of Katherine’s heart being black when they did an autopsy. So many wrongs were given to Anne in those days. Now we are able to right most of those wrongs and I hope in doing so Anne may rest a bit easier.
This site along with Claire’s Anne Boleyn Files, Elizabeth I, and a few other sites always make my day worth while. They are the first posts I read on Facebook and my email.
Thank you for having such wonderful sites that gives the truth about history.
Cindy
Rhiannon@falconwolfarts.com
I never thought Anne had an extra finger for real! Some people only know that about Anne and it's a lie! I think she had a different kind of beauty, but mostly she was a fascinating woman and that made her beautiful. Great article!!
elizapol(at)hotmail(dot)com
I have never been about to imagine Henry VIII chasing a woman as long as he did if she had had all of these "blemishes"! He was fastidious and 'picky' and I believe it was more than her flashing dark eyes that captured Henry.
Dawn
dawn.pinnataro@aronov.com
It still amazes me that the Wardens at the Tower rely on myths and untruths to generate interest in the history of that historic place when the truth is much more interesting! There is no need to keep fertilizing untruths when actual facts can tantilize as well if not better! So Anne did not have a sixth finger; she did have charisma, intelligence, power, and the ability to manipulate one of the most powerful men of the time - at least for awhile. That alone is interesting enough. I say let's start a grass roots campaign to have the Wardens tell the true story; they can always have a tour about the myths that pervailed through the ages to show how easily historic figures' lives can be twisted by those who have reason to mke them out as villians. At least if they also told the truth you'd have a choice but now thousands will continue to hear these myths and accept them as truth and they will continue to be a part of Anne's story when they should only be an amusing antedote.
pannewolf7@comcast.net
Keep up the great work, Claire!
I'd love to win the pin. Enjoyed the article. Thanks! Joyballard6460@yahoo.com
I really think in todays world we'd appreciate her so much more than they did then; I really do! Maybe she was ahead of her time. sandicrogers@live.com
Claire, I think it's wonderful how you support the memory of Anne Boleyn by bringing facts about her to light. For years, before I was introduced to yours and other sites like Sarah, I believed Anne had a sixth finger. Deborah Braden dsbraden@gmail.com.
Thank you so much for clearing up the dispute about Anne's believed deformities. It never made sense to me that Henry would have moved heaven and earth for a woman with such flaws, and considering the Catholic hatred for her, I thought it must have been negative propaganda. This is the first time I had heard much of this information, and I found it very interesting.
I think it is a lie or myth that has been reinforced throughout history of the English Kings & Queens. She was against Catholicism and was a practicing Christian so of this Catholic fellow Sander described her looks as non appealing and having a 6th finger, he was angry because of his exile and because she was a Christian.
Interesting!! We will never really know. My contact information is jelassitersmith@gmail.com
One would believe that Henry would choose only a woman of great beauty (or maybe beauty in the eye of the beholder) as with Anne of Cleves that relationship ended as fast as it had begun as she apparently looked like a "horse". One would assume with the accusations of her being a witch there would have been many documents at that time of deformities Anne B. had. Interesting still the same. Thank you for the blog! esselmac01@charter.net
Cheryl
I enjoyed reading your blog! I continue to be a huge fan! My email is
jennylouhosmer@aol.com
Thank you for this article!! I totally agree with all the points you made... All the people who disliked and hated her over the years she was at court would have commented on such things from the start -- And I certainly agree that Henry was too religious to have fallen for a witch, much less too vain to have fallen for a deformed witch!
Anne is all too often underestimated and underappreciated ---- how i would love to know who she would have become as she got older... where the Tudor dynasty would went!
On my bucketlist is to visit her grave... I want to leave a note (and say a prayer) ----
"Thank you, Anne... know that it wasn't in vain, Elizabeth not only became Queen, but was a wonderful one! You are always loved and never forgotten"
Cheryl Kelley
Cheryl.Kelley@hotmail.com
Thank you for your devotion on the topic! It is so good for all of us that there is someone so passionate like yourself that provides us with interesting details about Anne :) Greatings k_dishlianova@abv.bg
Another thing about the stories told by the Yeoman Warders at the Tower - they seem to try to be entertaining at the expense of the truth in many of their stories. They still point out (or at least they did when I last went on one of their tours) the Queen's House as the place where Anne spent her last days, as well as the area in front of the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula as the site of the scaffold. And who can forget being told that Katherine Howard said "I die a Queen, but I would rather die the wife of Culpepper" when she was on the scaffold?
Nancy
nlsmith2@nscorp.com
Right on!!! Amanda Tyler Baker(AB)---meagersun@yahoo.com
Thank you for giving us two 5 star books and a great website! There is so much education and so little time!
aaffstew@aol.com
So interesting about the 6th finger...
Would love to win!
carolinebraun @ hotmail . com
Another wonderful blog, I too cannot believe Henry would be with someone with any deformity. Funny how people who did not know her claim to "know" of these things.
hch45@cox.net
This was a great article!!! I think it was amazing that Henry would pursue Anne as long as he did he would have noticed the "sixth finger" on Anne's hand I think its amazing that he actually did marry her. Moonrise88@yahoo.com
History is always a game of telephone. In Anne's case, there wer not many objective operators! Without forensic evidence, we can never truly know whether she had an extra finger or not. Since even her contemporarysources were by no means objective, we may never know.
I, for one, would love to know what she really looked like. Since there are so many of us who would like to, I hope that someday the Brits will allow forensic scientists to reexamine her remains and recreate her face. It was done with King Tut's remains, so it would be possible if her skull is intact.
Until that day, I think that the wondering is what keeps us all so intrigued!
Anne must have been an incredibly strong and brave woman to have taken on all the men and the political issues she did in her life. I would love to have met her, to have sat down and had a discussion on life with her. I have especially loved her "B" necklace as my name is Bosha and I create Tudor costumes. wakwashbosha@yahoo.com
A well writen post Claire.
From being 12 when I was captured by the Tudor's especially Henry VIII and Anne, I have read many books that have discribed Anne with these 'marks', (I don't like to use the word deformity). But me believing those stories faded as I read more about her. Though I do think she may have had a small blemish on her little finger that would have been insignificant, if not unnoticable, to most, but something for her enemies to grab hold of when scutinising her for 'faults'. As for moles, well who hasn't got a mole or two, I think you would be more unusual if you didn't have any. These reports of her 'dis-figurements' were largely great exaggerations by her enemies to futher dis-credit her...its still done now-a-days I'm sorry to say...human nature it seems.
The pendant looks a bonny thing to have and treasure, one of us is going to be a very lucky person.
Sorry forgot my email address for above comment...
mike900r@hotmail.co.uk
Loved the artical, You cant really believe what people then said about her as you said, most of England wanting Mary as Queen.
Lindsay
solomaster1987@gmail.com
Fascinating as always, Claire (and Sarah!)! I cannot wait to get my hands on this book, I love the way you've broken it down to show how quickly everything progressed! Keep up the great work!
99robinsonm1(at)gmail.com
It's just funny to think that Henry VIII would marry a woman with six fingers and a wen. People can be so clueless!! americansamgirl@gmail.com
I find it normal for people to make new myths and stories.But like most stories or myths could be proven or deemed fiction. Claire has has successfully stated that Anne DID'NT have a sixth finger or any other deformities, therefore is a truthful article. Email is reneeneeld@gmail.com
Wow! What a lot of comments! I'm so glad that you all enjoyed my article. I forgot to mention that I also heard a tour guide at Hever Castle mention Anne's extra finger (as fact), I think smoke started coming out of my ears at that point!
Claire,First I must say both your books were facinating and I ejoyed them very much.It is refreshing to read facs ,and not rubish,and you do have your facs right on .Now to get to this myth of the 6th finger,I have heard this over and over, threw out the years.This as well as all the nasty unerminding things said of this Great Queen,make my blood boil!Queen Anne as you say did not have 6 fingers that was proof when her body was exsumed,as for moles there is not one person on the planet that does not have a mole or two and many more,as I am sure Henry had a few himself.I am so tierd of people defacing this Queen with myths and just plain lies, rumors,people can be very cruel,the way I see this 6th finger, was simpley to bring in the the witch myth ,yet a nother nasty rumore or myth what ever your you may call it.Just more defacing ,twords Queen Anne.But people will all ways gossip and spread rumores lies ect;Such a shame for this wonderful and Great Queen Anne Boleyn.Six Fingers tis tosh!
To me it just proves that gossip has been around since time began. It is a shame that people have to make up lies about such things rather than research and tell the truth. This period of time was so very interesting and I am enjoying the book so much. Thank you, lsmoore43@yahoo.com
I really hope I win this would be my first tudor book ever. Sweet_nessa19@yahoo.com
-Vanessa
Recent convert to tudor history and Anne Boleyn in particular but have read loads lately and my interest continues to grow. Loved this article which was easy to read and informative.
helen.tully@yahoo.com
Never heard the claim that Anne is Henry's illegitimate daighter. I thought that was rather interesting. I really dont see Henry pursuing and marrying a woman with a mole and an extra finger, especially since everyone was so superstitous and though every "abnormal" thing was a result, sign of witchcraft. Very interesting article! I cant wait to read your book!
ijh103@gmail.com
reading Claires book at the moment, thoroughly enjoying it and finding it difficult to put down!
Thank you for the wonderful article. I just always thought it was a "fact" that Anne had six fingers.
Thank you also for continuing to feed my Tudor obsession.
terrisam@windstream.net
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