So Many Queens, So Little Time

I'm almost done reading my history of Henry VIII! And I've only written about one out of six of his wives! Clearly I've got some catching up to do. In my previous post, I talk about the faithful Katherine of Aragon, daughter to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, first wife of Henry VIII. Here is a portrait of Katherine:

Henry VIII was becoming more anxious for a male heir, since the peace of England depended on it. Katherine was in her late 30s when Anne Boleyn caught Henry's eye and heart. He pursued Anne for 7 years (!) before she finally submitted to him. Anne Boleyn had great control over Henry, and she and her family came to symbolize reform at court. Here are some quick facts about the witty, flirtatious, and powerful Anne Boleyn:

-She was already pregnant when she and Henry were married.
-Although she didn't have the most virtuous past, she made Henry pursue her for 7 years and give her an official title before she fully became his mistress.
-She is the mother of one of the greatest queens of England, Elizabeth I. She was also pregnant two or three more times although none of the other children survived.
-Henry had a habit of taking mistresses while his wives were pregnant and Anne openly chided him and protested against this, much to his displeasure.
-It was Anne who gave Henry the idea that he should be the leader of his counrty in its entirety, including leader of the church.
-Anne and Henry had only been married for 3 years by the time she was executed for treason due to unfaithfulness and plotting to kill the king.
-At least half of the charges brought against Anne have been shown to be made-up by those who wanted to see her out of power, and she was very unpopular with everybody.
-She was charged with many counts of infidelity, including incest with her own brother. Many of the men also accused were convicted and executed as well. There was a major power shift after all was said and done.

Being falsely accused was a horrible thing to happen to Anne, but how she had deposed the faithful and kind queen before her was also very horrible and underhanded. The pattern that I am beginning to see in this history is that the striving and fighting for power may last for a little while but it always comes to an end, and that fall from the top can be a very long fall. Anne Boleyn continues to fascinate me although I do see what a vicious and manipulative woman she was. Here is her picture:

History!

Recently, I have been completely enthralled with a history book! I normally stay far away from non-fiction unless I want to fall asleep faster at night, but with Alison Weir's look at the Tudor court under Henry VIII, I can't put it down! I have always had a fascination with Henry VIII and his family but with Weir's book I have decided to dive a little bit further, and read the book cover to cover.

Henry's six wives have always been one of the most intriguing parts of his life to me. This book is helping me get a more well-rounded view of them. Rather than pawns being pushed around by a mighty (and moody) king, the queens had a great deal of influence.

The first of Henry's wives with Katherine of Aragon. What most people know about her is that she was ousted by Anne Boleyn, who became Henry's second wife. This is true, but here are some lesser known facts about Katherine:

• She had been married to Henry's older brother, Arthur, who would have become king if he hadn't died at a very young age. It was said that the marriage was never consummated, which made it possible for Henry to marry his own brother's wife.
• Katherine was six years older than Henry.
• Katherine and Henry actually had a very loving and happy relationship for many years.
• Katherine's only surviving child was Mary, who ended up becoming queen, but she actually had 4 other children, none of whom survived longer than a month.
• Henry thought that his lack of a male heir could be a judgement of God for marrying his brother's wife, although there had been special dispensation given for their marriage. Many people think he just wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, and while that's certainly true, he also doubted the legitimacy of his first marriage on religious principle.
• Henry and Katherine were not actually divorced; their marriage was annulled.

Poor Katherine was loved by the people of England, and a devoted wife who never acknowledge the annulment of her marriage to the day she died. There's a quick look at some of the fascinating things I'm reading, but be sure I will post more!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Most of us know St. Patrick's Day as the Irish drinking holiday, but where did it come from? Who was St. Patrick, and why is it celebrated on March 17th? Well, let me tell you!

St. Patrick was not actually born in Ireland-- he was born in Wales. The first time he went to Ireland was not by choice; when he was 16 years old he was kidnapped and forced to be a herdsman. He escaped and returned to his family only to be called back to Ireland a few years later by God through a vision in which the Irish people said to him, "we appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us." And so St. Patrick began his missionary career.

Another thing that St. Patrick is known for is chasing all of the snakes out of Ireland. Well, most people agree there probably weren't snakes in Ireland to begin with, but this could have been some kind of metaphor for converting pagans who used a serpent as their symbol.

And why do we celebrate on March 17th? That was the day that St. Patrick died. He is believed to be buried in the town of Downpatrick in Ireland.

And what would this blog post be without a factoid about alcohol?! Did you know that more Guinness is consumed in Britain than in Ireland? It's true. But even more interestingly, the second top consumer of Guinness in the world is Nigeria, with Ireland coming in third.

On this Day in History...

On this day in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the island of Elba where he had been exiled for less than a year. While on Elba, Napoleon was given sovereignty over the 12,ooo inhabitants, and he was able to retain his title of Emperor. In the few months he spent on Elba he created a small army and navy, upgraded some agricultural methods, and developed some iron mines. I guess he really believed that "idle hands are the devil's tools." That or he was just an egotistical work-aholic.

Turns out Napoleon was a fascinating person, and not as short as many people believe. If you want to find out more, click here.

Super Sappy Valentine's Day

Another Valentine's Day has come and gone. It's a day that has never really bothered me. Sure, I've bought into the whole "it's cool to hate Valentine's Day because I'm single" thing every once in awhile. But really, to me Valentine's Day is just a commercialized holiday that makes people compelled to give each other chalky little heart candies. I feel just as love-sick (or just as happy) on Valentine's Day as any other day of the year.

One thing I can appreciate though, is the history behind Valentine's. The day is named after St. Valentine who, legend has it, continue to perform marriages even after Roman Emperor Claudius II banned marriage in the third century AD, and was martyred for doing so. That's how the holiday got it's Christian name, but the celebration goes farther into pagan Roman history. It has it's roots in the festival called Lupercalia-- a celebration in which naked men would whip young ladies in hopes of increasing their fertility. Those crazy Romans! What didn't they do?

If you want to check out more fun facts and history about Valentine's Day, go here. Ok, love you! Mean it!

A Factoid, to start the year off right!

Many months of the year have Roman origins for their names, like August (after Augustus Caesar) and October (after Octavius). Did you know that January has Roman origins as well? January was named for the Roman god, Janus, who had two heads-- one that faced forward and the other which faced backward. It seems very fitting for the first month of the year, to reflect on the year that has past and to look forward to what the new year might bring.

But actually (?!), March was originally the first month of the year, because this was the time when planting began and it was time to go to war (March being named after Mars, the god of war). So why did it change? The Romans decided that instead of inaugerating their new consuls in the busy month of March, why not the boring, uneventful month of January? So there you have it, another way the Romans shook things up that still prevails in Western society today.

(Source: http://ngm.typepad.com/pop_omnivore/2009/01/how-january-wen.html)

Happy Flag Day!

Do you know what Flag Day celebrates? Well, the American Flag, duh. But of course, I wanted to know the details so please, allow me to share them with you!

Betsy Ross is said to have designed the first flag with 13 stars and 13 stripes.

Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the Stars and Stripes (also known as Old Glory) as the official Flag of the United States on June 14, 1777 by the Second Continental Congress. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed it a national day of commemoration in 1916, and it was adopted more officially in 1949 through an Act of Congress. Flag Day is not an official federal holiday but was made a state holiday by Michigan in 1937-- the only state to ever do so. In conclusion, Michigan is great and so is the American Flag. Happy Flag Day!

Something Lighter

I know I just posted like 10 minutes ago but I had to show everybody something I have just rediscovered. It's an historical blog that I think many of you will enjoy, even if you generally don't like history. So please allow me to introduce Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century!

Just Call Me Leland Stanford

Last night some friends and I got together for a game night extravaganza! The only game we played (because it is extremely time consuming) was Monopoly. I was so excited even before I started because I was able to be the little locomotive game piece! But then, to continue with the fun, I was the first to land on a Railroad, which I promptly purchased. I was able to land on and aquire 3 of the 4 railroads and then I traded Rach for the other one. I had a railroad monopoly! If you know anything about railroading history in California you would know that there were 4 men, known as the "Big 4" who owned the Central Pacific Railroad. Anyway, the president of the CP was Leland Stanford, who was also a governor of California and whose family founded Stanford University. So, in essence, I became Leland Stanford last night. Or the East Coast/New Jersey alternative. It was some good ol' stuff. I made lots of money but it wasn't very fulfilling. Monopoly breeds discontent. But for a game night extravaganza we still had fun!

These are the namesakes of the gameboard railroads:

And a political cartoon made about the "Big 4" and the railroads in California:

Time for a little History!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! I love Thanksgiving! You get to sit around and eat hearty-fatty food until you're about to burst, and then it's time for pie. I am thankful for mashed potatoes.

The first Thanksgiving that we all celebrate was held in 1621 by the Mayflower pilgrims in Massachusetts. Really, there was another Thanksgiving held 2 years earlier in 1619 in Viriginia-- just ask the folks at Historic Williamsburg, they'll tell you. So we've got 2 Thanksgivings to be thankful for. Right after independence from Britain was when the concept of a day set aside for thanks really took off. Something like 6 different presidents made proclamations about Thanksgiving: what it meant, when it should be held, etc, and it was Franklin D. Roosevelt who finally set the date as the 4th Thursday of Novemeber in 1939. Here are some words that our first president, George Washington, had to say about Thanksgiving:

"Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country..."

I'm thankful for you! Happy Thanksgiving!