Do you think the witchcraft accusations were around during Anne’s lifetime? Let me know below and remember to check out: BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): www.historycallingofficial.com/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/historycalling Amazon storefront: www.amazon.com/shop/historycalling Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling/
Witch...no....playa....yeah!! 😂. Like the Coi Leray song "Girls is playas too!" She just had majority men and some women who were huge haters! I studied abroad in London for six months then again two years later for a year and a half and became absolutely obsessed with the Tudors. My really close friend/coworker is getting married in London soon and it's a Tudor theme.
Isn't it amazing that people are still trying to vilify Anne after all these centuries. It says a lot about her power of fascination. I suspect she was one of those women whose ambition and success made enemies and those enemies outlived her so they got to write her story. I think her arrogance was probably not very endearing to powerful men who had Henry's ear, as well. She was born at a bad time for a woman, and a disastrous time for a clever, beautiful one.
I mean there are legitimate criticisms of her that can be made. Her part in keeping the dying woman who's ex husband she now had from her daughter is to me very cruel but calling her a deformed witch who somehow seduced a proud king with dark magic is a tad beyond the pale.
I think it was more than her ambition that made her enemies. Ruin a country's trade with one of the richest economies of the time then require everyone to sign a document recognising you as queen or their heads might be chopped of isn't the best way to make friends.
15:50 "Many people mistake Miss Gregory's work for actual history" is kind of shocking. I read part of the first chapter of The White Queen and couldn't contain my laughter at the witchcraft nonsense she attributed to Elizabeth Woodville.
I know, but to be fair she gets into historical documentaries on TV, so I can understand to an extent where the confusion arises. I recall David Starkey saying once that we shouldn't let historical fiction writers be treated as real historians and on this issue, I must agree with him.
Frankly, with how intelligent Elizabeth Woodville was, there's no way things would have gone as badly as they did if she WERE a witch. I just don't think she would have stood for that kind of incompetence in herself.
Last night I had a tour of the Tower of London. I saw the chapel where her, Jane Grey and Catherine Howard are buried. It was amazing! The chapel, while simple, is beautiful. The tour guide pointed out that Anne’s executioner was brought over from France days before the trial ever happened, she never had a chance in hell of getting out of there alive
Yes. They had to have sent for the executioner way before she was even arrested because it would've taken like a month to get there. Pretty convenient. I loved being in the chapel when I went to visit. I sat in one of the pews and said the Hail Mary in Spanish. I'm Catholic but love Anne. She doesn't have a very good reputation in the Catholic church and furthermore KoA is a distant ancestor of mine.
@@HistoryCalling sitting in the chapel where she’s buried really was a strange experience. People like Anne can often feel like fictional characters, especially when we see them portrayed on screen by famous actors, but sitting feet away from where her body is buried made her feel real in a way nothing else had. Like, she was a real living woman. She breathed and got hungry and probably caught her sleeves on a door knob at least once. It really was a surreal experience
I find it almost hilarious how some sources claim she had a sixth finger that she 'hid under long sleeves' Even if we could accept that was true, do they really think that 1) Henry never saw her unclothed and 2) he would marry a woman who carried such 'signs', being such a superstitious man? It just seems beyond credibility to me 🤷🏻♀️
It is beyond credibility indeed. A fully-fledged extra finger would have been mentioned by the likes of Chapuys and I don't think either that Henry could have overlooked it (literally or metaphorically).
@@HistoryCallingtotally agree If Eustace Chapuys didn't see fit to mention it considering how little he thought of her, I think it's safe to say it wasn't the case! 💜
I believe that if someone could do a blood test (too late now), the "problem" that Anne Boelyn had with miscarriage was because of rh blood type. He was positive, and she was negative, or the other way around. I believe THAT was the reason why Elizabeth was their only surviving child.
I actually have a video all about the Tudors' fertility problems which includes a discussion of the very phenomenon. It'll be in my Six Wives and probably my Anne Boleyn playlists.
That and the fact Henry in my opinion had other health problems, one being in modern days he would be a insulin dependant Diabetic. I think we all see who was the cause of the infertility problems, especially in the later part of his life. He had six Wives and and countless mistresses and only 6 living children. Catherine Parr proves the point for me, not long after his death she married and got pregnant. There was obviously nothing wrong on her side.
Henry tricked Chapuys into meeting Anne’s miscarriage on Easter if I’m not mistaken. This doesn’t sound like a man thinking his wife is a witch. His obsession on having a son was the motivation of getting rid of Anne. That and he grew tired of Anne meddling on his affairs as a king and her being so outspoken. An annulment wouldn’t do after he scandalized Christendom to marry Anne. Henry needed her to die so he can marry Jane. I’m not a fan of Philippa Gregory. You’re right. People take her books at face value. I’ve seen it all over social media. Thank you for debunking all these myths about Anne Boleyn. I hope these people who read Gregory’s novels see this. Have a great weekend.
Thanks Leticia. Yes, unfortunately they do take her work at face value sometimes. I'm all for reading it as a bit of fun, just as long as people read real history books to learn what actually happened.
Henry is one of the best examples of a narcissist gone wild I know of. He would have claimed Anne was a rhino to get out of that marriage, jerk. Another side note, self proclaimed witches are real. Stupid, but real. Great video!
Yes, he was certainly determined to be rid of her. Of course annulling the marriage was pointless given that he was killing her anyway (not to mention that it made no sense to accuse her of adultery if she wasn't his wife), but anything to be petty.
@@HistoryCalling great points. Another thing I find peculiar is their lack of responsibility for being fooled by said "witch". As if their discernment meant nothing lol
@@HistoryCalling He must really have come to hate her. Maybe the disappointment that when they finally got together, after a decade of waiting, she was just a woman, and not an enchantress. And no son. The "betrayal" of Catherine Howard really hurt him badly and grieved him, but Anne, he really hated.
Thank you for this wonderful video, HC. I love when respected historians and unbiased experts debunk myths and get straight to facts eloquently. It was made up rumours as part of smear campaigns against her to fit political agendas of the time. Such "defects" would have been mentioned by everyone else at court including King Henry VIII who fell in love with her and was obsessed for years before he finally married her. Excellent content and impeccable work.
Thank you so much. Yes, I agree that such a 'defect' would never have been overlooked for so long. It would have been the talk of the court that the King was 'dating' a witch.
@@HistoryCalling worth remembering that even the children's game we all take for granted "He loves me, He loves me not" with pulling the petals from daisies would definitely have counted as a divination charm, so even if she did stuff like this, as I think nearly every one did, then and now, the negative connotation would only been seen by the haters giving a negative spin to everything she did
As much as I like the film the Other Boleyn Girl (I watched it when I was in my early teens) I feel a sense of frustration about authors like Phillipa Gregory and adaptations of her work spreading historical misinformation due to many people simply taking it for granted her books are factual. Recently I have been seeing a lot of clips from the show 'The Spanish Princess' pop up on my social media and it portrays Catherine of Aragon quite inaccurately and unfairly I feel, showing her to be distant and unloving towards her beloved daughter Mary and apparently stealing a boy child to try and pass him off as hers to Henry! In addition a mistress of Henry's tells her that her family are ashamed of her being the kings mistress and wont support her or her baby by him. If your daughter was a king's mistress and didn't fall massively in his good graces she was basically set for life! Not to mention questioning the King's choice would probably have got you at least a threat to be sent to the Tower! Your videos are better researched than some lavish period dramas which are (presumably) running on much more resources than a patreon account and RUclips thanks buttons. Perhaps future Tudor dramas should hire you to show them how research is done or at least write some sort of disclaimer for the prologue.
Aww, that's so nice of you to say that they should hire me. I might go nuts though when they don't do what I tell them :-) Seriously though, I think that is what happens a lot. If you look at The Tudors to give just one example, there's actually a lot in there which is accurate (sometimes quite small details that most people would miss) which suggests to me that they had perfectly good historical advisors but just didn't listen to them sometimes. For instance no novice would be able to give Natalie Dormer a line to say in which she quotes something the real Margaret of Austria actually wrote. That must have come from some proper, in-depth research. (It's a line she says while she's in the Tower, about not trusting those who offer you service, or you'll find yourself deceived). I've often wondered if historical advisors are just banging their heads off walls when these shows come out and constantly telling people afterwards that they told the writers the real history and the inaccuracies aren't their fault :-)
I feel so bad for Anne, even in death when her own daughter is on the throne she is still being slandered. Woman really managed to piss off everyone so badly they are still mad decades later.
@HistoryCalling To me, she died a martyr, although she may not have even thought of herself that way, nor had she intended her actions to have been anything other than helping Henry in the dissolution of his first marriage. At any rate she introduced Protestantism to the King, which was an extremely dangerous thing to do and caused herself to have many enemies. But, because of her beliefs and Henry breaking with the Roman Catholic church, her daughter was brought up in the Protestant faith, which also almost cost her life as well. In my own personal opinion, I believe that Anne's courage should be recognized as bringing a positive change for the lives of the people of England. But, not without having to suffer first under persecution of the Roman Catholic Church during Queen Mary I. Which led King James I, who had also been raised a Protestant, to bring the Bible, in the English language, first to the churches, then into the hands of the English people to read for themselves, in order to establish himself as the Head of the Church of England. William Tyndale was responsible for translating and printing the first English version of the Bible, for which he was also martyred during Queen Mary's rule.These brave people gave their lives so that we could enjoy the privilege of owning our own copy of God's word, and I am so grateful to them for it! I can't imagine what my life would have been like had I not have been able to read the Bible for myself.
@@MadgeGreenpositive change? for whom though? It was considered "heroic" for Englishmen during the Elizabethan regime to actually go to Irland to kill catholic children and families and Elizabeth got catholic priests drawn and quartered and she was eager to implement new torture methods for her poor catholic subjects. Elizabeth I, unlike both of her parents, was not particularly pious or devout, the whole image of the severe & austere protestant girl was an image "change" after the whole Thomas Seymoour debacle, to ensure nobody would doubt her "chastity" after that ordeal. She clung to protestantism bcs only under that christian current, she was considered more or less legitimate enough to inherit the throne, both of her siblings were sincere about their faith, she was not. Also, lets not forget that actually religious persecution was greater in protestantism than catholics, example: the salem witch trials. Most of the council of Elizabeth 1 was Catholic and she dedicated her whole life to persecute Catholics. Lets not be biased and consider both sides of history
@@MadgeGreen I can't agree. Anne did not deliberately set out to bring Protestantism to England, she wasn't a religious reformer. What courage did her behavior show? She personally harassed an unfortunate woman and her child so that she might marry the king. That she happened also to be what we would now call a Protestant is almost accidental. While I believe that when Henry first was attracted to her, she did not realize that refusing him would only make him more persistent, she did not act with charity or honor once she realized her power over him. She certainly, however, did not deserve her fate. I also agree with doriamurriola above that the idea that she brought a universally positive change to the lives of the people of England is both incorrect and, I have to say, borders on the offensive. You laud the Protestants but totally ignore the horrors of persecution under Elizabeth and James. Not to mention the destruction of the Catholic religious institutions where people had been able to get help and education, or the obliteration of incredible art and architecture which should have been the heritage of the English nation. I am glad you are happy to have the Bible in English, but you can't pretend that the Protestants of the time were any more enlightened than the Catholics, or that the Catholic faith is without value.
As you said, in that time period, many people saw defects as demonic marks. A lot of people didn’t like her so, it seems fit, that they would want to slander her, even after her death. It’s sad.
Yes, the standards were insanely high. I mean practically everyone has a freckle, mole or scar that could have been construed as evil. It was so stupid.
I once wrote an article about conjoined twins (as found in parish records) and one pair of the older ones (1763) was baptized in necessity by a midwife with names, but they were said to be a monster born of the wife of local cobbler (as if it was only her fault)... when they were buried the next day, there were no names and they were listed simply as a monster. I later found out that there were actually serious debates in the catholic church what defects in babies are even considered human and therefore suitable for baptism...
That's so sad. Ignorance is a terrible thing indeed. Funnily enough though, I watched a little report on conjoined twins on the BBC earlier today and it was heartwarming, as most of those shown were successfully separated.
My oldest grandson’s father has six fingers on one hand. I was introduced to him close to Halloween and told him that was the best fake hand I’d ever seen. Everyone in the room had a good laugh, including him.
Oh wow. I'm glad he took it in good spirits, though presumably if it was bothering him and he didn't like people mentioning it he would have had it removed.
THANKS STEPHEN FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION. Yes, why hasn't something thought to do a movie with Anne as an actual witch? Something fun and silly like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies where she lives at the end having used her witchy powers to make everyone think she died. I'd watch it!
We had a girl of my age in primary school with quite deformed fingers but no-one teased or bullied her to my knowledge & certainly no one would ever have called her a witch. It didn’t stop her playing a funny little instrument called the melodeon rather well. I have moles randomly sprinkled over my body & thankfully haven’t been accused of being a witch because of them ❤
These are modern times though so it's just very different. People saw things differently back in those days. I'm glad that no one made fun of anyone as I hope we are much more enlightened now. Well some of us are.
Im a filipino. I myself have 6 fingers on the right side of my hand. when I was little some of my father's relatives call me "Onse" or "eleven fingers" cause when you count on both fingers in my hands its 11..when I was in elementary I was bullied cause of my fingers specially in my highschool days..theres a group of mean girls that bullied me because of my extra finger. Because of some of this experiences it contributed a lot to my personality specially my lack of confidence. I dont want to be with a lot of people cause I think they will judge me because of my abnormality, I always think they see me as a freak. I always try to hide my 6th finger cause people look at me differently. Some of the elderly in our country their saying that its lucky to have an extra finger but its a different story when im with other people my age. But when I became a mom i dont know it just happen that i dont care what people say to me anymore..its more important for me to think what my two sons will think of me and not caring what other people think. My sons love me as I am..I even make myself a joke sometimes about my fingers and they laugh but they dont see me as a freak..some of the elderly saying that its lucky to have extra finger? I'd say I'm blessed to have sons that love me and look at me as their mom💚
Thank you for carefully examining the sources that first introduced this notion. I agree that the claim could not have been around during Henry’s lifetime or he would have used it.
@@HistoryCalling The claim was used against Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester and Jaquetta of Luxembourg, as well as some prominent 17th century women, so why would Henry have hesitated if there’d been any grounds for suspicion?
THANK YOU URANIABCE for your generosity in donating to the channel. Yes, I get tired of the made-up stories about her (and the rest of the Tudors) too.
thank you for all the hard work you do putting these videos together! they're always so well presented and the angles from which you look at miscellaneous aspects of the past, be it a broader topic, such as a monarch's reign, or something more narrow, like whether or not a portrait shows a specific person, are always incredibly interesting🌟
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH for such a generous donation to the channel. It's much appreciated and I'm really glad to hear you enjoy the videos and my topic choices :-)
Can't get the image of a duck, a witch, a ducking stool and a pond out of my head from Monty Python & The Holy Grail😂. That being said - I wonder how AB would have faired 170 odd years later at The Salem Witch Trials!!! Just throwing a curve ball there. Thanks HC - top drawer as usual.
I always found Sanders’ version of Anne rather comical. He seriously expects readers to accept that Henry VIII, a man who could have had any woman in England, would choose to hop in bed with Nanny McPhee?!
Thank you for your uploads, you make such wonderful and educational videos on things I had never even thought about regarding the tudors. I thought I knew all there was to know and your channel showed me I was wrong. And BTW, your voice is so amazing and soothing to fall asleep to. I use the Six Wives playlist often as I drift off to sleep after work. Thank you for all you do and I always look forward to your next upload!
I never cease to be amazed at how many people watch historical dramas and take them for fact. Such a lack of critical thinking. I think the most obvious reason Henry eliminated Anne was simple he desperately wanted a son and it was becoming very obvious she couldn’t provide one. When your an absolute monarch any excuse will do.
Very few people understand or appreciate that, not only did Henry VIII want a son, it was his DUTY as king to produce a male heir to ensure a peaceful transition after his death. The whole point of a peaceful transition is to avoid a bloody struggle for the throne like the War of the Roses, when tens of thousands of Englishmen were killed to determine who would rule England. That war which was won by Henry's father was fresh enough in Henry's mind and in the minds of his councilors to justify the extreme acts that Henry took to secure the succession.
Not all extra digits contain bones; in fact, many appear more like a skin tag and in current times can simply be tied off and left to fall off. We had this experience on more than one occasion when I worked as a L&D and nursery nurse.
excellent research and use of sources as always. I have become increasingly impressed over the last few months of your independent, thorough and solid work
Thank you so much :-) I would never claim to be above mistakes of course, largely because of how fast I have to put the videos together, but I do try my best to use original sources and miss any major pitfalls.
Well, a key reason for miscarriage IS deformity of the fetus... So if Anne's fetus WAS deformed it would make sense. Not only that, but a 15 week fetus doesn't exactly LOOK like a normal baby.
Thank you. It's not doing especially well to be honest, which is strange to me as Anne is usually a popular topic, but honestly, you can just never tell what's going to do well.
Thanks for another detailed piece of work. I appreciate how much effort goes into research and examining sources. You have a very precise way of detailing and debunking stories from our complicated past. Thank you so much!
Thank you for another interesting video. I' also appreciate your comments about Ms Gregory's works as I've had arguments with friends who have taken her novels to be 100% historically true. Anne Boleyn was no witch just another unfortunate woman who fell foul of Henry VIII (and others). Regards from a Sydney fan.
Ms. Gregory is not really a fan of Anne Boleyn. I saw an interview where she said that. So weird. I don't understand why anyone wouldn't like Anne Boleyn... she wasn't horrible.
Oh mercy. I don't pity you having to deal with people who think that Gregory's work is fact. They have some facts in them, certainly, but she's a fiction writer. As for my opinions on her, her books aren't to my personal taste (partly because the wild inaccuracies grate with me so much and partly because her writing style doesn't appeal to me), but as long as they aren't taken literally I have no issue with people reading them.
People will believe what they want. When the "Da Vinci Code" was the big thing I watched a documentary about it and mentioned the documentary to a friend who launched into an excited babble how they proved Dan Brown right. We had watched on the same channel on the same evening. But the documentary I watched was titled "The da Vinci Code debunked"
I cannot thank you enough for your in-depth videos and your description not only of evidence, but how reliable that evidence is. As a mere hobbyist (rather than a historian), it is incredibly helpful and has adjusted how I take in other information as well!
Ooh, a Halloween video. Hard to say whether Anne was actually accused of witchcraft during her own lifetime or not. But I would suggest that, if she was, it would have been added to the list of charges against her at her trial. Henry wanted to get rid of her, after all. Why hold back? The sixth finger thing is always interesting. The idea that she might have had some sort of double fingernail that got exaggerated as a sixth finger is highly plausible, considering some of the exaggerations I’ve seen even today. BTW, do you have any particular opinion on Phillipa Gregory?
I think Ms Gregory's work is fine as long as one accepts that it's historical fiction. It's not my cup of tea personally to read, but I only start rolling my eyes when people treat it as gospel.
Love this video. You're very knowledgeable in Tudor history. I would give anything to be able to be a Tudor historian. What are your thoughts on Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, and Tracy Borman?
I love your videos! Please keep making them. Of all the history channels I watch you’re the most committed with actual facts and gives us proof! Thank you! Also, a suggestion for a video, I would love to know and explore how King Henry VIII reacted to Queen Anne’s death. I know that he tried to erase all traces of her, like destroying portraits and etc. but is there any proof that he was somehow hunted by what he did. Maybe even explore if he ever showed any type of regret.
He reacted by riding off to propose to Jane Seymour the day after Anne's execution. I don't think he ever experienced any conscious remorse for anything he did, at least there was no outward, visible sign of remorse.
Much like what Edith said, I don't think Henry ever showed much reaction to her death beyond marrying Jane. I'm also not convinced that he actually did destroy her memory. Plenty of her jewels were still listed in his inventories years later for instance and there was a full length original portrait of her as late as the 1590s. I've never seen any primary source evidence that he did anything to try to wipe her from memory except change over the H&A logos on buildings and that was understandable enough once he was remarried. He got rid of all the wives' initials after he was done with them.
Thanks again for another great video! Keep em coming. Maybe not you style but do you think you could do an in depth video on henry viii armour and guns?
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE VERY KIND DONATION JOE. I don't think I could do guns as RUclips doesn't like that type of content and you have to declare it in the little form you fill out when you upload a video. It can then affect monetisation. Henry's armour might be a possibility though :-)
@@HistoryCalling I most certainly am into Halloween, thank you for your content. No I dont believe Anne was a witch these accusations are part of a later smear campaign.
Vielen Dank für diese freundliche Spende. Ich hoffe, Ihnen hat das Video gefallen. Bitte verzeihen Sie mein Deutsch. Ich habe Google Translate benutzt!
You know, I get the strangest feeling about their relationship that perhaps both believed it was quasi-mystical. Of course I cannot prove that but it would add an extra dimension to the violence against her. I would be tempted to say there is a kernel in the rumour but not in the traditional witch sense but perhaps Anne had way of reading people and knowing things. I have seen that with others' first hand. Great vid, really enjoyed this! Thanks HC!
If the witchcraft rumours were around during Anne's lifetime, with his ego, would Henry VIII truly have admitted to succumbing to her spells, thereby showing he was similar to any other man? I don't think so. IF he actually made a statement like that, it shows me that he was already searching for a way to get rid of Anne. It took sometime, and the birth of Elizabeth, but he achieved his goal. I'll listen to this again but I believe you mentioned Sir Thomas Wyatt the poet: he is listed as a 13th Great Uncle on my family tree and his sister, Margery or Margaret Wyatt and her husband John, Baron Aston, Rogers of Deritend are 13th Great Grandparents. It's been said that Margery was a lady in waiting for Anne Boleyn but have no evidence for this. Thanks again for another great vid!
Your assessment of the likelihood that it was commonly thought Anne Boleyn was a witch during her lifetime seems spot-on to me. That sixth-finger rumor has long prevailed; thank you for exploring it responsibly. Great presentation.
I remember being told when I was a kid that Anne Boleyn had a third breast. As Henry's most famous wife, for several valid reasons, it stands to reason that she would be demonized and mythologized, physically and sexually. It's a sad part of our nature, that kind of myth-making, and it's a blessing when real historians sort out the truth. Anne is also a natural favorite ghost story, and I'd still really love to hear (someday) a History Calling assessment of Shakespeare's treatment of her and of Henry and the politics underlying his play (which I haven't read yet).
It is sad. As if Henry would have consorted with a woman with an odd number of breasts. And he wrote about them in his letters to her, so I'm pretty sure he found them entirely normal.
@@edithengel2284 She was just so many things. A queen, a subject (and perpetrator) of political intrigue, the source of a religious movement (that affected my life and probably yours), a victim, an icon...and also, once, a living breathing person; someone's daughter, sister, wife, and mother. But hers will always be a name to conjure with.
Sortileges is non archaic french over here in Quebec. We don't use it very often, but it's not considered archaic. Thanks for great videos related in an excellent accent.
I did hear that Anne had a blemish of sorts in her little finger on her right hand that she was self conscious of. However based on the evidence at the trail. The phrase haters gonna hate coes to mind here. I think the accusations against Anne as being a witch was made up later by those who either hater her or hated her duaghter. I'm sure many of the common people may have thought her as one for displacing Queen Catherine. Thus a rumor.may have been started that eventually picked up momentum when she fell out of favor. Which was picked up on later by anyone looking for an excuse to drag Anne's name through the mud. I would like to think of Anne as one of History's misunderstood queens. Henry relentlessly pursued her, charmed her into marrying him and then when she failed to produce that critical her, just like he did with Catherine, he got rid of her and went looking for someone else. Thus has been at the mercy of misplaced rumors and accusations since.
I had a work colleague who injured a finger tip with a stick blender and after it healed a second nail started growing out of the side of her finger. So such a second nail can occur after an injury to the nail bed.
Excellent! I think she may have had some skin tags along with freckles. I had several removed from my neck that were tiny but bothered me! Also her baby was only 3 1/2 gestation. That’s tiny! And though the features are that of a baby, the baby still might look odd or deformed at that size. Just my opinions! But you mentioned Wyatt’s rebellion in your video. I wouldn’t mind seeing one on that subject from you! If you already have one please send me to the link! Ty!
Thanks Allison. I don't have a video specifally on the Rebellion, but it is covered in my video on Mary I's reign (Life of Mary I, part 3 - in my Tudor monarchs' playlist.)
Great job. I was part of this discussion on Richard III and the princes of the tower. And,well, one person said Edward shouldn't have name Richard as Lord Protector. What do you think ?
At the time Edward IV named him as such though, Richard had always been entirely loyal to him. I'm sure he wouldn't have believed how things turned out if someone had warned him.
@@HistoryCalling Considering Edward IV's brothers and what they did begs the question "If you can't trust your own brothers, whom can you trust?" ANSWER: Almost anyone but them. 😊
Hi, awesome live history video on Anne Boleyn. I enjoyed it l. How are you doing? How is the weather where you are? I'm doing well. Just enjoying the warm autumn 🍂 weather in Ontario, Canada. For Halloween could you do a haunting video of Queen Catherine Parr henry the eighth sixth wife from the 16th century. I heard she haunts Sudeley Castle. Have a great day see you next video 😊
Hi Michelle. It's pouring here :-( I'm afraid this video on Anne is my Halloween video this year. I'm not against something ghosty for next time though :-)
Yes, I've heard that too. I was there a couple of months ago and asked one of the room guides who said he'd never experienced anything though he'd heard some of the other employees had.
Even if she did have a 6th finger, which is possible. She would not be a witch, the idea of Anne using witchcraft to seduce Henry is very weird by the fact Henry was sending her letters and she even left back to her manor from Henry. And also the idea of witch craft existing is very suspicious and for sure not true.
Unfortunately the state of not being conventionally beautiful (whatever that means) has historically been seen as a reflection of inner evil or internal negative qualities and this is an attitude that still persists in some circles. Even worse, 'deformities', symptoms of illness or disabilities have been seen this way too. Insulting aspects of a persons appearance whether the descriptors are true or not is often done as a rather lazy way to attack someone's character. It sounds like this is what is happening with the 'witchy' descriptions of Anne here.
Yes, I agree. Far too much importance is put on the exterior. How many times has someone been found guilty of something awful and you hear words to the effect of 'he/she didn't look like a murderer', as though bad people look a certain way? It's stupid.
@@HistoryCallingconsidering the ladies in waiting slept at the foot of the bed and she never was alone even when she went to the bathroom, and ladies and waiting were not necessarily loyal to the royalty they waited on, how in the world could she have gotten away with that? And I don't think there was a 9-month period that she was away from the public either.
Honestly If anyone was guilty of some sort of sorcery should have been Henry VIII, Anne refused him for at least a year and willingly wasted a decade of her life from 1522-1533 and her 20's waiting to marry Henry. And We know now that Henry was most likely planning to divorce Catherine of Aragorn for a few years before he even met Anne considering all the mistresses and son with Bessie Blount he just didn't have a valid reason until the Church of England gave him the power to divorce.
@@edithengel2284 Perhaps it was because of politics- accuse the Protestant queen of witchcraft for a supposed deformed child, but never mention the children of the Catholic monarchs who look like they went threw a blender and then had really bad plastic surgery
@@Sienna6164 The Habsburgs hadn't reached the catastrophic level of Charles II of Spain's appearance during Anne's day, or maybe they might have mentioned it! Hard to ignore.
Of course she wasn't a witch. She was clever, educated, sophisticated and beautiful and from a wealthy family. More than enough for the jealous and zealous to slander her. A bit like what we see today on social media. She will be cancelled next. Fortunately we have HC to fight her case in the most sparkling way. Keep illuminating history HC, we love your work. 🕯
Thanks Elisabeth. Yes, I wonder what she'd be like in the 21st century world? Someone asked me something similar earlier and I went with CEO of a multi million-pound company.
@@HistoryCalling Yes, I could see her being in charge of something globally influential. Maybe to do with the Arts or jewellry? Head of an auction house or perfumery? With her foreign languages she could have worked in many places. Maybe not the Vatican though. 🤔
Happy Friday. While I was in high school, my English teacher said she had 6 fingers. I believed it but as I got older and watched the Tudors I know it was false. Great video.
How strange that your English teacher was telling you that and not even your history teacher (though of course I'd hope your history teacher would have explained the holes in the theory).
...why was it phrased as imagining the death of the king at her trial? From what I understand, she was just talking about the natural fact of life that everyone dies. It wasn't like she was wishing death upon him out of malice. Was that phrasing part of the effort to smear her name and justify the charge of treason? Or was it actually a crime to mention that monarchs are, in fact, mortal?
The phrasing was part of the law at the time and weirdly it was a crime to even imagine a time when the monarch would be dead, even though everyone knew it would happen and that's the reason Henry was so desperate for a son. A crazy law indeed.
I think Chapuys not mentioning those ridiculous rumours is proof his accounts are accurate (or at least what he believed to be accurate). People like to discount his accounts of Princess Mary's treatment because "he hated Anne", but he hated her *because* of said mistreatment, and didn't repeat such preposterous stories... I mean her having six fingers and moles, but even that comment supposedly by Henry was discredited by him
@@HistoryCalling Yep, some (and some respected Historians too, which is unbelievable to me) discredit him as a Catholic zealot, a Sanders type of hater lol- this story, among others, is great proof of his veracity (or, at the very least, what he believed to be the truth). By the by, another question (had to ask it today while the material is "fresh"): did you watch "Friends"? And, if so, who was your fav character? Mine was Chandler, and mt fav actor of them was also Matthew Perry, so today has been quite a depressive day tbh
I did my Masters thesis on Tudor and Stewart legislation relating to, and accusations of witchcraft (1994/5) and from memory there were accusations around that time. My focus was on the belief in a witch's imp and the belief that warts could be supernumerary nipples that the witch used to feed her imp with her own blood (imp being an agent of the devil). I was examining the belief in the vampiric nature of the supposed imp. Such a wart obvious on Ann's body could have been used as evidence of witchcraft at the time and, as you said, would have been a far quicker and easier way to dispose of a wife than the trumped up adultery claims.
I totally agree with you, that Anne Boleyn, was not a witch, it’s ridiculous, King Henry would never married her, in the first place. I enjoy your videos, as I love history it’s always been interested in it, keep them coming. 👍👍
Hello history calling. I had this bizarre dream, where, Richard III had won the battle of bosoworth. I was on the side of Richard, me and my companions was returning home. I took off my armor and found A third leg where my belly button should be. Within the words, we had the leg cut off. But the weirdest thing is, I was fighting for Richard.
I was born with an extra thumb on my right hand. It was removed at birth but not too neatly because I have a large scar where it was removed. The correct thumb is smaller than my left one. A few years ago I thought I had broken my right wrist and had the hand and wrist x-rayed. To my great surprise there is no evidence of the offending extra thumb amongst the bones of my hand! The doctor told me that extra digits are just flesh and cartilage. If Anne had had an extra digit, examining her remains would not have shown it.
That's fascinating. Did anyone else in your family have an extra digit, or was just a fluke with you? I think I remember the actress Gemma Arterton saying that it ran in her family.
While I agree that if Anne had born a deformed child there would have been more ‘evidence’ it is extremely common for early miscarriages to be the result of a ‘blighted fetus’ or a child so malformed that survival after birth would be impossible. Massively enlarged heads (hydrocephalus or even an open head and/or missing brain) are not unheard of and gastroschisis (an open abdomen is also not impossible. Malformed limbs are likewise not uncommon in early miscarriages. That they are the result of witchcraft or other demonic issues are ridiculous however the early miscarriage of a grossly malformed fetus or even just a ‘mass of tissue’ (hydatiform or molar pregnancy) are not out of the realm of possibility.
Yes, I agree that issues with the child's development can certainly cause miscarriages and that may even have happened to Anne, but I too think we'd have heard more of it from sources in 1536, rather than just Sander 50 years later.
In an Embryology lecture when I was at uni. .many years ago now, I remember being told AB had a divided thumb and multiniplarity. , conditions associated with embryonic misdevelopment. No mention of the source of this information. Just that it was so.
I’ve never been fond of witches as Halloween characters. So many women were falsely accused, tortured, and died because of the witch hunts. It was all too easy to get rid of powerful women with an accusation of witchcraft.
Yes, I actually don't like studying 'witches' either for much the same reason and have only ever done one video which I would say really delved into the topic (on Irish witches) and I didn't enjoy making it. I wouldn't count this one on Anne or my Jacquetta of Luxembourg video as in both cases there was never actually any witch-trial or punishment for being a so-called witch.
I think the fact that if Chapuys didn't say anything about any defects says a lot. His hatred of Anne was well known & he would have been sure to take any chance he could to make her look bad. I feel like there were witchcraft accusations in her lifetime but it was stuff people whispered behind her back. If Henry ever called her a witch it was probably in a fit of anger.
Had Anne Boleyn had the same support just like Cathrine of Aragon and Anne of cleves had the backing of Spain and Germany and had Anne Boleyn had the backing and support from France from the king of France then could she have avoided being killed
If she'd been a foreign royal, then yes, I imagine she would have lived. Francis of France was never going to threaten the King of England over what he did with his English wife though. Even if Anne had been a French subject, I doubt he would have intervened unless she was his sister or something.
Yup! Boleyn was out of her league! Not of Royal rankl. Not educated as a Royal. Not supported by a Royal family and Nation. Her identity and power were totally reliant on Henry. There was a HUGE power difference!!
I have to admit I no longer read Phillipa Gregory. I want my historical fiction that includes well known people to have more history and less fiction (about them.)
Let's be honest, if Anne would have had a sixth finger , Henry would have noticed it long before he married her and would not have gone to the lengths he went to to do so seeing he was extremely pious and would have had her executed as a witch long before the marriage. The accusations were created either shortly before her trial or after to allow Henry to have a solid reason the dump her.
The extra finger was never mentioned as a reason for him to leave her though, remember and it never came up at the trial or until decades after Henry's death. He accused her of adultery and of imaging his death (which she had done actually, in an unguarded moment).
In Tudor's tapestry, a tale unfolds, Anne Boleyn, a story of old. Whispers of witchcraft, a sorcery dance, Did she enchant Henry, in a fateful trance? History Calling, a lantern's glow, Six wives' secrets, in shadows below. Anne, the second, a mystical bride, In the courtly drama, where rumors reside. Six fingers, a myth or truth untold, Polydactyly's hand, a tale to unfold. Nicholas Sander's pen, a slanderous quill, Did truth wilt, or was it a witch's thrill? Descendants speak, from Thomas Wyatt's line, A rebuttal to tales, where rumors entwine. Anne's skeleton, exhumed from the Tower, Six fingers' verdict, a myth's last hour. Welts on her neck, concealed with grace, Witchcraft whispers, in the court's embrace. A deformed foetus, a damning decree, In 16th-century England, where signs decree. Henry's accusation, a sorcery's art, Did he speak true, or was it a part? Charged at the trial, in May's cruel dawn, Anne's fate sealed, a queen forlorn. A dance with history, a Halloween's tale, Six wives' saga, where rumors assail. Happy Halloween, in 2023's eerie glow, As History Calling unravels the mystic show.
In lieu of witches, has anyone read Royal Witches by Gemma Hollman ? The book discusses the likes of Joan of Navarre, Eleanor Cobham, Jacquetta of Luxembourg and Elizabeth Woodville to name a few. It is a fun and interesting read. ❤📖📚🖤✨️
A lot of people with an extra digit don't have a bone in that digit . So I keep hearing that when her supposed bones were dug up that she did not have six fingers. But she could have had nine fingers and only five had bones. As I said usually the extra finger or toes usually do not have bones so I think there's no way that we can tell from her body unless her skin was intact if she had an extra appendage. A lot of people even have a fingernail on the extra one but no bone.
There were an awful lot of bones missing though. There wasn't enough there to account for even 10 regular fingers and had she had too few fingers, I think we'd have heard about that too (also the one portrait of her which shows her hands doesn't show missing fingers).
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Do you think the witchcraft accusations were around during Anne’s lifetime? Let me know below and remember to check out:
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Witch...no....playa....yeah!! 😂. Like the Coi Leray song "Girls is playas too!" She just had majority men and some women who were huge haters! I studied abroad in London for six months then again two years later for a year and a half and became absolutely obsessed with the Tudors. My really close friend/coworker is getting married in London soon and it's a Tudor theme.
Oh a Tudor themed wedding sounds fun (as long as the marriage goes better than Henry VIII's did).
It sounds like Sanders was told boogyman stories by the women of his family who didn't like her, and Sanders took their silly exaggerations as fact.
I've no idea where his 'information' came from, but it certainly wasn't accurate.
Sanders is a biased source indeed hence not reliable.
Isn't it amazing that people are still trying to vilify Anne after all these centuries. It says a lot about her power of fascination. I suspect she was one of those women whose ambition and success made enemies and those enemies outlived her so they got to write her story. I think her arrogance was probably not very endearing to powerful men who had Henry's ear, as well. She was born at a bad time for a woman, and a disastrous time for a clever, beautiful one.
Yes, I think she's one of those people who will divide opinions forever.
I mean there are legitimate criticisms of her that can be made. Her part in keeping the dying woman who's ex husband she now had from her daughter is to me very cruel but calling her a deformed witch who somehow seduced a proud king with dark magic is a tad beyond the pale.
Anne was the Elizabeth Taylor of her age. 😢
I think it was more than her ambition that made her enemies. Ruin a country's trade with one of the richest economies of the time then require everyone to sign a document recognising you as queen or their heads might be chopped of isn't the best way to make friends.
A lot of that can be blamed on Henry wanting his heir and then to be legitimate. I think Anne was a victim of her time and place.
15:50 "Many people mistake Miss Gregory's work for actual history" is kind of shocking. I read part of the first chapter of The White Queen and couldn't contain my laughter at the witchcraft nonsense she attributed to Elizabeth Woodville.
I know, but to be fair she gets into historical documentaries on TV, so I can understand to an extent where the confusion arises. I recall David Starkey saying once that we shouldn't let historical fiction writers be treated as real historians and on this issue, I must agree with him.
Frankly, with how intelligent Elizabeth Woodville was, there's no way things would have gone as badly as they did if she WERE a witch. I just don't think she would have stood for that kind of incompetence in herself.
Exactly. People love to claim witchcraft, but really, if these people were witches then their lives would have gone a lot better.
Last night I had a tour of the Tower of London. I saw the chapel where her, Jane Grey and Catherine Howard are buried. It was amazing! The chapel, while simple, is beautiful. The tour guide pointed out that Anne’s executioner was brought over from France days before the trial ever happened, she never had a chance in hell of getting out of there alive
Yes. They had to have sent for the executioner way before she was even arrested because it would've taken like a month to get there. Pretty convenient. I loved being in the chapel when I went to visit. I sat in one of the pews and said the Hail Mary in Spanish. I'm Catholic but love Anne. She doesn't have a very good reputation in the Catholic church and furthermore KoA is a distant ancestor of mine.
Oh, I'm jealous. I've been in there, but never had a guided tour.
@@HistoryCalling sitting in the chapel where she’s buried really was a strange experience. People like Anne can often feel like fictional characters, especially when we see them portrayed on screen by famous actors, but sitting feet away from where her body is buried made her feel real in a way nothing else had. Like, she was a real living woman. She breathed and got hungry and probably caught her sleeves on a door knob at least once. It really was a surreal experience
I find it almost hilarious how some sources claim she had a sixth finger that she 'hid under long sleeves'
Even if we could accept that was true, do they really think that 1) Henry never saw her unclothed and 2) he would marry a woman who carried such 'signs', being such a superstitious man?
It just seems beyond credibility to me 🤷🏻♀️
It is beyond credibility indeed. A fully-fledged extra finger would have been mentioned by the likes of Chapuys and I don't think either that Henry could have overlooked it (literally or metaphorically).
@@HistoryCallingtotally agree
If Eustace Chapuys didn't see fit to mention it considering how little he thought of her, I think it's safe to say it wasn't the case! 💜
Yes, he would have loved to have something like that to throw at her.
I totally agree, Astroterf. 👏
@@itsjustme7487 thank you! It's one of the more preposterous lies about Anne imo (and I believe there were many of them)
I believe that if someone could do a blood test (too late now), the "problem" that Anne Boelyn had with miscarriage was because of rh blood type. He was positive, and she was negative, or the other way around. I believe THAT was the reason why Elizabeth was their only surviving child.
I actually have a video all about the Tudors' fertility problems which includes a discussion of the very phenomenon. It'll be in my Six Wives and probably my Anne Boleyn playlists.
This would only be the case if Anne was neg and Henry was pos, if Henry was neg and Anne was pos it would not have caused any issues.
@@connorbradley3422 Okay
That and the fact Henry in my opinion had other health problems, one being in modern days he would be a insulin dependant Diabetic. I think we all see who was the cause of the infertility problems, especially in the later part of his life. He had six Wives and and countless mistresses and only 6 living children. Catherine Parr proves the point for me, not long after his death she married and got pregnant. There was obviously nothing wrong on her side.
Henry tricked Chapuys into meeting Anne’s miscarriage on Easter if I’m not mistaken. This doesn’t sound like a man thinking his wife is a witch. His obsession on having a son was the motivation of getting rid of Anne. That and he grew tired of Anne meddling on his affairs as a king and her being so outspoken. An annulment wouldn’t do after he scandalized Christendom to marry Anne. Henry needed her to die so he can marry Jane. I’m not a fan of Philippa Gregory. You’re right. People take her books at face value. I’ve seen it all over social media. Thank you for debunking all these myths about Anne Boleyn. I hope these people who read Gregory’s novels see this. Have a great weekend.
Thanks Leticia. Yes, unfortunately they do take her work at face value sometimes. I'm all for reading it as a bit of fun, just as long as people read real history books to learn what actually happened.
Henry is one of the best examples of a narcissist gone wild I know of. He would have claimed Anne was a rhino to get out of that marriage, jerk. Another side note, self proclaimed witches are real. Stupid, but real. Great video!
Yes, he was certainly determined to be rid of her. Of course annulling the marriage was pointless given that he was killing her anyway (not to mention that it made no sense to accuse her of adultery if she wasn't his wife), but anything to be petty.
@@HistoryCalling great points. Another thing I find peculiar is their lack of responsibility for being fooled by said "witch". As if their discernment meant nothing lol
@@HistoryCalling He must really have come to hate her. Maybe the disappointment that when they finally got together, after a decade of waiting, she was just a woman, and not an enchantress. And no son. The "betrayal" of Catherine Howard really hurt him badly and grieved him, but Anne, he really hated.
Thank you for this wonderful video, HC. I love when respected historians and unbiased experts debunk myths and get straight to facts eloquently. It was made up rumours as part of smear campaigns against her to fit political agendas of the time. Such "defects" would have been mentioned by everyone else at court including King Henry VIII who fell in love with her and was obsessed for years before he finally married her. Excellent content and impeccable work.
Thank you so much. Yes, I agree that such a 'defect' would never have been overlooked for so long. It would have been the talk of the court that the King was 'dating' a witch.
@@HistoryCalling exactly! Fascinating insight throughly well documented. Love your channel ❤
@@HistoryCalling worth remembering that even the children's game we all take for granted "He loves me, He loves me not" with pulling the petals from daisies would definitely have counted as a divination charm, so even if she did stuff like this, as I think nearly every one did, then and now, the negative connotation would only been seen by the haters giving a negative spin to everything she did
As much as I like the film the Other Boleyn Girl (I watched it when I was in my early teens) I feel a sense of frustration about authors like Phillipa Gregory and adaptations of her work spreading historical misinformation due to many people simply taking it for granted her books are factual. Recently I have been seeing a lot of clips from the show 'The Spanish Princess' pop up on my social media and it portrays Catherine of Aragon quite inaccurately and unfairly I feel, showing her to be distant and unloving towards her beloved daughter Mary and apparently stealing a boy child to try and pass him off as hers to Henry! In addition a mistress of Henry's tells her that her family are ashamed of her being the kings mistress and wont support her or her baby by him. If your daughter was a king's mistress and didn't fall massively in his good graces she was basically set for life! Not to mention questioning the King's choice would probably have got you at least a threat to be sent to the Tower! Your videos are better researched than some lavish period dramas which are (presumably) running on much more resources than a patreon account and RUclips thanks buttons. Perhaps future Tudor dramas should hire you to show them how research is done or at least write some sort of disclaimer for the prologue.
Aww, that's so nice of you to say that they should hire me. I might go nuts though when they don't do what I tell them :-) Seriously though, I think that is what happens a lot. If you look at The Tudors to give just one example, there's actually a lot in there which is accurate (sometimes quite small details that most people would miss) which suggests to me that they had perfectly good historical advisors but just didn't listen to them sometimes. For instance no novice would be able to give Natalie Dormer a line to say in which she quotes something the real Margaret of Austria actually wrote. That must have come from some proper, in-depth research. (It's a line she says while she's in the Tower, about not trusting those who offer you service, or you'll find yourself deceived). I've often wondered if historical advisors are just banging their heads off walls when these shows come out and constantly telling people afterwards that they told the writers the real history and the inaccuracies aren't their fault :-)
@@HistoryCalling it's baffling that they would bother to include tiny details but completely fail to accurately characterise entire relationships.
@@Jemini4228 Or amalgamate two fairly significant characters.
To be fair, the book had a much more nuanced take.
The movie completely butchered the book
I feel so bad for Anne, even in death when her own daughter is on the throne she is still being slandered. Woman really managed to piss off everyone so badly they are still mad decades later.
Yes, she certainly made an impression that's for sure, both in her own lifetime and beyond.
@HistoryCalling To me, she died a martyr, although she may not have even thought of herself that way, nor had she intended her actions to have been anything other than helping Henry in the dissolution of his first marriage. At any rate she introduced Protestantism to the King, which was an extremely dangerous thing to do and caused herself to have many enemies. But, because of her beliefs and Henry breaking with the Roman Catholic church, her daughter was brought up in the Protestant faith, which also almost cost her life as well. In my own personal opinion, I believe that Anne's courage should be recognized as bringing a positive change for the lives of the people of England. But, not without having to suffer first under persecution of the Roman Catholic Church during Queen Mary I. Which led King James I, who had also been raised a Protestant, to bring the Bible, in the English language, first to the churches, then into the hands of the English people to read for themselves, in order to establish himself as the Head of the Church of England. William Tyndale was responsible for translating and printing the first English version of the Bible, for which he was also martyred during Queen Mary's rule.These brave people gave their lives so that we could enjoy the privilege of owning our own copy of God's word, and I am so grateful to them for it! I can't imagine what my life would have been like had I not have been able to read the Bible for myself.
@@MadgeGreenpositive change? for whom though? It was considered "heroic" for Englishmen during the Elizabethan regime to actually go to Irland to kill catholic children and families and Elizabeth got catholic priests drawn and quartered and she was eager to implement new torture methods for her poor catholic subjects. Elizabeth I, unlike both of her parents, was not particularly pious or devout, the whole image of the severe & austere protestant girl was an image "change" after the whole Thomas Seymoour debacle, to ensure nobody would doubt her "chastity" after that ordeal. She clung to protestantism bcs only under that christian current, she was considered more or less legitimate enough to inherit the throne, both of her siblings were sincere about their faith, she was not. Also, lets not forget that actually religious persecution was greater in protestantism than catholics, example: the salem witch trials. Most of the council of Elizabeth 1 was Catholic and she dedicated her whole life to persecute Catholics. Lets not be biased and consider both sides of history
@@MadgeGreen I can't agree. Anne did not deliberately set out to bring Protestantism to England, she wasn't a religious reformer. What courage did her behavior show? She personally harassed an unfortunate woman and her child so that she might marry the king. That she happened also to be what we would now call a Protestant is almost accidental. While I believe that when Henry first was attracted to her, she did not realize that refusing him would only make him more persistent, she did not act with charity or honor once she realized her power over him. She certainly, however, did not deserve her fate.
I also agree with doriamurriola above that the idea that she brought a universally positive change to the lives of the people of England is both incorrect and, I have to say, borders on the offensive. You laud the Protestants but totally ignore the horrors of persecution under Elizabeth and James. Not to mention the destruction of the Catholic religious institutions where people had been able to get help and education, or the obliteration of incredible art and architecture which should have been the heritage of the English nation.
I am glad you are happy to have the Bible in English, but you can't pretend that the Protestants of the time were any more enlightened than the Catholics, or that the Catholic faith is without value.
As you said, in that time period, many people saw defects as demonic marks. A lot of people didn’t like her so, it seems fit, that they would want to slander her, even after her death. It’s sad.
Yes, the standards were insanely high. I mean practically everyone has a freckle, mole or scar that could have been construed as evil. It was so stupid.
I once wrote an article about conjoined twins (as found in parish records) and one pair of the older ones (1763) was baptized in necessity by a midwife with names, but they were said to be a monster born of the wife of local cobbler (as if it was only her fault)... when they were buried the next day, there were no names and they were listed simply as a monster. I later found out that there were actually serious debates in the catholic church what defects in babies are even considered human and therefore suitable for baptism...
That's so sad. Ignorance is a terrible thing indeed. Funnily enough though, I watched a little report on conjoined twins on the BBC earlier today and it was heartwarming, as most of those shown were successfully separated.
A bit sad is that it isn't true though... I would be a super witch! 😎
I was half expecting this to be a very short video of you saying "Was Anne Boleyn a witch? No. Just, no."
Haha, wouldn't have been able to put ads in it and make any money though :-) Maybe I'll do that for a short someday.
My oldest grandson’s father has six fingers on one hand. I was introduced to him close to Halloween and told him that was the best fake hand I’d ever seen. Everyone in the room had a good laugh, including him.
Oh wow. I'm glad he took it in good spirits, though presumably if it was bothering him and he didn't like people mentioning it he would have had it removed.
A 6th finger would be super handy, can you imagine playing a flute with 6 fingers! 😄
Happy Halloween, HC! Another killer video (?!? oops, sorry)! Anne as a witch might make for a decent film. Keep debunking! You rock!
THANKS STEPHEN FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION. Yes, why hasn't something thought to do a movie with Anne as an actual witch? Something fun and silly like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies where she lives at the end having used her witchy powers to make everyone think she died. I'd watch it!
@@HistoryCalling 😂 As would I!! BTW, Lena and I thoroughly enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Yeah, it was some ridiculous fun :-)
Friday is the day I wait for the most not so much because of the weekend ahead, but because HC is uploading a new video 😊 With love, from Bulgaria. 💐
Thank you so much and greetings in Bulgaria. I hope you enjoy this year's Halloween inspired video :-)
We had a girl of my age in primary school with quite deformed fingers but no-one teased or bullied her to my knowledge & certainly no one would ever have called her a witch. It didn’t stop her playing a funny little instrument called the melodeon rather well. I have moles randomly sprinkled over my body & thankfully haven’t been accused of being a witch because of them ❤
I'm really glad to hear no one was mean to her about it. That's very impressive actually, as kids can be horrible sometimes.
These are modern times though so it's just very different. People saw things differently back in those days. I'm glad that no one made fun of anyone as I hope we are much more enlightened now. Well some of us are.
My BFF"S DIL has malformed fingers. No big deal as all who know her love her. ❤️ 💕 ♥️
Im a filipino. I myself have 6 fingers on the right side of my hand. when I was little some of my father's relatives call me "Onse" or "eleven fingers" cause when you count on both fingers in my hands its 11..when I was in elementary I was bullied cause of my fingers specially in my highschool days..theres a group of mean girls that bullied me because of my extra finger. Because of some of this experiences it contributed a lot to my personality specially my lack of confidence. I dont want to be with a lot of people cause I think they will judge me because of my abnormality, I always think they see me as a freak. I always try to hide my 6th finger cause people look at me differently.
Some of the elderly in our country their saying that its lucky to have an extra finger but its a different story when im with other people my age.
But when I became a mom i dont know it just happen that i dont care what people say to me anymore..its more important for me to think what my two sons will think of me and not caring what other people think. My sons love me as I am..I even make myself a joke sometimes about my fingers and they laugh but they dont see me as a freak..some of the elderly saying that its lucky to have extra finger? I'd say I'm blessed to have sons that love me and look at me as their mom💚
@@gamingtiger4260 🥰
Thank you for carefully examining the sources that first introduced this notion. I agree that the claim could not have been around during Henry’s lifetime or he would have used it.
Thanks Ann. Yes, I think being able to say she was a witch would have been too good an opportunity for Henry to pass on.
@@HistoryCalling The claim was used against Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester and Jaquetta of Luxembourg, as well as some prominent 17th century women, so why would Henry have hesitated if there’d been any grounds for suspicion?
Precisely. :-)
Thanks! I love Anne Boleyn & I'm tired of the slander against her. 😊
THANK YOU URANIABCE for your generosity in donating to the channel. Yes, I get tired of the made-up stories about her (and the rest of the Tudors) too.
@@HistoryCalling ^^yw I can't believe the number female, mostly, historians who admit to hating Anne Boleyn yet insist on writing books about her. 🙄
thank you for all the hard work you do putting these videos together! they're always so well presented and the angles from which you look at miscellaneous aspects of the past, be it a broader topic, such as a monarch's reign, or something more narrow, like whether or not a portrait shows a specific person, are always incredibly interesting🌟
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH for such a generous donation to the channel. It's much appreciated and I'm really glad to hear you enjoy the videos and my topic choices :-)
Can't get the image of a duck, a witch, a ducking stool and a pond out of my head from Monty Python & The Holy Grail😂. That being said - I wonder how AB would have faired 170 odd years later at The Salem Witch Trials!!! Just throwing a curve ball there. Thanks HC - top drawer as usual.
I don't know much about Salem, but probably not well given how nuts they all seem to have gone at that time.
From what I've read, the Salem witch trials were similar to the Scottish witch trials in the 1560s and of 1597. Terrible times.
Yup, not good places to be if you were female at that time.
I could listen to you lecture about anything ❤
But I especially love hearing you read. It was a nice little treat to hear you reading.
Ah, well then you're gonna like the Christmas video I'm doing, but I'll say no more about that for now :-)
@@HistoryCalling I love your videos no matter what but now I'm ridiculously excited.
It'll be out right at the start of December, so not that long to wait really :-)
I always found Sanders’ version of Anne rather comical. He seriously expects readers to accept that Henry VIII, a man who could have had any woman in England, would choose to hop in bed with Nanny McPhee?!
I know. It's cartoonish the way he describes her. He went way over the top.
Well, Kenneth Branagh went to bed with her.
@@perniciouspete4986 But not as Nanny McPhee! 😀
@@perniciouspete4986 Yeah but he did Bellatrix LeStrange though so it might be a personal kink😉
Thank you for your uploads, you make such wonderful and educational videos on things I had never even thought about regarding the tudors. I thought I knew all there was to know and your channel showed me I was wrong. And BTW, your voice is so amazing and soothing to fall asleep to. I use the Six Wives playlist often as I drift off to sleep after work. Thank you for all you do and I always look forward to your next upload!
Thank you so much. That's such a lovely comment and I'm glad you enjoy the videos (and my voice!)
I LOVE your history videos. Thank you
And thank you for watching and commenting :-)
I never cease to be amazed at how many people watch historical dramas and take them for fact. Such a lack of critical thinking. I think the most obvious reason Henry eliminated Anne was simple he desperately wanted a son and it was becoming very obvious she couldn’t provide one. When your an absolute monarch any excuse will do.
Yes, it's a constant struggle to correct people's false ideas, picked up from the big and small screen.
Very few people understand or appreciate that, not only did Henry VIII want a son, it was his DUTY as king to produce a male heir to ensure a peaceful transition after his death. The whole point of a peaceful transition is to avoid a bloody struggle for the throne like the War of the Roses, when tens of thousands of Englishmen were killed to determine who would rule England. That war which was won by Henry's father was fresh enough in Henry's mind and in the minds of his councilors to justify the extreme acts that Henry took to secure the succession.
Not all extra digits contain bones; in fact, many appear more like a skin tag and in current times can simply be tied off and left to fall off. We had this experience on more than one occasion when I worked as a L&D and nursery nurse.
Yes, perhaps something like that would explain it (if there was something to explain).
excellent research and use of sources as always. I have become increasingly impressed over the last few months of your independent, thorough and solid work
Thank you so much :-) I would never claim to be above mistakes of course, largely because of how fast I have to put the videos together, but I do try my best to use original sources and miss any major pitfalls.
So good to see you continue to champion the women who have such a lesser voice.
Thank you.
Thank you very much :-)
Well, a key reason for miscarriage IS deformity of the fetus... So if Anne's fetus WAS deformed it would make sense. Not only that, but a 15 week fetus doesn't exactly LOOK like a normal baby.
Yes, it can certainly happen, but there was no mention of it at the time which is very suspicious.
Hope you get lots of views and new subscribers with this one. Great title and wonderful job! You are a legend! ❤
Thank you. It's not doing especially well to be honest, which is strange to me as Anne is usually a popular topic, but honestly, you can just never tell what's going to do well.
Good evening to history calling from Bea and enjoy your weekend
Hi Bea. Enjoy this year's Halloween inspired video :-)
Thanks for another detailed piece of work. I appreciate how much effort goes into research and examining sources. You have a very precise way of detailing and debunking stories from our complicated past. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much as well for watching and commenting :-)
Thank you for another interesting video. I' also appreciate your comments about Ms Gregory's works as I've had arguments with friends who have taken her novels to be 100% historically true. Anne Boleyn was no witch just another unfortunate woman who fell foul of Henry VIII (and others). Regards from a Sydney fan.
Ms. Gregory is not really a fan of Anne Boleyn. I saw an interview where she said that. So weird. I don't understand why anyone wouldn't like Anne Boleyn... she wasn't horrible.
Oh mercy. I don't pity you having to deal with people who think that Gregory's work is fact. They have some facts in them, certainly, but she's a fiction writer. As for my opinions on her, her books aren't to my personal taste (partly because the wild inaccuracies grate with me so much and partly because her writing style doesn't appeal to me), but as long as they aren't taken literally I have no issue with people reading them.
People will believe what they want.
When the "Da Vinci Code" was the big thing I watched a documentary about it and mentioned the documentary to a friend who launched into an excited babble how they proved Dan Brown right.
We had watched on the same channel on the same evening.
But the documentary I watched was titled
"The da Vinci Code debunked"
@@HistoryCallingpersonally I enjoy Dr Gregory s books, but I do take them with a grain of salt
I cannot thank you enough for your in-depth videos and your description not only of evidence, but how reliable that evidence is. As a mere hobbyist (rather than a historian), it is incredibly helpful and has adjusted how I take in other information as well!
You're very welcome. I'm so glad you find it helpful. :-)
The description of Anne with all her imperfections makes her sound like Nanny McPhee from the films with Emma Thompson 😂
Ooh, a Halloween video. Hard to say whether Anne was actually accused of witchcraft during her own lifetime or not. But I would suggest that, if she was, it would have been added to the list of charges against her at her trial. Henry wanted to get rid of her, after all. Why hold back?
The sixth finger thing is always interesting. The idea that she might have had some sort of double fingernail that got exaggerated as a sixth finger is highly plausible, considering some of the exaggerations I’ve seen even today.
BTW, do you have any particular opinion on Phillipa Gregory?
I think Ms Gregory's work is fine as long as one accepts that it's historical fiction. It's not my cup of tea personally to read, but I only start rolling my eyes when people treat it as gospel.
@@HistoryCalling100% agree. She is not really a fan of Anne Boleyn.
Love this video. You're very knowledgeable in Tudor history. I would give anything to be able to be a Tudor historian. What are your thoughts on Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, and Tracy Borman?
All very good historians. I watch their documentaries all the time :-)
@@HistoryCallingMe too 🤗
Thanks for such an interesting and informative video. I look forward to your video each week.
Thank you very much :-)
Thanks!
THANK YOU SO MUCH KAREN FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION TO THE CHANNEL. Hope you enjoyed this year's Halloween themed episode.
I love your videos! Please keep making them. Of all the history channels I watch you’re the most committed with actual facts and gives us proof! Thank you!
Also, a suggestion for a video, I would love to know and explore how King Henry VIII reacted to Queen Anne’s death. I know that he tried to erase all traces of her, like destroying portraits and etc. but is there any proof that he was somehow hunted by what he did. Maybe even explore if he ever showed any type of regret.
He reacted by riding off to propose to Jane Seymour the day after Anne's execution. I don't think he ever experienced any conscious remorse for anything he did, at least there was no outward, visible sign of remorse.
Much like what Edith said, I don't think Henry ever showed much reaction to her death beyond marrying Jane. I'm also not convinced that he actually did destroy her memory. Plenty of her jewels were still listed in his inventories years later for instance and there was a full length original portrait of her as late as the 1590s. I've never seen any primary source evidence that he did anything to try to wipe her from memory except change over the H&A logos on buildings and that was understandable enough once he was remarried. He got rid of all the wives' initials after he was done with them.
Thank you for the thoughtful interest in this subject.
And thank you for watching and commenting :-)
Thanks again for another great video! Keep em coming. Maybe not you style but do you think you could do an in depth video on henry viii armour and guns?
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE VERY KIND DONATION JOE. I don't think I could do guns as RUclips doesn't like that type of content and you have to declare it in the little form you fill out when you upload a video. It can then affect monetisation. Henry's armour might be a possibility though :-)
Perfect friday evening viewing. Thank you.
Thank you and Happy Halloween (if you're into that sort of thing).
@@HistoryCalling I most certainly am into Halloween, thank you for your content. No I dont believe Anne was a witch these accusations are part of a later smear campaign.
Couldn't agree more :-)
Danke!
Vielen Dank für diese freundliche Spende. Ich hoffe, Ihnen hat das Video gefallen. Bitte verzeihen Sie mein Deutsch. Ich habe Google Translate benutzt!
@@HistoryCallinglove your excellent videos 🥰
You know, I get the strangest feeling about their relationship that perhaps both believed it was quasi-mystical. Of course I cannot prove that but it would add an extra dimension to the violence against her. I would be tempted to say there is a kernel in the rumour but not in the traditional witch sense but perhaps Anne had way of reading people and knowing things. I have seen that with others' first hand.
Great vid, really enjoyed this! Thanks HC!
Thanks Renarde. Glad you enjoyed it :-)
Henry was delusional and had the power to act on it in a big way. Henry and Anne lived in that fantasy . . . until they didn't.
I love the opening music. It sounds like the opening to shows/docs we would watch in school.
If the witchcraft rumours were around during Anne's lifetime, with his ego, would Henry VIII truly have admitted to succumbing to her spells, thereby showing he was similar to any other man? I don't think so. IF he actually made a statement like that, it shows me that he was already searching for a way to get rid of Anne. It took sometime, and the birth of Elizabeth, but he achieved his goal. I'll listen to this again but I believe you mentioned Sir Thomas Wyatt the poet: he is listed as a 13th Great Uncle on my family tree and his sister, Margery or Margaret Wyatt and her husband John, Baron Aston, Rogers of Deritend are 13th Great Grandparents. It's been said that Margery was a lady in waiting for Anne Boleyn but have no evidence for this. Thanks again for another great vid!
Thanks Topher. I don't know the names of her ladies in waiting unfortunately, or I'd try to answer that question for you.
@@HistoryCalling Thanks but she probably had dozens.....
Interesting Thank You for sharing your time.
And thank you for watching and commenting :-)
Your assessment of the likelihood that it was commonly thought Anne Boleyn was a witch during her lifetime seems spot-on to me. That sixth-finger rumor has long prevailed; thank you for exploring it responsibly. Great presentation.
Thanks Sarah. I'd been saving the video idea up for Halloween.
I remember being told when I was a kid that Anne Boleyn had a third breast. As Henry's most famous wife, for several valid reasons, it stands to reason that she would be demonized and mythologized, physically and sexually. It's a sad part of our nature, that kind of myth-making, and it's a blessing when real historians sort out the truth.
Anne is also a natural favorite ghost story, and I'd still really love to hear (someday) a History Calling assessment of Shakespeare's treatment of her and of Henry and the politics underlying his play (which I haven't read yet).
It is sad. As if Henry would have consorted with a woman with an odd number of breasts. And he wrote about them in his letters to her, so I'm pretty sure he found them entirely normal.
@@edithengel2284 She was just so many things. A queen, a subject (and perpetrator) of political intrigue, the source of a religious movement (that affected my life and probably yours), a victim, an icon...and also, once, a living breathing person; someone's daughter, sister, wife, and mother. But hers will always be a name to conjure with.
Oh for goodness sake. There's really no end to the silly things people will make up about her, is there?
Great video as always!! The channel is always so thorough and rich with details. Hope everyone has a great weekend and Happy Halloween 🎃 🖤
Thank you and happy Halloween to you too :-)
Very interesting work
Thank you so much :-)
Thanks
THANK YOU SO MUCH TERRORAUSTRALIS for so kindly donating to the channel. Hope you liked the Halloween-themed video this year :-)
Sortileges is non archaic french over here in Quebec. We don't use it very often, but it's not considered archaic. Thanks for great videos related in an excellent accent.
Ah, that's interesting. I just went with what the dictionary told me, but I bet it was referring to French French (if that makes sense).
Such a beautiful word!
Enjoy how you logically look at things. Thanks.
Thanks Helen :-)
Keep up the wonderful videos! Love the content and listening to your narration
I really enjoyed this!❤
Thanks Ellen. Glad you liked it :-)
I did hear that Anne had a blemish of sorts in her little finger on her right hand that she was self conscious of. However based on the evidence at the trail. The phrase haters gonna hate coes to mind here. I think the accusations against Anne as being a witch was made up later by those who either hater her or hated her duaghter. I'm sure many of the common people may have thought her as one for displacing Queen Catherine. Thus a rumor.may have been started that eventually picked up momentum when she fell out of favor. Which was picked up on later by anyone looking for an excuse to drag Anne's name through the mud. I would like to think of Anne as one of History's misunderstood queens. Henry relentlessly pursued her, charmed her into marrying him and then when she failed to produce that critical her, just like he did with Catherine, he got rid of her and went looking for someone else. Thus has been at the mercy of misplaced rumors and accusations since.
Yes, I think she's always going to be one of those figures that is very divisive, even now, all these centuries later.
I had a work colleague who injured a finger tip with a stick blender and after it healed a second nail started growing out of the side of her finger. So such a second nail can occur after an injury to the nail bed.
Excellent! I think she may have had some skin tags along with freckles. I had several removed from my neck that were tiny but bothered me! Also her baby was only 3 1/2 gestation. That’s tiny! And though the features are that of a baby, the baby still might look odd or deformed at that size. Just my opinions! But you mentioned Wyatt’s rebellion in your video. I wouldn’t mind seeing one on that subject from you! If you already have one please send me to the link! Ty!
Thanks Allison. I don't have a video specifally on the Rebellion, but it is covered in my video on Mary I's reign (Life of Mary I, part 3 - in my Tudor monarchs' playlist.)
Great job. I was part of this discussion on Richard III and the princes of the tower. And,well, one person said Edward shouldn't have name Richard as Lord Protector. What do you think ?
At the time Edward IV named him as such though, Richard had always been entirely loyal to him. I'm sure he wouldn't have believed how things turned out if someone had warned him.
@@HistoryCalling Funny enough, one commenter criticize him for not reading the room.
Harsh :-)
@@HistoryCalling Considering Edward IV's brothers and what they did begs the question "If you can't trust your own brothers, whom can you trust?"
ANSWER: Almost anyone but them. 😊
@@perniciouspete4986 Not Them either...
Hi, awesome live history video on Anne Boleyn. I enjoyed it l. How are you doing? How is the weather where you are? I'm doing well. Just enjoying the warm autumn 🍂 weather in Ontario, Canada. For Halloween could you do a haunting video of Queen Catherine Parr henry the eighth sixth wife from the 16th century. I heard she haunts Sudeley Castle. Have a great day see you next video 😊
Hi Michelle. It's pouring here :-( I'm afraid this video on Anne is my Halloween video this year. I'm not against something ghosty for next time though :-)
@@HistoryCalling I've heard that Katherine Howard haunts Hampton Court Palace.
Yes, I've heard that too. I was there a couple of months ago and asked one of the room guides who said he'd never experienced anything though he'd heard some of the other employees had.
Even if she did have a 6th finger, which is possible. She would not be a witch, the idea of Anne using witchcraft to seduce Henry is very weird by the fact Henry was sending her letters and she even left back to her manor from Henry. And also the idea of witch craft existing is very suspicious and for sure not true.
I know. Henry seemed keen to forget sometimes that he pursued her. She never asked for his attentions.
"It's bonkers"
I spooked my cats with the cackle that like created.
Cats, or familiars? (Sorry, couldn't resist a little Halloween joke).
Can you please do a video on Isabella of France and her husband??
Unfortunately the state of not being conventionally beautiful (whatever that means) has historically been seen as a reflection of inner evil or internal negative qualities and this is an attitude that still persists in some circles. Even worse, 'deformities', symptoms of illness or disabilities have been seen this way too. Insulting aspects of a persons appearance whether the descriptors are true or not is often done as a rather lazy way to attack someone's character. It sounds like this is what is happening with the 'witchy' descriptions of Anne here.
Yes, I agree. Far too much importance is put on the exterior. How many times has someone been found guilty of something awful and you hear words to the effect of 'he/she didn't look like a murderer', as though bad people look a certain way? It's stupid.
❤ all your videos!
Thank you so much. I love your GoT inspired handle too. :-)
I get these the same credibility that I give the idea that Elizabeth I had a child. Enemies will always try to smear.
Oh don't even start me on that silly rumour. There are still people who insist she did though.
@@HistoryCallingconsidering the ladies in waiting slept at the foot of the bed and she never was alone even when she went to the bathroom, and ladies and waiting were not necessarily loyal to the royalty they waited on, how in the world could she have gotten away with that? And I don't think there was a 9-month period that she was away from the public either.
Honestly If anyone was guilty of some sort of sorcery should have been Henry VIII, Anne refused him for at least a year and willingly wasted a decade of her life from 1522-1533 and her 20's waiting to marry Henry. And We know now that Henry was most likely planning to divorce Catherine of Aragorn for a few years before he even met Anne considering all the mistresses and son with Bessie Blount he just didn't have a valid reason until the Church of England gave him the power to divorce.
Anne played Henry like a fish.
Henry gave himself permission to abandon Catherine of Aragon.
If a deformed baby was a sign of a witch, then all of the Hapsburg were witches
Interesting point. I wonder if anyone ever mentioned the Habsburg jaw as being a sign of the devil?
@@HistoryCalling I have not heard that that occurred, although Charles II of Spain (the last Habsburg king) was nicknamed "the Bewitched."
@@HistoryCalling Oh my God, hello History Calling! I love your videos
@@edithengel2284 Perhaps it was because of politics- accuse the Protestant queen of witchcraft for a supposed deformed child, but never mention the children of the Catholic monarchs who look like they went threw a blender and then had really bad plastic surgery
@@Sienna6164 The Habsburgs hadn't reached the catastrophic level of Charles II of Spain's appearance during Anne's day, or maybe they might have mentioned it! Hard to ignore.
Of course she wasn't a witch. She was clever, educated, sophisticated and beautiful and from a wealthy family. More than enough for the jealous and zealous to slander her. A bit like what we see today on social media. She will be cancelled next. Fortunately we have HC to fight her case in the most sparkling way. Keep illuminating history HC, we love your work. 🕯
Thanks Elisabeth. Yes, I wonder what she'd be like in the 21st century world? Someone asked me something similar earlier and I went with CEO of a multi million-pound company.
@@HistoryCalling Yes, I could see her being in charge of something globally influential. Maybe to do with the Arts or jewellry? Head of an auction house or perfumery? With her foreign languages she could have worked in many places. Maybe not the Vatican though. 🤔
Anne was an inferior, and she was a usurper. She was loathed.
All you had to do to have Henry fall in love, was to sneeze.
Yes, it did happen rather easily for him didn't it? Pity it didn't last though.
Happy Friday. While I was in high school, my English teacher said she had 6 fingers. I believed it but as I got older and watched the Tudors I know it was false. Great video.
How strange that your English teacher was telling you that and not even your history teacher (though of course I'd hope your history teacher would have explained the holes in the theory).
...why was it phrased as imagining the death of the king at her trial? From what I understand, she was just talking about the natural fact of life that everyone dies. It wasn't like she was wishing death upon him out of malice.
Was that phrasing part of the effort to smear her name and justify the charge of treason? Or was it actually a crime to mention that monarchs are, in fact, mortal?
The phrasing was part of the law at the time and weirdly it was a crime to even imagine a time when the monarch would be dead, even though everyone knew it would happen and that's the reason Henry was so desperate for a son. A crazy law indeed.
Anne Boleyn was wasted on Henry and that era. Can you imagine the powerhouse she would have been nowadays?
I know. I'm thinking CEO of a multi-million pound company.
I think Chapuys not mentioning those ridiculous rumours is proof his accounts are accurate (or at least what he believed to be accurate). People like to discount his accounts of Princess Mary's treatment because "he hated Anne", but he hated her *because* of said mistreatment, and didn't repeat such preposterous stories...
I mean her having six fingers and moles, but even that comment supposedly by Henry was discredited by him
Yes, the fact that Chapuys didn't buy into this tale is quite telling I think.
@@HistoryCalling Yep, some (and some respected Historians too, which is unbelievable to me) discredit him as a Catholic zealot, a Sanders type of hater lol- this story, among others, is great proof of his veracity (or, at the very least, what he believed to be the truth).
By the by, another question (had to ask it today while the material is "fresh"): did you watch "Friends"? And, if so, who was your fav character? Mine was Chandler, and mt fav actor of them was also Matthew Perry, so today has been quite a depressive day tbh
I did my Masters thesis on Tudor and Stewart legislation relating to, and accusations of witchcraft (1994/5) and from memory there were accusations around that time. My focus was on the belief in a witch's imp and the belief that warts could be supernumerary nipples that the witch used to feed her imp with her own blood (imp being an agent of the devil). I was examining the belief in the vampiric nature of the supposed imp. Such a wart obvious on Ann's body could have been used as evidence of witchcraft at the time and, as you said, would have been a far quicker and easier way to dispose of a wife than the trumped up adultery claims.
I have never believed all the horrible stor8es about Anne. I've always been intrigued by her.
Yes, I think she'll continue to intrigue people forever. We never get bored with her.
I totally agree with you, that Anne Boleyn, was not a witch, it’s ridiculous, King Henry would never married her, in the first place. I enjoy your videos, as I love history it’s always been interested in it, keep them coming. 👍👍
Hello history calling. I had this bizarre dream, where, Richard III had won the battle of bosoworth. I was on the side of Richard, me and my companions was returning home. I took off my armor and found A third leg where my belly button should be. Within the words, we had the leg cut off. But the weirdest thing is, I was fighting for Richard.
That is quite the imagination you've got going there :-) How different history would be though if Richard had won.
😂😂😂 How drunk were you when you fell asleep?😉
@@cplmpcocptcl6306 I don't drink, believe it or not.
I don't think you'd dream if you were drunk actually. From what I understand it's more like sedation than proper sleep.
You would have made an excellent cameraman 😂.
I was born with an extra thumb on my right hand. It was removed at birth but not too neatly because I have a large scar where it was removed. The correct thumb is smaller than my left one. A few years ago I thought I had broken my right wrist and had the hand and wrist x-rayed. To my great surprise there is no evidence of the offending extra thumb amongst the bones of my hand! The doctor told me that extra digits are just flesh and cartilage. If Anne had had an extra digit, examining her remains would not have shown it.
That is really, really interesting. So we could not tell if she had had an extra digit. Thank you for sharing this.
That's fascinating. Did anyone else in your family have an extra digit, or was just a fluke with you? I think I remember the actress Gemma Arterton saying that it ran in her family.
While I agree that if Anne had born a deformed child there would have been more ‘evidence’ it is extremely common for early miscarriages to be the result of a ‘blighted fetus’ or a child so malformed that survival after birth would be impossible. Massively enlarged heads (hydrocephalus or even an open head and/or missing brain) are not unheard of and gastroschisis (an open abdomen is also not impossible. Malformed limbs are likewise not uncommon in early miscarriages. That they are the result of witchcraft or other demonic issues are ridiculous however the early miscarriage of a grossly malformed fetus or even just a ‘mass of tissue’ (hydatiform or molar pregnancy) are not out of the realm of possibility.
Yes, I agree that issues with the child's development can certainly cause miscarriages and that may even have happened to Anne, but I too think we'd have heard more of it from sources in 1536, rather than just Sander 50 years later.
In an Embryology lecture when I was at uni. .many years ago now, I remember being told AB had a divided thumb and multiniplarity. , conditions associated with embryonic misdevelopment. No mention of the source of this information. Just that it was so.
Please, please, please do a video on anne of the thousand days review
Oh gosh, I haven't seen that movie the whole way through in a very long time.
4:13 black hair? Why am I always remembering her being depicted as having auburn hair?
Maybe you are thinking of her daughter? She had red/auburn hair.
Henry’s wives in a Hocus Pocus type movie as witches that destroyed him instead would be fun. 😂
YES! Why didn't the makers of SIX think of that? :-)
I’ve never been fond of witches as Halloween characters. So many women were falsely accused, tortured, and died because of the witch hunts. It was all too easy to get rid of powerful women with an accusation of witchcraft.
Yes, I actually don't like studying 'witches' either for much the same reason and have only ever done one video which I would say really delved into the topic (on Irish witches) and I didn't enjoy making it. I wouldn't count this one on Anne or my Jacquetta of Luxembourg video as in both cases there was never actually any witch-trial or punishment for being a so-called witch.
I think the fact that if Chapuys didn't say anything about any defects says a lot. His hatred of Anne was well known & he would have been sure to take any chance he could to make her look bad. I feel like there were witchcraft accusations in her lifetime but it was stuff people whispered behind her back. If Henry ever called her a witch it was probably in a fit of anger.
Yes, I think Chapuys would have positively jumped on that band wagon if he'd been able but this story was too much for even him to seriously peddle.
Had Anne Boleyn had the same support just like Cathrine of Aragon and Anne of cleves had the backing of Spain and Germany and had Anne Boleyn had the backing and support from France from the king of France then could she have avoided being killed
If she'd been a foreign royal, then yes, I imagine she would have lived. Francis of France was never going to threaten the King of England over what he did with his English wife though. Even if Anne had been a French subject, I doubt he would have intervened unless she was his sister or something.
Yup! Boleyn was out of her league! Not of Royal rankl. Not educated as a Royal. Not supported by a Royal family and Nation. Her identity and power were totally reliant on Henry. There was a HUGE power difference!!
I have to admit I no longer read Phillipa Gregory. I want my historical fiction that includes well known people to have more history and less fiction (about them.)
Outlander is quite fun (though be warned the books are as naughty as the TV show).
Say, history calling. Do you think you could do A video together with the woman at the Tudor Podcast RUclips channel ?
I don't work with other RUclipsrs I'm afraid. Sorry!
NOOOO !You two could be such A great team.
Let's be honest, if Anne would have had a sixth finger , Henry would have noticed it long before he married her and would not have gone to the lengths he went to to do so seeing he was extremely pious and would have had her executed as a witch long before the marriage.
The accusations were created either shortly before her trial or after to allow Henry to have a solid reason the dump her.
The extra finger was never mentioned as a reason for him to leave her though, remember and it never came up at the trial or until decades after Henry's death. He accused her of adultery and of imaging his death (which she had done actually, in an unguarded moment).
In Tudor's tapestry, a tale unfolds,
Anne Boleyn, a story of old.
Whispers of witchcraft, a sorcery dance,
Did she enchant Henry, in a fateful trance?
History Calling, a lantern's glow,
Six wives' secrets, in shadows below.
Anne, the second, a mystical bride,
In the courtly drama, where rumors reside.
Six fingers, a myth or truth untold,
Polydactyly's hand, a tale to unfold.
Nicholas Sander's pen, a slanderous quill,
Did truth wilt, or was it a witch's thrill?
Descendants speak, from Thomas Wyatt's line,
A rebuttal to tales, where rumors entwine.
Anne's skeleton, exhumed from the Tower,
Six fingers' verdict, a myth's last hour.
Welts on her neck, concealed with grace,
Witchcraft whispers, in the court's embrace.
A deformed foetus, a damning decree,
In 16th-century England, where signs decree.
Henry's accusation, a sorcery's art,
Did he speak true, or was it a part?
Charged at the trial, in May's cruel dawn,
Anne's fate sealed, a queen forlorn.
A dance with history, a Halloween's tale,
Six wives' saga, where rumors assail.
Happy Halloween, in 2023's eerie glow,
As History Calling unravels the mystic show.
Who were your favourite from the six musical from the six wives I like Anne Boleyn the most
Hmm, I mean I liked them all. I remember being oddly moved by Katherine Howard's song though.
In lieu of witches, has anyone read Royal Witches by Gemma Hollman ? The book discusses the likes of Joan of Navarre, Eleanor Cobham, Jacquetta of Luxembourg and Elizabeth Woodville to name a few. It is a fun and interesting read. ❤📖📚🖤✨️
To me it sounds like so many people felt inferior of a beautiful, intelligent powerful woman. Their jealousy set off a quite literal witch hunt.
Yes, she was ahead of her time, certainly.
'She also kept black cats and was known to cackle loudly, whilst sitting astride the kitchen staff's brooms' - Sander.
This is simply my opinion, but It seems like many women of that time and the time of QEI called other women they didnt like "witches".
Yes, unfortunately it was an easy accusation to make and (in an era when magic of that kind was believed in) nearly impossible to disprove.
Ha! Do you think women don't do that now? and worse. 😊
@perniciouspete4986 At least they aren't burned at the stake now a days.
@@itsjustme7487 A woman in Ireland was burned at the stake as recently as 1895, which is horrifying.
Philippa Gregory drives me nuts!
Poor young lady. I have visited the site of her end.
How sad.
A lot of people with an extra digit don't have a bone in that digit . So I keep hearing that when her supposed bones were dug up that she did not have six fingers. But she could have had nine fingers and only five had bones. As I said usually the extra finger or toes usually do not have bones so I think there's no way that we can tell from her body unless her skin was intact if she had an extra appendage. A lot of people even have a fingernail on the extra one but no bone.
There were an awful lot of bones missing though. There wasn't enough there to account for even 10 regular fingers and had she had too few fingers, I think we'd have heard about that too (also the one portrait of her which shows her hands doesn't show missing fingers).