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The Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn Sources of the Love That Changed England Forever

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The Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn Sources of the Love That Changed England Forever Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Scienze del Linguaggio [LM5-08] Tesi di Laurea The Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn Sources of the Love that changed England Forever Relatore Prof.ssa Marina Buzzoni Correlatore Prof. Marco Infurna Laureando Susi Bellinello Matricola 829025 Anno Accademico 2016 / 2017 Ai miei genitori: senza di loro tutto ciò non sarebbe stato possibile. A Denis, che continua ad essere il raggio di sole che in mezzo alla pioggia crea l’arcobaleno. A Valentina che, nonostante la distanza, mi è sempre stata vicina. A tutti quelli che non hanno mai creduto che questo giorno arrivasse. Questa è la mia vittoria. 2 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER I: HENRY AND ANNE: THE MOST HAPPY LOVE STORY THAT CHANGED HISTORY ............................................................................................................................... 12 I.1 Anne Boleyn: the woman who bewitched the heart of Henry VIII .............................. 12 I.1.2 Return to the English Court .................................................................................... 14 I.2 1527 - 1528: The Love Letters and the Great Matter .................................................... 17 I.3 1529: Two Queens for a Throne ................................................................................... 21 I.4 1530: Ainsi Sera, Groigne qui Groigne ........................................................................ 23 I.5 1531: Power and Arrogance at Court ............................................................................ 26 I.6 1532: The Trip to France and its Preparations .............................................................. 29 I.7 1533: The Most Happy Year ......................................................................................... 32 I.8 1534: The Head of the English Church ......................................................................... 39 I.9 1535: The Throne began to rock ................................................................................... 43 I.10 1536: The End of a Queen ........................................................................................... 46 I.11 An Elizabethan Witness .............................................................................................. 52 I.12 The Book of Hours ...................................................................................................... 52 CHAPTER II: BEHIND THE EDITIONS OF THE LOVE LETTERS OF HENRY VIII TO ANNE BOLEYN .................................................................................................................................. 55 II. 1 Dating the Letters ........................................................................................................ 58 II.2 Manuscripts’ Description ............................................................................................. 60 II.2.1 The Secretary Hand ............................................................................................... 61 II.2.2 List of abbreviations present in the manuscripts ................................................... 62 3 II.3 Through the King’s Love Letters ................................................................................. 64 CHAPTER III: THE LOVE LETTERS OF HENRY VIII TO ANNE BOLEYN ...................................... 67 III.1 Letter 1 ........................................................................................................................ 68 III.1.1 Comparison with Modern Editions ...................................................................... 69 III.2 Letter 2 ........................................................................................................................ 71 III.2.1 Comparison with Modern Editions ...................................................................... 72 III.3 Letter 3 ........................................................................................................................ 73 III.3.1 Comparison with Modern Editions ...................................................................... 75 III.4 Letter 4 ........................................................................................................................ 75 III.4.1 Comparison with Modern Editions ...................................................................... 77 III.5 Letter 5 ........................................................................................................................ 78 III.5.1 Comparison with Modern Editions ...................................................................... 80 III.6 Letter 6 ........................................................................................................................ 81 III.6.1 Comparison with Modern Editions ...................................................................... 83 III.7 Letter 7 ........................................................................................................................ 84 III.7.1 Comparison with Modern Editions ...................................................................... 86 III.8 Letter 8 ........................................................................................................................ 87 III.8.1 Comparison with Modern Editions ...................................................................... 89 III.9 Letter 9 ........................................................................................................................ 90 III.9.1 Comparison with Modern Editions ...................................................................... 92 III.10 Letter 10 .............................................................................................................. 93 III.10.1 Comparison with Modern Editions .................................................................... 95 III.11 Letter 11 .................................................................................................................... 97 III.11.1 Comparison with Modern Editions .................................................................... 98 III.12 Letter 12 .............................................................................................................. 99 III.12.1 Comparison with Modern Editions .................................................................. 101 4 III.13 Letter 13 .................................................................................................................. 102 III.13.1 Comparison with Modern Editions .................................................................. 103 III.14 Letter 14 .................................................................................................................. 104 III.14.1 Comparison with Modern Editions .................................................................. 105 III.15 Letter 15 .................................................................................................................. 105 III.15.1 Comparison with Modern Editions .................................................................. 107 III.16 Letter 16 .................................................................................................................. 107 III.16.1 Comparison with Modern Editions .................................................................. 109 III.17 Letter 17 .................................................................................................................. 109 III.17.1 Comparison with Modern Editions .................................................................. 111 III.18 Letter 18 .................................................................................................................. 112 III.18.1 Comparison with Modern Editions .................................................................. 113 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 115 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 120 5 INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1: Portrait of Henry VIII Fig. 2: Portrait of Anne Boleyn Fig. 3: Announcement of the Birth of Elizabeth Fig. 4: Psalms of the Passion (King’s MS 9 fol. 231v) Fig. 5: The Annunciation (King’s MS 9, fol. 66v) Fig. 6: Manuscript of Letter 1 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 6) Fig. 7: Manuscript of Letter 2 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 7) Fig. 8: Manuscript of Letter 3 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 9) Fig. 9: Manuscript of Letter 4 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 1) Fig. 10: Manuscript of Letter 5 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 5) Fig. 11: Manuscript of Letter 6 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 2) Fig. 12: Manuscript of Letter 7 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 13) Fig.13: Manuscript of Letter 8 (Cott. Vitellius B xii, fol. 4) Fig. 14: Manuscript of Letter 9 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 11) Fig. 15: Manuscript of Letter 10 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 3) Fig. 16: Manuscript of Letter 11 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 8) Fig. 17: Manuscript of Letter 12 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 12) Fig. 18: Manuscript of Letter 13 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 10) Fig. 19: Manuscript of Letter 14 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 14) Fig. 20: Manuscript of Letter 15 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 15) Fig. 21: Manuscript of Letter 16 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 7) Fig. 22: Manuscript of Letter 17 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 6) Fig. 23: Manuscript of Letter 18 (Vat. Lat. 3731A, fol. 16) 6 INTRODUCTION From Medieval to Modern court, from Catholic
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