Masaryk University Faculty of Education Department of English Language and Literature Anne Boleyn, her Role and Impact on Tudor England Diploma thesis Bc. Andrea Bartuňková Brno, 2017 Supervisor: Mgr. Zdeněk Janík, M. A., Ph.D. Declaration: I hereby declare that this diploma thesis is my own work and that I used only sources listed in Bibliography. Prohlášení: „Prohlašuji, že jsem závěrečnou diplomovou práci vypracovala samostatně, s využitím pouze citovaných literárních pramenů, dalších informací a zdrojů v souladu s Disciplinárním řádem pro studenty Pedagogické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity a se zákonem č. 121/2000 Sb., o právu autorském, o právech souvisejících s právem autorským a o změně některých zákonů (autorský zákon), ve znění pozdějších předpisů“. ………..……………… V Brně dne Andrea Bartuňková Acknowledgement: I would like to express my gratitude to Mgr. Zdeněk Janík, M. A., Ph.D for his kind and patient guidance, moral support as well as valuable advice and comments, which helped me to improve my work. My special thanks go to my family and their kind support. Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 6 1 THE REIGN OF HENRY VII AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HENRY VIII`S SUCCESSION TO THE THRONE ................................................................................................................................................ 8 1.1 THE REIGN OF HENRY VII IN TERMS OF FOREIGN POLICY ......................................................................... 8 The marriage contract ..................................................................................................................... 8 The Tudor marriages to Catherine of Aragon and the dispensation from the Pope ........................ 9 2 THE EARLY REIGN OF HENRY VIII AND THE RELATIONSHIP WITH CATHERINE .......... 12 2.1 THE ASCENSION TO THRONE .................................................................................................................... 12 2.2 THE FIRST YEARS OF THE REIGN .............................................................................................................. 12 2.3 THE POSITION OF CATHERINE OF ARAGON............................................................................................... 13 2.4 DEFICIENCY OF A MALE HEIR ................................................................................................................... 14 The only surviving child, Princess of Wales .................................................................................. 15 Royal extramarital liaisons ............................................................................................................ 15 The Royal Couple being estranged ................................................................................................ 16 3 CARDINAL WOLSEY .............................................................................................................................. 18 3.1 PERSONALITY AND THE RAISING POWER OF CARDINAL WOLSEY ............................................................ 18 Wolsey perceived from the points of view of the proponents ......................................................... 18 Wolsey perceived from the points of view of the opponents ........................................................... 19 4 ANNE BOLEYN, FAMILY BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION ...................................................... 22 4.1 BOLEYN CHILDREN, THE AGE AND THE ORDER ....................................................................................... 22 4.2 BOLEYN SISTERS IN FRANCE .................................................................................................................... 23 Mary Boleyn, the mistress of the King ........................................................................................... 24 5 THE DEBUT AT ENGLISH COURT ...................................................................................................... 28 5.1 FIRST MEETING WITH THE KING ............................................................................................................... 28 5.2 THE REASONS FOR RETURN FROM FRANCE .............................................................................................. 28 5.3 THE DEBUT OF LADY ANNE ..................................................................................................................... 29 5.4 ANNE`S APPEARANCE AND ATTRACTIVENESS ......................................................................................... 30 Anne and the "monster legend" ...................................................................................................... 32 6 THE MEN AT COURT CAPTIVATED WITH ANNE`S GLAMOUR ................................................ 34 6.1 THE DANGEROUS LOVE AFFAIR WITH LORD HENRY PERCY .................................................................... 34 6.2 BRUNET EXALTED IN THE POETRY OF THOMAS WYATT .......................................................................... 35 6.3 THE KING AND ANNE BOLEYN ................................................................................................................. 36 Anne, the subject matter of the King`s attention ............................................................................ 36 Henry, the royal suitor ................................................................................................................... 37 7 GREAT MATTER ..................................................................................................................................... 40 7.1 CIRCUMSTANCES REVEALING THE ROYAL ROMANCE .............................................................................. 40 7.2 STRUGGLE OVER ANNULMENT ................................................................................................................. 41 The first tribunal, the church council at Westminster .................................................................... 41 Subsequent strategy to achieve the goal of annulment ................................................................... 42 Papal Legate commission .............................................................................................................. 44 8 ANNE BOLEYN, THE RISING STAR AT THE COURT .................................................................... 49 8.1 THE FALL OF WOLSEY ............................................................................................................................. 49 8.2 BOLEYN POLITICAL CAMP ....................................................................................................................... 52 8.3 GROWING IMPACT OF LADY BOLEYN ....................................................................................................... 54 The solution of ménage à trois ....................................................................................................... 54 Anne and the enemies at Court ...................................................................................................... 56 9 THE TURNING POINTS .......................................................................................................................... 58 9.1 DECISIVE STEPS WITHIN THE INTERNAL AND FOREIGN POLICY ................................................................ 58 9.2 THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE ENGLISH REFORMATION ........................................................................... 60 The coronation of a new Queen ..................................................................................................... 62 10 THE ENGLISH REFORMATION........................................................................................................... 64 10.1 THE PARLIAMENT ACTS OF MOMENTOUS CONSEQUENCES ...................................................................... 64 10.2 THE OPPOSITION FACING THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE REFORMS ............................................................ 67 10.3 THE RELIGIOUS REFORMATION ................................................................................................................ 68 11 ANNE BOLEYN AS A NEW QUEEN ..................................................................................................... 71 11.1 THE FIRST YEARS OF THE REIGN .............................................................................................................. 71 11.2 THE FALL OF THE QUEEN BEING IN PROSPECT ......................................................................................... 73 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................................... 76 SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................................................... 78 RESUMÉ .............................................................................................................................................................. 79 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................................ 80 Introduction As a student and teacher of English language I was always interested in the history of the English language speaking countries, especially The United Kingdom. When I was choosing the topic of the work, I finally decided