#but i mean that goes back as far as 1529-30.

[fideidefenswhore]

Whether or not this is a true composition, and the details do sound convincing, it is written from a position of strength. Anne was confident that she was soon to bear a son and that she was beyond the reach of any harm that Mary or her party might intend her. The letter distances Anne from self-interest in the matter, presenting the purest motives, urging Mrs Shelton to action out of her duty to the King. The tone is not consistent with Chapuys' contemporaneous report that Anne frequently wept in the period immediately following Catherine's death, in the realisation that a significant obstacle had been removed should Henry choose to set her aside.

Anne Boleyn: Adultery, Heresy, Desire (Licence, Amy)

#amy licence #anne boleyn #not really sure one precludes the other but...hm #the thing abt the report from chapuys about anne crying when receiving news of coa's death #is that he concedes it has come to him from 'several reliable quarters' and yet is weirdly also dismissive of his own report #he says he doesn't believe it. #but i mean that goes back as far as 1529-30. #when he heard anne had sent wolsey a gift by several 'worthy sources' but still didn't believe it #what he couldn't concede was that anne wasn't as cruel or cold as he believed her to be #so when he heard a report that didn't conform to his view of her it was suddenly hmm no...the sources must be wrong #there's only one concession of that nature and it's after the fact #'henry percy's physician says he said the concubine will poison her stepdaughter' #'another source has told me henry percy is not a reliable source' #i'd believe it happened altho the reason might be different #a sort of emotional catharsis/ relief. the memory of the woman anne knew her as before circumstances and the path she chose #set them against each other. #and anne wasn't unfeeling. but we have to remember the extant sources are all the male perspective #there are scattered reports from 1528-36 that speak of incidences of her weeping #but as they come from men they tend to be dismissed as manipulation > genuine #so. tl; dr. sort of have to roll my eyes at skepticism of THAT chapuys report #bcus the same that tend to express it have it for that and not anyyyy others