“Say, why is it bad luck to kill a gull?”
— The Lighthouse (dir. Robert Eggers, 2019)
289 notes
·
View notes
Hi there,
Love your blog! Do you know much about The Duke of Norfolk's relationship with Cromwell? I'm currently re-watching the Tudors and unfortunately the Howards are cut out by Season 3 and 4. I read a theory recently that the Howards including the third Duke wanted to take out Cromwell because he took down Anne Boleyn. Is there any truth to that? Would love to know if there is.
I don't think Anne Boleyn's downfall helped, but I think Cromwell and Norfolk already had plenty of reasons to want each other out of favour. Cromwell was Wolsey's servant, after all, and Norfolk was very sensitive to hierarchy. As an aristocrat he was very aware of 'new men' like Cromwell, Wolsey, and yes- More too. More was the grandson of a baker, so in Norfolk's eyes he's only one generation higher than Cromwell, son of a brewer.
And while Norfolk supported the Break with Rome, he was a traditionalist in terms of religion. And while More, Cromwell, and Wolsey were all enthusiastic about renaissance humanism, judicial reform in favour of ordinary citizens, (and also critics of enclosures) these aren't policies that benefit the likes of Norfolk. More is often portrayed as friends with Norfolk, but the only real evidence I see for that is the hagiography written in the 1550s- at a time when Cromwell was controversial at best, while Norfolk was supporting Mary I. When More's grandson was born in the 1530s, it was Cromwell his parents chose as godfather.
Norfolk is often portrayed as boorish and uncultured, which is a gross simplification. But Norfolk preferred medieval chivalric literature to ancient literature. Erasmus called such medieval literature 'barbarous fables' and perhaps Cromwell would agree- certainly, Cromwell and More both loved Erasmus' New Testament, Cromwell learning it off by heart.
Also, Cromwell had a 'genuine and selfless' (Macculloch) friendship with... Norfolk's wife Elizabeth. If Cromwell needed more reasons to despise Norfolk, Elizabeth would give him PLENTY.
So Cromwell and Norfolk really have no shared culture, their worldviews and goals don't align. I think Norfolk would want Cromwell out, even if 1536 never happened.
13 notes
·
View notes