Margaret of Austria's palace at Mechelen also affected Anne Boleyn's taste in architecture. Whitehall Palace, the palace that Anne and Henry rebuilt, was a recreation of what Anne had seen in Mechelen.6
Anne Boleyn's time at Margaret of Austria's court had a number of "important consequences":7
• It was the foundation of her knowledge in French and "other courtly accomplishments" which influenced Mary Tudor to pick Anne to serve her in 1514.
• The skills she learned in Mechelen, which were then developed in France, probably made her "a not unworthy consort" for Henry VIII.
• Her time in Mechelen may have had an effect on the development of music and art in England. The Flemish style of music became popular and Hugh Paget points out that the Boleyns were patrons of Gerard and Lucas Hornebolt, "to whom we are indebted for the founding of the art of the miniature portrait in this country."
It is clear that this climate of culture rubbed off on Anne Boleyn and it is no wonder that Henry VIII saw Anne as a fitting queen consort and mother of his children. She had been educated with princes and princesses, she had style and culture, she was highly intelligent, and she could talk to him on his level and discuss the things he loved. She was a Renaissance woman and he saw himself as a Renaissance prince. There is no way, however, that Thomas Boleyn had any inkling in 1512 that his daughter would one day be queen, or that Margaret of Austria groomed Anne to be Henry VIII's consort. In 1512, Henry VIII had only been married to Catherine of Aragon for three years and was perfectly happy, anticipating that he would be married to Catherine for the rest of his life and that they would, in time, have a son and heir. But what Thomas Boleyn did do was to give his daughter the best chance of obtaining an appointment as a queen's lady, and in this he was successful. Anne was chosen in 1514 to serve Mary Tudor, Henry VIII's sister and Queen of France, and then in 1515 to serve Queen Claude, Francis I's wife. Anne had spent only a year at Mechelen, but that year had a dramatic impact on her and what she learned at Margaret's court was built on during her time in France.
Anne's Move to the French Court
On the 14th August 1514, Thomas Boleyn wrote to his great friend, Margaret of Austria, asking her to release Anne and return her to England under the care of a chaperone sent by him.8 It seems that Anne had been chosen to serve the new Queen of France due to her fluency in French and, as Thomas Boleyn wrote to Margaret, it was a request that "I could not, nor did I know how to refuse." Although it is clear from Thomas Boleyn's letter that Anne had been chosen to attend the new Queen of France, the records are not exactly clear as to which Boleyn girl travelled to France with Mary Tudor and where Anne joined her new mistress. The list of ladies paid for the period October to December 1514 shows the name "Marie Boulonne", but not Anne, so it may be that Mary Boleyn attended Mary Tudor on her crossing to France and for the wedding which took place on the 9th October 1514 at Abbeville, and that Anne caught up with the royal party in Paris on 9th November, when Mary was crowned queen. Eric Ives hypothesises that Margaret of Austria, who was visiting the islands of Zeeland at that juncture, may not have got Thomas Boleyn's letter in time to send Anne home to England, so instead Anne travelled directly to France.9
We don't know for sure whether the "Madamoyselle Boleyne" mentioned by King Louis XII in his "Names of the gentlemen and ladies retained by the King (Louis XII.) to do service to the Queen"10 refers to Mary or Anne, but what we do know is that Anne Boleyn did, at some time, arrive in France to serve the new queen.
On 1st January 1515, less than three months after his marriage to his eighteen year-old bride, the fifty-two year-old Louis XII died. It was said that he had been worn out by sexual relations with his younger wife. Louis had no son and Salic law prevented his daughter, Claude, from becoming queen. Therefore, when it was clear that Mary Tudor was not pregnant, Claude's husband, who was also Louis' first cousin's son, inherited the throne and became Francis I of France. Mary Tudor had never wanted to marry the ageing Louis XII as she had already set her heart on Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk. So when her brother, Henry VIII, sent Brandon to France to bring her back home to England, Mary followed her heart and married Brandon in secret on the 3rd March 1515. This was an act of treason and Henry VIII was furious, fining the couple for their disobedience. However, he eventually forgave them and they were officially married on the 13th May 1515 at Greenwich Palace.
Even though Anne Boleyn was one of Mary Tudor's attendants, she did not travel back to England with Mary in 1515, but, instead stayed on in France and served the new queen consort, Queen Claude. Claude and Anne were of a similar age and Anne was fluent in French, so it is possible that Anne had acted as an interpreter between Claude and Mary Tudor, and that Claude and Anne had got to know each other. Anne went on to serve Queen Claude for seven years and this is a period of Anne's life about which we know relatively little.
The French Legends and Traditions Regarding Anne Boleyn
French tradition links Anne Boleyn with Briare, a town on the River Loire, and also with the village of Briis-sous-Forges, where there is even a tower called the Tour d'Anne Boleyn. According to one French website,11 this tower is the only remaining part of a medieval castle which was once stayed in by Anne, before her marriage to Henry VIII; her parents were friends of Du Moulin, the castle's owner. This story is backed up by the work of seventeenth century French historian, Julien Brodeau,12 who wrote that Anne Boleyn was educated in the home of nobleman Philippe de Moulin de Brie, a relation of her parents.
Nicholas Sander, writing in the reign of Elizabeth I, wrote that Anne Boleyn was sent to France at the age of fifteen after she had "sinned first with her father's butler, and then with his chaplain" and was placed "under the care of a certain nobleman not far from Brie". Sander also writes that "soon afterwards she appeared at the French court where she was called the English Mare, because of her shameless behaviour; and then the royal mule, when she became acquainted with the king of France."13 This makes me wonder if he was confusing Anne with her sister, Mary Boleyn, who was, allegedly, the mistress of King Francis I and who was, apparently, referred to by the King as an "English Mare" and "una grandissima ribalda, infame sopra tutte" (a great and infamous whore).
In one of her recent talks on Mary Boleyn, Alison Weir quoted historian Sarah Tytler (1896) as saying that Anne Boleyn went to a convent school at Brie to finish her education. However, Weir wonders if historians have confused the two Boleyn girls and hypothesises that the Boleyns, upset at Mary's bad behaviour at the French court, could have entered her into a French convent for educational purposes.
The link between Anne Boleyn and Briare could have some foundation because "the town was well placed in relation to the movements of the court of Queen Claude, where Anne's duties kept her."14 Claude was constantly pregnant, giving birth to seven children between 1515 and 1523. Claude tended to spend her pregnancies in the Upper Loire area, at Amboise and her palace in Blois, and Anne would obviously have accompanied her there.
The French Court
When she moved from Mechelen to the French court, Anne Boleyn went from one sophisticated centre of culture to another. Lancelot de Carles wrote that Anne "knew perfectly how to sing and dance… to play the lute and other instruments" and Nicholas Sander said of Anne "She was handsome to look at, with a pretty mouth, amusing in her ways, playing well on the lute, and was a good dancer. She was the model and mirror of those who were at court, for she was always well dressed, and every day made some change in the fashion of her garments."15 It is clear that Anne had learned music, dance and style during her time in France.
Anne's love of illuminated manuscripts blossomed in France because Queen Claude, like Margaret of Austria, loved illumination, as is clear from her Prayer Book and Book of Hours from 1517. Claude's prayer book, which is now held by the Morgan Library and Museum in New York, is described as "a tiny, jewel-like manuscript" which is "richly illustrated... with 132 scenes from the lives of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and nume
rous saints."16 The prayer book and its matching Book of Hours were made by an artist known as Master Claude, who "worked in a style that can be characterized as the pinnacle of elegance." They are beautiful books. Anne Boleyn went on to have her own illuminated manuscripts and books; these were made in the Renaissance style, which had been popular in France and used by Claude, rather than being made in the style she had seen in the Low Countries. Like Margaret of Austria, Claude was also an art lover (she was a patron of the miniature), so Anne was surrounded by art and culture; she couldn't help but be influenced by this amazing experience.
Those seeking to blacken Anne Boleyn's name say that Anne must also have been influenced by the loose morals and sexuality of the French court, but we have to remember that Anne Boleyn was serving Queen Claude, a woman known for her piety and who was often away from court due to her annual pregnancies. Anne was serving in a morally strict household, not one of scandal.
Anne Boleyn would also have probably taken part in the coronation of Queen Claude at St Denis in May 1516, in her triumphant entry into Paris, and also in her entry into Cognac in 1520. Queen Claude was also present at the banquet at the Bastille on 22nd December 1518. This banquet was given in honour of the visit of the English diplomats sent to negotiate a marriage between the Dauphin and Henry VIII's daughter, Mary. She was also present at the Field of Cloth of Gold in June 1520, just outside Calais. At both events, Claude was accompanied by her ladies; it is likely that Anne would have been useful as an interpreter.
The French Influence
It wasn't just the Renaissance culture which influenced the young Anne Boleyn; she was also heavily influenced by the women she saw and spent time with in France.
Claude of France
Claude was the eldest daughter of Louis XII of France and of Anne of Brittany, who Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme, described as "the most worthy and honourable queen that has ever been since Queen Blanche, mother of the King Saint-Louis, and very sage and virtuous".17 In his chapter on Anne of Brittany, Brantôme wrote that "she was the first queen to hold a great Court of ladies", a "noble school for ladies" where "she had them taught and brought up wisely; and all, taking pattern by her, made themselves wise and virtuous".18
Claude was the heiress of the Duchy of Brittany and also first in line to the throne. However, as I mentioned earlier, Salic law prevented her becoming the Queen of France when her father died. Instead, she became queen by marrying Francis, Duke of Angoulême, who became Francis I of France.
Millicent Garrett Fawcett writes of how Claude "was from her birth delicate, plain and lame",19 Antonio de Beatis, secretary to the Cardinal of Aragon, described her as "young and though very small in stature, plain and badly lame in both hips, is said to be very cultivated, generous and pious" and the Austrian ambassador said that "she was a retiring young girl with a pale complexion, thin, a little sickly, slightly hunchbacked, and rather unattractive."20 As far as her character was concerned, Brantôme described Claude as "very good, very charitable, and very gentle to all, never doing any unkindness or harm to any one either at her Court or in the kingdom" and it is clear that she followed her mother's example by running a virtuous and learned court. The virtuous, pious and kind Claude would have been a role model to Anne. I'm sure that when Anne herself became queen, albeit in England, in 1533, she must have thought back to Claude's behaviour as queen.
Claude's husband, Francis I, was brought up at the Royal Château Amboise and he was often there during his reign (as well as being present at Fontainebleau and the Louvre), living a life full of banquets, balls and tournaments. In 1515, Leonardo da Vinci was invited by Francis I to live and work in Clos Lucé, which was connected to the royal château by an underground passage. Queen Claude preferred nearby Château Blois, which Francis had renovated for her; this is where Anne would have served her royal mistress.
Claude had seven children, including Henry II, King of France, but died in 1524 at the tender age of twenty-four. Brantôme declared that Claude's husband, Francis I, gave her "a disease that shortened her days", meaning syphilis, but it is not known for certain. It seems that after it lost its pious queen, the French court slid into debauchery.
Figure 5 - Engraving of Château Blois
Louise of Savoy
Louise of Savoy was the mother of Francis I and Marguerite of Angoulême (later Marguerite of Navarre), and the daughter of Philip II, Duke of Savoy, and of Margaret of Bourbon. Louise, an intelligent, ambitious and politically astute woman, ensured that Francis and Marguerite had a Renaissance education. After the death of her husband, Charles of Orléans (cousin of Louis XII), she moved to the French court with her children, a move that was responsible for her son, Francis, becoming one of the King's favourites and ensuring his succession to the throne. Louis XII gave Louise the royal château at Amboise where she brought up Francis and Marguerite.
Louise acted as regent for Francis whenever he was away and, along with his sister Marguerite of Angoulême, was the most powerful woman at court, particularly in the early years of Francis's reign. Between them they ran Francis's court for him. Louise was serving as regent in 1515, when Anne Boleyn was at the French Court, and Anne would have seen this strong, politically active woman run the country.
Marguerite of Angoulême
Louise's daughter, Marguerite of France and Navarre, or Marguerite of Angoulême, is praised by Brantôme for her "perfect beauty" and is described as the "rare princess" and a woman who "was full of majesty and eloquence… full of charming grace in gay and witty speech" and "a queen in all things".21 She was brought up with her brother, Francis, and given an excellent Renaissance education. However, Marguerite soon outstripped her brother "in her knowledge of Greek, Latin and Hebrew, and in her easy grasp of modern languages."22 But it wasn't just education that Marguerite was passionate about; she also felt strongly about religious reform. As well as being known for her patronage of the arts, Marguerite is also known for her work Le miroir l'âme pécheresse, the same poem which Anne Boleyn's daughter, Elizabeth, later translated as a gift for her stepmother, Catherine Parr. This wonderful literary work is a mystical poem which combines evangelical Protestant ideas with Marguerite's idea of her relationship with God as a very personal and familial one. The editors of Marguerite (Queen, consort of Henry II, King of Navarre): Selected Writings say this of Le Miroir:
"In addition to the obvious intimate familiarity with biblical literature, the poem follows closely the reformist views Marguerite learned from her mentor/confessor, Guillaume Briçonnet. Here we find all the essential earmarks of the devotio moderna, with its heavy emphasis on personal piety, exaggerated self-deprecation, preoccupation with death, and total dependence on divine grace for salvation."23
Le Miroir is a beautiful piece of writing, very moving and obviously written from the heart, and it shows the depth of Marguerite's faith and her personal relationship with God her Father.
Figure 6 - Marguerite of Angoulême
Although Marguerite's work was condemned as heresy, Fawcett writes of how Marguerite never broke with the Church and became Protestant. However, "she never wavered from the position she took up all through the years… of the protector of the new learning and the humble devotee of a religion which was pure and undefiled."24 Those same words could be used to describe Anne Boleyn, I feel. Both women had a true faith, religious fervour, and were passionate about reform and new ideas, but they did not want to 'throw the baby out with the bath water'. They wanted to reform the Catholic Church from within.
Fawcett goes on to describe German reformer, Philip Melancthon, as "a reformer after Margaret's own heart, gentle and moderate, desiring to reconcile rather than to estrange; earnestly working for the reform of the Church from within so as to prevent the disruption of Christendom";25 again I think of Anne Boleyn and wonder if she was influenced by Marguerite's views and her faith.
We don't know the extent of Anne's relationship with Marguerite. We know that Marguerite was in
fluential at the French Court, sharing power in the early years of her brother's reign with her mother, Louise of Savoy, so Anne Boleyn would have certainly met her. Some, including Lord Herbert of Cherbury, have wondered whether Anne Boleyn actually served Marguerite as a lady-in-waiting, but there is no evidence of that and Anne's name does not appear in the "Comptes de Louise de Savoie et de Marguerite d'Angouleme" (the accounts), which you would expect if she was employed by Marguerite.26 Furthermore, in 1522, on her departure from France, Anne was described as one of Queen Claude's ladies. We do, however, have evidence that there was some kind of relationship between the two women: two letters from Anne to Marguerite. In July 1534, instructions were given to Anne's brother, Lord Rochford:
"1. Rochford is to repair to the French king with all speed, and in passing by Paris to make the King's and Queen's hearty recommendations to the queen of Navarre, if she be there, and say that the Queen his mistress much rejoices in the deeply-rooted amity of the two kings, but wishes her to get the interview deferred, as the time would be very inconvenient to her, and the King is so anxious to see his good brother that he will not put it off on her account. Her reasons are, that being so far gone with child, she could not cross the sea with the King, and she would be deprived of his Highness's presence when it was most necessary, unless the interview can be deferred till April next. Rochford is to press this matter very earnestly, and say that the King having at this time appointed another personage to go to his good brother, the Queen, with much suit, got leave for Rochford to go in his place, principally on this account.
The Anne Boleyn Collection II: Anne Boleyn & the Boleyn Family Page 4
