The Witch's Heart ~ Kings Lynn

As I was visiting family this past weekend and wandering the high street of King's Lynn, I was reminded of a local legend. One of the main areas of interest in Kings Lynn is the Tuesday Market Place and the buildings that surround the square these days are Georgian, many of which house museums and places of interest. One of the houses is a particular talking point.

If you look up whilst walking past number 15-16 Tuesday Market Place, you will see a crude black diamond carved into red brick. Within the diamond is a black heart. There are two commonly told stories that explain just why this heart is carved above the window of this house both of which are equally as morbid as the other.

The Tuesday Market Place was used as Lynn's place of execution for centuries, and was the site of hangings as well as a number of burnings, in particular the burning of witches. Both stories link to gruesome executions conducted in the market square.

The first involves the execution of Margaret Read in 1590. Margaret was found guilty of witchcraft and sentanced to burn within the market place, and as the flames engulfed her body it is said that her heart burst from her chest and smashed into the spot above the window where the diamond is now carved. The organ is then said to have fallen to the ground and rolled away where it sunk into the river Ouse. Gnarly eh?

The second tale involves treachery and is particularly heartbreaking. No pun intended. A housemaid let slip to her lover that her recently widowed mistress had agreed to leave her the entire family fortune. Said lover agreed to marry the young housemaid and she wrote her own will entirely in his favour. Shortly after the mistress was conveniently murdered and the housemaid was found guilty of treachery - the crime of petty treachery involved a woman murdering her husband or a female servant murdering her master or mistress, and the punishment for such a crime was being burned at the stake. The maidservant kept on insisting that she was innocent, right up until the moment the flames were lit and as she began to burn foretold that as a symbol of her innocence her heart would burst from her chest. As her body was consumed by the flames it did just that and smashed into the site of the heart in the diamond. The diamond was carved in the very spot where the heart hit and left it's gory blood stains.

Quite a sordid tale is it not? There are various versions of the story, all using different methods of execution but all with the same end. A heart bursting from the chest of a condemned woman. I have no idea whether any of these legends are true, indeed the only information I could find online was regarding the legend, and the tales I had heard growing up. A brief search online for the "Witch's Heart of Kings Lynn" should give you more information, or indeed a trip to Lynn if you ever get the chance. True or not, the story is particularly gruesome whichever way you look at it, and one that has stuck with me since I was a little girl.

The Trial And Execution of Girolamo Savonarola

The Execution of Savonarola by Anonymous

I've been spending a lot of time recently researching Girolamo Savonarola recently, for particular reasons that will hopefully be announced soon as well as the fact that the man fascinates me. I don't really know why he does, as he was the man behind the terrible travesty known as the Bonfire of the Vanities but there is just something about his incredible self belief and his unwavering faith that has really pulled me in. And having just finished Death In Florence by Paul Strathern (review coming over the next few days), whilst I can't say I really like the man, I can now say I feel incredibly sorry for him and respect the little Dominican friar utterly. But why? As I mentioned previously, his incredible self belief and unwavering faith are partly to do with it but there is also something else. He endured torture bravely and approached his death calmly. If anything, Girolamo Savonarola became a martyr to his supporters in Florence and those who served with him in the Dominican monastery at San Marco. Today, I am going to write about Savonarola's trial and execution and I will warn you now, it does not make for light reading.

On the 8th April 1498, Fra Girolamo Savonarola was arrested within the church of San Marco, following what can only be described as a siege. The people of Florence had risen up against him following the botched "trial by fire" only a few weeks previously, and the ruling signoria (currently being run by men of the anti-Savonarola faction) had the excuse they were looking for to place the man on trial for treason and heresy. Previously, the city of Florence had hung on to Savonarola's every word and had believed the prophecies that he had made; he had even taken part in setting up the new government after Piero de Medici was exiled. But now it seemed as though the city was tired of him, and Pope Alexander VI wanted the friar out of his hair for good. Arrested alongside Savonarola were two other Dominican friars - Fra Domenico and Fra Silvestro Maruffi. Savonarola and Domenico were taken first, and Maruffi joined them the next day.

Savonarola and Domenico were placed in irons and marched to the Piazza della Signoria, where they were presented to the Gonfaloniere who asked them both if they still persisted in believing that Savonarola's words came from God. When they both replied that they did they were taken to separate cells within the palazzo and Savonarola was taken to the tiny room at the top of the tower known as the Alberghettino.

The Palazzo della Signoria, now known as the Palazzo Vecchio

The next morning, Savonarola was brought down from his tiny cell and there subjected to some initial informal questioning. As he had been arrested for both treason and heresy, he would now face everything that the law could throw at him. And that included torture. This ordeal would begin on the Tuesday. The man assigned as Savonarola's interrogator was Francesco de Ser Barone, also known as "Ser Ceccone" - after Piero de Medici's flight from the city this man had pretended to join Savonarola's following but in reality he had been an informant, sending ever word to the men who conspired to bring the friar to heel. The initial 'investigation' would last for just over a week and finish on 17th April, and despite the fact that Easter fell in this week, the interrogation was not stopped for these most holy days in the christian calendar. Instead, Savonarola was subjected to the strappado after being at first invited to make his confession. When he refused, his arms would have been tied behind his back and with use of a pulley he would have been lifted and dropped over and over again until he did confess. The method was ingenious because it very rarely proved fatal, it would have been agonisingly painful as each drop would have dislocated the victim's shoulders and a surgeon would have been on hand to pop the shoulders back in place before they could be dislocated again.

The Strappado

When news reached Pope Alexander VI that Savonarola had been arrested and subject to trial (which by the way was illegal - despite having been excommunicated, as a man of the cloth he should have been tried by the church courts) he was undoubtedly pleased. But he sent a message to Florence demanding that once they were finished with the man, he wanted him sent to Rome so he could be tried and tortured by the church courts. And whilst Alexander lifted the excommunication that he had previously placed on the city, the signoria were reluctant to sent Savonarola away from Florence as he knew intimate details of the goings on of their parliament, and their foreign policy. It would not do for the friar to give away such information that could be used against them.

The diarist Landucci recorded the following about the torture inflicted on Savonarola:

"Fra Girolamo was put to the rack (stappado) three times, and Fra Domenico four times; and Fra Girolamo said: 'Take me down and I will write you my whole life.'"

It should be noted though that there is no way that we can know how many times he was dropped, there are so many differing numbers given and no actual material evidence. The most quoted is 14, but Savonarola was incredibly frail so it is unlikely he would have been to put up with many drops before he said he would confess. But when he said he would write them his whole life if they stopped torturing, it wasn't enough for the Signoria - they wanted a confession of his heresy and his treason so they could have him executed. Following the torture, Savonarola admitted that he did not receive prophecies from God and that for all intents and purposes he had made everything up, and he justified his motives for everything he did - he said he wanted credit and he wanted reputation. However, Savonarola undoubtedly believed that he was a prophet and believed that he was receiving visions from God, that he believed he was working for the good of Florence. Was this Savonarola's way of trying to save himself? At any rate, the answers he gave did not constitute treason, so Ceccone pressed on and on, trying to outwit the friar. Still his answers did not constitute treason.

Girolamo Savonarola by Fra Bartolomeo

The Pope was still insisting that Savanarola and the other friars be taken to Rome, and still the Signoria held back on this. But Savonarola's confession wasn't enough, and the signoria decided that Savonarola should be tried for a second time although according to reports this did not use any form of torture. On 24th, Savonarola was told to sign his confession, some of which was written himself but other parts were written be Ceccone. The confession told of how he (Savonarola) had lost his faith in God, how he had sinned and how he had lied about his prophecies and visions. As Savonarola was signing his confession, the other friars brought in with him were also being tortured, and the torture faced by Maruffi broke the frail old man and terrified him out of his wits. Domenico however faced his ordeal bravely, and kept singing Savonarola's praises.

On the 5th May, the Signoria made the decision that Pope Alexander VI could send a papal commission to place the friars on trial in the ecclesiastical manner. They would however not allow the men to be taken to Rome as they believed that the men should be tried and executed in Florence. And so, on 19th May the Papal commission reached Rome and their own trial began the next day.

As the trial began, it became evident that Savonarola had regained much of his previous demeanour and he would obscure the truth from them, but without lying. The commission grew tired of this and demanded that the strappado be brought back out, and when faced with the rope Girolamo fell to the floor and cried out in terror, admitting that he had said what he had previously in fear of being tortured. Now, he was tortured again, despite the fact that the previous strappado sessions had rendered one of his arms useless. It is said that as he faced the prospect of the rope again, he raved and screamed; and in the transcript it is obvious that faced with terror Savonarola told the truth.

After two days of this, the commission retired and the signoria discussed the judgement. And as this was being discussed the commission sent a report to Alexander detailing most of what was said by Savonarola although some of it was kept hidden, likely to try and protect the Pope from what was perceived as great wickedness on Savonarola's part. And on May 22nd, Savonarola and his fellow friars were given the verdict - the very next day they would be stripped of their church membership and then they would be executed.

The method of execution would be the usual one for heretics - they would be burnt. But it would be slightly different to the burning at the stake normally done for such matters. The men would be hanged, and a fire set beneath their feet. The gallows and pyre was built in the piazza della signoria, on the very spot where the trial by fire was supposed to have taken place just weeks before; the stake was built to look like a cross. The people cried out that Savonarola was going to be crucified, and so the part making it look like a cross was sawn off.

At daybreak on 23rd, the three friars were lead out into the piazza and there were faced with three tribunals. The first stripped them of their membership in the church and removed their vestments. The second was an indulgence granted by Pope Alexander, forgiving them their sins and the third was where they were handed over to the secular authorities who confirmed their fate and then shaved their hair and beards. The men were then lead along the wooden walkway towards the gallows. Silvestro was the first man who was taken up and there the rope was placed around his neck and he was pushed off the ladder. The rope however was too short and not tight enough, so Silvestro dangled, slowly being strangled and repeating "Jesu" over and over again. This was of course done on purpose so that he and his fellow condemned would be able to feel the pain once the flames were lit. Domenico was next, and he went to the gibbet with a smile on his face, seemingly glad to meet his maker. Savonarola went last - he did not speak to the crowds and only muttered to himself as he walked towards his death - he did not say a word about his guilt or even his innocence - and then he too was hanged, though allowed to suffer slowly before the flames were lit. As the kindling beneath the gallows was lit, the fire spread very quickly and a wind blew, making the arm of Savonarola rise in the draft and look as if he were blessing those in attendance. Then the wind dropped again, and the flames turned into an inferno. Stones were thrown at the bodies as they burnt, making arms and legs drop into the flames, and guards surrounded the fire so that those present could not pick up anything that could be used as a relic. To make doubly sure that nothing would be left, as only the burning torsoes of the men remained, the gibbet was pushed into the flames.

Once the fire was out, the ashes were shovelled into a cart and taken to the Ponte Vecchio. There the ashes were tossed into the River Arno so that nothing would remain behind.

Further Reading
Paul Strathern - Death In Florence
Paul Strathern - The Medici
Desmond Seward - The Burning of the Vanities
Lauro Martines - Scourge and Fire: Savonarola and Renaissance Italy
Lauro Martines - Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for Renaissance Florence

Sir Walter Raleigh

Sir Walter Raleigh by an unknown artist

On this day in history, 1618; sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded upon the orders of James I. But why was this man, once a great favourite of Elizabeth I, given such a death and executed as a traitor? With this post, I will give a brief overview of his life up until the reign of James I; and then will discuss in more detail the events that lead up to his trial and execution in 1618.

Sir Walter Raleigh was born in 1554 to Walter Raleigh and Catherine Champernowne in Hayes, Devon. Little Walter's family had links to royalty back to the thirteenth century, and his father had previously been Lord Vice Admiral to Mary I from 1555-58. We know from Raleigh's later work that he was an incredibly intelligent man, but really very little is known about his childhood years and what sparked that brilliant mind. What we do know though is that from 1569 (from the age of 15 or so) he served as a volunteer in France during their religious wars. He returned to England in 1570. We also know that he spent some years at Oriel College in Oxford, although the exact date that he entered the college has not been recorded. He left Oxford without his degree, which at the time was not unusual and went to the Middle Temple (sort of like a law school) in the February of 1575. Whilst there he began penning poetry, the first of which was published in 1576. Raleigh was in fact related to Katherine Ashley, first gentlewoman of Elizabeth I's bedchamber, through his mother and it is possible that this link allowed him to meet other great courtiers such as Robert Dudley. In 1578, he teamed up with a man by the name of Humphrey Gilbert and set sail on an adventure to discover remote lands. He returned the following year.

In 1581, following a brief stint as a soldier in Ireland, Raleigh began to attract the attentions of Elizabeth I and spent a good few years as her favourite. That was until he earned her displeasure by entering into a liaison with one of her maids; Elizabeth Throckmorton. Having gotten Elizabeth pregnant, the two married in secret. Raleigh knew how displeased the Queen would be and so made plans to set sail once more, yet when he returned from his voyage in 1592, the Queen was well aware of what had happened. She had the couple separated and both were sent to the Tower of London. It took a while for Elizabeth to even think of forgiving the couple and both were eventually released from the Tower. Their first son disappears from the record, but in 1593 Elizabeth gave birth to another little boy. However, they were both still banished from court and it took Raleigh a while to return to favour. Raleigh was not allowed back to court until 1597 and during those years of disgrace had spent a good many years on his travels searching for the fabled El Dorado and explored the areas of Guyana and Eastern Venezuela. He had managed to get his hands on a description of a City of Gold, yet despite his years of searching never found it.

When Elizabeth I died in 1603, Raleigh had not long been back in favour yet had spent a good few years still adventuring and also dabbling in poetry. When news broke of Elizabeth's death, he hastened to meet the new King James, yet did not exactly receive a warm welcome. Despite being present at the Queens funeral as an official attendant, following this he was rebuffed quite harshly by the new ruler - James I (also James VI of Scotland) stripped him of his monopolies as well as his captaincy of the Guard and was told that he had to leave his current place of residency, Durham Place. In July of 1603 Raleigh was also questioned on two counts of treason and placed under house arrest. Yet what were these treason's? It had come to James' ear that Raleigh had been involved in a number of plots, including planning rebellion and a Spanish invasion, as well as plotting the death of the King. It is said that he planned to place Lady Arabella Stuart in James' place as monarch.

Arabella Stuart by Lowres

Raleigh was taken to the Tower on 20th July 1603. There he wrote a farewell letter to his wife, and on 27th July tried to take his own life by stabbing himself in the heart with a table knife. The attempt failed, and after a while he realised that the only evidence of any substance held against him was a statement made by a man who thought Raleigh had betrayed him. It seems that the gentleman who made the accusations withdrew them almost immediately although Raleigh did not know this until he was brought to trial on 17th November. At any rate, Raleigh was found guilty - despite the fact that Cobham had withdrawn his accusations, he was still found guilty of a more sweeping treason thanks to various letters from Cobham making out that Raleigh had passed on information on the King's military endeavours and trying to get money out of others for military intelligence. Raleigh was taken back to the Tower, and there held until 1612. After his trial, he despaired of mercy from King James and wrote another letter to his wife. However in December 1503, King James agreed that Raleigh could keep his life.

During his years in the Tower, Raleigh dabbled in chemistry. There he created various medicines, but when he fell sick in 1615 it was put down to his dabbling in chemicals. Whilst locked away he also wrote his famous History of the World. There is a copy of this still on show in the Tower of London. He began the work in around 1607, and it was intended to be widely published as the first part of his history of the world. The entire work works out as around 5 volumes, and the first two volumes make up the biblical history of how the world came into being and the final three volumes deal with the histories of the Greek and Roman Empires.

Walter Raleigh's History of the World. Photo by me

Reconstruction of Raleigh's rooms in the Tower. Photo by me

Raleigh was released from the Tower in 1616 and then began his final voyage. The aim of this expedition was to search once more for the fabled El Dorado. He set sail on 19th August 1617 and did not land until November. The journey had been arduous, Raleigh himself succumbing to a nasty fever. On 2nd January 1618, the party arrived at the Spanish settlement of San Thome. The group stormed the settlement, in direct violation of the original agreement. They were there to search for gold, they were there to help relations between England and Spain. They weren't there to attack a Spanish outpost and pillage. Following this, they searched further and further inland for the fabled mines but found nothing. San Thome had been burnt to the ground and on 13th February 1618 Raleigh was told that his son had been killed during the storming of the outpost. Raleigh would accept no apologies for his sons death and began planning another expedition of San Thome, saying that they had missed the mine. His men refused to follow, and in March deserted him completely. Raleigh was left with a tiny force, and returned to Plymouth utterly defeated.

when he returned to England, the Spanish ambassador had already been to King James with reports of the violence that had happened at San Thome. The ambassador demanded Raleigh's arrest and not long after he landed, he was arrested and taken to London. On 10th August 1618, Raleigh found himself back in the Tower. This time, there would be no escape for Sir Walter Raleigh.

On 22nd October, Raleigh was brought before the Privy Council. There he was accused of being ungrateful to the King who had forgiven him his previous treason's, accused of planning to start a war between England and Spain, and moreover was accused of deserting his men. On 28th October, a verdict was passed. Sir Walter Raleigh was guilty. Yet Raleigh threw himself on the Kings mercy, pleading for clemency. It didn't work, and Raleigh was sentenced to execution. He spent his last night in the Gatehouse at Westminster and on the morning of 29th October 1618 was beheaded at Westminster. His execution speech was long and he welcomed the fact that he was going to die. His final speech lasted for almost forty five minutes and in it he insisted that his expeditions had no ulterior motive, that he had never sought to plot with France and start a war between England and Spain.

Just before he knelt he spoke a few more words, admitting that he had been a man of vanity and joked with the executioner that the axe would be his "sharp medicine". And once the fatal blow was struck, his head was placed in a red bag and taken away by his wife who kept it until her own death. It is said that she liked to bring out his head when she had visitors. Once she died, his head was returned to the rest of his remains at St Margaret's Church next to Westminster Abbey.

Raleigh's memorial plaque inside St Margaret's Church

St Margaret's Church, Westminster. Photo by me.

Further Reading

Mark Nicholls, Penry Williams, ‘Ralegh, Sir Walter (1554–1618)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/23039, accessed 29 Oct 2012]
Sir Walter Raleigh: In Life & Legend - Penry Williams & Mark Nicholls
The Favourite - Mathew Lyons

15th July 1685 - The Execution of James, Duke of Monmouth

Plate showing the execution of James, Duke of Monmouth

I've written a lot about the Duke of Monmouth recently, and I have to say that I find him absolutely fascinating. This young man who believed so wholeheartedly that his mother had legally married his father and he was the legitimate heir to the throne, this young man who believed in his claim so much that he rebelled against his uncle James II. His story is exceptionally sad and his end exceptionally brutal.

Monmouth, by William Wissing

On 15th July 1685, after his defeat at Sedgemoor, James Duke of Monmouth was executed on Tower Hill. He was condemned to death by act of attainder and automatically found guilty of high treason against his uncle James II. Whilst imprisoned in the Tower, Monmouth had begged for mercy and written to the King - but of course the King never received the letter. And James II, in his exile admitted "I never saw the letter, nor did I ever hear of it till within these few days" - if he had seen the letter, would he have pardoned his nephew? James had at first said that Monmouth was to suffer a full traitors death of hanging, drawing and quartering but later decided that he should be beheaded upon Tower Hill and that the date of execution would be St Swithun's Day, 15th July. The King wanted as many people as possible to see their hero die, and according to J.N.P Watson chose the date as a lesson to his nephew "for giving credit to so vain a prediction; for 'tho Almighty God permits such divinations to fall out some times according as they are foretold, yet never to the benefit or advantage of those that believe them".

Shortly before his execution, the Bishop of Ely and Dr Ken visited him to hear his confession. He shook off his fear, realising that St Swithun's day would indeed be his day of judgement and became very sincere and dignified except on the matter of his mistress Henrietta Wentworth. He refused to admit that he had been living in sin with her, saying "I have heard it is lawful to have one wife in the eye of the law and another before God". When he was challenged for saying this he replied, "Well, but if a man be bred up in a false notion, what shall he do when he has but two hours to live?".

He told the bishops he would die a true Protestant, and he was then refused the sacrament. But he signed a paper renouncing his allusions to the throne for the sake of his children and also declared that his father Charles II had told him he was illegitimate although he was very careful not to admit it himself. He also asked that the King did not make his children suffer on his account.

On the morning of his execution he dressed carefully, wearing clean stockings, a fresh skirt and lace scarf, as well as a grey suit lined with black and a long periwig. His wife visited him that morning for a final farewell and fell to her knees begging his forgiveness if she had done anything to offend him but he told her she had been a good, dutiful wife. He also instructed his children to be dutiful to the King and to respect their mother.

He approached Tower Hill and the scaffold was heavily defended, and James II had given special permission for the scaffold to be draped in mourning cloth. As he climbed the steps and spied Jack Ketch he said "do your work well". The crowd was huge, and thousands of people had flocked to see their hero die. It is said that Monmouth spoke very little on the scaffold, only to yet again defend Henrietta Wentworth, stating that he had not lived in sin with her and that she was a virtuous woman. He also stated that he said he would die "very penitent". He was also asked to address the soldiers in front of the scaffold, as he ,  had been a soldier himself and he refused, saying he would take no speeches, but the men accompanying him on the scaffold kept badgering him saying that just 10 words would be enough. Some have said that at this point he made his "Martyr of the People" speech that he wrote in the Tower, but official reports deny this.

Monmouth now turned to Jack Ketch and addressed him, handing him a bag of six guineas, "Here are six guineas for you. Pray do your business well. Do not serve me as you did my Lord Russell. I have heard you struck him three or four times. If you give me two strokes I promise I will not stir".

Following this he removed his waistcoat and periwig. He refused a blindfold and knelt, laying his head on the block. After a moment, he turned back to Ketch and asked if he could feel the axe. After he had done so he expressed his fear that the axe was not sharp enough. Ketch then stated that it was both sharp enough and heavy enough. The executioner himself had been unnerved by Monmouth's mention of Russell, and he botched the execution completely. The first swing caught the side of Monmouth's neck, making him heave up and look at Ketch in shock. The second made a slightly bigger gash and the third he missed all together. Ketch then threw the axe down crying, "God Damn Me, I can do no more. My heart fails me, I cannot do it!". The crowd became angry, threatening to kill Ketch if he did not do any better. Ketch was ordered to pick the axe back up and finish the job, taking 3 more blows to kill Monmouth, though the head was still attached. He resorted to using a butchers knife that hung at his belt to finally remove Monmouth's head. The crowd was still so indignant at the executioner that he had to be lead away by armed guard.

Portrait said to be of James Duke of Monmouth after his death, artist unknown (though possibly by Kneller)

James, Duke of Monmouth, was buried in the chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula inside the Tower of London alongside other noble and royal victims of the executioners axe.

The diarist John Evelyn wrote of his death, "Thus ended the quondam Duke, darling of his father and the ladies, being extremely handsome and adroit, an excellent soldier and dancer, a favourite of the people, of an easy nature, debauch'd by lust, seduc'd by crafty knaves...He was a lovely person"

I'm not going to lie, as I have been writing this I have been crying a little...actually that's a lie because I am sobbing as I write this. Monmouth's end was very grizzly, and such a horrible way for such a popular figure to die. Because he was popular, and he was loved. And no one deserves to suffer such a terrible death.

Tonight I shall be raising a glass to James, Duke of Monmouth.

Further Reading


Coward, B, 2012, The Stuart Age: England 1603-1714, Pearson: Harlow
Watson, J.N.P, 1979, Captain General and Rebel Chief: The Life of James, Duke of Monmouth, George Allen & Unwin: London

On This Day In History: 12th February 1554

On this day in history, Lady Jane Grey was executed on Tower Green following the execution of her husband Guildford Dudley.

Lady Jane Grey, who personally I believe should be known as Queen Jane I, is famously known as the Nine Days Queen however Eric Ives in his wonderful book "Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery" states that the correct figure for her reign is more like 13 days (Ives 2009, 2). Jane's story is one of the saddest in Tudor history, she was written into the succession by Edward VI in his "advice for the succession" and came to the throne upon his death, something which she did not want. The story goes that when she was told she was now Queen of England, she collapsed in tears, and that she refused to wear the crown. Shortly after she and her council received news that Mary had been proclaimed Queen in Norfolk and was on her way to London to take her throne. And it didn't take long for her council to desert her completely and go over to Mary. Support for Mary was widespread, and Jane found herself imprisoned in the Tower along with her husband Guildford.

After being proclaimed Queen, Mary deliberated over having her young Cousin executed but found herself increasingly under pressure. But it was Wyatt's rebellion in 1554 that sealed Jane's fate, when her father took part in the attempt to remove Mary from the throne. Following the rebellion, Mary had the death warrants of Lady Jane and Guildford signed, realising that she could not risk any more threats to her throne, and people rallying to Jane's course especially since her father had been involved in the failed rebellion.

And so, on 12th February 1554, Lady Jane Grey walked to the scaffold on Tower Green. There she gave her prayer book to the Lieutenant of the Tower, having written a note inside it for him:

Forasmuch as you have desired so simple a woman to write in so worthy a book, good Master Lieutenant, therefore I shall as a friend desire you, and as a Christian require you, to call upon God to incline your heart to his laws, to quicken you in his way, and not to take the word of truth utterly out of your mouth. Live still to die, that by death you may purchase eternal life, and remember how the end of Methuselah, who, as we read in the scriptures, was the longest liver that was of a man died at the last: for as the Preacher says, there is a time to be born and a time to die; and the day of death is better than the day of our birth. Yours, as the Lord knows, as a friend, Jane Dudley (Ives 2009, 275-276)

According to Ives, Jane was highly composed as she gave her final speech to the crowd whereas her ladies were weeping. Her nerves began to show as she turned to the executioner and asked, "Will you take it off before I lay me down?" and the executioner answered simply, "No Madam". Then as she knelt, blindfolded she reached out panic stricken and unable to find the block and cried out "What shall I do? Where is it?". A bystander lead her gently to the block and it was over. Lady Jane Grey, Queen Jane I, was no more and England was ruled by Mary. Hours later, Jane's headless body still lay on the scaffold, and according to Ives the Tower was "drained...of all resolution". She was eventually buried in the Chapel of St Peter Ad Vicula, where today her grave can be seen marked by the altar.

Jane Grey is one of my favourite Tudor women, and I see her as a pawn in a bigger political game. To me, and to many others I am sure, she was an innocent and her death was a terrible tragedy, she was a victim. There are certainly others who see her as more of a warrior, a woman who called an army to her to try and stop the onslaught of Mary, that Jane had a hand in everything that happened - for example De Lisle notes that when she noticed her councillors becoming discontent she continued sending out letters to Sheriff's and Justices Of The Peace demanding their allegiance, as well as ordering further guards around the Tower and the gate keys be brought to her at 7pm each evening (De Lisle 2008, 120-122). But whatever your view of the young Queen, her end was certainly a tragedy, and this poor girl deserves to be remembered not only for her short reign and terrible end, but for her brilliant mind. I will be working on a post about her life at some point, as part of my "Inspiration" series so please do keep an eye out for that. Until then I really recommend checking out Eric Ives "Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery" as it is an absolutely fantastic book and meticulously researched. Another good one, although written with a much more different viewpoint is "The Sisters Who Would Be Queen" by Leanda De Lisle, whilst I did not enjoy this one quite so much it is still a pretty good read if you are looking for an overview of Jane's life as well as that of her sisters.

Sources:

Ives, E, 2009, Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery, Wiley-Blackwell, Sussex

The Anne Boleyn Files, http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/8409/lady-jane-greys-execution/ accessed 12th February 2012

De Lisle, L, 2008, The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: The Tragedy of Mary, Katherine & Lady Jane Grey, Harper Press, Oxfordshire.

Photo credit: The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul Delaroche from http://www.kingsacademy.com/mhodges/11_Western-Art/20_Early-19th-Century-Romanticism/Delaroche/Delaroche.htm, accessed 12th February 2012.

The Execution of Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham

We all know the story of Katherine Howard, Henry VIII's young Queen who was executed on charges of treason, and for her affairs with Francis Dereham and Thomas Culpeper. The story is a famous one, with Katherine being helped in her endeavours with Thomas by the infamous Lady Rochford (who was executed along with Katherine) - with Thomas losing his head at Tyburn followed by Francis Dereham being hung, drawn and quartered.

On this day in history, 10th December 1541, both men lost their lives for their part in the whole affair. It would have been a gruesome spectacle, Thomas had been granted beheading by the King as he had once been one of his closest grooms whereas Dereham was given the full traitors death.

Showtime's "The Tudors" showed the execution in all it's gruesome glory, and despite how horrible the scenes I thought it was very well done. I have placed the video below, and warning for the squeamish...it is rather gruesome.

Lastly, apologies for my lack of posts recently. I've been on a funny shift pattern at work which has offered me little time to do anything. Oh...and I blame the video game Skyrim also!!