His brother came to the throne in 1509 as Henry VIII, married the widowed Catherine, and in a first flush of goodwill began to repair the damage to Margarets fortunes. Lewis, Jone Johnson. Even the more sedate accounts agree that, like Thomas Cromwell, she was hacked about by a second-string executioner. Margaret Pole was a pretty tough and clinical woman. His father was not supportive, but More was fully prepared to be disowned rather than disobey Gods will. After his death, and for centuries thereafter, Sir Thomas More was known as the most famous victim of Henry VIII's tyranny. The trial of Sir Thomas More for treason opened in Westminster Hall on July 1, 1535. Biography of Anne Neville, Wife and Queen of Richard III of England, Biography of Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England, Biography of Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI's Queen, Famous Mothers in History: Ancient Through Modern, M.Div., Meadville/Lombard Theological School, Father: George, Duke of Clarence, brother of king Edward IV and of Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III), Note: Cecily Neville, Margarets paternal grandmother, was a paternal aunt of Margarets maternal grandfather, Richard Neville. [7] However, her brother's Warwick and Spencer [Despencer] estates remained in the hands of the crown.[8]. Margaret was perhaps guilty only by association, but at this distance it is impossible to tell. Margaret, wife of Sir William Harington. Neither Francis I of France nor the Emperor supported this effort and the English government tried to have Reginald assassinated. And so, when More returned from a diplomatic mission to France in summer 1527, the king laid the open Bible before his favorite councilor. The main character is Joanna Stafford, a Dominican novice. After her husband's death, Margaret acted as regent for her son James V, from 1513-1515. Despite such evidence of royal favor, it is likely that More chafed at his service to the king. Then, her prayers completed, she faced the incompetent axeman. The hands are the standard-issue long-fingered type; a black ribbon, added later, may conceal damage to the paint. In 1520 Margaret was appointed governess to Henry's daughter Mary. As his disgrace deepened, Margaret withdrew from court. It was his great popularity that saved him. A tradition has grown up that George was drowned in a vat a malmsey, an expensive sweet wine. One of her children, Reginald Pole, would go on to become a cardinal, and then . Margaret's only surviving sibling was Edward, Earl of Warwick. When not at Court, Margaret lived chiefly at Warblington Castle in Hampshire and Bisham Manor in Berkshire. But Reginald Pole refused to do so, leaving for Europe in 1532. When Henry began to poll the European universities about the legality of his annulment, he chose Reginald to visit the Sorbonne, and had no fault to find with the way he carried out his mission. It took the inexperience executioner a grand total of 11 swings to finally sever her head at the neck . Margarets whole family had been elevated with her on the wheel of fortune. Pole, niece of both Edward IV and Richard III, was the only woman apart from Anne Boleyn to hold a peerage in her own right during the . Wolsey, for all his brilliance and cunning, could not compete with that influence. Inventories paint the picture: tableware of silver and gold, Venetian glass, mother-of-pearl, tapestries portraying the journeys of Ulysses and the discovery of Newfoundland; the countess herself, tall, stately, wears ermine, tawny damask, black satin and black velvet. By 1520, as an indication of the trust placed in her, she had been appointed lady governor to the Princess Mary, born in 1516 and the only child of the royal marriage to survive for more than a few weeks. Margaret if it is she wears coral and ermine. Hilary Mantel. His home at Chelsea was as close as Tudor England would come to an 18th century French salon. But Margaret kept any dissident thoughts to herself, avoiding jeopardy until, in the summer of 1536, the actions of her son Reginald plunged her whole family into trouble. Henry accepted Mores resignation. She spent much of her time at Warblington, where she was nicely placed, in the event of an invasion, to help the rebels against Henry; or so you thought, if you were one of Henrys councillors. The grave of Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII was a Catholic ruler, and enjoyed friendly relations with the papacy until he sought to divorce Katharine. Margaret Pole had connections to all manner of visitor attractions, including Farleigh Hungerford Castle, Somerset, where she was born,and the Tower of London. Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots. * Thomas Stafford (1531-4 May 1557) who was captured and executed for High Treason in Scarborough. Edward IV declared that Margaret's younger brother, Edward, should be known as Earl of Warwick as a courtesy title, but no peerage was ever created for him. 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He married Anne Neville, a younger sister of Margaret's mother, Isabel. She would have been a widow when the portrait was painted, but she holds a sprig of honeysuckle, symbol of love and marriage. You may not of heard of Margaret Pole so I will fill you in because her death was quite brutal and makes an interesting read, (if you like the darker side of the Tudors). And More was more convinced than ever that he needed to leave royal service. In 1539 Henry VIII allowed (or ordered) Thomas Cromwell to throw Lady Salisbury into the . It was, Henry told him, proof that his marriage to Katharine was incestuous due to her previous marriage to his brother. When she reached her teens, a marriage was arranged with Richard Pole, a modest landowner with solid Tudor connections, who had been rewarded for loyalty by being made constable of several Welsh castles. Joan, wife of John Langton. Sir Thomas Pole was a member of the aristocracy in England. He grew up cultivated and cosmopolitan, sensitive, lively-minded. It was during this trip that he began to write Utopia, his most famous work. The accounts differ slightly; Marillac's report, dispatched two days afterwards, recorded that the execution took place in a corner of the Tower with so few people present that, in the evening, news of her execution was doubted. No one would stage a rebellion in her favour while there were male Yorkists to mount a challenge. It was the king who had paid for Reginalds education at Oxford and later in Italy, where his noble connections gave him the entre into the smartest humanist circles. This More was fully prepared to do. With the accession of the young king uxorious, beautiful and benign England seemed to have entered a golden age: and at his coronation, all the spectators, and presumably Margaret Pole with them, with great reverence, love and desire, said and cried: Yea, yea!. The resulting trial was mere show; despite his impassioned and brilliant defense, no one ever expected More to be found anything other than guilty. You see, we speak of being anchored to our principles. Basically, they disliked and mistrusted one another. In 1541, Margaret was executed, protesting that she had not taken part in any conspiracy and proclaiming her innocence. Portrait of an unknown woman, often identified as the Countess of Salisbury, DWYER, J. G. "Pole, Margaret Plantagenet, Bl.". "Pole, Margaret Plantagenet, Bl." Was More surprised by this speech? Elizabeth Darrell, later Thomas Wyatts mistress, refused the oath; Lady Hussey, wife of one of Marys household, was imprisoned because she would not accept Marys exclusion from the succession and insisted on addressing her as a princess. ), St. Marie's Church in New Bilton, Rugby, England. Susan Higginbothams carefully written book comes with a misleading cover puff: At last, a biography of one of the most fascinating women of the Tudor period, who has too long been overlooked. Either her sons had not made her aware of their dealings, Fitzwilliam concluded, or she was an adept in brazen deceit. The popular image is of a man principled, steadfast, courageous who placed his own conscience above his kings demands. One does not have to share his religious convictions to appreciate his inner strength and noble character. Following Richard's death in 1504, Margaret no longer had the fortune to support. The nun sought out eminent supporters, especially those who, like Margaret and like Gertrudes husband, had a claim to the throne, and pressed on them the contents of her visions: unless he went back to his wife and to Rome, Henry would expire in torments. But Reginald, it seemed, always got a tip-off. The countess was to look after the little girls health and diet, ensure that she did not wear herself out in learning French and Latin, and see that her immediate environment was kept spotless, so that everything about her be pure, sweet, clean and wholesome, as to so great a princess doth appertain. She managed her lands quite well, and became one of the five or six wealthiest peers in England. This phrase has been interpreted as meaning Edward was of low intelligence; it only means that he was unworldly, and Higginbotham sees this. Looking to her last end, Margaret commissioned a chantry at Christchurch Priory. A Yorkist pretender had been crowned in Dublin, a child who claimed to be the Plantagenet heir, Edward, Earl of Warwick, Margarets 12-year-old brother. On his accession he granted her an annuity of 100 a year and on 14 Oct 1513 he created her Countess of Salisbury and gave her the family lands of the earldom of Salisbury. Gregory had been corresponding with Reginald; the investigation of Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exeter (Henry VIII's first cousin and Geoffrey's second cousin), had turned up his name. Credit: PjrWindows / Alamy Stock Photo. Her mother, Isabel, daughter of the above-mentioned "King-maker," died 22nd December, 1476, and her father in the Tower nearly two years later. The reasons were various, but the most important was Katharines position as aunt to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Charles would not let his aunt be cast aside (he was also considering the dynastic appeal of her daughter with Henry), and he pressured the pope to deny Henrys petition. EDWARD STAFFORD, THIRD DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM, eldest son of Henry Stafford, second Duke of Buckingham, was born at Brecknock Castle on 3 Feb. 1477-8. Did she, as the regime alleged, burn the evidence that incriminated her? The Editor Margaret, warned of the threat he represented to her own interests and life, said: I trow he is not so unhappy that he will hurt his mother, and yet I care neither for him, nor for any other, for I am true to my Prince., At this point she was questioned rigorously by Henrys councillor William Fitzwilliam. Margaret was born into the England of the Wars of the Roses and was the daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, one of Edward IV 's younger brothers and was of the House of York. As part of the evidence for the bill of attainder, Cromwell produced a tunic bearing the Five Wounds of Christ, symbolizing Margaret's support for the Church of Rome and the rule of her son, Reginald, and the king's Roman Catholic daughter, Mary. The bridegroom Arthur was dead within months. He was knighted in 1521, became speaker of the House of Commons in 1523, and earned the title of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Nevertheless, she was taken from her cell to the place within the precincts of the Tower of London where a low wooden block had been prepared instead of the customary scaffold.[5]. Yet even as his legal future seemed assured, More was deeply conflicted about his future. Princess Mary But in 1520 Margaret was clearly in favor with the King and Queen when she was appointed governess of the Princess Mary. Henry wanted Reginald to come back to England and talk the matter over, but Reginald had the sense to keep his distance. These are not consistent; and ifas he claimed at one pointPole rejected the Divorce in 1526 and refused the Oath of Supremacy in 1531, he received benefits from Henry for a course of action for which others were sentenced to death. Get the best results here. Because of this, she becomes an unprovoked target for the King's anger. BORN: 1473. . He had long felt a calling to the priesthood. The new king married Margaret's cousin, Elizabeth of York, Edward IV's daughter, and Margaret and her brother were taken into their care. For highlights from the latest issue, our archive and the blog, as well as news, events and exclusive promotions. Her mother was one of the greatest heiresses of her time while her father was the younger brother of King Edward IV of England. As Englands premier intellectual, Mores opinion mattered. Rather, he felt that he could be more effective in the city itself, not closeted away amongst the nobles and councilors of Henrys court. After several months, he was visited by Cromwell, but More refused to engage him in debate and merely declared himself a faithful subject of the king. His natural piety was at odds with other courtiers, all of whom jockeyed ceaselessly for the kings favor. She was executed in 1541, the act of attainder rendering a trial unnecessary. Gender: Male. It seems Margaret was questioned about her contacts with Barton, but she came to no harm as a result and, unlike Gertrude, she escaped without grovelling. The axe hit her shoulder instead of her neck, and she escaped the guards and ran around screaming as the executioner chased her with the axe. Henry VIII helped provide good marriages or religious offices for Margarets sons, and a good marriage for her daughter as well. Reginald was the most interesting and talented of Margarets children, and the one to whom she was not close. Two written eyewitness reports survived her execution: one by Marillac, the French ambassador, and the other by Chapuys, ambassador to the Holy Roman Emperor. Margaret was 14, and probably remained at court rather than living with her husband. Bishop of Rochester, and Sir Thomas More, once Chancellor of England and a close royal friend, had both . It was time to be rid of Warwick. * Walter Stafford (about 1539-after 1571 . The Imperial Ambassador, Eustace Chapuys, suggested two years later that Mary be handed over to Margaret, but Henry refused, calling her "a fool, of no experience". Please include name, address and a telephone number. "Margaret Pole, Tudor Matriarch and Martyr." The governors of Lincoln admired him enough to appoint him lecturer on law for three consecutive years. Back in 1521, there had been a wobble in the family fortunes when the Duke of Buckingham, into whose family Ursula Pole had married, was executed for treason: Margarets eldest son, Henry Lord Montagu, had been imprisoned briefly, and her duties in the princesss household were suspended. In 1539, Reginald was sent to the Emperor to organize an embargo against Englandthe sort of countermeasure he had himself warned Henry was possible.[14]. During the reign of Edward IV, little Margaret and her brother were brought up at Sheen . It gave the king pause, and More was allowed to return home. He wore many hats: chief diplomat, speechwriter, advisor. They were preventing her marriage to the king. Even as he secretly wore a hair shirt, he openly and consistently fasted, prayed, and maintained a relatively modest household. Both Henry and Reginald Pole were attainted in 1539; Geoffrey was pardoned. Soon he was acting as Henrys personal secretary and adviser, delivering official speeches, greeting foreign envoys, drafting treaties and other public documents, and composing the kings responses to Wolseys dispatches. Afterwards, he made a botched suicide attempt. Margaret was one of just two women in 16th-century England to be a peeress in her own right (suo jure) without a husband in the House of Lords. But Reginald stayed in Italy through the reign of Anne Boleyn supposedly preparing a learned statement on the kings case. She was by necessity hostile to the Catholic church. They had 1 son & 3 daughters: [1] Sir Thomas. They married less than a month after Jane Colts death and More had to seek special dispensation from the church. A third account in Burke's Peerage, possibly apocryphal, described the appalling circumstances of the execution. How to Be Tudor: Can a King Have Friends. But Lord Montagu attended Annes coronation as he would later attend her trial. Most aristocratic women outlived their husbands, and once a woman was widowed she was able to assert her independence and have a say in her family affairs, while cultivating the trope of the defenceless widow in any dealings with the authorities. Her daughter Ursula married the Duke of Buckingham's son, Henry Stafford, but after the Duke's fall, the couple were given only fragments of his estates. Pope Paul III put him in charge of organising assistance for the Pilgrimage of Grace (and related movements). Henry VIIIs later statements to the contrary, his marriage to Katharine began happily and continued so for some years. geralmente . When Reginald was seven, and Margaret a widow with an uncertain future, she sent him to be educated at Sheen with the monks of the Charterhouse. Ursula Pole, Baroness Stafford the daughter of Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury and Sir Richard Pole. Geoffrey appealed to Thomas Cromwell, who had him arrested and interrogated. Margaret's own favour at Court varied. [10], When Mary was declared a bastard in 1533, Margaret refused to give Mary's gold plate and jewels back to Henry. Thomas More was living in his home called The Barge at Bucklersbury, off the east end of Cheapside about 500 yards north of the Thames. Please include name, address, and a telephone number. He died young (about 1526) having married the heir of Roger Lewknor. She was the niece of Edward IV and Richard III of England by way of their brother George Plantagenet, 1 st Duke of Clarence. Thomas Cromwell producerade en tunika av typen 'Five Wounds of Christ', som pstods vara en symbol fr nskan att placera . Margaret Plantagenet, the daughter of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence and of his wife, Isabel Neville, was born on 14th August 1473 at Farleigh Castle, near Bath. And he was a father who insisted his three daughters have the same education as his son. But eventually the break between the king and his chief minister could not be ignored. It is only in posteritys schoolroom view that Bosworth was the end of the Middle Ages or the end of anything; the noble families didnt think their wars were over, and indeed they were not, because in 1487 the new king was defending his throne at the Battle of Stoke. Even special physicians summoned from Spain could not help the queen to conceive again. In 1529, he represented Henry VIII in Paris, persuading the theologians of the Sorbonne to support Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Margaret and her brother were brought up at Sheen only surviving sibling was Edward, Earl Warwick! 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