anastasianikolaevnaromanova: “Later that day, about 9:00 AM, Anne, dressed in a robe of black

anastasianikolaevnaromanova:“Later that day, about 9:00 AM, Anne, dressed in a robe of black damask covered by an ermine mantle of white, entered the Tower courtyard in the company of her attendants and Constable Kingston. They led her to the sheriff, who escorted her to a low platform of only four or five steps that had been newly constructed on the green. In her last speech, which Hall’s chronicle quotes, her words reflected most of the demands of priests, who regularly attended to the spiritual needs of the dying. She forgave those who had brought her to this place, but the law had judged her guilty, and therefore she “would speak nothing against it.” Thus, she kept the traditional protocol, failing to challenge the judgment against her but also neglecting to confess specifically that she had committed the crimes for which she was to be executed. She next prayed God to “save the king” and provide him with a “long reign, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never.” Vaguely defending herself, she did say that “if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best.” Finally, she asked those present to pray for her and said, “O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul.” What is missing here is that she failed to admit having offended God, but as John Skip gave her spiritual comfort during her final hours in the Tower and Archbishop Cranmer had taken her last confession, they would have seen to those spiritual needs. Furthermore, as the first queen to be executed, no model existed for her to follow except those of others with lesser social status. It is interesting that the crimes of which queens were most frequently accused were adultery and witchcraft.She dispensed alms of £20, exchanged her headdress for a cap of linen, thanked her ladies for their diligent service, and exhorted them not to forget her and to serve the king faithfully. Having asked them to say prayers for her, she knelt down, was blindfolded by one of her attendants, and repeated “To Jesus Christ I commend my soul; Lord Jesus receive my soul” several times until, with a swing of his sword, the executioner from Calais “sealed the debt that she owned unto death.” Reportedly, she fell to the ground with both her lips and eyes moving.” — Retha M. Warnicke, Elizabeth of York and Her Six Daughters-in-Law: Fashioning Tudor Queenship, 1485 – 1547 -- source link

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