latristereina: Henry’s own handwriting has always been a bit of a mystery. Its bold, square,
latristereina: Henry’s own handwriting has always been a bit of a mystery. Its bold, square, rather laboured forms are quite unlike the hands of his known teachers, like John Skelton, and intellectual compeers like Thomas More. On the other hand, it is very like his sisters’ writing. His is more ‘masculine’ and better-formed. It is also the hand of someone who wrote regularly, if (as we know) rather painfully and reluctantly. His sisters’, in contrast, are typical women’s hands: loose and unpractised, if only because they wrote little. But the resemblance is still striking. It is weaker in the case of Margaret, Henry’s elder sister. But it is much closer in the case of the younger sister, Mary. Indeed, her hand at first sight would pass for Henry’s own – especially when he was scribbling rough notes or making corrections. The size, rhythm and letter forms are identical; only the pressure is different. Henry’s massive fist leans heavily on the page; Mary’s little hand flutters. The reason for the resemblance is obviously a common teacher. Henry and Mary did, as we shall see, share a tutor, William Hone. But he joined their service long after they were literate and had formed their hands. The common teacher, instead, I would suggest, was someone who really had been with them from the beginning: their mother. Only a few fragments of her handwriting seem to survive. The most substantial is her inscription of ownership in a book of devotion: ‘Thys boke ys myn Elysabeth the kyngys dawghtyr.’ It consists of only eight words and thirty-nine letters. But it is characteristic enough – in weight, in letter forms and in rhythm – to point to her role in inducting her second son and his sisters into literacy. - David Starkey, Henry: Virtuous Prince -- source link