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Women throughout history
Women throughout history
Women throughout history
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On July 4, 1546, a notation made in King Henry VIII's Privy Council “the executors of John Smyth, late the Queen's receiver. . . allege that books remain in your custody to discharge these debts; we require you to show them.”1 It appeared that the king was going to dispose of his latest queen, Katherine Parr, as he had done to nearly every other wife he had until this time. It was through her education, kind nature and clever move of appealing to the king's pride that she was able to save her neck from the chopping block. Katherine was able to survive this episode and outlived King Henry VIII to be remembered in history as the wife who got away.
Katherine was born to Sir Thomas and Maud Parr in 1512. She had a younger brother and sister, William and Anne.2 Maud served Katherine of Aragon as a lady-in-waiting. It is possible that Katherine and Princess Mary, born only a few years apart, played or were briefly educated together.3 When Katherine was around five years old, her father died. Maud was left to raise her three young children, and from all appearances, took the job as mother and educator very seriously.4 Katherine learned to speak and write French as well as English, which was a remarkable feat considering most people could not read even English. Katherine's love of learning never ceased throughout her entire life. As an adult she pursued the study of Latin and Greek, as well as religious writings of the period. Katherine composed two separate books, Prayers and Meditations, and Lamentation of a Sinner.5
Katherine was married to Edward Borough at seventeen, but widowed two years later.6 Her second husband, Lord John Latimer of Yorkshire, was nearly twenty years older than Katherine. Latimer was widowed twice h...
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...ns of a Sixteenth-Century Heretic and Saint. Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 52, No. 4 (Winter, 1999) 1021-1045 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2901834 (Accessed 23 April, 2013).
Latimer, Hugh Latimer, “Second Sermon, June 9, 1537” Sermons on the Card and Other Discourses, ed. Henry Morley. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2458/2458-h/2458-h.htm
“Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 21 Part 1: January-August 1546”. Editors James Gairdner and R. H. Brodie. British History Online. http://www.british- history.ac.uk/report/aspx?compid=80860. (Accessed 24 April, 2014).
PBS “The Six Wives of Henry VIII”. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/sixwives/meet/cp_handbook_main.html (Accessed 22 April, 2013).
Trueman, Chris. “Causes of the Pilgrimage of Grace.” http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/causes_pilgrimage_grace.htm (Accessed 26 April, 2013).
The story of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, has been elusive to historians since her death in 1536 at the hands of her husband. This, in part, can be attributed to the destruction of almost everything she touched soon after her execution. On orders of the king, the castles that were once her home had all memory stripped of her. Portraits were destroyed, letters disappeared, their symbol of the H and A intertwined had the A ripped away. The remnants of her time on the throne are pieces of history that were overlooked in the workers haste to strip the castles in preparation for Jane Seymour to become queen. There are few hints left of what really happened during Anne’s life and how important she was during her reign which has created the widespread infatuation with Anne and who she really was. Why is Anne’s life of such interest to us then? The reasons are many and include the desire to know her role in the English reformation, being the first queen of England to ever be executed, and the impact it had on her daughter and the later Queen Elizabeth I.
Sargent, Michael G. “Mystical Writings and Dramatic Texts in Late Medieval England.” Religion & Literature , Vol. 37, No. 2 (Summer, 2005), pp. 77-98
Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Luther's Catechisms. A.D. 1529 01/04/2003 September 27, 2004 < http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds1.viii.iv.html >
Luther, Martin. The Large Catechism, in The Book of Concord. Edited by Robert Kolb and
Carleton- Munro, Dana. The Speech of Pope Urban II. At Clermont, 1095. The American Historical Review. 11. no. 2 (1906): 231.
Besides loving table talk Luther showed his affection for his wife Katherine in other significant ways. For example, he put her on a pastoral
Mary Tudor of England, Born on February 18, 1516, was always a precious lady.(Gairdner) According to the article “Queen Mary”: “Mary wanted to restore the catholic faith, and reunite England with Rome.” Queen Mary I was quite successful, she managed to rearrange “the royal household, and it was thought right to give Mary an establishment of her own along with a council on the borders of Whales, for the better government of the Marches.”(Gairdner) In real life Queen Mary was in fact a very kind hearted and happy lady, who in fact loved music, dancing, and gossiping with her court and followers. She often dressed in brightly colored cloths and very expensive jewelry.(Eamon) According to Amy Pollick’s article “Dispelling Myths about Queen”, “Mary did lay a solid governmental foundation.” Mary had a good head on her shoulders. She planned to further the peace and prosperity in England. (Pollick) Some of what caused her to “rebel from her father” was him depriving her of her faith, security, and happiness as a child. (Pearsall) In the book “Kings and Queens” it is stated that Mary married King Philip of Spain, but they had no children. (Pearsall) “He lived in England for only a year before returning to spain.” After that Mary began to bring back the old religion and faith of her time. Although the persecutions may have been exaggerated (Gull). From the same so...
Katharina is often considered one of the most important participants of the Reformation because of her role in helping to define Protestant family life and setting the tone for clergy marriages.Unfortunately, historians have few sources that provide insights into the mind of Katherine von Bora. Only a few of her letters survive. Luther liked to tease Katherine and she gave him back as good as she got. During one dinner table conversation, Luther remarked,
By the time Elizabeth was ten years old, Henry her father had married and divorced three wives in succession. The last wife, Catherine Parr, persuaded him to reinstate Elizabeth’s right as an heir and bring her back to Court. Here, she can shared her younger half-brother’s tutors and received a outstanding education. Now Elizabeth had motivation to be more determined about her future. Sadly, she also had reason to dwell on the prior execution of her third stepmother, K...
Mary Stuart was born on December 8, 1542, in Lithingow Palace, Scotland. She was the daughter of King James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. Her father died only six days after Mary was born, so she became Queen of Scotland when she was only six days old (Haws Early Life par 1). She was crowned on the ninth of September the following year at Sterling. Mary was christened in the Parish Church of St. Michael, near the palace (“Mary, Queen of Scots” par 1). Later, when Mary turned six, she was sent to France by her French mother for her protection. While she was there, she lived as the French royal family (Haws Early Life par 1 and 2). When she set off to France, she traveled with the Children of Scotland’s Nobility, which included the Four Marys. They are the women who would stay with her throughout anything (“Mary Queen of Scots Bio” par 5). They were also educated at the French court with Mary, where she was brought up.
Queen Elizabeth’s mother, Anne Boleyn, had a pretty rough time. After “marrying” Queen Elizabeth’s father, Henry VII, she became the queen. Soon after she became pregnant, everyone was preparing for the little prince, Prince Edward, but whenever Anne Boleyn’s due date came she had a little girl, Princess Elizabeth. After many failed attempts at conceiving, the king became angry and started to think of a way to end their marriage. With the help of a few of Anne’s enemies at court, King Henry started an investigation. Anne was eventually arrested on the charges of adultery, incest, and plotting to murder the king. With limited evidence, she was found guilty and sentenced to death by beheading. On May 19th, Anne was privately executed.
Early on the reader is aware that Mary Katherine thoughts are unusual and eccentric for a girl her age. Mary Katherine was brought up as upper class in a small village, living with her family until their sudden death. With only her Uncle and
Born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut, Katharine had the good fortune to be born to her well-to-do parents, Katharine and Thomas Hepburn, who believed in freedom of thought and put no obstacles in their daughter's way. Both were active in the fight for many social and medical reforms for women: the vote, prostitution, white slavery, teen-age pregnancy, venereal disease, domestic hygiene, birth control; topics that were not discussed in polite private conversation, much less publicly. Although opposed by conservative neighbors, the Hepburns were eventually praised for their forward thinking (Anderson, 93). Their lesson to their daughter, Katharine, was clear: do what you know is right, even if you are out of step with the popular morals of the time. If you are right, the times will catch up with you. This attitude was instilled in her from birth and is evident in her "do what is right for you" personality. In her book Me, Katharine Hepburn wrote that her character is the power behind the throne, the thing that gives her common sense and the strength to keep going through the rough times. And that her character is a gift from her parents. When thinking about her background it is easy to understand why she chose and was successful in her roles involving family ties; she was the member of an extraordinary family that she was very close with. Her family life was not wealthy, but as a successful surgeon, her father provided a financially secure life for his family, sending Katharine to Bryn Mawr Collegea good background for her many roles she would later play as rich young socialites with a strong family presence. "The family with us was strong and remains strong . We're sort of a group, going through the world together .I feel cared for and always felt cared for"(Hepburn, 30).
Katherine Mansfield Katherine Mansfield, who lived from 1888 to 1923, is considered to be one of the most remarkable short story writers of her time. Using her life experiences as an inspiration for her short stories, Mansfield sculpted her ideas into masterful pieces of literary work. Mansfield's life was full of interesting experiences that shaped her outlook upon life. The diversity of friends and acquaintances Katherine Mansfield had over her lifetime also had a great influence on her career. Even as a child, Mansfield made decisions about her life that would create a path for her career to start on. Katherine Mansfield was born Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp to Harold and Annie Dyer Beauchamp on October 14, 1888. The Beauchamp family called New Zealand their home. "A Sea Voyage", written by the young Kathleen Beauchamp, won first-place at the Karori Village School, the grammar school she first attended (Nathan 1). This accomplishment encouraged young Beauchamp to continue on writing. After attending grammar school, Kathleen went on to attend Miss Swainson's Secondary School. During this time, she is acquainted with Maata Mahupuka, a native Maori. Her interest in Mahupuka later grew into a brief love affair with him (Nathan 1). After graduating from secondary school, Miss Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp left New Zealand. She decided this after thwarting the idea of a career in music. Beauchamp went on to attend London's Queens College and study literature. While in attendance at Queens College, Kathleen made a friend in Ida Baker. Ida Baker, like Beauchamp, was an avid writer. Kathleen gave the pen name "Lesley Moore" to Ida, after Beauchamp's brother Lesley (Sampson 308). In the spring of 1907, Miss Beauchamp held in garden party and invited many of her acquaintances from college. The party was a complete success until it was discovered that a cottager who lived on the property had been accidentally killed (Nathan 1). This event spawned to become "The Garden Party", Beauchamp's first major work (Encarta). In 1909, Kathleen Beauchamp became acquainted with a man by the name of G. C. Bowden. After only a brief period they became engaged and married. The evening after their marriage, Kathleen left Bowden (Disc. Authors 1). Leaving Bowden, she ran away with her longtime friend Garnet Trowell. Trowell was from Wellington; she was a fairly well known cellist. While running away with Garnet Trowell, Kathleen had an affair with a man who ultimately impregnates her.
The way both Elizabeth and Catherine lived during their youth had an impact on their life ambitions. Raised by an exasperated father, a single-minded mother whose only goal was to have each of he...