Charlie Fenton > Recent Status Updates

‘There is a Holbein drawing that is sometimes attributed as being of Jane Parker, who of course became one of Anne's ladies. He draws a tiny waif, her features almost caprine, with pale eyes, wide set.‘

‘The existence of roundel versions at around eleven centimetres in width indicate that Cromwell commissioned more portraits based on this master portrait and handed them out to his loyal associates - his assistant Ralph Sadler, for example, or his equally faithful cousin Richard Cromwell. Or perhaps these members of the Cromwell camp had wanted to show their allegiance and appreciation by commissioning portraits’

‘he would taste the infusion or note a difference in my expression, but I felt no guilt. I believed that if we married our union would be legal and blessed by God, our children would have safety and prospects, and he could know them better. I saw only benefit – was that wrong? Was it at that moment I lost my way? It is hard to ask God’s forgiveness for an act that I cannot, in my heart, perceive as wicked.’

‘had not long returned from the More household, and so it is tempting to think that at this stage he probably continued to share something of their approach to religion, that is a Catholicism in need of reform. However, he was also a pragmatist who had just invested in real estate in the city. Many of his patrons may well have fled, but Holbein needed to find a way of keeping his workshop open‘

‘The group portrait of Sir Thomas More and his family, like so much of Holbein’s work, is an exercise in tension. In this instance it explores the conflict between public and private life, with a dose of irony and wit appropriate to its patron.’

‘of the series of portraits that Erasmus commissioned from Holbein, two were sent off to England in 1523. One was for the then Archbishop of Canterbury William Warham, and today it hangs in the National Gallery in London. Warham was a patron of Erasmus abo provided him with a pension - one he had recently increased. The work was intended to recommend Erasmus to his patron as being worthy of this investment.’

‘Were not Time and Fate sisters? My feeling is that they both work against us, sometimes gently, sometimes harshly, with the briefest interruptions when the tide flows backwards for a happy moment, mainly due to our own endeavours. Of course, they are both just other names for the workings of God. I had renewed my efforts to stay in favour with my angel keeper after George’s death’

‘Holbein’s earliest biographer suggested that Elsbeth had a terrible temper that had eroded the Holbein marriage. Though it is tempting to see this as a stereotypical characterisation of a married woman as a scold, nevertheless, van Mander insisted, ‘He had a wife who was rather cranky, and who had so bad a disposition that he never could expect any peace or rest with her’.’

‘Friendship with Frankie was bringing me the benefits I had foreseen; foremost amongst them, love. Although I sensed a slight distance between us, as was perhaps inevitable in light of our differing ranks and ages, we were like a happily married couple, our talents complementary and our shortcomings thereby ameliorated.’

‘And here is Holbein’s brilliance. In an era when one’s allegiance to the wrong king or the wrong religious ideology could end a career, or worse, a life, Holbein delivers an image in which the audience can see what they want to see. It would be the same deft technique he would deploy twenty years later in his portrait of Anne of Cleves.’

‘Holbein’s paintings were intended for discussion. Part of the event of their unveiling was a conversation about the meaning the painter had concealed within his work. He devised his work like a poem that one must return to in order to fully comprehend its layers. But in this instance, such was Henry’s aversion to disappointment, he failed to heed the implicit warnings in Holbein’s portrait’

‘Take the most recognised names of the Henrician moment and Holbein likely had a direct and proximate relationship with them: Henry VIII, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Jane Seymour, and Anne of Cleves are but a few. His portraits of these people have become definitive. It is almost impossible to imagine Henry VIII and his entourage through anyone else’s eyes but Holbein’s.’

‘Sometime in 1501/2, Cecily finally chose to take her destiny into her own hands, and she fell in love with a gentleman called Thomas Kyme of Lincolnshire or the Isle of Wight. They married in secret, and when the married was discovered, a furious Henry banished her from court and confiscated her Welles lands.’

‘The Catholic Mass has been banned and we are to have a new Book of Common Prayer. How my late mistress would have rejoiced! Still, her little one will grow up in this kingdom that has been reclaimed for God, and she herself had no small influence in that, I believe.’

DNF after the wedding night for obvious reasons (rape, for those who know the horrible myths about Jane and George)

Halloween is approaching and I have never read it (or listened to it, in this case). So we shall have to see how this goes, as it seems to have divided people. Am I a believer? I’ve never experienced anything to make me believe, is all I will say.

‘The medieval warhorse had to be easy to mount at a moment’s notice, i.e. not too high off the ground. It had to have a strong back, powerful quarters, and be capable of fast manoeuvre. In constitution, an ideal horse would have resembled a modern heavy hunter or small showjumper, and would have stood no more than fifteen and a half hands in height.’

I know I am biased, having researched and found no evidence for a loveless (if anything more likely to have been happy or at least cordial than anything) marriage between Jane and George Boleyn for my book that released earlier this year, but I just know I am going to hate this one.

‘The heraldic arms of the Security Service of the UK, otherwise known as MI15, include red roses in honour of Sir Francis Walsingham, the Elizabethan statesman and spymaster who used the rose on his seal. Also featured a crowned portcullis - the Tudor royal symbol that has become a ubiquitous emblem of British government - the insignia adopted by MI15 imply a clear connection’

‘Instinct told me that the King would not approve of my falling in love with a man he had not chosen for me. My marriage was in his gift. It would be made to his advantage, and England’s. Thomas Howard, a younger son with no fortune, no prospects and no influence in any quarter, would not stand a chance. But I was young and headstrong, and my heart was heedless of policy.‘

‘Her right fist was tightly clenched, and when Faisal gently prised it open, he discovered a small, jewelled reliquary pressed against her palm. The Christians, he knew, set much store by these objects, often reverencing them more than they did their God. He could understand that they were a focus and a comfort, but was glad that his own belief required no such props.’

‘Both commonly wore black and white, but whilst these were Elizabeth’s favoured colours and worn by her champions in the tiltyard, for Mary they were a marker of her mourning for Darnley.’

‘Mauger was probably right. Albeit that William’s eldest son, Robert, was currently in rebellion against his father, the young man would doubtless inherit Normandy, and William Rufus would take England. It was a worrying prospect. The relationship between Robert and Rufus was a stormy one, compounded of brotherly love and brotherly hate in equal proportions.’

‘Susanna liked the Princess Anna on sight, although, privately, she had reservations that Anna had sufficient charm and accomplishments to inspire passion in the King. She was a humble soul, dignified and modest, with pleasing features (if you ignored the long nose), but without a clue how to please a man. And she was profoundly grateful to meet Susanna and have her for a gentlewoman.’

‘Although Knox presented this as a universal rule, his targets in 1558 were ‘our mischievous Maries’, the Catholic queen of England and regent of Scotland. Hence, when the Protestant Elizabeth came to the throne, Knox quickly backtracked and argued that ‘God’s great mercy maketh that lawful unto her, which both nature and God’s law deny to all women’.’

‘a little about Matilda – how in the days when William had sued for her hand in marriage, she had refused him, saying that she would not mate with a bastard, and how William had dragged her from her chamber and thrashed her with a riding crop in front of her father’s court. They had married, their passion had changed direction, and still powerfully dominated their marriage.’

Very romantic (sarcasm)!

‘“It is too much,” Ailith said in a distant voice and knelt at Goldwin’s side. “My brothers, my baby, my husband. What more is there to take?” She stared up at the Norman, but he had no answer for her. A look of appalled comprehension dawned on his face and his eyes went to the corner where her baby lay, surrounded by lighted candles on his last night above ground.’

‘Order was swiftly restored, but not before the coronation ceremony had been marred by the violence of several English deaths and the burning of some nearby buildings by an overzealous conroi of Norman mercenaries. To placate the English, and because his own sense of justice dictated it, the new king had the bodies brought to a side room at the abbey, where their relatives could come and claim them’

“The King’s brother Tostig and Harald Hardraada of Norway are ravaging the north country. York has fallen and the armies of the northern English lords have taken a severe battering. If you want to save your child, pray as never before that the winds continue to keep William of Normandy from our shores and that we can hold back the might of the Norwegians.”

‘the Alice books were lavishly illustrated in comparison to similar books of the time. The wood engravings amounted to almost half of the initial production costs at £138 for drawing plus £142 for engraving, compared to the printing and binding at £240 and £80 respectively. Carroll wanted someone capable of delivering both finesse and absurdity, and Tenniel could achieve both of these things.’