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Jane Seymour Controversies
 Historical Controversies |
| How Involved was Jane in her predecessor Anne Boleyn's downfall & execution?: There are various schools of thought as to the actual involvement of Jane in her whirlwind courtship and rise to the position of Queen. One theory is that she was unintelligent and was simply used as a pawn by her ambitious brothers. Others believe that, as her motto "Bound to Obey and Serve" stated, she followed the orders and desires of the King without question, despite any fears she might have -- and fears would be expected, considering the fates of Henry's first two Queens. Katherine of Aragon had been banished and mistreated for years prior to her death, and Anne Boleyn was rapidly sliding to her final defeat. Lastly, the opinion was held by some, Anne Boleyn among them, that Jane was scheming and sly, and that she had deliberately attracted the King's attention as his love for Anne Boleyn faded, actively assisting her family it its rise to a position of power. Jane was not a diarist -- in fact, it is suspected that like most women of the time, she could only write enough to sign her name -- so her opinion of her meteoric rise to prominence is unknown, as is her comprehension of it and her possible participation in it. |
| Appearance and personality: |
| The Royal Birth : The legend of Jane Seymour as all-sacrificing to supply Henry with a son became entrenched within days of her death. The myth that she underwent a Cesarean section to give birth was propagated in several ballads, where Jane insists that Henry have her "side cut open to save his babye". Jane had laboured two days and three nights before bringing forth Henry's son. Just as prayers were being said for her safe deliverance, the boy-child, in triumph, was laid in her arms. Legend has it that the boy – to be called Edward for Henry's grandfather, Edward IV – had been born via Cesarean section. Even gypsy folk songs tell this story: He gave her rich caudle But the death-sleep slept she Then her right side was opened And the babe was set free The babe it was christened And put out and nursed While the royal Queen Jane She lay cold in the dust. The legend of Jane’s Caesarean section probably came about because of court rumours spreading like Chinese whispers about what actually happened in the birthing chamber. When her attendants started to panic that her long labour would fail to result in a living birth, they may have interfered with what was best left alone. ‘Childbed fever’, or puerperal sepsis, resulted from poor hygiene – rife during this period. Because touching introduced germs, the best protection for a labouring woman was to be left ‘internally’ alone, so nature could take its course. Indeed, the less handling a woman received during childbirth, the better. But – of course – if a woman was experiencing difficulties, there was more likelihood that her birthing attendants would attempt internal explorations. That only put women at risk of death. Was this what happened to Jane? That people caring for her fussed too much, and therefore caused her death? Interestingly, Jane herself blamed her ‘carers’ when she realised that her feet trod the path to a certain death, saying that they had allowed her to catch cold and fed her the wrong things. [source: Antonia Fraser] In the light of the facts, Jane underwent no such surgery, as she lived for two weeks after the birth of her son. In those days, Caesarean section was an immediate death sentence, and was not condoned by either the Catholic or the new Anglican church, as it consisted of making a choice between the life of the mother and the life of the child. Anyone making such a choice would be guilty of murder. Caesarean section was used only in cases where the mother was dead, and there was a chance that the child would still be alive. If Jane had undergone a Caesarean section, she would have bled to death within minutes. (see also : The Tudors Medicine) Henry seemed to genuinely mourn Jane's death, and remained unmarried for more than two years. It was at this time that he also began to fail in health and became very heavy and irritable. Later, during his marriage to Catherine Parr, he was to have a "dynastic" portrait done of his entire family -- his father and mother are present, as are Henry, Edward, Mary and Elizabeth. But the Queen in the painting is not Catherine Parr, who posed for the artist -- the face is that of Jane Seymour. |
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Anne Boleyn
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| metalempress | the dangers of childbirth | 1 | May 7 2009, 2:32 PM EDT by lettice | ||
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Thread started: May 7 2009, 11:44 AM EDT
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Dying in childbirth and infant mortality was a fact of life during the 16th century and even in the 17th century Queen Anne was pregnant 16 times and some say 18 times none except the duke of gloucester survived infancy. and even in the 18th century very few women was fortunate like queen charlotte of mecklenburg-strelitz , to have given birth to 15 children
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