ELM (part 7): 2 Boleyn Sisters - 2 Queen Elizabeths

 

wikipedia.com/Crown

The Boleyns

wikipedia.com/BoleynArms

Thomas Boleyn (1477-1539), 1st Earl of Wiltshire, was an English diplomat and politician. 

 

* See: Thomas Boleyn

Thomas was ambitious and worked his way into Henry VIII's inner circle, as well as did his surviving children George, Mary, and especially...

Anne Boleyn

wikipedia.com/AnneBoleyn

Much has been written about Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn (1501-1536). The King's desire for a son changed history. His first wife could not deliver a boy who survived infancy, so he looked for another woman to give him a legitimate son and heir to the throne. And Anne put herself out there as the one.

Since the Pope would not grant a divorce, Henry maneuvered to break away from the Catholic Church and become the head of the Church of England. And as head, Henry got his divorce and married the ambitious Anne. 

* See: Anne Boleyn

But it did not end well. Anne only produced a daughter, lost the King's love and interest, and lost her head. The following years were full of drama. In the end, Anne's daughter would become....

Queen Elizabeth I

wikipeida.com/ElizabethI

Elizabeth I (1533-1603) would be known as the Virgin Queen who brought England into her Golden Age. She was one of the longest reigning monarchs and considered one of the greatest. 

* See: Elizabeth I

Yet the line from Anne Boleyn died when Elizabeth I died as Anne had no other surviving children and Elizabeth never married. 

But there was Anne's older sister, the other Boleyn girl...

Mary Boleyn

wikipedia.com/MaryBoleyn

Mary (1499-1543) was Henry XIII's mistress for a short time. She was soon cast aside and out of the limelight, truly the underdog. She had experienced heartache, was widowed, was impoverished for a time. 

But Anne and George had been executed in 1536. And after her parents passed away, Mary inherited the estate. Mary, the underdog, survived.

* See: Mary Boleyn

Mary Boleyn was not a mother to a ruling queen like sister Anne's Elizabeth I. But she was the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother of....

Queen Elizabeth II

wikipedia.com/ElizabethII

Reference: Mary Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II (1926-2022) was the last head of state of any country to serve in uniform during World War II as well as the longest reigning English monarch--70 years.

* See: Elizabeth II

2 Boleyn Sisters ... 2 Queen Elizabeths

Ann Boleyn --- 

mother of 

Queen Elizabeth I

Mary Boleyn --- 

great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother of 

Queen Elizabeth II

And Mary Boleyn's line lives on in Charles III

Long live the king!

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For more in this series, search blog:

ELM - English, Language, and Musings

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Photos:

Crown:  wikipedia.com/Crown

Boleyn Arms: wikipedia.com/BoleynArms

Anne Boleyn: wikipedia.com/AnneBoleyn

Elizabeth I: wikipeida.com/ElizabethI

Mary Boleyn: wikipedia.com/MaryBoleyn

Elizabeth II: wikipedia.com/ElizabethII 

ELM (part 5) - Jane Austen and Blackadder

everystockphoto.com/Jane Austen Library ...

Welcome to another post on the thread:  ELM -  English, Literature, and Musings ....

Comedy can be a great teacher.

And the comedy Blackadder gave me an introduction to English history and literature as well as helping me recall what I had learned in school.  This BBC series and its specials followed the Blackadder line as it slithered through time from the Middle Ages to World War One.

[reference:  'Blackadder': Tube Talk Gold - TV Blog - Digital Spy ]

Let's look at one these periods:

The Times of King George III

The reign of King George III was an interesting time in ...

Politics:

The American colonies declared their independence in 1776; William Pitt, the younger, and William Wilberforce worked to abolish slavery in the British Empire, Napoleon met the Duke of Wellington in battle as well as his Waterloo.

Literature:

The rise of the London coffee houses fostered creativity of such poets and writers - like Samuel Coleridge, Lord Byron, Percy Shelly. Dr. Samuel Johnson published his comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language.

And during the reign of King George III was ...

The Regency Period

In 1811, Parliament appointed the Prince of Wales, George Augustus Frederick, as Prince Regent to his father King George III.  (George III is remembered in children's history books as the mad king who lost America.)

But what does this have to do with Jane Austen?  She comes in at season 3 during the Regency period in the BBC comedy ....

Blackadder the Third 

An impoverished ex-aristocrat, Mr. Edmund Blackadder becomes the butler and personal servant to the Prince Regent, son of mad King George III. In this scene from Ink and Incapability, Dr. Samuel Johnson presents his English dictionary to the Prince Regent, while the butler makes sport of the pompous doctor.

(reference:  http://youtu.be/hOSYiT2iG08 )

Why is Prince George's butler so snarky to Dr. Johnson? If you are a writer, you may know the sting of being rejected, or worse totally ignored by a publisher.  So does Mr. Edmund Blackadder

Commenting to his dogsbody Baldrick, Mr. Blackadder laments about his novel, which he had sent to Dr. Samuel Johnson:

"Edmund: A Butler's Tale" by Gertrude Perkins.
A huge rollercoaster of a novel crammed with sizzling gypsies"

Blackadder :

He might at least have written back, but no, nothing, not even a 
"Dear Gertrude Perkins, 
 Thank you for your book.
Get stuffed.
Samuel Johnson."

Baldrick:

Gertrude Perkins? 

Blackadder:

Yes, I gave myself a female pseudonym.
Everybody's doing it these days: Mrs Radcliffe, Jane Austen 

Baldrick:

Jane Austen's a man?

Blackadder:

Of course.
A huge Yorkshireman with a beard like a rhododendron bush.

[reference: Blackadder s03e02 Episode Script | SS ]

Which brings us to the subject that during this period spawned ...

Women Authors of Classic Literature

The Regency period was a time when many women writers broke on the scene. Here are a few that are classics today:

*  The Bonte sisters - Charlotte, Emily, and Anne

     * Emily's Wuthering Heights (1847)
     * Charlotte's Jane Eyre (1847)
     * Anne's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)

* Elizabeth Barrett - also known as Elizabeth Barrett Browning

   * author of Poems (1844)

* Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly - and wife of poet Percy Shelley.
 
    * author of Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818)

* The works of Jane Austen (1811 - 1818)

  *  Northanger Abbey (1818)
  *  Sense and Sensibility (1811)
  *  Pride and Prejudice (1813)
  *  Mansfield Park (1814)
  *  Emma (1815)
  *  Persuasion (1818)

Back to Blackadder the Third, ...

The opening theme ends with the butler finding a Romance Regency paperback (it's an anachronism) with a Jane Austen-like episode title, such as seen here:

(reference: https://youtu.be/ziM07AVg8k0 )

All the episode titles for season 3 are Jane Austen-esque, shades of Sense and Sensibilities:

* Dish and Dishonesty
* Ink and Incapablity
* Nob and Nobility
* Sense and Senility
* Amy and Amiability
* Duel and Duality

There is a good reason for this.

The real Prince George was a fan of Jane Austen and suggested she dedicate a book to him.  And when the son of King George III (and future King George IV) makes a suggestion, you had better do it.  And she did.  So Jane Austen dedicated Emma to the Prince Regent, with these words:

"To His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, this work is, by His Royal Highness's permission, most respectfully dedicated to His Royal Highness by His dutiful and obedient humble servant, the Author."

[reference: Regency Period of Jane Austen]

Comedy can be educational after all.

And for the last word   ...

“What a shame, for I dearly love to laugh.” 

― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

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Previous post on this series:

ELM (part 1) - English, Literature, and Musings (2013)

ELM (part 2) - Thug Notes does Hamlet (2013)

ELM (part 3) - St. Crispin's Day Battles in English History and Literature (2013)

ELM (part 4) - Hobbit Virtues (2014)

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Photo from:  everystockphoto.com/Jane Austen Library ...

ELM (part 4) - Hobbit Virtues

Wikipedia/Dublin Christ Church Cathedral

The picture above is a stained glass rose window in the Christ Church Cathedral, High Street, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland, depicting the Fruit of the Spirit.  

And St. Paul listed these virtues -

But the fruit of the Spirit is 

love, 
joy, 
peace, 
forbearance, 

kindness, 

goodness,

faithfulness, 

gentleness 

and
self-control.

Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

In this third part of English, Literature, and Musing (ELM),  the Fruit of the Spirit are virtues cultivated in many of the protagonists in English literature.  And such classics are a rich source of material for films.

For example ...

After the successful trilogy - The Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002, 2003), a trilogy of its prequel The Hobbit is now playing on the big screen (2012, 2013, 2014). 

JRR Tolkien, who wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a devoted Catholic.  Though he wrote fantasy, his faith that defined his worldview was reflected in his writings.  [reference:  20Ways “The Lord of the Rings” Is Both Christian and Catholic]

In this world, evil seems so strong.  

To fight against it, many look for a champion of great power - like a Superman.  Yet, the theme of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings is that it is not the great powers that hold evil in check, but the ordinary folk.

In the first part of the The Hobbit trilogy -  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) this scene reflects that philosophy:

(reference:  http://youtu.be/VbqnBBBeWNI)

Gandalf's word are worth repeating as they contain the virtues of the Fruit of Spirit, part of Tolkien's religious faith:

Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. 

I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. 

Small acts of kindness and love. 

Why Bilbo Baggins? I don't know. 

Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage.

[reference:  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Movie Quotes - Rotten Tomatoes]

This scene was not in the original book, but it seems faithful to the theme of The Hobbit. And I agree with the comments of the poster of this clip on YouTube - In my opinion this is one of the greatest lines I've heard in all of cinema.

And that testifies to the power of the story as well as the power of everyday acts of kindness and love of ordinary folks!

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Previous post on this series:

ELM (part 1) - English, Literature, and Musings (2013)

ELM (part 2) - Thug Notes does Hamlet (2013)

ELM (part 3) - St. Crispin's Day Battles in English History and Literature (2013)

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Photo from:  Wikipedia/Dublin Christ Church Cathedral