Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset

Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset

Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset , née Stanhope (* approx. 1510 - † April 16, 1587 ) was an English nobleman and literary patron . Under the reign of King Edward VI. As the wife of the lord protector Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, she was one of the highest-ranking women of the English nobility and was the patroness of various Protestant authors. After her husband was overthrown by John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland , Anne fell from grace in 1551 and spent two years in the Tower of London . After Mary I ascended the throne , although she was openly Protestant, the Queen regained her freedom. Through the secret marriage of her son Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , Anne is the mother-in-law of Lady Catherine Gray , sister of the Nine-Day Queen Lady Jane Gray .

Life

Social advancement

Anne was the only daughter of Sir Edward Stanhope and Elizabeth Bourchier. Through her mother, she was a descendant of King Edward III. Just a year after she was born, Anne lost her father. Her mother was second married to Sir Richard Page of Beechwood, Hertfordshire . Anne herself served Queen Catherine of Aragon as lady-in-waiting for a time and married Edward Seymour at a time no longer known today before March 9, 1535 . When her sister-in-law Jane Seymour caught the attention of King Henry VIII , Anne shared in the growing power of her family. She and her husband received the king in Elvetham, Hampshire , in 1535 and were called to Greenwich Palace in 1536 to keep Jane Seymour company there. In this way the king , who was still married to Anne Boleyn , was able to visit Jane in the presence of her family, so that her reputation was not damaged. After Jane's marriage to the king, other honors quickly followed. On the occasion of the wedding, Seymour was made Viscount Beauchamp of Hache and only a year later, in 1537, he received the title of Earl of Hertford , with which Anne rose to the rank of Countess.

Edward Seymour , Anne's husband

Even after Jane Seymour's death, Anne and her husband retained important positions at court. Anne was one of the ladies who welcomed the new Queen Anne of Cleves in 1540 , shortly afterwards she became the lady-in-waiting of the new Queen Catherine Howard and attended the small, very private wedding of the king with Catherine Parr . Soon afterwards she was given a position as lady of the royal private chambers and was one of the few noble ladies who had access to the queen at any time. It was possible that she met Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey during this time . Traditionally, it is believed that Howard immortalized Anne in one of his poems as a she-wolf who refuses to dance with the lion. An indication of this is the wolf coat of arms of the Stanhopes and the Seymours could also be associated with wolves through their family seat Wulfhall. Nevertheless, it can no longer be clearly proven today that it was actually Anne.

A few months after Heinrich's death, his widow Catherine Parr secretly married Thomas Seymour and became Anne's sister-in-law. John Foxe , author of the martyrs book Acts and Monuments , wrote: "There was a disagreement between the Queen and the Duchess of Somerset, and then, because of their wives, dissatisfaction began between the brothers." From that disagreement the story springs, Anne Seymour would have asked Catherine Parr to give her precedence at court in the future, as she would no longer be entitled to the treatment of a queen through her new marriage. However, this story only appears in later authors and is not confirmed by contemporaries. As early as 1845, Gentleman's Magazine questioned the story of the power-hungry Anne Seymour, calling her one of the most maligned women.

Still, there is evidence that Anne Seymour did not always agree with Catherine Parr. She was shocked to see Parr's ward Princess Elizabeth one night unaccompanied in a boat on the Thames. Despite this, Anne took care of her orphaned daughter Mary Seymour for some time after Catherine Parr's death. When it emerged that Thomas Seymour had planned to marry Princess Elisabeth after Parr's death, Anne Seymour summoned the Princess’s governess, Kat Ashley , to London, where she made serious accusations. Ashley had nurtured Elizabeth's fantasies about Seymour and Anne angrily declared, “You are not worthy of overseeing a king’s daughter. Another will take your place. ”The conflict between Edward and Thomas eventually ended with Thomas being convicted as a traitor, and Foxe stated that many claimed that Anne manipulated his death.

Patroness of the Reformation

During Catherine Parr's time as Queen Anne's Protestant faith had already emerged. She and Katherine Willoughby were members of the Queen's Reformist Coven and actively supported street preacher Anne Askew . In this way, however, they moved into the focus of the conservative faction around Stephan Gardiner and Lord Chancellor Thomas Wriothesley, who were a thorn in the side of the growing power of the reformists. In May 1546, Anne Askew was arrested for heresy and tortured in the Tower. She reported:

“Then they asked me about Milady Suffolk [Katherine Willoughby], Milady Sussex, Milady Hertford [Anne Seymour], Milady Denny and Milady Fitzwilliam. I replied that if I said something against her, I couldn't prove it. Then they said that there were different women who had sent me money. I replied that a man in a blue coat gave me ten shillings and said that Milady Hertford had sent them to me. I don't know whether it's true or not, because I'm not sure who sent it to me. "

Anne Seymour, representation from 1792

Anne Seymour and Katherine Willoughby escaped arrest because Anne Askew persevered under torture. But better times were soon to come for her. After Heinrich's death, his son climbed as Edward VI. the throne. Since he was still a minor, his uncle Edward Seymour was given guardianship over the young king, making him lord protector and de facto ruler of England. At the same time he received the title Duke of Somerset , which made him and Anne belong to the highest nobility in the country.

Eduard was an ardent follower of the Protestant religion and Anne was active in the years 1538–1551 as an active patron of Protestant writers. For example, she supported the Bible translator Miles Coverdale and encouraged her husband to also become a patron of various authors. Thanks to her patronage, the second volume of Erasmus' paraphrases was translated into English and the grateful translator John Olde dedicated both publications to her in 1549. In addition to three volumes of his own, Walter Lynne also dedicated his translation of a work by Heinrich Bullinger and Nicholas Lesse to translations of the texts by Franz Lambert of Avignon and Augustine of Hippo . William Samuels Abridgement of God's Statutes and Thomas Becon's The Flower of Godly Prayers were also dedicated to Anne Seymour. Becon herself extolled Anne's generosity, piety, kindness, and support for education. Overall, more works were dedicated to her than any other woman of the Tudor period.

By 1551 she also owned editions of most of Martin Bucer's works . She was also in contact with Johannes Calvin through her daughter Anne and communicated with Bucer and Paul Fagius through her daughter Jane . Despite her open support for the Protestant religion, Anne was a friend of the still Catholic Princess Maria. Maria addressed her in letters as “my good friend” or “my good Nan” and signed “your faithful friend, as far as I can”. The friendship between the two would endure years later.

Under suspicion

Anne's time as one of the highest women in the country came to an abrupt end when John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland overthrew her husband. In October 1551 both were imprisoned in the Tower. Since Seymour was quite popular with the people, the less popular Anne was made partly responsible for his case. This helped explain how a devout man like Edward Seymour had been led astray and betrayed. Edward's biographer Sir John Hayward writes about Anne:

“O wives! The sweetest poison, the most coveted evil in the world! Verily it is true what Syracides says, that there is no wickedness greater than the wickedness of a woman, and no calamity is absent where an wicked woman is in power. The first wife was given to the husband as a comforter, not as an advisor and even less as an overseer or supervisor, and therefore the first punishment against man was because you obeyed your wife . "

While Seymour was executed for high treason on January 22, 1552, Anne spent the next two years in the Tower. When it became clear that King Edward would not have long to live, Northumberland tried to keep Mary balanced. Among other things, it was considered to release Anne Seymour from the Tower.

Anne's daughter-in-law Catherine Gray with her firstborn son Edward

On August 10, 1553, Anne was officially released by Queen Maria. Her daughter Jane was given a position as lady-in-waiting and Anne was awarded Hanworth in Middlesex by the Queen in 1558 . In the same year Anne married her husband's former administrator, Francis Newdegate. Queen Elizabeth herself commented on this marriage and Katherine Willoughby's as well as Frances Brandon's second marriage, saying, "Shall I do like the Suffolk and Lady Somerset ladies who married their servants?" When Anne's daughter Jane fell ill in 1558 and closed When her mother returned, she was accompanied by her friend Catherine Gray , the second daughter of Frances Brandon and sister of the executed Lady Jane Gray . She was thus behind Elizabeth in the line of succession. While at the Seymours, Catherine fell in love with Anne's son Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford .

Anne, who had no interest in falling out of favor again, tried in vain to dissuade her son from this royal love affair. The two young people secretly married in 1560, when Elizabeth was already Queen of England. When the matter came out of Catherine's pregnancy and both were arrested, Anne initially distanced herself from her son and daughter-in-law in a letter. She referred to Hertford as "her unruly child" and assured her that she would "not willingly neglect the duty of a loyal subject for either child or friend". This attitude was sometimes interpreted as heartless, but at that time was considered to be kinship. If Anne had also fallen from grace, she would not have been able to help her son and his family. By officially distancing herself from him, she remained in a position that later allowed her to take care of her grandchildren.

The last few years

In 1563 the plague broke out in London and Hertford, Catherine Gray and their two sons were transferred from the Tower to private households where their arrest continued. Hertford and his eldest son were placed in the care of Anne Seymour in Hanworth. From then on, Anne tried regularly by petitions to William Cecil to obtain the release of her son and daughter-in-law. In doing so she was by no means always tactful and cautious, but rather let Cecil know quite bluntly:

“I have taken the liberty of writing to attempt to renew the petitions for my son to the Queen's Majesty, and I have also written to My Lord Leicester. I ask for your helping hand to end this lengthy affair. Her Highness’s displeasure has been going on for too long. It is so wrong to let this young couple grow old in prison. It would be much better if they were abroad and served the Queen there. "

Anne Seymour's grave in Westminster Abbey

But Elisabeth did not allow herself to be softened. Instead, she had Anne's husband Newdegate interrogated to see if he supported Catherine Grey's claim to the throne. Ultimately, Anne received guardianship over her two grandchildren after her daughter-in-law died on January 26, 1568 at the age of just 28. In January 1582, Newdegate died, leaving Anne all of his possessions.

Anne Seymour herself died on April 16, 1587 in Hanworth. In her will, dated July 14, 1586, she named her son Hertford as her sole executor and bequeathed him and her children Henry, Mary and Elizabeth and their royal grandsons Edward and Thomas with bequests. She was buried in Westminster Abbey . Her grave can still be viewed there today. It is adorned by a splendid, colored image of Anne Seymour in a coat and with the crown of a duchess.

progeny

Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford , oldest surviving son Anne Seymour

The marriage with Edward Seymour resulted in a total of ten children:

• Edward Seymour (* 1537), died as an infant
• Anne Seymour (1538-1588); married in 1st marriage to John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick, in 2nd marriage to Sir Edward Unton
• Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (born May 22, 1539 - April 6, 1621); 1st marriage to Catherine Gray , 2nd marriage to Frances Howard, 3rd marriage to Frances Prannell
• Henry Seymour (* 1540); married to Lady Joan Percy, daughter of Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland
• Margaret Seymour (* 1540)
• Jane Seymour (1541-1561); Lady in waiting of Queen Elizabeth I
• Catherine Seymour
• Thomas Seymour (1548–1574)
• Elizabeth Seymour (* 1550)
• Mary Seymour (* 1552)

In the 18th century, the Anne Seymour line became extinct. The title of Duke of Somerset and the associated titles were instead passed on to the descendants from Somerset's first marriage to Catherine Filliol. Today's line of the Somersets rises from them.

Modern representations

In the 1963 film The Heir to the Throne , Anne Seymour was played by Kathleen Byron . She acts as an imperious opponent of the protagonist Bess and intrigues both against her and against her brother-in-law Thomas Seymour . Emma Hamilton played the role of Anne Stanhope in the 3rd and 4th seasons of the television series The Tudors . She is portrayed as an attractive but calculating woman who deliberately uses her feminine charms in order to gain advantages for herself or her family. Her lovers on the series include Sir Francis Bryan and her brother-in-law Thomas Seymour. She actively supports the Reformation and procures a sachet of gunpowder for the convicted Anne Askew to save her from an agonizing death at the stake.

literature

• Retha Warnicke: Seymour, Anne . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X .
• Leanda de Lisle: The Sisters who would be Queen: The Tragedy of Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Gray . Ballantine Books, 2009, ISBN 0-007-21905-9 .

Web links

• Anne Seymour on Tudorplace

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Retha Warnicke: Seymour, Anne . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . 2004 Oxford University Press, Online Edition ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Anna Whitelock: Mary Tudor. England's first queen. Bloomsbury 2010, p. 131
3. ↑ David Starkey: Six Wives. The Queens of Henry VIII . 2004 HarperCollins Perennial, p. 590
4. ↑ David Starkey: Six Wives. The Queens of Henry VIII . 2004 HarperCollins Perennial, p. 714
5. ^ William A. Sessions: Henry Howard, the poet Earl of Surrey: A Life. 2003 Oxford University Press, p. 227
6. ^ ^{A b} John Foxe: The Acts and Monuments of the Church Containing the History and Sufferings of the Martyrs Part One . 2004 Kessinger Publishing, p. 662: "a difference took place between the queen and the duchess of Somerset, and then also on behalf of their wives, displeasure began between the brothers. [...] there were many who reported that the duchess of Somerset had wrought his death. "
7. ^ ^{A b} Anne Seymour on Tudorplace
8. ↑ Female Biographies in English History. In: The Gentleman's magazine, Volume 178 . 1845 F. Jefferies, p. 372
9. ↑ Leanda de Lisle: The Sisters who would be Queen: The Tragedy of Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Gray . 2009 Ballantine Books, p. 33
10. ^ Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 21 Part 1: January-August 1546 : "Then they asked me of my lady of Suffolk, my lady of Sussex, my lady of Hertford, my lady Denny and my lady Fitzwilliam . Answered that if I should pronounce anything against them I could not prove it. [...] Then they said that there were divers ladies that had sent me money. I answered that there was a man in a blue coat who delivered me ten shillings and said that my lady of Hertford sent it me [...] whether it were true or no, I cannot tell, for I am not sure who sent it me "
11. ^ David Loewenstein, Janel M. Mueller: The Cambridge history of early modern English literature . 2002 Cambridge University Press, p. 119
12. ↑ Melissa Franklin-Harkrider: Women, reform and community in early modern England: Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk, and Lincolnshire's godly aristocracy, 1519-1580 . 2008 Boydell Press, p. 64
13. ↑ Leanda de Lisle: The Sisters who would be Queen: The Tragedy of Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Gray . 2009 Ballantine Books, p. 81
14. ↑ John Hayward: Annals of the first four years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth , 1840 Camden Society, p. Xxxvi: "Oh wives! The most sweete poison, the most desired evill in the world! Certainly as it is true as Syracides saith , that there is no malice to the malice of a woman, so no mischiefe wanteth where a malicious woman beareth sway. A woman was first given to man for a comforter, but not for a counsailor, much lesse a controler and director, and, therefore, in the first sentence against man, this cause is expressed, because thou obeyedst the voice of thy wife . "
15. ↑ Leanda de Lisle: The Sisters who would be Queen: The Tragedy of Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Gray . 2009 Ballantine Books, p. 100
16. ↑ Leanda de Lisle: The Sisters who would be Queen: The Tragedy of Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Gray . Ballantine Books 2009, p. 337: "What [...] think if she married one of her servitors as the Duchesses of Suffolk and the Duchess of Somerset have done?"
17. ↑ Leanda de Lisle: The Sisters who would be Queen: The Tragedy of Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Gray . 2009 Ballantine Books, p. 175
18. ↑ Leanda de Lisle: The Sisters who would be Queen: The Tragedy of Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Gray . 2009 Ballantine Books, p. 218
19. ↑ Leanda de Lisle: The Sisters who would be Queen: The Tragedy of Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Gray . 2009 Ballantine Books, p. 239
20. ↑ Agnes Strickland : Lives of the Tudor Princesses including Lady Jane Gray and her Sisters. 1868 Longmans, Green and Co., London, p. 243: "I have presumed by letter to renew my suit for my son to the queen's majesty and have likewise written to my Lord of Leicester, praying you to set in your helping hand to end this tedious suit [...] her highness' displeasure is too long lasting [...] how unmeet it is this young couple should thus wax old in prison [...] how far better it were for them to be abroad and serve the queen. "