Misplaced Pages

#891108

104-643: The Tudor rose (sometimes called the Union rose ) is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor , which united the House of Lancaster and the House of York . The Tudor rose consists of five white inner petals, representing the House of York, and five red outer petals to represent the House of Lancaster. In the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485), Henry VII , of

208-511: A double rose , white on red and is always described, heraldically, as " proper " (that is, naturally-coloured, despite not actually existing in nature). Henry VII was reserved in his usage of the Tudor rose. He regularly used the Lancastrian rose by itself, being the house to which he descended. His successor Henry VIII , descended from the House of York as well through his mother, would use

312-451: A livery collar (an innovation of Gaunt's, probably the Collar of Esses ). The mob attacked him, pulling him off his horse and the badge off him, and he had to be rescued by the mayor from suffering serious harm. Over twenty years later, after Gaunt's son Henry IV had deposed Richard, one of Richard's servants was imprisoned by Henry for continuing to wear Richard's livery badge. Many of

416-610: A common ancestor, King Edward I of England . Upon returning to Dover from a meeting with King Francis I of France in Calais , Henry married Anne Boleyn in a secret ceremony. Some sources speculate that Anne was already pregnant at the time (and Henry did not want to risk a son being born illegitimate) but others testify that Anne (who had seen her sister Mary Boleyn taken up as the King's mistress and summarily cast aside) refused to sleep with Henry until they were married. Henry defended

520-538: A conurbation that was historically bisected by the Yorkshire-Lancashire border. The borough and county of Queens in New York City uses a Tudor rose on its flag and seal. The flag and seal of Annapolis, Maryland , features a Tudor rose and a thistle surmounted with a crown. The city of York, South Carolina is nicknamed "The White Rose City", and the nearby city of Lancaster, South Carolina

624-583: A decision was given in Rome. Wolsey had failed and was dismissed from public office in 1529. Wolsey then began a secret plot to have Anne Boleyn forced into exile and began communicating with the Pope to that end. When this was discovered, Henry ordered Wolsey's arrest and, had he not been terminally ill and died in 1530, he might have been executed for treason. A year later, Catherine was banished from court, and her old rooms were given to Anne Boleyn. Catherine wrote in

728-606: A doorway at Blois) and the crowned salamander among flames of François Ier with the motto "Nutrisco et extinguo" (right, at Chambord). These and many more were collected by Claude Paradin and published in his Devises héroïques of 1551 and 1557, which gives the motto of Louis XII as "Ultos avos Troiae". Later the sun of Louis XIV was equally famous. With the accession of the House of Hanover in 1714, British monarchs ceased to use personal badges ( Royal Cyphers came into use instead), though historical badges continue to be used for various purposes as part of royal symbolism (such as

832-412: A few words of the health and safeguard of your soul which you ought to prefer before all worldly matters, and before the care and pampering of your body, for the which you have cast me into many calamities and yourself into many troubles. For my part, I pardon you everything, and I wish to devoutly pray God that He will pardon you also. For the rest, I commend unto you our daughter Mary, beseeching you to be

936-568: A flotilla of barges on the Thames to the Tower of London . Then-15-year-old Catherine departed from A Coruña on 17 August 1501 and met Arthur on 4 November at Dogmersfield in Hampshire. Little is known about their first impressions of each other, but Arthur did write to his parents-in-law that he would be "a true and loving husband" and told his parents that he was immensely happy to "behold

1040-434: A general moral lesson that any reader might apply in his or her own life. Particularly well-known examples of devices – so well known that the image could be understood as representing the bearer even without the motto – are those of several French kings, which were freely used to decorate their building projects. These include the porcupine of Louis XII with its motto "Eminus et cominus" or "De pres et de loin" (left, over

1144-690: A good father unto her, as I have heretofore desired. I entreat you also, on behalf of my maids, to give them marriage portions, which is not much, they being but three. For all my other servants I solicit the wages due them, and a year more, lest they be unprovided for. Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things. Katharine the Quene. The authenticity of the letter itself has been questioned, but not Catherine's attitude in its wording, which has been reported with variations in different sources. Catherine died at Kimbolton Castle on 7 January 1536. The following day, news of her death reached

SECTION 10

#1732783949892

1248-486: A great show of his and Anne's daughter, Elizabeth , to his courtiers. This was seen as distasteful and vulgar by many. Another theory is that the dressing in yellow was out of respect for Catherine as yellow was said to be the Spanish colour of mourning. Certainly, later in the day it is reported that Henry and Anne both individually and privately wept for her death. On the day of Catherine's funeral, Anne Boleyn miscarried

1352-524: A higher fee if they are. When granted, the badge is typically illustrated on the letters patent containing the grant of arms, and upon a heraldic standard ( flag ). The standard is not however granted automatically with the said achievement of arms and badge, but can be requested if a badge is granted and upon payment of a further fee. Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine , historical Spanish: Catharina , now: Catalina ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536)

1456-493: A letter to Charles V in 1531: My tribulations are so great, my life so disturbed by the plans daily invented to further the King's wicked intention, the surprises which the King gives me, with certain persons of his council, are so mortal, and my treatment is what God knows, that it is enough to shorten ten lives, much more mine. When Archbishop of Canterbury William Warham died, the Boleyn family's chaplain, Thomas Cranmer ,

1560-408: A male child. Rumours then circulated that Catherine had been poisoned by Anne or Henry, or both. The rumours were born after the apparent discovery during her embalming that there was a black growth on her heart that might have been caused by poisoning. Modern medical experts are in agreement that her heart's discolouration was due not to poisoning, but to cancer , something which was not understood at

1664-617: A male heir essential. The Tudor dynasty was new, and its legitimacy might still be tested. In 1520, Catherine's nephew, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V , paid a state visit to England, and she urged Henry to enter an alliance with Charles rather than with France. Immediately after his departure, she accompanied Henry to France on the celebrated visit to Francis I , the Field of the Cloth of Gold . Within two years, war

1768-501: A marriage could be dissolved if it was not consummated. Catherine's second wedding took place on 11 June 1509, seven years after Prince Arthur's death. She married Henry VIII , who had only just acceded to the throne, in a private ceremony in the church of the Observant Friars outside Greenwich Palace . She was 23 years of age. On Saturday 23 June 1509, the traditional eve-of-coronation procession to Westminster Abbey

1872-462: A meaning that could not be derived from either part alone. The device, to all intents and purposes identical to the Italian impresa , differs from the emblem in two principal ways. Structurally, the device normally consists of two parts while most emblems have three or more. As well, the device was highly personal, intimately attached to a single individual, while the emblem was constructed to convey

1976-450: A potential marriage between Catherine and King Henry; such rumours were, however, unsubstantiated. It was agreed that Catherine would marry Henry VII's second son, Henry, Duke of York, who was five years younger than she was. The death of Catherine's mother, however, meant that her "value" in the marriage market decreased. Castile was a much larger kingdom than Aragon , and it was inherited by Catherine's elder sister, Joanna . Ostensibly,

2080-512: A representative of the Pope presiding, and Henry and Catherine herself in attendance. The Pope had no intention of allowing a decision to be reached in England, and his legate was recalled. (How far the Pope was influenced by Charles V is difficult to say, but it is clear Henry saw that the Pope was unlikely to annul his marriage to the Emperor's aunt. ) The Pope forbade Henry to marry again before

2184-435: Is also prominent in a number of towns and cities. The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield , uses the emblem frequently, due to the town being given Royal Town status by Henry VIII. The Tudor rose appears on the coat of arms of Oxford . It is also notably used (albeit in a monochromatic form) as the symbol of VisitEngland , England's tourist board . A half-and-half design was used as the "Border Rose" in some parts of Todmorden ,

SECTION 20

#1732783949892

2288-475: Is nicknamed "The Red Rose City". York, Pennsylvania and Lancaster, Pennsylvania are similarly nicknamed, using stylized white and red roses in their emblems, respectively. Heraldic badge Badges worn on clothing were common in the late Middle Ages, particularly in England. They could be made of base metal, cloth or other materials and worn on the clothing of the followers of the person in question; grander forms would be worn by important persons, with

2392-531: The Dunstable Swan Jewel in enamelled gold a rare survivor. Livery collars were also given to important persons, often with the badge as a pendant. The badge would also be embroidered or appliqued on standards , horse trappings, livery uniforms, and other belongings. Many medieval badges survive in English pub names . Badges with "a distinctly heraldic character" in England date to about

2496-526: The Friars Minor and friend of the King's old advisor Erasmus , dedicated to the queen his book De Liberio Arbitrio adversus Melanchthonem . The book denounced Philip Melanchthon , a supporter of Luther. Acting as her confessor , he was able to nominate her for the title of " Defender of the Faith " for denying Luther's arguments. In her youth, Catherine was described as "the most beautiful creature in

2600-740: The Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey (it was later used for the site of his tomb) and it was decorated principally with the Tudor rose and the Beaufort portcullis – as a form of propaganda to define his claim to the throne. The Tudor rose badge may appear slipped and crowned : shown as a cutting with a stem and leaves beneath a crown; this badge appears in Nicholas Hilliard 's "Pelican Portrait" of Elizabeth I and since an Order in Council (dated 5 November 1800), has served as

2704-628: The Holy See , acting independently of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey , whom he told nothing of his plans. William Knight , the King's secretary, was sent to Pope Clement VII to sue for an annulment, on the grounds that the dispensing bull of Pope Julius II was obtained by false pretenses. As the pope was, at that time, the prisoner of Catherine's nephew Emperor Charles V following the Sack of Rome in May 1527, Knight had difficulty in obtaining access to him. In

2808-773: The cap badge of the Intelligence Corps of the British Army . The Tudor rose is used as the emblem of The Nautical Training Corps , a uniformed youth organisation founded in Brighton in 1944 with 20 units in South East England . The corps badge has the Tudor Rose on the shank of an anchor with the motto "For God, Queen and Country". It is also used as part of the Corps' cap badge. The Tudor rose

2912-466: The hair shirt of the Franciscans , and fasted continuously. While she was permitted to receive occasional visitors, she was forbidden to see her daughter Mary. They were also forbidden to communicate in writing, but sympathisers discreetly conveyed letters between the two. Henry offered both mother and daughter better quarters and permission to see each other if they would acknowledge Anne Boleyn as

3016-430: The royal floral emblem of England . The Tudor rose may also appear dimidiated (cut in half and combined with half another emblem) to form a compound badge. The Westminster Tournament Roll includes a badge of Henry and his first wife Catherine of Aragon with a slipped Tudor rose conjoined with Catherine's personal badge, the Spanish pomegranate ; their daughter Mary I bore the same badge. Following his ascent to

3120-420: The 19th century in some cases. A particular concern in all the legislation was to forbid the issuing of liveries to those without a permanent contract with the lord; these groups assembled for a particular purpose were believed to be the most dangerous. The Statute of Liveries of 1506 finally forbade entirely the issuing of liveries to those of higher rank; they had to be domestic servants or persons experienced in

3224-475: The 20th century, George V 's wife, Mary of Teck , had her grave upgraded and there are now banners there denoting Catherine as a queen of England. Every year at Peterborough Cathedral there is a service in her memory. There are processions, prayers and various events in the Cathedral including processions to Catherine's grave in which candles, pomegranates, flowers and other offerings are placed on her grave. On

Tudor rose - Misplaced Pages Continue

3328-604: The Bath were created in honour of the coronation. In that month that followed, many social occasions presented the new Queen to the English public. She made a fine impression and was well received by the people of England. On 11 June 1513, Henry appointed Catherine Regent in England with the titles "Governor of the Realm and Captain General", while he went to France on a military campaign . When Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville ,

3432-406: The English throne, James VI of Scotland and I of England used a badge consisting of a Tudor rose dimidiated with a Scottish thistle and surmounted by a royal crown. The crowned and slipped Tudor rose is used as the plant badge of England, as Scotland uses the thistle , Wales uses the leek , and Ireland uses the shamrock (Northern Ireland sometimes using flax instead). As such, it is seen on

3536-525: The English throne, a stricture that was ignored in later generations. Because of Henry's descent through illegitimate children barred from succession to the English throne, the Tudor monarchy was not accepted by all European kingdoms. At the time, the House of Trastámara was the most prestigious in Europe, due to the rule of the Catholic Monarchs , so the alliance of Catherine and Arthur validated

3640-575: The House of Lancaster, took the crown of England from Richard III , of the House of York. He thus brought to an end the retrospectively dubbed " Wars of the Roses ". Kings of the House of Lancaster had sometimes used a red or gold rose as a badge; and the House of York had used a white rose as a badge. Henry's father was Edmund Tudor , and his mother was Margaret Beaufort from the House of Lancaster; in January 1486 he married Elizabeth of York to bring

3744-453: The House of Tudor in the eyes of European royalty and strengthened the Tudor claim to the English throne via Catherine of Aragon's ancestry. It would have given a male heir an indisputable claim to the throne. The two were married by proxy on 19 May 1499 and corresponded in Latin until Arthur turned fifteen, when it was decided that they were old enough to begin their conjugal life. Catherine

3848-400: The King. At the time there were rumours that she was poisoned, possibly by Gregory di Casale . According to the chronicler Edward Hall , Anne Boleyn wore yellow for the mourning, which has been interpreted in various ways; Polydore Vergil interpreted this to mean that Anne did not mourn. Chapuys reported that it was King Henry who decked himself in yellow, celebrating the news and making

3952-502: The Spanish ambassador to England, the first female ambassador in European history. While Henry VII and his counsellors expected her to be easily manipulated, Catherine went on to prove them wrong. Marriage to Arthur's brother depended on the Pope granting a dispensation because canon law forbade a man to marry his brother's widow . Catherine testified that her marriage to Arthur was never consummated as, also according to canon law,

4056-516: The Tudors completed Henry VI's unfinished building. The Collar of Esses became in effect a badge of office, though of course still denoting allegiance to the monarch. In the Renaissance, the badge, now more likely to be described as a "personal device", took an intellectual turn, and was usually combined with a short text or motto, which when read in combination were intended to convey a sense of

4160-469: The annulment, she was quoted "I would rather be a poor beggar's wife and be sure of heaven, than queen of all the world and stand in doubt thereof by reason of my own consent." The outward celebration of saints and holy relics formed no major part of her personal devotions, which she rather expressed in the Mass , prayer, confession and penance . Privately, however, she was aware of what she identified as

4264-688: The antler tips, which the angels' badges lack. The white hart in the badge on the Treasury Roll, which the painted one may have copied, had pearls and sat on a grass bed made of emeralds, and a hart badge of Richard's inventoried in the possession of Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy in 1435 was set with 22 pearls, two spinels , two sapphires , a ruby and a huge diamond. Cheaper forms of badge were more widely distributed, sometimes very freely indeed, rather as modern political campaign buttons and tee-shirts are, though as in some modern countries wearing

Tudor rose - Misplaced Pages Continue

4368-578: The aspirations or character of the bearer. These impresas or emblems were used on the reverse of the portrait-medals that became fashionable in Italy, and used the vocabulary of Renaissance Neo-Platonism , often dropping links to the actual heraldry of the owner completely. Indeed, by the 16th century, emblems were adopted by intellectuals and merchants who had no heraldry of their own. Later emblem books contained large numbers of emblems, partly to allow people to choose one they thought suited them. By

4472-407: The bearer's coat of arms , or had a more or less direct reference to such a charge. More often, badges commemorated some remarkable exploit, illustrated a family or feudal alliance, or indicated some territorial rights or pretensions. Some badges are rebuses , making a pun or play-on-words of the owner's name. It was not uncommon for the same personage or family to use more than one badge; and, on

4576-494: The court records shows few prosecutions, but by the end of Henry's reign liveried retainers do seem to have ceased to be a major problem. While the badges of the nobility were carefully restricted, the royal badges of the Tudors, most famously the Tudor rose that signified the union of the Lancastrian and Yorkist dynasties, were used more widely than ever before, for example being added freely to King's College Chapel, Cambridge when

4680-692: The dress uniforms of the Yeomen Warders at the Tower of London , and of the Yeomen of the Guard . It features in the design of the 20-pence coin minted between 1982 and 2008, and in the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom . It also features on the coat of arms of Canada . As part of the badge of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom , the Tudor rose represents England alongside

4784-421: The early hours of 16 December 1485. She was the youngest surviving child of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile . Her siblings were Joanna, Queen of Castile and of Aragon , Isabella, Queen of Portugal , John, Prince of Asturias , and Maria, Queen of Portugal . Catherine was quite short in stature with long red hair, wide blue eyes, a round face, and a fair complexion. She

4888-573: The end, Henry's envoy had to return without accomplishing much. Henry now had no choice but to put this great matter into the hands of Wolsey, who did all he could to secure a decision in Henry's favour. Both the Pope and Martin Luther raised the possibility that Henry have two wives, not to re-introduce polygamy generally, but "to preserve the royal dignity of Catherine and Mary". Wolsey went so far as to convene an ecclesiastical court in England with

4992-404: The face of his lovely bride". The couple had corresponded in Latin, but found that they could not understand each other's spoken conversation, because they had learned different Latin pronunciations. Ten days later, on 14 November 1501, they were married at Old St. Paul's Cathedral , both 15 years old. A dowry of 200,000 ducats had been agreed, and half was paid shortly after the marriage. It

5096-416: The first two wives of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster: Blanche of Lancaster and Constance of Castile . In contrast, Henry VII was the descendant of Gaunt's third marriage to Katherine Swynford , whose children were born out of wedlock and only legitimised after the death of Constance and the marriage of John to Katherine. The children of John and Katherine, while legitimised, were barred from inheriting

5200-463: The first undisputed English queen regnant in 1553. Catherine commissioned The Education of a Christian Woman by Juan Luis Vives , who dedicated the book, controversial at the time, to the Queen in 1523. Such was Catherine's impression on people that even her adversary Thomas Cromwell said of her, "If not for her sex, she could have defied all the heroes of History." She successfully appealed for

5304-470: The floral badges of the other constituent parts of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The heraldic badge of the Royal Navy's current flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth uses a Tudor rose with colours divided vertically ( per pale ), inheriting the heraldry of the early twentieth century super-dreadnought oil-fired fast battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth . The Tudor rose makes up part of

SECTION 50

#1732783949892

5408-637: The judgement of clergy in England, without reference to the pope. Catherine refused to accept Henry as supreme head of the Church in England and considered herself the King's rightful wife and queen, attracting much popular sympathy. Despite this, Henry acknowledged her only as dowager princess of Wales. After being banished from court by Henry, Catherine lived out the remainder of her life at Kimbolton Castle , dying there in January 1536 of cancer. The English people held Catherine in high esteem, and her death set off tremendous mourning. Her daughter Mary would become

5512-470: The king (now Henry IV) to issue badges, and only to those ranking as esquires and above, who were only to wear them in his presence. In the end it took a determined campaign by Henry VII to largely stamp out the use of livery badges by others than the king, and reduce them to things normally worn only by household servants in the case of the aristocracy. Livery badges issues by guilds and corporations, and mayors, were exempt, and these continued in use until

5616-519: The large number of badges of various liveries recovered from the Thames in London were perhaps discarded hurriedly by retainers who found themselves impoliticly dressed at various times. Apparently beginning relatively harmlessly under Edward III in a context of tournaments and courtly celebrations, by the reign of his successor Richard II the badges had become seen as a social menace, and were "one of

5720-619: The last time she was painted. After her death, numerous portraits were painted of her, particularly of her speech at the Legatine Trial, a moment accurately rendered in Shakespeare's play about Henry VIII . Her tomb in Peterborough Cathedral can be seen and there is hardly ever a time when it is not decorated with flowers or pomegranates, her heraldic symbol. It bears the title Katharine Queen of England . In

5824-605: The later sixteenth century, allegorical badges called impresa were adopted by individuals as part of an overall programme of theatrical disguise for a specific event or series of events, such as the fancy dress jousts of the Elizabethan era typified by the Accession Day tilts . The device spread far beyond the aristocracy as part of the craze for wittily enigmatic constructions in which combinations of pictures and texts were intended to be read together to generate

5928-410: The law, unless covered by a specific royal licence. A well-known story, first told by Francis Bacon but unsupported in the remaining records, has Henry visiting his principal military commander John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford at Hedingham Castle , who at his departure lined the king's exit route with liveried retainers, for which Henry fined him 15,000 marks. In fact modern historical analysis of

6032-539: The lawfulness of their union by pointing out that Catherine had previously been married. If she and Arthur had consummated their marriage, Henry by canon law had the right to remarry. On 23 May 1533, Cranmer, sitting in judgement at a special court convened at Dunstable Priory to rule on the validity of Henry's marriage to Catherine, declared the marriage unlawful, even though Catherine had testified that she and Arthur had never had physical relations. Five days later, on 28 May 1533, Cranmer ruled that Henry and Anne's marriage

6136-520: The lives of the rebels involved in the Evil May Day , for the sake of their families, and also won widespread admiration by starting an extensive programme for the relief of the poor. Catherine was a patron of Renaissance humanism and a friend of the great scholars Erasmus of Rotterdam and Thomas More . Catherine was born at the Archbishop's Palace of Alcalá de Henares near Madrid, in

6240-608: The marriage was delayed until Henry was old enough, but Ferdinand II procrastinated so much over payment of the remainder of Catherine's dowry that it became doubtful that the marriage would take place. She lived as a virtual prisoner at Durham House in London. Some of the letters she wrote to her father complaining of her treatment have survived. In one of these letters she tells him that "I choose what I believe, and say nothing. For I am not as simple as I may seem." She had little money and struggled to cope, as she had to support her ladies-in-waiting as well as herself. In 1507 she served as

6344-508: The midland counties. Catherine was issued with banners at Richmond on 8 September, and rode north in full armour to address the troops, despite being heavily pregnant at the time. Her fine speech was reported to the historian Peter Martyr d'Anghiera in Valladolid within a fortnight. Although an Italian newsletter said she was 100 miles (160 km) north of London when news of the victory at Battle of Flodden Field reached her, she

SECTION 60

#1732783949892

6448-414: The most protracted controversies of Richard's reign", as they were used to denote the small private armies of retainers kept by lords, largely for the purpose of enforcing their lord's will on the less powerful in his area. Though they were surely a symptom rather than a cause of both local baronial bullying and the disputes between the king and his uncles and other lords, Parliament repeatedly tried to curb

6552-524: The new queen; both refused. In late December 1535, sensing her death was near, Catherine made her will , and wrote to her nephew, the Emperor Charles V, asking him to protect her daughter. It has been claimed that she then penned one final letter to Henry: My most dear lord, king and husband, The hour of my death now drawing on, the tender love I owe you forceth me, my case being such, to commend myself to you, and to put you in remembrance with

6656-463: The other hand, two or more badges were often borne in combination, to form a single compound device. Livery badges were especially common in England from the mid-fourteenth century until about the end of the fifteenth century, a period of intense factional conflict which saw the deposition of Richard II and the Wars of the Roses . A lavish badge like the Dunstable Swan Jewel would only have been worn by

6760-517: The person whose device was represented, members of his family or important supporters, and possibly servants who were in regular very close contact with him. However the jewel lacks the ultimate luxury of being set with gems, for example having ruby eyes, like the lion pendants worn by Sir John Donne and his wife and several examples listed on the 1397 treasure roll of King Richard II . In the Wilton Diptych , Richard's own badge has pearls on

6864-404: The pope at the time of Henry and Catherine's marriage had the right to overrule Henry's claimed scriptural impediment would become a hot topic in Henry's campaign to wrest an annulment from the present Pope. It is possible that the idea of annulment had been suggested to Henry much earlier than this, and is highly probable that it was motivated by his desire for a son. Before Henry's father ascended

6968-463: The present day. The American historian Garrett Mattingly was the author of a popular biography Katherine of Aragon in 1942. In 1966, Catherine and her many supporters at court were the subjects of Catherine of Aragon and her Friends , a biography by John E. Paul. In 1967, Mary M. Luke wrote the first book of her Tudor trilogy, Catherine the Queen which portrayed her and the tumultuous era of English history through which she lived. In recent years,

7072-469: The rank of esquire wear them. The issue was apparently quiet for a few years, but from 1397 Richard issued increasingly large numbers of badges to retainers who misbehaved (his " Cheshire archers " being especially notorious), and in the Parliament of 1399, after his deposition, several of his leading supporters were forbidden from issuing "badges of signes" again, and a statute was passed allowing only

7176-408: The reign (1327–1377) of King Edward III . In the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, the followers, retainers, dependants, and partisans of famous and powerful personages and houses bore well-known badges – precisely because they were known and recognised. (In contrast, the coat of arms was used exclusively by the individual to whom it belonged.) Badges occasionally imitated a charge in

7280-405: The relief of the poor. She was also a patron of Renaissance humanism , and a friend of the great scholars Erasmus of Rotterdam and Saint Thomas More . Some saw her as a martyr. In the reign of her daughter Mary I of England , her marriage to Henry VIII was declared "good and valid". Her daughter Queen Mary also had several portraits commissioned of Catherine, and it would not by any means be

7384-507: The rose more often. When Arthur, Prince of Wales , died in 1502, his tomb in Worcester Cathedral used both roses; thereby asserting his royal descent from both the houses of Lancaster and York. During his reign, Henry VIII had the legendary " Round Table " at Winchester Castle – then believed to be genuine – repainted. The new paint scheme included a Tudor rose in the centre. Previous to this, his father Henry VII had built

7488-405: The rose sporadically, but when they did it was often gold rather than red; Henry VI , the king who presided over the country's descent into civil war, preferred his badge of the antelope . Contemparies certainly did not refer to the traumatic civil conflict of the 15th century as the "Wars of the Roses". For the best part of a quarter-century, from 1461 to 1485, there was only one royal rose, and it

7592-536: The service commemorating the 470th anniversary of her death, the Spanish Ambassador to the United Kingdom attended. During the 2010 service a rendition of Catherine of Aragon's speech before the Legatine court was read by Jane Lapotaire . There is a statue of her in her birthplace of Alcalá de Henares , as a young woman holding a book and a rose. Catherine has remained a popular biographical subject to

7696-601: The shortcomings of the papacy and church officialdom. Her doubts about church improprieties certainly did not extend so far as to support the allegations of corruption made public by Martin Luther in Wittenberg in 1517, which were soon to have such far-reaching consequences in initiating the Protestant Reformation . In 1523 Alfonso de Villa Sancta, a learned friar of the Observant (reform) branch of

7800-416: The surrounding countryside ... and it is certainly the boldness inspired by these badges that makes them unafraid to do these things". Richard offered to give up his own badges, to the delight of the House of Commons of England , but the House of Lords refused to give up theirs, and the matter was put off. In 1390 it was ordered that no one below the rank of banneret should issue badges, and no one below

7904-457: The throne, England was beset by civil warfare over rival claims to the English crown , and Henry may have wanted to avoid a similar uncertainty over the succession. It soon became the one absorbing object of Henry's desires to secure an annulment. Catherine was defiant when it was suggested that she quietly retire to a nunnery, saying: "God never called me to a nunnery. I am the King's true and legitimate wife." He set his hopes upon an appeal to

8008-541: The time. Catherine was buried in Peterborough Cathedral with the ceremony due to her position as a Dowager Princess of Wales , and not a queen. Henry did not attend the funeral and forbade Mary to attend. Catherine was a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis and she was punctilious in her religious obligations in the Order, integrating without demur her necessary duties as queen with her personal piety. After

8112-458: The titles of pursuivants in the College of Arms ), and there is now a general badge of the House of Windsor . Heraldic badges were revived in 1906 by the College of Arms under Alfred Scott-Gatty , and have since then often been included in new grants of arms, in addition to the traditional grant of the coat of arms . Whether or not they are so granted is at the option of the grantee, who pays

8216-417: The two factions together. (In battle, Richard III fought under the banner of the boar, and Henry under the banner of the dragon of his native Wales.) The white rose versus red rose juxtaposition was mostly Henry's invention, created to exploit his appeal as a 'peacemaker king'. The historian Thomas Penn writes: The "Lancastrian" red rose was an emblem that barely existed before Henry VII. Lancastrian kings used

8320-422: The use of livery badges. The issuing of badges by lords was attacked in the Parliament of 1384, and in 1388 they made the startling request that "all liveries called badges [ signes ], as well of our lord the king as of other lords ... shall be abolished", because "those who wear them are flown with such insolent arrogance that they do not shrink from practising with reckless effrontery various kinds of extortion in

8424-420: The world" and that there was "nothing lacking in her that the most beautiful girl should have". Thomas More and Lord Herbert would reflect later in her lifetime that in regard to her appearance "there were few women who could compete with the Queen [Catherine] in her prime." The controversial book The Education of a Christian Woman by Juan Luis Vives , which claimed women have the right to an education,

8528-552: The wrong badge in the wrong place could lead to personal danger. In 1483 King Richard III ordered 13,000 badges in fustian cloth with his emblem of a white boar for the investiture of his son Edward as Prince of Wales, a huge number given the population at the time. Other grades of boar badges that have survived are in lead, silver, and gilded copper relief, the last found at Richard's home of Middleham Castle in Yorkshire, and very likely worn by one of his household when he

8632-493: Was Duke of York . The British Museum also has a swan badge in flat lead, typical of the cheap metal badges which were similar to the pilgrim badges that were also common in the period. In 1377, during a period when the young Richard's uncle John of Gaunt as Regent was highly unpopular in London, one of his more than 200 retainers, the Scottish knight Sir John Swinton , unwisely rode through London wearing Gaunt's badge on

8736-429: Was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until its annulment on 23 May 1533. She was Princess of Wales while married to Henry's elder brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales , for a short period before his death. Catherine was born at the Archbishop's Palace of Alcalá de Henares , and was the youngest child of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon . She

8840-604: Was accompanied to England by the following ambassadors: Diego Fernández de Córdoba y Mendoza , 3rd Count of Cabra; Alonso de Fonseca y Acevedo , Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela ; and Antonio de Rojas Manrique , Bishop of Mallorca. Her Spanish retinue, including Francisco Felipe , was supervised by her duenna , Elvira Manuel . At first it was thought Catherine's ship would arrive at Gravesend . A number of English gentlewomen were appointed to be ready to welcome her on arrival in October 1501. They were to escort Catherine in

8944-442: Was also taught music, dancing, drawing, as well as being carefully educated in good manners and court etiquette. At an early age, Catherine was considered a suitable wife for Arthur, Prince of Wales , heir apparent to the English throne, due to the English ancestry she inherited from her mother. Theoretically, by means of her mother, Catherine had a stronger legitimate claim to the English throne than King Henry VII himself through

9048-462: Was appointed to the vacant position. When Henry decided to annul his marriage to Catherine, John Fisher became her most trusted counsellor and one of her chief supporters. He appeared in the legates' court on her behalf, where he shocked people with the directness of his language, and by declaring that, like John the Baptist , he was ready to die on behalf of the indissolubility of marriage. Henry

9152-889: Was captured at Thérouanne , Henry sent him to stay in Catherine's household. She wrote to Wolsey that she and her council would prefer the Duke to stay in the Tower of London as the Scots were "so busy as they now be" and she added her prayers for "God to sende us as good lukke against the Scotts, as the King hath ther." The war with Scotland occupied her subjects, and she was "horrible busy with making standards, banners, and badges" at Richmond Palace . Catherine wrote to towns, including Gloucester , asking them to send muster lists of men able to serve as soldiers. The Scots invaded and on 3 September 1513, she ordered Thomas Lovell to raise an army in

9256-467: Was cursed and sought confirmation from the Bible, which he interpreted to say that if a man marries his brother's wife, the couple will be childless. Even if her marriage to Arthur had not been consummated (and Catherine would insist to her dying day that she had come to Henry's bed a virgin), Henry's interpretation of that biblical passage meant that their marriage had been wrong in the eyes of God. Whether

9360-464: Was declared against France and the Emperor was once again welcome in England, where plans were afoot to betroth him to Catherine's daughter Mary. In 1525, Henry VIII became enamoured of Anne Boleyn , a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine; Anne was between ten and seventeen years younger than Henry, being born between 1501 and 1507. Henry began pursuing her; Catherine was no longer able to bear children by this time. Henry began to believe that his marriage

9464-414: Was dedicated to and commissioned by her. Such was Catherine's impression on people, that even her enemy, Thomas Cromwell , said of her "If not for her sex, she could have defied all the heroes of History." She successfully appealed for the lives of the rebels involved in the Evil May Day for the sake of their families. Furthermore, Catherine won widespread admiration by starting an extensive programme for

9568-461: Was descended, on her maternal side, from the House of Lancaster , an English royal house; her great-grandmother Catherine of Lancaster , after whom she was named, and her great-great-grandmother Philippa of Lancaster were both daughters of John of Gaunt and granddaughters of Edward III of England . Consequently, she was third cousin of her father-in-law, Henry VII of England , and fourth cousin of her mother-in-law Elizabeth of York . Catherine

9672-812: Was educated by a tutor, Alessandro Geraldini , who was a clerk in Holy Orders. She studied arithmetic, canon and civil law, classical literature, genealogy and heraldry, history, philosophy, religion, and theology. She had a strong religious upbringing and developed her Roman Catholic faith that would play a major role in later life. She learned to speak, read and write in Castilian Spanish and Latin, and spoke French and Greek. Erasmus later said that Catherine "loved good literature which she had studied with success since childhood". She had been given lessons in domestic skills, such as cooking, embroidery, lace-making, needlepoint, sewing, spinning, and weaving and

9776-535: Was greeted by a large and enthusiastic crowd. As was the custom, the couple spent the night before their coronation at the Tower of London . On Midsummer's Day, Sunday, 24 June 1509, Henry VIII and Catherine were anointed and crowned together by the Archbishop of Canterbury at a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey. The coronation was followed by a banquet in Westminster Hall . Many new Knights of

9880-467: Was in France . During that time the English defeated a Scottish invasion at the Battle of Flodden , an event in which Catherine played an important part with an emotional speech about courage and patriotism. By 1526, Henry was infatuated with Anne Boleyn and dissatisfied that his marriage to Catherine had produced no surviving sons, leaving their daughter Mary as heir presumptive at a time when there

9984-581: Was near Buckingham . From Woburn Abbey , she sent a letter to Henry along with a piece of the bloodied coat of King James IV of Scotland , who died in the battle, for Henry to use as a banner at the siege of Tournai . Catherine's religious dedication increased as she became older, as did her interest in academics. She continued to broaden her knowledge and provide training for her daughter, Mary. Education among women became fashionable, partly because of Catherine's influence, and she donated large sums of money to several colleges. Henry, however, still considered

10088-475: Was no established precedent for a woman on the throne. He sought to have their marriage annulled, setting in motion a chain of events that led to England's schism with the Catholic Church . When Pope Clement VII refused to annul the marriage, Henry defied him by assuming supremacy over religious matters in England. In 1533, their marriage was consequently declared invalid and Henry married Anne on

10192-518: Was noted that Catherine and her Spanish ladies in waiting were dressed in Spanish style at her arrival and at the wedding. Once married, Arthur was sent to Ludlow Castle on the borders of Wales to preside over the Council of Wales and the Marches , as was his duty as Prince of Wales, and his bride accompanied him. A few months later, they both became ill, possibly with the sweating sickness , which

10296-647: Was so enraged by this that he wrote a long Latin address to the legates in answer to Fisher's speech. Fisher's copy of this still exists, with his manuscript annotations in the margin which show how little he feared Henry's anger. The removal of the cause to Rome ended Fisher's role in the matter, but Henry never forgave him. Other people who supported Catherine's case included Thomas More ; Henry's own sister Mary Tudor, Queen of France ; María de Salinas ; Holy Roman Emperor Charles V; Pope Paul III ; and Protestant Reformers Martin Luther and William Tyndale . King Henry VIII and all six of his wives were related through

10400-501: Was successively moved to the Royal Palace of Hatfield , Hertfordshire (May to September 1532), Elsyng Palace , Enfield (September 1532 to February 1533), Ampthill Castle , Bedfordshire (February to July 1533) and Buckden Towers , Cambridgeshire (July 1533 to May 1534). She was then finally transferred to Kimbolton Castle , Cambridgeshire where she confined herself to one room, which she left only to attend Mass, dressed only in

10504-469: Was sweeping the area. Arthur died on 2 April 1502; 16-year-old Catherine recovered to find herself a widow. At this point, Henry VII faced the challenge of avoiding the obligation to return her 200,000-ducat dowry, half of which he had not yet received, to her father, as required by her marriage contract should she return home. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth in February 1503, there were rumours of

10608-523: Was three years old when she was betrothed to Arthur, heir apparent to the English throne. They married in 1501, but Arthur died five months later. Catherine spent years in limbo, and during this time, she held the position of ambassador of the Aragonese crown to England in 1507, the first known female ambassador in European history. She married Henry shortly after his accession in 1509. For six months in 1513, she served as regent of England while Henry

10712-420: Was valid. Until the end of her life, Catherine would refer to herself as Henry's only lawful wedded wife and England's only rightful queen, and her servants continued to address her as such. Henry refused her the right to any title but " Dowager Princess of Wales" in recognition of her position as his brother's widow. Catherine went to live at The More Castle, Hertfordshire , late in 1531. After that, she

10816-525: Was white: the badge of Edward IV. The roses were actually created after the war by Henry VII. On his marriage, Henry VII adopted the Tudor rose badge conjoining the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster . The Tudor rose is occasionally seen divided in quarters (heraldically as "quartered") and vertically (in heraldic terms per pale ) red and white. More often, the Tudor rose is depicted as

#891108