Mantel might cast her as Eris but her own father potentially used the story of Polyxena to subtly speak out against her execution.
New Year 1543, after Katherine Howard had been brought down, his gift to the King was a translation of a work by Boccaccio chronicling the lives of exceptional women, praising a few for their modesty but mostly being a cautionary tale and conduct guide.
Lord Morley was usually a precise but unpoetic translator (compared to the artistry of someone like Wyatt) but in the story of Polyxena he inserts an entire phrase of his own, diverting from the original translation to say "it was against all good order...that so sweet a maiden should be devoured by the hands of Pyrrhus for to satisfy for another woman's offence'.
This is highlighted by both Julia Fox and James Taffe in their - quite different- biographies of Jane!
Really excited to be caught up again, and in time for the first episode of Mirror & the Light this week - perfect timing!
Fascinating footnotes Laura! Yes, I think Cromwell and her father of course view her very differently. It's not that surprising that Cromwell sees her as meddlesome, and Mantel is always trying to show us the world as he sees it.
But thank you for standing up for Lady Rochford! Someone has to do it! 🤣
Great background. I'm always glad to see Lady Rochford. She's one of the few characters who can match wits with Cromwell. And she and he speak the same concise language.
"Intemperate councillors fail. We have all seen Gardiner flouncing from the royal presence, looking like a plaice, with his mouth turned down and his underlip thrust out."
What a treat this week! After such a short budget to read, 22 pp??!!, we do not deserve all these pictures and notes and further details from you! I was especially grateful for the date—I had lost track of what year it was, let alone month, and was not looking forward to trying to work it out from other sources: so thank you for that too. It is all so suspenseful: Wyatt in danger and Chapuys away! Henry lumbering around, more than ever a travesty of himself—as Chapuys says, “[he] is a man of great endowments, lacking only consistency, reason and sense.” And even though I know very well what is coming down the road, the suspense is still palpable
I am like Cromwell: I have no load-line my subscribers can see. I gave myself too much to do this year. I think next year will be less intense. I just feel lucky to be able to read my favourite books for a living, and write: I wasn't expecting it!
Why is Richard Riche peevish with Wriothesley at his return? The household is clearly willing to overlook his mistakes for the moment, what makes him speak up now, both in the story and as a device for Mantel? The answer may be right in front of me, but there is so much going on at this point, I would appreciate someone making it plain.
Riche is a bit of an outsider here; he has always admired Cromwell's ruthless statecraft but he doesn't understand Cromwell's sentimental side. Cromwell alludes to this in Wolf Hall (Riche likes to read Machiavelli). He must think Call-Me is a bit of a dolt and doesn't quite understand the household's affection for him. That's my reading.
Everything he's done has always been to say: I don't care who I am, where I came from, I can do the job better than you. Remember the choughs, remember even his title of Baron of Wimbledon (basically Baron of Putney). If it is an error, it is one he's in the habit of making.
Taking in the wider picture: this is a significant development in English history, the transition from feudal hierarchy to one based on your job.
But he mostly seemed to hide his pride from the great nobles or at least not be so in their face. Even in this chapter he thinks Norfolk wouldn’t hesitate to run him through with a sword. All subtlety gone with this move. And perhaps that’s the change Mantel wants us to see. He’s carelessness grows along with his power and wealth.
There were a few observations I wanted to make this week that were a bit too close to spoilers to share here; this has made me appreciate what a great job you do each week focusing our attention on the most significant things without always making it obvious why they are important...!
My quote of the week would be this unsettling one from Cromwell’s visit to Gertrude Courtenay in the Tower
"Her eyes move over him. She sees the king’s councillor: a genial man, comfortable in his skin. She doesn’t see the other man, whom he keeps short-chained to the wall: the man for whom the work of forgetting is strenuous, who dreams of dungeons, cavities and oubliettes. Such men are subject to uprushes of fear which wake them in the night; when they are frightened, they laugh."
I pitied Gertrude when she gave her very human explanation of why she got involved with Elizabeth Barton, especially as it tied in so closely with a reference I'd noted in 'Religion and the Decline of Magic':
"In the reign of Henry VIII the Marchioness of Exeter paid twenty shillings to Elizabeth Barton, the Nun of Kent, to pray that she would not lose her next child in childbirth, and that her husband would come home safely from the wars."
Finally, a reminder for all of us who spend time at Henry's court:
"You cannot greet the world in the morning with anything less than ferocity, or by evening you will be destroyed."
That Gertrude interview: it's so finely written. Because Cromwell counsels her during the Barton affair to emphasise her weakness as an impressionable woman. Is she doing it again? Or is there real pain beneath her words. And perhaps and probably there is both.
Not sure that I will join the Wolf Crawl for 2025 but you sure have been tempting me with titles and art work as I look through Footnotes and Tangents for my weekly W & P commentary!
The affection between Cromwell and the family he has created is part of what makes Mantel's Cromwell someone we can relate to, as are the insights we have into his fears and dreams. Not sure I am ready for this to come to an end. On a tangent my work book read 'The Last Witch in Scotland ' by Phillip Paris which was based on the story of Janet Horne. Actually we seen to have read a few witch related books, but given Forfar (where I live) has a not too pleasant history of killing women accused of witchcraft, it's maybe not surprising. Another good Sunday night listen.
"Mon cher, I do not know when I shall return. Should we by some mischance, never again…"
Chapuys' farewell is an icy wind. A small man with a big presence in these books. We will miss his suppers with Crumb.
Note: there are numerous references to poison in this chapter (this week and next). Also note that Gertrude is eating almonds.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/06/13/732160949/how-almonds-went-from-deadly-to-delicious
I need to speak up for my Lady Rochford!😂
Mantel might cast her as Eris but her own father potentially used the story of Polyxena to subtly speak out against her execution.
New Year 1543, after Katherine Howard had been brought down, his gift to the King was a translation of a work by Boccaccio chronicling the lives of exceptional women, praising a few for their modesty but mostly being a cautionary tale and conduct guide.
Lord Morley was usually a precise but unpoetic translator (compared to the artistry of someone like Wyatt) but in the story of Polyxena he inserts an entire phrase of his own, diverting from the original translation to say "it was against all good order...that so sweet a maiden should be devoured by the hands of Pyrrhus for to satisfy for another woman's offence'.
This is highlighted by both Julia Fox and James Taffe in their - quite different- biographies of Jane!
Really excited to be caught up again, and in time for the first episode of Mirror & the Light this week - perfect timing!
Fascinating footnotes Laura! Yes, I think Cromwell and her father of course view her very differently. It's not that surprising that Cromwell sees her as meddlesome, and Mantel is always trying to show us the world as he sees it.
But thank you for standing up for Lady Rochford! Someone has to do it! 🤣
Great background. I'm always glad to see Lady Rochford. She's one of the few characters who can match wits with Cromwell. And she and he speak the same concise language.
"Intemperate councillors fail. We have all seen Gardiner flouncing from the royal presence, looking like a plaice, with his mouth turned down and his underlip thrust out."
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:D._Marcus_Elieser_Bloch%27s,_aus%C3%BCbenden_Arztes_zu_Berlin_%C3%96konomische_Naturgeschichte_der_Fische_Deutschlands_-_mit_sieben_und_dreyssig_Kupfertafeln_nach_Originalen_(1783)_(20796027909).jpg
What a treat this week! After such a short budget to read, 22 pp??!!, we do not deserve all these pictures and notes and further details from you! I was especially grateful for the date—I had lost track of what year it was, let alone month, and was not looking forward to trying to work it out from other sources: so thank you for that too. It is all so suspenseful: Wyatt in danger and Chapuys away! Henry lumbering around, more than ever a travesty of himself—as Chapuys says, “[he] is a man of great endowments, lacking only consistency, reason and sense.” And even though I know very well what is coming down the road, the suspense is still palpable
By 'eck it's ominous. I had to make up for last week's illness. Speaking of which, I don't like the look of that limp, Crumb.
I meant to add my hopes that you were feeling better now…. I don’t know how you manage your workload when you’re well!
I am like Cromwell: I have no load-line my subscribers can see. I gave myself too much to do this year. I think next year will be less intense. I just feel lucky to be able to read my favourite books for a living, and write: I wasn't expecting it!
I love that quote from Chapuys!
Why is Richard Riche peevish with Wriothesley at his return? The household is clearly willing to overlook his mistakes for the moment, what makes him speak up now, both in the story and as a device for Mantel? The answer may be right in front of me, but there is so much going on at this point, I would appreciate someone making it plain.
Riche is a bit of an outsider here; he has always admired Cromwell's ruthless statecraft but he doesn't understand Cromwell's sentimental side. Cromwell alludes to this in Wolf Hall (Riche likes to read Machiavelli). He must think Call-Me is a bit of a dolt and doesn't quite understand the household's affection for him. That's my reading.
Thanks Simon! That's the explainer I needed.
Really liked the pictures.
A career limiting error, the new order of procession, highlighting the contrast between Cromwell's power and his birth. Certain to annoy everyone.
Everything he's done has always been to say: I don't care who I am, where I came from, I can do the job better than you. Remember the choughs, remember even his title of Baron of Wimbledon (basically Baron of Putney). If it is an error, it is one he's in the habit of making.
Taking in the wider picture: this is a significant development in English history, the transition from feudal hierarchy to one based on your job.
But he mostly seemed to hide his pride from the great nobles or at least not be so in their face. Even in this chapter he thinks Norfolk wouldn’t hesitate to run him through with a sword. All subtlety gone with this move. And perhaps that’s the change Mantel wants us to see. He’s carelessness grows along with his power and wealth.
There were a few observations I wanted to make this week that were a bit too close to spoilers to share here; this has made me appreciate what a great job you do each week focusing our attention on the most significant things without always making it obvious why they are important...!
My quote of the week would be this unsettling one from Cromwell’s visit to Gertrude Courtenay in the Tower
"Her eyes move over him. She sees the king’s councillor: a genial man, comfortable in his skin. She doesn’t see the other man, whom he keeps short-chained to the wall: the man for whom the work of forgetting is strenuous, who dreams of dungeons, cavities and oubliettes. Such men are subject to uprushes of fear which wake them in the night; when they are frightened, they laugh."
I pitied Gertrude when she gave her very human explanation of why she got involved with Elizabeth Barton, especially as it tied in so closely with a reference I'd noted in 'Religion and the Decline of Magic':
"In the reign of Henry VIII the Marchioness of Exeter paid twenty shillings to Elizabeth Barton, the Nun of Kent, to pray that she would not lose her next child in childbirth, and that her husband would come home safely from the wars."
Finally, a reminder for all of us who spend time at Henry's court:
"You cannot greet the world in the morning with anything less than ferocity, or by evening you will be destroyed."
And thank you, it's difficult avoiding spoilers. And next year is a big one (gulp) that should open up plenty of room for discussion.
That Gertrude interview: it's so finely written. Because Cromwell counsels her during the Barton affair to emphasise her weakness as an impressionable woman. Is she doing it again? Or is there real pain beneath her words. And perhaps and probably there is both.
I thought real pain. But I'm an impressionable woman.
Not sure that I will join the Wolf Crawl for 2025 but you sure have been tempting me with titles and art work as I look through Footnotes and Tangents for my weekly W & P commentary!
I can only try and tempt you!
The affection between Cromwell and the family he has created is part of what makes Mantel's Cromwell someone we can relate to, as are the insights we have into his fears and dreams. Not sure I am ready for this to come to an end. On a tangent my work book read 'The Last Witch in Scotland ' by Phillip Paris which was based on the story of Janet Horne. Actually we seen to have read a few witch related books, but given Forfar (where I live) has a not too pleasant history of killing women accused of witchcraft, it's maybe not surprising. Another good Sunday night listen.