Monday, June 6, 2011

The Infamous Lady Rochford

Was Jane Parker framed? Claire at The Anne Boleyn Files has a guest post from author and historian Julia Fox. (Via Confessions of a Ci-Devant) To quote:
Let me nail my colours to the mast: I believe that when Anne Boleyn knelt before the Calais swordsman on that May morning in 1536 she was entirely innocent of the charges levelled against her. She had committed neither adultery nor incest. And because she was innocent, so was each and every one of the five men accused with her. Their deaths, and hers, were totally unjust. Over the centuries, Anne and her fellow victims have been ably defended. So they should be. Therefore, because like everyone else, I abhor injustice, I am happy to champion the cause of another maligned woman: Anne’s sister-in-law, George’s wife, Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford.

People think they know about Jane and don’t like what they think they know. Who can blame them? Allegedly, she bore false witness against George and Anne, so bringing about their deaths together with those of Norris, Brereton, Weston and Smeaton, and was then handsomely rewarded for her lies. So when she herself was executed for keeping watch while Catherine Howard met Thomas Culpepper, she deserved all she got. Nemesis had caught up with her, the deaths of the innocent were avenged at last. It’s a satisfyingly moral story. But is it true? (Read entire article.)
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