Tea at Trianon: Theological Loopholes

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Theological Loopholes

Anne Barbeau Gardiner draws some amazing comparisons between our own time and the days of Henry VIII. She writes:

In 1528 Henry VIII suddenly claimed that he was "tormented in conscience" about his 20-year marriage to Queen Catherine and, according to Dr. Harpsfield, believed "he had lived all this while in detestable and abominable adultery." He wanted a speedy divorce, so as to marry Anne Boleyn, but the Queen appealed to Pope Clement, causing delay. At this point, Henry turned to the European universities, hoping to use them against the Pope. In turn, the Queen asked Bishop John Fisher -- the only bishop in England brave enough to stand up to Henry -- to be her advocate. Fisher spent two years in investigation and came to the conclusion that Henry would never have sought a divorce, "if lechery had not embraced the attempt" and "if covetousness of the goods and lands of the church" had not "furthered the said attempt." The charge of greed also applies to the prostitute-theologians who took pay to justify Henry's divorce. Share

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: *Shakes head* Greed, bribery, money, corruption--what a lethal mix!
I've seen the consummation question of Katherine and Arthur's marriage treated with skeptism, ie the possibility that Katherine lied about their wedding night. As noted Henry VIII had been in adulterous behavior (not uncommon for kings at the time)prior to Anne Boleyn and Katherine had turned a blind eye for most of the time. Is there any wonder that none of the European sovereigns recognized Anne Boleyn as Queen?; July 12, 2007 at 11:21:00 AM EDT