George Boleyn: Tudor Poet, Courtier & Diplomat Read online

  George would have been somewhere between 15 and 21 years of age when Mary was Henry's mistress. Although he had been appointed one of Henry VIII's pages in around 1516,15 16 it would still be many years before he would play a prominent role at court. In 1520 he was still continuing with his education, and despite being Henry's page, both he and his father would have wanted him to continue receiving the best education available. For George Boleyn to have achieved the prominence at court that he did, and to have maintained that prominence for as long as he did, required not only a first-class education but also a grounding in courtly skills. Hence George's own introduction to the English court at a very young age. When George finally came to court permanently, it was his intelligence and scholarly conversation as much as his humour and gaiety which fascinated Henry and kept the King entertained, in much the same way that Anne was able to fascinate the King with her own blend of Boleyn charm. It was also his courtly skills that earned George the less commendable reputation as a womaniser.

  While George was making his own way at court in England, Anne became a favoured and respected lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude of France, and also received an excellent education. She remained in France until the end of 1521, by which time she spoke fluent French and had acquired an interest in French culture, fashion and etiquette. She also developed a fascination with religious philosophy, with which she had come into contact through her father and, during her time in Mechelen, through the influence of Archduchess Margaret. It was a fascination that she was later to share with her brother, and which would ultimately change the religious persuasions of a nation.

  The whole basis of the Boleyn children's upbringing was focused towards each of them entering into royal service. Thomas Boleyn was determined that his children follow in his footsteps. Just as he had introduced his daughters to the dazzling French court, so Thomas set about introducing George to the English court at an early age. The first record of George Boleyn attending the royal court of Henry VIII is as a child during the Christmas festivities of 1514-15.17 The season included a fancy dress dance and an indoor "mêlée", which he attended with his father. There was a mummery (a traditional English folk play) which featured George and his father, together with a number of other courtiers and their children, including Charles Brandon, Nicholas Carew and Elizabeth Blount. It is chilling to see the names of Brandon and Carew. They met the little Boleyn boy when he was just 9 or 10 years old and in another 21 years' time, Brandon would be one of the members of the jury that would find George and his sister guilty of treason, while Carew would help coach Jane Seymour on how to win the King's heart.

  That Christmas was probably the first time a Boleyn child was introduced to the King of England. Though George was very young, Thomas clearly felt he had the intelligence and maturity to be brought to Henry's attention. That Thomas took the trouble to take his young son to the festivities demonstrates his pride in the boy, and perhaps his affection for him. Clearly Thomas's confidence was well founded. Even at such an early age, George obviously made a good initial impression on Henry because, as we have seen, it was shortly after this that George became one of the King's pages. Bapst suggests that an introduction to the scandalous court of Henry VIII at such a young age had a corrupting effect on young George, hence his later reputation as a prolific womaniser.18 It would certainly have been difficult for any young person to be brought up in the brutal world of Henry VIII's court and emerge completely unscathed.

  It could be considered surprising that Anne and Mary were sent abroad to be educated whilst a boy, the only son, remained at home. However, George Boleyn's designated future was to follow in his father's footsteps, to be a servant to the King of England and enter the world of politics and diplomacy. He did not necessarily need the same level of sophisticated courtly skills that his sisters required in order for them to ensure a good marriage, and which Thomas Boleyn obviously felt were best learned at the European courts. George's education was directed towards becoming an accomplished courtier, politician and diplomat, and those skills were best learned in the cauldron of Henry's court. That George Boleyn did acquire sophisticated courtly skills in addition to his other attributes, to the degree that they were commented on in poetry, and that Anne did acquire skills as an accomplished politician in addition to her courtly skills, is a testament to their extraordinary capabilities as people.

  It is not known for certain whether George and Anne Boleyn had any direct contact with each other after she went abroad, but it is probable that George attended the Field of Cloth of Gold meeting between the French and English Kings in June 1520 with his parents and sisters. Anne and her father were already in France and were joined by Lady Boleyn and Mary.19 Although George is not mentioned, it is unlikely that he would have been left behind on such a momentous occasion. George would have been about 15 or 16 at the time and he was probably among his father's allocation of 11 attendants or one of the 3 gentlemen allowed for his mother.20 It is possible that this was the first time he had met his sister Anne since she had left for the Continent in the spring of 1513.

  They would next meet when Anne returned to England in late 1521. Shortly afterwards, Anne became lady-in-waiting to the queen and George would quickly become a prominent member of Henry's inner circle of favoured courtiers.

  3 - Court Poet

  From early on in his court career, George Boleyn was recognised as a talented court poet, musician and translator. During his lifetime, he received praise and respect for his accomplishments, and was considered by his contemporaries to be as talented as the renowned poets of the age, Thomas Wyatt the Elder and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. Unfortunately, we only know of George's talent for poetry from contemporary writings and comments. The court chronicler Raphael Holinshed confirms of him, "He wrote divers songs and sonnets",1 and Anthony Wood wrote of how it was during his time at Oxford University that "his natural inclinations to poetry were discovered and admired by his contemporaries".2 George Cavendish, gentleman usher of Cardinal Wolsey, praised his skills in verse:

  Dame eloquence also taught me the art,

  In meter and verse to make pleasant ditties.3

  Sixteenth century dramatist and historian John Bale wrote of his "rhythmos elegantissimos"4. Whilst imprisoned in the Tower of London, Anne Boleyn wanted to know whether the other prisoners had anyone to make their beds for them. When told that they had to make their own, she suggested that they make their pallets (beds) as they make ballets (ballads), but said only her Lord Rochford had the skill to do so. She had to be reminded that Thomas Wyatt was equally skilled at verse.5

  Although George Boleyn devoted less energy to poetry and more to his diplomatic role as he got older, a passage of verse, written by Richard Smith in 1575 and prefixed to a selection of poems written by George Gascoigne, confirms George's verse skills by including him amongst such worthies as Chaucer, Surrey and Wyatt:

  Chaucer by writing purchast fame,

  And Gower got a worthy name:

  Sweet Surrey suckt Parnassus springs,

  And Wiat wrote of wondrous things:

  Olde Rochford clambe the statelie throne

  Which Muses hold in Helicone

  Then thither let good Gascoigne go,

  For sure his verse deserveth so.6

  The reason we can only determine George Boleyn's talent from the writings of his contemporaries is because, within a few years of his death, his poetry was lost, and none can now be definitively assigned to him. It is possible that some of his work has survived. Tottel's Miscellany (1557-1587) is an anthology of selected popular poetry of the sixteenth century. Contained in it are a number of poems by "uncertain authors". It is probable that these poems are a mixture of those by Francis Bryan, George Boleyn and Lord Vaux, all of who were talented lyricists. It is possible that some of George's poems have survived by being included in the category of uncertain authors, although it is impossible to say which poem belongs to whom. All of the works are of similar form, and of a style
popular in the sixteenth century. Tottel's Miscellany also contains the poems of Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, renowned poets of the age. Surrey was the son of George Boleyn's uncle, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, and was therefore George's cousin. Henry VIII executed Surrey in January 1547 at the age of 30, just days before the King's own death. Thomas Wyatt was caught up in the tragedy of 1536 and was lucky to escape with his life.

  One particular poem in the Miscellany, "The Lover Complaineth the Unkindness of his Love",7 has been subsequently assigned to George Boleyn. "Extolled for its simplicity, harmony, and elegance" by Horace Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford,8 this poem appears, attributed to George, in the manuscripts of Sir John Harington, an author of literature in the sixteenth century.9 Bale's Scriptorum Illustrium makes use of Harington's manuscripts when assigning the piece to George, and likewise Walpole used Harington when writing his Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors of England, Scotland and Ireland, published in 1806. A letter of Walpole states:

  I have had a piece of luck within these two days. I have long lamented our having no certain piece by Anne Boleyn's brother, Lord Rochford. I have found a very pretty copy of verse by him in the new published volume of the Nugae Antiquae, though by mistake he is called Earl of, instead of Viscount, Rochford. They are taken from a MS. dated twenty-eight years after the author's death, and are much in the manor of Lord Surrey's and Sir T. Wyatt's poems... A little modernized and softened in cadence, they would be very pretty.10

  Tottel's Miscellany assigns the poem to Thomas Wyatt. Harington, however, was scrupulous in correctly attributing other compositions to the correct authors; it is therefore entirely possible that the poem, "The Lover Complaineth...", is that of George Boleyn. Another poem, known as "O death rock me asleep", has at times been attributed to George and at others to Anne Boleyn. Some have suggested that they worked on the poem together while imprisoned in the Tower of London; this is unlikely, though, as the siblings were not allowed to see each other after their arrests. Both poems can be found in Appendix A. Edmond Bapst believes that A Myrour for Magistrates (published in 1559) is another anthology which "must contain some of Lord Rochford's poetry", but misattributed.11

  The poems contained in Tottel's Miscellany display the calibre of the poetry written in the court of Henry VIII. Edmond Bapst in Deux gentilshommes-poetes de la cour de Henry VIII attempts to show that the gentlemen poets of Henry's court effectively kick-started the English Renaissance with the elegance, brilliance and beauty of their poetry. He suggests that such high quality of verse is remarkable bearing in mind the baseness of the court and the dominant tyranny of Henry VIII. Bapst promotes George Boleyn, in addition to the Earl of Surrey, to being the harbingers of the English Renaissance, the cultural and artistic movement which dated from the early sixteenth century through to the seventeenth century.12 Whether George Boleyn deserves such high acclaim is debatable. As his poems cannot accurately be identified, and are now unlikely ever to be, it is sadly impossible to assess the accuracy of this theory.

  George Boleyn, Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard were acknowledged to be the three most talented poets of Henry VIII's court. The poetry of Wyatt and Howard survived, while George's did not. Thomas Wyatt died a natural death in 1543, and although Howard was executed in January 1547, the King died a matter of days later. The answer to George's "lost" poetry seems obvious. Either his poetry was deliberately destroyed after his death and never spoken of again, or other poets took the credit for it. If a young man had been executed on charges of incest and treason, would the King realistically have wanted that young man's poetry to continue to be proclaimed around court, particularly when the young man in question seems to have been a far more talented lyricist than the King himself?

  What can be said with certainty is that by the late 1520s the court was a completely different place to that which George Boleyn had first came into contact in 1514. Anne Boleyn had brought French fashion and French sophistication back with her to England. Her brother, together with the likes of Francis Bryan and Thomas Wyatt, gave the court a gaiety and frivolity that had not been evident in the early years of Henry's reign, and especially so following their own trips to France as ambassadors. Everywhere, throughout the late 1520s and early 1530s, the old was replaced with the new. The courtiers who had been around in the days of Henry's father, Henry VII, were pushed into the background as a new batch of dynamic, witty, talented young men dominated the court. Their poetry was admired throughout London, and their songs and sonnets were heard everywhere. They were the beloved courtiers of the King, and were adored wherever they went. It was a new, fashionable, light-hearted court, and the young men of their generation shone as never before. As we know, many of these young men would have their lights extinguished far too soon, but for a period of about ten years they dominated the rarefied world of power and glory; whilst they pleased him, the King looked on with pleasure at their talent, wit and exuberance. And the leading lights in this very different court were the two Boleyn siblings.

  4 -Personal Attributes

  George Boleyn has a reputation as an attractive, high-living womaniser who used his charm and celebrity to great personal effect. The question is how this reputation came about, and whether it is fair and accurate.

  George is described in his entry in Athenae Oxonienses as a man who "was much adored there [at court], especially by the female sex, for his admirable discourse and symmetry of body". He is also attributed popularity, particularly with the ladies, by George Cavendish, who would have seen George at court. Cavendish's Metrical Visions were written in 1557 and are a set of verses relating to certain individuals executed during the reign of Henry VIII. They are written as from the mouths of those facing death. Cavendish had served Cardinal Wolsey as his gentleman usher, and was a staunch Catholic. Cavendish was prepared to accept as fact the charges brought against the Boleyn siblings, who he would have considered to be almost heretics and blamed for the downfall of his master. Despite his antagonism towards the Boleyns, he cannot prevent himself from singing the personal virtues of George Boleyn, who he portrays as being graceful, elegant, attractive and highly intelligent. He starts by having George say:

  God gave me grace, dame Nature did hir part,

  Endewed me with gyfts of natural qualities:

  Dame Eloquence also taughte me the arte

  In meter and verse to make pleasant dities,

  And fortune preferred me to high dignyties

  In such abondance, that combred was my witt,

  To render God thanks that gave me eche whitt.1

  Cavendish, who would have known George from when he was a young man, portrays him as being blessed with a high degree of natural and physical advantages, as well as eloquence and elegance. It was a sign of wealth and status to dress well, and there were few at court that could compete in this area, either physically or financially, with George Boleyn. Top-quality clothing and tailoring was an expensive business even in the sixteenth century, and it was not unheard of for a gentleman to spend as much as £1500, in today's money, on a single cape. George Boleyn's particular style may partly explain the debts he had at the date of his death.

  In addition to George's looks, Cavendish's verse praises the quality of his poetry and his wit (intelligence), and mentions the positions of trust to which he was exalted at an unusually young age:

  A rare thing saw or seldom ever heard

  So young a man so highly to be preferred.

  For Cavendish - a staunch enemy of the Boleyns and all they stood for - to have felt the need to write such glowing praise, George's physical and mental attributes must have been well above and beyond those of the normal courtier. But despite the gushing attributes, Metrical Visions were not written with the intention of complimenting George's virtues – indeed, quite the reverse. Cavendish goes on to have George say:

  In this my welthe I had God clean forgot,

  And my sensuall apetyte I did always ensewe,

  Estemin
g in my self the thyng that I had not,

  Sufficient grace this chaunce for to eschewe,

  The contrary, I perceyve, causithe me now to rewe;

  My folly was such that vertue I set asyde,

  And forsoke God that should have been my gwyde.

  My lyfe not chaste, my lyvyng bestyall;

  I forced wydowes, maydens I did deflower.

  All was oon to me. I spared none at all,

  My appetite was all women to devoure,

  My study was both day and hower,

  My onleafull lechery how I might it fulfill,

  Sparyng no woman to have on hyr my wyll.

  Cavendish is obviously biased, but he is clearly suggesting that George's fine talent was especially employed in satisfying his sensual appetites as a womaniser of renown, and that he lusted after all women, both widows and maidens. Cavendish goes even further, providing in the suggestion "all was one to me" an indication that George may have seen his sister Anne as no different to any other woman. Likewise, Edmond Bapst suggests that George had so much success in the art of seduction as to leave an indelible stain on his character, although he does not accept the incest charge with the same naivety as does Cavendish.2 Cavendish goes on to imply that George acknowledged on the scaffold that his death was deserved due to his lewd behaviour. The rest of the poem is Cavendish's interpretation of George's statement in his scaffold speech that he was a great sinner deserving of death. He finishes by having George say: