Death of Five Innocent Men

The poem has been attributed to Thomas Wyatt - who was not only a personal friend of the Boleyn family but was also arrested along with the other four men; however he was released. It appears to be about the men who were executed on false charges of adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn: George Boleyn (Lord Rochford, Anne's brother), Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, Sir William Brereton and Mark Smeaton. However, Brereton is the only one who is not mentioned in the poem.

As for them all I do not thus lament,

But as of right my reason doth me bind;

But as the most doth all their deaths repent,

Even so do I by force of mourning mind.

Some say: "Rochford, haddest thou not been so proud,

For thy great wit each man would thee bemoan,

Since as it is so, many cry aloud

It is a great loss that thou art dead and gone!"

Ah! Norris, Norris, my tears begin to run

To think what hap did thee so lead or guide

Whereby thou hast both thy and thee undone

That is bewailed in court of every side;

In place also where thou hast never been

Both man and child doth piteously thee moan.

They say: "Alas, thou art far overseen

By thine offences to be thus dead and gone."

Ah! Weston, Weston, that pleasant was and young,

In active things who might with thee compare?

All words accept that thou didst speak with tongue

So well esteemed with each where thou didst fare.

And we that now in court doth lead our life

Most part in mind does thee lament and moan;

But that thy faults we daily hear so rife,

All we should weep, that thou art dead and gone.

Ah! Mark, what moan should I for thee make more,

Since that thy death thou hast deserved best,

Save only that my eye is forced sore

With piteous plaint to moan thee with the rest?

A time thou haddest above your poor degree, 

The fall whereof thy friends may well bemoan:

A rotten twig on so high a tree

Hath slipped thy hold and thy art dead and gone.

And thus farewell each one in hearty wise!

The axe is home, your heads be in the street;

The trickling tears doth so fall from my eyes

I scarce may write, may paper is so wet.

But what can hope when death has played his part

Though nature's course will thus lament and moan?

Leave sobs therefore, and every Christian heart

Pray for the souls of those be dead and gone.

Thomas Cranmer

Thomas Cranmer was born in 1489 to a family that did not belong to the aristocracy and his family had a modest fortune. When his elder brother, John, inherited the estate after his parents, Thomas was to join the church. At fourteen he was sent to the Jesus College but it took him eight years to finish his education there - a remarkable long time. After Thomas received his Masters of Arts, he married a woman named Joan. But because marriage was not yet acceptable in a priest, he lost his residence at Jesus College and began as a reader at another college. But Joan died during the birth of their first child and the Jesus College gave him his place back.

Thomas Culpepper

Thomas Culpepper was born in 1514 and was a distant relation to the Howard family. In 1534 Thomas bought Higham Park and a year later, he was a courtier to Viscount Lisle.

Culpepper was described as being handsome and quickly became a favourite of Henry VIII. Other courtiers would often bribe Culpepper to use his influence with the King on their behalf. But Thomas Culpepper also had a darker side. He was accused of raping a gate-keeper's wife and then killing the gate-keeper when he came to demand justice - it has been argued whether it was Culpepper or his elder brother, who also happened to be named Thomas. Whichever brother it was, a pardon was given from Henry VIII.

Painting of Thomas Culpepper
made after his death

Thomas Cromwell

Thomas Cromwell was born in around 1485 but very little is known of the life of Thomas when he was young. He was the son of Walter and Katherine Cromwell and spent his childhood at his birthplace in Surrey.

Thomas left England and set sail for continental Europe, where records show that he spent time in Italy, France and the Low Countries. There have been many stories of what Thomas did while visiting these countries but they are often contradictory. Thomas would return to England and marry Elizabeth Wyckes in 1515 with whom he had two daughters and one son.

By 1520 (just five years after his return to England) he was already well-known the mercantile and legal circles of London. He even gained a seat in the House of Commons but nothing of that period has survived. Cromwell was apparently skilled because in the middle of 1520's he joined the service of none other than Cardinal Wolsey. Within long he had participated in the dissolution of almost thirty monasteries to raise money for schools build by Wolsey and must have made an impression on the Cardinal for by 1529 he was one of Wolsey's most trusted advisers - however the Cardinal fell from power later that year.

A Scandal of Playfulness?

A scandal that occurred after Henry VIII's death is still a source of debate. A juicy rumour of the Dowager Queen, her husband and the King's daughter is bound to be a source of interest - then and now. So let's take a look at a typical Tudor rumour:

When Catherine Parr had married Thomas Seymour (another scandal!) she invited the Lady Elizabeth to stay with her and her new husband at Sudeley Castle. Lady Elizabeth - and her ill-fated cousin Lady Jane Grey - accepted the invitation. But soon things got out of hands in the peaceful household. Allegedly, Thomas Seymour would engage in inappropriate games with the young princess Elizabeth which involved him tickling the princess - something that was not socially acceptable in a respectable relationship. But to make the scandal even more interesting the rumours has it that Catherine Parr herself joined in!
Apparently it was more than Catherine would accept when she supposedly found her husband embracing the Lady Elizabeth who was consequently sent to another household to stop the whole thing.

But is it true?

Probably not. One always has to consider the source and in this case it is "Kat" Ashley - Elizabeth's governess. Though she would be considered a reasonable witness in normal circumstances, she is not that reliable in this case. The situation was that Kat Ashley was imprisoned in the Tower when she told the story and had been threatened with torture - enough to make anyone lie. Except for her, there is nobody who has ever claimed that the incident took place. So it is reasonable to assume that the poor governess (otherwise completely loyal to Elizabeth) only told the story to spare herself the horrors of the torture chamber. Nevertheless, the story must have caused quite a scandal at the time.