It was the king who had paid for Reginalds education at Oxford and later in Italy, where his noble connections gave him the entre into the smartest humanist circles. [5] When Perkin Warbeck impersonated Edward IV's presumed-dead son, Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, in 1499, Margaret's brother Edward was attainted and executed for involvement in the plot. In May 1515, More was sent to Bruges as part of a delegation arranged by Wolsey to revise an Anglo-Flemish commercial treaty. (2020, August 26). Chapuys wrote two weeks after the execution that one hundred and fifty witnesses were present for the execution, including the Lord Mayor of London. The charge was treason. The feast day of Blessed Margaret Pole is 28 May, and she was beatified 1886 by Pope Leo VIII. Both Henry and Reginald Pole were attainted in 1539; Geoffrey was pardoned. The two children were of use to him; their maternal family, the Nevilles, commanded allegiance in the north. When Prince Arthur held court in Ludlow with the 15-year-old Catherine of Aragon, Richard Pole was with him, and a friendship began between the bride and the chamberlains wife which was to outlast Catherines life and have deep and lasting consequences for Margaret Pole. But that was years in the future. It was time to be rid of Warwick. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 7, "Unheard-Of Cruelty", describing the trial and execution of Sir Thomas More. London, WC1A 2HN Henry married Margarets cousin, Elizabeth of York, and imprisoned Margarets brother as a potential threat to his kingship. Hilary Mantel. Those two could only get along for short while before things got heated. As Englands premier intellectual, Mores opinion mattered. She is a close student of the sources, and careful not to stuff her novels with false excitements. Margaret Pole was one of only two women in the 16th century to hold a peerage in her own right. If he had trusted her once, he no longer did so. But Margaret herself was an ornament to Henry. They married less than a month after Jane Colts death and More had to seek special dispensation from the church. Margarets whole family had been elevated with her on the wheel of fortune. Erasmus mourned his friend and wrote that Mores soul was more pure than snow and his genius was such that England never had and never again will have its like. More was beatified by the Catholic Church in 1886, and canonized by Pius XI in 1935. He encouraged them to do so. Nothing worked. In theory, after she married, a womans personal property and real estate were at her husbands disposal. A third account in Burke's Peerage, possibly apocryphal, described the appalling circumstances of the execution. Geoffrey Pole, who had given the government what it needed, was pardoned. But polite prevarications only worked for so long and soon More was a genuine courtier, with all its attendant duties and benefits. Perhaps the contrast with the quiet, gentle Jane was too striking. In 1512, an Act of Parliament restored to Margaret the Earldom of Salisbury and some of her brother's land which had belonged to it, for which she paid 5000 marks (2666.13s.4d), equivalent to 2,164,602 in 2021. Margaret was not executed with her eldest son, but was held in the Tower for the last years of her life the king paying her bills, outfitting her as became a great lady in furred petticoats and a satin nightgown. Margaret Pole. His father, Sir Richard Pole, was a cousin of King Henry VII, and his mother, Margaret, countess of . There, she was surrounded by connections of the Boleyn queen. I am no traitor, no, not I! Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury (14 August 1473 28 May 1541), also called Margaret Pole, as a result of her marriage to Sir Richard Pole, was the only surviving daughter of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, a brother of Kings Edward IV and Richard III (all sons of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York), by his wife Isabel Neville. Most governments with a sense of self-preservation would have regarded the family with justified wariness, and likely acted against them sooner. He died on 8 August 1420. She would have been a widow when the portrait was painted, but she holds a sprig of honeysuckle, symbol of love and marriage. She also had restored to her the title to the Earldom of Salisbury. Pope Leo XIII beatified her as a martyr for the Roman Catholic Church on 29 December 1886. Please include name, address, and a telephone number. In: Ghosts and Hauntings. But he knew what was coming. An Exclusive First Look at Laura Carmichael as Maggie Pole in the Series Finale of The Spanish Princess Watch as she confronts Sir Thomas More. His father was not supportive, but More was fully prepared to be disowned rather than disobey Gods will. On the 27th May 1541, the elderly Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury, godmother and former governess to Henry VIII's daughter Mary, was executed at the Tower of London. Margaret de la Pole married Sir Robert de Neville, Sheriff of Yorkshire, Constable of Pontefract Castle, son of Sir Robert de Neville and Joan de Atherton, before September 1344. Certainly Henry wanted Mores support. Afterwards, he made a botched suicide attempt. Edward was briefly displayed in public at St Paul's Cathedral in 1487 in response to the presentation of the impostor Lambert Simnel as the "Earl of Warwick" to the Irish lords. Not only did this mean that Margaret came of royal stock, but it meant that she came from the family that was historically opposed to the reign of the Tudors, a fact that would affect her throughout her life. After his marriage to Anne Boleyn and the birth of their daughter, Elizabeth, Mary was sent to join the household of the infant princess. That was what really cost her head in the end, but we wanted to . He married Anne Cheney, daughter of Nicholas Cheney. He needed to convince the Spanish he was secure in his kingdom. She was more likely arrested simply because of her maternal connection to Henry and Reginald, her sons, and perhaps the symbolism of her family heritage, the last of the Plantagenets. The supposed discovery, six months after her house and effects were searched at her arrest, is likely to have been a fabrication. Mores adolescent years were spent under the reign of Henry VII, the first Tudor king. For highlights from the latest issue, our archive and the blog, as well as news, events and exclusive promotions. In some versions, the plucky old girl refused to kneel at the block, and the headsman had to pin her down. It is painted on a dateable oak panel, and the dates suit the presumed subject, but the artist is anonymous. Arthur Pole suffered a setback when his patron Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was convicted of treason in 1521, but he was soon restored to favour. Her fiction is stiff and chary, as if she is too constrained by her knowledge of the pitfalls to turn her characters loose in their own lives. But for now he was out of Henrys reach, leaving his family as hostages. Margaret's destiny, as an heiress to the Plantagenets, is not for a life in the shadows. Margaret would have had a claim to the Earldom of Warwick, but the earldom was forfeited on the attainder of her brother Edward.[4]. It took the inexperience executioner a grand total of 11 swings to finally sever her head at the neck . Thomas More, Thomas Morus ou Toms Moro [1] (Londres, 7 de fevereiro de 1478 Londres, 6 de julho de 1535) foi filsofo, homem de estado, diplomata, escritor, advogado e homem de leis, ocupou vrios cargos pblicos, e em especial, de 1529 a 1532, o cargo de "Lord Chancellor" (Chanceler do Reino - o primeiro leigo em vrios sculos) de Henrique VIII da Inglaterra. The grave of Anne Boleyn. Henry VII had Edward executed, leaving Margaret as the sole survivor of George of Clarence. And he was well-connected enough to later secure his sons appointment as household page to John Morton, the archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor of England. He blundered badly, hacking at Margaret's neck and shoulders until she was dead. Margaret's mother died when she was three; her father had two servants killed when he thought they had poisoned her. A tradition has grown up that George was drowned in a vat a malmsey, an expensive sweet wine. It was the Act of Succession, passed the following month, that sealed his fate. But Reginald Pole refused to do so, leaving for Europe in 1532. Margaret Pole was one of only two women in the 16 th century to hold a peerage in her own right. Here's how the cast of The Spanish Princess compares to their real-life counterparts, from Catherine to Margaret Pole. The Tower's professional executioner was away, so a young novice was given the job. Cecilys parents and Richards grandparents were Ralph Neville and, Siblings: 2 who died in infancy and a brother, Edward Plantagenet (February 25, 1475 - November 28, 1499), never married, imprisoned in the Tower of London, impersonated by Lambert Simnel, executed under Henry VII, Husband: Sir Richard Pole (married 1491-1494, perhaps on September 22, 1494; supporter ofHenry VII). It is unlikely she had seen him for many years, but in any case, mourning for a traitor was inadvisable. Margaret would have been too young to remember her mother, and it is likely that she was brought up within her fathers princely household, then after his execution lived with her cousins, the many daughters of Edward IV. [15][16], On the morning of 28 May 1541, Margaret was told she was to die within the hour. The little Earl of Warwick remained alive and shut away. She was an apt enough pupil to later converse with visitors in Latin. There are only glimpses of her in these years: my lady Margaret of Clarence. When Catherine of Aragon gave birth to a daughter, Mary, Margaret Pole was asked to be one of the godmothers. You may not of heard of Margaret Pole so I will fill you in because her death was quite brutal and makes an interesting read, (if you like the darker side of the Tudors). Edward IV declared that Margaret's younger brother, Edward, should be known as Earl of Warwick as a courtesy title, but no peerage was ever created for him. The symbolism and importance of this decision cannot be underestimated. His personal life remained placid and content. The alleged plot between the earl and Warbeck was flimsy and perhaps government-sponsored, but both men were tried and executed. Joan, wife of John Langton. The prestige of her ancient family, her traditionalist stance in religion, and her status as a peer in her own right all these defined a woman who might wish to resist the new order. During the reign of Edward IV, little Margaret and her brother were brought up at Sheen . After Henry VIII and then his son Edward VI had died, and Mary I was queen, with the intention to restore England to Roman authority, Reginald Pole was appointed papal legate to England by the Pope. Margarets daughter Ursula would have 13 children, and three of her four sons would marry heiresses and have large families. It was his great popularity that saved him. Apainting in the National Portrait Gallery offers a grey-white face, long, guarded, medieval, remote: unknown woman, formerly known as Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury. Put a different hood on her, and she could be a man one of her own Plantagenet relations. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. His decision to become a lay Christian now made, More quickly married. Joan (Margaret) Pole ca 1333-Married toThomas Chaworth ca 1331-1373 Paternal grand-parents, uncles and aunts. He blindfolded himself and exhorted the assembled crowd to witness his end in the faith and for the faith of the Catholic Church, the kings good servant but Gods first. Even Mores Protestant enemies did not believe him a traitor; his death was almost universally held to be nothing less than martyrdom. Mortons tax philosophy was a marvel of inescapable logic: If the subject is seen to live frugally, tell him because he is clearly a money saver of great ability, he can afford to give generously to the King. Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon in 1509 and Margaret was again appointed as one of her ladies-in-waiting. The one potentially scandalous act of his life was his quick second marriage to a widow seven years his senior, Alice Middleton. His eldest daughter Margaret married the lawyer William Roper in 1521, and More continued his practice of prayer and supervision of learning at his home. This is what Margaret is now, besides paper and ink, and the ruins of her palaces: pieces of breastbone and pelvis, a single finger bone and four vertebrae. That was the beginning of Thomas Mores public career, and it was a telling one. Jan 2016 - Mar 20226 years 3 months. But he could not recognize the kings authority as head of the new church of England. Link will appear as Hanson, Marilee. Wolsey was destined to die for his failure to secure the annulment. On this date in 1541, 68-year-old Margaret Pole, countess of Salisbury, was beheaded within the confines of the Tower of London, as befitted her rank. Their old friendship was past; the kings new advisors were anti-Catholic and pro-Protestant, most notably among them was Thomas Cromwell. (Edward would have had a better right to the throne as son of Richards older brother.) Find out more about the London Review of Books app. The popular image is of a man principled, steadfast, courageous who placed his own conscience above his kings demands. Mores letters indicate that he was not particularly keen to enter royal service. Sir Thomas de la Pole was born circa 1378. Her life, marked by stunning reversals of fortune, is an irresistible subject, but it presents a familiar difficulty for the historian. Mr Buxton has returned to live quietly in Cranford following . Her early years are obscure. Thomas More was beheaded in 1535 for his refusal to accept the Acts of Supremacy and the Act of Succession (1534) of Henry VIII of England and swear allegiance to Henry as head of the English Church. Tragedy throws her into poverty and rebellion against the new royal family, luck restores her to her place at court where she becomes the chief lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine and watches the dominance of the Spanish queen over her husband, and her fall. Wolsey, for all his brilliance and cunning, could not compete with that influence. Some stories even claim this was at his own request, having been permitted to choose the manner of his execution. This was on 16 May 1532, the date on which the archdiocese of Canterbury, as head of the English clergy, sent a document to Henry VIII in which is promised to never legislate or even convene without royal assent, thus making the king a lay person head of the spiritual order in England. As his disgrace deepened, Margaret withdrew from court. He collected books and rare objects, but he gave away his possessions freely as well. ODNB, "Reginald Pole"; "Geoffrey Pole". If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content. Or was there, as she claimed, nothing worth burning? To help with her financial situation, she gave one of her sons, Reginald, to the church. [6] . In some cases, they conspired against the crown while claiming, if it went badly, that their weak female brains had been addled by male influence, and that fragility and brittleness allowed their trust to be easily abused. Birth City: London, England. Her mother, Isabel, daughter of the above-mentioned "King-maker," died 22nd December, 1476, and her father in the Tower nearly two years later. In April 1523, he was elected speaker of the House of Commons. He dictated letter after letter. Credit: PjrWindows / Alamy Stock Photo. Thomas More (1478-1535), lawyer and moral philosopher, is still regarded by many Catholics as the quintessential good man. And the king was now newly enamored of a young noblewoman called Anne Boleyn. Then, in good faith, between your grace and me is but this, that I shall die today, and you tomorrow.. Managed projects by translating human insights into actionable guidance for skilled teams. Two days later, a four-count indictment charging More with treason was presented to the commission. Was she, at this point or that, doing nothing of interest at all or was she doing everything, in a way that was almost supernaturally discreet? 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