Hmmm ...
Somewhere amongst all the movies and television programs I have watched regarding this bloodline, I believe I have developed some sort of spirit of intrigue. I desire to know more. I find myself talking more and more - and sometimes in the written word - to speak in old English.
Hifey *one of these days there will be a post devoted solely to him* is a huge fan of the Tudor period and subsequently Tudor-style homes. He plans to design our home to be modeled as such. Anyway, I don't think I knew anything more than the mention of King Henry VIII to tell you anything of this period before Hifey's influence. I believe *and this will likely be somewhat garbled from the actual series of events* as a child his father called him a prince - thus if you know him, you will likely see "Prince" or "HRH (His Royal Highness)" somewhere around his name. (thank goodness he doesn't require that I treat him as though I am his lowly subject - that wouldn't likely go over well) His former neighborhood had a name - the specifics eludes me at this moment - that had to do with royalty or something with the potential to have one recall some sort of English nobility or the like. *Cambridge - perhaps that was the street name* ... Either way, the streets had names like those of English cities or something like that and the name of the neighborhood ... well, you get the point. Anyway ... there was also - on the home where he spent most of his life (and in the area in which he would one day like for us to, one day, own property) - a crest and coat of arms above the door. I believe that story goes that the original architects of the building built it as somewhat of an homage to their original home - England *there's more to it, I'm sure.* I'm likely butchering this story and he'll *undoubtedly* tell me about it soon after reading this (yes, he reads my meager attempt at blogging). Nonetheless, even if that is somewhat incorrect, the story is similar to the truth (I'm most definitely not trying to sensationalize his love of English royalty). So that's that - he is in love with anything that has to do with the Tudor period.
Thus my current state. Hifey has expressed such an interest in these things that, of course, I have followed suit. Is not a relationship about loving - or at least having some sort of knowledge about - the things your partner *I am not a fan of this descriptor for our *or any for that matter) relationship? Anyway ... as I've been attempting to learn more and more *I did already like the Showtime series "The Tudors" - no doubt because I believe Jonathan Rhys Meyers to be quite the looker* I have found myself enjoying more and more of it. I sometimes wonder what things would have been like had we actually lived in that period.
So I just finished the 10-time Academy Award nominated movie Anne of the Thousand Days - the story of Henry VIII's "love affair" with Anne Boleyn - and many questions circle through the confines of my mind. I'm curious as to what was true of Henry's love for Anne - or for any of his wives, for that matter. That he would commit countless acts of adultery, throw one wife away to marry another, then have that one beheaded so that he might marry yet another, and so much more - all with the rationale of begetting a male heir to the English throne? I understand the thought of that time and how women were merely to obey their husbands and held no true power, but he professed such love for them all. Can there be this much love to be had from one man? Was he not using them all? Did they all not see this? I find myself torn between whether there was a true love of these women or merely a great deal of lust for what the opposite sex could provide him - and what they couldn't, despite his longing.
Now I find myself trying to bring these same themes into the here and now ... with those men who cheat ... what is it that drives them? Is there some larger-than-life rationale, such as King Henry had? Or is it merely for the lusting and momentary flex of power and pleasure that it's done? Maybe this is actually what drove King Henry and the intense "hunger" he had for a son was merely a superficial reasoning that scholars have come up with over the many years following his and his family's reign? Perhaps I'm taking this a great deal out of context in some way, but I am starting to find this era fascinating.
Anne of the Thousand Days has undoubtedly solidified my curiosity with these people, their lives, their deaths, and so much in between. I would like to think it had nothing to do with the depictions of King Henry and Anne Boleyn by Richard Burton and Genevieve Bujold, prospectively, despite the fact that they diddo really great jobs (both received nods for their performances). I also think that perhaps the lives these people lead were just filled with lots of interesting facts - and the different thoughts on what truly transpired doesn't help any. Hifey and I have discussed - in so many words - the many interpretations and depictions of these times and I suppose that might also be what causes a great deal of my intrigue. So many have very different thoughts on what has actually happened that it leads you to crave exploration of them all. I don't think the appeal it has for me holds a candle to that of the hifey but I do consider myself hooked.
It's also funny that I mentioned to him the costumes from the aforementioned movie and my subsequent research lead me to find Costume Design to be the 1 Academy Award the film did win.
I didn't plan for this to get so long or to be so ... well, I think I should stop apologizing for my posts' lengths at this stage. :-)
Ciao for Now
Babes, you are truly hilarious. Yes, I am in love with the english monarchy of the 16th century, especially the Tudor period. This period for me, has a lot of power and privilege and most importantly, showed how a family unified and labored hard to satisfy the Tudor dynasty. There are many, many, depictions of what happened during this period, but one thing remains true and that is Henry VIII ruled England as he did his wives. Aside from Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, Anne Boleyn, Henry's second wife, was probably the most powerful Queen that ruled Henry's heart. Anne was very opinionated and challenged the King, when others knew that it was treason. She knew how the game was played once the king came courting and she hadn't any desired to bed him and follow suit like many of the ladies in waiting before her. I do believe that the King lusted after many, many different women, but he truly loved Anne. He loved her enough that he was willing to leave the most powerful of Queen's, his wife, Catherine of Aragon, who's parents were Isabella & Fernindad of Castile. Pretty much, the Roman Empire and Pope where her bloodline and before Henry became head of the church, she was the one who truly had power, not Henry. Anne Boleyn was known for two things in history and that is one, being beheaded and two, being the mother of Elizabeth I, one of England's greatest monarchs. Henry's life was pretty much to rule with greatness, like his predecessors before him. He wanted to be like his father, Henry VII, who had won wars and produced heirs. Henry did have one son, Edward VI, by his third wife, Jane Seymour, who lived to be about 15 years of age. When Henry VIII died, Edward VI was crowned @ the age of nine, but only lived until age 15. His successor was his eldest sister, Mary. Mary was the daughter of Henry and Catherine and she was scaffold happy. The named her, "Bloody Mary," for that reason alone.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, that's just a taste of what this period was like. I fell in love with this period by sheer accident, not even knowing I was living in an area that was modeled after this very important period in time. Living and being from Detroit, I really didn't care about true Kings & Queens, because I felt I was treated like a being of royal blood. We had a coat of arms or crest over our house, like many do in the neighborhood of Sherwood Forest. Streets such as, Canterbury, Shrewsbury, Kingston, Cambridge, Berkeley, Parkside, Stratford, etc were all cities and areas of England, most of which had castles and stately Tudor Style homes. During those times, if you had a Tudor style home, it meant you were from great stock and your home was your calling card for many great titles to come. It also showed that you were hard working and willing to labor to pass down titles, power and revenue to any offspring issued of one's body. Tudor style homes represent great craftsmanship and ancestry. I believe that is why I love both the period and the architecture a great deal. When I moved to the Knightsbridge district of London in 2002, I had a lot of things I wanted to experience aside from the culture. I wanted to see the Palace @ Greenwich, where Henry VIII was born and Whitehall Palace, where Henry died. I wanted to see the Tower of London and she the infamous, Palace @ Hampton Court. Hampton Court was GRAND in every since of the word and Cardinal Wolsey built this palace for himself, but Anne Boleyn seized it from him, before she was crowned Queen of England. LMAO I truly enjoyed the experience and I believe that I live my life like a man of public service. So I am glad that I've brought something more interesting into our relationship. I am glad to not only be learning with every passing day, but I am still able to teach and share something special with you.
IM NOT GONNA GET IN THIS CONVERSATION :)
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