Let the waiting begin...

Another season of Game of Thrones has ended. Now to wait another year, woo March 2014 here we go! Can't wait for season 4, which is going to change the dynamics of the political game in Westeros to a whole new level. My favorite moment of the season finale: the ten minutes or so with Daenerys, of course. The mother of dragons is now a mother of thousands, freed slaves. She reminds me a lot of Elizabeth I, the queen who ruled brightly and was loved by the people. Elizabeth I, however, had no children or lineage to continue the line. I wonder what Daenerys' future will bring...

Let the Summer reading start...

It is funny how we keep blogs, facebook statuses, tweets, and picture grams to document our lives as if what we do everyday is super important. Sometimes I wish historical figures could have foreseen their importance in the future and documented their lives even one half of what we do. It would have been so nice to actually knows the thoughts and emotions of the people whose lives have influenced me throughout my life. I guess historical fiction will have to do until some casket or chest is discovered with all of the diaries or letters of my favorite historical people.

Recommended Historical Diaries/Narratives (fiction):

Ancient Egypt:

Camelot  (Queen Guinevere, Lancelot, and Arthur):

 

About Tudor England: 

 For CHILDREN:
Scholastic's The Royal Diaries
(These books were my first interaction with historical women . I have read Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile, and Isabel: Jewel of Castilla )

Let the month of May continue...

It is May 14. Every year around this time, I feel very compelled and emotional by the events that transpired 477 years ago on May 19. For the first time in English history a queen was executed, beheaded for treason and unceremoniously buried in a chest box in an unmarked grave. Anne Boleyn, the second wife, and crowned consort of Henry VIII was charged with adultery, treason, and incest against her beloved husband Henry Tudor, the eighth of his name. Was any of it true? Or did Henry simply want to erase his past with a woman he once passionately adored to marry wife number three in the hopes of a son?

The love story of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII is one of the most perplexing, attractive, and enigmatic stories in history. Was it love? Was it lust? Was it ambition? Hollywood always likes to pick one of those reasons and exaggerate it to the extent that PG13 ratings will allow it. This is perhaps why the series "The Tudors" was one of my favorite Tudor England representations on film. Yeah, it was inaccurate. Yeah, it was a bunch of pretty costumes and unnecessary nudity at times. But it was deep, complex, and ironic in its usage of imagery, poetry, and symbolism. The character development of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII was my favorite. Two young people with dreams and hopes for a better England, starting as confidantes, lovers, and friends with things in common, become the bitterest enemies and strangers. Historically, I think this was a fair picture of Anne and Henry because it was documented that they were close friends and they had many things in common (music, poetry, theology, literature, hunting, and politics). Henry waited for her for seven years before consummating the relationship and finally marrying her to be his queen. He had her, this descendant of noble merchants and dukes, crowned as queen with the ancient crown of British history.  He abandoned his faith in the Pope, his friends, and his country's well being for her love. And this was perhaps their doom from the start. To love is good enough, but to love while hurting others tarnishes that love and the black stain simply grows with every argument, with every resentment, with every longing for what was promised and failed to be given. Henry wanted a son. Anne bore a daughter. It simply was not good enough. Henry never heard the Beatles play "Love is all you Need!".

What especially saddens me about May and Anne's execution is her manner of disposal. She was once the beloved lady of the monarch, a woman who could do no wrong, and suddenly slanders and truly heinous accusations were thrown at her. Not only was Anne the woman killed, but her name was marred and disdained for the years to come. It was this stain on her name which would affect her only legacy, her 2 year old daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth grew up to be queen, yes! Elizabeth ruled and led with brilliancy and cunning, yes! But Elizabeth lost so much, gave up so much, and never experienced the many joys of being a woman. Elizabeth never grew up with a mother. Elizabeth never married. Elizabeth never bore her own children. With Elizabeth died the Tudor dynasty and the whole point of what Henry was trying to establish by marrying six different times.

Sadly, Elizabeth grew up with a ghost, a faded memory of a laugh, of long black hair touching her cheek, of a sparkling eye looking over her clothing, but was any of it real? Did Elizabeth know that her mother was innocent? Did she perhaps think of her at times when things became difficult? Did she blame her like others did and maybe even believed in her treason? History is so uncertain, it is all conjecture. The only real proof anyone has of Elizabeth's love for Anne is the locket ring with Elizabeth's image and that of another woman with dark hair, dark eyes, and a french styled hood which was commonly attributed to Anne Boleyn and popular in the 1530s. To commemorate and honor these women, I present my video tribute to Anne Boleyn's fall, Elizabeth's rise, and the very different but interwoven lives they led.

(My youtube name used to be historygirl23 hence the logo on the bottom and this was a fanvideo I created for them last year) Enjoy!

Song: Christina Perri "The Lonely"
Films: The Tudors, Elizabeth, Elizabeth: Golden Age

http://youtu.be/4sCrU-0t2Nc

Let the Queens Reign!

What makes a good queen? Having the love of the people, is that enough? What about being astute and cunning in the game of diplomacy? History has seen many a great queen; powerful, intelligent, and inspiring women who defied conventions and survived their era as best they could. But what makes a good TV queen? In an age where props, sets, and costumes from a now dead century can be digitally recreated or where hundreds of craftsmen give birth to imaginary worlds from dusty book pages, it is important to have everything that makes a good film queen. A good film queen needs to be elegant, memorable, and wear awesome costumes. Below are my top favorite portrayals of Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I on film:

Anne Boleyn

Genevieve Bujold in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)

 "There is something deep and dangerous in you Anne. Those eyes of yours are like dark hooks for the soul" says papa Boleyn to his daughter as he asks her to become Henry VIII's mistress, in The Tudors, for the benefit of the Boleyn clan. The funny thing is that Anne Boleyn was known for her deep dark eyes which were not the epitome of beauty in the English court (blond blue eyed babes were preferred). Even funnier is that Natalie Dormer played Anne Boleyn for two seasons in The Tudors and she has really light blue eyes. My first impression of the show and the actress was disgust. How could they destroy and ignore the simple things of what made the Tudor era important? How much more wrong could I have been!

Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn in The Tudors

Natalie Dormer was amazing as Anne Boleyn, both as the lady in waiting trying to seduce the king and the ambitious queen fretfully loosing control of her husband and her life. What really makes the Tudor era so amazing is the passion of the people behind it and Natalie Dormer really captured the passion, the emotion, and the despair of doomed woman betrayed by the men around her. My first Anne Boleyn encounter though is also a very powerful one and that is attributed to the wonderful talents and fiery spirit of Genevieve Bujold as Anne Boleyn. Alongside Richard Burton, Bujold makes you wish you were right there next to her telling Henry VIII, "yeah, thats right!" as she promises in their final scene together that "Elizabeth will be a greater queen than any king of yours (any son he has with Jane Seymour who is replacing her), Elizabeth will rule a greater England than you could ever have built. Yes! my Elizabeth shall be queen, and my blood will have been well spent".

 

Elizabeth I

To love Anne Boleyn as a powerful female historical figure is almost synonymous with loving her daughter, Elizabeth I. Much of this admiration can be thanked to the beautiful, graceful, and powerfully voiced Glenda Jackson and Cate Blanchett. Can these women act, or can they act?! Cate Blanchett was my first Elizabeth portrayal to be experienced but upon seeing Mary Queen of Scots with Vanessa Redgrave, I had to see more Jackson portrayals of Good Queen Bess (nickname for Elizabeth). The woman was so good at being the English monarch that she was in a 6 episode series for BBC titled Elizabeth R (1971) and brought back to the English throne in the film Mary Queen of Scots (1971). Of course, my more modern tendencies with love for all things romance and hollywood really like Cate Blanchett's Elizabeth who swoons and doesnt learn her lessons about betraying men and power seeking courtiers until the very end of the first film, and who can ignore those fabrics, and those costumes! To have both actresses is the perfect blend of the woman the real Elizabeth was known to be, fiery and temperamental one minute while sweet and adoring the next.

All I can say is long live the queens!

Glenda Jackson in Elizabeth R

Cate Blanchett being crowned as Elizabeth (1998)