District Twelve

The day started out with a glorious sunrise. But things went downhill fast. I had to wait for a long train on the tracks "where there's always a train when you're in a hurry." Then several instances of gridlock on the interstate, a self-imposed detour, several wrong turns, a quick stop at Ken Boyer bail bonds (to ask for directions because I figured, who better to ask for directions to the court house??) unbelievable traffic downtown, searching for a parking place through seven layers of a parking garage.

But wait, it gets better. I'm late, I know I'm late but I soon realize I am not the only one who is late. I discover several comrades on the elevator down and we huddle together in the elevator that stops..on..every..floor to admit more miserable souls. I trip gaily across the street to join the lines of people emptying their pockets and taking off their belts. And I am red-flagged, pulled out of the line. Apparently the x-ray machine had detected my pink-handled kiddie scissors that I had inadvertently left in my tote bag. Yep. He was not going to let me take my little pink plastic kindergarten scissors up to the courtroom, so I dug through my tote bag and found the offending scissors and handed them to the smiling guard, who asked me if I was sure I didn't want to take them back out to my car. Nope. You keep 'em.

Packed like sardines in another elevator that took us up to the courtroom, I realized I had committed the unpardonable sin. I had left my jury summons paper in my car. The jury in the elevator was divided in their opinion as to whether I would actually need it or not. Turns out I most definitely did need it...and "hurry, honey," said the gal directing the juror traffic. Down the elevator to exit the building and back across the street. The elevator actually zoomed up to the seventh floor, with the no stops. (first positive thing since the sunrise) In my zeal and impatience to get back where I belonged, I took the stairs down after the elevator didn't appear right away. Seven flights of stairs--on foot.. I am not kidding here and if the adrenaline hadn't got my heart pumping, well, the exercise really jump started my heart. By the time I made it through security--sans scissors--and got back up to the jury room there were at least twenty other poor souls who were as late as me. We all faced the same problem, no place to sit. I won't bore you with the remarks and stand-up comedy of the guy giving the announcements. Truth be told, I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention as I was trying to figure out how to get a seat:  I considered yelling fire, turning off the lights (wait, that really did happen) (but not because of me), grabbing somebody's seat when the (former) occupant was taking a bathroom break, spilling coffee on someone...oh the possibilities were endless.

Finally the "All rise" call came (a bit ironic for me since I was already standing) and a black robed judge entered and gave us a short lecture on the legal system and a bit of a heads-up on what to expect. Then the court clerk had his turn at stand-up comedy. He was lucky in that he had a captive audience and we didn't have any rotten eggs or soft tomatoes available in our time of need.

Some time during the process of standing around, waiting for someone to do something or to finish his patriotic spiel about doing one's civic duty, I noticed someone I knew:  Mark the Carpet Man Taylor (not his real name) (duh). Excitedly I waved and jumped up and down while he maintained his dignified demeanor with a manly nod. We finally got down to business and the first names were called and they drifted out the door to an unknown fate. Conveniently, the person who occupied the seat beside Mark was called and I made my way over there. And from then on it was the Seventy-fifth Annual Hunger Games. May the odds be ever in your favor. And for the first three calls, they were in our favor--until...lunch time. Then the odds of four hundred some people needing to find something to eat in Panem, err, downtown OKC, became frighteningly unfavorable.

We hiked through the canyons and caverns of Panem, err downtown OKC, to the friendly Subway store for lunch. The place was packed but everyone behaved civilly, much to my relief. I had visions of hunger-crazed citizens leaping over the counter to grab all the meat and cheese they could stuff in their briefcases or backpacks before racing off into the streets of Panem, err downtown OKC.

Did you know that guys in the carpet business have a sixth sense that allows them to instantly spot each other across a crowded room? Or it might have had something to do with the fact that Mark was wearing a tee shirt with the name of a carpet distributor or something. Anyway, if you've never had lunch with two carpet guys, you have literally never lived. And, after lunch, through security--again  sans scissors--(it goes alot quicker when you don't have kiddie scissors tucked deep in the bowels of your tote bag--did I mention how I literally had to take everything out of my bag because I couldn't find the scissors that they insisted were in my bag and they had to come out? Some terrorist I would be, brandishing my pink plastic handled kiddie scissors after seven minutes of digging in my bag to even find them. Apparently, this was a traumatic incident for me. Alas, as usual, I digress.)

Another interminable period of waiting for the next list of tributes to be called out. Me, being the obliging chick that I am, agreed to take Mark's place should his name be called. I would like you to see the picture in  your mind...the clerk, calling out the name:  Mark, alias  "Trim Carpetclean" and me, alias "Karniss Malarkey", heroically and dramatically proclaiming "I volunteer as tribute," while several brave souls in the audience softly whistle the Mockingjay theme.

Well, sadly, it didn't happen that way, or any way, in fact, and neither of us or even our new friend, the liberal carpet dude (yeah, at lunch he forgot to mention a few key points of his theology) (but we gave him grace and tried to straighten him out a little and by the end of the day, he and Mark had exchanged business cards)... anyway, none of us got called.

You may think this is the end of the story, well, no. I pretty much got hopelessly lost in the parking garage, when all I wanted to do was get home. In my defense, it was poorly lit and the signs were confusing and people were honking and "waving" at me and I got flustered. Going up when I should have been going down, going left when I should have been going right. As usual.

(Katniss never had this problem...)

Wakefield tower and the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula...Day 5y

Wakefield Tower--the round tower in the center

England had its own civil war, known as the War of the Roses, which was a tangled mess and if you want to know more, Shakespeare wrote several plays about it. And of course, the Bard is known for his serious scholarship and knowledge of history. So just go see Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3 and spare me the trouble of trying to explain it all to you. It's really a mess. But you do have to give the king a little credit for being the youngest person to ever succeed to the throne of England which he did at the tender age of nine months. Then, before he could even have his first birthday and smash a cake, he became king of France. He didn't really do anything remotely kingly until he turned sixteen, though, when his official coronation occurred. And I am not going to attempt to explain all the political intrigue and the wars and campaigns and wins and losses that happened after that or even how poor Henry suffered a mental breakdown and was literally catatonic for an entire year. Go look it up. Check out how he lost the throne, regained it with the help of his wife, Queen Margaret, and then lost it again. And how he was imprisoned in the Wakefield Tower, a king no longer but apparently still a threat to Edward IV, who is widely believed to have ordered his murder, which occurred in the chapel of Wakefield Tower while Henry was at prayer.

We didn't have the opportunity to enter the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula (-St. Peter in chains-) (apparently you have to be part of one of the Beefeater's tours in order to get in--note to self:   remember this for next time!) but we did see it as we walked by.  As well as being the parish church of the Tower of London and as such a place of worship for the residents of the Tower, it is a burial place. Three queens lay buried here--Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey--as well as some noted historical figures:  Thomas Cromwell, Thomas More, John Fisher, George Boleyn, Edmund Dudley and Guildford Dudley. And actually, quite a few others whose names wouldn't be recognizable to you unless you are a serious student of British history (or a student of genealogy who has discovered your family tree branched off in this direction) (or, like me, you are just randomly interested in this stuff)

By now you ought to be familiar with my propensity for poems and for quotes and you will forgive one more  inclusion of a quote. This one is from History of England, written in 1848 by Thomas Babington Macaulay:


 "In truth there is no sadder spot on the earth than that little cemetery. Death is there associated, not, as in Westminster Abbey and Saint Paul's, with genius and virtue, with public veneration and with imperishable renown; not, as in our humblest churches and churchyards, with everything that is most endearing in social and domestic charities; but with whatever is darkest in human nature and in human destiny, with the savage triumph of implacable enemies, with the inconstancy, the ingratitude, the cowardice of friends, with all the miseries of fallen greatness and of blighted fame."

Three queens of England Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Jane Grey, and two saints of the Roman Catholic Church, Sir Thomas More and John Fisher, are buried here. Their headless bodies were buried under the nave or chancel without memorial until the 19th century when remains found in the nave were re-interred in the crypt. - See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/Sightsandstories/Prisoners/Towers/ChapelRoyalofStPeter#sthash.OUZZ8r4A.dpuf

Three queens of England Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Jane Grey, and two saints of the Roman Catholic Church, Sir Thomas More and John Fisher, are buried here. Their headless bodies were buried under the nave or chancel without memorial until the 19th century when remains found in the nave were re-interred in the crypt. - See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/Sightsandstories/Prisoners/Towers/ChapelRoyalofStPeter#sthash.OUZZ8r4A.dpuf

As a result of the Victorian renovations, the resting places of Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey were discovered in the chancel, near the altar. This led to the Chapel gaining its reputation as the ‘saddest spot on the earth’. - See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/thechapelproject/chapelhistory#sthash.d9pzJIF0.dpuf

hree queens of England Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Jane Grey, and two saints of the Roman Catholic Church, Sir Thomas More and John Fisher, are buried here. Their headless bodies were buried under the nave or chancel without memorial until the 19th century when remains found in the nave were re-interred in the crypt. - See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/Sightsandstories/Prisoners/Towers/ChapelRoyalofStPeter#sthash.OUZZ8r4A.dpuf

The Bloody Tower...Day 5x

Originally known as the Garden Tower, the Bloody Tower was another river entrance to the Tower of London.  But life happened (well, er, death that is) and it became known as the Bloody Tower.




                                                                                        
During the reign of Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary) several (ok, quite a few) Protestant martyrs were charged with heresy and condemned to death.Archbishop Thomas Cranmer (who got no special treatment, even though he was archbishop under her own father, King Henry XIII--I am pretty sure he wasn't expecting any favors because he had favored Henry's divorce of Mary's mother and she was just waiting to get back at him for all those years, probably) Bishop Nicholas Ridley and Bishop Hugh Latimer:  all were burned at the stake in the mid 1500's.  There's actually a pretty gruesome story about Cranmer's execution. He had converted to Catholicism in obedience to Queen Mary but for some reason, maybe because of some vestiges of bitterness or an attempt to wreak revenge upon him, she didn't believe his conversion was sincere. So he was sentenced to be burned at the stake and on the day set for his execution, Cranmer recanted his conversion to Catholicism and stated: "I have sinned, in that I signed with my hand what I did not believe with my heart. When the flames are lit, this hand shall be the first to burn".   The soldiers lit the fire and, true to his word, Cranmer stuck his right hand directly into the flames and left it there. Before he succumbed to the flame, Cranmer  said, "This hand hath offended...I see the heavens open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

Sir Walter Raleigh was a favored courtier of Queen Elizabeth I until he entered in an unauthorized relationship that concluded with marriage to one of the Queen's ladies in waiting. (I think the queen was a bit jealous...)  (there are some historians who would agree with me)   Both Sir Walter and his wife spent some time in the Tower before they were once again in her favor.  She went back to the Queen's court and he went gallivanting around the New World, searching for El Dorado and any other cities of gold that he might come across. 



                                                Sir Walter Raleigh's quarters in the Bloody Tower

During his explorations, he found trouble when he attacked some Spanish settlements, in defiance of the king's orders. Of course, Spain was outraged as well and demanded he be punished, if not for his unnecessary acts of war, then for the original charge of treason against King James I. By this time, his luck had run out and  James I sent him back to the Tower, where he lived in the Bloody Tower with his wife for more than a decade. He spent his time in the Tower building his family (his second son Carew was born during this incarceration) and writing his book, History of the World, which was published in 1614, a mere four years before he was beheaded.

Of the axe that was to dispatch him to the next world, he reflected  "This is a sharp Medicine, but it is a Physician for all diseases and miseries." Then he laid his head on the block, waiting for the axe to separate his head from his body and uttered his final words "Strike, man, strike!"

The Salt Tower...Day 5W

It is a common misconception that the Tower of London was all dungeons, prisons and torture chambers. I say that but I have arrived at the point in my narrative when I shall discuss the Salt Tower which certainly had it's share of notorious and frightening aspects. As a side note, I was watching some You-Tube videos of some Tower Tours led by Yeoman Warders (which were hilarious--well, hilarious in terms of British humor) and the tour guide said, "I have to talk about torture and executions. I don't want to but I have to." And I echo that quote now. "I don't want to but I have to."




In times of war or threats of war, the walls of this tower included arrow loops so archers can defend the castle complex from invaders.                                                                                  

In times of peace and times of less than usual "persecution" of traitors, the Salt Tower was used for storage. Of salt? I am unsure about that...but it would make sense...which means it most likely it was not used for storing salt...because that would make too much sense...

And in insecure times of political and religious unrest, the Salt Tower held its prisoners securely. One of the more notable ones included:  John Balliol, previously King of Scotland (after his king's arrest, William Wallace famously took up the cause of Scottish freedom and painted his face blue and spent his days wandering around the Scottish countryside, urging his followers to join him in feeling free in their kilts--what? that's not the way you heard it? oops-- Apparently I have been watching too much of that famous comedy Braveheart...at least, that's what the movie is called by Bill the Beefeater, the Yeoman warder tour guide, made famous by various tourists filming his tours and publishing them on YouTube. . And I might as well give you the links to those You Tube videos because they are hilarious in a dryly humorous British sort of way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YS0vGq0QsE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5raGfZXCEU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OKt-U3_WNc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW6UVMog5mc

During the Tudor period, this tower was in almost constant use, starting with Queen Mary's persecution of Protestants and then back to being filled with one Catholic priest after another when Queen Elizabeth I took the throne. One famous prisoner in the Salt Tower was Sir Henry Walpole, an English Jesuit priest, who was imprisoned and tortured for more than a year, even though he had admitted during his first interrogation that he was in fact a Jesuit priest and his business in England was to convert people to the Catholic faith. But apparently  that wasn't enough. They attempted to force him to take the Oath of Supremacy which acknowledged the queen's complete and utter authority in all matters of religion. Of course, he refused and was rewarded with a verdict of high treason resulting in a sentence of hanging, drawing and quartering.

Why do I use my paper, ink and pen,

And call my wits to counsel what to say?

Such memories were made for mortal men;

I speak of Saints whose names cannot decay.

An Angel’s trump were fitter for to sound.

Their glorious death if such on earth were found.

That store of such were once on earth pursued,

The histories of ancient times record,

Whose constancy great tyrants’ rage subdued.

Through patient death, professing Christ the Lord:

As his Apostles perfect witness bare,

With many more that blessed Martyrs were.

Whose patience rare and most courageous mind,

With fame renowned perpetual shall endure,

By whose examples we may rightly find,

Of holy life and death a pattern pure.

That we therefore their virtues may embrace

Pray we to Christ to guide us with his grace.

poem attributed to Henry Walpole

Lanthorn, Cradle and Martin Towers...Day 5v

Lanthorn is an old medieval word meaning "lantern" and thus it follows that the tower was named for it's use as a "lighthouse" to guide ships by the lantern that shone nightly in the highest turret of the tower. It is the second largest tower in the Tower of London and was built by King Henry III in the mid 1200's. Generally it was used as lodging for royalty, especially during various political uprisings. During this period of construction was also when the White Tower was whitewashed and the Royal Zoo was established.  




The Cradle Tower was built about a century later to serve as another entrance (water gate) from the Thames River into the Tower of London. Not a gate by which prisoners would arrive, it was designed by Edward III to be a private royal entrance to his castle. A drawbridge and two portcullises were included to protect the entrance. The Cradle Tower was the scene of a bold escape by Father John Gerard, imprisoned for being a Catholic in Elizabethan England. He had  been tortured repeatedly being suspended by his hands which were mangled from the ordeal yet he was able to climb along a rope suspended over the moat and safely down on the other side. He also arranged for the escape of his jailer (gaoler if you prefer ye Olde English spelling) as well because that man would be held responsible for Father Gerard's breakout. 

On the walk to Martin Tower is my girl Heather, the chick in the middle with the blue purse strap, (that is an authentic Spanish purse that she bought in Spain, which proves she is STYLIN') and my girl Sara, of whom we can only see one orange be-jeaned leg and a black and white jacket. What she is doing behind the wall is anyone's guess, probably making plans to sneak off  and listen to the self-guided tour radio. She did that alot.  But I digress. That happens alot, too.

Alrighty then...the tower in front of Heather is Martin Tower, originally built to house prisoners and then the crown jewels. For almost two centuries it was known as the Jewel House and within it's walls were the British Crown Jewels. All went well, until that unfortunate incident with Colonel Thomas Blood in 1671.He was a bit of a trouble maker from the get-go. He switched sides during the first English Civil war, he was involved in an insurrection attempt in Ireland as well as an uprising in Scotland, he was involved in a kidnapping and attempted assassination and then , as if all of this was not enough, he conspired to steal the crown jewels.

Colonel Blood managed to ingratiate himself with the elderly custodian of the jewels. One evening, during a dinner party at the Tower with his new friend, he and his co-conspirators knocked out the guard, and dashed downstairs to where the jewels were kept. Blood was able to flatten St. Edwards crown with the mallet that he had used to knock out his friend, the guard (with friends like this...oh, you know) and he stuck it under his coat. One of his accomplices was able to cut the Scepter into two pieces because it was too big to fit into his bag and a third stuffed the Sovereigns Orb down his trousers. But the intrepid, although elderly, yeoman guard, refused to remain incapacitated and what ensued was almost like an episode of the Keystone cops, British style. In their flight, the bag with the scepter in it was dropped. Then a yeoman guard caught sight of the fugitives and, shaking with fear, was unable to shoot his musket. The fugitives ran down the wharf, crying out that the jewels had been stolen which added more confusion to the scene and the guards began to wonder if they were chasing the right people. Blood shot at the guards, which happened that although he missed, now the guards were certain of their prey. Then the crown fell out of his cloak as he ran and was recovered by one of the yeomen. Blood and his men resisted arrest but were eventually subdued and the globe, orb, crown and scepter were all recovered, albeit with a few jewels lost in the melee.

The Cradle Tower was built between 1348–55 for Edward III as his private watergate into the castle.  He used it when he arrived by boat. It is richly decorated with ribbed vaults supported by carvings of crowns and animals.
The gate was defended by a drawbridge and two portcullises – the groove for one still survives above the main doorway. This was one of two porters’ lodges which flanked the entrance. There is a hearth in it to keep the guard warm. A staircase in the opposite room led upstairs. The upper part of the tower was entirely rebuilt in the 19th century.

Prisoners at this tower

The tower contains displays about John Gerard, a Jesuit priest, who was imprisoned in 1597 but then who escaped and also Anne Askew, the Protestant prisoner imprisoned in 1546, who later became a martyr.

- See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/Sightsandstories/Prisoners/Towers/CradleTower#sthash.oFB64Uly.dpuf

The Cradle Tower was built between 1348–55 for Edward III as his private watergate into the castle.  He used it when he arrived by boat. It is richly decorated with ribbed vaults supported by carvings of crowns and animals.
The gate was defended by a drawbridge and two portcullises – the groove for one still survives above the main doorway. This was one of two porters’ lodges which flanked the entrance. There is a hearth in it to keep the guard warm. A staircase in the opposite room led upstairs. The upper part of the tower was entirely rebuilt in the 19th century.

Prisoners at this tower

The tower contains displays about John Gerard, a Jesuit priest, who was imprisoned in 1597 but then who escaped and also Anne Askew, the Protestant prisoner imprisoned in 1546, who later became a martyr.

- See more at: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/Sightsandstories/Prisoners/Towers/CradleTower#sthash.oFB64Uly.dpuf

St. Thomas tower...Day 5U

 

St. Thomas Tower is the square tower furthest to the right with the stairs leading up to it.

 A need arose for an entrance from the Thames River directly to the Tower; thus was built Traitor's Gate and the tower above it, which were to be royal quarters. The tower was named after the martyred Thomas Becket, about a century after his death. And about three centuries after that, St. Thomas Tower was refurbished during the era of King Henry VIII for use as royal quarters and, if necessary, for detaining highborn "traitors." It was seriously dangerous to have religious convictions at variance with the king's beliefs or to be married to to this particular king.

My version of the Cliff's Notes on Thomas Becket: In the late 1100's, Becket was appointed by King Henry II to be the Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry thought this appointment would ensure that Becket would approve of his plans to limit clerical power as well as to lessen the influence of Rome. Becket didn't approve and excommunicated several clergymen who endorsed the King's intentions. In a flash of rage, Henry shouted something to the effect of  "Is there no one who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" Several knights took him at his word and assassinated Becket in his very own cathedral. 

St. Thomas Tower

To the right you can see a bit of the arch that is above Traitor's Gate.

Inside St. Thomas Tower

Traitor's Gate from the outside...

Traitor's Gate from the inside

                                          
                                              And, of course, a close-up of the gate itself...
        And those little spiky things which probably have a special name but I don't know what it is...

Bowyer Tower...Day 5T

The name of this tower, "Bowyer" refers to the fact that this tower was used by the Master and Provider of the King's Bows, where the royal bowmakers plied their trade. It sounds like a bit of a bore, doesn't it? But in fact, it was not! What fun we had here! So, with no further ado, photographic evidence of our fun!


This room was used for storing weapons as well as for domestic purposes. A garderobe was also located here. (you remember what a garderobe is, don't you?) Oh, and sorry about the "ado."  Although I promised no further "ado", it seemed to have happened anyway. And will probably happen again.

                                              The rectangular tower is Bowyer Tower

Note the huge keg behind Sara. This is representative of probably the worst hangover ever. King Edward IV's younger brother George, was not exactly supportive of his older brother's claim to the throne. Apparently this wasn't the first instance of sibling rivalry on this branch of the family tree and so Edward had him arrested, accused of treason and imprisoned in the tower.  Their mother, worried about a public spectacle, asked that he be executed privately and Edward decided that drowning him in a keg of strong Madeira wine seemed to be a reasonable concession to a mother's plea.

I am pretty sure if the four of us had been at court, we would have given the other ladies-in-waiting a run for their money!  (never mind the fact that all four of us are married ladies and certainly too wise to be the least interested in King Henry and his capricious ways!)

Two cheerful posters of events in the history of the Tower of London. The poster on the left depicts the imprisonment of the two brothers, Edward V and Richard. Their story is just a continuation of the sibling rivalry mentioned earlier. King Edward VI died quite suddenly of a plethora of ailments, leaving behind two sons who were next in line for the throne. However, in true kingly fashion, Edward's other brother Richard felt that his qualifications were better than those of little Edward V. So he assumed the role of Protector to the prince and hustled him and his younger brother to the Tower to await the  coronation. (this was quite the usual thing) With some political maneuvering, Richard was able to have the two boys declared illegitimate. Then his courtiers, lords and other noblemen petitioned to have Richard declared king and the Lord Protector Richard became King Richard III. Prince Edward and Prince Richard were seen playing in the gardens of the Tower for awhile but less often as time went by until they were never seen again. Tradition states they were smothered in their beds and indeed, in the mid 17th century two tiny skeletons were uncovered in a chest under a staircase is the White Tower. There was really no doubt that these were the remains of the two princes and so they were transported to Westminster Abbey and buried in the Innocents' Corner.


The other poster could be any one of several ladies sentenced to beheading during or just after Henry VII's reign.   Anne Boleyn, accused of adultery and treason, as well as Catherine Howard, accused of pretty much the same things, and Lady Jane Rochford, (who testified against her sister-in-law, Anne Boleyn) found herself in the Tower for aiding and abetting the adulterous goings-on of Catherine Howard. Lady Jane Grey,  niece of Henry VIII and reluctant queen for a mere nine days, was also beheaded, ostensibly for high treason but more likely just to get her out of the way so Queen Mary, aka Bloody Mary, wouldn't have to worry about Jane possibly gathering enough support to get herself back on the throne, never mind that the humble Jane had no such desire.

Anne Boleyn's poem...Day 5s

There were some historic re-enactors that showed up right about the time we were ready to leave but we didn't stick around long enough to find out who was who or what scene was being reenacted. I like to think that one of them was Anne Boleyn so along with her picture, I will include the poem that is supposed to be written by her during the days of her imprisonment prior to her execution.

Death, rock me asleep,
Bring me to quiet rest,
Let pass my weary guiltless ghost
Out of my careful breast.
Toll on, thou passing bell;
Ring out my doleful knell;
Let thy sound my death tell.
Death doth draw nigh;
There is no remedy.

My pains who can express?
Alas, they are so strong;
My dolour will not suffer strength
My life for to prolong.
Toll on, thou passing bell;
Ring out my doleful knell;
Let thy sound my death tell.
Death doth draw nigh;
    There is no remedy.

Alone in prison strong
I wait my destiny.
Woe worth this cruel hap that I
Should taste this misery!
Toll on, thou passing bell;
Ring out my doleful knell;
Let thy sound my death tell.
Death doth draw nigh;
There is no remedy.

Farewell, my pleasures past,
Welcome, my present pain!
I feel my torments so increase
That life cannot remain.
Cease now, thou passing bell;
Rung is my doleful knell;
For the sound my death doth tell.
Death doth draw nigh;
There is no remedy.

~attributed to Anne Boleyn, one-time Queen of England

The Queen's House and the Memorial to the Executed...Day 5r

                                 View of the Queen's House from the White Tower...

 


The Queen's House, built by Henry VIII for his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, then refurbished for his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who enjoyed it in the days prior to her coronation and not so much in the days after her arrest. Lady Jane Grey was also held here, after her short nine day reign as Queen of England.

The Tower Green, in front of the Queen's House, was reserved for the executions of the most high profile cases, such as members of royalty or of the nobility. Only seven people were beheaded here within the walls of the Tower of London, including three queens: Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey. The other executions took place in various locations through out London such as Tower Hill (which was actually outside the walls of the castle complex) Tyburn, Smithfield, Charing Cross, and Westminster.

The method of execution by beheading was thought to be more humane than the other methods of the time and were generally reserved for people of noble or royal birth. Generally, the axe was the instrument used for the beheading. Very rarely, a sword was used, as in the execution of Anne Boleyn. Henry was thoughtful enough to bring in a skilled swordsman from France. Quite big of him.


 



Another view of the Tower Green...from the opposite direction...The Jewel House is in the center while the chapel is the building to the left.

                      Memorial on the site of the execution...Tower Green...Tower of London

Inscribed on the memorial:

"Gentle visitor pause a while, where you stand death cut away the light of many days.  Here jewelled names were broken from the vivid thread of life.  May they rest in peace while we walk the generations around their strife and courage under these restless skies."
~ Brian Catling, who was also the artist responsible for the memorial

 Those people beheaded on or near this site were:
William Hastings
Anne Boleyn
Margaret Pole
Catherine Howard
Jane Boleyn
Jane Grey
Robert Devereux







Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula where the remains of those beheaded on the Tower Green were interred.

The prayer of St. Thomas More...Day 5q

Give me the grace, Good Lord:
To set the world at naught.
To set the mind firmly on You and not to hang upon the words of men’s mouths.

To be content to be solitary.
Not to long for worldly pleasures.

Little by little utterly to cast off the world and rid my mind of all its business.

Not to long to hear of earthly things, but that the hearing of worldly fancies may be displeasing to me.

Gladly to be thinking of God, piteously to call for His help.
To lean into the comfort of God.
Busily to labor to love Him.
To know my own vileness and wretchedness.
To humble myself under the mighty hand of God.
To bewail my sins and, for the purging of them, patiently to suffer adversity.
Gladly to bear my purgatory here.


To be joyful in tribulations.                                                                            
To walk the narrow way that leads to life.
To have the last thing in remembrance.
To have ever before my eyes my death that is ever at hand.
To make death no stranger to me.
To foresee and consider the everlasting fire of Hell.
To pray for pardon before the judge comes.
To have continually in mind the passion that Christ suffered for me.
For His benefits unceasingly to give Him thanks.
To buy the time again that I have lost.
To abstain from vain conversations.



To shun foolish mirth and gladness.
To cut off unnecessary recreations.

Of worldly substance, friends, liberty, life and all, to set the loss at naught, for the winning of Christ.

To think my worst enemies my best friends, for the brethren of Joseph could never have done him so much good with their love and favor as they did him with their malice and hatred.




These minds are more to be desired of every man than all the treasures of all the princes and kings, Christian and heathen, were it gathered and laid together all in one heap. Amen.

Prayer of Sir Thomas More

Princess in the Tower: Elizabeth I ...Day 5p

Quick review:    King Henry VIII had three surviving children from his first three wives:  Mary I, Elizabeth I and Edward VI. The girls went in and out of the line of succession with dizzying speed by various acts of Parliament, spurred on by the king's whims and marital status. When the king died, Edward VI, at the age of nine, became king, although he never really ruled. When it became apparent that he was on his deathbed, he named his cousin, Lady Jane Grey to succeed him, rather than either of his sisters. Mary, with powerful supporters, was able to depose Lady Jane Grey and take the crown for herself in less than a month. However, Elizabeth also had powerful supporters and soon Thomas Wyatt led a rebellion in an effort to depose Mary and enthrone Elizabeth. The conspirators were rounded up and imprisoned and it is here we take up the story.

Elizabeth was suspected of being involved in Wyatt's rebellion, a natural assumption I suppose, since she was the one to gain by it's successful conclusion. Well, she and all those Protestants who were being persecuted by her sister. She was subsequently arrested and taken by boat down the Thames River to the Tower of London.

 

 Traitor's Gate as seen approaching from the Thames...                           getting closer...

               View from the outside. The gates would open to admit the boat through the Traitor's Gate.

 

 The boat would have docked here (water from the river covered the gravel here) and the princess climbed up the stairs in a heavy downpour of rain, all the while vehemently protesting she was not a traitor and was indeed loyal to her sister Queen Mary.

"Here stands as true a subject, being prisoner, as ever landed on these stairs."
Princess Elizabeth


She was then led to the tower where she was to be imprisoned. She couldn't have helped but think about the fate of her mother, Anne Boleyn, at the tower many years ago, when Elizabeth was just a toddler. And she probably walked right past the scaffold where Lady Jane Grey had been recently executed.

She was held in the Bell Tower and took her exercise on the battlements between Beauchamp Tower and Bell Tower. Eventually, she was released from the Tower when Thomas Wyatt confessed that Elizabeth had no part in the rebellion. She was then put on house arrest at the manor of Woodstock, for her own safety as much as for quashing any possibility of another rebellion.

Many years later, when it was apparent she would never bear a child, Queen Mary named Elizabeth as her heir. When she did indeed die about a month later, Elizabeth heard the news of her sister's death, knelt down and whispered: "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes." At the age of twenty-five she became Queen Elizabeth I.