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Not Just the Tudors

The Death of Anne Boleyn

Not Just the Tudors

History Hit

History

4.83K Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2021

⏱️ 42 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Story of the Death of Anne Boleyn is a long narrative poem written by the secretary to the French ambassador in London within two weeks of the Queen's execution. It was intended as a diplomatic dispatch, relating the astonishing news - in verse - of her demise, along with that of five alleged lovers. 


In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor JoAnn DellaNeva, who has been researching a previously unstudied manuscript of the poem. Her translation sheds new light on a work which straddles the domains of literature and history, of chronicle and fiction.



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Transcript

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0:00.0

One of the most intriguing sources about the fall of Ambulin is a poem that was written

0:18.1

in June 1536 by La Salud de Car, secretary to the French ambassador in London, Antoine

0:25.6

de Castanot, Bishop of Top.

0:28.8

It tells us unique information about Ambulin's form, and it exists in multiple copies, with

0:35.3

different titles, but it's most commonly known as Listoie de la Mort d'Ambolin, Ren

0:40.6

Longleter, which one can translate as the story of the death of Ambulin, Queen of England.

0:47.4

Although as my guest has explained, Listoie can mean both story and history, or even biography

0:54.7

in French.

0:56.1

Up until now, it has only been available in an edition that was printed in 1971, but

1:02.3

in its original, rather difficult, 16th century French.

1:06.6

But my guest, Professor Joanne de la Niva, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at

1:12.3

the University of Notre Dame in the US, has translated it, and is publishing it in a scholarly

1:19.0

edition which is very exciting news for anyone who wants to know about the fall of Ambulin.

1:25.8

So I have spoken to her about translating this crucial source, and what she learned

1:31.5

that we didn't know before.

1:33.0

But before that, let's hear a little bit of her translation.

1:38.0

Despite this, whoever wishes to look upon her with great pity could not keep from grieving,

1:43.5

and justice has steadfast hard grew strong, so too digger a weaker.

1:48.1

The hearts of those in attendance who could not hold back their tears, which she could

1:51.8

so well contain.

1:53.9

When the Queen herself had lowered her white collar and took off her hood, so as not to

1:57.8

impede the blow, she proceeded to cast herself humble on her knees, while pronouncing these

...

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