Another history lesson of sorts. I mention “lesson” as that is the word of the week for Illustration Friday. This is a great website that allows users to create an illustration based on a topic/word a week. I submitted this comic to this week’s work which was “lesson;” since in a way it was a history “lesson.”
May 2nd 1536 Anne Boleyn was arrested and taken to the Tower of London. Her story is pretty well documented in history and it has plenty of tension, drama, sex, intrigue, betrayal, and be-heading. If you want an easy cliff notes version you can see the “The Other Boleyn Girl” staring Natalie Portman as Anne and Sarlett Johansson as her sister Mary.
What is amazing to me is how quickly Henry VIII’s love or lust for Anne grew cold once it seemed she could not produce a male heir. It seems crazy to put yourself in a situation that could cost her life, but I’m sure at the time it made sense to do and probably seemed like a chance of a lifetime, which I guess it was to a degree. Luckily Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton’s marriage will most likely not resemble Henry VIII and Anne’s marriage at all. We have come a long way, but we still have more to go.
Lastly, not sure if anyone will get the Cromwell reference in panel 5 but I was referring to Thomas Cromwell. History has it that he may have engineered the arrest and execution of Anne to cover up his own corruption plus Anne became a threat to his power some historians say.
I could go on and on about this but it is better if you read all the sordid details yourself on some website or in a history book rather than get it third hand from me.
I hope you like the history comics. I want to do more of them. Thanks for checking out the site. Please leave a comment if you can.