Help us create a biggest collection of medieval chronicles and manuscripts on line.
#   A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z 
Medieval chronicles, historical sources, history of middle ages, texts and studies

FRANCIS LANCELOTT, ESQ. Queens of England. Vol.1.

DOWNLOAD THE ONLY FULL EDITIONS of

Sir John Froissart's Chronicles of England, France, Spain and the Ajoining Countries from the latter part of the reign of Edward II to the coronation of Henry IV in 12 volumes 

Chronicles of Enguerrand De Monstrelet (Sir John Froissart's Chronicles continuation) in 13 volumes 

 
 
 
  Previousall pages

Next  

FRANCIS LANCELOTT, ESQ.
Queens of England. Vol.1.
page 420



state of the Queen, Henry ordered the christening', in which Jane, in conformity with established custom, was forced to take part, to be solemnized, with all conceivable pomp and magnificence, on the following Monday ; and to this circumstance, more than to any other, must be attributed the demise of the Queen. The baptism was performed at midnight. The procession proceeded from the Queen's chamber. Sir John Russell, Sir Francis Brian, Sir Nicholas Carew, and Sir Anthony Brown bore the silveT fount ; one of the Queen's brothers bore in his arms the Princess Elizabeth, who carried the chrism for the child of her, for whose sake her mother had been decapitated, and herself pronounced illegitimate; the Earl of Wiltshire (Anne Boleyn* s father) and Lord Sturton bore the tapers. The child was carried in the arms of the Marchioness of Exeter, under a rich canopy of silk, wrought with gold, silver, and precious stones, and borne by the Duke of Suffolk, the Marquis of Exeter, the Earl of Arundel, and Lord William Howard. The sponsors were the Princess Mary, tho Duke of Norfolk, and Archbishop Cranmer. After the child had been baptized Edward, with due solemnity, he was presented with a gold cup by the Princess Mary, with three bowls and two pots by Cranmer, and with a silver ewer and basin by Norfolk ; the procession then returned, headed by trumpets and other musical instruments. " When they reached the Queen's chamber," says an eye-witness, " the door was thrown open, and the nobles entered; but the trumpets and the horns remained outside, where they made such a loud and goodly noise that the like thereof I had never heard." The tedious ceremony occupied several hours. At its commencement, the Queen was forced to quit her bed, and take to her state pallet—a sort of huge sofa—where she remained till its conclusion, ber heartless husband being seated by her side all the time. The consequence of all this noise and excitement was, that, on the following day, the Queen was indisposed ; on the next day (Wednesday) she grew worse, and received the sacrament, according to the rites of the Roman Catholic church, and after lingering till the twenty-fourth of October, breathed her last about the hour of midnight. The death of Jane, the first of Henry the Eighth's Queens who had the good fortune not to outlive his love, "was felt by none in the realm more heavily than by the King's majesty himself, who retired to Windsor, where he moaned and kept himself alone and secret a great while.' His grief, however, was of no long continuance, as will be shown in tbe memoirs of Anne of Cleves, and by his own acknowledgment, in a letter to the King of France, his joy for the birth of his long-desired heir far exceeded his grief for the death of the mother. The Queen's death was attributed to a cold and improper diet, and her obsequies were performed with imposing solemnity. She was embalmed on the twenty-fifth of October, and, on the following day, placed in a hearse, covered with a rich cloth of gold pall, upon which was set a magnificent cross. She was then removed to the presence chamber, which was hung with black, and provided with crosses, censers, images of saints and martyrs, and other symbols of the Roman Catholic church : and here, whilst the flickering rays of torches and tapers burning around the altar made visible the imposing scene, masses were said in the morning, and dirges sung afterwards, in the presence of the Queen's ladies, who, with the Princess Mary at their head, as chief mourner, and robed in black, with white kerchiefs over their heads, kept nightly watch round the royal remains till the first of November, when the body was removed, with imposing state, to Hampton Court chapel. Here similar solemnities were performed, till the twelfth of November, when the body was conveyed, with regal state, to Windsor, and buried, with all possible pomp, in the midst of the choir of St. George's chapel—the Princess Mary attending as chief mourner. Meanwhile, mass was said and dirges sung for her at St. Paul's, the mayor and aldermen prayed and offered for the repose of her soul ; and in like manner D D 2


  Previous First Next  
 
 
 
 

"Medievalist" is an educational project designed as a digital collection of chronicles, documents and studies related to the middle age history. All materials from this site are permitted for non commersial use unless otherwise indicated. If you reduplicate documents from here you have to indicate "Medievalist" as a source and place link to us.