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fideidefenswhore · 4 months

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His 'merciful inclination and princely heart' meant he was always ready to 'take pity and compassion on all offenders repentantly crying'. In the case of his daughter, since she was, 'frail, inconstant and easy to be persuaded,' he would be glad to remit some of his displeasure.

The King’s Pearl: Henry VIII & His Daughter Mary, Melita Thomas

#i don't totally agree with the author on all points but she does really use the evidence well to demonstrate #the sort of current of uneasiness that ran through this relationship #the line is always that she's 'easy to persuade' but it's a double edged sword #if she's easy to persuade then it necessitates that there's someone persuading her #and that they will be punished. and it's this period we see her supporters arrested and interrogated and dismissed from the privy council #and as she's speculated henry did not really that believe that #but he wanted to believe that. that she was solely acting on the instructions of others. manipulating her for that purpose #melita thomas #marians are very weird about this relationship tho i have noticed #either all of the above is obfuscated (...referring to her as frail inconstant etc is horrible for lack of better word #altho 'frail' is in keeping with the misogyny of the culture and how women were regarded. and honestly it's not that surprising if you're #familiar with sources beyond chapuys. the french ambassador believed he 'hated her thoroughly')#and she's his 'favorite'#or he's blamed for being 'abusive' for things that don't really qualify as abuse...?#like mary remaining unwed throughout her twenties #was more a matter of political-religious tension and separate parties unable to come to agreement #than any spite on his part towards her

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