Anne Boleyn might be most famous for having her head cut off by Henry VIII, but Henry’s second wife was also a committed religious reformer. Just how radical her views were for the time is revealed by her favourite sayings, which she adopted at various points in her life.
Three main mottos are associated with Anne. They are somewhat unusual, leading to speculation about their meaning, but I believe that my extensive research into Anne reveals that they are underpinned by her reformist beliefs.
The first of Anne’s sayings, ‘le temps viendra’ (the time will come), was inscribed in her Book of Hours, her personal prayer book displayed at her childhood home of Hever Castle. Although this might seem prophetic, since Anne’s time did come as queen, it is much more likely to be a reflection of the depth of her religious beliefs and the way they shaped her life.
Anne’s inscription, strategically placed beneath a depiction of the Last Judgement, is a testament to her profound belief in the impending divine judgement. This was central to her understanding of personal accountability and the direct relationship between individuals and God. Anne had read the Bible, and as her inscription and its placement make clear, she believed the time would come for men and women to be judged. This is backed up by her final letter to Henry, written while imprisoned in the tower of London and found among Cromwell’s papers.
Although some historians have cast doubt on the authorship of this letter, if it was written by Anne, it aligns with her earlier inscription since it refers to the Day of Judgement. (Read my blog post, Skip’s Sermon, about the sermon Anne had her almoner preach before she was arrested that provides further evidence that the letter could be authentic.)
‘I desire of God, that he will pardon your great sin therein, and likewise mine enemies, the instruments thereof; that he will not call you to a strict account for your unprincely and cruel usage of me, at his general judgment-seat, where both you and myself must shortly appear, and in whose judgment, I doubt not, (whatsover the World may think of me) mine Innocence shall be openly known, and sufficiently cleared.’
We all know the story of Henry VIII’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon, which the pope refused to grant. When he didn’t get his way, Henry split with the Church of Rome, made himself Supreme Head of the Church in England, and granted his own divorce. It took him seven years. During this period, for a short time in 1531, Anne Boleyn adopted the motto ‘Aisi sera groigne qui groigne’ (Let them grumble; that is how it is going to be).
Anne’s adoption of this motto is often seen as a response to those who opposed her marriage to Henry. However, I believe it carries a deeper biblical meaning that speaks to the theological understanding of reformers like Anne.
The reformers of the Tudor period were united in their belief that the pope was the Antichrist, as described in Revelation. They believed Revelation was describing the papacy when it referred to a beast as a kingdom, saying its kings would be overseers, bishops and prophets. That it would be boastful and blasphemous, speaking words against God and claiming authority over times and laws, which they believed Rome had done when it changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Roman Emperor Constantine I, On March 7, 321, issued a civil decree making Sunday a day of rest from labour, stating: All judges and city people and the craftsmen shall rest upon the venerable day of the sun.
Deuteronomy 4:2 says: ‘You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.’
Thessalonians 2:3-4 warned:
‘Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.’
Reformers believed that the pope had exalted himself by calling himself God on Earth, that he deceived the people with this title and spoke against God by teaching things that were not biblical. ‘Sola Scriptura’ meant by scripture alone. The reformers used these words to unnderpin their cause – the desire to access God’s word directly from the Bible.
In Hebrew, ‘grumbling’ means to growl against God, which means to go against his word. There are numerous references to grumbling in this context in the Bible. Below are just a few.
Psalm 106:25:
‘They grumbled in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the LORD.’
Hosea 4:12 says: ‘My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, and their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, and they have played the harlot against their God.’
The ‘unbiblical’ things taught by the Church that directly contradicted scripture – that the pope could forgive sins rather than God alone, or that the souls of the dead travelled to heaven, hell or purgatory rather than sleeping until the Day of Judgement – were considered by the reformers as ‘grumbling’ against God.
Anne’s earlier inscription that a time would come aligns with her motto ‘Let them grumble; that is how it is going to be,’ since Anne and Henry were committed to reform.
I believe Anne’s motto is a window into her religious stance, which is further illuminated by historical events. Myles Coverdale’s Great Bible, a testament to the reformist spirit, was placed in every church in 1535 under Henry’s command, solidifying Anne and Henry’s joint commitment to reform.
Finally, Anne’s coronation motto in 1533 was ‘The Moost Happi’. In 1534, Henry VIII commissioned a miniature from his court painter Hans Holbein, the Younger depicting him as King Solomon enthroned in the temple. The inscription on the side of the throne reads: ‘Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, who stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom (II Chronicles 9: 7).’
Did Anne choose her Moost Happi motto, having considered the story’s narrative, to convey her happiness and commemorate a moment in time having come to pass that she and Henry had established God’s Church? Did the King commission the miniature for Anne or did Anne play a part in the commission of the miniature? Read my blogs Henry and his Queen of Sheba and Anne and Henry a Love Story in Metaphors.