Saturday, May 26, 2007

The Tudors - Fact or Fiction

The Tudors

In preparation for tomorrows season finale of The Tudors - I thought that I would point out a few "liberties" taken by the writers. These are probably of NO interest to any casual watcher and these small historical deviations were probably done to make the plot flow better (after all the Tudors is a TV show and not a historic documentary). However, since they make me crazy ....................... here we go:

1) Henry Fitzroy did NOT die in childhood, he died as a young, married adult. According to the Autobiography of Henry the VIII, Henry believed that Anne Bolyne cursed him because he was a potential heir to the thrown (at this point, Henry also believed that Anne was a witch).

2) Henry's sister Mary married Charles Brandon, not Margaret. Mary was also married to the King of France, not the King of Portugal. Margaret was married to the King of Scotland and was the mother of Mary Queen of Scots. I can also find no evidence that either Margaret or Mary killed the King of Portugal or any other King in Europe.

3) Providing that Margaret is Mary, the timing of her death is wrong. Mary died after Henry was married to Anne Bolyne. Anne supposedly put a curse on her because Mary refused to attend Anne's coronation. She died several weeks following. Charles Brandon appears to be very similar to the slime ball that is portrayed in the series. Just days after Marys death, he broke his sons engagement to Catherine Willoughby and married her himself. Catherine was fourteen-years-old, Brandon was almost fifty.

4) The liturgical composer Thomas Talliss re-imaging as a sensitive pop star beset by 16th century groupies is a little bizarre. But, Shakespeare took similar liberties, and I guess this is all in fun.

Well, that's all I know. However, since I am a Government Bureaucrat and not a historian, I strongly recommend that you take a trip to the library if you have more interest in this topic. And check out my other posts on the Tudors.

The Tudors 1, The Tudors 2, The Tudors 3, The Tudors 4, The Tudors 5, The Tudors 6, The Tudors 7, The Tudors 8

Peace.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you have way too much interest in this subject; but hey, I guess everybody has their thing.

Anonymous said...

I think justice would be served if these slime tudors had to contend with low flow toilets.

Anonymous said...

I have enjoyed reading all of your post on the Tudors. I watched the first season... thanks to Direct TV DVR! I found this to be the only way I would be able to watch it, when, my 3yr and 4yr old boys walked in the living room just at Henry "got it on" for the first of many times... I have never been so stuck on history! I have always loved movies depicting this era. But this story really happened. I am just amazed! I know it was filmed in 1998, but, I just watched Elizabeth and LOVED it. I can't wait to see the new one! I haven't broke down and read any books yet, so, the information I am getting is like a big puzzle. And, as a stay at home mom, I don't get much that is challenging... I have got to admit, I am LOVEING it. So what happened to the post on Elizabeth? I would like to know what you have to say.