“Intern Lyze gets up close and personal with one of the Tudor Tailor’s favourite sources of costume information. Photographing the effigy of Mattathia St Paul who died aged nearly 2, depicted on her parent’s monument of 1613 in St. Lawrence’s Church, Snarford, Lincolnshire”

;D See! I’m not dead! 

Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

“Come not when I am Dead”

Come not, when I am dead
  to drop they foolish tears upon they grave
To trample round my fallen head
  and vex the unhappy dust thou wouldst not save.
There let the wind sweep and the plover cry;
  But thou, go by

Child, if it were thine error or thy crime
  I care no longer, being all unblest:
Wed whom thou will, but I am sick of Time,
   And I desire to rest
Pass on, weak heart, and leave me where I lie;
    Go by, go by.

Tintype, 1885-1895.

Edit: I don’t normally snark but I’m annoyed. So I’m going to snark. Obviously some people can’t read. Just incase you are another one of those people who have to reblog this photo and make a comment on giving proper credit even though it is obvious who owns/posted this photo due to the writing across the bottom let me save you the hassle. 

This photo is from Thanatos Archive. 

The yeomen warder took me around to the back of Saint Peter ad Vincula. We stopped in front of the final resting place of past Saint Thomas Moores where I crossed myself and the guard removed his at, crossed himself and smiled at me. We spoke about the life of the Saint and I felt very honoured to have been able to view what not many see. (Sadly pictures are not allowed in Saint Peter Ad Vincula anymore)

He then took me to the Chapel and my heart sped up. He said “I’m sure you know where she is right?” and I smiled. He lifted the blue barrier and let me go up to the grave of Anne Boleyn. I had to step over poor Katherine to get to Anne. I laid my roses right above the lettering: Queen Anne. I touched her grave with my hand. I put my hand on the grave of Anne Boleyn. And then when led me out he told me it was an honour and shook my hand.

As I was leaving some people stopped and asked if I was a descendant of Anne Boleyn. I told them No, I just love her. No pictures were allowed in the chapel but I took a few of the execution site And someone stopped and asked if I was related to Anne because she had dark hair and pale skin so they thought I was a great-great however many great- granddaughter. I didn’t cry.

I feel I’m not sure somehow peaceful because Anne was never forgotten. Anne did not die in vain, Elizabeth became Queen and Anne lived through her.

Misguided ghosts
Traveling endlessly
The ones we trusted the most
Pushed us far away
And there’s no one road
We should not be the same
I’m just a ghost
And still they echo me
They echo me in circles.

Funeral effigy of Elizabeth of York

Funeral effigy of Elizabeth of York, wife to Henry VII of England and mother to Henry VIII. She was therefore Queen Mary I’s paternal grandmother. The effigy was carried in her funeral procession and is carved in wood. As it is not the death mask it is questionable how much it fully reflections Elizabeth’s real appearance.

Elizabeth died on 11th February 1503 shortly after the birth of a daughter Katherine who died before her mother. Her death was greatly mourned as she appears to have been liked and admired by the majority. The narrative of her funeral describes her as ‘one of the most gracious and best beloved Princesses in the world’

While we are on the subject of Funeral Effigies I thought I would share this one: 

Katherine of Valois’s wooden funeral effigy

Katherine of Valois’s wooden funeral effigy. Katherine was the wife of Henry V of England and was mother to Henry VI. Henry V died in 1422 and years later Katherine became attached to Owen Tudor (who some reports state was the keeper of her household or wardrobe). There is some mystery surrounding the exact date of their marriage although for political reasons, under the Tudor monarchs, it was stressed that Owen and Katherine had married before they had their children (from whom the Tudor monarchs descended from). Some chroniclers though suggest that the two were not so careful and one claimed that Katherine was ‘unable fully to curb her carnal passions’. The marriage itself was not well known until 1437, very shortly before Katherine’s death. She and Tudor had four children, including three sons (Edmund, Jasper and Owen) and a daughter who appears to have become a nun and died young. Owen became a Benedictine monk and Edmund was the father of Henry VII of England (the first Tudor monarch).

Despite the questionable circumstances of their affair, Katherine and Owen’s children were treated well by Henry VI on account of the fact that they were his half-siblings. Katherine’s sons Edmund and Jasper Tudor were created earls of Richmond and Pembroke and granted more positions.

Katherine was buried in Westminster Abbey and during the reign of Henry VII her body was interned in the tomb of her first husband. Apparently her body was well preserved so much so that throughout the sixteenth to the eighteenth century her body was displayed for curious bystanders to look at. The famous diarist, Samuel Pepys was one such observer and in his diary entry for 23 February 1669 he stated that by ‘by perticular favour’ he took Catherine’s body into his hands and planted a kiss on her mouth, ‘reflecting upon it that I did kiss a Queen, and that this was my birthday’.

Tomb effigy of Elizabeth I

Tomb effigy of Elizabeth I. The large marble monument was by Maximilian Colt, assisted by John de Critz, and dates to early seventeenth century (during the reign of James I, Elizabeth’s successor). The jewellery and regalia on the effigy are modern pieces, dating to the 1970s. The tomb, which cost £1,485, is situated in Henry VII’s Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey.

The monument also marks the grave of Mary I, England’s first crowned Queen Regent (Elizabeth’s coffin rests on top of Mary’s). Mary and Elizabeth were both the daughters of Henry VIII and traditionally both are portrayed as representing opposing sides of the religious schism that dominated English affairs throughout the sixteenth century. Modern assessments, particularly those focusing on Mary, have questioned such longstanding perceptions.

“King Francois I (1494-1547) and his wife Claude de France, Note as well that they are both nude and barely covering themselves for modesty—acknowledging that in death we are all the same before God’s eyes”

Victoria and Albert’s final resting place on this Earth.

Beautiful. 

I’ll be skipping class on May 19th to leave my own offering. I’m going to leave her 12 white roses tied with a red ribbon.