Fortunes changed with the marriage of Roger Seymour and Matilda or Maud, daughter and sole heir of William Esturmy, sometime in 1405. The Esturmy family had been the wardens of Savernake Forest in Wiltshire since the Norman invasion, an honour which passed down the generations. Savernake remains the only ancient forest in Britain which is still privately owned. The Esturmy family owned a modest estate in the middle of the forest which appears in the Domesday book with the Saxon name ‘Ulfela’. Ulf Hall, Wulfhall or Wolf Hall became the premier estate of the Seymour family.
It was not until the early 16th century that family fortunes improved significantly, with the marriage in 1494 of John Seymour and Margaret (or Margery) Wentworth, first cousin of a familiar – and prolific – generation of Howards, namely Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, his sister Elizabeth, mother of Anne Boleyn, and Edmund, father of Henry’s fifth queen, Catherine Howard.
Wolf Hall is the setting for a pivotal moment in the course of English history when Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn are guests of Sir John Seymour in the last days of the summer progress of 1535. Wolf Hall was a large half-timbered manor surrounded by almost 1300 acres of lush parkland, boasting a long gallery, courtyard, broad chamber, and a chapel, surrounded by three gardens. The family would eventually abandon Wolf Hall for the grander estate of Tottenham House, and by 1571 it had fallen into disrepair.
Our introduction to the Seymours involves a surprisingly salacious bit of gossip, as Anne Boleyn gleefully tells Cromwell of a scandal at Wolf Hall: Sir John Seymour has been having an illicit affair with his son Edward’s wife, Catherine. The theory has endured because it is so diverting, but the evidence is flimsy. 17th-century ecclesiastical author Peter Hely wrote that Edward Seymour had been taught magic while he was in France in 1527, which he used to spy on his wife back in England, catching her with a mysterious gentleman. Another 17th-century source alleges that she ‘was known by his father after the wedding’. Catherine had clearly displeased her family as she is excluded from her father’s will and was only given a small stipend of £40 on the condition that she retired to a convent. The ‘scandal’ continues throughout Wolf Hall, but it is curious that Henry would have married a woman whose family reputation was so tainted, unless, of course, it wasn’t quite so simple.
J
ANE AND HER
S
IBLINGS
Historians have since pondered how Jane Seymour not only captured Henry’s attention but then held it long enough to be elevated to Queen Consort. It certainly baffled her contemporaries, with various ambassadors including Chapuys writing to their respective masters that she must possess some special quality which only Henry could see.
Mantel’s Cromwell is always interested in Jane’s circumstances, taking pity on her during her family’s scandal, presenting her with dainty gifts to cheer her up. He is quite drawn to Jane and even entertains romantic notions, which are destined to be thwarted. Jane serves as lady-in-waiting to both Katherine and Anne, although Mantel suggests Jane had more than one role at court, possibly as a spy.
Our evidence is scant regarding Jane’s formative years, but we do know that she was one of ten children, and was born at Wolf Hall in around 1508. Six of the children lived to adulthood: Jane, her two younger sisters, Elizabeth and Dorothy, and three elder brothers, Edward, Henry and Thomas. The Seymours did not enjoy any particular prominence, but the children received a good education befitting the family of a 16th-century gentleman. Jane was betrothed to William Dormer, son of Sir Robert and Lady Jane Dormer, a match brokered by Jane’s cousin, Francis Bryan. The engagement was broken off by the Dormers because rumour had it that they considered the Seymours’ social status did not benefit the family. But John Seymour was able to use his familial connection to the Howard family to secure two places for Jane and her sister Elizabeth (Bess) as ladies-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon. Jane left court after Katherine fell from favour, but returned in 1535 to serve the new queen, Anne Boleyn.
Throughout this trilogy, Cromwell finds himself rather enamoured with both women at different times. Bess is described as an elegant woman, highly intelligent, witty and worldly. She married Sir Anthony Ughtred, Governor of Jersey, in 1530, who died four years later. The widowed Bess Seymour was clearly a desirable bride, and continued to attract attention, and from her letters, in particular to Cromwell, we catch a glimpse of a bold young woman who wrote with a frankness that the real Cromwell likely appreciated.
In Bring Up the Bodies, Chapuys admits to Cromwell that he cannot see Jane’s appeal. When Chapuys asks Cromwell what Henry sees in Jane, Cromwell answers simply: ‘He thinks she’s stupid. He finds it restful.’ Henry and Jane’s courtship played out before the entire court and beyond – everyone awaited the next instalment of Henry’s domestic arrangements.
As Jane’s star ascends, we begin to see more of Jane’s brothers, Edward and Thomas, in the sources and in Mantel’s series. They have flitted in and out of the narrative thus far, and now Cromwell feels it wise to nurture a closer relationship. But it is not all politics. Mantel’s Cromwell sees two very different personalities: Edward, the eldest of the Seymour siblings, enjoyed a modest career at court. He served in Charles Brandon’s French campaign of 1523, for which he was awarded a knighthood. In 1525, Edward was appointed Master of the Horse to Henry’s illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy, before entering Cardinal Wolsey’s household, where he may well have met Cromwell. In 1531, Edward was made an Esquire of the Body to the king, sealing his role at court. Edward was handsome, athletic, but serious and scholarly. Wolsey liked him, and Mantel’s Cromwell finds him to be reliable.
