"Howdy y'all"- Nick, the Canadian trying to use southern slang,
So this week, I couldn't really think of anything particular that I wanted to blog about. Naturally, this was brought up in a conversation with my boyfriend. He doesn't go to our school (obviously), so I asked him what I should blog about this week since I kind of need a distraction right now.
His topic is: How Queen Elizabeth I and William Shakespeare probably did it. :)
We were having a conversation about history maybe a week ago, specifically how a lot of kings had infertility problems caused by incest. Yes, we really were just having a casual conversation about incest...as one does. King Henry VIII was mentioned and the entire history of his 6 wives (also how one of his wives was about our age when she married him). His son, Edward, died very young and his daughter, Mary, was kind of insane and killed like 600 people for being Protestant. This got us on the topic of Queen Elizabeth I, one of the most influential and prosperous monarchs of England. It was weird that she and Shakespeare lived at the same time! Well, we have come to the conclusion that since both of them were known for having many lovers, that they totally did it at some point. Maybe...so here is the problem, Shakespeare was born 5 years into Elizabeth's reign and he was also a big Catholic sympathizer BUT they were both so invested in the arts that I think they could have looked past this for a one night stand, or more. Elizabeth was known for liking her younger men, and Shakespeare definitely fits this category, as he is 24 years younger than her. Nick thinks that one of the reasons he might not have liked the Queen was because he was forced into a relationship of sorts with her, because who can deny the Queen. This could also explain why he never properly eulogized her after her death.
So, in conclusion, we think they did it. We are glad that we live in a world where Shakespeare and the Queen might have done it; it's what keeps us going. What are your thoughts? I know some of you have taken AP European History, so please enjoy our theory. Yeah, we know it's just hypotheticals but there is no proof that we are completely wrong...just saying...
His other idea was: the pros and cons of pros and cons. I said no, but if anyone would like to hear his argument, comment below.
From,
Nikki
4 comments:
I would LOVE to hear about the pros and cons of pros and cons. I'm also very glad that you and your ~boyfriend~ have thought-provoking conversations. Your detailed argument of the seggsual relationships between Queen Liz and Shakespeare is very interesting, however, I thought Shakespeare was gay? I could be wrong lol.
I love thinking about historical conspiracy theories! The idea that the queen would force a relationship with Shakespeare is slightly disturbing but possible. After all, Henry VIII probably pressured Catherine Howard into marriage (who could refuse a king?), so it wouldn't be too far out there that Elizabeth pressured some men to have relationships with her. The only reason that she did not marry was because she didn't want to give up power so it is not unlikely that she used that power for personal gain- just saying.
As for Shakespeare being gay, that would be the reason that she had to pressure him and he subsequently did not like her.
I am taking AP Euro, and this would not be the craziest thing that would have happened. One Russian Queen killed her husband, had multiple lovers, and then put her lovers in positions of power (like King of Poland) so that she would have complete control of those men. Sometimes, history is so weird that you can't make it up.
Hey Rikki!
I'm totally fascinated by British history, particularly Henry VIII. As Rikki mentioned, Queen Elizabeth I was his daughter by Anne Boleyn, who was his second wife. Anne Boleyn was the one who caused Henry to break with the Papacy, renounce Catholicism, adopt the Church of England, behead Sir Thomas More, etc., etc.) Everyone knows that Henry VIII had six wives (divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived), but he also had many mistresses. I read a lot of historical fiction, and there's a very interesting book called "the Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory. It's about Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister, who was King Henry VIII's mistress and had two of his children before he became infatuated with her sister. Although in the short run Mary seemed to have gotten the short end of the stick since her sister was made queen and she was a nobody, eventually, she was the only one in her family not to be beheaded/killed even more gruesomely. Anne and their brother George were killed for incest (which was likely just a result of Henry's paranoia and not true), and their father and uncle were killed as well. In the end, Mary, who left court in "disgrace" and married a gentleman for love (oh! the horror of not marrying a nobleman!), was the only one who escaped with her life.
Also, I heard an interesting theory about why Anne kept having miscarriages after her first daughter, Elizabeth, was born: she was rh negative, meaning she didn't have the rhesus factor in her blood. (That's the positive or negative that goes with your blood type.) If a man has the rhesus factor and a woman doesn't, the woman will be able to have their first child, but after giving birth she develops antibodies that harm the red blood cells in subsequent fetuses, preventing her from carrying another baby to term. This is thought to be the case with Henry and Anne, since she became pregnant easily enough with Elizabeth but kept having miscarriages afterward.
Last thing: isn't it crazy how many WOMEN Henry VIII blamed for his inability to have a son? He blamed Catherine of Aragon for secretly sleeping with his brother Arthur and treated her terribly at the end of her life; he accused Anne Boleyn of incest with her own brother when he, Henry, slept with Anne's sister and quite possibly their mother too; the list is endless. In fact, it was his fault that he had 2 daughters before he had a son because the genes for a girl are XX and the genes for a boy are XY. The woman can only contribute an X with her egg, and it is up to the man to determine the sex of her child (his sperm contributes either an X, for a girl, or a Y, for a boy.) So it was Henry's fault all along! The amount that some men blame women for their problems is ridiculous! Sorry for that long rant, but I needed to end this lengthy comment with a bit of feminism.
Love from
Clara
Here's the source of the info on rh factor: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0geKergCBJgkNEAv5FXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3BpdnM-?p=rh+factor+pregnancy&fr2=piv-web&fr=mcafee#id=5&iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fnetdoctor.center%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fpregnancy-and-rh-factor1.jpg&action=click
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