The Fall of Anne Boleyn - 2

Tracy Borman explores the arrest of Anne Boleyn and looks at original documents to explore her trial, was the trial going to end in the court proclaiming her innocence?  Does she stand the chance of a fair hearing?  Can Anne save herself?  Or did one man's determination to remove Anne from Henry VIII's life cause the court to swing the other way? 

It is May 15: Anne Boleyn's trial will begin in the Tower of London.  The Tower of London will hold the most infamous trial in all of history.  The atmosphere is electric and the public looks forward to seeing what she has to stay for themselves.  Cromwell and Anne were at loggerheads over their influence with the King and Cromwell decided that Anne must go.  Cromwell personally selected the judge and jury for the trial.

The future queen Jane Seymour was sent out to the country before the trial.  It would have caused gossip for the court if she was there.  However, at the start of the Trial, Jane was brought back to London and was kept in Chelsea.

Anne's trial began.  She was escorted to the court by four ladies, placed there by Cromwell, so they could spy on her.  She seated in front of judge and jury.  She looks in control.   However, Cromwell would make sure that the King would get the verdict he wanted.  The only records that survive from the trial are for the prosecution and nothing from the defense.

Anne was accused of 20 acts of adultery.  She is sure of her innocence.  Anne is the picture of innocence and the crowd senses.  She uses her mind.  However Cromwell pushes the incest issue, twisting the closeness of the siblings to show how depraved Anne was.  It seems Cromwell might have pushed things too far, and the crowd was turning to support Anne Boleyn.  She put up a robust defense.  Would Anne Boleyn be found innocent?  Could Anne Boleyn be found innocent?

In the meantime, another trial was being held in Westminster.  It was of the men who were accused of committing adultery with Anne Boleyn.  Only one confessed guilty and the rest of the men confessed not guilty.  Their trial would determine Anne's fate.

To continue to learn more about the trial, keep watching.

I would use this documentary for research into Tudors and would show clips from it to a class as part of a lecture.

For use in the classroom: just highlight, copy and paste into a word document or a google document for use in the classroom.  You can easily format these questions to your specifications.  All questions should fit onto one page after formatting.
 
You can find the link for the YouTube video here.

The Fall of Anne Boleyn Episode 2 Questions:

1. Who felt Anne should go?
2. Who oversaw the trial?
3. Where was Henry VIII lying low during Anne’s trial?
4. How did Henry VIII know if Anne was found guilty?
5. What was Jane Seymour given with the king’s picture?
6. What was Anne allowed to do during the trial that a commoner wasn’t?
7. What doesn’t survive from Anne’s trial?
8. Who were the four men Anne was accused of adultery with?
9. What was said of Anne during the trial?
10. Who else was Anne accused of committing adultery with?

The Fall of Anne Boleyn Episode 2 Answers:

1. Who felt Anne should go? - Thomas Cromwell
2. Who oversaw the trial? - Duke of Norfolk
3. Where was Henry VIII lying low during Anne’s trial? - Whitehall
4. How did Henry VIII know if Anne was found guilty? - A cannon would be fired
5. What was Jane Seymour given with the king’s picture? - A locket
6. What was Anne allowed to do during the trial that a commoner wasn’t? - Sit in a chair
7. What doesn’t survive from Anne’s trial? - Her defense
8. Who were the four men Anne was accused of adultery with? - Henry Norris, Mark Smeaton, William Brereton, Francis Weston
9. What was said of Anne during the trial? - No one could look at her and believe her guilty
10. Who else was Anne accused of committing adultery with? - Her brother, George Boleyn