Why did she had her head shopped off?

Question

Anne Boleyn....and some more of Henry VIII wives and court "friends"had their head shopped off.What do you think about the laws of them days?

Answer 1

Bit extreme really, weren't they?

Answer 2

Them days was bad for shopping

Answer 3

Most women `Shop` their heads off :)

Answer 4

Shopping can be lethal.

Answer 5

Getting your head chopped off was reserved for nobility.  The common people were usually hanged or worse.  

An executioner had to be good and the person being executed had to remain still and keep their neck stretched out so the executioner could give a clean stroke.  It was customary for the victim to pay the executioner for his work and forgive him before he did it.  

By the historical record, Anne Boleyn got a quick death (nice and clean).  There was another lord who ended up getting more than six strokes.  After the third one he jumped up and berated the executioner saying he could do a better job himself!  

Since he was still conscious and able to talk after three strokes, I have to agree with him.  That was shoddy work.

As far as the laws of the day, we are not in a position to judge.  'Nuff said.  

Answer 6

Anne Boleyn - otherwise known as Anne of a thousand days, because that's how long it lasted, failed to produce a male heir for HM King Henry V and in the time honoured custom of the day, an investigation was carried out into her past and she was found to have had a lover before she married the King - naughty, naughty, naughty.

Burton at his most awesome best as Henry V in he movie, Anne of a Thousand Days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YrhOYSAi...

. . . .here comes a candle to light you to bed, chip chop, here comes a chopper to chop off your head. . . .

Answer 7

Anne Boleyn had her head chopped off because she was accused of adultery -- and, since the child of a king was presumed to be his heir (especially when the king was like Henry and desperate for a boy), adultery was treason.  Imagine if she HAD committed adultery (most people nowadays don't believe she did) and gotten pregnant -- there would be no guarantee that her child would have been the child of the king.  

The law was the law . . . it's difficult for us to look back and say, "Gee, that was a bad law", because we aren't living in those times, and our expectations of the law and royalty are very different today.  

At least her execution went somewhat smoothly.  It took two strokes to finish off poor Queen Mary of Scotland -- the executioner missed the first time and hit the back of her head.  

Answer 8

She was unfaithful, so was Catherine Howard. Of the other 4 wives, two were divorced, one died naturally and the last one survived. Given the choice I'd prefer to have my head chopped off than be burned at the stake!

Answer 9

Abit barbaric - should've signed pre-nups..

Answer 10

By the standards of the times, beheading was actually a fairly merciful death.  However, the reason for the beheading was that Anne was charged with adultery and incest, both of which were probably false, and since she was the wife of the king, this was considered treason, for which the punishment was death.  Henry's fifth wife, Catherine Howard (who was also Anne Boleyn's cousin) probably WAS guilty of adultery and she, too, was beheaded.

Henry VIII was an absolute monarch so he had the power or life and death over his subjects, which included those of his wives who were commoners (His first and fourth wives were of royal blood so they were divorced.)  His last wife, Katharine Parr, outlived him although it is now believed that Henry was on the verge of having her charged with heresy and that if he had lived a little longer, she, too might have met a horrible end.

In those days, the king WAS the law and although jury trials were used, the king had a power called "attainder" by which he basically could accuse someone of treason, etc. and that was that.  It was up to the accused person to try and prove their innocence.  Any trial was basically no more than a seal of approval upon the accusation.

Answer 11

What laws there were were subject the the kings whim ,  the king was an obsolete monarch his word was law , the only thing he had to obey were the religious dictates of the pope , so he started his own religion and had to answer to nobody but himself . If he wish to kill somebody that's just what he did  

Answer 12

Thunderbolts, and lightning, very, very, frightening.  

Answer 13

Two of Henry the 8th's wives got beheaded. There were 6 wives and this is the order of what happened to the 6 - divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. Henry wanted Anne Boleyn when he was married to his first wife, but she was not willing to be his mistress. So he got a divorce (but not with the pope's permission)  and I guess he was a break away from the Catholicism at the same time. Sorry this answer is getting too long. Long story short - Anne Boleyn got the chop because she didn't produce a male heir. Henry kinda made it up as he went along. He brought the protestant church in and although I'm a protestant, I think Henry was a piece of work (and I don't mean that in any good way)  

Answer 14

Awful, and DUMB!  Why execute them?  They weren't a danger to Henry, they couldn't claim the throne.  Moreover, he didn't execute his first wife;

he put Catherine up in a castle with a few servants.

http://tudorhistory.org/aragon/

Answer 15

The checkered history of the British monarchy is laden with betrayel and worse. The golden rule of that time(and today)is The person with the gold makes the rules. Nothing has changed!

Answer 16

Tudor Court is one h**l of a mall.  They went there and shopped their heads off.

Answer 17

There were a ton of mistakes the so-called leaders of the old world made (all through out history too)...makes you wonder about the decisions that the leaders of our time are making.  We find it harsh that they used to chop off heads for giving birth to a girl, hanging people in case they were witches, human sacrificing to appease the gods, etc

I have often wondered what people 100's of years from now will be saying about the mistakes made in our time.  Lets hope we continue to educate ourselves and overcome the most basic of idiocies.