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amaryssobellus, who asked to see my Tudor creations. (Just so you know, they're in modern clothing, for the most part; it bugs me when my Sims wear old-fashioned stuff and behave...well, like Sims.)Please keep in mind, as well, that all of these folks* were created from a combination of portraits and my own imagination; I love to read fiction set in Tudor England, and the authors' descriptions of people obviously influence my own "vision".
*Kitty Howard and Jane Seymour are the exceptions to this. As I mentioned, I understand that there are no verified portraits of Catherine Howard, and as for Jane...I'm sorry. I know she was probably a very nice lady, but I just couldn't bring myself to make a Sim that looked like that. I'm too shallow.
But enough disclaimers...let's see the Sims. Here's Henry:
Henry Tudor, as a young, athletic and smooookin' hot Sim
Catalina Aragon (Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife)
Described in The Autobiography of Henry VIII as having "laughing hazel eyes"; portraiture shows those eyes to also have been rather prominent. (I look forward to breeding this Sim in my game, as I think she'll have interesting children.)
Catalina committed the apparently unforgivable sin of being unable to bear Henry a male heir--their only surviving child was the future Mary I of England. Frustrated by this and finding/fancying himself in love with another woman, he declared their marriage invalid in the eyes of God, due to Catalina's having first been wed to Henry's older brother Arthur, who died young. The argument between Henry's conscience and the Roman Catholic Church, which had issued a dispensation allowing the marriage and saw no reason to revoke it, eventually led to his breaking with Rome and forming the Church of England. (You can't blame the Pope, really; the Holy Roman Emperor was Catalina's nephew. That would have been messy.)
Catalina committed the apparently unforgivable sin of being unable to bear Henry a male heir--their only surviving child was the future Mary I of England. Frustrated by this and finding/fancying himself in love with another woman, he declared their marriage invalid in the eyes of God, due to Catalina's having first been wed to Henry's older brother Arthur, who died young. The argument between Henry's conscience and the Roman Catholic Church, which had issued a dispensation allowing the marriage and saw no reason to revoke it, eventually led to his breaking with Rome and forming the Church of England. (You can't blame the Pope, really; the Holy Roman Emperor was Catalina's nephew. That would have been messy.)
Before all this mess, though, came Mary Boleyn, Henry's mistress and (highly dissimilar) sister of his second wife....
Anne Boleyn, aka "Nan Bullen", aka "Nan de Boleine", aka "Black Nan"
They liked their pseudonyms, apparently. ;-)
Mother of the future Elizabeth I of England, Anne too failed to produce a male heir. This "shortcoming" combined with her flirtatious and feisty nature to eventually allow Henry to be convinced by Anne's enemies that she had bewitched him in order to gain the throne...and also that she had taken multiple lovers, including her own brother, George. In May of 1536, both were beheaded, along with several other men accused of committing treason by adultery with the Queen.
Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife, rebound girl after Anne's execution, and mother of his only surviving male heir.
Died several days after giving birth, presumably before Henry had a chance to get sick of her. Due in part to this, as well as her providing the long-awaited son, Henry is said to have revered and idealized Jane for the rest of his life.
But a kingdom in general likes to have a Queen, and one son is no guarantee that the throne will be kept--after all, Henry's own brother had proved that years ago by predeceasing their father. So eventually, the search for a new wife began, and produced....
But a kingdom in general likes to have a Queen, and one son is no guarantee that the throne will be kept--after all, Henry's own brother had proved that years ago by predeceasing their father. So eventually, the search for a new wife began, and produced....
Hannah Cleves (Anne of Cleves)
Shown in a portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger to be far more attractive than Henry found her in real life; those long-distance relationships are always so tricky. Disgusted, Henry promptly annulled his marriage to her, to marry....
Kitty Howard (Catherine Howard)
Much younger than Henry at the time of their marriage, she was seen by most of the court as a silly and ultimately embarrassing choice as Queen. Found guilty of the treason of adultery, as well as the sin of concealing her non-virginal state at the time of her marriage to the King, she followed her cousin Anne Boleyn to the executioner's block.
Katharine Parr
Twice widowed before Henry's pursuit of her, she was nearly executed by him herself, for her Lutheran leanings. She did, however, manage to outlive the King and eventually marry the man some said she'd loved all along: Tom Seymour.
Seriously, forgive the babbling. I love this subject, and if any of you are fellow enthusiasts and saw anything you think I got wrong, do let me know! It's tricky to separate fact from fiction, given the shortage of some records, and biased nature of others, so we may well have different knowledge. (I can understand why authors love to play around with this era! Fascinating and open to some interpretation. Drool....)
- Mood:cheerful
Comments
Great job.
And obviously, if you (or anyone) would like any of these Sims, just ask and I'll be glad to package them up.
Thanks so much for commenting, and I'm glad you liked them!