Dead letters (2)

This week’s letter is one of my favorites. It was written by Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), the first wife of England’s Henry VIII (1491-1547) and mother of Queen Mary I. I’ll spare you all a recap of the old story, of Henry’s six wives and the birth of the Anglican church, so forth and so on.

The letter below was Catherine’s last letter to her husband. It is a deathbed letter. I will only add here that her final wish, to see her husband before death, was not granted by Henry, who in fact took quite public delight at her death and was already remarried to Anne Boleyn (who, ironically, was executed a mere five months after Catherine’s death).

At any rate, the following letter is touching for the historical reasons with which all of us are familiar. Catherine’s capacity for forgiveness, her forbearance, and her dignity are all unassailable here. It is an impressive letter.

7 January 1536

My most dear lord, king and husband,

The hour of my death now drawing on, the tender love I owe you forceth me, my case being such, to commend myself to you, and to put you in remembrance with a few words of the health and safeguard of your soul which you ought to prefer before all worldly matters, and before the care and pampering of your body, for the which you have cast me into many calamities and yourself into many troubles. For my part, I pardon you everything, and I wish to devoutly pray God that He will pardon you also. For the rest, I commend unto you our daughter Mary, beseeching you to be a good father unto her, as I have heretofore desired. I entreat you also, on behalf of my maids, to give them marriage portions, which is not much, they being but three. For all my other servants I solicit the wages due them, and a year more, lest they be unprovided for. Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things.

Katharine the Quene.