King Henry VIII and the court regularly attended Mass in the royal chapel, sometimes more than once a day.
The King often used the time before the consecration to transact business but this manuscript shows him using a book of prayers to send a flirtatious message to Anne Boleyn instead. He wrote in French:
‘If you remember my love in your prayers as strongly as I adore you, I shall hardly be forgotten, for I am yours. Henry R. forever.’
Presenting himself as lovesick, he wrote his note on a page depicting the man of sorrows.
Anne replied with a couplet in English:
By daily proof you shall me find To be to you both loving and kind
With deliberate enticement, she chose to write her message below a miniature of the Annunciation, the angel telling the Virgin Mary that she would have a son.
To hear a short talk by a British Library curator about Ann Boleyn's Book of Hours click here.
Public Domain in most countries other than the UK.
Love poetry in the Renaissance often expressed sexual or romantic passion, but it could also serve a variety of political, social and religious ends. Emily Mayne explores the origins and development of Renaissance love poetry and the many forms it took.
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