2. Eleven Fingers- This rumor is one that particularly bothers me, mainly because it really doesn't make any sense when you think about the attraction of a man to a woman in those days. King Henry VIII could literally have had any woman he wanted to have at court, and historians and I can certainly agree that if there were any obvious abnormalities in a woman (such as having an extra finger on one hand), Henry would have passed her over in a heartbeat. In the 1500's, an abnormality such as that would have surely been believed to be a sign of witchcraft - something that Anne was later called, thanks to these nasty rumors! Henry would have never taken a chance on someone like that, and we can assume it would have marred his attraction to her.
3. George Boleyn's Homesexuality - One day I'll write a post only about George Boleyn, but I don't feel that I've done enough research on him yet, and I think that is because modern portrayals have made him a very dislikeable character! Although this is not a direct Anne Boleyn myth, it does surround her and affects her because George was one of her closest companions. Showtime's The Tudors portrayed George to be quite a nasty guy - a crude, mean-spirited rapist who seemed to hate every woman except his beloved sister Anne, and who seduced Mark Smeaton and took him as his lover. I've actually read and watched many fictional portrayals of George where he is shown to be homosexual, or at least believed to be. While this is a possible explanation for why he did not want to sleep with his wife, Jane Parker - later Lady Jane Rochford - there is actually no historical basis for this - (neither is there any historical basis for Mark Smeaton being homosexual, by the way!)
At some point soon I will tackle a blog post about 'The Other Boleyn Girl' - because as much as I like Philippa Gregory and enjoy her books, I have heard far too many people basing their knowledge of Tudor England on that movie and book, and that is absolutely detrimental to really learning the history. One thing I'd like to say, however, is that I am a HUGE fan of historical fiction. Personally, I prefer reading a fiction book to a nonfiction book, but I ALWAYS follow-up my fun reading with research, because I truly want to know what happened. This is why the myths surrounding Anne Boleyn are a big deal to me! I don't want people thinking forever that she was a witch, an adulteress, a terribly mean-spirited concubine who deserved what she got. I'd like to spread the TRUTH about the Tudors, and I hope everyone is interested in learning about it. Once again, I apologize for the mistakes I made (and will continue to make) in my posts - This is what research and learning is all about!