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Flanders Mare By Zoe Lewis Sound Theatre November 5th December 6th 2005 Leicester Square London W1. Henry VIII played by Keith Allen. As a result of sixteenth century spin doctory that Campbell and Blair would have been proud of, Henry VIII agreed to marry Anne of Cleves without ever meeting her. The report that Henry VIII cried loudly that she was a “Flanders mare” is not based on contemporary documents. 6.) Anne of Cleves wanted to remarry Henry VIII. Flanders, out of the Storm Bird mare Starlet Storm, produced 13 foals, 10 of which are by Seattle Slew or his male-line descendants, including Bernardini. Eight of her 11 named foals are winners. Anne of Cleves is frequently dismissed with few words. Her personal appearance has been dismissed as unattractive, a “great Flanders mare” who was too repulsive to touch. Because she did not speak English, and was not educated in the music and literature so popular at Henry’s court, Anne is frequently considered not particularly intelligent. 'Flanders mare' The phrase used, according to Thomas Cromwell, by Henry VIII when he set eyes on his fourth bride,.Anne of Cleves; he had gone in disguise to get a first glimpse of her as she journeyed from the coast to London. The tradition that he believed himself to have been misled by.Holbein's portrait is not mentioned until the 18C.

Historians have often wondered why Henry did not find his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves appealing. Part of the mystery lies in the fact that we have very few accounts describing her appearance and only two contemporary portraits. One portrait is the infamous betrothal portrait by Holbein which sealed her fate and the other is from the workshop of Barthel Bruyn the Elder (shown below).
Writers through the years have certainly not been kind to Anne. The reference to Anne looking more like a 'flanders mare' than a princess was first made in the 17th century by historian Gilbert Burnet who critisized Holbein's painting as taking, 'the common compliment of his art too liberally.' Nothing could be futher from the truth. Holbein was known for his accuracy and attention to detail in his paintings. Most importantly, the whole purpose of sending him to paint Anne was to take a likeness. He did his job and was therefore never punished by Henry when the real life Anne did not meet his expectations.
Later historians have speculated that Anne was unattractive to Henry because she was “large-boned,” but I disagree with this assessment. Anne was reportedly tall and the layers of clothes certainly made her look like a stuffed sausage, but I suspect that Anne's body type may have been closer to thin and gangly than big-boned. I have already written about some of Anne’s finer qualities in a previous post.
Find Me a Woman with Some Meat on Her Bones
Before marriage negotiations began with Cleves, Henry had instructed his advisors to find him a heavy-set woman for his fourth wife. His exact words (and a bit of an understatement) were, 'I am a big man and in need of a big wife.' Yet, Henry contradicted his own words with his previous actions for he tended to be more attracted to small-hipped women like Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour. Perhaps his days of slim women were over at the point in which he began marriage negotiations for his fourth wife?
Digging deeper, there is obviously more to attraction then someone's body build. And we also can't forget about Henry's political motivations toward the marriage for he may have simply not needed the alliance with Cleves as the marriage progressed. But Henry was obviously very much repulsed by his new bride too.
What did repulse Henry enough to annul the marriage and make Cromwell a head shorter?

The clue may be in the infamous rumor that Anne looked like a “Flanders Mare.'

What is a Flanders Mare?
A Flanders Mare is not the graceful and delicate horse of a queen. In Medieval times, Belgium Horses were prized in wars for their tremendous size and strength. (show above).
Colored like a Flanders Mare
These heavy, war-like draft horses were typically black and ranged from colors to bay, bay-brown to chestnut. They were rarely lighter colors like they are today. Many accounts report that Anne was of a darker skin tone, the opposite of the beauty ideal of the time. When Henry asked Lord Russell what he thought of his new bride he replied that 'I take her not for fair, but to be of a brown complexion.'
Smells Like a Flanders Mare
I grew up around horses. I love horses. But let's face it. No matter how much you love horses you cannot deny that they stink. One of the biggest turn-offs for Henry was Anne's lack of hygiene. Maybe it was her smell that truly repulsed him? But wait....I have an even more far fetched theory.
As Skanky as a Flanders Mare?

Anne Of Cleves Smell

Henry also told Anthony Denny, a member of the Privy Chamber, that she had 'breasts so slack and other parts of body in such sort that [he] somewhat suspected her virginity.' And if that was not bad enough he complained to his court physician of the 'hanging of her breasts and looseness of her flesh.' Could Henry have really suspected Anne's virginity?
Later in the 17th century, Flanders Mares were not only prized for their strength, but also their eager willingness to pull heavy carriages. The Flanders Mares were mentioned in the diary of Samuel Pepys:
Thence to my Lord’s, where I found Mr. Pierce, the surgeon, and with him and Mr. Sheply, in our way calling at the Bell to see the seven Flanders mares that my Lord has bought lately, where we drank several bottles of Hull ale. Much company I found to come to her, and cannot wonder at it, for she is very pretty and wanton.¹
Pepys never really says who the “her” is but he seems to be making a double entendre between the horse wantonness and the unknown women. Interesting that he chose the always willing Flanders Mare to make his comparison. Perhaps the word 'wanton' had a different meaning then? I suspect it means relatively the same thing.
In the eighteenth century, English writer and pamphleteer Daniel Defoe gives the prostitute and main character of his novel the fictitious name of Moll Flanders. He makes it clear that this is not her real name. In general, Defoe rarely named his characters and generally referred to people as “the elder brother” or “the nurse.” I doubt Defoe's choice of Flanders was insignificant.
I personally believe that Henry was not attracted to Anne because of a combination of factors. She lacked refinement and grace (she couldn’t dance or play an instrument), her darker complexion was not the beauty ideal of the time, she smelled when Henry was fastidious about cleanliness, and most importantly she may have exhibited an eagerness to please that Henry found unattractive. Aside from Henry's political motivations toward the match, we will never know for certain why the science of attraction failed, but perhaps if Anne had played hard to get she might not have reminded Henry of this eager draft horse.
Sources
Starkey, David. The Six Wives of Henry VIII. New York, NY: Harper Perennial, 2004
Weir, Alison. The Six Wives of Henry VIII. New York, NY: Grover Press, 1991
Pepys, Samuel. The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Hayes Barton Press, 1660 - can be accessed online in

Flanders Mare Anne Of

Google Books.
Warnicke, Retha M. The Marrying of Anne of Cleves: Royal Protocol in Early Modern England, Cambridge University Press, 2000
Daniel Defoe Wikipedia Entry
Notes:
1: Weir (p.227 )
Anne of Cleves would be Henry VIII's fourth wife. As we know, Henry said he found her utterly repulsive, stinky, probably not a virgin, so ugly that she resembled a 'Flanders Mare!' Whew. Not a kind description to say the least. Was Anne of Cleves truly so undesirable? Or was the by-then ailing king projecting his own personal problems onto his new wife?
It might have been almost laughable had it not been so sad to describe Anne of Cleves as malodorous, as by this time Henry was suffering from chronic boils and sores which were festering, and by all accounts, horrific smelling. Boils are very painful, and the misery and physical anguish the king was enduring can only be imagined. However, it should be noted, that more than a few members of the court did find Anne of Cleves less than fresh smelling.

Flanders Mare Definition

Before we grow too disparaging of her, the times and conditions in which the Tudors lived must be considered. The whole issue of availability of water is important. Water was of such poor quality for the Tudors as to render it undrinkable. Indeed, they subsisted on ale and beer in order to hydrate themselves. Bathing was a difficult matter and the masses were not particularly clean. Obviously, Anne of Cleves had every resource at her disposal as Queen of England and could have ordered a bath to be drawn as she pleased. But certain cultural beliefs were also in place, such as the superstitious belief, (and this one persisted for 100's of years,) that bathing left the pores open and left the newly washed person in imminent danger of absorbing bad air and thus contracting plague and other horrid diseases. Thus, Anne of Cleve's possible lack of hygiene should be considered within its proper context.
Was Anne of Cleves so truly so unattractive as to resemble a Flanders mare? Modern historians are mostly in agreement; Anne of Cleves was not unattractive, in fact, many people are of the opinion that the discarded queen was rather pretty. Delicately featured, with almond shaped eyes, a finely shaped long nose,

Flanders Mare

and a perfectly nice mouth, it might have seemed: What wasn't to like?
The case of Anne of Anne of Cleves, however, was more complicated than it seemed at first glance. (And aren't all things in life just so?) The styles of the Cleves sisters, reflecting those of their own Germanic world, were decidedly unappealing to the lusty men of the English court. Their tastes ran to the gorgeous form-fitting velvet and brocade gowns worn by such beauties as Anne Boleyn and her sister Mary. The French hood, which showed a good deal of a woman's face and hair was also very attractive to the male eye. Anne of Cleves wore an entirely different style of clothing, and it is clear that Henry found it decidedly unappealing from the word 'go.'
But let us return to Henry's claim that his new bride was ugly. It was thought by some at the time, and still , that perhaps Hans Holbein had slightly flattered Anne of Cleves when he painted her portrait at Henry's request. But had he? Perhaps, after all, many monarchs and nobles, eager to present younger, more pleasing faces to the world, had often encouraged those who painted their likenesses to made them look as nice as possible. It is doubtful, though, that Anne of Cleves would have made any such statement as she was quite silent through the entire negotiations process prior to her nuptials. Did Holbein think Anne to be so lacking in attractiveness he felt the need to embellish things a bit? Had Cromwell made such a request?
It may help to consider the opinion of a non-biased contemporary source, and this was Charles de Marillac, the French ambassador. After first seeing Anne of Cleves, his opinion was that Anne of Cleves appeared to be about 30, tall and slender, and 'of middling beauty.' And so, Anne of Cleves may not have been looked as young as she was, (actually 24,) nor as pretty as the people had hoped. Anne may not have been a radiant beauty, at least in Marillac's eyes, but the description of 'middling beauty,' is a far cry from looking like a horse!

Flanders Market

It is far more likely that Henry's rejection of the likable Anne of Cleves had much more to do with a disastrous first impression, than any of Anne's supposed personal defects. (And we all know what is said about first impressions.)
Lady Anna traveled to England with foremost in her heart, a desire to please her king. She was determined that Henry find her pleasing in all things. Fifteen Clevian ladies arrived with Anne, to the annoyance of some in Henry's court. (Remember that it was already clear that these ladies and their mannerisms and styles were not pleasing to the English male courtiers.) The weather grew foul and the ship was tossed but Anne of Cleves remained sweet and kind to all around her. Anne of Cleves even asked if someone might teach her the manner of card games which would please her new husband. The Earl of Southampton did this and reported that Anne played with 'good grace' and as any noble lady should.
Finally, on 27 December, Anne of Cleves made the crossing from Calais to Deal. By this time Henry had been waiting for some time at Greenwich, and his patience had worn quite thin, his nerves frayed. A 50 ship fleet including a vessel carrying Anne arrived at Deal early in the evening. Received by the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, the weather was frigid. Lady Anne was taken to the Canterbury abbey of St. Augustine's to rest for the night. Anne spent the night at the abbey and then left for Rochester on 31 December, where she was escorted to Bishop's Palace. Suddenly, and with no advance warning, Henry announced to Cromwell that he would pay his new bride a visit! Henry rode with haste from Greenwich to Rochester, along with several of his men from the Privy Chamber. It was New Year's Day and Henry and his men were attired festively, in multi-colored cloaks. When the entourage arrived Sir Anthony Browne, Master of the Horse, was sent up to Anne's room to notify her that Henry had a New Year's Gift for her. Disguised behind the festive cloak, Henry burst into the room, and Anne continued to watch the bull-baiting from her window. She had no idea who the men were who had entered her room, still knew no English, and said little more than a 'hello' of sorts. After that she turned back to her window. (Her fate may have been positively sealed in the moment.) Then unexpectedly, Henry embraced Anne. She still didn't seem to know who this odd visitor was, and so, she turned yet again to the window. Henry marched into another chamber and donned a purple robe signifying royalty, and returned to Anne who immediately recognized her king, as also others present in the room bowed deeply. Anne of Cleves immediately humbled herself, but it seems the damage was done. While she and Henry were certainly polite with their few words, his first impression of her was ruined. The first thing King Henry said to Cromwell, after leaving the chamber and Anne of Cleves in it was the famous: 'I like her not.' I