These are not in any particular order, so it might help if you use CTRL + F to search for a name. A couple of sites that were very helpful to me were The Anne Boleyn Files and the Luminarium Encyclopedia Project.
Royals
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| Henry VIII |
Anne Boleyn (Marquess of Pembroke) ca. 1500-1536. Daughter of Thomas Boleyn and Elizabeth Boleyn (née Howard, daughter of the Earl of Surrey).Anne spent her early adolescence as a maid of honor in the courts of Austria and France. Anne returned to England when she was around 20-21 due to her marriage having been arranged to by Cardinal Wolsey in order to settle a land and title dispute. This marriage never took place.
Catherine of Aragon , 1485-1536. Princess of Spain and Queen of England as the 1st of Henry VIII's wives, youngest surviving child of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, betrothed to Henry VIII's older brother, Arthur, at the age of 3, married to Arthur at the age of 16, widowed less than 6 months later. Catharine was betrothed to Henry after the death of Arthur, but by the time he was old enough to marry, his father, Henry VII, had cancelled the betrothal, but one of Henry VII's first acts after the death of his father was to marry Catherine.
Mary Tudor (Lady/Princess Mary AKA the talking shrimp) 1516-1558. Daughter of Henry VII and Catherine, the only surviving child of that marriage.
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset (Lord Richmond) 1519-1536. Illegitimate son of Henry VIII and Lady Elizabeth Blount, a lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon.
Elizabeth Tudor (Lady/Princess Elizabeth AKA the ginger pig) 1533-1603. Daughter of Henry VII and Anne Boleyn, the first and only surviving child of that marriage.
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (The Emperor) 1500-1558. Nephew of Catherine of Aragon and vehement opponent of religious heresy and of the annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine.
Francis I of France, 1494-1547. Francis became King of France in 1515 when Louis XII (Henry VIII's brother-in-law) died childless. Henry VIII sailed with Anne to Calais in 1533 to seek Francis' help in clearing the way for Henry to marry Anne.
Nobles, Courtiers, and Retainers
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| Thomas More |
Mary Boleyn (Lady Carey/Lady Stafford) unknown-1543. Daughter of Thomas Boleyn and sister of Anne. Almost nothing concrete is known about Mary Boleyn; therefore, she has become a popular subject for historical fiction. She may or may not have been the mistress of Henry VIII. Her first husband died of the "sweating sickness." The part about her being banished from court for marrying William Stafford is true. She lived and died in relative obscurity.
Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire/1st Earl of Ormond, (Monsingeur) ca. 1477-1539. Diplomat and father of Anne, Mary, and George Boleyn, husband of Lady Elizabeth Howard (sister of the 3rd Duke of Norfolk).
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (Norfolk or Uncle Norfolk) 1473-1554. Howard's father and grandfather had fought on the side of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth against Henry VII, but after the death of Henry VII, Howard became fast friends with Henry VIII. Howard fell temporarily outside the inner circle at court due to opposition from Cardinal Wolsey, as Howard favored a more militaristic foreign policy and Wolsey favored diplomacy. Howard saw his way back into the inner circle when his niece, Anne Boleyn, caught the eye of the king.
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk (Suffolk) ca. 1484-1545. Son of a knight, brought up at the court of Henry VII, Suffolk eventually married Mary Tudor, the sister of Henry VIII and widow of Lous XII of France. Along with Norfolk, his influence at court increased as Cardinal Wolsey's waned.
George Boleyn (Lord Rochford) ca. 1504-1536. Son of Thomas Boleyn, brother of Anne and Mary Boleyn, husband of Jane Parker. Almost as little genuine fact is known of George Boleyn as his sister Mary. Among his contemporaries, he had a reputation for great wit.
Jane Seymour (that sickly milk-faced creeper) ca. 1509-1537. Daughter of John Seymour of Wolf Hall. Timid, submissive lady in waiting to Anne Boleyn.
Henry Wyatt 1460-1537. Courtier and councillor to Henry VII, who supported Henry VII against Richard III and may or may not have been imprisoned for that (though almost surely NOT in the Tower of London as the popular legend has it).
Thomas Wyatt 1503-1542. Son of Henry Wyatt, ambassador, and lyrical poet. He was rumored to have had an affair with Anne Boleyn, although he probably did no more than write poetry to her.
Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland (Young Percy) ca. 1502-1537. Percy entered public service as a page to Cardinal Wolsey. He and Anne Boleyn became enamored of each other and planned to become engaged. Since they had not sought permission from their parents or from the court or church, and since Percy's father already had plans for him and Wolsey had plans for Anne, permission was denied, and Percy was given a public dressing down by his father (who was brought in by Wolsey). At the time of the Cardinal's disgrace Henry Percy was the one to arrest Wolsey when ordered by the King.
Henry Norris, Keeper of the King's Privy Purse unknown-1536. Yet another of Henry VIII's courtiers alleged to be smitten by Anne Boleyn.
Richard Rich, Solicitor General (Sir Purse) ca. 1497-1567. Lawyer who initial sought patronage from Cardinal Wolsey but eventually was taken under the wing of Lord Audley, who helped him get elected to Parliament. In 1533 he was knighted and made Solicitor General in which capacity he served under Thomas Cromwell in the matter of the breakup of the monasteries.
George Cavendish 1494-1562. Son of an official in the Court of Exchequer, he entered the service of Cardinal Wolsey as gentleman-usher and faithfully served until the Cardinal's death, even through the period of the Cardinal's disgrace. He later wrote a biography of Wolsey, which was said to have been borrowe from heavily by Shakespeare for his play "Henry VIII."
Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden (Lord Audley, MR Speaker) ca. 1488-1544. Lawyer and Member of Parliament for Essex, who later became a Groom of the Chamber and a member of Cardinal Wolsey's household. He succeded Thomas More as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal and presided over the trials of Thomas More and Bishop Fisher.
Henry Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter and Earl of Devonshire, ca. 1496-1538. Privy councillor and gentleman of the privy chamber to Henry VIII, Courtenay had a claim in his own right to the throne, his mother being the youngest daughter of Edward IV. Though Courtenay was active in King Henry's cause in the matter of his divorce from Catharine and marriage to Anne, Courtenay's wife Gertrude was a devout Catholic, a close friend of Catherine, and supported the religious visionary Elizabeth Barton in her agitations against Henry.
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, 1473-1541. Daughter of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, following the defeat of the Plantagenet side in the war of the roses, Margaret's family had their fortunes stripped by Henry VII but restored by Henry VIII, and she eventually became governess to Princess Mary (Catherine's daughter), whom she continued to support after Catherine's eviction, until separated by order of Henry. She was suspected of supporting her sons' claims to the throne based on her Plantagenet heritage.
Henry Pole (Lord Montague) ca. 1492-1539. Eldest son of Sir Richard Pole and his Wife Margaret.
John Shelton ca. 1476-1539. Sir John Shelton's wife, Anne, was the paternal aunt of Anne Boleyn. After Anne's installation as queen, Lady Shelton and her sister, Lady Clere, were put in charge of the care of Princess Mary.
Eustace Chapuys (pronounced "shapWEE") ca. 1490-1556. Lawyer and cleric from Savoy, who served as Imperial Ambassador from Charles V to England.
Stephen Vaughn ca. 1502-1549. A successful merchant who traveled and traded in the Netherlands, he undertook various missions for Wolsey and Cromwell. Cromwell intervened to stop charges of heresy against him in 1929.
Antonio Bonvisi unknown-1558. Bonavisi was an Italian merchant and banker living in England, who acted as agent for various Italians who had been appointed at various times as Bishop of Worcester in England. He was a good friend of Thomas More.
Mark Smeaton (Mark, the lute player) unknown-1536. A musician, probably of Flemish origin, who was first noticed by Cardinal Wolsey and recruited to sing in his choir. Upon Wolsey's arrest, Mark went to serve as a musician in the court of Henry VIII and became part of Anne Boleyn's inner circle.
William Brereton, Groom of the Privy Chamber of Henry VIII, ca. 1487-1536. In the novel, this is the man who conducted Cromwell to the King's chambers for what Cromwell assumes is his imminent arrest, but it turns out to be only that his dream interpretation skills are needed. He and Cromwell didn't like each other in real life as well as in the book.
Francis Bryan, Chief Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, ca. 1490-1550. Bryan lost his eye in a tournament and wore an eyepatch. He had a reputation as a party animal and had been removed from the King's company by order of Cardinal Wolsey. His position was later restored by Anne Boleyn, and he became part of the faction seeking to remove Wolsey from power.
The Cromwell Household and Relatives
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| Thomas Cromwell |
Walter Cromwell ca. 1456-ca. 1510. Thomas Cromwell's father, a brewer and blacksmith from Putney.
Morgan Williams and Katherine Cromwell Williams (Kat). Thomas Cromwell's brother-in-law and older sister, parents of Richard.
Elizabeth Wykys Cromwell (Liz) 1489–1527. A wealthy widow in the wool trade, Liz became Thomas Cromwell's wife. Together they had 3 children, Gregory, Anne, and Grace, of whom only Gregory survives childhood.
Gregory Cromwell ca. 1514/20-1551. Son of Thomas and Elizabeth Cromwell, their only child to survive childhood, Gregory has been frequently by historians portrayed as a waster and disappointment to his father, but more recent research paints a more flattering picture.
Ralph Sadler (Rafe) 1507-1587. Eldest son of a man who held a position of trust in a nobel household, Rafe was placed into Thomas Cromwell's household at an early age to become his apprentice and right-hand man.
Richard Cromwell ca. 1512-1545. Born Richard Williams, the son of Morgan Williams and Katherine Cromwell, Richard is taken into the household of Thomas Cromwell upon the death of Morgan and Kat. He later changed his last name to Cromwell. He took an active part, with Cromwell, in the dissolution of the monasteries.
Thomas Wriothesley (Call Me Risley) 1505-1550. Son of an officer of arms at the College of Arms, Wriothesley attended St. Paul's School, London and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, though he did not take a degree. He entered Thomas Cromwell's service at the age of 19 and was later placed into the service of Stephen Gardiner, secretary to the king, while he continued in Cromwell's service. Like Richard Cromwell, Wriothesley made his fortune in the dissolution of the monasteries.
Thomas Avery, unknown-1576. A servant of Thomas Cromell, whom he placed under the care of Stephen Vaughn. Avery, long after the scope of this novel, became a Member of Parliament.
Mercy Pryor. Thomas Cromwell's mother-in-law, the mother of Liz, took over his household upon the death of her daughter.
Helen (or Ellen or Margaret) Barre. A poor young woman who consulted Thomas Cromwell in the matter of having been abandoned by her husband and was subsequently taken into the Cromwell household.
Joan Williamson (Joanne). Cromwell's sister-in-law, married to John Williamson, an accountant employed by Cromwell. Joan also has a daughter Joan* (Jo or Little Jo).
Alice Wellyfed, daughter of Cromwell's sister Elizabeth (Bet) Wellyfed, dates unknown, not to be confused with Alice, Thomas More's wife.
Christophe.* A French boy rescued by Cromwell on his trip to Calais in the service of the king and taken into the Chromwell household.
Marlinspike.* The Cromwell's cat, taken from Wolsey's household in exile and named after the giant in a Christmas play that terrified Gregory when he was a child.
Bella.* The name of any one of a series of small dogs in the Cromwell household.
British Clerics and Religious Figures
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| Cardinal Wolsey |
Thomas Cranmer (Archbishop of Canterbury) 1489-1556. The son of minor gentry, Cranmer was a cleric and Cambridge academic who came to the notice of Henry VIII almost by accident as their paths crossed when both were fleeing to the country to avoid the sweating sickness. Cranmer became instrumental in pressing Henry's case to set aside Catherine and marry Anne and also supported Henry's claim to supremacy (over the Pope) within the borders of England. Once Cranmer's appointment to archbishop had been approved by the Pope, he then declared Henry's marriage to Catherine null and married him to Anne. He supported the translation of the Bible into English, the marriage of priests (including himself) and other Protestant reforms.
Thomas Bilney (Little Bilney) ca. 1495-1531. Bilney was a Cambridge-educated cleric who clashed with Catholic orthodoxy in regard to the veneration of saints and relics, the necessity for pilgrimages, and the mediation of the saints. In all other matters of doctorine, he remained resolutely orthodox, but he was arrested anyway and tried for heresy, recanted, later recanted his recantation and was arrested again. He was tried again by the church authorities and sentenced to be burned, which was carried out without obtaining permission from the state, for which the presiding bishop had his property confiscated.
William Tyndale ca. 1494-1536. An English cleric who translated the Bible into English drawing directly from Greek and Hebrew translations. A publication of Tyndale's, "The Obedience of a Christian Man," is believed to have influenced Henry VIII in his rationale for separating the church of England from the church of Rome. However, Tyndale refused to sanction Henry's divorce from Catherine, so Henry didn't intervene when Tyndale was arrested and tried for heresy. Thomas Cromwell tried to intervene but was unsuccessful, and Tyndale was strangled at the stake, and his body was burned.
John Fisher (Bishop of Rochester) ca. 1469-1535. Cambridge academic and cleric, whose piety brought him to the notice of Margaret Beaufort, the grandmother of Henry VIII, and he became her chaplain and confessor. He was also the confessor to Catharine and one of her chief allies in opposing Henry's divorce and remarriage. His name was linked to supporters of Elizabeth Barton, and he was charged with treason and imprisoned despite his advanced age. Due to his refusal to acknowledge Henry as head of the church in England, he was eventually beheaded.
Elizabeth Barton (the holy maid of Kent) 1506-1534. A young woman who was a reputed seer, who was definitely at the center of a scam. After she began prophesying doom for Henry if he divorced Catherine and Married Anne, even directly accosting Henry on one occasion, she was charged with being also at the center of a conspiracy against Henry. She confessed (possibly under torture) and was executed.
Stephen Gardiner (Bishop of Winchester) ca. 1493-1555. Gardiner served first as the secretary to Wolsey and then as secretary to Henry VIII. He was active, along with Wolsey, in taking Henry's case to the Pope (unsuccessfully). He became Bishop of Winchester after the death of Wolsey.
William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, ca. 1450-1532. Warham presided at the marriage of Henry and Catherine and was assigned to be her advocate during the procedures to have the marriage set aside, but he was afraid of the King and gave her very little help. Toward the end of his life, he showed a little more spine in his opposition to recognizing the King as the head of the church. He was succeeded as Archbishop of Canterbury by Thomas Cranmer.
Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, ca. 1487-1555. Latimer was greatly influenced by Thomas Bilney.
Rowland Lee, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, ca. 1487-1543. Lee was one of the churchmen who worked on Henry's belhaf to establish the legality of Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn. Gregory Cromwell was placed into Lee's service.
James Bainham, unknown-1532. A lawyer and Protestant reformer accused of heresy by Thomas More and later burned at the stake.
John Frith 1503-1533. English cleric and writer, Frith wrote in support of religious tolerance. Frith was ultimately condemned to death by Thomas More. Stephen Gardiner, who had been Frith's tutor at Cambridge also took part in his prosecution.
Relevant European Figures of the Time
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| Niccolo Machiavelli |
Guido Camillo ca. 1480–1544. Camillo was an Italian philosopher concerned with the organization of knowledge.
Martin Luther 1483-1546. A Catholic priest from Germany whose initiatives to reform the Roman Catholic church led to him being excommunicated by the Pope and to the start of the Protestant Reformation.
Desiderius Erasmus 1466-1536. Dutch theologian and Catholic priest. Erasmus favored reformation from within the church while maintaining the authority of the Pope and rejected Luther on doctrinal grounds. Erasmus was a friend of Thomas More.
Giulio di Giuliano de Medici, Pope Clement VII (Clement) 1478-1534. Pope Clement VII refused Henry's request for a dissolution of his marriage, but more because of his dependence on Emperor Charles V (Catherine of Aragon's nephew) than on principle.
Alessandro Farnese, Pope Paul III (Farnese) 1468-1549. Pope Paul III succeeded Clemnt VII didn't prove any more amenable to Henry's divorce than did Clement.
Hans Holbein the Younger (just "Hans" to Cromwell) ca. 1497-1543. Born in Germany and working mostly in Basel, Switzerland, or in England, Holbein was considered the primary portraitist of his time.
Nonhuman "Characters"
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| The Tower of London as Viewed from the Thames |
English sweating sickness or sudor anglicus (sweating sickness). A mysterious plague swept over England in five waves between 1485 and 1551, whose symptoms were different from other plagues of the time. To this day the exact nature of the disease is not known. It is currently thought to be a pulmonary virus similar to hantavirus, which occurs in the American southwest.
Wulfhall (Wolf Hall). Wulfhall was the Seymour family estate in Wiltshire. At the time of the novel Wolf Hall, the wood-beam manor house had probably stood for more than 300 years, but it was near the end of its life, and the Seymours left in 1571. The brick manor house that is on the site now was built in the 1600s. None of the action takes place at Wulfhall, and the choice of "Wolf Hall" as the title for the novel is said to relate to the Latin saying "Man is wolf to man."
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| The last building left standing from the original Wulfhall, this barn burned down in 1920. |
And Now, a Little Musical Interlude
Passtime with Good Company is the song that Henry VIII wrote that (in the book) Thomas Wyatt said made him want to howl like a little dog.
*Not verified by me as having actually existed, possibly fictional.
