The Peasants' Revolt and the Writing of History in 2 Henry VI | II. Records of the Realm
II. Records of the Realm
On April 8, 1605, Queen Anne gave birth to a daughter, Mary, who, as David M. Bergeron remarks, "had the distinction of being the first royal child born in England since Jane Seymour gave birth to the child who became Edward VI."26 The baptism took place on May 5, after "much scurrying about and perusing of historical records in order to recall how a royal child should be baptized."27 The archival record becomes the authority as to how a custom, long forgotten, should be observed. In 2 Henry VI, examples abound of attempts to research the archives. Reacting to Margaret of Anjou, the Duke of Gloucester observes: "I never read but England's kings have had / Large sums of gold and dowries with their wives" (I.i. 128-29). Salisbury, hearing of the account of the Duke of York's claim to the English throne, recalls what he has read:
This Edmund [Mortimer], in the reign of Bolingbroke,
As I have...
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