The Uncrowned Kings of England: The Black Legend of the Dudleys by Derek Wilson

Author:Derek Wilson [Wilson, Derek]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472112491
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Published: 2013-07-25T07:00:00+00:00

IV

THE LOVER

12

De Profundis

In a first floor room of the Beauchamp Tower within the Tower of London visitors can still see, among the various carved graffiti which generations of prisoners left for posterity a panel more elaborate than the rest. It represents the Dudley heraldic devices, the bear and ragged staff, and the double-tailed lion, and, beneath them, the name of the artist, ‘IOHN DVDLI’. With patient care the Duke of Northumberland’s eldest son inscribed this memorial and displayed his learning with a charming conceit: he encircled the legend with a border of leaves and flowers whose significance he explained in a verse carved below:

Yow that these beasts do wel behold and se

May deme with ease wherefore here made they be

With borders eke wherein [there may be found]

4 Brothers names who list to serche the grounde’

John affectionately represented his siblings by carving roses for Ambrose, gillyflowers for Guildford, oak leaves for Robert (Latin robur = oak) and honeysuckle for Henry. Robert, less ambitiously, chiselled an oak spray into the granite together with his initials. But perhaps the most moving memorial is the one word ‘IANE’, carved, we may assume, by seventeen-year-old Guildford.

He and Suffolk’s daughter had been thrown together in a loveless marriage and, during their very brief time together, Guildford had found it humiliating to be treated as a mere consort to his wife, for Jane had resolutely refused to bestow on him the title of ‘king’. As a result of this unwanted match the young man now had to endure cramped prison quarters, was separated (most of the time) from his bride and had the threat of execution hanging over him. He had every reason to resent those who had entangled him in their political coils. Yet such evidence as has survived indicates that Guildford wasted no time in bitter brooding. During Jane’s first days in captivity the earnest, young ex-queen wrote a short devotional treatise which later came into the possession of the Lieutenant of the Tower. Guildford added a brief prayer to it, in which he asked God to grant long life to his father.

The unity and solidarity of the Dudleys in adversity is really quite remarkable. They did not seek to distance themselves from their father’s disgrace and the family did not fall apart in mutual recrimination. The Duchess of Northumberland devoted all her energies to achieving her sons’ release and constantly petitioned friends at court to use their influence on the prisoners’ behalf. As men of social standing, they were able to command certain privileges, servants to attend them, food provided for their common table, furnishings sent from home for their comfort, books and even pets brought in for their amusement. Robert’s wife, Amy, had permission to visit him at ‘any convenient time’. Sometimes the brothers were invited to dine at the Lieutenant’s table and they were allocated periods for exercise on the leads between the Beauchamp and Bell Towers. Yet no alleviations of the harshness of their incarceration could lift from them the gloom

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