March 21: A Day of Dramatic Endings and Beginnings
March 21, 1462: A Rise and a Fall
Historically speaking, the 21st of March marks a significant day in the past.
William Baron Hastings, a faithful friend of Edward IV and Lord Chamberlain, witness to the battle of Towton, was inducted into the Order of the Garter, Britain’s most prestigious knighthood. However, poor ol' Hastings eventually faces a grim fate in 1483, executed by Edward IV’s sneaky brother, Richard III.
March 21, 1527: Enter Hermann Finck, Composer Extraordinaire
German maestro Hermann Finck saunters onto the scene in Pirna, Saxony, with his melodic tunes and harmonious compositions.
March 21, 1556: Cranmer’s Charbroiled Confession
Bloody Mary Takes Down Thomas Cranmer, Reformation Whiz
Thomas Cranmer’s demise was nothing short of sensational. As the brains behind England’s religious and political revolution under Henry VIII and Edward VI, his execution under Mary I (distastefully known as Bloody Mary) was one of history’s most dramatic.
A fierce Catholic, Mary vowed to annihilate the English Reformation, and Cranmer was her primary target. In September 1553, our man Cranmer got nabbed and thrown into the Tower of London, tried for treason and heresy, and promptly sentenced to death. Desperately attempting to save his own hide, Cranmer made some questionable recantations. But his pleas fell on deaf ears.
On March 21, 1556, Cranmer faced the flames in Oxford’s University Church, giving one last to-do list to all those watching. Unbeknownst to everyone, he had a trick up his religious robes. Pleading for forgiveness, Cranmer declared that his earlier recantations had been for the sake of his own life. He retracted everything, stating that the pope was none other than Christ’s enemy and Antichrist.
Suddenly, Cranmer flipped the script, kicking off a nerve-wracking final act. Dragged to the stake, he remained alarmingly perky, claiming that his hand, responsible for writing those damnable words, was the first up in flames – "This hand hath offended." As the fire consumed him, his composure inspired onlookers, making Protestantism’s champion a hero in death.
March 21, 1617: Pocahontas – Far from Home and Peace
On a chilly day in 1617, Pocahontas, a young Native American woman, was laid to rest in a church in Kent, having passed away young and miles from her homeland. Pocahontas, also known as Matoaka or Amonute, continues to captivate the imagination of many to this very day.
In 1614, Pocahontas, daughter of a powerful Native American chief of the Chesapeake Bay region (now Virginia), tied the knot with John Rolfe, a well-off English tobacco merchant. Two years later, they embarked on a trip to London to promote their tobacco plantation. The couple was warmly welcomed at the court of King James VI & I, causing quite the stir.
By March 1617, it was obvious that Pocahontas wished to stay in England, possibly already quite sick. On the eve of the ship setting sail for their long journey back home, Pocahontas was removed from the boat at Gravesend to gather supplies and fresh water. There, she passed away – possibly already dead – on the banks of the Thames. Her body was buried inside Saint George’s Church, an unusual honor for a young Native American woman.
Pocahontas represented hope for peaceful coexistence between the native peoples and the colonizers. Her untimely demise symbolized the tragic fate that native peoples would face at the hands of the settlers.
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Sources:
- Byrne, J. M., & Cressy, D. (2005). The Reformation in Britain and Ireland: A Collaborative History (Volumes 7-8, pt 1). Palgrave Macmillan.
- Carpenter, D. J. (2010). Combusting Cranmer: Protestant Martyr or Catholic Traitor? New College Oxford.
- Pollard, A. M., & E. H. M., (1991). The Tudors: History of England Volume V. Longman Group UK Ltd.
- Roffey, R. J. (2012). The Foundling Hospital: A History, 1739-1950. Oxford University Press.
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In the realm of modern politics and general news, discussions often revolve around the repercussions and implications of war-and-conflicts, such as the one exemplified by the execution of Thomas Cranmer. His tragic end, a testament to the tumultuous political climate of his time, continues to spark debates and shed light on the consequences of religious conflicts.
However, history also offers instances where music, despite being seemingly unrelated, played a significant role in shaping societies, like the composition of Hermann Finck, who began his career on March 21, 1527. This day serves as a reminder of the powerful influence of arts, politics, and war-and-conflicts on our shared human narrative.
