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Subject: Re: C.P. Correction: Birthdate of Margaret Butler, wife of William Boleyn, K.B.
Date: 10 May 2006 03:03:36 -0700
References: <1147234584.876929.272440@j33g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>
In-Reply-To: <1147234584.876929.272440@j33g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>
Douglas Richardson wrote:
> Dear Newsgroup ~
>
> Complete Peerage, 10 (1945): 133, footnote b (sub Ormond) states that
> Lady Margaret (Butler) Boleyn, the maternal grandmother of Queen
> Elizabeth I, was aged 20 in 1485, or born about 1465. This age is
> presumably derived from her mother's inquisition post mortem which
> taken in 1485. However, Margaret Butler was evidently born somewhat
> earlier than 1465. The documents below prove that Margaret Butler and
> her husband, Sir William Boleyn, were married before 16 November 1469.
> Elsewhere, Complete Peerage shows that Margaret Butler's son and heir,
> Thomas Boleyn, was born in 1477 [Reference: Complete Peerage, 10
> (1945): 137, footnote d (sub Ormond)].
Dear Douglas
Granted that your proposition is likely, and that William Boleyn would
appear to be older than his wife, given the example of the young age of
Henry VII's mother at the time of his birth, and the possibility of
child-marriages, what is there to rule out a birthdate of 1464 for Lady
Margaret Boleyn? Assuming an approximate birthdate of 1451 for her
husband [which seems entirely reasonable to me], are there not other
known contemporaneous instances of teenage husbands and child-brides
(eg the 29 year old Richard II and his seven year old second wife in
1396)?
Regards, Michael
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