Editing Anne of Bohemia

{{short description|Queen of England from 1382 to 1394}}
{{other uses|Anne of Bohemia (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| consort = yes
| image = AnnaofLuxembourg.jpg
| caption =  14th century manuscript of Anne's coronation 
| succession = [[Queen consort of England]]
| reign = 20 January 1382 – 7 June 1394
| coronation = 22 January 1382
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Richard II of England]]|1382}}
| house = [[House of Luxembourg|Luxembourg]]
| father = [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor]]
| mother = [[Elizabeth of Pomerania]]
| birth_date = 11 May 1366
| birth_place = [[Prague]], [[Kingdom of Bohemia]]
| death_date = 7 June 1394 (aged 28)
| death_place = [[Sheen Palace]], England
| burial_date = 3 August 1394
| burial_place = [[Westminster Abbey]], London
}}

'''Anne of Bohemia''' (11 May 1366 – 7 June 1394), also known as '''Anne of Luxembourg''', was [[Queen consort of England|Queen of England]] as the first wife of [[King Richard II]]. A member of the [[House of Luxembourg]], she was the daughter of [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor]] and [[King of Bohemia]], and [[Elizabeth of Pomerania]].<ref>Strickland, Agnes, ''Lives of the Queens of England from the Norman Conquest'', (Lea & Strickland, 1841), 303, 308.</ref> Her death at the age of 28 was believed to have been caused by [[Plague (disease)|plague]].

==Early life==
Anne had four brothers, including the [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund]], and one younger sister, [[Margaret of Bohemia, Burgravine of Nuremberg]]. She also had five half-siblings from her father's previous marriages, including [[Margaret of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary]].  She was brought up mainly at [[Prague Castle]], and spent much of her early life in the care of her brother, King [[Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia]].<ref name="Hilton"/> She could read German, Czech, and Latin.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Staley |first=Lynn |title=Anne of Bohemia and the Objects of Ricardian Kingship |date=2017 |work=Medieval Women and Their Objects |pages=97–122 |editor-last=Adams |editor-first=Jenny |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.9222733.9 |access-date=2024-09-12 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |doi=10.3998/mpub.9222733 |jstor=10.3998/mpub.9222733 |isbn=978-0-472-13014-6 |editor2-last=Bradbury |editor2-first=Nancy Mason}}</ref> On her journey through [[Flanders]] on the way to her new life in England, she came under the protection of her uncle, [[Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Agnes Strickland|title=Berengaria of Navarre. Anne of Bohemia|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_hvYPAAAAYAAJ|year=1841|publisher=Lea & Blanchard|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_hvYPAAAAYAAJ/page/n314 306]}}</ref>

==Queen of England==
[[File:Schatzkammer Residenz Muenchen crown of an english queen 1370.jpg|thumb|left|[[Crown of Princess Blanche]], perhaps made for Anne]]

[[Richard II of England|Richard II]] married Anne of Bohemia (1382) as a result of the [[Western Schism]] (1378–1417) in the Papacy that had resulted in two rival popes. According to Eduard Perroy, [[Pope Urban VI]] sanctioned the marriage between Richard and Anne in an attempt to create an alliance on his behalf, particularly so that he might be stronger against the French and their preferred pope, [[Antipope Clement VII|Clement]].{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} Anne's father was the most powerful monarch in Europe at the time, ruling over about half of Europe's population and territory.<ref>[http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/royals/burials/richard-ii-and-anne-of-bohemia Westminster Abbey]</ref>

The marriage was contracted against the wishes of many members of his nobility and members of parliament, and occurred primarily at the instigation of Richard's advisor [[Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk|Michael de la Pole]]. Richard had been offered [[Caterina Visconti]], one of the daughters of [[Bernabò Visconti]], the Lord of [[Milan]], who would have brought a great deal of money with her as a dowry. However, instead, Anne was chosen. She brought with her no dowry,<ref name=":0" /> and in return for her hand in marriage, Richard gave 20,000 florins (around £4,000,000 in today's value) in payments to her brother King [[Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia]], who had written to Richard to stress their joint duty to reunite Christendom.<ref name="Hilton">{{cite book |last=Hilton|first=Lisa|date=2008|title=Queens Consort:England's Medieval Queens|location=London|publisher=Phoenix|pages=319–338|isbn=9780753826119}}</ref> He also gave grants to those in her train.<ref name=":0" /> There were few diplomatic benefits to the marriage – although English merchants were now allowed to trade freely within both the [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown|Bohemian lands]] and the lands of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], this was not much when compared to the usual diplomatic benefits from marriages made as a result of the war with France.

Negotiations could not be completed until 1380 because Richard's negotiating team were held for ransom while returning from Prague. The marriage treaty was signed in May 1381.<ref name="Hilton"/>

[[File:Richard2 Anna.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Anne and Richard's coronation in the ''[[Liber Regalis]]'']]

On her arrival in England in December 1381, having been delayed by storms,<ref name="Hilton"/> Anne was severely criticised by contemporary chroniclers, probably as a result of the financial arrangements of the marriage, although it was quite typical for queens to be viewed in critical terms. The Westminster Chronicler called her "a tiny scrap of humanity",<ref>''Westminster Chronicle 1381–1394'', edited by L.C. Hector and B.F. Harvey (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982), 25.</ref> and [[Thomas Walsingham]] related a disastrous omen upon her arrival; her ships smashed to pieces as soon as she had disembarked.<ref>Thomas Walsingham, ''The St Albans Chronicle: The Chronica Maiora of Thomas Walsingham'', Vol I: 1376–1394, ed. and trans. by John Taylor, Wendy R. Childs, and Leslie Watkiss (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2003), 572–575.</ref> Nevertheless, Anne and King [[Richard II of England|Richard II]] were married in [[Westminster Abbey]] on 20 January 1382. Still, the reception from Londoners was hostile at times.<ref name="Hilton"/> Tournaments were held for several days after the ceremony in celebration. They then made a tour of the realm, staying at many major abbeys along the way. In 1383, Anne visited the city of [[Norwich]], where at the Great Hospital a ceiling comprising 252 black eagles was made in her honour.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greathospital.org.uk/history.shtml |title=The Great Hospital – Bishopgate, Norwich |access-date=2011-01-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115211621/http://www.greathospital.org.uk/history.shtml |archive-date=15 November 2010 |df=dmy-all }}. and Carole Rawcliffe, ''Medicine for the Soul: The Life, Death and Resurrection of an English Medieval Hospital St. Giles’s, Norwich, c.1249–1550'' (Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1999), 118 and notes to plate 7</ref> Anne and Richard were only 15 years old when they first met and married. Yet these "two wispy teenagers" soon fell into a loving relationship and "over the years the king proved truly devoted to his new wife".<ref>Jones, Dan, ''The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens who made England'', (Viking Press: New York, 2012), 456.</ref> Walsingham later wrote that Richard rarely allowed Anne to leave his side.<ref name=":0" />

[[File:Anne of Bohemia, Queen of Richard II, 14th century.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.8|14th century Queen of Richard II – Anne of Bohemia – illustration by [[Percy Anderson (designer)|Percy Anderson]] for Costume Fanciful, Historical and Theatrical, 1906]]

The court of Charles IV, Anne's father, based in [[Prague]], was a centre of the [[International Gothic]] style, then at its height, and her arrival seems to have coincided with, and probably caused, new influences on English art.  The [[Crown of Princess Blanche]], now in [[Munich]], may have been made for Anne, either in Prague or Paris.<ref>Cherry, John, in: Jonathan Alexander & Paul Binski (eds), ''Age of Chivalry, Art in Plantagenet England, 1200–1400'', Catalogue number 16, Royal Academy/Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1987</ref>

In 1393, [[Violant of Bar]] wrote to Anne and she was drawn into a long-standing dispute between England and Aragon, which involved hostages.<ref name=":0" />
 
Anne and Richard were married for 12 years,<ref name=":0" /> but had no children. Anne's death from plague in 1394 at [[Richmond Palace|Sheen Manor]] was a devastating blow to Richard. He was so grief-stricken that he demolished Sheen Manor, where she had died.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/royals/richard-ii-and-anne-of-bohemia |title=Westminster Abbey » Richard II and Anne of Bohemia |access-date=22 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140828013027/http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/royals/richard-ii-and-anne-of-bohemia |archive-date=28 August 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Historians have speculated that her counsel had a moderating effect on Richard during her lifetime.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Last Plantagenets|last=Costain|first=Thomas|publisher=Doubleday|year=1962|isbn=978-1568493732|location=Garden City, NY|pages=148, 149, 153}}</ref> This is supported by his unwise conduct in the years after Anne's death that lost him his throne.<ref>Strickland, 323–324.</ref>

Richard married his second wife, the six-year-old [[Isabella of Valois]], on 4 November 1396.

==Estimation==
Although Anne was originally disliked and defamed by chroniclers,<ref name=":0" /> there is evidence that she became more popular in time. She was a very kind person and popular with the people of [[Kingdom of England|England]]; for example, she was well known for her tireless attempts to "intercede" on behalf of the people, procuring pardons for participants in the [[Peasants' Revolt]] of 1381, and numerous other pardons for wrongdoers. In 1389, for example, she sought a pardon for a man who had been indicted for the [[murder of William de Cantilupe]] 14 years previously.<ref>{{cite conference|last=Pedersen|first=F. J. G.|title = Murder, Mayhem and a Very Small Penis|book-title =American Historical Association|publisher=AHA|date=2016b|page=6}}</ref>

She also made several high-profile intercessions in front of the king. Anne saved the life of [[John Northampton]], a former mayor of London, in 1384; her humble begging convinced Richard II to merely commit the offender to lifelong imprisonment.<ref>Westminster Chronicle 1381–1394, edited by L.C. Hector and B.F. Harvey (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982), 93.</ref> Anne's most famous act of intercession was on behalf of the citizens of London in the ceremonial reconciliation of Richard and London in 1392. The queen's role has been memorialized in Richard Maidstone's ''Reconciliation of Richard II with the City of London''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Maidstone|title=Concordia (The Reconciliation of Richard II with London)|editor=David R. Carlson|translator=A.G. Rigg|location=Kalamazoo|publisher=Medieval Institute Publications|date=2003|via=TEAMS Middle English Texts Series|url=http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/maidfrm.htm}}</ref> Anne also interceded on behalf of [[Simon de Burley]], Richard II's former tutor during his minority, in the 1388 [[Merciless Parliament]]. Despite her pleas to the [[Lords Appellant]], Burley was executed.<ref>Some chronicles record that Anne knelt before the earl of Arundel, while others indicate Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester. For Arundel, see: ''Chronique de la traïson et mort de Richart Deux roy D'Engleterre'', ed. by Benjamin William (London : Aux dépens de la Société, 1846), 133; ''The Kirkstall Abbey Chronicles'', ed. by John Taylor (Leeds: The Thoresby Society, 1952), 71; ''An English Chronicle, 1377–1461: edited from Aberystwyth, National Library of Wales MS 21068 and Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Lyell 34'', ed. by William Marx (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2003), 11. For Gloucester, see: ''Eulogium Historiarum (continuation)'', ed. by Frank Scott Haydon, Vol. III (London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green, 1863), 372; ''An English chronicle, 1377–1461'', 16–7 suggests Anne knelt to both men.</ref>

She was praised in a eulogy by [[Thomas Walsingham]] for her 'dedication to God, for her almsgiving, her support for the poor and the Church.'<ref name=":0" />

On the other hand, she never fulfilled many traditional duties of queens. In particular, she did not bear children, despite twelve years of marriage, and this is perhaps emphasised in her epitaph, whereby she is mentioned as having been kind to "pregnant women". The Evesham chronicler said, "this queen, although she did not bear children, was still held to have contributed to the glory and wealth of the realm, as far as she was able. Noble and common people suffered greatly at her death".<ref>Historia Vitae et Regni Ricardi II, ed. by G.B. Stow (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1977), 134.</ref> Nevertheless, her popular legacy as "Good Queen Anne" suggests that this lack of children was unimportant to many contemporaries.{{cn|date=December 2023}}

==Legacy==
[[File:Anna pohreb.jpg|thumb|left|Anne's funeral]]
[[File:Funeral effigy of Anne of Bohemia.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|right|The wood funeral effigy used at her funeral at [[Westminster Abbey]]]]

Anne is buried in [[Westminster Abbey]] beside her husband. In 1395, Richard sealed contracts for a monument for himself and for Anne. This was an innovation, the first time a double tomb was ordered for an English royal burial. Contracts for the base of Purbeck marble were sealed with two London masons, Henry Yevele and Stephen Lote, and for the two life size effigies with Nicholas Broker and Godfrey Prest, both coppersmiths of London. Designs, now lost, were supplied to both sets of craftsmen. The coppersmiths' contract stipulated that the effigies were to be made of gilded copper and latten and to lie under canopies. They were to be crowned, their right hands were to be joined, and they were to hold sceptres in their left hands.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.history.ac.uk/richardII/anneofb.html | title=Anne of Bohemia and her contribution to Richard II's treasure}}</ref>
Their joint tomb is now damaged, and the hands of the effigies are chipped off. The inscription on her tomb describes her as "beauteous in body and her face was gentle and pretty." When her tomb was opened in 1871, it was discovered that many of her bones had been stolen via a hole in the side of the casket.<ref name="WAORG">[http://www.westminster-abbey.org/history-research/monuments-gravestones/royalty/12321 Richard II and Anne of Bohemia] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513125511/http://www.westminster-abbey.org/history-research/monuments-gravestones/royalty/12321 |date=13 May 2008 }} at Westminster-Abbey.org.  Accessed 11 March 2008.</ref>

Anne of Bohemia is known to have made the [[sidesaddle]] more popular to ladies of the [[Middle Ages]].<ref>{{cite book| url= https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_hvYPAAAAYAAJ  | quote= anne bohemia sidesaddle.  | last= Strickland | first= Agnes |title= Berengaria of Navarre. Anne of Bohemia | publisher= Lea & Blanchard| year= 1841 | page= [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_hvYPAAAAYAAJ/page/n317 309]}}</ref> She also influenced the design of carts in England when she arrived in a carriage, presumably from [[Kocs]], [[Hungary]], to meet her future husband Richard (the name of Kocs is considered to have given rise to the English word ''[[carriage|coach]]''). She also made the horned, Bohemian-style headdress the fashion for Englishwomen in the late 14th century.

==In popular culture==

===Literature===
* "Within the Hollow Crown" (1941), a novel by Margaret Campbell Barnes.
* "Passage to Pontefract" (1981), a novel by [[Jean Plaidy]].
* "Frost on the Rose" (1982), a novel by [[Maureen Peters (novelist)|Maureen Peters]] about Anne of Bohemia and [[Isabella of Valois]].
* "The Last Plantagenets" (1962)  by Thomas b. Costain.

===Theatre===
She is one of the main characters in the play ''[[Richard of Bordeaux]]'' (1932) written by [[Gordon Daviot]]. The play tells the story of Richard II of England in a romantic fashion, emphasizing the relationship between Richard and Anne of Bohemia. The play was a major hit in 1933, ran for over a year in the West End, playing a significant role in turning its director and leading man [[John Gielgud]] into a major star.

Anne also appears in ''Two Planks and a Passion'' (1983) by [[Anthony Minghella]], in which she accompanies her husband and their close friend [[Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland|Robert de Vere]] in attending the York [[Corpus Christi (feast)|Corpus Christi]] [[mystery play]]s.

===Film===
* She was played by [[Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies|Gwen Ffrangcon Davies]] in a 1938 TV adaptation of the play ''[[Richard of Bordeaux]]''. Richard II was played by [[Andrew Osborn (actor)|Andrew Osborn]]. No copy has survived.
* She was played by [[Joyce Heron]] in a 1947 TV adaptation of the play ''[[Richard of Bordeaux]]''. Richard II was played by [[Andrew Osborn (actor)|Andrew Osborn]]. No copy has survived.

==Arms==
{{Infobox COA wide
|image = Arms of Anne of Bohemia.svg
|bannerimage =
|badgeimage = 
|notes = Anne's arms were those of her father, Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, impaled with the royal coat of arms of the England.
|adopted =
|crest =
|torse =
|helm =
|escutcheon = Quarterly 1st and 4th or, an eagle displayed sable, armed and langed gules; 2nd and 3rd gules, a lion rampant, queue fourchee, argent, crowned or.  She impaled these arms with the shield of Richard II, upon which the arms of the Confessor were marshalled per pale with France and England; consequently the complete shield would be "per pale of three".<ref>
{{citation|last=Boutell|first=Charles|author-link=CharlesBoutell|title=A Manual of Heraldry, Historical and Popular|year=1863|publisher=Winsor & Newton|location=London|pages=276}}</ref>
|supporters =
|compartment =
|motto =
|orders =
|other_elements =
|banner =
|badge =
|symbolism =
|previous_versions =
}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Anne of Bohemia'''
|2= 2. [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor]]
|3= 3. [[Elizabeth of Pomerania]]
|4= 4. [[John of Bohemia]]
|5= 5. [[Elisabeth of Bohemia (1292–1330)|Elisabeth of Bohemia]]
|6= 6. [[Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania]]
|7= 7. [[Elisabeth of Poland (1326–1361)|Elisabeth of Poland]]
|8= 8. [[Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor]]
|9= 9. [[Margaret of Brabant]]
|10= 10. [[Wenceslaus II of Bohemia]]
|11= 11. [[Judith of Habsburg]]
|12= 12. [[Wartislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania]]
|13= 13. [[Elisabeth of Lindau-Ruppin]]
|14= 14. [[Casimir III the Great|Casimir III of Poland]]
|15= 15. [[Aldona of Lithuania]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist|40em}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}

* [https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp00108/anne-of-bohemia?search=sas&sText=Anne+of+Bohemia Images of Anne of Bohemia at the National Portrait Gallery]
* [http://home.gwu.edu/~jhsy/chaucer-ppp-ab.html Bronze Effigy of Anne of Bohemia on Westminster Tomb] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728072523/https://home.gwu.edu/~jhsy/chaucer-ppp-ab.html |date=28 July 2020 }}
* {{NPG name}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou | [[House of Luxembourg]] | 11 May| 1366 | 7 June| 1394 }}
{{s-roy|en}}
|-
{{s-vac| last = [[Philippa of Hainault]] }}
{{s-ttl|title = [[List of English consorts|Queen consort of England]] | years = 20 January 1382 – 7 June 1394}}
{{s-vac| next= [[Isabella of Valois]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{English consort}}

{{House of Plantagenet}}

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Anne of Bohemia}}
[[Category:1366 births]]
[[Category:1394 deaths]]
[[Category:14th-century English nobility]]
[[Category:14th-century people from Bohemia]]
[[Category:14th-century English women]]
[[Category:14th-century women from Bohemia]]
[[Category:14th-century German women]]
[[Category:14th-century German nobility]]
[[Category:English royal consorts]]
[[Category:Bohemian princesses]]
[[Category:Czech people of Luxembourgian descent]]
[[Category:Czech Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:English people of Czech descent]]
[[Category:English Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Ladies of the Garter]]
[[Category:14th-century deaths from plague (disease)]]
[[Category:Burials at Westminster Abbey]]
[[Category:Richard II of England]]
[[Category:House of Luxembourg]]
[[Category:Nobility from Prague]]
[[Category:Princesses in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Daughters of emperors]]
[[Category:Children of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor]]
[[Category:Daughters of kings]]