Masterpiece ⚡️ on Nostr: Is it a myth that Queen Anne Boleyn was executed by a Frenchman because no Englishman ...

Is it a myth that Queen Anne Boleyn was executed by a Frenchman because no Englishman could be found to do the job?
The chosen man was brought specially from Saint-Omer because he was a skilled swordsman. He was hired by Thomas Cromwell, who had contacts and allies all over the continent. It was not so much a question of whether no Englishman was up to the task as of bringing in an expert known for getting things right the first time, so to speak.

Executing a nobleman (or anyone else) with a sword was a delicate task and not easy. Even with a large, heavy axe, it was not guaranteed. Henry had previously commuted Anne's sentence of death by burning to beheading.

Anne was kneeling, as is French tradition, and blindfolded, so she would not have seen the sword coming and probably would not have felt anything.

Ndt: Anne had asked to be executed in the French way, by the sword and not by the English axe and by an experienced French executioner who arrived from Calais or Saint Omer. We have no trace today of this executioner, we have absolutely no idea who he was. He certainly arrived from the port of Calais where he had embarked, but that does not mean that he was an executioner from the town of Calais or Saint Omer as has often been mentioned.