The Hôtel de Cluny in Paris is a place of significance for our story of Anne Boleyn

  The Hôtel de Cluny in Paris is a place of significance for our story of Anne Boleyn



, as she would have spent the 40 days of White Mourning (le Deuil Blanc) of Queen Mary Tudor, widow of Louis XII, with her in the seclusion required by French tradition. Louis XII died on New Year’s Day 1515 at the Hôtel des Tournelles (near the Bastille Saint-Antoine). Mary then put on white mourning clothing and remained isolated from the outside world to see if she were carrying a longed-for (male) heir. The beautiful Hôtel de Cluny was selected as her place of confinement. Thus for all of January 1515 into the first weeks of February, Mary waited and plotted to ensure her future would be a happy one without the interference of her brother or other powerful men. She was not pregnant, although some stories relate how she teased the French King and his mother, Louise de Savoie, with her "fainting spells", cushions hidden beneath her gowns to show a baby bump, and "cravings for unusual foods." As we all know, she was successful at getting Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk, to marry her on March 3, 1515. Only 10 people were witnesses. François Ier was one of them…and perhaps Anne was there as well? Later, James V of Scots lived here before his marriage to Madeleine de Valois (1536-37). 

The old building is a remarkable survivor in Paris, dating back to 1485. It preserves an amazing collection of Medieval art, including the famous Unicorn tapestries. It also rests on the site of an ancient Roman bath from the time when Paris was known as Lutecia. The hôtel and ruins of the baths are popular tourist attractions in Paris today. "Hôtel" at this time meant a large house or mansion, not a place like an inn or a guest house.

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