To celebrate Black History Month, we are diving into the lives of two figures who lived and served at the heart of the Tudor court. Catalina of Motril and John Blanke were intimately connected with the Royal family and made their marks on history in ways that continue to intrigue and inspire. Here are their stories…
Catalina of Motril
‘Catalina’ came to England with Katherine of Aragon in 1501, as a member of her household. We don’t know much about her background except that she was born in Motril, Granada in Spain, and probably from a Moorish family. When she was born, Granada was a Moorish Muslim territory, but it was reclaimed by Ferdinand and Isabella (Katherine’s parents), in 1492. In 1502 the King and Queen gave the Moors a choice – convert to Christianity or leave. Catalina of Motril may thus have converted.
When Katherine of Aragon left her country to go to England and marry Prince Arthur in 1501, there were two unnamed enslaved women in her entourage. Catalina was believed to be one of them. At that time, the law courts in England would not have recognised slavery so Catalina’s status may have changed when she touched English soil. Sadly, there is no record of any payment for her service so we can not be sure if she became a completely free woman. However, one of her jobs in Katherine’s household was quite an important one – ‘making the bed and attending to other secret services of Her Highness’ chamber’ – a task you would not give someone who could not be trusted. We can only guess, but Catalina’s role in the household may suggest that she had a high level of trust and responsibility.
As a chamber maid to Katherine of Aragon, she might have witnessed some very important events. She prepared her mistress’ beds on both wedding nights – one with Arthur and the other with Henry. When Henry VIII tried to annul his marriage to Katherine two decades later, Catalina was thought to have given some evidence as to whether Katherine’s first marriage was consummated. However, she had left England for Spain long before the divorce trial and we don’t know if the Spanish delegation had ever reached her to get any information from her or if she had ever given any evidence which might have changed the course of history.
Catalina’s later life hopefully was a happy one. She married a crossbow maker, Oviedo, and had two daughters. She had an eventful early life with her mistress, but she had finally had a peaceful life with her family.
John Blanke
We have more information and even an image of our second person – John Blanke. On the Westminster Tournament Roll, a 60 feet long manuscript, there are several trumpeters depicted and one of them is John Blanke. This manuscript was made to celebrate the birth of Henry VIII’s son by Katherine of Aragon early in their marriage and was filled with scenes from the tournament in vivid colour. Any ceremonies in Tudor times began and ended with the sound of trumpets and here, in the roll, John was painted on horseback and proudly blowing a trumpet along with his fellow trumpeters. He stands out with his dark skin and a turban on his head and these suggest that he might have been from African descent, and possibly a Muslim.
There is no record of how John Blanke came to the Tudor court, but he was definitely on the wages records in December 1507, when Henry VII was still on the throne. He was paid monthly and his wage in the following year was £12 – which was much more than an average servant’s wage. As a member of the trumpeters in the royal household, he was also given allowance for food, accommodation and clothes. When Henry VII died in 1509, the court servants were provided with new black clothes for the late King’s funeral and a few weeks later at the coronation of Henry VIII and Katherine, he was given yards of scarlet cloth to make his new gown and hood, a colour only the higher-ranked royal servants were allowed to wear.
Unlike his father, Henry VIII loved spending money on dances, banquets and sports events so John must have been busy playing trumpet at all these special occasions. He travelled all over the country with the royal court and he must have become a familiar face to the King and Queen. With all these services, Blanke thought it would have been a good time to petition the King for a pay rise when one of his fellow trumpeters had died, giving him an opportunity to promote himself. It was accepted and his wage doubled.
In 1512, John Blanke married. We don’t know who his bride was, but the King gave him ‘a gown of violet cloth, and also a bonnet and a hat’ as his wedding gift. However, this is the last record of his presence in the Tudor court. There was no mention of his name in the full list of trumpeters dated 1514. He might have moved to another court in another country, or he might have died. Whatever happened to him, the fact that he achieved such a successful career as a black person in his non-native country is remarkable.
Catalina of Motril and John Blanke were not the only people of colour in Tudor England but certainly the two who had close contact with Katherine of Aragon and Henry VIII. One of them had even been living in Ludlow Castle. They had an important existence in the Tudor court and definitely made their mark on history.
If you would like to learn more about Black people in Tudor times, ‘Black Tudors’ by Miranda Kaufmann, was key in researching for this blog and is a great introduction.
– Written by Noriko Horiuchi, Ludlow Castle
