History for Dummies - The Tudors by Dario McDarby

Movie Reviews

History for Dummies

The TV series The Tudors reviewed by Dario McDarby

For those who love to study history, one obstacle stands in our way: History as written today is not accurate. Even worse, it is biased. Movie producers, writers, admen and a host of for-rent-experts have conspired in distorting Catholic History through the media.

This should not be surprising. Since the Reformation, history has been purposely deformed in order to present the Catholic Church under a bad light. The assault even pre-dates the Reformation. It is unremitting and has become most vicious today under appeals to a pretended scientific objectivity.

Misinformation, fraud & immorality - weekly fare in The Tudors

To please the Revolution and achieve their ambitions, many academics have based their intellectual careers upon lying about the Catholic Church. From this false presupposition flowed a cascade of vituperations against Christian Civilization as well. The revolutionary agenda of Socialism has besmirched our great civilization upheld by the Catholic Church with its noble culture nourished by the Faith.

This is part of "the long march through the institutions" predicted by Gramsci as the best way to conquer the West. Scholars offer support to every thesis that defends the socialist concept of progress, stuffing their works with footnotes of manipulated documents to serve their aims. They are rewarded by tenure and status, as well as the adulation of puerile minds chasing whatever is in fashion. No matter how many footnotes state lies, though, the truth remains the truth and lies remain lies.

When historical lies seep into culture, all manners of madness result. A perfect example of this is the recent showtime network series called The Tudors.

A pseudo-history teeming with immoralities

The Tudors is a salacious, obscene, yet intriguing pseudo-history of the reign of Henry VIII, King of England. Half-truths, fabrications, and some historical accuracy weave a compelling story of the apparently manic-depressive king who was at the same time brilliant and easily manipulated through his sexual promiscuity.

The series highlights all hot immoral ingredients to keep the interest of modern day TV viewers. Steamy scenes of men-women sex, masturbation, the promotion of homosexuality, and even suggestions of fellatio are present. The ensemble causes violence to history in order to serve this completely erotic menu to the viewer.

Queen Katherine of Aragon, still elegant & dignified

Curiously, the producers did not distort the figures of martyred Saints Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher, as well as the long-suffering true wife of Henry, Catherine of Aragon. Although the speeches of the two martyrs at the scaffold are fabrication, they are beautifully powerful in the episode.

The Queen’s eloquent apologia to her husband in the civil court hearing against her was verbatim from historical documents. Through all, the gentle and gentile Queen Catherine, dearly loved by the majority of the English peasants and nobility, stands as the pillar of strength, certain in her vocation as Henry’s lawful wife, even through the intrigue to annul her licit marriage coming from the machinations of the odious ‘Archbishop’ Thomas Cranmer. Nearly alone among all the Bishops, St. John Fisher defended her, and for this received the crown of martyrdom.

In general, however, Catholics are portrayed as simpletons and idiots not savvy to the new innovations in sex, gender, and socialist panderings. The series also repeats those tired clichés against the Jesuits ascribing to them a factitious history of government meddling and sabotage.

The series shows – but not fully – the maniacal violence against the Faith by the mindless rabble of Reform. Hysteria against the Faith, combined with Henry’s irrepressible lust for various women, illustrates that the Anglican Church was born from the bowels of hell.

Historic inaccuracies

Many serious and scandalous inaccuracies are portrayed in the series. Only a few of note will be mentioned here:

1. William Brereton was actually a groom of Henry VIII who served as an agent of Thomas Cromwell – the King’s chancellor – in the plot to kill Anne Boleyn. For this purpose he became her lover. In The Tudors, however, the facts changed, and Brereton was given the persona of a Jesuit, commissioned by Pope Paul III to assassinate Anne Boleyn. This is a complete fabrication and a continuation of the libel against the Jesuits.

Catholic composer Tallis is falsely presented as a homosexual

2. Thomas Tallis, the English Catholic composer of church music is unduly accused of homosexuality. In the series, he is given a male lover who seduces the composer. Tallis is shown as a thin, long-haired, effeminate looking man. In reality, no accurate picture of Tallis exists. The only known portrait was painted nearly 150 years after the composer’s death and is said to be highly speculative. Not much is known about Tallis other than his musical service to a succession of English Kings and Queens. Throughout his life, he identified himself as an “unreformed Roman Catholic.” Historically there is no evidence, or suggestion, of homosexuality in this man.

3. A second man unduly accused of homosexuality is George Boleyn, a Protestant. He was the brother of Anne Boleyn, the usurper queen. He is depicted in the series as a homosexual with a male lover. In reality he was known as a womanizer, with no allegation of homosexuality. Only recently a feminist historian accused him of being a homosexual but presented no evidence. In the series, the writers apparently used that feminist work to foster this allegation

These are three of many inaccuracies that the viewers of this popular series unconsciously swallow thinking they are learning English history. Sadly, when history is presented as lies against persons and no attempt is made to correct it, a grave injustice is done to the historical personages and, in this case, to the viewer as well.

St. Edward’s prophecy

The coronation of Anne as usurper queen is intriguing, especially for Catholics. In one episode, Henry takes up St. Edward’s Crown, used in the past to crown many English Kings, to crown Anne. It had never before been used to crown a Queen. Undoubtedly unbeknownst to the writers and producers, St. Edward the Confessor saw a vision on his deathbed concerning the Catholic Church in England.

The usurper Boleyn, after being crowned

In the vision, St. Edward saw two monks he had known when exiled in France. They came to him and said:

"The extreme corruption and wickedness of the English nation has provoked the just anger of God. When malice shall have reached the fullness of its measure, God will, in His wrath, send to the English people wicked spirits, who will punish and afflict them with great severity, by separating the green tree from its parent stem the length of three furlongs.

"But at last this same tree, through the compassionate mercy of God, and without any national assistance, shall return to its original root, re-flourish and bear abundant fruit."

Catholics should find the coronation of Anne with the Crown of St. Edward the Confessor compelling because, with the coronation, the “green tree (was separated) from its parent stem,” thus fulfilling the first part of the prophecy of St. Edward. Henry’s lust for this wanton woman was the driving force used by the Protestants against the Church. Anne Boleyn was the necessary agent of “Reform,” separation and the apostasy

The ‘three furlongs,’ mentioned in St. Edward’s prophecy, are understood as three centuries. Anne, the harlot and usurper, was crowned on June 1, 1533. Three hundred years later, in 1850, Pope Pius IX re-established the Catholic Hierarchy in England. Again, an irony: now, Pope Benedict XVI wants to welcome the Anglican Church back to the fold. But to what fold: The protestanized New Church? St. Edward’s green tree is still separated from its parent stem because the parent stem is separated from the root of Christ.

Should Catholics watch The Tudors, this pornographic series? No. There are better ways to learn about the history and faith. Read the biographies of St. More and St. Fisher, or of Catherine of Aragon. Read about the History of the Church in England. Read, rather than watch.

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