Another great installment which continue the main plot lines of Henry's desire to divorce Catherine, his relationship with Anne, the sudden demise of William Compton, but mostly this episode focuses on the "sweating sickness" which plagued England on and off from around the mid to late 1400's to the mid to late 1500's. No one has ever been able to fully explain what this illness was, or what caused it, however our modern medical experts have suggested some form of hantavirus as a probably source. This, like the plagues, is spread to humans via infected rodents. I will say that this could be likely, however given humanities close proximity to rodents has never ceased it seems not fully satisfactory as this illness has never again been found. At night most cities alleyways and narrow passages teem with rats which looks pretty bizarre when viewed from a city rooftop. As this may be my only review in this entire series I would like to suggest as a companion viewing piece Canal Studios production of Borgia which deals with much of the earlier history leading up to these events and also examines sickness in Italy. In one scene a woman deemed a "witch" cures family members of Cesare Borgia by coating them in pig dung. All but one family member survive this Italian sickness, but I feel English nobility would not deem to stoop to such interventions as this.
One thing I enjoyed from this episode was that it showed Henry's knowledge of and interest in herbal medicine. There is a great companion article printed in April 17, 2009 from "the PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL: A Royal Pharmaceutical Journal" entitled: 'Henry VIII and the art of herbal healing". It describes an exhibition that was held at the British Library in April 2009. It described Henry VIII's contributions to English society in a number of ways, including his great love of music and interest in herbal healing. What I felt interesting about it was the mention of Henry's prescription book which included information about herbs for treating his leg ulcer and "oyntments" for reproductive health. It also showed that certain beneficial herbs were known during this time such as plantain, fenugreek, linseed and marshmallow, and in this episode Henry also mentions marigold, all of which are still used today. It also tells of Henry's desire to make herbal medicine available to his subject, many of whom lived so poorly that could not hope to afford doctors so that much of the healthcare was reliant on rumor and superstitions of the time. There was the Charter of King Henry VIII which not only encouraged herbal practitioners to treat everyone that they could, but also safeguarded the practice. It makes one wonder to what degree this would later play out in the great witch trials throughout history.
Another highlight of this episode was seeing Ian McElhinney as Pope Clement VII. Although being Irish by birth, Ian does very well as Pope and even performs a rather well done Italian accent in the process. This is one actor who has really done well, and who is always a pleasure to see, especially here when he was not yet as well known as Ser Barristan Selmy of GOT fame. Another great always reliable solid period drama actor I've loved for the years John Kavanaugh gets more screen time too as Cardinal Campeggio.Of course my favorite person in this episode and throughout the series is Thomas More played here so well by Jeremy Northam who both comforts his family and expresses concern over the evil spread of Lutheranism.
One thing I enjoy about this series is the beautiful choral music throughout. It has often made me wish that the shows creators would have released an album of music used on this show. Over time the illness passes, some of the ill survive including Wolsey and Ann, while many citizens perish. A great scene late in the show is of everyone gathered in a cathedral with many empty spots while the king and Catherine listen to the music of Thomas Tallis. I am not very familiar with Ireland, but one of the concluding scenes looks like it may have been filmed at The Dark Hedges of Ireland in County Antrim in N. Ireland. Henry seems to ride out of the hedge while finally being reunited with a healthy Ann Boleyn. Overall another excellent installment in a series that just never gets old. This episode is certainly a spooky one with Henry seeing all kinds of grim images and hallucinations while shut away from all. Well done in the creep factor.
One thing I enjoyed from this episode was that it showed Henry's knowledge of and interest in herbal medicine. There is a great companion article printed in April 17, 2009 from "the PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL: A Royal Pharmaceutical Journal" entitled: 'Henry VIII and the art of herbal healing". It describes an exhibition that was held at the British Library in April 2009. It described Henry VIII's contributions to English society in a number of ways, including his great love of music and interest in herbal healing. What I felt interesting about it was the mention of Henry's prescription book which included information about herbs for treating his leg ulcer and "oyntments" for reproductive health. It also showed that certain beneficial herbs were known during this time such as plantain, fenugreek, linseed and marshmallow, and in this episode Henry also mentions marigold, all of which are still used today. It also tells of Henry's desire to make herbal medicine available to his subject, many of whom lived so poorly that could not hope to afford doctors so that much of the healthcare was reliant on rumor and superstitions of the time. There was the Charter of King Henry VIII which not only encouraged herbal practitioners to treat everyone that they could, but also safeguarded the practice. It makes one wonder to what degree this would later play out in the great witch trials throughout history.
Another highlight of this episode was seeing Ian McElhinney as Pope Clement VII. Although being Irish by birth, Ian does very well as Pope and even performs a rather well done Italian accent in the process. This is one actor who has really done well, and who is always a pleasure to see, especially here when he was not yet as well known as Ser Barristan Selmy of GOT fame. Another great always reliable solid period drama actor I've loved for the years John Kavanaugh gets more screen time too as Cardinal Campeggio.Of course my favorite person in this episode and throughout the series is Thomas More played here so well by Jeremy Northam who both comforts his family and expresses concern over the evil spread of Lutheranism.
One thing I enjoy about this series is the beautiful choral music throughout. It has often made me wish that the shows creators would have released an album of music used on this show. Over time the illness passes, some of the ill survive including Wolsey and Ann, while many citizens perish. A great scene late in the show is of everyone gathered in a cathedral with many empty spots while the king and Catherine listen to the music of Thomas Tallis. I am not very familiar with Ireland, but one of the concluding scenes looks like it may have been filmed at The Dark Hedges of Ireland in County Antrim in N. Ireland. Henry seems to ride out of the hedge while finally being reunited with a healthy Ann Boleyn. Overall another excellent installment in a series that just never gets old. This episode is certainly a spooky one with Henry seeing all kinds of grim images and hallucinations while shut away from all. Well done in the creep factor.
