Sir Francis Bryan was my 7th great grandfather. He was one of the most fascinating men of history, and his influence and adventures are still being discovered. His descendants were equally influential and also controversial, like their sire. His story cannot be fully told in one sitting, but you have done an admirable job of capsulizing and enlightening this amazing man's life and career. Thank you. 🦊🗡📜
I know this is ridiculously superficial in light of all the very interesting content you consistently offer on your channel, I must tell you that your hair is lovely and I hope to see you displaying those locks more often in future. Oh, and yes, thank you for all your wonderful talks, especially concerning the fascinating Tudor era.
Only Dr. Kat they keep me utterly engrossed in the life story of someone who I have never heard of and died over 500 years ago. You have the most amazing gifts for bringing history to life.
Francis Bryan was a true Tudor man because he played a dangerous and yet shrewd game within Henry court. As always Dr. Kay brings a little known but interesting character to life. 😘
Okay, I’m going to be superficial as well, just briefly. Loving the Rapunzel look. Moving on, Vicar of Hell is perhaps appropriate, as he managed to keep his head and remain in favor with Henry, while several of his kin lost theirs. Brilliant as always! 👹
As an admirer of Thomas Cromwell, I think that his calling sir Francis « The Vicar of Hell « is a sign of Cromwell’s mordant wit. It’s hilarious, and it is clear that Cromwell was not a fan!
One of my absolute favorite content creators! I don't think I'd trust Francis Bryan as far as I could throw him... As for an emoji, some form of alcohol seems fitting 🍷
It's weird to think of him being called the vicar of hell. He seemed to have done what Henry wanted for the most part.... Unless you were (arguably rightfully) describing Henry as the devil himself. In which case, I could totally see it.
Dr. Kat any time I see a new video of yours I feel relieved, I know I'll get to take my mind off of life for a little bit when I listen. It doesn't matter if I'm cooking, or driving, or doing homework, having you on in the background is so nice, your voice is soothing and your content is so well informed. A difficult week like this really puts into perspective how sincerely happy I am that I found your videos a few years ago. Have a great weekend
Quite the interesting fellow - a survivor adept at negotiating the various issues at court who seems to have often been looking over his shoulder, wary of what might be getting ready to happen. Yet he also was certainly able to have a bit of fun and enjoyed his cups, so to speak. 🍷🍾🍻
It's shows how much I've watched and enjoyed your content that as soon as you mentioned the Boleyn and Howard connections, I knew who you were talking about. Your channel is very relaxing and fascinating to me 😊
Such an excellent episode.👍⭐️ He was a fascinating man in service of a wildly unpredictable and often irascible and violent 👑 King. It’s just so medieval that a member of court and the privy council was related to four of the royal wives… also medieval they were related to each other through noble family lines. Sir Francis Bryan seems to have had an unusual amount of luck ☘️☘️ and kept his fortune and resources ⚜️💷💷🏰despite bad habits which normally relieve you of these things. He also managed to embarrass old Henry to the French Court and lived to tell the tale. Perhaps his moniker was somehow intimating he must have made a deal with the Prince of darkness because he clearly didn’t seem to value piety. Excellent episode ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I've long been fascinated by the Tudor era, starting in high school when we covered A Man for All Season and continuing in my twenties while watching PBS broadcasting of The Six Wives of Henry VIII. I must admit to watching The Tudors several times and the character of Sir Frances Bryan always had me wondering. There's not much mention of him in other media about Henry VIII, and i don't recall that his eyepatch was ever explained. So thank you for that bit of information. Well done. Perhaps his nickname has to do with his dealings with the Pope, the Vicar of Rome? A slur to mock his worthiness to appeal to him. Just an idea. 👹☠🔥
Thank you another well researched and interesting tale, I’m liking the subtitles with key dates & events I’m more of a visual learner and like to see the text as you are talking.
Have you tried using the closed captions? I use them because I'm hearing impaired, but they're also good for people who do better with seeing things than just listening to them.
As a vision-impaired person with one functioning eye, I like to hear about historical figures like myself in this regard. Francis Bryan is a favourite. 🫣👁🎭♟🏰⚔️⚜️
Hair! Hair hair hair hair! I love your pretty hair! I love you regardless of your hair, and I have listened to every single one of your vids (not all lives), so hair is not important. BUT IT'S FANTASTIC!
There are so many people of this time period that led fascinating lives, his is one of them. Thank you for covering hime. I hope you will have a more indepth look at his life.
🎪 I think he was just one acrobat many at Henry's Court trying to maintain the balance between giving him what he wanted then in the moment, and trying to anticipate if he was going to still want it in a few months.
Without really knowing anything, it sounds as if Sir Francis Bryan had many talents, especially in diplomacy. Much later he was recalled due to bad behavior. Again later, he was a diplomat again. I suspect he was an alcoholic, who made a mess of things for a while. His last words seem to acknowledge that.
I always think of Francis Bryant as the eye patch guy on The Tudors. He always looked ominous, untrustworthy, and sketchy- or maybe that was just the actor
😮 At some point, I believe Francis transferred his love, loyalty, and respect from Henry to the French king. Until that point, there appeared no rumors of scandalous behavior. I believe that crisis broke him, and his Machiavellian actions afterwards earned him the epithet. I admire his ability to keep his head above water in the swamp of Henry's court.
Well,I didn't know any of that. Probably because it involved Ireland. I tend to block out anything about Ireland. But not because I've got anything against Ireland. I've got an Irish (late) grandmother. It's just the complexity of Irish history does ones head in. I must say all through History pulling a sickie has been a very effective,delaying,avoiding or evading tactic. Some could pull it off better than others. Elizabeth the First while a Princess in Peril was a Master at it.🍀☘️💉🤒
Thanks for a great video about Francis, a person who seemed to have been very skilled in getting away with murder. Could such devilish cunning have given him that title? Or did it come from some sort of behaviour towards those around him? Maybe he was particularly abrasive and abusive towards people? Have you found any evidence of that? 😈
Great questions! There were rumours that he would sleep with women to get information from them. I have seen references to him being in conflict with people. Presumably he was prepared to resort to violence - why else would he be tasked with assassinating Pole? 🤷🏻♀️
I do agree that the job title Master of Henchmen has a better ring to it than Master of Pages. The Pages title makes him sound like a nerdy librarian of some sort.
Vicur of hell?! That’s a hoot 😂coming from the likes of Cromwell!👿👹I think it would be difficult to come from Henry’s court without having trampled many commandments ! ⛈️🌩️☄️🔥🌋
He sounds like he would throw anyone under a bus in order to further himself. If that is the case that would necessarily have caused people potential significant damage to property and status if not their lives, so I can see why some people might have thought that he was an opportunist of the worst kind
