The Lamentacion of a Synner. . . by Catharine Parr
This month’s featured text is The Lamentacion of a Synner. . . by Katherine Parr (1512-1548). Katherine was the elder daughter of Sir Thomas Parr, a courtier to Henry VIII. She was extremely well educated, especially for a woman in the sixteenth century, could speak five languages, corresponded with some of the best minds of her day, wrote extensively, and was a devout Protestant. She married twice, first to Edward Burrough who died in 1533 and then to John Neville, Baron Latimer, who died in 1543. She then became a lady in waiting to Princess Mary (later Queen Mary I). She had a brief affair with Sir Thomas Seymour (brother to Queen Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife) in 1543, and eventually came to the notice of Henry VIII who married her in 1543. Katherine was a good friend to all of Henry VIII's children and took personal interest in their education and welfare (including their succession to the throne), and served as regent while Henry VIII was at war in France. Her strong Protestant beliefs, however earned many enemies, including Stephen Gardiner, the Bishop of Winchester who tried to implicate Katherine as a heretic and she narrowly escaped with her life. When Henry VIII died in January of 1547, Katherine secretly married Sir Thomas Seymour. She died shortly after giving birth to Seymour's daughter, Mary in August of 1548.

Katherine Parr was notable for her strong religious beliefs and her commitment to eduction. In addition to being actively involved in the publication of a primer for children, the King's Primer written by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Paraphrases upon the New Testament by Nicholas Udall, she published many works in her own right including a translation of John Fisher's Psalmi seu precationes (1544), Prayers or Meditations (1545), and The Lamentation of a Sinner (1547). The Lamentation of a Sinner traces Katherine's own search for divine truth and the soul's salvation through the grace of God. It is remarkably Lutheran in its outlook and notable because it was written in a court which teetered precariously between Lutheran and Catholic beliefs. It also shows remarkable knowledge of current religious thought including that of Thomas Cranmer, John Fisher, and Marguerite de Navarre. It is also one of only three testaments of Christian faith before 1640 (the other two also were written by women: Margery Kemp and Anne Askew, a friend of Katherine's). It is a notable accomplishment in a society where women were generally not educated and for Queens it was even more dangerous. These accomplishments aside, perhaps her singularly best known achievement is to be the only one of Henry VIII's six wives to outlive him.

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