Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Edmund Moodye**

Edmund Moodye
Born: 
Died: Edmunds, England


    This line traces back to an Edmund Moodye who was given arms and means for saving the life of (then Prince) Henry VIII. Family Motto: Deus Nobiscum
    Here are some quote's concerning the incident. I do not have access to these source's so I can not confirm them. ""The ARMS and CREST of Edmund Moodye otherwise Moody of Bury St. Edmunds in the County of Suffolk, A Gentleman, granted by letters patent under the hand and seal of THOMAS HAWLEY, CLARENCEUX KING OF ARMS on the sixth day of October 1541 in the thirty second year of His Majesty KING HENRY VIII for miraculously saving his life at Hitchin, County of Herts, when leaping over a ditch with a pole which brake; that if the said Edmund, a footman in the King's retinue, had not leapt into ye water and lifted up the King's head, he had drowned; for which he was rewarded. "The Reward of Valor" College of Arms London, Signature indecipherable, Windsor Hearld of Arms. "If Will Somers had dared, he could probably have made his audience see the comic aspects of an accident that befell the King in 1525. But in fact this was no laughing matter, for, once again, Henry was nearly killed. When he was "following of his hawk" near Hitchin, he tried to pole-vault over a ditch, but the pole snapped and he landed headfirst in the muddy water. Stuck fast in the clay, he would have drowned had it not been for a footman, Edmund Mody, who leapt into the stream and hauled him out. This accident (or the one in the tiltyard a year before) might have accounted for the headaches he suffered later on, but its immediate effect was to bring home to the king, more forcibly than ever, the fact that the problem of the succession must be solved as a matter of urgency." Weir, Alison. Henry VIII - The King And His Court, pg. 247; New York: Ballantine Books, 2002. "In this yere the kyng folowyng of his hauke, lept over a diche beside Hychyn, with a polle and the polle brake, so that if one Edmond Mody, a foteman, had not lept into the water, and lift up his hed, whiche was fast in the clay, he had drowned: but God of his goodness preserved him." Hall, Edward (1498-1547). King Henry VIII, pg. 38; London: 1542, 1548, 1550.

2 comments:

  1. John Moody who in 1633 was the first Moody to the New World, was George's son and Richard's grandson. I'm a direct descendant, and John is my 9th greatgrandfather. I've been to Moulton in 1990 and the Vicar shared the Moody church records back to the 13th century. It was very exciting!

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  2. Also, Showtime TV produced "The Tudors" several years ago. One of the episodes features the misadventure of the prince, and how my Moody ancestor pulled him from the mud. You can easily find the production online, and that particular clip is available to watch for free.

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