Why Henry VIII's Codpiece Is So...Monumental

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  • čas přidán 29. 09. 2023
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    SOURCES
    Ganz, Paul. “Henry VIII and His Court Painter, Hans Holbein.” The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, vol. 63, no. 367, 1933, pp. 146-144. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/865525. Accessed 30 Sept. 2023.
    www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
    www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...
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    www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...
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Komentáře • 221

  • @JamesMorfa
    @JamesMorfa Před 8 měsíci +211

    Having seen this painting in Liverpool, I can safely say that it is a big painting, and the codpiece is at face level.

  • @lifethroughthecamera8531
    @lifethroughthecamera8531 Před 8 měsíci +281

    "watch a video essay about a royal codpiece" was not on my 2023 bingo card. This was fascinating.

  • @MinorCirrus
    @MinorCirrus Před 7 měsíci +81

    This portrait has been a source of fascination in my family for years because that face is the spitting image of my father. Really, to an uncanny level.

    • @purpurina5663
      @purpurina5663 Před 7 měsíci +2

      😮

    • @starbird14
      @starbird14 Před 7 měsíci +16

      How interesting. Maybe Henry finally had an heir.

    • @MinorCirrus
      @MinorCirrus Před 7 měsíci +5

      @@starbird14 Lol I wish. We're just a run-of-the-mill French working class family.

    • @dreiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
      @dreiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Před 7 měsíci +9

      you guys should get him a codpiece!!

    • @MinorCirrus
      @MinorCirrus Před 7 měsíci +7

      @@dreiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiAlas, his only similarity with Henry VIII is their being dead.

  • @onemorechris
    @onemorechris Před 8 měsíci +313

    it’s strange how much we know about something from so long ago. The Tower of London, where most of Henry’s wives were executed, was already twice the current age of the United States by the time they were loosing their heads

    • @kaengurus.sind.genossen
      @kaengurus.sind.genossen Před 8 měsíci +19

      "most"? He had two of them executed, so it's either all of them or just one.

    • @tenns
      @tenns Před 8 měsíci +20

      for you americans 50 years ago is a lot, for anyone else it's a blip in time. The walls of my town are in engravings from the 12th century, and still stand today. I just saw the other day a painting of a tree on a nearby island, from 200 years ago.
      Buildings can last a thousand years, well maybe not your wood cabins.

    • @onemorechris
      @onemorechris Před 8 měsíci +2

      @@kaengurus.sind.genossen i did voice to text and said it differently to how i was thinking it lol

    • @onemorechris
      @onemorechris Před 8 měsíci

      @@tenns i’m not american

    • @tenns
      @tenns Před 8 měsíci +3

      @@onemorechris then why are you surprised ? just go outside and touch some walls my dude

  • @rossrreyes
    @rossrreyes Před 8 měsíci +19

    ‘Is that your Cod sir or are you just really glad to see me?’

  • @armelior4610
    @armelior4610 Před 8 měsíci +66

    Between the codpiece and the posture, I can't help but think about the Blackadder series that ridiculed both even if there wasn't any Henry VII in it, only his daughter

  • @SteveGillow
    @SteveGillow Před 8 měsíci +221

    Any time you can integrate "Looney Toons" into a video, you gotta go for it.

    • @_thk
      @_thk Před 8 měsíci +1

      Timestamp?

    • @ninjamitcherz
      @ninjamitcherz Před 7 měsíci +2

      @@_thk He might be referring to 3:40?

    • @khalidalali186
      @khalidalali186 Před 7 měsíci

      Yup, it’s Bugs Bunny alright.

    • @pabloramos8664
      @pabloramos8664 Před 7 měsíci

      * Looney Tunes
      But I get it, that damn Mandela effect

  • @angelcena759
    @angelcena759 Před 8 měsíci +37

    You should see the codpieces in the Tizian portraits of Henry's main rival, emperor Charles of Spain. That was 'power'!

  • @lyonspell
    @lyonspell Před 7 měsíci +8

    So big codpiece paintings were the big SUV cars from nowadays...

  • @prajash3829
    @prajash3829 Před 7 měsíci +41

    This video is weirdly about modern masculinity. The front image is something but the back image is something else. Deception is at play, but it works, cause you can craft an image and people will fall for it.
    Good stuff Evan, you know your stuff too well.

  • @rachel_rexxx
    @rachel_rexxx Před 8 měsíci +57

    I know I *should* associate Henry VIII with that portrait, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't peak Jonathan Rhys-Meyers that I actually associate with him

  • @peterDcontact
    @peterDcontact Před 8 měsíci +9

    i don't know why the phrase this "this is tomato sauce" made me laugh but it did

  • @clickityclackity7096
    @clickityclackity7096 Před 7 měsíci

    You are one of my favorite video creators and one of very few where I have all the bells turned on for... Yet I never get recommended your videos. I have to search you every few months only to see all the videos I've missed. (sigh)
    The good news is, I have several new videos to binge! 😁

  • @DSAhmed
    @DSAhmed Před 8 měsíci +16

    The Nerd never disappoints. Are we gonna get a second book from you at some point?

    • @plica06
      @plica06 Před 7 měsíci

      He's not going to answer you. Evan never interacts with his viewers.

    • @DSAhmed
      @DSAhmed Před 7 měsíci

      @@plica06 i don't blame him. Its too much and in today's social media, maybe too risky. But his book was good, and I'd like another.

  • @tommyb.a.354
    @tommyb.a.354 Před 7 měsíci +4

    Loving the new editing style!! keep it up!!

  • @ahobimo732
    @ahobimo732 Před 7 měsíci +11

    The more you learn about Henry VIII, the less you will like him.

  • @kateeastland3328
    @kateeastland3328 Před 8 měsíci +4

    You really hit it out of the park with this video!!

  • @m1xedp1ckle
    @m1xedp1ckle Před 7 měsíci +4

    Freaking ripped the man to shreds towards the end there lmao

  • @sobeso
    @sobeso Před 8 měsíci +8

    It always goes back to the COD-piece

  • @NLNShootTheShit
    @NLNShootTheShit Před 6 měsíci +1

    Absolutely love the subjects you select for your videos. It is incredible to be able to take a peek at an overlooked detail of an otherwise well known piece of history. Makes one wonder if with the physical media production declining, will the future generations that are as far from us as we are from Henry VIII's will be able to recover this much knowledge or if the "web" will collapse and all data will be lost forever.

  • @onil1325ms
    @onil1325ms Před 8 měsíci +4

    Love ya, Nerdwriter! Please make more horror-focused essays. I love your approach to those. Love this one too.

  • @SrStevenRice
    @SrStevenRice Před 7 měsíci +6

    I got confused with the fact that the original painting was destroyed and copies were then made. So the one in the video was a recreation? Maybe using surviving drafts?

  • @yourma7055
    @yourma7055 Před 8 měsíci +3

    3:56 man wtf this works so well

  • @raphaferrari7361
    @raphaferrari7361 Před 8 měsíci +3

    A real and royal History class👏👏👏👏 Congratulations, and thanks a lot!

  • @ThatButchBitch
    @ThatButchBitch Před 8 měsíci +2

    Wow, I could genuinely listen to you for hours

  • @fabiana_barros
    @fabiana_barros Před 8 měsíci +25

    The truth is that he was almost certainly infertile himself

    • @ems4884
      @ems4884 Před 8 měsíci +13

      The truth is that Henry VIII's fertility is something we can only speculate about. There is literally no way that can be researched at this point.
      It is a possibility. Its also possible that he had extraordinarily bad luck with the male heir thing. Or that he simply had wacky ideas about how much one needs to have intercourse to secure a pregnancy. (You can find some devout Christians even today who still think "once is enough".)
      We shall never really know.

    • @yahyakahya5326
      @yahyakahya5326 Před 8 měsíci +3

      He did have a son fron that third wife

    • @fabiana_barros
      @fabiana_barros Před 8 měsíci +1

      @@ems4884 taking into consideration the sheer number of spouses, mathematic and genetic probability both are strong indicators ..

    • @sophiejones3554
      @sophiejones3554 Před 7 měsíci +3

      He wasn't infertile, it's just that he was only having daughters. This was a constant problem in the Tudor dynasty: and in the Lancastrian family before them. Catherine of Aragon was also screwed by genetics: her parents also had no male heir, despite PLENTY of trying. Anne Boleyn might have had a son if Henry had let her live long enough, but she was power hungry and smelled blood so he kind of had to get rid of her. Jane Seymour did have a son, not too long after this picture. Unfortunately, he was sickly and Lady Seymour was wildly unpopular. Anne of Cleves probably did nothing wrong, but by this point Henry's mental state was seriously deterioriating so he was ordering his wives executed instead of actually fixing his problems. Eventually, his son Edward did survive to adulthood and take the throne, but he died after only a few years. Then it was Mary's turn, Henry's daughter by Catherine of Aragon. She decided to try and return England to the Vatican...but by this point the English reformation was beyond the monarch's control. This was a problem for Mary, because this Reformation was increasingly anti-monarchical. So yeah... that's why she is known as Bloody Mary. Then she died under somewhat mysterious circumstances, possibly contrived by her younger half-sister Elizabeth: who then took the throne.

    • @dragonmartijn
      @dragonmartijn Před 7 měsíci

      England should never have had queens, but pass the crown over on males only.

  • @davidgrunstra3680
    @davidgrunstra3680 Před 7 měsíci +1

    This was really well done!

  • @michaelf8221
    @michaelf8221 Před 8 měsíci +17

    You know what they say about kings with large codpieces.... large feet!

  • @kenster8270
    @kenster8270 Před 8 měsíci +8

    Henry was packing a lot of cod 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟😏

  • @bradhenaire180
    @bradhenaire180 Před 8 měsíci +1

    There is a copy at Petworth house. It's amazing up close

  • @KevinMakins
    @KevinMakins Před 7 měsíci +2

    Evan always hits the mark. Even when he's aiming at... codfish?

  • @magicknight13
    @magicknight13 Před 7 měsíci

    Thank you for these videos!! Love me some art history 😊😊😊😊

  • @Stanzaawashere
    @Stanzaawashere Před 7 měsíci +3

    1:31 IS THAT TOM FUCKING HOLLAND?

  •  Před 8 měsíci +2

    That last comment made me spit tea 😂 What a great video 👍🏻

  • @Schmidtelpunkt
    @Schmidtelpunkt Před 8 měsíci +2

    I guess it would have been too hard to get a whole SUV on the canvas.

  • @remysimon6819
    @remysimon6819 Před 4 měsíci

    Thank you. Very knowledgeable👍

  • @waywardmind
    @waywardmind Před 8 měsíci +9

    T R I P L E D I C K

  • @watchaddicts1213
    @watchaddicts1213 Před 8 měsíci +2

    Hi. Well done as always!
    I’ve followed along since the day you released your commentary on Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower.
    Q: if one leaves SquareSpace, does one own his data/content or is it the property of SquareSpace?
    Thanks

  • @nimayravi9162
    @nimayravi9162 Před 7 měsíci

    Can you please make a video analyzing Tron! Also some of easter eggs in it, and the history of the making of the movie and how it came to be a cult classic. Then maybe how that led to Tron Legacy?

  • @TyTyMcGinty
    @TyTyMcGinty Před 7 měsíci +1

    I'm BEHOLDING! I can't behold any further!

  • @kienesel7
    @kienesel7 Před 8 měsíci +11

    Ye olde Instagram filters.

  • @sharifferdousarko3694
    @sharifferdousarko3694 Před 8 měsíci +2

    And he is back. Nice to see that the frequency increasing soon.

  • @jordan22031991
    @jordan22031991 Před 8 měsíci

    I have been your fan for years but I really want to read your book but do not have the money to buy it. but someday I will.

  • @nestorperez6867
    @nestorperez6867 Před 7 měsíci

    It was the dramatization of his accident for me lol😂❤

  • @ems4884
    @ems4884 Před 8 měsíci +4

    I really think the codpiece should be revived in male fashion

    • @jacksonjames2712
      @jacksonjames2712 Před 8 měsíci +9

      It’s now called grey sweatpants 😅

    • @tracik1277
      @tracik1277 Před 8 měsíci

      @@jacksonjames2712only when they are pulled halfway down your arse

    • @har5814
      @har5814 Před 3 měsíci +1

      It's in the cycling shorts now😂

  • @cannedpeachez
    @cannedpeachez Před 8 měsíci

    Oh yeah buddy, I see that little clip of Wolf Hall in there. Give Hilary some credit; she's at least half of how you and I see Henry.

  • @camaradiop3731
    @camaradiop3731 Před 8 měsíci

    3:12
    All pomp and NO PHALLUS...

  • @pigeonheadedman5225
    @pigeonheadedman5225 Před 7 měsíci +1

    saw this in liverpool the day before this video. What a coincidence

  • @Wooster77
    @Wooster77 Před 8 měsíci +7

    DJT probably has a similar portrait of himself at Maralago.

    • @charmedprince
      @charmedprince Před 8 měsíci

      DJT is King.

    • @NicitoStaAna
      @NicitoStaAna Před 8 měsíci +3

      Living rent free in your head

    • @imveryangryitsnotbutter
      @imveryangryitsnotbutter Před 8 měsíci

      @@charmedprince Wasn't the whole point of founding the U.S. to put an end to kings? Why are conservatives trying to make that a thing again?

    • @NicitoStaAna
      @NicitoStaAna Před 8 měsíci

      Not a DJT supporter.
      But do you ever get tired of political jokes? Especially the ones who peaked like 4 years ago?
      This is the equivalent of posting a harlem shake video thinking they'll get 1k views

    • @a.a9021
      @a.a9021 Před 8 měsíci +2

      @@NicitoStaAna You think Trump is as irrelevant as the harlem shake? He's literally the GOP front runner for president

  • @BarnibusInk
    @BarnibusInk Před 7 měsíci +1

    Fight ED with TD

  • @user-hq6tk8sc4r
    @user-hq6tk8sc4r Před 8 měsíci

    Beautiful

  • @floodo1
    @floodo1 Před 8 měsíci

    I love you for this

  • @iluvbvdk
    @iluvbvdk Před 8 měsíci +2

    WELCOME TO THE SHOW TO THE HISTOREMIX

  • @RawWrtochi19
    @RawWrtochi19 Před 8 měsíci +1

    Was that Spider-Man in Anne’s decapitation ?

  • @SheldonT.
    @SheldonT. Před 8 měsíci +5

    Looks like he has a cold sore.

  • @Rickbearcat
    @Rickbearcat Před 7 měsíci +3

    Is it possible that Henry himself was sterile and not his wives?

    • @alexeyleontyev9341
      @alexeyleontyev9341 Před 7 měsíci +2

      He eventually had a son with Jane Seymour (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VI), and as far as I am aware there is no evidence of adultery on her side

    • @amigos4erin
      @amigos4erin Před 7 měsíci +3

      He sired at least two daughters, Mary (“Bloody Mary”) with his first wife, and Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth I) with Anne Boleyn, plus Edward with Jane Seymour.
      First wife Catherine also had many miscarriages and was never accused of adultery, or he could have gotten rid of her much easier.

    • @Rickbearcat
      @Rickbearcat Před 7 měsíci

      @@amigos4erin...Thank you for the information!

  • @sarararah18
    @sarararah18 Před 8 měsíci +1

    little Henry

  • @anasmatic
    @anasmatic Před 7 měsíci +1

    CR7 free kick posture.

  • @WalterGalindo
    @WalterGalindo Před 8 měsíci +3

    You forgot to mention his calves, his legendary magnificent calves

    • @har5814
      @har5814 Před 3 měsíci

      Fat men have large handsome calves.

  • @corlissmedia2.0
    @corlissmedia2.0 Před 8 měsíci

    I wanted you to relate this content to the current day, and another "king" who spends so much time compensating. Alas, you doth not provide, Great Sir.

  • @hukares5363
    @hukares5363 Před 5 měsíci

    King had a piece on him.

  • @fleetkidn
    @fleetkidn Před 8 měsíci +1

    Varalaru mukkiyam amaicharey!

  • @Headhunter_212
    @Headhunter_212 Před 7 měsíci

    Did H VIII refer to the resident of the codpiece as The Sovereign?.

  • @Eva9000
    @Eva9000 Před 7 měsíci

    They should make one for Harry. And make it blue.

  • @derekbrou
    @derekbrou Před 8 měsíci

    I can't feed my family with a cod piece!

  • @Plaine9
    @Plaine9 Před 8 měsíci +6

    My codpiece is large out of necessity

    • @UndeadKIRA
      @UndeadKIRA Před 8 měsíci

      Seems like you are compensating for your others lacks in life

    • @Plaine9
      @Plaine9 Před 8 měsíci

      @@UndeadKIRA like a personality

  • @ezgregory7794
    @ezgregory7794 Před 7 měsíci

    What a title

  • @kaulis6524
    @kaulis6524 Před 7 měsíci

    This was the only thing i learnt in history

  • @daskritterhaus5491
    @daskritterhaus5491 Před 7 měsíci

    a lot of the ladies must have been seriously disappointed when the piece came off ha ha ha

  • @esterhudson5104
    @esterhudson5104 Před 7 měsíci

    I don’t know. Particularly as it fired blanks.

  • @mauradlayouni3080
    @mauradlayouni3080 Před 7 měsíci

    Where is the turkey leg I always thought he was holding a turkey leg.

  • @tarek_maza
    @tarek_maza Před 8 měsíci +3

    The way he shape the world and history, is the ultimate statement of how powerful he was, not a painting

  • @98loud
    @98loud Před 8 měsíci +1

    Average englishman with power:

  • @ashleyb7335
    @ashleyb7335 Před 8 měsíci +8

    The last word explains the whole thing - Compensating.

  • @ryan-heath
    @ryan-heath Před 8 měsíci +5

    Why is it called codpiece and not coçkpiece? 😅

    • @baishihua
      @baishihua Před 8 měsíci +2

      For real, as a foreigner who only heard this word at first, for a duration of time longer than I am willing to admit, I thought it is call "cockpiece" and said to myself wow that's really provocative.

    • @onemorechris
      @onemorechris Před 8 měsíci +12

      cod, comes to the middle English word for scrotum. so in the 1500s it was as aggressive as you were hearing it :)

    • @ishathakor
      @ishathakor Před 8 měsíci

      it was. it meant cockpiece at the time. the use of cock as penis didn't really start for about another 100 years.

  • @dizmix
    @dizmix Před 5 měsíci

    Hog hood, as one would have it.

  • @RoyGao
    @RoyGao Před 8 měsíci +1

    Once again going frame by frame to steal some editing tricks. The codpiece is a little distracting

  • @auntvesuvi3872
    @auntvesuvi3872 Před 8 měsíci

    Thanks, Evan! 👑 #Nerdwriter1 #TheNerdwriter #EvanPuschak #HenryVIII #Codpiece

  • @antoinepetrov
    @antoinepetrov Před 8 měsíci +4

    Because he was insecure

  • @robmann400
    @robmann400 Před 8 měsíci +1

    ...codpensating.

  • @aria5614
    @aria5614 Před 8 měsíci +2

    The fact that it was kept in his rooms and not for the public shows its less propaganda and more a royal photoshop

    • @fruitygarlic3601
      @fruitygarlic3601 Před 8 měsíci +2

      It's important to remember that a royal's 'private' chambers meant a very different thing than it might to us today. People were moving about. Yes, there was something he wanted to prove to himself, but other people saw the work and would have gotten the message.

  • @Whyiseverythingthesame
    @Whyiseverythingthesame Před 6 měsíci

    Isn't it interesting how the weakest of men put out the strongest propaganda?

  • @manueldifranco3519
    @manueldifranco3519 Před 8 měsíci

    I knew it! 😂

  • @SK28th
    @SK28th Před 8 měsíci

  • @remysimon6819
    @remysimon6819 Před 8 měsíci

    Thank you🤣😂😅😆

  • @luislozano6073
    @luislozano6073 Před 8 měsíci

    what's wrong with the lip?

  • @anaabendroth3460
    @anaabendroth3460 Před 7 měsíci

    Overcompensation?

  • @embracethesuck1041
    @embracethesuck1041 Před 7 měsíci

    Who else had elephantitus?

  • @nathanielhurley3960
    @nathanielhurley3960 Před 7 měsíci

    I don't like cod. I'd perfer a tuna piece or a shark piece.

  • @michaelkrieck4850
    @michaelkrieck4850 Před 8 měsíci

    Sure glad we don’t have leaders like that anymore

  • @urIauber
    @urIauber Před 6 měsíci

    is this the right way to pronounce fertility??

  • @mattyoungau
    @mattyoungau Před 8 měsíci +3

    I’ve seen bigger

  • @chairshoe81
    @chairshoe81 Před 7 měsíci

    this is just a pic of louie ck cant fool me

  • @doginsuit42
    @doginsuit42 Před 8 měsíci

    woo, first!

  • @thanhavictus
    @thanhavictus Před 7 měsíci

    He's basically trump of his era in terms of insecure

  • @j.prt.979
    @j.prt.979 Před 8 měsíci

    Lol

  • @tae_516
    @tae_516 Před 7 měsíci

    🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • @anupshrestha3032
    @anupshrestha3032 Před 8 měsíci

    Did he finally had son 🤔

  • @almeidajfna
    @almeidajfna Před 8 měsíci +9

    The equivalent today world be to give a nobel peace prize to a guy that authorized the bombing of thousands of innocents

    • @onemorechris
      @onemorechris Před 8 měsíci +1

      the modern day equivalent is the Time magazine cover Donald trump has on his wall, the fake one

  • @171QA
    @171QA Před 8 měsíci

    Uh-huh.