What is the legend of the song “Greensleeves”?
Greensleeves is a traditional English folk song (or tune), basically a ground of the form called a romanesca; the widely believed legend is that it was composed by English King Henry VIII (1491 – 1547) for his lover and future Queen, Anne Boleyn. Anne, the youngest daughter of the earl of Wiltshire, rejected Henry’s attempts to seduce her. This rejection is apparently referred to in the song, when the writer’s love “cast me off discourteously”. It is not known if the legend is true, but the song is still commonly associated with Anne Boleyn in the public’s mind.
