#2 “What is the position of the investigation in
Flanders?”
Happily, good
sense prevailed soon after Belgium’s State Radio and Television (VRT) broadcast
the TV documentary programme on my investigation into the real identity of John
Clement. Cardinal Danneels lifted his ban, similarly the Kerkfabriek and the
Office of Monuments. We are now invited to make the excavation in the
cathedral.
#3 "Who pays for the excavation?"
Digging in the
cathedral: The cost of work and material is estimated at 5377.56 EURO
(216,930.35 BEF), plus 299.95 EURO (12,099.95 BEF), architect's fees. Funding
will come from Internet promotions. YOU are paying for the excavation. OK?
The primary question,
surely, is why was an obscure English doctor and his wife buried in a place
reserved for the sons and daughters of the royal house of Burgundy, at the high
altar of Sint Rumoldus, the Westminster Abbey of Flanders? It is simply
astounding that this glaring anomaly has not been noticed and examined long
before now. However, you may conceivably agree that if Richard, Duke of York,
was also known as John Clement, that his paternal aunt was an English princess,
born Margaret of York (sister of Edward IV and Richard III), who married
Charles the Bold, duke of the royal house of Burgundy. In this connection and
long after the death of her husband -- Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, the
leading opponent of the Tudor takeover in England, a great schemer who was
outsmarted at every turn by the able Tudor, Henry VII, who had married her
niece -- died and was buried in Mechelen, like her nephew, without seeing a reversal
of York fortunes. Her court was just across the square from Sint Rumoldus in
the former capital of Flanders, the ancient walled-city of Malines, known today
as the city of Mechelen. Finally, I believe Clement was exiled, or exiled
himself to Flanders, since the risk to a rightful heir and his family in
England was unacceptable during the reign of the legal heir, Elizabeth I. OK?
#5 "Did John and Margaret Clement have any
children?"
Yes, they did: one son, Thomas, the godson of Thomas More; and five
daughters, Winifred, Bridget, Helen, Dorothy and Margaret. For instance, the eldest girl, Winifred, married Thomas More's
nephew, William Rastell, and was buried in St. Peter's church, Louvain.
Winifred died young of the so-called 'sweating sickness' that invaded Europe
from time to time. Winifred's husband died much later and was buried beside
her. When he left England for the last time, he had published More's
"Workes" and was a respected Judge of the High Court. Messrs. Geo
survey N.V. of Louvain found the unmarked Rastell tomb under the floor of the
church using geo-radar, which literally finds holes in the ground, precisely
where the documents said it was some hundreds of years before. The report of
the investigation has been published in Moreana "The More Circle: the
Antwerp/ Mechelen/ Louvain Connection". (See: “Bookstall”)
Since it is possible today to identify a related grandparent and grandchild from their DNA, the KUL scientists want to make a DNA profile of Winifred Rastell (née Clement), and then move across the Channel to England, and make a DNA profile of Winifred's supposed grandfather, Edward IV. The DNA findings may offer a solution to the longest-running case of missing persons in the history of royal England and at the same time provide and demonstrate conclusive proof of the most remarkable deception plan discovered to date.
#6 "Are other laboratories making DNA profiles
of John and Margaret Clement?"
There are no other
laboratories involved to date making DNA profiles of John and Margaret Clement.
In this connection, I have asked for the investigation to be initiated by the
department of human genetics at the University of Louvain (KUL), which has most
kindly been agreed, on the grounds that: (1) John Clement was a former student
at KUL; (2) There is a credible report (from Erasmus of Rotterdam) that Clement
subsequently became a distinguished Reader in Greek at Oxford University; and,
(3) Documentary evidence shows Clement registered at the University of Siena
where he gained his MD. Six laboratories will be invited to participate, for
the scientific interest, and I will keep you informed.
#7 "Why should we be interested in John
Clement?"
First, may I suggest you
read "The Princes in the Tower" for the detailed account. Briefly,
one of the oldest universities in Europe (KUL) was the alma mater of John Clement,
a distinguished scholar in his own right, long after he gave up medicine and
concentrated on Greek studies. Clement and his family were part of the More
circle of family and friends who lived and died in Flanders and I doubt if any
English family is more proud of their ancestor than the descendants of Thomas
More and, as already explained and made clear, Clement was More's son-in-law.
Second, KUL is interested in all alumni inscribed in the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries at a time when university rules permitted the incumbent
rector to offer sanctuary to anyone at risk to their lives on condition their
names were inscribed in the hand of the rector in the university registers and
they had sworn the students' oath. Clement was duly inscribed but did not swear
the obligatory students' oath 'for a reasonable hidden cause'.
I have to draw attention
that this explanation is unique in the history of KUL registrations. It is not
difficult to understand in the case of a person living with a false name and
identity. I have further to draw attention that to swear an oath under a false
name is a serious offence; namely, perjury -- and an offending perjurer, if
denounced, risked losing the remarkable right of protection from prosecution by
the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, written into the university's
constitution by the far-sighted founding fathers. Finally, KUL is part of the
history of the sixteenth century and KUL's renewed interest in the history of
the Tudors is closely associated with John Clement's real identity and the
scientific findings in the department of human genetics. (Centrum voor
Menselijke Erfelijkheid)
#8 "When will the opening of the Rastell tomb
take place in Saint Peter's, Louvain?"
Sadly, the director of the
Saint Peter's Chapterhouse (Voorsitter aan de Kerkfabriek, Mr. Frans GUNS) has
refused permission to open the tomb and has adjourned the matter sine die. Some
very important persons at KUL have tried to convince Mr. GUNS to change his
mind. The Voorsitter has the right to say No and, personally, I have tried and
failed, and can do nothing more.
#10 "Isn't it time to start a letter-writing
campaign asking Mr. GUNS to change his mind?" (re. opening the
Rastell tomb)
Thank you most kindly for
the interest. Upon reflection, I believe it reasonable to prove to Mr. GUNS
that there is serious interest in my investigation and, since presenting an individually
signed petition is not yet a practical reality on the Internet, a
letter-writing campaign may be the only socially acceptable alternative. The
name and address in the phone book reads: Frans GUNS, Bondgenotenlaan 83,
B-3000 Louvain (Belgium).
Revised 090900
Last revision 010101
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