The King's Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Wolsey (Pimlico) (176 page)
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Authors: Peter Gwyn
67
LP Add
, 538.
68
See pp.228-9.
69
Palsgrave, pp.ix-liv for still probably the best account of his life, though G. Bernard has suggested to me that his charges may predate his dismissal from Richmond’s household and most of the specific things he mentioned are earlier than 1522.
70
PRO, C54/396, m.31 I owe this reference to S.J. Gunn.
71
That there was a search is indicated by the endorsements to the charges; see
LP
, iv, 5750, pp.2561, 2562.
72
LP
, iv, 6204.
73
At least as summarized by Lord Herbert: ‘As touching the articles laid unto me, whereof a great part be untrue, and those which be true are of such sort that by the doing of them no malice nor untruth can justly be arrected unto me … This may be urged to the king.’ (Bodlean Library, MS Jesus Coll, 74, fo.193v). The letter itself is more ambiguous, partly because defective, but certainly Cromwell was urged to be ‘plain’ with Fitzwilliam and Gardiner, both involved in drawing up the details of his pardon. (
St. P
, i, p.354).
74
As reported to Wolsey by a messenger, Robert Smythe; see
LP
, iv, 6447.
75
LP
, iv, 6496.
76
St. P
, i, p.367(
LP
, iv, 6571).
77
Both Bismarck and Gladstone had such moments, but not apparently Mrs Thatcher!
78
Cavendish, p.138-9.
79
Morison, p.E 11v.
80
St. P
, i, 352 (
LP
, iv, 6098).
81
Inter alia LP
, iv, 6098, 6112, 6114, 6181, 6182.
82
St. P
, i, p.352 (
LP
, iv, 6098).
83
St. P
, i, p.355 (
LP
, iv, 6181).
84
St. P
, i, p.356 (
LP
, iv, 6181).
85
St. P
, i, p.355 (
LP
, iv, 6181).
86
Cavendish, p.136 for the statement that even some of Henry’s legal advisers thought the grounds for Wolsey’s indictment for praemunire shaky.
87
Herbert, pp.294-302 (
LP
, iv, 6075); see Pollard, p.261 for a discussion of the status of the charges.
88
Art. 6.
89
Pollard, p.287.
90
Sp. Cal
, iv (i), p.387.
91
See pp.578-9. See also outgoing Venetian ambassador’s report to the senate, 10 Nov. 1531: Catherine was ‘so loved and respected, that the people already commence murmuring; and were the faction to produce a leader, it is certain that the English nation, … would take up arms for the queen.’ (
Ven. Cal
, iv, p.300.)
92
Cromwell’s significance has been especially pushed by Elton; see
Reform and Reformation
, pp.130 ff. for a summary of his views, but see
inter alia
Parmiter, pp.144 ff. A strong counter was provided by Scarisbrick in his
Henry
VIII
, pp.241 ff, but I suspect that the orthodoxy would still be that Henry was incapable of engineering a ‘break with Rome’ on his own. Significantly, however, Dr Guy, an Elton pupil, who, in his
Sir Thomas More
, p.130, accepted his master’s view, now rejects it; see
inter alia his EHR
, xvii,
passim
.
93
See p.518.
94
H.A. Kelly, p.123.
95
Surts and Murphy, pp.xxii.
96
Parmiter, p.124; Cambridge on 9 Mar., Oxford 8 April.
97
Ibid;
Sp. Cal
., iv (i), pp.475-6.
98
St. P
, iv (i), pp.598-9.
99
See pp.49-50.
100
Scarisbrick,
Henry
VIII
, pp.261 ff. still seems to me to be the best account.
101
See p.53-5.
102
Sp. Cal
, iv (i), p.599.
103
LP
, iv, app.262.
104
LP
, iv, 6667 he continued, however, to keep his options open, instructing that if Clement would not accept their arguments they were to continue to press for delay.
105
TRP
, p.197.
106
Bernard,
JEH
, 37, p.265 for best account, though he is sceptical of the ambassadors’ reasons.
107
Sp. Cal
., iv (i), pp.734-5.
108
Ibid, pp.760-1, 797, 832-3.
109
Scarisbrick,
Henry
VIII
, p.267.
110
Scarisbrick,
Bibl. d’Humanisme et Renaissance
, xxiv, pp.211-5.
111
See pp.280-1.
112
For this important episode see Bernard,
JEH
, 37; Guy,
EHR
, xcvii, and Scarisbrick,
Cambridge Historical Journal
, xii, and his ‘Conservaive episcopate’, pp.114 ff. In the controversy between Bernard and Guy, I very much side with Bernard.
113
Guy,
EHR
, xcvii, pp.486-7; the discovery of these two was Guy’s.
114
Ibid, p.484.
115
Fuller, Islip, Melford and Sherburne.
116
Bernard,
JEH
, 37, p.285.
117
Chapuys was in no doubt about the connection between the praemunire charges and the divorce; see
Sp. Cal
., iv (i), p.673.
118
Hall, p.788.
119
Sp. Cal
., iv (i), pp.598-9.
120
Ibid, p.690.
121
Ibid, p.690-1; this Chapuys’s surmise, but since the envoys do not appear to have replied until 17 Sept. he may have been wrong (
LP
, iv, 6667;
LP App
, 262.
122
Sp. Cal
., iv (i), p.727.
123
LP
, iv, 6618;
Sp. Cal
., iv (i), pp.712, 719, 721-6, 734-6, 760-2.
124
Ibid
, p.709; also the view of the Milanese and Ventian ambassador (
Mil.Cal
., 827;
Ven. Cal
., iv, 629).
125
LP App
, 262.
126
LP
, iv, 6469;
Sp. Cal
., iv (i), p.712, 719.
127
Ibid, p.758.
128
Ibid.
129
Ibid.
130
Ibid, p.759. It is impossible to give a precise date for the meeting, but Chapuys’s report is dated 15 Oct.
131
See pp.623-4 were the opposite was suggested. One problem here is my lack of legal expertise; but it must also have been rather unchartered waters for the Crown lawyers, making contrary legal opinions possible.
132
It is worth making the point that even if their non-appearance was not an act of defiance, the mere fact that Henry was anxious for a delay in both the prosecutions and the resummoning of parliament, suggests the weakness of his position and therefore a greater incentive to make use of Wolsey.
133
Mil.Cal
. 833;
Sp. Cal
., iv (i), p.819 [His report of 27 Nov.]. See
LP
, xvi, 590 for rather similar remarks about Cromwell after his fall.
134
See especially L. Baldwin Smith, 28 ff, though one needs to bear in mind that the politics of the 1540s is much disputed.
135
So thought Chapuys and the Milanese ambassador (
Sp. Cal
., iv (i), pp.711, 720-1;
Mil.Cal
., 827; the suggestion being that in order to strengthen his hand with the French envoys Henry was anxious temporarily to cut the links between them and Francis.
136
Sp. Cal
., iv (i), pp.737, 788.
137
Ibid, 711-2;
Mil. Cal
., 827;
Ven. Cal
., iv, 618.
138
Sp. Cal
., iv (i), pp.790-1.
139
St. P
, vii, p.213.
140
PRO Cotton app, xlviii, fo.110 (
LP
, iv, 6699).
141
Guy,
Sir Thomas
More, pp.136-8, but revised in
EHR
, xcvii, pp.487-8; see also Scarisbrick,
Henry
VIII
, 274 ff. and Elton,
Reform and Reformation
, pp.130-140, where he makes little of Cromwell’s letter, but is anxious to connect the new direction in Henry’s campaign for a divorce in the autumn of 1530 with Cromwell and his fellow radicals.
142
Guy,
EHR
, xcvii, p.487.
143
When Cromwell assumed a leading position is a crux that may never be resolved, but see
inter alia
, Elton,
Tudor Revolution
, pp.71-91. However, it really cannot have been until at least late 1531.
144
The notion was originally Scarisbrick’s in
Cambridge Historical Journal
, xii, 27-9, but in my view successfuly challenged by Guy in
EHR
, xcvii, 488-90.
145
Sp. Cal
, iv (1), p.630.
146
LP
, iv, 6688.
