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 Youth of Hea,,Yl||||f|i| 
 
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THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027959497 
 

 From tbe paiotiiig 
 
 Ewten Wnierr, Pkitio 
 HENRY VIU 
 in the Natioaal Pocoait GaUay 
 
 I 
 
THE 
 
 YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 A NARRATIVE IN CONTEMPORARY LETTERS 
 
 BV 
 
 FRANK ARTHUR MUMBY 
 
 AUTHOR OF ~ 
 
 "THE GIRLHOOD OF QUEEN ELIZABETH," ETC 
 
 BOSTON & NEW YORK 
 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY ♦ 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Although " Th> Youth of Henry VIIL," like its 
 companion volume, " The Girlhood of Queen Eliza- 
 beth," niay be left to stand alone, and read as a 
 separate memoir, it forms an integral part of the 
 series in which I hope eventually to illustrate the 
 whole history of England by what James Howell 
 describes as " the more gentle and familiar way " of 
 letters. " Nothing," says Swift, " is so capable of 
 giving a true account of history as letters are, which 
 describe actions while they are alive and breathing, 
 whereas all other relations are of actions past and 
 dead." Ruskin is still more emphatic when he 
 declares, in the same connexion, that " the only 
 history worth reading is that written at the time of 
 which it treats, the history of what was done and 
 seen, out of the mouths of men who did and saw." 
 Ruskin, of course, was exaggerating but his exaggera- 
 tion was intended merely to accentuate the truth. 
 My object is, therefore, to link together the essential 
 letters of historic importance and the intimate corre- 
 spondence of more domestic interest, so as to form a 
 living record of each chapter in our country's story. 
 The books will not attempt to pass judgment on 
 controverted topics, but will endeavour always to 
 allow each side to state its case in its own words, 
 leaving the reader as far as possible to judge for 
 himself. Historical documents, as someone has said, 
 are very like the letters of the alphabet ; they can be 
 arranged and shuffled according to the point of view 
 of any writer, whatever his prejudices may be. My 
 own design is simply to arrive at the facts, and let the 
 facts speak for themselves. As in the companion 
 volume, the spelling has been modernised — for I am 
 
vi INTRODUCTION 
 
 appealing not only to the student who is without 
 access to these documents in their original form, 
 but also to the general reader, to whom the text of 
 most of them will be new — and translations have 
 been made, where necessary, from other tongues. 
 Some explanation is, perhaps, due for the delay in 
 bringing out the present volume. The generous 
 reception, both in this country and in the United States, 
 of my " Girlhood of Queen Elizabeth " encouraged me 
 to extend the scope of the series and prepare the 
 groundwork for the whole scheme, but I now hope, 
 with the help of other workers in the same field of 
 research, to issue the volumes more frequently. 
 
 The youth of Henry VIII., here dealt with, is the 
 least known period of that monarch's career, the 
 "thorny subject" of the divorce exercising the minds 
 of most historians to the exclusion of the first and 
 fairer phase of Henry's life. Side by side with the 
 King's own story is that of Catherine of Arragon in 
 the troubled days of her girlhood and widowhood, 
 and in the early years of her marriage with her 
 royal brother-in-law, before the tragedy of the divorce 
 wrecked her short-lived happiness. Among other 
 events may be traced the rise of Wolsey ; the pro- 
 gress of Henry's French campaign, with the. Battle of 
 the Spurs, and the capture of Terouanne and Tournay ; 
 the greater victory of Flodden Field during his 
 absence ; and the romantic love affair between his 
 younger sister Mary and his favourite, the Duke of 
 Suffolk, the reckless course of which is followed in 
 their own letters. I have not attempted to mention 
 all the books consulted, or other sources explored for 
 documentary evidence while the volume was in pro- 
 gress, but a list is given of the principal works from 
 which the letters themselves have been selected. 
 
 I have to thank the Controller of His Majesty's 
 Stationery Office again for permission to print 
 the letters chosen from the Calendars of State 
 Papers, the Rolls Series, and the Reports of the 
 Historical Manuscripts Commission. To the Navy 
 
INTRODUCTION vii 
 
 Records Society I am indebted for the selection from 
 M. Spont's " Letters and Papers relating to the War • 
 with France, 1512 — 1513," published by that Society in 
 1897 ; and to Mr. F. Morgan Nichols for permission 
 to reproduce a number of the letters from his admir- 
 able edition of " The Epistles of Erasmus," in English, 
 published by Messrs. Longmans. The portraits are 
 from contemporary paintings in various public and 
 private collections. That of Prince Arthur, elder son 
 of Henry VIL, is in the Royal collection at Windsor 
 Castle, and is reproduced by permission of the Lord 
 Chamberlain. The portraits of Mary Tudor and 
 Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, I owe to the 
 courtesy of the Earl of Yarborough, who. furnished 
 me with the photograph of the painting by Mabuse, 
 which is in his possession. The likeness of Henry VIIL 
 as an infant is also included through the kindness of 
 the owner of the original painting, Lady Verney, who, 
 as the scholarly editor of " The Verney Memoirs," 
 is known to have much sympathy with the telling of 
 history through letters. 
 
 FRANK A. MUMBY. 
 
 FiNCHLKY, ' 
 
 January i, 1913. 
 
CALENDARS OF STATE PAPERS AND 
 OTHER COLLECTIONS FROM WHICH 
 LETTERS HAVE BEEN SELECTED 
 
 Calendar of State Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of 
 Henry VIII. Vols. I. and IV. Edited by J. S. Brewer. 1862— 
 1870. 
 
 Calendar of Letters, Despatches and State Papers relating to the 
 Negotiations between England and Spain. Vols. I. and II. 
 and supplementary volume. Edited by G. A. Bergenroth. 
 1862— 1868. 
 
 Calendar of State Papers relating to English Affairs preserved in 
 the Archives of Venice. Vols. I. and II. Edited by Rawdon 
 Brown. 1864 — 1867. 
 
 Calendar of State Papers relating to Scotland. Vol. I. Edited by 
 Markham J. Thorpe. 1858. 
 
 Calendar of State Papers relating to Ireland. Vol. I. Edited by 
 H. Claude Hamilton, i860. 
 
 " Report on Duke of Rutland's MSS. at Belvoir Castle." Vol. I. 
 Historical MSS. Commission. 1883. 
 
 " Report on the Marquess of Salisbury's MSS. at Hatfield." Vol. I. 
 Historical MSS. Commission. 1883. 
 
 Letters and Papers illustrative of the Reigns of Richard III. and 
 Henry VII. Vol. II. Edited by James Gairdner. Rolls 
 Series. 1863. 
 
 " Memorials of Henry VII." Edited by James Gairdner. Rolls 
 Series. 1858. 
 
 Ellis's " Original Letters," Three series, 1824, 1827, 1846. 
 
 " The Epistles of Erasmus." Translated by F. Morgan Nichols. 
 Vols. I. and II. 1904. 
 
 " Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies." Mary Everett Wood 
 (Mrs. Everett Green). 3 vols. 1846. 
 
 " Letters of the Kings of England." Halliwell-Phillipps. 2 vols. 
 1846. 
 
 " Life and Reign of Henry VIII." Lord Herbert of Cherbury. 
 
 HaU's " Chronicle." Edited by H. Ellis. 1809. 
 
 " Lettres de Louis XII." Vol. IV. 
 
X STATE PAPERS AND OTHER SOURCES 
 
 " Letters and Papers relating to the Wax witli Franco In 131a — 1313." 
 Edited by Alfred Spont. Navy Records Society, 1897, 
 
 " Correspondance do Maxlmilien et de Marguerite d'Autriche." 
 a vols. 1839. 
 
 " Four years at the Court of Henry VIII." Sebastion Giustlnian. 
 Translated by Rawdon Brown. 2 vols. 1834. 
 
 " Court and Society from Eliiabeth to Anne." William Drogo 
 Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester, a vols, 1864, 
 
 " History of the Life and Times of Wolsey." Joseph Grove. 
 1742—1744. 
 
 "Life of Wolsey." John Gait. 3rd edition. 1846. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 IjlTUOVVCTVjyi 
 
 V — vn 
 
 Calexdaks of State Papers amd Other Collections 
 
 FROM WHICH Letters have bees selected . ix — x 
 
 List of Illustratioks xv 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 A YOUNGEK SON (1491 — 1502) 
 
 Why Prince Henry became Dnke of York — ^High Offices of a 
 Royal Infant— The' Tudor Policy— A Future Archbishop 
 — ^His Scholarly Education — Erasmus's Visit to the 
 Royal Xursery — Henry and his learned Grandmotiier — 
 Erasmus's Account of English Scholarship— Catherine of 
 Arragon betrothed to Hemy's Brother — ^Latin Love-letters 
 — Spain and the Upstart Tudors — Catherine's Girlhood 
 — ^Iier Voyage to Engbnd — ^First Meetings with 
 Bridegroom and Henry — Married to Prince Arthur — 
 The Question of Consommation — Caiherixie'e Position after 
 Mama^e — ^Puebla's Double-dealing — Henry VII. and 
 Catherine's Property — Death of Prince Arthur . i — 25 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES (1502 — 1507) 
 
 First Proposal to Many Henry to Catherine — ^Rival Advances 
 from France — laabeiki't Strategy — ^Ferdinand's Fears of 
 French Designs — ^Dofia Elvira Manuel's Testimony — 
 Henry Succeeds as Prince of Wales — ^Tortuous Negotia- 
 tions for his Betrothal — ^Puebla's Shady Character — ^Death 
 of Elizabeth of York — ^Rumour Concemi^ Henry VII. 
 and Catherine — Isabella Demands her Return unless 
 Betrothed to Vnrux Henry — Treaty of Marri«;e Signed — 
 Ferdinand and the Papal Dispensation — Cawerine and 
 the Prince at Courts-Julius XL sends the Brief to Isabella 
 on her Death-bed — Catheirvae Deserted — Henry^s secret 
 Protest Against his Betrothal — Pitiful Position of 
 Catherine — ^The Visit of Philip and Juana — Catherine 
 Appeals to her Father — ^Death of the King of Castile — 
 In Efiect on Catherine's Position — ^Erasmus Renews 
 Acquaintance with Prince Weary .... 26—67 
 
xii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII. (1507 — 1509) • 
 
 FACE 
 
 Ferdinand's Empty Sympathy — Catherine's Share in 
 Henry VII. 's Proposal to Marry her Mad Sister — 
 Catherine's Increasing Poverty — ^Her New Confessor — 
 More about Henry VII. 's Matrimonial Schemes — 
 Catherine Prevented from Seeing Prince Henry — 
 Henry VII. Renounces Marriage Treaty owing to Non- 
 payment of Marriage Portion — Catherine Begs her Father 
 to Send it — Ferdinand Appoints her his Ambassador — 
 She again describes her Pitiful Situation — ^Warns her 
 Father Against Henry VII. and Puebla — Her own Gifts 
 of Dissimulation — She Writes to Juana of Castile on 
 Behalf of Henry VII. — ^Ferdinand's Attitude in the 
 Matter — Rumours of Rival Candidates for Prince Henry's 
 Hand — EngUsh Designs on Castile — The Conference of 
 Cambrai — FuensaUda becomes Ambassador in England — 
 Ferdinand's Threatening Attitude — Grave Condition of 
 Henry VII. — ^Disorders in Catherine's Household — Her 
 Relations with her Confessor — Her Defence — Desperate 
 Condition — Death of Henry VII 68 — 120 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE NEW KING (1509 — 1512) 
 
 Henry VIII. Ready to Marry Catherine — Archbishop 
 Warham's Objection — Ferdinand's Advice and Con- 
 dolence — Continued Friction Between Catherine and 
 Fuensalida — Ferdinand's Threat — Contrast Between 
 Henry VII. and Henry VIII. — Catherine and the New 
 King's Private Marriage — Erasmus Invited to England 
 " to behold this New and Auspicious Star " — Henry's 
 Letters to Margaret of Savoy and his Father-in-Law — 
 Catherine's Triumph — England as Ferdinand's New 
 Kingdom — Henry Agrees to Support Spain against France 
 — His Reception of the French Ambassador — Champions 
 the Cause of Venice — His Sports and Pastimes — Birth and 
 Death of his Son — Expeditions to Spain and Flanders — 
 Rise of Wolsey — Henry Enters the Holy League — Urges 
 Maximilian to Join — ^A Diplomatist's Life in London — 
 Henry Sends an Army to Combine with the Spaniards 
 against France — ^His Call to Arms — French Proclamation 
 — ^How Ferdinand Used Henry's Troops — English Army - 
 becomes DemoraUzed and Returns of its own Accord — 
 Henry's Resolve to Wipe out the Disgrace . . 121 — 158 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND (1513) 
 
 Henry's Eagerness for Fresh Campaign — Wolsey's Genius 
 for Organization — ;English Domestic Life — Preparations 
 
CONTENTS xiii 
 
 for War in England and France — James IV. Sides with 
 France — Sir Edward Howard's Fatal Fight with Pr6gent 
 — Lord Thomas Howard Succeeds his Brother — Fer- 
 dinand's Treacherous Truce with France — Henry Sails 
 with his Invading Army — Catherine Appointed Governor 
 in his Absence — Henry's Army Marches to the Front — 
 Catherine's Anxiety — James IV. Unmasks— Catherine's 
 Prepajations for War — Battle of the Spurs — Catherine's 
 Congratulations — Flodden Field — Erasmus and the 
 Battie — Fate of the Franco-Scottish Fleet — Catherine's 
 Trophy of Victory — James's Neglected Remains — 
 Henry's Visit to Margaret at Lille — Surrender of Toumay 
 — Brian Tuke's Summary of Events — Charles Brandon 
 and Margaret of Savoy — ^Henry's Share in their FUrtation 
 — ^EUzabeth Blount — Henry's Return — Replies^to Pope's 
 Proposals for Peace — Border Warfare — Rewards for 
 Flodden — England's Increasing Influence . . 159 — 235 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 PLOT AND COUNTER-PLOT (1514) 
 
 Ferdinand's Fears of England's Growing Power — Quintana's 
 Treacherous Mission — Margaret Tries to Preserve Maxi- 
 milian's Loyalty — Henry Deserted by his Allies — His Rage 
 — Refuses Loan to Maximilian — Emperor's Old Offer of 
 Imperial Crown — Leo X. Sends Henry Sword and Cap 
 of Maintenance — Investiture at St. Paul's — Henry Repays 
 his Betrayers in their own Coin — Burning of Brighton — 
 Proposed Marriage between Louis XII. and Princess Mary 
 — Henry's fresh Hopes of an Heir — State of Ireland — 
 Scotland — ^Henry's new Ship — His Horses — Sends Present 
 in Return to Marquis of Mantua — Henry!s Negotiations 
 with the Duke of Longueville — ^Mary Betrothed to Louis 
 of France — She Writes to Him — ^Their Marriage by 
 Proxy — Ferdinand Blames Maximilian — Maximilian and 
 Margaret Blame Henry — Henry's Retort — ^Margaret's 
 " Secret Matters " — ^The French King's Longing — ^Assas- 
 sination of Cardinal Baiabridge — Bishop of Worcester 
 Accused and Pronounced Innocent — Wolsey Succeeds as 
 Archbishop of York — Henry's Tribute to his Merits — - 
 Wolsey Aims at the Cardinalate .... 236—^281 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 HENRY AND HIS SISTERS (1514 — 1515) 
 
 Mary's Departure for France — Her Stormy Crossing — ^How 
 Louis XII. Received Her — State Entry into Abbeville — 
 Wedding Festivities — ^Mary's English Attendants Dis- 
 missed — ^Her Grief Assuaged by Precious Stones — 
 Suffolk Received by the French King — ^Worcester's 
 Interview with Louis — Proposals to Drive Ferdinand 
 from Navarre and Castile — ^Affairs in Scotland — Margaret 
 Marries Angus — Arran Heads Revolt — Duke of Albany's 
 
xiv CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Call to Scotland — ^English Achievements in the Paris 
 Jousts — Margaret Appeals to her Brother — Risk of 
 French Interference in Scotland — ^Henry's Disappointed 
 Hopes of an Heir — First Rumours of Divorce — Peter 
 Martyr's Uncorroborated Story — Spanish Ambassador 
 and Queen Catherine — He Begs Ferdinand to put a 
 Bridle on Henry — Death of Louis XII. . . . 282 — 306 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE SECRET MARRIAGE (1515) 
 
 A New Situation — ^Wolsey's Masterful Manner — His Advice 
 to the Widowed Mary — Her Perilous Position in Paris — 
 She Reminds Henry of his " Waterside Promise " — 
 Suffolk sent with new Embassy to Paris — His Pledge 
 before leaving — ^Henry and the Crisis in Scotland — 
 Suitors for Mary's Hand — Suffolk's Reception by Francis 
 — Mystery of his Marriage — Suffolk's Confession to Wolsey 
 — Wolsey's Reply — ^Mary takes Blame upon Herself — 
 Struggle for her Dowry, Plate and Jewels — Suffolk's 
 Mission a Failure — ^New Treaty between England and 
 France — Second Marriage of Mary and Suffolk in Paris 
 — ^The " Mirror of Naples " — Return of the Culprits — 
 Suffolk's Last Appeal — Reconciliation with Henry — 
 Publicly Married at Greenwich — ^The Marriage Settle- 
 ment — Sebastian Giustinian's Journey to London — 
 His Interview with Francis I. — Pen Portraits of the 
 King — Royal May Day at Shooter's Hill — Catherine 
 and the King ....... 307 — 350 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Henry VIII. From the Painting in the National 
 Portrait Gallery .-,... 
 
 Henry VIII. as a Child. From the Painting in 
 the Collection of Lady Verney, at Rhianva, 
 
 Anglesey 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 Prince Arthur, Eldest Son of Henry VII. 
 About 1502. From the Painting in the Royal 
 Collection, Windsor Castle 
 
 Henry VII. Painted in 1505 by an unknown 
 Flemish artist. National Portrait Gallery , 
 
 Cardinal Wolsey. From the drawing attributed 
 to Jacques le Boucq of Artois in the Library of 
 the town of Arras 
 
 Catherine of Arragon, about 15x5. From the 
 Painting in the National Portrait Gallery . 
 
 Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland. From the 
 Painting in the National Portrait Gallery . 
 
 Mary Tudor, Queen Dowager of France, and 
 Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. From 
 the Painting by Mabuse, in the Collection of the 
 Earl of Yarborough . . . . , 
 
 Facing 14 
 
 24 
 
 .. 144 
 
 „ 206 
 
 ., 300 
 
 » 334 
 
2 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 shadow over England for a number of anxious years. The 
 birth of a younger son to Henry VII. furnished the King with 
 a useful opportunity not only of offering a sop to Yorkist 
 prejudice, but also of repudiating by implication the false 
 claim to the title of Duke of York set up by Perkin Warbeck 
 and his powerful patrons. Thus was little Prince Henry, in 
 November, 1494, created Duke of York amid the pomp and 
 pageantry which already characterised the house of Tudor in 
 its ceremonial moods. This was the origin of the custom 
 of conferring the title of Duke of York upon the second son 
 of the English sovereign, or of the heir-apparent, a custom 
 handed down to our present King. 
 
 The new Duke, though little more than three years old, also 
 played a profitable, if passive, part in other great affairs of 
 State. Six weeks before receiving his new title he was 
 appointed Lord- Lieutenant of Ireland, with Sir Edward 
 Poynings as his able deputy ; and he had been nominal 
 Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle 
 since he was between nine and ten months old. Among 
 other dignities crowded upon him in his infancy were those of 
 Earl Marshal and Warden of the Scottish Marches, in 
 addition to which he was created a Knight of the Bath and 
 admitted to the Order of the Garter, being invested with 
 the last of these honours on May 17, 1495, a few weeks 
 before his fourth birthday. There is more to be said for the 
 wisdom of Henry VII. in appointing a child to so many high 
 offices than may appear at first sight. It was always the 
 Tudor policy not only to reign, but to rule, and Henry VII. 
 found it expedient to concentrate as many as possible of 
 these great administrative posts round his own person, rather 
 than fill them as of old with nobles whose increase of power 
 and wealth thereby might not always make for the safety of 
 his throne. Deputies of a lower rank filled the posts just as 
 efficiently as the nobles. Besides, there was the further 
 advantage of adding a number of substantial incomes to the 
 royal purse, an advantage which no monarch was ever 
 quicker to appreciate than the King who could make even 
 rebellions pay more than their own expenses. 
 
 According to Lord Herbert of Cherbury the future 
 Henry VIII. during the Hfe of his elder brother was 
 
A YOUNGER SON 3 
 
 intended for the Archbishopric of Canterbury, " the prudent 
 King his father choosing this as the most cheap and glorious 
 way of bestowing of a younger son." Whatever end his 
 father had in view for him at this time he saw that Prince 
 Henry, Hke his other surviving children, reaped the full 
 advantage of the higher education of the day. In this the 
 King was guided as much by the scholarly influence of his 
 mother, the " Venerable Margaret," as by his own inclination. 
 Like most of the Tudors, young Henry was fond of learning, 
 and proved an apt pupil. He mastered Latin and French, 
 understood Italian, and, besides an early aptitude for 
 theology and mathematics, displayed even in his boyhood 
 that taste and proficiency in music which eventually made 
 him an excellent performer on the organ, the lute and the 
 harpsichord, as well as a composer of no mean order. Our 
 earliest intimate glimpse of him is furnished by Erasmus, 
 who paid his first visit to England in 1499 as the guest and 
 travelling companion of his pupil, William Blount, Lord 
 Mountjoy, afterwards, as Erasmus himself describes him, 
 " more friendly than munificent." It was in the summer of 
 1499 that Mountjoy was chosen by the King as companion 
 and mentor of the young Duke of York, then living at 
 Eltham Palace, which was used at this period as a sort of 
 nursery for all the royal children, with the exception of 
 Arthur, now in his thirteenth year, who lived, as was then 
 expected of the Prince of Wales, at his residence on the 
 Welsh border. 
 
 With the Duke of York were his two sisters, Margaret — 
 his senior by nineteen months and destined by her marriage 
 to James IV. of Scotland to be the ancestress of the royal 
 house of Great Britain — and Mary, some five years his 
 junior, whose lot it was to become the Queen of the worn-out 
 Louis XII. of France, and almost immediately after his 
 death, the wife of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. Happily 
 their young minds were as yet untroubled by these vast and 
 weighty matters. The glimpse supplied by Erasmus of the 
 royal household as he saw it on the occasion of his visit 
 with Mountjoy in 1499 is worth preserving, if only for its 
 agreeable contrast to the pictures which have to folfow of 
 their later years, when Margaret, Henry, and Mary were all 
 
 B 2 
 
4 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 mixed up in the complicated affairs of England, Scotland, 
 and France. 
 
 I was staying at Lord Mountjoy's country house 
 (writes Erasmus) when Thomas More came to see 
 me, and took me out with him for a walk as far as 
 the next village, where all the King's children, except 
 Prince Arthur, who was then the eldest son, were 
 being educated. When we came into the hall, the 
 attendants not only of the palace but also of 
 Mountjoy's household were all assembled. In the 
 midst stood Prince Henry, then nine years old, and 
 having already something of royalty in his demeanour, 
 in which there was a certain dignity combined with 
 singular courtesy. On his right was Margaret, about 
 eleven years of age, afterwards married to James, 
 King of Scots, and on his left played Mary, a child of 
 four. Edmund was an infant in arms.^ More, with 
 his companion Arnold, after paying his respects to 
 the boy Henry, presented him with some writing. 
 For my part, not having expected anything of the 
 sort, I had nothing to offer, but promised that on 
 another occasion I would in some way declare my 
 duty towards him. Meantime I was angr}' with More 
 for not having warned me, especially as the boy sent 
 me a little note, while we were at dinner, to challenge 
 something from my pen. I went home, and in the 
 Muses' spite, from whom I had been so long divorced, 
 finished the poem within three days.' 
 
 This was the poem entitled " Prosopopoeia Britanniae," 
 which Erasmus sent with a dedicatory letter to the Prince, 
 the conclusion of which runs as follows : 
 
 We have for the present dedicated these verses, 
 like a gift of playthings, to your childhood, and shall 
 be ready with more abundant offerings, when your 
 
 > Prince Edmund, the third son and fifth child of Henry VII., 
 died in the following year (1500). 
 
 ' From Erasmus's " Catalogue of Lucubrations," apparently 
 written in 1523 ; here printed from " The Epistles of Erasmus, 
 translated by F. Morgan Nichols, Vol. I. 
 
A YOUNGER SON 5 
 
 virtues, growing with your age, shall supply more 
 abundant material for poetry. I would add my 
 exhortation to that end, were it not that you are of 
 your own accord already, as they say, under way with 
 all sails set, and have with you Skelton, that incom- 
 parable light and ornament of British Letters, who 
 can not only kindle your studies, but bring them to a 
 happy conclusion. Farewell, and may good letters 
 be illustrated by your splendour, protected by your 
 authority, and fostered by your liberality.^ 
 
 Skelton, who had long been Poet- Laureate, and recently 
 admitted to orders, remained the most distinguished of 
 Henry's tutors. The Prince's studies, as we have already 
 mentioned, were jealously watched over by the King's 
 mother, the Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond, 
 whose favourite grandchild he is said to have been. That 
 he owed something of his scholarship to her own enthusiasm 
 for letters we know from a memorial to her nephew Sir John 
 St. John in the parish church at Bletsoe, which bears an 
 inscription stating that Sir John was educated by Lady 
 Margaret, together with her grandson Prince Henry. It was 
 the dawn of the Renaissance in England, and Henry VHI. 
 was our first Sovereign to be taught under its influence. 
 Erasmus provides us with a sketch of the state of learning 
 in England at the time when Henry VIII. was studying 
 under Skelton, who has himself commemorated that fact in 
 the lines beginning with : 
 
 The honour of England I learned to spelle 
 In dignity royal that doth excelle, 
 I gave him drink of the sugred welle 
 Of Helicon's waters crystalline, 
 Acquainting him with the Muses nine. 
 
 Erasmus, to return to his account of the state of learning 
 in England at the close of the fifteenth century, spent two 
 or three months at Oxford during his first visit to this 
 country, but returned in December to Lord Mountjoy, 
 with whom he probably remained until his departure for 
 the continent in the following month. We suspect, with 
 Mr. Nichols, that the following letter to Robert Fishlr which 
 
 ' " Epistles of Erasmus," translated by F. Morgan Nichols, Vol. I. 
 
6 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 was forwarded to its destination by means of Mountjoy him- 
 self, was intended as much for the eyes of his host as for 
 those to whom it was addressed : 
 
 ERASMUS TO ROBERT FISHER. 
 
 [" The Epistles of ErasrMK," translated by F. Morgan Nichols, 
 
 Vol. I.] 
 
 London, December 5, 1499. 
 
 . . . You would have seen me in Italy before this 
 time, if my Lord Mountjoy, when I was prepared for 
 the journey, had not carried me off to England. 
 Whither indeed would I not follow a young man so 
 courteous, so amiable ? I would follow him, by 
 heaven, to the grave itself. You had amply sounded 
 his praises, and described him like a picture ; but he 
 daily surpasses both your praises and the opinion I 
 had myself formed of him. 
 
 " But how do you like our England ? " you will 
 say. Believe me, my Robert, when I answer that 
 I never liked anything so much before. I find the 
 climate both pleasant and wholesome ; and I have 
 met with so much kindness, and so much learning, 
 not hackneyed and trivial, but deep, accurate, ancient, 
 Latin and Greek, that but for the curiosity of seeing 
 it, I do not now so much care for Italy. When I 
 hear my Colet, I seem to be listening to Plato him- 
 self. In Grocin who does not marvel at such a 
 perfect round of learning ? What can be more acute, 
 profound, and delicate than the judgment of Linacre ? 
 What has Nature ever created more gentle, more 
 sweet, more happy than the genius of Thomas More ? 
 I need not go through the list. It is marvellous how 
 general and abundant is the harvest of ancient learn- 
 ing in this country, to which you ought all the sooner 
 to return. 
 
 At this time ardent love-letters were passing between 
 Henry's future wife, Catherine of Arragon, and his elder 
 
 ' Robert Fisher had been a fellow pupil with Mountjoy under 
 Erasmus in Paris, and was now acting as EngUsh agent in Italy. 
 He died early in 1512, after receiving various church preferments. 
 Wolsey received_his vacant stall at Windsor. 
 
A YOUNGER SON 7 
 
 brother Arthur, to whom she was then betrothed ; and it is 
 to this diplomatic courtship and its sad sequel that our 
 attention must now turn. The Prince of Wales and 
 Catherine — nine months his senior — had already been 
 married by proxy, more than once, and Henry VII., eager 
 to secure the prize for which he had so long been bargaining, 
 grew impatient for the coming of the bride herself. But 
 the final marriage treaty was not even yet ratified. Twelve 
 years had passed since Henry first negotiated with Ferdinand 
 of Arragon and Isabella of Castile for this marriage, and it 
 is no part of our present purpose to recapitulate all the 
 moves and counter-moves in the Machiavellian strategy 
 which characterised both sides of the game. Henry VII. 
 and Ferdinand of Arragon were well matched in this form 
 of statecraft. Although the Spanish King seems to have 
 had the best of the bargain when he succeeded in drawing 
 England into the league against France, by means of a 
 betrothal which he knew quite well could be dissolved if 
 necessary before it had gone too far, yet the alliance 
 had also helped Henry both to prove that England had 
 regained some of her influence in European politics, 
 and to safeguard his position at home. " The very treaty 
 itself," as Bacon says, "gave abroad in the world a 
 reputation of a straight conjunction and amity between 
 them, which sei-ved on both sides to many purposes that 
 their several affairs required, and yet they continued still 
 
 free." 
 
 Eager as was Henry VII. to make sure of his future 
 daughter-in-law and her dowry, Ferdinand and Isabella 
 • were equally ready with their excuses for keeping her back, 
 even after the second marriage by proxy, which took place 
 at Bewdley Chapef on May 19, 1499. Meantime the couple 
 seem to have maintained a courtship by correspondence 
 which, since both of them were young, and neither of them 
 understood the native tongue of the other, was carried on 
 in Latin with the help of their respective tutors and 
 governors. In the following letter from Prince Arthur to 
 his " dearest spouse," written when he was little more than 
 thirteen, it is not difficult to see that his eloquent strains 
 and tender longings were the dictated messages of older and 
 
8 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 wilier minds, rather than the tender promptings of his own 
 young heart : 
 
 PRINCE ARTHUR TO CATHERINE OF ARRAGON. 
 [" Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies."] 
 
 Ludlow CaStle, October 5, 1499. 
 
 Most illustrious and most excellent lady, my dearest 
 spouse, I wish you very much health, with my hearty 
 commendation. 
 
 I have read the most sweet letters of your Highness 
 lately given to me, from which I have easily perceived 
 your most entire love to me. Truly those your letters, 
 traced by your own hand, have so delighted me, and 
 have rendered me so cheerful and jocund, that I 
 fancied I beheld your Highness and conversed with 
 and embraced my dearest wife. I cannot tell you 
 what an earnest desire I feel to see your Highness, 
 and how vexatious to me is this procrastination about 
 your coming. I owe eternal thanks to your excellence 
 that you so lovingly correspond to this my so ardent 
 love. Let it continue, I entreat, as it has begun ; 
 and, like as I cherish your sweet remembrance night 
 and day, so do you preserve my name ever fresh in 
 your breast. And let your coming to me be hastened, 
 that instead of being absent we may be present with 
 each other, and the love conceived between us and 
 the wished-for joys may reap their proper fruit. 
 
 Moreover I have done as your illustrious Highness 
 enjoined me, that is to say, in commending you to 
 the most serene lord and lady the King and Queen my 
 parents, and in declaring your filial regard towards 
 them, which to them was most pleasing to hear, 
 especially from my lips. I also beseech your Highness 
 that it may please you to exercise a similar good 
 office for me, and to commend me with hearty good 
 will to my most serene lord and lady your parents ; 
 for I greatly value, venerate, and esteem them, even 
 as though they were my own, and wish them all 
 happiness and prosperity. 
 
 May your Highness be ever fortunate and happy, 
 
A YOUNGER SON 9 
 
 and be kept safe and joyful, and let me know it often 
 and speedily by your letters, which will be to me most 
 joyous. — Your Highness' loving spouse, Arthur, 
 Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, &c. Eldest 
 son of the King. 
 
 Two more years were to elapse before the Prince of Wales 
 was to see his affianced bride, although Ferdinand and 
 Isabella had apparently made up their minds to part with 
 Catherine shortly after the foregoing love-letter was written. 
 The execution, in 1499, of the young Earl of Warwick, the 
 last of the Plantagenets in the male line, and Perkin War- 
 beck, however unjust the sentence may have been in 
 Warwick's case,, left Henry VII. in a much stronger position 
 as an ally than in the early days of the marriage negotiations, 
 when the Spanish ambassadors, haggling with the English 
 councillors over the amount of the prospective bride's dowry, 
 did not hesitate to hint at the insecurity of such an upstart 
 dynasty as that of the Tudors. " Bearing in mind what 
 happens every day to the Kings of England," they declared, 
 " it is surprising that Ferdinand and Isabella should dare to 
 give their daughter at all." That was in July, 1488, as may be 
 seen in Puebla's letter to Ferdinand and Isabella, printed in 
 the Spanish Calendar for that year. On January 11, 1500, 
 the same ambassadors wrote to the Spanish Sovereigns : 
 " England has never been so tranquil as at present. There 
 have always been pretenders to the crown of England, but 
 now that Perkin Warbeck, and the son of the Duke of 
 Clarence, have been executed, there does not remain a drop 
 of doubtful royal blood, the only royal blood being the 
 blood of the King, the Queen, and above all of the Prince 
 of Wales." Henry, indeed, was now beginning to hold 
 that balance of power between Spain and France which was 
 to play such a predominating part in European history 
 throughout the coming century. Realising something of the 
 strength of England's new position, the Spanish Sovereigns 
 made a definite promise to Henry at the beginning of 1500 
 that they would send Catherine to England in the following 
 spring, without waiting, as previously promised, foj the 
 fourteenth birthday of the Prince of Wales. Then, however, 
 further obstacles cropped up, and the summer of 1500 arrived 
 
10 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 without producing anything but fresh wrangles between the 
 Spanish ambassadors and the English councillors over various 
 points in the agreements, until it seemed, to quote from 
 Puebla's despatch of June i6, " as if they would never come 
 to an end." A false alarm that Henry, by his unexpected 
 interview at Calais with the Archduke Philip, Ferdinand's 
 treacherous son-in-law, was considering a rival matrimonial 
 offer from Maximilian, made the Spanish Sovereigns again 
 more cordial in their correspondence. At length, after 
 Henry had agreed to the postponement of Catherine's 
 voyage until the following year, and Prince Arthur had 
 once more performed the ceremony of marriage by proxy — 
 this time at Ludlow — ^the bride bade a last farewell to her 
 parents in the Alhambra, the palace of the conquered Moors 
 which had been her romantic home since the crusading days 
 of her early childhood, when she lived with her heroic 
 mother for years in the Spanish camp before beleaguered 
 Granada. Here she had grown up under the rigid discipline 
 of a religious war, and in a Court in which she had been 
 taught to accept everything as coming by Divine appoint- 
 ment. She was in her sixteenth year when, on May 21, 
 1501, she left for England — a rather striking girl, with rich 
 auburn hair, and somewhat statuesque features, marred by 
 an austerity which prevented her from ever being beautiful. 
 Eight days after leaving Granada her father sent the follow- 
 ing letter of instructions to Roderigo Gondesalvi de Puebla, 
 the disreputable doctor of civil and canon law who acted 
 as his resident ambassador in London : 
 
 FERDINAND II. AND ISABELLA TO DOCTOR DE PUEBLA. 
 [" Memorials of Henry VII.," Rolls Series.] 
 
 Granada, May 29, 1501. 
 
 As you already know^, among the points agreed 
 upon betw^een us and the King of England, our 
 brother, is that within twelve days after the Princess 
 of Wales, our daughter, shall (if the Lord so will) 
 have landed in that kingdom, the espousals are to be 
 celebrated and the marriage concluded between her 
 and the Prince of Wales, our son. Likewise, that 
 ten days before or after the solemnization of such 
 
A YOUNGER SON ii 
 
 marriage, the Princess, our daughter, has to receive 
 in dowry from the King of England, our brother, and 
 the Prince of Wales, our son, a third part of the 
 principality of Wales and of the Duchy of Cornwall 
 and of the county of Chester, giving her in good 
 townships and lordships the third part of the rents of 
 the whole. Act in such wise that these two matters 
 be accomplished according to time and conditions 
 established. And since you know what we have 
 written touching this third part, and what was in 
 the first negotiation agreed upon, endeavour to the 
 utmost of your power that this be done as is befitting 
 the Princess of Wales, our daughter, and in such 
 manner as she suffer no want. The hundred 
 thousand crowns of the first instalment of the dowry, 
 let our ambassadors aforesaid retain for the purpose 
 of remitting to whomsoever the said King, our 
 brother, may name to them. Take heed that the 
 letter of payment of the same be given to us, and let 
 the Prince of Wales hold it as is needful. 
 
 You already know how it has been settled that the 
 jewels and gold and silver which our daughter, the 
 Princess of Wales aforesaid, takes with her, to 
 the value of twenty thousand "trowns in jewels and 
 fifteen thousand crowns in gold and silver, are to be 
 received on account, and as part payment of dowry 
 in first instalment ; and we still do wish them to be 
 received on account in this first payment or in the 
 second. Yet as it does not appear to you that this 
 should be asked by you, endeavour to get some persons 
 nominated, who, in accordance with the terms of 
 agreement may, under oath, estimate the said jewels, 
 and weigh and value the gold and silver, in presence 
 of Jean de Diero, chamberlain of the Princess of 
 Wales, our daughter, who accompanies and takes 
 charge of everytning for her, and send us for the 
 whole, receipts from the King of England and the 
 Prince of Wales, our son, whereby they acknowledge 
 to have received the same in payment of the dowry 
 aforesaid on account of the last instalment^. 
 
12 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 Already we have written to you about the persons 
 who are going hither to remain : and besides these, 
 there will be Pero Manrique, husband of the noble 
 dame who goes as lady of honour to the Princess 
 of Wales, our daughter. Transmitted herewith is a 
 list of said persons, wherefrom you will see the office 
 which each one fills, in order to convey intimation 
 thereof to the King, our brother, and to the Prince of 
 Wales, our son. Touching the matter of remunera- 
 tion, endeavour that they treat them well, in such 
 wise that they be enabled to maintain themselves in 
 comfort ; and in all this business act with diligence 
 and caution. Since we confide wholly in you, strive 
 that all be done as beseems the Princess of Wales, 
 our daughter, . . . and this is a matter wherein you 
 will render us great service. 
 
 It took Catherine nearly two months to travel from 
 Granada to the harbour of Corunna, where the Spanish 
 ships were waiting to conduct her to her new home; but 
 several more weeks had to elapse before she finally set sail, 
 on August 17, for the foreign shores of England and the 
 bridegroom she had never seen. We need not dwell on the 
 misadventures of her voyage, or of the joyous welcome 
 which awaited her at Plymouth some two months later — 
 " she could not have been received with greater rejoicings," 
 wrote the licentiate Alcares to Queen Isabella, " if she had 
 been the Saviour of the world " ; or of that strange meeting 
 halfway to London, when the semi-oriental seclusion in 
 which she was being kept by the Spanish prelates and 
 nobles accompanying her was broken down by her impetuous 
 father-in-law, so that he could see Catherine for himself and 
 introduce her blushing young bridegroom ; or of her entry 
 into the capital on November 12, when, as Henry VII. 
 said in his enthusiastic letter on the subject to Ferdinand 
 and Isabella, she was " accompanied by such a multitude of 
 prelates, high dignitaries, nobles and knights, and with the 
 acclamation of such masses of people as never before had 
 been seen in England." 
 
 These are scenes which again bring to the front the 
 
A YOUNGER SON 13 
 
 significant figure of the young Duke of York, as stalwart 
 and vigorous for his age as the more debonair bridegroom - 
 elect was slim and delicate. Henry had first seen Catherine 
 near Kingston-on-Thames, when, accompanied by the Duke 
 of Buckingham and between three and four hundred gentle- 
 men and men-at-arms, he met her on her progress to the 
 capital ; and on the following morning " right honourably 
 conducted to her lodging at Lambeth." ^ Here she had 
 remained until the triumphant entry into the city, when he 
 again rode by her side — a fine, strapping boy, though not 
 much more than ten, with features already moulded to the 
 shape which Holbein's portraits of him in later life have 
 made so familiar. The picture of Henry VHI. as a child 
 is ridiculously like those painted in his prime. The 
 characteristic jowl, and peculiar setting of the eyes, show 
 in a remarkable way how, in physiognomy at least, the 
 royal child was the father of the man. They must have 
 made a striking pair, this dashing young prince and the 
 bride-elect, as they rode side by side through the crowded, 
 decorated streets of the city, in the midst of a procession 
 which for magnificence had rarely been equalled in England 
 before. Catherine herself, Spanish fashion, was mounted 
 on a mule, seated in a saddle which the official chronicler 
 describes as like a small arm-chair, and richly ornamented. 
 She was dressed, to the Londoners' delight, in the picturesque 
 apparel of her native land, with a large round hat shaped 
 like a cardinal's, and tied with a lace of gold. Under the 
 hat was a carnation-coloured coif, and her wealth of auburn 
 hair was allowed to stream over her shoulders. 
 
 Two days later came the long anticipated wedding at 
 St. Paul's, amid scenes of matchless pomp and splendour. 
 Here, again, the Duke of York, gaily dressed in white velvet 
 and gold, acted as escort to the bride, who, like the bride- 
 groom himself, was attired in white satin. No one in all 
 the glittering throng which filled St. Paul's could have 
 imagined that this boy of ten was destined to succeed his 
 brother not only as heir to the throne, but also as husband 
 of the bride whom he was now escorting up the nave to the 
 scarlet-covered platform on which Prince Arthur and ,his 
 
 ' Herald's account in Grose's " Antiquarian Repository." Vol. II. 
 
14 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 knights were anxiously awaiting them. After the ceremony 
 it was Henry's duty also, while the Prince of Wales remained 
 behind to complete the act of settlement, to conduct his 
 sister-in-law to the Bishop of London's palace, where the 
 wedding feast was held, with its inevitable accompaniment 
 of jousting and dancing. Here, at the end of this long, 
 eventful day, the bride and bridegroom were conducted to 
 their nuptial chamber,' where they were put to bed in state, 
 this ceremony including the blessing of the bed by the 
 Bishops and prelates there present, " after the congruent 
 usage and custom in marriages of persons of noble blood," 
 to quote from the official account of the proceedings. 
 Finally, according to the same authority, the bride and 
 bridegroom were refreshed with wine and spices, and left ; 
 " and thus these worthy persons concluded and consummated the 
 effect and complement of the sacrament of matrimony," It is 
 significant that the sentence in italics has been at some time 
 obliterated from the manuscript, and afterwards restored. 
 This is pointed out by Grose, in his "Antiquarian 
 Repository," in printing the complete narrative from the 
 original in the College of Arms. The official account was 
 evidently written by an officer of arms, probably by order of 
 Henry VII. Grose suggests that it was tampered with 
 during the judicial preliminaries to the subsequent marriage 
 of Henry VIII. and Catherine, and again at a still later 
 period in connexion with their divorce. Against other 
 evidence produced at the trial to prove consummation must 
 be placed the testimony of Dona Elvira Manuel, Catherine's 
 principal lady-in-waiting (see p. 28), and of Catherine herself 
 who, when the divorce proceedings were pending, nearly 
 thirty years later, stoutly and unreservedly maintained that 
 she was a virgin widow at the time of her marriage with 
 Henry VIII. — " et che da lui restb intacta et incorrupta, come 
 venne dal ventre di sua madre" — and that her previous marriage 
 was therefore canonically null and void.' There is no record, 
 that Henry ever openly disputed this. 
 
 So much depends on the evidence connected with this 
 crucial period that we are forced also to repeat the story told 
 
 ' Catherine's statement to Campeggio. State Papers. Henrv VIII.. 
 Vol. IV„ Part II., p. 2109. f • Jf • 
 
r 
 
 L 
 
 HENRY \'in AS A CHILD 
 From the painting in the collection of Lady Verney at Rhianva, Anglesey 
 
A YOUNGER SON 15 
 
 at the same time to the effect that on the morning after the 
 marriage with Arthur, the Prince called from his nuptial 
 chamber to his attendants for a cup of ale, and remarked, 
 among other indelicacies which are solemnly recorded in 
 the State Papers : " Masters, it is a good pastime to have a 
 wife." ^ To modern ears some of these remarks sound the 
 more unseemly from the lips of the knightly Arthur, yet they 
 were only in keeping with the coarser manners of his time. 
 Possibly they were merely puerile pieces of empty swagger, 
 and might well be left to oblivion, but for the fact that when 
 Henry VIII. came to seek his divorce from Catherine many 
 years later, one of the leading questions was whether this 
 first marriage had been consummated or not. 
 
 The wedding festivities — to return to this year of grace 
 1501 — were by no means over when the bride and bride- 
 groom were conducted by Henry VII. on the morning after 
 the ceremony to their palace at Baynard's Castle, but these 
 have been described so fully elsewhere, with their pageants 
 and jousts and feasting and mumming, that they need no 
 more than a passing reference to the scene after the great 
 banquet in Westminster Hall on the following Thursday, 
 when Catherine and one of her ladies performed some stately 
 Spanish dances, and the Duke of Yorjc delighted everyone 
 with his livelier display of English dancing, with his elder 
 sister Margaret as partner. So much was this last per- 
 formance appreciated that it was repeated, whereupon young 
 Henry, according to the official chronicler already quoted, 
 " suddenly threw off his robe, and danced in his jacket with 
 the said Lady Margaret in so goodly and pleasant a manner 
 that it was to King Henry and Queen Elizabeth great and 
 singular pleasure." 
 
 The Prince of Wales also contributed his share to the 
 dancing programme, though not with his bride, who was 
 doubtless as unfamiliar with the English step as he was with 
 the slower Spanish movements. Arthur danced instead with 
 his aunt, the Princess Cicely, their performance, like the rest, 
 constituting a separate turn, watched by the whole Court. The 
 festivities over, most of the lords and ladies of Spain were pre- 
 sented with gifts of plate by Henry VII., and returned hpme. 
 1 Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. IV., Part II., p. 2109. 
 
i6 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Towards the end of the honeymoon (on November 30, 
 to be exact), the Prince of Wales wrote a dutiful and 
 enthusiastic letter to Ferdinand and Isabella, promising to 
 be a good husband to their daughter. He had never felt 
 so much joy in his life, he told them, as when he beheld 
 the sweet face of his bride. No woman in the world, he 
 added, could be more agreeable to him.^ 
 
 This was written from Richmond Palace, whither the 
 newly-married pair had moved from Baynard's Castle. 
 Two days previously Henry VII. had received the first 
 instalment of 100,000 scudos, or crowns, from the Spanish 
 commissioners towards the bride's dowry, and had written 
 to her parents to say how much he had admired her beauty, 
 as well as her dignified and agreeable manners. "They 
 may be sure that she has found a second father who will 
 ever watch over her happiness and never permit her to want 
 anything that he can procure for her." ^ Yet he was soon 
 embroiled in a sordid dispute over the remaining part of her 
 dowry, partly due, no doubt, to the doubje-dealing of the 
 crafty Puebla, the facts of which are set forth in the follow- 
 ing letter from Bishop Ayala, the Doctor's colleague and 
 inveterate enemy : 
 
 DON PEDRO DE AYALA TO QUEEN ISABELLA. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Supplement to Vols. I. and II.] 
 
 Knd oi December, 1501. 
 
 Very high and mighty Queen our sovereign lady. 
 
 When the feasts were over, and the Spaniards, as 
 w^ell as the English, had returned to their houses, the 
 King pleased to occupy himself vv^ith looking afler 
 his interests. He asked Johan de Cuero to deliver 
 to him the jevi'els and plate which, the Doctor had 
 said, he had been ordered to give as part of the last 
 instalment. He answered that he had not to deliver 
 them, but to weigh and to value them, to ask a receipt 
 for them, as he hitherto had done. It seems that 
 some altercations took place on this subject. Mean- 
 
 ' Spanish Calendar, Vol. I. 
 " Ibid., November 28, 1501. 
 
A YOUNGER SON 17 
 
 while, as the will of the King was not done, and he 
 thought he had received an affront, having asked (the 
 jewels and plate) before the time they were due, he 
 was somewhat ashamed, and having continued these 
 negotiations during a fortnight, he came to the room 
 of the senora Princess, where he said to her, in the 
 presence of Dona Elvira Manuel and me, the following 
 words : " Senora, my daughter, I have no doubt that 
 you know that I asked from your keeper of the ward- 
 robe certain plate and jewels, worth so many thousand 
 ducats, which I have to receive as part of the third 
 instalment on account, towards the 200,000 scudos 
 of your dowry. I wish you to know why and for 
 what reasons I asked them. One day before I saw 
 you on the road where you were betrothed, the Doctor 
 de Puebla came to me, and said : ' Seiior, in order 
 that you may know how much I take care of your 
 interests, you shall see what I have done and obtained 
 from my sovereign Lords. You will learn by this 
 letter from their Highnesses that the five-and-thirty 
 thousand ducats which you have to receive in pearls, 
 jewels, gold, silver, and tapestry on account of the 
 last instalment, are without delay to be delivered 
 to you.' " 
 
 This letter he read to him, and it contained what 
 he had said. He was very glad to hear this. When 
 the feasts were over he (Puebla) again asked him if 
 he would like to receive the said jewels, and, not 
 having any reason to refuse them, he answered that 
 he would. He called the said keeper of the ward- 
 robe, who, however, when they came to the point, 
 told him that the jewels and plate were to be valued 
 and weighed, and that he was to receive a receipt for 
 their value, but that they were to remain in the keep- 
 ing of the said keeper of the wardrobe. When he 
 [Henry] was astonished that he was expected to give 
 a receipt for what he had not received, he (Puebla) 
 said to him : " Sefior, keep my secret, and I will tell 
 you the reason why I, your servant, have arranged 
 this. If your Majesty will accept my advice, I promise 
 
 Y.H. c 
 
i8 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 you to conduct the affairs in such a manner that the 
 senora Princess shall remain in the possession of all 
 her jewels, plate, and tapestry, and my sovereign 
 Lords nevertheless fulfil the obligations to you which 
 I have imposed on them in case that these jewels be 
 not accepted. The manner is the following : If the 
 Princess uses all this now, and you afterwards refuse 
 to accept it, my sovereign Lords will be ashamed to 
 take from her what she has already used as her own 
 on her person as well as in her household. They 
 must then leave it to her, and fulfil their obliga- 
 tions towards you. I have already spoken with the 
 Princess, and won her over on my side, so that it 
 may be done as I have said." 
 
 " Senora," added Henry, " although I know that, if 
 it is done as he says, it would be advantageous to you 
 and to me, and although it could thus be arranged that 
 your parents give you these things for your use with- 
 out counting them, nevertheless I am not inclined to 
 obtain [any advantage] by such means. I am exceed- 
 ingly sorry that I have asked for the jewels in question, 
 but the reason was that which I have stated and 
 nothing else. I see now that there is a crafty design, 
 and I shall not consent that it be attributed to me. 
 I shall be content with what the treaties stipulate, 
 and do not ask, nor shall I ever ask, anything else, 
 especially as I could not do it even if I would, because 
 these jewels form part of the last instalment. I beg 
 you to write to the King and the Queen all I have said 
 to you, as you hear it, and [to tell them] that I have 
 not, nor should on any account, have proffered the 
 demand without being instigated and animated by the 
 Doctor, who told me that he had arranged and settled 
 it in that manner, but now says that, having read once 
 more the letter of the King and the Queen, he must 
 confess that they order him to ask the said receipt 
 and yet leave [the jewels] in the keeping of Johan de 
 Cuero ; and I cannot but think that it has been an 
 artful trick of his, and that he has given their High- 
 nesses to understand something which is not true, 
 
. A YOUNGER SON 19 
 
 just as he has deceived me and you in order to involve 
 us continually in difficulties. It seems to me a great 
 breach of trust to say such things to his Sovereigns and 
 to you and to me. I beg you, Senora, my daughter, 
 and you, Dona Elvira, as well as you, Don Pedro, to 
 inform their Highnesses of the truth, because I should 
 not like to be held for a person who asks what is due 
 to me before the time. God be praised, I am not in 
 want, and, if it were necessary, I could for love of 
 them and of you, my senora daughter, spend a million 
 of gold without contracting a debt." 
 
 He was evidently much ashamed that he had asked 
 that the said things be delivered to him, and that his 
 demand was refused. He is afraid to be thought a 
 miser. In such a disposition of mind he left the 
 Princess that day. 
 
 Next day, having called me into his presence, he 
 told me that he was very uneasy, because it was 
 necessary to send the Prince to Wales, and his council 
 and the council of the Prince entertained different 
 opinions. Some said that it would be good for the 
 Princess to go to Wales, and others said No, and 
 each of them supported their opinions by such good 
 reasons that he did not know what to do. He asked 
 my advice. What I answered was, that I thought it 
 much better that the Princess should not go, for that 
 would be preferable in many respects, and especially 
 because the Prince and the Princess would more easily 
 bear being separated and [their abstinence from] 
 intercourse if she remained with him and the Queen, 
 who could alleviate her sorrow for being separated 
 from the Prince, a thing which it would be much more 
 difficult to bear if she were to live in his house in 
 Wales, adding many other reasons which the King 
 himself had given m.e only a few days before for 
 retaining the Princess during the next two years near 
 his person. 
 
 The following day he [the King] himself spoke vyth 
 the Princess, and told her the same he had said to me, 
 viz., that it was necessary that the Prince should go 
 
 c 2 
 
20 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 to Wales, and what difference of opinion existed 
 amongst his councillors, adding that he would not 
 determine either in the one way or the other, but 
 that he would do only what she wished. Her answer 
 was, that neither in this nor in any other respect had 
 she any other will than his, and that she would be 
 content with what he decided. He replied that he 
 asked her not to leave the decision to him, because, 
 although wishing to be agreeable to her, he might, 
 nevertheless, determine on what would give her 
 annoyance. She repeated her first answer. 
 
 This indecision continued four days, during which 
 he caused the Prince to use his influence with the 
 Princess, and persuade her to say that she preferred 
 rather to go than to stay, and, as she refused to say 
 it, the King, making show of great sorrow, decided 
 that she should go to Wales, although nothing in the 
 world he regretted more. She went on the evening 
 before . . ? her departure nothing was provided for 
 the household of the Princess, except that it was 
 determined how many Spanish servants she was to 
 have. As Dona Elvira, it seems, had already often- 
 times spoken with the Doctor, who had told her that 
 he had settled how much the senora Princess was to 
 have for the sustenance of her household, as well as 
 for every one of her male and female servants, and 
 that the King had made great offers to the said Dona 
 Elvira, she asked him ^ to state what had been decided. 
 When he heard this he was much surprised, and said 
 that such a demand was an entirely new thing to him, 
 for until then nothing had been mentioned to him 
 about it, and it was the custom in this country for 
 husbands to give to their wives all they wanted, which 
 the Prince, his son, would do, according to his rank, 
 and as his honour required. He would never consent, 
 he said, that she and her servants were otherwise 
 treated than very liberally. Adding some other 
 reasons, he dismissed this subject. The following 
 
 ' Paper gone. 
 
 ' Him seems to mean the King. 
 
A YOUNGER SON 21 
 
 day the Doctor went to see the King, who, it seems, 
 spoke by no means friendly words to him, asking him 
 why he had behaved so artfully in all those affairs 
 which had been negotiated, saying and promising, 
 according to what Dona Elvira had told him, more 
 than really had been settled in the treaties. He 
 answered that his Highness ought not to believe that 
 he had spoken or written anything but what was con- 
 tained in the treaties, and all that Dona Elvira and 
 the Princess and other persons asked or were speak- 
 ing of were at the request and persuasion of Don 
 Pedro. The King replied that he did not believe it, 
 but knew that with no good intention he purposed to 
 involve your Highnesses and him in difficulties, adding 
 other words by no means flattering. This passed in 
 the presence of the council. 
 
 The departure of the Prince and Princess was fixed, 
 and took place on Tuesday, December 21, in order 
 to pass the holidays forty miles from here. Of all 
 that, after their departure, has happened, and will 
 happen, they will inform your Highness from there. 
 
 I wish now to tell your Highness what I have 
 heard and believe, and what I have done concerning 
 this business. With respect to the jewels, the King 
 would like that, as they were offered him, they 
 be given and delivered to him, and that according 
 to what I believe, and from unmistakable signs 
 conclude, all or the greater part of them, or their 
 equivalent, should be given to him, because he has 
 received the very greatest pleasure from all your 
 Highnesses have done, and above all, since he knows 
 what a person the Seiiora is, he considers himself a 
 fortunate man. As he always hoped that these (the 
 jewels, &c.) were to be delivered to him, he never 
 provided so much as a pin for the Princess ; but he is 
 much ashamed that he has asked and met with a 
 refusal, and that he has neglected to do that which 
 he has left undone, because he had that hope. It is 
 believed that best will exists here to acquire all that 
 can be got, and as he has already been told that, if 
 
22 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 the Princess uses all the things which she takes with 
 her, your Highness will find it difficult to order after- 
 wards that they may be taken from her, and delivered 
 to him as part payment of what is due to him, he has 
 decided that she shall go to Wales, because then she 
 would be obliged to use all she takes with her. 
 
 On my part, as I have heard something of this, it 
 has not been neglected to advise that as much as it 
 can be avoided these things should not be used. For 
 it is certain that there has been no other reason of 
 any weight for her journey, which is very contrary to 
 the wishes of the King in other respects. I, on my 
 part, and Dona Elvira on hers, have told the King 
 that we believe that your Highnesses, knowing the 
 tender age of the Prince, would rather be pleased 
 than dissatisfied if they for some time did not live 
 together. He answered to this observation, that he 
 was astonished to hear it, for one of the reasons 
 which had induced him to do it had been because one 
 of the principal personages whom your Highnesses 
 had sent with the Princess to serve her had spoken to 
 him, and asked him, in the name of your Highnesses, 
 as a man who knows your intentions, that on no 
 account in the world should he separate them, but 
 send her with her husband, and that if that were not 
 done your Highnesses would be dissatisfied, and she, 
 he knows, would be in despair. Being much pressed, 
 he had to confess that Alexander had told him this, 
 with the approval and according to the advice of the 
 Doctor. 
 
 His intention, for no other can be found, is to 
 procure her an occasion to use the said things, in 
 consequence of her journey, and thus by what he 
 ordered to attain his ends. Although I ought not to 
 have the boldness to state in this or in any other case 
 my humble opinion to your Highnesses, nevertheless, 
 hoping that the goodwill with which I state it will be 
 acceptable to you, I shall say that, if it is determined 
 that that which is here is to be given on account 
 of the 200,000 scudos, it would be good to order that 
 
A YOUNGER SON 23 
 
 it be delivered immediately, because I think it would 
 serve two purposes, viz., firstly, that it would not be 
 refused, and, secondly, that it would now be more highly 
 valued than afterwards, and I do not doubt it would 
 produce so good an effect that the King would give it 
 back to her ; but if it were delayed, and not delivered 
 to him until the last instalment, in such a case I 
 believe he would delay to assign anything to her, 
 because she has everything she wants as well for her 
 own service as for that of the Prince, to whom he has 
 also given nothing at all wherewith to furnish his 
 house, nor any table service, nor does he intend to 
 give,^but, on the contrary, he has ordered that they 
 live together and take their meals together, so that he 
 must use the things of the Princess. With respect to 
 this subject I know no other motive that could be 
 alleged. 
 
 I think your Highness knows already that nothing 
 has been assigned for her household, and much less 
 have the salaries and pensions for her servants and 
 officers been provided, but they all will manage to live 
 as well as the revenues of the Prince permit. I do 
 not think that your Highness has believed that this 
 was to be the case, for if it were you would have to 
 provide her annually with what she wants. If I am 
 right, your Highnesses must immediately take steps 
 that what is due to her be also settled on her, for if 
 that is not done at the beginning it will be difficult 
 afterwards. The Sefiora Princess has several times 
 ordered me to enter into negotiations about such 
 similar subjects, but I have not obeyed her orders in 
 this, because I have no power from your Highness. 
 
 Something of disillusionment must have already crept 
 into Catherine's soul as she set out with her boy-husband on 
 that fateful journey to their miniature court on the Welsh 
 borders, conscious that she was in the meshes of a plot to 
 obtain possession of her property. Shortly after their 
 departure, Henry VII. wrote a letter to Ferdinancf and 
 Isabella, which Dr. Gairdner declares, in the " Dictionary 
 
24 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIH 
 
 of National Biography," was distinctly intended to convey a 
 false impression as to the true relationship existing between 
 the newly-married pair, but which, according to the Duke of 
 Manchester, who printed the document for the first time in 
 his " Court and Society " (1864), furnishes incontestible 
 proof that the English King at least believed in the 
 consummation of the marriage : 
 
 HENRY VII. TO FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 
 [" Court and Society from Elizabeth to Anne," Vol. I.] 
 
 Richmond, February 20, 1502. 
 
 To the most serene and most puissant Prince and 
 Princess, the Lord and Lady Ferdinando and Isabel, 
 by the grace of God King and Queen of Castile, 
 Leon, Arragon, Sicily, Grenada, &c., our well-beloved 
 kinsfolk and cousins, we Henry by the same grace, 
 King of England and France, and Lord of Ireland, 
 send greeting and ever-increasing good fortune. 
 
 That we might observe the ancient customs of our 
 realm, we recently despatched into Wales the most 
 illustrious Arthur and Catherine, our common children. 
 For though the opinions of many were adverse to this 
 course by reason of the tender age of our son, yet 
 were we unwilling to allow the Prinee and Princess to 
 be separated at any distance from each other. Thus 
 much we wished to show unto you by this our letter, 
 that you may understand our excessive love which we 
 bear towards the most illustrious Lady Catherine, 
 our common daughter, even to the danger of our 
 own son. 
 
 But the said most illustrious lady has with her a 
 venerable man, Alexander Geraldine, her principal 
 chaplain, for whom we have the greatest regard, 
 partly by reason of his virtues, shown unto us in 
 many ways, partly because he has been the said 
 lady's preceptor, and for a long time your Majesties' 
 servant, and we doubt not that he will, in his letters, 
 give a true report unto your Majesties of the well- 
 being and tranquility, as well of ourselves and our 
 
W. li. Ci\i\\ Photo 
 PRINCE ARTHUR, ELDEST SON OF HENRY VH. About 1503 
 From the painting in tlie Royal Collection, Windsor Castle 
 
A YOUNGER SON 25 
 
 realm, as of the most illustrious lady his own 
 mistress. Wherefore we shall not at present write at 
 greater length. 
 
 It is useless to speculate as to what might have happened 
 to the whole course of English history had Arthur lived long 
 enough at least to spoil Henry's prospects of ever ascending 
 the throne. On April 2, less than six months after the 
 wedding which had taken so many toilsome years to 
 niegotiate, death intervened in favour of the younger son, the 
 Prince of Wales dying unexpectedly at Ludlow Castle. His 
 death was due, apparently, to the sweating sickness, then 
 one of the direst scourges of the country. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES (1502 — 1507) 
 
 First Proposal to Marry Henry to Catherine — Rival Advances from 
 France — Isabella's Strategy — Ferdinand's Fears of French 
 Designs — ^Dona Elvira Manuel's Testimony — Henry Succeeds 
 as Prince of Wales — ^Tortuous Negotiations for his Betrothal — 
 Puebla's Shady Character — Death of Ehzabeth of York — 
 Rumour Concerliing Henry VII. and Catherine — Isabella 
 Demands her Return unless Betrothed to Prince Henry — 
 Treaty of Marriage Signed — Ferdinand and the Papal Dis- 
 pensation — Catherine and the Prince at Court — Julius II. 
 sends the Brief to Isabella on her Death-bed— -Catherine 
 Deserted — Henry's Secret Protest Against his Betrothal — 
 Pitiful Position of Catherine — ^The Visit of Philip a.nd Juana — 
 Catherine Appeals to her Father— ^Death of the King of Castile 
 — Its Effect on Catherine's Position — Erasmus Renews Ac- 
 quaintance with Prince Henry. 
 
 The blow which shattered so many hopes fell heavily on 
 all the royal parents. The story of Henry VII.'s grief and 
 rare display of tenderness towards his wife on receiving the 
 melancholy news of Arthur's death is one of the familiar 
 anecdotes of his reign. But grief soon gave place on both 
 sides to further scheming for the possession of Catherine, 
 and, what appeared at least equally important, her dowry. 
 Ferdinand and Isabella at once sent a special ambassador to 
 England in Fernando, Duke of Estrada, an officer of the 
 royal household, with the avowed objects of reclaiming from 
 Henry VII. the 100,000 crowns which had already been paid 
 as the first instalment of the marriage portion ; of demanding 
 that Catherine should be put in full possession of the lands 
 and revenues assigned to her as her jointure ; and of begging 
 the King to send the Princess to Spain not only in the best 
 manner but without delay. At the same time, however, 
 the ambassador was furnished with secret instructions to 
 conclude, if possible, a new marriage between Catherine 
 and her brother-in-law, the Duke of York,^ not yet eleven 
 
 ' Spanish Calendar, Vol. I. 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 27 
 
 years old. Henry, of all men little likely to part with the 
 sum which he had worked so long and laboriously to obtain, 
 declined to return either the first instalment of the dowry, or 
 Catherine herself. Nor was he disposed to be first in the 
 field in negotiating for a new marriage with his surviving son. 
 Ferdinand and Isabella informed the Duke of Estrada on 
 June 16 ^ that they had heard from Catherine how the King 
 of England, while wishing for this marriage, was pretending 
 not to care for it. " But," they added, " she says that he is 
 thinking of it, and in fact really wishes that we should first 
 make our proposals to him, and that the King of England 
 should not be the first to move in it." Meanwhile the 
 possession of the Princess of Wales gave Henry an advantage 
 over his rivals, which he was not willing to forfeit. 
 
 As for the settlement of her income as Princess of Wales 
 he professed his readiness to arrange matters, but in that 
 case maintained that he ought to receive the balance of the 
 dowry still unpaid — a claim which Ferdinand indignantly 
 denied, holding that with Arthur's death the marriage had 
 been dissolved. The strength of Henry's position added to 
 the Spanish Sovereign's uneasiness when, in the course of the 
 same year, they were attacked by the King of France, who 
 also began to make rival advances for young Henry's hand 
 on behalf of one of the French Princesses. The following 
 letter from Queen Isabella reveals something of the Spanish 
 anxiety on the subject, and is also important for Dona 
 Elvira's statement regarding the marriage with the late 
 Prince Arthur: 
 
 QUEEN ISABELLA TO THE DUKE OF ESTRADA. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Vol. I.] 
 
 Toledo, July 12, 1502. 
 
 Know that the King of France is on his way 
 to Milan with an armed force, and has sent a force 
 against us, with the intention, it is said, of endeavour- 
 ing to take from us our possession there. He has 
 sent to the frontier of Perpignan many armed men, 
 
 " Spanish Calendar, Vol. I. 
 
28 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 foot and horse, and has commanded that ban and 
 reban be proclaimed.^ 
 
 All the time this was going on we were at ease 
 here, for we did not believe that he would break the 
 agreement which he had made and sworn. 
 
 But now you must see of how great importance it 
 is that there should be no delay in making the agree- 
 ment for the contract of marriage of the Princess of 
 Wales, our daughter, with the Prince of Wales who 
 now is. It is the more necessafy, as it is said that 
 the King of France is endeavouring to hinder it, and 
 is intending to obtain the said alliance for his daughter, 
 or for the sister of Monsieur d'Angouleme. There- 
 fore, without saying anything about this, since it is 
 already known for a certainty that the said Princess 
 of Wales, our daughter, remains as she was here (for 
 so Dona Elvira has written to us), endeavour to have 
 the said contract agreed to immediately without con- 
 sulting us ; for any delay that might take place would 
 be dangerous. See also that the articles be made 
 and signed and sworn at once, and if nothing more 
 advantageous can be procured, let it be settled as was 
 proposed. In that let it be declared that the King of 
 England has already received from us 100,000 scudos 
 in gold, in part payment of the dowry, and let that be 
 made an obligatory article of the contract, with a view 
 to restitution, in accordance with the former directions 
 given you. Let it be likewise stipulated that we shall 
 pay the rest of the dowry when the marriage is con- 
 summated, so please God ; that is, if you should not 
 be able to obtain more time. 
 
 But take heed, on no account to agree for us to 
 pay what still remains of the dowry until the marriage 
 shall have been consummated. See, moreover, that 
 the King of England give immediately to the Princess, 
 our daughter, whatever may be necessary for her 
 maintenance and that of her people. Provide also 
 that, in the arrangement of her household, everything 
 
 ' A medieval phrase, meaning in this case the summoning of the 
 French vessels for war. 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 29 
 
 should be done to the satisfaction of the King of 
 England. Take care that Dona Elvira remain with 
 her, and any other persons whom she may wish to 
 retain, according to the number which was agreed 
 upon for her service. 
 
 Be very vigilant about this, and endeavour to have 
 the contract made without delay and without consult- 
 ing us. Do not, however, let them see you have any 
 suspicion of hindrance, or show so much eagerness 
 that it may cause them to cool. But set about it 
 prudently, and in the manner which may seem best to 
 you, so that there may be no delay in making the 
 contract, and let us know immediately what you have 
 done in it. . . . 
 
 The Duke of Estrada, in spite of his rank, was only, as 
 Catherine once described him, a mediocre man, and Puebla 
 probably saw to it that he did not make much headway with 
 his delicate task. At length Isabella, shrewdly suspecting 
 that Henry VII. would disclose his hand if he saw serious 
 signs of her departure for Spain, sent instructions to the 
 Duke of Estrada to make the necessary preparations with 
 that end in view. The letter in which Isabella unfolds her 
 plan, and shows how cunningly she could employ fine senti- 
 ments in the art of dissimulation, is a gem of its kind : 
 
 QUEEN ISABELLA TO THE DUKE OF ESTRADA. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Vol. I.] 
 
 Toledo, August 10, 1502. 
 
 Since we wrote our other letters, it appears that the 
 negotiation is so much damaged that if we were to 
 move in the affair of the betrothal, or if it were to 
 come to the knowledge of the King of England, it 
 would be attended with very great injury. I, there- 
 fore, command you, because it is very necessary, that 
 you press much for the departure of the Princess of 
 Wales, my daughter, so that she may immediately 
 come here. You must say that the greater her loss 
 and affliction, the more reason is there for her to be 
 near her parents, as well for her consolation, as on 
 account of her age. For you know that no other 
 
30 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 princess ever endured more grief than the Queen- 
 Princess ^ when she was widowed, or led such a sad 
 and such a bitter life on account of the death of her 
 husband as she did. It was on that account that, 
 immediately on our sending for her, she came hither 
 from Portugal, although she has good houses and an 
 estate there, where she might have remained. The 
 King of Portugal likewise greatly desired that she 
 should stay in his kingdom wherever she liked. 
 Besides, the Princess of Wales can show the sense 
 she entertains of her loss better here, and give freer 
 vent to her grief, because the customs of this country 
 better permit it than do those of England. 
 
 You shall say to the King of England that we 
 cannot endure that a daughter whom we love should 
 be so far" from us when she is in affliction, and that 
 she should not have us at hand to console her ; also 
 it would be more suitable for a young girl of her age 
 to be with us than to be in any other place. While 
 telling the King of England that we know very well 
 that where he and the Queen are, she would not lack 
 either father or mother, you shall also add that we 
 greatly desire to have her with us, urging whatever 
 else may seem meet to you with a view to this. You 
 shall request the King of England to give you authority 
 to bring her here, and to appoint some principal 
 person of competent age, who shall be fitted for such 
 an office, to escort her hither. 
 
 You shall, moreover, tell him that you have com- 
 mandment from us to freight vessels for her voyage. 
 To this end you must make such a show of giving' 
 directions and setting about preparations for the 
 journey, that all the persons belonging to the house- 
 hold of the Princess may believe that it is true. Send, 
 also, some of the members of her household on board 
 with the captain I am now sending you, and make 
 arrangements with him about the freight, and show 
 all other signs of approaching departure. 
 
 If the King of England shall say to you that he 
 
 ' Queen of Portugal. 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 31 
 
 cannot appoint any principal person to accompany 
 the Princess, you shall tell him that we have desired 
 you immediately to let us know. We will then send 
 competent persons to the seaside, that they may 
 accompany her from the place where she disembarks ; 
 and we will give directions for such persons to depart 
 immediately to be her escort. 
 
 Moreover, you shall speak without delay about the 
 restitution of the 100,000 scudos of the marriage 
 portion. We have now to inform you what the law 
 has decided with regard to the question, in order that 
 you may declare it, although it be a thing so notorious 
 that it was not requisite. You shall say how much, 
 and with how great reason, we are astonished to learn 
 that the King of England should pretend to say he 
 has any doubt about a matter so clear, and so well 
 known, and so undoubted. For neither the laws, nor 
 reason, nor custom, nor honesty, can endure that 
 after so great a loss as the Princess of Wales has 
 suffered, her marriage portion should be taken away, 
 instead of her jointure given her, as is done in similar 
 cases. Of a truth, a thing of such a kind as is asserted 
 by the King of England was never before seen or 
 heard of, or demanded ; and it has excited so much 
 surprise in us that we can hardly believe he has said 
 it. For being as he is, so virtuous a prince, so truth- 
 ful, and such a friend to justice and reason, and of so 
 honourable a character, we cannot believe that he 
 will refuse to do and perform towards us and the 
 Princess all that he has promised. 
 
 If he should refer to the treaty, then you shall say 
 that since all the laws oblige him to make restitution 
 of the marriage portion — and of this there is no 
 doubt — he must point out the article of the treaty 
 which says that, in this case, he is not bound to make 
 restitution of the portion. Such an article is not to 
 found in it. 
 
 If he say that although the laws and universal 
 custom oblige him to the restitution of the portion, 
 yet that, according to the laws of his kingdom,, he is 
 
32 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 not bound to do it, then you shall tell him that we are 
 not acquainted with the laws of his kingdom. But 
 of a truth, in the same way as he is not subject to the 
 laws of our kingdom, as little are we subject to the 
 laws of his kingdom, nor can they, in such a case as 
 this, free him from the obligation to do that whereto 
 he is constrained by law. Therefore, tell the King 
 that we pray he will resolve to do this as being a 
 thing which is obligatory upon him. For we never 
 thought — nor do we now think — that it will be neces- 
 sary to press for the fulfilment of a thing which he 
 has promised to perform, but that he intends and will 
 do it of himself. It would be, in fact, inhuman of us 
 to think otherwise, or to suppose that he can be 
 intending to despoil of the portion which she brought 
 with her, a Princess, the daughter of such monarchs 
 as we are, and who has met with such affliction since 
 her arrival in his kingdom. Even between faithless 
 enemies it is not to be done or thought of ; and how 
 much between Christian Princes, friends and brothers, 
 such as we are. At any rate, you shall insist on 
 having the Princess consigned to you, together with 
 the portion which she took with her. 
 
 For the present you shall not speak about the affair 
 of the camera or dotalitium, or donatio propter nuptias, 
 in order that the one affair may not cause embarrass- 
 ment to the other, and that they may the more 
 readily believe we desire the Princess to come to 
 Spain. 
 
 If, while urging the abovesaid two things, they 
 should speak to you about the betrothal of the Prince 
 of Wales with the Princess, you shall hear what they 
 have to say, and ask how it is to be done, and in what 
 manner, and all the particulars, not showing any 
 desire for it, or any goodwill towards it. If they 
 merely mention it, however, in order that you should 
 talk about it, then without going so far as to press it, 
 say that if it be not proposed only in order to delay 
 the departure of the Princess, you will consult us about 
 it. You must, in that case, put down all the parti- 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 33 
 
 culars of the business, so that if we think well of it 
 there may be nothing more left to deliberate upon. 
 In this manner, without showing that you have any 
 wish that the matter should be urged, as soon as you 
 have brought it to the point we have mentioned, you 
 can conclude and agree about it without consulting us 
 any further. 
 
 But if the matter should not arrive at that point, 
 then you shall press, at any rate, for the coming 
 hither of the Princess and the restitution of the 
 por-tion, appearing as if you had nothing else to 
 negotiate, and afterwards consult \\^ith us. 
 
 In case the said betrothal be agreed upon, be on 
 your guard to see if you can prevail upon them to 
 conclude the three matters about which they are 
 making difficulties. 
 
 Firstly, that in case the Prince die before the 
 Princess, the said Princess, with all that belongs to 
 her, and her attendants, may go to Spain, or whither 
 they please, without asking leave of the then King, 
 and that he shall not place any hindrance in her way. 
 Also that she may enjoy and carry away with her the 
 jointure she would have had, if she had remained in 
 England. 
 
 Secondly, that you make it binding, and settle it 
 very clearly, that in case of the dissolution of the 
 marriage without issue, and in case that one or the 
 other should die before the marriage be consummated, 
 the King of England and his heirs shall restore 
 immediately to us, or to our heirs, all that may have 
 been received of the said portion. 
 
 Thirdly, that in case of the dissolution of the 
 marriage as abovesaid, by the death of the Prince, 
 the Princess shall hold and enjoy all that it may be 
 agreed she shall have, in lieu of the third part of the 
 principality and the duchy (of Cornwall) and earldom 
 (of Chester) all the days of her life, wherever it may 
 chance that she desire to be and remain. 
 
 But in case that you should not be able ta bring 
 about both these two last-mentioned matters of the 
 
 Y.H. D 
 
34 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 restitution of the portion, and of the enjoyment of 
 that which may be settled upon her, after having done 
 all you can to obtain them, then you must stipulate 
 that it shall be left to the Princess to choose whichever 
 of these two things she may like best — namely, either 
 to enjoy that which shall be settled upon her, or to 
 have the portion restored ; and thus the matter must 
 be managed. . . . Finally, the one object of this 
 business is to bring the betrothal to a conclusion as 
 soon as you are able, and in conformity with the 
 directions given you respecting it. For then all our 
 anxiety will cease, and we shall be able to seek the 
 aid of England against France ; for it is the most 
 efficient help that we can have. It is in my interest 
 that you have to bestir yourself, and you must employ 
 yourself in it in the way that I look for from you : for, 
 if you desire to do me any service, you cannot do me 
 a greater in the world than this. . . . 
 
 Ferdinand followed this with a repetition of the old promise 
 to assist Henry in the recovery of Guicnne and Normandy if 
 only he, on his part, would promise to help the Spanish 
 Sovereigns in the defence of their own possessions. How 
 anxious they were in this connexion may be judged from the 
 following extract : 
 
 FERDINAND II. TO THE DUKE OF ESTRADA. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Vol. I.] 
 
 September i, 1502. 
 
 . . . We have learned that the King of France 
 continues to prepare his enterprise at Milan and 
 Florence, which is near to [Naples ? ], and has 
 gathered together large bodies of troops at Genoa, 
 with the intention to send them to Naples, and that 
 he has already made war upon us there, publicly and 
 openly, seizing upon and destroying the ... of Asti, 
 where we had no troops. He has, moreover, collected 
 his arrny together there, with the intention to prose- 
 cute his enterprise, and to make an effort not only 
 
HENRY, PRfNCE OF WALES 35 
 
 to obtain possession of our duchies of Apulia and 
 Calabria, but of our kingdom of Sicily, And the 
 French themselves have openly said so. 
 
 As for us, we had not made any preparations for 
 war in those parts, on account of the confidence we 
 had that peace would be maintained. For we could 
 not believe that the King of France would make war 
 upon us so impudently, without just cause or reason. 
 Therefore we think that before the provision we have 
 made, and which has to be sent by sea,xan arrive, 
 there is great danger of a large portion of that 
 kingdom being lost, especially as the nation is of 
 such a temperament that it always declares itself for 
 whoever may be master of the field, which the French 
 now are. 
 
 Should the King of France, therefore, gain that 
 kingdom, which God forbid, he would be sole monarch 
 of all Italy ; and if Italy were to be joined to France, 
 it is easy to see the peril in which all other Princes 
 would be placed, over and above the injury which 
 would accrue to us from it. 
 
 Now this enterprise of the King of France cannot 
 be hindered except by putting him under the necessity 
 of defending his kingdom of France. This, to be of 
 any use, cannot, as you know, be done by means of 
 one King only. But if we and the King of England 
 were to join together to make a descent upon France, 
 each one with all his forces, we might then attack 
 Guienne and Normandy, or we might descend upon 
 Languedoc and the parts about Fuentarabia while 
 the King of England attacked the duchies, in the 
 hope, with God's assistance, that our army might 
 then effect a junction there with the army of the King 
 of England. For, if we and the King of England 
 could meet in France, he might recover, by God's 
 help, the said duchies of Guienne and Normandy, or 
 a large portion of them. 
 
 By these means the King of France would be 
 obliged to quit Italy, in order to come to the defence 
 of his own kingdom. . . . 
 
 D 2 
 
36 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Henry VH., however, had played cat's-paw for Ferdinand 
 before, and was in no mood to repeat the experience. But 
 the threatened departure of the Princess of Wales had had 
 the desired effect of producing overtures on his part through 
 Puebla for the betrothal of Catherine to his surviving son ; 
 and so, for the time being, the proposed combined descent 
 upon France was hurriedly thrust in the background : 
 
 FERDINAND II. AND ISABELLA TO THE DUKE 
 OF ESTRADA. 
 
 [Spanish Calendar, Vol. I.] 
 
 December 13, 1502. 
 
 . . . You shall not at present say anything to the 
 King of England about the business of Guienne or 
 Normandy, or about anything of the kind, in order 
 that the more pressing affair of the betrothal be not 
 impeded, but by means of the Doctor (Puebla), or as 
 may seem best to you, you shall speak immediately 
 to the King of England about the betrothal of the 
 Princess of Wales, our daughter, with the Prince of 
 Wales.^ In doing so you shall tell him that we are 
 aware that he desires it should take place. Moreover, 
 that as well on account of the love which we bear him, 
 as because we know that it is a good thing for both 
 parties, we have decided to conform to his wishes. 
 Likewise, as it is good for him and his realm to be 
 assured of our friendship, and of our children's and of 
 our kingdom's, in the same way as it might chance 
 that his friendship would prove an advantage to us, 
 and to our Kingdom, we are therefore pleased that in 
 the name of our Lord the said betrothal should take 
 place. We also desire that the matters appertaining 
 to it should be settled with all the security that is 
 
 ' The Spanish Sovereigns were a little previous, for ten months 
 were allowed to elapse after Arthur's death before his brother was 
 created Prince of W^ales in his stead. Wolsey subsequently declared 
 that this delay was largely due to a widespread beUef that Catherine 
 would give birth to an heir to the throne. 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 37 
 
 fitting. To this end you shall say to him whatever 
 you think best ; and if in order to shorten the 
 negotiation and render it more secure, you should see 
 necessary to move in it and to speak of it in some 
 other manner, do as may seem best to you. For, 
 since this affair suits both us and the King of 
 England, no more time ought to pass before speaking 
 about and settling it. 
 
 Moreover, the Doctor has always written to us, 
 saying that if we are desirous of this betrothal, he 
 will conduct the matter in such a way that it will be 
 concluded, and attended with improvement in the 
 articles of the treaty. 
 
 You must therefore make use of him in the way 
 that may seem best to you, and tell him that he must 
 fulfil that which in so many of his letters he has 
 assured us of and offered. For by bringing this 
 business to a good conclusion he will set the seal 
 to his services, and will lay us under an obligation to 
 him. But if he do not manage it well, according to 
 what he has written, we cannot be otherwise than 
 displeased and discontented with him. 
 
 Furthermore, you must endeavour to improve as 
 much as you can upon the treaty of the said 
 betrothal; and if you cannot accomplish more, at 
 least let the small emendation" which we mentioned 
 to you be inserted in it. 
 
 Finally, let your one object be to endeavour to 
 have the betrothal agreed to without delay. But, if 
 after having spoken about it, and used your best 
 endeavours, you should find that the King of 
 England does not seem to wish to settle it, in that 
 case we are resolved that the Princess of Wales, our 
 daughter, should come here immediately. If you 
 should not be able to get any ships in which she can 
 come, we will send them from here. 
 
 The betrothal being settled, as we trust it may be, 
 you shall, after it is agreed upon, speak to the King 
 of England about Guienne and Normandy as *we 
 directed you. . . . 
 
38 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 The crafty Puebla had so often promised that all would 
 soon be concluded to Spain's advantage — though, of course, 
 it had been a most arduous affair — that Queen Isabella at 
 last lost patience. Probably she had learnt a good deal 
 about the Doctor's dubious ways from his ancient enemy, 
 Bishop Ayala who had been recalled at Puebla's own 
 request. Someone defined an ambassador as a man who 
 was sent abroad to lie for the good of his country, but 
 Puebla was an ambassador who lied both at home and 
 abroad for his own unworthy ends, for he was as much in 
 Henry's pay as that of Ferdinand and Isabella. " It would 
 require all the paper in London to describe the character of 
 the man," wrote Dr. Breton in one of the letters printed in 
 the Calendar of Spanish State Papers : ^ 
 
 He is avaricious and a notorious usurer, an enemy 
 of truth, full of lies, a calumniator of all honest men, 
 vain-glorious, and ostentatious. He wishes to make 
 foreign princes and other persons believe that he 
 influences Henry in order that he may be selected by 
 them as their agent. Under colour of his embassy 
 he goes to the courts of law, and pleads the causes of 
 merchants who pay him. He is hated to the last 
 degree by all lawyers and judges, and by all 
 merchants of whatever nation they may be. In 
 London he lives in a vile and miserable inn of bad 
 repute. When the Court is staying in the country, 
 he dines every day in the palace of the King, and 
 begs wine and bread for his supper, and for his 
 servants. His servants live in the convent of the 
 Carthusian Friars, or in some similar house, where 
 they pay nothing. It is therefore generally said at 
 Court that " De Puebla comes abegging." That is 
 the reputation he has earned for himself and for his 
 masters. 
 
 Isabella could be as tortuous in her diplomacy as either 
 Ferdinand or Henry VIL, but there was no beating about 
 the bush in the following letter : 
 
 1 Vol. I., p. i6. 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 39 
 
 QUEEN ISABELLA TO DOCTOR DE PUEBLA. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Vol. I.] 
 
 Alcala, April II, 1503. 
 
 I received the letters you sent me up to the . . . 
 of February, and wrote our wishes respecting every- 
 thing to Ferdinand, Duke of Estrada, our ambassador. 
 He will communicate with you. It is not necessary, 
 therefore, to repeat anything here, or to say more, 
 excepting with regard to two things, which make us, 
 and not without reason, dissatisfied with you. 
 
 The one is, that, as you are aware, you wrote to us 
 that if we would command Don Pedro de Ayala to 
 come here you would take care to conclude this 
 negotiation to our entire satisfaction, and that it 
 should be attended with more advantages to us than 
 in the past. On this account alone we desired him 
 to leave England, but we now find that ever since he 
 came here our affairs have been conducted in a much 
 worse manner than they were before. 
 
 The other matter is, that although we placed the 
 most sacred confidence in you as regarded our affairs 
 in the past, and although you were a learned man, 
 you did not take care to arrange matters in such a 
 way as to prevent the King of England, our brother, 
 from demanding that which he now asks, in order to 
 delay the fulfilment of his promise to us and the 
 Princess, our daughter. For, as he promised he would 
 send back the Princess of Wales, and restore the 
 100,000 scudos of the dowry, which it is very plain he 
 is bound to do, you should have put the matter in such 
 a way that he could not have demanded what you say 
 he does. Moreover, it being yourself who made the 
 agreement for us, and who knew the truth so well, we 
 are astonished that you have not hit upon some way 
 by which the King of England, our brother, and 
 the members of his council, and the persons who 
 negotiated and settled the affair with you, should 
 know and confess the truth. For we clearly cannot 
 patiently suffer anything more to be said about a 
 
40 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 thing which is so devoid of truth and virtue, of right 
 and reason, and which is so disrespectful to our own 
 persons, and towards the Princess of Wales, our 
 daughter. Therefore, if a remedy be not speedily 
 found for these things, we shall consider that the 
 principal responsibility of the failure rests upon you. 
 
 On this account we command you to apply to these 
 affairs all your industry, and skill, and knowledge, 
 and eloquence, so that the abovesaid things may be 
 done and remedied without any delay, as we have 
 written to Ferdinand, Duke of Estrada. Meanwhile, 
 preparations must be made for the return hither of 
 the Princess of Wales, our daughter, for there must 
 be no delay about her departure on account of them. 
 In any case you will come with her, and if you should 
 have served us well you will receive our thanks, and 
 if not you shall be made to know that you have not 
 served us. . . . 
 
 Meantime a heavier blow than the loss of Prince Arthur 
 had fallen on Henry VII. in the death of his wife, the fair 
 and gentle Elizabeth. This event happened on February ii, 
 following the birth of the Sovereign's seventh child, who was 
 named, after their widowed daughter-in-law, Catherine. 
 The infant, however, did not long survive its mother. 
 Henry's bereavement, thougii we are told that it was " hea'^^ 
 and dolorous," was amazingly short-lived, if we are to 
 believe that immediately after Elizabeth's death he seriously 
 considered the idea of marrying his daughter-in-law himself. 
 What part Puebla played in this scandalous suggestion it is 
 impossible to say, but it was through the Doctor that Queen 
 Isabella heard the rumour, and if such an idea ever existed 
 in Henry's own mind, she very effectually nipped it in the 
 bud: 
 
 QUEEN ISABELLA TO THE DUKE OF ESTRADA. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Vol. I.] 
 
 Alcala, April II, 1503. 
 
 . . . We have received letters in which we are 
 informed of the death of the Queen of England, our 
 sister. These tidings have, of a truth, caused us much 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 41 
 
 grief, as we declared more at length by our other letter, 
 and in which we have spoken of the audience you are to 
 seek, and the consolation you are to administer on 
 our part to the King of England, our brother. Do as 
 we have directed you in the said letter. The Doctor 
 has also written to us concerning the marriage of the 
 King of England with the Princess of Wales, our 
 daughter, saying that it is spoken of in England. 
 But as this would be a very evil thing — one never 
 before seen, and the mere mention of which offends 
 the ears — we would not for anything in the world 
 that it should take place. Therefore, if anything be 
 said to you about it, speak of it as a thing not to be 
 endured. You must likewise say very decidedly that 
 on no account would we allow it, or even hear it 
 mentioned, in order that by these means the King of 
 England may lose all hope of bringing it to pass, if 
 he have any. For the conclusion of the betrothal 
 of the Princess, our daughter, with the Prince of 
 Wales, his son, would be rendered impossible if he 
 were to nourish any such idea. If you should find 
 that the King of England wishes to marry, we will 
 tell you, at the end of this letter, the match which we 
 think would be suitable for him, and all that occurs to 
 us relative to it. 
 
 It now remains for us to speak to you about the 
 other affairs which you have taken in hand. You 
 must have already felt that if, even before this time, 
 in order to hasten the conclusion of the betrothal of 
 the Princess of Wales, our daughter, with the Prince 
 of Wales,, it was necessary to hasten the coming 
 hither of the Princess, our daughter, it has now 
 become a matter of pure necessity that she should 
 depart immediately. For, now that the Queen of 
 England is dead, in whose society (the betrothal 
 being concluded) the Princess, our daughter, might 
 have honourably remained as with a mother, and the 
 King being the man he is, even though the betrothal 
 were concluded, it would not be right that 'the 
 Princess should stay in England during the period of 
 
42 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 mourning for the Prince of Wales. Much greater 
 also will be the necessity and obligation of her 
 coming hither if the betrothal between her and the 
 Prince of Wales should not be immediately concluded. 
 
 On this account, my Lord the King and I have 
 determined that the Princess, our daughter, shall 
 depart and come hither immediately, by the help and 
 under the guidance of God. But before her departure, 
 you shall endeavour, by all possible ways and means 
 that you can use, to have the betrothal of the Princess 
 of Wales to the Prince of Wales concluded and 
 settled. . . . 
 
 It certainly seems a very grievous and stran^^e 
 thing to us that, after having conducted ourselves m 
 this business with so much love and frankness 
 towards the King of England, and with such pure 
 heart and such goodwill to preserve and increase the 
 bonds of relationship and amity between ourselves, 
 him, and our successors, he should desire to conclude 
 the negotiation in the manner he does, especially 
 when we consider his former wishes in regard to it. 
 For what he now requires is neither that which in 
 reason ought to be between such princes, nor will our 
 honour, nor that of the Princess of Wales, our 
 daughter, permit that he should make use of such 
 crooked expedients in these negotiations. Most 
 certainly if there had been in our kingdoms a like 
 Princess, the daughter of the King of England, who 
 had come hither in the way that the Prmcess, our 
 daughter, has gone to England, and if we had had to 
 treat respecting her betrothal with our son, we would 
 have guarded the honour of his daughter more 
 jealously than even if she had been our own. And 
 with much love and a right goodwill would we have 
 done all that which in such a case would have had to 
 be done, without making such turnings and twistings 
 in the business. If, in truth, we had acted otherwise 
 in such a case, the King of England would have had 
 much reason to complain of us ; but it seems to us 
 that in this case he does not value the connexion as 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 43 
 
 much as he ought to value it, and that he does not 
 even wish to conclude the business at all. Yet since 
 the King of England, taking example from what we 
 would do, ought to regard the honour of the Princess 
 as identical with his own, you must yourself see what 
 honour would be done to the Princess and to us, if 
 she, being a woman, and such a Princess as she 
 is, should have to stay waiting in England, and be 
 thereby made to appear as if she were asking and 
 wishing for the said marriage. 
 
 Therefore we command you by all the ways and 
 means that you can use, to endeavour to have the act 
 of the betrothal concluded without delay in the 
 manner which we have directed. You must also add 
 thereto all that may be of advantage, and conduct the 
 affair in such a manner that by means of Doctor 
 Puebla, or in any other way which may seem better 
 to you, the King may know that there are two things 
 of which we are firmly resolved : 
 
 The first is, that he must be made to know that, if 
 he have any hope of marrying the Princess of Wales, 
 our daughter, on no account can such a thing be. 
 The other is the determination we have taken 
 respecting the coming hither of the Princess of 
 Wales, our daughter. In this way the King will be 
 deprived of the hope of marrying her, if he be 
 thinking of it, and of detaining her longer in England, 
 and will then, perchance, at once proceed to do what 
 he has to perform. For if you make strong repre- 
 sentations to him, now that he is suffering from the 
 loss of the Queen, his wife, who is in glory, and show 
 him what he will lose if he do not consent to this 
 betrothal, it is probable he will settle it in the manner 
 respecting which we have given you commandment. 
 
 Moreover, we do not know what reason there is 
 why the King of England should ask for a larger 
 sum, if the Princess of Wales should marry the 
 present Prince of Wales, than he received when she 
 married the late Prince of Wales. For the circum- 
 stances are identical ; or, rather, since the late Prince 
 
44 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 of Wales was even better suited to the Princess 
 of Wales on account of her age than is the present 
 Prince, there is more reason to give less than more. 
 However, we do not wish to make that a matter of 
 discussion, and will only say that the sum given now 
 must be the same as was agreed to before. 
 
 It is necessary also to say that, to the 100,000 
 scudos which the King of England has already 
 received, we will add the other 100,000 as soon as 
 the Prince of Wales and the Princess of Wales 
 receive the nuptial benediction, and the marriage, 
 God willing, is consummated. . . . However, should 
 the King of England not be willing immediately to 
 settle the betrothal as abovesaid, in that case the 
 Princess of Wales shall depart at once for Spain. 
 She shall do so, moreover, without waiting to recover 
 the 100,000 scudos of the portion of which the King 
 of England has to make restitution, should he not 
 immediately give them. Meantime, you shall justify 
 her departure as much as you possibly can, by means 
 of arguments and by means of the Doctor. 
 
 To show that we have right on our side in what 
 we ask from the King of England, as to the resti- 
 tution of the 100,000 scudos in gold, we have sent 
 a document to England, signed by some doctors of 
 our council, in which it is made clearly to appear, 
 and to be a thing about which there can be no doubt, 
 that the King of England is bound to restore that 
 sum to us. This document you can show to him, 
 and also the attestation of the doctor who drew it up 
 by our royal command, and who swears that we 
 never gave or thought of giving him authority to 
 assert that the King of England was not obliged, in 
 case that God took [the Prince of Wales to Himself], 
 to restore to us the marriage portion which the 
 Princess of Wales took with her. Nor did he ever 
 agree to such a thing, nor would we have given him 
 permission to do so on any account in the world. 
 Moreover, not only did he never speak to us about 
 such a thing, but if he had even so much as hinted 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 45 
 
 at it, we should have looked upon it as an insult 
 offered to us, and for the same reason we would not 
 have allowed him to speak about the marriage portion. 
 For such a thing was never known as that the 
 daughters of Castile, after being portioned by their 
 parents, should have to give up the portion they had 
 brought with them, in case of the dissolution of the 
 marriage and their becoming widows. But, that it 
 should be given to the father of the husband, is 
 certainly a thing unheard of, nor has such a thing 
 ever been spoken of, or agreed to. On the contrary, 
 it has sometimes happened that they have been taken 
 without any portion and dowered by their husbands. 
 Because, in addition to being the daughters of such 
 monarchs as they are, respect is likewise had to the 
 fact that in Spain daughters inherit, which is not the 
 case in France. On that account, if such a thing 
 were asked from anyone else, it would not amount to 
 so much as it does when asked from our daughters. 
 This is so clear and well known to both literate and 
 illiterate persons that we were with good reason much 
 surprised that the King of England should think of 
 mentioning it. . . . 
 
 If the King of England should not be inclined to 
 give the money, it will be sufficient on our part that 
 the affair should have received an explanation. But 
 the requisition having been made, do not, on account 
 of the non-payment, give up, or delay the departure 
 of the Princess of Wales for Spain. If, therefore, 
 you can provide sufficient proof, without the King ot 
 England taking it as an affront, do it, and if not, 
 do whatever may seem best to you, so that the King 
 of England may not be annoyed, and that what has 
 been done in England may be shown in Spain. Or, 
 rather, we are of opinion that it would not be well 
 that you should say anything on our part, or on 
 yours, because it would lower us more than there is 
 any reason for, if we were to show any desire to give 
 such explanation. Act, therefore, as may seem t)est, 
 and if you should think that it will be better to 
 
46 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 manage so that the English may know of the busi- 
 ness from others, and not from you, give to those 
 other persons some explanation respecting the affairs 
 of the Princess of Wales and the Prince of Wales. 
 With this view say that,- on account of the love 
 which we bear to the King of England and his 
 kingdom, we consented, with much goodwill, to give 
 the Princess of Wales in marriage to the Prince of 
 Wales. But that God having taken the latter to 
 himself before the matrimony was consummated, we 
 find from letters received from England that the King 
 of England desires the Princess of Wales should 
 marry the present Prince of Wales. Tell them we 
 have thought well of the proposal, desiring that on 
 both sides our past loss should be healed and com- 
 pensated, and that by this connexion, the love and 
 amity existing between the two houses should be 
 increased. Also that the subjects of both kingdoms, 
 being thereby made nearer friends, should be able 
 the more freely to traffic in the one kingdom and 
 the other. Say, likewise, that the Princess of Wales 
 is to come over to us, we, in this matter of the 
 betrothal, having justly performed that which we 
 owed to the affection we bore to the King of 
 England and to his kingdom. But we now deem 
 it right that they should know that if she remain in 
 England it is by the wish of the King of England, 
 and not by ours. . . . 
 
 Isabella's counter-proposal for Henry VH. was that he 
 should marry her husband's niece Juana, the young Queen 
 of Naples, and as she was reputed to be handsomely dowered, 
 the widowed king decided to give this due consideration. 
 Meantime he had abandoned the shameful idea of marrying 
 Catherine herself — if, indeed, he ever seriously entertained 
 it — and, at last, on June 23, 1503, signed the treaty of 
 marriage for his younger son. Two days later, in the Bishop 
 of Salisbury's house in Fleet Street, the young Prince and 
 his sister-in-law were solemnly betrothed to each other. It 
 was agreed that the Spanish Sovereigns should abandon their 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 47 
 
 claim to the repayment of the first instalment of the dowry, 
 and that the balance should be paid by them within ten 
 days of the solemnization of the new marriage, which was 
 to take place as soon as Prince Henry should have com- 
 pleted his fourteenth year. At present he was only twelve, 
 and in blissful indifference to certain subtle matters which 
 seemed of profound importance to the graver heads that had 
 to deal with the affair. Ferdinand's instructions to De 
 Rojas, his ambassador in Rome, in regard to the special 
 dispensation which he had to beg of the Pope on account 
 of the close affinity between the Prince and his prospective 
 bride, form a curious commentary on the treaty itself, in 
 which it is distinctly stated that the marriage with Prince 
 Arthur had been duly consummated. There can be little 
 doubt, however, that both Spanish Sovereigns were firmly 
 convinced to the contrary : 
 
 FERDINAND II. TO F. DE ROJAS. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Vol. I.] 
 
 Barcelona, August 23, 1503. 
 
 The cause of God and of the Church can be 
 furthered only when Christian Princes are united in 
 friendship and love, and yet there is no end of war 
 and discord among Christians. In order to remedy, 
 to some extent, the evil, he has concluded a perpetual 
 league and friendship with the King of England. As 
 it is his will and the wish of his ally still more to 
 strengthen their friendship, he has decided to marry 
 his daughter, the Princess Catherine, to Henry, 
 Prince of Wales. This marriage requires the 
 dispensation of the Pope. 
 
 In the clause of the treaty which mentions the dis- 
 pensation of the Pope, it is stated that the Princess 
 Catherine consummated her marriage with Prince 
 Arthur. The fact, however, is, that although they 
 were wedded, Prince Arthur and the Princess 
 Catherine never consummated their marriage. It 
 is well known in England that the Princess is still 
 a virgin. But as the English are much disposed to 
 cavil, it has seemed to be more prudent to provide 
 
48 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 for the case as though the marriage had been con- 
 summated, and the dispensation of the Pope must 
 be in perfect keeping with the said clause of the 
 treaty. The right of succession depends on the 
 undoubted legitimacy of the marriage. 
 
 The principal object of the league between Spain 
 and England is the welfare and prosperity of the 
 Pope, whom both Princes intend to defend against 
 all aggressors. It is therefore to be hoped that the 
 Pope will readily grant the dispensation. 
 
 The ambassador of Henry VII. is likewise 
 instructed to beg the Pope to give the dispensation 
 in question. He ought to go, with the English 
 ambassador, to the Pope, and to make a joint 
 request. The sooner it is granted the greater will 
 be his obligation towards the Pope. Should the 
 English ambassador say that he cannot go with him 
 to the Pope, because he has not yet received instruc- 
 tions from his King, he must procure the dispensation 
 without the English ambassador. 
 
 Catherine's position at the English Court seems at this 
 particular period to have left little to be desired. Henry VII. 
 had just paid ;f300 to defray the expenses of her household 
 during the months of July, August and September, adding 
 to his instructions, with an unaccustomed generosity, " that 
 whatever may be saved after all expenses have been paid is 
 to be delivered to the Princess, to spend as she likes ; " ^ 
 and, writing to Catherine herself, from Sheppey Island, he 
 assures her that he loves her as his own daughter. As she 
 was not well when he left Greenwich, he says, the time that 
 will have to pass before he receives good news of her will in 
 any case seem too long. He sends one of his most trusty 
 servants " not only to visit her, but also to do anything for 
 her that may be desirable with respect to her health, or that 
 may give her some pleasure." ^ 
 
 No doubt Henry thought all this would expedite his own 
 schemes, but it is also possible that he was really con- 
 cerned about Catherine's health, which had been getting 
 
 1 Spanish Calendar, Vol. I., p. 327. 
 ^ Ibid., August 4. 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 49 
 
 steadily worse ever since her arrival from Spain. It took 
 her years to grow accustomed to the more rigorous climate 
 of England, heavy colds, coughs and intermittent attacks of 
 ague almost pulling her to pieces. Later in this month of 
 August she accompanied the King and his family to Rich- 
 mond, Windsor and elsewhere. Unfortunately only an 
 abstract of the Duke of Estrada's letters describing these 
 visits is available : 
 
 THE DUKE OF ESTRADA TO QUEEN ISABELLA. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Vol. I.] 
 
 London, Augicst 10, 1504. 
 
 The King had taken the Princess of Wales to 
 Richmond, and from Richmond to Windsor. There 
 they stayed twelve or thirteen days, going almost 
 every day into the park and the forest to hunt deer 
 and other game. From Windsor they returned to 
 Richmond, w^here they passed a week. 
 
 The Princess had been unwell for three days, 
 suffering from ague and derangement of the stomach. 
 She soon got better. From Richmond the King 
 proceeded to Westminster, leaving the Prince of 
 Wales behind, but taking the Princess of Wales, the 
 Princess Mary, and all the English ladies with him. 
 A few days later they all went to Greenwich. After 
 staying six or seven days in Greenwich, the Princess 
 fell ill again, and much more seriously than before. 
 
 Before she had recovered, King Henry was obliged 
 to leave on a visit to Kent. The Princess then re- 
 turned to the house in which she had formerly lived. 
 She had, however, not improved. She is rather 
 worse, for she now suffers every day from cold and 
 heat. The illness seems sometimes serious, for the 
 Princess has no appetite, and her complexion has 
 changed entirely. Nevertheless, the physicians have 
 much confidence, and say that the patient will soon 
 recover. ... 
 
 The King left Greenwich the same day on which 
 the Princess of Wales went away. He sends messages 
 to her very often, and offeirs to visit her. He offers 
 
 Y.H. E 
 
50 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 to convoke all the physicians of the kingdom, and is 
 very courteous. The Prince of Wales is with the 
 King. Formerly the King did not like to take the 
 Prince of Wales with him, in order not to interrupt 
 his studies. It is quite wonderful how much the King 
 likes the Prince of Wales. He has good reason to do 
 so, for the Prince deserves all love. But it is not 
 only from love that the King takes the Prince with 
 him ; he wishes to improve him. Certainly there 
 could be no better school in the world than the 
 society of such a father as Henry VH. He is so 
 wise and so attentive to everything ; nothing escapes 
 his attention. There is no doubt that the Prince has 
 an excellent governor and steward in his father. If 
 he lives ten years longer he will leave the Prince 
 furnished with good habits, and with immense riches, 
 and in as happy circumstances as man can be. . . . 
 
 There was considerable delay in obtaining the necessary 
 dispensation for the marriage, largely owing in the first place 
 to the unexpected death of Pope Alexander VI., and of 
 his successor, Pius III., within a month of each other in 
 the summer of 1503, Julius II. not being elected until 
 the following November i. Shortly afterwards the new 
 Pope agreed verbally to grant the dispensation, and on 
 November 26, 1503, signed the formal bull to that effect. 
 It was not, however, until November of the following year 
 that a brief, corresponding to this bull, was sent under seal 
 of secrecy to Queen Isabella, for her consolation on her 
 death-bed. Ferdinand forwarded this brief — ante-dated to 
 December 26, 1503 — to Puebla, as mentioned in the ensuing 
 letter to Henry VII., here translated from the Latin text in 
 the Rolls Series : 
 
 FERDINAND II. TO HENRY VII. 
 [" Letters and Papers, Hemy VII.," Rolls Series.] 
 
 Medina del Campo, November 24, 1504. 
 
 To the most serene Prince, Henry, by the grace of 
 God, King of England, our most beloved brother, 
 Ferdinand by the same grace King of Castile, Leon, 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 51 
 
 Arragon, and either Sicily, Grenada, &c., health and 
 increase of prosperous successors. 
 
 We have received your letters which Duke Fer- 
 nando, our spokesman, has brought to us, who has 
 faithfully declared to us all those things which you 
 have discussed with him and with Doctor de Puebla, 
 our spokesman, upon matters pertaining to the 
 increase of our kinship, and friendship, and to other 
 affairs. 
 
 First, therefore, we were marvellously pleased when 
 we were assured of your health and prosperity, for on 
 account of the great love which we bear towards you, 
 we desire your life and prosperity no less than our 
 own. We are moreover delighted at the health of 
 the Princes, our common children, for although we 
 are often assured by letters there written of their and 
 your safety and prosperity, we are affected with a 
 mighty joy when, as now, Duke Fernando narrates 
 all to us with the credibility of an eye-witness. 
 Therefore we ask you earnestly that you will always 
 assure us of your health and safety. 
 
 But how much shall we rejoice in regard to the said 
 matters which pertain to the increase of our kinship 
 and friendship, considering our great love and the very 
 close bond of our kinship and friendship, and recog- 
 nizing moreover your great virtue, when our kinship 
 and friendship are augmented in every possible way ; 
 and care must be taken that the matter be done and 
 concluded as soon as it possibly can. 
 
 And since in regard to those things which you have 
 caused to be referred to us about this matter by Duke 
 Fernando, our spokesman, we have answered fully to 
 our spokesman, the aforesaid Doctor de Puebla : we 
 earnestly ask you to show to him full and undoubting 
 faith. 
 
 Moreover we send to the same Doctor de Puebla a 
 Bull of Dispensation of the marriage of the said 
 Princes, our common children, and we are writing *to 
 the same upon these matters, as you will hear from 
 him, to whom we again pray you to give faith. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Queen Isabella's death, which occurred two days after this 
 letter was written, made a great difference to many things. 
 It deprived Ferdinand of his title as King of Castile, the chief 
 crown of Spain now passing by descent to his daughter 
 Juana, the weak-minded wife of the Archduke Philip; but 
 Isabella, by her will, had empowered Ferdinand, when Juana 
 was prevented from attending to public business, to act as 
 governor of the kingdom in her name and authority. This 
 led to the bitter feud between the King and his son-in-law, 
 which lasted until Philip's mysterious death towards the end 
 of 1506. Isabella's death also made a considerable difference 
 to Catherine's position in England. Instead of treating her 
 "as though she were his own daughter," as Puebla assures 
 her parents in the next letter — written before the news was 
 received in England of the Queen of Castile's death — he 
 evidently thought seriously of abandoning Henry's engage- 
 ment to her in favour of some more promising betrothal : 
 
 DOCTOR DE PUEBLA TO FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Vol. I.] 
 
 London, December 5, 1504. 
 
 Most high and most mighty Princes, the King and 
 Queen's Majesties, 
 
 After having kissed the royal hands and feet of your 
 Highnesses, I have to inform you that, a few^ days ago, 
 I wrote many letters from here to your Highnesses, 
 sending them by different routes. As I am certain 
 you must by this have received them, I will not repeat 
 what is contained in them, but only tell you what has 
 taken place since. 
 
 Firstly, her Highness the Princess is very well, 
 thanks be to God ; and although she has been a 
 month at Westminster with the King, she is keeping 
 the same rule and observance and seclusion which 
 she did in her own house, in accordance with the 
 wishes and desires of Doiia Elvira Manuel. This 
 manner of proceeding is thought well of by all the 
 kingdom, and much more by the King. For I assure 
 your Highness he has commanded that she should 
 be treated as though she were his daughter. 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 53 
 
 Your Highness must be informed that some persons 
 desire to make the Princess imagine she need not 
 observe such order and seclusion as she does at 
 Court, but that she ought to enjoy greater freedom. 
 Your Highness will see this by a letter from Dona 
 Elvira, which was given to me when I went to speak 
 with the King, and which I enclose in this despatch. 
 Moreover, his Highness told me plainly that he had 
 heard something of the matter, and had declared his 
 wishes to her Highness the Princess, telling her that 
 the instructions sent her by your Highness were only 
 such as were fitting for her honour and dignity. He 
 had likewise told her that the commands you had 
 laid upon her, and what you had written, must be 
 performed, not only as long as she remained 
 unmarried, but afterwards also. So that her High- 
 ness the Princess is fully aware that your wishes in 
 this respect, and those of the King of England, are 
 one. She knows, moreover, that she must not now 
 expect anything else, notwithstanding that she had 
 such great hope that, after the arrival of Duke 
 Ferdinand in England, your Highnesses would not 
 make the arrangements you have made. Finally, 
 there is nothing more to be done in this matter, 
 excepting that, in order to set the seal to it all, I pray 
 your Highnesses to write to her Highness, expressing 
 your satisfaction with all that has been done. . . . 
 
 Catherine soon had sterner problems to face than 
 whether she ought to have greater freedom in her widow- 
 hood. Henry now seems to have neglected her in a most 
 heartless way. Three months after her mother's death she 
 wrote from Richmond to Puebla begging him " to remind 
 the King of England of the misery in which she lives, and to 
 tell him in plain language that it will reflect dishonour on 
 his character if he should entirely abandon his daughter." 
 Had she contracted debts for luxuries, she added, the King 
 might have had reason not to pay them. But such was not 
 the case. She had been forced to borrow, otherwise »she 
 would have had nothing to eat.^ 
 
 1 Spanish Calendar, Vol. I., ps 350, 
 
54 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Though Henry VH. had twice bound himself to provide 
 for his daughter-in-law, he was not the only one to blame for 
 Catherine's unhappy situation. Her father's cruel desertion, 
 so far as financial assistance was concerned, was at least 
 equally heartless. Even her mother, though lavish in her 
 sympathy and jealous of her own and her daughter's dignity, 
 had sent her no practical assistance. In the year before her 
 death, indeed, Isabella instructed the Duke of Estrada to 
 persuade her to sell personal jewels in order to pay thea,ooo 
 English soldiers whom the Spanish queen then wanted to 
 enhst against France. Ferdinand's attitude may be judged 
 by the letter which he wrote to Puebla in the summer of 
 1505, a translation of which is printed by Dr. Gairdner in the 
 " Memorials of Henry VII." : 
 
 FERDINAND II. TO DOCTOR DE PUEBLA. 
 [" Memorials of Henry VII.," Rolls Series.] 
 
 Segovia, June 22, 1505. 
 
 . . . Concerning the question of the marriage, tell 
 him [Henry VII.] on my part how great pleasure I 
 have had thereat, and that hence I hope that when 
 the time shall have ^arrived they will receive the 
 nuptial blessing, be wedded and consummate their 
 marriage, the Prince and Princess of Wales, my 
 children ; and with respect to the portion of the dowry 
 which remains to be paid, it will be completed in time 
 according to the manner agreed. But because, as 
 you are aware, the Princess, my daughter, took with 
 her what we gave her on account of the dowry, 
 gold and silver and jewels to the value of thirty-five 
 thousand crowns of gold ; and for these the King of 
 England, my brother, has not tendered receipt, 
 because as they had to be reckoned in at last 
 [payment] it was hoped that the said receipt for 
 payment would be procured : remind the Princess, 
 my daughter, that she cause all the aforesaid gold 
 and silver and jewels to be very safely kept, so that 
 none of them may be lost ; for they have to be 
 estimated and admitted as received to the value of 
 thirty-five thousand crowns of gold on account of her 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 55 
 
 dowry ; and that the above-mentioned which she took 
 away has remained all registered here in the books, 
 and there likewise, so that over there, those persons 
 who hold it in charge must render thereof until it be 
 received in payment of the dowry as has been 
 arranged. And talk thereupon with Dona Elvira as 
 well, because regarding this there should be great 
 caution, as is right ; and the remainder, which 
 amounts to sixty-five thousand crowns, I will give 
 orders to pay up here in good time, which will be 
 when the Prince of Wales, my son, shall be fifteen 
 years complete.^ And let me know for certain when 
 he shall have completed the term, if it please our 
 Lord ; because by that time endeavour shall be made 
 to send to London the said sixty-five thousand crowns 
 of gold. 
 
 Concerning the expenses of Dona Elvira and Pero 
 Manrique, and of the other attendants of the Princess, 
 say what the King of England, my brother, answers 
 as to whether they remain entirely at his charge. 
 And whomsoever he shall entrust with the charge of 
 expenses, as well as with providing for the establish- 
 ment and attendants of the Princess, my daughter, 
 let him provide abundantly what is necessary for the 
 said Princess for her household ; and that in regard 
 to the expenditure, it be done becomingly and 
 competently. You will say on my part to the Princess 
 that it seems to me, she should in all things prove 
 submissive, and in much respectfulness to the King 
 of England, my brother, her father, as I believe she 
 does ; for besides this being a matter of course, he 
 thus will love her more and will do more for her. 
 And since it pleaseth our Lord, that it (England) is 
 always to be her country, and in it she has to pass 
 her life, both with the King of England, my brother, 
 her father, and with the Prince of Wales, her 
 husband ; and since her personal expenditure and 
 that of. her establishment, and the remuneration of 
 
 ' Ferdinand omits to state that he had bound himself to pay 
 the balance when the Prince -was fourteen. 
 
56 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 her attendants, are and have to be always at the 
 charge of the said King of England, my brother, her 
 father, it seems to me she ought to endeavour that 
 what concerns her establishment and her dependants 
 should be done and ordered with the will and consent 
 of the King of England ; because thus he will comply 
 fully, and one may trust that he will therein respect 
 his own honour and that of the Princess, my daughter, 
 as well as his own peace of mind and that of the 
 Princess, if it so happens, that he agree, once for all, 
 in order to be rid of this anxiety. , . . 
 
 Henry VH. continued to assure Ferdinand that he loved 
 him " more than any prince," and was willing to conclude a 
 new alliance with him, yet on June 27 — the day before the 
 Prince of Wales completed his fourteenth year — he prepared 
 the way for dissolving the matrimonial bond, whenever he 
 should think fit, by the formal denunciation which Prince 
 Henry made secretly at his father's command before the 
 Bishop of Winchester, in one of the lower chambers of the 
 Palace of Richmond. The Prince was made to protest 
 against the match on the ground that he had been contracted 
 in marriage during his minority. " As he is now near the age 
 of pubity he declares that he will not ratify the said marriage 
 contract, but, on the contrary, denounces it as null and 
 void." 1 
 
 The protest, apparently, was merely a precautionary 
 measure, for it was never made use of, and even Puebla, who 
 was crafty enough to worm his way into most secrets, was 
 ignorant of this trump card which, for emergency's sake, 
 Henry VH. kept up his sleeve. The whole diplomacy of the 
 rival Courts at this period, where there were so many royal 
 widows, and widowers, and eligible princes and princesses, 
 seems to revolve round a series of matrimonial plots, in which 
 the leading characters change so frequently that it is not 
 easy to follow them in all their evolutions. That anything 
 seemed possible with Henry VH. in this connexion may be 
 judged from a letter sent to the King of Portugal at this 
 period : 
 
 ' Lord Herbert's "Life and Reign of Henry VIII." 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 57 
 
 THOMAS LOPEZ TO EMMANUEL, KING OF PORTUGAL. 
 [" Letters and Papers, Henry VII.," Rolls Series.] 
 
 MoNS, October lo, 1505. 
 
 Sire, 
 
 The King of England is treating to get married in 
 France to the daughter of the Count of Angouleme, 
 the Dauphin, or to his mother, and he has sent thither 
 for that purpose Lord Somerset,^ his ambassador; 
 he is also trying to marry his daughter to the same 
 Dauphin, and is using great efforts for it. 
 
 And he is treating very secretly in this house to 
 marry his son, the Prince of Wales, to the daughter of 
 King Philip, with whom it was treated and promised 
 some days ago when the Cardinal here came for the 
 said Dauphin, which makes it likely that the marriage 
 with the Infanta Catherine will be undone, as it 
 weighs much on his conscience. 
 
 The said King of England gives well to understand 
 that he is asked by your Highness for his daughter 
 for the Prince your son ; he will make his choice 
 where best he may. It appeared to me proper to 
 write it to your Highness ; for with these kings all 
 here use a great deal of underhand dealing, and your 
 Highness is reputed by them for the most sincere, and 
 above all intrigues. . . . 
 
 Catherine's position now grew froni bad to worse. She 
 was shrewd enough to judge Puebla at something like his 
 true worth, and at last wrote to her father, telling him frankly 
 how matters stood with her : 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO FERDINAND II. 
 [" Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies."] 
 
 Richmond, December 2, 1505. 
 
 Most high and most puissant Lord, 
 
 Hitherto I have not wished to let your Highness 
 know the affairs here, that I might not give you 
 annoyance, and also thinking that they would improve ; 
 but it appears that the contrary is the case, and that 
 
 ' Meaning Sir Charles Somerset, Lord Herbert. 
 
58 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 each day my troubles increase ; and all this on account 
 of the Doctor de Puebla, to whom it has not sufficed 
 that from the beginning he transacted a thousand 
 falsities against the service of your Highness, but now 
 he has given me new trouble ; and because I believe 
 your Highness will think that I complain without 
 reason, I desire to tell you all that has passed. 
 
 Your Highness shall know, as I have often written 
 to you, that since I came into England I have not 
 had a single maravedi, except a certain sum which 
 was given me for food, and this such a sum that it 
 did not suffice without my having many debts in 
 London ; and that which troubles me more is to see 
 my servants and maidens so at a loss, and that they 
 have not wherewith to get clothes ; and this I believe 
 is all done by hand of the Doctor, who, notwith- 
 standing your Highness has written, sending him 
 word that he should have money from the King of 
 England, my Lord, that their costs should be given 
 them, yet, in order not to trouble him, will rather 
 entrench upon and neglect the service of your High- 
 ness. Now, my Lord, a few days ago Dona Elvira 
 Manuel asked my leave to go to Flanders to get cured 
 of a complaint which has come into her eyes, so that 
 she lost the sight of one of them ; aiid there is a 
 physician in Flanders who cured the Infanta Dona 
 Isabel of the same disease with which she is affected. 
 She laboured to bring him here so as not to leave me, 
 but could never succeed with him ; and I, since if she 
 were blind she could not serve me, durst not hinder 
 her journey. I begged the King of England, my 
 Lord, that until our Dona Elvira should return his 
 Highness would command that I should have, as a 
 companion, an old English lady, or that he would 
 take me to his Court ; and I imparted all this to the 
 Doctor, thinking to make of the rogue a true man ; 
 but it did not suffice me — because he not only drew 
 me to Court, in which I have some pleasure, because 
 I had supplicated the King for an asylum, but he 
 negotiated that the King should dismiss all my 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 59 
 
 household, and take away my chamber-(equipage), 
 and send to place it in a house of his own, so that I 
 should not be in any way mistress of it. 
 
 And all this does not weigh upon me, except that it 
 concerns the service of your Highness, doing the 
 contrary of that which ought to be done. I entreat 
 your Highness that you will consider that I am your 
 daughter, and that you consent not that on account 
 of the Doctor I should have such trouble, but that 
 you will command some ambassador to come here, 
 who may be a true servant of your Highness, and for 
 no interest will cease to do that which pertains to 
 your service. And if in this your Highness trusts me 
 not, do you command some person to come here, who 
 may inform you of the truth, and then you will have 
 one who will better serve you. As for me, I may say 
 to your Highness that, in seeing this man do so many 
 things not like a good servant of your Highness, I 
 have had so much pain and annoyance that I have 
 iost my health in a great measure ; so that for two 
 months I have had severe tertian fevers, and this will 
 be the cause that I shall soon die. I supplicate your 
 Highness to pardon me that I presume to entreat you 
 to do me so great favour as to command that this 
 Doctor may not remain ; because he certainly does 
 not fulfil the service of your Highness, which he post- 
 pones to the service of the worst interest which can 
 be. Our Lord guard the life and most royal estate of 
 your Highness, and ever increase it as I desire. 
 From Richmond, the second of December. 
 
 My Lord, I had forgotten to remind your Highness 
 how you know that it was agreed that you were to 
 give, as a certain part of my dowry, the plate and 
 jewels that I brought ; and yet I am certain that the 
 King of England, my Lord, will not receive anything 
 of plate nor of jewels which I have used ; because he 
 told me himself that he was indignant that they 
 should say in his kingdom that he took away from me 
 my ornaments. And as little may your Hightiess 
 expect that he will take them in account and will 
 
6o THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 return them to me ; because I am certain that he will 
 not do so, nor is any such thing customary here. In 
 like wise the jewels which I brought came thence 
 (from Spain), valued at a great sum.^ The King 
 would not take them in the half of the value, because 
 here all these things are esteemed much cheaper, and 
 the King has so many jewels that he rather desires 
 money than them. I write thus to your Highness 
 because I know that there will be great embarrass- 
 ment if he will not receive them, except at less price. 
 It appears to me that it would be better that your 
 Highness should take them for yourself, and should, 
 give to the King of England, my Lord, his money. 
 Your Highness will see what would serve you best, 
 and with this I shall be most content. The humble 
 servant of your Highness, who kisses your hands, 
 The Princess of Wales. 
 
 But Ferdinand, though ready enough to profess his love, 
 was now too anxious to keep on good terms with Henry VH. 
 to stir up trouble on his daughter's behalf. Her urgent 
 letter of December 2 remained unanswered. Another letter 
 written on December 15 to the same effect, in which she 
 declared that she " will be lost, if she is not assisted from 
 Spain " met with a similar fate. Perhaps the cause of this 
 neglect may be found in the negotiations then pending 
 between Henry VII. and Ferdinand's implacable enemy, the 
 Archduke Philip, now King of Castile, in which Catherine 
 had unwittingly been made to play a part, doubtless at the 
 instigation of Dona Elvira Manuel, the duenna who, like her 
 brother, Catherine's major-domo, was intriguing against the 
 interests of Ferdinand. A few months later, when a chance 
 storm drove Philip and Juana to these shores, Henry signed 
 a treaty with the Castilian King, which not only undermined 
 the influence of the King of Arragon, and lowered the value 
 of the matrimonial alliance with Catherine, but also obliged 
 Philip to hand over to the English King the fugitive Earl of 
 Suffolk, the rebel "White Rose," who thus began the dreary 
 imprisonment in the Tower which only ended with his 
 
 ' The jewels at 20,000 crowns, and the plate at 15,000. 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 6i 
 
 execution in the succeeding reign. Other results of this 
 fruitful visit of Philip and Juana were the marriage treaty 
 between Henry VII. and Philip's sister, the widowed and 
 wealthy Archduchess Margaret, who subsequently, however, 
 repudiated the agreement, flatly declining to marry the 
 English King ; and the investiture of Prince Henry with the 
 Order of the Golden Fleece by Philip, who was himself 
 created by Henry VII. a Knight of the Garter. In spite of 
 his secret denunciation of his betrothal, we find the young 
 Prince of Wales writing on behalf of the chamberlain of 
 " the Princess, my wife," to Philip the Handsome, shortly 
 after that highly-honoured guest had continued his interrupted 
 voyage to take possession of his new kingdom of Castile : 
 
 HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES TO PHILIP, KING OF 
 
 CASTILE. 
 
 [" Letters and Papers, Henry VII,," Rolls Series.] 
 
 Greenwich, April 9, 1506. 
 
 Most high, most excellent, and mighty Prince, 
 
 I commend myself to you in the most affectionate 
 and hearty manner that I can. Whereas the chamber- 
 lain of my most dear and well-beloved Consort, the 
 Princess, my vi'ife, is going at present to you for 
 certain matters that he says he has to transact in that 
 quarter, he has requested me to M^rite to you in his 
 favour. I pray you very heartily, most high, most 
 excellent, and mighty Prince, that you vi^ill hold him 
 recommended in his said affairs, and that you will 
 apprise me from time to time, and let me know of 
 your good health and prosperity, which I particularly, 
 and with my heart, desire to be of long continuance 
 as I would my own. And for my part, whenever I 
 can find a fitting messenger, I am determined to do 
 the like to you. 
 
 Moreover, on your intimating to me if there be 
 anything here in which I can do you honour and 
 pleasure, I will take pains to satisfy you in it with all 
 my heart, by the good aid of our Lord, whom I pray 
 to give you, most high, most excellent and mighty 
 Prince, good life and long. Your humble cousin, 
 Henry, Prince of W^ales. 
 
62 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 A significant commentary on the Prince's reference to his 
 " most dear and well-beloved consort " is furnished in the 
 following translation of a pitiful letter from Catherine 
 herself, written later in the same month to her father. 
 Unfortunately the first folio of the original letter is missing. 
 The Princess's admission that she knew nothing of the 
 English language is remarkable, considering that she had 
 then been four years in England. She afterwards atoned 
 for this neglect, but at the present time her intercourse with 
 her father-in-law and future husband was probably carried 
 on in Latin : 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO FERDINAND II. 
 
 [" Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies."'] 
 
 Richmond, April 22, 1506 
 
 ... [I cannot] speak more particularly, because 
 I know not what will become of this letter, or if it 
 will arrive at the hands of your Highness ; but when 
 Don Pedro de Ayala shall come, who is now with the 
 King and Queen in the harbour, your Highness shall 
 know all by ciphers. I have written many times to 
 your Highness, supplicating you to order a remedy 
 for my extreme necessity, of which (letters) I have 
 never had an answer. Now I supplicate your High- 
 ness, for the love of our Lord, that you consider how 
 I am your daughter, and that after him I have no 
 other good nor remedy, except in your Highness ; 
 and how I am in debt in London, and this not for 
 extravagant things, nor yet by relieving my own 
 (people), who greatly need it, bqt only for food ; 
 and how the King of England, my Lord, will not 
 cause them (the debts) to be satisfied, although I 
 myself spoke to him, and all those of his council, 
 and that with tears : but he said that he is not 
 obliged to give me anything, and that even the food 
 he gives me is of his good will ; because your High- 
 ness has not kept promise with him in the money of 
 my marriage portion. I told him that I believed that 
 in time to come your Highness would discharge it. 
 He told me that that was yet to see, and that he did 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 63 
 
 not know it. So that, my Lord, I am in the greatest 
 trouble and anguish in the world. On the one part, 
 seeing all my people that they are ready to ask 
 alms ; on the other, the debts which I have in 
 London ; and also that, about my own person, I have 
 nothing for chemises; wherefore, by your Highness's 
 life, I have now sold some bracelets to get a dress of 
 black velvet, for I was all but naked : for since I 
 departed thence (from Spain) I have nothing except 
 two new dresses, for till now those I brought thence 
 have lasted me ; although now I have nothing but the 
 dresses of brocade. On this account I supplicate your 
 Highness to command to remedy this, and that as 
 quickly as may be ; for certainly I shall not be able to 
 live in this manner. 
 
 I likewise supplicate your Highness to do me so 
 great a favour as to send me a friar of the Order of 
 San Francesco de Osservancya, who is a man of 
 letters, for a confessor ; because, as I have written 
 at other times to your Highness, I do not understand 
 the English language, nor know how to speak it : 
 and I have no confessor. And this should be, if 
 your Highness will so command it, very quickly ; 
 because you truly know the inconvenience of being 
 without a confessor, especially now to me, who, for 
 six months have been near death : but now, thanks 
 to our Lord, I am somewhat better, although not 
 entirely well. 
 
 This I supplicate your Highness once again that it 
 may be as soon as possible. Calderon, who brings 
 this letter, has served me very well. He is now 
 going to be married. I have not wherewith to 
 recompense him. I supplicate your Highness to 
 do me so great a favour as to command him to be 
 paid there (in Spain) and have him commended ; 
 for I have such care for him that any favour that 
 your Highness may do him I should receive as most 
 signal. 
 
 Our Lord guard the life and most royal estate of 
 your Highness, and increase it as I desire. 
 
64 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 From Richmond, the 22d of April. The humble 
 servant of your Highness, who kisses your hands, 
 The Princess of Wales. 
 
 To the most high and puissant Lord the King. 
 
 The autumn brought another change in the situation with 
 the sudden death of the King of Castile, shortly after his 
 hollow reconciliation with his father-in-law. This happened 
 in September, only three months after Philip's landing in 
 Castile with his unhappy wife Juana, who had already 
 developed signs of mental weakness, and now became un- 
 mistakably mad. His death at once improved the prospect 
 for Juana's widowed sister in England. It meant the return 
 to power of Ferdinand, and it also seems at once to have 
 suggested to Henry's mercenary mind a profitable marriage 
 for himself with Queen Juana. His first move was to send 
 Catherine a more gracious message than she had received 
 from him for a long time. This apparently encouraged her 
 to ask that she might move to Fulham from Eltham, where 
 her health remained far from satisfactory. "The house at 
 Fulham," he tells her on October a8, " has been kept for the 
 ambassadors of the King of Castile who are expected. But 
 as she wishes to go to it, and thinks it would improve her 
 health to be so near him, the house at Fulham is certainly at 
 her disposal, and the ambassa.dors shall be lodged elsewhere. 
 If she prefer any other house, she has only to say so, and it 
 will be kept for her." ^ Henry adds that he is sorry to hear 
 of her return of ill-health. She must be cheerful, he tells her; 
 he will return in three or four days. 
 
 The death of the King of Castile also again brought 
 Erasmus in touch with Prince Henry, with whom he 
 appears to have been further acquainted when he paid his 
 second visit to England in 1505. He now wrote to the 
 Prince on the subject of Philip's death, and Henry rephed 
 in a Latin letter of which Erasmus wrote the following 
 account in 1529 to Joannes Cochleius, who then questioned 
 him as to the authorship of Henry VIII.'s book against 
 Luther. Erasmus maintained that this work was substan- 
 tially of the King's own composition, giving his reasons in 
 
 • Spanish Calendar, Vol, I., p. ^01, 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 65 
 
 the letter which is now reprinted from Mr. Nichols's English 
 edition of the " Epistles of Erasmus " : 
 
 As far as regards the King's power of expression, I 
 send you a sample which may enable you to guess 
 how much may have been acquired in so many years. 
 For the whole of the enclosed letter he wrote when a 
 youth with his own hand. When I was staying at 
 Venice, I sent a letter to him deploring the death of 
 King Philip, my own Sovereign. I have kept no copy 
 of it, but it began nearly in the following words : "A 
 report has arrived here too sad to be readily believed, 
 but so persistent that it cannot appear altogether 
 baseless, that Prince Philip has departed this life." 
 The boy at once recognized a certain elegance in the 
 construction, and you will see that he has begun his 
 own letter with a similar phrase. I knew the hand, 
 but, to speak candidly, suspected a little at the time 
 that he had had some help from others in the ideas 
 and expressions. In a conversation I afterwards had 
 with William Lord Mountjoy, he tried by various 
 arguments to dispel that suspicion, and when he 
 found he could not do so he gave up the point and 
 let it pass, until he was sufficiently instructed in the 
 case. On another occasion, when we were talking 
 alone together, he brought out a number of the 
 Prince's letters, some to other people and some to 
 himself, and among them one which answered to 
 mine. In these there were manifest signs of com- 
 ment, addition, suppression, correction, and alteration. 
 You might recognize the first drafting of a letter, and 
 you might make out the second and third, and some- 
 times even the fourth correction ; but whatever was 
 revised or added was in the same handwriting. I had 
 then no further ground for hesitation, and overcome 
 by the facts, I laid aside all suspicion. Neither do I 
 doubt, my dear Cochleius, but that you would do the 
 same, if you knew this King's happy genius. 
 
 Now follows the letter itself, dated January 17, 1507. 
 Note the motto which the pious young Prince has placed at 
 y.H. F 
 
66 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIH 
 
 its head. Mr. Nichols reminds us that some examples of 
 the practice of putting a motto at the head of a letter may 
 be found in the Paston Collection : 
 
 HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES TO ERASMUS. 
 I" Epistles of Erasmus," translated by F. M. Nichols, Vol. I.] 
 
 JESUS IS MY HOPE. 
 
 I am much struck by your letter, most eloquent 
 Erasmus, which is too elegant to appear composed 
 on a sudden, and so lucid and simple that it cannot 
 be supposed to be premeditated by so dextrous 
 an intellect. For it somehow happens, that those 
 writings which are elaborated by ingenious minds 
 and produced with more than usual care, bring with 
 them also a greater share of studied difficulty, for 
 while we aim at a more refined eloquence, we lose, 
 without being aware of it, that open and clear 
 manner of expression. But your epistle, charming 
 as it is in its grace, is no less transparent in its 
 perspicuity, so that you seem to have carried every 
 point. But why do I set myself to praise your 
 eloquence, whose skill is well known through the 
 whole world ? There is nothing I can compose in 
 your praise which is worthy of that consummate 
 erudition. I therefore pass over your praises, about 
 which I think it better to be silent than to speak 
 insufficiently. 
 
 The news of the death of the King of Castile, my 
 much lamented brother, I had received with regret 
 long before I read of it in your letter. Would that it 
 had come much later or had been less true ! For 
 never since the death of my most dear mother has a 
 less welcome message come to me. And to speak 
 the truth, I was not so ready to attend to your 
 letter as its singular elegance demanded, because it 
 appeared to reopen a wound which time had begun 
 to heal. But those events that are determined by 
 Heaven, must be so received by mortals. Meantime 
 pray proceed, and signify to us by letter any news 
 
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES 67 
 
 you have, but let your news be of a pleasanter kind ; 
 and may God bring to a good event whatever may 
 happen worth telling. Farewell. 
 Richmond, January 17, [1507]. 
 
 Two months later, King Ferdinand, then in Naples, at last 
 sent Catherine an answer to- her piteous appeals for help. 
 He had meantime married Germaine de Foix, the French 
 King's niece, and bought off the French claims on Naples in 
 order to strengthen himself against his late son-in-law ; but 
 now that Philip was dead it was time to return to Spain and 
 make the best bargain he could out of the new situation with 
 Henry VII. 
 
 F 2 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII. (1507 — 1509) 
 
 Ferdinand's Empty Sympathy — Catherine's Share in Henry VII.'s 
 Proposal to Marry her Mad Sister — Catherine's Increasing 
 Poverty — Her New Confessor — More about Henry VII.'s 
 Matrimonial Schemes — Catherine Prevented from Seeing Prince 
 Henry — Henry VII. , Renounces Marriage Treaty owing to 
 Non-payment of Marriage Portion — Catherine Begs her Father 
 to Send it— Ferdinand Appoints her his Ambassador — She 
 again describes her Pitiful Situation— Warns her Father 
 Against Henry VII. and Puebla — ^Her own Gifts of Dissimula- 
 tions—She Writes to Juana of Castile on Behalf of Henry VII. — 
 Ferdinand's Attitude in the Matter — Rumours of Rival Candi- 
 dates for Prince Henry's Hand — English Designs on Castile — 
 The Conference of Cambrai — Fuensalida becomes Ambassador 
 in England — ^Ferdinand's Threatening Attitude — Grave Condi- 
 tion of Henry VII. — Disorders in Catherine's Household — 
 Her Relations with her Confessor — ^Her Defence — Desperate 
 Condition — Death of Henry VII. 
 
 It is probable that some of Catherine's earher letters had 
 never reached her father ; Puebla would have seen to that ; 
 and it is significant that contemporary translations, probably 
 made for the benefit of Henry VII., are preserved in the 
 Record Office. But Ferdinand's eloquent distress in the 
 following letter at Catherine's condition could not have 
 been very sincere, for he had no serious intention of sending 
 the promised money until absolutely forced to do so. His 
 reference in the same letter to Henry's proposal to marry 
 Juana reveals the unpleasant fact that it was through 
 Catherine herself that Henry first made his revolting sugges- 
 tion to Ferdinand. It was revolting not so much because, 
 had the scheme succeeded, it would have placed her in the 
 position of daughter-in-law to her own sister, but liecause 
 that sister was out of her mind. If Catherine was not 
 at the time fully aware of the effect of Philip's death on 
 Juana's already weak intellect, she was soon informed of the 
 fact. It is wrong to judge the manners and morals of four 
 hundred years ago by the standards of. to-day, but it is 
 impossible to think of her share in these negotiations without 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 69 
 
 losing some of our regard and sympathy for her. Only an 
 abstract of Ferdinand's letter is printed in the Calendar 
 of Spanish State Papers : 
 
 FERDINAND II. TO CATHERINE OF ARRAGON. 
 {Spanish Calendar, Vol. I.] 
 
 [Naples, March, 1507.] 
 
 Has received her letter sent with Cavallos. God 
 alone knows the sadness of his heart whenever he 
 thinks of her miserable and trying life. Loves her 
 more than ever a father loved his daughter. May 
 God forgive King Philip ; for to tell the truth, he 
 caused all her misery. 
 
 The money of her marriage portion was ready to be 
 sent to England, but he prevented it. He always was 
 hostile to him, and to all his daughters. Queen 
 Juana is unable to give orders, and the money cannot 
 therefore be sent during his absence. Intends to 
 return to Castile in the spring. Queen Juana, and a 
 great many other persons, have written to him, saying 
 that his presence is absolutely necessary in Spain for 
 the corisei:yation of peace. Directly after his arrival 
 in Castle the money shall be sent to England. 
 
 In N^lCvS there is not a fit person to be found to 
 serve her as confessor, but a Spanish confessor will 
 be sent to her from Castile. Promises to send 
 another ambassador to England. Don Pedro de 
 Ayala, if he could be persuaded to go, would perhaps 
 be the best person for that place. ^ 
 
 If the King of England, as she believes, be not 
 willing to accept the ornaments, plate, &c., for the 
 price at which they were valued in Spain, he may take 
 them at the price at which they are worth in England. 
 She must, however, take care that nothing of the 
 jewels, ornaments, &c,, be lost before she is married, 
 for they form part of her marriage portion, and it 
 would be difficult to replace them. The ambassador 
 whom he intends to send will easily persuade King 
 Henry to arrange the affair to her satisfaction. 
 Meanwhile she must try to win the goodwill of the 
 
70 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 King, and always speak of her marriage as a thing 
 beyond all doubt. 
 
 Has read her letter, by which she has communicated 
 to him the wish of the King of England to marry her 
 sister, Queen Juana. She must tell the King thfl it 
 is not yet known whether Queen Juana be inclined to 
 marry again ; but if the said Queen should marry 
 a^ain, it shall be with no other person than with the 
 King of England, especially as he has proposed such 
 acceptable conditions. Expects that the King of 
 England will send him an ambassador with whom he 
 can treat about this marriage of Queen Juana, as soon 
 as it is known in England that he has returned to 
 Castile. But the affair must be kept most secret ; 
 for if Queen Juana should hear anything about it, she 
 would most probably do something quite to the 
 contrary. No one knows her better than himself. 
 For this reason nothing must be done before his 
 return to Spain. 
 
 Sends a letter for the King of England in cipher. 
 The person who is to decipher it must be a trust- 
 worthy person. Has written somethings concerning 
 the marriage of the King of England to Dr^Puebla.. 
 She may make use of him until another ambassador 
 arrives. 
 
 Instead of sending the overdue balance of the dowry, 
 Ferdinand made use of the Juana proposal in- order to secure 
 a further postponement from Henry VH. " Punctual 
 payment is so sacred a duty," protests the English King in 
 sending his grudging consent to this postponement, " and the 
 sum of money is so moderate for so great a King that he had 
 not expected to be again requested to consent to a new 
 postponement of the payment." Besides, he states, " Many 
 other princesses have been offered in marriage to the Prince 
 of Wales with much greater marriage portions, and even 
 with a dower twice as great as that of the Princess Catherine. 
 He has, however, not accepted them, because he loves and 
 esteems him so much, and is even willing that the payment 
 should be postponed till the Feast of St. Michael th^ 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 71 
 
 Archangel " — five and a half months later. Then with an 
 obvious reference to his own proposal of. marriage Henry 
 adds : " The Princess of Wales and Puebla have made 
 communications in his name, respecting the new tie of 
 relationship by wliich they are to be connected. He has 
 heard it all with the greatest joy." ^ 
 
 The full measure of iniquity involved in this marriage 
 scheme is disclosed by Puebla in the course of a long letter 
 to Ferdinand, written on April 15, 1507 : 
 
 As to the marriage of the Queen of Castile (he 
 writes), the King of England and the iew counsellors 
 who are initiated in the matter approve fully of his 
 discreet manner of proceeding. There is no King in 
 the world who would make so good a husband to the 
 Queen of Castile as the King of England, whether 
 she be sane or insane. He thinks she would soon 
 recover her reason when wedded to such a husband 
 as Henry, and King Ferdinand would, at all events, 
 be sure to retain the regency of Castile, If the 
 Queen's madness should prove incurable (he adds), 
 it would perhaps not be inconvenient that she should 
 live in England, for the English seem little to mind 
 her insanity, especially since he has assured them that 
 her derangement of mind would not prevent her from 
 bearing children.^ 
 
 In the next letter we see . Catherine the ambassador, as 
 well as Catherine the daughter, acting for Ferdinand in the 
 matter of Henry's matrimonial plans, which again included 
 the Archduchess Margaret, in spite of her former refusal to 
 marry him. 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO FERDINAND II. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Supplement to Vols. I. and II.] 
 
 [Richmond, April 15, 1507.] 
 
 Very high and very mighty Lord, 
 
 The letters of your Highness I received by the 
 courier who is the bearer of these. They were of so 
 
 1 Spanish Calendar, Vol. I., pp. 406-7. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 409. 
 
72 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 recent a date that your favour and ray pleasure were 
 doubled. I kiss the hands of your Highness, thanking 
 you for the care you take of me. All this has been 
 very necessary to appease the fury which was raging 
 here before the payment of the dower had been 
 prorogued. The date of the prorogation your 
 Highness will learn from the letter of the King of 
 England. God grant that this period may be long 
 enough, and that before it is over the payment may 
 be made, for, if that should not be the case, it might 
 well be said " the last is worse than the first." What 
 I wish is that, if possible, your Highness should not 
 wait for the end of the term which has been granted, 
 as an anticipation of the payment would atone for the 
 last default. Although I beg this, I know very well 
 that I cannot urge your Highness more than you urge 
 yourself, but I speak of it because I wish your 
 Highness to take some means to prevent these people 
 from telling me that they have reduced me to 
 nothingness. 
 
 It is very difficult to endure such humiliations, 
 being the daughter, although an unworthy one, of 
 your Highness. I therefore wish that the ambassador 
 who is to come hither should be a man who dares to 
 speak an honest word at the right time. Your 
 Highness has already informed me that you will do 
 what I have asked, and the reason why I wish that 
 Don Pedro^ should be sent, is because I think that if 
 he wishes to do anything, he has the ability to do it. 
 Besides, he knows this country. Whoever knows 
 this country has overcome one-half the difficulties.^ 
 Thus, I should be glad if your Highness would send 
 either him or the Knight Commander of Membrilla,^ 
 and hot Fernanduque, although he has already been 
 here. I once more beg your Highness that the 
 person who is to come, whoever he be, may be a man 
 
 ' Don Pedro de Ayala. 
 2 Literally, " has gone already half-way." 
 
 ' Guitier Gomez de Fuensalida, Knight Commander of Haro and 
 afterwards of Membrilla, 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 73 
 
 of great experience, knowledge, and high station. 
 All this would give him authority. Your Highness 
 may believe that nothing contributes more towards 
 the prosperity or adverse fortune of kingdoms than 
 the choice of ambassadors, especially in this kingdom, 
 which is so isolated from all others, and requires in 
 every respect more circumspection than any other 
 nation. Your Highness tells me that the new 
 ambassador will be so well instructed about everything 
 that no difficulty can arise here. I believe it, but if 
 your Highness has read attentively my former letters 
 you will remember that I informed you in them of the 
 same thing as I write in this, viz., that my necessities 
 have been so great, and have lasted so long a time, 
 that I have been forced to sell my plate. A portion 
 of it is therefore deficient, and will be as long as 
 your Highness does not provide me [with money]. 
 Although I let my servants walk about in rags, and 
 they live in such misery that it is shameful to think 
 of it, I cannot so much neglect my own person ; and . 
 as there are no other resources left me, I am forced 
 to live upon what I have.^ Your Highness knowing 
 all this, as I have written all the details to you, I do 
 not understand how you can command me to preserve 
 intact my gold and plate because it is to form part of 
 my dower. I have informed your Highness of this 
 circumstance in all my former letters, that you may 
 remedy it, and may know that there is not any doubt 
 that with what is here the whole dower cannot be 
 paid unless your Highness increases the amount 
 which you are to send hither. 
 
 I tell your Highness all this in order that you may 
 be well informed, and make such arrangements for 
 the payment of the dower that no more time may be 
 lost than has been already in waiting for your [arrival 
 in Spain]. I also beseech your Highness to succour 
 my servants, and to grant them some favours. For 
 all of them, men and women, no longer know what to 
 do, and I am at a loss what to say to them. If 4t is 
 
 ' Meaning, to sell her plate. 
 
74 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 true that your Highness considers services which I 
 receive as services rendered to yourself, I think there 
 are no persons to whom your Highness is more 
 indebted than to my servants. From the day that I 
 arrived in this kingdom, as I have written to your 
 Highness, they have always served me in the hope 
 that things would be mended, and although nothing 
 has been remedied up to this day, they serve me still 
 with the same goodwill as though I granted them 
 every day new favours. As your Highness is returning 
 to Castile, I hope and take it for certain that you will 
 give them at once all that is due to them. 
 
 I am so glad your Highness is returning to Castile 
 that I forget to think of your fatigues. The 
 advantages are very great. Not to speak of the 
 comfort and consolation of the Queen [Juana], 
 although that is also of great importance, I rejoice to 
 think that the kingdom to which the Queen my lady 
 [Isabella] succeeded is to remain in the hands of your 
 Highness, and will lose nothing of the prosperity and 
 security in which she left it. Besides, I hope that by 
 staying in that kingdom, your Highness will be in a 
 better position to remedy all that concerns me. 
 
 With respect to the confessor whom I begged your 
 Highness to send me, I must inform you that I have 
 already a very good one. I have written to the 
 General of the Franciscan Observant Friars that 
 some learned Spanish friars are wanted here. I now 
 beg your Highness to send them. Concerning what 
 your Highness ordered me to tell the King in your 
 name in answer to [his proposals] with respect to the 
 Queen, I wish I could write in cipher as well as 
 decipher ; but I think it better to write in common 
 writing than to trust to anyone else. His answer is, 
 that he values very highly the good intentions of your 
 Highness, but as for the sending of an embassy, he 
 would not like to do it before he had some certainty 
 of obtaining what he desired. The reason which he 
 gives is, that it would reflect dishonour on him if he 
 were to send [an embassy] and nevertheless it [the 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VH 75 
 
 marriage] could not be concluded. I do not think so. 
 He, however, told me that he is ready to send [an 
 ambassador] about some treaty which has been 
 concluded, and says that if your Highness will write 
 and inform him of the intentions which prevail there, 
 and if they should be such as he wishes them to be, 
 he will immediately send an ambassador to your 
 Highness, with a treaty already drawn up and 
 containing all he has promised, and also with full 
 powers to do all your Highness may command. 
 
 Moreover, he told me that he desires your Highness 
 to send him without loss of time a determinate 
 answer, and to let him know what can be done in 
 this affair; for the Duchess of Savoy is already 
 arrived in Flanders, and is waiting there for him. If 
 this^ can be concluded, he will give up the other.^ 
 Although it is also a good one, the first is still better. 
 But if that cannot be done, he would in such a case 
 not like to lose the other, which suits him perfectly 
 well. Such was his answer. Concerning the necessity 
 to keep it secret, I told him word for word what yaur 
 Highness writes to me. As for myself, I can assure 
 your Highness that I shall keep it, and in order to be 
 more sure I have myself deciphered your ciphering 
 without any assistance, although I am not used to 
 ^uch a thing. With respect to what your Highness 
 orders me, viz., that I should always conduct myself 
 as though God alone could undo what has been done, 
 I have, in fact, always behaved in this respect with 
 great circumspection and watchfulness. 
 
 In order the more to confirm it, speaking with 
 Doctor de Puebla only a few days ago about the 
 present state of things, I asked him to tell the King 
 that I resented it much, although I concealed my 
 feelings, and that the most difficult thing for me to 
 bear was to see the Prince so seldom. As we all 
 lived in the same house, it seemed to me a great 
 cruelty that four months should have passed without 
 
 1 The marriage with Queen Juana. 
 
 2 The marriage with Margaret of Savoy. 
 
76 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 my seeing him. The Doctor told me the King had 
 assured him he did it for my good ; for if your 
 Highness knew this you would make more haste in 
 sending the dower. Thus, nothing has improved. 
 Your Highness commands me meanwhile to do what 
 I may think necessary. I have done so up to this 
 time as well as I could, and although I have suffered 
 mahyrdom, I shall continue to do all your Highness 
 desires, more to serve your Highness than out of 
 regard for my own interests. In consequence of 
 what your Highness writes me, I expect Zavallos. 
 I shall be glad to learn good news of your Highness 
 more fully. I have told and ordered the Doctor to 
 write to your Highness the truth, and not to sugar it 
 over or to conceal it. He has promised to do so. The 
 reason why I wish it is that he may not give your 
 Highness false hopes at my expense, but that he 
 may tell the truth, so that what has been bad hitherto 
 may be remedied in future. 
 
 Our Lord preserve the life and royal estate of your 
 Highness and prosper it as I wish. 
 
 Your Highness's servant kisses your hands. The 
 Princess of Wales. 
 
 Henry VII. not only prevented Catherine from seeing her 
 affianced husband, but told her frankly that he no longer 
 regarded himself, and the Prince of Wales, as bound by the 
 marriage treaty, because the marriage portion had not been 
 paid. Catherine informed her father of this in a shorter 
 letter, written on the same day as the last. She had asked 
 Puebla whether the King of England was entitled by law to 
 renounce her marriage with the Prince, and Puebla had said 
 that he was. She had also asked her confessor for his 
 opinion, and he had replied " that if a marriage treaty were 
 concluded conditionally, and the conditions not fulfilled by 
 one party, the other party should renounce the whole treaty." 
 She begged her father not to forget, therefore, that the 
 whole marriage would come to nothing if he did not pay the 
 marriage portion punctually on the day fixed.* On May 19 
 
 ' Spanish Calendar, Vol. I., April 15, 1507. 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 77 
 
 Ferdinand promised Puebla to send the money as soon as he 
 arrived in Castile, without waiting for the expiration of the 
 term granted for the payment ; and enclosed also " the 
 revised credentials for the Princess of Wales, to enable her 
 to act in his (King Ferdinand's) name." Fortunately 
 Catherine's health had now much improved. " By this 
 time," writes Johannes, her doctor, to Ferdinand, " she may 
 be declared to have entirely recovered from the long malady 
 from which she has suffered ever since her arrival in 
 England. She has regained her natural healthy colour. 
 The only pains from which she now suffers are moral 
 afflictions beyond the reach of the physician. Her only 
 hope is in his royal and paternal solicitude." "• 
 
 How Catherine played her part both as matrimonial agent 
 for the King of England and as ambassador for her father, as 
 well as the long-suffering agent for her own affairs, may be seen 
 in the next two letters, one the formal communication which 
 had to be submitted to Henry VII., and the other, written on 
 the following day, intended for Ferdinand's eyes alone : 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO FERDINAND II. 
 [" Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies."] 
 
 [Greenwich, July 17, 1507.] 
 
 Most high and most puissant Lord, 
 
 Since your Highness will provide every thing so 
 quickly, I have only for the present to let you know 
 that I gave the letter of credence of your Highness to 
 the King of England, my lord, and explained to him 
 clearly that which came in cipher. 
 
 His Highness rejoiced as much as there was reason, 
 and sets a high value on seeing the desire that your 
 Highness shows on this occasion to testify your good 
 will by acts, and expressed himself under much obliga- 
 tion to you for it ; and that all that your Highness 
 says appeared to him so good and so much to his 
 purpose, that he could add nothing more than to 
 commit himself entirely to your Highness, since he 
 counts upon you so certainly on his side. And that 
 when your Highness has arrived, and has seen the 
 
 ' Spanish Calendar, Vol. I., p. 414. 
 
78 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 disposition that there is in regard to this business, 
 if it be that which we all desire,^ the King of 
 England, my lord, will send to your Highness his 
 ambassadors, with full and entire power for your 
 Highness, making himself known to you as though 
 you were one and the same person with himself, 
 since he believes you nothing less in affection, and 
 thus will trust in your Highness as much as in 
 himself: since he holds for certain that you will 
 regard him as your Highness offered him, and that 
 no embarrassment may cause this affair to be 
 obstructed. 
 
 I wish to advise your Highness, that by way of 
 France and also from Spain I have learned how the 
 King of France labours, that if the lady Queen of 
 Castile, my sister, should be married, it should be 
 to the Comte de Foix ; and this does not appear 
 convenient to me, either for the estate of your 
 Highness or for that of the lady Queen of Castile, 
 because it would be sending discord to the very knife 
 into that kingdom ; and your Highness could never 
 be secure, since these inconveniences which I here 
 speak of, as resulting from such a marriage in effect, 
 might follow. Let not, your Highness think that I 
 say this by way of advising you, since I do not say 
 of myself anything in the world that can warn your 
 Highness which you will not have well before 
 prepared for; but I say it because I, in this, feel 
 myself personally interested. And in the negotiation 
 which I have spoken of, I supplicate your Highness 
 to give diligence that it may be held as was agreed 
 upon ; since, as regards the King of England, my 
 lord, they make great haste with marriages, as for 
 that of the Duchess of Savoy and others ; and his 
 Highness, as well on account of the advantage that 
 there is in this as because he would prefer to contract 
 kindred with your Highness rather than with all the 
 princes of Christendom, holds himself entirely in 
 
 ' That is, if Ferdinand, on his arrival in Castile, find the disposition 
 of the government favourable to the speedy payment of the dowry. 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 79 
 
 suspense, without determining anything, hoping in 
 this other determination and answer which he expects 
 from your Highness. And, since I see with how 
 much affection your Highness desires this may come 
 to effect, there will be no need to supplicate you, (oi') 
 that I labour at it, except to kiss your hands for the 
 favour that, for my part, in this affair I receive, who 
 may find such new obligation to love your Highness 
 more, and give myself to serve you in every respect ; 
 since I esteem the affairs of the King of England, my 
 lord, more mine than my own. And since his Highness 
 writes more to your Highness about this in his letter, 
 I conclude. 
 
 Our Lord guard the most famous and royal estate 
 of your Highness, and increase it as I desire. 
 
 The humble servant of your Highness, who kisses 
 your hands. The Princess of Wales. 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO FERDINAND II. 
 
 [" Letters of Royal and IllttstrioJis Ladies."} 
 
 [Greenwich, April 18, 1507.] 
 
 Most high and most puissant Lord, 
 
 I received your Highness' letters, which, by a 
 serv3.nt of the King of England, my lord, you wrote 
 to me ; and, setting aside the pleasure which it gave 
 me to know the news of the health of your Highness, 
 which I desired, since I can have no greater good 
 after my salvation, so much did the ciphers of your 
 Highness avail here, that I have by them passed 
 three or four days in such good spirits as are 
 unearthly ; and they were much needed at the time 
 that they came : for not two days before the King 
 had said to me that the journey of your Highness 
 was postponed, according to report ;. and I indeed 
 felt it was said to do me fresh displeasure, so that 
 on all accounts the letters of your Highness were 
 necessary to ttie. At the conjuncture that they 
 arrived, I gave the credence of your Highness tg the 
 King of England, my lord, and he had showed to 
 
8o THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 him clearly that which came in -cipher. He rejoiced 
 so much to see them that, as I tell your Highness, 
 he told me of his great satisfaction thereupon ; and he 
 commanded me that I should write on his part to 
 your Highness the pleasure that he had of the good 
 will that your Highness by this showed, and that he 
 was greatly obliged by it, and that all that your 
 Highness said appears to him so good and so much 
 to his profit, that he could say nothing more than to 
 commit himself entirely to your Highness, since he 
 thinks you so certainly on his side ; and that when 
 your Highness arrives and has seen the disposition 
 that there is to execute that which he wishes, in case 
 it were that which he desires, your Highness making 
 it known to him, he will send you ambassadors with 
 all power for your Highness, as though you were the 
 same person with himself, since he believes you no 
 less in affection ; and thus he will trust your Highness 
 as he would himself, since he esteems it certain you 
 will regard him as no less (person) as your Highness 
 offered yourself to him. 
 
 And since he writes himself to your Highness I 
 have no need to enlarge more on his behalf; that 
 which on mine he commanded me to write was to 
 advise your Highness how, by way of France and 
 also of Spain, they have written that the King of 
 France was exerting himself so that if the Queen 
 should marry it should be with the Comte de Foix. 
 He told me that I should tell your (Highness) as 
 well on my own part, that this would be great 
 inconvenience for the estate of your Highness, and 
 of the Queen, and of her sons, and that Frenchmen 
 entering into that kingdom your Highness could not 
 be in security ; and many other things about this 
 which I do not say, because they are more to his 
 purpose than to that of your Highness. And that 
 your Highness may, provide in that which is most 
 necessary, and that you may see what is most 
 conducive to your service, it suffices to let you 
 know this, without more apprehension or advices ; 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 8; 
 
 because, as refers to your Highness, I consider such 
 things injproper. 
 
 That which I venture to supplicate your Highness 
 is, that, whatever be the dispositions that your 
 Highness shall see entertained on this affair, you 
 will not so act as that it may arrive at effect ; for I 
 thus figure it- to myself, that it must be that your 
 Highness entertains this business in order to 
 terminate my marriage ;^ because with this bait I 
 believe that, as to that which concerns me, things 
 will be done better than the past, when some one 
 comes who knows how to arrange and disinvolve 
 them as I have written to your Highness. 
 
 And now I will not cease to return to it here, to 
 supplicate your Highness that he who shall have 
 to come may have the authority and rank that I 
 have said, because he has more to do than your 
 Highness thinks, or I could tell you. For those of 
 this kingdom are as dilatory as any in the world 
 in negotiating ; in it (this kingdom) are needed 
 more particulars than in any other, especially since 
 the necessity is doubled by all being in the state 
 that it is, as he who shall come will see. And 
 much as I say to your Highness, I cannot give you 
 to understand the state in which things are here, 
 because, though I knew how to say it to you, I 
 think your Highness would not credit me in much 
 of it.; and thus the person who should come here, 
 informing your Highness of the truth concerning 
 what is going on, I believe your Highness would 
 be frightened at that which I have passed through : 
 
 ' In his " Studies in English History," Dr. Gairdner points out 
 that both Mrs. Green, in printing this, and Mr. Bergenroth, in his 
 translation in the Spanisli Calendar, have misapprehended the sense 
 of this important passage. The original text being slightly muti- 
 lated, it is impossible to give a precise translation, but the general 
 sense is very different from that given above. " I am sorry to say 
 it is not, as Mrs. Green conceived," writes Dr. Gairdner, "that 
 Catherine begged her father not so to act that the marriage between 
 King Henry and her sister would take effect. She"^ merely expected 
 that it would come to nothing, but begged Ferdinand to tempyise, 
 and seem to favour it till her own marriage was settled." Dr. 
 Gairdner prints the original text fori: he first time, p. 159. 
 
 Y.H. G 
 
82 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 so that as to that which pertains to me and to the 
 service of your Highness, I should, beyond a trifle, 
 prefer to see such a person as I speak of come 
 without the dowry, than the dowry without a suitable 
 person. And your Highness may believe I speak 
 from experience, the which I have well learned by 
 what has passed and continually passes concerning 
 me, for want of such a person as I speak of; because 
 that, if there were one here who would have devoted 
 himself to the service of your Highness, my tribula- 
 tions would not have arrived at such an extreme ; 
 since, also, they would not have placed me as a 
 pledge to make peace — they would not have consented 
 that I should lead such a life. But, as I have written 
 to your Highness, that which I feel as most importu- 
 nate is to see myself in such a situation, and that 
 there is no one who will contradict it. If the 
 ambassador whom your Highness has here were a 
 man, he would not have consented — even though I 
 were not to be married to the Prince, — were it only 
 considering whose daughter I am, that I should be 
 in this kingdom, with such a company in my house 
 that I am indignant to think of it ; for in comparison 
 of this, all the other things that I have passed through 
 I think little of. And thus I am doubly desirous 
 on this account for my remedy, that I may not see 
 myself as never knight's daughter was seen in the 
 kingdom of your Highness. 
 
 It is certain that I desire that at the least your 
 Highness should let the King of England, my lord, 
 know how this is felt, — above all, since you are not 
 in a case not to satisfy him, I being in such a 
 manner in his kingdom, as I told him a few days 
 ago. And I spoke so well that I should rejoice to 
 give account of it to your Highness, only that an 
 affair of such length is not to be put in writing. I 
 hope since your Highness knows all, you will provide 
 in the manner that I have entreated you, and 
 therefore I will not detain myself in telling your 
 Highness many continual troubles that I have passed 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 83 
 
 through ; because, since I expect so speedy a remedy, 
 I do not desire to give more trouble than that which, 
 by my past letters, I have given to your Highness, 
 since this suffices to -enable you to judge that all the 
 rest is of the same fashion. 
 
 The shortness of the return of your Highness 
 consoles me, since with it I hope all will be remedied, 
 since your Highness showed that you care for me, 
 as indeed I need it. 
 
 The King rejoiced much in seeing the speedy 
 attention that your Highness intended to give about 
 the coming of the dowry. May it please God that it 
 may come at the time that is hoped for — because I 
 fear, and not without cause, to think that it should 
 not be so ; and for this reason, that it concerns my 
 interest rather than that of your Highness. I hold 
 it for certain that it is not necessary that I have 
 made haste to write, although in fear from its not 
 being in cipher, and from not sending it by one of my 
 own people. But I believe as to that they go by as 
 good a messenger as though he that takes them 
 were of my house, because I send them by a faithful 
 person to Martin Sanchez de Camudio, in order that 
 he himself may take them to your Highness. 
 
 May it please our Lord that they may arrive 
 at the time that your Highness has arrived, because, 
 according to what is reported, they tell me that your 
 Highness is so already. 
 
 The King himself acknowledged the diligence 
 which I have given in answering your Highness in 
 that which concerns him, and I, as well to content 
 him, am glad to let him (know) that which your 
 Highness commands me ; that in reference to the 
 King, while in the meantime your Highness is pro- 
 viding, I may act as hitherto your Highness has 
 rightly commanded me, according to that which falls 
 in most with the service of your Highness. And 
 that nothing may be hindered by me, I do as I h^ve 
 always done, since I cannot improve upon it; and 
 thus I shall act until your Highness sends to give 
 
 G 2 
 
84 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 remedy in my life, which is greatly needed. And 
 thus I conclude, supplicating your Highness so to 
 act that I may be here favoured by your Highness ; 
 and that you may show that you hold me in esteem, 
 although I may not merit it ; because if your High- 
 ness should desire it, it is in your power that things 
 may not be as they have been hitherto. 
 
 That which I say in this letter may suffice in 
 reference to your Highness, and that minute that 
 I sent with the King's packet was what I showed 
 to the King as the meaning of that which I wrote 
 in his affair. And because, in truth, he might have 
 had it shown to him, I sent it to your Highness.^ 
 He_ commanded me that I should add, that if the 
 marriage which I have spoken of with the Comte 
 de Foix should take place, that in length of time 
 Spain would come to be joined to the Crown of 
 France ; and as for himself, that he considers him- 
 self as a true son of your Highness. When your 
 Highness writes to him, I entreat you to show him 
 that in this affair I have the same good will which 
 I show to him. 
 
 May our Lord guard the life and most royal estate 
 of your Highness, and increase it as I desire. The 
 humble servant of your Highness, who kisses your 
 hands.-^ 
 
 Ferdinand at last sent Catherine some money for her relief 
 
 — two thousand ducats, it appears, from one of her later 
 
 letters. It was not necessary, she wrote, in thanking him, 
 
 to apologize for the smallness of the gift, because there could 
 
 be no doubt that he would have sent more if it had been 
 
 possible for him to do so. No woman, she continued, of 
 
 whatever station in life, could have suffered more than she 
 
 had. None of the promises made to her on the occasion of 
 
 her marriage had been kept, and she repeated once more that 
 
 ' The minute alluded to is doubtless the preceding letter. This 
 passage shows clearly the double part which Catherine had to play. 
 She wrote the first letter, read it to the King, as the exposition of 
 her communications with her father on the subject — and then sent 
 it only for fear the King should have the packet opened and conse- 
 quently miss it I 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 85 
 
 which had formed a principal part of all her letters, namely, 
 the necessity of sending a suitable ambassador with sufficient 
 means of subsistence. She had never, she declared, told him 
 the full extent of her misery. She had been treated worse in 
 England, indeed, than any other woman. She again paid a 
 splendid tribute to the unselfish devotion of her servants, 
 beseeching her father not to forsake them, especially her 
 women, of whom she had only five left in her service. 
 " They have never received the smallest sum of money since 
 they were in England, and have spent all that they possessed. 
 She cannot think of them without pangs of conscience. No 
 money could pay their services and sacrifices, which have 
 continued during six years."^ 
 
 Having scraped together this small gift, Ferdinand, who 
 was still delayed in his return to Spain, again entreated the 
 King of England, through Puebla, to grant a further delay 
 of six months in the payment of the remaining portion of 
 the marriage dowry .^ This Henry VII., more inscrutable 
 than ever, consented to with surprising readiness, begging in 
 response to be informed of all that concerned the King 
 of Arragon, and promising to lend him any assistance in his 
 power.' Catherine shrewdly guessed at the reason for this 
 complaisance in her letter from Woodstock of September 7 : 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO FERDINAND II. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Supplement to Vols. I. and II.] 
 
 [Woodstock, September 7, 1507.J 
 
 The difficulty to catch the King of England, my 
 lord, in this his hunting season, has much delayed 
 the despatch of this courier. For until now he has 
 never remained in any place where business could 
 
 1 Spanish Calendar, Vol. I., pp. 423-3. 
 
 ' Ferdinand's financial straits are difficult to understand in view 
 of the report of his reputed wealth sent from Spain in 1503, 
 and printed in Gairdner's "Memorials of Henry VII.," p- 279: 
 " Your Grace shall understand that the said King is reported to be 
 very rich. For as long as the Queen [Isabella] lived, he spent nothing 
 of his revenues of the realms of Arragon and Sicily, but had a certain 
 sum out of the Crown of Castile for to maintain his estate withal. 
 And so he ever gathered a great treasure, the which he hath caused 
 always to be kept in the Castle of Schaty va, six or eight leagues^from 
 Valencia." 
 
 1 Spanish Calendeir, Vol. I., p. 425. 
 
86 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 be transacted with him, especially as the Doctor de 
 Puebla is in such a condition that he has to go 
 in a litter from his house to the palace. With 
 respect to that which was still wanting to complete 
 the payment of the dowry, the King of England has 
 given a very liberal answer, and, according to what 
 he has told me, granted all your Highness's demands. 
 Judging from my knowledge of him, he is rather glad 
 than sorry for these prorogations, although he would 
 make us believe the reverse. He does not lose any- 
 thing thereby ; on the contrary, if your Highness 
 considers it well, he is the gainer. For, as he has 
 told me, so long as he is not entirely paid, he regards 
 me as bound, and his son as free. He [his son] is not 
 yet so old that delay is disagreeable. Thus mine is 
 always the worst part ; for, as I have written to your 
 Highness, these delays double my difficulties. To 
 him it seems that it is by no means sufficiently ba'd 
 that I suffer by the non-fulfilment of the treaty ; he 
 takes no notice of the inconveniences which I have 
 had and still have. What he now does is to glorify 
 himself for his magnanimity in waiting so long. 
 Because your Highness has his business in your 
 hands, he keeps himself apparently more within 
 bounds than iisual, in order that you may not oppose 
 him ; but in his deeds he has never improved. What 
 will be in the future I do not yet know. 
 
 This is what I answer to the Doctor de Puebla 
 when he speaks to me of the goodwill the King of 
 England now shows. I say to him that I do not 
 know who prevents him from fulfilling his good 
 intentions, if it is not he [Puebla] who carries on 
 the negotiations with him. I therefore beseech your 
 Highness not to believe what the Doctor de Puebla 
 writes to you, if it is not in accordance with what I 
 state. For he is more a vassal of the King of 
 England than a servant of your Highness, and he 
 cannot do otherwise than praise what he has 
 bedaubed with mud.^ Would God your Highness 
 
 ' Sic. This (writes Bergenroth) may be an error of the cipherer or 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 87 
 
 were truthfully informed of how affairs are carried on. 
 What I beg your Highness to do is to read my former 
 letters, and thereby judge what the present state of 
 things must be, and then to give such orders as may 
 seem right to you. Your Highness must trust no 
 one, and consider nothing as true in this case, except 
 what I write you, until your Highness sends such an 
 ambassador as I have asked for. Then I shall no 
 longer be obliged to write, and he may state what he 
 sees, and remedy it. I, therefore, beseech your High- 
 ness not to neglect what I have so often begged of 
 your Highness in my letters, that is to say, that your 
 Highness should send a person who possesses those 
 qualities which I have named. If you do so I firmly 
 hope things will not continue as in the past. I also 
 entreat your Highness to find means for me to be 
 delivered from my painful situation, and get rid of 
 my debts. They come every day to affront me, and to 
 ask payment. Especially since your Highness sent 
 me the two thousand ducats I am in the greatest 
 difficulties in the world. I did "not know which wants 
 to satisfy, and thought the most necessary was to 
 redeem the plate which I had pledged, and pay some 
 debts which it would have been shameful not to pay. 
 Besides, I had to buy things most necessary for my- 
 self, so that I could not pay my servants. I tell your 
 Highness all these details, which I would rather not 
 state, in order that your Highness may find means 
 to ascertain by whom I and my men and women are 
 to be provided for. They are in absolute misery, and 
 I know no other remedy than to inform your Highness 
 of it, hoping that you will amend all. . . . 
 
 Catherine, who proved an extremely apt pupil in this crafty 
 school of diplomacy, must have written a cordial letter to 
 Henry VII. but a short time before she wrote these scathing 
 criticisms to her father, for on the very same day we find 
 Henry thanking her for her kind enquiries after his health 
 
 decipherer. As the original despatch in cipher is not extaEht, it 
 cannot be ascertained. 
 
88 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 "and for expressing so ardent a desire to see him again." 
 He learns by her letter, also, that she is in need of help, and 
 tells her that he has already ordered that £"200 should be 
 paid to her household. " If she is in want, it is therefore the 
 fault of her servants." He adds that he has ordered William 
 Holibrand to send an account of how the money is spent, 
 " and at the same time, and without delay, to pay as much 
 money as she wants for her person and servants, so that she 
 may not only not suffer from indigence, but be able to live 
 honourably. Loves her so much," he concludes, " that he 
 cannot bear the idea of her being in poverty." ^ 
 
 How thoroughly Catherine was learning the art of dissimu- 
 lation may also be judged in her own words : 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO FERDINAND II. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Supplement to Vols. I. and II.] 
 
 [October 4, 1507.] 
 Most high and mighty Lord, 
 
 I despatched a messenger on the 23rd of September 
 by w^ay of Flanders, w^ith letters from me, in order 
 that they might be committed to a courier, who would 
 convey them from Antwerp to your Highness. On 
 account of not being sure of the safety of letters sent 
 from England, it would have been dangerous, or at 
 any rate might have been considered suspicious, if 
 it had been known that another courier had been 
 despatched, it being so short a time since the last one 
 set off. Therefore it was necessary for me to send 
 my letters by the above-mentioned route. 
 
 Your Highness will learn by them that the cause 
 that induced me to write to you with so much haste 
 was that I had discovered Doctor de Puebia had 
 been making attempts to prevent your Highness from 
 carrying out your intention of sending a competent 
 ambassador to come hither, together with the dowry. 
 For that reason I made known my wishes very plainly 
 to your Highness, although in all my former letters I 
 had given you to understand the same thing. But 
 I feared as abovesaid, that the Doctor would make 
 ' Spanish Calendar, Vol. I., September 7, 1507. 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 89 
 
 false promises to do more than he could or would 
 accomplish. Moreover, as your Highness is not able 
 to see what passes here, I also feared that the Doctor 
 might succeed in making your Highness listen to what 
 he wished, rather than to the truth, and to what I 
 have asked you for. On this account I have written 
 so soon again. For I wish to undeceive your High- 
 ness respecting what is requisite for your service, and 
 the remedy to be found for me. I assure your High- 
 ness that I have not changed from what I wrote. 
 It seems to me that Doctor de Puebla is sending this 
 courier to your Highness, and he has told me to 
 make haste. But as I do not know whether what 
 he writes be true, I beg your Highness that nothing 
 which he may say or write to you may be credited, 
 excepting in so far as it shall agree with what I say. 
 For if what I say be contrary to what he reports, 
 your Highness may be assured that what he writes 
 is also contrary to the interests of your Highness. 
 Your Highness must not hasten or inconvenience 
 yourself, whatever Doctor de Puebla may say to 
 your Highness in order to make you go beyond 
 what I have asked. For as I have hoped for the 
 best in the most troubled seasons, I am not going 
 to ruin myself-' now that your Highness is in a 
 state of such increased prosperity. This I say, 
 because Doctor de Puebla puts more difficulties 
 than ever in the way of my marriage being concluded. 
 For instance, he has told me, and also the King of 
 England, that an ambassador of his, who is in France, 
 has written to him, saying the King of France told 
 him that when he saw your Highness he asked you 
 if my marriage was to take place, and that your 
 Highness said it had not taken place, nor did you 
 believe it would be concluded. The King of France 
 told this to the ambassador of the King of England, 
 that he might give his master information of it. 
 When Doctor de Puebla said this to me, I answered 
 nothing. But when the King of England told nte, I 
 1 Literally, " to drown myself." 
 
90 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 answered that I could not bear to have such a thing 
 said as that your Highness had spoken differently 
 from what you had written in your letters. I also 
 gave him to understand that your Highness could not 
 say that a thing would not be done which was already 
 irrevocable. I also said that even if this were not 
 so, your Highness knew what my wish was, namely, 
 that I should not be taken out of the power of the 
 King of England even if I were to die for it,^ and that 
 that would be sufficient of itself for your Highness. ^ 
 
 At the same time I said many flattering things 
 to him, with which I pleased him, and everything 
 went off very well. He replied to me, that he well 
 knew your Highness desired my marriage, because 
 it was a matter tha't suited you well, and that he 
 could not tell what was the cause which had led to 
 such a thing being said. I could not draw from him 
 the avowal that he really believed that your Highness 
 had said it, which pleased me more than if he had 
 believed so, but I would not show it. Finally, I 
 satisfied him well in many ways, too long to repeat 
 here, always showing him that my marriage was a 
 thing which could not be undone. When he gave 
 me to understand that there was nothing done which 
 need prevent your Highness on your part, and him 
 on his, from disposing of your children in another 
 manner, I told him that I could not comprehend 
 him, and that I did not like to take it in the sense 
 he meant. 
 
 Also, with regard to his marriage, he told me 
 conjointly with the other story, that he had heard 
 how the King of France had sent ambassadors 
 respecting the marriage of Monsieur de Foix, and 
 that there was much delay in the answer to be given 
 to his proposal. He said this was injurious to him 
 because he was expecting an embassy to come shortly 
 from the King of the Romans, who were bringing him 
 
 1 Meaning that she would rather die in England than give up 
 the marriage. 
 
 2 Not to tell the King of France^ that her marriage with the Prince 
 of Wales was unhkely to take place. 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 91 
 
 the assent to his marriage with the Duchess of Savoy, 
 and the marriage of Prince Charles with his daughter. 
 It occasioned him great perplexity, he said, to have 
 to remain undecided while he was waiting the ans\)per 
 of your Highness. On this account he begged me to 
 write to your Highness, requesting you to make haste. 
 For that whatever the answer might prove he wished 
 to have it, in order that he might know what to do. 
 But I should be afraid of him if the answer were not 
 to accord with his wishes, for he has partly declared 
 to me his intention. I bait him with this [the marriage 
 with Dona Juana], as I have written to your Highness, 
 and his words and professions have changed for the 
 better, although his acts remain the same. 
 
 I also believe that Doctor de Puebla is the cause 
 why they humble themselves so much to me, as well 
 on account of the King as to keep me contented. 
 For they fancy that I have no more in me than what 
 appears outwardly, and that I shall not be able to 
 fathom his designs, or to acquaint your Highness 
 with the truth as respects what is requisite for your 
 interests, but that I shall content myself with his 
 promises as though I had not had experience of 
 them. I dissimulate with him, however, and praise 
 all that he does. I even tell him that I am very well 
 treated by the King, and that I am very well contented ; 
 and I say everything that I think may be useful to me 
 with the King, because, in fact, the Doctor is the 
 adviser of the King, and I would not dare to say 
 anything to him, except what I should wish the King 
 to know. On former occasions I tried the contrary 
 course with him, but it was injurious to me, nor was 
 it of any use in obtaining a remedy for me. For, 
 whatever I said to him, he did nothing but justify 
 the King, and say that no new matters should be 
 stirred up. I therefore considered that the better 
 plan was to dissimulate with him, and to take no 
 notice of his being ambassador, as he does non^ of 
 the things which belong to such an office ; especially 
 now his illness has laid him so completely aside that 
 
92 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 he could be of no use even though he were to desire 
 it. He is nearer to the other world than to this. 
 
 Whenever I speak to him, he does nothing but 
 S9«g^me to write and assure your Highness that he 
 is performing wonders. I tell him to have no anxiety, 
 for I always take upon myself the office of writing to 
 your Highness the truth respecting what he does. 
 He has likewise told me I ought to write to your 
 Highness, begging you that when you write to the 
 King of England, my lord, you should also write to 
 the Lord Chamberlain, because he is the person who 
 can do most in private with the King. As it seems 
 to me that to do this will be of use rather than an 
 injury, I think it well to entreat your Highness to 
 write to him with much love. Tell him that I have 
 written to your Highness to ask him to see what 
 he can do here for me, and how much your Highness 
 will be pleased if he does so. Make him, moreover, 
 many offers on your Highness's part and on mine, so 
 that Doctor de Puebla may not give it out for his own 
 doing. May your Highness do according to my 
 request, and I will not say more now. For what 
 I have written is enough, in order that your High- 
 ness may provide a remedy for me and for your 
 service, with the diligence that you will see to be 
 requisite, but not by the means which Doctor de 
 Puebla suggests. . . . 
 
 With all her astuteness Catherine did not succeed in 
 discovering the subtle plot which Henry VH. was even then 
 hatching with Maximilian in connexion with his grandson 
 Prince Charles — grandson also of Ferdinand H. Henry knew 
 that he could serve his ends just as well by betrothing his 
 daughter Mary to Prince Charles of Castile, as by himself 
 marrying the Prince's insane mother, and before the end of 
 the year he signed a treaty to that effect, besides making a 
 league with Maximilian and Prince Charles for mutual 
 defence. These engagements threatened the interests of 
 both Ferdinand and Catherine. They were only in process 
 of discussion, however, when Catherine wrote the letter 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 
 
 93 
 
 which follows to her afflicted sister Juana, iirst referring to 
 her stay in England with her husband some eighteen months 
 before, and then urging Henry'S'suit with an eagerness that 
 not even her own unfortunate plight can excuse. Poor crazy 
 Juana, it must be remembered, was still carrying about with 
 her the corpse of her late husband, declining all requests to 
 bury him, convinced that in due course he would come to 
 life again : 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO QUEEN JUANA. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Supplement to Vols. I. and II.] 
 
 [Richmond, October 25, 1507.J 
 
 Most noble and most mighty Princess, Queen and 
 Lady, 
 
 After having kissed the royal hands of your 
 Highness and humbly commended myself to you, I 
 have to express the very great pleasure it gave me to 
 see you in this kingdom, and the distress which filled 
 my heart, a few hours afterwards, on account of your 
 sudden and hasty departure. My lord the King was 
 also much disappointed in consequence of it, and if 
 he had acted as he secretly wished, he would by every 
 possible means have prevented your journey. But as 
 he is a very passionate King, it was thought advisable 
 by his Council that they should tell him he ought not 
 to interfere between husband and wife.^ On which 
 account, and for other secret causes with which I 
 was very well acquainted, he concealed the feelings 
 occasioned by the departure of your Highness, 
 although it is very certain that it weighed much 
 upon his heart. 
 
 The great affection he has felt, and still feels, 
 towards your Royal Highness from that time until 
 now, is well known. I could not in truth express, 
 even though I were to use much paper, the pleasure 
 which my lord the King and I felt on hearing that 
 the King, our lord and father, had returned to Castile, 
 and was abiding there with your Highness, and that 
 he was obeyed throughout all the kingdom, peace 
 
 ■' Philip is generally said to have treated his wife badly. 
 
94 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 and concord prevailing everywhere. It is true that I 
 have experienced, and am still experiencing, some 
 sorrow and depression of mind on account of having 
 heard, a few days ago, that the French have taken a 
 large and beautiful city called Tilmote (?), belonging 
 to my nephew, and that all his subjects and the 
 whole land are in great fear of the French. Where- 
 fore, as a remedy for everything, and not less for the 
 destruction and chastisement of the Duke of Gelders, 
 his rebel, I have ventured to write these lines to your 
 Highness, entreating you to hearken to my wishes 
 respecting this matter. I have, moreover, written to 
 my lord the King, our father, about this business, 
 which is of great advantage and importance to your 
 Highness, to the increase of your State, and tran- 
 quility and welfare of your subjects, and those of the 
 said Prince, my nephew, and which also affects my 
 lord the King of England. He is a Prince who is 
 feared and esteemed at the present day by all 
 Christendom, as being very wise, and possessed of 
 immense treasures, and having at his command 
 powerful bodies of excellent troops. Above all, he is 
 endowed with the greatest virtues, according to all 
 that your Highness will have heard respecting him. 
 If what my lord the King, our father, shall say to 
 you should please, as I think it will please, your 
 Highness, I do not doubt but that your Highness 
 will become the most illustrious and the most powerful 
 Queen in the world. Moreover, nothing will more 
 conduce to your pleasure and satisfaction, and the 
 security of the kingdom of your Highness. In 
 addition to all this, it will double the affection 
 existing between my lord the King, our father, and 
 my lord the King of England. It will also lead to 
 the whole of Africa being conquered within a very 
 short time, and in the hands of the Christian subjects 
 of your Highness, and of my lord the King, our 
 father. I entreat your Highness to pardon me for 
 having written to you, and for having meddled in so 
 great and high a matter. God knows what my 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 95 
 
 wishes are, as I have already said ; and I have not 
 found it possible to resist the desire I felt to write to 
 you, as it appears to me that if I had done so, I 
 should have committed a great sin against God, 
 against the King, our lord a,nd father, and against 
 your Highness, whose life and royal estate may our 
 Lord guard and increase. The Princess of Wales. 
 
 Ferdinand now wrote to dispose of certain rumours about 
 which both Puebla and Catherine had written to him, as 
 well as to renew his promises concerning the overdue 
 balance of the dowry and the proposed marriage between 
 the English King and Juana : 
 
 FERDINAND II. TO DOCTOR DE PUEBLA. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Supplement to Vols. I. and II.] 
 
 [End of 1507 or beginning of 1508.] 
 
 I have seen your letters of the 3rd of September 
 and sth of October, and the letters of the most 
 serene King of England, my brother, which you sent 
 me by two messengers. I had great pleasure in 
 learning the good news respecting his health and 
 prosperity which you write me. For, certainly, I 
 bear him the love of a true brother, and rejoice and 
 am pleased to hear of his prosperity and good success 
 as much as of my own. I am also glad to know 
 the good news which you write me about the most 
 illustrious Prince and Princess of Wales, my children. 
 Our Lord guard all of them, and may I hear always 
 as good news of all of them as I desire. 
 
 I was also pleased with the prorogation of the 
 payment of the dowry, which the most serene King 
 of England, my brother, sent me, and with the 
 gracious manner in which he granted it. Well 
 knowing the good reasons which he had for doing 
 so, I did not expect anything else from his Serenity. 
 Tell him, in my name, the great pleasure I have 
 received from this, and that I thank him much. I 
 hold it for certain, that before the time of this* last 
 prorogation is over, I shall send him the payment of 
 
96 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 the dowry, and provide for everything to his satis- 
 faction. You did very well to inform me of the 
 names of the merchants through whose banks the 
 money can be sent by bills of exchange. Thus, I 
 can choose the manner which seems best to me, 
 but in one way or other I certainly shall, as I have 
 said, fulfil my obligations within the time mentioned. 
 When I send the said payment I shall write to you 
 how I think that the marriage between the illustrious 
 Prince and Princess, rny children, is to be performed. 
 
 You say that the ambassador of the King of 
 England in France wrote that the King of France 
 told him in secret that I had said that the marriage 
 of the said most illustrious Prince and Princess oi 
 Wales, my children, was not concluded, and that I 
 did not even think that it would be concluded. Such 
 a thing has never been said or dreamt of, nor can a 
 single word [to that effect] be remembered. On the 
 contrary, the King of France held and holds this 
 marriage for concluded, and I know that he would 
 not do anything to its prejudice. The English 
 ambassador in France wrote that the King of France 
 has sent me an embassy about a marriage of the 
 Queen of Castile, my daughter, with Monsieur de 
 Foix. That is also a falsehood. I am very angry 
 that such things are said there as never have been 
 thought or dreamt of here. These are things which 
 I would not do for the empire of the world, and I 
 know well that the King of France would not tempt 
 me in this matter on any account. As the things 
 which the English ambassador in France writes are 
 untrue, it is unreasonable to believe them. The 
 ambassador whom the King of France has sent to 
 me has only come to reside at my court, and, as we 
 are friends, to inform me of his good news. That is 
 true as gospel, and the King of England may be easy 
 in this respect. 
 
 Concerning the marriage of the King of England, 
 my brother, with the Queen of Castile, my daughter 
 as I have written in former letters, if the Queen, m 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 97 
 
 daughter, is to marry, I shall never consent that she 
 weds with any one else than the King of England, 
 my brother, and shall employ with the greatest love 
 and goodwill all my industry and energy to promote 
 that. But you must know that the said Queen, my 
 daughter, still carries about with her the corpse of 
 King Philip, her late husband. Before I arrived 
 they could never persuade her to bury him, and since 
 my arrival she has declared that she does not wish 
 the said corpse to be buried. On account of her 
 health, and in 'order to content her, I do not contra- 
 dict her in anything, nor wish that anything be done 
 that could excite her ; but I shall endeavour to 
 persuade her by degrees to permit the corpse to be 
 buried. When I arrived she had made up her mind 
 that, on the anniversary of his death, the usual 
 honours should be paid to the King, her husband, 
 and until the ceremonies of the " end of the year " 
 were performed, I did not like to mention the 
 marriage to her. When the ceremonies were over 
 I touched on this matter, in order to know whether 
 she was inclined to marry, without, however, men- 
 tioning any person. She answered that in every 
 thing she would do what I advised or commanded, 
 but that she begged me not to command her to give 
 an answer to my question until the corpse of her 
 husband should be buried. That done [she said], 
 she would answer me. Considering these circum- 
 stances, I do not urge her until the said corpse shall 
 be buried, because I think it would rather produce an 
 unfavourable impression. I have sent to Rome for a 
 brief, in order to try whether she could thereby be 
 persuaded to bury the corpse sooner. When it is 
 buried I shall again speak with her, in order to know 
 her intentions with respect to a marriage ; and if I 
 find her inclined, I shall not permit that it be with 
 any one except with the King of England, my 
 brother. I shall then also write what I think oi 
 the conditions, with respect to which I have gr^at 
 pleasure in knowing that the said King, my brother, 
 
 Y.H. H 
 
98 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 is so ready to consult my interests and my 
 honour. . . . 
 
 In the letters in which Puebla had mentioned the rumours 
 now denied by Ferdinand,^ it was also reported that the 
 King of France had stated that, " as the Prince of Wales 
 was not to marry the Princess Catherine, it was his wish 
 that the Prince should marry the sister of the Duke of 
 Angouleme." " All this," added Puebla, " had been told by 
 the King of France to the English ambassador. The King 
 of England is much astonished to hear such things." At the 
 end of the same letter he writes : " There is no finer a youth 
 in the world than the Prince of Wales. He is already taller 
 than his father, and his limbs are of a gigantic size. He is as 
 prudent as is to be expected from a son of Henry VH." The 
 English King had reason to be proud of his stalwart son, and 
 there is little doubt that he was perfectly ready at this period 
 to cancel the marriage treaty with Catherine if anything 
 better turned up. In the following summer, just before the 
 Prince's seventeenth birthday, there was a rumour to the 
 effect that he was to marry the late King of Castile's 
 daughter, Eleanor, sister of Charles, who had but lately 
 been betrothed by Henry VII. and Maximilian to Henry's 
 younger daughter Mary : 
 
 THE PROVOST OF CASSEL TO MARGARET OF SAVOY. 
 ["Letters and Papers, Henry VII." Rolls Series.] 
 
 [London, June 14, 1508.] 
 
 . . . Madam, that I may conceal nothing from 
 you, I think that in the end you will hear of the 
 marriage of my Lord the Prince of Wales and Madam 
 Eleanor, whatever I may have written of it to you 
 heretofore ; nevertheless a month hence I will write 
 to you with greater certainty than I can do at 
 present. Thus much I know for truth, and the 
 Commander de Haro has said pubhcly, that the King 
 of France, as true ally and friend of the King of 
 Arragon, has lately written to the King of England 
 urging him very earnestly for the accomplishment of 
 
 • Spanish Calendar, Vol. I., p. 437. 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 99 
 
 the marriage of Lady Catherine of Spain with my 
 Lord the Prince of Wales. And I have been told the 
 King of England was not very well pleased at the 
 King of France interfering in the matter so far. 
 Moreover they say my said Lord the Prince is hardly 
 much inclined to it. Nevertheless, Madam, in a short 
 time we shall know more. . . . 
 
 It is possible that some fresh matrimonial alliance had 
 suggested itself to the English King at this period, for 
 six days later we find the same Provost of Cassel writing 
 again to his mistress, the Archduchess Margaret, telling how 
 Henry VII. had proposed to him a mysterious plan by which 
 Ferdinand might be deprived by the Emperor Maximilian of 
 all influence in Castile. The details would only be disclosed 
 by the King of England to Maximilian himself, but the 
 enterprise, he declared, " would make the King of the Romans 
 much greater than any man had ever been for a long time 
 past." The meeting never took place, Ferdinand himself 
 playing a deeper and more successful game in the shuffling 
 of the cards which was then taking place in Europe. He 
 was probably aware that Henry could at any time marry the 
 Prince of Wales to the sister of the Duke of Angoul6me, 
 if he wished to secure the alliance of France. Edmund 
 Wingfield, one of the English ambassadors in the Low 
 Countries, wrote to Margaret towards the end of 1508^ to 
 effect that the King of France had proposed this match at 
 divers times, and that the King of England had constantly 
 rejected the offers, though the French King had been ready 
 to make great sacrifices : 
 
 But as the King of France could not be induced to 
 dissolve the alliance with the King of Arragon on any 
 other terms, the King of England would condescend 
 to accept either the marriage or the aUiance. It is 
 known that the King of France greatly desires this 
 marriage and alliance, and it is therefore probable 
 that, if he could obtain them, he would make peace 
 
 ' Spanish Cftlwdar, Vol, I., pp. 467-8. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 with the Emperor, and give up his alliance with the 
 King of Arragon. As she and the Cardinal of Gurk 
 are to be present at the conferences of Cambrai, he 
 begs them to broach these matters to the Cardinal of 
 Amboise. But it must be understood that it is to be 
 kept secret, that these proposals come from the King 
 of England. If it should be found that the King of 
 France is inclined to enter into the negotiations, the 
 Emperor must write to King Henry, and beg him to 
 consent to either the alliance or the marriage. 
 
 Henry's aim, had he succeeded in separating France and 
 Arragon, was to supplant Ferdinand in Castile, and rule that 
 kingdom himself through Maximilian. This little plot, how- 
 ever, never matured, Ferdinand emerging stronger than ever 
 from the shameful conference at Cambrai, where he settled 
 his differences with Maximilian, and joined with him, as well 
 as with Pope Julius II. and the King of France, agadnst the 
 unfortunate republic of Venice, England's ancient ally, and 
 Christendom's stoutest wall against the ever-threatening 
 Turk. Fortunately for England's good name, Henry himself 
 held no share in this secret compact, though his absence 
 from such a coalition — whether invited or not — shows that 
 his matrimonial schemes had only succeeded in landing 
 him in a position of dangerous isolation. Ferdinand, again 
 holding a commanding position in Europe, was now in no 
 mood to be trifled with. He had already sent over a new 
 and abler negotiator to Henry in Gomez de Fuensalida, the 
 proud Knight Commander of Membrilla, in order to relieve 
 Puebla of his post and to complete the marriage treaty one 
 way or the other. 
 
 Fuensalida found the English King by no means prepared 
 to put up with his haughty Spanish airs after the cringing 
 humility of Puebla. The new ambassador told Ferdinand 
 that even if Henry decided against this second marriage, his 
 own opinion was that the King would still decline to give up 
 his daughter-in-law. Ferdinand, however, refused to believe 
 this. " For the love I bear the Princess of Wales," he wrote 
 in July (1508), "and the esteem in which I hold her, are so 
 great, that if such a thing were to happen, which God forbid, 
 
I. 
 
 Emery Walker, Photo 
 HENRY VII 
 From the portrait in the National Portrait Gallery, painted in 1505 by an unknown 
 Flemish artist 
 
 J 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII loi 
 
 I would risk my person and my kingdom, and that of my 
 daughter the Queen, with the greatest readiness, in order to 
 make a worse war on the King of England than on the 
 Turks. The King of England must keep faith in this 
 matter, or, if not, the world may perish. This I say in order 
 that you may know my determination."* And, for once, he 
 probably meant what he said. 
 
 War with England, indeed, would probably have resulted 
 but for the advice which Ferdinand proceeds to state that he 
 has received from the King of France, to the effect that 
 Henry VII. " is in the last stage of consumption, and that 
 he therefore thinks it will not be worth while to do much in 
 the matter before the death of the King." It was true that 
 Henry's strength was now visibly declining, though in the 
 preceding autumn he had seemed to Puebla better and 
 stronger than he had been for the last twenty years.** 
 Ferdinand, therefore, like everyone else who foresaw the 
 impending change, turned towards the rising sun. " In any 
 case," he continues in the same letter, "whether the said 
 nuptials be concluded or delayed, or whether Henry act well 
 or ill in the matter, Membrilla must speak kindly to the 
 Prince of Wales. He must dwell on the great love which 
 King Ferdinand bears him, and assure him that he may 
 command him and his realm in anything, as well as the 
 Queen of Castile. In a word, he must make use of all the 
 means in his power for bringing the marriage to a speedy 
 conclusion." 
 
 This, however, was easier said than done, for Henry VII., 
 knowing that, so long as he retained Catherine as hostage, 
 he held the trump card and was safe from attack, now 
 demanded further concessions. He was resolved among 
 other things that the rest of the marriage portion should 
 now be paid in money, without taking as part payment any 
 jewels, gold or plate ; that the whole of the dowry should be 
 so settled upon him and his heirs that neither Ferdinand nor 
 Catherine, nor their heirs, should at any time be able to 
 demand its restitution ; and also that Ferdinand must ratify 
 the treaty of marriage recently concluded between Princess 
 
 » Spanish Calendar, Vol. I., p. 460. 
 ' Ibid., p. 439- 
 
102 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Mary and the young Prince of Castile. Naturally these 
 were all distasteful terms to the Spanish Sovereign, especially 
 the last, but Henry — as suspicious of Ferdinand's aims as 
 was Ferdinand himself of Henry's designs on Castile — was 
 inexorable, and continued to treat Fuensalida with the 
 scantest courtesy. 
 
 Meantime that ambassador discovered what he regarded as 
 graver anxieties in Catherine's own household, though it was 
 not until the following March that he ventured to disclose 
 any of these to his royal master. Even then he hesitated to 
 breathe a word of scandal until he came to the conclusion 
 that there was nothing else to be done. The correspondence 
 on the subject must be read with caution, because Fuensalida, 
 whose mission had been a failure, and had been recalled 
 because of Henry's impossible attitude towards him, would 
 naturally be anxious to throw the blame on other shoulders. 
 There is no doubt that he quarrelled with Catherine's con- 
 fessor from the first, and hated him like poison. His charges, 
 however, cannot be dismissed, though the dark suspicions 
 formulated by Bergenroth in his introduction to the supple- 
 mentary volume of the Spanish Calendar, in which the 
 letters first saw the hght, have since been discredited, 
 Dr. Gairdner, indeed, passing them by in silence.'^ But, since 
 later writers like Martin Hume have not hesitated to accept 
 Bergenroth's interpretation of the correspondence, it becomes 
 necessary to allow the letters themselves, as far as possible, 
 to speak for themselves : 
 
 THE KNIGHT COMMANDER OF MEMBRILLA TO 
 FERDINAND II. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Supplement to Vols. I. and II.] 
 
 [London, March 4, 1509.] 
 
 Catholic and most powerful Lord, 
 
 Much have I laboured to depart spotless from 
 England, and to save your Majesty from vexation, 
 hoping from day to day that the marriage of the 
 Princess of Wales vi^ould take place, and that the 
 disorders in the house of the Princess would be 
 remedied without annoyance to your Highness. I 
 
 ' " studies in English History," p. 167. 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 103 
 
 confess that it has been an error, because if I had 
 written in time it might have been possible to remedy 
 it, and not have gone too far forward ; but it is better 
 late, as they say [than never]. Your Highness should 
 know that there is much need of a person who can 
 rule this household, and that it should be such a 
 person whom her Highness holds in honour, and 
 those of this house hold in respect, for now the 
 household is governed by a young friar, whom the 
 Princess has for confessor, and who, being in my 
 view, and in that of everyone, unworthy of having 
 such a charge, causes the Princess to commit many 
 errors. As your Highness knows how full of good- 
 ness she is, and so conscientious, this her confessor 
 makes a sin of all acts, of whatsoever kind they 
 may be, if they displease him, and thus causes her to 
 commit many faults. 
 
 This servant of the Princess goes despatch'ed behind 
 my back to your Highness, to give time to those who 
 wish to make complaints of me. I will not say now 
 all the things which have need of correction, sub- 
 mitting to the opinion of those your Highness may 
 order to interrogate him [the servant] as to the 
 condition in which the house of the Princess is, and 
 as to the things which for two months past have 
 happened, and from his report you will know more of 
 it than I should be able to write. If, after having 
 been infoi-med of their complaints of me, your 
 Highness should desire to know the truth, although 
 it may be against me, I will tell it to your Highness 
 without lying on any point. Because, however, the 
 beginning, and middle, and the end of those disorders 
 is this said friar, I say that he is young, and light, 
 and haughty, and scandalous in an extreme manner ; 
 and the King of England has said to the Princess 
 very strong words about him. Because I have said 
 something to the Princess which did not appear to 
 me right of this friar, and the friar knew it, he^has 
 been so far able as to put me so much out of favour 
 with the Princess that if I had committed some 
 
104 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 treason she could not have treated me worse ; and I 
 have some letters preserved to show to your Highness, 
 which the Princess has written to me. 
 
 Certainly, unless I were so faithfully devoted to the 
 service of your Highness, neither the dread of losing 
 that which I have, nor of putting my life in peril, 
 would detain me longer in England. I would already 
 be gone, had not the service of your Highness such 
 power over me that I have not the free judgment 
 which God gave me to do any other thing, except to 
 die and serve you. I entreat your Highness that, 
 having heard the information which he who brings 
 this letter, and who is a servant of the house and 
 knows everything, will give, your Highness amend 
 the life and the household of the Princess, sending 
 her an old and honest confessor and of the order of 
 San Francisco, because such an one might stay in 
 England with less scandal than this one, and more 
 according to the pleasure of the King of England. 
 
 In order that your Highness may know of what 
 kind this friar is, I will tell you what he said to me, 
 and they were these words exactly, without making 
 them worse or better. He said to me : " I know they 
 have told many things of me to you." I said to him : 
 " Certainly, father, they have said nothing of you to 
 me." He said : " I know it, for he who told you 
 told me." 
 
 I said to him : " Well, any one can rise as a false 
 witness, but I swear to you by the Corpus Christi 
 that they have told me nothing which I remember." 
 He said : " Be it so, but in this house there are evil 
 tongues, and they have slandered me, and not with 
 the lowest in the house, but with the highest, and this 
 is no disgrace to me, and if it were not for contradicting 
 them I should already be gone." 
 
 Certainly I tell the truth to your Highness, that I 
 was excited and almost beyond power of restraint 
 from laying hands on him. Moreover, the King of 
 England, and all the English, abhor so much to see 
 such a friar so continually in the palace and amongst 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 105 
 
 the women, that nothing could be more detested by 
 them ; and it is not a good token that the King of 
 England does not remedy a thing which displeases 
 him so much. May our Lord guard and augment 
 the life and royal estate of your Majesty, giving you 
 greater kingdoms and lordships, as your Highness 
 may desire. 
 
 Your Majesty's most humble servant and subject 
 who kisses your royal hands. Gutierre Gomez de 
 
 FUENSALIDA. 
 
 From Catherine's defence, written five days later, it is 
 clear that even her own household, once so faithful, no longer 
 served her without a protest. The root of the trouble was the 
 young Franciscan monk of the reformed order of Observants, 
 known as Diego Fernandez, who had formed a principal part 
 of Catherine's household since April, 1507, when she wrote 
 to her father saying that she no longer wished. him to send a 
 confessor, as she had already " a very good one." He seems 
 very effectually to have secured control both of the Princess 
 and her little establishment : 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO FERDINAND II. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Supplement to Vols. I. and II.] 
 
 [Richmond, March 9, 1509.] 
 
 Very high and very mighty Lord, 
 
 From a letter which your Highness has written to 
 the ambassador I have seen that you have determined 
 to send hither a prelate to conduct these negotiations. 
 I kiss the hands of your Highness for it, for as things 
 here become daily worse, and my life more and more 
 insupportable, I can no longer bear this in any 
 manner. Those servants whom up to this time I 
 have had are no longer of any use to me, because my 
 ill fortune wills it that those whom your Highness 
 sends hither, however sufficient they might be, have 
 always so much crippled your service, and the sending 
 of a new ambassador is my only support and comfort. 
 Your Highness knows already how much the King of 
 England, who does not like to see or to hear this one, 
 
io6 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 would be pleased at it. Not that he is not loyal, but 
 I think he does not know how to treat matters.-' 
 For as Doctor de Puebla conducted the affairs with 
 too great gentleness in everything that regarded the 
 interests of this King, so this other behaves with too 
 great rigour towards him and his servants, especially 
 as I, being dependent on them, cannot make use of 
 anything that is not done with moderation. 
 
 Therefore, I beseech your Highness not to forget 
 what I have written to you so many times, but 
 immediately to send redress, and to determine as to 
 the way in which your Highness desires me to live. 
 It is impossible for me any longer to endure what I 
 have gone through, and still am suffering, from the 
 unkindness of the King and the manner in which he 
 treats me, especially since he has disposed of his 
 daughter in marriage to the Prince of Castile, and 
 therefore imagines he has no longer any need of your 
 Highness, as this has been done without your consent. 
 He tries to make me feel this by his want of love, 
 although in secret and without confessing it he knows 
 that as long as he does not possess the goodwill of 
 your Highness, he is wanting in the greatest and 
 best part. All this causes me much pain, as being 
 against the interest of your Highness, and if I had 
 not any other cause, this alone would not permit me 
 to let it pass without making you acquainted with it. 
 God knows how much I am grieved that I have to 
 write you always of so many troubles and difficulties. 
 But remembering that I am your daughter, I cannot 
 prevail upon myself to conceal them from you, and 
 not to beg you to remedy them as your station and 
 service require. 
 
 To tell the truth, my necessities have risen so high 
 that I do not know how to maintain myself. For I 
 have already sold my household goods, as it was 
 impossible to avoid it, and I do not know whence I 
 
 ' Dr. Gairdner points out that there is a mistake in the translation 
 here. The word " matters " should be " him," meaning King 
 Henry. (See " Studies in English History," p. i66.) 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 107 
 
 can have anything else. Some days ago, speaking 
 with the King about my wants, he said to me, that 
 he was not bound to give my servants food, or even 
 to my own self, but that the love he bore me would 
 not allow him to do otherwise. From this your 
 Highness will see to what a state I am reduced, when 
 I am warned that even my food is given me almost 
 as alms. What I feel most, is to see all my servants 
 in such a ruined state as they are. Although not all 
 have served me as they ought, it gives me pain and 
 weighs on my conscience that I cannot pay them, 
 and send those away who cause me great annoyance, 
 especially Juan de Cuero, whose audaciousness it is 
 very difficult for me to bear. He is the cause that 
 others do not do what they ought to do, and I must 
 be silent, owing to my necessities, of which I have 
 informed your Highness. 
 
 What afflicts me most is that I cannot in any way 
 remedy the hardships of my confessor, whom I 
 consider to be the best that ever woman of my 
 position had, with respect to his life, as well as to his 
 holy doctrine and proficiency in letters, as I have 
 oftentimes written to your Highness. It grieves me 
 that I cannot maintain him in the way his office and 
 my rank demand, because of my poverty, during 
 which he has always served me with such labour and 
 fatigue as no one else would have undergone. He is 
 very faithful in his office as well as in giving good 
 advice and a good example, and it seems to me it 
 would be ingratitude if I neglected to inform your 
 Highness how badly the ambassador has behaved 
 towards him. The service of your Highness suffers 
 thereby, and I have been much annoyed. 
 
 The reason of -it is that the ambassador has 
 strongly attached himself to the merchant Francisco 
 de Grimaldo, whom he has brought over with him, 
 and to a servant of mine, Francisca de Caceres, who, 
 by his favour, were about to marry, contrary tp my 
 wishes. And situated as I am, I had to conceal my 
 feelings for the sake of the honour and honesty of 
 
io8 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 my house. I found myself in so great a difficulty, 
 that I could not help giving a bond for a certain sum 
 of money, and I believe that if your Highness knew 
 the reason which moved me to do so, you would not 
 reproach me, but rather recognize me as your 
 daughter. On account of the annoyance this woman 
 has caused me I sent her away, but the ambassador 
 of your Highness received her into his house and at 
 his table, which did not seem well to me considering 
 his official position as representative of the person of 
 your Highness. He has caused me many annoyances 
 every day with this merchant, giving me to understand 
 that he wanted to go away and to carry off my 
 marriage portion, unless I began to pay something of 
 what I had promised him. But if my bond is 
 attentively considered, it appears that I owe him 
 nothing. 
 
 Because the confessor gave me advice in all this, 
 the ambassador has quarrelled with him, and when he 
 saw how little reason he had to do so, he tried to 
 excuse himself by saying that the confessor meddled 
 in the affairs of the embassy. I swear by the life of 
 your Highness, which is the greatest oath I can 
 make, that that is not the case. I sent him to ask for 
 the [marriage] treaty, of which I wanted to see one 
 article. As the King does not like that I should see 
 it, I was forced to send and to ask it from him. On 
 account of this he grew angry, and permitted himself 
 to be led so far as to say things which are not fit to 
 be written to your Highness, and of which I shall 
 only observe that he has had no regard for the service 
 of your Highness and the honour of my house, and 
 said what is not true. I therefore entreat your High- 
 ness to write to him, and to give him to understand 
 that you are not well served, and I do not consent 
 that my confessor be treated in such a manner. 
 
 Your Highness would render me a signal service if 
 you would write to him [the confessor] another letter, 
 telling him that you are satisfied with the manner in 
 which he serves me, and commanding him to continue 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 109 
 
 and not to forsake me. For, in consequence of what 
 the ambassador has said to him, he asks me leave 
 every day, and I think, on no condition will he remain 
 here if your Highness does not force him to do so. 
 As I am in great want of such a person as he is, I 
 implore your Highness to prevent him [from going 
 away] ; and to write also to the King that your 
 Highness has commanded this father to stay with me, 
 and to beg him that for the love of your Highness he 
 should order that he be very well treated and 
 humoured ; and to tell the prelates that your 
 Highness is pleased with his staying here. For the 
 greatest comfort in my troubles is the consolation 
 and the support he gives me. Your Highness may 
 believe that I feel myself reduced to such a state, that 
 I send almost in despair this my servant to your 
 Highness to implore you not to forget that I am your 
 daughter, and how much I have suffered for your service 
 and how much [my sufferings] continually increase. 
 
 Do not let me perish in this way, but write directly 
 by this messenger what you decide ; otherwise, in the 
 condition in which I am now, I am afraid I might do 
 something which neither the King of England nor 
 your Highness, who has much more weight, would 
 be able to prevent, unless, and that is necessary, you 
 send for me so that I may conclude my few remaining 
 days in serving God. That would be the greatest good 
 I could have in this world. God guard your High- 
 ness's life and the royal estate, and augment it as I 
 desire. 
 
 I beseech your Highness soon to send back this 
 messenger, and to give him money for his return. In 
 order to provide him what was necessary for his 
 journey there, I was obliged to sell from my wardrobe. 
 I do the same always when I am unwell during 
 fasting time, for in the house of the King they would 
 not give meat to any one, even if he were dying, and 
 they look upon them who eat it as heretics. 
 
 Your Highness's humble servant kisses your hands. 
 The Princess of Wales. 
 
no THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Fuensalida evidently had an extremely uncomfortable time 
 of it, between the open hostility of the King of England and 
 the active resistance of the Princess of Wales and her con- 
 fessor. He was faced with a new crisis with the development 
 of the King's illness, and wrote to Ferdinand on March 20 to 
 the effect that the Prince of Wales, instead of his father, 
 received the ambassadors recently arrived from Maximilian 
 and the Archduchess Margaret. It was reported, he told 
 him, that the embassy in question had proposed a match for 
 the Prince of Wales with a daughter of the Duke Albert of 
 Bavaria and of Maximilian's sister, assuring the King that if 
 he concluded this marriage he himself should wed with 
 Madame Margaret. " Also," he added, " I am informed that 
 the nobles of the kingdom press the King much that he may 
 marry his son ; above all, since they have seen him ill — and 
 they do not speak more for one than the other — but tell him 
 that he should decide on that which he wishes, or is more 
 profitable for him, and that he should marry the Prince, 
 because he is already very manly, and the kingdom is in 
 danger with only one heir." Catherine's own position became 
 more critical than ever. Her complete submission to her 
 confessor is indignantly described by Fuensalida in the same 
 long letter to his master : 
 
 THE KNIGHT COMMANDER OF MEMBRILLA TO 
 
 FERDINAND II. 
 
 [Spanish Calendar, Supplement to Vols. I. and II.] 
 
 [March 20, 1509.] 
 
 ... I have not seen the King of England since he 
 betrothed his daughter, because he appears to be very- 
 angry with me, and he does not say that the cause is 
 because I did not choose to be present at the espousals 
 of his daughter, but because I had made sinister 
 reports to your Highness, in consequence of which 
 your Highness has not conceded that which he asks, 
 according as I wrote to your Majesty, and the Lord 
 Privy Seal had sent to tell me ; and on that account 
 he did not wish to see me unless I had business on 
 which to talk. And neither have I seen the Princess 
 from that time, for tP thpge who advise her Highness 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII iii 
 
 it does not appear good that her Highness should see 
 me, as the King of England is not very friendly to 
 me, and her Highness has such faith in them, that 
 she believes what they tell her is good. And not only 
 does her Highness feign to be angry with me, but 
 shows herself to be so in reality. And this they have 
 advised because they fear that, if I go to see the 
 Princess, I shall not be able to refrain from telling 
 her something which does not appear to me good 
 in those who advise her thus, and with this fear not 
 only have they prevailed with the Princess that she is 
 angry with me, and that she shows it, but they have 
 managed on all sides, where they have been able 
 to do so, in such a manner as to remove me so that I 
 may not communicate with her Highness. Many 
 things happen in her house which have need of 
 amendment, but her Highness is so submissive to a 
 friar whom she has as confessor, that he makes her 
 do a great many things which it would be better not 
 to do. 
 
 Lately he made her do a thing which much grieved 
 the King. It was this, that whilst staying in a lonely 
 house, which is in a park, the King of England wished 
 to go to Richmond, and sent to say to the Princess 
 that next day her Highness and Madame Mary, his 
 daughter, should be at Richmond, where he would go 
 before or after them. The Princess obeyed the order, 
 but next day, when she was about to start, and 
 Madame Mary was waiting for her with the company 
 deputed to go with them, the friar came and said to 
 the Princess, " You shall not go to-day." It is true 
 that the Princess had vomited that night. The 
 Princess said, " I am well ; I do not wish to stay 
 here alone." He said, '.' I tell you that upon pain of 
 mortal sin you do not go to-day." The Princess con- 
 tended that she was well, and that she did not wish 
 to stay there alone. The friar, however, persevered 
 so much that the Princess, not to displease him, 
 determined to remain. 
 
 YV^hen Madame Mary had been waiting for more 
 
112 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 than two hours she sent to tell Madame Mary to go, 
 but that she did not feel well. The English who 
 witnessed this, and had seen the Princess at mass and 
 at table, rode off with Madame Mary and went away, 
 whilst the Princess remained alone with her women 
 and only the Maestre Sala and her chamberlain, who 
 had been absent and came by chance. The distance 
 was at the utmost less than one league. There is 
 no need to speak of the provisions the Princess had 
 that night, for as the contingency was not expected it 
 was not provided for, nor did they give themselves 
 much trouble to provide for it. 
 
 Next day the King of England did not again give 
 an order to send for the Princess, as though she had 
 been staying in such company as suited her, and they 
 tell me that the King was very much vexed at her 
 remaining there. The following day the Princess 
 went [to Richmond] , accompanied by no other living 
 creature than three women on horseback, the Maestra 
 Sala, the chamberlain, and the friar — a numerous 
 [company] I These and other things of a thousand 
 times worse kind the friar makes her do. 
 
 It is more than twenty days since the King last 
 saw the Princess, nor has he, since her staying away, 
 sent to know how she is, although she had been ill. 
 May God forgive me, but now that I know so well 
 the affairs of the Princess's household, I acquit the 
 King of England of a great — and very great — portion 
 of the blame which I hitherto gave to him, and I do 
 not wonder at what he has done ; but at that which 
 he does not do, especially as he is of such a tempera- 
 ment as to wish that in house and kingdom that be 
 done without contradiction which he desires and 
 orders. That the King allows these things of the 
 friar, which appear so bad to him, and which are so 
 much brought before his eyes, to go on is not con- 
 sidered as a good sign by those who know him. As 
 I have written by a servant of the Princess, whose 
 name is Juan Azcotia, and who was despatched 
 behind my back, I shall not dilate here on this 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 113 
 
 subject, because your Highness can hear from him the 
 truth of all these things if you desire to know them. 
 He is a loyal servant of your Highness, and, as a 
 man, being unable to endure many things which 
 appeared bad to him, he has said something of this 
 to the friar, for which no good has come to him. 
 Your Highness must know that there is very great 
 need to remedy these things of this friar, and to 
 remove him from here as a pestiferous person, for 
 that he certainly is. 
 
 The Chamberlain, Juan de Cuero, being a good 
 servant, cannot do otherwise than speak the truth, 
 which they do not desire to hear. The Princess 
 behaves towards him as though he had committed the 
 greatest treason in the world, and all because he 
 hinders them from selling every day a piece of plate 
 to satisfy the follies of the friar. I entreat your 
 Highness to grant him the favour of an order that he 
 whom your Highness should send may settle with 
 him the accounts of the office which he has held, 
 because he is very old, and would not wish that death 
 should overtake him before having accounted for all 
 that for which he is responsible. Your Highness 
 ought to do it, and to place a restraint on the selling, 
 for in fifteen days they have sold gold for two hundred 
 ducatg, with which the Princess has done nothing 
 that can be seen, nor is it known in what she 
 spends it, except in books and the expenses of the 
 friar. Fearing that this King should resent that your 
 Highness commanded that the Princess should be 
 claimed, unless he should consent to her marriage, as 
 he has resented and known it in consequence of the 
 little secrecy that there is in the chamber of the 
 Princess, I told Francisco de Grimaldo that by 
 degrees he should send, out of the country as much 
 money as he could ; and so he has done, for happily 
 there are out of England more than thirty thousand 
 crowns. The remainder shall be sent away by degrees, 
 and preserved at a place whence, if it should be 
 necessary to make the payment to the King of England, 
 
 Y.H. I 
 
114 I'HE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 it could be remitted without any inconvenience. This 
 I have done to satisfy my conscience, for, accord- 
 ing to what I have perceived and do perceive, it 
 seems to me that thus it ought to be done. If your 
 Highness should command anything else, inform me 
 by the flying courier that I may not be in error. 
 
 Fuensalida wrote at the same time to Ferdinand's first 
 Secretary of State, Miguel Perez de Almazan, entreating him, 
 in the event of this business being prolonged, to withdraw 
 him hence, " because I shall not be able to serve either God 
 or his Highness, as I am at variance with everyone." Every 
 day, he tells hira, they were losing ground, and " out of every 
 bush springs a hare." Then he speaks his mind as freely as 
 he dare in regard to the Princess and her friar : 
 
 THE KNIGHT COMMANDER OF MEMBRILLA TO 
 MIGUEL PEREZ DE ALMAZAN. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Supplement to Vols. I. and II.] 
 
 {March 20, 1509.] 
 
 Magnificent Lord, 
 
 ... I wrote to your Lordship about a friar who 
 is here as confessor to the Princess. Would to God 
 he were in his monastery, and not here, because he 
 neither brings nor has brought any good, and if he is 
 here much longer he will bring greater injury on her 
 Highness. I write something, and not so openly as 
 I should desire, because there goes to his Highness a 
 servant of the Princess who is called Juan Azcotia, 
 who was despatched behind my back ; and because 
 his Highness may be informed by him of what I say 
 to him, concerning this friar, in parables. For this 
 reason I do not write more at length on the affair, 
 since he, as a man who has seen and knows it all, 
 and as servant of the house, will be able well to tell, 
 and he is a very loyal servant of the King and of the 
 Princess, although such are not here held in so much 
 esteem as good servants are worth. 
 
 I wish only to say here that this ought to be 
 remedied by withdrawing this friar from the Princess, 
 tor he is with her Highness against the will of all the 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 113 
 
 English, and especially against the will of the King 
 and his Highness [Prince Henry]. You ought to 
 consider that which ought to be considered in this 
 case, and may God destroy me if I see in the friar 
 anything for which she should have so much affection, 
 for he has neither learning, nor appearance, nor 
 manners, nor competency, nor credit ; and yet if he 
 wishes to preach a new law they have to believe 
 it. . . . 
 
 Catherine, self-willed and defiant, sent a letter by the same 
 messenger to her father, again taking up the cudgels on 
 behalf of her friar and her honour, and roundly abusing the 
 ambassador for venturing to interfere : 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO FERDINAND II. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Supplement to Vols. I. and II.] 
 
 [Richmond, March 20, 1509.] 
 
 The Ambassador sends to tell me that it is very 
 necessary for him to despatch this messenger in all 
 haste to your Highness, because many things have 
 been discovered to him, and as I fear that some of 
 them may not be true, I do not like to let him go 
 without a letter from me, beseeching your Highness 
 that if he writes anything about my household, and 
 especially about my confessor, your Highness will 
 not credit it. For, by my salvation, and by the life 
 of your Highness, he does not tell the truth if he 
 states anything except that [the confessor] serves me 
 well and loyally. A few days ago I wrote to your 
 Highness, by a servant of mine, although not so 
 much in detail as I could wish; for all that the 
 ambassador, with his disorderly tongue, has said 
 against my person and the honour of my house, from 
 affection for a certain Francisca de Ciceres, a former 
 servant of mine, cannot be put upon paper, and I 
 would rather die than see what I have suffered and 
 suffer every day from this ambassador and all my 
 servants. I shall not believe that your Highness 
 looks upon me as your daughter if you do not punish 
 
 I 2 
 
ii6 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 it, and order the ambassador to confine himself to 
 the affairs of his embassy, and to abstain from 
 meddHng in the affairs of my household. May your 
 Highness give me satisfaction before I die, for I fear 
 my life will be short, owing to my troubles. The 
 Princess of Wales. 
 
 As Eilready stated, Fuensalida was already under notice of 
 recall. Henry VH., it seems, was as anxious as Catherine 
 that he should be replaced. There is in the Archives of 
 Simancas a despatch, in which Ferdinand refers to the 
 English King's request for his recall, and writes at length 
 his instructions for the guidance of that ambassador's 
 successor, whose name, however, is left blank in the 
 original document: 
 
 FROM FERDINAND II. TO . 
 
 [Spanish Calendar, Vol. II.] 
 
 [End of April (?), 1509.] 
 
 . . . From the whole conduct of the King of 
 England it is clear that he thinks he can do and say 
 what he likes, because he holds the Princess Catherine 
 in his power. First he had demanded that the plate 
 and jewels of the Princess should not be deducted 
 from her dower, although he had no right to do so. 
 As soon as this demand was granted, he had required 
 that the whole dower of the Princess should be 
 resigned into his hands. He was told that the 
 Princess Catherine might dispose of her dower as 
 she liked, and if she was willing to do so, she might 
 give it to him (the King of England). When the 
 King of England had obtained this, his second 
 demand, he requested the ratification of the marriage 
 treaty between Prince Charles and the Princess 
 Mary. Thus, each concession that was made only 
 created a new request on the part of the King of 
 England, who is evidently little desirous to bring the 
 affair to a conclusion. ... 
 
 When the negotiations with England had come to 
 this pass, the King of England sent credentials to his 
 servant, John Stile, who was staying in Spain, and 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 117 
 
 made through him the following declarations. With 
 regard to the delay of the wedding of the Princess 
 Catherine, he said it was not his fault that she 
 was not already married. The complaints of the 
 bad treatment of the Princess, he pretended, were 
 unfounded. She and her servants had enough to 
 eat, and to drink, and were provided with the 
 necessaries of life. Respecting the marriage of 
 Prince Charles, the King of England protested that 
 he had always been animated with feelings of true 
 love and friendship towards him (King Ferdinand). 
 This love, the King of England pretended, was the 
 reason why he so greatly desired the matrimonial 
 union of the Prince of Wales with the Princess 
 Catherine, and that of Prince Charles with the 
 Princess Mary. If the marriage between Prince 
 Charles and the Princess Mary should not be ratified, 
 the other princes, the King of England alleged, 
 would say that there is no real friendship and true 
 relationship between the houses of England and 
 Spain. Great inconvenience would be the result 
 thereof. All the fault of the negotiations having 
 hitherto been so unsatisfactory was owing, according 
 to the opinion of the King of England, to the Knight 
 Commander of Membrilla not having told the truth 
 in his despatches to Spain. King Henry therefore 
 begged him to send another ambassador to England, 
 or to permit him to send an English embassy to 
 Spain, in order to bring the negotiations to a con- 
 clusion which would satisfy both parties. . . . 
 
 He must travel as quickly as possible. Immediately 
 after his arrival in England he is to speak with the 
 Knight Commander of Membrilla, and. to inform him- 
 self of all the details of the business. That done, he 
 is to say to the English, that he (King Ferdinand) 
 perfectly knows why the King of England wishes 
 another ambassador to be sent to England, and that 
 the Knight Commander has always acted as a true 
 and faithful servant of his master. Nevertheless, as 
 the King of England refuses to transact business 
 
ii8 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 with the Knight Commander, it is necessary to recall 
 him. . . . 
 
 Should the King ask what kind of answer he brings 
 to the three demands which he had made on his part, 
 he is to reply as follows. The remaining 100,000 
 scudos of the dower of the Princess -will be paid in 
 coin. The Princess Catherine is authorized to do 
 \with her dower as she Hkes, and consequently she 
 may give it to the King of England. He and Queen 
 Juana are ready to renounce all their claims on the 
 dower. In case the King of England should not be 
 contented with this answer, and should there be no 
 other impediments to the marriage, he may say that 
 his renunciation and the renunciation by Queen Juana 
 of the 200,000 scudos of the dower will be given in 
 whatever form the King of England wishes, but only 
 on condition that the marriage be concluded without 
 delay. 
 
 Should the King of England ask what answer he 
 brings respecting the ratification of the marriage 
 between Prince Charles and the Princess Mary, he 
 rpust say in a very secret and confidential manner 
 that he knows his master (King Ferdinand) has made 
 a solemn vow not to enter into any negotiations with 
 regard to that marriage before the Princess Catherine 
 is the wife of the Prince of Wales, Nor would it be 
 possible for him to be dispensed from this vow, as he 
 has sworn never to ask such a dispensation, and he 
 (King Ferdinand) would not break his oath for any 
 consideration in the world. At the same time he is 
 to add, but as though it came from him, that he 
 (King Ferdinand) had never declared himself against 
 the marriage of Prince Charles with the Princess 
 Mary. The marriage having already been consented 
 to by the Emperor, by Madam [Margaret of Savoy], 
 and by the Council of Flanders, in whose keeping the 
 Prince is, there can be no doubt that it will be ratified 
 also by him (King Ferdinand) and Queen Juana as 
 soon as the other marriage is concluded. He must 
 make use of all possible arguments in order to per- 
 
LAST YEARS OF HENRY VII 119 
 
 suade the King of England, and especially he must 
 not be sparing of sweet and courteous words. In 
 case the King consents to the marriage of the 
 Princess Catherine, her dower is to be paid in 
 accordance with the memoir which will be given 
 to him. 
 
 If, on the contrary, the King of England cannot be 
 persuaded to consent to the marriage of the Princess 
 Catherine except on condition that he (King Ferdi- 
 nand) ratifies the marriage treaty between Prince 
 Charles and the Princess Mary, he must speak in 
 secret with the Princess Catherine, and tell her that 
 she must prepare to return to Spain. Her own 
 honour and the honour of Spain would suffer if under 
 such circumstances she were to remain any longer in 
 England, where she might be exposed to even more 
 cruel treatment than hitherto. But if she were to 
 return to Spain, her long suffering would be at an end, 
 and she would soon find opportunity for another very 
 acceptable marriage. After having ascertained that 
 the Princess has decided to leave England, and that 
 she will yield to no persuasion to the contrary from 
 the King of England, he is to tell the King that the 
 Princess Catherine must immediately go back to the 
 house of her father. He must at the same time hire 
 the ships in which sbe and her servants must sail. 
 He, the Knight Commander Esquivel, the Treasurer 
 Morales and his wife, and even the Knight Com- 
 mander of Membrilla, can embark on board the 
 vessels in which the Princess and her ladies will 
 come. The Knight Commander of Membrilla must, 
 therefore, under some pretext, tarry a few days in 
 port before putting to sea. 
 
 It may be that the King of England will try to 
 retain the Princess Catherine in England against her 
 will. If that should be the case, he must employ all 
 his powers of persuasion in order to dissuade the 
 King from persisting in his iniquitous design. He 
 must tell him that he will derive no advantage from 
 such a line of conduct, and beg him to consider what 
 
120 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 his feelings would be, if he himself were to be 
 affronted in such a way. 
 
 Whatever the result of his negotiations may be, he 
 must write immediately by flying courier. . . . 
 
 Such was the position of affairs at the time of Henry VH.'s 
 death on April 23. It was not until the following month 
 that the foregoing despatch reached England, when every- 
 thing, from the Spanish point of view -at least, had changed 
 so much for the better. What would have happened had 
 Henry VH. lived much longer it is impossible to say, but 
 his death undoubtedly relieved a situation which had reached 
 an extremely dangerous stage. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE NEW KING (1509 — 1512) 
 
 Henry VIII. Ready to Marry Catherine — Archbishop Warham's 
 Objection — Ferdinsmd's Advice and Condolence — Continued 
 Friction Between Catherine and FuensaHda — Ferdinand's 
 Threat — Contrast Between Henry VII. and Henry VIII, — 
 Catherine and the New King's Private Marriage — ^Erasmus 
 Invited to England " to behold this New and Auspicious Star " 
 — ^Henry's Letters to Margaret of Savoy and his Father-in-law — 
 Catherine's Triumph — England as Ferdinand's New Kingdom — 
 Henry Agrees to Support Spain against France — His Reception 
 of the French Ambassador — Champions the Cause of Venice — 
 His Sports and Pastimes — Birth and Death of his Son — 
 Expeditions to Spain and Flanders — Rise of Wolsey — Henry 
 Enters the Holy League — Urges Maximilian to Join — ^A 
 Diplomatist's Life in London — Henry Sends an Army to Com- 
 -bine with the Spaniards against France — His Call to Arms — 
 French Proclamation — How Ferdinand Used Henry's Troops — 
 English Army becomes Demoralized and Returns of its own 
 Accord — Henry's Resolve to Wipe out the Disgrace. 
 
 Ferdinand II. would have been spared much needless 
 suspense had he known that his old rival, as he lay dying, 
 had counselled his son and successor not only to defend the 
 Church and fight the Infidel, but also to complete his long- 
 deferred marriage with Catherine. The Prince, apparently, 
 was willing enough, notwithstanding his secret renunciation 
 years before, and his councillors were now ready to complete 
 the negotiations with an energy which was almost indecorous. 
 Some objection, apparently, was raised by the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, Lord Chancellor Warham, who had con- 
 scientious doubts as to the canonical validity of the match ; 
 but these scruples were not sufficiently deep-rooted to 
 prevent him from officiating at the ceremony. Meanwhile, 
 the King of Spain, ignorant of the unaccustomed smoothness 
 of his path, sent emergency instructions post haste to 
 Fuensalida as soon as the first unofficial news reached him 
 of the death of Henry VII. : 
 
122 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 FERDINAND II. TO THE KNIGHT COMMANDER OF 
 MEMBRILLA. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Vol. II.] 
 
 [May (?), 1509.) 
 
 ... If the King of England is really dead, the 
 French as well as others will enter into all kinds ot 
 intrigues to prevent the marriage of the new King 
 with the Princess Catherine from taking place. He 
 must, therefore, by all means in his power persuade 
 the new King of England to marry the Princess 
 without any delay. The marriage is of great import- 
 ance, not only with respect to the Princess, but also 
 on general political grounds, since it will secure to 
 him the friendship and alliance of the King of 
 England, 
 
 Is determined to grant to the new King all the 
 advantages which were denied to his father, on the 
 sole condition that the marriage is immediately 
 consummated. 
 
 If the King of England is dead, he must, as soon 
 as he receives this despatch, go to the new King, give 
 him the enclosed letter, and explain to him at length 
 everything contained in it, making use of the best 
 arguments that occur to him and the sweetest words 
 he can imagine. That done, he must deliver his 
 credentials, and tell the new King in Ferdinand's 
 name that his [King Henry's] age and position as a 
 King without heirs render it imperatively necessary 
 for him to take a wife without delay, and to beget 
 children. Begs the King of England most earnestly 
 not to defer any longer the consummation of his 
 marriage with the Princess Catherine, who is already 
 his wife. The dower shall be punctually paid. . . . 
 
 In the enclosed letter Ferdinand wrote to his prospective 
 son-in-law to condole with him on his father's death, and 
 to express his own great sorrow at the news. " The only 
 consolation," said this first-rate hypocrite, " is that he died a 
 good Catholic," and that though Ferdinand had lost a brother 
 he had gained a son, Hehopedthat Henry VHI, hadascended 
 
THE NEW KING 123 
 
 the throne unopposed. Should that, however, not be the 
 case, and should he want aid, he had only to say so, and 
 a powerful army, consisting of men-at-arms, infantry and 
 artillery, ships and engines of war, would be sent by 
 Ferdinand to his assistance from Spain without delay. He 
 would even, he declared, come in person to England at the 
 head of such an army, and act in the same way as he would 
 if the fate of his own dominions were at stake.^ The Spanish 
 Sovereign had only just signed these eager letters when 
 Fuensalida's despatches arrived confirming the news of 
 Henry VH.'s death. Ferdinand replied that he had nothing 
 to add except that : 
 
 Fuensalida must always bear in mind that the 
 marriage of the Princess of Wales with the King of 
 England is the most important business that ever 
 was, or ever will be, confided to him. In answer to 
 what he has written respecting certain scruples ot 
 conscience which were mentioned to him, viz., 
 whether the King would commit a sin by marrying 
 the widow of his deceased brother, he must say that 
 such a marriage is perfectly lawful, as the Pope has 
 given a dispensation for it, while the consequence of 
 it will be peace between England and Spain, besides 
 which the marriage of the Princess Mary with Prince 
 Charles depends on it. The King of England, having 
 been betrothed to the Princess of Wales, would, 
 moveover, commit a sin by breaking his engagement 
 to her. He may take example from the King of 
 Portugal, who has married two sisters and who is 
 blessed with a numerous offspring, and lives very 
 cheerfully and happily. Hopes the same happiness 
 is reserved for the iting of England, who will enjoy 
 the greatest felicity in his union with the Princess 
 of Wales, and leave numerous .children behind 
 him. . . ." 
 
 To make sure of Catherine, Ferdinand wrote on May 14 
 to impress upon her the extreme importance of her marringe. 
 
 > Spanish Calendar, Vol. II., p. 9, 
 » Ibid., p. 13. 
 
124 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 She must now, he told her, show what she was capable of, 
 and bring the long negotiations to an end, reminding her 
 that she herself once wrote that his marriage could easily 
 be concluded if only Henry VII. were to die.* Ferdinand's 
 first secretary, Miguel Perez de Almazan, also wrote to 
 Catherine to the following effect : 
 
 MIGUEL PEREZ DE ALMAZAN. TO CATHERINE. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Vol. II.] 
 
 [Valladolid, May i8, 1509.] 
 
 In the lifetime of King Henry VII., King Ferdinand 
 the Catholic refused to accede to some demands which 
 the late King of England made, knowing perfectly 
 well that the late King of England was not his friend, 
 and had no intention to marry her, while he lived, to 
 his son the present King. The old King of England 
 was always beset by the fear that his son, the present 
 King, might during his lifetime obtain too much 
 power by his connexion with the house of Spain. 
 
 As soon, however, as the death of Henry VII. was 
 known, King Ferdinand granted to the present King 
 all that he had refused to his father. He loves her 
 most of all his children, and, on her account, looks 
 on the present King of England as though he were 
 his own son. King Ferdinand will henceforth com- 
 municate to King Henry all his secrets, and expects 
 in return that King Henry will conceal nothing from 
 him. This absolute confidence between the two 
 Kings is necessary, in order that King Ferdinand, 
 like a true father, may give his advice about everything 
 to the King of England. . . . 
 
 The only danger that now appeared to threaten the 
 negotiations was the continued friction between Fuensalida, 
 who had not yet been superseded, and the Princess of Wales, 
 both of whom poured out their grievances to the Spanish 
 Sovereign. Ferdinand was on thorns at the bare possibility 
 of all his plans being upset at the last moment by any 
 
 ' Spanish Calendar, Vol. II., pp. 141 -5. 
 
THE NEW KING 125 
 
 pettiness of this sort. He did his best to smooth their 
 ruffled feathers, and begged them to forgive each other for 
 the sake of the marriage. To Fuensalida he wrote on 
 May 18 that he was very sorry to hear what had passed 
 between them : 
 
 He knows that he has served him alv^^ays with the 
 greatest loyalty; but in the present state of things 
 the best he can do is to forget what has happened, 
 and not to speak a word about it to anyone, employing 
 all his energy to conclude the business of the marriage. 
 He expects from Fuensalida that he will even beg the 
 Princess to forgive him. For God's sake he must not 
 complain of her to anyone in England. Even if he 
 suffers injustice, he must not forget that he will serve 
 the King better by submitting to it than by any other 
 way. 
 
 Finally he mentioned that he had asked the Princess to 
 treat him with respect and kindness.^ That Ferdinand did 
 so is seen in his letter to Catherine of the same date, in 
 which he also told her how vexed he was to hear what his 
 ambassador has said and done. She must, however, forgive 
 him and treat him with courtesy, as he had probably acted 
 rather from ignorance than from malice. She must do 
 nothing, in short, to prevent the wedding from being per- 
 . formed as soon as possible, Ferdinand bluntly adding that 
 there was " no possibility in the whole world of marrying 
 her to anyone but her present husband."^ 
 
 There was no need to threaten Catherine. She had no 
 wish, after alKher years of suffering, to miss the finest 
 matrimonial prize in Christendom; for Henry VHI. at that 
 time was endowed with all the manly virtues, as well as 
 with a fortune which most European Courts had reason 
 to envy. Henry VII., by husbanding his resources with 
 almost a miser's affection for wealth, earned a reputation as 
 much for his avarice as for his statesmanship, but he left 
 his son a legacy which would be equal in value at the 
 
 1 Spanish State Papers, Vol. I. 
 » Ibid. 
 
126 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 present day to something like ^f 18,000,000. In appearance 
 the father might easily have been mistaken for a Frenchman, 
 and he had none of the insular prejudices of an island race. 
 Henry VHI., on the other hand, looked an Englishman 
 every inch of him ; gloried more in his sports and strength 
 than in the tortuous tricks of statesmanship ; and imbibed to 
 the full the national spirit of his people. " The new King 
 is magnificent, liberal, and a great enemy of the French," 
 wrote Andrea Badoer, the Venetian ambassador in England, 
 who had been charged by the Doge and Senate of the 
 threatened Republic to enlist Henry's assistance. Catherine, 
 be it repeated, needed no incentive to complete her marriage 
 with a Prince whose praises everyone united in singing. 
 
 She made her added years and experience helpful to the 
 young King at once, taking charge, according to Cavendish, 
 of the arrangements for his father's stately funeral, as well 
 as for the subsequent coronation. The marriage which had 
 hung fire so long was now rushed to its consummation 
 within a few weeks, the religious ceremony taking place 
 privately on June 11 at the Friar Observant's Church, 
 Greenwich. Catherine's much-discussed confessor, it is 
 worth noting, was a friar of this Order. On the 23rd 
 came the gorgeous processions, and ceremonies of the 
 coronation, with all the accompanying jousts and banquets 
 and general festivities, suddenly brought to a close, however, 
 by the death of the Lady Margaret, the King's devoted 
 grandmother. 
 
 Some idea of the extravagant rejoicings over Henry's 
 accession may be gathered from Mountjoy's letter to 
 Erasmus, whose hopes of advancement in England now 
 seemed so ripe for realization that he lost no time in 
 accepting his friend's enthusiastic invitation "to behold 
 this new and auspicious star " : 
 
 WILLIAM, LORD MOUNTJOY TO ERASMUS. 
 " Epistles of Erasmus," translated by F. M. Nichols, Vol. I.] 
 [Greenwich Palace, May 27, 1509.] 
 
 I have no fear, my Erasmus, but when you heard 
 that our Prince, now Henry the Eighth, whom we 
 may well call our Octavius, had succeeded to his 
 
THE NEW KING la; 
 
 father*s throne, all your melancholy left you at once. 
 For what may you not promise yourself from a 
 Prince, with whose extraordinary and almost divine 
 character you are well acquainted, and to whom you 
 are not only known but intimate, having received 
 from him (as few others have) a letter traced with 
 his own fingers ? But when you know what a hero 
 he now shows himself, how wisely he behaves, what a 
 lover he is of justice and goodness, what affection he 
 bears to the learned, I will venture to swear that you 
 will need no wings to make you fly to behold this 
 new and auspicious star. Oh, my Erasmus, if you 
 could see how all the world here is rejoicing in the 
 possession of so great a Prince, how his life is all 
 their desire, you could not contain your tears for joy. 
 The heavens laugh, the earth exults, all things are 
 full of milk, of honey and of nectar ! Avarice is 
 expelled the country. Liberality scatters wealth 
 with bounteous hand. Our King does not desire 
 gold or gems or precious metals, but virtue, glory, 
 immortality. I will give you an example. The 
 other day he wished he was more learned. I said : 
 " That is not what we expect of your Grace, but that 
 you will foster and encourage learned men." 
 
 "Yea, surely," said he, "for indeed without them 
 we should scarcely exist at all." 
 
 What more splendid saying could fall from the lips 
 of a prince ? But how rash am I to launch my little 
 boat upon the ocean. This is a province reserved 
 for you. But I was tempted to begin my letter with 
 these few words in praise of our divine Prince in 
 order to drive out of your mind any sadness that 
 may still rest in it, or if your sadness be expelled, 
 then not only to confirm but to raise higher and 
 higher whatever hope you have conceived. 
 
 I now come to your letters, dated, one the . . . 
 and the other the 30th April, from Rome. The first 
 gave me both pleasure and sorrow ; pleasure because 
 you disclosed in a friendly and familiar way your 
 plans and thoughts, your cares and mischances to 
 
128 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 your Mountjoy ; sorrow to find my best of friends so 
 sore hit by the manifold darts of Fortune. I would 
 bid you be of good cheer, if I did not think that 
 without my bidding you are already hopeful, if you 
 have any hope in you. Make up your mind that 
 the last day of your wretchedness has dawned. You 
 will come to a Prince who will say, " Accept our 
 wealth and be our greatest sage." . . . 
 
 How far these hopes were realized may be seen in Erasmus's 
 later correspondence. Meantime Henry added to his popu- 
 larity by exempting from the general pardon on his accession 
 the two ministers who had made themselves obnoxious to 
 the people during his father's reign by the exaction of heavy 
 taxes and crown fines — Sir Richard Empson and Edmund 
 Dudley. Edmund de la Pole, who had been confined to 
 the Tower since his surrender to Henry VII. by Philip the 
 Handsome, was also exempted.^ For Henry and his bride, on 
 the other hand, all went as merrily as the traditional 
 wedding bells, the round of masques, revels and jousting, 
 interrupted by the Lady Margaret's death, being soon taken 
 up again. Towards the end of June the bridegroom sent 
 the following account of his wedding to the Archduchess 
 Margaret, in order that she might, as he expressed it, share 
 their joy and felicity : 
 
 HENRY VIII. TO MARGARET OF SAVOY. 
 
 [" Court and Society from Elizabeth to Anne."] 
 
 [Westminster Palace, June 27, 1509,] 
 
 Great and excellent Princess, — We commend 
 ourselves heartily to you, and let you know that we 
 have written a letter to our much-honoured brother 
 and cousin, the Emperor, ydur father, in which we 
 inform him of our news and affairs, for the great 
 
 ' The popular cry for vengeance against Empson and Dudley was 
 appeased in the following year by their execution on the unjust 
 charge of constructive treason. Edmund de la Pole was beheaded 
 without a trial in 15 13, when his brother Richard entered the service 
 of France, then at war with England. 
 
THE NEW KING 129 
 
 love and preference which we are aware that he had 
 for the late Prince, of worthy and happy memory, 
 the King, our lord and father. We tell the same 
 to you, because we believe that he and you will take 
 pleasure therein. 
 
 The truth is, that considering the treaty made long 
 ago, touching a marriage between us .and the Lady 
 Catherine, and the betrothals then made between us 
 by word of mouth ; considering that on our coming of 
 age, among other wise and honourable advice given 
 to us by the King on his dying bed, was an expres.s 
 command to take the Lady Catherine to wife, in 
 virtue of that treaty ; considering also the great 
 alliance contracted between the Emperor, the King 
 of Spain, and ourselves, in the marriage of Prince 
 Charles and the Lady Mary ; considering, finally, 
 the betrothals and promises on one side, and on the 
 other side the dispensations granted by the Pope, 
 we could not, without offence to God, right, reason, 
 and good conscience, do otherwise than as we have 
 done. 
 
 For which causes and considerations, on the nth 
 of this present month of June, the nuptials were 
 performed, and on St. John the Baptist's Day we 
 were crowned at our Abbey of Westminster, near 
 our City of London, the place in which it has been 
 usual to crown our ancestors the Kings of England, 
 there being present all the great princes, lords, and 
 nobles of our kingdom. 
 
 Thank God, our realm is tranquil and obedient, as 
 in the King, our father's time ; all of which we tell 
 you that you may share our joy and felicity. Be 
 good enough to forward our letter to the Emperor, 
 and let us hear from you as often as you have news 
 to communicate. 
 
 A month later the newly-married King sends his father- 
 in-law a letter which is full of a bridegroom's frank 
 enthusiasm ; for there was no doubt about Henry's love for 
 Catherine in the early years of bis reign : 
 
 y.H. K 
 
130 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 HENRY VIII. TO FERDINAND II. 
 [Halliwell-Phillipps ; " Letters of the Kings of England."] 
 
 [Greenwich, July 26, 1509.]^ 
 
 / To the most serene and most excellent Prince 
 Lord Don Ferdinando, by the grace of God, King oi 
 Arragon, of the two Sicilies and Jerusalem, our very 
 dear father, Henry, by the same grace. King of 
 England and France, and Lord of Ireland, health 
 and prosperous success. 
 
 We have the letters of your serene Highness, dated 
 to us on the fourth of this month from Turre de 
 Qylles, whereby we have been affected with violent 
 joy, beyond what can be expressed ; in the first place, 
 as your majesty, having read our letters and having 
 learnt the consummation of our marriage with the 
 most serene lady the Queen, your daughter, hath 
 yourself conceived no little delight at that event, and 
 hath in consequence made a public demonstration 
 and festivaP in your own person : the past delay of 
 which long tormented your majesty's mind. In the 
 second place, as your serene Highness greatly 
 commends ourself, in having completed this marriage 
 so liberally, and in having rejected all other ladies 
 in the world that have been offered to us ; showing 
 hereby our singular love, which we bear towards your 
 majesty and the most illustrious house of Arragon, 
 as well as to the most serene lady herself the Queen 
 our very beloved consort. From this cause, your 
 majesty, just like a most excellent and true father, 
 forming a most true jiadgment of our inward and 
 cordial feeling towards -yourself, most generously 
 offers to us yourself and all yours. Wherefore, for 
 so singular and such paternal affection wherewith 
 you honour us, we owe undoubtedly to your serene 
 Highness boundless thanks, (and greater than these, 
 if possible) accepting most willing your paternal 
 
 ' Ferrara says, "her father. King Ferdinand, was so well pleased 
 at his daughter's second marriage, that he celebrated it by grand 
 festivals in Spain, particularly by the jeu de Cannes," or darting the 
 jereed, in which Moorish sport Ferdinand assisted in person. 
 
THE NEW KING 13T 
 
 offers, and confidently intending to avail ourself of 
 them when opportunity happen ; offering equally and 
 in like manner to you ourself, and ours, and whatever 
 shall ever possibly proceed from us, inasmuch as this 
 our strict alliance and bond so requires and demands : 
 so that all things may be common, both ours with 
 you and yours with us. 
 
 And, as regards that sincere love, which we have 
 to the most serene Queen our consort, — her eminent 
 virtues daily more and more shine forth, blossom, and 
 increase so much, that, if we were still free, her we 
 would yet choose for our wife before all other. And, 
 we will so strive to answer your majesty's expectation 
 and fatherly love to ourself, that you maybe convinced 
 we neither omit, nor neglect, in any particular, our 
 filial duty ; but in all points repay the reciprocal debt 
 of love and attention to our utmost power. All these 
 things, of course, you will be pleased to relate, in our 
 name, to the most illustrious lady, the queen of 
 Castile, your daughter, our very dear kinswoman, and 
 to commend ourself to her in singular degree. 
 
 However, as regards the ambassador, whom your 
 majesty purposes to send, to sojourn with us, we shall 
 see him very cheerfully ; both that from him we may 
 be assured at length of your majesty's happy state, 
 (which we earnestly desire to know) and likewise that 
 he may be able, from time to time, to acquaint you 
 of our daily proceedings. May the God Almighty 
 preserve you long, happy, prosperous and safe, with 
 daily increase of auspicious events. 
 
 Catherine herself writes to her father three days later in 
 similar strains. Unfortunately part of her letter is written 
 in cipher, to which no key can be found. It is obvious from 
 some of her remarks that she now regarded England as an 
 addition to her father's own dominions. The letter, which 
 is not included in Bergenroth's Calendar, the original having 
 been preserved in England, among the Egerton Manuscripts, 
 is also important for its renewed defence of her friar, whom 
 "supposing he were the worst man in the world" she 
 
 K 2 
 
133 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 declared she would have kept, and honoured, merely for the 
 sake of giving the lie to Fuensalida. The friar remained 
 in her service as confessor after her marriage and chancellor 
 until his downfall, some years later, upon being judicially 
 convicted of adultery. 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO FERDINAND II. 
 [" Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies."} 
 
 [Greenwich, July 29, 1509.] 
 
 Most high and most puissant Lord, 
 
 I received your Highness's letter w^hich this courier 
 brought me, with which I rejoiced so much, that your 
 Highness will scarcely be able to believe how much 
 pleasure I had in knowing that I have ever been 
 held and esteemed by your Highness as your true 
 daughter and servant. And it is the greatest favour 
 that your Highness can do me, and most conformed to 
 my will, since I know that in this life I have no other 
 good except that of being your daughter ; although 
 (by) your Highness so well married, that more cannot 
 be said, except that it may well appear that it is the 
 work of those hands of your Highness which I kiss 
 for so signal a favour. 
 
 As to the King, my lord, amongst the reasons 
 that oblige me to love him much more than myself, 
 the one most strong, although he is my husband, 
 is his being the so true son of your Highness, with 
 desire of greater obedience and love to serve you 
 than ever son had to his father. I have performed 
 the office of ambassador as your Highness sent to 
 command, and as was known by the King, my lord, 
 who is, and places himself entirely, in the hands of 
 your Highness, as of so entire a father and lord. 
 And your Highness may believe me, that he is such 
 in keeping obedience to your Highness as could 
 never have been thought, from which I increase in 
 infinite pleasure as much as reason requires. 
 
 The news from here is that those kingdoms of your 
 Highness are in great peace, and entertain much love 
 towards the King, my lord, and to me. His Highness 
 
THE NEW KING 133 
 
 and I are very hearty to the service of your Highness. 
 Our time is ever passed in continual feasts. I 
 supplicate your Highness, as to the favour which you 
 have always bestowed upon me, in which you have 
 shown me the greatest favour, henceforth to hestow 
 it on me, by showing that you esteem the King, 
 my lord, and me as your true children.^ . , .■ I 
 feel assured your Highness, having received my 
 goodwill with the desire which I have for your 
 service with which I write this, and believing that 
 you have given and will give credit to my letters, 
 although you have not chosen to send an answer 
 to all that which was in them, — since it so greatly 
 concerned my honour and estate that, by the life of 
 your Highness, it could not be thought how much 
 the Knight Commander of Membrilla, being here as 
 ambassador, did me disservice, by having said what 
 he did, and by taking up the topics which he took up. 
 Supposing my confessor were the. worst man in the 
 world, yet, for the sake of giving the lie to the said 
 ambassador, I should have kept him in my service, 
 and made him a great prelate. So much the more 
 being such a person, and so sufficient, as I believe 
 your Highness knows, since I have him in my 
 service ; and I hope to keep him all the time that 
 I shall be able, if your Highness may be thus served. 
 If I believed not that your Highness would hold 
 him in the same office, as reason is, I should think 
 myself much annoyed and disfavoured by your 
 Highness. 
 
 My mistress,. Juan de Cuero, my chamberlain, 
 with my other servants, set off from hence to their 
 homes. I commanded to pay them all their salaries, 
 in the form and quantity as every year the same 
 officials are paid in the house of your Highness : 
 to Alonzo de Esquivel for six years, and to all the 
 others for eight ; and all the help I gave them was 
 for the service of your Highness, besides other things 
 which by my command they have received from my 
 ' The following passage is in cipher, and terminates very abruptly. 
 
134 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 chamber; this not for the service which they have 
 done me, but only for that your Highness had com- 
 manded them to come here. Wherefore, if you 
 should w^onder at the boldness of them, and of the 
 ambassador, I vi^ould supplicate your Highness to 
 command to chastise him and them ; but afterwards, 
 by reason that they can call themselves mine, I 
 supplicate your Highness to pardon them, com- 
 manding that they should be regarded as persons 
 who have been in my house. 
 
 Our Lord keep the life and royal estate of your 
 Highness, and increase it, according to my desire. 
 From Greenwich, the 29th of July. The humble 
 servant of your Highness, who kisses your hands. 
 The Queen. 
 
 I supplicate your Highness to do me so signal a 
 favour as to send to the King, my lord, three horses, 
 — one a jennet, and the other from Naples, and the 
 other a Sicilian ; because he desires them much, and 
 has asked me to beg your Highness for them : in 
 which I shall receive a great favour from your 
 Highness ; and also to command them to be sent by 
 the first messenger that comes here. 
 
 Ferdinand replied to both these letters on September 13. 
 He rejoiced, he assured his son-in-law, to hear that he loved 
 his wife so much ; and to his daughter he writes eloquently 
 on the blessings of a happy marriage. May their happiness, 
 he adds, last as long as they live.* With regard to the 
 ambassador, he repeats to Catherine his old regrets at the 
 behaviour of Fuensalida, but explains that little more need be 
 said on the subject, as he has already recalled him from 
 England. To Henry he writes that he is shortly sending Luis 
 Caroz as his new ambassador, and requests that meanwhile all 
 communications respecting the affairs between England and 
 Spain should be made through the Queen, his wife, begging 
 him to give her implicit credit. Thus did Catherine beconie, 
 for a time at least, not only Queen-Consort of England, but 
 also sole ambassador for Spain at the court of Henry VHI. 
 
 ' Spanish Calendar, Vol. II. 
 
THE NEW KING 135 
 
 It was a great triumph for Ferdinand, who now felt that he had 
 England safely in his power. He did, indeed, become for the 
 first few years of Henry's reign the chief, if unofficial, coun- 
 cillor of the young and inexperienced King in the all-important 
 matter of England's foreign policy. His chief object at this 
 period was to secure England's support against Louis XII. of 
 France, who had succeeded in obtaining such a dispropor- 
 tionate share of the Venetian spoils as seriously to alarm the 
 other greedy partners in the compact of Cambrai. Henry 
 was ready enough to promise his support in this connexion, 
 for, besides possessing the national prejudice against the 
 French, he was also moved to generous indignation against 
 the threatened destruction of Venice, assuring the Venetian 
 ambassador that he was the Signory's best friend. When 
 Louis XII. sent the Abbot of Fdcamp to Henry, in the 
 summer of 1509, he received anything but a warm welcome. 
 Badoer's account in his letters home of the Abbot's interview 
 with the King furnishes a foretaste of the autocratic Henry of 
 later years : 
 
 . . . The abbot announced the receipt by his King 
 of a letter from King Henry, requesting friendship 
 §^d peace, and stated that his King had sent him to 
 confirm the said peace. Thereupon King Henry 
 took offence, and, turning towards his attendants, 
 exclaimed, " Who wrote this letter ? I ask peace of 
 the King of France, who dare not look me in the face, 
 much less make war on me ! ! " With this he rose, 
 nor would he hear any more ; so the ambassador 
 withdrew. After this, "tilting -at the ring" took 
 place. The French anibassador was invited to be 
 present, but no place having been reserved for him 
 upon a stage reserved for guests, he departed in 
 dudgeon. The King, however, had him recalled, 
 and caused a cushion to be given him, and he sat 
 down. In short, King Henry nolds France in small 
 account. . . .^ 
 
 Ferdinand's letter to Catherine in the following November 
 shows that Henry had informed him of his intention to 
 
 •Venetian Calendar, Vol. II., p. 5. 
 
136 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 prevent the utter destruction of Venice, the Spanish Sovereign 
 being greatly disturbed in his mind at the fact that his 
 inexperienced son-in-law should have sent such a letter in 
 "plain writing" and not in cipher. He begged her to tell 
 her husband that secrecy and circumspection were always 
 necessary in great enterprises : 
 
 It would be very inconvenient if the French vi^ere to 
 know anything concerning their closer alliance^ their 
 plan to preserve to Venice the territories which belong 
 to her by right, and other similar matters, before they 
 are ripe for execution. The King of England must, 
 therefore, henceforth write in his letters nothing but 
 such things that the French may read without danger. 
 All other communications must be made by her, and 
 be written in her cipher, or in the cipher of the 
 ambassador, until the new ambassador arrives. . . . 
 
 The King of England, he added, must remember that the 
 best and only safe way to ensure perfect security for their 
 States, as well as for the dominion of the Queen of Castile 
 and Prince Charles, was secretly to contract a true and 
 intimate alliance, consisting of the King of the Romans, the 
 King of England, the Queen of Castile and Prince Charl^, 
 and himself. King Ferdinand. Meantime Henry must appear 
 to be as good a friend to France as was his father, and not 
 say a word more about Venice until a new alliance was 
 concluded. Afterwards he could easily find a pretext for 
 quarrelling with him, and would be sure to get the better of 
 him. As for what had been said about the rumours of the 
 intentions of the King of France to make war upon England, 
 Catherine, he said, ought not to attach any importance to 
 them. As long as he (King Ferdinand) lived the French 
 would never attack England, well knowing that he would 
 immediately assist her, and that the result would be in favour 
 of Spain and England, who would despoil France and many 
 of her provinces.^ 
 
 For a time, however, the power of Louis XH. in Italy was 
 allowed to increase unchecked. Henry concealed his inten- 
 tions towards France to the extent of renewing his father's 
 
 ' Spanish Calendar, Vol. II., November i8, 1509. 
 
THE NEW KING 137 
 
 treaty of peace and friendship with that country ; and even 
 in the summer of the following year was exchanging with 
 Louis, through his ambassadors, a profusion of promises and 
 compliments. This was more than Ferdinand had intended, 
 especially as the new treaty of peace had only been disclosed 
 to him after it had been concluded. 
 
 Pope Julius II., also anxious to secure England's support 
 in his own troubles with France, now courted the King's 
 favour by sending him the Golden Rose. This was 
 delivered to the Archbishop of Canterbury, with the ensuing 
 letter : 
 
 JULIUS II. TO ARCHBISHOP WARHAM. 
 [Grove's " Life and Times of Cardinal Wolsey."] 
 
 Venerable Brother, 
 
 We salute you, and send you our Apostolic Bene- 
 diction. Resolving with ourselves, that our most 
 eminent Son in Christ, Henry, the most illustrious 
 King of England, for whom we have a very pecu- 
 liar regard, should receive from us some honorary 
 ApostoHcal present in this beginning of his reign, we 
 now send him the Golden Rose, anointed with the 
 Holy Chrism, sprinkled with odoriferous musk, and 
 blessed with our hands, after the manner of the Roman 
 Pontiffs, which we would have you, brother, to give 
 him, with our Apostolical Benediction, during the 
 solemnity of the Mass, (by you to be celebrated) you 
 using the ceremonies for this purpose contained in 
 the schedule annexed to it. 
 
 Given at Rome the 5th of April, 15 10, in the seventh 
 year of our Pontificate. 
 
 SiGISMUNDUS. 
 
 In the meantime Ferdinand's new ambassador, Luis Caroz, 
 had arrived in London, where, apparently, he did not agree 
 with Catherine and her confessor any better than did his 
 predecessor. His letter to Ferdinand's Secretary of State, 
 which follows, is interesting, not only on this account ; it 
 also gives the secret history of the first little cloud that cast 
 its shadow over Catherine's married life : 
 
138 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 DON LUIS CAROZ TO MIGUEL PEREZ DE ALMAZAN. 
 [Spanish Calendar, Supplement to Vols. I. and II.] 
 
 [London, May 28, 1510.] 
 
 The way in which we, the friar and I, treat one 
 another is this : — he gives me the best words that it is 
 possible to give, but I find him very cold in deeds, 
 and. so much so, that I have not been able to make 
 use of his help in the least little thing which has been 
 done. I know it for certain — and he is not so discreet 
 that he knows how to conceal it — that he is very sus- 
 picious and fearful of me ; indeed, so much so, that 
 he thinks and believes that I am come here for no 
 other purpose but to turn him out of this house. 
 That which I have done and do with him is this : — to 
 praise him £ts much as is necessary, but not overmuch, 
 that he may not suspect that there is any deceit in it ; 
 to tell him, after the arrival of every courier, how 
 pleased his Highness is with him, how much I am 
 aware that he knows the affairs which are negotiated 
 here, and that I speak to him about them in order 
 that he may assist me. I tell him that I do this by 
 order of his Highness, because his Highness knows 
 well that in all that concerns his service he will act 
 with the same diligence as I. Nevertheless, I cannot 
 make use of him in anything, and the more we advance 
 the worse I find him. There is no doubt his mind is 
 not quite right, and it is clear that he greatly injures 
 the service of his Highness, inasmuch as he keeps the 
 Queen engaged, so that I cannot make use of her in 
 anything ; so much so that if I wish to send to ask a 
 favour of the Queen, I find no one to send. For those 
 of the household, from fear of him, do not dare to do 
 it, nor have the few [Spaniards?] who are there 
 dared to come and see me, or to speak to me when 
 they meet me at court. If I beg him to tell some- 
 thing to the Queen, either he does it in a way that 
 does me no good, or he gives me reasons why it is 
 not well to do what I wish. In fine, I may conclude 
 by stating that I have never seen a more wicked 
 person in my life. According to what hitherto I am 
 
THE NEW KING" 139 
 
 able to understand, we are forced to dissimulate with 
 him, to endure him, honouring him and making him 
 the best demonstrations that can be made. When 
 the Queen goes out I shall speak with her, and see 
 how to guide myself, and by whom and in what 
 manner those negotiations with the Queen are to be 
 carried on, which I am forced to carry on through a 
 third person. There is here a servant of the Queen, 
 whose name is Francisca de Cdceres. She is married 
 to Francisco de Grimaldo, and is the most attached 
 person in the world to the service of her Highness, 
 and the most skilful for whatever suits the Queen or 
 the King our Lord [Ferdinand]. The friar fears her 
 more than can be said, and forbids this woman enter- 
 ing the palace, or remaining in the service of the 
 Queen, or seeing her. I should think that two letters 
 of recommendation, and with a power for me from his 
 Highness, would be good — the one for the King and 
 the other for the Queen. What I intend to do with 
 them is to try whether I can persuade the Queen to 
 take her back into her service, and if not, to obtain 
 from the King that he takes her for Madame Mary, 
 his sister. As soon as she is in the palace, she herself 
 will recover her place, and, even if she does not 
 recover it, she will render the greatest services ; for 
 now, having nobody there, I do not know, as I ought 
 to know, what passes there. 
 
 Every day occur numberless things which it is well 
 for me to know, especially as the King and the Queen 
 are yOung, and cannot be without novelties. What 
 lately has happened is that two sisters of the Duke of 
 Buckingham, both married, lived in the palace. The 
 one of them is the favourite of the Queen, an4 the 
 other, it is said, is much liked by the King, who went 
 after her. Another version is that the love intrigues 
 were not of the King, but of a young man, his favourite, 
 of the name of Conton,^ who had been the late King's 
 butler. This Conton carried on the love intrigue, as 
 it is said, for the King, and that is the more credible 
 
 > Sir William Compton (?). 
 
140 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 version, as the King has shown great displeasure at 
 what I am going to tell. The favourite of the Queen 
 has been very anxious in this matter of her sister, and 
 has joined herself with the Duke, her brother, with 
 her husband and her sister's husband, in order to 
 consult on what should be done in this case. The 
 consequence of the counsel of all the four of them was 
 that, whilst the Duke was in the private apartment ot 
 his sister, who was suspected [of intriguing] with the 
 King, Conton came there to talk with her, saw the 
 Duke, who intercepted him, quarrelled with him, and 
 the end of it was that he was severely reproached in 
 many and very hard words. The King was so offended 
 at this that he reprimanded the Duke angrily, The 
 same night the Duke left the palace, and did not enter 
 or I'eturn there for some days. At the same time the 
 husband of that lady went away, carried her off, and 
 placed her in a convent sixty miles from here, that 
 no one may see her. 
 
 The King having understood that all this proceeded 
 from the sister, who is the favourite of the Queen, the 
 day after the one was gone, turned the other out ot 
 the palace, and her husband with her. Believing 
 that there were other women in the employment ot 
 the favourite, that is to say, such as go about the 
 palace insidiously spying out every unwatched 
 moment, in order to tell the Queen, the King would 
 have Uked to .turn all of them out, only that it has 
 appeared to him too great a scandal. Afterwards, 
 almost all the court knew that the Queen had been 
 vexed with the King, and the King with her, and thus 
 this storm went on between them. I spoke to the 
 friar about it, and complained that he had not told 
 me this, regretting that the Queen had been annoyed, 
 and saying to him how I thought that the Queen 
 should have acted in this case, and how he, in my 
 opinion, ought to have behaved himself. For in this 
 I think I understand my part, being a married man, 
 and having often treated with married people _ in 
 similar matters. He contradicted vehemently, which 
 
THE NEW KING T41 
 
 was the same thing as denying what had been officially 
 proclaimed. He told me that those ladies have not 
 gone for anything of the kind, and talked nonsense ; 
 and evidently did not believe what he told me. I did 
 not speak more on that subject. I spoke with him in 
 order to try whether I could not in this or that 
 manner discuss with him some pending affairs, and [to 
 remind him] that he never ought to consider me as a 
 stranger in these matters ; but until this time I have 
 not found him serviceable to me. He is stubborn, 
 and as the English ladies of this household, as well 
 as the Spanish who are near the Queen, are rather 
 simple, I fear, lest the Queen should behave ill in this 
 ado. She does so already, because she by no means 
 conceals her ill-will towards Conton, and the King is 
 very sorry for it. According to what I have heard, it 
 may be that even the friar should have his part in 
 this feast ; and I should not regret it. I have told 
 all this to your Lordship, in order that you may tell 
 it to his Highness, if you think it advisable ; and if not, 
 conceal it and order me likewise not to speak any 
 more of it, and not to lose my time in such things, 
 unless I obtain some advantage thereby. . . , 
 
 Catherine does not appear to have taken this first quarrel 
 to heart very deeply, unless she carried the art of dissimulation 
 to quite unnecessary lengths, for in a letter written to her 
 ■father only one day previously to the above she " thanks God 
 and him that he has given her such a husband as the King of 
 England." ^ This was after informing Ferdinand that she 
 had given birth, some days before, to a still-born child, a 
 daughter. She begs her father not to be angry with her, 
 "for it has been the will of God." Henry at this time 
 appears to have allowed nothing to interfere with his 
 amusements. Although in the previous summer he wrote to 
 his father-in-law that he was diverting himself " with jousts, 
 birding, hunting and other innocent and honest pastimes," 
 and in visiting different parts of his kingdom, but that he did 
 not on that account neglect affairs of State,^ Luis Caroz^ has 
 *■ Spanish Calendar, Vol. II., p. 38, 
 
142 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 another story to tell, in May, 1510. The English bishops 
 then told him that the King was young, " and does not care 
 to occupy himself with anything but the pleasures of his age. 
 All other affairs he neglects." The ambassador suggested, 
 therefore, that Ferdinand should write to Henry and spur 
 him on, so that the more intimate treaty which he had come 
 to negotiate with him might soon be completed.^ In a 
 second letter of the same date the ambassador sends a 
 picturesque account of the tournaments in which the young 
 English King delighted : 
 
 LUIS CAROZ TO FERDINAND II. 
 ISpanish Calendar, Vol. II.] 
 
 [London, May 29, 1510.] 
 
 . . . The King of England amuses himself almost 
 every day of the week with running the ring, and 
 with jousts arid tournaments on foot, in which one 
 single person fights with an appointed adversary. 
 Two days in the week are consecrated to this kind of 
 tournament, which is to continue till the Feast of 
 St. John, and which is instituted in imitation of Amadis 
 and Lanzilote, and other knights of olden times, of 
 whom so much is written in books. The combatants 
 are clad in breast-plates, and wear a particular .kind 
 of helmet. They use lances of fourteen hands' 
 breadth long, with blunt iron points. They throw 
 these lances at one another, and fight afterwards 
 with two-handed swords, each of the combatants 
 dealing twelve strokes. They are separated from one 
 another by a barrier which reaches up to the girdle, 
 in order to prevent them from seizing one another 
 and wrestling. There are many young men who 
 excel in this kind of warfare, but the most conspicuous 
 among them all, the most assiduous, and the most 
 interested in the combats is the King himself, who 
 never omits being present at them. • . . 
 
 There is little else to chronicle of England's domestic 
 history during these first two years of Henry's reign. On 
 New Year's Day, 1511, the King's highest hopes were 
 > Spanish Calendar, Vol. II., p. 41. 
 
THE NEW KING 143 
 
 realized by the birth of a son to Catherine, hopes, however, 
 destined to be shattered by the baby's death less than two 
 months later, after being christened Henry, and declared 
 Prince of Wales. '' Catherine, according to Hall, " like a 
 natural woman, made much lamentation, howbeit, by the 
 King's persuasion, she was comforted, but not shortly." It 
 was in this month that Ferdinand requested his son-in-law 
 to send him fifteen hundred English archers in aid of his 
 crusade against the Moors of Barbary, and these were 
 accordingly despatched under the command of Thomas, 
 Lord Darcy. The expedition proved a miserable fiasco. It 
 landed to discover that its services were not needed after all, 
 for Ferdinand, finding himself hard pressed by Louis XII., 
 had made a truce with the Infidels in order to prepare for the 
 inevitable conflict with France. The stranded Englishmen 
 sought solace in Spanish wines, which led, however, to 
 intoxicated troubles . with the natives, and in the end they 
 returned home in high dudgeon. A similar expedition was 
 sent under Sir Edward Poynings in this year to help 
 Margaret of Savoy and the Burgundians against the Duke of 
 Gelders. It did good service until Poynings, forced to the 
 conclusion that the allies were making undue use of his 
 force, sought and obtained permission to return home. 
 
 In the midst of these alarms and excursions the King 
 discovered his right-hand man in Thomas Wolsey, who had 
 entered the royal service as a chaplain some five years 
 previously. Towards the end of Henry VII.'s reign this son 
 of a well-to-do grazier and wool merchant of Ipswich— not a 
 butcher, as sometimes stated even to this day — had been 
 employed on State affairs, both in missions to James IV. of 
 Scotland and the Emperor Maximilian, and had been 
 rewarded with the deanery of Lincoln. With the new reign 
 he had become almoner to the King, and, in this present 
 year of 1511, Canon of Windsor, attending the King wherever 
 he happened to be staying, and advancing farther into favour 
 every day. " And being at Windsor, with his Majesty," as 
 his biographer. Grove, says, "he wrote to his old patron. 
 Bishop Fox, to acquaint him how matters passed at Court." 
 Of this letter, aS best showing Wolsey's sentiments, Gcove 
 prints the fpllowing extract : 
 
144 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIH 
 
 THOMAS WOLSEY TO BISHOP FOX. 
 [Grove's " Life and Times of Cardinal Wolsey."] 
 
 [Windsor, September ^o, 1311.J 
 
 4 . . After my most humble commendations with 
 desire of your health and perfect recovery, may it 
 please your good Lordship to understand : the 
 ambassador of Spain hath liberally dealt with my 
 Lord Darcy, and given him allowance for one whole 
 month after 6d. the day, for every soldier, more than 
 he could demand; and the King, our master, hath 
 for his part given to him the thousand pounds, which 
 at his departing his Grace lent to him. Thus the 
 King's money goes away in every kind ; and as 
 touching the King's abode here, he intends not to 
 depart hence till four or five days before AUhallow- 
 tide. On Monday next coming his Grace proposes to 
 ride to London to see his ship, there to tarry two 
 days, and then return hither again. My Lord 
 Treasurer Surrey waited on his Highness this day 
 sevennight, and had such manner and countenance 
 showed to him, that on the morrow he departed home 
 again, and is not yet returned to court. With little 
 help now he might be removed, whereof, in my poor 
 judgment, no little good would ensue. Mr. Howard 
 greatly incensed the King against the Scots, by whose 
 wanton means his Grace spends much money, and is 
 more disposed to war than peace. Your presence 
 would be very necessary to repress this appetite. 
 Other news we have none here, except that it is 
 thought the Queen is with child ; when other affairs 
 occur, I shall let you know, hoping God will preserve 
 your good.. Lord in happiness. At Windsor in haste 
 the last day of September, with the rude hand of 
 your loving and humble priest. 
 
 Obviously the young monarch had made it clear that he 
 meant to be ruler in reality as well as in name, and Wolsey 
 was wise enough not to run counter to that determination. 
 He had, however, been trained in the cautious school of the 
 last regime, and Fox had helped him to his present position 
 
t^i 
 
 ,-;~ C—'N-'I^l'---'*— ' «'..-<'■ 
 
 H.f„ 
 
 Emery Wtilker, Photo 
 
 CARDINAL WOLSEV 
 
 From the drawing attributed to Jacques de Boucq, of Artois, in the library of the 
 town of Arras 
 
THE NEW KING 145 
 
 in the hope that he might assist in the impossible task of 
 shaping the new King's policy on the unadventurous lines of 
 the old. Also he was to counteract as far as possible the 
 influence of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, who looked to 
 the new monarch to restore the old nobility to something of 
 their ancient power, and fed the military ardour of the 
 impulsive King. The year closed with Henry fully com- 
 mitted to an active share in European politics. The Holy 
 League was concluded between Ferdinand and the Pope in 
 October, and a few weeks later Henry was induced to join 
 it, promising to defend the Papacy against the ruthless 
 attacks of the French, and to make ready for war in the 
 following year. Ferdinand lured him with the old promise 
 of the reconquest of Guienne for England, in which the 
 Spanish King would lend his aid, while helping himself to 
 Navarre. Henry had yet to learn that Ferdinand's only aim 
 wa^ to use him for the furtherance of his own ambitions. 
 
 It was in the preliminaries of this campaign that Wolsey's 
 real genius first revealed itself. He was now part of the 
 King's Council — its youngest member — and satisfied that the 
 King had set his heart upon this war, he went to work with 
 a will, soon finding himself saddled with the chief responsi- 
 bilities of organizing the whole expedition. Henry himselfftr 
 burning with zeal and indignation against the invaders of the 
 holy Roman Church, tried in vain to pump some of his 
 young enthusiasm into the more calculating mind of the 
 bankrupt, irresolute Maximilian : 
 
 HENRY VIII. TO THE EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN. 
 [Halliwell-Phillipps : " Letters of the Kings of England."'^ 
 
 [Qreenwich, May 8, J512.] 
 
 Most sacred majesty, cousin, and most dear brother, 
 we keep constantly (as the peculiar state of the times 
 and our very close relationship require) near your 
 majesty's person our beloved ambassador Master 
 Robert Wingfield, to whom we make known from 
 day to day what things happen to us. We command 
 him to relate all those same to your majesty dili- 
 gently, which we doubt not that hd has faithfully 
 
 Y.H. L 
 
146 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIH 
 
 done. Very lately, however, we wrote to him our 
 just, reasonable, and most urgent motives for having 
 taken up arms against the enemies of our most holy 
 lord the Pope and against the invaders of the holy 
 Roman Church, and how we have already made an 
 expedition against them. For we have a good and 
 well equipped fleet at sea, and likewise a land army, 
 now for these five days past ready in our port ot 
 Hampton,^ as a little while ago we signified more 
 fully through our said ambassador, and waiting for 
 nothing but prosperous winds, in order to cross the 
 sea against our foresaid enemies. We have besides 
 got other and large supplies both of men and other 
 things prepared and ready for service, of which your 
 majesty shall shortly be informed. Lately, however, 
 we have learnt of a sad misfortune and great disaster, 
 which has happened at Ravenna, to our foresaid lord 
 the Pope, and to the most serene king of Arragon, our 
 very dear father; and how their enemies, without 
 regard of God or man, by seizing first one, then 
 another city, are continually advancing; and much 
 is it to be feared that they will seize not only the 
 kingdom of Naples, all Italy, and Sicily, but, not 
 content with these territories, they may forthwith, at 
 their pleasure, make spoil of the holy Roman Church, 
 and of all things spiritual and temporal. If this 
 should happen (which God avert) both your majesty 
 and we, the other Christian princes, would be forced 
 to do homage to them; and all Christendom, by 
 degrees, would bow the neck to their yoke. 
 
 Wherefore it seemeth to us that not only the 
 dignity and estate of the Roman Church must be 
 defended, but that we must look, in due time, to 
 ourselves, to our own affairs, to our children and 
 successors. And we doubt not but your majesty 
 very plainly sees how much that undisguised lust for 
 dominion among our said enemies is to be feared by 
 the most illustrious prince o£ Castile, your kinsman 
 
 ' Southampton. The fleet consisted of eighteen ships, and was 
 commanded by Sir Edward Howard, Lord High AdmitaJ. 
 
THE NEW KING 147 
 
 and my very dear brother; for the kingdom of Naples, 
 and many other states, belonging, in full right, to 
 your illustrious kinsman and my very dear brother, 
 are nearest to the danger. Wherefore, we beg and 
 entreat your majesty that you will also undertalqs the 
 defence of the holy Roman Church, of which you are 
 the chief protector, and be willing to enter upon, and 
 vigorously wage war against the foresaid enemies 
 this just, holy, and somewhat necessary war, in order 
 to remove the common danger; in which you will 
 have, as your most close and faithful allies and 
 brethren, the foresaid most serene king of Arragon 
 and ourself, who, on our part, if your majesty under- 
 take the foresaid war, will both do what we have said, 
 on our royal word, and as becomes a most faithful 
 brother in arms, and your majesty's son. We promise 
 and engage that we will never desert your majesty in 
 this undertaking ; nor will we make treaty, truce, or 
 any peace with these enemies, without the advice and 
 consent of your majesty, and of our said father the 
 king of Arragon. 
 
 According to the tenor of this letter, we both 
 promise and assure that we will carry on the afore- 
 said war, if begun, With vigour, and that we will 
 continue, even to an honourable issue, the same, just 
 as may seem good to your majesty and the said king 
 of Arragon. As a proof and confirmation whereof^ 
 we, calling Almighty God to witness, have written 
 these with our own hand. 
 
 Wherefore, in defence of the above said holy 
 Roman Church, and of your own majesty, and of 
 the most illustrious lord the prince of Castile, your 
 kinsman and my dear brother, and for the security of 
 your and our successors, and for the common weal, 
 undertake the said war with the aforesaid lord, most 
 serene, the king of Arragon, and with us, your most 
 faithful allies and most loving brothi^r. That it will 
 so please your majesty, we are confident ; and l^jat 
 you will not object to send us a letter, written with 
 your own hand, similar to ours ; wherein you will do 
 
 L 2 
 
148 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 us a most acceptable favour. May you fare most 
 happily ! Your good brother and son, Henry R. 
 
 There was no War Office in those days to attend to all the 
 duties of mobilization ; no standing army to take the field 
 at twenty-four hours' notice; no paymaster-general freely 
 supplied with public funds. All the controlling offices were 
 combined in the King's own person, and paid for out of his 
 privy purse. Henry at this juncture was doubly fortunate in 
 finding ready to his hand a man whose gift for organization 
 was almost superhuman, and a fortune which provided him 
 with a war chest well filled. Special loans and subsidies 
 were raised by the country when necessary, but, though the 
 parliament had power to decide upon the amount, it never 
 ventured in any way to regulate its expenditure, this being 
 left entirely to the King's discretion — or lack of it. The 
 army for the coming campaign was collected by means of 
 letters similar to that which follows, " written unto all lords, 
 knights, squires and gentlemen of every shire within this 
 our realm " : 
 
 HENRY VIII, TO SIR .HENRY VERNON. 
 {' Rutland Pdpers," Part I, (Historical MSS. Commission).] 
 
 [Greenwich, May 36, 1512.] 
 
 Trusty and Vi^ell-beloved, we greet you well. And 
 forasmuch as for the defence of this our realm and 
 resistance against outward enemies, it is necessarily 
 requisite that all manner of our subjects able for the 
 war should be put in sufficient readiness for the same, 
 to do unto us sufficient service when the cause shall 
 require, we therefore will and desire you, and never- 
 theless command you, that with all diligence possible 
 after the receipt of these our letters, ye not only 
 prepare such and as many able men for the war 
 sufficiently harnessed ^ as ye may and ^ can prepare of 
 our own tenants, and others inhabited within your 
 offices and rooms and none othfer, but also make 
 certificate in writing of their number to ourself, or to 
 
 ' Equipped with armour for war. 
 
THE NEW KING 149 
 
 the Bishop of Durham, our secretary, before the feast 
 of St. John the Baptist next coming at the furthest, 
 like as we have written unto all lords, knights, squires 
 and gentlemen of every shire within this our realm. 
 
 And therefore fail ye not to accomplish the pre- 
 mises as you tend our honour and the surety of us, 
 our realm, and subjects, so and in such wise that by 
 your preparation of a good number of able men we 
 may understand your towardly mind to do unto us 
 service and pleasure, which shall be remembered 
 according to your desert. And these our letters shall 
 be your sufficient warrant and discharge in that 
 behalf. 
 
 On his side, Louis XII. issued letters patent ordering 
 preparations to resist the attacks of the "ancient enemy 
 of our said kingdom." The original text from which the 
 following translation is made is printed by Alfred Spont in 
 " Letters and Papers relative to the War with France in 
 1512-13," in the publications of the Navy Records Society: 
 
 PROCLAMATION OF LOUIS XII. 
 [" The War with France in 1512-13."] 
 
 [Blois, June 15, 1512.] 
 
 Louis, by the grace of God, King of France. . . . 
 Whereby all may clearly know and understand the 
 gi-eat disloyalty shown towards us by certain princes, 
 who, without any cause, quarrel, reason or occasion, 
 and in contravention of their faith and promise, and 
 the friendships, confederations, and alliances existing 
 between us and them, and our kingdoms, countries, 
 seigniories, and subjects, solemnly sworn and pro- 
 mised by them, have joined with our enemies, forming 
 a league and conspiracy together, and resolving to fall 
 upon us and make war in all parts, and, principally, 
 in our Kingdom, which they desire to ruin, destroy, 
 plunder, and divide between them. And, verily, the 
 King of England, ancient enemy of our said Kingdgm, 
 who has already invaded two places in this our 
 Kingdom, is striving to enter our Country of Guienne, 
 
150 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 and is preparing yet another descent on the coast of 
 Picardy. 
 
 Which machinations, conspiracies, and damnable 
 attacks, we hope to overthrow with the help of God 
 our Creator — who knows our good right, and the 
 great wrong the said Princes are doing in contra- 
 vening their faith and promises — and also by means of 
 our good and loyal subjects. 
 
 And for this purpose we have made ready 1,200 
 lances d'ordonnances,'^ a large number of foot soldiers, 
 as many of our own country as foreigners, artillery, 
 and other necessary things, together with a large and 
 powerful navy. 
 
 In the next letter, Andrea Badoer, the Venetian ambassador, 
 describes the English King's eagerness for the war. The 
 letter is worth quoting at length, not only for its picturesque 
 summary of the iiitercourse then maintained between Venice 
 and England, but also for its graphic account of the hard- 
 ships of an ambassador's life in the days when modern 
 diplomficy was yet ih its infancy. Badoer was the first of 
 the long series of Venetian ambassadors who lived at the 
 English court from the last year of Henry VH.'s reign to 
 the Republic's final downfall in 1797. In the long narrative 
 preceding the following extract he describes his perilous 
 journey of twenty-six days to England, riding night and day 
 in disguise for fear of the French, until he embarked on an 
 English ship at Calais bound for London. He explains how 
 he was appointed to this mission, without any desire on his 
 own part, but with the certain promise of one hundred 
 ducats a month for his expenses, and the uncertain hope of 
 some substantial reward when his services were over : 
 
 ANDREA BADOER TO HIS BROTHER IN VENICE. 
 [" Despatches of Sebastian Giustinian."] 
 
 [London, July 24, 1512.] 
 
 . . . Having reached London, picture to yourself, 
 noble brother, what a stately mission mine was ! for, 
 
 ' Each lance d'ordonnance included six horsemen, one man-at-arms, 
 two bowmen and three valets. — A, Spont, 
 
THE NEW KING 131 
 
 on leaving Venice, to avoid suspicion, I took nothing 
 with me but what was on my back — namely, two 
 shirts, one over the other, and a certain doublet in 
 the English fashion, all patched and moth eaten, 
 without purse or pocket, or anything in this world : 
 in short, on arriving here, I had to clothe myself anew 
 from head to foot, as a Venetian ambassador, just as 
 if I had only then come into the world, and purchas- 
 ing each of my penn'orths for twopence. Here they 
 manufacture no cloths of silk, receiving all such from 
 Genoa, Florence, and Lucca — a most grievous and 
 lamentable fact, for it behoved me to take what I 
 could get, and shut my eyes. Think what a figure I 
 shall make in Venice, my neighbours' gowns being of 
 silk, and my own of frieze. I bought everything new, 
 at its weight in gold, at the greatest inconvenience, 
 and worse ; for when at Venice, I shall be unable to 
 use my apparel, as it is all made more according to 
 the English fashion than that of Italy. In the next 
 place, I had to hire servants who were common 
 thieves, not knowing whom to trust ; and to give you 
 an idea of what they were, you must know that one 
 glutton robbed me of a silver gilt ewer, for which I 
 paid twenty-eight ducats. 
 
 I found that the King, his present Majesty's father, 
 to whom my credentials had been made out, was sick, 
 nor could he give me audience, and a few days after- 
 wards he died, and was succeeded by his son, about 
 the time of the rout of the Ghiara d' Adda. I wrote 
 to Venice, that the letter of credence was no longer 
 valid, and that another must be sent me, the which 
 did not arrive until the following month of November, 
 so you see how I should have served the State had I 
 waited for that ! It is well, that through the English 
 noblemen whom I had received of yore in my house 
 at Venice (giving them good welcome, not indeed that 
 I ever thought at the time of going to England, but 
 for my own satisfaction), I was introduced to this 
 magnanimous prince, ftot ten days after his corona- 
 tion, they having heed of my need, and exerting 
 
152 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 themselves so, that their intercession and arguments 
 caused the King to receive my old letter, although 
 addressed to his father. By God's grace he was 
 silent on this score, and heard me so graciously, 
 that, by the favour of the Almighty, he took a liking 
 to me immediately, owing to the good account of me 
 given to his Majesty by my friends, and I was enabled 
 so to influence him, that I got him to write to the 
 Pope in favour of our most illustrious Signory, request- 
 ing him to receive the State into favour and take off 
 the censures : his Majesty promising for us that we 
 would prove most obedient sons of the Church in 
 the future. He made such efforts as succeeded ; and, 
 in addition, sent his ambassador^ to Rome, who con- 
 stantly took part with the Venetians, and against 
 France, After this, I prevailed on him to write some 
 letters to the King of Spain, praying his Catholic 
 majesty to consider the most illustrious Signory as 
 his ally ; and he also wrote endless letters to the 
 Emperor, sending him an ambassador to this effect. 
 I also caused the King of France to be written to, to 
 desist from the league against the Venetians, having 
 obtained what belonged to him in the Duchy of Milan, 
 whereas he had no claim upon the other possessions ; 
 and to assure him, that if he chose to continue in 
 amity with his Majesty here, he was to cease molesting 
 the Venetians his good friends and good Christians, 
 defenders of the Christian faith, who had proved 
 themselves the bulwark of Christendom, by a most 
 immense outlay, both of blood and treasure. Upon 
 this the King of France took offence, and answered 
 shajply, I fanning the flame from time to time, and 
 by letters from the said Majesty quieting the Pope and 
 the CathoHc King his father-in-law ; and thus, when 
 these powers saw the King of England well disposed 
 towards the Venetians, they likewise commenced 
 siding with the Pope, but the chief impediment lay 
 with the Emperor, but I so plied the King, that he 
 wrote to him offering to mediate and arrange every 
 ' Christopher Bainbridge, Archbishop of York. 
 
THE NEW KING 153 
 
 difficulty between the Signory and his Caesarian 
 Majesty. After so much exertion, toil, and trouble, 
 which never left me a single hour's happiness, nor 
 even repose, I was seized with a malignant fever, 
 which never left me for thirty-seven days. Thou 
 mayst imagine how I was waited on, and by whom, 
 and with how much kindness, during this niy malady, 
 and who came to comfort me. I had two physicians, 
 each of whom chose to receive a noble per diem, 
 which is equal to a ducat and a half, and their coming 
 was as beneficial to me as if they had stayed away, 
 and when I had completed my thirty-seven days' 
 fever in bed, the King received a reply from the 
 Emperor, and not knowing that I was so very ill, 
 sent to tell me to come and speak with him ; so, 
 regardless of the fever, I rose from my bed, on 
 St. Catharine's eve, the 24th of November, and went 
 to the Court at Greenwich, six miles distant hence, 
 by water, though all dissuaded me from doing so, 
 thinking it would be my death. When the King saw 
 me, he wept for very pity at my having come, it 
 seeming to him that I had been taken out of my 
 grave, and he then told me he had received a reply 
 from the Emperor, and from his daughter my lady 
 Margaret, who was also doing her best to aid us, 
 having been exhorted to this office by. his Majesty, 
 who asked me if I had full powers. I told him I 
 would not lie ; that I would write speedily, and that 
 the most illustrious Signory, should it approve; the 
 agreement, would send me a commission ; so I 
 despatched two messengers on this errand, and, after 
 a while, received the powers. Before these letters of 
 niine went to Venice, however, a sapient nobleman 
 there, ignorant of my exertions, and still less aware 
 that my credentials had been accepted (it seeming to 
 him that my coming here was futile and vain), thought 
 fit one day to propose in the Senate, as grand sage, 
 that I should return home, without having even heaj-d 
 what I had done, but anticipating that I should 
 do nothing. Whereupon, another nobleman, Master 
 
154 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 ft 
 
 Lorenzo Orio, LL.D.,^ who was sage for the orders, 
 inspired by God for the State's weal to speak in my 
 defence (for I had never exchanged a word with him), 
 and thinking I was wronged, proposed an amendment 
 to the grand sage's motion, purporting that I was to 
 remain, but that my monthly stipend should be reduced 
 from loo to 70 ducats, and this was carried. Not a 
 word, however, was written to me on the stfbject, and 
 I continued, according to my wont, to spend rather 
 more than less, especially seeing our affairs prosper ; 
 and wishing to prove to the whole world our joy and 
 gladness, I did not mind spending freely for the honour 
 of the State, imagining that my salary remained fixed 
 at 100 ducats per month, until about three months ago, 
 the news aforesaid was communicated to me by my 
 son-in-law. I then wrote to entreat the most illus- 
 trious Signory not to do me this wrong, whilst the 
 salaries of Others were being increased, as was the 
 case with the late Messer Hieronimo Donato, about 
 whom my said son-in-law also wrote to me when 
 mentioning this reduction. Donato's pay was greater 
 than mine, although he endured no hardships, whereas 
 I was made to leave Venice under this promise, and 
 came hither without money, or without insisting on 
 bank security, as Lorenzo Capello did, who kept his 
 eyes wide open to his own interest, whilst I departed 
 in the old fashion, hoping for great reward and spend- 
 ing my poor substance on the faith of the most excellent 
 Council of Ten, which never fails to remunerate the 
 good services of every one, besides keeping its posi- 
 tive promises, and yet these last, as made to me, are 
 broken ! What reward can I hope for now ? you 
 ought all to take pity on me. But, indeed, I have 
 not yet related the worst. I have been nineteen 
 months without ever receiving a single ducat, and 
 ten months without so much as a letter, but I was 
 patient the whole while, receiving the greatest 
 
 ' Dr. Orio subsequently became himself ambassador to England, 
 where he found much favour with Wolsey, but died of plague in 
 London on May 17, 1526. 
 
THE NEW KING 155 
 
 encouragement from my poor son-in-law (who in 
 like manner never enjoys a moment's repose), bearing 
 all with patience, in order to attend to my business 
 for the welfare of my most dear city and country, 
 continuing my importunate suit to the King here. 
 Seeing that no money was sent me, I lived plainly 
 and on credit, just as if I had been at an hbstel, 
 paying three for what was worth one, and taking up 
 money on bills and at usury, so that I am in debt for 
 life. From time to time I wrote to the State what I 
 had done, and what I was doing, and with sincerity, 
 but at Venice I was not believed, and often did they 
 say to my poor son-in-law^ " Thy father-in-law writes 
 fables : write to him that it would be more to his credit 
 to hold his tongue, than to write what he does," not 
 crediting my words, the truth of which was known 
 but to me, the person who had told me to write them 
 binding me to silence, and saying " Keep it secret ; 
 and let the effect suffice you." I wrote, therefore, 
 because I knew what I was saying, but none of these 
 merchants here believed this, and all notified the 
 contrary, saying, that I was pounding water in a 
 mortar, and that it would have been better I had not 
 been sent hither, and that although I gave them hopes, 
 I did so for my own private advantage, and so forth ; 
 in such wise, that they did not choose to believe me, 
 and when I wrote about the league, although I did 
 not ever mention either the name of the Pope or of 
 the others, they answered that they did not believe it, 
 whereas I, dear brother Luke, maintained it, and 
 almost by force and against their will, assured them 
 that it was perfectly true, and that all I have written 
 took place through my good offices. Nevertheless, 
 is the promise which was made me broken, and no 
 recollection preserved of the perils encountered by 
 me in coming here, nor of my illness brought on 
 by my exertion, nor of the risk to my life, when I 
 rose from my sick bed and went down to Greenwich 
 in the depth of winter. Nor is any consideration 
 vouchsafed, for my, pecuniary interests, which have 
 
158 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 tropical months of a Spanish summer. The commanders 
 were incapable ; insubordination broke out both in the fleet 
 and in the array ashore ; and the whole force presently 
 returned home in defiance of the King's commands. Such 
 an incident is surely without parallel in English history. 
 
 Henry was furious. According to Polydore Vergil, who 
 had access to authentic materials, he told his father-in-law 
 that he might seize every man and cut his throat if he still 
 defied him; but if this message was ever sent it did not 
 arrive in time to stop the returning army. 
 
 Perhaps the King's ruffled feelings were soothed when he 
 heard the whole truth from his own officers ; or it may have 
 been hard to discriminate when so many were to blame; 
 but whatever the reason, no punishment was meted out, and 
 the whole affair was hushed up as speedily as possible. This 
 did not prevent the English army from falling into bad 
 repute on the Continent Margaret of Savoy voiced a wide- 
 spread opinion when discussing the affair with the English 
 ambassador. " Then spake my Lady,' writes Poynings to 
 Henry VHI. from Brussels on October 14, " with a qualm 
 of a little melancholy. about her stomach, . . , saying that 
 Englishmen had so long abstained from war they lack 
 experience from disuse, and as it is reported, they be now 
 almost weary of it."^ The story of the English troops' 
 behaviour led to so much raillery abroad that Henry, 
 inwardly fuming over the disgrace which had fallen upon his 
 first serious attempt to unsheath the sword in European 
 politics, sent a letter to Poynings and his other ambassadors 
 in which he told them, with a craftiness which his wily 
 father-in-law would have been the first to appreciate, how 
 the return of the army was to be explained away. They 
 were to say that King Ferdinand, hearing of the constant 
 rains in those parts, " to the intolerable pains of the soldiers 
 of our said army," had agreed with him that they should 
 return. Nevertheless the disgrace rankled, and Henry, 
 determined to wipe it out as speedily as possible, looked 
 eagerly forward to the invasion of France in the following 
 year, prepared to lead his army in person. 
 
 ' Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., p. 426. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND (1513) 
 
 Henry's Eagerness for Fresh Campaign — ^Wolsey's Genius for 
 Organization — English Domestic Life — ^Preparations for War in 
 England and France — James IV. Sides with France — Sir Edward 
 Howard's Fatal Fight with Pr6gent — Lord Thomas Howard 
 Succeeds his Brother — Ferdinand's Treacherous Truce with 
 France — Henry Sails with his Invading Army — Catherine 
 Appointed Governor in his Absence — Henry's Army Marches 
 to the Front — Catherine's Anxiety — James IV. Umnasks — 
 Catherine's Preparations for War — Battle of the Spurs — 
 Catherine's Congi atulations — Flodden Field — Erasmus and the 
 Battle — ^Fate of the Franco-Scottish Fleet — Catherine's Trophy 
 of Victory — James's Neglected Remains — ^Henry's Visit to 
 Margaret at Lille — Surrender of Toumay — ^Brian Tuke's 
 Summary of Events — Charles Brandon and Margaret of Savoy — 
 Henry's Share in their Flirtation — Elizabeth Blount — ^Henry's 
 Return — Replies to Pope's Proposals for Peace — Border 
 Warfare — Rewards for Flodden — England's Increasing Influence. 
 
 The King, wrote Catherine to Cardinal Bainbridge, 
 Henry's ambassador in Rome, "is so bent on the war 
 against the French, the foes of the Church, that he is 
 determined never to rest or desist until their King be utterly 
 destroyed ; having said openly to all hearers that he firmly 
 believed that neither the Pope nor his very dear father 
 (King Ferdinand) would ever desert him, though if by any 
 chance they should happen thus to do, yet he would never 
 withdraw from this war until that schismatical sovereign be 
 made an end of."^ All through the winter Wolsey was 
 proving his powers of planning and organization with a 
 thoroughness and enthusiasm which more than ever won the 
 King's favour. He not only provided for the whole victualling 
 of the fleet— down even to the number of beer-barrels — but 
 also saw to the selection of the captains and crews. It is 
 not surprising, as Dr. Creighton says in his life of the 
 Cardinal, that Bishop Fox wrote to him, " I pray God s,end 
 us with the speed, and soon deliver you of your outrageous 
 '■ Venetian Calendar, Vol. II,, p. 83. 
 
i6o THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 charge and labour." In the midst of all these preparations 
 for war comes a letter which depicts the domestic side of 
 English life at that period with many curious details. It is 
 written by Nicolo di Favri, attached to the Venetian 
 Embassy in London, to Andrea Badoer's son-in-law, 
 Francesco Gradenigo, and is printed in the Venetian 
 Calendar from the Sanuto Diaries : 
 
 NICOLO DI FAVRI TO FRANCESCO GRADENIGO. 
 [Venetian Calendar, Vol. II.] 
 
 [London, January 23, 1513-] 
 
 . In England the houses are all of wood, and both 
 rooms and corridors are of the same material. Over 
 the floors they strew weeds called "rushes," which 
 resemble reeds, and which grow on the water. Every 
 eight or ten days they put down a fresh layer ; the 
 cost of each layer being a Venetian livre, more or less, 
 according to the size of the house. 
 
 In England the women go to market for household 
 provisions ; if gentlewomen they are preceded by two 
 men servants. Their usual vesture is a cloth petticoat 
 over the shift, lined with grey squirrel's or some other 
 fur ; over the petticoat they wear a long gown lined 
 with some choice fur. The gentlewomen carry the 
 train of the gown under the arm ; the commonality 
 pin it behind or before, or at one side. The sleeves 
 of the gown sit as close as possible ; are long, and 
 unslashed throughout, the cuffs being lined with some 
 choice fur. Their headgear is of various sorts of 
 velvet, cap fashion, with lappets hanging down behind 
 over their shoulders like two hoods ; and in front they 
 have two others, lined with some other silk. Their 
 hair is not seen, so cannot say whether it be light or 
 dark. Others wear on their heads muslins, which 
 are distended, anH hang at their backs, but not far 
 down. Some draw their hair from under a kerchief, 
 and wear over the hair a cap, for the most part white, 
 round, and seemly ; others again wear a kerchief in 
 folds on the head : but be the fashion as it may, the 
 hair is never seen. Their stockings are black and 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND i6i 
 
 their shoes doubly soled, of various colours, but no 
 one wears "choppines," as they are not in use in 
 England. When they meet friends in the street, they 
 shake hands, and kiss on the mouth, and go to some 
 tavern to regale, their relatives not taking this amiss, 
 as such is the custom. The women are very beautiful 
 and good-tempered. 
 
 The men are well made, tall, and stout ; well clad, 
 wearing gowns called doublets plaited on the 
 shoulders, reaching half-way down the leg, and lined 
 with several sorts of very fine furs. On their heads 
 they wear caps with one or two ornaments ; with 
 short hair like the priests in Venice, the hair over the 
 forehead being cut away. 
 
 In England no one makes bread at home ; but 
 every morning all take it at the baker's, and keep 
 tallies there ; at present bread is dear on account of 
 the war. The price of meat has more than doubled, 
 as a "milizia"^ (sic) has been salted for the army, 
 and very great preparation is making to stand the 
 brunt; and by day and night, and on all festivals, 
 the cannon founders are at work. 
 
 The Venetian ambassador is at great expense, as 
 he daily receives visits from one nobleman or another, 
 most especially now that Parliament is sitting. 
 
 The fliobrs of the English houses are for the most 
 part planked. Aloft, at the window-sills (which are 
 all of wood), they put rosemary, sage and other herbs. 
 In England it is always windy, and however warm 
 the weather, the natives invariably wear furs. At 
 present it has not yet been cold here, nor is it rainy 
 or muddy. The summers are never very hot, neither 
 is it ever very cold. 
 
 . . . The King of England has an army of picked 
 men in Scotland, under a valiant commander, called 
 my Lord Treasurer, one of the King's chief ministers, 
 
 ' On May 25, 1512, it was recorded that 25,000 oxen were 
 salted for the army, so " milizia " is probably a mistake for 
 " migliaja," and was meant to signify that " thousands (of oxen) 
 had been salted for the 3ixm.y."-^Rawdon Brown. 
 
 Y.H. M 
 
i62 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 a man 70 years old and upwards,- to whom, on the 
 Scottish border, the King of Scotland sent " carta 
 biancha,'^ and they made terms together. It is said 
 in England that the perfidious King of France caused 
 the King of Scots to attack King Henry, but that the 
 English had made provision betimes. 
 
 A third force, consisting of a number of ships, under 
 a valiant Admiral, the men being all picked, is at sea. 
 They sighted a Frenchman, on board of which were 
 200 French gentlemen ; whereupon a brave captain of 
 an English ship went into action against it, with his 
 own vessel alone. The engagement lasted until both 
 ships caught fire, and were burnt, all the hands being 
 drowned ; but France was by far the greater loser, for 
 200 gentlemen were on board the Frenchman, whereas 
 England did but lose the captain ; on which account 
 the English are more than ever determined not to hear 
 the Frenchman named. . . .^ 
 
 The Parliament has decided that the King is to 
 cross the Channel in the spring, in person, with 
 60,000 troops, all picked men, a match for 100,000. 
 It is said that the King of France will not even 
 fight, and that the King of England will have a great 
 victory. 
 
 Formerly many rich French merchants had houses 
 in London ; .some of those who remain have been 
 imprisoned, and their goods seized and sequestrated. 
 Some French tradesmen have also remained, but 
 when the English found them abroad, they maltreated 
 them. 
 
 A tax of a tenth has been levied throughout the 
 kingdom. The lords and great personages pay 
 according to their property ; tradesmen, servants and 
 attendants one penny per head, equal to twenty-eight 
 
 ^ This refers to the naval engagement between the English and 
 French fleets off Brest, about which the historians of both sides 
 differ so completely that it is impossible to say exactly what happened. 
 All are agreed, however, as to the fate of the great ships, the Regent 
 of England, commanded by Sir Thomas Knyvet, and the Cordeliere. 
 Both ships, falling on board each other, caught fire and foundered, 
 with the loss of their commanders and from 1,000 to 1,500 men. 
 Only six men of the Cordeliire and 180 of the Regent survived. 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 163 
 
 Venetian " piccoli." This tax will yield a million of 
 gold, so that the King means to make war. The 
 King is a young man of three-and-twenty ; when he 
 moves the ground shakes under him; he is well 
 made, tall, and stout, and very fond of the Venetian 
 ambassador, whom he chooses to accompany him, 
 so that the ambassador requires money for his 
 outfit. . . . 
 
 Henry's troops were mustered by a popular call to arms 
 on behalf of "God's quarrel," and against England's 
 hereditary foe. Here is one of many such letters which, 
 doubtless, were despatched at the same time: 
 
 HENRY VIII. TO SIR DAVID OWEN. 
 [Halliwell-Phillipps : " Letters of the Kings of England."] 
 
 [Greenwich, February 22, 1513.] 
 
 Trusty and well-beloved, we greet j'ou well. And 
 whereas we, according to our duty to God, and to 
 His Church, at the instant requests and desires of 
 the Pope's holiness and other Christian princes, our 
 confederates and allies, have, for the defence of the 
 said Church, being by our enemy the French King 
 op4)ressed, and the extinctness of the detestable 
 schisms raised by certain perverse cardinals, and 
 maintained by the same King, entered actual war 
 against him, intending (God willing) by the aid and 
 assistance of such our confederates and allies as shall 
 join with us in that,^ God's quarrel, to pursue and 
 continue the said wars, and personally to proceed 
 into France with an army royal next this summer, as 
 well for that our purpose, as for recovering our right 
 there. We signify unto you that, for our better 
 assistance in that behalf, we have appointed you, 
 amongst others, to pass over with us in this journey 
 and voyage, with the number of a hundred able men 
 meet for the wars, to be by you provided ; whereof 
 three score to be archers and forty bills ^ on foot, 
 sufficiently harnessed ^ and appointed for the wars. 
 
 ^ Soldiers carrying bills or haJberts. 
 " Clad in armour. 
 
 M 2 
 
i64 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Willing and desiring you, therefore, not only to 
 prepare yourself for that purpose, but also with all 
 speedy diligence to put the said number of men in 
 convenient readiness accordingly, and to ascertain us 
 thereof by your writing on this side the beginning of 
 April next coming at the farthest, and at the same 
 season to send unto us some discreet servant of yours 
 to receive money for jackets,^ and conducting of the 
 said number ; to the intent that you with the same 
 number may be ready to be set forward towards us, 
 at any time after, when we by our writing shall 
 require you so to do. 
 
 And these our letters, signed and sealed with our 
 own hand and signet, shall be a sufficient warrant 
 and discharge unto you in that behalf, as though the 
 same had passed under our great seal of England, 
 any act, statute, or ordinance heretofore made to the 
 contrary, concerning retainers, notwithstanding. Fail 
 ye not to accomplish the premises, as you tender the 
 honour and surety of us, and of this our realm, and 
 the advancement and furtherance of this meritorious 
 voyage. 
 
 After months of tedious negotiations Henry succeeded at 
 last in buying the support of the Emperor Maximilian, who, 
 while he had a poor opinion of English arms, and favoured 
 the prospects of France, had the highest regard for English 
 crowns. He wrote his decision to his daughter Margaret, 
 through whom the long pourparlers were conducted with 
 Henry's ambassadors : 
 
 MAXIMILIAN I. TO MARGARET OF SAVOY. 
 [" Lettres de Louis XII.," Vol. IV., p. 88.] 
 
 [Ulm, March i6, 1513.] 
 
 Very dear and well beloved Daughter, 
 
 We have received your letters of the fifth day of 
 this month, and from the same we learn, among other 
 things, how the Ambassadors of our brother, the King 
 
 1 Jacks, or coats of mail. 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 165 
 
 of England, have communicated to you the final reply 
 of our said brother on the articles you had referred to 
 them ; also that, according to the directions of our 
 said brother, he is only willing to grant us one 
 hundred thousand dcus of gold instead of one hundred 
 and twenty-five thousand, which was mentioned in 
 the said articles, and that he will pay in three pay- 
 ments : namely, the first, within one month after we 
 have become the declared enemy of the King of 
 France ; the second, when we, or our deputies, have 
 actually made war against France ; and the third, 
 within three months after — all payments to be made 
 in the town of Calais, into the hands of those we 
 shall appoint for this purpose ; and that as regards 
 the assistance of six thousand soldiers, required by 
 the eighth article, he has neither intention nor desire, 
 for the reasons set forth in your said letters, than to 
 do always as his predecessors did with those of our 
 House of Burgundy. 
 
 All of which, very dear and well loved Daughter, 
 we advertise you are very content to accept, and 
 also to contract with our said brother, the King of 
 England, the treaty in accordance with his wishes, to 
 which you have agreed with the said Ambassadors. 
 And we desire and request that, forthwith and without 
 more delay, you conclude and execut^^ the said treaty 
 in virtue of the powers you have already received 
 from us ; that you inform us, with all diligence, how 
 and in what manner we are to declare and publish 
 ourselves the enemy of the said King of France ; that 
 you will, by every means, require that the payment of 
 the said hundred thousand ^cus be made in our town 
 of Antwerp, and that the said Ambassadors advance 
 the said payments with all despatch, for we are 
 utterly resolved that immediately the said publica- 
 tion is made we will, without any delay, begin actual 
 war against the French. And we desire that you 
 keep us Advised, with all diligence, of what yop shall 
 arrange or purpose to do, so that we may order 
 ourselves accordingly. So may our gracious Lord, 
 
i66 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHl 
 
 very dear and beloved Daughter, have you in His 
 keeping. Your good Father, Maximilian. 
 
 Henry now prepared gaily for the war in spite of the 
 threatening cloud on his northern border, for James IV., 
 notwithstanding his marriage with Margaret Tudor, Henry's 
 elder sister, was only biding his time to carry out his 
 long-cherished plan of invading England. He sided with 
 Louis Xn. against the Holy League, and promised to help 
 him in his war with England by crossing the border himself, 
 and also by sending a Scottish fleet to co-operate with the 
 French. The strained relations then existing between Henry 
 and his brother-in-law, as well as Henry's determination to 
 proceed with the war at all costs, are revealed in the English 
 monarch's letter to Cardinal Remus in connexion with the 
 change in the Papacy, the bellicose Julius II. having died in 
 February. He was succeeded in the following month by the 
 more timid Leo X. — Giovanni de' Medici, the second son of 
 Lorenzo the Magnificent — who was at once anxious to patch 
 up the quarrel with France. Leo's accession, like that of 
 Henry himself, raised many hopes that were destined never 
 to be fulfilled. He loaded Raffaelle with honours, but for the 
 rest did comparatively little to deserve his high reputation as 
 a princely patron of the arts : 
 
 HENRY VIII. TO CARDINAL REMUS. 
 [HalliweU-Phillipps : " Letters of the Kings of England."] 
 
 [April 12, 1513.] 
 
 My Lord Cardinal, 
 
 We inform you that we have received from Rome 
 two or three letters of yours concerning the death of 
 Pope Julius, and the election of his holiness our Lord 
 Pope Leo. And most acceptable to us is this singular 
 diligence, which you have exercised in performing all 
 our affairs there, according to our "wish and purpose. 
 Although we have been much grieved at hearing of 
 the death of Pope Julius, yet, when news was brought 
 us that my lord Cardinal de' Medici had been advanced, 
 by Divine grace, to that high dignity and authority, 
 we felt incredible consolation and joy, when we con- 
 sidered with what discretion, with what humanity, 
 in short, with what piety and conscientiousness, he 
 
WAR 'WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 167 
 
 instantly confirmed that most holy league entered 
 into for the defence of the Church of God, and 
 attached himself to the same ; as we have clearly 
 understood from the very devout brief of his holiness, 
 wherein he signifies that he ardently favours ourself 
 and the Catholic King, our very dear father, and on 
 us he rests all his hope, on us, upon whose shoulders 
 leans all the burden of expenses, of dangers, of the 
 disaster of the war, kindled in order to defend the 
 church, and free it from the savage tyranny of the 
 King of the French, who is the common enemy of all 
 Christian princes. 
 
 And, forasmuch as we ourself have congratulated 
 his holiness upon his admission to so elevated a 
 station, returning to him never-ending thanks for 
 the singular goodwill wherewith he honours us, as 
 appears from our letters (a copy of which, here 
 enclosed, you will receive) and as we think proper 
 to leave to your lordship all the remaining duty of 
 congratulation. Nevertheless, since his holiness, after 
 having exhorted us to declare our opinion to him, as 
 to the making of peace, yet begs and conjures us to 
 persevere in our holy and pious purpose, as we pro- 
 mised to do in our very last letter, which we wrote 
 to Julius, his predecessor. We wish and desire your 
 devout lordship to signify to his holiness that, although 
 this encouragement of his to the settling of peace be 
 praiseworthy, honourable, good and holy, yet, when 
 we reflect on the incredible amount of money which 
 we have expended in order to maintain, .this war 
 against our chief enemy the King of the French, in 
 order to defend the Church of God and the honour of 
 the Apostolic See ; when, moreover, we reflect on the 
 great preparations which, by land and sea, we have 
 made in order to continue the aforesaid war against 
 the same our enemy, having brought thereto the 
 assistance of the emperor, and of our very dear 
 father, the Catholic King, both of whom have 
 leagued with us to invade the French, we by no 
 means can consent to any kind of peace, without 
 
i68 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 great dishoaour as well as loss to ourself. More- 
 over, the confederation entered into between us, the 
 emperor, and the Catholic King, forbids us to accept 
 any terms of peace without their mutual consent. 
 
 Wherefore (if I am not exceeding mistaken) his 
 holiness, having weighed carefully the aforesaid 
 reasons, considering and judging a peace now to 
 be to us prejudicial, since we have begun so great 
 a war to defend the Church, has in his brief exhorted 
 us rather to continue the war begun, than to desist from 
 war, by condescending to a base and dishonourable 
 peace ; especially since the greatest danger might 
 ensue after this sudden reconciliation to our chief 
 enemy, who aims at nothing else but the subjugation 
 of the high pontiff, the universal Church — in short, 
 all Christian princes, to his will and pleasure. And 
 for this mark of his holiness's good will towards us, 
 we beg of your lordship to return him exceeding 
 thanks in our name. 
 
 Your devout lordship will relate to his holiness, 
 that our fleet of twelve thousand men is now put to 
 sea, in order to invade the enemy ; and we have now 
 above forty thousand soMiers, most powerful means, 
 wherewith we, in person, will attack the French 
 towards the end of the month of May; and the 
 commander of the first armament, with supplies and 
 the engines of war,- is now crossing the sea. When 
 this our declaration of war against the King of the 
 French, with whom he had a profound and advanta- 
 geous peace, was made, in order to defend the 
 Church, and free it from tyranny, and when this 
 confederation, which our most holy lord has now 
 engaged in, was entered into, we firmly believed 
 that his holiness would follow the footsteps of his 
 predecessor in defending the Church of God, and 
 protecting his allies ; so as to confirm and fulfil all 
 the points of the league, and bind himself expressly, 
 as his predecessor has done, both to us and all the 
 other allies, that we may be safe and well assured of 
 his firm concurrence in this matter. And we not 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 169 
 
 merely desire that his holiness send to us this 
 engagement done in his own hand, but also entreat 
 him, in God's name, to declare open war on the 
 common enemy, as his aforesaid predecessor pro- 
 mised us in his many briefs and letters, which your 
 devout lordship has caused to be written to us to 
 that effect. For he often promised us that he would 
 send his army, together with the viceroy of Naples, 
 into the south of France, and would cause the 
 Venetians to do the same ; so that, this point being 
 accomplished, the wickedness and pride of the 
 common enemy would be checked : and our most 
 holy Lord, the Church, Italy, all Christian princes, 
 would live in peace and tranquillity, and the common 
 expedition against the infidels would be concluded 
 upon, by the unanimous assent of us all. For, if we 
 should assent so suddenly to making peace, when as 
 yet the ambitious and haughty spirit of the common 
 enemy is not subdued, who strives after nothing else 
 but that he may again subjugate all Italy, and make 
 the Church of God his menial servant, no little 
 danger would hang over us, as his holiness, I am 
 well assured, right well considers. For his holiness, 
 in his brief, very sagaciously writes, " The above- 
 named common enemy, under pretence and colour 
 of peace, would be able to compass (as his custom 
 is) many things against the Church and her con- 
 federates." Wherefore as we, in conjunction with 
 the emperor, and our very dear father, the Catholic 
 King of Arragon, shall presently make a beginning of 
 the war, in which (as we hope by God's favour) the 
 extreme ambition and impiety of the common enemy 
 will be restrained, it seemeth to us more expedient to 
 teach him by force of arms to know himself, than to 
 make with him a sudden peace ; for, if we should 
 spare him now, almost overpowered, we should give 
 him good motive and reason for openly attacking his 
 holiness, ourself, and the other partners of the jon- 
 federation. In short, he would be puffed up with 
 pride and ambition much more than before. . . . 
 
170 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 We have lately understood that the king of Scots, 
 when he was informed that an interdict of his kingdom 
 had been conceded to us by Pope Julius, despatched 
 to Rome the Bishop of Murray, not only to impede, 
 in behalf of the French, the carrying out and enforcing 
 of the aforesaid interdict, but also to treat with our 
 sovereign lord Pope Leo, to deny to us a fresh con- 
 firmation of this latter interdict; your devout lordship, 
 therefore, may look to this matter. We ourself do not 
 wish the censure to be published against him, before 
 he break peace openly with us, contrary to his pro- 
 mises and oath, even as reason, laws, and justice 
 demand. 
 
 The aforesaid king of Scots lately made use of 
 these words to our dean of Windsor, ambassador at 
 his court : — " I will appeal from the carrying out of 
 that interdict." Then our ambassador answered, 
 that he could not appeal from the proceedings of 
 the Pope, who had no superior. " Then," says he, 
 " I will appeal to Pregent, the pirate and apostate, 
 admiral of the French King's galleys ; " and many 
 other scoffing words he used against the authority of 
 our sovereign lord. Which folly (as we think) ought 
 to be chastised, since it is unseemly and impious so 
 shamefully to speak against the sovereign pontiff, the 
 head of our religion. Further, he said he would not 
 yield obedience to the Pope, if he should take any 
 measure against himself for breaking peace with us ; 
 and other haughty and arrogant language he added, 
 as he is wont to do. 
 
 We have received a copy of the said king of Scots' 
 letter, which he sent to the sacred College of Cardinals, 
 wherein he exhorts them to settle an universal peace 
 among Christians. Moreover, he accuses ourself, that 
 we refused a passage to his ambassadors, who were 
 sent into France to treat of the same peace. He also 
 imputed to us that, when he had sent to us the brief 
 of Pope Julius deceased, written to himself about 
 treating of peace, that we affirmed the aforesaid 
 Pope had changed his opinion on that point ; with 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 171 
 
 other specious and high-coloured sayings; he wishing 
 to succour the French King rather than the Christian 
 Commonwealth, or to prepare any expedition against 
 the infidels ; which he is neither wiUing to do, nor 
 could he, if he were willing. Though all these things 
 are vain and silly, we wish your devout lordship to 
 answer them, that contentious slanderings may be 
 done away. 
 
 After the engagement at Ravenna, Pope Julius, 
 being driven to straits, wrote to all Christian princes, 
 concerning making peace ; but, when he considered 
 that by such a peace the Frenchman might recover 
 his strength, and return into Italy with refreshed 
 vigour, to the greatest detriment of the Church ; when, 
 moreover, he called to mind that he could make no 
 peace without the consent of the confederates; he not 
 only wrote to us a brief, counteracting the former, 
 that we should persevere in the design of carrying on 
 the war, but also he sent a brief to the king of Scots, 
 wherein he begged him not to suffer himself to be 
 deluded by the French, and to follow our footsteps ; 
 he signified also to him that a treaty was entered into 
 between himself and the emperor. Having found this 
 opportunity, we have answered the king of Scots, 
 that we cannot assent to any peace. This was the 
 reason that we did not grant a safe-conduct to the 
 Bishop of Murray, that he. might go in safety to the 
 king of the French. He however had raised a rumour 
 (as his custom is), that he had from us authority to 
 settle a peace ; which affair would have brought on 
 us no little dishonour. Yet for all this, we have 
 offered to the aforesaid bishop a safe-conduct, if he 
 wished to go to Rome, to learn our sovereign lord's 
 opinion as to the treating of the aforesaid peace. 
 
 The aforesaid king complains of the damages done 
 at sea to himself by our subjects. In truth, his 
 subjects, under colour of peace, joined with the 
 French, have done more damage to our kingdom 
 than ours to his ; which we never would have 
 endured, if good faith had not induced us to preserve 
 
172 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 that peace compounded between and confirmed by 
 ecclesiastical censures. 
 
 We will your lordship to lay all these matters in 
 our name before our sovereign lord and the sacred 
 College of Cardinals. 
 
 The English ambassador to Scotland referred to in Henry's 
 letter was Dr. Nicholas West, Dean of Windsor, afterwards 
 Bishop of Ely, whose special mission it then was to find out 
 the truth about the intentions of James IV., and, if possible, 
 to bind him in writing to keep the peace during the coming 
 campaign : 
 
 DR. NICHOLAS WEST TO HENRY VIH. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," First Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 [Edinburgh, April 13, 1513.] 
 
 Please it your Grace, Sir, on Saturday, the second 
 day of April, the King appointed to dispatch me, and 
 so I purposed to have taken my leave and departed if 
 I had not received your most honourable letters, dated 
 at Greenwich, the 25th day of March last past, 
 whereby I perceived your Grace's mind was that I 
 should make my abode here till I had ascertained you 
 by my writing of his resolute answer, which I have 
 done by my last letters. And albeit I have ever since 
 sued diligently for my dispatching, yet I could never 
 obtain it, for they drive me forth with words. I have 
 also sued to see the minute of such letters as he 
 would send to your Grace, and when I saw them 
 there was never a word in them touching the keeping 
 of the Peace ; but all words of unkinAiess done to 
 him by your Grace and your subjects. . . . On 
 Monday because I had no business, for a pastime I 
 went down to Leith to the intent to see what ships 
 were prepared there, and when I came thither I 
 found none but nine or ten small topmen,^ amongst 
 whom the Crest of Lynne was the biggest, and other 
 
 ' Ships with tops. 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 173 
 
 small balyngiers^ and crayers,^ and never one of all 
 these was rigged to the war, but one little topman of 
 the burden of three score tons. And from thence 
 I went to the new haven, and there lieth the 
 Margaret, a ship nigh of the burden of the Crest 
 of Lynne, and many men working upon her, some 
 setting on her mainmast and some calking her above 
 water, for under water she was new tallowed. . . . 
 The same night the King came to- Edinburgh, and 
 the next day, Tuesday, was all day at Leith, and, it 
 was said, he commanded Willie Brounchyll to take 
 his prisoners and go to the borders and make redress 
 according to the appointment made betwixt the 
 Commissioners before ; and so that day I could not 
 speak with the King. 
 
 Item, the same Tuesday, betwixt six and seven of 
 clock at night, I received letters from my Lord of 
 Durham containing very good news, which were to 
 me, and to all other your true subjects so joyous and 
 comfortable that I cannot express it. I received 
 also from my said Lord of Durham a copy of the 
 Pope's most honourable and loving brief sent to 
 your Grace. 
 
 Item, Wednesday, at ten of the clock I went to 
 Holyrood House, where the King heard mass in a 
 chapel without any traverse,* and there I showed him 
 your said good news at length, and when he heard 
 them he said your Grace was fortunate that ye had 
 such a Pope so favourable to your Highness, and 
 that was entered the League. However I forebore 
 at thait time to show him the clause of the confirma- 
 tion of the acts done by his predecessor against him 
 and his realm in case he broke with your Grace, till I 
 may see determinately how he will order himself in 
 
 ' Froissart and Walsingham both mention the species of ships 
 called balangers ; but tie kind is not accurately described. A 
 manuscript in the Heralds' Office quoted in Jamieson's Etymological 
 Dictionary mentions " Galees Horquees, Ballinjirs, et autres." — 
 Ellis. » 
 
 = A kind of barque, or Ughter. 
 
 * A retired seat with lattice-work. 
 
174 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 every behalf towards your Grace. And hence my 
 small dispatch in everything. And then, according 
 to the same as I think it expedient, I will make 
 overture to him of it, or else conceal it still. And 
 amongst other communication he talked of his great 
 Ship, for the which I made suit according to your 
 Grace's commandment ; howbeit he answered as 
 before, and then he said that she shot sixteen pits of 
 great ordnance on every side ; and that he had more 
 great ordnance in her than the French King ever had 
 to the siege of any town ; which methought to be a 
 great boast. Moreover he said that De la Motte^was 
 taken by your subjects, or else he was with the 
 French fleet, for he was laden with biscuit and beer, 
 ready to come forth when John Barton came away, 
 which is more than three weeks ago. Finally I made 
 suit to him for my departure, praying him to put his 
 answer in writing, and he said he would cause that 
 minute to be made at afternoon, and send it to me to 
 look upon it. Howbeit he did not so, but driveth 
 me forth till he may hear tidings by De la Motte out 
 of France. Sire, the biscuit and beer that De la 
 Motte bringeth is to victual the great Ship and other. 
 I pray God he be, or may be taken by the way ; for 
 his taking were worth to your Grace ten thousand 
 marks ; for by him ye should know all the secrets of 
 the King here. 
 
 Item, on Thursday I made suit likewise for my 
 letters and dispatching, and I am driven forth as 
 before. Also this day was carried out of the Castle 
 to the waterside a great piece of ordnance of three 
 yards long and more, unstocked, which shooteth a 
 stone bigger than a great penny loaf, as I am 
 informed. ... 
 
 Item, Saturday I came to the Court and tarried for 
 the King in the Chapel, and about twelve of the clock 
 he came in and immediately called me to him, when 
 I prayed him immediately to write his answer, and 
 
 ^ Chaxles le Tocque, Sr. de la Motte, French ambassador to 
 Scotland. 
 
WAR WITH FRAN(iE AND SCOTLAND 175 
 
 he said that for two causes which he had showed me 
 before he would not ; first was for fear that he should 
 lose the French King if he wrote so plainly, second 
 because your Grace said his words and deeds agreed 
 not. As to the first I said that he feared too much 
 the loss of the French King, for he should rather fear 
 to lose your Grace for divers causes that I had 
 showed him before ; moreover, if the French King 
 aided him with all his power, yet could he not 
 perform his great voyage without your Grace stood 
 his good brother, which he confessed, but he said 
 that all the world should know in what cause he 
 went, and therefore if ye did anything to him then it 
 should not be honourable, which I replied upon him, 
 saying that all the world knew your Grace went in 
 the Church's cause, and therefore in like manner it 
 were not honourable for him to do anything against 
 your Grace, He answered that though he flattered 
 you not with words yet your Grace should find good 
 deeds ; for where they that spoke fair to your Grace, 
 and gave you not the best counsel, would per- 
 adventure deceive you, he would rather die with you 
 than see your Grace take any dishonour : and there- 
 with the Bishop of Galloway, Dean of the Chapel, 
 ascertained him that it was past noon, and then he 
 took me by the arm and went into a chamber, and I 
 said to him, " Sire, since your Grace will answer nor 
 do none otherwise than j'e have said, and that I have 
 no farther charge, I beseech you give me licence to 
 depart," and he said " with goodwill," and so I took 
 my leave for the considerations above written. And 
 then he said I must go see the Queen and the Prince 
 at Linlithgow for she had ordered tokens for your 
 Grace and for the Queen. 
 
 Item, on Sunday afternoon I rode to Linlithgow 
 and came thither by four of the clock at afternoon, 
 and as soon as I was come in her Grace sent for me 
 by Sir John Sinclair, which brought me to her Grace. 
 At my first coming she asked of me what answer I h^d ; 
 and I said that even as I had before, that he would 
 
176 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 not put it in writing, and she said that he was afraid 
 that it should be shown in France. I answered that 
 then he stood in great awe of France, if he durst 
 not show in writing that he would keep that thing 
 that he was sworn to for fear of France ; and 
 also your Grace would never show it though he 
 wrote, so that he would keep his promise : and she 
 answered that she was right sorry that he would 
 otherwise do, for now your Grace was in the right 
 and he in the wrong. Howbeit she said she had 
 done the best that was in her power, and so would 
 continue. . , . 
 
 Item, in communing with the King divers times I 
 rehearsed the inconveniences that might ensue in case 
 he broke with your Highness, and amongst other 
 how it might cause your Grace to turn your great 
 army upon him ; and thereto he answered once 
 saying that if he might stop your journey into 
 France he would have your Highness suppose that 
 he would make you war, and after he would ye should 
 know the contrary. Another time when I had some- 
 what with reasoning moved him, he answered to the 
 same point thus, "Yea, my brother shall do right 
 wisely since he hath enterprised so great a matter as 
 to make war upon France, which he cannot well 
 perform, and bring about to turn his army upon us, 
 and thereby excuse him of going into France." 
 Whereunto I answered he should right well under- 
 stand that if he would break with your Grace, your 
 Grace was able to perform your voyage into France, 
 and also to withstand him and his power ; and in 
 case he made you war it might somewhat trouble 
 your voyage, but not prevent it. But I answered the 
 Earl of Argyle more roundly and sharply when he 
 spoke to me like words in the Council, which were 
 too long to write. Ni. West. 
 
 To which Henry replied in a letter disclosing how 
 little trust he placed in James's "idle promises and bare 
 words " : 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 177 
 
 HENRY VIII. TO NICHOLAS WEST. 
 [Halliwell-Phillipps : " Letters of the Kings of England."} 
 
 April 20, 1513. 
 
 By the contents of your letter, dated at our town of 
 Berwick, the 13th day of the present month, we 
 understand that, by the report of our right trusty 
 and well-beloved the Lord Dacre, you suppose our 
 brother, the King of the Scots, will keep good peace 
 both by land and sea ; so that they may have free 
 and sure passage by the sea for armies or merchan- 
 dize, without disturbance of our army ; and may also 
 have license, by safe-conduct, to repair to this our 
 realm in form accustomed.; intending (as you write) 
 to make redress from henceforth of all attempts by 
 the sea, they having the semblable of us, and to remit 
 the information of all other attempts to justice : 
 wherein you desire to know our pleasure. 
 
 As unto the first, — if it be of truth, as you write, 
 the said king shall do like a virtuous prince, in 
 observing his oath and promise, like as for many 
 considerations he is bound to do, if he gravely 
 consider the same ; and, if he so observe and keep 
 the perpetual peace, it shall be best for him at length. 
 However, expedient it is to take good regard to this 
 overture made unto you ; for, in case it were allowably 
 practised by the Scots to have liberty to pass their 
 great ships and other ships of war into France, 
 without impressment of our navy, for the assistance 
 of our enemies, this fair apparent offer might turn us 
 to displeasure. Whereunto we will you take sub- 
 stantial regard ; and, in case they shall disclose and 
 promise to you, that they be minded to continue in 
 good peace and amity [so] good it shall be that you 
 obtain and get some substantial writing testi^ing the 
 same, for in idle promises and bare words there is 
 little trust. And inasmuch as our navy is now on 
 the sea, if they meet with the navy of Scotland going 
 into France for the aiding of our enemies, they will 
 undoubtedly encounter with them. 
 
 Y.H. N 
 
178 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 And yet, after the declaration of his Majesty 
 towards the peace, if our said army and navy meet 
 any of his ships' associate and accompany with our 
 said enemies, they must and will repute and take 
 them as enemies ; for else, under colour of amity, and 
 for passage of their ships of war under colour of 
 merchandize to and from France, they might do unto 
 us great annoyance and displeasures ; which, with 
 good fortune, we must and will prevent, and not suffer 
 it, if we can ; and as you shall learn from his 
 lordship, so we will that you advertise us with 
 diligence. . . , 
 
 By this time, as Henry says in his letter, the English fleet 
 had put to sea, the arrangement being that Henry himself 
 should follow in June with the main body of the invading 
 army.^ The French were ready with a fleet which lay in 
 wait to prevent the threatened invasion. From a letter 
 written earlier in the month we may gather some idea of the 
 difiiculties which confronted the English Admiral in 
 command, Sir Edward Howard, who left the Thames on 
 March 19 : 
 
 SIR EDWARD HOWARD TO THOMAS WOLSEY. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," Third Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 [Apfil 5, 1513.] 
 
 Master Almoner, in my heartiest wise I can I 
 recommend me unto you, certifying to you that I am 
 now at the writing of this my letter in Plymouth Roads, 
 with all the King's fleet saving the ships that be at 
 Hampton [Southampton], which I look for this night, 
 for when I came open of the Wight I would not go in 
 but send a ship of Compton's to cause them to come 
 in all haste, and the wind hath been ever since as 
 good as was possible. And as for our Spaniards that 
 should come out of Thames I hear no word of them ; 
 God send us good tidings of them. 
 
 Sir, I think our business will be tried within five or 
 six days at the furthest, for an hulk that came 
 straight frorq Brest showeth for a certainty that 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 179 
 
 there be ready coming forward a hundred ships of 
 war, besides the, galleys, and be pressed upon the 
 first wind : and says that they be very well trimmed, 
 and will not fail to come out and fight with us. 
 
 Sir, these be the gladdest tidings to me and all my 
 captains and all the residue of the Army that ever 
 came to us. And I trust on God and Saint George 
 that we shall have a fair day on them. I pray God 
 that we linger no longer, for I assure you never was 
 army so falsely victualled. They that received their 
 proportion for two months' flesh cannot bring about 
 for five weeks, for the barrels be full of salt. And 
 when the pieces keepeth the number, where they 
 should be penny pieces, they be scant halfpenny 
 pieces. And where two pieces should make a mess, 
 three will scarcely serve. Also many come out of 
 Thames but with a month's beer, trusting that the 
 Victuallers should bring the rest ; and here cometh 
 none. I send you word for a surety here is not in 
 this Army, one with another, past fifteen days' 
 [supply]. . . . 
 
 In consideration to keep the Army together, Sir, 
 for God's sake send by post all along the coast that 
 they brew beer, and make biscuit that we may have 
 some refreshing to keep us together upon this coast ; 
 or else we shall be driven to come again into the 
 Downs and let the Frenchmen take their pleasure. 
 And God knoweth when we shall get us up so high 
 westward again. I had liefer than be driven to that 
 issue, be put all the days of my life in the painfuUest 
 prison that is in Christendom. 
 
 Sir, the Katherine Fortileza hath so many leaks by 
 reason of Bedell, the carpenter, that wqrked in her at 
 Woolwich, that we have had much to do to keep her 
 above water ; he hath bored an hundred augur holes 
 in her and left them unstopped, that the water comes 
 in as it were in a sieve. This day I have all the 
 caulkers of the army on her and trust by to-morrow 
 she shall be more staunch. . . . 
 
 Sir, all the victual that shall come to us let it come 
 
 N 2 
 
i8o THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 to Dartmouth, for there it may lie ready for us ; there 
 is much victual at Sandwich, and they have no 
 vessels to bring it to us. Fill some of your Spaniards' 
 ships their belHes full ; three or four of them will 
 carry much, and spare not to spend victual upon us 
 this year ; for with God's grace the fleet of France 
 shall never do us hurt after this year. And if they 
 be so ready as the hulk hath showed us for a certainty, 
 I trust to God and Saint George that ye shall shortly 
 hear good tidings. And howsoever the matter goeth 
 I will make a fray with them if wind and weather will 
 serve, before ten days end : therefore I pray you 
 recommend me to the King's noble Grace, and show 
 him that he trust no tidings till he hear word from 
 me : for I shall be the first that shall know it if I 
 live, and I shall be the first that shall send him word. 
 Sir, I pray you recommend me to the Queen's 
 noble Grace. And I know well I need not to pray 
 her to pray for our good speed and to all good ladies 
 and gentlewomen, and to my fellows. Sir Charles and 
 Sir Henry Gilford, and, Sir, specially recommend me 
 to my lord, my father, beseeching him of his blessing. 
 And, Sir, I pray you, to knit up all, to have me most 
 humbly recommended to the King's noble Grace as 
 his most bounden servant as knoweth our Lord, who 
 ever more send him victory of his enemies, and you, 
 my special friend, your most heart's desire. Written 
 in the Mary Rose '^ the 5th day of April by your-s to 
 my little power, 
 
 Edward Howard. 
 
 Sir, I need not to write unto you what storms we 
 had, for ye know it well enough. Sir, I saw never 
 
 1 The Mary Rose, whence this letter is dated, was the ill-fated 
 vessel which, in the month of July, 1545, was lost by the carelessness 
 of her crew, in permitting her ports, which were within sixteen inches 
 of the water, to remain open, while on the short passage from 
 Portsmouth Harbour to Spithead ; during which, while tacking, 
 she heeled so much upon her side that her ports were forced under 
 water, and like the Royal George at a later period, and about a mile 
 from the same spot, she sunk below the wave. Sir George Carew, 
 her commander, with near 700 persons, chiefly soldiers and mariners, 
 sunk with her. — Ellis. 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND i8i 
 
 worse, but thanked be God all is well, saving the loss 
 of one of our Galleys. All ill go with her. Sir, I 
 send you in this packet a letter to my wife, I pray 
 you deliver it to her. 
 
 Sir Edward Howard had not long to wait for his heart's 
 desire, but alas ! he did not live to send the King's Grace 
 news of the fatal iight in which he boarded the galley of the 
 French Admiral Pr6gent, only to iind his boat cut away before 
 his men could adequately support him. The story of this 
 heroic, if foolhardy enterprise, is told on the French side by 
 Pregent himself, and on the English by Sir Edward 
 Echyngham, who succeeded in reaching Sir Edward Howard 
 with the sorely-needed victuals on the 19th. " I trow," writes 
 Echyngham to Wolsey, " there was never a knight more 
 welcome to his sovereign lady than I was to my Lord 
 Admiral and to the whole army, for I brought the victuals 
 with me ; for of ten days before there was no man in all the 
 army that had but one meal a day and one drink." 
 
 Pr^gent's letter begins with some account of the events 
 which led up to the dramatic death of the English Admiral : 
 
 PREGENT DE BIDOUX TO [FLORIMOND ROBERTET ?]. 
 
 [Translated from original text in "The War with France in 
 1512-13."] 
 
 [Off Conquet, April 28;^i5i3.] 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I recommend myself in my most humble wise to 
 your good Grace. My Lord, it is a long time since I 
 have written, owing to the adverse weather I have had 
 while crossing to England ever since I left Brest, 
 which was on the 13th day of March, and also because 
 of the sickness and mortality in the~ galleys. For 
 which reasons I did not wish to write any news. 
 
 My Lord, while I was at Portrieux I had news 
 from M. du Chillou that the English fleet had set out. 
 Therefore, as soon as I had the opportunity, I started 
 to join M. du Chillou, and when I reached St. Pol de 
 L6on it was known that the English were actually in 
 St. Matthew's Channel. I did my best to press on 
 
i82 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 and when I was near Beurat, the weather being 
 against me, I was carried into the said Beurat. I 
 immediately got to horse and rode to Bertheaulnie, 
 where M. du Chateau-pourry was, and where I had 
 heard also that the Grand Master might chance to be 
 found. I did find him, and told him that I had more 
 than 200 sick convicts, and that there were sick and 
 dead among the volunteers also. The Grand Master 
 authorised me to hire men from shore for rowers, who 
 were to be paid, and I managed to seize spme of the 
 countrymen, collecting as many as 200 of. them, 
 which was about the number I lacked. And as for 
 seamen, the Grand Master advised me to go with him 
 to Brest, where M, du Chillou was, and then see the 
 Admiral of Brittany and the captains, and beg them 
 to help me with their men ; which they did 
 immediately. 
 
 And directly I had the said men 1 returned to 
 Beurat, hoping to join the remainder of the fleet at 
 Brest. On the way I was hindered by the weather 
 and obliged to put in at Bar-le-Duc, where I stayed 
 three or four days, 30 or 40 ships coming up to pre- 
 vent me from proceeding. 
 
 On Friday, the eve of St. George's Day, the 
 weather appeared to me to be calm, and I set out. 
 After I had left the wea^iher became contrary, with a 
 very high wind, and at the Croix-Porzmogeur I 
 found myself to leeward of the ships in a very 
 disadvantageous position. There were 40 or 50 
 [English] ships before me, ready to attack, when they 
 suddenly saw that the wind wOuld prevent them from 
 boarding my vessel. But two row-barges and four 
 or five ships came within a spear's length from the 
 galleys, so that for two hours no one ever saw so 
 many blows given with artillery, crossbows, and 
 harpoons, though without many men being lost on 
 either side. In the end they were obliged to withdraw 
 disgracefully, and while they were going we saw a 
 good ship with 300 go to the bottom, another behind 
 the point, and two others during the night, which 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 183 
 
 made four. There were four or five boats laden with 
 men and artillery attached to each of these ships, 
 and two of them also went to the bottom. . . . 
 
 On the Monday following, which was St. Mark's 
 Day, 30 ships, with 25 or 30 boats, came to attack 
 me. The Lord Admiral Howard, with 45 or 50 men, 
 was in the first row-barge which came to board me, 
 the wind being favourable. However that might be, 
 the said row-barge was cut adrift, and some of those 
 who were in it were despatched with pike thrusts, 
 and others thrown into the sea, so that only two 
 were taken alive. One of these was run through 
 with a pike, and on being thrown inside pretended to 
 be dead, but he was pushed back into the sea. They 
 made a splendid fight, during which the other row- 
 barge attacked, and you may believe me, my Lord, 
 that had it not been for God's help, I should have 
 been sunk without a doubt, but she was thrust off 
 with pikes. After these two came three other boats, 
 all of which attacked my galley alone, thinking that 
 if they could have me, they would get the rest. 
 Never have I seen men so desperate as they were. 
 But all three were driven away as the row-barges 
 had been. And you must know, my Lord, that this 
 was not done without great loss of men. When the 
 other ships saw that these five had done nothing with 
 us they sailed off, as men bewildered, and fled away 
 to rejoin the great ships at St. Matthew, not one 
 remaining with rne. They are accustomed to have 
 about 25 or 30 ships together. 
 
 That evening I made such repairs as I could, and 
 in the morning, as the weather was favourable, I set 
 out and came forthwith to Conquet, where I am at 
 present. One of the two prisoners, a Fleming, who 
 was once in my service and played me an evil trick, 
 was very badly wounded and has since died ; the 
 other was an Englishman. They both asserted, 
 without any doubt, that the Admiral was in the first 
 row-barge which attacked the galley, and described 
 the bearings which he wore on his armour. I took 
 
i84 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 great care that all the dead bodies which I could find 
 should be drawn up, and about noon the Admiral's 
 body was brought to me. I instantly informed the 
 Grand Master and M. de Laval, who are at 
 St. Matthew, and the Grand Master at once rode 
 over and told me that he thought we ought to advise 
 the King and Queen in order to know how they 
 would wish the body to be buried. 
 
 . . . The Grand Master and M. de Laval are of 
 opinion that the Admiral's body should be embalmed 
 while we are waiting to know if it is the good 
 pleasure of the King and Queen that it should be 
 buried, and so this will be done. The Grand Master 
 has been promised that the apothecary shall come 
 early to-morrow, and I have had the body opened, 
 disembowelled, and put in salt while it is awaiting 
 the balm ; and that part of the body which is to be 
 embalmed has beefi put aside. The said Lord 
 Howard was a great lord, so they say. If it is the 
 pleasure of the King and Queen that I may retain his 
 heart for myself, I should be very grateful to them. 
 
 . . . My Lord, I must have some more convicts, for 
 I have over four hundred men — dead, sick, killed, 
 drowned, wounded — who will never be able to serve 
 again. Therefore I implore you very humbly that it 
 may please you to advertise the said Lord, so that I 
 may be relieved with all diligence. There will be no 
 great difficulty in getting them here ; those from 
 Paris can go by water to Rouen, and those from 
 Blois on here. 
 
 My Lord, your Lordship is aware that it has 
 pleased the Queen to give me a whistle and a chain. 
 In return I am sending her the said Admiral's, not 
 his whistle of honour, but the one he used for 
 commands. It does not weigh so much as that 
 which the said Lady has sent me, but it seems to me 
 that it is richer for her service than the other. I am 
 sending to Mme. Claude the clothes of the said 
 Lord Admiral Howard. 
 
 I shall give orders to have a painting done of the 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 185 
 
 scene of the said battle, and will send it to the King 
 forthwith. I hope, with the help of our Lord, that 
 the warm reception which we gave them will keep 
 them from being so presumptuous another time. 
 The Grand Master and M. de Laval are always 
 armed and in the saddle ; since the English arrived, 
 they have hardly undressed even so much as to 
 change their shirts, for at all hours of the night there 
 have been continual alarms ; and MM. de Chateau 
 and Taravant have not left me for a moment night 
 or day. 
 
 My Lord, I pray to the most blessed Son of God 
 that by His grace He will give you a long and happy 
 life, begging that it may please you to inform me of 
 your news and your good pleasures, so that I may 
 accomplish them. 
 
 In the galley, at Conquet, the twenty-eighth day of 
 April. 
 
 Your humble and obedient servant, PrSgent. 
 
 Sir Edward Echyngham's narrative is dated a week later, 
 from Southampton, to which port the writer had been 
 despatched in his ship from Plymouth : 
 
 EDWARD ECHYNGHAM TO THOMAS WOLSEY. 
 [" The War with France in 15 12-13."] 
 
 [Hampton (Southampton), May 5, 1513.] 
 Sir, 
 
 For to write unto you the news of these parts, 
 they be so dolorous that I can scarce write them for 
 sorrow ; howbeit I have found you so good master 
 unto me that it hath pleased you to cause the King's 
 most noble Grace to write unto me, which hath 
 encouraged me to send to you in writing of those 
 things that I have seen. 
 
 Upon Friday, which was the 22nd day of April, 
 six galleys and four foists^ came through part of the 
 King's navy, and there they sank the ship that was 
 Master Compton's, and struck through one of the 
 
 1 Light sailing ships. 
 
i88 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 standard of peace, and in the boat went Thomas 
 Cheyne, Richard Cornewall, and Wallop, for to have 
 knowledge whether they had taken any Englishmen 
 prisoners or not. And when they came to the shore 
 there came unto them two gentlemen of France, and 
 asked them what they would have, and they said they 
 came to speak with the Admiral of France. And 
 then these two gentlemen bade them come on land, 
 and they would warrant them for them and theirs, 
 but they would not without they had four gentlemen 
 of France. . . . And so these two gentlemen turned 
 again, a . . . men and sent them into the boat. 
 And . . . Cheyne and his company came out and 
 went on land where the Admiral of France was. 
 And there Thomas Cheyne met with . . . acquaint- 
 ance of the court of the Queen of France. And 
 thus, as they were talking and making cheer each to 
 other, came Preyer John, riding on horseback. And 
 so they asked if they had taken any English prisoners 
 or not, for Thomas Cheyne said he had a kinsman 
 that was either taken or slain among them, and if 
 they had him, that they would assign him to his 
 ransom and he would pay it, or else that he might 
 be well kept and they should be richly rewarded for 
 his keeping. And then Preyer John stepped forth 
 himself and said to them : " Sirs, I ensure I have no 
 English prisoners within my galley but one, and he 
 is a mariner, but there was one that leapt into my 
 galley with a gilt target on his arm, the which I cast 
 overboard with Morris pikes, and the mariner that I 
 have prisoner told nie that that same man was your 
 Admiral." 
 
 Sir, I have forgotten to write you of the galley that 
 my Lord Ferrers was in with the other company. Sir, 
 there came in my Lord Ferrers with his galley . . . 
 fell among the other galleys, and there he shot all his 
 ordnance, both powder and stone, that he had within 
 board, and he shot 200 sheaves of arrows among 
 them in the galleys, . . . and then came Thomas 
 Cheyne and Wallop in their craft, and they shot their 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 189 
 
 ordnance such as they had. And then came Sir 
 Henry Sherborne and Sir William Sidnay, and they 
 rushed aboard of Preyer John's galley and broke part 
 of his oars on the one side. And so when they saw 
 every one gone off from them and they last alone, 
 weening to them that my Lord Admiral would be 
 still in the English galley, they came off, following 
 our galley, and so they returned all into the Trade, 
 where the great ships lay without any more doing, 
 for they knew not perfectly where my Lord Admiral 
 was. 
 
 Sir, when the whole army knew that my Lord 
 Admiral was either taken or slain, I trow there was 
 never men more full of sorrow than all we were, for 
 there was never nobleman so ill lost as he was, 
 that was of so great courage and had so many 
 virtues, and that ruled so great an army so well as 
 he did and kept so good order and true justice. 
 
 Sir, I certify you that there may be many men 
 slain at this small skirmish, and there is also ;in the 
 army many sick men, and that is not in one ship but 
 in every one of the army, and many deaths of the 
 measles and other sickness that is among us. . . . 
 Sir, upon Saturday, the last day of April, the whole 
 navy came to Plymouth, and on Sunday I saw 
 myself a boat of sick men land out of a ship of the 
 army, and two of those men, as soon as they felt the 
 earth, they fell down and died. 
 
 Sir Edward Howard's gallantry, however foolhardy it 
 may have been, did much to retrieve the reputation of 
 English arms abroad. At the time, however, Henry, highly 
 incensed, wrote a sharp letter of reprimand to the captains 
 of the fleet, which, as Lord Thomas Howard informed 
 Wolsey, greatly troubled and discouraged them. Lord 
 Thomas Howard's letter was written th^ee days after his 
 appointment as Admiral in Command in succession to his 
 brother, whose death he longed to avenge, though ^with 
 the ill-provisioning of the fleet, and the widespread fear of 
 the French galleys, he found himself heavily handicapped: 
 
igo THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 LORD THOMAS HOWARD JO THOMAS WOLSEY. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," Third Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 Plymouth, May y, [1513.] 
 
 Mine own good Master Almoner, of all such 
 matters as I have written to the King's Grace I will 
 leave unwritten to you, assuring you that I have here 
 found the worst ordered army, and furthest out of 
 rule, that ever I saw. This day when I came hither 
 I am sure there were more than half the army on 
 land ; and I fear me there is a great number stolen 
 away. At my coming to Exeter I heard of their 
 departing, and so have sent through all the country 
 to bring them again. Never man saw men in greater 
 fear than all the masters and mariners be of the 
 galleys. Insomuch .that in a manner they had as lief 
 go into purgatory as to the Trade. But that not- 
 withstanding, if the King's Grace send me not 
 contrary commandment, I trust to be there by 
 Friday at the furthest. Also the King's letter sent 
 unto the captains hath greatly troubled and dis- 
 couraged them : for they had trusted to have had 
 great thanks, and undoubtedly as many gentlemen 
 as were warned thereof did as valiantly as was 
 possible. And as for the galleys, they might have 
 been burnt, but my brother, whom God pardon, would 
 suffer no man to cast in wildfire. And the said 
 galleys did our men but little hurt; but both the 
 shores were so well bulwarked, and so innumerable 
 ordnance therein, that it is too wonderful to hear the 
 report of them that saw it. 
 
 Good Master Almoner, cause the King's Grace to 
 write unto the captains some favourable letter, for I 
 assure you it is needful ; and if any of them would 
 make labour to await on his Grace when he goeth 
 over sea, for God's sake stop it ; for if one should go, 
 all the residue would desire the same. 
 
 Here are two men that, as I hear say, did their 
 part very ill that day my brother was lost. The one 
 was Coke, the Queen's servant, in a rowing barge, 
 and the other Freeman, my said brother's household 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 191 
 
 servant. If it be of truth, I shall punish them that 
 all other shall take example. . . . Beseeching you 
 that the King's Grace take no displeasure with me 
 that I tarry here so long, for I assure you that no 
 man is so weary thereof as I, and before Thursday it 
 shall not be possible for us to depart. Of victual a 
 great part as yet is not come, and also I fear we shall 
 have much ado to get our soldiers aboard. Also, 
 the A nne, Galaunt is in such case that she shall not 
 be able to go to the sea this year. She lieth here on 
 dry ground, and in her stead I have taken another. 
 I would write to you of many other causes, but that 
 I will not tarry the post ; and if the King's letters 
 come to Plymouth when I am gone, I shall leave one 
 to bring them after, with God's grace, who keep you. 
 Scribbled in great haste in the Mary Rose at 
 Plymouth half hour after eleven at night the seventh 
 day of May. 
 
 Your own, Thomas Howard. 
 
 By this time Henry VIII. had discovered how he had 
 been betrayed by his treacherous father-in-law, who, on 
 April I, had made his conquest of Navarre secure by a 
 twelve months' truce with France, secretly negotiated while 
 Henry was preparing for war on the definite understanding 
 that the invasion of France was to be a joint affair. It was 
 long before Henry would believe that even Ferdinand was 
 capable of so base a desertion, but once he realized it his 
 faith in his father-in-law was gone for ever. How plainly 
 his ambassador at the Spanish court could write on the 
 subject of Ferdinand's perfidy may be seen in the following 
 letter : 
 
 WILLIAM KNIGHT TO HENRY VIII. 
 [EUis's " Original letters," Second Series, Vol. L] 
 
 [Valladolid, May 12, 1513.] 
 
 Pleaseth it your Highness to understand, that the 
 King of Arragon continueth in his purpose to observe 
 the truce, that is late taken between the French King 
 and him, and straightly as if they had been made upon 
 good ground and reason. And when news was 
 
192 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 brought unto this Court, upon St. Mark's day, that 
 your Grace's royal army by the seas had discomfited 
 the French fleet, it appeared both by their counte- 
 nances that the said victory contented not their 
 mind ; and by their other demeanour, for they did 
 as much as lay in them to oppose and destroy the 
 fame of the said news and victory. . . . The foresaid 
 news were so joyful unto us your Grace's subjects 
 here that we desired of the King of Arragon to know 
 what certainty he had thereof, which answered that 
 he did know nothing thereof; but, after three days, 
 when the same did more largely increase, he showed 
 unto us that he was informed out of France that the 
 French King gave in express commandment to the 
 Captains of his Navy, that, in case they were not 
 able to have the overhand of the Englishmen, they 
 should rather fire their own ships than suffer them 
 to be taken ; wherein his meaning was, by all that I 
 could perceive, that if there were any ships destroyed 
 of the French Fleet, that it was done by themselves, 
 because of the commandment of their King, and not 
 by your Grace's royal army. 
 
 And because we would understand if by any new 
 occurrence the King would vary from the truce, we, 
 therefore, many times and often, have besought his 
 Highness to remember the great love that your 
 Grace hath borne unto him, and what charges, right 
 near impossible for your royal Realm, hath ensued, 
 without profit or honour, by following of his counsel ; 
 but all this notwithstanding, his Grace is finally 
 determined straightly to observe the said truce. 
 Nevertheless, he answered us, at one time, that he 
 would do all that he was bound to do ; but he spake 
 it in such manner and countenance, that it seemed 
 that he thought him not in any manner bound unto 
 your Grace. At one other season, he answered that 
 he "hiight send his army in Italy into Burgundy ; 
 and, saving the truce, help your Grace by that parts ; 
 but these words be after the old manner, for if he 
 were so intended, yet the year would be overgone 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 193 
 
 before an Army might pass such far Countries. He 
 hath said also that he might make war in Beam, but 
 surely, and it like your Highness, under your Grace's 
 correction, that should not be profitable for your 
 Highness ; for Beam extendeth under the mountains 
 of Navarre almost from Bayonne to Arragon ; and by 
 such he would put your Grace between him and his 
 enemies. And thus, although he hath evidently 
 brought your Grace into marvellous great business, 
 and hath done extremely hitherto, crossing all bounds 
 that might be made between Christian Princes, yet 
 he desisteth not from his accustomed cunning, but 
 surely conceiveth in his mind greater mischief. Some 
 saith, that dare speak privily the opinion of divers 
 that favoureth their natural Prince [Charles] that it 
 should be the greatest joy unto the King of Arragon 
 that ever fortuned unto him, if the Prince of Castile 
 were deceased, for so he might be sure to continue 
 Governor of Castile in manner during his life. At 
 the coming of King Philip unto this country, the 
 King of Arragon was, as it was thought, discourteously 
 entreated, because he was commanded to avoid this 
 Realm within the space of twenty days ; and it is 
 thought that it was not done without the advice of 
 your Grace's dear father, of most noble memory. 
 And whether he feareth that the Prince waxeth too 
 ripe in age, or that he remembereth those old injuries, 
 or that he would dissever the marriage between the 
 Prince and my Lady Mary, I know not; but your 
 Grace may surely imjagine that he is not well dis- 
 posed. The Younger Son of King Philip is but 
 eleven years old ; born in this Country ; and in 
 much greater manner resembleth the King of 
 Arragon. . . . 
 
 The seventh of May, and it please your Highness, 
 tidings came from Italy that the Venetians had 
 entered league with the French King, so that they 
 intend to divide Lombardy between them in tlys 
 manner, that the Venetians shall have all the land 
 that they were wont to hold in those parts except 
 
 y.H. o 
 
194 I'HE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Cremona, by reason whereof the King of Arragon 
 hath showed unto us that he will send over imme- 
 diately more men of war. The King of Arragon 
 saith that by reason of this league the Emperor, of 
 all likelihood, will fully enter with your Grace, and 
 that weigheth greatly in his stomach. He beseecheth 
 God that the Emperor may employ such treasure as 
 he hath received of your Grace in such manner as it 
 may be profitable for your Highness. I cannot per- 
 ceive but that he thinketh contrary ; and undoubtedly 
 he hath done his best, as your Grace doth evidently 
 see, to have left your Highness sole and alone in all 
 these Wars ; as by taking of the truCe, by covering 
 of the same, and hindering of our letters so that your 
 Grace were not advertised in time ; also by saying 
 that the said truce was made by the advice of the 
 Emperor, which of all likelihood will now appear 
 otherwise. But undoubtedly, as your Grace intendeth 
 not but the recovery of your evident right, so Almighty 
 Jesu shall send it unto your Highness, with the most 
 honour that ever came to Christian King, for the 
 which, as my duty is, I daily pray, and shall do 
 during my life. Thus the Holy Ghost send your 
 most noble Grace comfort. At Valladolid in Castile 
 this twelfth of May. — Your most humble subject and 
 chaplain, William Knight. 
 
 Maximilian, Henry's other ally, saw that further delay in 
 beginning the war was dangerous in view of these develop- 
 ments, for the triumph of France in Italy, which he now 
 feared, would destroy his own designs there. Hence this 
 urgent letter to his daughter : 
 
 MAXIMILIAN I. TO MARGARET OF SAVOY. 
 [" Lettres de Maximilien et de Marguerite," Vol. II., p. 141.] 
 
 Smichan, May 12, 1513. 
 
 Very dear and well beloved Daughter^ 
 
 We advertise you that the English Ambassador 
 Wingfield has arrived in our City of Augsburg ; and 
 although we have not yet heard, we are, nevertheless^ 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 195 
 
 of opinion that the said Ambassador has announced 
 for a fact that the King of England, his master, 
 desires to make war on the King of France, in spite 
 of the treaties the King of Arragon has made, which 
 he has not the least intention of observing, and that 
 he [the King of England] wishes to complete and go 
 through with all that has been concluded between 
 us and him, of which we are joyful. We will instantly 
 send you the ratification, and also on Monday next 
 get the said Wingfield to take the oath, as is his 
 duty, for the maintenance of the said treaty. There- 
 fore we request that you will be so good as to entreat 
 the King of England to hasten the said business, and 
 to make no delay in beginning the said war; also 
 that he will send us the first two payments of the 
 money he is to give us, of which we have written to 
 you before, so that we can lead the Swiss, and actually 
 begin the war against the French, for if the King of 
 England makes too much delay over this war, and 
 the French get back the Duchy of Milan, we should 
 hereafter have enough to do with our own business, 
 and not be able to help the King of England, to which 
 we are so well inclinedi 
 
 Across the border Henry VHI. was faced with the pros- 
 pect of further treachery in the shape of his brother-in-law, 
 James IV., who recommended him to join the truce with 
 Ferdinand, on the old, insincere plea of universal peace in 
 Christendom and war against the infidel : 
 
 JAMES IV. TO HENRY VIII. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," First Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 [Edinburgh, May 24, 1513.] 
 
 Right excellent, right high and mighty Prince, our 
 dearest Brother and Cousin, We commend us unto 
 you in our most hearty manner. Oqr brother, the 
 most Christian King of France, has lately written 
 unto -us that he and the Catholic King of Arragpn 
 have taken, the first day of April last, truces to 
 endure one whole year from the conclusion thereof 
 
 o 2 
 
196 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 for their realms on this side the mountains, as we 
 doubt not ye are informed and have the tenor of the 
 same long ere now ; the copy whereof, sent unto us, 
 our herald, the bearer, has with him. In which the 
 Emperor and ye, for the part of the King of Arragon, 
 and for our brother of France's part, the Duke of 
 Gelders and we, as his kinsmen, be expressed, if ye 
 and we like to stand comprehended in the said truces 
 appointed as is contained in them. Whereupon our 
 brother of France has desired us to enter in the said 
 truces if ye enter in the same. Therefore we have 
 sent unto you also to have knowledge if ye enter in 
 their truces or not, as to have your advice what you 
 think we should do for our part : Praying you if ye 
 accept the same to advertise us hastily, that we may 
 help to treat, and further amity and peace, as we 
 have been always ready to do for universal peace in 
 Christendom ; and that we may cause our trusty 
 counsellor and ambassador, the Bishop of Murray, 
 now in the parts beyond sea, to do his utmost to 
 appoint the aforesaid truces pendant for universal 
 peace and expedition against the Infidels. 
 
 And surely, dearest brother, we think more loss is 
 to you of your late admiral, who deceased to his great 
 honour and laud, than the advantage might have been 
 of the winning of all the French galleys and their 
 equipage. The said former valiant knight's service, 
 and other noblemen that must on both the sides 
 perish if war continue, were better applied upon the 
 enemies of Christ, whereunto all Christian men were 
 well spent. Praying you, dearest Brother, to take 
 our writings in good part as our mind is, for verily 
 we are sorry, and also our dearest wife, of this loss, 
 through acquaintance we had of his father, that noble 
 knight, who convoyed our dearest wife, the queen, 
 unto us. It will like you to haste unto us your mind 
 hereunto, and will show you what we think of the 
 truces. Right excellent, right high, and mighty 
 Prince, our dearest Brother and Cousin, the blessed 
 Trinity have you in tuition. Given under our signet 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 197 
 
 at our Palace of Edinburgh the 24th day of May. — 
 Your brother, James R. 
 
 Henry's good name and that of England were now too far 
 pledged for any possibility of peace with honour on these 
 lines. Besides, the King was burning with martial ardour, 
 eager to prove to the world at large that it could no longer 
 scoff at English arms with impunity. Lord Thomas Howard 
 did not obtain his opportunity of avenging his brother's 
 death, but the English fleet succeeded in ensuring the safe 
 landing of the invaders at Calais, where Henry arrived with 
 the main body of his army on June 30. H-e had left 
 Greenwich on the 15th, accompanied by many noblemen 
 and six hundred archers of his guard, all in white gaberdines 
 and caps ; " and so," writes Hall, " he and the Queen with 
 small journeys came to Dover Castle and there rested, and 
 he made the Queen Governor of the Realm, and commanded 
 William Warham, Bishop of Canterbury, and Sir Thomas 
 Lovell, a sage knight, and divers others, to give their attend- 
 ance on the Queen : and commanded the Earl of Surrey 
 to draw towards the North-parts, lest the Scots should make 
 any enterprise in his absence. Then the King took leave of 
 the Queen and of the ladies, which made such sorrow for 
 the departing of their lords and husbands that it was a 
 great dolor to behold; and so he, with all his army, took 
 ship the last day of June, being the day of Saint Paul." 
 On the eve of his departure Henry wrote a last brief letter 
 informing his father-in-law, through his ambassador — to 
 whom he sent .permission to return, leaving John Stile " at 
 our father of Arragon's court " — that the campaign had 
 already begun : 
 
 HENRY VIII. TO WILLIAM KNIGHT. 
 [" Cecil Papers," Part I., Historical Manuscripts Commission.] 
 
 [Dover, June 29, 1513.] 
 
 . . . Touching news here, the Earl of Shrevi^sbury 
 and Lord Herbert, with our vanguard and rereward, 
 to the number of 30,000 men, have now besieged 
 Terouanne, and the most part of our ward, 15,060 
 men, be now passed over to Calais. We tarry here 
 
igS THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 at Dover only for wind to take our shipping thither 
 for to provide in our wars against the Frenchmen, 
 which ye may show unto our father of Arragon, effectu- 
 ally moving and pressing him at your departure to 
 know his determinate mind, what order he will take 
 according to the treaty lately passed betwixt us and 
 him. 
 
 The King crossed with such a fleet, says John Taylor, 
 clerk of the Parliament, in his diary of the campaign, " as 
 Neptune never saw before ; saluted with such firing of guns 
 from the ships and from the towers, you would have thought 
 the world was coming to an end." ^ With the King went the 
 now indispensable Wolsey, himself in command of 200 men, 
 the Bishops of Durham and Winchester commanding 100 
 men apiece. The religious aspect of the campaign — its 
 ostensible object still being to free the Papacy from the 
 tyranny of France — was further accentuated by the priests 
 and singers of the royal chapel, who followed the King to 
 the number of considerably more than a hundred. Three 
 weeks were spent in preliminaries in Calais before they all 
 left for the front, " with a magnificent army," says Taylor, 
 which was increased by 8,000 German mercenaries. " Such 
 heavy rains fell in the afternoon and night," continues the 
 same diarist, "that the tents could scarcely protect them. 
 The King did not put off his clothes, but rode about at three 
 in the morning, comforting the watch, saying: "Well, 
 comrades, now that we have suffered in the beginning, 
 fortune promises us better things, God willing." The soldiers 
 were up to their knees in mud, when, at the beginning of 
 August, they arrived before Terouanne, which had been 
 besieged by the advance army since June 22. Here Henry 
 was presently joined by the Emperor Maximilian, who 
 flattered his young ally's vanity by professing to serve under 
 his banner as a common soldier — at a hundred crowns 
 a day. 
 
 Meantime Catherine displayed her anxiety on the King's 
 account by arranging a weekly service of messengers with 
 Wolsey, in whom at this time she placed implicit trust. 
 
 « Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., p. 623. 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 199 
 
 Her instructions to this effect were contained in what 
 appears to be one of her earliest English letters, a document 
 proving that she had now obtained a command of the 
 English language, which must have stood her in good stead 
 in these anxious. days of her regency, with the King across 
 the water, and the Scottish danger growing nearer every 
 day: 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO THOMAS WOLSEY. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," First Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 [Richmond, July 26, 1513.] 
 
 Master Almoner, thinking that the King's departing 
 from Calais shall cause that I shall not so often hear 
 from his Grace for the great business in his journey 
 that every day he shall have, I send now my servant 
 to bring me word of the King, and he shall tarry 
 there till another cometh and [this way] I shall hear 
 every week from thence, and so I pray you to take 
 the [pains] with every of my messengers to write to 
 me of the King's health, and [what] he intendeth to 
 do, for when ye be so near our enemies I shall be 
 never in [rest] till I see often letters from you; and 
 doing this ye shall give me cause to thank you, and I 
 shall know that the mind that ye have had ever to 
 me cpntinueth still, as my trust always hath been. 
 The brief that the Pope sent to the King I was very 
 glad to see, and I shall be more to hear that he is the 
 means either to make an honourable peace for the 
 King, or else help on his part as much as he can, 
 knowing that all the business that the King hath was 
 first the cause of the Church, and with this and the 
 Emperor together I trust to God that the King shall 
 come home shortly with as great victory as any 
 Prince in the world j and this I pray God send hini 
 without need of any other Prince. 
 
 The Scottish King formally unmasked his intentions in a 
 threatening letter to Henry, which Lyon King of Arms 
 delivered to him in the camp before Terouanne on Augu^ 11, 
 Here is Henry's contemptuous reply : 
 
200 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 HENRY VIII. TO JAMES IV. 
 [Halliwell-Phillipps : " Letters of the Kings of England."} 
 
 [Terouanne, August 12, 1513.] 
 
 Right excellent, right high, and mighty prince, 
 
 We have received your writing, dated at Edinburgh 
 the twenty-sixth day of July, by your herald Lyon the 
 bearer, wherein, after rehearsal and accumulation of 
 many surmises, injuries, griefs, and damages done by 
 us and our subjects to you and your lieges, the 
 specialities whereof were superfluous to rehearse, 
 remembering that to every one of them, in effect, 
 reasonable answer, founded upon law and conscience, 
 hath heretofore been made to you and your council, — 
 You not only require us to desist from further 
 invasion and utter destruction of your brother and 
 cousin the French king, but also certify us that you 
 will take part in defence of the said king ; and do 
 that thing which you trust may rather cause us to 
 desist from farther pursuit of him ; with many con- 
 trived occasions and communications, by you cause- 
 lessly sought and imagined, sounding to the breach 
 of the perpetual peace passed, concluded, and sworn 
 betwixt you and us ; of which your imagined quarrels 
 devised to break to us, (contrary to your oath pro- 
 mised, all honour, and kindness), we cannot marvel, 
 considering the ancient accustomable manners of 
 your progenitors, which never kept faith and promise 
 longer than pleased them. 
 
 Howbeit, if the love and dread of God, nighness of 
 blood, honour of the world, law and reason, had 
 bound you, we suppose you would never have so far 
 proceeded, specially in our absence ; wherein the 
 Pope and all princes christened may well note in 
 you dishonourable demeanour, when you, lying in 
 await, seek the ways to do that in our absence which 
 you would not have been well advised to attempt, we 
 being within our tealm and present. And for the 
 evident approbation hereof, we need none other proof 
 nor witness, but your own writings heretofore to us 
 sent, we being within our realm ; wherein you never 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 201 
 
 made mention of taking part with our enemy the 
 French king, but passed your time with us till after 
 our departure from our said realm. And now, per- 
 chance, you supposing us, so far from our said realm, 
 to be destitute of defence against your invasions, have 
 uttered the old rancour of your mind, which in covert 
 manner you have long kept secret. 
 
 Nevertheless, we remembering the brittleness of 
 your promise, and suspecting, though not wholly 
 believing, so much unsteadfastness, thought it right 
 expedient and necessary to put our said realm in 
 a-readiness for resisting of your said enterprises, 
 having firm trust in our Lord God and the righteous- 
 ness of our cause, and with the assistance of our 
 confederates and allies, we shall be able to resist the 
 malice of all schismatics and their adherents, being 
 by the general council expressly excommunicate and 
 interdicted; trusting also in time convenient to 
 remember our friends and requite you and our 
 enemies, which by such unnatural demeanour have 
 given sufficient cause to the disinheriting of you and 
 your posterity for ever from the possibility that you 
 think to have to our realm, which you now attempt 
 to invade. 
 
 And, if the example of the king of Navarre being 
 excluded from his realm for assistance given to the 
 French king, cannot restrain you from this unnatural 
 dealing, we suppose you shall have Hke assistance of 
 the said French king, as the king of Navarre hath 
 now, who is a king without a realm ; and so the 
 French king peaceably suff"ereth him to continue : 
 whereunto good regard should be taken. 
 
 And, like as we heretofore touched in this our 
 writing, we need not make any further answer to 
 your manifold grievances by you surmised in your 
 letter. Forasmuch as, if any law or reason could 
 have removed you from your sensual opinions, you 
 have been many and oftentimes sufficiently answered 
 to the same, except only to the pretended grieves 
 touching the denying of our safe-conduct to your 
 
202 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 ambassador to be last sent unto us: whereunto we 
 make this answer, — that we had granted the said 
 safe-conduct, and if your herald would have taken 
 the same with him, like as he hath been accustomed 
 to solicit safe-conducts for merchants and others 
 heretofore, you might as soon have had that as the 
 other ; for we never denied safe-conduct to any your 
 lieges to come unto us, and no further to pass. . But 
 we see well, like as your herald had heretofore made 
 sinister report contrary to truth, so hath he done now 
 in this case, as is manifest and open. 
 
 Finally, as touching your requisition to desist from 
 futher attempting against our enemy the French 
 king, we know you for no competent judge of so high 
 authority to require us in that behalf. Wherefore, 
 God willing, we purpose with the aid and assistance 
 of our confederates and allies to prosecute the same ; 
 and, as you do to us and our realm, so it shall be 
 remembered and acquitted hereafter, by the help ot 
 our Lord and our patron Saint George, who, right 
 excellent, right high, and mighty Prince, &c. 
 
 Given under our signet in our camp before 
 Terouanne, the 12th day of August, in the fifth 
 year of our reign. 
 
 Henry made no change in his plans. Before leaving 
 England he had, as already stated, appointed his Lord 
 Treasurer, Thomas, Earl of Surrey, to the command of the 
 North. Surrey, having escorted the Queen back to London^ 
 pushed forward towards the border with an advance army 
 for its defence, where he was presently joined by his eldest 
 son, Lord Thomas Howard, who, robbed of his hope of 
 avenging his brother's death at sea, was soon to have an 
 opportunity of distinguishing himself against the aUies of 
 France. The only step that Henry appears to have taken 
 as a result of James's threatening letter was to send instruc- 
 tions to Surrey by Thomas Ruthall, Bishop of Durham, 
 who was anxious to get back to the defence of his castle of 
 Norham. Catherine prepared for the war with Scotland 
 with a heart worthy of her valiant and victorious mother. 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 203 
 
 Isabella of Castile, and only regretted her approaching 
 departure for the North because it would take her farther 
 from news of her husband : 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO WOLSEY. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," First Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 [Richmond, August 13, 1513.] 
 
 ... I trust to God it shall so continue that ever 
 the King [shall have the] best on his enemies with as 
 great honour as ever King had. Till I saw your 
 letter I [was] troubled to hear so near the King was 
 to the siege of Terouanne for the inconvenience [of] 
 his own person ; but now I thank God ye make me 
 sure of the good heed that the [King] taketh oi 
 himself to avoid all manner of dangers. I pray you, 
 good Master Almoner, remember the King always 
 thus to continue : for with his life and health there 
 [is] nothing in the world that shall come to him 
 amiss by the grace of God, and without that I can 
 see no manner of good thing shall fall after it: and 
 being sure that ye will not forget this, I will say 
 herein no more. But I pray you to write to me, and 
 though ye have no great matters, yet I pray you send 
 me word , . . the chief that is to me from the King's 
 own self. Ye may think when I put [you to] this 
 labour that I forget the great business that ye have 
 in hand, but if ye [remember] in what case I am that 
 is without any comfort or pleasure unless I hear, ye 
 will not blame me to desire you (though it be a short 
 letter) to let me know from you tidings as often as 
 m-ay be, as my trusting discerneth unto you. From 
 hence I have nothing to write to you, but that ye be 
 not so busy with the war, as we be here encumbered 
 with it. I mean that touching my own ... for 
 going farther where I shall not so often [hear] from 
 the King: and all his [subjects] be very glad, I thank 
 God, to be busy with the Scots, for they take it 
 [for a] pastime. My heart is very good to it, and I 
 am horribly busy with making standards, banners, 
 and badges. 
 
2o6 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIH 
 
 pursuing the enemy, and presenting themselves under 
 the place, announced the rout and the capture of the 
 commanders, exhibiting the prisoners and the colours 
 taken, and expecting the town to surrender at once, 
 though it in fact held out until the 22nd or 23rd, 
 when first the Germans within, and then the French, 
 commenced parleying with English in the camp, 
 and moved by lack of provisions more than by any 
 other cause, at length surrendered after a respite of 
 two days, which having expired on the 24th, the 
 garrison on the following morning, the 25th, marched 
 out of the town, and the English entered. . . . 
 
 It was a singular coincidence that no fewer than three 
 fathers of Henry's succeeding queens accompanied him at 
 the Battle of the Spurs — Sir Thomas Boleyn, Sir John 
 Seymour, and Sir Thomas Parr, all knights of the 
 King's household. Catherine, happily unconscious of the 
 future which fate had in store for her, wrote her congratula- 
 tions to Wolsey as soon as she received his good tidings of 
 Henry's victory : 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO THOMAS WOLSEY. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," First SerieSj^ Vol. I.] 
 
 [Richmond, August 25, 1513.] 
 
 Master Almoner, what comfort I have with the 
 good tidings of your letter I need not write to you, 
 for the very reason that I have, showeth it. The 
 victory hath been so great that I think none such 
 hath been seen before. All England . hath cause to 
 thank God of it, and I specially, seeing that the King 
 beginneth so well ; which is to me a great hope that the 
 end shall be like. I pray God send the same shortly, 
 for if this continue so still, I trust in him that every 
 thing shall follow thereafter to the King's pleasure 
 and my comfort. Master Almoner, for the pain ye 
 take remembering to write to me so often, I thank 
 you for it with all my heart, praying you to continue 
 still sending me word how the King doeth, and if he 
 keep still his good rule as he began. I think with 
 
Emery Wulker, Photo 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON. About 1515 
 From the painting in the National Portrait Gallery 
 
WAR WITH PRANCE AND SCOTLAND 207 
 
 the company of the Emperor, and with his good 
 counsel, his Grace shall not adventure himself so 
 much as I was afraid of before. I was very glad to 
 hear the meeting of them both, which hath been to 
 my seeming the greatest honour to the King that 
 ever came to Prince. The Emperor hath done every- 
 thing like himself. I trust to God he shall be thereby 
 known for one of the excellentest Princes in the 
 World, and taken for another man than he was 
 before thought. Master Almoner, I think myself 
 that I am so bound to him for my part, that, in my 
 letter, I beseech the King to recommend me unto 
 him, and if his Grace thinketh that this shall be well 
 done, I pray you to remember it. . . . 
 
 Among the prisoners captured at the Battle of the Spurs, 
 as mentioned in the account in the Venetian Calendar, 
 was the young Duke of Longueville, who was now forwarded 
 by Henry to England for the safe-keeping of Catherine. 
 The Queen's successful protest against this awkward respon- 
 sibility — for the Duke was sent, as suggested, to the Tower 
 instead — is riemarkable for its conciliatory tone to Wolsey, 
 whose feelings apparently she was fearful of ruifling : 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO THOMAS WOLSEY. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letter?," Third Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 {September a, 1513.] 
 
 Master Almoner, I received your letter by the post, 
 whereby I understand of the coming hither of the 
 Duke, and how the King is content that he shall be 
 in my household. Touching this matter I have 
 spoken with the Council to look and appoint what 
 company shall be meet to attend upon him. Here 
 is none that is good for it but my Lord Mountjoy, 
 who now goeth to Calais as chief Captain of the five 
 hundred men. And for this cause, and also that 
 I am not so well accompanied as were convenient 
 for his keeping here, it is thought to me and ipy 
 Council that it should be better the said Duke be, 
 as soon as he cometh, conveyed to the Tower ; 
 
2o8 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 specially as, with the Scots being so busy as they 
 now be, and I looking for my departing every hour, 
 it shall be a great cumbrance to me to have this 
 prisoner here ; seeing that, according to the King's 
 mind, he must be conveyed to the Tower at my going 
 forward. I pray you show this to the King, and with 
 the next messenger send me an answer of his 
 pleasure. 
 
 Mr. Almoner, I am sorry, knowing that I have 
 been always so bound unto you that now ye shall 
 think that I am miscontent without a cause, seeing 
 that my servant asked of you no letter, nor brought 
 you none from me. The cause was, that two days 
 before I wrote unto you by Coppinger, and at that 
 tinqe I had nothing further to write, and with my 
 servant's unwise demeanour I am nothing well 
 content ; for one of the greatest comforts that I 
 have now is to hear by your letters of the King's 
 health, and of all your news ; and so I pray you, 
 Mr. Almoner, to continue as hitherto ye have done : 
 for I promise you that from henceforth ye shall lack 
 none of mine. And before this ye should have had 
 many more, but I think that your business scantily 
 giveth you leisure to read my letters. From hence 
 I have nothing to write to you, more than I am sure 
 the Council informeth the King. Praying God to 
 send us as good luck against the Scots, as the King 
 hath there. . . , 
 
 This was just a week before the crushing defeat of the 
 Scots at Flodden Field, where perished the flower of the 
 Scottish nation, including James IV. himself, who thus paid, 
 as Henry was generous enough to write, " a heavier penalty 
 for his perfidy than we would wish." After " the 111 Raid " 
 earlier in August — a preliminary invasion in which the Scots 
 had been driven back by Sir William Bulmer with heavy 
 loss — ^James himself on the 22nd marched across the border 
 into Northumberland at the head of a mighty army, sacked 
 all the strongholds that came within his reach, and did his 
 best to raze Norham Castle to the ground, to the inexpressible 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 209 
 
 grief of Thomas Ruthall, Bishop of Durham, returning to its 
 defence from France. Before setting out — before, indeed, 
 his herald could return from Henry's camp outside Terouanne 
 — James published his declaration of war : 
 
 JAMES THE FOURTH'S PROCLAMATION OF WAR. 
 [Grove's " Life and Times of Wolsey."} 
 
 . , . Though Princes are not accountable to any 
 but God alon^e, when armies are prepared for battle, 
 they look not so much to what may be said, as to 
 what ought to be done. The laws of nations and 
 Nature oblige everyone to defend himself, but the 
 laws of Sovereignty lay greater obligations upon 
 Monarchs ; they to whom God hath given States and 
 Kingdoms, are bound not only to defend them, but 
 to relieve their people from unjust oppressions. The 
 many innovations and troubles raised upon all sides 
 aljout us, the wrongs our subjects have suffered by 
 the insolences and arrogancies of the councillors of 
 Henry, King of England, our brother-in-law, are well 
 known. Sundry of our subjects have been taken 
 prisoners, and incursions have been made upon our 
 Borders; the Wardens of our marshes have been 
 miserably killed; our merchants at sea have been 
 spoiled of their goods, the chief captains of our ships, 
 put to death, and all by the King's own commission ; 
 and when, by our ambassadors, we require satisfaction,, 
 we receive no justice worthy of them or us. 
 
 Besides these outrages, Henry, King of England, 
 without any just cause, hath invaded the territories 
 of the King of France, and hath rejected our requests 
 on the King's behalf: And, if our brother of England 
 should extend his conquests in that country, to what 
 an extremity would not Scotland be reduced, in having 
 so powerful and ambitious a neighbour ? This is a 
 good cause for us at this time to take up arms, which 
 cannot but be just, since most necepsary. 
 
 We are not ignorant that here will be objected, the 
 breach of a league between our brother and us. We 
 have not broken that league, for the causes and reasons 
 
 y.H. P 
 
210 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 we have above assigned. A national league is ever 
 to be preferred before any personal ; and an ancient 
 to a nevir ally. The league between France and 
 Scotland, having continued many ages, should justly 
 be preferred before that of England, which we, as an 
 ally of the House of England, did contract, and which 
 yet we are most willing to keep ; for we declare and 
 manifest that if our brother shall leave off the inva- 
 sion of France, and give satisfaction for the wrongs 
 done our subjects, that we will disband our forces, 
 and are content that all matters in difference shall be 
 amicably decided, and in the meantime consent to a 
 truce, or cessation of arms, till a perfect and lasting 
 peace can be concluded. . . . 
 
 The Earl of Surrey reached Durham with his army from 
 the South on the 29th — to learn the fate of Norham Castle — 
 and arranged with Lord Dacre, Sir William Bulmer, and 
 other leaders of the North, to meet him with their musters 
 at Bolton by September 4. Owing to the heavy rains, how- 
 ever, he only succeeded in reaching Alnwick, five miles south 
 of Bolton, by that date, but being reinforced here by his son, 
 Lord Thomas Howard, he determined to send his challenge to 
 the Scottish king, then some twenty miles away to the North, 
 on the right bank of the Till. He seems to have given plenty 
 of notice, suggesting the 9th as a suitable date — should 
 James dare to abide so long on English soil. James, who 
 had fixed his camp at Ford, accepted the challenge, but 
 afterwards moved to Flodden, a higher and more advan- 
 tageous battle ground, not far distant, on the borders of 
 Cheviot. Thereupon Surrey, now only four or five miles 
 away, sent him the following letter, signed by himself and 
 other leading officers of his army : 
 
 LORD SURREY TO JAMES IV. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," First Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 [WooLER, September y, 1513.] 
 
 Right high and mighty Prince, so it is that lately 
 I sent unto you Rougecrosse Pursuivant at Arms, 
 and by him advertised your Grace that I and other 
 my Sovereign Lord's subjects, were come to repress 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 2-11 
 
 and resist your invasions of this, the King's, my 
 Sovereign Lord's, realm. And for that intent I 
 offered to give you battle on this half, Friday next 
 coming, which my message your Grace took pleasure 
 to hear, as I am informed. And by your herald, Islay, 
 ye made answer that you were right joyous of my 
 desire, and would not fail to accomplish the same 
 and to abide me there, where you were at the time 
 of my message so showed unto your Grace. And 
 albeit it hath pleased you to change your said promise, 
 and put yourself into a ground moi-e like a fortress or 
 camp than upon any indifferent ground for battle to 
 be tried, considering the day appointed is so nigh 
 approaching I desire now of your Grace that for the 
 accomplishment of your honourable promise you will 
 dispose yourself for your part, like as I shall do for 
 mine, to be to-morrow with your host on your side of 
 of the plain of Millfield, in likewise as I shall do for 
 mine ; and shall be with the subjects of my Sovereign 
 Lord on my side of the plain of the said field to give 
 you battle betwixt twelve of the clock and three in the 
 afternoon, upon sufficient warning by you to be given 
 by eight or nine of the clock in the morning by the said 
 Pursuivant. And like as I and other Noblemen, my 
 company, bind us by our writing subscribed with our 
 hands to keep the same time to the intent above said : 
 so it may like your Grace by your honourable Letters 
 subscribed with your hand to bind your Grace for the 
 accomplishment of this desire, trusting that you will 
 dispatch our said Pursuivant immediately, for the long 
 delay of so honourable a journey we think should 
 sound to your dishonour. Written in the field in 
 Wooler haugh the 7th day of September at five 
 of the Clock in the afternoon. — Thomas Surrey, 
 Thomas Howard, Thom. Dacre, Clifford, Henry 
 ScROPE, Ralph Scrope, Rich. Latimer, William 
 
 CONYERS, J. LOMLEY, R. OgLE, W. PeRCYE, E. 
 
 Stanley, William Molyneux, Marmaduke Con- 
 stable, W. Gascoigne, W. Griffith, George 
 Darcy,, W. Bulmer, Thom. Strangwayes, &c. 
 
 ■pa 
 
212 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 James did not deign to write his answer. He returned a 
 verbal message to the effect that it did not become an Earl 
 to dictate to a King. He expected victory, he added, from 
 the justice of his cause ; not from any advantage of ground. 
 On the fatal Friday morning the vanguard was led by 
 Surrey's son, Lord Thomas Howard, Surrey himself follow- 
 ing with the rearguard. James, it is said, went to the battle- 
 field with the gaiety of a knight going to a tournament, and, 
 as mentioned in the following extract from a narrative in the 
 English Calendar, fell within a spear's length of the English 
 commander, by whom he had been outgeneralled : 
 
 . . . The army was divided into tv\^o battles, each 
 with two wings. The Scotch army was divided into 
 five battles, each a bowshot distant from the other, 
 and all " in grete plumpes, part of them quadrant," 
 and some equally distant from the English, likewise, 
 and were on the top of the hill, being a quarter of 
 a mile from the foot thereof. Howard caused the 
 van to scale in a little valley till the rear joined one 
 of the wings of his battle ; then both advanced in line 
 against the Scots, who came down the hill, and met 
 them in good order, after the Almayns [German] 
 manner, without speaking a word. The Earls of 
 Huntley, Errol, and Crawford met Howard with 6,000 
 men, but were soon put to flight, and most of them 
 slain. The King of Scots with a great power attacked 
 Surrey, who had Lord Darcy's son on his left. These 
 two bore the brunt of the battle. James was slain 
 within a spear's length of Surrey ; many noblemen 
 with him ; no prisoners were taken. . . . The battle 
 began between 4 and 5 in the afternoon, and the chase 
 was continued three miles with great slaughter ; 10,000 
 more would have been slain if the English had been 
 horsed. The Scots were 80,000, of whom 10,000 were 
 killed ; the English lost only 400. . . . ^ 
 
 Authorities on both sides differ widely as to the compara- 
 tive strength of the rival armies at Flodden. Estimates of 
 
 ' Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., September 9, 1513. 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 213 
 
 the force which James led to battle range from "well under 
 26,000 " (Buchanan) to " an hundrede thousande at the 
 least " (" A Ballad of the Scottish King "). Andrew Lang 
 put it at " perhaps sixty thousand." Brian Tuke gave 40,000 
 as the strength of the English army actually engaged in the 
 battle (see p. 225); but Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. F. Eliot, 
 who has gone very thoroughly into the whole, question, 
 estimates that the rival forces were probably not unevenly 
 matched — roughly about 35,000 fighting men on each side.^ 
 According to the Bishop of Durham, who described the 
 battle to Wolsey — with pathetic accounts of his ruined castle 
 of Norham, from his grief over which he said he would never 
 recover — the English casualties amounted to i,poo men, " but 
 only one of eminence. Sir Joseph Bothe, of Lancashire." 
 The following is from the official abstract of the Bishop's 
 first despatch after the battle : 
 
 THOMAS RUTHALL TO THOMAS WOLSEY. 
 [Calendar. Henry VIII., Vol. I.] 
 
 [September 20, 1513.] 
 
 . . . Surrey, and my Lord How^ard the admiral, 
 his son, behaved nobly. The Scots had a large army 
 and much ordnance, and plenty of victuals. Would 
 not have believed that their beer was so good, had it 
 not been tasted and viewed " by our folks to their 
 great refreshing," who had nothing but water to 
 drink for three days. They were in much danger, 
 having to climb steep hills to give battle. The wind 
 and the ground were in favour of the Scots. 10,000 
 Scots are slain and a great number of noblemen. 
 They were so cased in armour the arrows did them 
 no harm, and were such large and strong men, they 
 would not fall when four or five bills struck one of 
 them. The bills ^ disappointed the Scots of their 
 long spears, on which they relied. Lord Howard 
 led the van, followed by St. Cuthbert's banner and 
 the men of the bishopric. The banner men won 
 
 ' " The Battle of Flodden and the Border Raids," 1911. * 
 
 'Foot-soldiers armed with bills — broad, double-edged, hook- 
 shaped blades, attached to the end of long staffs. 
 
214 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 great honour, and gained the King of Scots' banner, 
 which now stands beside the shrine. The King fell 
 beside his banner. Their ordnance was taken. The 
 English did not trouble themselves with prisoners, 
 but slew and stripped King, bishops, lords, and nobles, 
 and left them naked on the field. There might be 
 seen a number of goodly men, well fed and fat, among 
 which number was the King of Scots' body found, 
 having many wounds and naked. . . . 
 
 There is a remarkable letter from Erasmus to Bishop 
 Ruthall, which, though written from Basel at a later date, 
 may be introduced here for its ingenious comparison between 
 the battle of Flodden Field and the writer's own warfare in 
 the world of letters : 
 
 ERASMUS TO THOMAS RUTHALL. 
 [" Epistles of Erasmus," translated by F. M. Nichols, Vol. II.] 
 
 It has strangely come to pass, most illustrious 
 Prelate, that we have been both engaged in opera- 
 tipns, which, though of a different kind, have never- 
 theless some sort of resemblance. While you were, 
 first, under the happy auspices of a truly unconquered 
 King, putting the French to flight, and then, returning 
 from one battlefield to another, were repelling the 
 Kmg of Scots, who had invaded your own frontier, I 
 was exerting all my efforts to rescue two authors, the 
 one, St. Jerome, the other, Seneca,— from the direst 
 foes of letters, I mean the errors, with which they 
 were not merely defaced, but overwhelmed. I cannot 
 allow that your campaign was more difficult or more 
 laborious than mine ; and in one respect I may claim 
 the higher credit, inasmuch as I was both soldier 
 and captain,— fighting with my own hand against 
 thousands of foes. The slaughter has not been less 
 considerable. In the affair with the French, your 
 losses were lessened by the poHteness of your foes ; 
 for what else shall I call it, when at the first 
 encounter they made way for their betters, and seem 
 to have only come to give you an object of pursuit ? 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 215 
 
 But the victory over the Scots was indeed important, 
 inasmuch as their King and so many of his nobles 
 lost their lives, and that King one who, with the 
 spirit of a gladiator, was plotting the greatest 
 mischief to the whole island ; though your success 
 was bought with the blood of many of your own 
 followers. For my own part I have, in my one 
 engagement, stabbed and destroyed more than four 
 thousand portentous foes ; for that number of 
 mistakes I suppose I have struck out in Seneca 
 alone. The Scottish army had scarcely passed the 
 border, and had taken a single castle, from which he 
 was promptly driven ; but all Jerome and all Seneca 
 had been occupied for centuries by an untold number 
 of errors, so that there was scarcely a line left which 
 was not in the enemy's occupation. And in such 
 difficult circumstances my only allies were two old 
 manuscripts, the first supplied by my one Maecenas, 
 William, Archbishop of Canterbury, the other sent 
 me from King's College, Cambridge. But both 
 these copies were not only incomplete, but more 
 faulty than that already printed, so that one's 
 auxiliaries were as little to be trusted as the enemy 
 himself ; though it was some advantage that they were 
 not consistent in their mistakes. And as a careful 
 and experienced judge is able to gather his facts from 
 the testimony of several witnesses, no one of whom is 
 telling the truth, so out of a variety of errors we have 
 endeavoured to conjecture the true reading. . . . 
 
 The most curious account of the battle of Flodden is found 
 in the Venetian Calendar, in a letter written from London at 
 the time, and included in the Sanuto Diaries : 
 
 [NICOLO DI FAVRI, OF TREVISO (?) TO FRANCESCO 
 
 GRADENIGO.] 
 
 [Venetian Calendar, Vol. II.] 
 
 [LoNDONy September, 1513.] 
 
 . . . The King of England, understanding that his 
 cousin the King of Scots had been persuaded by 
 France to wage war on him, so that he might be 
 
2i6 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 diverted from his intention of annihilating King 
 Louis, sent a great lord, called my Lord Treasurer, 
 a very sage man and of great age, with 30,000 
 efficient troops, well accoutred— not bare-footed like 
 those of Italy, men who did not go to rob, but to 
 gain honour, and who marched at their own cost. 
 They did not take wenches with them, and they 
 are not profane swearers, like our soldiers; indeed 
 there were few who failed daily to recite the " office " 
 and our Lady's rosary. This army gave battle to the 
 Scots, and, after much fighting, gained the day. 
 According to report, the Scots had lost eight great 
 lords, including mj^ Lord of Fastcastell [Cuthbert 
 Home], who was said to have been at Venice, and all 
 over Italy. This result proves that Scotland should 
 desist.from waging war on England, for although the 
 Scots, according to report and in reality, are very 
 numerous and accustomed to all hardships, yet the 
 country is too poor. The inhabitants have no arms, 
 and are situated at the end of the world. Hitherto 
 small mention has been made of King Henry, 
 whereas for the future the whole world will talk of 
 him. For gold, silver, and soldiers not another king 
 in Christendom can be found to compare with him. 
 
 Meantime great preparations had been made by Louis XH. 
 to collect a combined Franco-Scottish fleet to cut off Henry's 
 return from Calais. Before starting for the front James IV. 
 had despatched the Scottish ships — twenty-three altogether 
 — under the command of the Earl of Arran, the fleet sailing 
 from Leith on July 25 and reaching Brest in September, 
 after raiding Carrickfergus. The French King appointed 
 Louis de Rouville to the command of the combined force in 
 the following letters patent : 
 
 THE FRANCO-SCOTTISH FLEET. 
 [Translated from original text in " The War with France in 1512-13."] 
 
 Corbie, September 17, 1513. 
 
 Louis, by the grace of God, King of France, to all 
 who shall see these present letters, greeting. 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 217 
 
 So that we may fall upon our ancient enemies, the 
 English, who, as is well known, have invaded our 
 Kingdom, armed and with great power, in all parts, 
 pillaging and destroying the ancient places and 
 countries of our said Kingdom, and are striving to do 
 even more ; and in order to harass and injure the 
 said enemies on the sea, we have, from the beginning 
 of this year, prepared, armed, victualled, and equipped 
 several ships from our countries of Normandy and 
 Brittany. But it so happened that they were not 
 powerful enough ; and, having regard to the great 
 number of ships that our said enemies had, they were 
 not able to attack, and it was expedient that they 
 should retire in port until now when our dear and 
 well beloved brother, cousin, and ally, the King ol 
 Scotland, in accordance with the friendship, con- 
 federation, and alliance which is between us, has 
 sent us for our succour and relief a number 
 of ships from his said Kingdom, well armed and 
 equipped, that they may join with ours. And, there- 
 fore, we have had our said ships from Normandy 
 and Brittany prepared, so that they may combine 
 together and strive to make some attack on our said 
 enemies. 
 
 And that this fleet might be well ordered and 
 commanded it was needful that we should give the 
 ofiice to some wise, notable, and virtuous personage, 
 who may serve us in the matter. 
 
 Let it be known, therefore, after consideration of 
 these things, and in consequence of the perfect and 
 entire confidence which we have in the person of our 
 friend and trusty counsellor and chamberlain, Louis 
 de Rouville, chevaHer, seigneur of the said place, 
 master of the hounds of France, and also in his 
 judgment, competence, loyalty, conduct, experience, 
 and good diligence, we have appointed, constituted, 
 ordained, and established, by these presents, the said 
 Louis to be our lieutenant-in-chief in our said navy,^ 
 which will presently set out to join the said Scottish 
 ships. . . . 
 
2i8 THE YOUTH OF HENRy /ill 
 
 The combined fleet fared no better than the French and 
 Scottish armies, a storm, as on more than one other 
 crisis in our naval history, coming to England's rescue, and 
 scattering the ships in all directions. James IV. was at 
 least spared the mortification of witnessing their return to 
 Edinburgh in November, after they had completely failed of 
 their purpose. 
 
 The victory of Flodden Field was immeasurably greater 
 than anything that Henry himself had yet achieved, or was 
 likely to accomplish in France, though Terouanne had at 
 length capitulated, and he was now on his way to lay siege 
 to Tournay. Catherine's inspiring enthusiasm and ceaseless 
 energy during his absence had played no small part in this 
 overwhelming triumph at home. In imitation of her mother, 
 Isabella, writes Peter Martyr in one of his letters, the Queen 
 " made a splendid oration to the English captains, told them 
 to be ready to defend their territory, that the Lord smiled 
 upon those who stood in defence of their own, and that they 
 should remember that English courage excelled that of all 
 other nations. Fired by these words, the nobles marched 
 against the Scots, who were then wasting the Borders, and 
 defeated them."^ Catherine was on her way with reinforce- 
 ments when the great news from Flodden reached her at 
 Woburn. She sent on the news post haste to Henry in 
 France, with a fragment of James's blood-stained coat as a 
 trophy. It was hardly judicious on her part, howeyer, to 
 glorify, as she did in her letter, what she felt to be her own 
 victory at the expense of her husband's possible achieve- 
 ments in France. This was not the first time that she had 
 rather belittled his victories. The Duke of Farrara, 
 who was at the front with Henry and Maximilian, men- 
 tions in one of his letters that when she wrote to con- 
 gratulate her husband on his capture of the Duke of 
 Longueville, she boastfully added that it was no great 
 thing for one armed man to take another, but that she 
 was sending him three, taken by a woman ; and that 
 if he sent her a captive duke she would soon send him a 
 king : * 
 
 « Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. II., p. 675. 
 a Venetian Calendar, Vol. II., p. 139. 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 219 
 
 CATHERINE OF ARRAGON TO HENRY VHI. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," First Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 [WoBURN, September 16, 1513.] 
 Sir, 
 
 My Lord Howard hath sent me a letter open to 
 your Grace, within one of mine, by the which ye 
 shall see at length the great victory that our Lord 
 hath sent your subjects in your absence ; and for this 
 cause it is no need herein to trouble your Grace with 
 long writing. But, to my thinking, this battle hath 
 been to your Grace and all your realm the greatest 
 honour that could be, and more than if ye should 
 win all the crown of France. Thanked be God of it : 
 and I am sure your Grace forgetteth not to do this, 
 which shall be cause to send you many more such 
 great victories, as I trust He shall do. 
 
 My husband, for hastiness, with Rouge Cross, I 
 could not send your Grace the piece of the King of 
 Scots' coat which John Glyn now bringeth. In this 
 your Grace shall see how I can keep my promise, 
 sending you for your banners a King's coat. I 
 thought to send himself unto you, but our English- 
 men's hearts would not suffer it. It should have 
 been better for him to have been in peace than 
 have this reward. All that God sendeth is for the 
 best. 
 
 My Lord of Surrey, my Henry, would fain know 
 your pleasure in the burying of the King of Scots' 
 body, for he hath written to me so. With the next 
 messenger your Grace's pleasure may be herein 
 known. And with this I make an end : praying God 
 to send you home shortly, for without this no joy 
 here can be accomplished ; and for the same I pray, 
 and now go to our Lady at Walsingham that I 
 promised so long ago to see. At Woburn the 16th 
 day of September. 
 
 I send your Grace herein a bill found in a 
 Scottishman's purse of such things as the Frengh 
 King sent to the said King of Scots to make war 
 against you, beseeching you to send Matthew hither 
 
220 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 as soon as this messenger cometh to bring me tidings 
 from your Grace. 
 Your humble wife and true servant, Katherine. 
 
 The difficulty with regard to poor James's remains was 
 that he died under the Pope's excommunication. Catherine 
 had the body embalmed and Henry wrote to the Pope from 
 Tournay for permission to bury it with royal honours in 
 St. Paul's Cathedral, but though the permission was granted, 
 nothing further was done in the matter. It was one of the 
 early blots on Henry's escutcheon that he allowed the 
 body to remain neglected and unburied in a lumber room in 
 Shene monastery. Not until Elizabeth's day were the bones 
 interred — and then unceremoniously — in the Church of St. 
 Michael's. 
 
 While Catherine's letter was still on its way to Henry, the 
 English King was paying a visit to the Emperor's daughter, 
 the Archduchess Margaret, at Lille. The centre of the 
 campaign was now shifting to Tournay, the fortifications of 
 Terouanne having been first blown up by gunpowder. 
 Henry was received at Lille with all the honours of a 
 conquering hero, and he rose to the occasion by entering the 
 town "with as much pomp," to quote from Taylor's 
 Diary, " as ever he did at Westminster with his crown on." 
 The people, he adds, " crowded out of the town to meet him 
 in such numbers you would have thought none could have 
 been left behind ; girls offered crowns, sceptres, and garlands; 
 outlaws and malefactors with white rods in their hands 
 besought pardon. Between the gate of the town and the 
 palace the way was lined with burning torches, although it 
 was bright day, and there was scarce room for the riders to 
 pass. Tapestries were hung from the houses, and tents 
 erected at frequent intervals, where histories of the Old and 
 New Testament and of the poets were acted." ^ 
 
 A graphic summary of all the great happenings since 
 Henry set out on his successful campaign is furnished in a 
 letter sent from Tournay by Sir Brian Tuke, Clerk of the 
 Signet, to Richard Pace, Secretary to Cardinal Bainbridge, 
 at Rome : 
 
 ' Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., p. 625. 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 221 
 
 SIR BRIAN TUKE TO RICHARD PACE. 
 [Venetian Calendar, Vol. II.] 
 
 [TouRNAY, September 22, 1513.] 
 
 First of all, on quitting England, they found the 
 weather very mild. Secondly, the army, though 
 composed of heterogeneous nations, was so well 
 agreed and unanimous, and so utterly free from 
 dissensions, as to defy exaggeration. Thirdly, no 
 epidemic of any sort assailed so very numerous an 
 army. Fourthly, sucTi was the plenty of provisions, 
 that 20,000 men were living in the camp in time of 
 war far more cheaply than they lived at home in time 
 of peace. Fifthly, they had many friends, who were 
 of the greatest help to them, the chief of them being 
 the Emperor, who with many princes and other great 
 lords remained there constantly. Sixthly, in every 
 direction they gained victories hitherto unparalleled, 
 being always few against many, and always con- 
 quering, a proof of divine assistance. 
 
 In order to give him (Pace) a fuller account of all 
 their proceedings than was contained in the letters of 
 the King, who wished to diminish rather than to 
 exaggerate, [Take] informs him that the King gave 
 Terouanne to the Emperor, whose commanders, after 
 the departure of the English troops, burnt the whole 
 city, with the exception of the cathedral church ; the 
 population, warned by the King, having carried off- 
 all their effects to the neighbouring towns ; and such 
 was the end of Terouanne, of late so impregnable a 
 stronghold. 
 
 This done, the King went to Lille on a visit to the 
 Lady Margaret, to which very grand spectacle all the 
 noble lords and ladies, and the merchants of Flanders, 
 Holland and Brabant crowded, and received his 
 Majesty in very great triumph. On the following 
 Tuesday the King returned to the army, then on its 
 march to besiege Tournay, where they found the 
 suburbs burnt, but the neighbouring towns afid 
 villages so well supplied with wheat and barley and 
 
222 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 other daily necessaries, that each of the King's 
 soldiers would have enough for himself and his horse 
 for the next eighteen weeks. The city was then 
 blockaded on every side, and the army built winter 
 dwellings for themselves, of which a great part have 
 chimneys. Tournay is large and beautiful, the 
 wealthiest city in all Flanders, and the most populous 
 of any on that side of Paris. Have stormed one 
 gate, inside which the King's troops have established 
 themselves; the castle has been battered down by 
 the artillery. Within the city there are no soldiers, 
 but a great amount of peasantry and butchers, 
 without any commander-in-chief. The besieged 
 think themselves sufficiently strong to resist the 
 whole world, because they have a very great amount 
 of cannon ; but they suffer from a scarcity of 
 provisions, and, he believes, lack powder. The 
 besiegers walk close to the walls daily, and the King 
 does so occasionally for three hours and a half at 
 a time. The English ordnance was planted in the 
 trenches, and the enemy having twice sought a 
 parley, it was granted for two days, during which 
 time the besiegers not abstaining from visiting the 
 trenches, the enemy pointed a gun to intimidate 
 them ; whereupon the King ordered all the ordnance 
 to play upon the city, which was done so incessantly 
 that the walls were well nigh levelled to the ground. 
 The besieged then again demanded a parley, though 
 the cannon continue to play, as the King will not 
 lose a moment of time. At any rate the place is 
 gained. It manufactures excellent carpets and table 
 covers, and will prove very useful for the King, as 
 Burgundian and Rhenish wines can be conveniently 
 brought thence to England, on which account the 
 dwellings built as already described, and which occupy 
 a space more than thrice the size of Tournay, will be 
 left standing. 
 
 The French army is so great a distance from the 
 English that no breeze can bring them any news 
 of it.. 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 223 
 
 Have sent a message full of comfort to the 
 Sdiismatic King,^ thus : — 
 
 " The King of Soots, of all Christian men the 
 falsest, has been killed in fair fight by the Earl of 
 Surrey, who attacked the King's own camp in a 
 forest called Barmerwood, in England, all the nobility 
 of Scotland being with the King. In the conflict 
 10,000 Scots were slain, in the flight as many more. 
 The battle was fought on the gth of this month. All 
 the ordnance of the Scots, their tents, and the rest 
 of their baggag© was taken ; the course of the whole 
 business being as follows : — 
 
 " On St. Bartholomew's Eve (August 23) the false 
 and perjured King of Scots invaded England, and 
 took the castle of Norham (not without shame to 
 certain individuals), razing it to the ground. He 
 then led his army towards Berwick, burning the 
 villages in every direction. The Earl of Surrey, 
 Lord Dacres, Coniers, Latimer, Scrope, and other 
 great personages of those parts had not yet mustered; 
 but each made such haste that on the 7th of 
 September the Earl of Surrey challenged the aforesaid 
 perjured King of Scots to give battle on the following 
 Friday. Such was the reliance placed by the King 
 on his French and Scottish commanders, that he 
 thought all England together would not dare "oppose 
 him ; but the Earl of Surrey kept his engagement 
 and promise. Lord Howard, the Admiral, having 
 heard that the King of Scots most boastfully pro- 
 claimed that he had long sought him by land and 
 sea, as one who from fear always fled and avoided 
 battle, quitted the royal fleet, left a deputy in 
 command, forthwith landed, and sent a message to 
 the perjured King of Scots, that he would lead the 
 van of the army, not on horseback, but on foot, lest 
 he should be supposed a craven and a runaway. He 
 moreover warned the King of Scots not to take him 
 alive ; he having determined not to capture any ScqJ, 
 
 » Louis XII. having sanctioned the conventicle of Ksa, Tuke was 
 justified in giving him this title. — Rawdon Brown. 
 
224 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 however noble he might be, even were it the King 
 himself, but to kill him — promises which were 
 fulfilled. 
 
 "Accordingly on the appointed day, the army 
 attacked the Scots, whose forces M^ere assembled on 
 the summit of a hill, at the distance of a mile from 
 its base, the hill being so strengthened and defended 
 by ordnance that the assailants were obliged to wade 
 through a certain marshy pass, leaving their guns in 
 the rear. The army of the Scots formed five lines in 
 square battalions, representing the figure of a spear- 
 head ; all being equi-distant from the English army, 
 which was divided into two lines, with two wings. 
 In spite of the Scottish artillery, which inflicted little 
 or no damage. Lord Howard marched to the foot of 
 the hill, where he halted a short time, until the other 
 wing of the rearguard had joined the last of his lines. 
 Thereupon the Scots came down the hill in very good 
 order, after the German fashion, with iron spears in 
 masses. The Earl of Huntley, the Earl of Airlie, 
 and the Earl of Crawford broke upon Lord Howard. 
 This force, together with the Earls, all perished. 
 
 " The perjured King of Scots attacked the Earl of 
 Surrey, at whose side Lord Darcy's son was following ; 
 near whom Lord Maxwell, a Scot, and his brother, 
 Lord Herries, were killed, and well nigh all the rest 
 of the Scottish nobles, the list of whose names had 
 not yet been received. In these two engagements no 
 prisoners were made, no quarter given. The Earl of 
 Havevves {sic) [William Hay, fifth Earl of Errol?] 
 and the Earl of Argyll,^ with a very great force, 
 attacked Sir Edward Stanley, who slew the greatest 
 part of them. Lord Edmund Howard, who led his 
 brother's right wing, was assailed by the Chamberlain 
 of Scotland (Alexander Lord Home). He was thrice 
 felled by the Chamberlain, to the blame of his 
 soldiers, who were cowards, but Lord Dacres 
 succoured him with fifty horse. The Chamberlain of 
 
 ' Sic ; Lennox ^, 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 223 
 
 Scotland alone got him alive, though he nevertheless 
 in like manner lost all his men." 
 
 After the performance of these feats, the entire 
 army of the Scots took flight. The flight commenced 
 at noon and lasted till night. The English halber- 
 diers decided the whole affair, so that in this battle 
 the bows and ordnance were of little use. Only one 
 English nobleman, a knight, fell ; the rest of the 
 killed did not amount to 400. Of the Scots upwards 
 of 10,000 men were captured and slain in flight, and as 
 many more were killed on the battlefield. At the time 
 of this engagement Lord Lovel was at Nottingham 
 with 15,000 men, on his march towards Scotland, the 
 Queen being already forty miles beyond London, 
 with 40,000. The Scots numbered in reality 60,000 
 men, though they were said to be 80,000. The 
 English were 40,000, though reported to be only 
 36,000 ; and this is the end of James, late King of 
 Scots, of all mankind the falsest. 
 
 In the pouch of a noble Scot who perished a written 
 paper was found, of the following tenor : 
 
 "To the western seaport of Dunbar the King ot 
 France sent to James IV. King of Scots : first 
 25,000 gold crowns of full weight. Also 40 cart- 
 loads of powder. Two pieces of great ordnance 
 called cannons. Also a ship laden with 400 arque- 
 buses and 600 hand culverins, with their shot. Also 
 a ship laden with bombards and other engines, 
 
 including 6,000 spears, 6,000 maces, , and pikes. 
 
 Also a knight, by name Dansi {sic), with 50 men at 
 arms, and 40 captains to command the soldiers." 
 
 After the King's letters had been written, he 
 detained them for three hours to announce the 
 result of the parley granted to the citizens of 
 Tournay; and in the meantime another courier 
 arrived from England, with news that all the Scottish 
 nobility fell in the battle, namely, 11 earls, 15 barons, 
 I archbishop (of St. Andrew's he supposes), 2 bishops, 
 and the King's secretary ; the French ambassador, 
 Mons. de la Motte, and a great many other nobles. 
 
 Y.H. Q 
 
226 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 The rent surcoat of the King of Scots has been 
 sent to Tournay stained with blood : it was chequered 
 in the English fashion. The traitor Scots, who dared 
 not face England when the King was there, and 
 sought to destroy her in his absence, have paid 
 condign penalty. 
 
 Yesterday, this opulant, strong, and fair and 
 extensive city of Tournay surrendered. It might 
 have been stormed, the English having battered 
 down the castle, and forced one of the gates, ot 
 which they kept possession ; but the King most 
 graciously granted the abject and pitiful prayers of 
 the besieged, who requested permission to surrender 
 it to him and his heirs ; and the Emperor renounced 
 all his claims upon it, in favour of our most Christian 
 King, who is to enter the city in triumph on the 
 morrow. After thanksgiving to God, jousts will be 
 formed ; the King receiving on his entry 100,000 
 ducats, besides a great many other presents derived 
 from the spontaneous civility of the citizens. The 
 King is also to receive 10,000 ducats annually, 
 besides the royalties belonging to the city. 
 
 We have now the city of Terouenne, which was 
 called "the King's Treasury" and Tournay, on 
 whose walls was inscribed " La pucelle sans reproche" 
 namely, " the unsullied maiden." The " King's 
 Treasury" is burnt, and this "Maiden" hath lost 
 her maidenhood. 
 
 I am greatly fatigued, writing good and gladsome 
 news, thank God, in every direction. We also took 
 five other walled towns, which nobody here values 
 because of the magnitude of other matters. If, as 
 is supposed, the Queen be with child, we owe very 
 much to God. 
 
 Interspersed with the jousting and the rejoicing in 
 Tournay was the remarkable courtship between Margaret, 
 " Savoy's blooming Duchess," as Drayton calls her — and 
 the King's handsome favourite, Charles Brandon, whom he 
 had created Viscount Lisle earlier in the year, and for whom 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 227 
 
 he now played the part of Cupid's interpreter. At a later 
 date, when this affair led her into trouble with her father, 
 and threatened to complicate the peace negotiations, she 
 wrote an account of the whole proceedings, stating that 
 when she met Brandon, the virtue and grace of whose person 
 were such " that I have not much seen any gentleman to 
 approach it," and witnessed Henry's great love for him, 
 she constrained herself to do him honour and pleasure in 
 order to please the King: 
 
 . . . But when Henry asked her "^yhether this 
 good will would stretch as far as marriage, seeing 
 that it was the fashion of the ladies of England, and 
 that it was not there holden for evil?" she had 
 replied, that it was impossible and would bring upon 
 her the evil grace of her father and all that country ; 
 " that it was not here the custom, and that I should 
 be dishonoured, and holden for a fool and light." 
 But, not to grieve the King, she further said, " that 
 if now I had well the will so for to do, that I 
 neither would nor durst think (of it)," as his return 
 was so nigh. He said, when they departed, he knew 
 well the ladies would forget him, that she would be 
 pressed to marry, for she was too young to abide 
 thus, and the ladies of his country did re-marry at 
 fifty and three-score. She said she had been unhappy 
 in husbands. Twice after, in the presence of Brandon, 
 the King returned to the charge, saying, " I know 
 well, madame, and am sure, that my fellow shall be 
 to you a true servant, and that he is altogether 
 yours ; but we fear that ye shall not do in likewise, 
 for one shall force you to be again married, and that 
 she shall not be found out of this country at my 
 return." He then made her promise that she would 
 not marry at least until his return, or the end of the 
 year, — " the which I did willingly, for I think not again 
 ever to put me where I have had so much unhap 
 and infortune," — and afterwards made his fellow do< 
 the semblable, who said he would not marry without 
 her consent. 
 
 Q3 
 
230 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 days his entry into Tournay, that he might not 
 detract from the King of England's glory. . . . 
 
 Maximilian's humility is understandable when we remem- 
 ber that he was reaping most of the benefits of Henry's 
 victories, just as Ferdinand alone had benefited by 
 England's unlucky share in the Spanish campaign of the 
 previous year. The Emperor was all for driving these 
 victories home by fresh conquests in the field, but the season 
 was getting late ; for commissariat and transport difficulties 
 made it well nigh impossible in those days adequately to 
 maintain an army through the long winter months in hostile 
 territory abroad, and the affairs in Scotland decided the 
 English King to rest content, for the time being, with the 
 laurels already won. Before leaving France, however, he 
 signed a treaty at Lille in October, by which he bound 
 himself, in alliance both with Maximilian and Ferdinand, to 
 continue the war with increased vigour before the following 
 June. At Lille, too, was renewed the old pledge between 
 the Emperor and the English Sovereign for the marriage of 
 Maximilian's grandson, Charles of Castile, and the Princess 
 Mary, the ceremony now being fixed to take place during the 
 following spring. We shall presently see how both these 
 old intriguers kept faith with the English King. 
 
 Martin Hume says that Henry brought back with him 
 from France his first mistress, Elizabeth Blount, Lord 
 Mountjoy's sister, but there does not seem to be any con- 
 temporary proof of this. Later, as is well known, she 
 became his acknowledged mistress, bearing him, in 15 19, a 
 son, who became Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond ; and 
 remaining, until Mary Boleyn arrived upon the scene, about 
 1521, the only woman who threatened seriously to supplant 
 Catherine in the King's affections. For the time being, 
 however, there was no such cloud in sight when Henry, 
 landing unannounced at Dover towards the end of October, 
 took the queen by surprise at Richmond, " where," wrhes 
 Hall, "there was such a loving meeting that everyone 
 rejoiced who witnessed it." 
 
 While Henry was still in France the pacific Leo had 
 admonished him not to be elated by his victories over the 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 231 
 
 French and the Scots, but to make peace ; to which, on 
 landing in England, the King dutifully replied that he 
 attributed his victories not to himself, but to God. As God 
 gave Saul power to slay 1,000, he wrote, and David strength 
 to kill 10,000 enemies, so He had made him strong. He was 
 sorry, he added, that the King of Scots had been slain, but 
 must observe that, although the Scots had lost almost all 
 their noblemen, and almost all their engines of war had been 
 taken from them, they had nevertheless not made any offers 
 of peace. He had read the Pope's pious exhortations 
 with great veneration, but was afraid lest a premature 
 peace might only be the source of greater wars in the 
 future.* 
 
 Henry had already written to Lord Dacre to punish the 
 Scots who were still troubling the Border by making two 
 raids upon the West and Middle Marches. Dacre's reply, 
 in which he acknowledged the receipt of these instructions, 
 and described the raid of November 10, gives an idea of 
 what Border warfare meant in those embittered days : 
 
 THOMAS LORD DACRE TO HENRY VIII. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," First Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 [Harbottel, November 13, 1513.] 
 
 . . . Upon Thursday last past I assembled your 
 subjects in Northumberland to the number of a 
 thousand horsemen, and rode in at Gallespeth and 
 so to the water of Kale, two miles within Scotland, 
 and there set forth two forays — my brother, Philip 
 Dacre, with three hundred men, who burnt and 
 destroyed the town of Rowcastle, with all the corn 
 in the same and thereabouts, and won two towers in 
 it, and burnt both roof and floors ; and Sir Roger 
 Fenwick, with three hundred men, [who] burnt the 
 town of Langton and destroyed all the corn therein : 
 which towns are in the heart of the country, two 
 miles beyond Jedburgh, upon the waters of Cheviot. 
 And I came with an ambush to a place called the 
 Dungyon, a mile from Jedburgh, and so went to 
 
 ' Spanish State Papers, Vol. II., p. 165. 
 
232 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 the Sclater Ford, on the water of Bowset ; and there 
 the Scots pursued us right sore, there bickered with 
 us, and gave us hand strokes. There came three 
 standards to back them, that is to say David Karr, 
 of Fernehirst, and the lord of Boudgedworth on the 
 other side, with the number of seven hundred men or 
 more. The lord of Walghope was hurt with one 
 arrow, and his horse slain ; Mark Trumbill was 
 stricken with a spear and the head left in him ; his 
 horse was won, and divers Scotchmen were hurt 
 there. And so we come forwards, where we saw my 
 brother. Sir Christopher Dacre, with his host arrayed 
 at a place called the Belling, which was to us no 
 little comfort, and to him great gladness, seeing the 
 small power we were of at that time. 
 
 My said brother came in at Cressopbridge and 
 there entered the Middle Marches, and so came 
 through Liddesdale, fourteen miles within the 
 ground of Scotland, and there he put forth two 
 forays. Sir John Ratcliff, with five hundred men in 
 one, burnt the town of Dyker, with a tower in the 
 same ; they laid corn and straw to the door and 
 burnt it both roof and floor, and so smoked them out. 
 Also the said Sir John and his company burnt the 
 towns of Sowdon and Lurchestrother, with a tower, 
 and destroyed all the corn about them, and took 
 divers prisoners with much insight and goods. 
 Nicholas Harrington, Nicholas Ridley, Thomas 
 Medilton, and George Skelton, with others to the 
 number of five hundred in the other foray, burnt 
 the town of Hyndhalghehede, and a tower in the same, 
 floor and roof; and in likewise the towns of West 
 Sawside and East Sawside. And my said brother. 
 Sir Christopher, with two thousand horsemen, and 
 four hundred footmen, with bows, for safeguard of 
 the host in straits, came in a snare to Dykerawe; 
 and there the said forays relieved to him, and so 
 came forward and met me. We had not ridden 
 above the space of a mile when we saw the Lord 
 Chamberlain appear in our sight with two thousand 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 233 
 
 men, and four standards ; the other three standards 
 resorted to him, and so the country drew fast to 
 them. We put us in array to come homewards, and 
 rode no faster than our sheep and swine that we had 
 won would drive, which were of no great substance, 
 for the country was warned of our coming, and the 
 beacons burnt from midnight forward. And when 
 the Scots had given us over we returned home and 
 came in at the Redeswyre. I came to Harbottel at 
 midnight : my brother, Sir Christopher, lay that 
 night at the tower of Otterbourne, and upon the 
 morn to Hexham, and his folks in other towns upon 
 the water of Tyne, and, on the third day at home, as 
 many as might get. 
 
 Sir, I see not the gentlemen of the country in a 
 readiness for defence of your borders, for certain of 
 them to whom I had given warning, as my Lord 
 Ogle, which promised to come to me, the constable 
 of Alnwick, and others, trusting they would have 
 been glad to do your Grace service accordingly as 
 they have done to your Wardens in time of war, came 
 not to me at the place appointed, whereby I was 
 not accompanied as I thought to have been. I 
 was counselled and advised by my guides to have 
 adjourned my purpose, and so would have done, but 
 only that I had appointed with my brother, Sir 
 Christopher, to meet him in Scotland, for he departed 
 from me to the West Marches to bring my folks from 
 thence whom I might not disappoint, and I had no 
 space to give him warning ; it was thirty miles from 
 me and more ; and else I had not kept my purpose, 
 which now is performed, thanked be Jesu, and all your 
 subjects in safety but a servant of mine, which was 
 killed there, and two Scots were slain and many 
 others hurt the same time. 
 
 Please it your Grace, as for the Raid to be made 
 upon your West March I cannot see how it can be done 
 conveniently unto the next light,^ for two considera- 
 
 1 The full of the moon was the favourite time for Border forays. 
 
234 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIH 
 
 tions ; one is because I dare not be absent from this 
 Middle March during this light, for fear, the Scots 
 should destroy and burn the country in my absence, 
 which I regard greatly; and one other is that my 
 servants' horses, which came to this Raid, were sore 
 laboured, for they rode twenty-eight hours without any 
 abate. And in the next light I shall, God willing, 
 perform the said Raid ; and in the meantime shall 
 cause small Raids be made, which shall be as great 
 annoyance to the Scots as a great Raid should be, and 
 thus shall your money be employed to the best I can, 
 and for the greatest hurt and destruction of the Scots ; 
 for I shall be as good a husband thereof as I would 
 be of mine own, and always I shall be ready to give 
 account of the same at your pleasure. . . . 
 
 For "the victory of Flodden, Henry, in the following 
 February, raised the Earl of Surrey to the rank and title of 
 Duke of Norfolk. Lord Thomas Howard was at the same time 
 made Earl of Surrey in his own right. The King also sent 
 letters of thanks to various other men who had distinguished 
 themselves on the same occasion, of which the following may 
 be given as an example. Sir Richard Cholmondeley was 
 shortly afterwards rewarded with the Lieutenancy of the 
 Tower of London : 
 
 HENRY VIII. TO SIR RICHARD CHOLMONDELEY. 
 [Grove's " Life and Times of Wolsey."} 
 
 [Windsor, November 27, 1513.] 
 
 Trusty and well-beloved, we greet you well, and 
 understand, as well by the report of our right trusty 
 cousin and councillor, the Earl of Surrey, and others, 
 what acceptable service you, among others, lately 
 did unto us, by your valiant towardness in assisting 
 of our said cousin against our great enemy, the late 
 King of Scots ; and how courageously you, as a very 
 hearty loving subject, acquitted yourself for the over- 
 throw of the said late King, and distressed his maUce 
 and power, to our great honour and the advancing of 
 your no little fame and praise ; for which we h^e 
 
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND 235 
 
 good cause to favour and thank you, and so we full 
 heartily do ; and assured may you be, that we shall 
 in such effectual wise remember your said service, in 
 any your reasonable pursuits, as you shall have cause 
 to think the same right well employed, to your 
 comfort and weal hereafter. 
 
 The only cloud over England at this time was an outbreak 
 of plague, which raged most fiercely in London, when the 
 deaths in November averaged between 300 and 400 a day,^ 
 Otherwise the year closed in England amid rejoicings over 
 the conquests which had wiped out the disgrace of the earlier 
 expeditions, and in preparations for the larger scheme of 
 operations planned for the ensuing spring. If Henry had 
 played into the hands of wily and unscrupulous allies, whom 
 he had helped repeatedly with men and money, and who 
 were even now plotting to leave him again in . the lurch, his 
 plunge into Continental warfare had not been altogether 
 valueless either to England or himself. " Love for the 
 King," wrote an effusive foreigner in London in the autumn 
 of this year, " is universal with all who see him, for his 
 Highness does not seem a person of this world, but one 
 descended from Heaven." ^ The diplomatic correspondence 
 of the period, too, with its changing tone when England's 
 power and influence were discussed, shows how rapidly 
 both had increased during these few eventful months. 
 
 ' Venetian Calendax, Vol. II., p, 151. 
 ^ Ibid., p. 144. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT (1514) 
 
 Ferdinand's Fears of England's Growing Power — Quintana's 
 Treacherous Mission — Margaret Tries to Preserve Maximilian's 
 Loyalty — Henry Deserted by his Allies-^His Rage — Refuses 
 Loan to Maximilian — Emperor's Old Ofier of Imperial Crown — 
 Leo X. Sends Henry Sword and Cap of Maintenance — Investi- 
 ture at St. Paul's — Henry Repays his Betrayers in their own 
 Coin — Burning of Brighton — Proposed Marriage between 
 Louis XII. and Princess Mary — Henry's fresh Hopes of an 
 Heir — State of Ireland — Scotland — Henry's new Ship — His 
 Horses — Sends Present in Return to Marquis of Mantua — 
 Henry's Negotiations with the Duke of Longueville— Mary 
 Betrothed to Louis of France — She Writes to Him — ^Their 
 Marriage by Proxy — Ferdinand Blames MaximiUan — Maxi- 
 milian and Margaret Blame Henry — Henry's Retort — ^Margaret's 
 " Secret Matters " — The French King's Longing — Assassination 
 of Cardinal Bainbridge^ — Bishop of Worcester Accused and 
 Pronounced Innocent — ^Wolsey Succeeds as Archbishop of 
 York — Henry's Tribute to his Merits — Wolsey Aims at the 
 Cardinalate. 
 
 Ferdinand had watched the brilliant successes of his 
 son-in-law with mingled feelings, j^j^ich there was little 
 satisfaction. He began to be "MpLTl^e over-growing 
 power of England " ^ — to quote tl^F^^^fei Peter Martyr, 
 who was living at the Spanish_Qpi^' Ferdinand felt the 
 handicap of increasing age, too,^and buffered from asthma. 
 Three things, wrote Peter Martyr, kept him from perfect 
 recovery, "while fortune was smiling upon England and 
 scoVling upon France . . . old age, for he is now sixty- 
 two ; a wife that never leaves him, and hunting and living 
 in the woods." ^ When Ferdinand realized the full force of 
 England's victories, he decided that the best thing to do was 
 to repeat his old device of leaving his son-in-law to fight his 
 battles alone. This time, however, he meant to complete 
 his discomfiture by persuading Maximilian also to desert 
 
 » Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., p. 763. 
 2 Ibid., p. 689. 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 237 
 
 him. Although on December 6 he wrote to Henry saying 
 that he had signed the treaty drawn up at Lille for the 
 continuation of the war in the following spring, he had 
 probably already entered into preliminary negotiations with 
 Louis XII., as well as with the Emperor. On January 22 
 he wrote to his secretary and ambassador, Don Pedro de 
 Quintana, to whom he had entrusted this treacherous 
 mission, that although the Emperor might refuse to enter 
 the league openly, he would, perhaps, secretly become a 
 member of it: 
 
 At all events, the treaty is to be concluded in such 
 a way that the Emperor may afterwards accede to it. 
 The King of France believes that he has concluded a 
 treaty with the Emperor and the King of England, 
 the subject of which is an intended invasion of 
 France. Assures him that such is not the case. 
 Would, on no conditions, sign such a treaty, as he 
 highly esteems the King of France, and wishes to be 
 at peace with him, and to live like a brother of his 
 for the rest of his days. . . .^ 
 
 Maximilian, unstable as ever, was ready to betray his 
 young ally if Ferdinand would make it worth his while to 
 do so, his daughter Margaret trying in vain to persuade him 
 to play the more honourable part. On February 20, 1514, 
 she told Thomas Spinelly — who promptly transmitted the 
 information to Henry VIII. — that she would oppose her 
 father's intentions as unreasonable, and contrary to the 
 treaty made with England, and that if he persisted, she 
 would break with him, " If the Emperor and England 
 continue united, she thinks that Arragon will not dare 
 abandon them."* Four days later she expressed herself 
 clearly on the subject to Maximilian himself: 
 
 MARGARET TO MAXIMILIAN. 
 [" Letires-de Maximilien et de Marguerite," Vol. II., p. 225.] 
 
 [February 24, 1514.] 
 
 Monseigneur, ... I entreat you to pardon me if, 
 so that no time may be lost, I venture to give^you 
 
 ■ Spanish Calendar, Vol. II., p. 201. 
 » Calendar, Henry VIII.. Vol. I., p. 747. 
 
238 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 my opinion. Two dispatches have arrived here from 
 Spain, addressed to the Ambassador, who is here, 
 and, as I understand, they are for certain propositions 
 which Quintana has for you : to wit, that the King of 
 France offers the CathoHc King a marriage between 
 his daughter, Mme. Renee, and the Infante, Don 
 Fernando,-' abandoning his claim to Naples, the 
 Castle of Gennes, and the Duchy of Milan; and 
 likewise . he offers, for a security, to deliver his 
 daughter into his hands, saying many good and fair 
 words ; which I think is what I have already heard 
 from the said Quintana. You will like to know that 
 neither to Monsieur, my nephew, nor to this country, 
 is this news ; nor, indeed, to the King of England, 
 from what I have been able to gather from the said 
 Ambassador, who has spoken of it to me plainly and 
 at length. It appears to me that he was charged to 
 entreat me that I would hold my hand in this affair, 
 as you had already given a very good answer to the 
 said Quintana on his mission, and that I should not 
 turn you away from your good purpose. 
 
 Monseigneur, what I think in regard to this, is that 
 the Catholic King speaks very well for himself; and 
 it appears to me that he could not make a cheaper 
 bargain at the moment than this truce, seeing that 
 he only asks to keep what he has won, but, Mon- 
 seigneur, you and we, on this side, would be left at 
 the mercy of fortune. For if the King of England 
 sees that you may forsake him, he will turn your 
 desertion so much to his profit that we should not 
 know what to do, but I am sure this will not be if 
 you do not break your promise to him. 
 
 For God's sake, Monseigneur, do not deceive your- 
 self, but remember how during the past year you 
 consented thoughtlessly to make the truce with the 
 Catholic King which has since been so injurious to 
 you and your friends, as you have complained to me 
 many times. Wherefore, Monseigneur, do not give 
 
 • Younger brother of Prince Charles of Castile. 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 239 
 
 way too soon in this affair of Quintana's, but first be 
 well advised and counselled, so that you may under- 
 stand how it will all fall out. 
 
 Monseigneur, between the Catholic King and 
 France, there are great mountains, and between 
 France and England there is the sea ; but between 
 our lands and France there is no separation, and 
 you know the great and inveterate enmity which the 
 French bear to this House. 
 
 On the other hand, it is to be feared that these fine 
 offers from France were only put forward in order to 
 escape the tempest which would fall upon them if 
 every one were as disposed to do his duty as the King 
 of England, who has made incredible preparations for 
 war ; and, when matters have cooled down we, in 
 this country, may have to bear all the burden, which 
 is much to be feared, because our people are not 
 inclined for war, and are ill-provided with the 
 necessary things. 
 
 Monseigneur, I believe that the King of Arragon 
 desires to remain at peace, as he has all that he asks 
 for and he is already old and infirm ; but that would 
 not suit Monsieur and his dominions, so perhaps he 
 [the king of Arragon] will never have that happiness. 
 You know that the Catholic King is the Prince 
 of Christendom after yourself and Monsieur, my 
 nephew; and no one but God and yourself know 
 the pains I have taken to bring you together, as 
 two true fathers of an only son ought to be for the 
 welfare of their common children ; but, Monseigneur, 
 where I think that your honour and fortune, and that 
 of this House, are touched, there is no prince in the 
 world who shall make me speak or advise you aught 
 else but what I know will be for your honour and 
 advantage. Why, then, Monseigneur, did you give a 
 more favourable answer to Quintana than you told 
 me in your letters ? I do not know what to say, 
 except that I cannot believe it. But if, in considering 
 your honour and profit, you have acted in the ^irit 
 of the friendship and promises which you have made 
 
240 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 and executed with this young King [Henry], you may 
 rest assured, Monseigneur, unless you give him cause 
 to the contrary, that he will help you both with his 
 person and his money, without deceit; for I assure 
 you that there is no hypocrisy in him, and, therefore, 
 he should be treated in like manner, and the promises 
 made should not be broken. 
 
 I know that there are many men who desire nothing 
 better than to break this peace with England ; and, 
 knowing no other means, invent stories and evil talk 
 concerning my honour so that they may make a 
 quarrel between us ; but, Monseigneur, be assured 
 they are all lying tales, and that I would rather die 
 a thousand times, if it were possible, than think such 
 things. 
 
 Monseigneur, you can by your good sense and 
 prudence set all right, which I hope you will do. 
 The rest remains in the hands of God, that all may 
 be done according to His good pleasure. 
 
 Monseigneur, once again I am constrained to 
 implore you, if you desire to have my full opinion, 
 to be so good as to advertise me of your true 
 intention, for without that, Monseigneur, you betray 
 yourself and me as well. 
 
 Marguerite's defence of her honour is in connexion with 
 the stories which were still being circulated relating to her 
 behaviour towards Henry's boon companion, Charles Bran- 
 don, Viscount Lille, who had just been created Duke of 
 Suffolk. Their flirtation during the French campaign had 
 led to rumours that she intended to marry him, and also 
 that she was now acting more or less as an English agent. 
 To what lengths Ferdinand was prepared to go in this 
 new alliance with France may be judged by the following 
 extract from his instructions, sent about this time to 
 Quintana : 
 
 He is to tell the King of France that, without 
 adding any special clause to the treaty, the Emperor 
 and he (King Ferdinand) are bound to succour France 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 241 
 
 if the King of England attacks him ; for the obligation 
 to assist him in a defensive war is general. In case, 
 however, the King of France should not be satisfied 
 with this general obligation of his allies, a separate 
 treaty, written on another paper, might be signed, 
 according to which the Emperor and he (King Ferdi- 
 nand) would bind themselves to do all they can to 
 bring about an equitable and durable peace between 
 England and France and between England and 
 Scotland. If the King of England refuses to accept 
 such a peace, and attacks the King of France in his 
 realms, the Emperor, he (King Ferdinand), and the 
 Prince (Charles) are to succour the King of France 
 in the defence of his States.^ 
 
 Ferdinand, having pledged himself, with Maximilian, to 
 join forces with Henry in a combined attack on France, 
 thus calmly suggests not only that they should desert their 
 inexperienced ally, but also, should he embark upon the 
 very invasion to which they had all agreed, to assist the 
 King of France to beat him back. The Spanish Sovereign 
 deceived everybody — himself included — and succeeded in 
 persuading Maximilian to join the truce which he renewed 
 with France on March 13. For the Emperor, with charac- 
 teristic cunning, had not sought his daughter's advice until 
 it was too late to act upon it. On April 9 he informed her 
 that he had agreed with Ferdinand to the twelve months' 
 truce with Louis XIL The Spaniard had won his consent 
 by promises of help in his plundering designs against Venice, 
 with which he was still at war, and he had soothed his 
 conscience with the bare assurance from Quintana that 
 Henry would raise no objection. Marguerite expressed her 
 surprise at this betrayal in a letter which shows how well 
 she had been trained in her father's diplomacy : 
 
 MARGARET TO MAXIMILIAN. 
 [" Leitres de Maximilian et de Margtierite," Vol. II., p. 245.] 
 
 lApril, 1514.] 
 
 Mpnseigneur, , 
 
 I have received this evening letters of credence 
 
 ' Spanish Calendar, Vol. II., pp. 202-3. 
 Y.H. R 
 
242 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 from the Catholic King for his ambassador, who is 
 here, and who has shown me letters from the said 
 Lord King, his master, written at Madrid on the 
 gth of this month, saying that Quintana had, by your 
 warrant and command, and by agreement with the 
 King of England, made and concluded a truce for 
 one year between you, the said Catholic King, the 
 King of England, and Monseigneur on the one side, 
 and the King of France on the other. . . . Mon- 
 seigneur, this is very great news, and much opposed 
 to my judgment. I hardly know how the Lord 
 King of England will take it, considering the great 
 preparations he has made for war. However, I do 
 not wish to know more than you are pleased to tell 
 me. I believe that you have acted with the best 
 intentions, and that you understand these affairs 
 better than I do. Wherefore, Monseigneur, I desist 
 from saying what I have so often told you before, 
 except to assure you that, after yourself, there is no 
 one who will be more joyful when your affairs go 
 well, or displeased if they are contrary. 
 
 I recently gave you certain little warnings, accord- 
 ing to my judgment, concerning these matters, which 
 I am anxious should be taken in good part, for you 
 will have seen and understood from the said warnings 
 that I only did all with the best will, and I pray to 
 God, Monseigneur, that everything may go well, and 
 that He will grant you a long and happy life. 
 
 This is how the Emperor, who was not easy in his 
 wavering mind about making an enemy of so useful a friend 
 as Henry, was advised by Ferdinand to explain matters to 
 their deserted ally : 
 
 The Emperor can tell the King of England, in 
 secret, that he (King Ferdinand) has discovered a 
 conspiracy of the Italians to drive them (the Emperor 
 and King Ferdinand) out of Italy as soon as war 
 with France had begun. In order to prevent the 
 Italians from carrying out this plan, he can say, it 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 243 
 
 has seemed to him (King Ferdinand) and to the 
 Emperor necessary to make a truce with France. 
 The Emperor may further represent to the King of 
 England that it was incumbent on them first to save 
 their (the Emperor's and King Ferdinand's) own 
 States, especially as their losses would likewise be 
 a loss to the King of England and to his sister, the 
 Princess of Castile [Mary Tudor]. Begs, further, 
 the Emperor to remind the King of England that 
 he (King Ferdinand) and the Emperor had not 
 concluded any kind of treaty with France without 
 including in it all their'allies. The King of France 
 has even promised to use his influence in Scotland 
 in such a way that the government of that country 
 and the peace with England shall be settled to the 
 entire satisfaction of the King of England. He has 
 further bound himself to pay the King of England 
 the same pension which he paid him formerly. 
 Thinks it will not be difficult for the Emperor to 
 persuade the King of England to ratify the truce with 
 France if he offer to marry Prince Charles to his sister, 
 and promises to make him King of the Romans. The 
 consummation of the marriage of Prince Charles can 
 be postponed until his bodily strength is sufficient 
 to fulfil the duties of a husband. . . .^ 
 
 But Henry was not so ignorant of the stealthy progress 
 of these negotiations as Ferdinand and Maximilian fondly 
 imagined. He was attacked by measles — or small-pox, 
 English and Venetian authorities differing as to the exact 
 nature of the illness — at the beginning of the year, but soon 
 recovered, and sent word to Spinelly on February 23 that 
 he had heard through three channels of the secret practices 
 of his allies. He also informed him that he was " making 
 preparations for the performance of all promises touching the 
 continuance of the war, and the celebration of the marriage 
 at Calais, and hopes Margaret will do the same." This was the 
 long-arranged marriage between his sister and Prince Charlfes 
 
 ' Spanish Calendar, Vol. II., pp. 219-20. 
 
 R 2 
 
244 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 of Castile, which Ferdinand meant, if possible, to frustrate. 
 The Spaniard was fearful lest this troublesome grandson of 
 himself and Maximilian should fall into the hands of someone 
 who would prompt him to demand his maternal heritage of 
 Castile, and he had already had reason to distrust English 
 designs in that direction. Margaret was left to deal with 
 Henry's inquiries concerning the wedding as best she could, 
 but her continued excuses for the delay became at last 
 palpably insincere. When Henry realised the full extent of 
 all this double-dealing he was naturally enraged. Stile told 
 Peter Martyr at the beginning of March that " Henry was 
 very bitter against Ferdinand ; swore he was betrayed ; and 
 lamented such an opportunity had been lost for crippling 
 the pride of France. He says that Ferdinand had induced 
 him to enter on the war, and had urged the Pope to use his 
 influence for that purpose ; that he had been at great 
 expense ; assisted Maximilian ; had taken Tournay ; and 
 had reduced France to extremities ; and now, when his 
 enemy is at his feet, Ferdinand talks of peace. He will 
 never trust any more."^ As for Maximilian, he must no 
 longer expect Henry to be for ever dipping his hand into 
 his pocket to tide him over his financial straits, Henry 
 was probably not sorry to have an early opportunity of 
 bringing this unpleasant fact home to him through the 
 following letter, now translated from th^ " Lettres de 
 Louis XII." : 
 
 HENRY VIII. TO MARGARET OF SAVOY. 
 ["Lettres de Louis XII.," Vol. IV., p. 320.] 
 
 [Eltham, June 12, 1514.] 
 
 Very lofty and Excellent Princess, our very dear 
 and vi^ell-beloved Sister, Cousin, and Gossip, we 
 recommend ourselves very affectionately to you. 
 
 We have received your tw^o letters, w^ritten by your 
 own hand, in which you desire to remind us how^ we 
 agreed to Felinger, the servant of our greatly honoured 
 brother and cousin, the Emperor your father, in 
 pursuance of a letter which was presented to us from 
 him, to lend the Emperor the sum of 30,000 gold 
 
 ' Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., pp. 762-3. 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 245 
 
 crowns, and this on your bond and that of the 
 Treasurer ; saying also that until this time you have 
 not pressed us for the 30,000 crowns, but that as 
 you have received letters from the Emperor to the 
 effect that if you desired his coming into those parts, 
 you should send him the said 30,000 gold crowns, 
 you are in great need of it, as none of the States, 
 except Brabant, have yet granted any money, where- 
 fore it is not possible for you to find this money 
 promptly unless we are good enough to lend on your 
 bond and that of the said Treasurer; and that, in 
 accordance with our former willingness, we will use 
 extreme diligence to place this sum into his own 
 hands, as you hope that his coming into those parts 
 will not be delayed. 
 
 Very lofty and excellent Princess, our very dear 
 and well-beloved Sister, Cousin, and Gossip, we 
 assure you that it would have been very pleasing to 
 us to have fulfilled your wish in this matter if all was 
 in the same condition as it was when the said Lord 
 Emperor first requested the said sum ; but, after the 
 sudden departure of the said Emperor from us, we 
 supposed it would be known, owing to the alterations 
 and changes in the affairs between us, as well as 
 what has befallen since, that we were not greatly 
 inclined to advance the said sum. Save only by the 
 very great instance of our Council had we agreed 
 that certain sums should be paid into the hands of 
 the Treasurer in our City of Tourney, on a day to be 
 ordered and set aside for this purpose, out of the 
 money which was left in our said City for the main- 
 tenance of the garrisons which are stationed there 
 and on the adjoining frontiers. This was to be 
 repaid within a fixed time, also to be appointed. As the 
 loan was not asked for at that time it cannot be paid, 
 seeing that the money which was there has now been 
 spent, and much more also. Nevertheless, if you and 
 the said Emperor, your father, had observed your 
 agreements for the payments of such money as he 
 promised should be collected and raised in the 
 
246 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIH 
 
 country on that side to pay the expenses and charges 
 of the said garrison, there would have been more 
 remaining than there is now, and a little might have 
 been advanced on credit, but, as the promise has 
 not been observed, nor the said sum asked for or 
 requested within the fixed time, no blame or disgrace 
 can rightly be imputed to us that we did not advance 
 the 30,000 gold crowns at the said time, which 
 cannot now be had at the same place, unless we 
 wish to leave our said town and garrison unprovided. 
 This cannot be, as, with your good and great 
 prudence, you will readily understand. And although 
 we agreed, with the greatest difficulty, as has been 
 said, to give the said Emperor, your father, the said 
 sum, nevertheless, as he did not accept this when it 
 was offered to him, we are not to blame. 
 
 It may be remembered that when the Emperor 
 made a show of offering us the Imperial crown, and 
 other offices, and we gave him no reply because we 
 were ill, and wished to have the opinion of our 
 Council, and to consider so great and important 
 a matter, the said Emperor said that he was well 
 able to change his mind, telling our ambassador at 
 his Court that if he to whom a golden coffer is 
 offered cares not to accept it in due time, he might 
 lose what was inside ; that he who gives can revoke 
 and change his plan, and restrain his kindness and 
 liberality at his pleasure. Therefore, and in like 
 manner, as we, of our good will and hearty intention, 
 even if with some difficulty, showed ourselves pleased 
 to offer the loan of the said 30,000 golden crowns, 
 should they be needed, so we now, for several and 
 many great causes and changes which are taking 
 place, hold ourselves also to be as much at our 
 liberty touching the said loan as the said Lord 
 Emperor in his offer of the said coffer. Accordingly, 
 we beg you heartily, very lofty and excellent Princess, 
 our very dear and well beloved Sister, Cousin, and 
 Gossip, that, in consideration of the very great and 
 urgent matters we have in hand, and the expenses 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 247 
 
 to which we are put, you will take this our reply in 
 good part, which we hope and are confident you will 
 do, as knoweth our Lord. May He have you in His 
 holy and blessed keeping, very lofty and excellent 
 Princess, our very dear and well beloved Sister, 
 Cousin, and Gossip. 
 
 The offer of the Imperial crown by Maximilian referred 
 to in Henry's letter was renewed at a later date, when the 
 Emperor made the fantastic proposal to march with the 
 English King to Rome, invest him with the Empire, and 
 crown himself with the papal tiara ! ^ Meantime the existing 
 pope, Leo X., anxious to court the conquering hero of 
 England, had sent Henry the sword and consecrated cap 
 of maintenance : of which the King misunderstood the 
 emblematical character to the extent of causing himself to 
 be solemnly invested in them, and, notwithstanding their 
 size, to walk in procession in them round the entire circuit 
 of St. Paul's : 
 
 NICOLO DI FAVRI TO . 
 
 {Venetian Calendar, Vol. II.] 
 
 [London, June 15, 15 14.] 
 
 . . . On May ig the Pope's ambassador (sic), the 
 Florentine Prothonotary, Dom (Leonardo Spinelli), 
 arrived here with the sword and cap of maintenance. 
 He was met by sundry lords in most excellent array, 
 with some 400 horse. The streets were crowded with 
 spectators, eager to behold the ambassador, the 
 sword, and the hat. 
 
 These insignia were borne aloft before the Protho- 
 notary by one of his attendants, the cap being on the 
 point of the sword, which was held upright. The 
 weapon was long, with a gilded guard and scabbard, 
 
 1 This was not the only occasion on which Maximihan affected to 
 have designs on the Papacy. In 1512 he told his daughter that he 
 had sent the Bishop of Gurk to Rome with a view of becoming himself 
 coadjutor to the Pope, and succeeding to the Papacy. He then 
 makes the still more astonishing statement that she would ha^e to 
 worship him after his death, as he fuUy intended to be canonized I 
 (" Lettres de Maximilien et de Marguerite," Vol. II., p. 38.) 
 
248 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 and the cap seemed to be of purple satin, resembling 
 in shape the crown of the caps worn by the Albanian 
 light cavalry; it was a foot long, with a turned-up 
 brim covered with embroidery and pearls, with sundry 
 small pendant tails of ermine. 
 
 The King was in London in the Bishop's palace 
 adjoining St. Paul's Cathedral, the two buildings 
 being separated by a small square, through which, on 
 Sunday, May 2t, a grand procession moved. The 
 Venetian ambassador was invited, and on arriving at 
 the Bishop's palace, found the King there, and also 
 the nobility in their robes of state. Cordial greeting 
 was given to Badoer at the head of the stairs by 
 the lords, who were as familiar with him as if he 
 had been born an Englishman. When at length the 
 King came forth, Badoer presented a letter he had 
 just received from the State, but his Majesty said, 
 "Let us now go to the holy procession and mass, 
 after which we will dine and then confer together " ; 
 so the march commenced accordingly. The position 
 of the episcopal palace and the cathedral might be 
 likened to that of St. Mark's Tower and Church ; and 
 on this occasion, either for greater pomp, or to avoid 
 contact with the crowd by reason of the plague, his 
 Majesty went this distance on horseback, riding a 
 most beautiful palfrey, as black as velvet, the nobility 
 preceding him in pairs ; the ambassador Badoer, as 
 a mark of distinction, coming last of all immediately 
 in advance of the King, arm-in-arm with the Lord 
 High Admiral (Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey), 
 whose father the Lord Treasurer had recently been 
 made a duke. 
 
 On arriving at the portal of St. Paul's, the King 
 dismounted, and walked to the high altar, where the 
 papal envoy stood, with the sword and cap. 
 Advancing to meet his Majesty, he exhibited his 
 credentials, and then delivered a brief oration in 
 praise of him, which being ended, the King made a 
 sign to a priest, a doctor [Dr. Tunstall], to reply, as 
 he did most excellently on the sudden, returning 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 249 
 
 thanks to the Pope. The King next knelt at the 
 high altar, and two noblemen girded him with the 
 sword ; and on his head they placed the cap, which 
 by reason of its length covered his whole face ; both 
 sword and cap being emblematical, for it was not 
 intended that he should wear either one or the other. 
 
 The procession then commenced making the entire 
 circuit of the interior of the church. It was a fine 
 sight to see the King, and the handsome nobility of 
 England in most pompous array with their silk gowns 
 of various sorts, lined with sables and lynx's fur, and 
 egret's down. This last lining was very expensive in 
 England. Some of the nobles wore gowns of another 
 sort, the material resembling silk, of two colours in 
 chequers ; other gowns slashed in their own fashion. 
 All bore such massive gold chains that some might 
 have served for fetters on a felon's ankles, and 
 sufficed for his safe custody, so heavy were they, and 
 of such immense value. 
 
 The King wore a gown of purple satin and gold in 
 chequers, with gold flowers, and sleeves and a cape, 
 and a jewelled collar worth a well full of gold, his cap 
 being of purple velvet with two jewelled rosettes, and 
 his doublet of gold brocade. After the procession 
 high mass commenced, and was performed with great 
 pomp and with vocal and instrumental music, which 
 lasted till i p.m., when the King quitted the church, 
 accompanied by all the nobility and by the Venetian 
 ambassador, returning to the palace in pairs as they 
 came. The whole neighbourhood was crowded with 
 spectators, estimated at 30,000, all anxious to see the 
 King, the sword, and the cap. 
 
 On his Majesty's return to the episcopal palace 
 Badoer was again told to dine with the King ; so he 
 remained and met with the same cordial welcome as 
 of yore, and such as was always given him personally. 
 The Spanish ambassador had also been invited to 
 dinner in like manner, and Badoer heard one of Jhe 
 grandees say to him, " Ambassador ! dine with us 
 here for good fellowship ; " but he declined, and some 
 
250 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 other nobleman said, " Ambassador ! dine with us ; it 
 is late." All proved vain, and he departed, out of 
 shame, it was said, for the peace made by the King 
 with France. Spain has erred in deceiving so 
 powerful a monarch as King Henry, who was his 
 Catholic Majesty's good son, but the blame should 
 rest, not with the ambassadors, but with their 
 masters. . . . 
 
 There was no mistake in Henry's mind as to the men who 
 were most to blame in this matter. All this time, with 
 Wolsey's subtle help, he was quietly plotting with Louis to 
 repay his two arch-betrayers in coinage of their own base 
 mintage. Exactly when secret negotiations between England 
 and France were opened up is not clear, but there is little 
 doubt that private pourparlers were in progress while Henry 
 was still ostensibly pressing forward his preparations for war, 
 if need be, single-handed ; when " in England," as the 
 Venetian, Pasqualigo, wrote to his brother from London on 
 April 26, " nothing was talked about but arms and this 
 invasion, in which the English take part so willingly that it 
 is incredible."^ Preliminary negotiations were arranged 
 between the French and Englis'h monarchs by means of 
 Louis' captured favourite, the Duke of Longueville, who, 
 sent to London as we have already seen, as Henry's most 
 distinguished prisoner of war, was released from the Tower 
 to enjoy his liberty at Court as he pleased, and employed his 
 leisure to far-reaching effect. In spite of these negotiations, 
 the naval war continued intermittently throughout the 
 winter, without, however, leading to any general action. 
 Pr6gent raided the English coast in March and succeeded in 
 burning Brighthelmstone — as Brighton was then called — on 
 which Sir John Wallop sailed for the coast of Normandy, 
 and destroyed about a score of equally defenceless villages 
 and towns. In June, however, Henry VIII. sent word that 
 all the ca,ptains were to "lie still" and make "no attempt 
 nor excursion out of the pale " of Calais. 
 
 Louis was more anxious to square matters with England 
 than with either of England's treacherous allies, and 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, Vol. II., p. 166. 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 251 
 
 encouraged by his success with these, now played his trump 
 card through the Duke of Longueville by offering to marry 
 Mary Tudor himself. His queen, Anne of Brittany, had died 
 in January, and worn out though he was, for he was old and 
 decrepit for his fifty-two years, he placed himself at once in 
 the matrimonial market again. Mary was only eighteen, 
 and, according to all accounts, the most beautiful princess in 
 Europe. Her heart had been lost to the dashing Charles 
 Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and though naturally reluctant to 
 sell herself to a man old enough, in those days of early royal 
 marriages, to be her grandfather, there was probably not a 
 great deal to choose between Louis XII. and the morose 
 young Prince of Castile. Charles, though he had addressed 
 her in his letter as votre man, and sent her his portrait, which 
 she pretended to sigh over, was still only fourteen, and so 
 sickly and feeble that Maximilian and Ferdinand were never 
 without an excuse for postponing the marriage. The situa- 
 tion — so far, at least, as it could be seen by one of the 
 Emperor and Margaret's ambassadors — is vividly sketched in 
 the following letter. Gerard de Pleine was ignorant of the 
 exact meaning of the coming and going of French ambassa- 
 dors at this time, though obviously his suspicions were 
 aroused : 
 
 GERARD DE PLEINE TO MARGARET OF SAVOY. 
 [" Lettres de Louis XII.," Vol. IV., p. 335.] 
 
 [London, June 30, 1514.] 
 
 Madame, 
 
 I recommend myself very humbly to your good 
 Grace. When I received your letters of the i8th of 
 this month regarding the illness of Monseigneur, of 
 which it is hoped he w^ill shortly be convalescent, I 
 went to the King, in the absence of Lord John Colla, 
 who is ill of a catarrh. 
 
 When I told him that I had heard froiti you of the 
 illness of the said Lord, he told me his Ambassadors 
 had written to him that the fevers from which 
 Monseigneur had been suffering were decreasing, and 
 that he would soon be quite well. 
 
 I spoke to him again of the General of Normandy, 
 
252 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 but I could learn no more than I knew before. He 
 began to talk, however, of the treaties which had 
 been made by the King of Arragon and the Emperor, 
 and complained greatly of the way in which he had 
 been treated by them, saying especially that the 
 Emperor had refused him the help of his subjects, for 
 which he has paid and is still paying. 
 
 In regard to these things, I told him that the 
 Emperor, for urgent and necessary reasons, had been 
 compelled to listen to the truce, and even to agree to 
 it, although we believe he had deferred his consent 
 until he should know the King's resolution, and that 
 he had always had such confidence in him that what- 
 ever had been done would have been agreeable to 
 him, even had it been a greater matter ; and as to 
 the men of war, it was a fact that the Emperor had 
 only delayed giving his reply until he knew whether 
 the King would accept the truce or not, for if he will 
 accept it, he has only to give his letters of consent. 
 
 Besides which I showed the King that the union 
 and friendship between the Emperor and the Catholic 
 King, Monseigneur, and himself, could not but be for 
 the advantage of all, and that to break it would do 
 great dishonour and injury to every one. And 
 although the Emperor and the Catholic King had not 
 advised King Henry in due time of the truce, it was 
 better to make one mistake than two, and since he 
 could not, without them, make a joint peace, it 
 would be more profitable for him to treat with them 
 than alone. 
 
 Madame, he answered me shortly, and said that in 
 all things which did not concern his honour he was 
 ready to obey the Emperor as a father, but that in 
 making the truce without him, when he had been at 
 such great expense, and was not without power, 
 courage, and wisdom, they had dishonoured him 
 before his friends, enemies, and even his own subjects. 
 
 As to the help which was to be given by the 
 subjects of the Emperor and Monseigneur, he knew 
 more than I did, because his Ambassador, who is 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 253 
 
 with the Emperor, had written that the Emperor had 
 told him he could do it, but as to making or not 
 making the truce he had answered nothing, save that, 
 in conversation, he had said many times that he was 
 desirous of doing all that he honourably could for his 
 own profit and that of his Kingdom. 
 
 He then began to talk about Monseigneur's 
 marriage, and told me of the great preparations he 
 had made at Calais, and that all Christendom was 
 full of the solemnization, which should have taken 
 place there in the month of May. This had not been 
 done, and every one was saying — at Rome, in 
 France, in Monseigneur's countries, in this Kingdom, 
 and elsewhere, that it appeared that it was only 
 being delayed in order that it might be broken off, 
 and that he knew well how he was treated in 
 every thing. 
 
 On this I told him that he ought not to take things 
 in that way, because the Emperor, Monseigneur, and 
 you desired nothing so much as that the marriage 
 should take effect, and by the letters I brought I 
 made him aware that the Emperor had no desire for 
 delay. As for the preparations at Calais, I told him 
 that you both had wished to go there, but that it had 
 been found necessary to change the plans and choose 
 another place, because of the plague, which prevails 
 there, in the month of May or earHer. Finally, I 
 entreated him to be willing to interpret all in the best 
 spirit, and that he would have regard for the friend- 
 ship of the Emperor and Monseigneur, for if he would 
 be pleased to consider, he would see that with the 
 help of this said friendship none could hurt them, 
 and that they would be able to do great things here- 
 after. Among other things he spoke to me of the 
 arrangement made at Lille, which he said he knew 
 had been fruitless, and that those who were named 
 in it, and the Count Palatine also, have as much 
 credit as if they were at Rome. I excused all these 
 matters as well as I could, but he only believes wfiat 
 he pleases. 
 
254 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Madame, I did not wish to write anything to you 
 about Madame the Princess [Mary], until I had seen 
 her several times. I can assure you that she is one of 
 the most beautiful girls that one would wish to see ; 
 it does not seem to me that I have ever seen one so 
 beautiful. She has a good manner, and her deport- 
 ment is perfect in conversation, dancing or anything 
 else. She has no melancholy, but is very lively. 
 I am sure that if you could see her you would never 
 rest until you had her with you. She has been well 
 brought up, and it is certain that Monseigneur has 
 been spoken of favourably to her, for by her words 
 and her manner, as well as by what I have heard 
 from those about her, it seems to me that she loves 
 Monseigneur marvellously. She has a picture, which 
 is a very bad likeness, of him, and there is not a day 
 passes in which she does not wish to see him ten 
 times over, so I have been told ; and it appears that 
 if one wishes to please her, one has only to talk of 
 Monseigneur. 
 
 I might add that she has a good figure, is well 
 grown, and of medium height, and is a better match 
 in age and person for Monseigneur than I had heard 
 before seeing her, and better than any other Princess 
 whom I know in Christendom. She seems quite 
 young, and does not show that in two years she will 
 be far enough advanced for Likerke and Fontaine.' 
 
 My lord of Lincoln [Wolsey] asked me why we 
 had broken off the marriage, in regard to which he 
 said that Monseigneur, having arrived at the age of 
 fourteen, should have sent, within six weeks, his 
 procurator to England to marry by proxy, which 
 has not been done, and three months have passed. 
 I said that this was neither your fault nor that of 
 Monseigneur, but on account of the making of these 
 truces, and the distance of the Emperor, no one 
 knowing how to manage these matters in time. 
 I maintained in every way that I was assured, and 
 believed firmly, that although no one had been sent 
 ^ Maid of honour to Margaret. 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 255 
 
 within the time mentioned in the first treaty, it was 
 not through any ill intention, and that every one 
 knew how much you all desired the accomplishment 
 of the marriage. 
 
 Another great personage asked me if the King of 
 France had had the small-pox. Some, I am told, 
 say that the alliance with Monseigneur will be a 
 great burden for this Kingdom, and that they may 
 be often required to assist and help him in his great 
 undertakings. However, it seems to me that those 
 who have the greatest influence are well inclined to 
 the said marriage. 
 
 Madame, I consider that in this affair the Emperor 
 and Monseigneur must give effect to this marriage, 
 and that if they do otherwise, they will act against 
 their honour and promises. 
 
 The Princess is so well qualified that I have only 
 to say again that alike in goodness, beauty, and age 
 there is not the like in Christendom. Monseigneur is 
 and will be the heir of many great kingdoms and 
 seigneuries, in the succession to which this alliance 
 will be of great help to him, and there is nothing that 
 he could do that would so assure his well-being. . . . 
 
 I am of opinion that what has been left undone 
 by the Emperor, you and Monseigneur can do all 
 that is possible by sending a great personage with 
 Monseigneur's procuration to marry Madame by 
 proxy, and to send also the concluded treaty. Instead 
 of Escluse or Tenremonde some place nearer Antwerp 
 or Malines should be chosen for the solemnization of 
 the marriage, according to the Emperor's pleasure. 
 This should be done instantly, so as to hasten the 
 post to the Emperor, to whom also I have written. 
 
 It is said here that the Queen is with child, and as 
 far as I know and can see, it is so. She is a lady of 
 a lively, kind, and gracious disposition, and of quite 
 a different complexion and manner from the Queen 
 her sister (Joan of Castile). The painter has made 
 quite a good likeness of Madame Mary. Madame, I 
 pray our Lord that he will accomplish all your desires. 
 
256 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Your very humble and very obedient subject and 
 servant, Gerard de Pleine. 
 
 Catherine's condition raised new hope in the heart of 
 both the King and his Consort, for the birth of an heir was 
 the one thing needed at this time to remove the only known 
 cloud over their domestic peace. Five years had passed 
 since their hurried marriage, and no child of theirs had lived. 
 This new hope apart, there is little of domestic history to 
 record of this period. The State Papers are so full of foreign 
 complications that it is no easy task to hew a path through 
 them without occasionally losing our way and missing here 
 and there an essential landmark. The bent of Wolsey's 
 genius was from the first political, and Henry's eagerness for 
 international influence caused it to lean to foreign rather 
 than to domestic politics. 
 
 Ireland plays an insignificant part in the correspondence 
 of the period, though the " Wild Irish " were ever a thorn 
 in the side of the more civilized English settlers. Sir Edward 
 Poynings, who went as deputy when Henry, in his child- 
 hood, was appointed governor of the island by Henry VII., 
 assembled a Parliament in 1494, the Parliament of Drogheda, 
 which created laws that restricted Irish independence and 
 guided the constitutional relations between the sister kingdoms 
 for nearly three hundred years. When Henry came to the 
 throne the Irishmen had reverted to the old system of 
 government in clans, leading for the most part a wandering, 
 reckless life, and making the country as uncomfortable as 
 they could for the English. There are only two letters in 
 this year of 15 14 in the " Calendar of State Papers relating 
 to Ireland," both of them written by John Kite, Archbishop 
 of Armagh, to Wolsey. He warns Wolsey of the perilous 
 state of the English pale, but states that he has assured the 
 people that the King will come ere long to reform the State. 
 " The King," he adds shortly, " is as much bound to reform 
 this land as to maintain good order and justice in England." 
 
 The situation in Scotland is roughly put in the following 
 extract from Nicolo di Favri's letter of June 15 of this year. 
 
 Alexander Stuart, Duke of Albany, having been 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 257 
 
 expelled Scotland by his brother James III., with- 
 drew to France, where he died, leaving a son, (John 
 Stuart, Duke of Albany,) who was then endeavouring, 
 under favour of Louis XIL, to recover his duchy in 
 Scotland. . . . According to report, the Queen widow 
 of Scotland had sent to her brother King Henry, 
 telling him that blood would never turn to water ; 
 that she had a son, the rightful heir of the Scottish 
 crown, who was crowned king on the death of his 
 father, King Henry's brother-in-law ; and in case the 
 Duke of Albany should come to Scotland under 
 French protection, she demanded succour from her 
 brother, who was expected to grant it, as the supremacy 
 of the French in Scotland would be contrary to his 
 interests ; the two kingdoms being envious of each 
 other, and thus compelled to remain constantly armed ; 
 though the Scots are invariably defeated, because the 
 English are brave men and experienced soldiers.^ 
 
 In the same letter Nicolo di Favri describes the blessing 
 of Henry's new great ship on the Thames on June 13, when 
 " many masses were said on board, including high mass as 
 sung for the benediction. . . . The ship was very large, with 
 iive decks and seven (fortiiied) tops; the bronze and iron 
 cannon on board, including great and small, exceeding 200 
 in number." The Emperor's ambassadors, in describing the 
 same event, add that in addition to the King there were 
 present the Queen, Princess Mary, the Pope's ambassadors 
 and many nobles. The King conducted them through the 
 ship, " which has no equal in bulk, and has an incredible 
 array of guns." In this letter the ship is credited with 
 "seven tiers, one above another."* Earlier in the year we 
 obtain a glimpse of the King and Queen at Hampton Court, 
 in a letter from Giovanni Ratto, who was in the service of 
 the Marquis of Mantua. Ratto had been sent with a gift of 
 most valuable horses to Henry, including a famous racehorse, 
 " the bright bay," for which, it seems, the Marquis had been 
 offered its weight in silver. He preferred to make a preset^: of 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, Vol. II., p. 179, 
 '•Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., p. 828. 
 
 V.H. S 
 
26o THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 most circumspect and careful, and very well versed 
 not only in horsemanship, but also in courteous 
 behaviour, with which I have been marvellously 
 pleased ; and we have read, to our very great delight, 
 what you write touching your ardent affection towards 
 ourself, and we have heard most gladly what the 
 same gentleman, your messenger, has reported to us 
 with so much discreetness in your name. And so 
 many kind offices of yours towards ourself have at 
 once presented themselves to us, that it is not very 
 easy to determine for which we should first return 
 thanks. But, foremost, we thank you most heartily 
 for that your supreme good will towards ourself, 
 which we cannot mistake; and for your exceeding 
 desire of /ieserving well at our hands, as well as 
 for those most beautiful, high-bred, and surpassing 
 steeds just sent to us. These we hold highly 
 welcome and acceptable, as well because they are 
 most excellent, as that they have been sent from the 
 very best feeling, and intention. Moreover, most 
 grateful to us has proved that enlarged bounty 
 which you have exercised towards the aforesaid our 
 intimate friend. And, although we have long ago 
 honoured you, in no small degree, for your well- 
 proved nobleness of mind, your skill in war, and 
 virtues ; now, however, when we discern your 
 excellency to be so singularly well affected towards 
 us, we receive and number your excellency with your 
 most noble children among our dearest friends, and 
 we hold all belonging to you in the very highest 
 esteem. And we entreat that you, in whatever- 
 matter (however great it may be) you suppose it to 
 be possible for us to be serviceable to your own 
 dignity and interest, and that of any of yours, you 
 will signify it confidently to us, and we will do our 
 endeavour, that you may be convinced of our 
 reciprocal good will towards you. And farewell, 
 with prosperity and happiness! Henry. 
 
 In the following month Henry sent a handsome gift in 
 return. " Your very noble present," he wrote in forwarding 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 261 
 
 it, " and further, the demonstration of your singular affection 
 towards us, shall never perish from our memory. That we 
 may testify this by some trifling token, we now send by our 
 intimate friend and knight Griffith, a gentleman eminently 
 beloved by us, bearer of this letter, some horses, saddled 
 and harnessed in their full trappings, partly for your 
 excellency, partly for your most illustrious consort. And 
 we beg you, as well her, to bear in mind that we design the 
 said horses not to remunerate you for your present and 
 other favours, but by way of return for the goodwill of you 
 both towards ourselves ; be pleased to accept them kindly, 
 and to use us, and all ours, as a friend." ^ 
 
 Apa,rt fiom amusing himself with his new horses, and 
 proudly showing his great ship to the foreign ambassadors,, 
 Henry had not been idle in the more secret matter of the 
 French alliance. He communicated the result of his pre- 
 liminary negotiations with the captured Duke of Longueville 
 in the following letter to Wolsey, now Bishop of Lincoln, 
 as well as Bishop of Tournay, for the King had secured this 
 latter post for his indispensable minister during the French 
 campaign, though Wolsey never actually obtained possession : 
 
 HENRY VIII. TO THOMAS WOLSEY. 
 [Fiddes' " Collection," and Gait's " Life of Wolsey."] 
 
 [1514-] 
 
 My Lord of Lincoln, 
 
 I commend me unto you, and let you knov\^ that I 
 have spoken v^^ith the Duke, who in the beginning 
 •wa.s as ill afraid as ever he was in his life lest no 
 good effect should come to pass. Nevertheless, in 
 ftarther communing, we went more roundly to our 
 matters, insomuch that I said to him : " Seeing that 
 the King, your master, hath sought so gently unto 
 us, both amity and marriage, I assure you (our 
 honour saved) we could be well content to give 
 hearkening thereto ; and if the offers were reasonable, 
 agree upon those same. But this is not reasonable, 
 except the amity should no longer continue than the 
 payment of the money ; nor yet so, except there were 
 
 1 Halliwell-Phillipps : " Letters of the Kings of England." 
 
262 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 a reasonable sum of money to be paid in hand by 
 and by. If your master will have the marriage I 
 cannot see how it can be conveniently, except the 
 amity be made during our lives, and one year after, 
 to the intent that all suspicion on both sides may be 
 set apart. Which marriage and amity your master 
 may have under this manner ; that is to say, paying 
 yearly one hundred thousand crowns ; and at his 
 request I not to stick for ready money in hand, but I 
 to stand content therewith, for recompense of all 
 things. Which, if your master consider what 
 heritance he holdeth from me, and what good my 
 amity may do to help forth his matter in Italy, I 
 think he will not greatly stick at." 
 
 This furthermore I said to the Duke : " Surely I 
 cannot see how the amity made for years can any 
 longer endure than the payment, which expired 
 would be occasion of new breach and demands, 
 whereby neither he nor I should live quietly ; which, 
 if there fell alliance, I would be loath to see ; where- 
 fore I see no way to eschew all dangers and perils, 
 and to recompense me for withholding of my 
 inheritance (which, if I would be slack in, my 
 subjects would murmur at), but to make this amity 
 during our lives, and one year after, paying yearly 
 as above rehearsed : which amity once granted, the 
 alliance should not be refused, nor no other thing 
 which, with my honour saved, I might do." Saying 
 furthermore to him, that if I might demand, with my 
 honour, any less, or take any less offer (seeing his 
 master is so well minded to the aforesaid alliance 
 and amity), I would be glad to do that at his 
 request ; but less than this it cannot stand with my 
 honour, nor will my subjects be content that I 
 should take. 
 
 My lord, I showed him furthermore, that if he 
 thought we might trust to have this end, I would be 
 content that you and they should commune on all 
 other articles concerning the amity and marriage, 
 till we might have absolute assurance in that behalf 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 263 
 
 for lessening of time-. To which he answered, that 
 he could not assure me thereof, but that he trusted, 
 seeing my demands were so reasonable, that his 
 master would agree thereto. On trust hereon we 
 will that you begin to pen the residue of the articles 
 as soon as you can. And thus fare you well. 
 Written with the hand of your loving master, 
 Henry R. 
 
 Early in August the hapless victim of this new alliance, 
 Mary Tudor, realizing that the marriages of princes and 
 princesses must of necessity be affairs of State, rather than 
 affairs of the heart, solemnly repudiated her contract with 
 the Prince of Castile, and consented to wed the King of 
 France instead, extracting the grim promise from her 
 brother that if she married this time to please him he 
 would suffer her on the next occasion "to marry as me 
 liketh for to do," as will be seen in one of her later 
 letters. Meantime she proceeded to make the best of a 
 doubtful bargain by writing dutiful letters to Louis after 
 the sighing of the marriage contract in England, which 
 took place on August 7 : 
 
 PRINCESS MARY TO LOUIS XII. 
 [" Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies."} 
 
 lAugust, 1514.] 
 
 My lord. 
 
 Humbly, with good grace, I recommend me. 
 Because the King, my lord and brother, presently 
 sends his ambassadors to you, I have desired, 
 ordered, and charged my cousin, the Earl of 
 Worcester, to tell you some things from me touching 
 the espousals now spoken of between you and me. 
 So I beseech you, my lord, to honour and beHeve him 
 as myself; and I assure you, my lord, as I have 
 before written and signified to you by my cousin the 
 Duke of Longueville, that the thing which I now 
 most desire and wish is to hear good news of your, 
 health and good prosperity, as my cousin the Earl of 
 Worcester will tell you more fully. It vvill please 
 
364 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIH 
 
 you, moreover, my lord, to use and command me 
 according to your good and agreeable pleasure, that 
 I may obey and please you, by the help of God ; who 
 give you, my lord, good and long life. 
 
 By the hand of your very humble companion, 
 Mary. 
 
 Shortly after the signing of the contract the marriage itself 
 was celebrated by proxy in Grey Friars' Church, Greenwich, 
 in the presence of the King and Queen, Suffolk, and a 
 brilliant throng of nobles, ladies of the Court, and a carefully 
 selected group of foreign diplomatists. A remarkably 
 interesting account of the ceremony, as well as of the 
 preliminary incidents, is contained in letters printed from 
 the Sanuto Diaries in the Venetian Calendar, written by 
 one of the officials attached to the Venetian Embassy in 
 London : 
 
 NICOLO DI FAVRI TO FRANCESCO GRADENIGO. 
 [Venetian Calendar, Vol. II., pp. 198-201.] 
 
 . . . the Duke of Longueville, being a prisoner, 
 negotiated the peace, which was proclaimed in 
 London in a public street on the nth of August 
 by two men on horseback; the King of England, 
 France, and Ireland (such being his title), and 
 King Louis of France making peace for their own 
 lives, and for one year beyond. Neither trumpet 
 nor any other instrument was sounded, and but few 
 persons heard the proclamation ; neither were bon- 
 fires burnt, nor any other demonstration made for 
 this peace. 
 
 According to report the King of France had 
 again promised the King of England the tribute 
 which he usually paid him, and many thousand 
 crowns additional ; and at the same time they 
 negotiated, and indeed concluded, the marriage of 
 King Henry's sister as Queen of France, she having 
 been previously promised to the Prince of Castile, 
 Duke of Flanders, who had already received a con- 
 siderable sum on account of the dower; and great 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 265 
 
 pageants were to have been performed at Calais in 
 May. But early on the morning of Sunday, the 13th 
 of August, a lord came in his barge in quest of the 
 Venetian ambassador, on behalf of the King, that 
 he might go to the Court to be present at a wedding ; 
 so he went to where his Majesty was, at a place 
 called Greenwich, on a fine river, and proceeded 
 upstairs, where the other lords were awaiting the 
 King in the apartment where the marriage ceremony 
 was to be performed. It had the appearance of a 
 large chamber, the walls around being covered with 
 arras of cloth of gold, surmounted with an embroidered 
 frieze with the royal arms. There were many lords 
 present clad in cloth of gold, and some in silk, all 
 wearing gold chains, who came to meet the ambas- 
 sador, saying : " Thou art as welcome as if thou 
 wert our father, and of our own blood," for which 
 he thanked them much, and they gave him good 
 greeting; and he remained thus talking first with 
 one and then with another for three hours, until at 
 length the King came, and was immediately followed 
 by the Queen, by his sister, the bride, and by a 
 number of ladies. The Duke of Longueville, together 
 with the two French ambassadors, represented the 
 King of France. The Primate, Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, delivered a Latin sermon, saying they 
 had been brought to that place to celebrate a holy 
 marriage, the contracting parties being the sister of 
 the King of England and the King of France, whose 
 Majesty was represented by the Duke of Longueville. 
 The Archbishop having finished his sermon, one of 
 the French ambassadors made a speech in the name 
 of his King, who, he said, was content and willing 
 to take for his wife and Queen the Lady Mary afore- 
 said ; and when he had ended his discourse, the 
 Duke of Longueville, representing the person of the 
 King of France, took her hand and placed the ring 
 on her finger. 
 
 Does not know why the two Papal ambassadors 
 were not present at this marriage, as they were at 
 
266 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 the Court, and had been invited j but before the King 
 came into the chamber where the ceremony was 
 performed, they were conducted into another place ; 
 neither was the Spanish ambassador present. The 
 Venetian ambassador remained throughout the whole 
 ceremony, and was registered as the first witness of 
 this holy marriage. The King then departed, and 
 attended high mass, it being nearly midday. He 
 was preceded by the lords in pairs, in silk gowns of 
 their own fashion, with gold collars as massive as 
 chains. There were two dukes of the realm cladjn 
 cloth of gold, with long gowns. The Venetian 
 ambassador was made to walk last, near the King, 
 as a mark of honour, and was paired with the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury. Next came the King in 
 a gown of cloth of gold and ash-coloured satin, in 
 chequers, with certain jewelled embroidery in his own 
 fashion, and a most costly collar round his neck. 
 The Duke of Longueville walked nearly in line with 
 the King, wearing a gown of cloth of gold and 
 purple satin in chequers, and a most beautiful 
 collar. 
 
 After the King came the Queen (who is pregnant) 
 clad in ash-coloured satin, with chains and jewels, 
 and on her head a cap of cloth of gold, ctJvering the 
 ears in Venetian fashion. Beside her was the King's 
 sister, the bride, a girl of sixteen, with a petticoat of 
 ash-coloured satin, and a gown of purple satin and 
 cloth of gold in chequers ; she woi'e a cap of cloth 
 of gold, and chains and jewels like the Queen, and 
 was accompanied by many ladies. The mass being 
 ended, it was dinner time, and after a grand banquet 
 the King and Queen and the ladies returned to the 
 apartment where the marriage ceremony had been 
 performed, accompanied by many lords, and com- 
 menced dancing, the musical instruments being a 
 flute, a harp, a "violetta," and a certain small fifej 
 which produced a very harmonious effect. The ball 
 lasted nearly two hours, the King and the Duke of 
 Buckingham and other lords dancing in their doublets ; 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 267 
 
 even the Venetian ambassador felt inclined to throw 
 off his gown and follow the example of the King and 
 the others, but he abstained by reason of his age. . . . 
 When the dancing ceased, refreshments were served, 
 and the King and Queen and the ladies thereupon 
 departed. Then followed the Archbishop of York, 
 Thomas Wolsey, the Duke of Longueville, the two 
 French ambassadors, the Venetian ambassador, the 
 Lord of St. John's (Sir Thomas Docwra), and the 
 noblemen who came to fetch the Venetian ambas- 
 sador ; and they adjourned to the house given by the 
 King of England to the Duke of Longueville, a good 
 bowshot's distance from the palace, but within the 
 [park] walls. There the legal instruments were 
 signed, and mutually ratified ; after which beverages 
 were served. The Venetian ambassador then took 
 leave and departed, together with the noblemen 
 who fetched him, and with the Lord of St. John's ; 
 and they came home in the barge and made good 
 cheer. 
 
 On the morrow, Monday, the 14th, the Duke of 
 Longueville and one of the French ambassadors 
 departed for France, and, according to report, the 
 King made the Duke a present of ;^300 (sic) each 
 pound sterling being worth four ducats and a half, 
 and he went away with ten horses and a cart. 
 
 Subsequently two ambassadors were appointed to 
 France, namely, the Lord of St. John's and the Lord 
 Chamberlain (Charles Somerset, Earl of Worcester), 
 who quitted London on the agth of August, and 
 according to report, after despatching their business 
 in France, they would go to Rome, and possibly to 
 Venice. They were very great friends of Andrea 
 Badoer's, and men of consequence. It was said the 
 King of France had sent a handsome present here to 
 his Queen, and that the marriage would be performed 
 speedily, for that the King [of England] would send 
 her away on the 5th of October, accompanie4 by 
 many noblemen, including the Bishop of Durham, 
 who, having done the needful in France, would go 
 
268 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 to Rome, and meant to see Venice, and was a very 
 great friend of the ambassador Badoer. . . . 
 
 It was said that when the Prince of Castile heard 
 that his promised bride had been given to the King, 
 of France, he went immediately into his council 
 chamber and said to his councillors, " Well ! am I 
 to have my wife as you promised me ? " with other 
 words to that effect ; whereupon his councillors 
 answered him, "You are young, but the King of 
 France is the first King in Christendom, and, having 
 no wife, it rests with him to take for his queen any 
 woman he pleases." And thus did they seek to 
 excuse themselves. During this conversation, Duke 
 Charles, looking out of a window, saw a man with 
 a hawk on his fist, and calling one of his councillors 
 who was his chief friend, said to him, " I prithee go 
 buy me that hawk." The councillor replied, " I 
 know that hawk ; he is a young bird, and does not 
 yet know how to quarry; he is not a bird for your 
 Lordship." The Prince again said, " I prithee go 
 buy it." The councillor still seeking to excuse him- 
 self, the Duke at length exclaimed, " Come with 
 me ; " so he bought it himself and put it on his fist. 
 Then, having returned into the council chamber and 
 seated himself, he commenced plucking the hawk, 
 the councillor meanwhile inquiring, "Sir! what are 
 you doing ? " The Duke still continued plucking the 
 bird, and when he had done so to his heart's content, 
 made answer : " Thou askest me why I plucked this 
 hawk ; he is young, you see, and has not yet been 
 trained, and because he is young he is held in small 
 account, and because he is young he squeaked not 
 when I plucked him. JThus have you done by me : I 
 am young, you have plucked me at your good pleasure ; 
 and because I was young I knew not how to complain ; 
 but bear in mind that for the future I shall pluck 
 you." He also used other very strong language. 
 
 Had the King of Spain kept his promise to the 
 King of England, the latter would never have made 
 peace with France ; and the promises of the Emperor 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 269 
 
 were equally false, for he had received many thousands 
 of pounds from King Henry, on condition that he was 
 to be at Calais in the month of May, with a consider- 
 able force in the King's pay ; but the Emperor 
 pocketed the money, and never came. His failure 
 was the cause of all that took place, for as King 
 Henry was deceived in every direction, he thought fit 
 therefore to take this other course. . . . 
 
 There is a curious footnote to this narrative in a letter 
 written from Abbeville to the Bishop of Aste on August 18, 
 describing the customary method of consummating the 
 nriarriage by proxy : " Last Sunday the marriage was con- 
 cluded per verba de prcesenti. The bride undressed and went 
 to bed in the presence of many witnesses. The Marquis of 
 Rothelin [Longueville] in his doublet, with a pair of red 
 hose, but with one leg naked, went into bed, and touched 
 the Princess with his naked leg. The marriage was then 
 declared consummated. The King of England made great 
 rejoicing, and we at Abbeville did the same."^ 
 
 The Anglo-French Sovereigns had more cause for rejoicing 
 than the false allies, who had thus been hoist, as it were, by 
 their own petard. The prejudice which Ferdinand and 
 Maximilian would suffer by such a turn of events was so 
 manifest, wrote the Spanish King to his ambassador at the 
 Imperial Court, that " a blind man must see it." * Later, to 
 the same ambassador, he blames the Emperor, through his 
 dilatory policy, as the cause of the failure of their own 
 negotiations with France.' Henry sent an early announce- 
 ment of the new alliance to Leo X., who had long been 
 mediating peace between England and France, in the pious 
 hope of making friends all round : 
 
 HENRY VIII. TO POPE LEO. 
 [Halliwell-Phillipps : " Letters of the Kings of England."] 
 
 [Greenwich, August 12, 1514.] 
 
 O, Father most blessed, 
 
 After many and various disputes and altercations 
 
 « Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I. * 
 
 ' Spanish Calendar, Vol. II., p. 228, 
 • Ibid., p. 239. 
 
270 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 held, on this side and that, between the ambassadors 
 of the most serene King of the French, at our court, 
 and our own councillors, we at length, by divine 
 favour, and under the guidance, advice, and influence 
 of your holiness, have laid down our arms, which we 
 had taken up in defence of that holy see, and have 
 entered into peace and covenant, by sea and land, 
 with the same King of the French, on terms equitable 
 and honourable as well to your holiness as to ourself. 
 For in this peace and covenant we have comprehended 
 your holiness before all, and that holy see, and its 
 universal empire, and Bononin, expressly by name. 
 We have also included the Holy Empire and the most 
 illustrious lord the Prince of Castile, and have given 
 them a year to begin, at three months hence, to 
 declare their mind and resolution, whether they are 
 willing to be in this peace or covenant, or not ; but to 
 your holiness we have prescribed no particular day. 
 Moreover, we have used all zeal and endeavour, nor 
 omitted anything, that we might comprise the Duke 
 of Milan also in the same peace and covenant ; but 
 that we have been in no way able to effect. However, 
 as touching the most serene King of Arragon, since he 
 chooses rather to manage his own concerns of himself, 
 of him neither of us has made any mention. By the 
 said most serene King of the French, the Scots also, 
 among other friends, have been comprised, under 
 certain conditions, by which we think they will by no 
 means abide. 
 
 However, the termination of this peace has been 
 fixed in the year after either of us shall have 
 departed this life, according to the articles of the said 
 peace, which are to be approved and ratified by the 
 same King of the French within the next two months, 
 and afterwards to be confirmed, within a year, by the 
 authority of your holiness (the censures of the church 
 being denounced against the infringer) as your 
 holiness will understand more fully now also from 
 Richard the Lord Bishop of Worcester, our ambas- 
 sador with your holiness and the Apostolic See. 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 271 
 
 That, however, this peace may be more firm and 
 lasting, we have promised to the same King of the 
 French in marriage the most illustrious Lady Mary, 
 our sister, who has been by him solicited most 
 earnestly. This lady, when in her ninth year, had 
 been contracted by our father, of most illustrious 
 memory, to the aforesaid Prince of Castile, when she 
 should have attained her thirteenth year ; and the 
 time fixed that, when she should have arrived at her 
 fourteenth year, the same most illustrious prince 
 should send hither his ambassadors and proxies, who 
 might complete the solemn espousals in form, in the 
 name of the prince. When this compact had not 
 been noticed by the governors or guardians of the 
 same most illustrious prince, again, on a late 
 occasion, when we were at Lille, we applied ourself 
 to this affair, through our ambassador, on the 15th 
 day of May last past ; and this also was disregarded 
 by the guardians of my lord prince, these having been 
 by us often admonished and solicited. Wherefore the 
 said most illustrious lady our sister, having held 
 consultation with discreet persons, solemnly deter- 
 mined, in presence of a public notary and witnesses, 
 to rescind and hold null and void whatever had been 
 transacted by our father, in her name, with the 
 aforesaid guardians of the lord prince : and the match 
 having been thus cancelled and broken off, she hath 
 been betrothed to the said most serene king of the 
 French, and matrimony has just been contracted 
 through the proxies of the same king. 
 
 By this band we do not doubt but that there will 
 be a more sincere and lasting peace between him and 
 ourselves, whereunto your holiness' frequent and most 
 earnest exhortations, and the advantage pointed out 
 to us by you, not only to the Holy See, but also to 
 the whole Christian commonwealth, have mainly 
 allured us, with that hope of course that not only erur 
 arms, but those of all Christians which have raged 
 too-too much for mutual slaughter, may at length 
 find rest, or be turned against the enemies of the 
 
272 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Christian name, who with joy and laughter look upon 
 us murdering our brethren, and think that the more 
 cruel we are to ourselves, the better do we serve, and 
 the more effectually fight for them. Therefore, again 
 and again we implore your holiness to be most intent 
 and urgent in now settling universal peace, which you 
 have most piously meditated, and happily begun ; and 
 in your divine wisdom, and uttermost prayers, deal 
 with other Christian princes as you have done with 
 us, and to exert yourself with all vigour in a work so 
 glorious, so worthy of your holiness, and so salutary 
 to the Christian commonwealth, so that that expe- 
 dition against the Infidels, desired by the vows of all, 
 and ever by ourself, may be seen in all its glory, from 
 the arms and hearts of all Christians being united. 
 This we hope to see under your holiness, or under no 
 other pontiff. 
 
 In the following month, Maximilian, annoyed at the 
 prospect of losing his wealthy ally, sent a verbal protest to 
 Henry through an ambassador,, who seems, however, to have 
 received considerably more home truths than he gave. 
 Andrea Badoer describes the incident in one of his letters 
 from London at the time : 
 
 The ambassador (he writes) demanded audience of 
 the King, and permission to make whatever statement 
 he pleased ; which being granted, he said on behalf 
 of the Emperor, that the King of England had done 
 wrong to break the promise given to his grandson, 
 the Archduke of Burgundy, by marrying the Lady 
 Mary to the King of France, the Emperor's enemy, 
 and that his deserts entitled him to other treatment. 
 To this the King replied, that it was not he who had 
 failed in his faith, but the Emperor, to whom he had 
 disbursed so many thousands of ducats for the raising 
 of troops and the prosecution of the war against 
 France, but that the Emperor took no heed for the 
 observance of his promise, and did nothing at all. 
 The King added other words, blaming the Emperor 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 273 
 
 vastly, so that the ambassador took leave and 
 departed. The Spanish ambassador, perceiving the 
 celebration of the marriage, and the small account in 
 which his King was held, had absented himself from 
 the Court, and quitted London. . . ^ 
 
 Margaret of Savoy was so disconcerted at the new turn of 
 events, that she refused at first to believe the news. When 
 she realized how true it was she was beside herself with 
 vexation, declaring to Henry's ambassador. Sir Richard 
 Wingfield, that " the penance was too great for their offence 
 towards England."^ She bitterly reproached Henry with 
 breaking his written promise, and threatened to publish that 
 promise to the world. Wingfield was instructed by Henry 
 to retort in the following manner : 
 
 I. That the King remembers vi^ell the promise in 
 question, which he fully intended to have kept if the 
 other side had not broken their appointment ; 2. That 
 the King has a similar promise signed by Margaret 
 which has not been observed : and that Henry was 
 compelled to make peace independently, as the 
 Emperor had not contributed to the support of 
 soldiers upon the frontier last winter according to the 
 treaty. Margaret knows how she herself commanded 
 the horse in Henry's pay to abstain from attacking 
 France ; how, notwithstanding the treaty made by 
 Arragon to join them in the war^ a truce had been 
 made with France ; how the appointment of Calais 
 for the marriage was violated ; how truce was made 
 by the Emperor and Arragon, which Margaret knew 
 of three months before she told Henry, as appears by 
 the letters delivered to the English ambassadors ; 
 and- how the arrangement made with Chievers was 
 broken off after Henry left Lille ; so that, in fact, the 
 accomplishment of the marriage was despaired of: 
 Henry, therefore, thinks the publication of the writing 
 referred to will not be to the detriment of his hongr ; 
 
 • Venetian Calendar, Vol. II., p. 197. 
 ' Calen4ar, Henry.VIH., Vol. I., p, 867. 
 y.H. " T 
 
274 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 but if it be published, the King will publish various 
 promises made to him by Margaret in secret matters. 
 Trusts she will not compel him to this course, seeing 
 that he has comprised the Prince and herself in the 
 treaty with France. Margaret may be assured that 
 but for Henry's regard for the interests of the Prince, 
 he would have made such a peace with France as 
 would have been extremely dangerous to them. . . ? 
 
 The " secret matters " hinted at by Henry brought the 
 Archduchess back to the unfortunate Suffolk affair, the 
 " unhappy bruit " of which had led her into serious trouble 
 both with her council and her father. The threat was 
 evidently effective, for we hear nothing more on the subject 
 from poor Margaret. We hear instead of an illness 
 succeeding all these disappointments, but whether as a result 
 of them we cannot say. Happily she soon recovered." 
 
 After the marriage by proxy at Greenwich the royal bride 
 and bridegroom corresponded affectionately, but it was not 
 until September 14 that Louis went through a similar 
 religious ceremony at Paris, with the Earl of Worcester 
 acting as Mary's proxy. The French King, fired with 
 longing by the portrait of his bride sent over by the Duke 
 of Longueville, as well as by his enthusiastic accounts of 
 her, now grew impatient, and begged Henry to expedite her 
 journey. To Wolsey, in thanking him for his share in the 
 new alliance, he wrote in similar strain : 
 
 LOUIS XII. TO THOMAS WOLSEY. 
 [Grove's " Life and Times of Cardinal Wolsey."] 
 
 [September, 1514.] 
 
 My Lord of York, my good Friend, 
 
 I very lately received the letter you sent me, and by 
 the contents thereof understand the good and kind 
 intentions that you have, not only to bring about a 
 good peace and mutual amity between the King, my 
 good brother, and cousin, and myself, but also to 
 strengthen and increase it, our honours and estates. 
 
 » Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., p. 878. 
 ' Ibid., p. 944. 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 275 
 
 For the which, as affectionately as I can, I give 
 you thanks, and I pray you, my Lord of York, and 
 my good friend, firmly to believe, that there is no 
 alliance in Christendom I hold more dear, than I 
 held, and will ever hold, while I live, that of my said 
 brother and cousin, hoping through your means, to 
 find always in him a corresponding inclination. 
 
 And as to what you write about the passage of the 
 Queen, my wife, I give you thanks for the pains that 
 you have taken for providing all things that are 
 requisite and necessary for her voyage, and the 
 extraordinary diligence you have used, and still use, 
 as my Lord of Marigny and Johan de Paris have 
 written, beseeching you to continue your care with as 
 much expedition as you can, because the greatest 
 desire I have at present is to see her on this side the 
 water, and to meet her. In contributing to which 
 without loss of time, as you promised me, you will do 
 me a singular pleasure, and such as I shall always 
 remember, and think myself obliged to you for. 
 
 And as to your having detained the said Lord 
 Marigny and Johan de Paris, to assist you in setting 
 out all things a la mode de France, you have done me 
 much pleasure therein, and I have written by these 
 presents to them, that not only in this they should 
 obey you, but also in all other things you shall 
 command, with the same respect as if they were 
 about my person. 
 
 And as to the pleasure which you inform me, by 
 your said letters, my wife takes in hearing good news 
 from me, and that the thing which she daily desires is 
 to see me, and be in my company, I desire you, my 
 Lord of York, and good friend, to inform her from 
 me, and make her sensible, that my desires and 
 wishes are the same, and in every respect like hers ; 
 and, because it is not possible that I should see her 
 so soon as I could wish, I entreat her that, as often 
 as may be, I may hear from her, and I promise the 
 like on my side. 
 
 Moreover, in respect to the very affectionate and 
 
 T 2 
 
276 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIH 
 
 cordial assurances that you have given my brother 
 and cousin on my part, and those which you in his 
 name have given me, I return you my thanks with all 
 my heart, and entreat you to say as much to him ; 
 and also, that you will be pleased to let me know if 
 there be anything in my realm that would please him, 
 and I will spare no pains to procure it for him. 
 
 To conclude, I have seen what you have written to 
 my cousin, the Duke of Longueville, and I have 
 ordered him to send you such an answer as you see I 
 desire you will give credit thereto, and let me hear 
 from you as often as possible, and thereby you will 
 do me the greatest pleasure imaginable. Praying 
 God to have you, my Lord of York, my good friend, 
 in his keeping, I am, Louis. 
 
 It was about this time that Mary wrote the letter which 
 follows, now translated from the French text as printed 
 by Ellis: 
 
 MARY TUDOR TO LOUIS XII. OF FRANCE. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," First Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 [1514-] 
 My lord. 
 
 Very humbly to your good Grace I recommend myself. 
 My lord, I have, by the Bishop of Lincoln, received 
 the very affectionate letters which it has pleased you 
 to write to me lately, which have given me much joy 
 and comfort : assuring you, my lord, that there is 
 nothing I desire so much as to see you. And the 
 King is using all diligence for my journey across 
 the sea, which, may it please God, will be brief. 
 Beseeching you, my lord, to be willing for my very 
 great consolation to make known your news to me, 
 together with your good pleasure, so that I may 
 always obey and please you. May our Creator grant 
 you long life and prosperity. From the hand of 
 Your very humble Consort, Mary. 
 
 Meantime a sinister tragedy had occurred at Rome in the 
 poisoning of Cardinal Bainbridge, Archbishop of York, by a 
 priest in his service named Renaldo de Modena. In the 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 277 
 
 long letters on the subject sent to Henry VIIL by the late 
 Cardinal's secretaries, Richard Pace and William Burbank, 
 it is stated how Renaldo, when placed on the rack, confessed 
 that "he put poison into my Lord's pottage at the desire 
 and conduction thereunto of the Bishop of Worcester," 
 Silvestro Gigli^ Afterwards, before committing suicide to 
 escape further torture, he exculpated the Bishop, and then 
 accused him again. Nothing shows more clearly the way in 
 which the highest offices of the Church were distributed in 
 those days than, the fact that both the Archbishop of York 
 and the Bishop of Worcester were ambassadors living 
 habitually at Rome. Gigli, who was an Italian, and had 
 acted as resident ambassador at Rome for Henry VIL, was 
 also Wolsey's confidential agent there, and was known to be 
 cordially detested by Bainbridge. Earlier in the summer 
 the Cardinal had complained to Henry VIH. of what he 
 regarded as the ill-deeds of his foreign rival, " who is named 
 here universally the False Orator of England," and was 
 reported to ha,ve said : " Let these barbarous people of 
 France and England every one kill other ; what should we 
 care therefore, so we have their money to make merry 
 withal here." ^ In one of his letters after the assassination 
 Richard Pace declared to Burbank, then in Florence, 
 " that many great men hath offered to kill the said Bishop 
 of Worcester for this act: and that all Rome be inflamed 
 against him for the same, both spiritual and temporal." In 
 an earlier letter Burbank wrote to Henry, repeating other 
 news that Pace had sent him : " Some there be that hath 
 noised in Rome how that the poison was sent from 
 England by some prelate there, being enemy unto my said 
 late Lord, and procured the same to be ministered unto him 
 by his cook. Whereupon sundry men hath inquired the 
 same both of my said fellow [Pace] and me, whereunto we 
 answered that our master had no such enemies in England, 
 nor that Prelates of England and English born were ever 
 disposed unto any such acts."* To Henry himself Pace 
 sent the following account of the charge against the Bishop 
 of Worcester : 
 
 ' Ellis's " Original Letters," Sepond Series, Vol. I. 
 " Ibid., p. 105, 
 
278 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 RICHARD PACE TO HENRY VHI. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," First Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 [Rome, September 25, 1514.] 
 
 With most humble and lowly commendation unto 
 your Grace. In consideration of the great rumour 
 that is now continually here for the miserable death 
 of my late lord Cardinal, I thought it very necessary 
 to certify your Highness in what case the matter 
 \standeth. After the Priest that poisoned my late 
 lord had killed himself for his detestable deed, it was 
 necessary that all the whole matter should be com- 
 mitted to the Law and Justice, for the punishment of 
 such as were accused as authors of the said poisoning, 
 viz., the Bishop of Worcester and one of his chamber- 
 lains. And so ever since the said priest's death, 
 process hath been made, according to the law, against 
 them both, and it is concluded by all doctors and 
 learned men that the first confession made by ^he 
 said priest, must be believed and no other. Where- 
 fore it is also determined by the judges in this cause, 
 that the said Bishop should not only be put in prison, 
 but also suffer torments, and be compelled to show 
 the truth. And he had been put in prison before this if 
 I would have consented thereunto: but in no case I 
 would condescend thereto, having respect unto him as 
 your Grace's Orator; and willing to have knowledge of 
 your said Grace's mind and pleasure before that I do 
 agree to any such thing ; though that the Law doth 
 exclude all manner of dignities in this case. Notwith- 
 standing this my demeanour, the said Bishop doth 
 imagine, both in word and deed, the worst he can 
 against me ; presupposing surely to have your Grace's 
 favour in this cause, and by that to avoid all things 
 now imputed unto him. Wherefore I must most 
 humbly desire and pray your Highness to show your 
 favours equally in this cause, according to Justice. 
 And thus doing, your Grace shall most reasonably 
 resolve us both. For if the Bishop can by justice 
 purge himself from this crime, he shall save his 
 honour ; and my poor honesty shall be seen in like 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 279 
 
 manner evidently to all men : and it shall appear that 
 I intend nothing but to show myself one true and 
 faithful servant to my Master dead, as I was unto 
 him being in life : for if I, after the said Priest's 
 evident confession, had not used all diligence to 
 search out all such as were privy to the poisoning of 
 my said late Lord, every man might reasonably have 
 thought that I had condescended unto the same and 
 been consentient with the said Bishop thereunto ; 
 whereby I should have been put to great rebuke 
 without fault. 
 
 One thing doth aggrieve me right sore, that the 
 said Bishop doth yet infame my late lord's being 
 dead in false and untrue things, wherein is neither 
 honest nor good Christianity, as it is manifest by 
 the holy precepts of our faith: and nothing but 
 reason, honesty, perfect love, and fidelity to your 
 Grace, my Prince, and my natural country, doth 
 move me to be sorry for this unnatural death. For 
 though my late lord had, I cannot deny, some vices ; 
 I do take God to my judge he was the most faith- 
 ful man to your Grace, his Prince, that ever was 
 born, and most vehement in the defence of your 
 Grace's causes, when none other man durst open 
 his mouth to speak, save he alone; though I well 
 know both your Grace and other of my lords of your 
 most honourable council hath had true relation of 
 him -from hence by such that neither intended good 
 to your Highness nor them ; but used crafty manners 
 for their own exaltation and private profit: and 
 those that were aiders and supporters here of such 
 iniquity doth now right well know that my said 
 lord was one faithful man, and be very sorry that 
 they did not use in their most arduous matters faith 
 and counsel. 
 
 It shall please your Grace to understand that the 
 said Bishop of Worcester's labours and mine be very 
 different in the controversy depending betwixt him 
 and me; for he doth seek nothing but favours,, .and 
 procureth the same by effusion of many and large 
 
28o THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 promises. I do desire nothing but equity and justice. 
 Whereby it doth appear that I do nothing against 
 him, but thiat both honesty and the law doth require ; 
 and his deeds against me to proceed only of malice, 
 which to use against me he hath no cause : for I 
 have ever loved him until now of late, when he was 
 openly accused of my late lord and master's death ; 
 and also it was openly noised and seen by certain 
 signs that he neither was true nor loving to your 
 Grace and Realm, but rather procured your enemies' 
 honour and profit. And such men cannot be loved 
 of any conscience : for the holy law doth not only 
 excommunicate, interdict, curse, and ban men of 
 such demeanour, but also commands the ruin and 
 destruction of all their progeny ; as knoweth Almighty 
 God, who preserve your Grace's most royal and 
 noble estate in long health and continual prosperity. 
 Your Grace's most humble and faithful servant and 
 subject, Richard Pace. 
 
 The Bishop of Worcester was taken into custody, but was 
 found not guilty, and absolved by the Pope. The assassin, 
 he told Wolsey in one of his confidential letters, " was always 
 a madman, and though a priest, never performed any but 
 servile offices in the Chamber. . . . When asked why he had 
 accused Worcester, he said he had done so to save himself, 
 because he was a thief, and had stolen money and papers 
 from his master." Later the Bishop promised to send Wolsey 
 a bull declaring his innocence, and announced that he had 
 forgiven Pace as desired.^ To Wolsey the death of Cardinal 
 Bainbridge was not without its obvious advantages, for it 
 opened the way not only to the Archbishopric of York, which 
 Henry at once obtained for him, but also to the more coveted 
 Cardinalate, though he had to wait for this until the follow- 
 ing year, in spite of Henry's earnest solicitation on behalf of 
 his favourite. " His merits are such," said the King to Leo X. 
 on August 12, " that I esteem him above my dearest friends, 
 and can do nothing of the least importance without him," ^ 
 
 ' Calendar. Henry VIII., Vol. I., pp. 868-892. 
 « Ibid., Vol. I. 
 
PLOT AND COUNTER PLOT 281 
 
 In the following month Wolsey, congratulating the Bishop 
 of Worcester upon his " honourable acquittal in the slander 
 of great malice " laid to his charge, also put in a timely word 
 for himself to the following effect : 
 
 . . . And if by your politic handling the Pope can 
 be induced shortly to make me a cardinal ye shall 
 singularly content and please the King ; for I cannot 
 express how desirous the King is to have me advanced 
 to the said honor, to the intent that not only men 
 might thereby perceive how much the Pope favoureth 
 the King and such as he entirely loveth, but also that 
 thereby I shall be the more able to do his grace 
 service.' 
 
 But the Pope wanted to be sure ot England's good will 
 before thrusting this additional honour upon the new Arch- 
 bishop, who had thus to rest content with being preferred, in 
 less than twelve months, to three different sees, and enriched 
 by the revenues of each. 
 
 ' Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., p. 893. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 HENRY AND HIS SISTERS (1514 — 1515) 
 
 Mary's Departure for France — ^Her Stormy Crossing — How Louis XII. 
 Received Her — State Entry into Abbeville — ^Wedding Festivities 
 — Mary's English Attendants Dismissed — ^Her Grief Assuaged 
 by Precious Stones — Suffolk Received by the French King^— 
 Worcester's Interview with Louis — Proposals to Drive 
 Ferdinand from Navarre and Castile — ^Affairs in Scotland — 
 Margaret Marries Angus — ^Arran Heads Revolt — ^Duke of 
 Albany's Call to Scotland — English Achievements in the 
 Paris Jousts — ^Margaret Appeals to her Brother — Risk of 
 French Interference in Scotland^— Henry's Disappointed Hopes 
 of an Heir — First Rumours of Divorce — Peter Martyr's Un- 
 corroborated Story — Spanish Ambassador and Queen Catherine 
 — He Begs Ferdinand to put a Bridle on Henry — Death of 
 Louis XII. 
 
 All this time elaborate preparations were in progress for 
 the journey of the new Queen of France to her impatient 
 spouse. It was not until September ig that the bride set out 
 for Dover, accompanied by Henry and Catherine — the Queen, 
 upon whose interesting condition the hopes of England were 
 centred, being borne slowly to the coast in a litter — the 
 Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and a brilliant cavalcade 
 of French and English nobles, ladies and attendants. The 
 scene is depicted in a letter by a Venetian merchant in 
 London, written to his brothers at home : 
 
 LORENZO PASQUALIGO TO HIS BROTHERS. 
 [Venetian Calendar, Vol. II.] 
 
 [London, September 23, 15 14.] 
 
 . . . Entertainments, banquets, and jousts are being 
 held for the departure of the Queen, who left for 
 Dover four days ago, accompanied by four of the 
 chief lords of England, namely, the Treasurer, the 
 Lord Chamberlain, the Chancellor and Lord Stanley 
 [Edward Stanley, Lord Mounteagle], besides 400 
 knights and barons, and 200 gentlemen and other 
 
HENRY AND HIS SISTERS 283 
 
 squires, with their horses. The lords, knights, and 
 barons were all accompanied by their wives, attended 
 by their damsels. There would be about 1,000 
 palfreys, and 100 women's carriages. There are so 
 many gowns of wove gold and with gold grounds, 
 housings for the palfreys and horses of the same 
 materials, and chains and jewels, that they are worth 
 a vast amount of treasure ; and some of the noblemen 
 in this company, to do themselves honour, had spent 
 as much as 200,000 crowns each. Many of the 
 merchants purposed going to Dover to see this fine 
 sight, and about a week ago all the merchants of 
 every nation went to the court. The Queen [of 
 France] desired to see them all, and gave her hand to 
 each of them. She wore a gown in the French 
 fashion, of wove gold, very costly. She is very 
 beautiful, and has not her match in all England, is 
 a young woman 16 years old, tall, fair, and of a light 
 complexion, with a colour, and most affable and 
 graceful. On her neck was a jewelled diamond, as 
 large and as broad as a full-sized finger, with a pear- 
 shaped pearl beneath it, the size of a pigeon's egg, 
 which jewel had been sent her as a present by the 
 King of France, and the jewellers of "the Row," 
 whom the King desired to value it, estimated its worth 
 at 60,000 crowns. It was marvellous that the exist- 
 ence of this diamond and pearl should never have 
 been known ; it was believed they had belonged to 
 the late King of France, or to the Duke of Brittany, 
 the father of the late Queen. 
 
 According to the report of the courtiers, the Queen 
 was to cross over to Boulogne, and the Kin^ of 
 France would come as far as Abbeville, it was said, 
 to meet her, and there consummate his marriage with 
 this " nymph from heaven," her beauty and affability 
 warranting the expression. On bidding farewell to 
 the merchants, she made them all many offers, speak- 
 ing a few words in French, and delighting everybody. 
 The whole court now speaks both French and Kiglish, 
 as in the time of the late King. . . . 
 
286 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 THE ENTRY INTO ABBEVILLE. 
 [Venetian Calendar, Vol. II.] 
 
 [October 8, 1514.] 
 
 ... On this day, Sunday, at 4 p.m., the most 
 Christian Queen made her entry, in very great state 
 and triumph. She dismounted at a distance of two 
 leagues from Abbeville, for the purpose of putting 
 herself in order, and Monseigneur (the Duke of 
 Angouleme), and all the gentlemen and grandees of 
 France remained there to allow time for making the 
 announcement to the King. This took place early 
 this morning. Later in the day Monseigneur was 
 joined by the two Cardinals of Bayeux and Auch, and 
 many bishops, together with the ambassadors of the 
 Pope, of the Venetians, and of the Florentines ; and 
 the King went to meet them on the road, making it 
 appear that he was going out hawking with his 
 falcons ; and, presenting himself to the Queen, 
 implied that the meeting was accidental. He then 
 kissed her, and afterwards embraced all the English 
 princes and barons who accompanied her ; where- 
 upon, on pretence of proceeding on his way, he 
 returned home by another road long before the Queen 
 made her entry, which took place thus : 
 
 First went a good number of the archers, musketeers, 
 and arbalast men of the town, all in their livery of 
 yellow and red ; next the " Prdvot de I'Hotel," with 
 his archers ; then the 400 archers of the guard, with 
 their captains ; then the Grand Seneschal of Nor- 
 mandy with the gentlemen ; then the clergy with 
 their relics ; after whom came the English lords and 
 gentlemen, some 80 in number, including the princes 
 and grandees, who might amount to as many as 25, 
 in gallant trim, of various sorts ; and many in gold 
 brocade. Then followed the Scots of the guard, 
 surrounding the Queen, who was under the canopy 
 borne by the chief persons of Abbeville, her Majesty 
 having in her hand a sceptre of white wood ; and all 
 around, under the canopy, were her running footmen 
 in bicoloured doublets of gold brocade and black 
 
HENRY AND HIS SISTERS 287 
 
 velvet. In advance of the Queen were the ambas- 
 sadors from the Pope and the Venetians. The 
 Queen was very magnificently dressed, both her 
 gown and head-gear being of the English fashion, 
 and very costly, both in jewels and goldsmiths' work. 
 Her gown was of gold brocade with a white ground. 
 Near her, for her person, a litter was carried, covered 
 with stiff gold brocade, the caparisons of the two 
 horses which bore it being all of wrought gold, the 
 pages who rode them being clad in gold brocade, 
 embroidered with gold lilies in relief ; and then came 
 another palfrey for her person, very superbly 
 caparisoned, besides the one which she rode under 
 the canopy. Next followed 12 ladies; the wives, 
 sisters, and daughters of the lords, princes, and 
 grandees who had accompanied her, all most richly 
 arrayed in the English fashion, in cloth of gold ; and 
 after them came some 40 other damsels, well and 
 sumptuously adorned in the English fashion. Three 
 carriages, which the Queen brought from England, 
 followed ; they were handsome and contained ladies. 
 The coverings were of gold brocade and crimson 
 velvet, with a border of lilies in relief ; the caparisons 
 of the horses corresponding. Then came the archers 
 and "Gianitari" of her guard, in number 150, in 
 good order. 
 
 The Queen dismounted at a house a few paces 
 distant from the King's. According to report, the 
 marriage will not be consummated until Tuesday next, 
 and then on Thursday or Friday the King will 
 depart for Paris. The Queen is said to be from 17 
 to 18 years old, of handsome presence, not stout, has 
 a beautiful face, and is cheerful. 
 
 THE WEDDING CEREMONY. 
 [Venetian Calendar, Vx)l. 11.] 
 
 [Abbeville, October g, 15 14.] 
 
 If the pomp of the most Christian Queen was. great 
 yesterday at her entry, this morning, the gth, it was 
 
290 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIH 
 
 heard from you since departing, so often as I have 
 sent and written to you. And now am I left post 
 alone in effect ; for on the morn next after the 
 marriage my chamberlain with all other men servants 
 were discharged, and in likewise my mother Guldeford 
 [Lady Guildford] with my other women and maidens, 
 except such as never had experience, or knowledge how 
 to advertise or give me counsel in any time of need, 
 which is to be feared more shortly than your Grace 
 thought at the time of my departing, as my mother 
 Guldeford can more plainly show your Grace than I 
 can write ; to whom I beseech you to give credence. 
 And if it may be by any means possible, I humbly 
 require you to cause my said mother Guldeford to 
 repair hither once again. For else, if any chance hap 
 other than weal, I shall not know where nor of whom 
 to ask any good counsel to your pleasure, nor yet to 
 my own profit. I marvel much that my Lord of 
 Norfolk would at all times so lightly grant everything 
 at their requests here. I am well assured that when 
 ye know the truth of everything as my mother 
 Guldeford can show you, ye would full little have 
 thought I should have been thus entreated : that 
 would God my Lord of York had come with me in 
 the room of Norfolk : for then am I sure I should 
 have been left much more at my heart's ease than 
 I am now. And thus I bid your Grace farewell . . . 
 and more heart's ease than I have now. Abbeville 
 the 1 2th day of October. 
 
 . . . Give greetings to my mother Guldeford. By 
 your loving sister, Mary Queen of France. 
 
 To Wolsey she wrote in similar terms, adding : " I had as 
 lief lose the winning I shall have in France to lose her 
 counsel when I shall lack it ; which is not like long to be 
 required, as I am sure the noblemen and gentlemen can show 
 you more than becometh me to write in this matter." ^ The 
 Duke of Suffolk heard the news on his way to the jousts in 
 Paris, and wrote to Wolsey, attributing the dismissal of 
 
 ' Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., p. 900. 
 
HENRY AND HIS SISTERS 291 
 
 Mary's servants to the Duke of Norfolk and his son the Earl 
 of Surrey, " because they were of Wolsey's choosing and not 
 theirs." ^ Norfolk and the old English nobility were jealous 
 of Wolsey's growing power, and cordially disliked the French 
 alliance. Both Henry and Wolsey interceded with the King 
 on behalf of Mary and Lady Guildford, but Louis remained 
 obdurate, and seems, indeed, to have succeeded in buying 
 Mary's cheerful acquiescence with his lavish gifts of precious 
 stones. These included, as the Earl of Worcester and 
 Dr. West informed the King of England, the " marvellous 
 great pointed diamond, with a ruby almost two inches long, 
 without foil, which was esteemed by some men at ten 
 thousand marks," presented to her on her wedding day ; on 
 the following day " a ruby two inches and a-half long, and as 
 big as a man's finger, hanging by two chains of gold at every 
 end, without any foil; the value thereof few men could 
 esteem"; on the next day, "the King gave the Queen a 
 great diamond, a tablet, with a great round pearl hanging by 
 it ; and every day he gave her also rings with stones of great 
 estimation." * Louis, we learn from the same letter, " maketh 
 appearance as if he would depart every day, but yet lieth 
 here, still ever excusing himself of his gout." By the 25th, 
 however, the court had reached Beauvais on its leisurely 
 progress to Paris, for it was at Beauvais that the Duke of 
 Suffolk and the Marquis of Dorset caught up with the royal 
 party. By Louis' request Suffolk was at once conducted to 
 the royal lodging, where, as he tells Henry in his account of 
 the interview, he found the French King lying in bed, with 
 the Queen sitting by his bedside : 
 
 ..." And so I did me reverence and kneeled down 
 by his bedside ; and so he embraced me in his arms, 
 and held me a good vv^hile, and said that I vi^as heartily 
 welcome, and asked me, ' How does my especial good 
 brother, whom I am so much bounden to love above 
 all the world ? ' To which Suffolk replied, that the 
 King his master recommended himself to his entirely 
 beloved brother, and thanked him for the great 
 
 1 Calendar, Henry VIIL, Vol. I., p. 908. 
 ' Ellis's Original Letters, Second Series,.Vol. I. 
 
 U2 
 
292 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 honor and (love) that he showed to the Queen his 
 sister. The French King answered, that he knew 
 the nobleness and truth so much in Suffolk's master 
 that he reckoned he had of him the greatest jewel 
 ever one prince had of another. Assures Henry that 
 never Queen behaved herself more wisely and honor- 
 ably, and so say all the noblemen in France ; and 
 no man ever set his mind more upon a woman on 
 account of her loving manner.^ 
 
 It is as well to hear Louis' own version of the Lady 
 Guildford incident. This is now provided by the Earl of 
 Worcester, to whom Wolsey had written on the subject : 
 
 THE EARL OF WORCESTER TO THOMAS WOLSEY. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," Second Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 [Saint Denis, November 6, 15 14.] 
 
 . . . My good Lord, as touching the return of my 
 Lady Guildford, I have done to my power and in the 
 best way that I could to the French King ; and he 
 hath answered me that his wife and he be in good 
 and perfect love as ever any two creatures can be, 
 and both of age to rule themselves, and not to have 
 servants that should look to rule him or her. If his 
 wife need counsel or to be ruled, he is able to do it ; 
 but he was sure it was never the Queen's mind nor 
 desire to have her again, for as soon as she came on 
 land, and also when he was married, she began to 
 take upon her, not only to rule the Queen, but also 
 that she should not come to -him but she should be 
 with her ; nor that any Lady or Lord should speak 
 with her but she should hear it ; and began to set a 
 murmur and bandying among ladies of the Court. 
 And then he sware that there was never man that 
 better loved his wife than he did, but ere he would 
 have such a woman about her, he had liefer be 
 without her ; and he said that he knew well when the 
 King, his good and loving brother, knew this his 
 answer, he would be contented ; for in no wise 
 would he have her about his wife. Also he said that 
 ' Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., p. 911. 
 
HENRY AND HIS SISTERS 293 
 
 he is a sickly body, and not, at all times that he 
 would be merry with his wife, to have any strange 
 woman with her, but one that he is well acquainted 
 withal, afore whom he durst be merry ; and that he is 
 sure the Queen, his wife, is content withal, for he 
 hath set about her neither lady nor gentlewoman to 
 be with her for her masters, but her servants, and to 
 obey her commandments. Upon which answer, 
 seeing he in no wise would have her, I answered him 
 again so that he was content, and so I make no 
 doubt but the King's Grace would.be, for the answer 
 was well debated ere I gave it, as his Grace and you 
 shall know at my coming, which I trust shall be 
 shortly. . . . 
 
 My good Lord, the King here hath desired me to 
 write that he heartily desires you, in his name, to 
 desire his good brother and cousin, if God send him a 
 son, that he may be godfather as he was last ; for in 
 so doing he shall do him a right great pleasure. 
 And he will send a good and honorable personage to 
 be there against the Queen's deliverance, to represent 
 his person, and to do the act in his name ; also the 
 said person shall have authority to speak, commune, 
 and conclude for their meeting, and of other secret 
 matters. And of this he desires you that he may be 
 ascertained of his good brother's mind and pleasure 
 by your writing ; for as soon as he hath answer he 
 will dispatch his said ambassador. 
 
 My Lord, the French Queen told me that she loved 
 my Lady Guildford well, but she is content that she 
 come not, for she is in that case that she may well be 
 without her, for she may do what she will. I pray 
 God that so it may ever continue to his pleasure, 
 whom I pray to have you, mine especial good Lord, 
 in his blessed keeping. Written at Saint Denis the 
 sixth day of November. 
 
 Assuredly yours to my power, C. Worcester. 
 
 The secret matters mentioned by Worcester had reference 
 to a dark plot which Wolsey and the King were planning 
 
294 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 with Louis in order fully to punish Ferdinand for his perfidy. 
 Their proposals amounted to nothing less than a combined 
 attack by England and France upon the Spanish Sovereign 
 in order to drive him out of Navarre, and also to demand on 
 behalf of Catherine half of Castile, Henry insisting that this 
 kingdom should be divided equally between Isabella's two 
 daughters, his consort, and her unhappy sister Juana. 
 Secret "conversations" on the subject were in progress 
 during the marriage festivities, and the journey of Suffolk 
 and Dorset were not entirely connected with the jousts 
 which were ostensibly now taking them to Paris. Suffolk 
 complains on November 3 that his letters have been opened, 
 letters, he tells Wolsey, " which he would should not have 
 been seen, which the King knows well " ; but the nature of 
 these mysterious negotiations does not seem to have leaked 
 out. In the same letter Suffolk announces the delivery of 
 his secret letter to Louis, when " the chamber was well rid," 
 but says nothing of its contents, though he adds that, " as 
 far as I can perceive, all things go well, and to our master's 
 honor." ^ Louis himself, however, discloses the purport of 
 the English proposals in his reply, in which also he thanks 
 Henry for sending so important a personage as the Duke of 
 Suffolk : 
 
 . . . Louis professes to deal frankly with him, and 
 gives him his answer on the two following propositions : 
 (i.) How far he will assist England in expelling the 
 King of Arragon from Navarre, considering that he 
 has broken his engagements with Henry and Louis. 
 (2.) That as the kingdom of Castile, by right, should 
 descend to sisters, and the King of England claims 
 one part, how far Louis will assist him in claiming 
 his rights. — With regard to the question of right, 
 Louis can give no certain answer, because he does 
 not know the laws of the kingdom of Spain ; but 
 without entering upon this he is willing to join the 
 King in prosecuting his claims and expelling 
 Ferdinand from Navarre, and will raise an army with 
 him for that purpose. But without disclosing their 
 
 ' Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., p. 916. 
 
HENRY AND HIS SISTERS 295 
 
 intentions each King is to hear the ambassadors of 
 Arragon. England and France shall communicate 
 by their ambassadors upon this matter without 
 concealment on either side. No arrangement shall 
 be made without mutual consent. In return Suffolk 
 is to explain to the King of England the history of 
 the claim of Louis to the duchy of Milan, of which a 
 brief is given ; is to request the aid of England in its 
 recovery, and a loan for one year of 200,000 crowns 
 on good security. He hopes the enterprise will be 
 ready by the month of March. . . } 
 
 The negotiations proceeded so well that Louis promised 
 to support Wolsey in his claim to the cardinalate, and pre- 
 liminary plans were made for a meeeting between Henry and 
 the French King to take place early in the following spring.^ 
 The affairs of Scotland were also discussed with no less a 
 person than the Duke of Albany, who, after Queen Margaret's 
 children, was next heir to the Scottish throne" Margaret, in 
 virtue of her husband's will, had assumed the regency after 
 the disaster of Flodden Field as guardian to her infant son, 
 James V., but had alienated most of her nobles,- and sorely 
 displeased her brother of England, by marrying again without 
 seeking the advice either of her own council or Henry VIII. 
 Ten months had barely elapsed since the death of James IV., 
 and less than three since the birth of her posthumous son 
 Alexander. Her new husband, Archibald Douglas, Earl of 
 Angus, was one of the handsomest and youngest nobles of 
 her council, and as full of ambition as empty of those rarer 
 qualities essential to the exalted position to which Margaret's 
 marriage raised him. This match, which had taken place in 
 August, and Margaret's subsequent actions in depriving the 
 Archbishop of Glasgow of the Chancellor's seals for opposing 
 the wedding, as well as in rewarding the members of the 
 house of Douglas with as many high offices as lay in her 
 power, met with violent opposition. The revolt was headed 
 by the Earl of Arran, who, with his party, now looked to the 
 Duke of Albany to restore something like order out of the 
 prevailing chaos : 
 
 ' Calendar, Henry VIII,, Vol. I., p. 938. 
 ^ Ibid., p. 921. 
 
298 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 when we had showed them all this on the Queen's 
 behalf, they were very well contented, and said that 
 they would make report unto the King what honour- 
 able and loving request she had made, the which they 
 said would content hini very well. And they thanked 
 her Grace for her good mind toward them, and said 
 th^t they would do in everything her request, and to 
 accept and take her as their Sovereign Queen, and to 
 counsel her on every behalf to the best of their powers 
 to do the thing that should please the King, their 
 master. Of which matters they have promised us to 
 assure unto her Grace whensoever it shall be her 
 pleasure ; and within these two days our intention is 
 to bring them unto the Queen's Grace according to 
 our communication and appointment. 
 
 My Lord, at the writing of this letter the Jousts 
 were done, and, blessed be God, all our Englishmen 
 sped well, as I am sure ye shall hear by other. And 
 thus I commit you to the Holy Ghost, who ever 
 preserve you. Your assured, Charles Suffolk. 
 
 The Marquis of Dorset is less sparing of details when he 
 describes the part which these worthy Englishmen played in 
 the Paris tournaments : 
 
 " My Lord of Suffolk and I," he writes to Wolsey 
 on November 22, "ran three days and lost nothing. 
 One Frenchman was slain at the tilt and divers 
 horses." On Saturday the i8th, "the tournay and 
 course in the field began as roughly as ever I saw ; 
 for there were divers times both horse and man over- 
 thrown, horses slain, and one Frenchman hurt that 
 he is not like to live. My Lord of Suffolk and I ran 
 the first day thereat, but put our ayds thereto, because 
 there was no nobleman to be put unto us, but poor 
 men of arms, and Scots many of them, were hurt on 
 both sides, but no great hurt, and of our Englishmen 
 none overthrown nor greatly hurt but a little of their 
 hands. The Dauphin himself was a little hurt on 
 his hand." On Tuesday the 21st the fighting on foot 
 
HENRY AND HIS SISTERS 299 
 
 began, "to the which they brought an Almayn 
 (German) that never came into the field before, and 
 put him to my Lord of Suffolk to have put us to 
 shame, but advantage they gat none of us, but rather 
 the contrary. I forbear to write more of our chances, 
 because I am party therein. I ende(d) without any 
 manner hurt ; my Lord of Suffolk is a little hurt in 
 his hand. . . . The Queen told us that the King had 
 told her they ' did shame all France, and that they 
 should carry the prize into England. ' " ^ 
 
 Mary, who, according to Dorset, " increases in the favour 
 of her husband," was apparently content with being an old 
 man's darling, to judge from the letter which she wrote this 
 month to her brother : 
 
 MARY QUEEN OF FRANCE TO KING HENRY VIII. 
 [" Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies."} 
 
 [Paris, November 15, 1514.] 
 
 My most kind and loving brother, 
 
 I recommend me unto your grace as heartily as I 
 can, and I thank your grace for your kind letters, and 
 for your good counsel, the which I trust to our Lord 
 God I shall follow every day more and more. How 
 lovingly the king my husband dealeth with me, the 
 lord chamberlain, with other of your ambassadors, 
 can clearly inform your grace, whom I beseech your 
 grace heartily to thank for their great labours and 
 pains that they have taken as here for me j for I trust 
 they have made a substantial and a perfect end. As 
 touching my almoner, I thank your grace for him. Of 
 his demeanour here your grace shall be informed 
 better than I can write ; as knoweth our Lord Jesu, 
 who preserve your grace. Amen. 
 
 Having — for the time being, at all events — so satisfactorily 
 settled the matrimonial affairs of his favourite sister, Henry 
 
 ' Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., and Grove's " Life and Times of 
 Wolsey." 
 
300 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 was now appealed to by his elder sister of Scotland, who 
 had withdrawn from Edinburgh, after an ineffectual con- 
 ference with her council, to her dower castle of Stirling. 
 Henry had promised her support, not altogether sorry, 
 perhaps, for so good an excuse to interfere in Scottish 
 affairs. He had declined to follow up the victory of 
 Flodden Field by the complete conquest of Scotland, on 
 the grounds, apparently, that the kingdom now virtually 
 belonged to his sister, and that the infant King was his 
 own nephew; but he claimed the title of "Protector of 
 Scotland," and had no wish to see the government of that 
 country in the hands of the Duke of Albany — a prince who 
 was a Frenchman by predilection, as well as by birth, and 
 known to be in the inner confidence of the French King. 
 Henry was glad to ally himself with Louis in order to 
 punish Ferdinand and Maximilian, but he was not prepared 
 to run any risks of French interference in Scotland : 
 
 MARGARET OF SCOTLAND TO HENRY VIII. 
 [" Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies."] 
 
 [Stirling, November 23, 1514.] 
 
 Regina. 
 Right high and mighty prince and dearest brother, 
 
 I commend me to you with all mine heart. I have 
 received your loving and comfortable writings from a 
 man of the lord Dacre's, the 226. day of November, 
 wherein I perceive your fraternal love and kindness. 
 I and my party were in great trouble of mind, till we 
 knew what help you would do to us. I have shown 
 the said writings to all my lords which were with me 
 in my castle of Stirling the said day, whereof they 
 were greatly comforted. My party-adversary con- 
 tinues in their malice and proceeds in their parliament, 
 usurping the King's authority, as I and my lords were 
 of no reputation, reputing us as rebels; wherefore I 
 beseech you that you would make haste with your 
 army, both by sea and land, and in especial on the 
 chamberlain [John, Lord Fleming], which is post of 
 this conspiration, for within this se'nnight he took an 
 escheat of a bastardry, to the value in ready money 
 
I 
 
 Emery Walker, Photo 
 MARGARET TUDOR, QUEEN OF SCOTLAND 
 From the painting in the National Portrait Gallery 
 
HENRY AND HIS SISTERS 301 
 
 of ten thousand pounds, of usual course of Scotland, 
 to his own use, as (though) he had the whole authority. 
 On that other side the prior of Saint Andrew's [John 
 Hepburn], with the power of my contrary party, has 
 laid siege to the castle of Saint Andrew's, which I 
 would that your navy would revenge ; for it stands 
 on the sea-side fore-against Berwick by north. I 
 have sent my husband to break the siege, if he may, 
 this 23d day. I am at great expenses — every day 
 a thousand in wages, and my money is near hand 
 wasted ; if you send not the sooner other succours of 
 men or money, I shall be super-expended, which were 
 to my dishonour : for I can get no answer of my rents, 
 as I showed you before. 
 
 All the hope that my party adversary hath is in the 
 Duke of Albany's coming, which I beseech you to let 
 in any wise ; for if he happen to come before your 
 army, I doubt that some of my party will incline to 
 him for dread. I shall keep this castle with my 
 children till I hear from you. There is some of the 
 lords that dread that your army shall do them scathe, 
 and that their lands shall be destroyed with the fury 
 of the army : wherefore I would that you wrote to 
 them that their lands nor goods shall not be hurt, 
 and, if so be, that they shall be recompensed double 
 and treble. The King, my son, and his brother, 
 prospers well, and are right lifelike children ; thanked 
 be Almighty God. 
 
 It is told me that the Lord's adversaries are pur- 
 posed to siege me in this castle. I would, therefore, 
 that the chamberlain were holden waking in the 
 meantime with the borderers. I trow that I shall 
 defend me well enough from the others till the coming 
 of the army. I pray you to give credence to master 
 Adam Williamson in other things as it is written to 
 him, and thank him for his good service, and the peril 
 that he was in for my sake in the ship that was 
 broken, with other three ships that I have word since 
 that, departing of Scotland afore his ship, with a 
 message to the Duke of Albany, wherein was Lion 
 
302 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 the herald, with other messages direct from these 
 lords adversaries, with letters sealed with the great 
 seal, which seal they keep masterfully from me and 
 my lords, and use it as they were kings. I trust that 
 God is on my party, which letted their message, and 
 furthered mine. I have given Saint Andrew's to the 
 apostolate of Arbroath, my husband's uncle,^ where- 
 fore I would that you letted all other competitors that 
 labour the contrary in Rome, and that you would 
 direct to the Pope's holiness upon the same with the 
 next that you send, and that you would direct writings 
 to me each month, at the least, how you will do, and 
 what you would that I did ; and if my party-adversary 
 counterfeit any letters in my name, or if they compel 
 me to write to you for concord, the subscription shall 
 be but thus — Margaret R. and no more, and trust 
 that such writing is not my will. 
 
 Brother, all the welfare of me and my children 
 lies in your hands, which I pray Jesus to help and 
 keep eternally to his pleasure. Your loving sister, 
 Margaret R. 
 
 To the right high and mighty prince and our 
 dearest brother, the King of England. 
 
 Henry and Catherine had their own troubles at this time. 
 The prince for whom Louis had asked to stand sponsor, 
 arrived only to add another to their list of grievous dis- 
 appointments. Both Holinshed and Stow record his birth 
 in November, but there is no mention of the fact in any of 
 the English official documents. Probably the baby was still- 
 born — a fresh tragedy which could hardly fail, in those 
 superstitious days, to set men's minds wondering if God 
 had, indeed, cast a blight upon the King's marriage for the 
 " sin " of marrying his brother's widow. 
 
 As early as August of this year, it was reported in Rome, 
 on the strength of letters received from France, that " the 
 King of England meant to repudiate his present wife because 
 he is unable to have children by her, and intends to marry a 
 daughter of the French Duke of Bourbon. ... He will 
 
 1 Gavin Douglas. John Hepburn, the late prior, was supported 
 by the opposing party. 
 
HENRY AND HIS SISTERS 303 
 
 annul his own marriage, and will obtain what he wants from 
 the Pope," as Louis XII. did, when he divorced Jeanne of 
 France and obtained from Pope Alexander VI. the necessary 
 dispensation to marry Anne of Brittany.^ But there is no 
 confirmation of this rumour, and as Henry did not begin his 
 divorce proceedings with the Pope for another twelve years, 
 it must be read with the same caution as Peter Martyr's 
 letter, written a few months later in Spain to Ludovicus 
 Furtado, in which he stated : " The Queen of England has 
 given birth to a premature child, through grief it is said for 
 the misunderstanding between her father and her husband. 
 He has reproached her with her father's ill-faith." ^ How 
 could Peter Martyr, as Mr. Brewer says in his introduction 
 to the first volume of his Calendar, " living at that time at 
 Valladolid, come to the knowledge of this story ? More 
 probably it was a malicious report with no other foundation 
 than the ill-humour of the Spanish court, never favourable 
 to Henry, and now more than ever exasperated at his 
 alliance with France." Had there been any truth in the 
 story there would probably be some reference to it, at least in 
 the letters of the Spanish representatives in London. The 
 humiliated Luis Caroz only complained that Catherine did 
 nothing to further her father's interests : 
 
 LUIS CAROZ TO THE PROVINCIAL OF ARRAGON. 
 ISpanish Calendar, Vol. II.] 
 
 [December 6, 15 14.] 
 
 The Queen has the best intentions, but there is no 
 one to show her how she may become serviceable to 
 her father. The principal fault rests with her con- 
 fessor, Friar Diego Fernandez;,' who has told her 
 that she ought to forget Spain, and everything 
 
 1 Venetian Calendar, Vol. II., p. 188. 
 
 a Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. I., p. 952. 
 
 » It was in the following year that the confessor, aS stated on 
 p. 132, was convicted of fornication and deprived of his post in the 
 Queen's household. There is in the Spanish archives an undated 
 letter from the friar to Henry VIII. , begging permission to return, 
 and reminding his Majesty that he had it in his power to divulge 
 the secrets of his house and government. It bears no sign, however, 
 that it was ever delivered. The text is printed in the Supplement 
 to Vols. I. and II, of the Spanish Calendar, pp. 44-46. 
 
304 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Spanish, in order to gain the love of the King of 
 England and of the English. She has become so 
 much accustomed to this idea that she will not 
 change her behaviour, unless some person who is 
 near her tells her in every case what she ought to 
 do in order to be useful to the King her father. The 
 few Spaniards who are still in her household prefer 
 to be friends of the English, and neglect their duties 
 as subjects of the King of Spain. The worst influence 
 on the Queen is exercised by Dona Maria de Salinas, 
 whom she loves more than any other mortal. iDoiia 
 Maria has a relation of the name of Juan Adursa, 
 who is a merchant in Flanders, and a friend of 
 Juan Manuel. He hopes through the protection of 
 Juan Manuel to be made treasurer of the Prince of 
 Castile. By means of Juan Adursa and Dona Maria 
 de Salinas, Juan Manuel is able to dictate to the 
 Queen of England how she must behave. The con- 
 sequence is that he can never make use, in his 
 negotiations, of the influence which the Queen has 
 in England, nor can he obtain through her the 
 smallest advantage in any other respect. . . . 
 
 The King of England behaves in the most offensive 
 and discourteous manner whenever his affairs (King 
 Ferdinand's) are treated. Is persuaded that, if God 
 does not change the mind of the King of England, 
 he will really carry out what he intends, viz., to do as 
 much harm to him (King Ferdinand) as he can. 
 
 If King Ferdinand does not " put a bridle on this 
 colt," and permits him to continue his bad behaviour, 
 it will afterwards be found impossible to control him. 
 Begs King Ferdinand to watch the King of England 
 very closely, and to decide' upon some vigorous 
 measures against him, telling him that they are the 
 consequence of his bad behaviour towards him. It is 
 probable that the King might thus become sensible of 
 the wrong he has done, and if not, his councillors 
 would make him listen to reason, for they do not like 
 to be at enmity, or to go to war, with any prince 
 whatever. , . . 
 
HENRY AND HIS SISTERS 305 
 
 Nothing illustrates the changed relations at this period 
 between England and Spain on the one hand, and England 
 and France on the other, than the contrast between the 
 letter of the Spanish ambassador, just printed, and that 
 which follows from the French King to his new ally, written 
 only three days before his own death. It is here translated 
 from the French original as printed in Ellis's collection : 
 
 LOUIS XII. TO HENRY VIII. 
 [Ellis's " Original Letters," Second Series, Vol. I.] 
 
 [Paris, December 28, 1514.] 
 
 My good Brother, Cousin, and Comrade, with all 
 my heart 1 commend myself unto you very affection- 
 ately. I have by this bearer, your Officer of Arms, 
 received the letters written by you to me on the 
 ninth of, this month, and have heard by the said 
 bearer of the joy you had in hearing from my Cousin, 
 the Duke of Suffolk, of my news, and the content 
 which I have in the Queen, my wife, your good sister, 
 who has so conducted herself towards me, and 
 continues so to do daily, that I know not how I can 
 sufficiently praise and express my delight in her. 
 More and more I love, honour and hold her dear ; 
 therefore you may be certain that she is, and ever 
 will continue to be, treated in such a manner as shall 
 content her, and you likewise. 
 
 And as tt)uching the reception and good cheer 
 which my Cousin of Suffolk has told you I have made 
 him, there is no need, my good Brother, Cousin, and 
 Comrade, to give me thanks ; for I beseech you to 
 believe that besides what I know of the place he holds 
 about you and the love you bear him, his virtues, 
 honesty, and good qualities merit that he should be 
 honoured and received as much for what he is, as for 
 your own honour ; so I have made him the best 
 cheer that was in my power. 
 
 Howbeit as touching the secret matters which my 
 Cousin of Suffolk has spoken to me, and on which I 
 have made such reply as he has declared to yo» by 
 my ambassadors whom I have dispatched and sent to 
 
 Y.H. X 
 
3o6 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 you, you have little more to hear ; therefore I entreat 
 you very affectionately after you have heard them to 
 take resolution thereon, and to advertise me of the 
 same as early as it be possible, that I may dispose 
 and order myself accordingly in following what you 
 command me in your said letters. I will keep things 
 in suspense without taking any conclusion thereon, 
 advising you that in good or evil fortune I will live 
 with you, and not only preserve the good friendship 
 and alliance which is made and sworn betwixt us, but 
 keep the said inviolably, watching rather to augment 
 and increase than to diminish it, and hoping that you, 
 on your part, will do likewise. Praying God, my 
 good Brother, Cousin, and Comrade, that He may 
 have you in His holy keeping. 
 
 Your loyal Brother, Cousin, and good Comrade, 
 Louis. 
 
 With this letter — the last apparently that the King was 
 destined to write to his new brother-in-law — the year and 
 the chapter may fitly close. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE SECRET MARRIAGE (1515) 
 
 A New Situation — ^Wolsey's Masterful Manner — His Advice to the 
 Widowed Mary. — ^Her Perilous Position in Paris — She Reminds 
 Henry of his " Waterside Promise " — Suffolk sent with new 
 Embassy to Paris — His Pledge before leaving — Henry and the 
 Crisis in Scotland — Suitors for Mary's Hand — Suffolk's Recep- 
 tion by Francis — ^Mystery of his Marriage — Suffolk's Confession 
 to Wolsey — ^Wolsey's Reply — ^Mary takes Blame upon Herself — 
 Struggle for her Dowry, Plate and Jewels — Suffolk's Mission a 
 Failure — ^New Treaty between England and France — Second 
 Marriage of Mary and Suffolk in Paris-i-The " Mirror of Naples " 
 — Return of the Culprits — Suffolk's Last Appeal — Reconciha^ 
 tion with Henry — Publicly Married at Greenwich — ^The Marriage 
 Settlement — Sebastian Giustinian's Journey to London — His 
 Interview wi1±i Francis I. — Pen Portraits of the King — Royal 
 May Day at Shooter's Hill — Catherine and the King. 
 
 With the dawn of the new year came the dissipation of all 
 the hopes which Henry and Wolsey had founded on the 
 French alliance. The death of Louis XII., three days after 
 writing his last glowing account of his bride, created a new 
 European situation, bristling with difficulties, by means of 
 which Wolsey's enemies among the old English nobility now 
 hoped to bring about the downfall of the favourite who was 
 always overruling them in the councils of the King. That 
 Wolsey realised the strength of his position is shown in a 
 characteristic letter written at this period to Dr. Sampson, 
 his Vicar- General at Tournay, who had pointed out the 
 troubles of his office, and his fears that the French bishop- 
 elect of the same see might succeed in revoking Wolsey's 
 appointment. " Ye need have no fear thereof," replied 
 Wolsey ; " the Pope would not offend me for one thousand 
 such as the elect is, nor there is any such thing spoken of nor 
 intended — I would not have you to muse so much on the 
 moon, but to go straightly and wisely to your matters, and 
 not be moved with every wind and frivolous report." As for 
 the rents which Sampson suggested should remain in the 
 
 X 2 
 
3IO THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 King, my brother, and me, and so I trust to continue. 
 If there be any thing that I may do for you, I would 
 be glad for to do it in these parts. I shall be glad to 
 do it for you. No more to you at this time but Jesus 
 preserve you. 
 
 By your loving friend, Mary Queen of France. 
 
 Henry himself does not appear to have written to his 
 sister on her widowhood so soon as he might have done. 
 There is a mild reproach from Mary in her next letter, in 
 which she also reminds him of the " waterside promise," 
 which she was now determined to have fulfilled. Unfortu- 
 nately the letter, like so many others on the subject, was 
 considerably burned at the edges in the Cottonian fire, but 
 the blanks, as far as possible, have been filled by words 
 placed within brackets : 
 
 MARY QUEEN-DOWAGER OF FRANCE TO HENRY VIII. 
 [" Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies."^ 
 
 [January, 1515.] 
 
 {In my] most kind and [loving wist I] recommend 
 me unto your grace. I vs^ould be very glad to hear 
 that your grace were in good health and p[eace], the 
 which should be a great comfort to me, and" that it 
 will please your grace to send more oft time to me 
 than you do, for as now I am all out of comfort, 
 saving that all my trust is in your grace, and so shall 
 be during my life. Sir, I pray your grace that it will 
 please your grace to be so good lord and brother to 
 me that you will send hither as soon as you may 
 possibly to me. Sir, I beseech your grace that you 
 will keep all the promises that you promised me 
 when I took my leave of you by the w[ater s]ide. 
 Sir, your grace knoweth well that I did marry for 
 your pl[easure a]t this time, and now I trust that you 
 will suffer me to [marry as] me l[iketh fo]r to do ; for, 
 sir, I k[now that yo]u shall have . . . s that they . . . 
 for I assure your grace that [my mi]nd is not there 
 where they would have me, and I trust [your grace] 
 will not do so to me that has always been so glad to 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 3" 
 
 fulfil your mind as I have been : wherefore I beseech 
 your grace for to be good lord and brother to me; 
 for, sir, an if your grace will have gran[ted] me 
 married in any place, [sav]ing whereas my mind 
 is, I will be there, whereas your grace nor no other 
 shall have any joy of me : for, I promise your grace, 
 you shall hear that I will be in some religious house, 
 the which I think your grace would be very sorry of, 
 and all your realm. Also, sir, I know well that the 
 King, that is [my so]n, will send to your grace by his 
 uncle the duke of . . . for to ma[rry me here, but I 
 tru]st you[r grace ... I sha]ll never be merry at my 
 heart, (for an ever that I d[o marrjy while I live). 
 I trow your grace knoweth as well as I do, and did 
 before I came' hither, and so I trust your grace will 
 be contented, unless I would never marry while I 
 live, but be there where never [no] man nor woman 
 shall have joy of me ; wherefore I beseech your grace 
 to be good lord to him and to me both, for I know 
 well that he hath m[et ma]ny hindrances to your 
 grace of him and me both. Wherefore, an your 
 grace be good lord to us both, I will not care for 
 all the world else, but beseech your grace to be good 
 lord and brother to me, as you have been here afore- 
 time, f[or in you] is all the trust that I have in this 
 world after God. No m[ore from m]e at this [time]. 
 God send your grace [long life an]d your heart's 
 de[sires]. 
 
 By your humble and loving sister, Mary Queen ' 
 OF France. 
 
 To the King my brother this be delivered, in haste. 
 
 There were other delicate matters needing adjustment in 
 Paris-, in addition to the position of the young Queen-Dowager. 
 The new treaty had not yet been carried out, and there were 
 all those priceless jewels that Louis had showered upon his 
 bride to be secured, if possible, to say nothing of Mary's 
 dowry. So a special embassy was sent from England, both 
 to comfort the widow and settle these and other matters, 
 as well as to congratulate the new King on his accession. 
 
314 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 servant, Sir James English, this 2ist day of January, 
 made by the advice of you and your council, wherein 
 I consider the great affection and love that you have 
 to me, my children, my husband, and his friends, 
 vi^hose counsel I would be gladder to do than to 
 make me the greatest lady of the world. Yet it 
 comforts mine heart to hear your fraternal desire; 
 but it is impossible to be performed by any manner 
 of fashion that I, my husband, or his uncle [Gavin 
 Douglas] can devise ; considering what watch and 
 spies there is daily where I am, and I dare disclose 
 my counsel to none other but God. If I were such a 
 woman that might go with my bairn in mine arm, I 
 trow I should not be long from you, whose presence 
 I desire most of any man. I trust, dear brother, to 
 defend me from mine enemies, if I had sufficient 
 expenses till the coming of your help ; but I am so 
 super-expended that I doubt that poverty shall cause 
 me to consent to some of their minds, which I shall 
 never do without your counsel, as long as I have a 
 groat to spend. Wherefore I pray you to send me 
 some money, as you think necessary; for it is not 
 your honour that I or my children should want. . . . 
 
 Rumours of the King's advice to his sister got abroad, 
 together with the report that it was Henry's intention, 
 failing issue of his own line, to make Margaret's elder son 
 King of England, and the younger son King of Scotland. 
 Lord Fleming writes to this effect to the Earl of Huntly. 
 " Therefore," he says, " I pray you cause to keep the bairns 
 well." ^ Adam Williamson, Margaret's chaplain and faithful 
 friend, urged her, in a letter written towards the end of this 
 month, to follow her brother's advice, for Henry, he declared, 
 was " the best prince the world ever had. . . . Pardon me, 
 madame," he adds, " though I write plain to your grace, I 
 speak true of heart. I have been in so great danger, and 
 lost my goods also, for your, sake and in your service, that if 
 anything should come to you but good, as God forbid, my 
 
 > Cotton. MS. Calig. B. I. fol. 33. 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 315 
 
 days should be short in this world ; if your grace prosper 
 and do well, I care not for all my labour and loss." ^ 
 
 Bishop Gavin Douglas, her husband's uncle, wrote to Adam 
 Williamson from Perth, however, to the effect that though 
 the Queen would be glad to follow the King's advice, it was 
 not possible to do as he suggested : " for albeit my Lord and 
 I, with other friends, might come to the parts when we 
 pleased, it would not be possible to carry the King nor his 
 brother thither." The Queen, he added, might be conveyed 
 thither in disguise, but the danger was not so great that they 
 need leave the country. " The King might end all debate, 
 for his writing would be as well obeyed by most of the Lords 
 here as. in London. If, therefore, he came with his army, let 
 him declare to the people his determination to have justice 
 and secure obedience to the King, his nephew. He will be 
 sure of many adherents." * 
 
 Between Margaret and Mary, and the affairs of their 
 different kingdoms, Henry's mind was kept well employed 
 this month. That he wrote, at length, "good and kind 
 letters " to his younger sister is shown by her reply, in which 
 also she makes the promise, so soon to be broken, that she 
 would engage in no other matrimonial affairs without con- 
 sulting him : 
 
 MARY QUEEN-DOWAGER OF FRANCE TO HENRY VIII. 
 [" Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies."^ 
 
 [January, 1515.] 
 
 Mine own good and most kind brother, 
 
 I recommend me unto your grace, and thank you 
 for the good and kind letters that you have sent me, 
 the w^hich has been the greatest comfort might be 
 unto me in this world, desiring your grace so for to 
 continue, for there is nothing so great a store to me 
 as for to see you, the which I would very fain have 
 the time for to come, as I trust it shall be, or else I 
 would be very sorry, for I think every day a thousand 
 till I may see you. 
 
 Sir, whereas your grace sends me word that I will 
 
 1 Cotton. MS. Calig. B. II. fol. 152. 
 
 » Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. II., Part I., p. 12. 
 
3i6 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIII 
 
 not give no credence to them for no suit nor for no 
 other words that shall be given me; sii, I promise 
 your grace that I never made them no promise, nor 
 no other for them, nor never will until that I know 
 your grace's mind for nobody alive ; for your grace is 
 all the comfort that I have in this world ; and I trust 
 your grace will not fail, for I have nothing in this 
 world that I care for but to have the good and kind 
 mind that your grace had ever toward me, which I 
 beseech your grace to continue, for therein is my 
 trust that I have in this world. Sir, as for the letter 
 that your grace did send me by Master Clinton, 
 whereas you send me word that I should provide 
 myself and make me ready for to come to your 
 grace ; sir, an it were to-morrow I would be ready : 
 and, as for my lord of Suffolk, and 6ir Richard 
 Wingfield, and Doctor West, there be two or three 
 that came from the King my son [Francis I.] for to 
 have brought them to him by the way as they came 
 hitherward, and so hindered them coming hitherward 
 that th , . , as I trust shall conclude in a day or 
 two, and then let me know your mind, for an when I 
 do, I will do thereafter. 
 
 Sir, I beseech your grace for to be good lord to 
 Mr. John, your surgeon, for my sake, and that you 
 will not be miscontented with him for his long 
 tarrying here with me, for I bore him an hand that 
 your grace were contented that he should be here 
 with me awhile ; and so I pray your grace to give 
 him leave for to tarry here awhile with me, for because 
 I am very ill-diseased with the toothache, and the 
 mother ^ withal, that some times I wot not what for o 
 do ; but if I might see your grace I were healed. No 
 more to you at this time, but I pray God to send 
 your grace good life and long. By your loving sister, 
 Mary. 
 
 1 The ancient term for the disease called globus hystericus. It is 
 thus used by Shakspeare : 
 
 " Lear. Oh, how this mother swells up toward my heart I 
 Hysterica passio ! down, thou climbing sorrow. 
 Thy element's below ! " — Kif^ Lear, Act ii. Scene 4. 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 317 
 
 There were reasons for Henry's warnings. Mary was the 
 most tempting match in Europe, and many suitors for her 
 hand were talked of, including not only the rejected Charles 
 of Castile — now, however, negotiating for the hand of 
 Madame Ren6e, Louis XH.'s youngest daughter, then four 
 years old — but even his rapacious grandfather, the Emperor 
 Maximilian, who, needless to say, fell in love with her riches. 
 Charles HI., Duke of Savoy, the Dukes of Lorraine and 
 Bavaria, and the Prince of Portugal, were also mentioned in 
 different courts as possible winners of the coveted prize. 
 The danger of being again sacrificed to further her brother's 
 ambition must have been ever present in Mary's thoughts in 
 that gloomy room in the Cluny Palace, where, as La Reine 
 Blanche, she was eagerly awaiting the coming of her lover. 
 The enemies of Wolsey and Suffolk in Henry's council, 
 leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to bring about the 
 disgrace of the allied favourites, added to her anxieties by 
 sending her a confessor, one Friar Langley, to turn her love, 
 if possible, into loathing. Suffolk afterwards told Wolsey — 
 having had the story from Mary herself — that this friar 
 warned her "to beware of me of all men, for he knew well 
 that you and I meddled with the Devil, and by the puissance 
 of the said Devil we kept our master subject. . . . And I 
 specially, for I had caused the disease of Compton's leg." ^ 
 
 Suffolk arrived at Senlis, with the other members of the 
 King's embassy, on January 27, the day before the coronation 
 of Francis at Rheims. Thence Francis sent the Englishmen 
 word to say that he was right glad of their coming. The 
 new King, like Henry, was young and ambitious. He longed 
 for military glory in Italy, where he was planning an 
 expedition to regain for France the Duchy of Milan, which 
 Louis XII. had won and lost; and before allowing the 
 Queen- Dowager to slip through his fingers, he meant to 
 make the best terms he could with regard to her property, in 
 order to increase as far as possible the necessary sinews of 
 war. He received the English ambassadors a few days after 
 his coronation " and conversed with them as lovingly and as 
 familiarly as ever, he did, expressing his pleasure for the 
 renewal of the peace between the two countries," and,, on 
 
 I Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. II., Part I„ p. 49. 
 
322 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 with me many diverse discoursing, among the which 
 
 he demanded me whether I had ever made any 
 
 promise of marriage in any place, assuring me upon 
 
 his honour, and upon the word of a prince, that in 
 
 case I would be plain with him in that affair, that 
 
 he would do for me therein to the best of his power, 
 
 whether it were in his realm or out of the same. 
 
 Whereunto I answered, that I would disclose unto 
 
 him the secret of my heart in humility, as unto the 
 
 prince of the world after your grace in whom I had 
 
 most trust, and so declared unto him the good mind 
 
 which for divers considerations I bear to my lord 
 
 of Suffolk, asUng him not only to grant me his 
 
 favour and consent thereunto, but also that he 
 
 would of his own hand write unto your grace, and 
 
 to pray yon to bear your like favour unto me, and to 
 
 be content with the same ; the which he granted me 
 
 to do, and so hath done, according as shall appear 
 
 unto yonr grace by his said letters. And, sir, I 
 
 most humbly beseech you to take this answer 
 
 which I have made unto the French king in good 
 
 part, the which I did only to be discharged of the 
 
 extreme pain and annoyance I was in, by reason 
 
 of sach suit as the French king made unto me not 
 
 according with mine honoor, the which he hath 
 
 cfearly left off. Also, ar, I feared greatly lest, in 
 
 case tibat I had kept tibe matter from his Imowledge, 
 
 that he might have not well entreated my said lord 
 
 erf Safifdk, and the radier for to have returned to 
 
 his former malbntasy and suits. Wherefore, sir, 
 
 since it hath pfeased the said king to desire and 
 
 pray vcz of yoor fiivoiir and consent, I most humbly 
 
 and heartihp beseech you that it may like your grace 
 
 to bear yoor &voor and consent to the same, and to 
 
 advertise the said king by your writing of your own 
 
 hand of voor pfeasme, and in that he hath acted 
 
 after none opaaon in fab letter of request, it shall 
 
 be to TOOT great hmioar ... to content with all 
 
 ^wa- coondl, and iriA all the other nobles of the 
 
 rexhn. and agree thereto for your grace and for all 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 323 
 
 the world ; and therefore I eftsoon require you, for 
 all the love that it liked your grace to bear me, that 
 you do not refuse but grant me your favour and 
 consent in form before rehearsed, the which if you 
 shall deny me, I am well assured to lead as desolate 
 a life as ever had creature, the which I know well 
 shall be mine end. Always praying your grace to 
 have compassion of me, my most loving and 
 sovereign lord and brother, whereunto I have 
 entreated you, beseeching God always to preserve 
 your most royal estate. 
 
 I most humbly beseech your grace to consider, in 
 case that you make difficulty to condescend to the 
 promises as I wish, the French king will take new 
 courage to renew his suits to me ; assuring you that 
 I had rather to be out of the world than it so should 
 happen ; and how he shall entreat my lord of 
 Suffolk, God knoweth, with many other incon- 
 venience, which might ensue of the same, the which 
 I pray our Lord that I may never have life to see. 
 
 By your loving sister and true servant, Mary 
 Queen of France. 
 
 Mary seems to have been unnecessarily fearful of her 
 brother's intentions in the matter of her marriage. Had 
 she been content to wait until all these negotiations had 
 been completed, and Suffolk, as he had promised, had 
 conducted her back, still a widow, to the English Court, 
 there is little doubt that she would have obtained the King's 
 consent. Her hand was, doubtless, the reward held up to 
 Suffolk to bring the bargaining with Francis to a successful 
 issue. In another letter written to him in February, Wolsey 
 said that he would be glad to allow Suffolk to return with the 
 Queen-Dowager, but not until he had completed her business. 
 " I assure you," he wrote, " the hope that the King hath to 
 obtain the said plate and jewels is the thing that most 
 stayeth his grace constantly to assent that ye should marry 
 his sister ; the lack thereof, I fear me, might make him cold 
 and remiss, and cause some alteration, whereof all men 
 here, except his grace and myself, would be right glad^' ^ 
 'Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. II., Part I., p. 67. 
 
 Y 2 
 
326 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Cursed be the blind affection and council that hath 
 brought you hereunto ! Fearing that such sudden 
 and unadvised dealing shall have sudden repentance. 
 Nevertheless, in this great perplexity, I see no 
 other remedy but first to make your humble pursuits 
 by your own writing, causing also the French king, 
 the queen, with other your friends, to write : with 
 this also that shall follow, which I assure you I write 
 unto you of mine own head without knowledge ot 
 any person living, being in great doubt whether the 
 same shall make your peace or no ; notwithstanding, 
 if any remedy be, it shall be by that way. It shall 
 be well done that, with all diligence possible, ye and 
 the queen bind yourself by obligation to pay yearly 
 to the King during the queen's life ^^4,000 of her 
 dower; and so ye and she shall have remaining of 
 the said dower ^6,000 and above to live withal 
 yearly. Over and besides this ye must bind yourself 
 to give unto the King the plate of gold and jewels 
 which the late French king had. And whereas the 
 queen shall have full restitution of her dote, ye shall 
 not only give entirely the said dote to the King, but 
 also cause the French king to be bound to pay to 
 the king the 200,000 crowns, which his grace is 
 bounden to pay to the queen, in the full contentation 
 of the said dote de novissimis denariis, and the said 
 French king to acquit the king for the payment 
 thereof ; like as the king hath more at the large 
 declared his pleasure to you, by his letters lately 
 sent unto you. This is the way to make your peace ; 
 whereat if ye deeply consider what danger ye be and 
 shall be in, having the king's displeasure, I doubt 
 not both the queen and you will not stick, but with 
 all effectual diligence endeavour yourselves to recover 
 the king's favor, as well by this means as by other 
 substantial true ways, which by mine advise ye shall 
 use, and none other, towards his grace, whom by 
 corbobyll drifts and ways you cannot abuse. Now 
 I have told you my opinion, hardily follow the same, 
 and trust not too much to your own wit, nor follow 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 327 
 
 the council of them that hath not more deeply con- 
 sidered the dangers of this matter than they have 
 hitherto done. 
 
 And as touching the overtures made by the French 
 king for Tournay, and also for a new confederation 
 with the king and him, like as I have lately written 
 to you, I would not advise you to wade any further 
 in these matters, for it is to be thought that the 
 French king intendeth to make his hand by favoring 
 you in the attaining to the said marriage ; which 
 -when he shall perceive that by your means he 
 cannot get such things as he desireth, peradventure 
 he shall show some change and alteration in the 
 queen's affairs, whereof great inconvenience might 
 ensue. Look wisely therefore upon the same, and 
 consider you have enough to do in redressing your 
 own causes ; and think it will be hard to induce the 
 king to give you a commission of trust, which hath 
 so lightly regarded the same towards his grace. 
 
 Thus I have as a friend declared my mind unto 
 you, and never trust to use nor have me in anything 
 contrary to truth, my master's honor, profits, wealth, 
 and surety ; to the advancement and furtherance 
 whereof no creature living is more bounden ; as our 
 Lord knoweth, who send you grace to look well and 
 deeply upon your acts and doings ; for ye put yourself 
 in the greatest danger that ever man was in. 
 
 It was probably this masterly letter which made Mary 
 herself write for Henry's forgiveness for' her stolen love- 
 match, bravely taking upon herself the whole blame for what 
 had happened : 
 
 MARY QUEEN-DOWAGER OF FRANCE TO HENRY VIII. 
 [" Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies.'"^ 
 
 Pleaseth it your grace, to my greatest discomfort, 
 sorrow, and disconsolation, but lately I have been 
 advertised of the great and high displeasure which 
 your highness beareth unto me and my lor4 of 
 Suffolk for the marriage between us. Sir, I will not 
 
330 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 have affixed and clearly determined myself to marry 
 with him ; and the same [I] assure you hath pro- 
 ceeded only of mine own mind, without any request 
 or labour of my said lord of Suffolk, or of any other 
 person. And to be plain with your grace, I have so 
 bound myself unto him that for no cause eairthly I 
 will or may vary or change from the same.^ Where- 
 fore my good and most kind brother, I now beseech 
 your grace to take this matter in good part, and to 
 give unto me and to my said lord of Suffolk your 
 good will herein. Ascertaining you, that upon the 
 trust and comfort which I have, for that you have 
 always honourably regarded your promise, I am now 
 come out of the realm of France, and have put myself 
 within your jurisdiction in this your town of Calais, 
 where I intend to remain till such time as I shall 
 have answer from you of your good and loving mind 
 herein ; which I would not have done but upon the 
 faithful trust that I have in your said promise. 
 Humbly beseeching j'our grace, for the great and 
 tender love which ever hath been and shall be 
 between you and me, to bear your gracious mind and 
 show yourself to be agreeable thereunto, and to 
 certify me by your most loving letters of the same, 
 till which time I will make mine abode here, and no 
 farther enter your realm. And to the intent it may 
 please you the rather to condescend to this my most 
 hearty desire, I am contented and expressly promise 
 and bind me to you, by these presents, to give you all 
 the whole dote which was delivered with me, and also 
 all such plate of gold and jewels as I shall have of 
 my said late husband's. Over and besides this I 
 shall, rather than fail, give you as much yearly part 
 
 ' This sentence was originally written, "So it is, brother, as 
 you well know, I have always borne good mind towards my lord of 
 Suffolk ; and him, as the case doth now require with me, I can love 
 before all other, and upon him I have perfectly set my mind — 
 settled and determined ; and upon the good comfort of your said 
 promise the matter is so far forth that for no cause earthly I will 
 vary or change from the same. And of me and of mine own tpwar4- 
 ness and mind only hath it proceeded," 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 331 
 
 of my dower, to as great a sum as shall stand with 
 your will and pleasure ; and of all the premises I 
 promise, upon knowledge of your good mind, to make 
 unto you sufficient bonds. Trusting, verily, that in 
 fulfilling of your said promise to me made, you will 
 show your brotherly love, aff'ection, and good mind to 
 me in this behalf, which to hear of I abide with most 
 desire ; and not to be miscontented with my said lord 
 of Suffolk, whom of mine inward good mind and 
 affection to him I have in manner enforced to be 
 agreeable to the same, without any request by him 
 made ; as knoweth our Lord, whom I beseech to 
 have your grace in his merciful governance. 
 
 It was hardly surprising that Suffolk's mission had been 
 a failure. He may have carried all before him in affairs of 
 the heart, but he had no head for diplomacy, and exposed 
 himself to all manner of suspicions in his dealings with 
 Francis I . The wretched haggling between the two monarchs 
 over the dowry, plate and jewels — curiously like the squab- 
 bling between Henry VII. and Ferdinand over Catherine's 
 marriage settlement years before — strained the relations all 
 round and drove both Mary and Suffolk to despair. Enemies 
 were not wanting on Henry's council who declared that the 
 English duke thought more of his personal interests than of 
 those of his country ; he failed to persuade the French king 
 that he must prevent the duke of Albany from going to 
 Scotland; and he satisfied no one in the matter of Mary's 
 belongings. Many points were left undecided in the alliance 
 formally renewed between France and England on April 5, 
 the new treaty being little more than a truce. 
 
 One thing, however, the Duke and Mary succeeded in 
 accomplishing, and that was a semi-private marriage with 
 the French King's permission. Suffolk had begged repeatedly 
 for an open marriage in France, "seeing that this privy 
 marriage," he wrote to Wolsey on March 12, " and that I 
 think none otherwise that she is with child" ^; and both 
 Francis and his brother had written to Henry on their 
 behalf to consent to such a ceremony. Whether H«nry 
 
 1 Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. II., Part II., Appendix, p. 7. 
 
330 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VIH 
 
 have afBxed and clearly determined myself to marry 
 with him ; and the same [I] assure you hath pro- 
 ceeded only of mine own mind, without any request 
 or labour of my said lord of Suffolk, or of any other 
 person. And to be plain with your grace, I have so 
 bound myself unto him that for no cause earthly I 
 will or may vary or change from the same.^ Where- 
 fore my good and most kind brother, I now beseech 
 your grace to take this matter in good part, and to 
 give unto me and to my said lord of Suffolk your 
 good will herein. Ascertaining you, that upon the 
 trust and comfort which I have, for that you have 
 always honourably regarded your promise, I am now 
 come out of the realm of France, and have put myself 
 within your jurisdiction in this your town of Calais, 
 where I intend to remain till such time as I shall 
 have answer from you of your good and loving mind 
 herein ; which I would not have done but upon the 
 faithful trust that I have in your said promise. 
 Humbly beseeching 3'^our grace, for the great and 
 tender love which ever hath been and shall be 
 between you and me, to bear your gracious mind and 
 show yourself to be agreeable thereunto, and to 
 certify me by your most loving letters of the same, 
 till which time I will make mine abode here, and no 
 farther enter your realm. And to the intent it may 
 please you the rather to condescend to this my most 
 hearty desire, I am contented and expressly promise 
 and bind me to you, by these presents, to give you all 
 the whole dote which was delivered with me, and also 
 all such plate of gold and jewels as I shall have of 
 my said late husband's. Over and besides this I 
 shall, rather than fail, give you as much yearly part 
 
 ' This sentence was originally written, "So it is, brother, as 
 you well know, I have always borne good mind towards my lord of 
 Suffolk ; and him, as the case doth now require with me, I can Ipve 
 before all other, and upon him I have perfectly set my mind- 
 settled and determined ; and upon the good comfort of your said 
 promise the matter is so far forth that for no cause earthly I will 
 vary or change from the same. And of me and of mine own tpwarfj- 
 ness and mind only hath it proceeded," 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 331 
 
 of my dower, to as great a sum as shall stand with 
 your will and pleasure ; and of all the premises I 
 promise, upon knowledge of your good mind, to make 
 unto you sufficient bonds. Trusting, verily, that in 
 fulfilling of your said promise to me made, you will 
 show your brotherly love, affection, and good mind to 
 me in this behalf, which to hear of I abide with most 
 desire ; and not to be miscontented with my said lord 
 of Suffolk, whom of mine inward good mind and 
 affection to him I have in manner enforced to be 
 agreeable to the same, without any request by him 
 made ; as knoweth our Lord, whom I beseech to 
 have your grace in his merciful governance. 
 
 It was hardly surprising that Suffolk's mission had been 
 a failure. He may have carried all before him in affairs of 
 the heart, but he had no head for diplomacy, and exposed 
 himself to all manner of suspicions in his dealings with 
 Francis I . The wretched haggling between the two monarchs 
 over the dowry, plate and jewels — curiously like the squab- 
 bling between Henry VII. and Ferdinand over Catherine's 
 marriage settlement years before — strained the relations all 
 round and drove both Mary and Suffolk to despair. Enemies 
 were not wanting on Henry's council who declared that the 
 English duke thought more of his personal interests than of 
 those of his country ; he failed to persuade the French king 
 that he must prevent the duke of Albany from going to 
 Scotland; and he satisfied no one in the matter of Mary's 
 belongings. Many points were left undecided in the alliance 
 formally renewed between France and England on April 5, 
 the new treaty being little more than a truce. 
 
 One thing, however, the Duke and Mary succeeded in 
 accomplishing, and that was a semi-private marriage with 
 the French King's permission. Suffolk had begged repeatedly 
 for an open marriage in France, "seeing that this privy 
 marriage," he wrote to Wolsey on March 12, " and that I 
 think none otherwise that she is with child" ^; and both 
 Francis and his brother had written to Henry on their 
 behalf to consent to such a ceremony. Whether Hanry 
 
 1 Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. II., Part II., Appendix, p. 7. 
 
334 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 determined to " tympe " your grace that I may either 
 be put to death or put in prison, and so to be 
 destroyed. Alas, Sir, I may say that I have a hard 
 fortune, seeing that there was never none of them in 
 trouble but I was glad to help them to my power, 
 and that your grace knows best. And now that I 
 am in this none little trouble and sorrow, now they 
 are ready to help to- destroy me. But, Sir, I can no 
 more but God forgive them whatsoever comes to 
 me ; for I am determined. For, Sir, your grace is 
 he that is my sovereign lord and master, and he that 
 hath brought me up out of nought ; and I am your 
 subject and servant, and he that hath offended your 
 grace in breaking my promise that I made your 
 grace touching the queen your sister ; for the which 
 I, with most humble heart, will yield myself into 
 your grace's hands to do with my poor body your 
 gracious pleasure, not fearing the malice of them ; 
 for I know your grace of such nature that it cannot 
 lie in their powers to cause you to destroy me for 
 their malice. But what punishment I have I shall 
 thank God and your grace of it, and think that I 
 have well deserved it, both to God and your grace ; 
 as knows our Lord, who send your grace your most 
 honourable heart's desire with long life, and me most 
 sorrowful wretch your gracious favour, what sorrows 
 soever I endure therefor. At Mottryllj the 22nd 
 day of April, by your most humble subject and 
 servant, Charles Suffolke. 
 
 This last appeal was dispatched by the messenger who 
 took his wife's own letter to the King from Calais, where 
 " the Duke of Suifolk did not dare leave the King of 
 England's house, as he would have been killed by the people 
 for marrying Queen Mary." ^ Luckily for the Duke he had 
 a friend in Wolsey who stood by him through thick and 
 thin, and succeeded — with the help, it is true, of considerable 
 sums to Henry — in saving him from. the ill-consequences of 
 his broken promise : a debt which Suffolk shamefully repaid' 
 
 » Calendar, Henry VIII.^ Vol. II., Part I,, p. 117. 
 
I 
 
 MARY TUDOR, QUEEN DOWAGER OF FRANCE, and 
 
 CHARLES BRANDON, DUKE OF SUFFOLK 
 
 From the painting by Mabuse in the collection of the Earl of Yarborough 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 333 
 
 when the time came for Wolsey's own downfall. Crossing 
 from Calais on May 2, according to one account, they were 
 met by Wolsey on the road from Dover to London and 
 conducted by him to the manor of Barking, where the King 
 himself rode out to meet them. All was apparently for- 
 given, though unfortunately we have no eye-witness's 
 account of the private interview between Henry and the 
 culprits which took place that night at the said manor of 
 Barking. All we know is that the matter was settled by 
 a deed dated May 11, the day following their arrival, by 
 which Mary and Suffolk bound themselves to resign to the 
 King, among other things, her whole dowry of ^200,000, 
 her plate and jewels — presumably when the matter was 
 settled with Francis — and to pay him over and above her 
 dowry £24,000, in yearly instalments of £1,000, to cover 
 the expenses of her marriage with Louis XH. and her return 
 home.^ It was a heavy price to pay, but, as it was probably 
 that or the Duke's head, the couple had reason to con- 
 gratulate themselves, especially as, two days later — to make 
 trebly sure of the legality of their union — they were publicly 
 married at Greenwich in the presence of the whole Court. 
 This triumph over the Norfolk faction was probably worth 
 all the trouble of the affair to Wolsey, and the cost of its 
 settlement to Suffolk. Mary's attractive figure henceforth 
 disappears into the background, where, though we catch 
 but occasional ghmpses of her in the later stages of Henry's 
 drama, we may be allowed to hope that she was infinitely 
 happier than when playing a leading part on the European 
 stage. 
 
 Mary and Suffolk were preceded to London from Paris by 
 the new Venetian ambassador, Sebastian Giustinian, sent to 
 succeed Andrea Badoer, and to exert all his energies to 
 promote the French King's Italian expedition. Therein 
 seemed to rest the last hope of the ancient republic, which, 
 though it had repaired some of its losses and disunited 
 its enemies, still had the mortification of seeing Verona 
 and Brescia in the clutches of the Emperor Maximilian. 
 These it was confidently expected he would be obliged to 
 relinquish in the event of a French expedition, p,nd 
 
 ' Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. II., Part I., p. 125. 
 
336 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 Giustinian, seconding the efforts of the resident ambassador 
 at the French court, had interviewed King Francis on his 
 road to London, obtaining from him a pledge which sent 
 him on his way rejoicing. "Assure the republic on my 
 behalf, said the King, solemnly placing his hand on his 
 breast, that, on the word of a gentleman, a year from this 
 day, or thirteen months at the utmost, shall not elapse ere 
 she recover her whole territory ; and, during this interval, 
 should she find herself in peril, be perfectly convinced that 
 at the risk of losing my crown, I would not abandon her."' 
 
 Accompanied by the Magnifico Piero Pasqualigo, the new 
 ambassador to France, Giustinian arrived at Dover from 
 Boulogne, " having been at sea during twenty-four hours, 
 owing to the foul weather, which buffeted us mercilessly," 
 and proceeded to London. The whole of their journey and 
 the happenings at the English Court are told in the graphic 
 language of the despatches translated by Rawdon Brown and 
 published in two volumes in 1854 under the title, " Four 
 Years at the Court of Henry VIIL" It is from this valuable 
 source that we now take up the thread of our story. The 
 national portrait traced by a foreign pencil, as Rawdon 
 Brown says, is always interesting, and the testimony of the 
 Venetian diplomatist of higher value than most : " Few 
 witnesses could be expected to exhibit so much impartiality; 
 he was beset by no early prejudices; he had none of the 
 hatred of near neighbourhood to warp his judgment " : 
 
 THE VENETIAN AMBASSADORS TO THE SIGNORY. 
 [" Four Years at the Court of Henry VIII."] 
 
 [London, April 21, 1515.] 
 
 From Canterbury, on the 12th instant, we wrote to 
 your Serenity of our having crossed over to this side 
 of the channel, and of what we had heard from the 
 French ambassadors, who were on their way back to 
 France, about the agreement concluded by them with 
 this most serene King. Subsequently, in order to 
 await his Majesty's instructions respecting our entry 
 into this city, we came as far as Rochester, twenty- 
 four miles hence, where we found the Consul, the 
 
 " Four Years at the Court of Henry VIII.," Vol I., p. 58. 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 337 
 
 Magnifico Dom Hieronimo da Molin, son of the late 
 Marin, with vsome of our countrymen, who, to honour 
 your Serenity, had come thus far, and with them we 
 betook ourselves to Deptford, a place distant twelve 
 Venetian miles from this ; and from thence, on the 
 1 8th, there came to escort us, in the name of the 
 King's majesty, a doctor of the Parliament and 
 another cavalier, with an honourable company of 
 about fifty horsemen all in one livery, who, after 
 addressing us in the friendly terms customary in like 
 circumstances, accompanied us from the said place 
 as far as our dwelling in this town. On the road we 
 were met, first, by the rest of our counti:ymen, and 
 then by the most noble the Ambassador Badoer and 
 others, so that on entering London, we numbered 
 upwards of two hundred horse ; and as his aforesaid 
 Majesty is at Richmond, seven miles off, where he 
 means to celebrate the approaching festival of St. 
 George, the patron of his Order of the Garter, he has 
 given us to understand that he will in that same 
 place, and on that very day, give us our first audience, 
 for the sake of doing greater honour to your Serenity; 
 and thus do we hold ourselves prepared and in 
 readiness, and after having been with his Majesty, we 
 will give a detailed account to your Serenity of what 
 we have effected. 
 
 The peace with France was again solemnly pro- 
 claimed here yesterday. Item, news is expected here 
 hourly of the most serene Queen Maria's having left 
 Paris on her way back to these parts, and from what 
 we understand (although this had been also publicly 
 reported in France), she is married to the Duke of 
 Suffolk. 
 
 We have presented his letters of recall to the 
 Magnifico the Ambassador Badoer, who answered us, 
 that he is unable to depart hence without a good sum 
 of money ; and he inquired of me,- Sebastian, whether 
 I had brought him any supply, but I answered him in 
 the negative ; for although in the commission given 
 me on leaving Venice, it was stated, amongst other 
 
 y.H. 2, 
 
338 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 things, that a bill for i,ooo ducats had been consigned 
 to me for this purpose by the Magnifico Almoro Pisani 
 of the bank, tamen re vera, I never received either 
 the bill or anything else. We have chosen to notify 
 this to your Serenity, that you may be acquainted 
 with the whole, and take such steps as you shall 
 think fit. 
 
 London, April 26, 1515. 
 
 By our letters of the 21st of April, your Highness 
 will have been informed of v!\a.ny occurrences, and 
 especially that on St. George's Day we were to have 
 public audience of his Majesty. By these present 
 we acquaint you that, on that appointed day, his 
 Majesty aforesaid sent a prelate and a knight, and an 
 honourable train, to escort us from our dwelling ; and 
 they conducted us by the Thames to a palace of his, 
 called Richmond, ten miles hence, where we found 
 the whole court, and well nigh all the lords and 
 prelates of the kingdom, assembled We were 
 ushered into a stately hall, whdre all the aforesaid 
 were congregated ; at one extremity was his Majesty 
 standing near a gilt chair, surrounded by many regal 
 insignia, and his Majesty was under a canopy, with a 
 gold ground and a raised pile, arrayed in the robes of 
 the Garter, as were eight other Knights of the Order. 
 Having been introduced to his Majesty, and after 
 kissing his hand, and presenting to him your 
 Serenity's letter of credence, I, Sebastian, delivered a 
 Latin oration, in which we congratulated ourselves, 
 in the first place, on his Majesty's good health; 
 secondly, we condoled with him on the death of the 
 late King Louis, his brother-in-law; thirdly, we 
 thanked his Majesty for that, in the league forined 
 with the aforesaid Christian King, he had named your 
 Sublimity as his friend and ally, and on this point we 
 dwelt at length, and in the warmest terms ; fourthly, 
 we expressed our joy at the new confederation made 
 by his Majesty with the most Christian King Francis; 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 339 
 
 finally, we launched out in praise of his Majesty, 
 whom we extolled with all the eloquence we could 
 command, drawing such conclusions as suited our 
 purpose, which oration was most attentively listened 
 to by his Majesty and by all the prelates and lords 
 there present. 
 
 We were answered in his Majesty's name by a 
 Doctor of the Parliament, who thanked your 
 Highness, in the first place, for having sent us as his 
 ambassadors so great a distance and in such difficult 
 times ; and, in reply to our congratulation on the 
 king's good health, he said, that it well became your 
 Serenity to rejoice thereat, as his Majesty bore the 
 greatest good will to your Highness, and that 
 whenever able to assist you, he would do so most 
 readily. He thanked us for our condolence on the 
 death of the late most Christian King Louis, repeating 
 and confirming many things contained in our oration ; 
 adding, moreover, that the nomination made by his 
 Majesty of your Highness, as his friend and ally, 
 proceeded from the good will and friendship enter- 
 tained by him towards your Highness, vowing that 
 he had ever been faithful to you, and especially in 
 your adversities, and that he had therefore done the 
 like in this fresh confederation with this new King of 
 France, so that wheresoever possible he means to 
 favour you ; and that it is, above all things, his wish 
 to make peace for you, and place you in repose after 
 so many labours and afflictions. In the last place, 
 he thanked us in ample for the praise bestowed on 
 him, and for our good wishes for his welfare and 
 felicity, so that little was said by us that was not 
 benignly and graciously answered in his Majesty's 
 name. This ended, his Majesty went to hear high 
 mass, and we accompanied him ; after which he went 
 to dinner, escorted by all the prelates and lords there 
 present, and he chose us to dine there likewise, giving 
 us for our companions, the Rev. Archbishop of York 
 [Wolsey], who is called " Eboracensis," and the 
 Bishop of Durham [Ruthall]. Having dined, we 
 
 z 2 
 
342 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 crowd of nobility, all arrayed in cloth of gold and 
 silk. 
 
 After Giustinian had addressed his Majesty for the 
 space of half an hour, and been answered by Dr. 
 Taylor, the King made a move, and we being imme- 
 diately in advance of him, went with all this pomp to 
 church, returning also in procession. Subsequently 
 we attended high mass, which was chaunted by the 
 Bishop of Durham, with a superb and noble descant 
 choir ; and afterwards we accompanied the King to 
 table, where he chose us to see the service of the 
 courses, contained in sixteen dishes of massive gold 
 with sixteen covers. As soon as he had commenced 
 eating, he sent us with the Archbishop of York and 
 the Bishop of Durham into his chamber, where a very 
 sumptuous and plentiful dinner had been prepared 
 for us ; and, by the King's order, a repast was 
 served in like manner for all our countrymen and 
 attendants. 
 
 After dinner, we were taken to the King, who 
 embraced us, without ceremony, and conversed for a 
 long while very familiarly, on various topics, in good 
 Latin and in French, which he speaks very well indeed, 
 and he then dismissed us, and we were brought back 
 here to London in the same bucintor, by Mr. Russell 
 and Dr. Taylor. 
 
 His Majesty is the handsomest potentate I ever set 
 eyes on ; above the usual height, with an extremely 
 fine calf to his leg, his complexion very fair and 
 bright, with auburn hair combed straight and short, in 
 the French fashion, and a round face so very beautiful, 
 that it would become a pretty woman, his throat being 
 rather long and thick. He was born on the 28th 
 of June, 1491, so he will enter his twenty-fifth year 
 the month after next. He speaks French, English, 
 and Latin, and a little Italian, plays well on the lute 
 and harpsichord, sings from book at sight, draws the 
 bow with greater strength than any man in England, 
 and jousts marvellously. Believe me, he is in 
 every respect a most accomplished Prince ; and I, 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 343 
 
 who have now seen all the Sovereigns in Christendom, 
 and last of all these two of France and England in 
 such great state, might well rest content, and with 
 sufficient reason have it said to me, 
 
 " abi viator, sat tuis oculis debes ; " 
 
 nor will I omit telling you how much I am comforted 
 to see, that now after the loss of so much territory, 
 and such exhaustion incurred by the most illustrious 
 Signory, she is held in as great account of yore by 
 these two kings, who are the first in the world, so her 
 ambassadors must bear patiently the cost of their- 
 outfit and that of their attendants, and of so many 
 preparatives, for it all redounds most immensely to 
 your glory and repute, and indeed both in Frartce and 
 here, everybody vows that although you have lost 
 territory, you have, nevertheless, gained so much 
 honour by maintaining yourselves, and prevailing 
 during so many years against so many enemies and 
 such a tide of adverse fortune, that the like never 
 befell any Sovereign in the world ; and, therefore, I 
 prophesy that the State will speedily resume her 
 position, and even expand, in such wise that she will 
 no longer have to fear any one, and this I trust to see 
 very soon. 
 
 The King has come hither, to a place of his called 
 Baynard's Castle, and is going to Greenwich, where 
 we are to have our private audience, and shall, more- 
 over, visit the most serene Queen, I taking leave 
 simultaneously, on my way back to France. 
 
 Before leaving for Paris Pasqualigo and his colleagues 
 were invited to a royal May Day frolic at Shooter's Hill, 
 where the pageant of Robin Hood, always a favourite festival 
 in those days of Merrie England, must have considerably 
 astonished the Venetians, who wrote three separate accounts 
 of the affair. The best picture of the entertainment is 
 furnished by Giustinian's secretary, Nicolo Sagudino, 
 who, as will be seen, was as keen a musician as Hgiry 
 himself: 
 
344 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 NICOLO SAGUDINO TO ALVISE FOSCARI. 
 [" Four Years at the Court of Henry VIII. "] 
 
 [London, May 3, 1515.] 
 
 . . . On the first day of May, his Majesty sent two 
 English lords to the ambassadors, who were taken by 
 them to a place called Greenwich, five miles hence, 
 where the King was, for the purpose of celebrating 
 May Day. On the ambassadors arriving there, they 
 mounted on horseback, with many of the chief nobles 
 of the kingdom, and accompanied the most Serene 
 Queen into the country, to meet the King. Her 
 Majesty was most excellently attired, and very richly, 
 and with her were twenty-five damsels, mounted on 
 white palfreys, with housings of the same fashion, 
 most beautifully embroidered in gold, and these 
 damsels had all dresses slashed with gold lama in 
 very costly trim, with a number of footmen in most 
 excellent order. The Queen went thus with her 
 retinue a distance of two miles out of Greenwich, 
 into a wood, where they found the King with his 
 guard, all clad in a livery of green, with bows in 
 their hands, and about a hundred noblemen on horse- 
 back, all gorgeously arrayed. In this wood were 
 certain bowers filled purposely with singing birds, 
 which carolled most sweetly, and in one of these 
 bastions or bowers, were some triumphal cars, on 
 which were singers and musicians, who played on an 
 organ and lute and flutes for a good while, during a 
 banquet which was served in this place ; then pro- 
 ceeding homewards, certain tall paste-board giants 
 being placed on cars, and surrounded by his Majesty's 
 guard, were conducted with the greatest order to 
 Greenwich, the musicians singing the whole way, 
 and sounding the trumpets and other instruments, so 
 that, by my faith, it was an extremely fine triumph, 
 and very pompous, and the King in person brought 
 up the rear in as great state as possible, being followed 
 by the Queen, with such a crowd on foot, as to exceed, 
 I think, 25,000 persons. On arriving at Greenwich, 
 his Majesty went to mass, after which the ambassadors 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 345 
 
 had private audience, the details of which your mag- 
 nificence will learn through . . . [The name is left 
 blank in the original.] 
 
 The King then went to dinner, and, by his Majesty's 
 order, the ambassadors, and we likewise, dined in his 
 palace, with the chief nobility of this land. After 
 dinner the ambassadors were taken into certain 
 chambers containing a number of organs and harpsi- 
 chords and flutes, and other instruments, and where 
 the prelates and chief nobles were assembled to see 
 the joust which was then in preparation ; and in the 
 meanwhile the ambassadors told some of these 
 grandees that I was a proficient on some of these 
 instruments ; so they asked me to play, and knowing 
 that I could not refuse, I did so for a long while, both 
 on the harpsichords and org,ans, and really bore 
 myself bravely, and was listened to with great atten- 
 tion. Arnong the listeners was a Brescian, to whom 
 this King gives 300 ducats annually for playing the 
 lute, and this man took up his instrument and played 
 a few things with me ; and afterwards two musicians, 
 who are also in his Majesty's service, played the 
 organ, but very ill forsooth : they kept bad time, and 
 their touch was feeble, neither was their execution 
 good, so that my performance was deemed not much 
 worse than theirs. The prelates who were present 
 told me that the King would certainly choose to hear 
 me, as his Majesty practises on these invStruments 
 day and night, and that he will very much like my 
 playing. So I shall prepare, and hope not to dis- 
 grace myself if called upon, and will give you notice 
 of the result ; and pray send me some compositions 
 of Zuane Maria's, as I vaunt him to every one for 
 what he is, and thus they have requested me to 
 send for some of his music, promising me some of, 
 theirs in return ; and I should also wish to receive 
 a few new ballads. 
 
 The preparations for the joust being at length 
 accomplished, this most serene King made }^s 
 appearance in very great pomp : on his side were 
 
3^6 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 ten of these noblemen on most capital horses, all 
 with housings of one sort, namely, with cloth of gold 
 with a raised pile, his Majesty's war horse being like- 
 wise caparisoned in the same manner ; and in truth 
 he looked like St. George in person on its back. 
 
 The opposing party consisted of ten other noble- 
 men, also in rich array, and very well mounted, so 
 that really I never saw such a sight ; and then they 
 began to joust, and continued this sport for three 
 hours, to the constant sound of the trumpets and 
 drums, the King excelling all the others, shivering 
 many lances, and unhorsing one of his opponents ; 
 so that the show was most beautiful, and I only 
 regret not having time to describe it in full. I never 
 should have expected to find such pomp ; and, on 
 this occasion, his Majesty exerted himself to the 
 utmost, for the sake of the ambassadors, and more 
 particularly on account of Pasqualigo (who is return- 
 ing to France to-day), that he may be able to tell 
 King Francis what he has seen in England, and 
 especially with regard to his Majesty's own prowess. 
 
 The joust being ended, the ambassadors went to 
 visit the Queen, whom Pasqualigo - addressed in 
 Spanish, in which tongue her Majesty, in like manner, 
 replied. She is rather ugly than otherwise, and sup- 
 posed to be pregnant ; but the damsels of her court 
 are handsome, and make a sumptuous appearance. 
 
 Catherine had now lost the bloom of her youth. She had 
 only just entered her thirties, but her worries in the days of 
 Henry VII., and fourteen years of the English climate, had 
 left their marks. Four years later Giustinian described her 
 as "not handsome, but has a very beautiful complexion," 
 adding that she was "religious, and as virtuous as words 
 can express." ^ The rumours of her pregnancy— repeated by 
 Sagudino— a matter of the highest national interest, and 
 always more or less in the air — were presumably a little 
 premature in this case, for Princess Mary, the future queen 
 of the sanguinary epithet, was not born until February iS of 
 
 1 "Four Years at the Court of Henry VIII.," Vol, II., p. 313- 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 347 
 
 the following year. The contemporary English account of 
 this May Day festival, furnished by Hall, gives the most 
 pleasing picture of the happy relationship then existing 
 between the King and Queen. As they rode a-maying, we 
 are told, they were met by Robin Hood and his merry men, 
 and invited to " enter the good greenwood, and see how out- 
 laws lived." On this Henry, turning to Catherine, asked her 
 " if she and her damsels would venture into a thicket with so 
 many outlaws ? " To which Catherine answered that " where 
 he went she was content to go." The King then handed her 
 to a floral bower, where a breakfast of venison was prepared, 
 and everything done to make the Queen delighted with her 
 sylvan lodge. 
 
 Pasqualigo's account of that astonishing day is more 
 interesting for its amusing proofs of Henry's personal vanity, 
 and of his ill-concealed jealousy of the young King of France. 
 The incident is curiously akin to that droll interview between 
 Henry's younger daughter, Great Elizabeth, and Sir James 
 Melville, the ambassador of Mary Stuart, half a century later, 
 when the virgin Queen as openly discussed the respective 
 merits of her rival and herself. We have omitted from 
 Pasqualigo's letter the introductory description of matters 
 dealt with in the correspondence of his colleagues : 
 
 PIERO PASQUALIGO TO 
 
 [" Four Years at the Court of Henry VIII."} 
 
 [London, May 3, 1515.] 
 
 . . . We next met his Majesty the King on a bay 
 Frieslander, w^hich had been sent him as a present 
 by the Marquis of Mantua ; he was dressed entirely 
 in green velvet, cap, doublet, hose, shoes, and every- 
 thing, and directly we came in sight, he commenced 
 making his horse curvet, and performed such feats, 
 that I fancied myself looking at Mars. He was 
 accompanied by a number of noblemen, most capitally 
 mounted, and richly clad, with all of whom we entered 
 a wood, where a sort of labyrinth had been prepared 
 beforehand with boughs, within which were some 
 places surrounded by ditches, like bastions, destined 
 for the company, according to their grade, and inside 
 
348 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 these bowers tables were laid, where we ate, and 
 made what they call here, a proper good breakfast. 
 
 His Majesty came into our arbour, and, addressing 
 me in French, said : " Talk with me awhile ! The 
 King of France, is he as tall as I am ? " I told him 
 there was but little difference. He continued, " Is he 
 as stout ? " I said he was not ; and he then inquired, 
 "■What sort of legs has he?" I replied, " Spare." 
 Whereupon he opened the front of his doublet, and 
 placing his hand on his thigh, said, " Look here ! and 
 I have also a good calf to my leg." He then told me 
 that he was very fond of this King of France, and 
 that for the sake of seeing him, he went over there in 
 person, and that on more than three occasions he was 
 very near him with his army, but that he never would 
 allow himself to be seen, and always retreated, which 
 his Majesty attributed to deference for King Louis, 
 who did not choose an engagement to take place ; 
 and he here commenced discussing in detail all the 
 events of that war, and then took his departure. 
 
 After this we mounted our horses, and marched in 
 great state in pairs, with big drums, and to the sound 
 of trumpets, returning thus to Greenwich, where we 
 attended high mass with his Majesty, who changed 
 his dress, covering his doublet with a handsome gown 
 of green velvet, and wearing a collar of cut diamonds 
 of imraense^alue ; and then, having withdrawn into 
 a sort of hall, he gave us our private audience, when 
 I stated what was necessary, and obtained a reply so 
 favourable for us in every respect, that we could not 
 have wished for a better. He then, for the second 
 time, gave us a dinner, which was served with 
 incredible pomp ; and at our table there was an 
 Archbishop, the Duke of Norfolk, the Treasurer, the 
 Admiral, the Viceroy of Ireland, the Grand Prior of 
 St. John's, and others, who all wore very superb 
 chains. 
 
 After dinner his Majesty and many others armed 
 themselves cap-d-pie, and he chose us to see him joust, 
 running upwards of thirty courses, in one of which 
 
THE SECRET MARRIAGE 349 
 
 he capsized his opponent (who is the finest jouster in 
 the whole -kingdom), horse and all. He then took off 
 his helmet, and came under the windows where we 
 were, and talked and laughed with us to our very 
 great honour, and to the surprise of all beholders. 
 After this he went to disarm, ^nd in the meanwhile 
 we visited the Queen, and there, in public, I addressed 
 her in good Spanish, which pleased her more than I 
 can tell you ; and she commenced talking with me 
 abbut Spanish affairs, and about her mother, making 
 me all possible civil speeches. 
 
 Meanwhile the King returned, and after becoming 
 thanks, I took leave of all of them to return to France, 
 and we came back to London. 
 
 To this may be added the joint testimony of the three 
 ambassadors, not only confirming what has already been 
 written concerning the King's personality and accomplish- 
 ments, but bearing witness also to the high reputation which 
 he evidently held at this period in the matter of his morals : 
 " After dinner a stately joust took place, at which his Majesty 
 jousted with many others, strenuously and valorously ; and 
 assuredly, most serene Prince, from what we have seen of 
 him, and in conformity, moreover, with the report made to 
 us by others, this most serene King is not only very expert 
 in arms, and of great valour, and most excellent in his personal 
 endowments, but is likewise so gifted and adorned with mental 
 accomplishments of every sort that we believe him to have few 
 equals in the world. He speaks English, French, and Latin ; 
 understands Italian well ; plays almost on every instrument ; 
 sings and composes fairly; is prudent and sage, and free 
 from every vice." ^ 
 
 The only serious suggestion that Henry at this period was 
 not all that he might have been is found in a letter from the 
 Bishop of Worcester to Ammonius, sent from Rome three 
 months before Mary's birth, in which he repeats a warning 
 received from Wolsey to the effect that Baltasar Tuerdus, 
 who hid been sent to Rome by Francis's mother to beg the 
 Pope's favour towards her son, " speaks disrespectfully of the 
 
 * " Four Years at the Court of Henry VIII,," Vol. I., p. 76. 
 
350 THE YOUTH OF HENRY VHI 
 
 King, saying he is a youngling, cares for nothing but girls and 
 hunting, and wastes his father's patrimony " ; ^ but too much 
 importance need not be attached to charges coming from 
 such a prejudiced source, especially when there is so little 
 corroborative evidence. Outwardly, at least, the court of 
 Henry VIII. in his youth was a model of purity, compared 
 with those of some of his successors. Whatever his later 
 faults may have been, he never tolerated such an open parade 
 of vice as disgraced the court of Charles II. His standard 
 of morality bears comparison with that of most of the ruling 
 princes of his time. It was infinitely higher than that of his 
 young rival of France, Francis I. 
 
 So, for the time being, we may leave him, spoiled a little, 
 perhaps-, by flattery, but, even when due allowance is made 
 for exaggeration, a splendid figure of a man, immensely 
 popular, and still full of hope that a son and heir would come 
 to complete his happiness. When, in the following year, his 
 daughter Mary was born, and the Venetian ambassador 
 accompanied his belated congratulations with regrets upon 
 her sex, his Majesty replied : " We are both young ; if it 
 was a daughter this time, by the grace of God the sons will 
 follow." 
 
 1 Calendar, Henry VIII., Vol. II., Part I., p. 292. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abbeville, 269, 285, 286, 287 
 
 Airlie, Earl of, 224 
 
 Albany, Alexander Stuart, Duke 
 of, 256 — 7 
 
 Albany, John Stuart, Duke of, 
 endeavours to recover his 
 duchy, 257 ; afiairs of Scot- 
 land discussed with, 295 ; 
 Henry VIII. 's attitude to- 
 wards, 300 ; Margaret of 
 Scotland's attitude towards, 
 301 ; efforts to prevent de- 
 parture for Scotland, 312 
 331 
 
 Albert of Bavaria, Duke, no 
 
 Alen9on, Monseigneur d', 288 
 
 Alexander VI., Pope, 50 
 
 Ahnazan, Miguel Perez de, 114, 
 138. Letter from, 124 
 
 Ammonius, 349 
 
 AngoulSme, Count of, see Fran- 
 cis I. 
 
 Angus, Earl of, see Douglas 
 
 Anne of Brittany, queen of 
 Louis XII., 309 
 
 Argyll. Earl of, 224 
 
 Armagh, Archbishop of, see Kite 
 
 Armestorfi, Paul, letter from, 
 204 
 
 Arran, Earl of, 216. 295 
 
 Arthur, Prince of Wales, tragedy 
 of, I ; residence on the 
 Welsh border, 3 ; betrothal 
 to Catherine of Arragon, 
 6 — 9 ; married by proxy, 7, 
 10 ; introduced to bride- 
 elect, 12 ; wedding cere- 
 mony and festivities, 13 — 
 15 ; departure for Wales, 
 21 — 4 ; death at Ludlow 
 Castle, 25. Letters from, 
 8—9, 16 
 
 Ascuetia, Juan de, 114 
 
 Aste, Bishop of, letter to, 269 
 
 Ayala, Don Pedro de. 62, 69, 72. 
 Lietter from, 16 
 
 Azcotia, Jutin, 112 
 
 Badger, Andre?,, 126. 248, 249, 
 335. 337- Letters from, 
 150, 272 
 
 Bainbridge, Christopher, Arch- 
 bishop of York, 152 note, 
 220, 276 — 81 
 
 Battle of the Spurs, 204, 206, 207 
 
 Bavaria, Duke of, see Albert 
 
 Bayard, Monsr. de, 205 and note 
 
 Beaufort, Lady Margaret, Coun- 
 tess of lUchmond, 5, 126, 
 128 
 
 Bergenroth, Gustav A., 81, 102 
 
 Blount, Elizabeth, 230 
 
 Blount, WiUiam, Lord Mount] oy, 
 3, 4, 5, 207. Letter from, 
 126 
 
 Boleyn, Anne, 284 
 
 Boleyn, Mary, 230, 284 
 
 Boleyn, Sir Thomas, 206 
 
 Border warfare, 231—4 
 
 Bothe, Sir Joseph, 213 
 
 Brandon, Charles, Duke of Suf- 
 folk, created Viscount Lisle, 
 226 ; courts the Arch- 
 duchess Margaret, 226 — 9 ; 
 his parentage and marriages, 
 229 ; loved by Mary Tudor, 
 251 ; attends marriage by 
 proxy of Mary Tudor and 
 Louis XII., 264 ; in France 
 after her arrival, 290 — 9, 
 291 — 2 ; secret plot with 
 Louis XII. against Fer- 
 dinand, 293 — 8, 305 — 6 ; 
 distinguishes himself in 
 Paris tournaments, 298 — 9 ; 
 heads embassy to Fran- 
 cis I., 311 — 12 ; his promise 
 regarding Mary, 312 ; rival 
 suitors for her hand, 317 ; 
 reception by Francis I., 
 317 — 18 ; secret marriage 
 with Mary, 321 — ^34 ; failure 
 of his negotiations with 
 Francis I., 326—7, 329, 
 331 ; remarried semi-ph- 
 
352 
 
 iNDEk 
 
 Brswidon, Charles — {continued). 
 vately with French king's 
 permission, 331 — 2 ; recon- 
 ciliation with Henry and 
 public marriage in England, 
 335. Letters from, 291 — 2, 
 296, 318 — 19, 324, 333 — 4 
 
 Brest, naval engagement off, 162 
 
 Brewer, J. S., 303 
 
 Brighton, burning of, 250 
 
 Brown, Rawdon, 336 
 
 Buckingham, Duke of, 139 — 40, 
 266 
 
 Bull, Sir Stephen, 186 
 
 Buhner, Sir William,. 208, 211 
 
 Burbank, William, secretary of 
 Cardinal Bainbridge, 277 
 
 Burgundy, PhiUp I., Duke of, 
 see Philip 
 
 Bussi, Mons. de, 205 
 
 Ca CERES, Francisca de, 107, 115 
 Calderpn, 63 
 
 Cambrai, Compact of, 100, 135 
 Canterbury, Archbishop of, 121, 
 
 137. ^97. 215. 265 
 Carew, Sir George, 180 note 
 Caroz, Luis, 134, 137, 141 — 2, 
 303. Letters froih, 738, 303 
 Cassel, Provost of, letter from, 
 
 98, 99 
 Castile, Charles of, see Charles, 
 Prince, afterwards Charles V. 
 Castile, Philip I., King of, see 
 
 Philip 
 Catherine of Arragon, betrothal 
 to Prince Arthur, 6 — 9 ; 
 married by proxy to him, 7, 
 10 ; journey to England, 
 10 ; introduced to bride- 
 groom-elect, 12 ; wedding 
 ceremony and festivities, 
 13 — 15 ; the question of 
 consummation, 14 — 15, 22, 
 24 — 5, 28, 36 note, 47 — 8 ; 
 reason for sending her to 
 Wales, 19-^24 ; widowed, 
 25 ; negotiations and dis- 
 putes over her dowry, and 
 betrothal to Prince Henry, 
 26 — 120 ; rumoured pro- 
 posal to marry her to 
 Henry VII., 40 ; Queen 
 Isabella's indignation, 40 
 — 3 ; her counter proposal. 
 
 46 ; Catherine's position at 
 English Court, 48, 52—4, 
 58. 62—3, 75—7, 84—7. 
 116 — 17; ignorance of 
 English language, 62 ; acts 
 for Henry VII. in his pro- 
 posal to marry Queen Juana, 
 68 — 84, 90 — 8 ; her crafty 
 diplomacy, 87 — 92, 90 — 8 ; 
 troubles over her confessor, 
 102 — 16 ; changed position 
 with death of Henry VII., 
 121 — 5 ; married to Henry 
 VIII., 126 ; her account to 
 Ferdinand, 131 — ^4 ; de- 
 fends her confessor, 132 — 3 ; 
 appointed to act as Spanish 
 Ambassador. 134 ; more 
 trouble with her confessor, 
 i37-;-9, 141 ; first matri- 
 monial cloud, 139 — 41 ; 
 " thanks God for such a 
 husband," 141 ; birth and 
 death of her son, 143 ; ac- 
 companies Henry to Dover 
 on French expeditioii, 197 ; 
 appointed Queen-Governor 
 in Henry's absence, 197 ; 
 her anxiety on his account, 
 198—9, 203 ; prepares for 
 war with Scotland, 202 — ^3 ; 
 sends cdngratulatibns oh 
 Battle of the Spurs, 206 — 7 ; 
 objects to custody of cap- 
 tured Duke of Longueville, 
 207—8 ; her share in Flod- 
 den Field victory, 218 ; 
 sends Henry fragment of 
 James's blood-stained coat, 
 218 — 20, 226 ; Henry's re- 
 turn, 230 ; new hopes of an 
 heir, 256, 266 ; attends 
 blessing of Henry's new 
 ship, 257 — 8 ; attends mar- 
 riage by proxy of Mary 
 Tudor, 264—^7 ; accom- 
 panies her to Dover, 283 — 4; 
 hopes of an heir again dis- 
 appointed, 302 ; first ru- 
 mour of divorce, 302 — 3 ; 
 Spanish Ambassador's con- 
 plaint against her, 303 — 4 ; 
 attends May-Day Festival, 
 344 — 7 ; her fading youth, 
 346 ; Spanish conversation 
 with Venetian Ambassador, 
 
INDEX 
 
 353 
 
 Catherine of Arragon — (contd). 
 349 ; birth of her daughter 
 Mary, 350. Letters from, 
 62 — 6, 71 — 6, 77 — 9, 79 — 
 84. 85—7. 88—92, 93—5, 
 105—9, 115— 16, 130— I. 
 199. 203, ao6, 207—8, 
 219 — 20 
 
 Charles, Prince, afterwards 
 Charles V., proposed mar- 
 riage with Mary Tudor, 91, 
 92, 98; 106, 116, 117, 118, 
 129, 243, 251, 264, 268 ; in- 
 clusion in alliance suggested 
 by Ferdinand of Arragon, 
 136 ; the Holy League, 147 : 
 hostility of the King of 
 Arragon to, 193 ; negotia- 
 tions with France, 239 ; pro- 
 posed alliance with France 
 and England, 270 ; contract 
 between Charles and Mary 
 Tudor, 271 — 4 ; treasurer* 
 of, 304 
 
 Cheyne, Thomas, 188 
 
 Choknondeley, Sir Richard, 234 
 
 Clarence, Duke of, 9 
 
 Cochleius, Joannes, 64 
 
 Colet, John, 6 
 
 Compton, Sir WilUam, 139 note 
 
 Constable, Marmaduke, 211 
 
 Conyers, WilUam, 211, 223 
 
 Comewall, Richard, 188 
 
 Count Palatine, 253 
 
 Crawford, Earl of, 212, 224 
 
 Cuer, Janina de, 133 
 
 Cuero, Juan de, 16, 18, 107, 113 
 
 Dacre, Sir Christopher, 232, 233 
 
 Dacre, Philip, 231 
 
 Dacre, Thomas, 211. Letter 
 
 from, 231 
 Dacre, Lord, 177, 300 
 Dacres, Lord, 223 
 Darcy, George, 211 
 Darcy, Thomas, Lord, 143, 212 
 Diero, Jean de, chamberlain of 
 
 the Princess of Wales, 11 
 Docwra, Sir Thomas, 267 
 Dorset, Marquess of, 157, 291, 
 298. 
 
 Letter from, 299 
 Douglas, Archibald, Earl of 
 
 Angus, 295, 313 
 Douglas, Gavin, 302 note, 315 
 
 Y.H. 
 
 Dudley, Edmund, 128 note 
 Durham, Bishop of, 173, 198, 
 202, 209, 213, 214, 267, 342 
 
 EcHYNGHAM, Sir Edward, 181. 
 Letter from, 185 
 
 Edmund, Prince, son of Henry 
 VIL, 4 
 
 Eleanor of Castile, proposed 
 marriage, 98 
 
 EUot, Lieut.-Col. the Hon. F., 
 2:3 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen of England, 347 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen, Consort of 
 Henry VII., 15, 26, 40 
 
 Eltham Palace, 3 
 
 Emmanuel, King of Portugal, 57 
 
 Empson, Sir Richard, 128 and 
 note 
 
 English domestic hfe in Henry 
 Vni.'s reign, picture of, 
 160—3 
 
 EngUsh, Sir James, 314 
 
 Erasnius visits royal nursery at 
 Eltham, 3^5 ; on English 
 scholarship at close of fif- 
 teenth century, 6 ; writes 
 to Prince Henry on death of 
 Philip of Castile, 64 — 5 ; 
 Henry's reply, 66 — 7 ; hopes 
 of advancement by Henry's 
 accession, 126 — 8 ; on Flod- 
 den Field and his own war- 
 fare, 2 1 4 — '1 5 . Letters from, 
 6, 65, 214—15 
 
 Enrol, Earl of, see Hay 
 
 Esquivel, Alonzo de, 119, 133 
 
 Estrada, Fernando, Duke of, 26, 
 27, 54. Letter from, 49 
 
 Farrara, Duke of, 218 
 Fastcastell, Lord of, see Home 
 Favri, Nicolo di, letters from, 
 160, 215, 247, 256, 257, 264 
 Fecamp, Abbot of, 135 
 Ferdinand II., negotiations with 
 Henry VII. over marriage 
 of Ca^erine and Prince of 
 Wales, 7, 9 ; bids Catherine 
 farewell, 10 ; instructions 
 to Doctor Puebla, 10 — 12 ; 
 letter from Prince of Wales, 
 15 — 16 ; dispute over 
 Catherine's dowry and be- 
 
 A A 
 
354 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Ferdinand ll.^cdntimied). 
 
 longings, i6 — 23 ; letter 
 from Henry VII., 24 — 5 ; 
 negotiations and squabbles 
 respecting Catherine's dowry 
 and her betrothal to Prince 
 Henry, 26 — 120 ; offers to 
 assist England in recovering 
 Guienne and Normandy, 34 
 — 6 ; sends Papal Bull of 
 dispensation for Catherine's 
 second marriage, 50 — i ; 
 death of Queen Isabella, 52 ; 
 Ferdinand's neglect of 
 Catherine, 54, 60, 62, 68 ; 
 death of King of Castile, 64 ; 
 Ferdinand marries Germaine 
 de Foix, 67 ; negotiations 
 for marriage of Henry VII. 
 with the widowed Queen 
 Juana, 68—71, 74—5, 78 
 — 84, 90^8 ; Ferdinand's 
 financial straits, 85 note ; 
 belated relief for Catherine, 
 84—5, 87; Henry VII.'s 
 new move against Fer- 
 dinand, 92 — 3, 99 ; Fer- 
 dinand profits by League of 
 Cambrai, 100 ; threatens 
 war against England, loi ; 
 receives news of death of 
 Henry VII., 121 ; instruc- 
 tions to his ambassador in 
 London, 122 — 3 ; advice to 
 Henry VIII. and Catherine, 
 122 — 5 ; letter from his new 
 son-in-law, 130 — i ; Cathe- 
 rine's account, 131 — 4 ; Fer- 
 dinand's congratulations on 
 the wedding, 134 ; appoints 
 Catherine his ambassador, 
 134 ; warns Henry to be 
 more circumspect in diplo- 
 macy, 136 ; attacked by 
 Louis XII. , 1^3 ; concludes 
 Holy League with Pope 
 Julius II., 145 — 8 ; how it 
 was brought about, 150^7, 
 160 — 9 ; his use of Henry's 
 army in Spain, 157 — 8 ; 
 Henry aware of his treach- 
 ery, 191 — 4 ; his truce with 
 France, 195 — 7 ; Henry in- 
 forms him of his approach- 
 ing campaign, 197; agrees 
 to continue war with Henry 
 
 and Maximilian in follow- 
 ing year, 230 ; again deserts 
 him, 236—43 ; Henry's in- 
 dignation, 244 ; counter- 
 plot, 250 — I ; result of Fer- 
 dinand's betrayal, 268 — g, 
 270, 294 — 8 ; advised' " to 
 put a bridle on this 
 young colt," Henry VIII., 
 304. Letters from, 10 — 12, 
 34—6, 36—8, 47—9, 50—1, 
 54—6, 69—70, 95—8, 116 
 —20, 122, 123, 125, 134, 
 135, 240, 242—3 
 
 Fernandez, Diego, confessor to 
 Catherine of Aragon, 74, 102 
 —16, 126, 132—3, 137— 
 41, 303 — 4, 303 note 
 
 Fernando of Castile, Don, pro- 
 posed marriage of, 238 
 
 Ferrers, Lord, 186, 188 
 
 Fisher, Robert, 5, 6 
 
 Fitzroy, Henry, Duke of Rich- 
 mond, 230 
 
 Fleming, Ixjrd, 300, 314 
 
 Flodden Field, 208^ — 26, 234, 
 295, 300 
 
 Foix, Comte de, 80, 84, 90 
 
 Foix, Germaine de, 67 
 
 Fortile^, Katherine, 179 
 
 Fox, Bishop, 143, 144 
 
 Francis I., proposed marriage of 
 Henry VII. with daughter 
 of, 57 ; at marriage of 
 Louis XII., 288 ; at the 
 Paris Tournament, 298 ; 
 suggested marriage with the 
 Queen Dowager, 309 ; ac- 
 cession, 311 ; messengers 
 from England hindered by, 
 316 ; coronation of, 317 ; 
 attitude towards the Queen 
 Dowager, 321, 322, 326, 332, 
 333 ; Itahan expedition, 335 
 — 6 ; standard of morality 
 compared with Henry VIII., 
 
 350 
 Fuensalida, Guitier Gomez de, 
 72 note, 100, loi, 102, 115 
 —20, 124, 125, 133, 134. 
 Letter to, 122. Letters 
 from, 102, 105 — 10, 114, 123 
 
 Gairdner, Dr., 23, 54, 81 note, 
 102 
 
INDEX 
 
 355 
 
 Galloway, Bishop of, 173 
 Gameys, Sir Christopher, am- 
 bassador to Louis XII., 284 
 Gascoigne, W., 211 
 Gelders, Duke of, 94, 143 
 Geraldine, Alexander, 22, 24 
 GifEord, Sir Charles, 180 
 GifEord. Sir Henry, 180 
 GigU, Silvestro, Bishop of Wor- 
 cester, 277 — 80 
 Giustinian, Sebastian, 335, 336, 
 
 342 
 Gradenigo, Francesco, 160 
 Great Elizabeth, The, ship, 284 
 Griffith, W., 2H 
 
 Grimaldo, Francisco de, 107, 113 
 Grocin, William, 6 
 Guienne, 34, 36, 37, 145, 149, 137 
 Guildford, Lady, 289, 290, 292 
 
 Hall, Edward, 197, 204 
 Haro, Commander de, 98 
 Hay, William, 5th Earl of Errol, 
 
 212, 224 
 Henry VII., Perkin Warbeck 
 conspiracy and , birth of 
 Henry VIII., i — 2 ; policy 
 of his reign, 2 ; negotiations 
 with Ferdinand II. over 
 marriage of Catherine and 
 Prince of Wales, 7 — 11 ; 
 first meeting with Catherine, 
 12 ; at wedding festivities, 
 13 ; dispute over dowry, 
 16 — 18 ; reasons for sending 
 Catherine to Wales, 19^ — 24 ; 
 death of Prince of Wales, 
 25 — 6 ; squabbles over 
 Catherine's dowry and her 
 betrothal to Prince Henry, 
 26-^120 ; Ferdinand ojBEers 
 to assist him to recover 
 Guienne and Normandy, 34 
 — 6 ; death of Queen Eliza- 
 beth, 40 ; rumoured pro- 
 posal to marry his widowed 
 daughter-in-law, 40 ; Queen 
 Isabella's indignation, 40, 
 41 — 3 ; h^r counter pro- 
 posal, 46 ; pays Catherine 
 ^^300 for household expenses, 
 48 ; harsh treatment of her, 
 52--4, 58, 62—3, 73—7, 
 84 — 7, 116 — 17; marriage 
 treaty with the Archduchess 
 
 Margaret, 61, 73, 78, 91, 
 no ; proposal to marry the 
 widowed Queen J nana of 
 Castile, 64, 68 — 71, 74 — ^5, 
 78 — 84, 90 — 8; tardy offers 
 of help to Catherine, 88 ; 
 mysterious scheme with 
 Maximilian, 99 — 100 ; Fer- 
 dinand threatens war, loi ; 
 Henry VII. " in last §tage 
 of consumption," loi ; atti- 
 tude towards Catherine's 
 confessor, 103 — 5, in — 12, 
 115 ; development of the 
 king's illness, no; death, 
 120 ; last words to Henry 
 VIII., 121, 129 ; Catherine 
 and his death, 124 ; his 
 legacy to Henry VIII., 125 
 — 6 ; personal appearance, 
 126. Letter from, 24 — ^5 
 Henry VHI., birth, i ; created 
 Duke of York, 2 ; childhood 
 and education, 2 — 6 ; Eras- 
 mus's introduction, 3 — 6 ; 
 first meeting with Catherine 
 of Arragon, 13 ; his share 
 in her marriage with Prince 
 Arthur, 13 — 15 ; the ques- 
 tion of consummation, 14 — 
 13 ; progress of negotiations 
 to marry him to Catherine 
 after Prince Arthur's death, 
 26 — ^6 ; created Prince of 
 Wales, 36 ; betrothal, 46 ; 
 at Court with Henry VII., 
 49 — ^50 ; Ferdinand's pro- 
 mise to pay balance of 
 dowry, 55 ; Henry's secret 
 denunciation of betrothal, 
 36 ; rumours of another 
 match, 57 ; invested with 
 the Order of the Golden 
 Fleece, 61 ; writes to Philip 
 of Castile on behalf of " the 
 Princess my Wjfe," 61 ; 
 renev/s acquaintance with 
 Erasmus, 64 ; Erasmus's 
 and Henry's literary gifts, 
 64 — 3 ; Henry writes to 
 Erasmus, 66 — 7 ; other ma- 
 trimonial offers to Henry, 
 70 ; Catherine prevented 
 from seeing hirn, 73 ; mar- 
 riage treaty discredited, 76 
 — 7 ; negotiations continued 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Henry VIII. — (coniinued). 
 
 by Catherine, 77 — 95 ; Fer- 
 dinand's further promises, 
 95 — 8 ; fresh matrimonial 
 proposals for Henry, 98 — 
 
 100 ; Puebla's praise, 98 ; 
 Ferdinand grows desperate, 
 
 101 ; his message to his 
 future son-in-law, loi ; 
 Henry receives the ambassa- 
 dors during his father's ill- 
 ness, no ; Catherine's con- 
 fessor retained against his 
 will, 115 ; Ferdinand and 
 the delayed marriage, 116 — 
 20 ; death of Henry VII., 
 120 ; new king willing to 
 marry Catherine, 121 ; War- 
 ham's conscientious doubts, 
 121 ; Ferdinand's advice, 
 122 — 3 , the greatest matri- 
 monial prize in Christen- 
 dom, 125 — 6 ; chorus of 
 praise, 126 — 7, 163, 216, 
 
 233. 240. 342—3. 347. 349 ; 
 
 marries Catitierine, 126 ; in- 
 forms the Archduchess Mar- 
 garet and Ferdinand, 128 — 
 31 ; Ferdinand's congratu- 
 lations, 134 ; Henry's con- 
 tempt for the French, 135 ; 
 promises to defend Venice, 
 135 — 6 ; warned by Fer- 
 dinand to be more circum- 
 spect, 136 ; renews treaty 
 of peace with Louis XII., 
 136 — 7 ; receives Golden 
 Rose from Pope, 137 ; first 
 matrimonial cloud, 137 — 
 41 ; his love of, sport and 
 jousting, 141 — 2; birth and 
 death of his son, 143 ; sends 
 expeditions to help Fer- 
 dinand and Maximilian, 143; 
 joins Holy League against 
 France, 145 — 8 ; call to 
 arms, 148 — 9 ; his eagerness 
 for the war, 150 ; how it was 
 brought about, 150 — 7 ; in- 
 glorious end of English ex- 
 pedition to Spain, 157 — 8 ; 
 preparations for fresh cam- 
 paign, 159 ; his war tax and 
 fresh call to afms, 162 — 4 ; 
 strained relations with 
 James IV., 166, 170 — 8 ; 
 
 beginning of the war with 
 France, 167 — 9, 194 — 5 ; an. 
 noyance at death of Sir 
 Edward Howard, 189 — 91 ; 
 betrayed by Ferdinand, 191 
 — 4 ; James IV. recom- 
 mends him to peace, 195 
 — 7; journey to France, 197 
 — 8 ; joined by Maximilian, 
 198 ; anxiety of Catherine 
 on Henry's account, 198 — 9; 
 answers ultimatum of James 
 IV., 200 — 2 ; at Battle of 
 the Spurs, 204 — 6 ; com- 
 ments on death of James IV. 
 at Flodden Field, 208, 
 231 ; James's proclamation 
 against Mm, 209 — 10 ; 
 Franco-Scottish fleet to cut 
 off his return, 216 — 18 ; his 
 victories in France, 218, 
 220 ; Catherine sends him 
 fragment of James IV. 's 
 coat from Flodden Field, 
 218 — 20, 226 ; his treatment 
 of James's remains, 220 ; 
 progress of French cam- 
 paign, 221 ; his share in 
 courtship between Suffolk 
 and the Archduchess Mar- 
 garet, 226 — 9 ; skill in tour- 
 naments at Toumay,' 229 ; 
 returns to England, 230 ; 
 declines Pope's advice to 
 make peace, 231 ; letter 
 from the Scottish border, 
 231 — ^4 ; thanks Sir Richard 
 Cholmondeley, 234 — 5 ; de- 
 serted by Ferdinand and 
 Maximilian, 236 — ^43 ; at- 
 tacked by measles, 243 ; 
 enraged by Alhes' deceit, 
 244 — 7, 251 — 3 ; offered 
 Imperial crown by Maximi- 
 lian, 246 — 7 ; Leo X. sends 
 him sword and cap of main- 
 tenance, 247 ; solemn in- 
 vestiture, 247 — 50 ; Henry 
 repays his betrayers in their 
 own coin, 250 — i, 268 — 9 ; 
 negotiates marriage of Mary 
 Tudor with Louis XII., 251, 
 261 — ^3 eagerness for inter- 
 national influence, 256 ; ap- 
 pealed to by Queen Mar- 
 garet, 257 ; his new great 
 
INDEX 
 
 357 
 
 Henry VIII. — {continued), 
 
 snip, 257 ; his horses, 257 
 — 61 ; attends marriage by 
 proxy of Mary Tudor, 264 
 — 7 ; announces new al- 
 liance to Leo X., 269 — 72 ; 
 reception of Maximilian's 
 protest, 272 — 3 ; repUes to 
 Margaret of Savoy's re- 
 
 E roach, 273 — ^4 ; informed 
 y Pace of poisoning of 
 Cardinal Bainbridge, 277 — 
 80 ; accompanies Mary to 
 Dover, 282 — ^ ; letters from 
 Mary in France, 289 — 90 ; 
 from Duke of Suffolk, 291 
 — 2; from Earl of Wor- 
 cester, 292 — 3 ; plots with 
 Louis XII. against Fer- 
 dinand, 294 — 8 ; clairns title 
 of Protector of Scotland, 
 300 ; Queen Margaret's ap- 
 peal to, 300 — 2 ; his hopes 
 of an heir again dis- 
 appointed, 302 ; first ru- 
 mour of divorce, 302 — 3 ; 
 Ferdinand advised to " put 
 a bridle on this colt," 304 ; 
 last letter from Louis 
 XII., 305 — 6 ; death of 
 Louis XII., 307 ; Mary re- 
 minds Henry of his " water- 
 side promise," 310 — 11 ; 
 his embassy to Francis I., 
 312 — 13 ; affairs in Scot- 
 land, 313 — 15 ; Mary's pro- 
 mise to him, 315 — 16 ; her 
 stolen love match with Suf- 
 folk, 321 — 34 ; peace with 
 France proclaimed, 332, 337; 
 reconciliation with Mary and 
 Suffolk, 335 ; celebrates St. 
 George's Day at Richmond, 
 337, 340 ; receives Venetian 
 ambassadors, 338 — ^43 ; at 
 May Day festival, 343 — 9 ; 
 his vanity, 348 ; moral re- 
 putation, 349 — 50 ; birth of 
 his daughter Mary, 346, 350 : 
 Letters from, 61, 66—7, 128, 
 130— I, 145—8, 148—9, 163 
 —4, 166—72, 177—8, 197 
 — 8, 200 — 2, 234 — 5, 244—7, 
 259^ — 60, 261 — 3, 269 — 72, 
 312—13 
 
 Hepburn, John, prior of Saint 
 Andrew's, 301, 302 note 
 
 Herbert, Lord, 2, 197 
 
 Herries, Lord, 224 
 
 Holibrand, WilUam, 88 
 
 Holy League, 145, 166, 173 
 
 Home, Alexander, Lord (Lord 
 Chamberlain), 224, 232 
 
 Home, Cuthbert, Lord of Fast- 
 castell, 216 
 
 Howard, Lord Edmund, 224 
 
 Howard, Sir Edward, 146 note, 
 178, 181, 183—91 
 
 Howard, Thomas, I., ist Earl of 
 Surrey and 2nd Duke of 
 Norfolk, influence of, 145 ; 
 commanded to return North, 
 197 ; appointed to the com- 
 mand of the North, 202 ; in 
 the war with Scotland, 212, 
 219, 223 ; created Duke of 
 Norfolk, 234 ; escqrts Mary 
 Tudor to France, 284 ; at 
 the May-Day Festival, 348, 
 Letter from, 21a — 11 
 
 Howard, Thomas, II., 2nd Earl 
 of Surrey and 3rd Duke of 
 Norfolk, attempt to avenge 
 his brother's death, 197, 
 202 ; in the war with 
 Scotland, 210, 211, 212, 213 ; 
 letter to Catherine of 
 Aragon, 219 ; message to 
 James IV., 223 ; at Flodden, 
 224 ; created Earl of Surrey, 
 234 ; at St. Paul's, 248. 
 Letters from, 189, 190 
 
 Hume, Martin, 102 
 
 Huntly, Earl of, 212, 224, 314 
 
 Infidels, expedition against, 
 
 272 
 Ireland, situation in, 256 
 Isabella, Queen of Castile, nego- 
 tiations with Henry VII. 
 over marriage of Catherine 
 and Prince of Wales, 7, 
 9 ; bids Catherine farewell, 
 10; instructions to Doctor 
 Puebla, 10 — 12 ; letter from 
 Prince of Wales, 15 — 16 ; 
 letter from Dr. Ayala 
 detailing dispute over 
 Catherine's dowry, etc., 
 16 — 23 ; letter from Henf^ 
 
358 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Isabella — (continued) . 
 
 VII., 24 — 5 ; new marriage 
 negotiations after Prince 
 Arthur's death, 26 — 51 ; 
 rumoured proposal to marry 
 Catherine to Henry VII., 
 40 — 3 ; her counter pro- 
 posal, 46 ; receives Papal 
 dispensation for Catherine's 
 marriage to Prince Henry, 
 50 ; death, 52 ; her treat- 
 ment of Catherine, 54 ; 
 character, 203. Letters 
 from, 10 — 12, 29 — 34, 36 — 
 8, 39—40. 40 — 6 
 
 James III. of Scotland, 257 
 
 James IV. of Scotland, marriage 
 of, 3 ; mission to, 143 ; plan 
 to invade England, 166 ; 
 opposition to the Holy 
 League, 170 — 2 ; negotia- 
 tions with France, 173 — 8 ; 
 treachery of, 195 ; letter to 
 Henry VIII., 199 ; reply 
 from Henry VIII., 200 ; 
 death of, 208 ; proclama- 
 tion of war, 209 ; marches to 
 Flodden, 2T0 ; letter to, 
 from the Earl of Surrey, 
 210 — 12 ; at Flodden, 213, 
 214, 215, 216, 218, 223—5, 
 295 ; burial of, 219, 220 ; 
 Letter from, 195 
 
 James V. of Scotland, guardian- 
 ship of, 295 
 
 Joan of Arragon, Queen, 255 
 
 Johannes, Dr., 77 
 
 Juana, Queen of Castile, becomes 
 Queen of Castile, 52 ; visit 
 to England, 60, 61 ; Henry 
 VII.'s proposal to marry 
 her, 64, 68 — 84, 90 — 8 ; 
 renounces claim on the 
 dowry of Catherine of Arra- 
 gon, 118 
 
 Juana, Queen of Naples, 46 
 
 Julius II., Pope, 50, 100, 137, 
 145, 166 and note, 170. 
 Letter from, 137 
 
 Karr, David, 232 
 
 Kite, John, Archbishop of 
 
 Armagh, letters to Wolsey, 
 
 256 
 
 Knight, WiUiam, letter to, 197 
 
 Letter from,, 191 
 Knyvet, Sir Thomas, 162 note 
 
 Lang, Andrew, 213 
 
 Latimer, Richard, 211, 223 
 
 Leo X., Pope 166, and note, 170, 
 269, 280. Letter from, 230 
 
 Lille, 221, 228, 230, 271 
 
 Lisle, Viscount, see Brandon, 
 Charles 
 
 Lomley, J., 211 
 
 London, plague in, 235 
 
 Longueville, Duke of, 205, 207 ; 
 captured at the Bai^e of 
 Spurs, 218, 250, 258, 261 
 — 3 ; negotiates the peace 
 witii England, 264 ; at 
 marriage by proxy of Mary 
 Tudor, 265, 266, 267, 269 ; 
 letter from Wolsey to, 276 ; 
 sent for by the Duke of 
 Suffolk, 297 
 
 Lopez, Thos., letter from, 57 
 
 Louis XII. of France, rival 
 advances for matrimonial 
 alliance with England, 27 — 
 8 ; marching to Milan, 27 — 
 8, 34 — 5 ; proposes French 
 match for Queen Juana of 
 Castile, 80, 84 ; opinions on 
 Catherine's marriage pros- 
 pects, 89 — 90, 96, 98 — 100 ; 
 at conference at Cambrai, 
 100 ; his share of Venetian 
 spoils, 135 ; sends vmwel- 
 come message to Henry 
 VIII., 135 ; rumours of 
 French intentions against 
 England, 136 ; attacks Fer- 
 dinand II., 143 ; Holy 
 League against France, 
 145 — 8 ; Proclamation of 
 Louis XII., 149 ; aUiance 
 of Maximilian and Henry 
 against, 164 — 6 ; James IV. 
 sides with him, 166 ; begin- 
 ning of the war, 167 — 72 ; 
 the fate of Lord Admiral. 
 Howard, 184 ; Ferdinand's 
 truce with Louis XII., 
 191— 4, 195—7 ; James 
 IV. 's ultimatum to Henry 
 on his behalf, 200 — 2 ; and 
 proclamation, 209 — 10 ; 
 
INDEX 
 
 359 
 
 Louis XII. — {continued). 
 
 Louis collects Fraxico-Scot- 
 tish fleet, 216 — 17 ; its fate, 
 218 ; called the " Schismatic 
 King," 223 ; his help to 
 Scotland, 225 ; secret agree- 
 ment with Ferdinand and 
 MaximiUan, 237 — 43 ; nego- 
 tiations for his marriage 
 with Mary Tudor, 250, 
 261 — 3 ; encourages Duke of 
 Albany in Scottish schemes, 
 257. 296 — 7 ; letters from 
 Mary Tudor, 263 — 4, 276 ; 
 married by proxy, 264 — 7, 
 271, 274 ; Henry's letter to 
 Pope on new alliance, 269 
 — 72 ; MaximiUan protests 
 against the marriage, 272 — 
 3 ; Louis begs for his bride, 
 274 — 6 ; meets her at Abbe- 
 ville, 285 ; wedding festivi- 
 ties, 288 — 99; dismisses Lady 
 Guildford, 289 — 93 ; secret 
 negotiations with England, 
 293 — 8 ; last letter to Henry 
 VIII., 305 — 6 ; death, 307 ; 
 married life with Mary, 308, 
 329 ; his presents to her, 
 3". 333 ; his lost Duchy of 
 Milan, 317. Letters from, 
 274—6, 305—6 
 
 Louise of Savoy, 332 
 
 Lovel, Lord, 225 
 
 Lovell, Sir Thomas, 197 
 
 Ludlow, Castle, 25 
 
 Luther, Martin, 64 
 
 Manchester, Duke of, 24 
 Manrique, Pero, 12, 55 
 Mantua, Marquis of, 257; 258, 
 
 259, 347 . , , . 
 
 Manuel, Dona Elvira, lady-in- 
 waiting to Catherine of 
 Arragon, 14, 17, 19, 20, 21, 
 22, 27, 29, 52, 53, 55, 58, 60 
 
 Manuel, Juan, 30^ 
 
 Margaret of Austria, Duchess of 
 Savoy, declines to marry 
 Henry VII., 61 ; marriage 
 scheme renewed, 71, 75, 
 78, 91, no; EngUsh 
 and French matrimonial 
 schemes, 98 — 100 ; fresh 
 proposal for Prince Henry, 
 
 no; betrothal of Prince 
 Charles and Mary Tudor, 
 118, 129, 251, 253 ; Henry 
 VIII. 's account of his wed- 
 ding, 128- — 9 ; her criticism 
 of EngUsh troops, 158 ; 
 .MaximUian informs her of 
 his alUance with England, 
 164 — 6 ; letter from Terou- 
 anne, 204 ; visit from Henry 
 VIII., 220 — I ; courted by 
 Charles Brandon, after- 
 wards Duke of Suffolk, 
 226 — 9, 240, 274 ; endea- 
 vours to keep Maximilian 
 true to England, 237-^—42 ; 
 Henry's indignant letter, 
 244 — 7 ; letter from Gerard 
 de Pleine, 251 — 3 ; re- 
 proaches Henry for Mary's 
 marriage to Louis, 273 ; 
 Henry's retort, 273 — 4. 
 Letters from, 237 — 40, 241 
 — 2 - 
 Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scot- 
 land, childhood of, 3 — 4 ; 
 dances at Prince of Wales's 
 wedding, 15 ; wife of James 
 IV., 166 ; interview with 
 Sir Nicholas West, 175 — 6 ; 
 demands Henry's help 
 against Duke of Albany, 
 257 ; her position, 295, 
 313 — 15. Letters from, 300 
 
 —2, 313—14 
 Marigny, Lord of, 275 
 Mary I., Queen of England, 346, 
 
 350 
 
 Mary Rose, The, 180 
 
 Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry 
 VIL, childhood of, 3 ; betro- 
 thed to Prince Charles of 
 Castile and Flanders, 92, 98, 
 loi — 2, 106, 116, 118, 129, 
 193, 229—30, 243—4, 251, 
 253, 264 — 5, 270 ; with 
 Catherine, in — 12 ; in love 
 with Charles Brandon, Duke 
 of Suffolk, 229 ; betiothed 
 to Louis XII., 251, 261 — 3 ; 
 her character and beauty, 
 254 — 5 ; attends blessing of 
 Henry's new ship, 257 ; 
 repudiates betrothal with 
 Pnnce Charles, 263 ; writes 
 to Louis XII., 263 — 4, 276 ; 
 
360 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Mary Tudor — {continued). 
 
 married to him by proxy, 
 264 — 9, 271, 274 ; marriage 
 protested against by Maxi- 
 milian, 272 — 3 ; queen of 
 France, 282 — 99, 305 — 6 ; 
 widowed, 307 — 12 ; pro- 
 mises not to marry again 
 without Henry's consent, 
 315 — 16 ; rival suitors for 
 her hand, 317 ; secret mar- 
 riage with Suffolk, .321 — 34 ; 
 remarried semi-privately, 
 331 — 2 ; reconciliation with 
 Henry and public marriage 
 in England, 335. Letters 
 from, 263 — 4, 276, 289 — 90, 
 299. 309—10, 310— II, 315 
 —16, 321—3. 327—8, 329 
 —31 
 
 Maximilian I., reported matri- 
 monial ofEer to Henry VII., 
 10 ; alliance with Henry 
 VII., 92 ; Henry's proposal 
 to unite against Ferdinand, 
 99 — 100 ; at conference at 
 Cambrai, 100 ; matrimonial 
 offers to Henry VII., no; 
 mentioned in betrothal of 
 Prince Charles and Mary 
 Tudor, 118, 129, 230, 243 
 — 4, 253, 255, 268—9 ; urged 
 by Henry VIII. to joia Holy 
 League, 145 — 8 ; bought by 
 English crowns, 164 ; urges 
 haste in invasion of France, 
 194 — 5 ; joins Henry before 
 Terouanne, 198 ; at Battle 
 of the Spurs, 204 — ^5 ; his 
 share in campaign, 221, 226, 
 229 — 30 ; binds himself to 
 continue war in following 
 year, 230 ; persuaded by 
 Ferdinand to desert Henry, 
 236 — 44 ; Henry's retort, 
 244 — 7 ; Maximilian's in- 
 tention to be canonized, 247 
 note : results of betrayal, 
 250 — 6, 268 — 9 ; protests 
 against Mary's marriage to 
 Louis, 272 — 3 ; his Venetian 
 possessions, 335 — 6. Letters 
 from, 164 — 6, 194 — 5 
 
 Maxwell, Lord, 224 
 
 May Da,y frolic at Shooter's Hill, 
 343 
 
 Melville, Sir J^mes, 347 
 
 MembriUa, Knight Commander 
 of, see Fuensalida, Gomez de 
 
 MUan, Duchy of, 295, 317 
 
 Milan, Duke of, 270 
 
 " Mirror of Naples, The," dia- 
 mond, 332, 333, 341 note 
 
 Modena, Renaldo de, 276 — 80 
 
 MoUn, Dom Hieronimo da, 337 
 
 Moljmeux, WiUiam, 211 
 
 Morales, Treasurer, 119 
 
 More, Sir Thomas, 4 
 
 Motte, Charles le Tocque de la, 
 174, 225 
 
 Mounteagle, Edward Stanley, 
 Lord, 282 
 
 Mountjoy, Lord, see Blount, 
 William 
 
 Murray, Bishop of, 170, 171, ig6 
 
 Navarre, 145, 157, 191, 193, 
 
 294 ; king of, 201 
 Navy Records Society, 149 
 Nichols, F. Morgan, 4 note, 65, 
 
 66 
 Norfolk, Dukes of, see Thomas 
 
 Howard, I., and Thomas 
 
 Howard, II. 
 Norham, caistle of, 202, 208, 213, 
 
 223 
 Normandy, 34, 36, 37 
 
 Ogle, R., 211 
 
 Orio, Lorenzo, LL.D., 154 
 
 Owen, Sir David, 163 
 
 Pace, Richard, 220, 277. Letter 
 from, 278 
 
 Pageant of Robin Hood, 343 
 
 Paris, Johan de, 275 
 
 Pasqualigo, Lorenzo, 250. Let- 
 ter from, 282 
 
 PasquaUgo, Piero, 336, 343, 346. 
 Letters from, 340, 347 
 
 Percye, W., 211 
 
 Peter Martyr, 218, 236, 244, 303 
 
 Philip I., Duke of Burgundy, 
 King of Castile, interview 
 with Henry VII. at Calais, 
 10 ; becomes King of Cas- _ 
 tile, 52 ; daughter of, 57 ; 
 visit to England, 60, 61 ; 
 death of, 64, 68 ; hostiUty 
 
INDEX 
 
 361 
 
 PhiKp I. — {continued). 
 
 to Ferdinand, 69 ; supposed 
 cruelty to his wife, 93 ; 
 Juana's refusal to have him 
 buried, 97 ; visit to Spain, 
 
 193 
 
 PhiUp of Austria, 128 
 
 Pius III., Pope, 50 
 
 Plague in London, 235 
 
 Pleine, Gerard de, letter from, 
 251 
 
 Pole, Edmund de la, 128 and 
 note 
 
 Pole, Lady Margaret de la, see 
 SufCoUi:, Lady 
 
 Portugal, Emmanuel, King of, 
 see Emmanuel 
 
 Poynings, Sir Edward, 2, 143, 
 158, 256 
 
 Pr6gent (Primaugent), Admiral, 
 162 note, 170, 181, 187, 250. 
 Letter from, 181 
 
 Puebla, Dr. de, shares in nego- 
 tiations over marriage of 
 Catherine and Prince Arthur, 
 9 — 12, 17 — 23 ; his charac- 
 ter, 38 ; in dowry dispute 
 and new proposals for mar- 
 riage with Prince Henry, 29, 
 36—8, 39—40. 50—5. 57— 
 60, 69, 75—7. 85—92 ; his 
 report that Henry VII. 
 wished to marry Catherine, 
 40 — I, 43 ; in marriage 
 scheme between Henry VII. 
 and J nana of Castile, 70 — I, 
 95 — 8, 100 — I, 106. Letters 
 from, 9, 52—3 
 
 QuiNTANA, Don Pedro de, 237, 
 238, 240, 242 
 
 Raffaelle, 166 
 
 RatclifiE, Sir John, 232 
 
 Ratto, Giovanni, 259. Letter 
 
 from, 257 
 Ravenna, 146, 171 
 Heine Blanche, La, see Mary 
 
 Tudor, Queen Consort of 
 
 France 
 Remus, Cardinal, 166 
 Ren6e, Madame, daughter of the 
 
 K3ng of France, proposed 
 
 marriage of, 238 
 Richmond, Duke of, see Fitzroy 
 
 Y.H. 
 
 Richmond, Lady Margaret 
 
 Beaufort, Countess of, see 
 
 Beaufort 
 Robertet, Florimond, 181, 297 
 Robin Hood, Pageant of, 343 
 Rojas, F. de, 47 
 Romans, King of the, see 
 
 Maximihan I. 
 RouvUle, Louis de, 216, 217 
 Ruthall, Thos., see Durham, 
 
 Bishop of 
 
 Sagudino, Nicolo, 343. Letter 
 
 from, 344 
 Sala, Maestra, 112 
 Sahnas, Dona Maria de, 304 
 Savoy, Louise of, see Louise 
 Scrope, Henry, 211 
 Scrope, Ralph, 211 
 Seymour, Sir John, 206 
 Se3rmour, Sir Thomas, 206 
 Sherborne, Sir Henry, 186, 189 
 Shooter's HUl, Frolic at, 343 
 Shrewsbury, Earl of, 197 
 Sidnay, WiUiam, 186, 189 
 Sinclair, Sir John, 175 
 Skelton, John, 5 
 Somerset, Sir Charles, afterwards 
 Lord Herbert, and Earl of 
 Worcester, 57 and note, 267, 
 274, 284. Letters from, 284, 
 292 
 Spinelly, Thomas, 237 
 Stanley, Sir Edward, 224 
 Stanley, Edward, Lord Mount- 
 eagle, 282 
 Stanley, E., 211 
 Stile, John, 116, 244 
 Strangwayes, Thorn., 211 
 Stuart, Alexander (son of 
 
 Margaret of Scotland), 295 
 Stuart, Alexander, Duke of 
 
 Albany, see Albany 
 Stuart, John, Duke of Albany, 
 
 see Albany 
 Stuart, Mary, 347 
 Suffolk, Earl of, 60 
 Suffolk, Lady (Margaret de la 
 
 Pole), death of, 320 — i 
 Surrey, Earls of, see Thomas 
 Howard, I., and Thomas 
 Howard, II. 
 
 Taylor, Dr., 342 » 
 
 Taylor, John, 198, 220, 229 
 
 B B 
 
362 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Terouanne, siege of, 197, 198, 
 
 203, 204, 205, 209, 218, 221, 
 
 226, 229, 258 
 Tocque, Charles le, see Motte, 
 
 de la 
 Tournay, 218, 220, 221, 222, 225, 
 
 226, 228, 230, 245, 307, 327 
 Tudor, Catherine, 40 
 Tuerdus, Baltasar, 349 
 Tuke, Sir Brian, 313, 220. Letter 
 
 from, 220 
 Tunstall, Dr., 248 
 
 Valois, Duke of, see Francis I. 
 Venice, 100, 126, 135, 136, 150, 
 
 343 
 Vergil, Polydore, 158 
 Vernon, Sir Henry, 148 
 Villaragut, Luis Caroz de, see 
 
 Caroz 
 
 Wallop, Sir John, 166, 188, 250 
 Warbeck, Perkin, conspiracy of, 
 
 1—2, 9 
 Warham, Lord Chancellor, Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, 121, 
 
 137. 197. 215 
 
 Warwick, Earl of, 9 
 
 West, Dr. Nicholas, 172, 297, 
 313, 316, 332 ; letter from 
 Henry VIII., 177. Letters 
 from, 172, 332 
 
 Williamson, Adam, 301, 314, 315 
 
 Winchester, Bishop of, 198 
 
 Wingfield, Sir Richard, 273, 313, 
 316 
 
 Wingfield, Robert, 145 
 
 Wolsey, Thomas, succeeds 
 Robert Fisher a^ Canon of 
 Windsor 6 note; his rise in 
 the royal service, 143 ; in- 
 forms Fox of Henry's war- 
 like tendencies, 144 ; his 
 genius for organisation, 145, 
 157, 159 — 60 ; letters from 
 Sir Edward Howard on 
 victualUng of ships for 
 French expedition, 178 — 80; 
 
 letter from Echyngham on 
 death of Sir Edward Howard, 
 185 — 9 ; letter from Lord 
 Thomas Howard on King's 
 rebuke, 189 — 91 ; accom- 
 panies Henry in French 
 campaign, 198 ; letters from 
 Catherine to him, 199, 206, 
 207 — 8; news of Battle of 
 Flodden, 213 — 14 ; discusses 
 maniage treaty between 
 Mary Tudor and Prince 
 Charles, 254; bent of his 
 genius, 256 ; Irish warnings, 
 256 ; share in marriage 
 negotiations with Louis XII. 
 261 — 3 ; attends marriage 
 by proxy of Mary Tudor, 
 267 ; letter from Louis XII., 
 274-— 6 ; informed of Car- 
 dinal Bainbridge's assas- 
 sination, 280 ; schemes for 
 the vacancy, 281 ; accom- 
 panies Mary to Dover, 272 ; 
 letters from Earl of Wor- 
 cester, 284 — 5 ; Queen Mary 
 290 ; secret plot with Louis 
 against Ferdinand, 293 — 8, 
 305 — 6 ; dangers arising 
 from death of Louis XII., 
 307 ; Wolsey rebukes his 
 Vicar-General, 307 — 8 ; con- 
 doles with Mary, 308 ; letter 
 from her, 309 — 10 ; from 
 Duke of Sufiolk, 318—19; 
 Wolsey's reply, 319 — 21 ; 
 his conduct in Mary and 
 Suffolk's stolen love-match, 
 
 324—7- 331. 333. 334—5- 
 Letters from, 144, 281, 306 
 
 —7. 308. 319—21, 325—7 
 Worcester, Bishop of, 277—80, 
 
 349 
 Worcester, Earl of, see Somerset 
 
 York, Archbishop of, see Bain- 
 bridge 
 York, Duke of, see Henry VIII. 
 
 BaADEURY, AONKW, & On. LD., PRINTERS, LONDON AND TONBRIDGE. 
 
."^h 
 
 
 , '^»i»i > i.