[28047] | 1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
|
---|
| 2 | <!DOCTYPE Archive SYSTEM "http://greenstone.org/dtd/Archive/1.0/Archive.dtd">
|
---|
| 3 | <Archive>
|
---|
| 4 | <Section>
|
---|
| 5 | <Description>
|
---|
| 6 | <Metadata name="gsdlsourcefilename">import/englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/wolsey.html</Metadata>
|
---|
| 7 | <Metadata name="gsdldoctype">indexed_doc</Metadata>
|
---|
| 8 | <Metadata name="Plugin">HTMLPlugin</Metadata>
|
---|
| 9 | <Metadata name="FileSize">24390</Metadata>
|
---|
| 10 | <Metadata name="Source">wolsey.html</Metadata>
|
---|
| 11 | <Metadata name="SourceFile">wolsey.html</Metadata>
|
---|
| 12 | <Metadata name="Language">en</Metadata>
|
---|
| 13 | <Metadata name="Encoding">utf8</Metadata>
|
---|
| 14 | <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
|
---|
| 15 | <Metadata name="Title">Tudor Citizens - Thomas Wolsey</Metadata>
|
---|
| 16 | <Metadata name="FileFormat">HTML</Metadata>
|
---|
| 17 | <Metadata name="URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/wolsey.html</Metadata>
|
---|
| 18 | <Metadata name="UTF8URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/wolsey.html</Metadata>
|
---|
| 19 | <Metadata name="weblink"><a href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/wolsey.html"></Metadata>
|
---|
| 20 | <Metadata name="webicon">_iconworld_</Metadata>
|
---|
| 21 | <Metadata name="/weblink"></a></Metadata>
|
---|
| 22 | <Metadata name="dc.Subject">Tudor period|Citizens</Metadata>
|
---|
| 23 | <Metadata name="Identifier">HASH444986a5947f1f93dd4461</Metadata>
|
---|
[28811] | 24 | <Metadata name="lastmodified">1391131238</Metadata>
|
---|
| 25 | <Metadata name="lastmodifieddate">20140131</Metadata>
|
---|
| 26 | <Metadata name="oailastmodified">1391131627</Metadata>
|
---|
| 27 | <Metadata name="oailastmodifieddate">20140131</Metadata>
|
---|
[28047] | 28 | <Metadata name="assocfilepath">HASH4449.dir</Metadata>
|
---|
| 29 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">wolsey.gif:image/gif:</Metadata>
|
---|
| 30 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">wolsey-small.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
|
---|
| 31 | </Description>
|
---|
| 32 | <Content>
|
---|
| 33 |
|
---|
| 34 | <center><img SRC="_httpdocimg_/wolsey.gif" ALT="Thomas Wolsey" height=67 width=286>
|
---|
| 35 | <br>born c. 1465 in Ipswich
|
---|
| 36 | <br>died 29 November 1530 in Leicester</center>
|
---|
| 37 |
|
---|
| 38 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 39 | He was a man
|
---|
| 40 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 41 | Of an unbounded stomach, ever ranking
|
---|
| 42 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 43 | Himself with princes...
|
---|
| 44 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 45 | His promises were, as he then was, mighty;
|
---|
| 46 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 47 | But his performance, as he is now, nothing...
|
---|
| 48 | <br><font size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 49 | Shakespeare and Fletcher, <i>All Is True; the History of King Henry VIII</i>.</font>
|
---|
| 50 | <br><font size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 51 | Katharine of Aragon is speaking of Cardinal Wolsey.</font>
|
---|
| 52 | <blockquote>&nbsp;</blockquote>
|
---|
| 53 | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 54 | O Cromwell, Cromwell!
|
---|
| 55 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 56 | Had I but served my God with half the zeal
|
---|
| 57 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 58 | I served my king, he would not in mine age
|
---|
| 59 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 60 | Have left me naked to mine enemies.
|
---|
| 61 | <br><font size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 62 | <i>All Is True</i>. Wolsey's speech in act IV.</font>
|
---|
| 63 | <br>&nbsp;
|
---|
| 64 | <br>&nbsp;
|
---|
| 65 | <p><img SRC="_httpdocimg_/wolsey-small.jpg" ALT="Cardinal Wolsey" BORDER=0 height=296 width=190 align=LEFT>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 66 | The life of Cardinal Wolsey is one of the great cautionary tales of Henry
|
---|
| 67 | VIII's reign; like his protégé, Thomas Cromwell, Wolsey rose
|
---|
| 68 | and fell by the whim of a conflicted and contradictory king.&nbsp; He was
|
---|
| 69 | born in obscurity, the son of a butcher in Ipswich, a town in Suffolk.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 70 | But he was intelligent and ambitious enough to attend the University of
|
---|
| 71 | Oxford and in 1498 he was ordained a priest.&nbsp; Five years later, he
|
---|
| 72 | became the chaplain to the deputy lieutenant of Calais, a nobleman named
|
---|
| 73 | Sir Richard Nanfan.&nbsp; Nanfan recommended Wolsey's services to his king,
|
---|
| 74 | Henry VII, but Wolsey did not leave Calais until Nanfan's death in 1507.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 75 | Then he journeyed to London to begin his service to the king; Henry VII
|
---|
| 76 | was as impressed with Wolsey as Nanfan had been and, shortly before his
|
---|
| 77 | death in April 1509, appointed him dean of Lincoln.&nbsp; Upon Henry's
|
---|
| 78 | death Wolsey, about thirty years of age and blessed with energy and confidence,
|
---|
| 79 | found himself with a new master - an eighteen-year-old king determined
|
---|
| 80 | to achieve as much glory and renown as possible.
|
---|
| 81 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Wolsey and Henry became close friends, or as close
|
---|
| 82 | as one could be to a king.&nbsp; Both men were determined to leave their
|
---|
| 83 | mark upon history but while Henry preferred costly wars and grandiloquent
|
---|
| 84 | diplomacy, Wolsey was committed to financial and judicial reform in England
|
---|
| 85 | and English-arbitrated European peace.&nbsp; Wolsey was always a churchman
|
---|
| 86 | though this should not imply ignorance of the material world.&nbsp; He
|
---|
| 87 | was determined to gain his own fortune, thus cementing his rise from obscurity,
|
---|
| 88 | but he also possessed a great legal mind and a shrewd understanding of
|
---|
| 89 | international affairs.&nbsp; He combined these attributes with his earlier
|
---|
| 90 | spiritual training to dominate both the secular and spiritual aspects of
|
---|
| 91 | English life.
|
---|
| 92 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Henry VIII was quick to recognize Wolsey's intelligence
|
---|
| 93 | and appointed him royal almoner in November 1509 but, as the years passed,
|
---|
| 94 | delegated more and more authority to Wolsey.&nbsp; The early years of Henry's
|
---|
| 95 | reign were spent with the young monarch, regaled as the handsomest prince
|
---|
| 96 | in Europe, jousting, hunting, and debating visiting scholars.&nbsp; And
|
---|
| 97 | while Henry was interested in more practical affairs, he grew to depend
|
---|
| 98 | on Wolsey's assistance.&nbsp; Wolsey's position, however, was completely
|
---|
| 99 | changed by the French expedition of 1513.&nbsp; Henry VIII had long wanted
|
---|
| 100 | to prove English strength in battle against this old
|
---|
| 101 | <br>enemy.&nbsp; His wish is understandable; he was young and, like many
|
---|
| 102 | young people, had chafed at his father's authority.&nbsp; When Henry VII
|
---|
| 103 | died, his son saw this as an opportunity to reveal a new England to Europe.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 104 | Under this new Henry, England would no longer be solvent but boring, dependable
|
---|
| 105 | but not lively.&nbsp; Instead, it would be a court of artists, musicians,
|
---|
| 106 | dancers, and scholars, all presided over by the new king.
|
---|
| 107 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Henry's plan to gain this European respect was simple:
|
---|
| 108 | a successful military strike against France.&nbsp; After one failure, he
|
---|
| 109 | went in person to achieve glory in August 1513 at the Battle of the Spurs.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 110 | Only a month later, the English defeated the Scots at Flodden Field where
|
---|
| 111 | Henry's brother-in-law James IV was killed.&nbsp; Of course, the English
|
---|
| 112 | couldn't sustain a permanent presence in France so they decided on to make
|
---|
| 113 | peace.&nbsp; Henry's youngest sister Mary was the sacrificial lamb.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 114 | At eighteen, she was married to the sixty-year-old Louis XII of France.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 115 | The bridegroom survived just three months of marriage and Mary angered
|
---|
| 116 | her brother by secretly following her heart and marrying Henry's best friend
|
---|
| 117 | Charles Brandon just weeks after Louis XII's death.&nbsp; Mary and Brandon
|
---|
| 118 | were the grandparents of <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html">Lady
|
---|
| 119 | Jane Grey</a>.
|
---|
| 120 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Henry was exultant at his French victory; this success
|
---|
| 121 | was Europe's true introduction to his reign.&nbsp; England would be taken
|
---|
| 122 | seriously as a European power broker, courted by the French and Spanish
|
---|
| 123 | and mediating between these nations and the vulnerable papacy.&nbsp; Henry
|
---|
| 124 | was generous in rewarding Wolsey for his service.&nbsp; Upon Henry's recommendation,
|
---|
| 125 | Pope Leo X made Wolsey bishop of Lincoln in February 1514 and, just nine
|
---|
| 126 | months later, archbishop of York.&nbsp; But the honors did not end there.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 127 | The next year he was made Cardinal and, in December 1515, lord chancellor
|
---|
| 128 | of England.
|
---|
| 129 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Perhaps even more importantly for Wolsey, he was
|
---|
| 130 | taken into Henry's complete confidence.&nbsp; He was friend, confidante,
|
---|
| 131 | and advisor to a king increasingly conflicted in his personal life.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 132 | Eventually, Henry would want a divorce from Katharine of Aragon to marry
|
---|
| 133 | Anne Boleyn and secure his throne.&nbsp; Whether motivated solely by personal
|
---|
| 134 | dissatisfaction or spiritual unrest or both, Henry was determined to end
|
---|
| 135 | his marriage.&nbsp; And, once determined on his course, he was committed
|
---|
| 136 | to it.&nbsp; Naturally enough, he turned to his most capable and trusted
|
---|
| 137 | servant, Wolsey, for help.
|
---|
| 138 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Before the divorce issue, Wolsey had quickly established
|
---|
| 139 | himself as second only to Henry in power.&nbsp; This naturally angered
|
---|
| 140 | the old nobility who made up the privy council and dominated Parliament.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 141 | They were indignant that Wolsey, son of a butcher, controlled access to
|
---|
| 142 | the king.&nbsp; They were also angry that Wolsey refused to treat them
|
---|
| 143 | as they deserved - simply put, they were nobility and he, despite the honors
|
---|
| 144 | the king heaped upon him, was a commoner.&nbsp; In the natural order, he
|
---|
| 145 | was their inferior.&nbsp; His refusal to act inferior was galling to them,
|
---|
| 146 | particularly the powerful dukes.
|
---|
| 147 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp; Certainly Henry was even more proud that his nobles.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 148 | That begs the question - was he ever insulted by Wolsey's supposedly overbearing
|
---|
| 149 | arrogance?&nbsp; No; in fact, Henry displayed his typical cunning by selecting
|
---|
| 150 | his advisor based on both ability and indebtedness.&nbsp; Wolsey was his
|
---|
| 151 | creation - his to reward or, as he did eventually, destroy.
|
---|
| 152 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Wolsey was also careful to never offend or anger
|
---|
| 153 | Henry.&nbsp; It was a careful dance and a tribute to his own intelligence
|
---|
| 154 | that he succeeded in managing this most unmanageable king.&nbsp; (The complexity
|
---|
| 155 | of Henry's character, both as man and monarch, cannot be adequately addressed
|
---|
| 156 | here.&nbsp; I highly recommend L. B. Smith's <i>Henry VIII: The Mask of
|
---|
| 157 | Royalty</i>, a wonderful study of the nature of kingship, life in 16th
|
---|
| 158 | century England, and Henry's moral universe.)&nbsp; Wolsey appealed to
|
---|
| 159 | Henry's vanity by crediting all success to the king and all failures to
|
---|
| 160 | his own inadequacies.&nbsp; For a long while, there were no failures.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 161 | In 1518, the pope made him a special papal representative a latere.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 162 | With his incredible secular and ecclesiastical authority, Wolsey was able
|
---|
| 163 | to achieve wealth and influence second only to the king.&nbsp; At Hampton
|
---|
| 164 | Court Palace, over four hundred servants waited to attend him in their
|
---|
| 165 | richly embroidered livery.&nbsp; People scurried to win his favor for they
|
---|
| 166 | knew that the only way to Henry was through Wolsey.&nbsp; But his ties
|
---|
| 167 | to Rome, including his religious training, would prove the Cardinal's undoing.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 168 | He could not serve two masters.
|
---|
| 169 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Before his loyalties were divided between Rome and
|
---|
| 170 | Henry, Wolsey was able to serve Henry's European interests.&nbsp; As stated
|
---|
| 171 | before, they wanted England to be the balancing power in Europe.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 172 | At the time, Europe was dominated by the two rival powers of France and
|
---|
| 173 | the Holy Roman Empire of the Hapsburgs.&nbsp; The situation became even
|
---|
| 174 | more complicated when Katharine of Aragon's nephew Charles became Holy
|
---|
| 175 | Roman Emperor in 1519.&nbsp; Originally, Wolsey and Henry favored an alliance
|
---|
| 176 | with the Imperial power.&nbsp; This was based on economics (English trade
|
---|
| 177 | with the Lowlands), history (England was
|
---|
| 178 | <br>rarely at peace with France), and also family (after all, Charles was
|
---|
| 179 | Katharine's nephew.)&nbsp; Furthermore, Charles recognized Wolsey's ambition
|
---|
| 180 | and intimated he could influence the papal elections in the Cardinal's
|
---|
| 181 | favor.&nbsp; But first Wolsey tried his hand at peace by arranging meetings
|
---|
| 182 | between Henry and the two rival monarchs in 1520.
|
---|
| 183 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The meetings were unsuccessful, however, and war
|
---|
| 184 | broke out in 1521.&nbsp; In 1523 Henry and Wolsey agreed to support the
|
---|
| 185 | Hapsburgs by sending troops to France.&nbsp; But war costs a great deal
|
---|
| 186 | of money and then, as now, the way to raise money was to raise taxes.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 187 | And then, as now, the decision was incredibly unpopular.&nbsp; This unpleasant
|
---|
| 188 | task fell to Wolsey - Henry was careful to let Wolsey implement the collection
|
---|
| 189 | and, accordingly, take the blame.
|
---|
| 190 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Also, the foreign policy which demanded this increased
|
---|
| 191 | taxation became inconsistent and illogical.&nbsp; In 1528, the English
|
---|
| 192 | were supporting their former enemy, France, against the Hapsburgs; in August
|
---|
| 193 | 1529, France and the Hapsburgs made peace and isolated England.&nbsp; It
|
---|
| 194 | was a confusing and contradictory mess, further complicated when the hired
|
---|
| 195 | troops of the Holy Roman Emperor sacked Rome in 1527.&nbsp; The Emperor
|
---|
| 196 | Charles had to face the unpleasant task of explaining how he, the protector
|
---|
| 197 | of Christendom, had allowed the Eternal City to be pillaged and the pope
|
---|
| 198 | sent fleeing through an underground tunnel.&nbsp; However, Charles - and
|
---|
| 199 | the rest of Europe - were quick to recognize that he now controlled Rome
|
---|
| 200 | and the pope.
|
---|
| 201 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During this time, Wolsey was also reforming the English
|
---|
| 202 | judicial system.&nbsp; The end result - Wolsey was despised by both ordinary
|
---|
| 203 | Englishmen and the aristocracy alike.&nbsp; He was determined to extend
|
---|
| 204 | justice to the nobility who were essentially lawless.&nbsp; Only their
|
---|
| 205 | code of honor determined their behavior for Henry often excused rape and
|
---|
| 206 | murder on the part of his fellow nobles; treason against him was another
|
---|
| 207 | matter entirely.&nbsp; Wolsey used the power of the Star Chamber to impose
|
---|
| 208 | his new laws, thus making the noble and the commoner - if not equal under
|
---|
| 209 | the law - at least more equal than before.&nbsp; He also developed
|
---|
| 210 | <br>committees to hear cases involving the poor; these became known as
|
---|
| 211 | the Court of Requests in 1529.
|
---|
| 212 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; His attempts to reform the English church were less
|
---|
| 213 | successful.&nbsp; After all, he was unable to devote much time or effort
|
---|
| 214 | to the cause since his duties as lord chancellor were so great.&nbsp; Also,
|
---|
| 215 | his own life was, in many ways, at odds with his spiritual training and
|
---|
| 216 | titles.&nbsp; His wealth was tremendous and ostentatious, he had two illegitimate
|
---|
| 217 | children, and he struck many as greedy and vain.&nbsp; Undoubtedly, the
|
---|
| 218 | ordinary churchman was not impressed with the moral foundations of Wolsey's
|
---|
| 219 | leadership.&nbsp; But despite the appearance of hypocrisy, he did institute
|
---|
| 220 | some reforms.&nbsp; Most notably, he suppressed nearly 30 monasteries to
|
---|
| 221 | pay for Cardinal's College at Oxford, later called Christ Church.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 222 | Understandably, these actions alienated the clergy and concerned the papacy.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 223 | Wolsey had by now offended everyone except the king.&nbsp; And, ironically,
|
---|
| 224 | most of his offensive policies were always implemented either at Henry's
|
---|
| 225 | instigation or approval.&nbsp; Many historians have portrayed Henry VIII
|
---|
| 226 | as a credulous monarch manipulated by Wolsey, Cromwell, and his unruly
|
---|
| 227 | nobles.&nbsp; The truth is far more complex.
|
---|
| 228 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Henry did not turn on Wolsey until after the Cardinal's
|
---|
| 229 | opulent lifestyle first aroused his envy.&nbsp; Jealousy planted a seed
|
---|
| 230 | which Wolsey sensed too late; for example, he gave Hampton Court to Henry
|
---|
| 231 | as a gift once the king remarked it was a finer palace than any of his
|
---|
| 232 | own.&nbsp; In the late 1520s, Henry was not simply envious; he was also
|
---|
| 233 | desperate for personal happiness, spiritual freedom, and a secure succession.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 234 | His only hope was a divorce from Katharine of Aragon.&nbsp; Poor Wolsey
|
---|
| 235 | - his spiritual master, the Pope, was a paawn of Emperor Charles V, and
|
---|
| 236 | his temporal master wanted a divorce from the emperor's aunt.
|
---|
| 237 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Pope had no choice but to obey Charles's wishes
|
---|
| 238 | though he struggled to appease Henry as much as possible.&nbsp; He suggested
|
---|
| 239 | that Henry's illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, duke of Richmond, should
|
---|
| 240 | wed Katharine and Henry's daughter Mary.&nbsp; He told Henry to take Anne
|
---|
| 241 | Boleyn as his mistress and promised to legitimize their children.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 242 | The pope even suggested bigamy, advising the king to send Katharine to
|
---|
| 243 | a nunnery and marry Anne.&nbsp; But Henry wanted no doubt of the legitimacy
|
---|
| 244 | of his second marriage and its hoped-for offspring.&nbsp; From 1527 to
|
---|
| 245 | 1529, he was content to let Wolsey try the usual diplomatic and military
|
---|
| 246 | solutions but these were unsuccessful.&nbsp; After all, England did not
|
---|
| 247 | have the military might to force Charles from Italy and free the Pope to
|
---|
| 248 | make an independent decision.&nbsp; Had he been free of Charles, the Pope
|
---|
| 249 | would undoubtedly have ruled in Henry's favor; it had been done before
|
---|
| 250 | for monarchs throughout Europe.&nbsp; In fact, though the term 'divorce'
|
---|
| 251 | is most often used in this case, Henry wasn't actually seeking a divorce.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 252 | He was actually seeking an annulment - he argued that he had never been
|
---|
| 253 | legally married to Katharine.
|
---|
| 254 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Matters were further complicated because Wolsey lacked
|
---|
| 255 | virtually any support at the English court.&nbsp; Henry's infatuation with
|
---|
| 256 | Anne Boleyn had also cost the Cardinal for Anne, while kind to Wolsey when
|
---|
| 257 | he was still powerful, recognized him as a rival - and, later, an obstacle
|
---|
| 258 | to her and Henry's marriage.&nbsp; In fact, Wolsey's sympathies were probably
|
---|
| 259 | torn between Katharine and Anne.&nbsp; Though portrayed as an enemy to
|
---|
| 260 | both women, he was undoubtedly unable to choose which side to support.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 261 | This, too, was a result of his conflicting loyalties to the Pope and Henry.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 262 | Also, Wolsey had usually supported peace with the Hapsburgs and was loathe
|
---|
| 263 | to offend the powerful emperor by helping Henry discard Katharine for an
|
---|
| 264 | English knight's daughter.
|
---|
| 265 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But as Wolsey, near sixty-five, failed to secure
|
---|
| 266 | an acceptable solution, Henry became impatient.&nbsp; He was now all too
|
---|
| 267 | willing to listen to his outraged nobles; having suffered with Wolsey for
|
---|
| 268 | so long, they used their king's impatience to secure his destruction.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 269 | It was suddenly remembered that Wolsey's office of papal legate was in
|
---|
| 270 | direct violation of the ancient Statute of Praemunire which outlawed direct
|
---|
| 271 | papal jurisdiction.&nbsp; Of course, Henry had sanctioned Wolsey's legatine
|
---|
| 272 | authority and so had broken the law himself.&nbsp; This did not matter.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 273 | Wolsey was no longer useful to his increasingly ruthless master and on
|
---|
| 274 | 9
|
---|
| 275 | <br>October 1529, he was deprived of everything but the archbishopric of
|
---|
| 276 | York.&nbsp; He left London for York in April 1530.
|
---|
| 277 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But Wolsey's enemies wanted him completely destroyed
|
---|
| 278 | and evidence, probably fabricated, was produced which showed he was corresponding
|
---|
| 279 | with the French king.&nbsp; This was argued to be high treason; the Cardinal
|
---|
| 280 | still believed himself to be invulnerable and fit to represent the king's
|
---|
| 281 | majesty.&nbsp; On 4 November, Wolsey was arrested on charges of treason
|
---|
| 282 | and taken from York Palace.&nbsp; On his way south to face dubious justice
|
---|
| 283 | at the Tower of London, he grew ill.&nbsp; The group escorting him were
|
---|
| 284 | concerned enough to stop at Leicester.&nbsp; There, Wolsey's condition
|
---|
| 285 | quickly worsened and he died on 29 November.
|
---|
| 286 | <br>His death was timely for it saved him from being executed as a traitor.
|
---|
| 287 | <br>&nbsp;
|
---|
| 288 | <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 289 | This cardinal,
|
---|
| 290 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 291 | Though from an humble stock, undoubtedly
|
---|
| 292 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 293 | Was fashion'd to much honor from his cradle.
|
---|
| 294 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 295 | He was a scholar, and a ripe and good one;
|
---|
| 296 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 297 | Exceeding wise, fair-spoken, and persuading:
|
---|
| 298 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 299 | Lofty and sour to them that loved him not;
|
---|
| 300 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 301 | But to those men that sought him sweet as
|
---|
| 302 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 303 | summer.
|
---|
| 304 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 305 | And though he were unsatisfied in getting
|
---|
| 306 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 307 | Which was a sin, yet in bestowing, madam,
|
---|
| 308 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 309 | He was most princely: ever witness for him
|
---|
| 310 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 311 | Those twins of learning that he raised in you,
|
---|
| 312 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 313 | Ipswich and Oxford! one of which fell with
|
---|
| 314 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 315 | him,
|
---|
| 316 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 317 | Unwilling to outlive the good that did it;
|
---|
| 318 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 319 | The other, though unfinish'd, yet so famous,
|
---|
| 320 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 321 | So excellent in art, and still so rising,
|
---|
| 322 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 323 | That Christendom shall ever speak his virtue.
|
---|
| 324 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 325 | His overthrow heap'd happiness upon him;
|
---|
| 326 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 327 | For then, and not till then, he felt himself,
|
---|
| 328 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 329 | And found the blessedness of being little:
|
---|
| 330 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 331 | And, to add greater honors to his age
|
---|
| 332 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 333 | Than man could give him, he died fearing
|
---|
| 334 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 335 | God.
|
---|
| 336 | <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<font size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 337 | Shakespeare and Fletcher, <i>All Is True</i>.</font>
|
---|
| 338 | <br><font size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 339 | Griffith tells of Wolsey's death, Act IV.</font>
|
---|
| 340 | <center>
|
---|
| 341 | <p>Read a contemporary account of Wolsey's fall from grace at the <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html">Primary
|
---|
| 342 | Sources</a> section.
|
---|
| 343 | <br>
|
---|
| 344 | <hr WIDTH="100%">
|
---|
| 345 | <br><font size=-1><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fcitizens.html">to
|
---|
| 346 | Tudor Citizens</a></font>
|
---|
| 347 | <br><font size=-1><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor.html">to Tudor
|
---|
| 348 | England</a></font></center>
|
---|
| 349 |
|
---|
| 350 |
|
---|
| 351 |
|
---|
| 352 | <!-- text below generated by server. PLEASE REMOVE --><!-- Counter/Statistics data collection code --><script language="JavaScript" src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fhostingprod.com%2fjs%5fsource%2fgeov2.js"></script><script language="javascript">geovisit();</script><noscript><img src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;el=direct&amp;href=http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1108082581" alt="setstats" border="0" width="1" height="1"></noscript>
|
---|
| 353 | <IMG SRC="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;el=direct&amp;href=http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=76001524&t=1108082581" ALT=1 WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=1>
|
---|
| 354 | </Content>
|
---|
| 355 | </Section>
|
---|
| 356 | </Archive>
|
---|