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Authors: Robert Hutchinson
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THE VATICAN
Innocent VIII
(1432 – 92) was Pope from 1484 until his death. He granted the dispensation to Henry VII for his marriage to Elizabeth of York to ‘end the long and grievous variance, contentions and debates’ between England’s warring factions. The Bull also underlined Henry Tudor’s legal claim to the throne.
(1432 – 92) was Pope from 1484 until his death. He granted the dispensation to Henry VII for his marriage to Elizabeth of York to ‘end the long and grievous variance, contentions and debates’ between England’s warring factions. The Bull also underlined Henry Tudor’s legal claim to the throne.
Julius II
(1443 – 1513) succeeded Pius III in 1503 after a conclave lasting a few hours – the shortest in the history of the papacy. He was Pope until he died of a fever in 1513. On 22 January 1506 he founded the Swiss Guard as a security force to protect the pontiff. In November 1504 Julius issued the required dispensation allowing the marriage of Henry VIII with his brother’s widow,
Katherine of Aragon
– the validity of which was later challenged by Henry. In 1511 he promoted the ‘Holy League’ of
Ferdinand
,
Maximilian
,
Henry VIII
and the Venetians against France.
(1443 – 1513) succeeded Pius III in 1503 after a conclave lasting a few hours – the shortest in the history of the papacy. He was Pope until he died of a fever in 1513. On 22 January 1506 he founded the Swiss Guard as a security force to protect the pontiff. In November 1504 Julius issued the required dispensation allowing the marriage of Henry VIII with his brother’s widow,
Katherine of Aragon
– the validity of which was later challenged by Henry. In 1511 he promoted the ‘Holy League’ of
Ferdinand
,
Maximilian
,
Henry VIII
and the Venetians against France.
Leo X
(1475 – 1521) occupied St Peter’s throne from 1513 until his death after an attack of malaria. He excommunicated the religious reformer Martin Luther for heresy on 3 January 1521 and awarded
Henry VIII
the honorific title of
Defensor Fidei
– ‘Defender of the Faith’ – on 24 November the same year for his book
Defence of the Seven Sacraments
which attacked Luther’s teachings. The title was intended for the king’s personal use but became inextricably attached to the crown of England.
(1475 – 1521) occupied St Peter’s throne from 1513 until his death after an attack of malaria. He excommunicated the religious reformer Martin Luther for heresy on 3 January 1521 and awarded
Henry VIII
the honorific title of
Defensor Fidei
– ‘Defender of the Faith’ – on 24 November the same year for his book
Defence of the Seven Sacraments
which attacked Luther’s teachings. The title was intended for the king’s personal use but became inextricably attached to the crown of England.
Clement VII
(1478 – 1534) succeeded the short-lived Adrian VI as Pope in November
1523 and saw Rome sacked by unpaid mutinying Imperial troops in May 1527. He fled to the castle of St Angelo and was held prisoner there for seven months, eventually escaping to Orvieto disguised as a pedlar. Clement returned to Rome in July 1529 and was confronted by
Henry VIII
’s demands for the annulment of his marriage to
Katherine of Aragon
. Papal prevarication resulted in the passing of the Act of Supremacy by the English Parliament in 1534 that established an independent Church of England. Clement launched a sentence of excommunication against Henry and declared Cranmer’s decree of divorce invalid. He died in September 1534 after inadvertently eating a lethally poisonous ‘death cap’ mushroom,
amanita phalloides.
(1478 – 1534) succeeded the short-lived Adrian VI as Pope in November
1523 and saw Rome sacked by unpaid mutinying Imperial troops in May 1527. He fled to the castle of St Angelo and was held prisoner there for seven months, eventually escaping to Orvieto disguised as a pedlar. Clement returned to Rome in July 1529 and was confronted by
Henry VIII
’s demands for the annulment of his marriage to
Katherine of Aragon
. Papal prevarication resulted in the passing of the Act of Supremacy by the English Parliament in 1534 that established an independent Church of England. Clement launched a sentence of excommunication against Henry and declared Cranmer’s decree of divorce invalid. He died in September 1534 after inadvertently eating a lethally poisonous ‘death cap’ mushroom,
amanita phalloides.
Paul III
(1468 – 1549) was Pope from 1534 until 1549. He offered a cardinal’s hat to John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, and after his execution told Francis I of France that
Henry VIII
‘had exceeded his ancestors in wickedness’. Paul was compelled ‘by the unanimous solicitation of the cardinals to declare Henry deprived of his kingdom and his royal dignity’.
(1468 – 1549) was Pope from 1534 until 1549. He offered a cardinal’s hat to John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, and after his execution told Francis I of France that
Henry VIII
‘had exceeded his ancestors in wickedness’. Paul was compelled ‘by the unanimous solicitation of the cardinals to declare Henry deprived of his kingdom and his royal dignity’.
Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio
(1474 – 1539) began in the legal profession in Bologna and Pavia. After his wife died in 1510 he went into the church, becoming a cardinal in 1517. He was made protector of England in the Roman
curia
and
Henry VIII
gave him the bishopric of Salisbury. After his abortive legatine hearings (with
Wolsey
) of the annulment of Henry’s marriage, Campeggio was deprived of the protectorate and the see of Salisbury.
(1474 – 1539) began in the legal profession in Bologna and Pavia. After his wife died in 1510 he went into the church, becoming a cardinal in 1517. He was made protector of England in the Roman
curia
and
Henry VIII
gave him the bishopric of Salisbury. After his abortive legatine hearings (with
Wolsey
) of the annulment of Henry’s marriage, Campeggio was deprived of the protectorate and the see of Salisbury.
PROLOGUE: THE UNCERTAIN CROWN
1
LP Henry VII
, p.239. As Prince Arthur was dead by 1503, this is a reference to Prince Henry.
, p.239. As Prince Arthur was dead by 1503, this is a reference to Prince Henry.
2
PROME
, vol. 15, p.93 and
Crowland Chronicle Continuations
, pp.194 – 5.
, vol. 15, p.93 and
Crowland Chronicle Continuations
, pp.194 – 5.
3
Cavill, p.23.
4
From
King Henry IV, Part II
, 3. 1. 30.
King Henry IV, Part II
, 3. 1. 30.
5
Henry VII defeated the last remnants of the Yorkist party at Stoke Field, Nottinghamshire, on 16 June 1487, and Cornish rebels at Blackheath, south-east of London, on 17 June 1497. Henry VIII faced rebellion in Lincolnshire in October 1536 and the more dangerous widespread ‘Pilgrimage of Grace’ insurrection throughout the North of England in January 1537. His son Edward VI eventually put down rebellions in the West, Norfolk and the South Midlands in 1549, but only with the assistance of German mercenaries and not without great difficulty. Henry’s daughter Mary I was threatened by rebels in 1554 who opposed her marriage to Philip of Spain. They fought their way up to the western gates of the City of London before being defeated. Finally, Elizabeth ordered repressive measures to punish those who took part in the abortive rising by the Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland in November 1569 and faced regular conspiracies against her by Catholic supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots, who had a viable claim to the throne of England through her direct descent from Henry VIII’s elder sister, Margaret.
6
Margaret was the daughter of John Beaufort, First Duke of Somerset (1403 – 44), who apparently killed himself after being banished from the royal court. His father was John de Beaufort, First Earl of Somerset (
c
.1371 – 1409), who was the eldest of the four children of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Therefore, she was John of Gaunt’s great-granddaughter.
c
.1371 – 1409), who was the eldest of the four children of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Therefore, she was John of Gaunt’s great-granddaughter.
7
In Welsh,
Owain ap Maredudd ap Tewdwr
.
Owain ap Maredudd ap Tewdwr
.
8
Hall, p.421.
9
Monuments to some of those who died on the losing side at Bosworth or during its aftermath display an unsurprising coyness about their part in the battle. For example, at Morley, Derbyshire, the monumental brass to John Sacheverell who was killed fighting for Richard III was only erected in
c
.1525, forty years after the battle. At Ashby St Legers, Northamptonshire, the monument to William Catesby (‘the Cat’ in the famous doggerel rhyme about Richard and his chief advisers) gives his date of death as 20 August 1485,
two days before the battle
. In fact, he was executed in Leicester three days afterwards. The brass was laid down under instructions in the
will of his son George in
c
.1507. See Simon Payling’s ‘Rise and Fall of the Fifteenth-Century Catesbys’ in
The Catesby Family and the Brasses at Ashby St Legers
, Jerome Bertram (ed.), London, 2006, pp.12 – 13.
c
.1525, forty years after the battle. At Ashby St Legers, Northamptonshire, the monument to William Catesby (‘the Cat’ in the famous doggerel rhyme about Richard and his chief advisers) gives his date of death as 20 August 1485,
two days before the battle
. In fact, he was executed in Leicester three days afterwards. The brass was laid down under instructions in the
will of his son George in
c
.1507. See Simon Payling’s ‘Rise and Fall of the Fifteenth-Century Catesbys’ in
The Catesby Family and the Brasses at Ashby St Legers
, Jerome Bertram (ed.), London, 2006, pp.12 – 13.
10
Paston Letters
, vol. 6, p.82.
, vol. 6, p.82.
11
PROME
, vol. 15, p.97. The Act, 1 Henry VII cap.1, laid down ‘by authority of this present Parliament that the inheritance of the crowns of the realms of England and of France … be, rest, remain and abide in the most royal person of our now sovereign lord King Harry the VIIth and in the heirs of his body lawfully coming perpetual with the grace of God so to endure and in none other’ (
RP
, vol. 6, p.270).
, vol. 15, p.97. The Act, 1 Henry VII cap.1, laid down ‘by authority of this present Parliament that the inheritance of the crowns of the realms of England and of France … be, rest, remain and abide in the most royal person of our now sovereign lord King Harry the VIIth and in the heirs of his body lawfully coming perpetual with the grace of God so to endure and in none other’ (
RP
, vol. 6, p.270).
12
This was on the grounds of Edward IV’s pre-marriage contract with Eleanor Butler (d.1468), daughter of John Talbot, First Earl of Shrewsbury.
13
PROME
, vol. 15, pp.133 – 4;
RP
, vol. 6, pp.288 – 9. See also Cavill, p.30. The new Act required the surrender of all copies of the
Titulus Regius
and their destruction by the following Easter on pain of imprisonment or fine at the king’s will. It declared that ‘the said Bill, Act and Record, be annulled and utterly destroyed and that it be ordained by the same authority that the same Act and Record be taken out of the Roll of Parliament and be cancelled and burnt and be put into perpetual oblivion’. However, the text remains in the Parliament Roll of 1484 (see
PROME
, vol. 15, pp.13 – 18). The remainder of the Parliament was spent reversing the attainders on the king’s friends and imposing new ones on the nobility who had supported Richard. See Anglo, ‘Spectacle’, p.18.
, vol. 15, pp.133 – 4;
RP
, vol. 6, pp.288 – 9. See also Cavill, p.30. The new Act required the surrender of all copies of the
Titulus Regius
and their destruction by the following Easter on pain of imprisonment or fine at the king’s will. It declared that ‘the said Bill, Act and Record, be annulled and utterly destroyed and that it be ordained by the same authority that the same Act and Record be taken out of the Roll of Parliament and be cancelled and burnt and be put into perpetual oblivion’. However, the text remains in the Parliament Roll of 1484 (see
PROME
, vol. 15, pp.13 – 18). The remainder of the Parliament was spent reversing the attainders on the king’s friends and imposing new ones on the nobility who had supported Richard. See Anglo, ‘Spectacle’, p.18.
14
The betrothal had been agreed during Richard III’s short reign, by Edward’s queen, Elizabeth Woodville, and Henry’s mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort.
15
He was already appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.
16
RP
, vol. 6, p.278 and ‘Materials’, vol. 1, pp.209 – 10.
, vol. 6, p.278 and ‘Materials’, vol. 1, pp.209 – 10.
17
Leland, vol. 4, pp.196, 198. See also: Chrimes, p.66 and Cavill, pp.31 – 2. It was confirmed by Pope Innocent VIII on 2 March 1486 and it is obvious that the pontiff was wholly ignorant that the marriage had already taken place on 18 January.
18
The Bull was reprinted in 1494, two years later by Wynkyn de Worde and again in 1497. See Anglo,
Spectacle
, p.19.
Spectacle
, p.19.
19
He died on 30 March at his house at Knole, near Sevenoaks, Kent, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral. He was thought too infirm to take the full role of the Archbishop of Canterbury during Henry’s coronation, other than anointing the new king and placing the crown upon his head, and Thomas Kempe, Bishop of London, conducted that service.
20
‘Memorials’, p.39.
21
Hall, p.425.
22
BL Cotton MS
Cleopatra E III
, fol.123.
Cleopatra E III
, fol.123.
23
BL Royal MS 2A XVIII, f.30v. Margaret Beaufort’s 240-page
Book of Hours
, which she used to jot down memorable events, was probably drawn up for John Beaufort, First Duke of Somerset, before 1399.
Book of Hours
, which she used to jot down memorable events, was probably drawn up for John Beaufort, First Duke of Somerset, before 1399.
24
Madden, p.279. St Eustace, a legendary second-century Christian martyr, has now been removed from the Catholic calendar of saints.
25
On 30 May 1488 a grant of a £40 annuity was made to Stephen Bereworth, doctor of
medicine, ‘in consideration of the grantee’s cordial affection and good service to the king and in reward for his medical attendance upon Prince Arthur, the king’s first-born son’. Was Arthur a sickly infant? See ‘Materials’, vol. 2, p.319.
medicine, ‘in consideration of the grantee’s cordial affection and good service to the king and in reward for his medical attendance upon Prince Arthur, the king’s first-born son’. Was Arthur a sickly infant? See ‘Materials’, vol. 2, p.319.
26
BL Lansdowne MS 978, f.26.
27
See, for example, David Starkey, ‘King Henry and King Arthur’ in
Arthurian Literature
, J. P. Carley and F. Riddy (eds.), vol. 16 (1998), pp.171 – 96 and 177 – 8, and Starkey,
Henry – Virtuous Prince
, pp.41 – 2.
Arthurian Literature
, J. P. Carley and F. Riddy (eds.), vol. 16 (1998), pp.171 – 96 and 177 – 8, and Starkey,
Henry – Virtuous Prince
, pp.41 – 2.
28
Bacon, pp.18 – 19.
29
Hall, p.428.
30
See Anglo,
Images
, p.51.
Images
, p.51.
31
Such as Bernard André’s sycophantic attempt to perceive the image of the ancient king in the appearance of the child. See Sydney Anglo, ‘The
British History
in Early Tudor Propaganda’,
Bulletin of the John Rylands Library
, vol. 44, (1961), pp.29 – 30.
British History
in Early Tudor Propaganda’,
Bulletin of the John Rylands Library
, vol. 44, (1961), pp.29 – 30.
32
Jasper, Earl of Pembroke and First Duke of Bedford, married Catherine Woodville, sister of Edward IV’s queen, Elizabeth Woodville, on 7 November 1485. She was the widow of Henry Stafford, Second Duke of Buckingham, executed by Richard III at Salisbury on 2 November 1483 after his abortive rebellion.
33
‘Plumpton Correspondence’, p.50. On 14 October 1486 a rabbit warren and lands in Much Marcle and Stretton, Herefordshire, were granted to Thomas Acton after being seized by the king because of the rebellion of Thomas Hunteley ‘and his adherence to the rebels of Wales’ (
CFR
, pp.60 – 1).
CFR
, pp.60 – 1).
34
See Luckett, pp.166 – 8.
35
Edward Plantagenet (1475 – 99) was the elder son of the fatally ambitious George, First Duke of Clarence (1449 – 78), brother of both Edward IV and Richard III, who was accused of treason by the former and secretly executed in the Tower of London on or around 18 February 1478. Tradition has it that he was drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine, and a body, believed to be that of Clarence, was subsequently exhumed. It had not been decapitated. See Michael Hicks,
False, Fleeting, Perjur’d: George Clarence, Duke of Clarence
, Bangor, 1992, pp.184 – 6.
False, Fleeting, Perjur’d: George Clarence, Duke of Clarence
, Bangor, 1992, pp.184 – 6.
36
Bennett, p.63.
37
In 1996 Gordon Smith suggested that Simnel might have been Edward V, the elder of the two princes who disappeared in the Tower – or claimed to be him (see ‘Lambert Simnel and the King from Dublin’,
The Ricardian
, vol. 10, pp.498 – 536). Tradition has it that the Simnel cake – a light fruitcake with marzipan, eaten during Lent – was named after this youthful imposter, but the term appears in medieval English literature and so pre-dates him.
The Ricardian
, vol. 10, pp.498 – 536). Tradition has it that the Simnel cake – a light fruitcake with marzipan, eaten during Lent – was named after this youthful imposter, but the term appears in medieval English literature and so pre-dates him.
38
Leland, vol. 4, p.212, and Starkey,
Henry – Virtuous Prince
, p.55.
Henry – Virtuous Prince
, p.55.
39
Oxford led Henry’s vanguard at Bosworth. Perhaps the king’s experience during that battle, when he and his bodyguard had to fight off a furious, frenzied mounted attack by Richard III and his household knights, persuaded Henry to direct the battle from behind the front lines. See Hutchinson,
House of Treason
, p.xvi.
House of Treason
, p.xvi.
40
A vault opened at Lovell’s home at Minster Lovell, near Witney, Oxfordshire, in 1728, contained a man’s skeleton seated at a table, which has been assumed to be the missing viscount (Brooks, p.273).
41
For a fuller discussion of the rebellion, see Bennett,
passim.
passim.
42
BL Royal MS 2A XVIII, f.30v.
43
Leland, vol. 4, p.216. The coronation was attended by fifteen bishops, seventeen abbots, two dukes, twelve earls, two viscounts, twenty barons, three duchesses, four countesses, seven baronesses, thirty-one knight bannerets and one hundred and fifty knights, plus their wives and other gentlewomen.
44
Halsted, p.177.
45
At the banquet that followed in Westminster Hall, Henry and Lady Margaret watched proceedings from a stage erected on the left wall of the building, ‘richly beset with cloth of arras, that they might see privily at their pleasure the noble feast’ (Leland, vol. 4, p.227).
46
Ibid., p.236.
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