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984 [983]

K. Henry. 8. The pompe and pride of Cardinall Wolsey.
MarginaliaThe receauing of the Popes Legate into England.

ued with procession, accompanyed with all the Lordes and Gentlemen of Kent. And when he came to blacke Heath, there met him the Duke of Northfolke, with a great number of Prelates, Knightes, and Gentlemen, all richly apparelled, & in the way he was brought into a rich tent of cloth of gold, where he shifted hymselfe into a Cardinals robe, furred with Ermines, and so tooke his Mule ryding toward Lōdō. Now marke the great humilitie in this church of the pope, and compare the same with the other church of the Martyrs and see which of them is more Gospell lyke.

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MarginaliaAmbition and pompe in the Cardinall. Thys Campeius had viij. Mules of hys owne, laden with diuers farthelles and other preparation. The Cardinall of Yorke thinkyng them not sufficient for his estate, the night before he came to London, sent him xij. mules more, with empty cofers couered with red, to furnish hys cariage withall. The next day, these xx. Mules were lead through the Citie, as though they had bene lodē with treasures, apparell and other necessaryes, to the great admiratiion of all men, that they should receiue a Legate as it were a God, with such and so great treasure, & riches. For so the commō people doth alwayes iudge and esteeme, the maiestie of the Clergy, by no other thyng then by their outward shewes and pompe: but in the middest of this great admiratiō, there happened a ridiculous spectacle, to the great derisiō of their pride & ambitiō. For as the Mules passed through Cheape side, and the people were pressyng about them, to beholde and gase (as the maner is)MarginaliaHow God confoundeth the pride & pompe of men. it happened that one of the Mules breakyng his coller that he was led in, ran vpon the other Mules, whereby it happened, that they so runnyng together, & their girthes beyng losed, ouerthrew diuers of their burthēs, and so there appeared the Cardinals gay treasure, not without great laughter and scorne of many, and specially of boyes and gerles,MarginaliaThe Cardinalles xx. great Mules lodō with rosted egges, and rotten shoes, and such other treasure. wherof some gathered vp peeces of meate, other some, peeces of bread and rosted egges, some founde horse shoes, & old bootes, with such other baggage: crying out, behold, here is my Lord Cardinals treasure. The Muliters beyng therewithall greatly ashamed, gathered together their treasure agayne as wel as they could, and went forward.

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About three of the clocke at after noone, the xxix. day of Iuly, the Cardinall hymselfe was brought through the Citie, with great pompe and solemnity, vnto Paules Church whereas, when he had blessed all men with the Byshops blessing (as the maner is) he was guided forth vnto the Cardinall of Yorkes house, where as he was receaued by the sayd Cardinall, and by him, on the next day beyng Sonday, was conducted vnto the kyng, to fulfill his Ambassade agaynst the Turke, which myght haue destroyed all Hungarie, in the meane tyme whiles they were studying with what solemnitie to furnish out their Ambassade.MarginaliaEx Edouar. Hallo.

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When the Cardinall of Yorke was thus a Legate, he set vp a Court, and called it the Court of the Legate, and proued testamentes, and heard causes, to the great hynderaunce of all the Byshops of the Realme. He visited Byshops and all the Clergy, exempt and not exempt: and vnder colour of reformation, he got much treasure, & nothyng was reformed, but came to more mischief: for by example of hys pride, Priestes and all spirituall persons waxed so proude, that they waere veluet, and silke, both in gownes, iackets, dublets, and shoes, kept open lechery, and so hyghly bare thē selues, by reason of his authorities and faculties, that no mā durst once reproue any thyng in them, for feare to be called hereticke, and then they would make him smoke or beare a Fagot. And the Cardinall himselfe was so elated, that he thought himselfe equall with the kyng: and when he had sayd Masse, he made Dukes & Earles to serue him of wine with a say taken, and to holde the bason at the Lauatories.

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MarginaliaEx Paralip. Abb. Vrsp. Furthermore, as he was Ambassadour sent to the Emperour at Bruxels, he had ouer with hym the great Seale of England, and was serued with his seruitours kneelyng on their knees, and many noble men of England wayting vpon him, to the great admiration of all the Germaines that beheld it: such was his monstrous pompe and pride. Ex Paralip. Abb. Vrspur  

Commentary   *   Close

This refers to the 'paralipomena' (Greek: 'supplement') of the Chronicon quo omnes fere veteres … a chronicle that ended in the thirteenth century, by Burchard, abbot of Uspergensis [Urspergensis = Ursperg, a monastery in Bavaria]), edited and published by the enthusiastic humanist and Augsburg antiquarian Conrad Peutinger in 1515. The first continuation was by Conrad of Lichtenau [Konrad von Lichtenau]. The second continuation, to which Foxe refers here, was that by Caspar Hedio, which took it to 1537, the year it was published.

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This glorious Cardinall in hys tragicall doynges, dyd exceede so farre all measure of a good subiect, that he became more like a prince then a Priest:MarginaliaThe climing of the Cardinall Wolsey. for although the kyng bare the sword, yet he bare the stroke, makyng (in a maner) the whole Realme to bend at his becke, and to daunce after his pype. Such practises and fetches he had, that when he had well stored his own cofers, first he fetched the greatest part of the kynges treasure, out of the realme, in xij. great barels full of gold & siluer, to serue the Popes warres. And as his auaritious minde was neuer satisfied in getting, so his restles head was so busie, rufflyng in publicke matters,MarginaliaCardinall Wolsey a great causer of warres. that he neuer ceassed, before he had set both Englād, Fra?ce, Flaūders, Spayne, and Italy, together by the eares.

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Thus this Legate well followyng the steppes of hys maister the Pope, and both of them well declaryng the nature of their religion, vnder the pretense of the Church, practised great hipocrisie,MarginaliaThe pilling and poling of the Cardinall. and vnder the authoritie of the kyng, he vsed great extorsion, with excessiue taxes and lones, and valuation of euery mans substaunce, so pillyng the commōs and Marchauntes, that euery man complayned, but no redresse was had. Neither yet were the Churchmen altogether free from the pillar, and pollar, from the pilling and pollyng (I meane) of this Cardinall, who vnder his power Legantine, gaue by preuentions, all benefices belongyng to spirituall persōs: by which hard it is to say, whether he purchased to himselfe, more riches then hatred, of the spiritualtie. So farre his licence stretched, that he had power to suppresse diuers Abbeyes, Priories, and Monasteryes, and so dyd: takyng from them, all their goods, moueables, and not moueables, except it were a little pension, left onely to the heades of certaine houses. By the sayd power Legantine, he kept also generall visitations through the realme, sending Doct. Iohn Alein his Chaplein, riding in his gowne of Veluet, & with a great traine, to visite all religious houses:MarginaliaThe Friers obseruaunts accursed of the Cardinall. whereat the Friers obseruauntes much grudged, & would in no wise condescend thereunto: wherfore they were openly accursed at Paules crosse, by frier Forest, MarginaliaOf Fryer Forest, vid. infra. one of the same order: so that the Cardinall at length, preuailed both agaynst them, and all other. Agaynst whome great disdayne arose among the people, perceauyng how he by visitations, makyng of Abbots, probates of testamentes, grauntyng of faculties, licences, and other pollynges in his courtes Legantine,MarginaliaEx Hallo, an. 19. Reg. Henric. 8. had made his treasure equall with the kynges, and yet euery yeare he sent great summes to Rome. And this was their daily talke agaynst the Cardinall.

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Beside many other matters and greuāces which styrred the hartes of the commons agaynst the Cardinall, this was one, which much pinched them, for that the sayd Cardinall had sent out certaine straite commissions in the kyngs name, that euery man should pay the vj. part of his goodes. Wherupon there folowed great mutteryng amongst the cōmōs, in such sort, that it had almost growen to some riotous commotion or tumult, especially in the partes of Suffolke, had not the dukes of Northfolke and Suffolke, with wisedome and gentlenes, stept in and appeased the same.

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An other thyng that rubbed the stomackes of many, or rather which moued them to laugh at the Cardinall, was this, to see his insolent presumption, so highly to take vpon hym, as the kynges chiefe counsailer, to set a reformation in the order of the kynges houshold, makyng and establishyng new ordinaunces in the same. He likewise made new officers, in the house of the duke of Richmond, which was th? newly begon. In like maner he ordained a Counsell, & established an other houshold for the Lady Mary, then beyng princes: so that all thing was done by his consent, & by none other. All this, with much more, tooke he vpō him, makyng the king beleue, that all should be to his honour, and that he needed not to take any payne, insomuch that the charge of all thynges was committed vnto hym: whereat many men smiled to see his great folly and presumption.

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MarginaliaHampton court geuen to the king. At this tyme the Cardinall gaue the kyng the lease of the Manour of Hampton Court, which he had of the Lord of S. Iohns, and on which he had done great coste. Therfore þe kyng agayne of his gētle nature, licenced him to lye in his Manour of Richmond, & so he lay there certaine tymes. But when the common people, and specially such as were kyng Henry the vij. seruauntes, saw the Cardinall keepe house in the royall Manour of Richmond, which king Hēry the vij. so much estemed it was a maruaile to here, how they grudged, saying: See a butchers dogge lye in the Manour of Richmond. These with many other opprobrious wordes, were spoken agaynst the Cardinall, whose pride was so hygh, that he regarded nothyng: yet was he hated of all men.

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MarginaliaThe Cardinall ruffling in matters & warres of Princes. And now to expresse some part of the rufflyng practises and busie intermedlynges of this Cardinall in Princes warres, first here is to be noted, that after long warres betwene England and Fraūce. 1524. (in the which warres, K. Henry takyng the Emperours part against Fraunces the French kyng, had waged with his money, the Duke of Bourbon, and a great part of the Emperours armie, to inuade and disturbe certaine partes of Fraunce)MarginaliaFraunces the French kyng taken prisoner. it happened that the French kyng commyng with his armye toward Millan, at the siege of Pauia, was there taken by the Duke of Bourbon, and Viceroy of Neaples, and so led prisoner into Spayne.

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Here note by the way, that all this while, the Cardinall held with the Emperour, hopyng by him to be made Pope: but when that would not be, he went cleane from the Emperour, to the French kyng, as (the Lord willyng) ye shall heare

After this victory gotten, and the French kyng beyng

taken