Spain: 1525 | British History Online

Calendar of State Papers, Spain: Further Supplement To Volumes 1 and 2, Documents From Archives in Vienna. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1947.

Citation:

'Spain: 1525', in Calendar of State Papers, Spain: Further Supplement To Volumes 1 and 2, Documents From Archives in Vienna, ed. Garrett Mattingly( London, 1947), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/further-supp/vols1-2/pp432-448 [accessed 27 November 2024].

1525



1525. Jan. 7. H. H. u. St. A. England. f. 1.	Louis De Praet to Margaret Of Savoy. I wrote you recently by a merchant's courier. I am enclosing herewith copies of my letters to the emperor, from which you may learn of subsequent events. Please forward the enclosed letter to the viceroy. I have received your letter of December 20th. You may see by what I wrote the emperor that the time is not yet ripe to press any arrangements about Scotland. Wolsey has promised me that your interests will not be neglected when the time comes. This may be soon, in fact, on the return of the Scottish ambassador who left here yesterday (fn. 1) to carry a report of the negotiations here back to the Scottish estates. London, 7 Jan., 1524, [O.S.] Signed, Louis de Praet. French.
Jan. 12. H. H. u. St. A. Belgien P. A. 17.	Louis De Praet to Margaret Of Savoy. I wrote you day before yesterday by the courier from Spain. Yesterday I went to Wolsey and delivered my charge ; finding him in a good humour, I told him the contents of the emperor's note of which you know. Although he was somewhat angry at first, having been informed of the contents of the note by the English ambassadors, he cooled down and spoke very amicably of you and of the emperor. He said, however, that he had to complain of you on two points. In the first place, he said, the English were very ill treated in your courts of justice, and if matters did not improve, he would be obliged, as chancellor of the kingdom, to send you a herald summoning you to expedite justice, and protesting against the injuries done English subjects, to whom he would be obliged to grant letters of reprisal. He gave me to understand that he was principally annoyed by the treatment of Norfolk and himself in the matter of their goods on a Scottish ship, about which I have written you before. You know how powerful the cardinal and Norfolk are in this kingdom and how much confidence their master places in them. I have already written many times on this subject and I beg you to satisfy them if possible. The other point of which Wolsey complained was the disorder in monetary exchange about which I have also written you. I was under the impression that he had sent commissioners to you to arrange this matter, but he told me yesterday that he had not, because he had been informed that it would be in vain and you had no intention of considering English interests in the matter. He swore to me that, unless this inequality was remedied, Henry would be obliged to forbid mercantile intercourse between England and the Low Countries. I made what excuses I could, but Wolsey insisted very strongly on both these points and asked me specifically to write you about them at once. I do not doubt you will do your best to satisfy the English, but I beg you to speak to Dr. Knight about the matter at once, and to let me know what reply I should make. Wolsey said something about sending Gregory Casale to the pope, and Pace to Venice, to solicit aid for the emperor, and also to beg His Holiness to prevent the French from invading Naples, and to add threats in case the Signory and the pope refused. He spoke also of sending money to Milan and agreeing with the viceroy that, if he gave battle to the French, the money should be used for the further conduct of the war after the battle. I cannot assure you that he is serious. I have just received letters from the emperor dated December 20th, and I shall carry out his orders, although I have little hope of obtaining what he desires. It seems strange that I have had no news of Richard Boulanger, by whom I suppose you have written me fully of affairs in the Low Countries. If you have not, I hope you will do so. The emperor sent me copies of the letters which were taken in a Scottish ship. I shall give them to Wolsey tomorrow and make what excuses I can for his not having been informed sooner. London, 12 January, 1524, [O.S.] Signed, Loys de Praet. French, pp. 3.
Jan. 23. H. H. u. St. A. England, f. 3.	Louis De Praet to Margaret Of Savoy. I suppose by this time Gregory Casale has visited your court, and from him, and from the letters he brought you, you will have learned the news here up to the time of his departure. More recent news is contained in the copy of my letter to the emperor enclosed herewith. Last Saturday I went to Hampton Court and found Wolsey much more cheerful than I had expected. I do not know whether the cheerfulness was genuine or put on to show me that the news did not disturb him. He told me at once that Jehan Jockin had sent him a letter of Robertet's, saying that the league of the pope, King Francis, the Venetians, the Florentines, the Sienese, and the Luchese had been published at Lyons January 10th. Nothing more was added, and Wolsey said he could not believe that the merchants who reported that the league was offensive and defensive, could be well informed. He said it was incredible that the pope would take a step so disadvantageous to the emperor and to Henry and to the whole of Christendom, and one which would, in the end, be the ruin of the papacy. While, he said, he would give no credit to this news until it was reported by his ambassador at Rome, nevertheless, he wished to discuss it with me as a mere precaution. He said he thought it unlikely that the league would extend farther than the recovery of the duchy of Milan by the French, leaving Naples to the emperor. Thus the pope might hope to keep both princes fearful and obedient to him, and in addition remove the principal cause of the present wars, knowing that the emperor and his council were so bent on having Milan that, as long as they had the least hope of it, peace would be impossible. There were several other reasons which might have moved the pope and the Italian princes to make this league. All of them had some reason to complain of the emperor : in general, because of the outrages perpetrated by the Spanish soldiers, which were such that everyone preferred the French, badly behaved as they were. They also had particular causes of complaint. For instance, the emperor had not kept his promise to give the pope and his heirs the investiture of Florence, adding a part of Sienese territory. The pope had been so harshly treated by the emperor's agents that he had often complained to the English ambassador that he feared the Spaniards more than the French. The emperor had failed to restore to the Venetians the towns he had promised them in the last treaty. He had long withheld from the duke of Ferrara the investiture of his duchy, which he had promised to give him in return for 200,000 ducats. Worst of all, the emperor had refused to give the duke of Milan the investiture of his duchy, unless the duke would agree to pay all the expenses of its reconquest, and in addition a million in gold, an impossible condition. It was therefore hardly surprising if these princes had preferred not to remain longer at war in such uncertainty and insecurity. Wolsey said, however, that these causes of complaint ought not to be serious enough to induce the pope to make any treaty injurious to the emperor and to the king of England. In fact, he said, this treaty principally injured Henry, for if the emperor lost Milan he retained Fuenterrabia and Tournai, and most of the cause of the disagreement between him and King Francis would be removed ; but Henry had spent an enormous amount of money and had conquered nothing, and was now less likely than ever to get any honourable recompense for the abandonment of his claims against the French. I had little reply to this, not being instructed as to Wolsey's charges against the emperor. I said what I could to excuse him, but if everything Wolsey says is true, someone is certainly at fault. Had I dared to tell him the truth I would have said that the coming here of Jockin, and the strange things he (Wolsey) had said to me in the presence of other ambassadors, and his refusal to consent to a truce while the army was in Provence, and later on his refusal to contribute to the defence of Milan, were the causes of a great part of our misfortunes, and of the loss of Milan and the distrust with which the pope and the other princes had regarded the alliance. Unless I am much mistaken, one of these days we shall see Wolsey's vanity destroy the alliance altogether. It seems to me that in trying to rule everyone, Wolsey is in danger of being ruled by everyone in turn. For instance, he began at once to tell me of a conversation with the president of Rouen, who came here yesterday, and of the possibility of arranging all the differences between the emperor and the king of France, through this envoy's mediation. It seems to me that, in the long run, it will be little to the emperor's honour or advantage if his affairs are thus disposed of by others. So much for my conversation with Wolsey and for his news from France. I hope the news is not all true ; it will be bad enough if it is partly true, and if the viceroy has made a virtue of necessity (consenty pour fere de necessite vertu) or acted at the emperor's instructions. London, 23 January, 1525. I have just received yours of January 15th, in which you seem dissatisfied with my dissimulation with Wolsey and my advice to Lannoy. I hope neither has injured the emperor's interests. I thought I had qualified my advice so that Lannoy, who is a prudent person, would know how to act upon it, but I will look over the minutes of my letters and answer you more in detail, begging you meanwhile to believe that any mistake I have made proceeds from inexperience, not from ill-will. I would my ability to advise the emperor were as good as my wish. But I have long known that I was inadequate to the demands of such a post as this, and asked to be relieved, or, at least, to be given a colleague. The post becomes more and more difficult, and the emperor is too far away to advise me in emergencies, so that I hope you, Madame, will tell me what to do as often as you can. 23 January. Signed, Loys de Praet. Copy. French. pp. 6.
Feb. 12. H. H. u. St. A. Belgien DD Abt. B. f. 12	Charles V to Henry VIII. Since we greatly desire to have news of you, we are sending to you our squire, Cilly. He will tell you of our convalescence, and that we are now almost free from fever and can hunt and attend to business. Since now is the time for us to take advantage of the opportunity offered to crush the enemy, as we are writing more at length to our ambassador, we beg you to give credence and attention to what Cilly has to say to you on our part. Copy. French.
Feb. 28. H. H. u. St. A. Belgien DD Abt. B. f. 12.	The Burgundian Ambassadors to Margaret Of Savoy. We arrived here yesterday, having been delayed because I, de Bevres, was detained by bad weather on my way from Zeeland. On our arrival the master of the post delivered your letters of February 19th, saying that you had written de Praet of our coming and of the Sieur de Beaulieu's preparations against Geldres. Yesterday evening we received yours of the 20th, with a copy of the duke of Milan's letters from Cremona of the 8th, and enclosing the memoir of the Hollanders about the safe-conducts. We shall do our best to cross from here to England as soon as possible, but there is a merchant here who has been waiting for a month without being able to make the crossing. When we reach the king of England, we shall insist on your first point, an English invasion of France as soon as possible, but it seems useless to ask for a contribution to the army of Italy which de Praet has solicited so often without success. Moreover, if the emperor's army invades France, and the English do likewise, they are not bound by treaty to give any aid in Italy. We shall follow your instructions about the safe-conducts asked for by the Hollanders. It is to be feared that we shall lose our time to no purpose in trying to satisfy those of Holland and those of Artois, Brabant, and other provinces, since the king of England is not likely to reverse what he has already done in the matter. If news comes to you from Italy or elsewhere, of which you wish to inform us, we beg that you will direct the master of the post to delay the English ambassador's letters so that ours may reach us before his arrive, and the English will not have the first information, as they so often have had while M. de Praet has been there. The treasurer of this town and the captain of the castle, Sir Robert Wingfield, came to meet us with a considerable escort, and gave us a cordial welcome. Calais, 24 February, 1525. Since writing you of our arrival here we have been obliged to wait until to-day for lack of favourable weather and of escort. All the warships here had put to sea before our arrival. Before I left Bruges I, de Bevres, ordered Mechere [Gerard de Merckere] the captain of the ships of war of Flanders, to send here all his ships to convoy us. He has done so, and very luckily, for the French at Boulogne had got wind of our coming here, and were at sea in the hope of intercepting us. To-day, however, we may cross without danger. The treasurer of Calais has been commanded by the king to cross with us and escort us to the court. When we reach the king of England we shall speak to him about the receiver of M. de Lannoy and the other prisoners from the county of Guines, now in the hands of the English. It is impossible to do anything about them here. Signed, Adolph de Bourgogne, Joos Lauwerems and Jehan de le Sauch. Copy. French. pp. 4. Another copy in England, f. 3.
March 2. H. H. u. St. A. Belgien DD Abt. B. f. 8.	The Burgundian Ambassadors to Louis De Praet. We have received your letters by this bearer. We shall reach London on Sunday, travelling by land, although we shall be at Gravesend to-morrow evening. Since you wish to see us as soon as possible, we shall be happy if you will meet us there, so that we may discuss everything connected with our mission. Sittingbourne, 2 March. Signed, Adolph de Bourgogne, Joos Lauwerems and Jehan de le Sauch. Copy. French.
March 31. H. H. u. St. A. Belgien DD Abt. B. f. 12.	Wolsey to Charles V. This is to congratulate you on your convalescence, and on the great victory which God has given you, resulting in the defeat and capture of King Francis. Thus your majesty and the king, my master, are offered an opportunity which, if you prosecute it vigorously in unison, will enable you not only to establish all Christendom in honourable peace, but to regain those rights unjustly withheld from you by King Francis and his predecessors. It is clear that whatever my king thus gains will be to the advantage of your majesty, both by the final augmentation of your royal authority and by the friendship and affection of the king, my master. I should be glad to offer you in person my small advice in this matter if the age of my body and the danger of the sea permitted. I have persuaded the king, my master, to send in my place two persons in whom you may confide as you would in me, and I beg your majesty to give them as full hearing and credence as you would to me were I there in person. Signed, Thomas Cardinal of York. Copy. French. pp. 2.
April 10. H. H. u. St. A. England, f. 3.	Burgundian Ambassadors to Margaret Of Savoy. In accordance with our former letters we formally requested of Wolsey permission for the Sieur de Praet to take his leave of this court and return to the Netherlands. (fn. 2) To-day we have received the necessary permission. On his arrival in the Netherlands you may learn the rest from him. London, 10 April. Copy. French.
April 20. H. H. u. St. A. England, f. 3.	The Burgundian Ambassadors to Charles V. We have presented to the king and the cardinal your letters brought by this present bearer, M. de Cilly. After consulting with Madame we went to the king and the cardinal and exposed the charge contained in your instructions. You may learn the result from the copy of our letters to Madame (fn. 3) herewith enclosed, and also from M. de Cilly who heard what we said to the king and the cardinal, and their reply. We are also enclosing copies of our letters to Madame written since the last courier sent to you, and also copies of Madame's letters of the 6th, 7th and 16th of April, brought us by the bastard du Roeulx. King Henry complained greatly at not having more frequent news from you, for lack of which, he says, your common affairs suffer. He suggests that you arrange with the king of France that couriers may travel by land. You have been informed of the departure of M. de Praet. They (Henry and Wolsey) ask that you send someone to replace him as soon as possible. Wolsey has spoken to us about his wish to receive the arrears on his pensions, and to have the bishopric of Badajoz, or something of similar value. London, 20 April. Signed, Adolph de Bourgogne, Joos Lauwerems, and Jehan de le Sauch. Copy. French. pp. 2.
April 26. H. H. u. St. A. England, f. 3.	Joos Lauwerems to Margaret Of Savoy. The league between the pope and the emperor has been concluded. Since I do not know whether you are informed of its terms, I am sending you a copy given me by the cardinal. The cardinal tells me that by this league the emperor is to have a hundred thousand ducats from the pope, a hundred and fifty thousand ducats from the Venetians, an equal sum from the Florentines, Sienese and Luchese, as much from the duke of Ferrara, and a hundred thousand ducats a year from the duke of Milan, making a total of fifteen hundred thousand ducats. (fn. 4) That is a lot of money ; it would be good to see it when the emperor has it all in one chest. The cardinal tells me that M. de Vendôme is lieutenant general of all the kingdom of France, but can do nothing without the advice and consent of a council of twentyfour. Wolsey does not know the names of the councillors. He tells me M. de la Fayette is to have M. de Pontremy's place. Cilly has left ; the king gave him two hundred ducats. I have been much assailed by Wolsey and Norfolk about their matter, the duke of Suffolk being the only other person present. Wolsey said I was full of good words but they were without effect and that I did not seem to recognize the services he was daily rendering the emperor, especially in the matter of this league. He said if no other arrangement was possible he would issue letters of marque against the people of the Low Countries. Norfolk said he would give ten thousand crowns never to have heard of the ship, and that he had bought Wolsey's share of the merchandise in it and that he was grieved at the dishonour done him, for although everyone in England thought him a good Burgundian, we would do nothing for him. I replied that I could give him no definite reply because of the conduct of his agents. He had said he would be satisfied with four thousand crowns and then his agents had presented a bill for more than nine thousand, so that you had not known what to do. He said he would accept four thousand, provided his pledges were discharged. So far, he said, the money was in the hands of those who had given security for him, and he had not received a crown. Afterwards the duke went and complained bitterly to M. de Bevres, and yesterday, when I went to see him (de Bevres), I found Norfolk's agents there complaining of me. London, 26 April, 1525. Signed, J Lauwerems. French. pp. 2.
April 29. H. H. u. St. A. Belgien DD Abt. B. f. 12	The Burgundian Ambassadors to Margaret Of Savoy. We received by the bastard de Roeulx a packet of letters addressed to M. de Praet, and since de Praet had left we opened the packet and read the letter to him from the emperor, leaving the others closed. We took a copy of this letter as a guide to our conduct here, and we are forwarding the others to de Praet with the request that, if he is not now at court, the emperor's letter, and copies of letters from his majesty to the king and the cardinal, and a copy of the complaint made to his majesty by the English ambassador, be forwarded to you. We very much hope that you will have seen these letters, and also a letter from the emperor to you, before you send back le Sauch. If, however, le Sauch has left before you receive these letters, we have decided to act upon the instructions you give him, provided they are in conformity with the emperor's commands. If there is any divergence between them, we shall not act on your instructions until we hear from you, which we hope may be as soon as possible. London, 29 April. Copy. French.
May 20. H. H. u. St. A. Belgien DD Abt. B. f. 12	The Burgundian Ambassadors to Charles V. Your majesty will have heard from Cilly of the position of affairs here until the time of his departure and of our sending Jehan de le Sauch to Madame. You should know by this time of Madame's arrangements with the English ambassadors and of our subsequent negotiations here. Madame has ordered us to return, leaving le Sauch here until your majesty provides another ambassador as the king and the cardinal hope you will do soon. We went to Windsor to-day to take our leave. London, Saturday, May 20. Copy. French.
June 29. H. H. u. St. A. Belgien DD Abt. B. f. 12	Jehan De Le Sauch to De Bevres and Lauwerems. To-day the cardinal sent for me and I went to call on him the more willingly since, because of the slight indisposition, I had not visited him for some days. After I had told him the contents of Madame's letters received this morning, he said that he had had letters from the English ambassadors at the emperor's court, saying that the emperor had complained of him very strongly. This, he said, he had not deserved, for he had always sought to serve the emperor as truly as he served the king, his master, and someone must have been maligning him. I answered that I did not know whom he meant, but as for us, we had written nothing except what he had told us. He then opened a note which he had in his hand, an extract from a letter which we wrote to Madame on April 20th and which had been given to the ambassadors at the emperor's court and sent by them to him. He told me to read it. I recognized it at once, and said that it was the truth. Then he asked me how I could write such things. I replied that we had written them because he had said them, and that M. de Bevres and the President were educated persons with good memories and a good understanding of Latin, and I was sure that they would maintain the accuracy of the letter. Then he said, "What did you, the secretary, understand me to say?" I replied that I was not always a good enough Latinist to interpret everything I heard. He then swore to me on his honour and his conscience that he had not spoken in this fashion, but had exhorted us to urge the emperor not to drive them to such desperation that they would be obliged to look for aid wherever they could find it, even if among the Turks. It was very different, he said, to say : "We shall do such a thing if we are driven to desperation," than to say, "We shall do so and so," without any condition. Wolsey said he believed that, on reflection, you would not assert that he had spoken in the manner set down in the extract, especially in that part of it which related his conversation with M. de Lauwerems, alone, about the league and the marriage of the princess to the dauphin. He said he hoped to clear his honour with the emperor, and that it would be seen that he laboured for nothing in the world so much as for the emperor's good, which was what the king, his master, most desired. I can see that Wolsey takes this matter much to heart. It seems to him that everyone who comes here fails to recognize his services to the emperor, and misconstrues his words and intentions. I did not know what to say to him except that it was never too late to correct a mistake ; whereupon he asked me to write to you at once, asking you not only to reply to him, but to write to the emperor, exonerating him and pointing out his services. After leaving Wolsey I went over my copies of the letters we wrote Madame and found that the extract sent the cardinal conformed to the contents of our letters of April 20th, as you will see from the enclosed copies. The matter is easy to put right, for you will see that in our letters the words extracted are immediately followed by the conditional clause on which Wolsey insists. So we wrote what Wolsey said, and the emperor or someone about him must have misunderstood, or misread, our letters. I am sure you will try to straighten out this matter, for you know how great is the cardinal's authority and his power with his master. Moreover, you know the affection with which he has always spoken, and that he trusts us to aid his great desire to preserve the alliance between the emperor and the king, his master. Otherwise he would have been careful not to speak as he has done, and would not have done for us what he has. It seemed to him that he has had little thanks, and though he takes this ill, he has not ceased to show his love for the emperor and his desire to serve him and to conduct affairs to the common good of their two majesties. I beg you to write to him, and let him know that I have done my duty in writing you. He says that he submits himself entirely to our honour and discretion as to what we shall write to the emperor. It seems to me that it should be possible to arrange matters so that the emperor will let Wolsey know that he still wishes to make use of him in the conduct of his affairs with the king of England, for you know that that king will never do anything of importance without Wolsey's advice. London, 29 June, 1525. Copy. French. pp. 4.
July 6. H. H. u. St. A England, f. 3.	Jehan De Le Sauch to Margaret Of Savoy. I delayed sending the above letter (fn. 5) since no regular courier was available and it did not seem important enough for a special courier. Afterwards, late Sunday night, I received your letter of June 29th, with letters for the cardinal and a memoir about the crime committed at Antwerp by Fernando Deiaignes [or Deiaigues?]. Monday morning early I went to Hampton Court, whither Wolsey had just gone, gave him your letters and explained the case, asking that Gregory de Pesquera be surrendered at once into the emperor's hands for justice. I pointed out the enormity of the crime, and that punishment should take place where it had been committed, as an example to others. Wolsey replied, "Very well, I will speak to the king after dinner, and tell you his reply, which I shall try to see is satisfactory." After dinner he went to the king, telling me that I should be satisfied at once, but he did nothing about it. He remained with the king until five o'clock and then mounted his horse to return to Westminster, saying as he left that he would tell me the king's decision to-morrow evening. While I was at Hampton Court some Spanish merchants, residents of London, relatives of the said Gregory, went to the queen to ask her intercession, alleging the right of asylum which foreigners had when they took refuge in this kingdom, and other matters contrary to your purpose. To-day, Tuesday, I went to Wolsey and asked for a reply in the matter. At once he called the treasurer of Calais and said, "I have discussed this matter with the treasurer here, since it is within his jurisdiction, but the council holds that we are not bound by treaty to surrender the prisoner, or any malefactor of your land who has taken refuge in ours, since our sovereignty in our realm is equal to yours in yours." I replied, "I presented this request not as a matter of treaty obligation but merely as a favour, which the king may do the emperor and Madame by delivering this person to justice, and which they offer to reciprocate when occasion arises." The treasurer remarked that even if the emperor wished to reciprocate in a similar case, his good towns would not suffer him to do so, but would stand on their privileges. I replied that the emperor had no subjects so little obedient to him that they would not surrender at the request of Henry or Wolsey an English malefactor who had taken refuge in Flanders, but Wolsey interrupted, saying that it was idle to dispute about this. "The prisoner is in our hands," he said, "and he will be well guarded and the treasurer, who is going to Calais, will hear the case and advise the king, and if we can do anything to please Madame we shall be glad to do it." On July 4th I received your letter of June 25th announcing the return of de Bevres and the President and your decision to send M. de Maretz (fn. 6) here, for which I thank you very much. I also received from a Spanish merchant your letter of the 27th, relating the capture of the ships of a certain Michiel d'Ardaire, a Navarrese merchant, which ships were carrying letters to the king and the cardinal about this affair. I intended to go to see Wolsey yesterday to give him your letters and speak of this matter, but Brian Tuke said that it would be better not to since the cardinal was very busy getting off dispatches to Spain and writing in his own hand to the emperor. I hope to see Wolsey this evening and shall let you know what I accomplish, but I am sending this at once by the Spaniard, who wishes to return. London, Thursday, July 6th. Copy. French. pp. 3.
July 11. Belgien DD Abt. B. f. 12	Jehan De Le Sauch to Margaret Of Savoy. I wrote you last on Thursday about the affair of Fernando Diaigues. I have also had letters from an agent of Michiel d'Ardaire about his affairs, but so far I have been unable to get anything done about them. Brian Tuke says that he was ordered to dispatch the business at once, but he excuses himself every day, saying that he cannot get the letters signed and I think he has been in touch with the merchants at Southampton who bought the ship and the salt with which it is loaded, and he is delaying so that the master of the galleon, who is still there, can get away, as the galleon and the ship, both of which have been sold, have done. Through Brian Tuke I have received your letters about the safeguard for the fishing fleet. I spoke of the matter to Wolsey, who said that it would be better for you to send powers and instructions to conclude the agreement here. I pointed out to him that it was he who had raised the matter, and had offered to send the necessary powers to Wingfield, but he has been unwilling to do anything about it, so that I can write you nothing definite. Your letters of June 25th on the subject seem to be duplicates of letters dated June 9th, which I received some time ago. I find, on inquiry, that there is still an armistice with Scotland, but that it is on the point of expiring. Because of the armistice, there seems to have been some commerce back and forth across the border, but it has not been general. If you wish an agreement to be arranged, it would be better to give powers to de Maretz. Yesterday Richard Florentin, the courier, arrived here bringing letters from the emperor, who wrote me merely that as long as I remained here he would send me copies of his letters to you. On reading these copies I find that there is nothing further to do since Peñalosa's arrival, except as regards a reference to Portugal which I do not understand unless it has some connection with the marriage which was spoken of to the English ambassadors. The emperor also sent copies of three letters of his to the king of France, and their replies. I went at once to Wolsey, and told him that I had letters from the emperor which said that he was uncertain how he was being represented here since the departure of de Bevres and the President, but that for the present he would send copies of all his letters to Madame for Wolsey's information. I told him that, so far, the letters contained nothing except the arrival of the English ambassadors and his conversations with them, and the decision to wait until there was a reply to Peñalosa's mission. The only other news was that the president of Paris was expected. I gave Wolsey copies of everything, and he seemed quite satisfied, and particularly pleased that the emperor did not intend to do anything without the advice and consent of the king of England. He said that the emperor could count on equally loyal behaviour from Henry, and added many other fine words. Neither of us said a word about the Portuguese marriage. He ended by expressing his gratification at the cordial reception which the emperor had accorded the English ambassadors. I wrote the emperor that I did not wish to remain here very long, and he replied, giving me permission to depart, and promising to send a new ambassador unless you sent someone from Flanders. London, 11 July. Copy. pp. 3.
Aug. 16. H. H. u. St. A. England, f. 2.	Memoir of Charles V's reply to the English Ambassadors. About what the king, our uncle, wrote his ambassadors in reply to what we had told them about the petition from our subjects in these kingdoms that we should marry the sister of the king of Portugal in case the king, our uncle, proved unwilling to deliver the princess, his daughter, to us promptly, so that she may remain here in our absence, for the preservation of order in these kingdoms, as we set forth in the instructions given to Peñalosa and further declared to the English ambassadors : The ambassadors say that they have informed the king, our uncle, who says that neither Peñalosa nor anyone else spoke of this to him before, so that he is not very well informed about the matter, although he believes that we are ignorant of this omission. Nevertheless, he wrote that if we wished to discuss this matter, his ambassadors ought to tell us his intentions. We have therefore again communicated to them the progress of our affairs and the continual petitions which our cortes make to us to settle this matter, since they fear the results of our absence from these kingdoms, when we go to settle the Lutheran troubles and to assume our crowns. The English ambassadors then said that although King Henry desires above everything our marriage to the princess, his daughter, knowing that he could not marry her in any higher station, and although if she were old enough, he would make no difficulty about sending her to Spain at once, nevertheless, seeing that her tender age would prevent the immediate consummation of the marriage, and seeing that the petitions of our subjects are reasonable, and that the causes alleged are urgent, king Henry, who wishes to remain always our good friend, is willing to agree to the Portuguese marriage on three conditions. First, that before we marry, peace shall have been concluded with the king of France. Since we have the king of France in our hands, and it is within our power to compel him to such conditions as we wish, King Henry asks that peace be concluded on terms as satisfactory to him as to us, in view of the sacrifices he has made for us, and the gains we have won through his friendship, such as Tournai, Milan, and Fuenterrabia, and, most important of all, the possession of the person of our enemy, while King Henry has had no profit and great expense, the marriage of his daughter with the dauphin has been dissolved, and he has lost the pensions and emoluments which he drew every year from France. He says that to achieve a good peace, conditions should be offered so reasonable that they will be accepted. He fears that, should our marriage be concluded before the conclusion of peace, his interests will be gravely injured, it may seem that there is not such perfect friendship between us as there ought to be, and it will be harder to make good terms. Second, King Henry says that according to the treaty of Windsor, our former debts to him were to be counted in part payment of the dowry which was to come to us with his daughter, and since that time he has lent us other moneys not only charged against the said dowry, but supposed to be repaid. There is also what is owing to him for the indemnity. Since the marriage of the princess, his daughter, is now being dissolved when the amount of her dowry is almost all paid, and since she will have to be married elsewhere, and another dowry provided, King Henry says it is reasonable that he should be repaid what we owe him. This we have already represented to our cortes. The king also says that since we are to have a very large sum of money by reason of the Portuguese marriage, both from the great dowry given by the king of Portugal and from the servicio to be granted us by the cortes, we ought to repay everything we owe him in ready money before receiving his consent to the marriage. Third, since the treaty of Windsor was based on our marriage with the princess and since the treaty of London has been altered by the death of Pope Leo X, King Henry says that both these treaties ought to be dissolved, in consequence of the impending peace and the dissolution of the marriage. He proposes that they be completely abrogated and cancelled, leaving in force, however, the more ancient treaties for commerce and intercourse. To this we replied to the English ambassadors that we had always intended to perform our marriage with the princess of England, if her age and our affairs permitted, and if the delay had not involved such serious dangers not only to us and to our kingdoms, but to all Christendom. Now, however, our subjects daily beg us to hasten our marriage, fearing the consequences should we leave these kingdoms before it is completed. They know that we would not hasten to leave in order to assume our other crowns ; this could be delayed until an opportune time. But, as they know, we are daily urged by the archduke, our brother, and by the other German princes and by the pope, to apply some remedy to this cursed sect of Lutherans from whom have sprung so many ills that it is impossible to estimate or declare them. Because of this sect, it is said, more than a hundred thousand men have already been killed in war on both sides, and an infinite number of fine castles, monasteries and churches have been ruined, pillaged and destroyed. We have recently heard from our brother, the archduke, that he is in such straits that he does not know where to turn for help and cannot enjoy his own revenues except as his Lutheran villeins please. The cardinal of Mainz has been obliged to make an agreement with his, giving them money and access to his towns and fortresses, and permitting the Lutheran sect to be preached publicly and priests and religious to marry. The cardinal of Salzburg has taken refuge in a castle and is also treating with his villeins, and has already agreed to receive only a third part of his former revenues, leaving the other twothirds and the administration of the whole to the Lutherans. All the other bishops and prelates have either fled, leaving their churches and revenues, or have been driven to take refuge in some fortress, or have come to an agreement with the Lutherans. All the princes of the empire have their subjects rebelling against them, seeking liberty according to the tenets of the Lutheran sect. Those of the Swabian league are doing their best to revenge themselves, but it seems unlikely that they can hold out long for lack of infantry ; all theirs desert to the enemy whose numbers grow daily. The same troubles have commenced in Hungary, and are making great progress there, so that it seems that the king of Hungary, already oppressed by the great damage the Turks have done, will be unable to maintain himself. It is also said that the king of Poland has made a treaty with the grand master of Prussia who has declared himself Lutheran, and married, and made himself a duke instead of grand master, and has been promised the investiture of his new duchy for himself and his heirs by the king of Poland. It is feared that this cursed sect may spread into Italy, to the complete ruin of Christianity, unless it is promptly repressed. All these serious ills require a present remedy, and oblige us to leave Spain and see to them in person. It is not in our power to do so without concluding this marriage, both because we cannot otherwise leave these realms without great danger, and because we should not otherwise have the necessary funds. We have therefore explained to the English ambassadors that, although the conditions proposed by their king are quite reasonable, the delay involved in fulfilling them might render all our efforts in vain. If our marriage is delayed until peace is concluded, and all our debts are paid, we should lose any favourable opportunity to accomplish what we intend, all our affairs would be ruined, and the evils in question would grow much worse, thus rendering favourable conditions of peace much harder to obtain. If we delay the marriage we shall neither have money to pay our debts, nor to keep up our military establishment, in order to be sure of a good peace. A peace is not as near at hand as one might think, for although the king of France is our prisoner, and anxious to agree to terms in order to regain his liberty, it is impossible to rely on his word without considering what the estates of his kingdom will grant. Of this we cannot be sure until the arrival of Madame d'Alençon, which may be delayed for some time, and until she comes there is no way of knowing what terms she will bring or whether an agreement can be reached without much sending back and forth. Meanwhile, unless the French see clearly that we are prepared to continue the war, they will certainly make difficulties, and will not hesitate to leave their king in our hands if by so doing they can compel us to more favourable terms. The real way to get favourable terms from the French is to let them see that King Henry and we are of one mind, in peace and in war, and that we have no intention of negotiating with them except jointly, and do not lack money to continue the war if necessary. To demonstrate this we must complete our Portuguese marriage before negotiating with the French, so that they will be sure that by it we shall have a large sum of money. It is quite clear that we cannot be sure of the money until the marriage is concluded, and even after it is, we shall not have all the money for some time, for the servicio is to be spread over four years and the Portuguese dowry will be on somewhat similar terms, so that we shall be unable to pay what we owe King Henry as promptly as he believes. Moreover, if the treaties of Windsor and of London are simply abrogated without some new form of alliance being concluded in their place, it will be supposed that our friendship is not as firmly established as it should be and our common interests will be sure to suffer. For these reasons, and since the English ambassadors know that King Henry intends to consent to our marriage, the only question being whether his consent is to be given before or after the fulfilment of certain conditions, and since it is impossible for us to fulfil the conditions before the marriage for the foregoing reasons, we have asked the English ambassadors to treat at once about the consent in question, provided that we bind ourself not to treat or conclude peace with the French without their intervention, and to be as careful of English interests in the treaty as of our own, and to do everything in our power to obtain the conditions they desire. We have also offered to bind ourselves to continued friendship and alliance with the king of England, both in peace and in war, and, if they will do likewise, to consent at once to the abrogation of the treaties of London and Windsor. We also offer to pay what we owe the king of England on any reasonable terms, feeling confident that our uncle, who has always loved us, will not, when he is properly informed, wish to delay his consent to our marriage to the grave endangering of our affairs and of those of all Christendom. To this request the ambassadors replied that they had no powers whatever to treat in this matter because the king, their master, had not been properly informed of it on account of the change in Peñalosa's instructions. The ambassadors had not even been instructed to ask for such powers, but merely to report, and they said therefore that they could do nothing except write to the king, their master, for further orders. We could not really expect more of the ambassadors than this. Nevertheless, the affair being so urgent, and our Spanish subjects having decided among themselves to send an embassy to the king of England to beg him to give his prompt consent, a step which we prevented in order to save time and money, we decided to add, to the request of our English ambassadors here, our own solicitations sent by courier, both by land and by sea, begging our uncle to let us know his intentions promptly, and to send his powers to his ambassadors here. We shall await his reply as long as we can without danger or prejudice to our affairs. If, as we can hardly believe, the king's reply is so delayed as to cause grave danger and inconvenience should we wait for it, we firmly hope that the king will take in good part whatever we are compelled to do, and that he will consent to it, since we do not intend to act in any way to his prejudice, and we promise to fulfil all his conditions stated above, so that we hope he will never have cause to be dissatisfied with us, but will always remain our good friend, uncle and cousin, as we wish to remain his good brother and nephew, and not less than if we were his own son. Draft in Gattinara's hand. French. pp. 4.
Oct. 1. H. H. u. St. A. Belgien P. A., 92.	Charles V to Louis De Praet. The king of France is better. Congratulate Queen Louise on his recovery. We have not written her about you, not knowing when you would reach her court, but this courier who is going to her about a matter of safe-conducts for some of our Germans who are returning through France, will give you your credence if you are there. The duchess of Alençon is expected here soon ; Cardinal Salviati has already arrived. We understand that English ambassadors are coming to France. Find out their charge and what they negotiate and advise us in cipher. Given, etc., 1 October, 1525. Draft. French. pp. 2.
Oct. 29. H. H. u. St. A. Belgien P.A. 92.	Charles V to Louis De Praet. We have your letter from Lyons. We are writing to Queen Louise to inform her that since Morette reached here the king of France continues to improve in health. Assure the queen that he is well treated. We shall not exchange Henri d'Albret for the prince of Orange, nor release him from prison until he renounces his right to the kingdom of Navarre. Protest against the illtreatment of Captain Sucre, who was taken prisoner in neutral territory. Show the English ambassadors in France every evidence of the friendship which it is our constant study to renew and confirm. We are sending to Flanders, Italy and Germany to inform our friends of our approaching marriage with the Infanta Doña Isabella of Portugal. The marriage agreement has been sworn to and the marriage will take place at Seville by the end of November. With the lady we have 900,000 doblas (a coin worth more than the écu au soleil), most of it in cash, and by reason of the marriage our Castilian subjects have made us a present of 800,000 ducats. Toledo, 29 October, 1525. Draft. French. pp. 3.
Nov. 4. H. H. u. St. A. Belgien. P.A. 92.	Louis De Praet to Charles V. Queen Louise tells me that the peace negotiations are deadlocked because the king, her son, refuses to cede the duchy of Burgundy as you demand. She urges you to consider that by treating her son generously you may win a lifelong friend and ally. Although the queen behaves very confidently, there are several factions at court, and there is some likelihood of considerable disturbance in this kingdom, the most probable leaders being the brothers of Vendôme and those of Lorraine. The duke of Albany is out of favour, partly because of a quarrel with Lautrec, and partly because he has been cast in the shade by the peace and alliance with the English. Queen Louise and her party make a great deal of the English alliance, and without doubt it will do a good deal for her popularity here and may be of great use in other ways. It is certainly an alliance very disadvantageous to your majesty, and one which will not make it easier for you to recover the territory rightfully yours, although you may be able to do so by force if there are civil disturbances here. To Louise's remark that generous treatment of King Francis would be very honourable to you, I replied that it would not be to your honour to omit to recover what belonged to you of right. She changed the subject and began to speak of the English alliance, praising Henry and Wolsey highly, and giving me to understand that she had heard all about my trouble with the cardinal. I merely endorsed her praise, passing over the other allusion in silence. She spoke coldly of Morone, saying that he was a person of great intellect but little faith, and adding that Milan did not concern her at all since all she wished was to have her son out of prison and friends with your majesty. [The rest of this letter, concerning French intrigues in Italy, and the internal affairs of France, has no direct relation to English history.] Copy. French. pp. 18.