Spain: July 1535, 1-31 | British History Online

Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 5 Part 1, 1534-1535. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1886.

Citation:

'Spain: July 1535, 1-31', in Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 5 Part 1, 1534-1535, ed. Pascual de Gayangos( London, 1886), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/vol5/no1/pp507-523 [accessed 27 November 2024].

July 1535, 1-31



1 July.	180. News from England.
S. E. Inglaterra, L. 806, f. 47. B. M. Add. 28, 587, f. 33	On the first day of July mdxxxv. Master Thomas Mauro (More), Lord Chancellor of England, appeared before the judges appointed by the King [to try him]. The indictment specifying the charges against him having been read in his presence, the new Chancellor [Sir Thomas Audeley] and the duke of Norfolk turned towards him, and addressed him in these words: "You see, Master More, that you have grievously " offended His Royal Majesty; yet if you will repent, and " change that opinion, in which you have hitherto most " obstinately persevered, we trust so much in His Majesty's " clemency and kind heart, that pardon and mercy will, we " have no doubt, be obtained for you." More's answer was: " Milords, I thank you very much for your good will, but " yet I pray God Almighty to keep me firm in this opinion " of mine, that I may continue in it till the hour of my death. " Respecting the charges brought against me, I doubt whether " my understanding, my memory, or my tongue will be " sufficient to compass them all, grave and manifold as " they are. After the long and hard imprisonment, and the " grave illness under which I am now suffering, I apprehend " that I shall be unable to answer the many articles of " which the indictment consists." After which, at the command of the judges, a chair was brought, and the exchancellor began his defence as follows:
	"With regard to the first article of the indictment, that in order to show my wickedness and malice against the King, I have opposed and resisted with all my power the King's second marriage, I have nothing to state in my defence save that what I have said against it has been said according to conscience. For this reason I would not, nor will I now, conceal my true sentiments, bound as I am to declare the truth. Had I done so, I should certainly have been unloyal and a traitor. For this error, if it can be so called, I was sentenced to perpetual confinement in a dungeon, where I have already passed 15 months, having, besides, had my property confiscated. I will, therefore, answer the principal charges you bring against me. You say that I have incurred the penalty established in the statute made in the last Parliament, and that I was committed to prison for having feloniously and falsely deprived His Majesty, the King, of his right names, titles, honor, and dignity of Supreme Chief and Head of the Anglican Church after God, which title, dignity, and pre-eminence have been conferred on him by Parliament. As a proof whereof you charge me with having, when asked by the King's principal secretary, and of his honourable Privy Council, what was my opinion of the said statute, answered nothing except that, being a dead man as to the world, I cared not for such things, and that all my attention was fixed on the passion and death of Jesus Christ. My answer to such an accusation is that your statute cannot condemn my silence, and sentence me to death; for no statute, no law in the world, can inflict punishment on a man for his silence, but only for having said or done something against it."
	Here the King's attorney interrupted More by saying that silence in his case was a manifestation of his wicked thought and bad estimation of the said statute, inasmuch as all the good and loyal subjects of His Majesty, upon being asked what they thought of the said statute, were bound to answer categorically, without dissimulation or reserve of any kind, and to affirm that the statute was good and holy. "Certainly," replied Master More, "if it be true what common law says, that he who holds his tongue consents, my silence ought to be interpreted as an approval of your statute rather than as a contemptuous opinion of it. As to your assertion that all good subjects are obliged to answer, I can tell you that subjects and vassals must look first to their conscience and soul, and then to worldly considerations, provided by their doing so (and such is my care) they do not promote scandal or revolution in the state. I can, moreover, declare and affirm that whatever was the thought of my conscience in this particular affair, I never revealed it to any one whomsoever.
	"Respecting the second article, in which it is said that I have spoken and acted against the said statute, and written to the bishop of Rochester eight letters in which I attack the statute, I only say that I should like to see those letters produced and read in public. But since you maintain that the Bishop himself committed them to the fire, and that they cannot be produced, I will tell you what the substance of them was. They were familiar letters, such as our old acquaintance and friendship demanded. One of them was an answer to another of his, in which he asked me how I had replied to the interrogatory about the statute read to me at the first examination at the Tower. I wrote to him that my answer had been as my conscience dictated, and that if interrogated on the subject he ought to do the same, and carry out his manly purpose. I swear on my conscience that such was the content of my said letters to the Bishop, in which there is nothing said against the statute that deserves death.
	"Respecting the third charge, namely, that at my examination before the Privy Council I answered that your statute was like a two-edged sword, cutting both ways, so that the approvers of it would lose their souls, and the contradictors their bodies, and that the bishop of Rochester, as you say, made use of a similar argument in his declaration,—which is a further proof of our being confederated and allied to each other,—I will say that I made use of the expression conditionally, that is to say, that if there were a statute like a two-edged sword, cutting both ways, how could a man conduct himself so as to avoid one of the two dangers? How may the Bishop have answered that question of the interrogatory, I cannot say. If he did answer it in terms similar to mine, that may be caused by our sentiments and doctrine on this particular being the same, not because we were previously agreed about it. So far from it, that I firmly believe that I never said or did any thing maliciously against the statute, though it may be that my words have been misinterpreted and wrongly reported to the King's gracious Majesty."
	Thereupon an usher was told to summon a jury composed of 12 men, according to the use of the country, to whom the said articles were given, that they might deliberate and decide whether the said Master Thomas More had, or had not maliciously contravened the said statute; who, after a quarter of an hour's retirement and secret consultation, came back before the ordinary judges and magistrates, and declared the said Master More to be guilty; upon which the Chancellor (Sir Thomas Audeley), in the form and tenour of the new law, pronounced sentence of death upon him.
	Master More then addressed his judges in these words: "Since I am condemned to death (and God knows why) I will " now, for the discharge of my conscience, speak freely of your " statute. For the last seven years I have been studying the " matter. I know of no approved doctor of the Church saying " that a temporal lord could or ought to be head of the spiritual." Here, the Chancellor interrupting him, said "Master More, " you wish to be held as more conscientious and learned " than all the bishops of this realm, and all the peers and " nobles." Master More replied, "For each bishop following " your opinion I have on my side one hundred holy men. " For a Parliament (God knows how assembled) in your " favour, I have all the General Councils held for the last " thousand years. For one kingdom in your favour, I have " France and all the Christian powers." Hearing this, the duke of Norfolk said to him, "More, now your wickedness " becomes manifest." He replied, "Milord, what I say is " needed for the declaration and discharge of my conscience, " as well as for the repose of my soul. Of this I call God to " witness, He who is the only searcher of human hearts. I " further maintain that your ordinance is a bad one, for " you all made a vow not to act against the Church, which is " only one in Christendom, entire and indivisible. Not only " have you no authority without the common consent of " Christians all over the world to make laws and frame " statutes, Acts of Parliament, or Councils against the said " union in Christendom, but you and the others sin capitally " in so doing. I know very well that the reason of your " condemnation of me is no other than my constant refusal " to consent to this second marriage of the King; but I have " faith in the Divine bounty and mercy, that since St. Paul, as " written in his life, first persecuted St. Stephen, and both are " now united in Paradise, so shall every one of us, though we " may be at variance in this world, be in the conformity and " union of perfect charity hereafter. On this score I pray Almighty God to permit by His clemency that the King may be saved and preserved, and good counsel given to him."
	Whilst on his way to the Tower, one of his daughters, named Margaret, mixed herself with the people, and notwithstanding the archers and sheriffs (porquerones) reached him. Overpowered by her father's extreme anguish and torment, fearless of the people collected around the spot, a very public one, she went up to her father and embraced him, weeping and silent. (fn. n1) The father wishing to console her, after asking leave of the guards, said to her, "Margaret, take "patience, and do not grieve; God has willed it so. For many "years didst thou know the secret of my heart." After that, having retired 10 or 12 paces, she again returned to her father, clung to and embraced him; and the father, greatly moved to pity, and with tears in his eyes, but an unflinching countenance, said, "Friends, pray for my soul." On the Wednesday following Thomas More was beheaded on Tower Hill. Some minutes before the execution he addressed the bystanders, and begged them to pray for him from this world, as he would pray for them in the other; after which he admonished and entreated them with great earnestness (instancias) to pray to God for the King, and that he should be well counselled, protesting all the while that he died as a good servant of God first, and of the King afterwards.
	Spanish. Contemporary copy. (fn. n2) pp. 10.
11 July.	181. Eustace Chapuys to the Emperor.
V. Imp. Arch., Rep. P. C., Fasc. 229, No. 38.	Having three days ago received a letter from the king of the Romans (Ferdinand), in which no mention whatever is made of the arrest of prothonotary Casale, (fn. n3) once a subject of complaint on the part of Master Cromwell, I sent him word that his news on that score must be incorrect, or else that if the arrest had really taken place, it must have been without the knowledge of the king of the Romans, since there was no mention at all of it in his letter. Cromwell's answer was that after what I had lately told him on the subject it was indifferent to him whether the arrest had taken place or not. Had the king of the Romans ordered Casale to be hung, he (Cromwell) would not have cared a fig for it; the King, his master, would have saved by the Prothonotary's death the yearly allowance that is paid to him.
	After this, Cromwell began warmly to represent to my man the immense advantages of a full and sincere friendship between Your Majesty and the King, his master. (fn. n4) Nothing more was then said, and the conversation ended by my man assuring him that on our part no trouble should be spared to bring about that sincere friendship of which he (Cromwell) had spoken. I cannot say for certain, but it seems to me as if these people were only temporizing and trying to gain time until they know the result of Your Majesty's expedition [to Africa]; perhaps also they still have some hope of gaining over the French to their own views and fancies, though it must be said that they show no particular desire for it, if I am to judge by the cold reception given to the bishop of Thebes (Tarbes) when he went to Court the other day; (fn. n5) for whilst he imagined that he was to be lodged at Briduel, where the French ambassadors have resided for the last five years, he was told, in as polite terms as possible, that he could not lodge there, and must look out for lodgings elsewhere. On two different occasions, moreover, did Cromwell appoint a day and hour for the reception of the said Bishop, as well as of Mons de Morette, the French resident ambassador; but when the hour came, Cromwell was out;—which is a sign to me that the relations between this country and France are not just now on a good footing. I am the more inclined to think so that when the Grand Prior of St. John went to take leave of Morette, this latter told him to make haste, and considering how time was passing, go at once to the Bishop, but not to hold too long a conference with him. (fn. n6)
	The King is about to dispatch in a few days to Calais the Treasurer and the Controller of his Household, for the purpose, as I am told, of inspecting and provisioning that town and that of Guisnes, for fear of the French. Yet it seems to me as if this King cared not much for them and the others at this present moment, for he is more occupied with dancing parties and ladies than ever he was, and I see no sign at all of warlike preparations. Some here will have it that the two persons [above alluded to] will cross over to France, yet I believe that their departure will be prevented somehow. (fn. n7)
	A doctor and a gentleman (fn. n8) whom this King is sending to Lubeck will take their departure two days hence; and I am told that their mission is to calm the feuds and parties in that town. Perhaps also there is some plot and intrigue to prevent the Count Palatine from aspiring to the crown of Denmark, but of this I am not certain.
	The good old lord about whom I lately wrote to Your Majesty (fn. n9) sent me, the other day, his cousin with a message to this effect. He was about to leave for his place in the country, and begged me, in his own name, and in that of many others, to apply to Your Majesty for the executory letters to be published and observed in Your Majesty's kingdoms and dominions. That being done (the messenger said) there was no immediate necessity of Your Majesty's help and assistance, for he imagined that the executory letters once made public, all the rest would go on smoothly. Great speed, however, ought to be used, as otherwise modern preachers and prelates might subvert everything in England, and corrupt the people. The messenger added that he believed the Clergy would gladly furnish the funds required for the undertaking in the first instance, and that in the meantime a way might be found of laying hands on the treasure the King has at his palace in this city. London, 11 July 1535.
	Signed: "Eustace Chapuys."
	Addressed: "To the Emperor."
	Indorsed: "From the ambassador in England xvi. and last day of June, x. July. Received on the galley, Friday, the 20th of August 1535.
	French. Original. Almost entirely in cipher. pp. 5.
16 July.	182. Count Cifuentes to the Same.
S. E., L. 864, ff. 77–8. B. M. Add. 28,587, f. 345.	Wrote last on the 21st ult. by way of Genoa, advising that the Pope had sent some of his forces against the Baglioni and their country. Since then Pier Luigi [Farnese] has come and said that in consequence of the disobedience of the Perugians, who had almost revolted, and constituted a council composed of no less than 600 persons in the town, His Holiness had ordered him to collect troops, joining those under Giov. Battisti Savella, march on Perugia, and punish the inhabitants. Pier Luigi then said that although he disliked the job, he was determined to comply with His Holiness's orders; and asked him (Sylva) for his opinion and advice. Answered him that he had good reasons not to like the commission entrusted to him; the thing was too low and insignificant for a person of his quality; besides which the Emperor had particularly requested that no armed movement should take place in Italy, especially at this time, when His Imperial Majesty was engaged elsewhere. Told him to entreat His Holiness to bear in mind the many inconveniences that might arise therefrom, and not insist upon troops going to Perugia, much less under the command of his son. A similar message was next day sent to His Holiness through Archangel. The answer was a very courteous one, but promised nothing. He was obliged to act; could not do less, &c. He (Sylva) went again, and spoke to him, reproducing the same arguments. At first His Holiness resisted, and grumbled, as if an attempt was being made to encourage the disobedience of his vassals, and prevent their being punished. But in the end he gave up, and said he would not send Pier Luigi [Farnese] thither; neither would he increase the force he had in and about Perugia; the 1,000 men of the condotta of Giov. Baltista Savelli being enough for all purposes. His Holiness then asked that a man should be sent from this embassy to try and induce the Perugians to return to obedience without having recourse to arms; which has already been done; for, as time pressed, and there was no space to wait for an answer, he (Sylva) has taken upon himself all the responsibility of the measure, and appointed Gio. Pietro Capharello, the Emperor's servant, who is closely related to the mother of Rodolfo Baglione, the chief of the Perugian rebellion, and the very same man who in the prince of Orange's time treated with Malatesta Baglione for the surrender of Perugia to Pope Clement VII.
	Needs scarcely say how much the agents of the duke Alessandro [de' Medici] and those of Urbino (Guidobaldo della Rovere) here, at Rome, have approved of his (Sylva's) interference in this affair; for their respective masters are most jealous of Pier Luigi, and although the said Dukes still write that Savelli has under him more men than His Holiness says, and that the latter has ordered new levies at Ancona and at other places, yet they are not so much alarmed as at the beginning. This notwithstanding, he (Sylva) has again called on the Pope, and remonstrated against such unnecessary show of force; but though he gave all manner of satisfactory reasons, and promised to disband them, yet no great reliance is to be placed in his words, for, after all, this is a State business, and in such matters Popes are always exceedingly jealous. Will, however, do his utmost to avoid complications, &c.
	His Majesty must have heard by this time what passed with the Florentine ambassadors on their return from Court; how, on their arrival here, the Strozzi spread the rumour that the Florentines wanted to assassinate them, that the bishop of Marseilles (Gio. B. Cibo), had formed a conspiracy to rid himself of the duke Alessandro, and that the cardinal [Ippolito] de' Medici had taken himself off in consequence of the imprisonment of Count Rovorogenga(?), his secretary. All this he [Sylva] announced in one of his last despatches.
	Cardinal Salviati called the other day to request that he (Sylva) would speak to His Holiness on behalf of the said Ippolito de' Medici, and ask permission for his coming to Rome to attend to his own private affairs, and starting a week after for the Emperor's court. Although rather doubtful of Medici's pretended engagements, or of his visiting the Imperial court as soon as he says, he (Sylva) went to the Pope and made the application. His Holiness's answer was, "Cardinal de' Medici may come when he likes, be safe at Rome, and start for the Imperial Court whenever he pleases." His [Sylva's] object in taking up so warmly the Cardinal's cause is no other than the fear of these "fuorusciti" taking him over to France. Hears that the secretary of the French embassy has gone to visit him for that purpose; and, indeed, the Cardinal is so restless and so ambitious that anything is to be feared in that quarter. His own secretary is now been examined, and there has been some talk of his being put to the rack in order to make him confess. He [Sylva] has objected to that, because, though fully persuaded that the Emperor wishes the Duke to be firmly established in Florence, yet, having no particular instructions on this business, he has taken upon himself to temporize, for fear of over-irritating the "fuorusciti," or exasperating the Cardinal, who, if ever he visits the Imperial Court, as he intends, can be more easily managed there than here.
	Has heard, through Mr. de Sistan and other gentlemen lately arrived from Flanders and Burgundy, who, having passed by Leyva's residence [in Lombardy], had thence gone to Genoa to visit His Majesty, that the duke of Geldres (Ghelders) had raised three or four thousand infantry and some cavalry, and had a commission from king Francis to raise a still greater force, with which to invade the Emperor's dominions in those parts; that the King was on the frontier of Flanders, and had with him 600 lances. He was, moreover, to go to Lyons with 400. Happening to speak with His Holiness on the subject, he [Sylva] was told that the news was substantially true; king Francis was now in Picardy mustering the legions which he had ordered from that province. He was to go afterwards to Lyons, but "I hear (said the Pope), both from my Nuncio at the Court of Francis, as well as from the French ambassador here, that these preparations are more intended for the purpose of defence, should the Emperor cross over to Italy, than for his making war, of which, they say, there is no probability whatever for this year."
	His Holiness said likewise that the pending negociations for a marriage between the illegitimate daughter of the king of England and the duke of Angoulême (Charles) had been just broken off, owing to the English having laid down two conditions which the French objected to. One was, that the Duke should go over to England, and reside there till his marriage; the other, that king Francis should join the English in certain things in disobedience to the Church. In addition to this, His Holiness said some days ago that the bishop of Paris (Du Bellay) was soon expected here with his master's answer about the Council, and what had been done at the late conferences between the French and English ministers. That the English ambassador residing at the Imperial Court had suddenly departed [from Barcelona?] on board a vessel bound for England, and was to return with an answer wherever his Majesty might be.
	The disagreement above alluded to between the kings of France and England seems to be a fact. The Imperial ambassador in London (Eustace Chapuys) writes in date of 16th ult. that the duke of Nofol (Norfolk) was going back to England, and the admiral of France (Brion) to his own country, both disappointed, without having achieved that for which they met, although it is generally believed that the need in which those Kings stand of each other will be the cause of their agreeing together at last.
	It is for the Emperor to decide whether this be the time or not for an urgent application of the executory letters. He [Sylva] knows it as a fact that at this very moment new means for converting the king of England, though equally detrimental to the Queen, to the Church, and to Christian morality also, are being brought forward. He [Sylva] has no doubt that the bishop of Paris, when he comes, will be the bearer of such proposals, or the like of them. In order to push on the affair, and render it more difficult to undo, it would be advisable, if such be the Emperor's pleasure, to have the executory letters ready for any event; because the effect of the letters, it being the obligation of all Christian princes to have them executed, will require so many acts and deeds that upwards of one year will be wanted to have things in order, and therefore the offer now being made by the King's agents of his returning to the obedience of the Church, though on conditions highly injurious to the Queen, might be accepted in the meantime.
	Letters from France of the 21st state that king Francis was about to restore the estate of Monbeliard to the duke of Würtemberg, because he found that it was in reality a fief of the Empire, and that as he wished to avoid all causes of quarrel, he had given it up. The real truth of the case is that the Monbeliard affair is not the only infraction which king Francis has committed; many others may be pointed out equally flagrant; and if he no longer insists on that one it is because his attention is forcibly drawn somewhere else. Hears that the Landgrave, and the brother of the bishop of Paris are about to return to Germany. Information of this should be sent to the king of the Romans, although most likely he has it already from other quarters.
	Death of cardinal bishop of Burgos conveyed in a letter of the 17th ult. The Pope wishes that bishopric for his grandson cardinal Farnese.
	The last news from the Levant is contained in a paper that has come from Venice, with the declaration by a Venetian of his having arrived on the 8th of April at the Turkish camp, and at Constantinople on the 24th of May. The man left that city on the 1st of June, and landed at Venice on the 24th in very bad health and much exhausted. Among other particulars he relates that the Turkish army was neither numerous nor well appointed. A friendly Turk had told him that there was scarcely 6,000 good horse in it, and that the Turks were in great fear of the Sophi's men (Sophianos), saying that 10,000 Persian cavalry were sufficient to put to rout 100,000 of the Turks. Though the Grand Turk himself was expected back at Constantinople in two or three months, his informer was sure that he could not return before seven. Abrain Bassa (Ibráhim Bashá) had left with a force to succour Olamanbey (Otsman-beg), whom the Sophi's people kept besieged, but having been attacked by the enemy whilst ascending a mountain had to turn back; the Sophi, however, leaving before the place 10,000 men, for Olambey had only 8,000 with him, had gone to Persia to collect a greater force, return and give battle to the Turk. On his way to Constantinople the Venetian merchant met on the road new levies going to the latter, but so disorderly and badly armed that they were good for nothing. Another division that had attempted to relieve Otsman bey, had been defeated by the Persians. Greece and Constantinople itself were awfully afraid of the Imperial fleet.
	The Venetian ambassador residing here, at Rome, says that the merchant-bearer of the above news is a very honest and credible man, perfectly in his senses, and that his information may be relied upon entirely. Lope de Soria, however, maintains that it is untrue that the Signory has had the man examined, and that if he has made any declaration it is quite groundless, as the merchant, whoever he may be, was not in his right senses. The duke of Urbino (Guidobaldo della Rovere) intimates that he is but a spy of the Grand Turk, sent here for the purpose of making people believe in falsehoods.
	Cardinal de' Medici has obtained permission from His Holiness to retire to one of his castles, and thence start for the Emperor's Court. Whether he will, or will not, retire, as he says, remains to be seen. His Holiness, on the other hand, wishes very much that Pier Luigi [Farnese] should go also to the Imperial Court. Most likely he will delay his departure until he has news and permission; he says that if the Pope does not grant it to him he will go without. Cannot believe this until he sees it.—Rome, xvi. July mdxxxv.
	P.S.—Has received the Emperor's letter of the 29th ultimo; that written from Sardinia on the 12th has not come to hand. True is it that the Emperor's safe arrival in that island was already known here by the deposition of a friar and two Spaniards, who came with the fleet to Caller (Cagliari), and thence went to Naples.
	The progress of the Imperial army since its landing on the African coast, the investment of the Goleta, and arrival of the king of Tunis at the Imperial camp, are the news that have lately come from Naples. There is nothing to be said, but wait for that of the victory, which cannot tarry long.
	All military men here say that success is certain. His Holiness has received a long account (relacion) from his Nuncio, who never left his galley, and has expressed a wish that the Emperor should not risk his person too much.
	Bulls for the ecclesiastic subsidy.
	Recommends again Tello de Meneses for the encomienda (command) vacant by the death of Lanuça.
	Signed: "El conde de Cifuentes."
	Spanish. Original. pp. 18.
25 July.	183. Eustace Chapuys to the Emperor.
Wien. Rep. P.C., Fasc. 229½, No. 39.	Since the duke of Norfolk and his colleagues in the deputation came back from Calais, I have frequently written to Your Majesty of various things, and especially mentioned the fact that soon after the return of the deputies Cromwell had called on me to notify in the King's name that nothing whatever had been settled at the conferences; begging me at the same time immediately to inform Your Majesty thereof, and that I had agreed with him to dispatch a messenger to you, as the King, his master, seemed to wish, provided there was the least chance of their accepting our overtures, or proposing better conditions, which, in my opinion, was almost impossible. I did likewise write to Your Majesty that in addition to three more Carthusians, executed in the same barbarous and cruel way as the former, two holy and virtuous martyrs, such as the cardinal bishop of Rochester, and Messire Morus, once High Chancellor of this kingdom, had been beheaded, to the great sorrow and regret of all classes of society here. Also that the affairs of the earl of Childra (Kildare) in Ireland were going on prosperously, and that this King was about to send two personages to Lubeck and Denmark, &c. As, however, I suppose that Your Majesty has received all my despatches, I will make no further allusion to their contents.
	At the Princess's pressing request, a few days ago, I again asked Cromwell whether it would not be possible to have her removed to her mother's quarters, that she might live in her company. He answered me plainly that the thing was impracticable; the King, his master, would never consent to that, even if there was occasion for it, owing to the Queen being too much of a Papist. (fn. n10) He also told me that the true expedient for having the Princess removed from where she is, and radically curing her of her chronic disease, would be to procure a suitable marriage for her, the best and most honourable that could be had; excepting, however, that of the French Dauphin, to whom it was not the King's intention ever to marry her, whatever your Majesty's wishes might be in that line. Several petty German princes had applied to the King for her hand, but it would be lowering her state too much to accept the offer of any of them. I really believe that this King cares but little whether the Princess, his daughter, marries or not; at any rate, if the royal mistress's words are to be believed, the Princess's dower will not be a very rich one, for she is continually telling the King that he does not act rightly or prudently in allowing the Queen and the Princess to live, for they deserve death (she says) much more than those who have lately been executed, since, after all, they were and are still the cause of all the mischief. (fn. n11) Every week since Lent I have sent one of my men to the Princess to inquire after her health, and hear whether she had any orders for me; but the last time I sent, her governess told my messenger that in future no one would get admittance to her. I have, therefore, requested Cromwell to ascertain what are the King's wishes in the matter. Respecting the two personages mentioned in a former despatch as about to be sent [to Lubeck] by this King, Cromwell, whom I interrogated on the subject, would at first say nothing, trying as much as possible to evade the question; but in the end, not to lose credit with me in other matters, he owned that they had not yet left, and are still waiting for fine weather to sail. As to their charge, Cromwell would not tell me what it is, and yet I apprehend that their mission is to prevent, if possible, the accession of the Palatine (Frederik) to the throne of Denmark, in case he should aspire to it. Apropos of this, Cromwell said to me that it was evident Your Majesty was aiming at universal monarchy, and indeed fast approaching it, having already made kings here and there; and that if Your Majesty ever became master of the waters and shores of the Levant, and wished to acquire the entire domination of the countries on. this side, you had only to place the said count Palatine on the throne of Denmark, for then that kingdom and the neighbouring countries would, out of gratitude or by force of arms, become subjected to you. (fn. n12) After which words Cromwell added, "and yet I cannot guess on what title can the Palatine ever pretend to the crown of Denmark."
	Cromwell likewise said to me on that occasion that he would willingly have given one thousand pounds sterling for Your Majesty to have heard a sermon which the bishop of London (Stokesley) had lately preached on the validity of the King's first marriage, (fn. n13) and the usurpation of authority by the Pope. He would (he said) give me a copy of it in writing, that I might forward it to Your Majesty. After which he proceeded to repeat to me what he had said on former occasions, namely, that the King, his master, would never on any account consent to the convocation of a General Council by Papal authority or any other, save by your own, since you were the true and legitimate chief of princes and of all Christendom, whose province it was to convoke all Councils according to the most ancient custom. Your Majesty will, in your wisdom, consider what these words of Cromwell mean, and what these people are now aiming at. (fn. n14) In short, my conviction is that, whatever they may do or say, there is very little chance of their being brought to the right path. Indeed it seems as if their obstinacy and blindness increased every day; and yet they do not trust for help on the French, of whom they speak disparagingly, showing that they care not the least for them. About three days ago the bishop of Terbes (Tarbes), the French ambassador, having called on Cromwell, was told, "Not at home;" and yet it is known that he was within doors playing at bowls with friends, as the ambassador himself came to inform me soon after. However, if the news from France be true, the French are treating the English in a like manner, for they have lately embargoed at Rouen two merchant ships of this country in virtue of certain ordinances promulgated last year in France. If the French insist upon thus condemning and retaining the said ships, there will certainly be a row between the two nations.
	I hear from an authentic quarter that, in addition to the agents this King is now sending to Lubeck and to Denmark, it has been decided that his almoner, Dr. Fox, sail along with them, and proceed further into Germany. (fn. n15) —London, 25 July 1535.
	Signed: "Eustace Chapuys."
	French. Original, mostly in cipher.
—July.	184. Eustace Chapuys to Mr. de Granvelle.
Wien. Rep. P.C., Fasc. 224½, iii. 20.	The English are daily becoming less tractable, especially in the treatment of the Princess. Hears from one who is frequently at the house where she is now residing that the King is afraid of the French carrying her away; that is why strangers are forbidden to approach her, and an armed watch kept around the house and at the nearest sea-ports. I told Cromwell the other day that I should soon be obliged to go to Flanders on private business of my own; though in reality to prepare for the Princess's flight. When Cromwell heard it, he was taken aback, as if he feared that I might leave the country altogether, never to return to it. I shall certainly leave him in that suspicion, which will rather increase than diminish, owing to the fact that foreign merchants are quitting this city one by one. Of the German captains and soldiers who came from Lubeck not one remains here.
	Dean Sampson has written a book in favour of the divorce. Had he not done so, he would inevitably have lost all his credit at Court.
	The King, who was 50 miles from this city, is now going to Bristol to be nearer to Ireland, where affairs go on badly for him as it seems.—London, le jour de la St. Jacques 1535.
	P.S.—He the other day nearly murdered his own fool, a simple and innocent man, because he happened to speak well in his presence of the Queen and Princess, and called the concubine "ribaude" and her daughter "bastard." He has now been banished from Court, and has gone to the Grand Esquire, who has sheltered and hidden him. (fn. n16)
	French. Original in cipher. Deciphering in the hand of Bave.
July.	185. News from Germany and England.
S. E. Aleman. L. 637, f. 11. B. M. Add. 28,587, f. 352.	Munster is taken; the Anabaptists are prisoners or slain. The war of Osterbank is likewise finished to the advantage of the Emperor's party.
	In England Christians are suffering martyrdom for the Faith. Poor cardinal bishop of Rochester (Fisher) has been beheaded. The execution was public, and in front of the Tower. He was not allowed to address the people. His head was placed on the point of a lance, and there it remains.
	A proclamation has been made stating that the Pope has no power whatever in England, only in Rome, that being the reason why he is called by the English the bishop of Rome. All those who dare call him otherwise have to pay with their lives, and no person in his senses will run that risk. Only bad men, almost all Lutherans, are at the head of affairs, the consequence of it all being that England will be completely ruined here long.
	Englishmen are not now on good terms with France. The two kings, it is said, parted in bad humour at Calais. Since then the bishop of Tarbes (Gabriel de Grammont) is gone as ambassador to England, but has been coldly received by the King; the Imperial ambassador, on the contrary, is much made of and flattered by the English.
	News has just been received that king Henry on Monday last ordered Thomas More, formerly High Chancellor of his kingdom, to be beheaded.
	Indorsed: "Paragraph of a letter from Antwerp."
	Italian. Original. Abstract by Bergenroth. pp. 1½.
29 July.	186. Dr. Ortiz to the Empress Isabella.
S. E., L. 863. f. 41. B. M. Add. 28,587, f. 354.	Has received Her Majesty's letter. Since then another has been received from Chapuys, relating how three more Carthusian friars have been martyred in London for the same cause, and with the same circumstances as the others. Already, on the preceding 17th of June, the most holy and most reverend cardinal Rophensis (Fisher) had been taken to Court to hear his condemnation and sentence. Having pronounced a few words in his own defence, he was told that he had not been brought there to dispute, but to hear his sentence, which was death, for having maliciously opposed and disobeyed the statutes of the kingdom, in virtue of which the King held himself to be the Supreme Head of the Anglican Church. The Cardinal replied that he had not opposed the said statutes with malice, but with truth and right intention, since they were framed against the sacred Gospels and our Holy Faith. He was, therefore, sentenced to the same death as the Carthusians; hearing which, he said he was ready and prepared to die, and that he only begged his Lord to give him constancy and fortitude to die. He was then taken back to the Tower, where he had been a prisoner, followed by great crowds of people, both men and women, who with great sadness and anguish asked his benediction as he was crossing the river. Three days after, on the 20th, which is the date of the ambassador's letter, cardinal Fisher had not been executed, but it was believed that in the ensuing week he would be beheaded. A proclamation had been made, forbidding, under pain of death, any one to contradict the statute declaring the King to be the Supreme Head and Chief of the Anglican Church. (fn. n17) —Rome, 20 (sic. 29?) July mdxxxv.
	P.S.—The Imperial ambassador in London writes that the Cardinal has suffered martyrdom.
	Signed: "El Doctor Ortiz."
	Spanish. Original. pp. 4.
July.	187. Memorandum on the Affairs of England.
S. E., L. 864, f. 86. B. M. Add. 28,587, f. 334.	When the matrimonial cause was being tried at Rome Your Imperial Majesty was informed that England was a fief of the Church of Rome, and that inasmuch as the King had made certain laws and statutes against the Apostolic See, the King deserved to be deprived of his kingdom. Yet Your Majesty was told at the time that such a step, if taken, might in future damage the Princess's prospects, and so irritate the King that the Queen herself might personally suffer through it. The Council then deliberated, and Your Majesty resolved that nothing should be said or attempted in connection with the said article, and therefore lawyers at Rome gave their exclusive attention to the principal cause and to procuring the executory letters.
	As Your Majesty knows, pope Paul made the bishop Rofaense (Fisher) a cardinal; and the king of England, when he heard of it, had him beheaded. When the news of this insolent and irreverent act against the Apostolic See came to Rome, pope Paul and the cardinals in Consistory moved that the King should at once be deprived of his kingdom; for which deprivation there were then, and are still, many just causes, for they maintain that he is a heretic, that he has denied Papal supremacy, and committed crimes lesœ majestatis, such as the execution of cardinal Fisher, besides many other crimes, for each of which he deserves to be deprived of his kingdom.
	This affair might be viewed in various ways. The first would be to desist from the deprivation, and to proceed at once to the intimation of the executory letters by the Queen. Yet two doubts occur to us (fn. n18) on this point: one is, that the execution cannot prevent proceedings in cases of heresy and lesœ majestatis; the second, that, were the King to be deprived by means of the Queen's executory letters, the King might indignantly undertake something serious against her, as he has done against cardinal Rofaense (Fisher), and it must be said that the Pope and cardinals are terribly afraid of such a result.
	His Holiness might also be requested to act with reference to the deprivation, but it is doubtful whether he will accede to it, although both he and his cardinals in Consistory seem determined to make some sort of demonstration against the enormous errors into which that King has fallen.
	Should there be actual deprivation, the thing might be so managed that there should be no declaration to that effect, and no intimation that the kingdom devolves to the Apostolic See; which declaration and intimation, it is believed, the Pope and cardinals will not make, but simply deprive the King, as it might otherwise injure the Princess were the deprivation made for heresy or crime of lesœ majestatis. (fn. n19)
	It might also be managed for the Pope to declare that the kingdom of England belonged by right to the Princess; but it is doubtful whether His Holiness will do that, and, if he does, that no danger to the person of the Princess will ensue.
	An application might also be made to the Pope and Consistory to declare secretly that whatever be done in this matter is to be in favour of the Princess, or at least without prejudice to her. Should the Pope be willing to do that, he had better make the declaration in Consistory; and yet that would be still more dangerous for the Princess should it come to the ears of the King, which is not unlikely, since many are the cardinals in Consistory of different parties and nations.
	Should, however, His Holiness decide upon the deprivation, and declare that the kingdom of England devolved in consequence upon the Apostolic See, and yet refuse to make any further declaration in favour of the Princess, it might still be advisable, out of regard for the Queen, to leave matters as they are, and not mix up her or her daughter with the affair. (fn. n20)
	The affair being of such nature and importance, every one of the means (partidos) proposed has its danger, and therefore we will wait for Your Majesty's answer in order to decide how to act.
	Spanish. Original minute. pp. 4.