20 BL Cotton MS Nero C x, fol.1. The document was sealed rather than signed.
21 The word ‘tyrant’ is used advisedly. Henry was the head of, in modern terms, a totalitarian state. Only the previous July, he had admonished the Justices of the Peace in Cornwall for their laxness in prosecutions, threatening to correct the ‘lewdness of the offenders’ himself. He especially instructed the JPs to search out all those ‘who in spite of the usurped powers of Rome having been with great travail and labour expelled from the kingdom, retain their old fond fantasies and superstitions, muttering in corners as they dare’. They also had to arrest all spreaders of rumours against the king and the state of the realm; punish all vagabonds and valiant beggars; and have ‘special regard’ that no man be involved in unlawful games, but instead should ‘apply himself to use the longbow, as the laws require’. Religion, propaganda, law and order and defence were Henry’s concerns in this missive. See BL Stowe MS 142, fol.14.
22 Rebuilt in 1886 after the fire in Chapel Court.
23 A sweet liqueur wine from Smyrna, flavoured with aromatic spices and then filtered.
24 LP, Vol. XII, pt.ii, p.325.
25 LP, Vol. XII, pt.ii, p.342.
26 LP, Vol. XII, pt.ii, p.339. Signed: ‘[Your] sorrowful friend T Norfolk.’
27 LP, Vol. XII, pt.ii, p.348, and SP, Vol. VIII, p.1. Cromwell had received a report from Thomas Rutland and five other doctors regarding Jane’s ‘extreme illness’ dated 17 October. See BL Cotton MS Nero C x, fol.2.
28 LP, Vol. XII, pt.ii, p.339.
29 LP, Vol. XII, pt.ii, p.360.
30 BL Cotton MS Vitellius C i, fol.65B.
31 LP, Vol. XIII, pt.ii, pp.360 and 505.
32 Simon Thurley, ‘Henry VIII and the Building of Hampton Court: A Reconstruction of the Tudor Palace’, Architectural History, 31 (1988), pp.1–58.
33 Thurley, ‘Hampton Court’, pp.68–9.
34 BL Cotton MS Vitellius C i, fol.65. A modern copy. The original draft had corrections and additions in Cromwell’s hand. Sir John Cornwallis died at Ashridge, while the prince was in residence there, in 1544. Sir William Sidney succeeded him as steward and Sir Richard Page became chamberlain.
35 Neville Williams, p.165.
36 LP, Vol. XVI, pp.179 and 699. Joan was the wife of Peter Mewtes, a member of Henry’s Privy Chamber and Controller of the Mint.
37 LP, Vol. XIII, pt.ii, p.120.
38 LP, Vol. XIII, pt.ii, p.373.
39 In comparison, the Civil List spending by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002–3 (the latest figures available at the time of writing) amounted to £8,153,000. This represents the contribution by the taxpayer in funding the queen’s royal duties and the costs of her official household.
40 LP, Vol. XII, pt.ii, p.348.
41 They were still receiving pensions of £10 each in 1553, at the end of Edward’s reign.
42 LP, Vol. XIII, pt.i, p.474.
43 LP, Vol. XIII, pt.i, p.372.
44 BL Royal MS Appendix 89, fol.41.
45 She was married to John Penn, barber-surgeon to Henry VIII, who died in 1557. In 1538, she wrote to Cromwell seeking employment in the prince’s household for her brother-in-law Griffith Richards, ‘the bearer’ of the letter. See LP, Vol. XIII, pt.ii, p.519.
46 Jordan, p.3.
47 Muller, ‘Letters’, pp.161–2, and Loach, Edward VI, p.10.
48 Butts (?1485–1545) was born in Norfolk and became a physician to the king in 1524. He was a member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1529. He attended both Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour while they were queens and also treated Henry’s illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, as well as Princess Mary and the Duke of Norfolk. He was paid the then fabulous salary of £100 a year, or £40,000 in today’s money, with an additional £20 for his attendance on Fitzroy. See MacNalty, pp.144–5.
49 A stool. See Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1986.
50 LP Addenda, Vol. I, pt.ii, p.523.
51 In 1551, there were extensive but abortive negotiations with the French for a marriage between Edward and Elizabeth – the daughter of the new French king, Henry II. Elizabeth’s portrait had been sent to London the previous year. Agreement on a dowry was reached in July and Edward sent her a New Year’s gift of a ‘fair diamond’ from Katherine Parr’s collection of jewels. Cited by Loach, Edward VI, p.108.
52 Cheke (1514–57) was knighted by Edward in 1552 and became his secretary of state the following year. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London by Mary in 1554 before exile in Switzerland and Italy and was again imprisoned in London in 1556. Quotations from his homily on St Chrysostom, delivered in August 1543, are contained as article three in the two volumes of controversial theological works traditionally known as Archbishop Cranmer’s Commonplace Books, now in the British Library as Royal MS 7B xi–xii.
53 Cox (1500–81), a former headmaster of Eton, was a favourite of Cranmer. He was imprisoned in 1553 before being exiled in Frankfurt. After Elizabeth’s accession he became Bishop of Norwich and shortly afterwards transferred to the see of Ely.
54 Ascham (1515–68), although a Protestant, became Latin secretary to Queen Mary in 1553. His unfinished book, The Schoolmaster, a practical treatise on education, was published in 1570.
55 The Frenchman John Belmaine taught him French, at a quarterly salary of £6 12s 4d. He was a follower of the religious reformer John Calvin.
56 Nichols, ‘Literary Remains’, Vol. I, p.lxxvii.
57 BL Add. MS 4,724.
58 Nichols, ‘Literary Remains’, Vol. I, p.6.
59 Later owned by Sir William Cecil, First Baron Burghley, who married Cheke’s sister in 1541 and noted the dates of his marriages and other family details for the period 1541–5. Now BL Add. MS 6,059.
60 Now in the British Library.
61 See Judith Blezzard and Frances Palmer, ‘King Henry VIII: Performer, Connoisseur and Composer of Music’, Antiquaries Journal, 80 (2000), pp.251–2, citing BL Cotton MS Vitellius C i, fol.246.
62 Nichols, ‘Literary Remains’, Vol. I, p.liv.
63 Blezzard and Palmer, op. cit., p.252. He was also Princess Mary’s lute teacher and later during Edward’s reign became master of the ‘King’s singing children’. Edward, after succeeding to the crown, learnt to play the virginals, using some of the money given him by Thomas Seymour to pay John Ashley for the lessons. See Loach, Edward VI, p.15.
64 LP, Vol. XXI, pt.i, p.400, and Nichols, ‘Literary Remains’, Vol. I, p.9.
65 BL Harleian MS 5,087, no.17. Written on 12 August 1546.
66 BL Royal MS 7 D xx. The donor was appointed a minister of the Dutch Church in London in 1550.
67 BL Royal MS 2 D iii.
68 Nichols, ‘Narratives’, p.317.
69 Scarisbrook, p.457, who suggests that this Grindal was probably a relative of the Elizabethan Archbishop of Canterbury.
70 Used for hunting game.
71 NA SP 1/217 and E 101/424/12.
72 Cited by Weir, p.469.
73 See BL Cotton MS Nero C x 4, fol.3, from Hertford on 10 January 1547 and BL Cotton MS Vespasian F iii, fol.18, from Hunsdon on 24 May 1546.
74 BL Harleian MS 5,087, no.17.
75 BL Cotton MS Vespasian F iii, fol.18.
76 Nichols, ‘Literary Remains’, Vol. I, Letters, p.16.
77 Nichols, ‘Literary Remains’, Vol. I, p.33.
78 NA E 101/424/8.
79 See Blezzard and Palmer, op. cit., p.252.
80 35 Henry VIII cap.1. The preamble mentions the marriage of Henry and Katherine Parr and adds, rather hopefully, ‘by whom yet his majesty hath none issue but may full well when it shall please God’.
81 Nichols, ‘Literary Remains’, Vol. I, p.xxxix.
82 LP, Vol. XIX, pt.i, p.606.
83 Mary’s work was abandoned because of her ill health.
84 Elizabeth wrote in a letter to Katherine that she had joined the sentences together ‘as well as the capacity of my simple wit and small learning could extend them
selves’ and that the work was imperfect and that she hoped the queen would ‘rub out, polish and mend the words … which I know in many places to be rude’. Cited by Neville Williams, p.239.
85 A copy (in Latin) given as a New Year’s gift to Henry Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, by the translator, Sir John Ratcliffe, is in the British Library as Royal MS 7 D ix. This was probably published after 1548, as Katherine is described as quondam Regina – ‘once queen’.
86 Martienssen, p.199.
87 BL Royal MS 7 D x.
88 He received this epithet because of his frequent resort to corporal punishment of his scholars.
89 He was also the author, in 1553–4, of the earliest English comedy, Ralph Roister Doister, printed in 1566.
90 Cited by Neville Williams, p.233.
CHAPTER 3 The Hunt for Heretics
1 Eighty-one heretics were burnt during Henry VIII’s reign, compared with twenty-four in his father’s; two in the short reign of his son, Edward VI; 280 in Mary’s; and four in Elizabeth’s. See Ridley, The Tudor Age, p.77.
2 One of the last public burnings of books in London during Henry’s reign was on 26 September 1546. See Wriothesley, Vol. I, p.175.
3 Later, after the break with Rome, Henry explained his embarrassing change of heart by claiming that he was forced to write the book by Wolsey and some of the bishops.
4 26 Henry VIII cap.1.
5 28 Henry VIII cap.10.
6 Anglo, pp.269–70.
7 Tanner, pp.93–4.
8 Tanner, p.94. A similar instruction was included in early drafts of the 1536 Injunctions but was omitted before they were published.
9 Both presses and type were smuggled out of Paris to London.
10 This was the second edition of Matthew’s Bible, comprising the translations from the Latin of the New Testament completed by William Tyndale in 1525 and of the Old Testament based on the work of John Rogers and Miles Coverdale, which was the first English text to be freely available. Its title page showed Henry handing down copies to his bishops, kneeling in cope and mitre before him, and the nobility in ermine robes and coronets.
11 34 and 35 Henry VIII cap.1.
12 Anabaptists believed that those baptised as infants should be rebaptised as adults.
13 Hall, p.827.
14 Foxe, ‘Acts’, Vol. V, pp.229ff.
15 Later almoner to Katherine Parr. He was appointed Bishop of Chichester in 1543 and assisted in drawing up the first English Prayer Book in 1548, but voted against its use the following year.
16 Burnet, Vol. I, pt.i, book iii, p.186.
17 Ibid.
18 Foxe, ‘Acts’, Vol. V, pp.181–234.
19 Foxe, ‘Acts’, Vol. V, p.236; Wriothesley, Vol. I, p.80; Burnet, Vol. I, pt.i, book iii, p.187.
20 LP, Vol. XIII, pt.ii, pp.384–5.
21 ‘Lisle Letters’, Vol. V, p.291 (Letter 1273).
22 Wriothesley, Vol. I, p.80.
23 Cited by Wilson, p.436.
24 Writing in code.
25 31 Henry VIII cap.14.
26 He married Margaret, niece of the Lutheran divine Andreas Osiander, during his time in Germany as ambassador to Charles V’s court in 1530, before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury in 1533. Clerical marriage was still illegal then.
27 Mori and Vivis, Book I, letter 28, cols.22–9.
28 See Scarisbrook, p.421, fn.
29 A light, shallow-draft rowing boat, designed to convey passengers.
30 Burnet, Vol. I, pt.i, book iii, p.195. The bearward was employed by Princess Elizabeth. See Nichols, ‘Narratives’, p.237.
31 Burnet, Vol. I, pt.i, book iii, p.195.
32 Burnet, Vol. I, pt.i, book iii, p.201.
33 Burnet, Vol. I, pt.i, book iii, p.204.
34 Vicar of Stepney in East London.
35 Garret had escaped execution for heresy in Oxford in 1532. He did penance ‘carrying a faggot in open procession from St Mary’s Church to St Friswides, Garret having his red hood on his shoulders like a master of arts’. See Nichols, ‘Narratives’, p.294.
36 Burnet, Vol. I, pt.i, book iii, p.216.
37 Cited by Neville Williams, p.193.
38 Said by Hilles (see ‘Original Letters’, Vol. I, p.211) ‘to have been kept in a most filthy prison [and] almost eaten up by vermin’.
39 Foxe, ‘Acts’, Vol. V, pp.434–8.
40 ‘Spanish Chronicle’, p.196.
41 Hall, p.840.
42 Foxe, ‘Acts’, Vol. V, pp.434–6.
43 Hall, p.836.
44 Burnet, Vol. I, pt.i, p.219.
45 Hall, p.841.
46 LP, Vol. XVI, p.270.
47 Foxe, ‘Acts’, Vol. V, p.251, and Wriothesley, Vol. I, p.119.
48 Rich, then Solicitor General and acting on Cromwell’s behalf, interviewed More (Henry’s former Lord Chancellor) in the Tower in June 1535, and trapped him into discussing hypothetical issues surrounding the royal supremacy. Rich, in his testimony at More’s trial in Westminster Hall, claimed that More had said that Parliament did not have the authority to make Henry the head of the Church of England. This was the only evidence against More, and he was beheaded on 6 July 1535.
49 He recovered and was later exonerated after his accusers were found guilty of perjury.
50 Foxe, ‘Acts’, Vol. V, pp.486–92.
51 Nichols, ‘Narratives’, p.252.
52 Brigden, p.78.
53 Nichols, ‘Narratives’, pp.255–8.
54 ‘Original Letters’, Vol. I, p.211.
55 22 Henry VIII cap.9.
56 Tanner, p.381.
57 Wriothesley, Vol. I, pp.134–5.
CHAPTER 4 The Final Quest for Military Glory
1 See Claude Blair, ‘A Royal Swordsmith and a Damascener: Diego de Çaias’, Metropolitan Museum Journal, 3 (1970), p.168. The symbolism of the inscription is both subtle and telling. It refers to the dominant roses of the Tudor dynasty and the French lilies crushed by the English military victory in capturing the town of Boulogne. The original Latin text also has a punning play on the word ‘gallus’, which could mean both ‘cock’ and ‘Gaul’ – the former being the French national motif, and the latter the ancient name for France. My grateful thanks to Claude Blair for drawing the significance of this sword to my attention and for supplying this information.
2 Information kindly supplied by Claude Blair. Herbert had been made a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber and principal esquire to the king on the day of the journey from Calais to Boulogne.
3 The last date he is known to have worn armour was at a tournament in 1540, though it is not known whether he took part. There are references to enlarging of the protective clothing worn under armour in the Wardrobe accounts for September 1543 to September 1544 because of the huge increase in his girth.
4 ‘Item. One harness for the king’s majesty all graven and parcel gilt both for the field and tilt [joust] complete which was commanded to be translated [altered] at the king’s going to Boulogne which lies in pieces part translated and part untranslated by a contrary commandment by the king’s majesty.’ See Starkey, ‘Inventory’, p.161, no.8384. The armour remained in the tiltyard at Greenwich, in the custody of Sir Thomas Paston.
5 It lacks armour to protect the lower legs and feet.
6 See Blair and Phyrr, pp.95–143. The armour remains in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, New York.
7 LP, Vol. XIX, pt.i, p.537.
8 Meaning in the sense of establishing a quorum or check in the process of raising money.
9 LP, Vol. XIX, pt.i, p.552.
10 LP, Vol. XIX, pt.i, p.553.
11 Oyer and terminer comes from Norman French, meaning ‘to hear and determine’. It describes the commissions, or assizes, in which a travelling judge tries cases alleging felonies and misdemeanours that have been committed in the specified counties. Now an obsolete legal term, replaced by Crown Courts in England and Wales.
12 BL Add. MS 32,655, fol.100.
13 LP, Vol. XIX, pt.i, p.572.
14 LP, Vol. XIX, pt.i, p.573.
15 LP, Vol. XIX, pt.i, p.606.
16 LP, Vol. XIX, pt.ii, p.18.
17 LP, Vol. XIX, pt.ii, p.113.
18 LP, Vol. XIX, pt.ii, p.127.
19 BL Add. MS 32,655, fol.168.
20 BL Lansdowne MS 1,236, fol.9. Also see Strype, ‘Ecclesiastic Memorials’, Vol. II, p.33, appendix.
21 Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, new edn., Vol. II, London, 1586, p.964. A painting of the siege of Boulogne was at Cowdray House, Sussex, until it was destroyed by fire in 1793. See ‘An Account of Some Ancient English Historical Paintings at Cowdray, Sussex’, Archaeologia, III (1786), pp.251–61. An engraving of this painting, published by the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1788, clearly shows the angled artillery mount towering over the Boulogne defences, buttressed with gabions, or earth-filled basketwork, to add strength and protection against counter-battery fire. Henry, wearing a broad-brimmed hat, can be seen directing operations from his command post.
22 A method used to bring down the walls of fortifications. The besiegers employed miners to dig under the foundations, propping up the tunnel roof with wood. Combustible material would then be packed into the mine and set alight. The roof would then fall in, bringing down the wall above.
23 Lady Margaret Douglas.
24 LP, Vol. XIX, pt.ii, p.110.
25 Hall, p.861.
26 LP, Vol. XIX, pt.ii, p.119.
27 Hall, pp.861–2. Henry spent the next two days riding around the town and arranging for its future defence. He commanded that the Church of Our Lady of Boulogne should be defaced and ‘plucked down’ and an earthwork thrown up on its site ‘for the great force and strength of the town’.
28 A beautiful sword, especially made for Henry and now at Windsor, had an illustration of the siege of Boulogne and a poem about the victory inscribed on its blade. See Claude Blair, ‘A Royal Swordsmith and a Damascener: Diego de Çaias’, Metropolitan Museum Journal, 3 (1970), pp.149–98.
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