9.1 A United Kingdom?
In late 1542, tensions between England and Scotland rose to an all time high. The two nations had a tenuous relationship as King James V—son of Henry’s sister Margaret, and thus the English King’s own nephew—resisted Henry’s attempts to divert Scotland from its religious ties to Rome. The previous year Henry VIII had instigated negotiations for an amicable resolution of the two countries’ differences in religion, taxation, and other policies. James V had failed to show, sending Henry into a fit of blind rage. Henry ordered his council to figure out a means of finally resolving the “Scottish problem.” After much debate, and with the Privy Council torn about how to proceed, they remained at stalemate.
Without resolution, and while the controversies in the English court were playing out, in October 1542, Henry ordered his troops to invade Scotland and use any means necessary, including the burning of villages and farmlands, to force the Scottish into obedience. The English destroyed Scottish lands, rendering them useless and forcing many families into destitution. Their raid was brutal, but quick, with the English leaving early in the month as their supplies began running out.
Upon hearing news of the English invasion, James V gathered over 15,000 troops to retaliate. Lord Robert Maxwell volunteered to lead Scottish forces south and fight at the border. They met only 3,000 English troops, led by Sir Thomas Wharton, and by sheer numbers alone Scotland should have emerged the victor; however, the Scots lacked a skilled commander and a unified army.
Instead, this skirmish, known as the Battle of Solway Moss, saw the better organized English victorious. The English had superior understanding of the landscape of the battlefield, allowing them to capitalize on tactical advantages that won them the day. Wharton even captured several Scottish nobles and sent them back to Henry for questioning; these prisoners would prove highly significant.
Meanwhile, James V had not been present at Solway Moss. He had instead fallen ill at the same time, finally dying of a fever on December 14th, 1542, with his daughter Mary—born only days before James’ death—as his only heir. The new regent of Scotland was James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, who held the next legitimate claim to the throne.
The Scottish regent was in a difficult position. The Scottish crown remained Catholic and had planned for the Princess Mary of Scots was to be wed to French nobility; however, the Duke, himself, was Protestant. Further, Henry loomed on the Scottish border, seemingly more powerful than ever. The Duke was desperate for a way to secure the Princess and their entire line, which remained fragile so long as a mere infant was on the throne. The question was how this could be done.
Henry surprised everyone with his own solution. Although he had hoped someday to see his son married to European royalty and secure a permanent role for England amongst the most powerful Kingdoms on the globe, the birth of a Scottish Princess presented him with an opportunity to unite the whole of Great Britain under a single crown. He could gain without war what he had so long wished for, complete dominion over every speck of earth before him, to the water’s edge. Since the captured Scottish nobles were still at the English court, Henry ordered Audley to begin talks with the “delegation,” with an eye towards arranging for a pre-contract of marriage between Prince Henry of England and Mary, Princess of Scots. Henry VIII would seek to forge a “United Kingdom.”
Anne was livid. The last thing she wanted was for her son to be betrothed to what she viewed as a “low class” bride. Anne wanted a cultured, refined, and sophisticated bride for her son, and her time in France had led her to prefer the idea of a marriage with a French Princess. Despite their continuing Catholicism, Anne thought of the French as far superior to the provincial English and Scottish courts in matters of etiquette, fashion, and respect for the ideals of the European renaissance. To her mind, a son of Henry’s blood was certainly worth more than to be married off to the “rough and barbaric Scots.”
Henry initially disregarded his wife’s concerns and made all haste towards a treaty that would unite the island. Aside from forever removing the need for costly garrisons along his northern border, a unification with Scotland would add more followers to the Church of England, allow him to purge the whole of Great Britain from Continental influence, and bring in a new stream of revenue for the royal coffers by expanding his tax base and access to (still) Catholic church properties. With their backs against the wall, the Scottish delegates initially agreed to take the proposed treaty and marital contract back to their regent for his decision.
Henry and Anne fought vigorously over the issue both in private and at court. The Queen openly spoke against the marriage and damned the Scots to hell at a feast for their Ambassador at Christmastide that year. Such outbursts did not endear the English to their Scottish guests. After three days of not speaking, during which time Henry had grown ever more sullen, the couple made up and Anne’s objections won out. Despite all that the King had done to convince Anne of the value of the unification, the Queen refused to budge and would not have her son marry “that Scottish peasant.”
Henry rescinded the offer of a pre-contract with Scotland on December 28th, 1542, sending his new message while James the Scottish regent was still considering the original offer, and formally freeing the Scottish to find an alliance elsewhere, namely, with France. This put England and Scotland in direct competition for a marital alliance with the court of King Francis.
The reaction at court over the potential Scottish match, along with its almost immediate collapse, was the talk of the season. There were plenty of courtiers who saw the advantages that alignment with Scotland could have brought and equally as many who saw it as a saving grace that it fell through. One unexpected reaction was that Anne saw a newfound surge in courtiers seeking her favor. These potential new allies saw the Queen as the ultimate power behind the throne. She was petitioned daily on all matters. New and ambitious courtiers were advised that, for better or worse, Anne held the King’s ear. If one wanted to ensure a favorable outcome to a petition, it would be necessary to obtain her favor. To sort through and prioritize all the new requests she was now receiving Anne even had to hire two more clerks.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Peace of Toledo had proven short lived, and Charles V was again fighting Francis (alongside his continuing battles with the Ottoman Empire), due to continuing conflict over their holdings in Italy. This “Italian War” was to last from 1542 to 1546 and brought destruction and chaos all over Europe. The war drained vital food and materials resources all over the continent, leaving most of Europe in some phase of food shortage, or leaving vast lands vulnerable to attack. Henry had been nervous about the conflicts’ effect on England. He was right to be concerned as many of the goods that the court relied upon, such as luxurious fabrics, exotic spices, and rare gems, were now at risk of having their imports disrupted. This had serious implications to the nobility, as clothing and jewelry were the very essence of a person’s social standing.
Many of his council felt that the King, while appearing to be wary, was truthfully more inclined to inject the country into the middle of the European wars. By interjecting England, he might be able to add a chair for England at the negotiation tables and create a renewed sense of international prestige. Additionally, English involvement would make plain to his enemies, mainly the Pope, that Henry deserved to be listened to, which would validate his country’s reforms. His advisors failed to see it that way. They were aware of the stark realities England was facing. With the continuing wheat shortage in the north, persistent shortage of iron for weapons, and low seafood harvests that year, it would be near impossible to feed and equip an army.
Knowing that he would have trouble sustaining a large army in combat, Henry instead chose to focus on developing his Navy. Although the royal coffers were still lower than Audley desired, with monastery income coming in at a regular pace Henry ordered that eight new ships be commissioned and outfitted with the best war-fi
ghting equipment of the day. He also ordered a survey of current naval affairs, including how many men were Active, what resources they were lacking to repel an attempted invasion, what reinforcements were needed along England’s coast and ports, and the status of their current vessels. England’s naval defenses were already strong, but Henry wanted to ensure that his defenses would be strong enough to block any potential invaders before they could reach English shores, and so compensate for his smaller army. It would become the linchpin of England’s defense strategy for the next 400 years.
9.2 The Power to Forgive
The food shortage remained a serious concern, and not only for its effect on military affairs. Wheat was the critical ingredient in making bread and ale, two staples of Tudor times. This important crop had been dramatically reduced when the typical rain season failed to yield the high volumes of water necessary for growth. Irrigation systems in the north had not yet been remodeled even to the standards of the technology of the time. Ironically, many noble landlords who owned these vital crops failed to improve their farmers’ materials and lands, citing the high cost of such investments. In defense of the nobles, cost truly was a significant factor; however, greed to squeeze every penny of existing profits (accentuated through the shortage) may have been the main catalyst to the otherwise short-sighted policies.
The majority of agricultural experts of the time came from the English Midlands, who charged enormous rates for their labor, often times many landlords refused to pay for such advice on principle alone. This unique skill set was not widespread in England at the time, so until the knowledge spread to farmers the landowners were at these experts’ mercy.
These agricultural experts came mostly from one family, the Bendicis. The Bendicis, of Italian heritage, had a long lineage in the agricultural trade, profiting enormously and owning vineyards, rare works of art, and building ties to some of the most powerful people in Europe, including the Pope, Kings, and senior nobles across the continent.
Antonio Bendici, the head of the family, had been a shrewd businessman. Realizing the profits to be made as, what we would today call agronomy or even general consulting, he expanded his business in 1473 from Verona, Italy to Antwerp, the Auvergne Province in France, and finally to Newcastle in England. Antonio and his wife Marla had six children, although she had also suffered a number of miscarriages. Antonio’s eldest son, Silvestro, was groomed to succeed as head of the family business. In order to secure his empire, he arranged exclusive contracts with blacksmiths in the West Indies and Asia, for which he paid handsomely. Should other potential merchants come seeking their services, Antonio had them removed from the competition. His tactics were ruthless and effective.
Several of the other children, Marco, daughters Marla, Eva, Sylvia and Clarisa, also entered various forms of the family business, which was mostly spreading the family’s influence throughout society. Marco initially served as the family salesman/mercenary. Where he could not bend minds through his charm, he did not hesitate to use force. Eva was known as one of the most beautiful women in all of Newcastle. Several times over, suitors from afar had vied for her hand and she had been sent to the court of Naples for nearly four years as one of the Queen’s ladies; it was also rumored in Naples’ social circles that she had become mistress to the Pope. Sylvia married at sixteen to a local merchant and had lived a fairly quiet life in a remote village away from the city, raising three strong sons; all of her children joined Henry’s army. Clarisa worked as an assistant in the court surgeon’s shop and witnessed barbaric Acts of torture conducted in the name of medicine; before she turned thirty-three she allegedly had a mental breakdown from the horror.
Marla was her father’s favorite; he desired for her a similar path to privilege as had been found for her sister Eva. He had petitioned Lord Audley for a spot in the Queen’s household once he learned of the vacancy left by one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting, who had recently become pregnant. Marla was not gorgeous, compared to her sister, but she had charm and wit. Having her as a member of the royal household would further enhance the family’s credibility. Her application was forwarded for further review by Anne herself and was accepted around July 1543.
The Privy Council may have been appalled at the rough tactics of the Bendici family and their apprentices but many members themselves perfected these tactics on both political and familial fronts. These nobles had built fenced-in properties, enclosing their lands not only as a matter of security for their livestock, but supposedly to keep squatters from their lands. In reality, the practice was to ensure that less labor was needed to run the farm operations. This practice, known as enclosure, all but eliminated the need for labor. Human capital, in other words farmhands, were now replaced by security guards to ensure that neighboring farmers could not go onto their property and attempt to harvest their crops, or steal their livestock or other materials. In essence what these clever nobles had done was all but eliminate economic rivals in their areas. What they considered competition, however, were merely poor farmers and their families attempting to carve out a living for barely enough to obtain food.
When word spread to Parliament of these abuses, the non-land owning politicians were furious. Not only had the nobles refused them a share of the profits they were hoarding, but they also had not been paying any taxes into the royal coffers on a formal basis. Often they misled the crown about the amount of taxes they owed and many attempted to hide their large profits from the crown. Granted, these nobles had been paying out handsome bribes to the King to keep their arrangements ongoing. Still, it mattered little when riots broke out the summer of 1543 by northern farmers protesting their continued oppression by the nobility. They torched Sir Robert Southwell’s lands in Newcastle, with nearly ten acres destroyed by the rebels. What was not destroyed was stolen.
Sir Southwell was Master of the Rolls of the Court of Chancery and one of the key members of the enclosure pAct. Upon receiving notice from Lord Audley that his lands and property had been destroyed he immediately demanded satisfaction. When he appeared at court three weeks later to obtain compensation for his loss, Audley failed to satisfy his demands. Southwell began striking Audley about the head, disregarding the King’s express command of no fighting while court was in session. Audley responded in kind by throwing him in prison at Tyndale until he had better learned control of himself. While Sir Southwell was in prison, Audley used the opportunity to further his own interests and get closer to the crown. He formally requested an audience with Henry and Anne on August 17th, 1543, while the court was in residence at Sudeley Castle, to review the matter of the northern riots.
While dining, the Chancellor informed their majesties of the northern uprising but also cautioned against the abuses not only of the clergy, but in the King’s own Privy Council. He claimed to have in his possession evidence of lechery, abuse of power, and treason from several government officials and Privy Council advisors. Naturally this peaked their interest and they demanded to know exactly who these persons were. Audley handed them a list of names containing mainly his and Anne’s political enemies. This list has not been found in any contemporary account and it is also not known if Anne was aware of the list ahead of time. Nevertheless, actions were taken shortly after against those on the list of names and it is plausible that these actions were taken by the crown at the implication of either real or perceived threats.
This brilliant move was enabling the Chancellor to get one-step closer to binding inner-circle loyalties to him. Exposing these alleged traitors to the crown—as they were enemies of Anne as well—would build trust with a powerful advocate to the King and almost assuredly promise his own advancement. After all, he was merely following the path of his moderately successful predecessors Wolsey and Cromwell, while seeking not to share their fate. The alleged evidence he brought forth included the well-known back-door deals of the nobility, and implicated some of the most prominent and longstanding members in the peerage.
Interestingly, he had been keeping a private record of these dealings for some time without acting on the information, most likely waiting for the right opportunity to present his case. It was one thing to be aware of such activity, it was quite another in these times to formally document it. This list, true or not, would damage the lives of all those named on it. Audley felt confident that what he was bringing to light was going to keep him safe and earn their majesties’ trust.
One of the names was Henry Clifford, the Earl of Cumberland. Tyndale and Cranmer had been working with him to recruit tutors of reform principles in Cumberland. Audley had accused the Earl of stealing from the King’s coffers, extorting the monastery in Cumberland, and having an affair with the sheriff of Cumberland’s wife. If these allegations were true, the Earl’s actions were enough to hang him. An unfortunate reality in Tudor times is that mere accusation was often sufficient to find one guilty, and when the head of state was accusing you, it was not a far cry from mere accusation to manufactured guilt. Evidence and a guilty verdict could be easily bought by the wealthy and powerful.
This news came as a genuine shock to the Queen. Anne had worked with the Earl of Cumberland to spread reformist practices. This allegation was a betrayal on a personal level. She genuinely enjoyed the Earl’s company and he had been invited to dine privately with her and Henry on many occasions, as well as joining them in hunting excursions. Clifford had a very charming demeanor, he served as an intelligent aide in domestic affairs and for quite some time was one of the most eligible bachelors at court. He made powerful friends very quickly and had a way of ensuring loyalty to him. He was one of those rare few at court who had no need to bribe his fellows for support, most everyone genuinely liked and respected him. He had also been selected by the King to serve as a royal agent. Anne was outraged. Her initial inclination would have been to confront the Earl directly, but seeing as he was not at court at the time this was quite impossible. To satisfy her immediate desire for confirmation, after dinner she barged into her Brother George’s chambers seeking counsel on how to proceed.
Had the Queen Lived: Page 30