• 1st July 1431 – The Battle of La Higueruela takes place in Granada, leading to a modest advance of Castilian during the Reconquista.

     

    1481 – Birth of Christian II of Denmark

    Today in Tudor History...

    1506 – Birth of Louis II of Hungary 

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    1517-Future Pope Adrian VI is Elevated to Cardinal by Pope Leo X

     

    1523 – Johann Esch and Heinrich Voes become the first Lutheran martyrs, burned at the stake by Roman Catholic authorities in Brussels.

    On learning of the execution of Esch and Voes, Martin Luther wrote what is thought to be his first hymn, "Ein neues Lied wir heben an"

     

    1527-Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn

     

     

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    I have been in great agony about the contents of your letters, not knowing whether to construe them to my disadvantage "comme en des aucunes autres," or to my advantage. I beg to know expressly your intention touching the love between us. Necessity compels me to obtain this answer, having been more than a year wounded by the dart of love, and not yet sure whether I shall fail or find a place in your affection. This has prevented me naming you my mistress; for if you love me with no more than ordinary love, the name is not appropriate to you, for it denotes a singularity far from the common. But if it please you to do the office of a true, loyal mistress, and give yourself, body and heart, to me, who have been and mean to be your loyal servant, I promise you not only the name, but that I shall make you my sole mistress, remove all others from my affection, and serve you only. Give me a full answer on which I can rely; and if you do not like to answer by letter, appoint some place where I can have it by word of mouth.

    ****

    Though it is not for a gentleman to take his lady in the place of a servant, nevertheless, according to your desire, I shall willingly grant it if thereby I may find you less ungrateful in the place chosen by yourself than you have been in the place given you by me; thanking you most heartily that you are pleased still to have some remembrance of me

    ****

    Although, my mistress, you have not been pleased to remember your promise when I was last with you, to let me hear news of you and have an answer to my last, I think it the part of a true servant to inquire after his mistress's health and send you this, desiring to hear of your prosperity. I also send by the bearer a buck killed by me late last night, hoping when you eat of it you will think of the hunter. Written by the hand of your servant, who often wishes you in the place of your brother.

    ****

    I and my heart put ourselves in your hands. Let not absence lessen your affection; for it causes us more pain than I should ever have thought, reminding us of a point of astronomy that the longer the days are, the further off is the sun, and yet the heat is all the greater. So it is with our love, which keeps its fervour in absence, at least on our side. Prolonged absence would be intolerable, but for my firm hope in your indissoluble affection. As I cannot be with you in person, I send you my picture set in bracelets.

    Today in Tudor History...

    1534 – Birth of Frederick II of Denmark 

    Today in Tudor History...

    1535-Thomas More is tried for treason in Westminster Hall.  He pleads "not guilty," and argues that he has never shown malice to the king or violated the terms of the Treason act. The king's attorney contends that More's silence is evidence of  "a corrupt and perverse nature" and itself a violation of the Act. Thomas More replies that under the law, silence should be taken as consent, not disagreement.  He also denies violating the Treason Act in letters to Fisher or in his conversation with Richard Rich, who he calls a liar.  Rich testifies, however, that Thomas More in a conversation did deny that Henry was the supreme head of the Church of England.  Two other witnesses present in the cell testify that they heard nothing of the conversation in question.  After one hour of deliberation, the jury of twelve men finds More guilty.  He is sentenced to be hanged until "half dead," disemboweled, and burned.

     

    Today in Tudor History...

     Trial of Sir Thomas More.

    i. Special commission of oyer and terminer for Middlesex, to Sir Thos. Audeley, chancellor; Thos. duke of Norfolk; Charles duke of Suffolk; Hen. earl of Cumberland; Thos. earl of Wiltshire; Geo. earl of Huntingdou; Hen. lord Montague; Geo. lord Rocheford; Andrew lord Windsor; Thos. Crumwell, secretary; Sir Will. Fitzwilliam; Sir Will. Paulet; Sir John Fitzjames; Sir John Baldewyn; Sir Ric. Lister; Sir John Porte; Sir John Spelman; Sir Walter Luke; and Sir Ant. Fitzherbert.— Westm., 26 June 27 Hen. VIII.

    ii. Precept to the sheriff for the return of the grand jury at Westminster on Monday next after the feast of St. John the Baptist.—Westm., 26 June 27 Hen. VIII. With panel annexed.

    iii. Indictment as hereafter set forth.

    Endd.: Billa vera.

    iv. The justices' precept to the constable of the Tower, commanding him to bring up the body of Sir Thos. More, late of Chelchehithe, Midd., at Westminster, on Thursday next after the morrow of St. John the Baptist.—Westm., 30 June 27 Hen. VIII.

    v. The justices' precept to the sheriff of Middlesex for the return of the petty jury this Thursday after the morrow of St. John the Baptist.—Westm., 1 July 27 Hen. VIII.

    vi. Record of the sessions held before the special commissioners, citing the above documents.

    The indictment  found at Westminster on Monday next after the feast of St. John the Baptist, setting forth the Acts 26 Hen. VIII. [e. 1, 13].

    Found, that Sir Thos. More, traitorously attempting to deprive the King of his title of Supreme Head of the Church, &c., did, 7 May 27 Hen. VIII., at the Tower of London, before Cromwell, Thos. Bedyll, clk., and John Tregonell, LL.D., the King's councillors, and divers others, being examined whether he would accept the King as Supreme Head in Earth of the Church of England, pursuant to the statute, refused to give a direct answer, saying "I will not meddle with any such matters, for I am fully determined to serve God, and to think upon His Passion and my passage out of this world." Afterwards, 12 May 27 Hen. VIII., the said Sir Thomas, knowing that one John Fissher, clk., was then detained in the Tower for divers misprisions, and that the said Fissher had refused to accept the King as above, wrote divers letters to him, which he transmitted by one Geo. Golde, declaring his agreement with Fisher, and intimating the silence which he, More, had observed when interrogated. In these letters he wrote as follows:—" The Act of Parliament is like a sword with two-edges, for if a man answer one way it will confound his soul, and if he answer the other way it will confound his body."

    Afterwards, fearing lest Fisher should reveal upon further examination what he had written to him, the said Sir Thomas, at the Tower, 26 May 27 Hen. VIII., sent other letters to Fisher, requesting him to answer according to his own mind, and not to give any such answer as he, Sir Thos., had written, lest the Council should suspect confederacy between them. Nevertheless, in consequence of the letters first written, Fisher did, 3 June 27 Hen. VIII., at the Tower, when examined by Sir Thos. Audeley, Suffolk, Wiltshire, and others, refuse to answer directly, and said, "I will not meddle with that matter, for the statute is like a two-edged sword; and if I should answer one way I should offend my conscience, and if I should answer the other way I should put my life in jeopardy. Wherefore I will make no answer in that matter."

    The said Sir Thomas likewise, when examined at the Tower, 3 June 27 Hen. VIII., maliciously persevered in refusing to give a direct answer, and, imagining to move sedition and hatred against the King, said to the King's councillors, "The law and statute whereby the King is made Supreme Head as is aforesaid be like a sword with two edges; for if a man say that the same laws be good then it is dangerous to the soul, and if he say contrary to the said statute then it is death to the body. Wherefore I will make thereunto none other answer, because I will not be occasion of the shorting of my life." And, moreover, the said More and Fisher, in order to conceal their treacherous intentions, severally burned their letters which passed between them immediately after reading the same.

    Afterwards, 12 June 27 Hen. VIII., Richard Ryche, the King's Solicitor General, came to Sir Thomas in the Tower, and charitably moved him to comply with the Acts; to which More replied, "Your conscience will save you, and my conscience will save me." Ryche then, protesting that he had no authority to make any communication with More, said to him, "Supposing that it were enacted by Parliament that he, Richard Ryche, should be King, and that it should be treason to deny the same, what would be the offence if he, Sir Thomas More, were to say that the said Ryche, was King?" For certain, the said Ryche further said, in his conscience it would be no offence, but that More was obliged so to say, and to accept Ryche for King, because the consent of the said More was compelled by an Act of Parliament. To which More then and there answered that he should offend if he were to say no, because he would be bound by an Act, because he was able to give his consent to it. But he said that would be a light case; wherefore he would put a higher case:—"Suppose it should be enacted by Parliament that God should not be God, and that opposing the Act should be treason; and if it were asked of you, Ric. Ryche, whether you would say that God was not God according to the statute, and if you were to say so, would you not offend?" To which Ryche answered More, "Certainly, because it is impossible that God should not be God. But because your case is so high, I will put a medium one. You know that our lord the King is constituted Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England; and why ought not you, Master More, to affirm and accept him so, just as you would in the preceding case, in which you admit that you would be bound to accept me as King?" To which More, persevering in his treasons, answered that the cases were not similar; because a King can be made by Parliament, and deprived by Parliament; to which Act every subject being at the Parliament may give his assent (ad quem actum quilibet subditus ad Parliamentum existens suum præbeat consensum); but as to the primacy, a subject cannot be bound, because he cannot give his consent to that in Parliament (quia consensum suum ab eo ad Parliamentum præbere non potest); and although the King is so accepted in England, yet many foreign countries do not affirm the same."

    Trial at Westminster on Thursday next after the feast of St. John Baptist, 27 Hen. VIII. Sir Thomas brought to the bar by Sir Edm. Walsingham, lieutenant of Sir Will. Kingston, constable of the Tower, pleads Not guilty.

    Venire awarded, returnable same day. Prisoner again brought to the bar. Verdict Guilty.

    Judgment as usual in high treason. Execution at Tyburn.

    Record brought into the Court of King's Bench by Sir John Fitzjames, Monday next after the morrow of the Purification, 27 Hen. VIII.

     

    Sir Thomas More's Speech at his Trial.

     

       If I were a man, my lords, that did not regard an oath, I need not, as it is well known, in this place, at this time, nor in this case to stand as an accused person. And if this oath of yours, Master Rich, be true, then pray I that I may never see God in the face, which I would not say, were it otherwise to win the whole world.

           In good faith, Master Rich, I am sorrier for your perjury than for mine own peril, and you shall understand that neither I nor any man else to my knowledge ever took you to be a man of such credit in any matter of importance I or any other would at any time vouchsafe to communicate with you. And I, as you know, of no small while have been acquainted with you and your conversation, who have known you from your youth hitherto, for we long dwelled together in one parish. Whereas yourself can tell (I am sorry you compel me to say) you were esteemed very light of tongue, a great dicer, and of no commendable fame. And so in your house at the Temple, where hath been your chief bringing up, were you likewise accounted. Can it therefore seem likely to your honorable lordships, that I would, in so weighty a cause, so unadvisedly overshoot myself as to trust Master Rich, a man of me always reputed for one of little truth, as your lordships have heard, so far above my sovereign lord the king, or any of his noble counselors, that I would unto him utter the secrets of my conscience touching the king's supremacy, the special point and only mark at my hands so long sought for?

           A thing which I never did, nor ever would, after the statute thereof made, reveal unto the King's Highness himself or to any of his honorable counselors, as it is not unknown to your honors, at sundry and several times, sent from His Grace's own person unto the Tower unto me for none other purpose. Can this in your judgment, my lords, seem likely to be true? And if I had so done, indeed, my lords, as Master Rich hath sworn, seeing it was spoken but in familiar, secret talk, nothing affirming, and only in putting of cases, without other displeasant circumstances, it cannot justly be taken to be spoken maliciously; and where there is no malice there can be no offense. And over this I can never think, my lords, that so many worthy bishops, so many noble personages, and many other worshipful, virtuous, wise, and well-learned men as at the making of the law were in Parliament assembled, ever meant to have any man punished by death in whom there could be found no malice, taking malitia pro malevolentia: for if malitia be generally taken for sin, no man is there that can excuse himself. Quia si dixerimus quod peccatum non habemus, nosmetipsos seducimus, et veritas in nobis non est. [If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.] And only this word, "maliciously" is in the statute material, as this term "forcibly" is in the statute of forcible entries, by which statute if a man enter peaceably, and put not his adversary out "forcibly," it is no offense, but if he put him out "forcibly," then by that statute it is an offense, and so shall be punished by this term, "forcibly."

           Besides this, the manifold goodness of the King's Highness himself, that hath been so many ways my singular good lord and gracious sovereign, and that hath so dearly loved and trusted me, even at my first coming into his noble service, with the dignity of his honorable privy council, vouchsafing to admit me; and finally with the weighty room of His Grace's higher chancellor, the like whereof he never did to temporal man before, next to his own royal person the highest office in this whole realm, so far above my qualities or merits and meet therefor of his own incomparable benignity honored and exalted me, by the space of twenty years or more, showing his continual favors towards me, and (until, at mine own poor suit it pleased His Highness, giving me license with His Majesty's favor to bestow the residue of my life wholly for the provision of my soul in the service of God, and of his special goodness thereof to discharge and unburden me) most benignly heaped honors continually more and more upon me; all this His Highness's goodness, I say, so long thus bountifully extended towards me, were in my mind, my lords, matter sufficient to convince this slanderous surmise by this man so wrongfully imagined against me....

           Forasmuch, my lord, as this indictment is grounded upon an act of Parliament directly oppugnant to the laws of God and his holy church, the supreme government of which, or of any part thereof, may no temporal prince presume by any law to take upon him, as rightfully belonging to the See of Rome, a spiritual preeminence by the mouth of our Savior himself, personally present upon the earth, to Saint Peter and his successors, bishops of the same see, by special prerogative granted; it is therefore in law amongst Christian men, insufficient to charge any Christian man....

           More have I not to say, my lords, but that like as the blessed apostle Saint Paul, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, was present and consented to the death of Saint Stephen, and kept their clothes that stoned him to death, and yet be they now twain holy saints in heaven, and shall continue there friends forever: so I verily trust and shall therefore right heartily pray, that though your lordships have now in earth been judges to my condemnation, we may yet hereafter in heaven merrily all meet together to our everlasting salvation. 

     

     

    Today in Tudor History...

    1536 - Mary and Elizabeth declared illegitimate by Parliament

    Today in Tudor History...

    Princess Mary to Cromwell

    Cannot express the great joy and comfort she has received, both by his letters and by the report of her servant, the bearer, of the King her father's goodness; which she doubts not she has obtained the better by his continual suit. Is bound to pray for him during her life. Has made no bill for her apparel. The King's favor is so good clothing to her, she desires no more; and so she has written to his Grace. Thanks him for the horse he sent by bearer, which is a great pleasure, for she had never a one to ride on sometimes for her health. Hownsdon, 1 July.

    Today in Tudor History...

    Chapuys to Charles V.

    Since the departure of my man I have several times solicited that it might please the King to decide upon treating with your Majesty for the mutual intelligence so often discussed, and to declare to me the conditions, as he lately promised, without waiting further answer from France, as he might be sure the French would never agree to reasonable terms. Cromwell has twice said to me in reply that the King was anxious to bring your Majesty and the French king into amity, and that until he received an answer to the message sent by the bailiff of Troyes, he would take no further step; but I might be sure that on the French refusing to do their part the King would do his duty towards your Majesty. Cromwell also told me, the last time I spoke to him, that the King had that day received letters from his ambassadors in France, stating that the French king had made to them great complaints of your Majesty, and intimating that the French had gained a victory over the Imperialists. Cromwell said the King laughed at these news as French brag, and that he was quite devoted to the Emperor's interests, waiting an opportunity to declare himself with honour; but your Majesty must take care to make a firm and sincere amity, not for one year or two, but for ever. This I affirmed was your real intention, and I made him confess that you were not to blame, as the King pretended, for breach of promise for not continuing the war against Francis after his capture.

    Cromwell then said, en passant, and half in mockery, that the French were seeking to have the Princess in marriage. He said no more, but I have since learned that a principal servant of the French ambassador told some one a marriage was treated of between the Princess and the duke of Angoulême, who would come and reside here; and that the French expected by this means to get the King to declare himself on their side, or at least to be a mediator to settle everything. Will endeavour to find out something about this in conversation with Cromwell.

    Yesterday, St. John's Day, I received your letters of the 8th June, with the documents therein mentioned; which arrived most opportunely, for to-day the French ambassador and I were in Court to discuss matters, and Cromwell had sent to tell me yesterday that we should be called for that purpose, and that I must not take the slightest suspicion from anything said or done, but use the most moderate language with the said ambassador, and afterwards leave matters to him, for he would conduct them to Your Majesty's satisfaction. This he repeated to me this morning. Soon after the said ambassador and I had arrived in Court, as it was not intended that the King should go out to mass, or that we should speak to him, we were asked to dine, and suddenly after dinner, Cromwell in presence of the Council, viz., the dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, the marquis of Exeter, the earls of Auffourt (Oxford) and Succes (Sussex) and others, stated that his master had been urged by his ally the Most Christian king, by virtue of the leagues between them, to assist him against your Majesty, who, in violation of treaties, had made war upon him, and that his master, being a prince of virtue and honor, desirous to do right and keep promises, and having also treaties with your Majesty, had called the said ambassador and myself to learn what he should do; and addressing the said ambassador, said that as it was he who made this claim, it was for him to speak first and make his complaints. On this the ambassador said the King, his master, never imagined that this matter would come into discussion, and therefore had given him no instructions to dispute about it, and that he thought he had given full information of every thing to the King; but since Cromwell desired it, he would repeat everything there. He then entered into the matter at great length, first speaking of the great endeavours of Francis, and his willingness to accept unreasonable conditions to obtain the patrimony of his children, viz., Milan, which he could not have alienated by certain laws which he alleged very mal à propos; moreover, that Milan could not be declared lawfully alienated, seeing that the treaty of Madrid had been made by his master to be delivered from most severe imprisonment, and that of Cambray had been made for the redemption of the children, which by law implies as great intimidation as if the father himself had been detained in prison, and that the money ransom alone was excessive, apart from the surrender of so many titles and lordships; and that nevertheless his master had observed the treaties in everything, which only showed that he did not pursue his own quarrel against others as he might have done against the duke of Savoy without violating the treaties; for although the said Duke was comprehended in them, he was not named as a principal contrahent, but only as accessory, and the accessory could not weaken the principal; and that the King, his master, might ignore the fact of the Duke being a vassal of the Empire instead of demanding redress from him of your Majesty, as you pretend; and, moreover, even if the King his master had certainly known the said Duke to be your vassal, yet, having seen the little regard for justice you had shown in the case of Merveilles, he had no occasion to demand of your Majesty justice from the said Duke; and further, the house of France was not accustomed to demand justice, but to enforce it; and it was needless to quote the civil law against this, for his master was not subject thereto; also, that it was not his master who had begun the war, but the duke of Savoy, by denying restitution of what belonged to his master, citing as to this a rule of common law which says qui causam dat damni damnum fecisse videtur.

    He said you had, without regard to treaties or relationship and without defiance, invaded his master's subjects, besieged Fossan, and, which he made a case of great importance, summoned the marquis of Saluces to acknowledge the Empire, though he was notoriously subject to the French king; in proof of which the marquis' elder brother had been all his life in the service of the King his master, and your Majesty had never complained nor had you made any provision for him, and no mention had been made of Saluces in the treaties. The ambassador also complained of a ship lately taken by Spaniards at Aigues Mortes, and of some incursions by your subjects on the frontiers of Picardy; moreover that you boasted you would invade Provence and pass further; and that this King ought to consider that this pretension to invade France could only arise from the desire of monarchy, which you hoped to obtain partly by force and partly by dissimulation and cunning, like other monarchs, and it must be supposed that as the said monarchy had such a beginning it would be dissolved by the same means, and things would return in the end to their natural liberty. In this he scarcely spoke in favor of other princes; and although the said ambassador denounced the usurpation of the ancient Romans, "repeter le sien par force sans autres ceremonie que denvoyer un roy d'armes pour indire la guerre." He concluded by declaring his master was attacked (estoit a tourd agaresse?) by the Emperor, and that the King was bound to assist him in his lawful defence.

    On my being asked to speak, I said that it should be considered, even if I did not say so, that since the said ambassador, who was the claimant, and ought to have come instructed of his rights, had no charge to enter into the discussion of such matters, still less should I have any such charge, and that I thought the case was so notorious, even to the King and his Council, that they could not disguise or palliate it; and that I was very sorry that the French had not sooner addressed this King, so as to come to peace before things had gone so far; at least, before attacking the duke of Savoy they might have asked the King's advice, which I was sure would have been quite contrary to what they have done. But since the King and the company wished me to reply, I would obey willingly, protesting in the first place that I spoke without instructions, and like a private person, "et que m'en deporteroye le plus legierement que me seroit possible, reservant de les informer du tout au vray et si amplement quilz demoureroient satisfaictz du tout entierement apres quen avroye parle a ced. roy." I then spoke of the efforts made by your Majesty for peace, as shown by the offers made in the consistory and before that, at which all the world was astonished that you would give such an estate (Milan), worth as much as any kingdom, "de droit denier," which was the bulwark of the kingdom of Naples, and the state, of all the world, most profitable to your Majesty,— observing that the said offer arose from pure liberality, and that the king of France could not rightly put in any claim, even if the treaty of Madrid were invalid, as Cromwell had seen by the book I had shown him some time ago, to which no answer had been made on the side of France, the case was so clear; and as to the treaties of Madrid and Cambray, what the ambassador said could not render them invalid for several reasons that I alleged, especially as the French king had always ratified them, who said, even lately, to Nassau, when he passed through France, that he would observe them; nevertheless, he has only observed them in words, especially the articles mentioned in the reply of your Majesty, which I specified myself, without stating that I had been instructed by you.

    To these articles the ambassador made no reply, except touching the heirs of the late duke of Bourbon. He said that the goods of the said Duke had been justly confiscated, and thereupon he inveighed against the said Duke's infamy. As to the rest of the articles he tried to escape by what your Majesty had declared to the ambassadors of the King his master on the third day of Easter, that your Majesty did not intend, by the words you had used in Consistory the day before, to defy the King his master, nor that war should be begun (ouverte), meaning to insinuate by a letter of his master, which he showed, that your Majesty acknowledged that there had been no cause of rupture before the said third day of Easter. I said that, as the words he used were obscure, the interpretation, according to law, ought to be that of him who had used them, although there was no doubt that by the said words your Majesty had declared openly that you would not make war or duel in case the offer of the duchy of Milan for the third son of France was accepted, and reparation was made to the duke of Savoy; and this expression, "rompre la guerre en Italie," could only signify proclaim it, and it was impossible to infer from it that your Majesty was satisfied with the said articles. And if he meant to say that, according to the lawyers, injuries are remitted by dissimulation, "et que vre. Mate appelloit toutes les contraventions mencionnez au propoz que vre. Mate tint au Consistoire," I replied that the saying of the lawyers applied to verbal injuries or slanders, et non prosecutive rei familiaris, and it might be said that your Majesty did not intend to break war (rompre la guerre), for the French had already broken it.

    I must not omit to mention that in alleging the treaties of the French king with Gueldres, I called Cromwell to witness that he had seen them, which he did not deny. As to the allegation of the said ambassador that the duke of Savoy was the aggressor, I said it was like the wolf in Æsop accusing the lamb, and I wondered at his argument from civil law in one point, when in others he repudiated civil law, as it was well known, as one of our doctors recited, that the French accepted the civil law, not as founded on right and equity, and even if there were no question of that law, it would not be found by any other that a party could be judge on his own side, except in certain cases which I alleged. Reports further his arguments touching Savoy and Nice, showing that France had no right to them, and his reply to the ambassador about the marquis of Saluces, the siege of Fossan, the ship taken, and other accidents of war, which he showed to have been since the aggression on the duke of Savoy. Said he had heard nothing of the rumour about the invasion of Provence; but, if it were true, the Emperor would only be invading his own property, and even if it were not his he had a right to molest France on all sides. Speaking for himself as a lawyer, Chapuys said that Francis having broken the treaties, the Emperor was not bound to him any way. Thinks that the most part of the company applauded this sentiment, especially the Chancellor and Cromwell. As to the monarchy, he said the Emperor had clearly disarmed suspicion in everyone, except those who hankered after it themselves, and this not by words but by deeds. He had restored the kingdom of Tunis to the expelled King, refused the dukedom of Florence and Monego, frequently given away the duchy of Milan, and allowed Genoa to be erected into a republic, and after so much war and trouble had not increased his territory by a foot of earth. The ambassador said the Emperor had acted with great subtlety, giving away Milan and Florence to those who served him at need and gave pensions, so that it was just as if you had kept the duchies. I replied that I was surprised that they who aimed at this monarchy had not used equal subtlety, and retained the king of England as vassal in the duchies of Guienne and Normandy; at which everybody laughed, much to the ambassador's disgust. After these discussions, in which there was not an unpleasant word, but all was done as if for pastime, the Chancellor and two or three of the company said to the French ambassador that whatever might be said about the other articles in which I had said the French king had infringed the treaties, he had shown no justification of the invasion of Savoy, and the duke of Norfolk told him that he would do well to put his case in writing, "et que je y refusa ce faire," of which I was very glad. After this I said that since I had been called as it were to judgment, it was lawful to me to make use of reconvencion (revival of suit), and I begged the King according to the old treaties between him and your Majesty to assist you with men and money. Cromwell then said the King his master wished to do his duty to both parties as he was bound; and thereupon went alone to the King, and having remained some time returned and told us that the King having heard the report of our discussions would take good advice upon the whole and call us again within two days. As it was now supper time I had no opportunity of showing this King your Majesty's letters upon the answer made to the king of France.

    The two days being passed during which we were to be called, I continually pressed to have audience either of the King or Council, or of Cromwell alone, to show the said letters of your Majesty and to urge that the King should declare himself according to the treaties since the French ambassador had opened the door; but till this day, 1 July, Cromwell has put me off with gracious excuses, begging me two or three times not to be at the trouble to go thither, but to send him the copy of the said letters; which, when I declined to do for certain reasons, he sent to me today to say that tomorrow he would speak to the King his master for my audience, and that he begged, as the King might suspect something from the negociations having cooled for the establishment of amity, about which nothing has been done for some time, that I would tell him what it was, that he might answer about it. This he asked, as he said, of his own accord, but I think it was by the King's command. I sent to say that your Majesty's goodwill had nowise cooled, indeed, was warmer than ever, and that I had declared it several times to the King, and that till the King made some answer, you could add nothing to what you had written to me, as it appeared by your last letters and that I expected my man within a few days, by whom I would write to your Majesty the conditions required by the King for the renewal of the treaties, and that as soon as he came I would inform the King. I think those here were very glad that I irrefragably confuted the demand of the French, whom they want to bring into perplexity in order to bring them over to their opinion against the Pope, and they keep deferring my audience till they have news from France, and also to win time in order that according to the progress of affairs they may play at "boules de veue." Cromwell, who used continually to say that it was necessary to punish the French, now speaks only about peace.

    When the Princess, having written several good letters to the King her father, and to this Queen, expected to be out of trouble, trusting to the hope held out to her, she found herself in the most extreme perplexity and danger she had ever been in, and not only herself, but all her principal friends. The King, seven or eight days after the departure of the man whom I sent to your Majesty, took a fancy to insist that the Princess should consent to his statutes, or he would proceed by rigour of law against her, and, to induce her to yield, sent to her the duke of Norfolk, the earl of Sussex, the bishop of Chester,  and certain others, whom she confounded by her wise and prudent answers, till they, seeing that they could not conquer her in argument, told her that since she was so unnatural as to oppose the King's will so obstinately, that they could scarcely believe she was his bastard, and if she was their daughter, they would beat her and knock her head so violently against the wall that they would make it as soft as baked apples, and that she was a traitress and should be punished, and several other words. And her gouvernante was commanded not to allow any one to speak to her, and that she and another should never lose sight of her day or night. Nevertheless the said Princess found means to send me immediate information of everything, begging me not to leave her without counsel in her extreme necessity. On this I wrote to her very fully, telling her, among other things, that she must make up her mind if the King persisted in his obstinacy, or she found evidence that her life was in danger, either by maltreatment or otherwise, to consent to her father's wish, assuring her that such was your advice, and that, to save her life, on which depended the peace of the realm and the redress of the great disorders which prevail here, she must do everything and dissemble for some time, especially as the protestations made and the cruel violence shown her preserved her rights inviolate and likewise her conscience, seeing that nothing was required expressly against God or the articles of the Faith, and God regarded more the intention than the act; and that now she had more occasion to do thus than during the life of the Concubine, as it was proposed to deprive the Bastard and make her heiress, and I felt assured that if she came to court she would by her wisdom set her father again in the right road, to which the intercession of your Majesty through the reconciliation and establishment of amity would conduce.

    The King, on hearing the report of the above Commissioners, and the prudent answer of the Princess, grew desperate with anger, which was for two reasons: first, for the refusal of the said Princess; and second, because he suspected that several of her attendants had advised her so to do. He accordingly made the most strict inquiries, and the Chancellor and Cromwell visited certain ladies at their houses, who, with others, were called before the Council and compelled to swear to the statutes; one of them, the wife of her chamberlain,  a lady of a great house, and one of the most virtuous in England, was taken to the Tower, where she is at present. The chief servant of the Princess, who knows all her secrets, was kept two days in Cromwell's house; and during six or seven days they were in council at Court from morning to evening, which was the reason I could not have audience during that time either of the King or Cromwell as I greatly wished.

    As I suspected even then, it was not opportune because the King was too angry, and Cromwell, for having communicated with me upon the affairs of the Princess, and showing himself rather favourable, was not free from suspicion, or without danger of being put to death, and, as he has since told me, he remained four or five days considering himself a lost man and dead. At the same time the Marquis and the Treasurer  as suspected persons were excluded from the Council, and the matter proceeded so far that, in spite of the prayers of this Queen, which he rudely repulsed, the King called the judges to proceed according to law to the inquest and first sentence which is given in the absence of the parties. I have been informed from more than one source that the King had sworn, in a great passion, that not only the Princess should suffer, but also the Marquis, Cromwell, and several others. Now I hear that the judges, in spite of threats, refused to decide, and advised that a writing should be sent to the Princess, and that if she refused to sign it, they should proceed against her. The Princess, being informed from various quarters how matters stood, signed the document without reading it. For her better excuse I had previously sent her the form of the protestation she must make apart. I had also warned her that she must in the first place endeavour to secure the King's pardon (grace), and, if possible, not give her approval to the said statutes except so far as she could do so agreeably to God and her conscience, or that she should promise only not to infringe the said statutes without expressing approval. I have not yet ascertained how the thing has passed, but in any case she never made a better day's work, for if she had let this opportunity slip there was no remedy in the world for her. As soon as news arrived of her subscription, incredible joy was shown in all the Court except by the Earl of Essex, who told the King that was a game that would cost him his head, for the injurious language he had used against the Princess. Innumerable persons sent to me to congratulate me on the reconciliation of the King and the Princess. After the Princess had signed the document she was much dejected, but I immediately relieved her of every doubt, even of conscience, assuring her that the Pope would not only not impute to her any blame, but would hold it rightly done.

    Since the Princess subscribed the said document, the King sent back the above Commissioners with others, among whom was Master Cromwell, who was charged by the King to carry to her a most gracious letter, and also, according to the custom of the country, another with the paternal blessing. And they all offered her the highest possible honour, addressing her almost continually kneeling upon the ground, especially asking her pardon for their previous conduct. The Princess remains very happy, especially on account of the goodwill that Cromwell bears her in the promotion of her affairs. She is only anxious as to how your Majesty will be satisfied with what she has done. And now that she has done it on my assurance that it was the will of your Majesty, yet it would be a marvellous consolation to her to know it by letters from you. She has also desired me to write to your Majesty's ambassador at Rome to procure a secret absolution from the Pope, otherwise her conscience could not be at perfect ease. I have congratulated Cromwell, expressing great satisfaction at what the Princess had done, for several reasons, especially that he and other of her friends had been extricated from the danger they were in. I even sent to him several times, when matters were so desperate, to advise the Princess to consent to the King's will, and I have since fully assured him that he should know before two months were over that there was no man in the world who had done better service in this matter than I. This I thought good to say for the advancement of the negociations for the amity.

    The French ambassador received letters the day before yesterday, and was yesterday with Cromwell, and this morning at Court, where I am told he has been for some time. To-morrow he and I are to be there again on the same matter as before. I have just heard this morning that several French ships, seeking to injure the subjects of your Majesty "si tiennent ung part du temps a la couste et aux autres de votre mate," and also that the French who make incursions into your countries take refuge at Calais, and sell their booty there. I will speak to the King to-morrow, awaiting instructions from you what to request in case the King remain neutral. I spoke of it already the other day to Cromwell, who said the King himself had spoken of it to the ambassador of France, who said that the ships which were near Dover had gone thither only to secure the passage of the Bailly of Troyes in case he wished to depart; but the contrary is very evident. London, 1 July 1536.

    Today in Tudor History...

    1543 - The Treaties of Greenwich are signed, approving of a marriage between Prince Edward and Mary, Queen of Scots

     

    Today in Tudor History...Today in Tudor History...

    1569 – Union of Lublin: the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania confirm a real union; the united country is called the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or the Republic of Both Nations.

     

    1581-Pope Gregory XIII Authorizes Inquisition to Handle all Cases Involving Jews

     

    source:law2.umkc.edu/,http://www.british-history.ac.uk/,Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History.

  • 30 June 1422 – Battle of Arbedo between the duke of Milan and the Swiss cantons.

     

    1470 – Birth of Charles VIII of France, King of France

    Today in Tudor History...

    1520 – Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés fight their way out of Tenochtitlan.

     

    1521 – Spanish forces defeat a combined French and Navarrese army at the Battle of Noáin during the Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre.

     

    1536-Charles V. to Henry VIII.

    Has been much pleased to hear of his prosperity and of the proposal he has made to Chapuys for a new treaty to make their amity indissoluble. This accords with what he has always hoped of their old alliance, and induces him to believe that when he knows of the Emperor's efforts to avoid the renewal of war in Christendom and the outrageous conduct of the king of France, who has provoked him to it by so many violations of treaties, he will be of opinion that Charles could not have done otherwise. Trusts Henry will declare himself on his side according to the treaties between them seeing

     

    1537 - Execution of Lord Darcy 1st Baron Darcy of Darcy or of Temple Hurst,he was an English nobleman, the only son, and heir, of Sir William Darcy and his wife, Euphemia Langton, the daughter of Sir John Langton.Darcy was opposed to the Dissolution of the Monasteries and for his role in the Pilgrimage of Grace, was convicted of high treason for delivering up Pontefract Castle to the rebels.He was executed on Tower Hill 

     

    1541 - Henry VIII and Katherine Howard set off on their royal progress to the North.

    Today in Tudor History...

    Marillac to Francis I.

    Everyone here knows that the King today commences his progress, which extends as far as York. He will not return to this town until the end of October; as appears by a memorandum of the places he will pass, the sojourn he will make there, and the provisions necessary,—an order rendered necessary by the company, which may number 4,000 or 5,000 horse, whereas ordinarily he takes only 1,000. As the thing is new, nothing else is talked of. More than 200 tents are carried, artillery is sent by sea and river to within 10 miles of York, and the great horses are taken as if it were a question of war; all because the King, during his reign, has never visited these places, where, for his first entry and for the danger of the daily rebellions, he wishes to be well accompanied by men of these parts in whom he has more trust.

    Before his departure he has given order for the Tower to be cleared of prisoners, and, as he lately began by the execution of the countess of Salisbury, the lord Nevel, and others of whom Marillac wrote, such progress has since been made that in eight days all will be despatched, either by condemnation or absolution. Already lord Leonard de Grec, commonly called de Clydas, of the house of Osserter, allied to the greatest lords of England, and for five years this King's lieutenant in Ireland, on Saturday last, the 25th inst., was led to Westminster, and there, according to the old custom which is resumed, judged and condemned by the twelve men deputed to this judgment, and two days later beheaded in front of the Tower, in which he had been detained more than a year. Is told that his accusation was (1) that, being King's lieutenant in Ireland, he sent raiment and money to some rebels who were his relations; (2) that by his means a cordelier who was in prison for maintaining the Pope's authority escaped; and (3) that he defrauded the soldiers of their pay and so caused mutiny. The same day, was led to judgment a young lord called Dacre of the South, also allied with the greatest lords of England, and of 6,000 or 7,000 ducats income, who, for assembling armed men with the intention of seeking a park keeper whom they wished to slay, and slaying another in place of the man they were seeking, was condemned to be hanged, and yesterday was executed at the common gibbet of London, called Tyburn. His three companions suffered the like death, who were Mr. Mantel, one of this King's 50 gentlemen whom he calls his Pensioners, a controller of his customs, and one Reddyn, of a Kentish family; all three gentlemen of good house, aged 25 to 30, and much esteemed. The other seven or eight who were at this muster have been taken to be executed on the spot. For the other prisoners in the Tower, if it is not this week, it will be the next, like poor lord Lisle, deputy of Calais, the Master Porter, called Palmer, who was taken with Mr. Wallop, and the son of the late lord Montague, who is said to be in the same danger as the rest, although he is very young and innocent.

    Although it is not spoken of, and there is as yet no clear evidence, those here seem to have something on their stomach difficult to digest. Upon diligent inquiry learns that the news from Germany scarcely pleases them, and that Winchester has taken leave of the Emperor and is returning. They are also very indignant that the lords of Ireland who had come in to them, when convoked to a Parliament there, have proved disobedient and revolted. What weighs more upon them is the alliance of Francis and the duke of Cleves, from which they doubt annoyance some day, because of the injury they did to Madame, his sister, who is repudiated. As they suspect all friendships of their neighbours and have no more trust in their intelligence with the Germans, it is probable that they will try to make their league closer with the Emperor, to make him forget the injury to him through his aunt queen Katharine, or else seek to make war between the Emperor and Francis, that they may be secure and sought by both sides. Since he has been here, has not seen so much appearance of it as these ten or twelve days, in which the Emperor's ambassador has been twice at Court, and things have been discussed which have given much thought to both sides, but they are kept very secret. Some say the question was the marriage of lady Mary, and Marillac believes there has been something about that, but the King's words to him before and the difficulty about legitimation, the Pope's authority and the reservation of the Crown to the young Prince of Wales, make it impossible to persuade any man of judgment here that they intend to give hope of succeeding to this realm to a stranger. Besides, duke Philip of Bavaria, to whom she was formeriy promised as illegitimate, lately sent a personage (fn. 13) to learn their determination, who received an answer rather putting him in hope of having her than refusing. The said lady Mary would not speak, apart, to the Emperor's ambassador when he was last at Court, although he went so far as to enter her chamber; for as he entered by one door she went out by another, and sent him word that she would not, for him, incur the displeasure of the King, her father, as formerly happened for the same cause. The ambassador was much displeased and returned quite confused. It was said that the Sieur Duprat was coming on the Emperor's part, but that is now not continued, and in few days the truth will be better known.

    Seven or eight days ago, Norfolk left for his own house and afterwards to attend the King at Lincoln, where the writer intends to be, to see if anything will be said on the subject of his preceding letters in cipher, and to fulfil Francis's instructions.London, 30 June 1541.

     

    The Peace of the Realm.

    Circular letter to the justices of the peace, expressing surprise that notwithstanding “sundry advertisements lately made” to them to do their duties, things are not directed with any regard to the “good monitions” set forth for the advancement of justice. Warns them of the danger they incur by this negligence, and commands them to have special regard to the following points:—1. The King, having expelled the usurped power of the bishop of Rome, with all its branches and dependents, desires that privy maintainers of that papistical faction be tried out, as the most cankered and venomous worms in the commonwealth, enemies to God, and traitors. 2. Raisers and spreaders of bruits touching the King, his honour or surety, the state of the realm or the mutation of any law or custom, are to be punished. 3. Sturdy vagabonds and valiant beggars are to be punished according to the late statute, the neglect of which has bred no small inconvenience; and, to this end, the watches, which, by statute, are kept from Ascensiontide to Michaelmas, shall this year be continued until Hallowtide. Those who resist any watch or other officer are to be punished, [unlawful games suppressed, and every man encouraged to use the long bow as the law requires]. 4. The justices shall earnestly bend themselves to the advancement of justice between party and party, that good subjects may have the benefit of the laws and evil doers be punished.

    The King trusts that this gentle admonition will stimulate them to atone for past remissness; but, if any neglect it, “the next advice shall be of so sharp a sort as shall bring with it a just punishment of those that shall be found offenders in this behalf.”

     

    1548 - Emperor Charles V orders Catholics to become Lutherans

     

    1551 - Dr. Wooton defends Princess Mary's commitment to Catholicism to the Council

     

    1559 - King Henry II of France is seriously injured in a jousting match against Gabriel de Montgomery.

    Today in Tudor History...Today in Tudor History...

    source:http://www.british-history.ac.uk/,wikipedia

  • 29 June 1136 –Birth of  Petronilla of Aragon 

    She was the Queen of Aragon from the abdication of her father in 1137 until her own abdication in 1164. She was the daughter and successor of Ramiro II by his queen, Agnes of Aquitaine. She was the last ruling member of the Jiménez dynasty in Aragon, and by marriage brought the throne to the House of Barcelona.

    Today in Tudor History...

    1397 - Birth of John II of Aragon 

    He was the King of Aragon from 1458 until 1479, and jure uxoris King of Navarre from 1425 until his death. He was the son of Ferdinand I and his wife Eleanor of Alburquerque. John is regarded as one of the most memorable kings of the 15th century.

    Today in Tudor History...

    1475 –Birth of Beatrice d'Este, duchess of Bari and later of Milan, was the wife of the Milanese ruler Ludovico Sforza (known as "il Moro"). She was one of the most beautiful and accomplished princesses of the Italian Renaissance. A member of the Este family, she was the younger daughter of Ercole I d'Este and the sister of Isabella d'Este and Alfonso d'Este. Along with her sister, Beatrice was noted for her excellent taste in fashion and for having invented new clothing styles

     

    1482 - Birth of Maria of Aragon, queen of Portugal 

    She was a Spanish infanta and the second wife of Portuguese King Manuel I, thus queen consort of Portugal from her marriage on 30 October 1500 until her death.

    Today in Tudor History...

    1509 - Death of  Margaret Beaufort ,Countess of Richmond and Derby.She was the mother of King Henry VII and paternal grandmother of King Henry VIII of England. She was a key figure in the Wars of the Roses and an influential matriarch of the House of Tudor. She founded two prominent Cambridge Colleges; Christ's College in 1505, and St John's College in 1511.

    Today in Tudor History...Today in Tudor History...

    1529 - Emperor Charles  V and Pope Clemens VII sign Treaty of Barcelona

     

    1535-A 2000-word indictment accusing Thomas More of treason is presented to the special commission.

    Today in Tudor History...

     

     

    1536 - Thomas Boleyn was stripped of his office of Lord Privy Seal.

    1537 - Death of Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland.He was an English nobleman, active as a military officer in the north.He is now primarily remembered as the betrothed of Anne Boleyn, whom he was forced to give up before she became involved with King Henry VIII.

    Today in Tudor History...

     

    1539-Statute of Six Articles against Protestant practices is passed

     

    1540 - Thomas Cromwell found guilty of treason 

    Today in Tudor History...

    . Anne of Cleves.

    “An order to be observed in process for this matter.”

    Memoranda in Gardiner's hand, with marginal notes appended in Wriothesley's, viz.:—

    1. “The specialty to be broken t[o several] men with charge of secrecy upon their oaths.” 2. “That done, their resolution to be certified w[ith diligence].” 3. “To know of them the way and [manner of process] and the form thereof to be opened and d[ilated], and thereupon relation to be made to the [King's] Majesty.” In margin: “For the Spiritualty.”

    4. “A consultation to be made how to [bring the] matter to execution, and that also to be [signified] to the King's Highness.” Margin: “For the Council.”

    5. “An ensearch to be made to attain knowledge [of] the contract made with the prince of Lor[raine], whether it was de præsenti or de futuro.” Margin: “Mr. Wriothesley and Dr. Peter to make search at the Earl of Essex's house.”

    6. “To see and search for the instrument [of renunciation] made since her coming into England, [wherein] Dr. Peter or Watkyns can tell mo[che].” Margin: “The said Wriothesley and Dr. Peter to examine Hussey, Watkins, and others.”

    7. “To consider in what sort the King's [Majesty's Council] shall cause the matter to be opened unto the Queen, and by whom and when and [where].” Margin: “For the Council.”

    8. “To cause the earl of Essex to be spoken [with and] examined of these matters.” Margin: “By such as the King's Majesty shall appoint.”

    9. “How the King's Majesty shall order himself as using his liberty from matrimony or otherwise in the mean time.” Margin: “This to be deferred [to] the determination of the clergy.”

    10. “A remembrance that as much proof as may be had be prepared and in aredynesse to declare the King's Majesty's misliking, his Grace's dissent and abstinence a carnali copula, and also her confession thereof if it may be attained.”

    Today in Tudor History...

    1. “First, to declare the difference between sponsalia [de] presenti and de futuro.” 2. “Whether either of them being not first … be a lawful impediment whereby the second m[arriage] may be declared nought with (sic) having appar[aunce of] consent lacked yet a perfect and hearty cons[ent, as] by proof of witness may appear.” 3. “Thirdly, if it may appear by witness [of relation] quod claustra non aperiebantur, and so [consummation] not following, nor intended,  with a certain [horror in] nature thereto appending, be matter sufficie[nt to] declare, upon a marriage not heartily  [consummate as] afore, the insufficiency thereof without f[urther pro]cess.” 4. “[Four]thly, whether the bere pot  be a s[ufficient disch]arge for the former spousal.” 5. “[Fifth]ly, if it be not a lawful imped[iment to the par]ties which contracted the second [marriage, kno]wing before of the first spousal, [to go together, not] having a better discharge to th[eir knowledge the]nne the bere pot.” 6. “Sixthly, to declare what deposition [and how man]y deponents be sufficient to [prove the lac]k of hearty consent and ….”

    In Wriothesley's hand. Mutilated. With mutilated note at the foot (referring to the third question) in a different hand.

    4. The same questions, each with the answer appended.

    The answer to the third is prefaced as follows:—“If by witness of relation be meant such witness … depose the Quenes affirmation that she is not kn[own] … by inspection of her body affirm themself by the … that she remaineth unknown, these witness be … hearing to make faith in the matter. If by witness of relation be meant such w[itness as] heard the King's Majesty declare his misliking [both] before and after, whereby might appear the K[ing] … dissent, these witness be to be heard … in that point. If by witness of relation be meant … heard the King's Majesty open the secrete … Quene, and how his Grace could not … her, these witness do well enforce the … poynte more appear if the Quene do not … t.”

    The answer to the fourth is: “The instrument signed with the bere pot containeth no m[anner] of discharge at all, but rather ministereth matter of m[uch] doubt.”

     

    Today in Tudor History...

    Cromwell and the Anne of Cleves Marriage.

    “Questions to be asked of the lord Cromwell”:—1. Whether he asked the King, coming from “Rochester, how he liked the Queen and was answered, “Nothing so well as she was spoken of, and that if his Highness had known so much before, she should not have comen hither; but what remedy now?” Cromwell said he was sorry. 2. On her entry to Greenwich, after the King had brought her to her chamber, Cromwell waited upon his Grace in his, who said, “How say you, my Lord? Is it not as I told you, say what they will, she is nothing fair; the personage is well and seemly, but nothing else?” Cromwell replied, “By my faith, you say truth, but me thinketh she hath a queenly manner withal.” “That is truth,” quoth his Highness. 3. After this there was communication with the ambassadors of Cleves upon the covenants, “in the which, as it is remembered, there was lack found of ample commission for performance of covenants and treaties, which lacks his Majesty commanded the said lord Cromwell to declare; whereof one amongst other was that there did not appear her assent and consent to that commission.” On this Cromwell came, the back way, to the King to “declare” the same, and asked again how he liked her. The King answered, “If it were not that she is come so far into England, and for fear of making a ruffle in the world and driving her brother into th' Emperor and the French king's hands, now being together, I would never have her; but now it is too far gone, wherefore I am sorry.” 4. The eve of the marriage Cromwell told the King that the ambassadors and commissioners were agreed. His Grace asked, “How do you with the assurance which was made by her to the duke of Lorraine?” and added that she must make a renunciation herself. This Cromwell caused her to do, and returned to tell the King. “Then is there no remedy, quod his Majesty, but put my neck in the yoke?” 5. The morrow after, Cromwell asked the King if he liked her any better, and his Grace replied, “Nay, my Lord, much worse, for by her breasts and belly she should be no maid; which, when I felt them, strake me so to the heart that I had neither will nor courage to prove the rest.” Doubtless Cromwell remembers how that often, since, the King has said his nature abhorred her.

     

    Today in Tudor History...

     

    Cromwell to Henry VIII. 

     

    . Was charged by the lord Chancellor, the duke of Norfolk, and the lord Admiral, whom the King sent to examine him, to declare upon the damnation of his soul what he knew of the marriage between Henry and the Queen. Gave particulars as well as he could remember, which they commanded him to write to the King, as follows:—

    When the King heard of the lady Anne's arrival at Dover and that her journeys were appointed to Greenwich, and that she should be at Rochester at New Year's Eve at night, he told Cromwell he would visit her there on New Year's Day, adding “to nourish love,” which he accordingly did. Next day, Friday, the King returned to Greenwich, and on Cromwell asking how he liked the lady Anne, answered, as Cromwell thought, heavily, “Nothing so well as she was spoken of”; adding that if he had known before as much as he then knew, she should never have come within the realm. He asked in lamentation, “What remedy?” Cromwell said he knew of none, and was very sorry. Next day, after the lady's entrance to Greenwich, after the King had brought her to her chamber, he said to Cromwell, “My lord, is it not as I told you? Say what they will, she is nothing so fair as she hath been reported. Howbeit, she is well and seemly.” Cromwell agreed, though he said she had a queenly manner. The King bade him call together the Council, viz., the abp. of Canterbury, Norfolk, Suffolk, my lord Admiral, my lord of Durham, and himself, to know what commission the agents of Cleves had brought for the performance of the covenants sent from hence to Dr. Wotton to be concluded in Cleves, and also touching the declaration how matters stood for the covenants of marriage between the duke of Lorraine's son and the said lady Anne. On this Osleger and Hogeston were called, and, being much abashed, desired that they might make answer next morning, Sunday, when they met early with the Council and answered, as men much perplexed, that as to the commission they had none such, and as to the contract and covenants of marriage they could only say a revocation was made, and they were but spousals. Finally, they offered to be prisoners until they should have procured from Cleves the first articles ratified under the Duke their master's sign and seal, and the copy of the revocation. Cromwell was sent with this answer to the King, who was much displeased, and said, “I am not well handled.” Saw the King was fully determined not to have gone through with the marriage at that time; for he said, if it were not that she had come so far, and the great preparations that had been made for her, and for fear of making a ruffle in the world, i.e., of driving her brother into the hands of the Emperor and the French king, who were now together, that he would “never have ne marry her.” After dinner the King sent for all his Councillors, and repeated his complaint, and suggested that she should make a protestation before them and notaries that she was free from all contracts; which she did. On this, he said to Cromwell, “Is there none other remedy but that I must needs, against my will, put my neck in the yoke?” Cromwell left him pensive, yet he determined next morning to go through. That morning (Monday), while the King was preparing for the ceremonies, there was a question who should lead her to the church. It was arranged that the earl of Essex, deceased, and an earl that came with her should do so. As Essex had not come, Cromwell was ordered to lead her, but, shortly after he got to her chamber, Essex arrived, and Cromwell went back to inform the King, who then said to him, “My lord, if it were not to satisfy the world and my realm, I would not do that I must do this day for none earthly thing.” And therewith, being informed that she was coming, the King repaired into the gallery towards the closet, where he waited for her. He afterwards went through the ceremonies, “travelled the day, as appertained, and the night, after the custom.” On Tuesday morning Cromwell repaired to his privy chamber, and finding him not so pleasant as he hoped, asked how he liked the queen? He “soberly” answered “that I was not all men. Surely, my Lord, as ye know, I liked her before not well, but now. I like her much worse”; for he had felt her belly and breasts, and thought she was no maid; that he was struck to the heart, and left her as good a maid as he found her. Also, after Candlemas and before Shrovetide, he once or twice said that he had never known her carnally, although he had lain nightly or every second night by her. The King also showed him last Lent when he had some conversation with her of the lady Mary that she began to wax stubborn and wilful, and after Easter and in Whitsun week he lamented his fate that he should never have any more children if he so continued, declaring that before God he thought she was not his lawful wife. Since Whitsuntide he has said he had done as much to move the consent of his heart and mind as ever man did, but the obstacle would not out of his mind.

    My lord Admiral can show what Cromwell said to him after the King came from Rochester, even after his marriage. Doubts not that since Whitsuntide many of the Council have perceived that the King was not satisfied with his marriage. Prays for the King and Prince.

    “Written at the Tower, this Wednesday, the last of June, with the heavy heart and trembling hand of your Highness' most heavy and most miserable prisoner and poor slave,

    “Thomas Crumwell.

    “Most gracious prince, I cry for mercy, mercy, mercy!”

     

    Today in Tudor History...

    Cromwell to Henry VIII.

     

    “That it hath pleased your most royal and most merciful M[ajesty] to send to me such honourable personages at ij several times, at [the] one time sued for, and at the other time declaring u[nto me] my state and condition, in most honorable, prudent, [and] sage fashion, my gracious and most benign sovereign lord, … that I cannot condignly do my duty to your Majesty, [but I will] continually during my life pray to Almighty God [that He of his goodn]es may reward your graciousness and prince[ly dealing to]wards me. And where, gracious prince, they at t[heir coming and repay]re towards me heard me in everything what[soever I said without] any interruption with such gentleness and [patience that I could not] more desire; so they pressed me by all [means to do all that I] could to detect and accuse any other [person … who sh]ould in any wise not be true unto yr [Highness. Unto whom] I answered as I now do, that if I kn[ew any persons in] yor realm that were not your true lea[gemen … I would], as my duty is, detect them; for, grac[ious Prince, there is] nothing earthly that I more covet [than the security of your] royal person and the wealth of your rea[lm] w … Our Lord that best knoweth help … declared to me plainly … the recital of diver[s] * * * (two or three lines lost) same mine offences being by honest and probable witness proved, I was by your honorable lords of the Upper House and the worshipful and discreet commons [house] (fn. 16) of your Nether House convicted and attainted. Gracious Sovereign, when I heard them I said, as now I say, that I am a subject, and born to obey laws, and, knowing that the trial of all laws only consisteth in honest and probable witness, and considering that the state of [your whole] realm had heard and received them, and th[at they have] proceeded, as I am sure they have done, without [malice, I] submitted me to their sentence, and therefore … highly, and eftsoons I most heartily thank God … but yet I must now beseech your Grace of p … albeit laws be laws and in them ha[ve] … yet God is God and knoweth both [my faithfulness] towards your Majesty and your realm … how dear your person was, is, and ever hath [been] … [m]oche grieved me that I should be noted … e I had your laws in my breast, and … [Sacr]ementarye God he knoweth the … [t]he ton and the other guiltless. I [am] … ffull Christian man and so will I … e and conscience your Highness tre[w] … woll. But, gracious King, … hath been great and … worldl[y] * * * (perhaps a line or two lost) therefore, most gracious Prince, I humbly submit me to your [Grace] and ask of God mercy for my sins, and of your Highness mercy and pardon for mine offences as to your high wisdom shall seem most convenient. And, Sir, that ever I have deceived you in any of your treasure, surely I have [not], and that God Almighty best knoweth and so that I [may be] holpen at my most need I beseech Christ. Sir, upon [my kne]es I most humbly beseech your most gracious Majesty [to be goo]d and gracious lord to my poor son, the good and virtu[ous lady his] wife, and their poor children, and also to my … es; and this I desire of your Grace for Christ['s sake. I] humbly thank your Majesty for such money as … be my good lords, and also beseech the same … [s]halbe your gracious pleasure that I shall ly … [w]orlde that I may have those things that may … I shall daily pray for your Highness.

    “[Among other] things my lords moved and [stirred me upon my] soul and conscience to declare what [I knew in the] marriage between your Majes[ty and the Queen. To] the which I answered as I knew dec[laring unto them the particul]ers as nigh as I could, and there[upon I have] wrytt to your Highness the truth as [I can remember; wh]ich was in this sort:—after that your [Majesty heard that the lady A]nne was arrived at Dover and [that her journeys were appointed towar]des Greenwich and that s[he should be at Rochester on New Year's even] at night your H[ighness] … * * * (perhaps a line lost) Grace repaired towards night to Greenwich, where I spake with your Grace and demanded of you how you liked the lady Anne. Your Grace, being somewhat heavy, as I took it, answered and said she was no such manner of woman as she had been declared to you, with many other things. Which surely much grieved me, for I perceived your Grace to be nothing content; nevertheless your Highness determined for the me[eting] the next day to be had as it was before app[ointed] … and after which meeting and your entry made … your Grace called me unto you asking me wh[ether your Grace had] told me truth or no. To the which I said lytyl[l, for I was] very sorrowful to consider that your Grace [was no better] content. And then your Highness commanded me [to call together] my lord of Canterbury and my lord Cha[ncellor, my lord of] Norfolk, my lord of Suffolk, my lord [Admiral] and my lord of Durham to commune t[ogether of your] marriage, and that we should call [to us the ambassadors of] the duke of Cleves to know what c[ommission they had] for the concluding of certain arti[cles] … [b]y Mr. Wotton and also what they h … the contract and covenants o[f marriage between my lad]ye Anne and the duke of Lorey[n's son. Whereupon Olisl]eger and Hodggesten wern cally[d] … yd and declaryd your Gracious … [a]bashed, and desired that [they might make answer in the next] morning which was [Sunday. And upon Sunday] in the mo[rning, they said they had no commission] to treat of the article before proponed by Mr. [Dr.] Wotton, ne yet had brought any discharge or decl[aration] of the covenants of marriage between the duke of Lor[eyn's] son and the lady Anne; nevertheless Osleger offer[ed himself] to remain here as a prisoner until such time [as] certain articles should be ratified, being parce[ll of] the articles purposed before, and also to bri[ng, devised in] authentic fashion and form, a revocation of [all the aforesaid] covenants and contracts of marriage made bet[ween th]e lady Anne and the duke of Loreyn's son, [which wa]s the furthest that could be gotten of them. [Which thi]ngs being declared, your Highness was ver[y ill conte]ntt and said ye were not well handled … [an]d that ye were very loth an … [determin]yd not to have concluded the [marriage at that time]. And then, after dinner the same So[nday your Grace s]entt for all the said my lords your Council … g debating of the matter it was … [lor]des of Canterbury and Durham … [matt]ers between the son of Lorayn and [the lady Anne w]er but spousalls and that such a … made as was alledged, that then … [pro]testation in an honorable presence … notaries should be a suffi[cient discharge in law] … whereupon your Grace re … and that all th … * * * (perhaps a line lost) the person, insomuch that after her protestation made before your lords and your preparation to marriage in the morning, going through your chamber of presence, your Highness said to me these words or the like in sentence, My lord, if it were not to satisfy the world and my realm, I would not do that I shall do this day for none earthly thing. And therewith one brought your Grace word that she was coming; and thereupon your Grace proceeded to the fy[nall] determination of the ceremonies used in like … after passed that day honorably. And the ne[xt morning I] repairing unto your Highness into your privy [chamber] … found your Grace not pleasant and yet never[theless entered] into communication with your Highness. I was so [bold to ask your Grace] how ye liked the Queen. Whereunto your Gr[ace] … was not all men, alledging that [your Grace left her as g]ood a maid as ye found her, declari[ng] … [h]er brestes were and how her belye was of … [s]uch as your Grace had not felt … your Grace's words that besides your dis … [mi]ght be doubted whether she were … [assu]rydly very displeasant your Grace … [af]ter Candlemas and before Shrove [tide once or twice said to] me that your heart could never [consent to meddle with her carnally] notwithstanding that ye for … ever saying that … * * * (perhaps two lines lost) had some communication with her of my lady Mary [how that] she began to wax stubborn and wilful, much lament[ing] your fate and fortune, ever alledging that ye had [never] carnally known her. And in like wise after Easter and in [the] Whitsunweek at Greenwich in your privy cham[ber] ye then lamentably complained your fate, decl[aring that] ye had done all that ye could to move nature … consent to have done with her as is pertenent to … yet ever there was an obstacle, and th[at your Grace t]hought before God she was not your wife [lawful. What] I said to your Grace at that time I doubt no[t but that your G]race well remembereth it. Many other [times also si]thyn Whitsuntide your Grace hath grevos[ly lamented your] chance, which assuredly hath not … e. More than this, gracious and mo … g lord, can I not say, but … that it lay in my power to com … and that with shedding of my blood ye … dom (?), but I doubt not God who always h … deliver your Grace from this … nde and bring you to comfort for this knowing myself to be only at the [mercy of your] Grace and without hope of life … that after ye came from Roch[ester] … e here I did never b … nt to marry … * * * (perhaps one line lost) for the satisfaction of the world and your realm than otherwise; and this I think to be true as I shall be saved at the dreadful day of Judgment. I am a right simple man to be a witness in this matter, but yet I think next your Grace I know as much as any one man living in this realm doth. And that this is true God shall be my witness, who best kn[oweth] the truth; and I trust my lord Adm[iral will] bear me witness what I said to him [at your Grace's] return from Rochester, and also at divers [other times]. I doubt not all my lords before named my [ght right well] perceive, both before the day of your gracious [marriage] and after, that your Highness was not [well pleased, and before] God I never thought your Grace co[ntent after ye had o]ns seen her, and so Christ … making an end I shall whiles I … [co]ntinually pray for the long … [pros]perity and wealth of your Highness to … es and to send your Majesty y … [com]ffort in this and all other maty[ers] … Prince your son felycyously to … s upon my knees prostrate … King pardon mercy and … Christ” * * *

    Today in Tudor History...

    The King's declaration about his marriage with Anne of Cleves. 

    When the first communication was had with him for it he was glad to hearken to it, trusting to have [some assured] friend, as he much doubted the Emperor, France and the bp. of Rome, and he had also heard so much of her beauty and virtue. But when he saw her for the first time at Rochester, he was glad he had kept free from making any [pact or bond] till then; for he liked her so ill he was sorry she had come and he considered if it were possible to break off. The Great Master, the Admiral that now is, and the Master of the Horse can bear witness of his misliking. The lord of Essex, if examined, can or has declared what he said to him after his repair to Greenwich. As he is condemned to die he will not damn [his soul, but declare what the King said, not only at the time but continually till] the day of mar[riage and many times after, whereby his lack of consent will appear; and also lack of the will and power to consummate the same; “wherein both he, my physicians,  the lord Privy Seal that now is, Hennage and Denny can, and I doubt not will, testify according to truth; which is, that I never for love to the woman consented to marry; nor yet, if she brought maidenhead with her, took any from her by true carnal copulation. This is my brief, true and perfect declaration.”]

     

    1613 - Shakespeare's Globe Theatre burns down

     

    source:http://law2.umkc.edu/,http://www.british-history.ac.uk/

  • 28 June 1461 – Coronation of Edward IV at Westminster Abbey.

     

     

    Today in Tudor History...

     

    Today in Tudor History...

     

     

    1485 - Gent/Brugge/Ieper recognize Maximilian of Austria as regent of Neth

     

     

    1491 – Birth of Henry VIII at Greenwich Palace.

    Today in Tudor History...

    Today in Tudor History...

    Margaret Beaufort recorded Henry's birth in her Book of Hours:

      

    Today in Tudor History...

     

    1516 – Birth of Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy, courtier and educational patron. 

     

     

    1519 -  Charles V is elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

     

     

    Today in Tudor History...

    1536 – Death of Richard Pace

    He was educated at Winchester under Thomas Langton, at Padua, at Bologna, and probably at Oxford. 

    In 1509 he went with Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge, Archbishop of York, to Rome, where he won the esteem of Pope Leo X, who advised Henry VIII to take him into his service. The English king did so, and in 1515 Pace became his secretary and in 1516 a secretary of state. In 1515 Wolsey sent him to urge the Swiss to attack France, and in 1519 he went to Germany to discuss with the electors the impending electi0n to the imperial throne. 

    He was made Dean of St Paul's in 1519, and was also Dean of Exeter and Dean of Salisbury. He was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, and in 1521 he went to Venice with the object of winning the support of the republic for Wolsey, who was anxious at this time to become pope. 

    At the end of 1526 he was recalled to England, and he died in 1536. His chief literary work was De fructu (Basel, 1517).

    Today in Tudor History...

     

     

     

    1536-Information against John Hill, of Eynsham, for saying, on 26 June, "that the King caused Mr. Norrys, Mr. Weston, and such as were put of late unto execution, for to be put to death only of pleasure, and that he trusted if that ought should come unto the King's grace save good, to see the king of Scots king of England." One Wm. Saunders also accused him to the bailiff of Bampton of saying "how that he trusted to see the king of Scots wear the flower of England, and how that the King, for a frawde and a gille, caused Master Norrys, Mr. Weston, and the other Queen to be put to death because he was made sure unto the Queen's grace that now is half a year before." Of this, Saunders could not produce proof, and is committed to ward.

     

     

    1536-The Princess Mary to Jane Seymour

    I have received your letters, "no less full of motherly joy for my towardness of reconciliation than of most prudent counsel for my further proceeding therein," which of your goodness you promise to travel to bring to a perfection. Cannot express the comfort this has given her. Promises that from this day she shall neither be lacking in duty to her father, who has the whole disposition of her heart in his noble hand, nor in humble and obedient service to her Grace. Begs her, "with such acceleration as shall stand with your pleasure," to have in remembrance her desire to attain the King's presence.

     

    To the Queen's grace, my good mother. 

     

     My lady Mary to the Queen's grace.

    Today in Tudor History...

     

     

    1546 - Anne Askew convicted of heresy

    Today in Tudor History...

    source:wikipedia,   Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Ed. Vol XX. ,http://www.british-history.ac.uk/,https://twitter.com/OntheTudorTrail

  • 27 June 1458 – Death of Alfonso V of Aragon 

    He was the King of Aragon (as Alfonso V), Valencia (as Alfonso III), Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica (as Alfonso II), Sicily (as Alfonso I) and Count of Barcelona (as Alfonso IV) from 1416, and King of Naples (as Alfonso I) from 1442 until his death. He was one of the most prominent figures of the early Renaissance and a knight of the Order of the Dragon.

    Today in Tudor History...

    1462 – Birth of Louis XII of France , husband of Mary Tudor

    Today in Tudor History...

    Louis XII was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his cousin Charles VIII, who died without a closer heir in 1498.

    Before his accession to the throne of France, he was known as Louis of Orléans and was compelled to be married to his handicapped and sterile cousin Joan by his uncle, king Louis XI. By doing so, Louis XI hoped to extinguish the Orléans cadet branch of the House of Valois.

    Louis of Orléans was one of the great feudal lords who opposed the French monarchy in the conflict known as the Mad War. At the royal victory in the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier in 1488, Louis was captured, but Charles VIII pardoned him and released him. He subsequently took part in the Italian War of 1494–1498 as one of the French commanders.

    When Louis XII became king in 1498, he had his marriage with Joan annulled by Pope Alexander VI and instead married Anne of Brittany, the widow of his cousin Charles VIII. This marriage allowed Louis to reinforce the personal Union of Brittany and France.

    Louis persevered in the Italian Wars, initiating a second Italian campaign for the control of the Kingdom of Naples. Louis conquered the Duchy of Milan in 1500 and pushed forward to the Kingdom of Naples, which fell to him in 1501. Proclaimed King of Naples, Louis faced a new coalition gathered by Ferdinand II of Aragon and was forced to cede Naples to Spain in 1504.

    Louis XII did not encroach on the power of local governments or the privileges of the nobility, in opposition with the long tradition of the French kings to impose an absolute monarchy in France. A popular king, Louis was proclaimed "Father of the People" (French: Le Père du Peuple) in 1506 by the Estates-General of Tours for his reduction of the tax known as taille, legal reforms, and civil peace within France.

    Louis, who remained Duke of Milan after the second Italian War, was interested in further expansion in the Italian Peninsula and launched a third Italian War (1508–1516), which was marked by the military prowess of the Chevalier de Bayard.

    Louis XII died in 1515 without a male heir. He was succeeded by his cousin Francis from the Angoulême cadet branch of the House of Valois.

    Today in Tudor History...

    1497 – Cornish rebels Michael An Gof and Thomas Flamank are executed at Tyburn, London, England.

     1505- Prince Henry, on his father's orders, made secret but formal protest against marriage to his brother's widow. the King was anxious to delay the marriage as he still hoped to find a better match for his son. However, he did not want to formally break off the engagement as he wanted to keep the first instalment of Catherine's dowry which had been paid after her marriage to Arthur. 

     

    Today in Tudor History...

     

    source:http://www.historyonthenet.com/

    1550 – Birth of Charles IX of France

     

    Today in Tudor History...

    He was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1560 until his death. He ascended the throne of France upon the death of his brother Francis II.

    After decades of tension, war broke out between Protestants and Catholics after the massacre of Vassy in 1562. In 1572, after several unsuccessful peace attempts, Charles ordered the marriage of his sister Margaret of Valois to Henry of Navarre, a major Protestant leader and the future King Henry IV of France, in a last desperate bid to reconcile his people.

    Facing popular hostility against this policy of appeasement, Charles allowed the massacre of all Huguenot leaders who gathered in Paris for the royal wedding at the instigation of his mother Catherine de' Medici. This event, known as the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, crippled the Huguenot movement.

    Charles sought to take advantage of the disarray of the Huguenots by ordering the Siege of La Rochelle, but was unable to take the Protestant stronghold.

    He died without legitimate male issue in 1574 and was succeeded by his brother Henry III.

    Today in Tudor History...

    1556 – The thirteen Stratford Martyrs are burned at the stake near London for their Protestant beliefs.

     

    The Stratford Martyrs were a group of eleven men and two women, who were burned at the stake together for their Protestant beliefs, at Stratford-le-Bow or Stratford near London in England on 27 June 1556, during the Marian persecutions.

     

    A detailed description of the event is in John Foxe's book, The Acts and Monuments.Foxe lists those executed: Henry Adlington, a sawyer of Grinstead, Laurence Pernam, a smith of Hoddesdon, Henry Wye, a brewer of Stanford-le-Hope, William Halliwel, a smith of Waltham Holy Cross, Thomas Bowyer, a weaver of Great Dunmow, George Searles, a tailor of White Notley, Edmund Hurst, a labourer of Colchester, Lyon Cawch, a Flemish merchant of the City of London, Ralph Jackson, a servant of Chipping Ongar, John Derifall, a labourer of Rettendon, John Routh, a labourer of Wix, Elizabeth Pepper of Colchester who was pregnant, and Agnes George of West Bergholt. A further three men, Thomas Freeman, William Stannard, and William Adams, were given a dispensation by Cardinal Pole, the Archbishop of Canterbury for reasons that remain unclear.

     

    The sixteen accused had been brought to Newgate in London from various parts of Essex and Hertfordshire. There, beginning on 6 June 1556, at an ecclesiastical tribunal under the direction of Doctor Darbyshire, the chancellor of Edmund Bonner the Bishop of London, they were charged with nine counts of heresy, to which they all either assented or remained silent. All of them were condemned to death and later published a letter detailing their beliefs in rebuttal of a sermon that had been preached against them by John Feckenham, the Dean of St Paul's. On the 27 June, the remaining thirteen were brought from London to Stratford, where the party was divided into two and held "in several chambers". Here, the sheriff unsuccessfully attempted to persuade each group to recant, by telling them falsely that the other group had already done so

     

     

    The executions were said to have been attended by a crowd of 20,000. The exact place of the execution is unknown; the most likely site is thought to have been Fair Field in Bow (then known as Stratford-le-Bow), north of the present day Bow Church DLR station.An alternative location is Stratford Green,the last remnant of which became the site of the Parish Church of St John the Evangelist. According to Foxe, "eleven men were tied to three stakes, and the two women loose in the midst without any stake; and so they were all burnt in one fire".

    Today in Tudor History...

    source:wikipedia





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