74

MARRIAGE OF THE QUEEN.

[1514.

and now he was obliged to dine at noon; six had been his accustomed hour of going to bed, and now he frequently sat up till midnight.* It was such irregularity of life, operating on a constitution already enfeebled, which hurried the uxorious prince to his grave. On being informed of this event, Henry de-. spatched her former admirer, the Viscount Lisle, to bring the princess home; and the result may be easily anticipated. Mary, sick of her high estate, and faithful to the passion which the qualities of Brandon had inspired, declared that she would either follow her first-love or enter a convent; a marriage was secretly concluded at Paris, and the king, after a brief interval of resentment, was reconciled to the union. Brandon, who had been educated with the king, perfectly understood his disposition, and never presumed upon his connexion with royalty. The well-known motto embroidered on the pennon of his lance, as it is represented in an original picture of himself and the princess, is strongly indicative of his good taste and good sense:—

"Cloth of gold do not despise

Though thou be match'd with cloth of frize;

Cloth of frize be not too bold

Though thou be match'd with cloth of gold."+

Henault, by Nugent, vol. i. p. 352.

+Granger's Biog. Hist. vol. i. p. 82. Ellis' Letters, vol. i. pp.

122, 123.

1515.]

ACCESSION OF FRANCIS I.

75

CHAPTER III.

Henry's Foreign Policy-Rise of the ReformationField of the Cloth of Gold-Ascendency of Charles the Fifth.

Accession of Francis the First-Renewal of the League with England-Cardinal Wolsey-Death of Ferdinand of Arragon-Reformation-Rise of Luther-Charles the Fifth-His vast Ambition-Death of the Emperor Maximilian-Charles' Election to the Empire-Interview between Francis and Henry-Field of the Cloth of Gold-Fall of the Duke of Buckingham.

He

THE accession of Francis the First to the throne of France was followed by a renewal of the treaties between that country and Henry the Eighth ;* yet it required little penetration to perceive, that the ambitious character of this young monarch, and the vast and warlike designs which he had formed, must soon embroil England in a continental quarrel. had in view two great objects, the re-establishment of the French power in Italy by the conquest of the Milanese, and the recovery of his dominions at home by the entire expulsion of the English. The first he determined to accomplish by force of arms, the second by negotiation, and in both he was successful. Having appointed his mother, the Duchess d'Angoulême, regent of the kingdom, he crossed the Alps, and in a decisive engagement,-the dreadful battle

* Rymer, Fœdera, vol. xiii. pp. 476, 498.

76

CONQUEST OF MILAN.

[1515.

of Marignano,-completely defeated the Swiss infantry, whose veteran battalions, long inured to victory, had been hitherto deemed invincible. The consequences of this triumph were, the cession of the duchy of Milan into the hands of the youthful monarch; the declaration of the Genoese in his favour; and a pacific interview with Leo the Tenth at Bologna, who not only confirmed his conquests in Italy, but flattered him with the hope of becoming master of the kingdom of Naples upon the death of Ferdinand of Arragon,—an event which it was imagined could not be very distant. Francis, at the same time, held a long consultation with the Pontiff on the political affairs of Europe; and the world beheld a sovereign, who had then scarcely attained his twentyfirst year, dictating to the head of Christendom with an authority which belonged to the most matured experience.

His attempts, however, to recover the English provinces in his own country, as they led to an immediate collision with the ambitious Wolsey, were not destined to proceed with so little interruption. He earnestly desired to have Tournay restored to him, to the see of which this powerful minister had been appointed by Henry; and, in consequence of his intrigues and negotiations, procured a Papal Bull, by which a French ecclesiastic, who had been elected by the chapter, was reinstated in the bishopric. This proceeding roused to a high pitch the resentment, not only of the Archbishop of York, but of his royal master, who, about this time, had become infatuated in his predilection for his favourite; and Francis, finding no easier way of disarming their hostility, used his interest with the court of Rome to have the

1515.]

WOLSEY MADE A CARDINAL.

77

aspiring prelate elevated to the purple. This, which had long been the object of his ambition, was at length effected, and he was admitted into the sacred college by the title of Cardinal St Cecile beyond the Tiber. In the beginning of November 1515, his hat was brought by the envoy of the Pope to England. The messenger, it appears, was a person of inferior rank, and somewhat meanly habited; upon which Wolsey ordered him to be stopped till he should be better arrayed. At Blackheath he was met by the Archbishop of Canterbury with a train of prelates and nobles, who conducted him with great pomp to London, and afterwards through Cheapside to Westminster, the city-companies lining the streets, and the lord-mayor and aldermen attending in their stands. On reaching the Abbey, eight abbots received the hat, and conveying it to the high-altar, laid it thereon. There it remained till Sunday the 8th of November, on which day the new cardinal, accompanied by the principal nobility and gentry, repaired to the Abbey, and kneeling before the altar with his hood over his face, listened reverently whilst the benediction and prayers were read to him. At the conclusion, the primate placed the hat upon his head, and the sacred ceremony being ended, the new dignitary returned with his train to his palace at Charing-Cross, where he had provided a sumptuous entertainment. Amongst the guests were the King and Queen of England; the Queen-dowager of Scotland; and Henry's sister, the Queen-dowager of France.

Scarcely had this splendid ceremony concluded, when Warham, disgusted with the irksome task of opposing the arrogance of Wolsey, resigned the seals,

78

WOLSEY CHANCELLOR:

[1515.

which were immediately presented by Henry to the cardinal; and not long after the crowning-stone was placed upon his pinnacle of authority and grandeur, by his being appointed legate a latere. The powers of this commission were of the highest sort. He might summon the primate to his convocation; he had authority to superintend, and even to correct any thing which he esteemed irregular within the jurisdiction of any see in England; he could appoint all officers in the spiritual courts, and present to all ecclesiastical benefices, constitute masters of faculties and masters of ceremonies to advance his dignity, and exercise a visitorial power over all monasteries and colleges within the king's dominions.* His pride now became excessive, and the pomp and ceremony which he assumed were greater than had ever before been seen in England. His own habit was gorgeous, his upper vesture being generally scarlet, crimson-taffeta, or crimson-satin; and, not contented with his red hat, he wore red gloves, whilst his shoes were silver-gilt, inlaid with pearls and precious stones. His train consisted of 800 persons, amongst whom were nine or ten lords, fifteen knights, and forty squires; it was computed that his income, with the numerous presents and pensions which he received from abroad, equalled the annual revenue of the crown ;† and such was the splendour of his domestics, that his cook was clothed in satin or velvet, and wore a gold chain. When he appeared in public, the state he assumed almost exceeded that of royalty. His cardinal's hat was borne before him by a person of rank; nor would he, in coming to the king's chapel, permit it to be de* Fiddes' Life of Wolsey, pp. 106, 107. + Ibid. p. 107.