LIFE

OF

HENRY THE EIGHTH.

CHAPTER I.

Birth, Education, and Court of the King.

Birth of Henry the Eighth-His early Education-His Accession to the Crown-His Privy-council-His Marriage-State of Europe-Henry's Favour for Classical Literature-Erasmus-Colet -Grocyn-Linacre.

HENRY THE EIGHTH was born on the 28th of June 1491. He was the son of Henry the Seventh, king of England, and Elizabeth, his queen, who was daughter of Edward the Fourth, and heiress of the House of York. He had thus the advantage of uniting in himself the blood of those two great and rival families, for whose conflicting claims England had suffered so many calamities. In the biography of distinguished persons it is always interesting to trace something of their early history; and it is especially so in this case, as there can be little doubt that the events which took place and the education which young Henry received, in the interval between

A

10

BIRTH AND EDUCATION OF THE KING. [1491. his birth and his accession to the throne, exerted considerable influence in the formation of his future character. He was, as is well known, a second son. His elder brother Arthur, prince of Wales, was born in 1488, and at the age of fifteen married the Princess Catherine of Spain, being likely, as far as human foresight could penetrate, to inherit, and by his amiable qualities to adorn the throne. The two young princes were brought up by their father, under a system of wise and strict discipline; it being his principal aim to shield his children from the dangerous lustre and temptations of a court, and to encourage them in all useful studies.* Whilst the first-born drew to himself the hopes and affections of the country, as heirapparent to the throne, Henry was destined, it is said, for the Church; and to this end he received the benefit of as learned an education as the age could bestow, the king contemplating his accession to the primacy of England. In this scheme, as well as in the mode of conducting the tuition of his children, Henry the Seventh is supposed to have been influenced by the advice of his mother, the Countess of Richmond, to whose opinions he was accustomed to listen with deference, and whose amiable qualities were likely to make an impression on her grandchildren. She was in truth a remarkable woman; and her dutiful, affectionate biographer, Bishop Fisher, who was also her chaplain, has fortunately left us a fine portrait of her character. Her piety and humility were great, although slightly tinged with asceticism. She rose at five in the morning, and from that hour till dinner, which in those primitive days was

*Bacon's History of King Henry the Seventh. Works, vol. v. p. 163. Edition 1819.

1500.1

DUCHESS OF RICHMOND.

11

at ten, spent her time in prayer and meditation. In her house she kept constantly twelve poor persons, whom she provided with food and clothing; and, although the mother of a king, such was her active benevolence, that she was often seen dressing the wounds of the lowest mendicants, and relieving them by her skill in medicine. She also evinced her respect for learning, both by her own works and her munificent endowments for its encouragement. 66 She was a mother to the students of both universities, and a patroness to all the learned men of England." Two public lectures in divinity were instituted by her, one at Oxford, another at Cambridge; but these generous efforts were surpassed by her last and noblest foundations, the Colleges of Christ and of St John, in the latter university. It was right that such a benefactress to knowledge should be embalmed in an epitaph by Erasmus.* There can be little doubt that the advice and instructions of this exemplary woman must have had a considerable influence in directing the education of the royal progeny; and we may perhaps trace to the influence of her example that early love of letters which was shown by young Henry. This great scholar, who was then in England, has left us so pleasing a picture of the regal school-room at this time, that I need make no apology for introducing it. "Thomas More," says he, "who had paid me a visit when I was Montjoy's guest, took me, for the sake of recreating the mind, a walk to the next country-seat. It was there the king's children were educated, with the exception of Arthur, who had then attained majority. On entering the hall the whole of the family assembled; and Jortin's Life of Erasmus, vol. i. p. 34.

12

THE ROYAL SCHOOL-ROOM.

[1500.

we found ourselves surrounded, not only by the regal household, but by the servants of Montjoy also. In the middle of the circle stood Henry, at that time only nine years old, but bearing even then in his countenance an expression of royalty, a look of high birth, and at the same time full of openness and courtesy. On the right stood the Princess Margaret, a girl of eleven years, afterwards married to James the Fourth of Scotland. On the left was Mary, a child of four years of age, engaged in play; whilst Edmund, an infant in arms, completed the group. More, with Arnold our companion, after paying his compliments to little Henry, presented to him some piece of his own writing. I forget what it was. As for me, I had not anticipated such a meeting, and having nothing of the kind with me, I could only promise that I would shortly show my respect for the prince by some similar present." In some farther remarks which Erasmus makes on this sweet family-picture, we find that Henry, although still very young, solicited a correspondence with him,-a proof that, even at this age, he had shown that devotedness to learning which afterwards distinguished him. When Richard Pace, one of the most accomplished men of that age, met the same great scholar at Ferrara, the latter took from a little box which he carried about with him a Latin letter of Henry the Eighth, written to him when he was a boy. He exhibited it as a classical curiosity, and his friend adds, that it was composed in a style of the purest Latinity.+ Making al

*Erasmus, Joanni Botzhemo, Jortin, Appendix, p. 108.

+Jortin's Erasmus, vol. iii. Appendix, p. 54. Nihil non Latinissimum sapiebat. A letter from Henry to Erasmus, said to have been written when the prince was only nine years old, has been published by Heylin. History of the Reformation, p. 21; but it is evidently the composition of his master.

1500.]

REVIVAL OF LETTERS.

13

lowance for the flattery of the narrator, and the love of crowned heads which was a weakness in Erasmus, the anecdote is not unworthy of preservation; and we may trace in these indications the germ of that learned vanity which in later times animated the Defender of the Faith and the antagonist of Luther.

The period of which we now speak, the latter part of the reign of Henry the Seventh, was remarkable for the introduction of Greek and Roman literature into England, after a long night of ignorance and superstition. It was adorned by many men of strong natural genius, who were enthusiastically devoted to letters; and it is truly from this date that we see the flame, feeble at first, gradually but certainly increasing, borrowing strength from Italy, and at length spreading in wide effulgence, till it completely banished the darkness of the monastic ages. Erasmus was then in this country; his friends, Linacre, Lupset, Grocyn, and Latimer, had drunk deeply of the classic fountains of Italy; they were masters of a pure Latin style, and were acquainted with Greek, at that time generally unknown in their own country. Dean Colet, the founder of St Paul's school, the first public seminary in which the latter tongue was taught in England, had studied on the Continent, and, at an advanced period of life, applied himself with all the ardour of youth to the acquisition of this noble language. The enthusiasm of Sir Thomas More for every branch of human learning is well known; and Henry, emulating the example of the best men of his age, applied himself vigorously to literature, and imbibed the spirit of the society by which he was surrounded.

In the year 1502, Prince Arthur, who held his