10 Apr 1553. Vienna Archives. 324. Chapuys to Charles V.

Notwithstanding the remonstrances heretofore made by the Estates of the danger to which the King exposes himself and the kingdom, they have done the very contrary as much as they could, and there was no remedy that the King by his absolute will should not have constrained them to conclude and pass what he had put forward against the Pope's authority, viz., to declare that all processes, even in the case of marriage, ought to be settled in this kingdom, without recourse to the Pope, under pain of high treason; and that if any one in such a case bring in excommunication into this kingdom, he shall be considered as a traitor, and without any further process be sent to an ignominious death. This is only aimed at the Queen; which some of the Parliament seeing, one of whom sat for the city of London, who had formerly been in Spain, and is my very good friend, they proposed that if the King would agree to remit the decision of the affair of the Queen and of the Pope to a General Council, they would provide among the people 200,000l. But there is no chance that the King will listen that the affair be determined otherwise than by the Archbishop, of whom he is perfectly assured, as he has performed the office of espousal (de l'esposement), as I have formerly written to you; and he is fully resolved, as he has told many, and those of his Council publish, that immediately after Easter he will solemnize his marriage and the coronation of the Lady. The better to prepare the way, he sent yesterday the dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, the marquis and the earl of Ausburg (?) to the Queen, to tell her that she must not trouble herself any more, nor attempt to return to him, seeing that he is married, and that henceforth she abstain from the title of Queen, and assume the title of duchess (princess), leaving her the entire enjoyment of the goods she formerly had, and offering her more, if she needed more. The Queen would not fail to advertise me of the interview. I know not whether they are in any doubt as to the Queen's willingness to dislodge or not; but about eight days ago, the King's council commanded my lord Mountjoy to rejoin her with all diligence, and keep watch upon her, and not leave her.

10 Apr 1553. 324. Excuse me if I speak of things concerning your service; but I think it can hardly displease you to make an enterprise against this kingdom, considering the enormous injury done to your aunt; for when this cursed Anne has her foot in the stirrup, you may be sure she will do the Queen all the injury she can, and the Princess likewise,—of which the Queen is most afraid. The said Anne has boasted that she will have the said Princess for her lady's maid (demoiselle); but that is only to make her eat humble pie (manger trop), or to marry her to some varlet, which would be an irreparable injury. And the enterprise would be more justifiable to obviate the scandal which will arise from this divorce, and likewise to prevent the kingdom from alienating itself entirely from our Holy Faith and becoming Lutheran; which will shortly come to pass without any remedy, as the King shows them the way, and lends them wings to do it; and the archbishop of Canterbury does still worse. The attempt would be easy; for they have no horse, nor men to lead them, nor have they the heart of the people, which is entirely in favor of you, the Queen, and the good Princess,—I may say not of the mean, but of the higher classes, except Norfolk and two or three others. It will be right that the Pope should call in the secular arm; and meanwhile, in support of the censures already executed, you might forbid negotiations in Spain and Flanders, and so induce the people to rise against the authors of this cursed marriage; and now and then, in order to animate them, it would be right to take up ships, and secretly support the Scots with money, and prevent them treating with this nation for peace. The chief difficulty is that the Most Christian King might do something new against your coasts; which I can hardly believe, seeing how just your quarrel is. For when the King here asked Monpesat whether his master would assist him in such a case, he said he did not know, as it was not expressed in their treaties. And if the Most Christian King wished to do mischief, seeing that the enterprise of this kingdom would be of so short duration, and doubting whether he could do anything of consequence, he would wait the issue; and if this King, who is the right hand of the other, was punished, it would abate his pride. Moreover, as he can do nothing without the Swiss, if they were advertised of the enormity of the case, they would not assist him against your Majesty, especially if you gave them a good pot of wine.

15 Apr 1533. 351. Then, entering on the principal topic, I told him that, notwithstanding that it was many days since I had heard some rumor of what was going on in Convocation, as also in Parliament, in prejudice of the Queen, her right and justice; yet I had not been willing to take notice of it, because I could not believe that so virtuous, wise, and Catholic a prince would consent to such things, and because I know that such practices could not derogate from the Queen's right. Now, however, as I have been lately advertised by several persons of these practices, I had thought that I could not acquit myself towards God or your Majesty, or himself, without making the necessary remonstrances, which I begged he would take in good part; and since he had no regard for men, all of whom he despised, that he would have respect to God. He told me that he did so, and that God and his conscience were on very good terms. After he had thus disgorged himself, in order to bring him back graciously, I told him that he showed he took us for servants and friends, speaking to us so familiarly, words which I thought proceeded from his mouth and not from his heart. He told me that he had spoken without dissimulation. On this I proceeded to say that I could not believe he wished to give such an example, seeing how Christendom was already troubled by so many heresies, or to break the treaties he had done so much to promote. I told him I had never heard of so strange a case of one leaving his wife after 25 years. He was very glad, not knowing what to answer to the rest, to take hold of this last point, saying it was not so long a time; and that if the world thought this divorce very extraordinary, still more the world found it strange that the Pope should have dispensed in it without having the power to do so. I referred him to five Popes who had dispensed in such a case, and that I had no wish to dispute the matter with him; but there was not a doctor in his kingdom, if it came to the point, that would not confess the truth. And proceeding to speak of the solicitation that had been made to obtain the seal of the university of Paris, on which he rested much, I desired to show him the letters and the names of those who had held the Queen's side; and he said he did not want to see them. I also told him that neither in Spain, Naples, nor elsewhere, could any prelates or doctors be found that were not on the Queen's side; and that even in his own kingdom there were some of the same opinion, unless they had been gained. And here I offered to show him letters, which he refused to see. To divert the conversation, he said that he wished to have a successor to his kingdom; and when I said to him that he had a daughter endowed with all imaginable goodness and virtue, and of an age to bear children, and that as he had received the principal title to his realm by the female line, nature seemed to oblige him to restore it to the Princess, he replied that he knew better than his daughter, and that he wished to have children. And when I said to him he was not sure of having them, he asked me three times if he was not a man like other men (si nestoit point home comme les autres), adding that I had no reason to affirm the contrary, seeing I was not privy to all his secrets; leaving me clearly to understand that his beloved lady was enceinte.

We then proceeded to discuss the point whether the Queen was known to prince Arthur; but with these arguments I need not trouble you. But when I urged that he had oftentimes confessed that the Queen was a virgin, and he could not deny it, he admitted it, saying it was spoken in jest, as a man, jesting and feasting, says many things which are not true. And when he had said this, as if he had won a very great victory, or discovered some great subtlety for gaining his purpose, he began to crow, telling me, "Now have I paid you off? What more would you have?" But his payment was not in current coin, and served me more than he thought, to defeat some words of the ambassador of that prince who most desires his honor and profit and the tranquillity of his kingdoms... I told him I wished to bring with me the said Hédin, who was and was reputed to be his servant, as were all those belonging to your Majesty; and I protested that whatever might be there said, I did not intend to write a word of it, except as he pleased, in order that hereafter the said Hédin might not contradict me. I made these observations in order to put him at his ease, and make him open his budget; and to confirm him the more, I said that heretofore I had considered myself very happy, that I had been sent to such a prince as he was, hoping that when the affairs had been studied by his council, he would redress them without difficulty. But as matters went now, I must consider myself unhappy that such a disorder had arisen, and that I had always assured you that, whatever face he might carry, his heart was sound, and he would maintain good relations with you. On hearing this, without having patience to listen further, and being marvellously desirous, as it appeared, to find some means of not entering on the matter, wrinkling his forehead and changing his look, he commenced saying, very brusquely, that all such remonstrances were useless, and he wished primarily to understand whether I had any charge from you to do this, for if I spoke of myself it would be another thing. I replied that it was evidently superfluous (chose trop excusee) to ask me if I had a commission from you to speak of matters that had arisen within eight days, and of which you could not have had notice within a month, and asked if he must receive more than four pairs of letters before he would give me credit, when my general commission was by all lawful means to assist in preserving the amity between you, and I had special charge in the Queen's matter, which was no small part of the said amity. Then he said that your Majesty had no right to interfere with his laws, and, whatever might be said of them, he would pass such laws in his kingdom as he liked,—with more to the same purpose. I told him that your Majesty did not wish to stop him from so doing, and that, in case of necessity, you would assist him; and that I did not intend to speak of his laws, except so far as they concerned the Queen, whom he wished to compel to renounce her appeal, and leave her case to be decided by his subjects, who, through promises or threats, or from pure fear, seeing how very ill he had acted towards many who had ventured to oppose him, would only determine according to his fancy. And hereupon I repeated what I had often said before, that if the affair was determined here, it would not hereafter remove the doubt of the succession; and if he would consider how unreasonable it was and unjust to have the case tried here, seeing he had already submitted it to the See Apostolic and obtained a commission for Campeggio and York, and had expressly agreed to the Queen's appeal to Rome, and afterwards, not content therewith, had solicited the Queen to have the cause tried out of Rome, but not in this country, as it was unreasonable, but in some neutral place, the Queen could not be constrained to any pretended constitution, whereto scarcely anyone had consented except by force. Hereupon, half in a fury, he told me there was no use in persuasion or remonstrance, and that if he had known that I was to speak of nothing else, he would have excused himself from giving me audience, searching, as before, to break off the argument and escape the conversation. On my repeating the intention for which I had come thither, and that it was his duty to hear not only your ambassador, but the least man in the world, and softly putting before him the constant kindness you had always shown to his ambassadors, he was constrained to stay, and proceeded to reply that as for the Cardinal's commission, it had been granted on the promise of the Pope, who had assured him he would never revoke the cause from here; but that now he would have nothing to do with any papal commission; and as to the offer that the affair should be decided in a neutral place, he would not consent, for he would have it decided here; that his consent to the Queen's appeal was only on condition that it could be done by the laws and privileges of this kingdom; that the statute of prohibition had been passed by Parliament, which the Queen, as a subject, was compelled to obey. On this I said that laws were prospective and not retrospective; and that as to the Queen, it was true that in being his wife she was a subject, and, presupposing this, there was no question at all as to the constitutions or appeals; but if he did not consider her as his wife, she could not be regarded as a subject, for she only resided here in virtue of her marriage, and if he disavowed her she would not remain his subject, and might claim her right of being conveyed to Spain, which could not be until the affair was decided before him to whom he had first recourse. On his replying that he had not made her come, but Prince Arthur with whom she had consummated the marriage, I replied that although he had not asked her to come, he had prevented her from returning after the death of prince Arthur, when the King Catholic sent to ask for her by Hernand duke d'Estrada, as I showed him by letters, which he refused to read, saying again that she must have patience and obey the laws; and that your Majesty, in recompence of the many favors he had done to you, had done him the greatest and most grievous injury, in having kept him so long from marrying and propagating the line of his succession; that the Queen was no more his wife than she was mine; that he would treat her as he intended, in spite of any one who might growl at it; and that if you, for your pleasure or fancy, gave him any trouble, he would defend himself with the help of his friends. When I showed him that the marriage had been solemnised by his father and the King Catholic, the two wisest princes in the world, who would never have consented if there had been any scruple in reference to prince Arthur, on which he laid so much stress, he said he would do as he liked, without caring for anything, and that your Majesty had shown him the way of not always obeying the Pope, by the appeal you had made four years ago to a future council. On this I told him that he would act like a good Catholic to follow the same path and appeal to the Council; and since he alleged your example, I wished him to notice that you had shown great respect for the excommunication, for that in Holy Week you had abstained from attending at mass. At these words he showed himself very much nettled, fearing, as I think, lest I should say to him that he did wrong in not obeying the excommunication and interdict already published against him; and drawing himself up a little, he said that I stung him. I begged of him to know in what, and that I would not for anything in the world have thought of so doing. Hereon he became a little more gracious, but though I pressed him much he would not tell me in what he felt himself stung, nor has he told me since. At the close I asked him, supposing the Spaniards and the Flemings, like good Christians, for fear of the interdict, would not have intercourse with his subjects, whether they would incur the penalty of his laws, and whether any one could blame them? He remained thoughtful and dumbfoundered, not knowing what to say. Hereupon, wishing to take my leave rather than that he should abruptly break off the conversation, I said that as matters were in such a bad state, I would labor no longer nor waste my time. He gave me a gracious adieu, retaining Hédin, only to tell him, as he has reported, "You have heard the Ambassador, who speaks of excommunication and prohibiting intercourse. I give you notice that it is not I but the Emperor who is excommunicated, because he has long opposed me, not allowing me to get out of the sin in which I was, and has put off my marriage; and this is the kind of excommunication which the Pope cannot remit without my consent. But do not tell the Ambassador a word of it." Your Majesty can well imagine his blindness. Hédin only replied that these were matters too high for him, and beyond his digestion (gabiers, i.e. gavier). We then returned without dining there, notwithstanding we were pressed to do so by Wiltshire, who manages in the absence of the Duke.

15 Apr 1533. 351. On Wednesday the duke of Norfolk, and the other Commissioners of whom I lately wrote, declared their charge to the Queen, which was in substance to persuade her to give up her appeal, and be content to have the cause settled here; in doing which she would not only lay the whole kingdom under obligations to her, and prevent the effusion of blood, but the King would treat her better than she could ask. At last, perceiving there was no hope of getting her to comply, they told her they were charged by the King to say that she must not weary herself about it any longer, for he had married the other lady more than two months ago, in presence of several persons, though none of them had been invited to it. Then, after many gracious words and excuses for what they were doing, as only out of obedience to the King's command, they departed. After their departure Lord Mountjoy, the Queen's chamberlain, came to notify her that the King would not allow her henceforth to call herself Queen, and that at the close of one month after Easter he would not defray her expenses, nor the wages of her servants, and he intended that she should retire to some of her own houses and live on a small income, which he had assigned her, which would not suffice for her attendants a quarter of a year. She replied that as long as she lived she would call herself Queen. As to keeping house, she would not commence so late; and if the King felt himself so much aggrieved at the expense of her allowance, she would be satisfied with what she had, and with her confessor, physician, apothecary, and two women, and go wherever he wished. Otherwise, failing of food for herself and her servants, she would go and beg for the love of God. Although the King himself is not ill-natured, it is this Anne (age 32) who has put him in this perverse and wicked temper, and alienates him from his former humanity, and we must believe that she will never cease until she has seen the end of the Queen, as she has done that of the Cardinal, whom she did not hate so much. The Queen has no fears, but is marvellously concerned for the Princess.

27 Apr 1533. Vienna Archives. 391. Chapuys to Charles V.

This feast of Easter the prior of the Augustines¹ in his sermon recommended the people expressly to pray for queen Anne (age 32); at which they were astonished and scandalized, and almost every one took his departure with great murmuring and ill looks, without waiting for the rest of the sermon. The King was greatly displeased, and sent word to the Mayor that on dread of his displeasure he should take order that nothing of the kind happened again, and that no one should be so bold as to murmur at his marriage. The Mayor hereupon assembled the trades and their officers of the several halls, and commanded them, on pain of the King's indignation, not to murmur at his marriage, and to prevent their apprentices from so doing, and, what is worse and more difficult, their wives. The King in vain forbids and makes prohibitions, as it only makes the people speak more against it in private, and these prohibitions only serve to envenom the heart of the people. Four days ago the King sent to the Queen to forbid her and her servants from using the title of Queen; and, not content with this harshness, he has forbidden the Princess either to write or send any message to the Queen; and though the Princess begged of him to depute an express messenger who might testify that she sent no message to the Queen except of how she did, or who might first show the King all the letters that passed between them, she could not obtain this. This prohibition was sent to her the same day that the King sent to her to inform her of his new marriage; at which she was a little sad, and then, like a wise woman as she is, she dissembled the matter, showing herself glad; and without saying a single word of the marriage, suddenly after she had dined, without communicating her intentions to any one, she sat down to write a letter to the King; and when those who brought the news were urgent for a verbal answer, according to their commission, she would not say a single word to them, referring them to her letter; at which I hear the King is well satisfied, and praises highly her prudence. Notwithstanding the execution of this project, the King resolved to go on with the process, and the Queen has been cited to appear before the archbishop of Canterbury on the first of next month, at an abbey 30 miles from here. This being a solitary place has been chosen for secrecy, as they fear that if the affair were managed here, the people would not refrain from speaking of it, and perhaps from rioting. The citation at first threw the Queen into great perplexity, not knowing what to do; but after I had given her my advice she did not care for it. There is no danger for the Queen in anything they can do, if she does not renounce her appeal, expressly or tacitly, and by some indirect means, which the King and his ministers are attempting by various methods. To remedy this I have drawn up certain protestations, whereby I hope that the Queen will not fall into the net of their calumnies and malice.

Note 1. George Browne, D.D.

27 Apr 1533. 391. If it had pleased the Pope, since he was not willing to give sentence, to insert in the bulls of the said Archbishop that he was not to have meddled in this affair, it would have removed many inconveniences; but he prefers to allow the English to assert, as they have long done, that his Holiness would at the last deceive you. The principal remedy is to obtain sentence, &c., in which, conformably with justice and his promise, he should find no difficulty. The Queen is afraid, and likewise many others, that, with his accustomed artifice, and to please the French and the English, and yet still keep hold of you, he [the Pope] will delay the definitive sentence (for if it comes to that, it will be in her favor, even if she had not half so strong a case);—at least, if it be true, as many say, that his Holiness only tries to keep the Princes in dissension, knowing that even if he gave sentence in favor of the King, your Majesty would acquiesce in it, and there would be no question of war. The English, as I have already written, will spare no pains to gain the Pope, so as at least, if they can do no better, to make him delay and dissemble the affair; so your Majesty must use extreme diligence and urgency.

I have formerly written to your Majesty that when the sentence is obtained, it would be well to send it here by some honest person, to soften the matter (adoulcir les affaires), and that it might not seem that it was intended to direct the King by blows of the stick; and although such a means be now fruitless "a offert de persuader," still by using such courtesy we shall be doing our best, and shall be better justified before God and the world; and the other provisions would not be delayed by it if your Majesty would give heed to it.

Seeing the bad disposition of affairs here, I have attempted to learn the Queen's intention, in order to find some remedy, since kindness and justice have no place. But she is so scrupulous, and has such great respect for the King, that she would consider herself damned without remission if she took any way tending to war. A little before I wrote to you, that, however much she desired some other remedy, nevertheless she left it to me, but I have not yet been able to come to particulars(?) ("qu'elle s'en rappointoit à moy, et aux particularité ne ouverture ay encoires peu avoir d'icelles.")

Apr 1553. R. O. 416. The Royal Supremacy.

A religious and political rhapsody in defence of the King's authority, on the text Ecclus. XV.:—Si volueris mandata conservare, conservabunt te. In the course of his argument the writer asserts that it was the Pope who endeavoured to set England against the Emperor, offering Henry VIII. a dispensation to "marry with France" and dissolve his previous marriage, which would have created war in Christendom; but God favored the King and his realm, so that "by my lady Anne chancing to enter and fulfil that place so opened" war was avoided. Thus the Popes have been makers of marriages between Kings and Queens only to set one against another, and prevent them meeting in a General Council. Thus the Pope maintains his lordship over all. If a council of Kings were held, the knowledge of Christ might be put into Kings' heads by God's teaching. To teach the King to know his office, "is made an ordinary head seal of the King's head office, wherein is figured the very form of God's law, like as in Heaven to be ministered, likewise in England." Discusses a multitude of figures contained in this head seal, and urges the necessity of a reformation, as the King has given away his lordship to the spiritualty.

Begins: "The wily deep-witted men taught, by the artificial crafts of men's wisdom so deeply sought, how their deep reason might rise so high in this world to overcome all other men's reason which are taught by their scolez (schools); as when unlettered and unlearned men by their scolez show such reason as God put into them (be it never so veylable), if lettered men do not love and favor it by their school teaching, are ever arguing to confound it, willing that no men's reason should be allowed, but only theirs of their sort which would confound all other sorts."

Ends: "And yt subject can hold no land by no riztwisnes of God under the sonne, but it be measured and met by the King's standard rizt of God's law above the sone. The King knoweth not his own rizt of his head office; he hath given his head rizt to his subjects, which by his own lauz hath robbed his kingly image by his sufferance at their wills; hath given it away from him to the spirituality, holden contrary to God's lauz. Here I make an end, for lack of paper."

Pp. 61. In the handwriting of Clement Armestrong.

Apr 1553. R. O. 423. The Staple Of Calais.

"Demands to be made of the King's behalf of the merchants of the Staple."

1. That they shall pay the King the sums due this day upon all obligations according to the days of payment. 2. That they shall pay ½d. more on each woolfell that they shall load hereafter to Calais, and 13s. 4d. more on every sack. 3. That they shall bring in bullion for every sack according to law, and not henceforth make any exchanges without licence.

On these conditions the King is willing to take their house and lands in Calais and the Marches, and to accept the other offers made in their supplication, and to grant them liberty to ship and to continue their company, and to pay for no more wools and fells than they shall ship.

In Cromwell's hand, p. 1.

ii. Memoranda on the back of the preceding:—

"For to remember the judgment to be prepared for in the King's great matter.

Item, for the despatch of my lord of Norfolk (age 80).

Item, the bill for the succession, and to rest upon the same.

Item, for to devise for the coronation, and to see presendementtes for the same.

Item, to devise for lands for the Queen.

Item, for the establishment of the Dowager."

In Cromwell's hand.