Henry VIII.

by A. F. Pollard

The contrast between morals and politics, which comes out in Henry's reign as a terrible contradiction, is inherent in all forms of human society. Politics, the action of men in the mass, are akin to the operation of natural forces; and, as such, they are neither moral nor immoral; they are simply non-moral. Political movements are often as resistless as the tides of the ocean; they carry to fortune, and they bear to ruin, the just and the unjust with heedless impartiality. Cato and Brutus striving against the torrent of Roman imperialism, Fisher and More seeking to stem the secularisation of the Church, are like those who would save men's lives from the avalanche by preaching to the mountain on the text of the sixth commandment. The efforts of good men to avert a sure but cruel fate are the truest theme of the Tragic Muse; and it is possible to represent Henry's reign as one long nightmare of "truth for ever on the scaffold, wrong for ever on the throne"; for Henry VIII. embodied an inevitable movement of politics, while Fisher and More stood only for individual conscience.

That is the secret of Henry's success. He directed the storm of a revolution which was doomed to come, which was certain to break those who refused to bend, and which may be explained by natural causes, but cannot be judged by moral considerations. The storm cleared the air and dissipated many a pestilent vapour, but it left a trail of wreck and ruin over the land. The nation purchased political salvation at the price of moral debasement; the individual was sacrificed on the altar of the State; and popular subservience proved the impossibility of saving a people from itself. Constitutional guarantees are worthless without the national will to maintain them; men lightly abandon what they lightly hold; and, in Henry's reign, the English spirit of independence burned low in its socket, and love of freedom grew cold. The indifference of his subjects to political issues tempted Henry along the path to tyranny, and despotic power developed in him features, the repulsiveness of which cannot be concealed by the most exquisite art, appealing to the most deep-rooted prejudice. He turned to his own profit the needs and the faults of his people, as well as their national spirit. He sought the greatness of England, and he spared no toil in the quest; but his labours were spent for no ethical purpose. His aims were selfish; his realm must be strong, because he must be great. He had the strength of a lion, and like a lion he used it.

Yet it is probable that Henry's personal influence and personal action averted greater evils than those they provoked. Without him, the storm of the Reformation would still have burst over England; without him, it might have been far more terrible. Every drop of blood shed under Henry VIII. might have been a river under a feebler king. Instead of a stray execution here and there, conducted always with a scrupulous regard for legal forms, wars of religion might have desolated the land and swept away thousands of lives. London saw many a hideous sight in Henry's reign, but it had no cause to envy the Catholic capitals which witnessed the sack of Rome and the massacre of St. Bartholomew; for all Henry's iniquities, multiplied manifold, would not equal the volume of murder and sacrilege wrought at Rome in May, 1527, or at Paris in August, 1572.[1178] From such orgies of violence and crime, England was saved by the strong right arm and the iron will of her Tudor king. "He is," said Wolsey after his fall,[1179] "a prince of royal courage, and he hath a princely heart; and rather than he will miss or want part of his appetite he will hazard the loss of one-half of his kingdom." But Henry discerned more clearly than Wolsey the nature of the ground on which he stood; by accident, or by design, his appetite conformed to potent and permanent forces; and, wherein it did not, he was, in spite of Wolsey's remark, content to forgo its gratification. It was not he, but the Reformation, which put the kingdoms of Europe to the hazard. The Sphinx propounded her riddle to all nations alike, and all were required to answer. Should they cleave to the old, or should they embrace the new? Some pressed forward, others held back, and some, to their own confusion, replied in dubious tones. Surrounded by faint hearts and fearful minds, Henry VIII. neither faltered nor failed. He ruled in a ruthless age with a ruthless hand, he dealt with a violent crisis by methods of blood and iron, and his measures were crowned with whatever sanction worldly success can give. He is Machiavelli's Prince in action. He took his stand on efficiency rather than principle, and symbolised the prevailing of the gates of Hell. The spiritual welfare of England entered into his thoughts, if at all, as a minor consideration; but, for her peace and material comfort it was well that she had as her King, in her hour of need, a man, and a man who counted the cost, who faced the risk, and who did with his might whatsoever his hand found to do.

INDEX.

A.

Abbeville, [142].
Abergavenny, Baron. See [Neville], George.
Abingdon, [128].
Acts of Succession. See [Succession].
Adrian VI., Pope, [155], [156] [n], [161], [162].
Agnadello, battle of, [52], [53].
Agostini, Augustine, [247], [248] [n].
Albany, Duke of. See [Stewart], John.
Albret, Jean d', [85], [93], [136], [144].
Aless, Alexander, [347].
Alexander VI., Pope, [212], [229].
Amicable Loan, [165], [243].
Ampthill, [354].
Ancona, Peter, Cardinal of, [212].
Ancrum Moor, battle of, [413], [415].
André, Bernard, [20] and [note], [21].
Angus, Earl of. See [Douglas], Archibald.
Annates, [290] and [note], [297], [302], [320]. See also [First-fruits].
Anne Boleyn. See [Boleyn].
—— of Brittany, wife of Louis XII., [74], [212], [217].
—— of Cleves, suggested marriage of, [383], [384];
arrival in England and marriage, [385], [386];
repudiation of, [210], [392], [395], [397], [404].
—— of Hungary, [51].
Antigone, [333].
Antwerp, [396].
Apparel, Act of, [128].
Appeals, Acts of, [298], [299], [319].
Aquinas, St. Thomas, [123], [334].
Aragon, [26], [28], [31], [51], [93], [104], [313].
—— Catherine of. See [Catherine].
—— Ferdinand of. See [Ferdinand].
Arc, Jeanne d', [65].
Ardres, [64], [141], [143].
Armada, Spanish, [249], [307], [376].
Army, Henry VIII.'s, [3], [109], [313], [315], [354];
wages of, [57], [58];
commissariat difficulties, [68], [69];
invasions of France, [64], [80], [160], [161].
Arthur, King, [14].
—— Prince of Wales, [11], [14], [38], [48], [283], [284].
Artois, [93], [157].
Ashton, Christopher, [11].
Aske, Robert, [354], [356], [357].
Athequa, George, Bishop of Llandaff, [319].
Attainder, use and meaning of, [36], [37], [390], [404], [423], [436].
Audley, Edmund, Bishop of Salisbury, [338].
—— Sir Thomas, Speaker and Lord Audley of Walden, [273], [278], [330] [n], [393].
Augmentations, Court of. See [Court].
Augsburg, Peace of, [429].
Austria, [26], [30], [51], [104], [382].
Auxerre, Bishop of. See [Dinteville], François de.

B.

Bacon, Francis, Lord Verulam, [44].
Badajos, Bishop of, [73].
Badoer, Piero, [49], [53], [67], [78], [109].
Bagnal, Sir Henry, [253] [n].
Bainbridge, Christopher, Cardinal and Archbishop of York, [1] [n], [53], [55], [89], [229].
Bangor, Bishopric of, [318].
—— Bishop of. See [Skeffington], Thomas.
Barbarossa, [311].
Barcelona, Treaty of, [225], [226].
Barnes, Robert, [193], [394].
Barton, Elizabeth, [305], [324], [374].
Bath and Wells, Bishops of. See [Clerk], John;
[Hadrian] de Castello;
[Stillington], Robert.
Bavaria, Albert of, [28].
Bayard, Chevalier, [54].
Beaton, David, Cardinal, [373], [405], [409], [415].
Beaufort, Edmund, second Duke of Somerset, [6].
—— Henry, Bishop of Winchester, [6].
—— John, Earl of Somerset, [6].
—— John, first Duke of Somerset, [6].
—— Lady Margaret, [6], [8], [10], [20], [24].
—— Thomas, Duke of Exeter, [6], [272] [n].
Beauforts, the, [6], [8].
Beaulieu, [11], [375].
Becket, Thomas à, Archbishop of Canterbury, [106], [270], [271], [372], [377].
Bedford, Earl of. See [Russell], John.
Belgrade, surrender of, [164].
Bembridge, [414].
Bennet, Dr. William, [207].
Berlin, [68].
Bermondsey Abbey, [5], [10].
Berwick, [368], [375].
Biez, Maréchal Oudart du, [413].
Bilney, Thomas, [272].
Bishops' Book, or Institution of a Christian Man, [379], [417].
Blackheath, Cornishmen defeated at, [11].
Bloody Assize, [357].
Blount, Elizabeth, [47], [183], [185], [210].
—— William, fourth Baron Mountjoy, [22-24], [183].
Boerio, Dr. Baptista, [22].
Boleyn, Anne, Henry's passion for, [173], [186-192], [209];
her "Lutheranism," [203-205], [237], [274], [347], [349], [397], [399];
canonical obstacles to her marriage with Henry VIII., [206], [208];
her unpopularity, [250], [314];
accompanies Henry to France, [294], [295];
her marriage, [281], [300], [319], [398];
coronation, [300];
unkindness to Princess Mary, [304] and [note];
her issue, [300], [315] [n], [321], [342], [343], [348], [360];
nullity of her marriage, [210], [344], [345];
her trial and death, [233], [344-346], [404], [434] [n].
—— George, Viscount Rochford, [344], [434] [n].
—— Mary, [185], [188], [208], [344].
—— Thomas, Earl of Wiltshire, [138], [188], [203], [273].
Bologna, [55], [86], [88], [283], [297] [n].
Bolton, William, prior of St. Bartholomew, [237].
Bonner, Edmund, Bishop of London, [316].
—— Humphrey, [234] [n].
Bordeaux, [131], [156].
Borough, Edward, Lord, [410].
Bosworth, battle of, [3], [7], [9], [11], [49], [79].
Boulogne, [68], [294];
besieged, [133], [160], [412-415].
Bourbon, Charles, Duc de, [151], [158] and [note], [159], [160], [162], [163], [171], [176].
Bourges, [283].
Boxley, Rood of, [380].
Bradshaw, Thomas, [259] [n].
Brandenburg, Margrave of, [100].
Brandon, Charles, Duke of Suffolk, his family, [79];
promotion and suggested marriage, [80];
his previous wives, [80], [81], [199], [205];
embassy to France, [81], [85], [86];
marriage to Mary Tudor, [3], [15], [37], [82], [83];
Henry's displeasure, [82], [83];
his favour with Henry, [84];
tilts with the King, [41], [95];
army under, [159], [160], [162], [354], [412];
claim to the throne, [181];
objects to legatine courts, [223];
other references, [2] [n], [111], [116], [246], [385].
—— William, [79].
Bray, [160].
Brereton, William, [344].
Brescia, [61].
Brest, blockade of, [063].
Brewer, John Sherren, [84] [n], [189] [n], [192] [n], [197] [n], [234] [n], [249] [n], [252] [n], [261] [n], [270] [n].
Brian, Sir Francis, [203].
Brinkelow, Henry, [256], [257] [n].
Bristol, [401].
Brittany, [30], [31].
Browne, Ann, [199].
Bruges, [111], [145], [146], [155], [281].
Brussels, [94].
Brydges, John, [260] [n].
Buckingham, Duke of. See [Stafford], Edward.
Bullinger, Henry, [380].
Buonarotti, Michael Angelo, [44].
Burgundy, [26], [27], [30], [51], [104], [136], [168]. See also [Netherlands.]
Butler, Piers, Earl of Ormond, [189].
—— Thomas, Earl of Ormond, [187].
Byzantinism, [180] [n], [370] [n].

C.

Cadwallader, [5].
Caistor, [353].
Calais, [63-65], [74], [83], [93], [97], [112], [114], [129], [131], [139], [140], [142-146], [154], [159], [160], [203], [224], [254] [n], [308-310], [315], [370], [375], [384];
parliamentary representation of, [368].
Calshot Castle, [375].
Cambrai, [094], [296].
—— League of (1508), [29], [52], [53], [90], [98].
—— Peace of (1529), [224], [246], [250], [309].
Cambridge, [20], [49], [77], [283], [334], [354].
Campeggio, Lorenzo, Cardinal, [97], [112], [155], [184], [185] [n], [186], [190], [204], [206] [n], [211], [215-218], [219] [n], [220] [n], [222], [223], [225], [237], [238], [247], [270], [311] [n], [318].
Canon Law, [6], [117], [200], [336], [337], [349].
Canterbury, [106], [140], [143], [260] [n], [372].
—— Archbishopric of, [16], [296], [298], [318], [329], [417].
—— Archbishops of. See [Becket], Thomas à;
[Cranmer], Thomas;
[Langton], Stephen;
[Pole], Reginald;
[Warham], William.
Capua, Archbishop of, [225].
Carroz, Luis, [49], [59], [61] [n], [62], [67], [70], [76] and [note], [132], [192].
Casale, Giovanni, [170], [207], [211], [224], [226].
Castello, Hadrian de. See [Hadrian].
Castile, [26-29], [51], [52], [72], [75], [92], [104], [167], [176], [313].
—— Isabella of. See [Isabella].
—— See also [Philip] of Burgundy and Juaña.
Castillon, Louis de Perreau, Sieur de, [370].
Catherine of Aragon, marriage to Prince Arthur, [11], [14], [48], [283];
proposals for second marriage of, [26], [27];
betrothed to Henry VIII., [27];
possibly taught Henry Spanish, [22];
marriage deferred, [28];
marriage to Henry VIII., [45], [46];
coronation, [46];
commissioned as Ferdinand's ambassador, [51];
regent in England, [65];
ally of Charles V., [137];
attends Field of Cloth of Gold, [141], [142];
legality of her marriage questioned, [173], [174], [281];
premature death of her children, [174-177];
divorce threatened, [76], [176];
ceases to bear children, [178-181];
her conscience, [178];
purity and courage of, [192], [193];
divorce unjust to her, [193], [212];
proceedings against her, [202];
correspondence with Charles, [220];
protests in person against the Legates' Court, [221];
her popularity, [250], [314];
championed by Charles, [226], [294];
alleged nullity of her marriage, [296], [319];
sentence by Cranmer, [300];
her treatment by Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn, [303], [304], [309], [310], [311] [n];
dissuaded by Charles V. from leaving England, [311];
Pope pronounces her marriage valid, [321];
her death, [335], [336], [342];
other references to, [51] [n], [70], [106], [200], [208], [210], [216], [251], [259], [265], [275], [282], [289], [304] [n], [305], [312], [313], [327], [347-350], [364], [428].
—— of France, Queen of Henry V., [5].
—— sister of Charles V., Queen of Portugal, [100].
—— Howard, character before her marriage, [397];
her marriage, [398], [399];
misconduct, [403];
death, [404];
her fall impairs Duke of Norfolk's influence, [416].
—— Parr, her previous marriages, [410];
marriage to Henry, [410];
her tact, [411];
favour towards New Learning, [416].
Caxton, William, [20].
Cecil, William, Lord Burghley, [38].
Cervia, [224], [226].
Chancery, See [Courts].
Chapuys, Eustace, [114] [n], [132], [185], [192] [n], [194], [197] [n], [247], [248] [n], [262], [268], [271] [n], [273] [n], [274], [275], [284] sqq., [285] [n], [295], [298], [300], [303], [304] and [note], [305-308], [311], [313-315] and [note], [319], [321], [332], [335], [339] [n], [342] [n], [343], [345] [n], [350], [352], [359], [362] [n], [364], [366], [373], [374], [403], [405].
Charlemagne, [52], [76].
Charles I. of England, [25] [n], [258], [259].
—— II., [186], [432].
—— V., Emperor, suggested marriage to Mary Tudor, [26], [28], [45], [48], [65], [72-81], [83];
heir to both grandfathers, [51] and [note];
assumes government of the Netherlands, [85];
succeeds Ferdinand, [73], [92], [93];
enters into Treaty of Noyon, [93];
difficulties in Spain, [96];
election as Emperor, [100-105];
treated by Wolsey as an equal, [111];
pensions to Wolsey, [115], [116];
his foreign possessions, [136];
reasons for peace with England, [137];
invitation to visit England, [139];
second meeting with Henry, [143];
war with France, [144], [148];
Wolsey's mediation between Francis and Charles, [145-147];
proposed marriage to Mary of England, [143], [146], [156];
Wolsey sides with Charles, [148-152];
battle of Pavia, [154];
influence on papal elections, [154], [155];
promises to aid Wolsey's candidature for the Papacy, [161], [162];
joins England against France, [159];
his supremacy in Europe, [163], [164];
marriage with Isabella of Portugal, [167];
plans for deposing Henry, [180];
his morals, [186];
champions his aunt's cause, [202], [205], [294];
peace with Henry, [224];
Treaty of Barcelona, [226];
appeal to a general council, [230] [n];
appealed to by Wolsey, [247];
alliance with Clement, [249], [295], [297];
alliance with Francis, [250], [371], [381], [382], [392];
objects to carry out the papal sentence, [309], [310];
rivalry with Francis, [108], [312], [429];
anxious for Henry's friendship, [322], [359];
engaged in conquering Tunis, [334];
meeting with Francis and Paul III., [372];
breach with Francis, [404], [405];
intrigues with James V. of Scotland, [406];
secret treaty with Henry, [410];
peace with Francis, [412];
other references to, [76], [78], [88], [98], [108], [118], [132], [158], [193-196], [197] [n], [201], [204], [206], [207], [212], [216], [223], [251], [261], [275], [283], [295], [301], [302] [n], [304], [308], [311] [n], [314], [332], [349], [361], [366], [370], [373], [376], [377], [383], [386], [393], [396], [398].
—— VIII. of France, [10], [30].
—— the Bold, [30], [51] [n], [136].
Charlotte, daughter of Francis I., [93], [143].
Chester, Bishopric of, [318], [401].
Chichester, Bishop of. See [Sampson], Richard.
—— Bishopric of, [319].
Chieregati, [95], [96], [113], [121], [135].
Chièvres, William de Croy, Lord of, [85], [183].
Chobham, [421].
Christina of Milan, [370], [371] and [note], [384].
Cinque Ports, [16].
Civil Law, [38], [334], [362] [n].
Clarence, Duke of. See [George].
Clarendon, Constitutions of, [271].
Claude, Queen of France, [188].
Clement VII., Pope, his policy as Cardinal de Medici, [148], [152-154], [230];
proclaimed Pope, [162] [n];
forms the Holy League, [168];
his imperial interests, [169];
confirmed Suffolk's divorce, [199];
his captivity, [201];
gives Wolsey legatine powers, [202];
warned by Wolsey that his fall means ruin to the Church in England, [204-206], [211], [212], [237];
suggests two wives for Henry, [207];
anxious to avoid responsibility, [213];
urges Catherine to enter a nunnery, [213] and [note], [214];
commission to Campeggio and Wolsey to try the divorce, [214], [215], [221];
his indecision, [216], [224-227], [280], [294];
instructs Campeggio to procrastinate, [216], [222];
refuses to declare the brief a forgery, [220];
his motives for siding against Henry VIII., [224], [225];
his treaty with the Emperor, [225], [226];
revokes his commission to Campeggio and Wolsey, [226], [227];
bull of 1530, [281], [282];
interviews Charles, [295];
apparent friendship with Henry VIII., [296], [297];
delays in the divorce suit, [298];
prepares the final ban of the Church against Henry VIII., [302], [303], [316];
pronounces Catherine's marriage valid, [321];
his dispensation for the marriage of Anne Boleyn, [208-210], [344];
his death, [322];
other references to, [187] [n], [210], [218], [230] [n], [247], [276], [309], [319], [428].
Clerk, John, Bishop of Bath and Wells, [154], [155], [161], [197] [n], [318], [338].
Cleves, Anne of. See [Anne].
—— Duke John of, father of Anne of Cleves, [382], [383].
—— Duke William of, brother of Anne, [383], [386], [393].
Coinage, debasement of, [418].
Coire, [99].
Colet, John, Dean of St. Paul's, [134].
Commons, House of. See also [Parliament].
—— —— More pleads its privileges, [165], [259];
throws out attainder against Wolsey, [246];
packing of, [252] sqq.;
free speech in, [259], [288], [289];
powers of, [259] [n];
feared by the Church, [270], [280];
Audley chosen Speaker, [278];
refuses to remit Henry's loan, [279];
attacks abuses, [291];
passes Act of Appeals, [299];
waits on Henry, [320];
passes attainder against Cromwell, [390];
opposition to Cromwell, [391].
Conquêt, [63].
Constable, Sir Robert, [357].
Constantine, the Emperor, [363] [n].
Contarini, Cardinal, [153], [318], [359].
Copley, Sir Roger, [253].
Cork, [10].
Corneto, [215].
Cornwall, Dukes of. See [Arthur], Prince, and [Henry] VIII.
Coron, [312].
Corpus Christi College, Oxford, [49], [206] [n].
Council, Ordinary, [364] [n].
—— government by, [364] [n].
—— Privy, [288], [289], [356], [365], [403], [416].
—— of the North, [358], [366].
—— of Wales, [364] [n], [365], [366].
—— of Trent, [299].
Court of Augmentations, [337].
—— Chancery, [319], [320], [327].
—— Requests, [38], [368].
—— Star Chamber, [35], [38], [119], [120], [368].
—— Wards and Liveries, [368].
Courtenay, Henry, Marquis of Exeter, [183], [305], [374], [375].
—— Sir William, [374].
Coventry and Lichfield, Bishopric of, [318].
Coverdale, Miles, [379].
Cowes, [57].
Cradock, Sir Matthew, [11].
[Cranmer], Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, suggests an appeal to the Universities, [282];
appointed Archbishop, [296];
expedition of his bulls, [296-298];
his court made final, [299];
declares Catherine's marriage void and Anne's valid, [300], [302];
crowns Anne as queen, [300];
declares Anne's marriage invalid, [344];
licenses Henry to marry a third wife, [346];
informs Henry of Catherine Howard's misconduct, [403];
his hold on Henry, [416];
discusses the King's Book with Henry, [417];
is attacked, [418];
sent for in Henry's illness, [424], [425];
other references to, [191], [197] [n], [230] [n], [282] and [note], [325] [n], [327] and [note], [354], [379], [385], [391] [n], [393], [401] [n].
Croke, Richard, [282] [n].
Crome, Edward, [274].
Cromwell, Oliver, [368], [432].
—— Thomas, Earl of Essex, humble birth, [38], [42];
rising to notice, [159];
opposes Wolsey's attainder in the Commons, [246], [278];
his agents, [254];
his interference in elections, [260] and [note], [261], [317];
reports on Parliament to the King, [263] [n];
becomes secretary, [273], [323];
prepares bills for Parliament, [289] [n], [291];
said to "rule everything," [318];
anxious to make Henry despotic, [323] and [note], [329];
anxious to make Henry rich, [341];
never in Wolsey's position, [350];
anxious for government by council, [364];
appointed vicar-general, [378];
vice-gerent, [379];
induces Henry to marry Anne of Cleves, [384], [385];
packs Parliament in favour of his own policy, [392];
his fall, [397], [416];
created Earl of Essex;
his death, [2], [394];
other references to, [290], [325] [n], [339] [n], [349], [354], [366] [n], [381], [399], [400], [434] [n], [436] [n].
Crowley, Robert, [257] [n.]
Crown, succession to the. See [Succession].
Culpepper, Thomas, [398], [403].