I beg to express my appreciation of the kindness of the Duke of Rutland, the Marquess of Salisbury, Earl Spencer, Lord Calthorpe, William Berington, Esq., and Alfred Henry Huth, Esq., in giving me access to the manuscripts in their private collections.

In conclusion, I wish to thank the officials of the Public Record Office, British Museum, Heralds’ College of Arms, and Bodleian Library, for facilitating my work in every way; more especially Messrs. Hubert Hall, R. H. Brodie, E. Salisbury, and F. B. Bickley, who have repeatedly aided me in my search for uncalendared letters and continental documents, and in deciphering the most difficult manuscripts I have had to consult.

R. B. M.

Balliol College, Oxford.
February, 1902.

CONTENTS

VOLUME I
ChapterPAGE
I.The Ancestry and Early Life of Thomas Cromwell[1]
Appendix. Passages from Chapuys, Pole, Bandello, and Foxe[17]
II.The Parliament of 1523[27]
III.Wolsey’s Servant[47]
Appendix. The Will of Thomas Cromwell[56]
IV.The Fall of the Cardinal[64]
V.The Character and Opportunity Of Thomas Cromwell[77]
VI.In the King’s Service[89]
Appendix. The Supplication of the Commons against the Ordinaries[104]
VII.Internal Policy[112]
VIII.Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Calais[147]
IX.The Monasteries[165]
X.The Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536[180]
XI.Cardinal Pole[202]
XII.The Foreign Policy[213]
XIII.The Catholic Reaction and the Alliance with Cleves[242]
Appendix. Reports of the Lutheran Ambassadors to England in 1539 and 1540[272]
XIV.The Fall of Thomas Cromwell[281]
Appendix. Passages from Foxe: Cromwell’s Speech and Prayer on the Scaffold[303]
XV.The Work of Thomas Cromwell[305]
Prefatory Note to Cromwell’s Letters[311]
Cromwell’s Letters: 1523–1530[313]
Cromwell’s Letters: 1531[335]
Cromwell’s Letters: 1532[343]
Cromwell’s Letters: 1533[352]
Cromwell’s Letters: 1534[372]
Cromwell’s Letters: 1535[396]
VOLUME II
Cromwell’s Letters: 15361
Cromwell’s Letters: 153750
Cromwell’s Letters: 1538111
Cromwell’s Letters: 1539166
Cromwell’s Letters: 1540244
An Itinerary of Thomas Cromwell, 1523–1540279
A List of the Minor Preferments of Thomas Cromwell, and a Description of his Arms and Crest283
Notes to Letters285
List of Authorities313
Index319

ILLUSTRATIONS

Portrait of Thomas Cromwell[Frontispiece to vol. i]
Facsimile of a Letter from Thomas Cromwellto Lord Lisle, Aug. 30, 1538Frontispiece to vol. ii