CHAPTER XIII

THE CATHOLIC REACTION AND THE ALLIANCE WITH CLEVES

The first few months of the new year brought no improvement in the state of England’s foreign affairs. Having postponed the Lutheran alliance which Cromwell had so strongly advocated in the end of 1538, for fear of losing his position of neutrality between France and Spain, Henry was driven back on his own policy of seeking safety for England in direct negotiations with Charles and Francis. Matrimonial agitations had failed--malicious tale-bearing had not borne fruit, so the King took the more straightforward course of making direct complaints that he was spoken of with too little respect in foreign parts. He sent grumbling letters to his neighbours, accusing them of permitting evil reports to be circulated about him. He caused the President of the Council of the North to request James of Scotland to suppress and punish the authors of several ‘spyttfull ballades,’ which had been published about the wrongfully usurped authority of the King of England, and also wrote to Wyatt in Spain, commanding him to protest against the malicious and unreasonable lies of the ‘barking prechers ther’ who slandered him behind his back[604]. But these petty remonstrances had no effect in diminishing the growing cordiality of Francis and Charles, or their hatred of England: in fact the two continental sovereigns seemed better friends than ever. On January 12, representatives of both monarchs met at Toledo and concluded an agreement not to make any new alliances, either political or matrimonial, with the King of England, without each other’s consent[605]. The news of this treaty was a deathblow to Henry’s hopes; and the King was reluctantly forced to admit that his minister’s scheme of a German alliance offered better chances of safety for England than any other. So he again gave his consent to a renewal of negotiations for an outside league, though, as we shall soon see, it was on a basis somewhat different from that of the previous ones.

Disappointed by the King’s refusal definitely to accept the alliance for which he had laboured so hard, Cromwell had meantime been amusing himself with a very feeble plan for gaining friends against the Pope, the chimerical nature of which was quite at variance with the direct and practical character of most of his schemes. He had proposed a league of England with the Dukes of Ferrara, Mantua, and Urbino against his Holiness, who had just challenged the title of the latter to the dukedom of Camerino. An interesting set of instructions to Cromwell’s friend Edmund Harvell at Venice tells the story of this negotiation very vividly[606]. But the princes of northern Italy were too weak and the scheme itself was too remote and far-fetched to promise any real advantage, and Cromwell doubtless lost all interest in it as soon as the King again consented to approach the Germans. The fact that three months had been suffered to elapse since the return of the envoys in 1538, without an acceptance of the King’s invitation to send other representatives to discuss theological points, simply proves that Henry’s treatment of the first embassy had not been such as to encourage the Lutherans to persevere[607]. But now that the King had again veered round to Cromwell’s policy, he ‘mervayled not a litel’ at the slowness of the Germans, and sent Christopher Mont over to the Court of the Elector of Saxony on January 25 to discover the feelings of John Frederic and the Landgrave of Hesse, the leaders of the Schmalkaldic League, towards the Emperor, to inquire further into their attitude on the tenets about which they had so fruitlessly disputed with the English bishops in the preceding summer, and finally to learn whether the Duke of Cleves and his son were of the ‘old popisshe fasshyon’ or no[608]. Appended to these very non-committal injunctions are certain others from Cromwell himself of quite a different nature[609]. Completely dodging the theological issue, which he wisely left entirely in the King’s hands, Cromwell took up the question of the German alliance from a new and far more practical side, the matrimonial. He instructed Mont to suggest to the Vice-Chancellor Burckhard the possibility of two marriages; one between the young Duke of Cleves and the Princess Mary, and the other between Anne, the elder of the two unmarried daughters of the old Duke, and the King himself[610]. It appears that Cromwell had already discussed the feasibility of the first of these two matches with the Vice-Chancellor, when the latter had been in England in the previous summer, and John Frederic had subsequently written to the King’s minister that the plan met with his entire approval. The proposal for Henry’s marriage, on the contrary, was now brought forward for the first time. We shall soon see why it was that Mont was sent to the Elector of Saxony, rather than to the Duke of Cleves himself, to feel the way for these two alliances.

In order to understand the precise bearing on the foreign affairs of England of the two marriages which Cromwell proposed, and of the political league which would naturally go with them, we must make a slight digression here and examine the very peculiar position in which the Duke of Cleves found himself at this juncture. Various political considerations, above all an increasing jealousy of the power of the House of Saxony, had led the Emperor Maximilian in 1496 to declare Maria, the only child of the Duke of Juliers and Berg, to be the lawful heiress of these two provinces; a step which was in direct contravention of a grant which Maximilian, at his election as King of the Romans, had made to Frederic the Wise of the reversion of Juliers and Berg in case of failure of male heirs in the ducal line there. This grant was definitely revoked in various documents of the years 1508 and 1509; and Duke John of Cleves, who in the meantime had married the heiress Maria of Juliers and Berg, was permitted to unite these three rich provinces in his own hand, and to establish a strong power on the Lower Rhine which prevented undue preponderance of the House of Wettin, and furnished a useful support for the Hapsburgs in the western part of the Empire[611]. The peace-loving Duke John lived and died in friendship with Maximilian and his grandson, although his desire to see a reform in the Church had prevented his definite acceptance of the Imperial invitation to join a Catholic League against the Schmalkaldner in 1537. Instead he devoted himself to strengthening his power in his own possessions by a series of wise and prudent measures, through which he welded the three component parts of his dominions into one[612]. But during the last year of his life (which ended on February 6, 1539, while Mont was on his way to the Saxon Court) affairs took a turn which was destined to bring his son and heir William into direct conflict with the Empire. In June, 1538, the warlike Duke Charles of Gelderland, whose possessions lay next to the province of Cleves on the north, died leaving no children. His life had been spent in a struggle against the pretensions to his hereditary dominions brought forward by the Emperor as heir of Charles the Bold, and in order to prevent the substantiation of the Imperial claims at his death he had planned to leave his lands to the King of France[613]. This scheme however had encountered strong opposition from the estates of Gelderland, who regarded with little favour a proposal so threatening to their comparatively independent position, and Duke Charles was finally forced, much against his will, to designate young William of Cleves as his successor. The latter, though by nature weak and irresolute, was not in a position to refuse the chance which fortune had thrown in his way: he accepted the proffered inheritance, and the death of his father soon after left him in full possession of the four rich provinces[614].

The result was that he immediately became involved in a serious quarrel with the Emperor, who realizing how dangerous a rival to his own power had been created by the events just recounted, reasserted his claims to Gelderland even more strongly than before. In looking for allies against Charles, Duke William naturally turned to the Elector of Saxony, whose rights to Juliers and Berg, once rudely revoked by Maximilian, had not been forgotten, but who seems to have preserved sufficiently friendly relations with the family in favour of which his claims had been set aside, to marry Sibylla, one of the sisters of the Duke[615]. Common enmity to Charles V. now drew them very close together, and at the Imperial Court it was actually thought that Cleves had been formally admitted to the Schmalkaldic League[616]. This however was a mistake. Though Duke William was certainly not opposed to the Lutheran doctrines, he had not as yet made open confession of the Protestant faith; and for that reason the Elector and the Landgrave had steadily refused to make a political alliance with him[617]. Still he was on very intimate terms with John Frederic, who had promised, when he wedded Sibylla of Cleves, to advance money for the marriage of her sisters, and thus had a certain right to be consulted when husbands were to be chosen for them. Henry was doubtless well aware of all this, and it was consequently at the Saxon Court that Mont was instructed to obtain information about the Duke of Cleves, and if possible to pave the way for the two matrimonial alliances from which Cromwell hoped so much.

Having completed this preliminary survey of the position of the Duke of Cleves, we are enabled to make some interesting observations on the instructions to the English ambassador. It is very significant that the inquiries which Mont was ordered to make concerning the religious tendencies of Duke William were concerned only with his attitude towards the Pope. Of course the King could not consistently ally himself with firm adherents of the Holy See after the events of the past ten years; but it is also of the utmost importance to notice that he apparently preferred a league with powers which he knew had not definitely committed themselves to the New Faith to an alliance with the Schmalkaldner. Else why did he rather seek to unite with Cleves than with Saxony? Both were politically valuable, as enemies of the Emperor; the only difference was that Cleves was not as yet avowedly Protestant, and Saxony was. It is possible that the idea which bore fruit five months later in the Six Articles had already taken shape in Henry’s mind; at least it seems certain that he was determined to keep a perfectly free hand in religious affairs, so as not to be hampered in his political relations with France and Spain. Thus when Cromwell at last succeeded in persuading him reluctantly to return to a German alliance, it was really only half a victory for the minister. There was this great difference between the league with the Lutherans which Cromwell had proposed and which never succeeded, and the Cleves alliance which was now sought. The one would have been necessarily both political and religious (for we have seen that the Lutherans had always refused to join with England until a satisfactory theological agreement could be made), while the other was solely political. It was simply another expression of the old disagreement between Henry and Cromwell. The King, always looking for a chance of reconciliation with Charles and Francis, refused to enter an alliance the religious conditions of which would greatly enhance the difficulty of a return to his favourite scheme. He was only induced to enter a purely political league, which he doubtless felt he could throw over at any moment if he wished to do so; an agreement both political and religious he might have found it more difficult to escape from. Cromwell on the other hand, having definitely given up all ideas of direct negotiations with France and Spain, wished to plunge headlong into the Lutheran alliance, caring little what he was committed to provided he gained solid support. But, as we have seen, the King would not agree to this, and the alliance with Cleves can thus only be regarded as a compromise between the royal and Cromwellian policies, which the King could abandon whenever affairs in France and Spain took a more favourable turn. Later events in the same year furnish further proofs of this most important fact.

Furthermore the King had contrived that the responsibility for the proposed league with Cleves should fall almost entirely on his minister’s shoulders, in order that he himself might the more easily renounce it if occasion served. The fact that the new alliance, if accomplished, would from its very nature commit him to far less than the Lutheran league which he had put off in 1538, was not enough for Henry; he must needs have other safeguards, and determined to make Cromwell his scapegoat. All the practical and important parts of the instructions to Mont were given by the King’s minister. The conciliatory expressions with which Henry had directed the ambassador to sound the Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse on the question of theology were merely empty words, as is proved by the utter failure of an attempted agreement four months later. Their sole object was to induce John Frederic more favourably to receive the practical proposals which followed. But the King purposely left to Cromwell the task of framing the vital part of the message, and it is evident that he gave his consent to the proposals it contained only in the most guarded and non-committal manner. We are merely told that as regards the match proposed for the Princess Mary, Cromwell perceived ‘the king_es_ hieghnes ... by his grac_es_ counten_au_nce and exterior Visage ... to be of good Inclinac_i_on[618].’ On the more vital question of the King’s attitude concerning his own marriage, the instructions of Cromwell to Mont give us even vaguer information. The fact was that the King was willing definitely to bind Cromwell, but not himself, to a plan which he had resolved to abandon the moment that any favourable alteration should take place in his relations with France and Spain. From the day that Mont departed on his mission, the fate of the alliance with Cleves and the fate of Thomas Cromwell were joined together beyond the possibility of separation.

We unfortunately do not possess the letter in which Mont and his companion, a certain Thomas Paynell, reported their first reception at the Saxon Court, but the reply of Cromwell on March 10 gives us considerable information about the success of the ambassadors[619]. John Frederic had apparently welcomed the prospect of the two marriages by which Henry proposed to bind himself to Cleves, and had promised, through Burckhard, to do his best to bring them about. Cromwell’s letter goes on to direct Mont to follow up the advantage already gained by telling bad stories about Charles, and to ‘inculcate and p_er_suade vnto the said duke and landisgrave the moment & i_m_porta_n_ce of that grudge, which the_m_pero_ur_ doth beire, for the Bishop of Rom_es_ pleas_ure_ against them and oth_e_r of the avangelik sorte, which they may nowe easely p_er_ceive by that he worketh and goeth aboute.’ At the same time, another embassy, headed by a certain Dr. Nicholas Wotton, was sent to Cleves to obtain confirmation of the promises of Burckhard, and further to carry on negotiations for a supply of gunners and artillerymen to be furnished to Henry in case he should need them; and finally to signify the King’s willingness to make an offensive and defensive league with Duke William[620]. The latter was at first less eager to accept the alliance which England offered than his brother-in-law was to promote it: he wanted to postpone a definite answer in the hope that he might yet come to a peaceful solution of his difficulty with the Emperor[621]. But as this prospect daily grew more and more remote, he became correspondingly willing to entertain Henry’s proposals, and the outlook for the accomplishment of the practical part of Cromwell’s plan seemed very favourable. The comparatively unimportant overtures for theological reconciliation with the Elector and the Landgrave were apparently at first received with less enthusiasm by the Lutherans, who had already had some experience of the King’s vacillating policy and evidently thought it a little suspicious that Henry had suddenly become so very urgent. We have seen that the King’s proposals for a religious agreement were chiefly intended as a blind to cover the more practical matrimonial proposals which had followed, but Cromwell evidently thought it worth while to keep up the deception as a precaution. A second letter from the King’s minister directs Mont and Paynell to continue to urge on the Elector and Landgrave the importance of theological unity, and to ‘conduce to haue them somw[hat reproved for] ou_er_sight & slakenes, in shewing [so little] gratuite, and by that for to pryk th[em to] redubb the same and give you more f[avourable] a_n_swer.’

And at first Cromwell’s eagerness for the alliance with Cleves seemed to have every justification, for Henry’s policy in other parts of Europe appeared to have failed even more completely than before. Ominous letters were received from Wriothesley, the ambassador in the Netherlands, who did not hesitate to express his fear that war would soon come and that his retreat to England would be cut off[622]. At the same time Chapuys received orders to return to the Court of the Queen Regent, and Cromwell consequently instructed Wriothesley to demand leave to depart[623]. The exchange was finally effected, but that there was deep distrust on both sides is proved by Cromwell’s orders for the detention of Chapuys at Calais, until the safety of Wriothesley was assured, and by the instructions of the Queen Regent to the Provost of Mons to follow the English ambassador to Gravelines[624]. But fortunately these precautions were unnecessary; no open act of hostility took place, and the crisis seemed at least temporarily tided over by the arrival of the Dean of Cambray in London to replace Chapuys, and by the reception of Stephen Vaughan at Brussels in Wriothesley’s stead[625]. But the attitude of France was more disquieting. On February 5 Castillon was recalled, and though he made a vague promise at his departure that another should be sent in his place, the anxiety at the Court was but little relieved thereby. The most that Cromwell could do, was to take care that the French ambassador should carry back to his master full accounts of the excellence of England’s defences, and her readiness for war. So he took him, as he later wrote to the King, to his armoury, showing him a ‘store of harneys and wepens ... the whiche he semed to esteme moche,’ and telling him that there were twenty more armouries in the realm as well or better equipped; ‘wherat he woundred and sayd that he thought yo_ur_ grace the prince best furnished thereof in Chr_ist_endom[626].’

But though Cromwell may have exaggerated the security of England’s fortifications, his words to Castillon were by no means empty. Though the King and his minister may have had differences of opinion in regard to the conduct of foreign affairs, in the internal management of the kingdom they were, as always, united. Here Henry suffered himself to be guided at all points by Cromwell. And at no time is the masterfulness of the latter’s domestic administration better exhibited, than by his action at home the moment the first rumours of an invasion reached England. Countless memoranda, lists of men fit for military service, arms, ammunition, provisions, and other necessaries of warfare, all in his hand, or in that of one of his clerks, attest his industry and ability in preparing the country to repel the dreaded invasion. All reports of the state of the coast defences at various places were sent to him. General musters were ordered throughout the realm; every precaution was taken to fortify all vulnerable points. Beacons were placed upon all the hills, and no detail that could add to the strength and efficiency of the defences was left out[627].

But just at this very moment, when everything seemed to point to an open rupture with Charles and Francis, when the schemes which Cromwell had opposed to those of the King seemed to have every justification, an event occurred which totally changed the aspect of affairs, and restored Henry’s badly shaken confidence in his own ability to stave off the threatened crisis without the aid of outside alliances or an appeal to arms. This event was the arrival in England on March 28 of a new French ambassador, Charles de Marillac, who had come to replace Castillon. So long a time had elapsed since the departure of the latter that Henry had probably given up all hope of the fulfilment of the vague prospects that had been held out that a successor might be appointed. But the unexpected appearance of Marillac at once revived the King’s drooping spirits. The letters in which the ambassador reported his reception at the English Court to Francis and Montmorency give us a vivid picture of the universal joy with which this apparent reassurance of friendship with France was hailed[628]. Henry was delighted, and his satisfaction was increased when Marillac, at his master’s command, followed up the advantage already gained by renewed assertions of the cordiality of France. The whole Court seemed ‘to wear a new aspect and to be quite delighted[629].’ Had Henry seen the letter of instructions which Marillac received from the French Court, he would have realized that Francis was only endeavouring ‘to keep him in good humour[630],’ while making a little more certain of his own relations with Charles; and he might have been less encouraged. But Marillac’s cordiality seems to have put him off his guard, and he was led, in his exultation, to welcome the apparent friendship of Francis in ways which very nearly resulted in the permanent stultification of all the laborious efforts of Cromwell to maintain amicable relations in Germany. The events which took place in England in the three months following the arrival of the French ambassador furnish ample proof of this new departure in the royal policy.

On April 28 Parliament had met, its assembling being indispensable to carrying on the ‘Kinges busynes.’ Cromwell had practically appointed every member, in order that Henry might have a ‘tractable’ House. His usual methods of ‘ordering’ the elections of members have already been described; suffice it to say that in this case he had completely outdone himself; the Parliament of 1539 was undoubtedly his masterpiece[631]. It will be remembered that it was in this session that he first succeeded in forcing the Lords and Commons to sanction the statute by which royal proclamations were given the force of laws. Cromwell’s ‘remembrance’ for other Acts to be passed in the Parliament of 1539 is also noteworthy. It makes casual mention of the attainders of Exeter, Salisbury, and Pole, of plans for the fortification of the coast, and then designates the scheme out of which the Six Articles were later evolved as ‘A devise in the parliament for the vnitie in religion[632].’ It is very improbable that Cromwell had any really accurate information concerning the King’s real intentions in connexion with this last item. Henry had purposely concealed them under a very non-committal statement. Doubtless the King had long cherished the idea of making use of a declaration that in matters of doctrine England still adhered to the Old Faith, to facilitate a reconciliation with Charles and Francis; for such a statement would remove the main pretext of the Emperor and the French King for an attack on him, namely that they were undertaking a crusade to suppress heresy. But so hopeless had been the outlook in the early part of the year, that Henry had not had the courage to try this experiment. He was rather led to shun all moves which would imperil his friendly relations with Germany, so that he had scrupulously avoided any direct statement which could lead to the belief that a Catholic reaction was possible. But the assurances of Marillac had revived all his enthusiasm for his old policy. He now abandoned all caution, and promptly proceeded to disclose his real ideas in regard to the ‘vnitie in religion.’ When Cromwell discovered the true state of affairs he must have been dismayed; he probably already felt how deeply he had become involved in the German alliance, and saw that the new trend which things had taken boded no good to him. His position was now a very uncomfortable one, and the fact that a committee of bishops under his superintendence was utterly unable to cope with the difficulties of the newly presented religious problem, is very significant. Henry was not to be balked however. He quickly took the matter out of the hands of the incompetent bishops, and placed it before the Lords; finally, to make assurance doubly sure, he came to them in person, ‘and confounded them all with Goddes Lerning[633].’ Henry’s theology was of course as unimpeachable as it was confounding, and his energy was rewarded before the middle of June by the definite passage in Parliament of the Statute of the Six Articles. The doctrine of Transubstantiation was confirmed, communion in both kinds was pronounced unnecessary, the marriage of priests was forbidden, all vows of chastity were to be strictly observed, and private masses and auricular confession were adjudged meet and expedient[634].

In spite of the radically Catholic nature of the doctrines proclaimed in this Act, however, Henry took good care that there should be no mistake about his attitude towards the Pope. He was committed to hostility to the See of Rome beyond the possibility of escape, and he knew it. Though political expediency, internal and foreign, had led him to proclaim the catholicity of the Church of England in matters of doctrine, no consideration whatever could induce him to make the least concession to the Papacy. In fact he took measures to show, simultaneously with the passage of the Six Articles, that his contempt of the See of Rome was stronger than ever. Marillac wrote that on June 15 there was played on the river in the King’s presence ‘a game of poor grace, much less invention, of two galleys, one carrying the King’s arms, the other the Pope’s, with several Cardinals’ hats (so he was told, for he would have deemed it contrary to duty to be a spectator). The galleys fought a long time, and ultimately those of the King were victorious, and threw the Pope and Cardinals and their arms into the water, to show people that this King will entirely confound and abolish the power of the Holy Father[635].’ Demonstrations like this were of course mainly intended to impress people at home. Let us now examine the effect of the Six Articles abroad, first in Germany, and then in France and Spain.

The rather large hopes of a religious agreement which Henry had held out to the leaders of the Schmalkaldic League early in the year, merely as a bait to induce them to favour the political alliance with Cleves, had finally, owing to Cromwell’s representations, been accepted in all seriousness by John Frederic of Saxony and Philip of Hesse. They soon sent over another embassy under the leadership of Burckhard and Ludwig von Baumbach, a councillor of the Landgrave, which arrived in London on April 23. Henry was not yet quite sure of his ground with Marillac, and had not fully decided what note should be struck in the ‘devise in the parliament for the vnitie in religion,’ so at first he received the Germans cordially[636]. On April 29 they were granted an audience, in which Henry, though he carefully avoided committing himself to any definite promises of an alliance, spoke in the warmest terms of the Elector and Landgrave, cautioned the Lutherans against the treachery of the Emperor, and boasted long and loud because of the recent collapse of an expedition against England which, according to Wriothesley’s report, had been preparing in Flanders since the previous February[637]. A subsequent interview of the ambassadors with Cromwell and other members of the Privy Council was equally satisfactory, and Burckhard and Baumbach were convinced that their mission would ultimately be crowned with success. Had they understood the meaning of the many excuses which were offered for the failure to begin definite negotiations at once, the opening of Parliament and the difficulty of gaining access to the King, they might have been less encouraged. Henry merely wished to detain them until he had made perfectly sure that they could be of no more use to him. His relations with France were improving every day, but he had not yet made sure of the state of affairs in the dominions of the Emperor. On February 24, at Frankfort, the Electors of Brandenburg and the Palatinate had opened negotiations with the Imperial plenipotentiary, the Archbishop of Lund, in the hope of mediating between Charles and the princes of the Schmalkaldic League[638]; Henry had determined to learn the result of this meeting before giving the ambassadors a definite answer. The news of the truce concluded between the Emperor and the Lutherans on the 19th of April was finally announced in London towards the middle of May: it at once decided the King to send the envoys home empty-handed again, for it was obviously useless to continue negotiations for an alliance, which was primarily to have been directed against the very power with which the Schmalkaldner had just made a temporary peace. So much had Henry been encouraged by the favourable signs of the past few weeks, that he would probably have succeeded in finding an excuse for dismissing Burckhard and Baumbach, even if the result of the negotiations between the Emperor and the Schmalkaldner had been reversed; as it was he was spared the trouble of exercising much ingenuity, for, most unfortunately for the ambassadors, one of the clauses in the Frankfort agreement contained a provision which in itself was quite sufficient to stultify all their efforts. In the seventh article of their treaty with the Emperor, the Schmalkaldner had agreed not to admit any new members into their league during the period of the truce. There is every reason to think that this provision was especially directed against the English negotiations, for both Brandenburg and the Count Palatine had always looked with disfavour on the attempts of Saxony and Hesse to gain the alliance of Henry, and doubtless availed themselves of this opportunity to persuade the Schmalkaldner to put an end to them. In any case the King lost no time in acting upon the intelligence he had received, and at once complained to Burckhard and Baumbach, whose excuses and explanations were of no avail. Wearisome disputes and attempts at a compromise ensued: the question of reciprocity was discussed at length; the envoys insisting that England was sure to derive quite as much benefit from the proposed alliance as the Lutherans, the King and his ministers in turn demanding concessions which they knew that the ambassadors were not authorized to grant. So reluctant were the latter to return without having accomplished anything however, that it was only with the utmost difficulty that Henry finally succeeded in getting rid of them. To a blunt request that they depart the envoys only replied with continued petitions for a more favourable answer to their demands: finally, with pleasing frankness, they begged that His Majesty would let himself be guided by the truth alone in directing the religious controversies then in progress in Parliament. Henry made no effort to conceal from Burckhard and Baumbach the anger which this ill-timed and incautious request aroused in him, for he probably realized that his best chance of hastening the departure of the Lutherans lay in involving himself in some sort of an altercation with them. We are not surprised to read that both parties immediately became engaged in a violent discussion concerning the celibacy of the clergy--in the midst of which the ambassadors apparently beat a somewhat precipitate retreat: they seem at last to have had the wit to realize that they had to do with a theologian, with whom it was extremely dangerous to disagree. A fruitless interview with Cromwell followed, and on May 31 the envoys finally departed[639]. In the meantime the Elector and the Landgrave had continued to show touching but unwarranted confidence in the sincerity of Henry’s professions, and had remained in utter ignorance of the true state of affairs in England. Their hopes of a speedy settlement of religious differences had doubtless received considerable encouragement through the efforts of Dr. Barnes, who had been earnestly labouring to remove the disagreeable impression which Henry had made on Christian III. by his blundering Lübeck policy in 1534. Barnes had been sent to Hamburg for this purpose early in the year. He was himself an ardent Protestant who never once suspected the possibility of a Catholic reaction in England; and as his zeal more than supplied the lack of diplomatic skill, his efforts seem to have met with great success[640]. The King of Denmark was now in close alliance with John Frederic, and Barnes was soon enabled to persuade them to arrange to send a joint embassy to the King of England to treat of the political league which was to follow a theological agreement[641]. But at this juncture Burckhard and Baumbach returned with a very discouraging report, which obtained full confirmation by the news which arrived a week later, that the Six Articles had actually been passed[642]. The enthusiasm of the Lutherans was of course considerably dampened, and they wrote to Henry that if a league was to be treated of at all, he would have to be the one to send ambassadors; they could not themselves venture to visit England because of the machinations against the Evangelical cause there[643]. Even in Cleves, where Henry and Cromwell had sought an alliance of a purely political nature, unhampered by religious restrictions, the news of the passage of the Six Articles created profound distrust, and we may well believe that John Frederic discouraged his brother-in-law from continuing negotiations with England, after the proof of Henry’s perfidy that he had just received. We are not surprised to find that the matrimonial projects which formed the basis of the alliance with Cleves came to a complete standstill during the month of July. The proposals for a match between Duke William and the Princess Mary had apparently never been very popular: they were now definitely abandoned and never revived. To the other plan, for a marriage of Henry and the Duchess Anne, an unexpected objection had arisen. It appears that ever since 1527 a plan for a marriage between the King’s intended bride and the son of Duke Anthony of Lorraine had been under discussion. For twelve years the form of continuing the negotiations for this union had been kept up on both sides, with the idea of bringing pressure on the Emperor, though all hope of an actual completion of the match must have been abandoned long before this time. But now that the union with England seemed less desirable, the Duke of Cleves of course made the most of the opportunity of evading the requests of Henry that was afforded by the Lorraine affair. The claims of Duke Anthony and his son would have to be satisfied, he said, before his sister could be offered to Henry[644].

Altogether it looked as if the German alliance would be abandoned, and Cromwell, who of all people was most deeply involved in it, must have been roused to a sense of his danger. But the threatened reversal of his policy was destined to be postponed once more. For it soon appeared that the exultation of the King at the apparent success of his own plans was premature. We have seen that it was largely in the hope of conciliating Francis and Charles by removing their main pretext for an attack on England that Henry had caused the Six Articles to be passed. But the Act did not accomplish what was expected of it. The courtesy of Marillac had given Henry a very exaggerated idea of the cordiality of France. He did not see that Francis was merely dallying with him, and had no idea of a permanent friendship. The fact that Charles had refused to listen to the proposals of Cardinal Pole had also been regarded as a good omen[645]. But when it appeared that dread of the Turks, who had advanced up the Adriatic, was the sole cause of the Emperor’s apparent unwillingness to offend England, and it was rumoured that there was immediate prospect of another interview between him and Francis, Henry discovered his mistake[646]. All the fair hopes he had entertained of preventing the dreaded coalition against England were apparently blasted. The doctrinal statement from which he had expected so much had proved but a feeble weapon with which to arrest the current of continental politics. He could consider himself fortunate if the Six Articles and his own personal rudeness to the German ambassadors had not been sufficient to preclude all hope of a return to the alliance, which a few months before he had abandoned as useless, but which now seemed to offer the one chance for England’s safety. Once more the policy of Cromwell seemed justified, and Henry was forced to acknowledge it.

Fortunately for England, the situation, alarming as it was, had even more terrors for the Duke of Cleves than for Henry. Charles’ refusal to ratify the treaty of Frankfort had once more blighted the hopes of a peaceful solution of the difficulties in Germany[647]; in May the outbreak of a serious rebellion in Ghent made it imperative for the Emperor to appear in person in the Netherlands, and in early August Francis sent him an invitation to pass through France on his way to the Low Countries. The prospect that Charles, in close alliance with his former rival, would soon be brought within striking distance of Gelderland, was by no means agreeable to Duke William. It was fairly obvious that Charles would bend his energies to punishing the Duke of Cleves for his contempt of the Imperial authority, before attempting to chastise the King of England for the general weal of Christendom. The Duke of Cleves was much more practical than his brother-in-law: like Henry he never let religious considerations or conscientious scruples weigh against the dictates of political expediency. As soon as the news of the Emperor’s invitation from Francis was confirmed, Duke William’s doubts concerning the pre-contract of his sister Anne and the son of the Duke of Lorraine were cleared up with gratifying celerity. He probably had some difficulty in obtaining the consent of the more scrupulous John Frederic to a renewal of the negotiations with England, but his urgency was such that he triumphed over every obstacle. A messenger from Burckhard to Cromwell in the end of August was followed in early September by four ambassadors from Cleves and Saxony who were authorized to conclude the match[648]. The King must have been greatly relieved at the arrival of the envoys. Since May 3 he had heard nothing from his friends in Cleves except for the famous description of his intended bride, which his ambassador Wotton had sent him, for lack of other news. Anne appears to have been of very ‘lowly and gentle conditions.... She occupieth her time most with the needle, wherwithall she ... She canne reede and wryte her [own tongue but of] Frenche Latyn or other langaige she [knows no]ne, nor yet she canne not synge nor pleye ... enye instrument, for they take it heere in Germanye for a rebuke and an occasion of lightenesse, that great ladyes shuld be lernyd or have enye knowledge of musike ... your Graces servant Hanze Albein hathe taken theffigies of my lady Anne and the ladye Amelye and hath expressyd theyr imaiges verye lyvelye[649].’ In the end it proved unfortunate for Cromwell that this letter, and the portrait which Holbein made[650] were not sufficient to turn the King against her, without the need of further confirmation. But even if Wotton’s description had been far less flattering, it is doubtful if he could have persuaded Henry to abandon the Cleves marriage at this crisis. The King was now as reckless in accepting the alliance as he had been a few months before in refusing it. He perhaps forgot that though his zeal for the national welfare had never been hampered by religion or conscience, he had not yet put his patriotism to the more practical test of a sacrifice of matrimonial bliss. So the preliminaries of the match were hurried through with a speed quite as remarkable as the delays in the previous negotiations with the Lutherans. The ambassadors departed on October 6 to return to Cleves and conduct Anne to Calais, where a noble company assembled to welcome her, Gregory Cromwell being among the number[651]. Such were the delays of travelling in those times (Wotton wrote to Cromwell that the lady’s party could only make five miles a day[652]) that Anne of Cleves did not arrive at Calais until December 11, and there she waited till the 27th, for weather sufficiently favourable for her crossing[653].

Having landed, she proceeded to Canterbury, where Cranmer welcomed her with due pomp and ceremony. He had received from Cromwell fifty sovereigns to be presented to her on her arrival, and promised to do his best to induce the townspeople to give her fifty angels more[654]. From Canterbury Anne journeyed on to Sittingbourne and Rochester, where she was received on December 31 by the Duke of Norfolk, with a great company of nobles[655]. When Henry heard of her arrival there he determined to visit her in disguise, and, accompanied by eight persons of his Privy Chamber, he rode down to Rochester on New Year’s Day and saw for the first time his intended bride[656]. It is unfortunate that we possess no trustworthy information concerning the impression which Anne made on Henry at this first meeting. A letter which Cromwell wrote to the King, six months later, from the Tower states that when Henry, on his return from Rochester, was asked how he liked the Queen, he had answered ‘hevelye And not plesantlye “nothing so well as She was spokyn of”,’ and had added that had he known as much as he then knew ‘she shold not haue Commen w_i_t_h_in this Realme[657].’ It will be seen in a later chapter, however, that Cromwell wrote this letter under circumstances which rendered it very improbable that he told the exact truth: there is every reason to think that he greatly exaggerated the aversion which Henry first conceived for Anne of Cleves. In any case if Henry felt any such disgust as Cromwell described, he succeeded admirably in dissembling his feelings. Two days after the meeting at Rochester, he rode in state to meet his bride at Greenwich, and on January 6 he married her. ‘The sonday after,’ Hall adds, ‘there were kepte solempne Justes, ... on whiche daie she was appareiled after the Englishe fassion, with a Frenche whode, whiche so set furth her beautie and good visage, that euery creature reioysed to behold her[658].’

It is important to notice that even in this hour of national peril, Henry did not make any overtures to the Elector of Saxony or the Landgrave of Hesse. Not even the immediate prospect of war with France and Spain could induce him to go as far as this and to bind himself by ties religious as well as political. Even Cromwell had by this time discovered the uselessness of endeavouring to persuade the King to return to an alliance of which he had never really approved; more than this, he at last seemed to realize, that as advocate of a policy which his master had definitely abandoned, he ran great danger of losing his influence if not his life. It was rather late for him to attempt to break away from a plan with which his name had become identified; but he saw that he must purchase safety at the cost of consistency, and he took care in future to discourage all efforts of the Lutherans to come to an agreement. The reception accorded to an embassy which the firm but persistent Schmalkaldner sent to England in January 1540, and the words which Cromwell spoke to the ambassador on that occasion give us a very clear insight into the attitude of the King’s minister[659]. It was the last attempt which the Lutherans made to treat with England during Cromwell’s ministry, and its failure marks the end of the negotiations which had begun with the mission of Vaughan and Mont in 1533. Philip of Hesse had sent his councillor, Ludwig von Baumbach, to Henry’s Court once more, with instructions to express to the King his sorrow at the passage of the Six Articles, and his hope that they would not lead to any action contrary to the word of God and the truth of the Gospels. The Landgrave also trusted that the King would not suffer the negotiations with the Lutherans to drop, but the ambassador was to make it clear that a political alliance would be conditional, as always, on religious agreement[660].

Baumbach arrived early in January and immediately betook himself to Cromwell, whom he evidently considered the best friend the Lutherans had at the English Court. But this time he met with a cold reception[661]. The minister kept asking him if he had power to conclude a political alliance--a perfectly safe question, for no one knew better than Cromwell that the Lutherans would insist on doctrinal reconciliation in the first place. Baumbach tried to give an evasive answer, but was soon summoned to Henry, who repeated his minister’s demand with still greater directness. The ambassador could only reply that he must consult with Burckhard, who having returned with Anne of Cleves to England, was still in London. On January 12 the two Lutherans had a conversation with Cromwell, in which the latter defined his position with absolute clearness. He told the ambassadors that the King desired a political alliance with them, but that this must come first; the religious question could be settled later. Baumbach and Burckhard answered that this was impossible; nothing could be done until a theological agreement had been concluded. At this Cromwell could contain himself no longer. With almost pathetic frankness he turned to the Lutherans and told them that he plainly saw what they wanted in regard to religion; but, as the world stood then, that he must hold to the same belief as his master, even if it cost him his life[662]. Such was the faith of the man who six months later was brought to the block on the charge of counter-working the King in matters of religion! There is little need to dwell on the rest of Baumbach’s stay in England. He had another interview with Henry, who, angered at the firmness of the Lutherans on the religious question, now took occasion to throw contempt on their usefulness as political allies. He told some preposterous lies to Baumbach, informing him that he had heard nothing of the danger of the coalition of Charles and Francis of which the envoy talked so much, although he had faithful ambassadors at both Courts. Even if he were attacked, he said, he was fully able to defend himself, owing to England’s insular position and strong navy, which was well manned by his own subjects. German soldiers, on the contrary, would be of little use to him as sailors, for they would certainly be always seasick. After making a few counter-proposals which he knew would never be accepted, he dismissed Baumbach with a polite but non-committal message to the Landgrave, and Cromwell, who bade the envoy farewell on January 21, followed suit. But though the minister had used this last mission of the Lutherans mainly as an opportunity to break away from the policy which he had hitherto advocated, but which he now realized the danger of being connected with, his efforts to save himself were too late. We shall see in the next chapter that the events of the previous years had so thoroughly identified him with the Lutheran alliance in the minds of the people, that his enemies were enabled to make use of his supposed adherence to it, as a pretext for conspiring his ruin.

The Lutherans did not send another embassy to England for a long time. Negotiations were not resumed until more than four years later, when the situation had entirely changed, and even then they failed as signally as before. But though Henry had thus dealt the death blow to the hopes of the Schmalkaldner, he did not suffer the year 1539 to close without attempting to form an alliance of a very different sort with another prince of the Empire. As soon as he had heard of the failure of the plan for the marriage of the Princess Mary and the Duke of Cleves, Henry began to look about for another German husband for his daughter. It was doubtless with the royal authority that Christopher Mont had let fall a casual hint in conversation with a certain Nürnberg merchant named Gundelfynger, that Henry would gladly see Mary wedded to a prince of the Empire. The merchant responded by proposing Duke Philip of Bavaria as a suitable candidate for her hand. This prince was a member of the Palatinate branch of the Wittelsbach family, and a nephew of the Elector Louis. He had been a faithful servant of the Emperor and his brother Ferdinand in the first outbreaks of the religious strife after the formation of the Schmalkaldic League, and had been severely wounded in a brave attempt to oppose the Hessian lanzknechts at the battle of Laufen[663]. In spite of the fact that he belonged to a notoriously wavering family, he appears to have been a firm adherent of the Old Faith, at least at the time of which we are speaking. But on the other hand he was certainly loyal to every tradition of Wittelsbach impecuniosity. He had sacrificed all his property in the Emperor’s service, and Charles had characteristically refused to make good his losses, and had also insulted him by opposing his suit for the hand of the Duchess of Milan. A financially successful marriage seemed to offer Philip the only chance of recovering his lost fortunes, and it was at this juncture that the possibility of a match with the daughter of the rich King of England was opened to him. The proposal of Gundelfynger seems to have met with Henry’s approval, and he soon signified to Philip his desire that the latter should visit him in England. The Duke jumped at the chance to conclude a marriage which promised so many pecuniary advantages, and his anger at the ingratitude of Charles certainly did not make him any less anxious to listen to Henry’s proposals. He arrived in London on December 8[664], and at first the negotiations for the match proceeded with unexpected rapidity. Against two points on which Henry insisted, however, Philip raised strong objections[665]: the first was that he should take Mary as a bastard, ‘incapable by the laws and statutes of the realm of claiming any succession or title by right of inheritance,’ The second was the King’s refusal to except the name of the Pope from the list of those against whom the financial and political agreement which was to accompany the marriage was to be concluded: Philip, as a faithful Catholic, was apparently at first unwilling to enter a league which might bring him into conflict with the See of Rome. But the firmness of the King, coupled with the great financial profits which the match promised to Philip, finally triumphed over the religious scruples of the Wittelsbacher, and on January 24 he signed a treaty in which he accepted the marriage and the compact under the conditions on which Henry insisted: the agreement, however, was not to be considered binding unless Philip could get it ratified by his relatives in Germany before Whitsuntide, 1540. He left England, January 27, for this purpose, but his attempts were unsuccessful, and the proposal came to nothing. It was taken up a second time at a later date, and again abandoned. But though the scheme finally fell through there are a few interesting things to be noticed in connexion with the negotiations for it, which serve to make clear the trend things were taking at the time of Philip’s visit in London.

The whole affair was carried on so secretly, and we have so little documentary evidence, that it is very difficult to form any certain conclusions concerning this attempted compact. The name of Cromwell figures prominently in connexion with it; we find Duke Philip consulting with the minister at his house, and visiting the Princess Mary in his company[666]; but it is pretty obvious that all the negotiations were conducted throughout with the full approval of the King, and not, as was the case with the Lutheran affair, partially in opposition to the royal wishes. For the scheme was radically different from the proposed Lutheran alliance which had failed, and not exactly similar to the union with Cleves which had just been completed. It was far more cautious and non-committal than either of them, and it was for this reason that Henry liked it. In the first place, Philip was a Catholic, so that an agreement with him involved no contradiction to the doctrines proclaimed in the Six Articles. In the second place, he was ostensibly a close ally of the Emperor’s and a member of the Imperial Order of the Golden Fleece[667], though, as we have seen, the ingratitude of Charles after his services in Germany must necessarily have tended to make their relations less cordial. Henry was doubtless accurately informed of all this, and saw in an agreement with a member of this powerful though vacillating Wittelsbach family, an opportunity to gain valuable aid in case he were really attacked, without ostensibly committing himself to a policy which would at any time prevent a return to cordial relations with France and Spain. In the next chapter we shall see that it was precisely during Philip’s visit at the English Court that Henry’s hopes of staving off the dreaded coalition of Charles and Francis against him were once more revived in a most unexpected way. The terms of the agreement which he attempted to conclude with the Duke may thus be regarded as the first intimation of the complete reversal of England’s foreign policy which was witnessed by the first six months of the year 1540. According to the draft of a treaty drawn up in England to be presented to Philip for his approval, the Duke was to send to the King’s assistance the number of ---- horse and foot if Henry was attacked by any prince or private person, and was further to aid the King if he made war for the recovery of any right of which he was defrauded[668]. We unfortunately do not possess the original copy of the treaty signed on January 24, but in an account of Philip’s life by his brother Ottheinrich, it appears that the final agreement was that the Duke should furnish the King with 1,000 horsemen and 4,000 foot-soldiers against everyone except the Roman Empire[669]. The exception of the ‘Roman Empire,’ which was probably introduced at Philip’s request, was a provision of so vague a nature that it could not bind either party very strictly; it certainly could not have applied to a coalition of Charles and Francis, which was all that Henry wanted, and it had the additional advantage that it made it appear that the compact was not especially directed against the Emperor, and so could not be resented by him. On the subject of the Pope and the illegitimacy of Mary, the King, as we have seen, had remained firm: to yield to Philip on these two points would simply have been to stultify all the work of the previous ten years, a step which Henry, even in the gravest peril, was not prepared to take. But the other terms of the agreement were precisely to his taste. The new treaty could be very useful if the crisis came, and yet it was so arranged that with his well-known ability for quibbling, the King could easily throw it over, if his hopes of a change for the better in his relations with France and Spain were actually fulfilled. It thus stands out in sharp contrast to the Lutheran alliance which Cromwell had advocated, and which, if it had been accomplished, would have irrevocably committed England to permanent hostility to Charles. The terms of the treaty with Philip were cautious, carefully guarded, and strictly non-committal; the Lutheran alliance, had it been carried through, would have been rash, definite, and irrevocable. The contrast between the two schemes is the contrast between the policies of Henry and Cromwell. Though the treaty with Philip was never ratified and the agreement which it proposed was thus never destined to succeed, the fact that so many efforts were made to accomplish it at the very moment that the negotiations with the Lutherans, of which Cromwell had been the chief supporter, were finally abandoned, is very significant in revealing the relative positions of King and minister at the opening of the year 1540.

Briefly to review the state of affairs at this critical juncture. The dread of an attack by the joint forces of France and Spain, which had hung over England for more than a year, seemed to call for a defensive league with some outside power. But even in this hour of national peril the King did not forget the lesson that he had learned at Wolsey’s fall: he remembered that the situation on the Continent had often changed before and was likely to do so again, and therefore in his search for a foreign alliance he took the greatest pains to keep his hand free. Cromwell, on the contrary, was now too far advanced in the policy he had followed since the summer of 1538 to be able to retreat from it, though the warning conveyed by the reaction of June, 1539 had certainly opened his eyes to the dangers of the course he pursued. But it was in vain that he attempted to persuade his master to sanction an alliance with the Lutherans. Henry refused to consent to any move which would bind him as permanently as this. Instead the King directed his efforts towards concluding an agreement of a very different nature with Duke Philip of Bavaria, but his demands were so great that this scheme also failed, owing to the unwillingness of the other members of the Wittelsbach family to ratify the treaty. The only alliance which did materialize was that with Cleves. It was a sort of compromise between the Lutheran and the Bavarian plans; it committed England less definitely than the one, though more so than the other. But the responsibility for it had been made to rest entirely on Cromwell’s shoulders, and the minister must have realized that his safety depended on its success. While it was under negotiation, the danger from France and Spain seemed so threatening that the policy of Cromwell was apparently justified. Almost at the moment of its completion, however, events took place which totally changed the aspect of affairs, called for the abandonment of the alliance with Cleves, and led to the ruin of the man whose fortunes were identified with it. What these events were will be seen in the succeeding chapter.

APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XIII

I

THE REPORT OF THE LUTHERAN AMBASSADORS TO ENGLAND IN APRIL AND MAY, 1539, ENTITLED.

‘S_um_marie bericht vnd verzeichnisz der gepflog_en_ handelu_n_ge in Engelant anno d_omi_ni 1539[670].’

Nachdem die gesant_en_ desz churf. zu Saxsen _etc_ vnd la_n_tgraue_n_ zu Hesse_n_ vnser g. vnd g. hern rethte den viij tag aprilisz zu Franckfort abgeraist sint sie den 23 deszselbig_en_ monatz zu Lond_on_ anko_m_me_n_ vnd nachdem die kon_igliche_ may_estä_t dazumal nicht dess orczt sondern auff eynem schloisz Riczmu_n_t genant nicht fast verne von Lunden gewest haben sie sich nichtsz destowinger biem hern Crumello, kon_iglichen_ may_estä_t zu engelant obersten vnd gehey_m_bsten raidt anczaig_en_ lassen. Als hat derselbige ob er wol etwas die cziet myt schwachait belad_en_ solchsz kon_iglichen_ may_estä_t von stond_en_ an zu erke_n_nen geben hat auch den gesant_en_ vo_n_ wege_n_ kon_iglichen_ may_estä_t eyn_e_ herberge vorordent vnd inen kon_iglichen_ may_estä_t forderliche zukunff vormeld_en_ lassen mit anczaigu_n_ge_n_ dasz sie kon_iglichen_ may_estä_t gancz wilcku_m_me_n_ were_n_ vnd dasz die kon_igliche_ may_estä_t auff den nest_en_ sontag wilcher der 25 aprilisz gewest der gesant_en_ werbu_n_ge genedicklich zu horen erpottick. Esz ist auch der ko_nig_ myt den 26 aprilisz obgemeltz monatz gege_n_ Lond_on_ in ir_en_ pallast zu Westmo_n_ster kome_n_ und nachdem eyn parlame_n_t beschriben gewest wilchesz auff de_n_ 28 aprilisz angefang_en_ hat sich die ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t desz vorczoigksz halben entschuldig_en_ lassen vnd den 29 tag aprilisz der gesant_en_ werbu_n_ge anzuhoren besty_m_met wie dan geschehen. Vnd hat die ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t denselbig_en_ tag der gesant_en_ werbu_n_ge gehort die sie vormoge irer entpfa_n_en instrucion gethan. Alsz hat sich die kon_igliche_ may_estä_t genedicklich_en_ darauff vorne_m_me_n_ lassen mit f.[671] dangsagu_n_ge_n_ gege_n_ den churf. zu Saxsen vnd lantgraue_n_ zu Hessen mit dem anhangk dasz ir_e_ may_estä_t hern Crumello vnd eczlich andere_n_ vnd vorne_m_misten vnd geheimste_n_ ir mai_estä_t rethte befelich thon wolt_en_ mit den gesanten von eyner erlichen trostlichen vorste_n_nisse zu handeln habe_n_ sich auch hoich gege_n_ vnsere g.g. hern erpotten vnd von der franckfordissen fridszhandellu_n_ge_n_ allerlii gefragk auch v.g.h. von Gulich vnd Geldern gedacht, vnd in latinisser vnd franczosser sprach sich mit de_n_ gesante_n_ in gespreche ingelassen darauff die gesante_n_ siner mai_estä_t allenthalben nach gelegenheit nottorfftig_en_ bericht gethan. Es hat ko_nigliche_ mai_estä_t in sondernhait erinneru_n_ge gethan dasz sich obgemelte vnsere g.g. hern mit gut_en_ worten nicht wolten vorfuer_en_ lassen dan sine m_aiestä_t wuste dasz man allerley wider ir ch. vnd f. g. vnd der vorste_n_ vorwanten vorhette allein dasz ine_n_ bys anhere an forteil gemangeldt, darauff sie dan tag vnd nacht traichten vnd bedorffte_n_ vlissigesz auffsehensz etc.

Es were auch gewisz dasz man sine m_aiestä_t hette mit den schiffen in Selant vberfallen wollen aber Got lobp sine m_aiestä_t hette ire prachticke vorno_m_men vnd were_n_ durch gute frunde vorwarnnet word_en_ hatten sich auch alszo zur gegenwere gestellet vnd die vorsehu_n_ge in irer may_estä_t kon‹ig›rich thon lassen dasz sie vor inne_n_ vnerschrocken weren vnd wolte gerne dasz sie sich etwasz tetlichesz vnderstand_en_ dan sie alszo entpfanen wurde_n_ dasz sie den schimp gerucht solte haben etc. Item es hat sine ko_nigliche_ mai_estä_t angeczaigk dasz sie gewisz kunschafft hette wie dasz der kayser driemalhundert thusent gulde_n_ iczt oister_n_ vorschier_en_ in Duczlant etliche krigsvolck domit anzune_m_men vorordent darumb solte ma_n_ nicht zu vil vortruen vnd die dinge in guter achtu_n_ge haben vnd nachde_m_ here Crumello duezumall etwasz schwach gewest hat die ko_nigliche_ m_aiestä_t begerdt eyn_e_ kleynne cziet gedult zu trag_en_ dan s. m_aiestä_t wolt_en_ die saiche szo mogelich zu fordern beuelen vnd sindt alszo daszmal die gesant_en_ von ko_niglicher_ may_estä_t abgeschaide_n_.

Den andern tag desz monacz maij sindt die gesante_n_ in hern Cru_m_mello hausz zu Lond_on_ erfordert do dan ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t rethte alsz ne_m_melich die bayde herczogen Norfoick vnd Soyffoick desz richsz engelant cantzeller der oberste a_m_merall her Crumell_us_ vnd der bisschoff von Derm Tu_n_stalli_us_ genant Wilche erstliche_n_ desz ma_n_datetsz halben allerley disputacionesz inngefort darauff inn_en_ vorlegunge vnd bericht darmit sie dozumall zufried_en_ gewest von d_en_ gesant_en_ geschehen vnd zu_m_ ander_n_ haben sie sich mit den gesante_n_ der condicio_n_ halben vnd wilcher gestaldt die confederacio_n_ auffzuricht_en_ auch wasz ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t vor gege_n_hulff zu gewarte_n_ vntteredet denen die gesant_en_ inhalcz irer instrucio_n_ nach der lenge bericht vnd anczaigu_n_ge vorgewant dasz dan die rethte mit flissz angehort vnd der ding allenthalben ko_niglicher_ may_estä_t zu berichten auff sich genno_m_men v_nd_ ist gebetten die saichen so vil mogelich zu fordern domit kein vorczoigk erfolge.

Nach disser vnderredu_n_ge vnd handelu_n_ge haben sich die dinge etliche tage vorczug_en_ ausz vrsach dasz ko_niglicher_ may_estä_t rethte obgemelt teglich insz parlament haben sin mossen vnd auff den xvi tag maij sindt kon_iglicher_ may_estä_t rethte vnd die gesant_en_ yn kon_iglicher_ may_estä_t pallast zu sent Jocop beim hern Cru_m_mello zu_m_ ander_n_ male bie eynnander gewest, vnd haben die konnigliche rethte angeczaigk wie dasz der ko_niglichen_ may_estä_t vor gewissz ausz Franckrich vnd Flander_n_ geschriben dasz der churf. zu Saxsen vnd lantgraue zu Hessen sampt irer chf. vnd f. g. relionszvorwant_en_ sich in der gepflog_en_ fridez handellu_n_ge zu Franckfort vorpflicht forder in cziet desz anstansz nimancz in buntnissz zu ne_m_me_n_ wilchsz der ko_niglichen_ may_estä_t fast befromdlich vnd beschwerlich ‹wird› vnd darauff bericht begerdt etc. Alsz haben die gesantten vormoge irer bieinstrucion dissesz puncktsz halben vnd sonderlichen auch auff dasz schriben szo inen vom churf. ‹zu› Saxsen irem g. h. desz fordern tagesz zuko_m_me_n_ war den bericht vorgewant dasz die kon‹ig›lich_en_ rethte daran gut_en_ genug_en_ gehaipt vnd sich erpotten der koniglichen mayestät solchsz zu_m_ forderlichest_en_ zu vormelden auch die saichen irsz vormogensz zu fordern helff_en_ v_nd_ darbie esz daszmalsz blieben vnd haben die gesant_en_ angehalt_en_ domit sie nicht lenger auffgehalt_en_ mocht_en_ werd_en_.

Den xviij tag maij sindt die koniklichen rethte vnd die gsanten zu_m_ dritten male in obgemelt_en_ ko_niglicher_ may_estä_t pallast zu sent Jocop zusame_n_ kome_n_ vnd haben die kongissen rethte nach lenge erczelet dasz sie kon_iglicher_ may_estä_t alle handelu_n_ge mit vlisz bericht gethan esz wusten sich auch ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t der gesant_en_ werbu_n_ge selbst zu erinner_n_ were_n_ auch geneigk sich in eyn erlich glichmessig vnd trostlich vorstentnissz mit ire_n_ her_n_ sampt derselbig_en_ relionszvorwant_en_ irem vorigen erbitten nach inzulassen aber die ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t kont nicht befind_en_ dasz sulchesz vorstentnisz der geg_en_ hulff halben deren sich die chur vnd fursten sampt iren relionszvorwantt_en_ erbiten theten die glichait oder reciprocu_m_ mit sich breichte derhalben were der ko_niglichen_ may_estä_t genedigesz beger_en_ ob die gesant_en_ nach ferner befelich hetten der gege_n_hulff oder reciproci halben dasz sie sich desz wolten vnbeschwerdt vorne_m_me_n_ lassen.

Item die ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t vormyrck dasz dasz ma_n_dat sere enge vnd restringirt were wilchsz auch allerlij nachdencken hette bie siner ko_niglichen_ may_estä_t vnd ob die gesant_en_ vmb ferner befelich vnd volkommener mandat schriben wolten.

Darauff ist den konigissen rethten geantwortt dasz esz die chur vnd fursten dar aichten die ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t alsz eyn vortrefflicher berumpter richer konig wurde esz in solchen erlichen cristlichen saichen wider desz romissen bisschoff prachticke vnd tiranni an eyner tapffern su_m_ma geldesz zur defension nicht mangeln lassen ob sich auch ire ch. vnd f. g. der gege_n_hulff halben nichtsz sonderlichesz erbiten tedten v_nd_ aber nichtsz desto winger hetten sich ire ch. vnd f.g. vorne_m_men lassen siner ko_niglichen_ may_estä_t im fall der nottorfft do solchsz sin_e_ ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t begeren worde eczliche thuse_n_t zu fuessz vnd etliche hundert zu rosz _etc_ zu zu schicken wilchsz kriegszvolck ire ch. vnd f. g. anne tappern vnkosten nicht word_en_ vorgadern vnd auff eynn monsterplacz bring_en_ lassen mog_en_. V_nd_ domit sulchsz do da_n_nen forder s. may_estä_t zugeschickt wurde vnd im fall dasz esz die ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t darvor aichte dasz solchsz geg_en_ der su_m_ma geldesz szo die ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t erleg_en_ solte nicht szo gancz glich ader re_ci_procu_m_ were szo hetten doch sine ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t zu bedenck_en_ dasz esz siner ko_niglichen_ may_estä_t selbst zu_m_ besten gereichte allesz waisz ire ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t den chur. vnd f. sampt ire_n_ vorwanten gucz erczaigkt dan der romisz bisschoff vbete sine prachtike nicht winger wider sine ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t dan ire ch. vnd f. g. vnd ier ch. vnd f. g. mitvorwante_n_ vnd do innen etwasz widerwertigsz wilchsz der almechtige wend_en_ wolt begegen solte worde darnach s. kon_igliche_ may_estä_t solchsz auch zu gewarte_n_ haben etc. Desz mandacz halb_en_ ist inne_n_ die anczeige geschehen dasz sie desz puncksz zufriede_n_ gewest vnd die ding ko_niglicher_ may_estä_t zu berichten auff sich geno_m_men alsz ist deszmalsz nicht witter gehandelt vnd auff den 26 tag maij habe_n_ die ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t die gesant_en_ wiedervmb erforder_n_ lassen vnd inne_n_ selbst angeczeigt desz[672] sie allenthalben vorno_m_men wasz sich vor handelu_n_ge czuissen siner m_aiestä_t rethten vnd den gesant_en_ zugetrag_en_ vnd wiewole sine m_aiestä_t gancz geneigk sich in buntnisse mit den churf. zu Saxsen vnd lantgrau_en_ zu Hessen sampt ir_en_ relionszvorwant_en_ ainzulassen szo vormirck doch ir_e_ ko_nigliche_ m_a_i_estä_t dasz die vorgeschlagene condicion der geg_en_hulff nicht dergestaldt reciproce were wie sich ire ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t vorsehen hetten vnd esz auch billich in confederaci_on_ sin solt dan seine ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t begert eyn rumelich erlich vnd baidersicz trostlich vorstentnisse vnd confederacio_n_ myt ire_n_ chur vnd f. g. vnd iren relionsz vorwant_en_ auffzurichten vnd diewil die gesant_en_ keine_n_ witter_n_ oder ferner_n_ befelich hetten dan wie sie hie zuvor angeczeig[t] szo muste esz seine ko_nigliche_ m_aiestä_t dasz malsz auch darbie wend_en_ lassen vnd wusten witer darauff mit ine_n_ nicht zu handeln, sondern wolten ine_n_ hiemit genedicklich wiedervmb erlaubt haben. Auch wolte sine ko_nigliche_ m_aiestä_t iren chur vnd f. g. schrifflich ire gemut anczaigen vnd do sie iren chur und f. g. sunste_n_ fruntlichen willen erczaigen konte wolten ire ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t alleczeit willig befonden werd_en_ wie sie sich auch in glichnisse herwider vorsehen theten. Alsz haben die gesant_en_ irer ko_niglichen_ may_estä_t hinwider angeczaigk dasz sie sich von weg_en_ irer g. vnd genedigen hern nicht vorsehen hetten seine ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t worde sie nicht gancz vorgebelich abschaid_en_ lassen wil ire may_estä_t wmb disse schicku_n_ge bei iren g. vnd genedig_en_ hern ansuchu_n_g auch trostlich erbitu_n_ge gethan esz worden sich auch ire chur vnd f. g. vile winger solchsz abschaidsz vorsehen vnd were disse kegenhulff nicht szo geringe wie sie ire ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t achten _etc_ Aber wie denn szo must_en_ sie esz darbie wend_en_ lassen vnd wolten ire g. vnd genedige hern aller handelu_n_ge zu_m_ vnderthenigst_en_ vnd truelichest_en_ wilsz Got zu irer widerkumpfft bericht_en_ vnd worden sich demnach ire ch. vnd f. g. geg_en_ seiner ko_niglichen_ may_estät_ irer nottorfft nach zu halt_en_ vnd zu vorne_m_me_n_ lassen wissen vnd nachdem vil reden gewest dasz die ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t etczliche artikel der relion im parlament handeln lassen alsz ne_m_melich von dem hoichwurdig_en_ sacrame_n_t desz liebesz vnd bludez unsersz her_n_ Cristi it_em_ von der prister ehe haben die gesant_en_ gebetten seine ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t alsz die die warhait liebte wolte in dissen groswichtig_en_ saichen alleyne die warhait forder_n_ vnd hanthaben _etc_ Darauff dan die ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t in eyne hefftige disputacio_n_ desz artikelsz die pristerehe belang_end_ mit den gesant_en_ kome_n_ die seiner may_estä_t nottorfftig_en_ bericht vnd anczaige gethan vnd darnach ire_n_ abschaidt von irer may_estä_t geno_m_men _etc._ Vnd nachdem ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t schrifft_en_ an hoichgemelte vnsere g. vnd g. hern vorfertiget vnd den gesant_en_ durch hern Cru_m_mello zugesteldt haben sie gebetten sich zu berichten wesz doch ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t maynunge sie der confederacio_n_ halb_en_ vnd wesz seine ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t vor condicio_n_ ader geg_en_hulff oder reciprocu_m_ begerte darauff der here Crummellus angeczaigt dasz die ko_nigliche_ may_estä_t eyne tapffere su_m_ma geldesz zu erlegen willig aber der gestalt dasz solche geldt bayd_en_ teilen alsz seyner koko_niglichen_ may_estä_t vnd vnsern g. vnd g. hern vnd iren relionszvorwant_en_ zuglich zum besten kome vnd wilchsz tail eher angriffen ‹wurde› dasz daszselbige solche geldt zu gebrauchen haben solte etc. Vnd do iren ch. vnd f. g. sulchesz a_n_nemlich ‹wäre› woste eher[673] dasz die ko_nigliche_ mai_estä_t an eyner tapffern su_m_ma geldesz niederzuleg_en_ nicht erwind_en_ lassen etc. Alsz haben die gesant_en_ diewil sie dissesz artickelsz halben zu handeln ader zu schlissen kein_en_ befelich gehaipt sich erbotten daszselbige iren chur. vnd f. g. zu irer widerkunfft mit gotlicher hulff vnderthenichlich_en_ auch zu berichte_n_ vnd alszo irn abschaidt den leczten tag maij geno_m_men anno vt supra.

Franciscus Burchart

vicecanczler

s_ub_s_crip_s_i_t.

Ludowic_us_ de Baumbach

s_ub_s_crip_s_i_t.

_Endd._ ‘Relation Ludwigs von Baumbach vnd Mgr. Frantz Burghardi von weg_en_ der sendung in Engellandt.’

II

ACCOUNT BY LUDWIG VON BAUMBACH OF HIS JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. DECEMBER, 1539 TO JANUARY, 1540[674].

Auff donstag nach triu_m_ regu_m_ byn ich myt gottesz holff zu Lond_on_ ankomen vnd mich bye dem Hern Crumello ansagen Lassen hat er mich auff den freitag morg_en_ frue alszo balde gefordert vnd holen Lassen vnd mich allerleii gefraugk wie esz im thucz_en_lant stehe vnd ab ich nicht macht ader befelich habe dasz buntnisz myt ko. may_estä_t zu schlissen etc.

Dar auff ich geantwort ich habe eyn credencz an die ko. may_estä_t vnd eyne werbunge im geheym vnd vortruen syner may_estä_t anzusag_en_ vnd derhalp dem h. crumello gebetten myr forderlich zu sin dasz ich auff dasz erst szo mogelich von sin_er_ may_estä_t gehort moge werd_en_.

Dar auff der H. Crumellus geantwort er werde esz der ko. may_estä_t zu forderlichesten ken grunewicz zu wyssen thon vnd vorsehe sich ir may_estä_t werde mich zu forderlichesten hore_n_ diewil ir may_estä_t mich ke_n_nen.

Auff den sonnobent byn ich von Cristoffel mo_n_t beschick vnd bericht die ko. may_estä_t habe befolen ich solt auff den sonntag morg_en_ frue zu ix vr_en_ zu grunewicz sin do wolle ir may_estä_t mich ghoren vnd ir may_estä_t sie my_n_ner ankonfft wole zufried_en_.

Die ko. may_estä_t hat mich auff den sontag durch den hern Crumellu_m_ in s. may_estä_t innerst gemach fordern vnd fuer_en_ Lassen vor der messe_n_ da habe ich nach dem die ko. may_estä_t die credencz erbrochen vnd vorlesen allesz waisz myr befolen ist gewest nach der lenge myt besten flissze erczalet vnd bericht dar auff ir may_estä_t myt flisse gehort vnd alle wort zweygefraugk vnd alsz balde ich auszgeredt Hat s. may_estä_t geantwort ich habe lange desz ko vom franckrichsz gemudt gesport vnd vorno_m_me_n_ vnd er wolde eyn_e_ botschaffe sich der dinge zu erko_n_ne_n_ thon vnd mich gefraugk ab ich solchsz auch lied_en_ moge sonst wolle s. may_estä_t niemancz nicht meld_en_ dar auff ich s. may_estä_t geantwort dasz moge ich wole lied_en_ szo verne niemancz genent von wem s. may_estä_t disze dinge vorstand_en_ vnd mich gefraugk ab ich keine befelich habe die buntnisz myt s. may_estä_t zu schlyssen habe ich geantwort nein sonder_n_ s. may_estä_t zu raid_en_ dasz sich ir may_estä_t irsz gemucz entlichen vorne_m_me_n_ Lasse vnd zu_m_ forderlicheste_n_ die bontnisz schlisse ehe esz zu kriege ko_m_me dar auff ir may_estä_t gesag m. h. habe im geschriben ich solde eyn_e_ zeitlangk bie s. may_estä_t blieben dar auff ich geantwort desz habe ich von m. g. h. keynen befelich.

Dar nach ir may_estä_t allerleii gemeine rede gehaipt vnd alsz balde in die kirche_n_ gang_en_ vnd alsz balde ir may_estä_t in ir. kapellen kome_n_ vnd mich gesehen haben ir may_estä_t myr gewinckt vnd angesprochen vor allen here_n_ vnd gsaugk er habe my_nem_ g. g. hern geschriben vnd sie haben im keyne antwort dar auff ggeben, vnd alsz witter gefraugk ab ich keynen befelich habe witter myt s. may_estä_t der buntnisz halber zu red_en_ dar auff ich geantwort von dem schriben habe ich keine wisse der bontnisz halber wolle ich mich eyn kleinsz bedencke_n_ vnd mych myt dem Sexsissen vice canczeller vnderreden vnd sine may_estä_t beantworten.

Auff den dienstag darnach hat der H. Crumellus den vice canczeler vnd mich gefordert vnd allerleii myt vnsz bayden geredt vnd gesaugk s. h. der ko_n_nig sie geneigk sich myt vnsren h. zu vorbind_en_ vnd darnach von der relionsz saich_en_ zu red_en_ angefang_en_ dar auff myr[675] baide der vice canczeller auff latin vnd ich auff franczossiscz geantwort esz were gotelichen vnd erlichen dasz s. may_estä_t sich zu vor vnd ehe die pontnisz geschlossen myt vnsren g. h. desz gottlichen worcz vorgliche dar nach worde got genade vorliehen dasz alle saichen gudt word_en_ dar auff der. h. Crumellus gesaugkt er siehe vnser maynu_n_ge den glauben betreffen aber wie die weldt iczt stehet wesz sich sin her der ko_n_nig halte desz wolle er sich auch halt_en_ vnd solte er darumb sterben er rade aber dasz die pontnisz beschlossen vnd dar nach von bayderseicz gelarten zusam_en_ komen lasze vnd sich der schrifft vnd gotlichesz worcz vorglichen lasse wilche teil dan recht behalt dasz dem dan dasz ander teile folge vnd szo wyr myt s. h. dem ko. der saichen halber zu red_en_ kem_en_ szo wolt er vnsz geraid_en_ haben dasz wyr sidick vnd nicht zu hart myt s. may_estä_t reden wolt_en_ etc. da myt s. may_estä_t nicht zue vngenad_en_ vnd vngeduld_en_ erregt werde.

Dar nach von stonde an ist der H. crumellus zu dem ko_n_nige gang_en_ vnd alsz balde mich allein zu_m_ konnige zu kom_en_ gefordert vnd hat s. may_estä_t angefang_en_ vnd gesaugk die dinge die ich s. may_estä_t erczaldt habe nem_en_ s. may_estä_t wonder dasz dasz vorhand_en_ sin solte vnd solte im szo lange vorschwig_en_ blieben sin in ansehu_n_ge dasz er syne am_m_asatten an bayd_en_ ort_en_ habe, zu dem szo ko_n_ne_n_ sie sich in ile szo starck nicht rusten er koncz in ile erfar_en_ vnd szo sie den kreigk myt ime anfahen szo sollen sie entpfanen werd_en_ dan s. konrich sie nicht eyn lant wie die lande in thuczlant dan esz sie myt wasser vmbethom_me_ beflossen vnd konnt niemancz zu im kom_en_ dan zu schiff.

Da habe ich die sachen der massen myt ploichehausern vnd polwercken auch myt schiffen bestaldt vnd vor wart dasz sie entpfanen sollen werd_en_ szo habe ich gudte schucz_en_ vnd habe die von Lond_on_ hart bie myr vnd sonsten ey_ne_ stedt ist myr zu ne_n_ne_n_ vorgessen da kan ich in ile eyn czemelich volck auffbring_en_ auch szo habe ich die vorretter gemeinklichen richten vnd die koppe abschlag_en_ Lassen dasz myr niemancz lichlich eyn_en_ auffrure wirdt anrichten dasz magestu dyne_m_ hern sag_en_ aber ich bedanck mich kegen din_en_ h. wie gehort vnd ich vorstehe die sache nicht anderst dan dasz er die saichen trueliche vnd gudt myt myr maynt.

Vnd szo vile den ko_n_nig von dennemarck betrifft da habe ich nicht myt zu schaffen ich waiss auch kein bontnisz myt im zu machen dan er hat den alten konig nach gefang_en_ dasz isst wieder den pfalzgrau_en_ vnd myt ‹welchem› byn ich in willensz eyn fruntschaffe eynsz hiracz zu machen etc.

Auch szo dynen myr die lanczknecht nicht dan alsz balde sie auff dasz mere kome_n_ szo werd_en_ sie krancg vnd sint desz mersz nicht gewont wie my_ne_ luede sint aber dasz wil ich rad_en_ dasz dyne hern der chur f. zu saxsen my_n_ brueder der herzoig von klefa vnd gelderln vnd die andern fursten in der bontnisz sampt hanburgk vnd bremen vnd nicht vile vberlendisse stedt eyn erlichs bontnisz in allen gemeynen sachen beschloss_en_, were von den selbig_en_ vberzog_en_ worde dasz im die andern alle holff_en_ most_en_ vnd eynsz sachen aller andern sachen sin most szo wil ich pfalcz auch dar zu bring_en_ dasz sie vnsersz teilsz sin sollen.

Dan die Vberlendisse stedt haben sich nit witter dan wasz die relion betrifft keigen eubere hern vorbond_en_ vnd ab der kaiser eyn ander vrsach zu eubern h. suchen ‹werde› szo word_en_ sie in kein_en_ biestandt thon. gedenck an mich vnd due magest dym h. solchesz wolle sag_en_ dar auff ich s. may_estä_t geantwort ich habe die vorschribu_n_ge der bontnisz wie weidt sie sich streckt nicht gelesen der halp ich s. may_estä_t keyne_n_ bericht dar von thon konde dar auff ir may_estä_t gesaugk esz ist gudt vnd genugk darvonn geredt vnd myr die hant gebotten vnd my_n_ abschaidt ggeben vnd der bontnisz nach malsz wie vor begerdt dar auff ich siner may_estä_t geantwort Ich wolle die dinge my_nem_ g. f. vnd h. szo verne mich got gesunt frist zu myner wieder ankonff myt flissz berichten vnd zwifel nicht vnd zwifel nicht[676] s. f. g. werd_en_ sich gancz frundelich alsz siner may_estä_t frundt vnd der s. may_estä_t ere vnd gucz gunne von vor wisslichen vorne_m_me_n_ Lassen vnd byn do myt von s. may_estä_t abgeschaiden.

Auff dinstag nach sebastians vnd fabianes hat myr der H. crumellus my_ne_ abschaidt der massen ggeben dasz im s. h. der konnig befolen myr an zu sag_en_ my_nem_ g. h. sonderliche_n_ dangk zu sagen vnd sien ir may_estä_t my_nem_ g. h. myt allem fruntliche_n_ willen auch allesz dasz zu thon dasz my_nem_ h. zu ere_n_ vnd guttem kome zu willefare_n_ hoich geneigk vnd ir. may_estä_t habe die saichen nicht anderst dan truelich_en_ von myr vorstand_en_ vnd ir. may_estä_t sie myr vor myne p_er_son myt allen genad_en_ geneigk dar auff gancz myn_en_ abschaidt geno_m_me_n_. geschechen auff die tage wie ob stehet anno etc. xl in vrkunt my_ne_ hant

D

Luodewig von baumbach zu bynsfort sst.

_Endd._ ‘Relation Ludove. von baumbachs aus Engelland vff d. gesheene ve_r_warnung.’